SIANI ANGELO GIOVANNI (IT)
DI BRAZZA CARLO (IT)
BRUNO FRANCESCO (IT)
AMODIO ENRICO (IT)
SIANI S P A E (IT)
HALLSTROM ITALIA S R L (IT)
WIRELESS SOLUTIONS S R L (IT)
PUGLISI FILIPPO MARIA (IT)
SIANI ANGELO GIOVANNI (IT)
DI BRAZZA CARLO (IT)
BRUNO FRANCESCO (IT)
AMODIO ENRICO (IT)
| EP1089220A1 | 2001-04-04 | |||
| US6478229B1 | 2002-11-12 |
CIAIMS
1. A laminated film, web or sheet material (1) , comprising two coupled layers (4, 5) and at least one RFID tag (2) interposed between said two coupled layers (4, 5), characterized in that at least one marker (3) is provided for each RFID tag (2) , and is located on at least one side of said laminated material (1) , for identifying the position of said RFID tag (2) . 2. A laminated material as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that said at least one marker (3) is printed on said flexible material (1) .
3. A laminated material as 'claimed in claim 1, characterized in that said at least one marker (3) is formed by punching in said flexible material (1) .
4. A laminated material as claimed in claim 1 , wherein said markers (3) are located near one of the edges of the material.
5. A laminated material as claimed in claim 1 or 2 or 3 or 4, characterized in that said at least one marker
(3) identifies the position of said RFID tag (2) with respect to two orthogonal axes (X, Y) .
6. A laminated material as claimed in any of the preceding claims, characterized in that said two coupled layers (4, 5) are made from paper material or a generally flexible material .
7. A laminated material as claimed in claim 6, having a basis weight of 40 to 800 g/m 2 .
8. A laminated material as claimed in one or more of the preceding claims , characterized in that one of said two coupled layers (4; 5) is made of a paper material, and the other of said two coupled layers (5; 4) is made of a plastic material or a generally synthetic material.
9. A laminated material as claimed in claim 8 , having a basis weight of 30 to 1000 g/m 2 .
10. A laminated material as claimed in any of claims 1 to 5, wherein said two coupled layers (4, 5) are made of a plastic material or a generally synthetic material .
11. A laminated material as claimed in claim 10, having a basis weight of 20 to 400 g/m 2 .
12. A method for manufacturing a laminated coupled film material (1) comprising the steps of: a. feeding two film materials (4, 5); b. periodically applying at least one RFID tag (2) on one of said two film materials (4; 5) ; c. coupling said two films (4, 5) together, thereby embedding said RFID tag (2) ; d. forming at least means one marker (3) on at least one side of said laminated material (1) , to identify the position of said at least one RFID tag (2) .
13. A method for manufacturing a laminated material as claimed in claim 12, characterized in that said two film materials (4, 5) are fed with an intermittent motion to facilitate the application of the RFID tag (2) on one of said two film materials (4, 5) .
14. A method for manufacturing a laminated material (1) as claimed in claim 12 or 13, wherein said two film materials (4, 5) are made of paper or another generally flexible material having one side with an adhesive material applied thereon.
15. A method for manufacturing a laminated material as claimed in claim 14 , wherein the adhesive applied on said two film materials (4, 5) is a heat-sealing adhesive, wherein the step of applying said RFID tag (2) on one of said two film materials (4; 5) is preceded by the step of heating said film material to at least 8O 0 C and wherein said step of coupling said two film materials (4, 5) together is carried out by heating both of said film materials (4, 5) to at least 100 0 C. 16. A method for manufacturing a laminated material as claimed in claim 15, wherein said step of coupling said film materials together is followed by a step of cooling them to a temperature of 60 0 C or lower.
17. A system for manufacturing a flexible material (1) comprising at least two coupled layers of film material (4, 5) , at least one RFID tag (2) and at least one marker (3) for identifying the position of said RFID tag (2) , comprising: a. means (10, 11) for feeding two film materials (4, 5); b. means (12) for applying at least one RFID tag (2) on one of said two film materials (4, 5) ; c. means (14, 15) for coupling together said two film materials (4, 5) ; d. means (13) forming at least means one marker (3) on at least one side of said flexible material (1) so obtained, to identify the position of said RFID tag (2) .
