Provided are a multi-function card that has a non-contact IC card function, a magnetic stripe card function, and a function of generating a magnetic card signal and an NFC signal, a Bluetooth function capable of transmitting a signal to devices such as smartphones, includes a metallic frame, and is robust against bending or breakage, a transmission/reception sensor system used for the multi-function card or the like, and a wearable device, and the transmission/reception sensor system includes a magnetic sensor 10 including a coil 2 wound around a magnetic sensor core 1, an NFC coil 12 formed in a planar shape, and a metallic frame 13a of a loop shape which is installed along the NFC coil 12 and includes one or more cut portions.

A communication device including a device-side antenna 30 for wireless communication with an IC card 10 including a card-side antenna 11 wound in a rectangular form. The antenna 30 is formed in one or multiple loops. During the wireless communication with the IC card 10 having an inner perimeter with a long dimension of 69 mm and a short dimension of 38 mm at a distance of 25 mm, an inner perimeter of the antenna 30 is formed at a position at which intensity H of a magnetic field produced by the card-side antenna 11 in a direction perpendicular to a surface on which the antenna 30 is disposed is in a range expressed by inequation (1):

0.037I/4Π<H<0.063I/4Π  (1)

where I is a current of the card-side antenna [A] and Π is pi.

An RFID reading apparatus (20) for shelf occupancy detection comprises an elongated antenna (18) with an outer conductor (26) and an inner conductor (28) arranged in the outer conductor (26), an RF transceiver (22) connected with the antenna (18), and a control and evaluation unit (24) configured to communicate with an RFID transponder (14) via the RF transceiver (22) and the antenna (18) by means of RFID signals. The outer conductor (26) comprises a plurality of slot structures (16) over its longitudinal extent each for transmitting and receiving RFID signals.

A portable terminal includes a wireless communication unit configured to perform data communication with a wireless tag in a non-contact manner, a position determination unit configured to determine a position of the portable terminal, a control unit configured to generate guide information for guiding the portable terminal to a communicable area where communication with the wireless tag is enabled on the basis of the position determined by the position determination unit if communication is disabled when communication with the wireless tag is performed, and a display unit configured to display the generated guide information.

A method and system for monitoring replaceable components of a work unit is disclosed. The method assigns an RFID tag to each wear part of a work unit. Prior to each operating cycle, the RFID tags are read and the RFID tags are correlated to corresponding wear parts. During operation of the work unit, operating parameters are read from the pumping unit and associated with each of the wear parts. A real-time life cycle status is determined for each of the wear parts based upon historic operating parameters and present operating parameters. Based upon the real-time life cycle status, the system and method of the present disclosure predicts the remaining wear life and relays this information to interested third parties. Interested third parties can then contact the equipment owner to provide information as to when parts need to be replaced prior to failure.

Described herein are techniques related to near field coupling and wireless power transfers. For example, a coil antenna configuration is the same in all portable devices; however, when the portable devices are arranged in back to back position with one another, the coil antenna configuration defines a dissymmetric and antenna configuration.

A wireless sensor includes a radio frequency (RF) receiving circuit including a plurality of components, where impedances of the plurality of components establish a resonant frequency of the RF receiving circuit. The wireless sensor further includes a sensing element that when exposed to an environmental condition, affects the resonant frequency of the RF receiving circuit. The wireless sensor further includes a processing module that is operable to determine a first value for an adjustable element of a plurality of elements for a known environmental condition based on the resonant frequency and the carrier frequency, determine a second value for the adjustable element for an unknown environmental condition based on the resonant frequency and the carrier frequency, and determine a difference between the first and second values that corresponds to a change between the known environmental condition and the unknown environmental condition.

Various embodiments are directed to a method and system for mapping or visualizing the magnetic fields and their associated field strengths of an object, such as a mobile computing device. An example source of the magnetic fields may be a near-field communication (NFC) reader configured in the object. A computer vision system or device may track a visual marker arranged near or on a magnetic field strength detector in order to associate, match, or map the magnetic field strength measurement readings of the detector at different positions or locations on the object. The computer vision system may generate and display a heat map of the object based on at least the magnetic field strength measurements and their relative positions.

A payment system, comprising: a receipt apparatus; a payment apparatus, the payment apparatus being connected to the receipt apparatus by means of electromagnetic induction, such that the receipt apparatus can receive information about the payment apparatus; and an identity recognition apparatus, the identity recognition apparatus being disposed in a payment environment and separated from the payment apparatus spatially, and the identity recognition apparatus being in signal connection with the receipt apparatus, wherein when a payer pays money, the identity recognition apparatus is used for recognising identity information about the payer, wherein the payment environment is a place where the receipt apparatus and the payment apparatus are located simultaneously. The payment system ensures the safety, convenience and efficiency of payment. Also provided are a payment device and a payment method.

According to an embodiment, an image forming apparatus includes a sheet conveyance unit that is configured to transport a print medium along a conveyance path. An antenna is configured to emit radio waves towards a predetermined portion of the conveyance path. A controller is configured to control the antenna to emit the radio waves towards the predetermined portion with a polarization direction set according to a type of the print medium being transported by the sheet conveyance unit. The print medium may have, for example, one or more wireless tags thereon or therein.