Systems and methods are provided for labeling a piece of merchandise with a wireless communication device. In addition to a wireless communication device, the merchandise tag includes an associated label made of a washable fabric material. The wireless communication device is incorporated into the label and includes an RFID chip and a slot-loop hybrid antenna, with the antenna including a conductor sheet that defines a slot. The label is secured to a piece of merchandise at a sew line, with the sew line dividing the label into an upper portion and a lower portion. The RFID chip and the slot of the antenna are positioned within the upper portion of the label, which may itself be positioned within a seam or neckline or waistband of the piece of merchandise.

A dual security tag including an RFID component and an electronic article surveillance (EAS) component, respectively disposed on opposite sides of a PET carrier substrate, is provided. The RFID component may include one or more ultra-high frequency antennae, such as a near field loop antenna and a far field dipole antenna, and an integrated circuit (IC) chip. The EAS component may be provided as an RF device, an acoustic-magnetic (AM) device, a low power Bluetooth (BLE) device, or other suitable device. The security tag may also include a facesheet affixed to the RFID component, a release liner layer affixed to the EAS device, and one or more intermediary films or protective layers. A method for manufacturing a dual security tag is also described.

Disclosed are combination radio frequency identification (RFID) and electronic article surveillance (EAS) tags and methods of producing such tags using a converting machine. The method is characterized by feeding a first roll carrying first type inlays and a second roll carrying second type inlays into a converting machine; and, transferring, using the converting machine, the first type inlays to a surface of the second type inlays, thereby forming a two-layer tape carrying pairs of first and second type inlays, each of the pairs comprising an RFID inlay and an EAS inlay, wherein there is no overlap of an RFID antenna element of each RFID inlay and an EAS antenna element of a paired EAS inlay, and wherein the RFID inlay and the EAS inlay of each pair are functionally independent.

RFID devices for use in electronic surveillance article (“EAS”) systems may be differently configured, resulting in different performance at the operating frequency or range of frequencies of an EAS system. The performance of differently configured RFID devices may be converged or rendered substantially similar by testing the performance of such RFID devices in a range of frequencies. At least one of the RFID devices is reconfigured to converge the performance of the RFID devices in the range of frequencies if the performance of the RFID devices is not sufficiently similar. This may include changing the configuration of an antenna, an RFID chip, and/or a non-functional component of an RFID device and/or the location in which an RFID device is associated to an article. Differently configured RFID devices may all be manufactured from the same initial configuration, with different RFID devices being differently processed before incorporation in an EAS system.

RFID devices are provided for improving the performance of electronic surveillance article systems. The RFID devices may be modified in any of a number of ways to decrease their peak sensitivity and increase their bandwidth, thereby stabilizing their read range. The performance of an RFID device will depend on the nature of the article to which it is associated, such that the nature of the article to which the RFID device is to be associated may be factored into the design of the RFID device to equalize the performance at an operating frequency of RFID devices associated with different articles. By reducing the peak sensitivity and increasing the bandwidth of RFID devices in an electronic article surveillance system, the size of a transition zone between two read zones of the system may be reduced.

An electronic article surveillance (EAS) assembly is installable in a workstation that processes products associated with targets to be electro-optically read. The assembly includes a radio frequency (RF) antenna having a pair of RF feed lines and a conductive loop for generating an electromagnetic field to deactivate EAS tags associated with the products to be processed, and a protective carrier for supporting and protecting the antenna during the installation in a predetermined position in the workstation.

Systems and methods are provided for labeling a piece of merchandise with a wireless communication device. In addition to a wireless communication device, the merchandise tag includes an associated label made of a washable fabric material. The wireless communication device is incorporated into the label and includes an RFID chip and a slot-loop hybrid antenna, with the antenna including a conductor sheet that defines a slot. The label is secured to a piece of merchandise at a sew line, with the sew line dividing the label into an upper portion and a lower portion. The RFID chip and the slot of the antenna are positioned within the upper portion of the label, which may itself be positioned within a seam or neckline or waistband of the piece of merchandise.

Disclosed are combination radio frequency identification (RFID) and electronic article surveillance (EAS) tags and methods of producing such tags using a converting machine. The method is characterized by feeding a first roll carrying first type inlays and a second roll carrying second type inlays into a converting machine; and, transferring, using the converting machine, the first type inlays to a surface of the second type inlays, thereby forming a two-layer tape carrying pairs of first and second type inlays, each of the pairs comprising an RFID inlay and an EAS inlay, wherein there is no overlap of an RFID antenna element of each RFID inlay and an EAS antenna element of a paired EAS inlay, and wherein the RFID inlay and the EAS inlay of each pair are functionally independent.

Systems and methods are provided for labeling a piece of merchandise with a wireless communication device. In addition to a wireless communication device, the merchandise tag includes an associated label made of a washable fabric material. The wireless communication device is incorporated into the label and includes an RFID chip and a slot-loop hybrid antenna, with the antenna including a conductor sheet that defines a slot. The label is secured to a piece of merchandise at a sew line, with the sew line dividing the label into an upper portion and a lower portion. The RFID chip and the slot of the antenna are positioned within the upper portion of the label, which may itself be positioned within a seam or neckline or waistband of the piece of merchandise.

Systems and methods for making a marker. The methods comprise: disposing a resonator with a flat planar cross-sectional profile in a cavity formed in a first substrate partially defining a marker housing; sealing the cavity using a second substrate; placing a first bias element adjacent to the second substrate so that the resonator will be biased by the first bias element when the marker is in use to oscillate at a frequency of a received transmit burst; and using a physical structure in the cavity or a magnetic field passing through the cavity to reduce frictional forces between the resonator and at least the second substrate.