Patent Description:
Articles of manufacture may commonly be monitored during manufacture and thereafter for inventory control purposes. One conventional practice may be to apply an RFID tag label to an article containing an identifier and/or other information associated with the article of manufacture.

Regarding tire manufacturing, to which the present invention may find particular application, identifying tires and other rubber-based articles may be problematic, particularly if the identification is to occur prior to fabrication and/or prior to completion of production. Tires and a wide array of other rubber-based articles may be subjected to one or more vulcanization processes in which the tire and/or tire components may be fused, molded, and/or cured together. Vulcanization typically modifies an uncured rubber-based composition by forming an extensive network of molecular crosslinks within the rubber matrix, thereby significantly increasing the strength and durability of the rubber-based article. Although numerous vulcanization techniques are known having various different curing methods, all, or nearly all, vulcanization techniques may include the application of elevated pressures and elevated temperatures to the "green" (e.g., uncured, non-vulcanized, non-cross-linked, etc.) rubber-based articles.

In view of these process conditions, adhesive-based RFID tags have been developed that may be applied to green rubber-based articles such as tires, and which may endure the relatively high temperatures and pressures associated with vulcanization. While generally satisfactory in many respects, adhesive RFID tags may not endure the lifetime of the article and may detach from the article due to the various types of stresses on the article both during and after production.

Potential detachment of an RFID tag may be caused by tag stiffness and the inability to handle the relative flexibility of rubber during multiple stages of the tire-build process and when the tire is fitted on a rim. This detachment may initially begin during the vulcanization process while the mold is moving and continue right after curing when the tire temperature still elevated.

If the tire is released from the mold and moves (e.g., flexes), the RFID tag may fall off immediately or, at the least, the adhesion may be weakened as a result of the movement. Additionally, during the process of fitting the tire on a rim, the tire (particularly the bead area) may be subjected to significant mechanical stress by the fitting machines. When tires are in use, the various road and driving stresses may cause the RFID tag to detach from the tire.

Within the tire industry, RFID tag suppliers may concentrate on the development of better adhesives. Conversely, tire and rubber product producers may experiment with positioning of the RFID tag by applying the RFID tag in the so-called "non-flexing-zones" of the tire or rubber product. While these activities may reduce detachment to some degree, these activities may not be ultimate solutions. Additionally, the addition of RFID chips to current solutions may contribute to detachment, and locating current RFID tags behind the metal rim post-fitting may impede the ability to read the RFID chip from a useful distance. Accordingly, an alternative to an adhesive-based RFID tag capable of remaining attached and operable to a rubber-based article during article production (e.g., vulcanization), distribution, inventory, and article lifetime may be useful.

<CIT> describes an RFID tag assembly for attaching to a tire, the RFID tag comprising a polyester layer including an etched antenna and an RFID chip and a further polyester layer adjacent the other polyester layer, the further polyester layer surrounding at least a part of the other layer and being configured for being secured by heat to an innerliner of the tire.

<CIT> describes a RFID bead label assembly comprising an RFID inlay that may be inserted into an overall label construction having a plurality of layers including a plurality of polyester layers.

The invention relates to a RFID tag assembly in accordance with claim <NUM> and to a tire in accordance with claim <NUM>.

Dependent claims refer to preferred embodiment of the invention.

An RFID tag assembly for attaching to a tire in accordance with a preferred aspect of the present invention consists of a first polyester layer, a second polyester layer adjacent the first polyester layer, the second polyester layer having an etched antenna and an RFID chip, and a third polyester layer adjacent the second polyester layer. The third polyester layer surrounds part of the first and second layers and is secured by heat to an innerliner of the tire.

According to a preferred aspect of the RFID tag assembly, the second polyester layer includes a radially outermost topcoat sublayer.

According to a preferred aspect of the RFID tag assembly, the second polyester layer includes a radially inner first polyester sublayer with a thermal printed barcode image.

According to a preferred aspect of the RFID tag assembly, the second polyester layer is corona tested on both sides.

According to a preferred aspect of the RFID tag assembly, the second polyester layer includes a radially inner first high temperature adhesive sublayer.

According to a preferred aspect of the RFID tag assembly, the second polyester layer includes a radially inner polyamide sublayer with an etched antenna and an integrated circuit.

According to a preferred aspect of the RFID tag assembly, the second polyester layer includes a radially inner second high temperature adhesive sublayer.

According to a preferred aspect of the RFID tag assembly, the second polyester layer includes a radially inner first adhesion promoter sublayer.

According to a preferred aspect of the RFID tag assembly, the second polyester layer includes a radially inner second polyester sublayer.

