According to one embodiment, a wireless-tagged label issuing apparatus includes a conveying roller to convey the label that has a wireless tag, an antenna for communicating with the wireless tag of the label, a tag reader to read a tag identification from the wireless tag via the antenna, and a control unit. The control unit is configured to compare the read tag identification to previously read tag identifications, and execute a first operation on the label if the read tag identification matches a previously read tag identification and a second operation on the label if the read tag identification does not match a previously read tag identification. For example, the first operation may be physically disabling the wireless tag, printing a voiding image on the label, or routing the label to a particular destination for invalid labels or the like.

In some embodiments, apparatuses and methods are provided herein useful to track objects on a moving conveyor system. In some embodiments, an RFID based tracking system comprises a conveyor system to move and transport objects along a conveyance path, wherein each object includes a near field only RFID tag associated therewith and identifying the object. Each near field only RFID tag is not coupled to a far field antenna such that it is not readable in a far field of RFID communication and communicates only in a near field of RFID communication. An RFID tag reader is positioned to attempt to read the near field only RFID tag of each object. And a control circuit processes reads of the near field only RFID tags by the first RFID reader to determine an order of the objects being conveyed.

In some embodiments, apparatuses and methods are provided herein useful to track objects on a moving conveyor system. In some embodiments, an RFID based tracking system comprises a conveyor system to move and transport objects along a conveyance path, wherein each object includes a near field only RFID tag associated therewith and identifying the object. Each near field only RFID tag is not coupled to a far field antenna such that it is not readable in a far field of RFID communication and communicates only in a near field of RFID communication. An RFID tag reader is positioned to attempt to read the near field only RFID tag of each object. And a control circuit processes reads of the near field only RFID tags by the first RFID reader to determine an order of the objects being conveyed.

The present invention provides a mover traveling along a track, the mover system having a mover frame supporting a mover sensor element and a track frame providing a path for which the mover frame travels and supporting track sensor elements for interacting with the mover sensor element of the mover frame. The interaction between the mover sensor element and track sensor elements provides an identification signal of each mover and the identification signal of each mover on the track is arranged according to a cyclic sequence where unique contiguous substrings occur only once within the sequence.

The present invention provides a mover traveling along a track, the mover system having a mover frame supporting a mover sensor element and a track frame providing a path for which the mover frame travels and supporting track sensor elements for interacting with the mover sensor element of the mover frame. The interaction between the mover sensor element and track sensor elements provides an identification signal of each mover and the identification signal of each mover on the track is arranged according to a cyclic sequence where unique contiguous substrings occur only once within the sequence.

According to an embodiment, a wireless tag communication device includes a first antenna that emits radio waves towards a first region of a conveyance path for wireless tags and a second antenna that emits radio waves towards a second region of the conveyance path on downstream of the first region along the conveyance path. A shield prevents the radio waves emitted from the first antenna from reaching a first portion of the first region while permitting the radio waves to reach a second portion of the first region. A controller is configured to select a tag ID read via the first antenna as a target tag ID, designate the target tag ID by communication via the second antenna, and then write tag information via the second antenna to the wireless tag corresponding to the designated target tag ID.

According to one embodiment, a wireless-tagged label issuing apparatus includes a conveying roller to convey the label that has a wireless tag, an antenna for communicating with the wireless tag of the label, a tag reader to read a tag identification from the wireless tag via the antenna, and a control unit. The control unit is configured to compare the read tag identification to previously read tag identifications, and execute a first operation on the label if the read tag identification matches a previously read tag identification and a second operation on the label if the read tag identification does not match a previously read tag identification. For example, the first operation may be physically disabling the wireless tag, printing a voiding image on the label, or routing the label to a particular destination for invalid labels or the like.

A wireless communication device includes a conveyance portion, a sensor, and a communication portion, and conveys a long backing sheet, a plurality of labels, each provided with a wireless tag, being adhered with intervals in a lengthwise direction of the backing sheet. The wireless communication device detects, by the sensor, an end portion on an upstream side of the label including a wireless tag adhered on the backing sheet, while conveying the backing sheet in a conveyance direction by the conveyance portion, and performs a wireless communication with a target label when the backing sheet is conveyed by a predetermined amount in the conveyance direction. The predetermined amount is decided based on a communication state, between the communication portion and the wireless tag, detected at each of positions when the backing sheet is sequentially conveyed to a plurality of positions in the conveyance direction.

A radio frequency identification (RFID) printer device for electronically encoding and verifying RFID labels, the RFID printer device comprising a thermal printhead, a platen roller, a first RFID antenna configured upstream from the thermal printhead and the platen roller, a second RFID antenna configured downstream from the first RFID antenna, a memory device having executable instructions stored therein, and one or more processors communicatively coupled to the memory, the one or more processors, in response to the executable instructions, configured to transmit data via the first RFID antenna, wherein the data is encoded to one or more RFID tags associated with respective one or more RFID labels during a first RFID communication window, and receive and transmit data via the second RFID antenna to verify the encoded data during a second RFID communication window.

According to an embodiment, a wireless tag communication device includes a first antenna that emits radio waves towards a first region of a conveyance path for wireless tags and a second antenna that emits radio waves towards a second region of the conveyance path on downstream of the first region along the conveyance path. A shield prevents the radio waves emitted from the first antenna from reaching a first portion of the first region while permitting the radio waves to reach a second portion of the first region. A controller is configured to select a tag ID read via the first antenna as a target tag ID, designate the target tag ID by communication via the second antenna, and then write tag information via the second antenna to the wireless tag corresponding to the designated target tag ID.