18. A system for manufacturing a laminated material as claimed in claim 17, characterized in that it further comprises means (16) for applying a layer of adhesive material on at least one of said two film materials (4, 5) .
19. A system as claimed in claim 17 or 18, wherein said means (12) for periodically applying said at least one RFID tag (2) on one of said two film materials (4, 5) include a heating roll.
20. A system as claimed in claim 17 or 18 or 19, wherein said means (14, 15) for coupling together said two film materials (4, 5) include a pair of heated rolls.
21. Use of a laminated material as claimed in claims 1 to 11 to make packaging products.
L2 |
Laminated film material with radiofrequency tag
This invention ^elates to a laminated film, web or sheet material which is particularly used in the manufacture of packaging materials .
The invention further addresses a method for manufacturing a laminated sheet, web or film material in which a radio-frequency identification tag is embedded, and a system for manufacturing a laminated material in the form of a sheet, web or film embedding the radio-frequency identification tag.
The use of radio-frequency identification tags, also known as RFID tags, is known in the art to receive, transmit or record information by means of radio-frequency signals. RFID tags provide a more efficient tracking of goods , by allowing a more efficient use of information systems, and may be also used as security systems to prevent counterfeiting of products .
Therefore, RFID tags are particularly used in the field of logistics and broadscale distribution.
In prior art, RFID tags may be directly attached to the relevant product or to the package thereof.
Nevertheless, RFID tags may be easily located and removed and cannot therefore assure absolute reliability of the goods' tracking system.
The object of this invention is to obviate at least some of such prior art drawbacks.
This object is fulfilled by a RFID tagged laminated film, web or sheet material having the features of claim 1 , a roll of laminated material having the features of claim
11, a method for manufacturing a RFID tagged laminated film, web or sheet material having the features of claim 12, a system for manufacturing a RFID tagged laminated sheet, web or film material having the features of claim 17, and the use of a laminated sheet, web or film material having the features of claim 21.
Further advantages may be achieved by the additional features of the dependent claims .
A possible embodiment of the RFID tagged laminated material and the system for manufacturing a RFID tagged laminated material , as claimed in the attached claims , will be described hereafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
Figure 1 is a sectional side view of a flexible RFID tagged material.
Figure 2 is a front view of a flexible material ; Figure 3 is a schematic view of the system for manufacturing a flexible material.
Referring to the drawings, Figure 1 generally shows a laminated film, sheet or web material 1, comprising two
coupled layers 4, 5 and at least one RFID tag 2 - of the active or passive type - interposed between the two coupled layers 4, 5.
Thus, the RFID tag is not visible from the outside and is protected from any intentional or unintentional damage.
RFID tags may be, for instance, like those currently sold by the US company Texas Instruments with the name of "Tag-it™ HF".
These tags typically include a polyethylene substrate for an integrated circuit and an aluminum antenna.
These tags may indicatively have a length of 38 to 76 mm, a width of 22 to 45 mm and an average thickness of about 0.35 mm.
Obviously, depending on various needs (particularly on the desired maximum reading distance) , other types of tags may be used, either active (i.e. having am internal battery) or passive.
At least one marker 3 is provided for each RFID tag 2, and is located on at least one side of the laminated material 1, for identifying the position of the RFID tag 2.
In the most preferred embodiment, the laminated material 1 is a web having two parallel sides and the markers 3 allow to determine the longitudinal position of the tag/s, i.e. parallel to the extension of the film. These markers 3 may be printed on the laminated film
material or punched therein, and are preferably located near one o the edges of the film (e.g. at a distance of about 3 to 30 mm therefrom) .
Otherwise, the markers 3 may identify the position of the RFID tag 2 with respect to two orthogonal axes X, Y.
In this case, separate markers may be provided to identify the longitudinal and transverse position of the tags 2 respectively.
