A system and method for managing the contents of a medical storage container such as a tray that has a required inventory of medical articles. A Faraday cage enclosure is used to isolate, scan, and inventory the container. The container and each of the medical articles in the container have a respective RFID tag. A processor is programmed to retrieve the inventory list for the container based on its tag and compare the actual contents of the container according to their tags to the inventory list. Missing items and extra items are noted.

An absorbent article has one or more fluid filter layers to inhibit electrode traces from being exposed to low volumes of fluid to reduce the number of false positives that are indicated by an RFID tag of the incontinence detection pad. An antenna inlay has a sacrificial trace portion to permit testing for proper operation of an RFID chip electrically coupled to the antenna inlay. After testing, the sacrificial trace portion is severed. A fluid barrier layer blocks fluid from reaching portions of electrode traces that are located on a backsheet outside a periphery of an absorbent core of an incontinence detection pad. The power at which an antenna transmits to wirelessly energize a passive RFID tag of an incontinence detection pad is controlled to reduce the number of false positives indicated by the RFID tag.

A wireless communication system includes a first wireless communication device installed on an installation surface of a vehicle and a second wireless communication device. The first wireless communication device includes an antenna and a sensor. The antenna includes a first conductor, a second conductor, one or more third conductors, a fourth conductor, and a feeding line. The first wireless communication device transmits a signal from the antenna to the second wireless communication device, based on information detected by the sensor.

The growing research interest in passive RFID (Radio Frequency Identification)-based devices and sensors in a diverse group of applications calls for flexibility in reader antenna performance. A low-cost, easy-to-fabricate, and pattern reconfigurable UHF (Ultra High Frequency) RFID reader antenna in the RFID ISM band (902-928 MHz in the US) may offer a 54 MHz bandwidth (890 944 MHz) and 8.9 dBi maximum gain. The reconfigurable antenna can radiate four electronically switchable radiation beams in the azimuth plane. The antenna may be LHCP (Left Hand Circularly Polarized) with axial ratio (AR) in the ranging from 0.45 dB to 7 dB in the RFID ISM band.

Smartcards with metal layers manufactured according to various techniques disclosed herein. One or more metal layers of a smartcard stackup may be provided with slits overlapping at least a portion of a module antenna in an associated transponder chip module disposed in the smartcard so that the metal layer functions as a coupling frame. One or more metal layers may be pre-laminated with plastic layers to form a metal core or clad subassembly for a smartcard, and outer printed and/or overlay plastic layers may be laminated to the front and/or back of the metal core. Front and back overlays may be provided. Various constructions of and manufacturing techniques (including temperature, time, and pressure regimes for laminating) for smartcards are disclosed herein.

A wireless tag that is not guaranteed to be located within a predetermined area is prevented from being read as a valid wireless tag. A communication device includes: an antenna; a reference tag; a reception unit; and a determination unit. The reception unit uses the antenna to sequentially receive signals wirelessly transmitted from a reference tag whose relative position to the antenna is known and a reading target tag different from the reference tag. The determination unit determines that the signal transmitted from the reading target tag and received by the reception unit is invalid based on a phase of the signal transmitted from the reference tag and received by the reception unit.

An antenna control apparatus according to an embodiment includes a communication interface configured to receive identification information indicating whether each of a plurality of antennas received transmission information from a wireless tag. A storage unit stores a count for each of the plurality of antennas. A controller determines, for each of the plurality of antennas, whether the antenna received transmission information from a wireless tag based on a first received identification information. When at least one, but not all, of the plurality of antennas is determined to have not received transmission information from a wireless tag based on the first received identification information, the storage unit increments the count for each such antenna. When the count for one of the plurality of antennas is determined to exceed the predetermined value, the controller outputs a notification signal indicating that the one of the plurality of antennas has a malfunction.

A wearable glucose monitor may include a compact having an antenna positioned on a housing of the glucose monitor to allow the size of the antenna to be larger than a printed circuit board of the glucose monitor positioned internal to the housing. The antenna may be communicatively coupled to a wireless communication device, such as a transceiver on the PCB, to transmit glucose level measurements to an external device through low-frequency radio signals. In some aspects, the antenna may be configured to be distributed into multiple sections positioned on different sections of the housing and connected to form a complete antenna.

A system is provided for wireless transmission of data and/or power using an on-body antenna apparatus (40) and an implant device inside the body. The system comprises the implant device and the on-body antenna apparatus (40) as well as an antenna control system. The implant device, is for use within the body and comprises an implant antenna (16) arranged to receive wirelessly transmitted power and/or to wirelessly transmit data. The on-body antenna apparatus (40) is arranged to transmit power and/or data acting as a radiative antenna, wherein the on-body antenna apparatus (40) comprises a pair of patch antennas (42) arranged to be placed on the surface of the body (44) spaced apart from one another to form an antenna circuit that is coupled by the body tissue around and between the patch antennas (42). The antenna control system is for providing power to the on-body antenna apparatus (40) and/or for handling communications between the on-body antenna apparatus (40) and the implant antenna (16), wherein the antenna control system is arranged to drive the on-body antenna apparatus (40).

According to one or more embodiments, a wireless tag reader includes a first shield member, a second shield member, an antenna, and a reader. The first and second shield members face each other across a reading area through which a wireless tag can pass. Each of the first and second shield members has a reflective surface that reflects a radio wave incident thereon toward the reading area. The antenna is between the reading area and the reflective surface of one of the first and second shield members. The antenna radiates and receives radio waves to communicate with the wireless tag. The reader reads data stored in the wireless tag based on radio waves received from the wireless tag by the antenna.