Technical field

In accordance with the preamble of claim 1, the present invention relates to a NFC/RFID tag system comprising:

- an item comprising an NFC/RFID tag for communication with an NFC/RFID reading device, and

- an NFC/RFID tapping image, arranged on the item, for disclosing, to a user, where the NFC/RFID reading device shall be tapped.

Background - Problem

There is a global trend that NFC (near field

communication) technology is used to enable communication between an NFC tag and a NFC reading device. NFC tags comprise small microchips with little aerials which can store a small amount of information for transfer to the NFC reading device. The NFC reading device can be for example a mobile smart phone or a tablet. The NFC tagged everyday item can be for example domestic appliance, a package of a product or similar. The NFC reading device has a reader antenna, which is powering the NFC tag of the everyday item. Upon powering the tag, communication will start and the consumer can thus communicate via their NFC reading device directly with the everyday item.

For this communication to happen, the consumer needs to take the reading device close to the NFC tag, typically within 5 cm. In order to do so, the user must know the location of the tag. Usually the tags are embedded into the product, like in domestic appliances or intelligent packages. Therefore there must be a visual indicator on the everyday item, which is indicating the location of the tag. The indicator is typically a printed image of N- mark of NFC Forum

(http : //nfc- forum. org/our-work/nfc-branding/n-mark/ ) or other symbol or message which instructs the consumer to place the phone to this location ("Tap here") . No matter what the message is, the image is typically created onto the surface of the everyday item, most commonly by printing. Technically this is not correct, as the user does not need to touch the item' s surface in order to communicate with the everyday item, they only need to place the phone on top of the item, typically within 5 cm

(most commonly within l-2cm) . Moreover, it can be

difficult for the user to hold the NFC reading device, for example a smart phone, against the everyday item, without losing the phone.

Moreover, an UHF RFID tag can be used for the same activity as the NFC tag, where the UHF RFID tag only can be read by an UHF reader from the same distance as the NFC tag mentioned above. Hence, the same problems, as mentioned above, occur also for these short range UHF RFID tags.

In the following the term "NFC/RFID" will be frequently used. In this context the term means NFC or UHF RFID, which both tags are intended to be tapped within a short distance by an NFC reader device or an UHF RFID reader device .

Object of invention

The object of the invention is to correct this distance mismatch that occur when a user ^' s NFC/RFID reading device shall communicate with the NFC/RFID tag at a

predetermined short distance. Summary of the invention

In accordance of the invention, and the characterizing portion of claim 1, the NFC/RFID tapping image is a lenticular print or a hologram, wherein an optical illusion of the NFC/RFID tapping image is obtained, at a predetermined distance, above the NFC/RFID tapping image, such that the optical illusion shows correct location of the tapping point and the user can tap the NFC/RFID reading device at the corrected distance from the

NFC/RFID tag.

Detailed description of the invention

In the following the invention will be described more in detail with reference to figure 1.

Figure 1 discloses an item 1, which item 1 comprises an NFC/RFID tag and an NFC/RFID tapping image 2. The item 1 can e.g. be a domestic appliance, a package, a consumer product, a ticket, sleeve or any item suitable to

comprise an NFC/RFID tag and an NFC/RFID tapping image 2. The NFC/RFID tag 1 comprising data which can be read by an NFC reading device 3, such as e.g. a smart phone or a tablet by holding NFC reading device 3 within a certain distance from the NFC tag for near field communication.

The NFC tapping image 2 is arranged on the item 1 for disclosing, to a user, where the NFC/RFID reading device 3 shall be tapped.

In accordance with the invention, the NFC/RFID tapping image 2 is a lenticular print, wherein an optical

illusion 4 of the NFC/RFID tapping image 2 is obtained, at a predetermined distance, above the NFC/RFID tapping image 2. The optical illusion 4 looks like it is floating on top of the item, thus indicating the correct touch point for the NFC/RFID reader. Therefore, the lenticular print 2 solves the above mentioned problem with the distance mismatch between the item ^' s 1 NFC/RFID tag and the NFC/RFID reading device 3, such that a user can hold/tap the NFC/RFID reading device 3 at the correct distance from the NFC/RFID tag. The preferred distance between the NFC/RFID tag and the optical illusion 4 is at least 0.5 cm and preferably in the range 1-5 cm.

The NFC/RFID tapping image 2 can e.g. be a sticker that is attached onto a surface of item 2 or a print which is printed directly onto the surface of the item 1.

Lenticular printing is a well-known technology and is based on microscopic lenses in the printing substrate, and printed image which is utilizing the optical

phenomena of the lenses and thereby creates an illusion that the print image is floating on top of the surface. Similarly, the floating image can be created by using lenticular lenses of the substrate in combination with laser-patterning method. In this method laser-beam is used to change the color of one of the substrate layers, and thus an image is created. Microscopic lenses will again diffract light so that this image looks like it is floating on top of the surface of the item.

The major benefit with the invention is that the optical illusion 4, of the NFC/RFID tapping point image 2, shows correct location of the tapping point. An alternative embodiment to lenticular printing is holography .

Holography is the science and practice of

making holograms. Typically, a hologram is a photographic recording of a light field, rather than of an image formed by a lens, and it is used to display a

fully three-dimensional image of the holographed subject, which is seen without the aid of special glasses or other intermediate optics. The hologram itself is not an image and it is usually unintelligible when viewed

under diffuse ambient light. It is an encoding of the light field as an interference pattern of seemingly random variations in the opacity, density, or surface profile of the photographic medium. When suitably lit, the interference pattern diffracts the light into a reproduction of the original light field and the objects that were in it appear to still be there, exhibiting visual depth cues such as parallax and perspective that change realistically with any change in the relative position of the observer.

In its pure form, holography requires the use

of laser light for illuminating the subject and for viewing the finished hologram. In a side-by-side

comparison under optimal conditions, a holographic image is visually indistinguishable from the actual subject, if the hologram and the subject are lit just as they were at the time of recording. A microscopic level of detail throughout the recorded volume of space can be

reproduced. In common practice, however, major image quality compromises are made to eliminate the need for laser illumination when viewing the hologram, and

sometimes, to the extent possible, also when making it. Holographic portraiture often resorts to a non- holographic intermediate imaging procedure, to avoid the hazardous high-powered pulsed lasers otherwise needed to optically "freeze" living subjects as perfectly as the extremely motion-intolerant holographic recording process requires. Holograms can now also be entirely computer- generated and show objects or scenes that never existed. Holography should not be confused with lenticular and other earlier autostereoscopic 3D display technologies, which can produce superficially similar results but are based on conventional lens imaging. Stage illusions such as Pepper's Ghost and other unusual, baffling, or

seemingly magical images are also often incorrectly called holograms."

A later refinement, the "rainbow transmission" hologram, allows more convenient illumination by white light rather than by lasers. Rainbow holograms are commonly used for security and authentication, for example, on credit cards and product packaging.

In the foregoing, the invention has been described on the basis of some specific embodiments. It is appreciated, however, that other embodiments and variants are possible within the scope of the following claims.