In the most preferred embodiment, the two coupled layers 4, 5 of the laminated material 1 are made of a paper material or another generally flexible material - each having an average basis weight of about 20 to 400 g/m 2 - and the coupled material 1 so obtained has an overall basis weight of 40 to 800 g/m 2 . Preferably, each of the coupled layers 4, 5 has an average basis weight of 20 to 200 g/m 2 and the coupled material so obtained has an overall basis weight of 40 to 400 g/m 2 .
More preferably, each of the coupled layers 4, 5 has an average basis weight of 90 to 150 g/m 2 and the coupled material so obtained has an overall basis weight of 180 to 300 g/m 2 .
The laminated material so obtained may be obviously covered on one or both sides by other film materials, such as polyethylene.
In accordance with a first alternative embodiment, one of the two coupled layers 4; 5 is made of a paper material, or other generally flexible material, whereas the other layer is made of a plastic material, e.g. polyester or polyethylene.
In this case, the basis weight of the laminated material is preferably of 30 to 1000 g/m 2 .
In a second alternative embodiment, both coupled layers 4, 5 which enclose the RFID tags 2 are made of plastic materials, such as polyester or polyethylene.
In this case, the laminated material preferably has a basis of 20 to 400 g/m 2 .
The flexible material 1 so obtained may be used to manufacture packaging materials, particularly cartons. The markers 3 allow tag position detection so that the tag can have a well-defined position in the material for the package obtained from the laminated material 1.
In the most preferred embodiment, the laminated film, web or sheet material 1 is fabricated in a process comprising the steps of: feeding two flexible film webs 4 , 5 toward each other; periodically applying at least one RFID tag 2 on one of the two webs 4 ; 5; - coupling the two films 4, 5 together, thereby
embedding any previously applied RFID tag 2 ; forming a marker 3 on at least one side of the flexible material 1 so obtained, which can identify the position of the tag with respect to at least one coordinate (e.g. with respect to the feed direction of the flexible so obtained) .
The two films 4, 5 to be coupled together may be possibly fed with an intermittent motion to facilitate application of the tags 2 on one of the two films 4 , 5. In the most preferred embodiment, the two film materials 4 , 5 are made of paper or another generally flexible material having one side with an adhesive material, particularly a heat-sealing adhesive, applied thereon.
In an alternative embodiment, the adhesive may be applied during manufacture of the flexible material 1.
If a heat-sealing adhesive is used, the film 4 or 5 on which the tags 2 are to be attached should be previously heated (to a temperature of about 70 0 C to 200 0 C) to cause the tags 2 to stick with the film. Such heating step may be carried out with the help of a heating roll or radiation heating means.
The coupling of the two films 4 , 5 is obtained by heating both films to a temperature of at least 100 - 200 0 C while compressing them. Two heated rolls may be used for this purpose.
Theft, the material so obtained is cooled to a temperature of 60 0 C or lower, preferably by using a cooling roll and/or air cooling means.
The markers 3 are formed on one of the two sides of the flexible material 1, to allow identification of the position of the RFID tags with respect to at least one coordinate.
The markers may be formed during insertion of the tags or at a later moment.
In a possible embodiment, the system comprises: - means 10, 11 for feeding (with a continuous or intermittent motion) two film materials 4, 5; means 12 for periodically applying at least one RFID tag 2 on one of the two film webs 4, 5; means 14, 15 for coupling together these two film webs 4, 5; » means 13 for forming at least one marker 3 on at least one side of the laminated material 1 so obtained, to identify the position of said at least one RFID tag 2.
The system may further include means 16 for applying a layer of adhesive material on at least one of the two webs 4, 5.
The means 12 for periodically applying at least one tag 2 on one of the two films 4 , 5 may include a heating roll and the means for coupling together the two film materials 4,5 after insertion of the RFID tags therebetween.
The laminated material 1 described above may be advantageously used to manufacture packaging products, particularly cartons and cardboards.
The tags are not visible, thence they do not spoil the aesthetic aspect of the carton (and the package) and cannot be located (thereby providing a higher security against any damage and tampering) .