According to a preferred aspect of the RFID tag assembly, the second polyester layer includes a radially inner second adhesion promoter sublayer.

According to a preferred aspect of the RFID tag assembly, the second polyester layer includes a radially inner uncured rubber-based third adhesive sublayer.

According to a preferred aspect of the RFID tag assembly, the second polyester layer includes an ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE).

A tire in accordance with a preferred aspect of the present invention includes such an RFID tag assembly.

"Axial" and "axially" refer to lines or directions that are parallel to the axis of rotation of the tire.

"Composite", as used herein, means constructed from two or more layers.

"Inner" means toward the inside of the tire and "outer" means toward its exterior.

"Innerliner" means the layer or layers of elastomer or other material that form the inside surface of a tubeless tire and that contain the inflating fluid within the tire.

"Radial" and "radially" mean directions radially toward or away from the axis of rotation of the tire.

The present invention will be described by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:.

The present invention will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings in which examples of the present invention are shown. However, the present invention may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the representative examples set forth herein.

RFID tags may enable various tire tracking solutions for articles of manufacture that include electronic identification provisions such as, for example, RFID devices incorporated in/onto a substrate such as a mesh backing/material such that the tags may be configured to withstand pressures, temperatures, and/or stresses associated with manufacturing (e.g., tire vulcanization) and a wide variety of uses of tires and other rubber products while concurrently maintaining operability during these processes, after these processes, and throughout the lifetime of the article thereby sensing and providing unique identifier(s) and/or other information about the article during distribution, inventory, and article life. As disclosed further below, the RFID tag may be affixed to, and/or incorporated on, a sidewall, a bead, and/or an innerliner of a wide array of tires. Depending on the type of tire, the material of the tire, and/or the use of the tire (e. racing tires), the thickness, surface area, and/or configuration of the different RFID tag materials may vary.

As will be appreciated, tires may typically be used in combination with rims of a vehicle. The rubber-based tire may support, and provide grip for, the vehicle with a road or ground surface. The RFID tag may be used with bias tires, belted bias tires, radial tires, solid tires, semi-pneumatic tires, pneumatic tires, airless tires, non-pneumatic tires, truck/bus tires, airplane tires, agriculture tires, racing tires, etc..

An RFID tag may withstand conditions typically associated with vulcanization processes without degradation. The term vulcanization as used herein may generally refer to heating to a temperature greater than <NUM>, and up to <NUM>, for a predetermined time period, for example, from at least <NUM> minutes to as much as several hours. The RFID tag generally may include at least one RFID device.

The RFID device generally includes an antenna for wirelessly transmitting and/or receiving RF signals and analog and/or digital electronics operatively connected thereto. The RFID device may include passive RFID devices and/or active and/or semi-passive RFID devices including a battery and/or other power source. The electronics may be implemented via an integrated circuit (IC) and/or microchip and/or other suitable electronic circuit, such as, for example, communications electronics, data memory, control logic, etc..

The RFID device may operate in a variety of frequency ranges including, but not limited to, a low frequency (LF) range (e.g., from approximately <NUM> to approximately <NUM>), a high frequency (HF) and NFC (Near Field Communication) range (e.g., from approximately <NUM> to approximately <NUM>) and an ultra-high frequency (UHF) range (e.g., from approximately <NUM> to approximately <NUM>). A passive device may operate in any one of the aforementioned frequency ranges. Specifically, for passive devices, LF systems may operate at about <NUM>, <NUM>, or <NUM>, HF and NFC systems may operate at about <NUM>, and UHF systems may use a band from <NUM> to <NUM>. Alternatively, passive devices may use <NUM> and/or other areas of the radio spectrum. Active RFID devices may operate at about <NUM>, <NUM>, or <NUM>. Semi-passive RFID devices may operate at a frequency of about <NUM>.

The read range of an RFID device (i.e., the range at which an RFID reader may communicate with the RFID device) may be determined by the type of device (e.g., active, passive, semipassive, etc.). Passive LF RFID devices (also referred to as LFID or LowFID devices) may typically be read from within approximately <NUM> inches (<NUM> meters); passive HF RFID devices (also referred to as HFID or HighFID or NFC devices) may typically be read from up to approximately <NUM> feet (<NUM> meter); and passive UHF RFID devices (also referred to as UHFID devices) may typically be read from approximately <NUM> feet (<NUM> meters) or more.

One factor influencing the read range for passive RFID devices is the method used to transmit data from the device to the reader (e.g., the coupling mode between the device and the reader--which may be inductive coupling or radiative/propagation coupling). Passive LFID devices and passive HFTD devices may use inductive coupling between the device and the reader, whereas passive UHFID devices may use radiative or propagation coupling between the device and the reader.

