A fixing element for electrical devices, wherein at least one electrical device can be fixed to the fixing element, has at least one coupler, which forms at least one coupling to the at least one electrical device fixed to the fixing element, via which coupling electrical energy and/or data can be transmitted to the at least one electrical device, wherein the coupling is a capacitive and/or inductive coupling. In addition, equipment includes such a fixing element and a least one electrical device, which is fixed to the electrical element.

A system for tracking a product from origin to destination is disclosed. The system includes a probe that comprises two plates, a power source and a processor. The power source is controlled by the processor to produce an oscillating output at the plates. Using the oscillating voltage, the probe interrogates a device through capacitive coupling. The device includes a control unit, a memory unit, and first and second materials physically associated with the device for communication using capacitive coupling. Information associated with the device is transferred from the device to the probe through capacitive coupling between the first and second materials and the first and second plates, respectively.

Provided is a device for transmitting signals, the device including: a first conductive base and a second conductive base parallel to each other, a waveguide at least partially surrounded by side walls located between the first conductive base and the second conductive base and including at least one electromagnetic band gap (EBG) structure, and at least two directional antennas opposite to or facing each other in a direction in which signals are transmitted, wherein each antenna is on a printed circuit board and includes another EBG structure located on an upper layer and a lower layer of the printed circuit board and at least one matching element, at least a part of each of the antennas is located inside the waveguide to form a wireless channel configured to transmit electromagnetic signals in an area between the antennas, and the at least one matching element is located within a specified distance of the wireless channel and is configured to match the antenna with the wireless channel.

Systems and methods are disclosed for creating antenna casings, such as radomes, that can reshape the distribution of electromagnetic energy emitted by an antenna into an arbitrarily defined pattern. Embodiments of the present disclosure include antenna casings with cylindrical patterns with only azimuthal variation and antenna casings with spherical patterns having both azimuthal and elevation variations, each accomplished with an antenna casing of a fixed radial distance in the given coordinate system (either cylindrical or spherical). Antenna casings provided by embodiments of the present disclosure can alter the source radiation pattern into any desired radiation pattern at any distance.

Disclosed is a system which extends NFC near field communication over a user's skin by converting electromagnetic signals into modulated alternating electric fields and vice versa. A modified patch is attached to an NFC device, which gets energized from its electromagnetic resonance which may contain data. The patch uses the energy to create an alternating electric field which couples into and spreads over a user's skin. The user may approach or touch objects which then get energized by the alternating electric field. The objects have a tag which modulates the electric field with data back over the user's skin to the patch, which then demodulates the data to modulate the NFC communication of the NFC device for further processing.

A sensor module for monitoring an asset in an electrical power generation or distribution system includes a module body, a sensor, a sensor near field coupling structure, and an interrogation near field coupling structure. The sensor is supported by the module body, arranged to sense a parameter of the asset and configured to generate a sensor output relating to the parameter. The sensor near field coupling structure is connected to the sensor and supported on a first side of a module body. The interrogation near field coupling structure is supported on a second side of the module body. The sensor output is transmitted from the sensor near field coupling structure to the interrogation near field coupling structure. The sensor module is configured to provide electrical isolation between the asset and a monitoring circuit configured to receive the sensor output through the interrogation near field coupling structure.

One example discloses a near-field measuring device, including: a near-field antenna; a tuning circuit galvanically coupled to the near-field antenna and configured to set a resonant frequency and/or a quality factor of the measuring device; and a current sensor inductively coupled to the near-field antenna and configured to generate a signal in response to a current flowing through the galvanic coupling between the near-field antenna and the tuning circuit; wherein the signal represents a measurement of non-propagating quasi-static near-field signals received by the near-field antenna.

A patient care system described herein includes a first electromagnetic coupler associated with the patient, at least one patient-centric appliance in communication with the first coupler, and an occupant support for supporting the patient. The occupant support has a second electromagnetic coupler associated therewith. At least one of the couplers is connectable to an electrical energy source for energizing the coupler. The first and second couplers form a noncontact electromagnetic coupling. An occupant wearable item and an occupant support, both of which are useable with the patient care system, are also described.

One example discloses a multi-mode near-field device configured to be coupled to a conductive host surface, including: a conductive antenna surface configured as a near-field electrically inductive (NFEI) antenna; wherein the conductive antenna surface includes a first region and a second region; wherein the first region is configured to be capacitively coupled to the conductive host surface; wherein the second region is configured to be galvanically or capacitively coupled to the conductive host surface; wherein the multi-mode device is configured to operate in, a first mode when the second region is galvanically coupled to the conductive host surface; and a second mode when the second region is capacitively coupled to the conductive host surface.

A packaging system for at least one article includes a multilayer laminate structure and at least one sensor. The laminate structure encapsulates a transformative material between first and second conductive layers, which undergoes a state change that changes impedance between the first and second conductive layers in response to a perforation produced by the at least one sensor. An NFC/RFID circuit is electrically coupled to the first and second conductive layers of the multilayer laminate structure. At least one operational characteristic of the NFC/RFID circuit is dependent on the impedance change between the first and second conductive layers in response to a perforation produced by the sensor under predetermined environmental conditions. The operational characteristic(s) of the NFC/RFID circuit can be ascertained and analyzed (for example, by operations of an NFC/RFID interrogator) to detect and register the predetermined environmental conditions and provide an indication thereof.