Alternatively, in radiative or propagation coupling applications (e.g., as are conventionally used by passive UHFID devices), rather than forming an electromagnetic field between the respective antennas of the reader and device, the reader may emit electromagnetic energy that can illuminate the device. In turn, the device may gather the energy from the reader via an antenna, and the device's integrated circuit (IC) or microchip may use the gathered energy to change the load on the device antenna and reflect back an altered signal (e.g., backscatter). UHFID devices may communicate data in a variety of different ways such as increasing the amplitude of a reflected wave sent back to the reader (amplitude shift keying), shifting the reflected wave out of the phase of the received wave (phase shift keying), and/or changing the frequency of the reflected wave (frequency shift keying). The reader may then pick up the backscattered signal and convert the altered wave into data understood by the reader and/or an adjunct computer.

The antenna employed in the RFID device may be affected by numerous factors, such as intended application, type of device (e.g., active, passive, semi-active, etc.), desired read range, device-to-reader coupling mode, and/or frequency of operation of the device. For example, since passive LFID devices may normally be inductively coupled with the reader, and because the voltage induced in the device antenna may be proportional to the operating frequency of the device, passive LFID devices may include a coil antenna with many turns in order to produce enough voltage to operate the device IC and/or microchip. Comparatively, a conventional HFID passive device may include a planar spiral antenna (e.g., with <NUM> to <NUM> turns over a credit-card-sized form factor) to provide read ranges on the order of tens of centimeters. HFID antenna coils may be less costly to produce (e.g., compared to LFID antenna coils) since they may be made using techniques relatively less expensive than wire winding (e.g., lithography or the like). UHFID passive devices may be radiatively and/or propagationally coupled with the reader antenna and consequently may employ conventional dipole-like antennas. The RFID tag used with the present invention may utilize any of the aforementioned RFID devices, as well as others not specifically mentioned.

RFID tags may be advantageously attached to an innerliner of <NUM> a tire. The RFID tags may be received from suppliers on a roll with the RFID tags attached to a release liner with an uncured gum glue. The gum glue may have a good initial tack, or stickiness, to uncured rubber. However, after a curing/heating, the RFID tags may lose that initial tack and fall off the innerliner <NUM>.

As shown in <FIG>, a conventional roll <NUM> of example RFID tags <NUM> may include a radially outermost topcoat layer <NUM>, a next radially inner first polyester layer <NUM> with a thermal printed barcode image (corona tested both sides), a next radially inner first high temperature adhesive layer <NUM>, a next radially inner polyamide layer <NUM> with an etched antenna and IC, a next radially inner second high temperature adhesive layer <NUM>, a next radially inner first adhesion promoter layer <NUM>, a next radially inner second polyester layer <NUM>, a next radially inner second adhesion promoter layer <NUM>, a next radially inner uncured rubber-based third adhesive layer <NUM>, and a removable liner <NUM> of the roll <NUM> for maintaining the RFID tags <NUM> prior to application to the innerliner <NUM>, for example.

As shown in <FIG>, a RFID tag of a system <NUM> in accordance with the present invention includes only three layers: a first inward facing polyester layer <NUM>, a next outer second polyester layer <NUM> with an etched antenna and an RFID chip, and an outermost third polyester layer <NUM>. The three layers <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> may be secured to each other by suitable glues and/or adhesion promoters. The first and second layers <NUM>, <NUM> provide structural integrity to the RFID tag, but provide no adhesion to an innerliner <NUM>.

Instead of discarding a removable liner <NUM>, the liner is the third layer <NUM> itself and is sized to appropriately surround the first and second layers <NUM>, <NUM> and be temporarily secured to the innerliner <NUM> before curing of the tire <NUM>.

During curing, the liner <NUM> preferably at least partially liquifies and permanently adheres to the innerliner <NUM> during cool down.

In one embodiment, the outermost third polyester layer or liner <NUM> is sealed to the innerliner <NUM> completely around the first and second layers <NUM>, <NUM> (<FIG>).

In another embodiment, the outermost third polyester layer or liner <NUM> is sealed to the innerliner <NUM> only on top of the first and second layers <NUM>, <NUM> (<FIG>).

Claim 1:
A RFID tag assembly for attaching to a tire, the RFID tag assembly consisting of:
a first polyester layer (<NUM>);
a second polyester layer (<NUM>) adjacent the first polyester layer (<NUM>), the second polyester layer including an etched antenna and an RFID chip; and
a third polyester layer (<NUM>) adjacent the second polyester layer (<NUM>), the third polyester layer surrounding at least a part of the first and second layers (<NUM>, <NUM>) and being configured for being secured by heat to an innerliner (<NUM>) of the tire.