Fujitsu Develops Attachable UHF-Band RFID Tags for Roll Containers

Tokyo, September 15, 2009

Fujitsu Limited and Fujitsu Frontech Limited today announced the development, in collaboration with logistics equipment rental company Nikken Lease Kogyo Ltd., of UHF-band RFID tags for roll containers⁽¹⁾ which will help shipping and other product-handling companies raise the efficiency of their logistics operations.

The new tags, which can be simultaneously read even when containers are stacked during shipping inspections, represent a vast improvement over previous barcodes systems that required individual scanning to monitor the quantity and types of containers being transported.

Nikken Lease Kogyo intends to use these tags on rental roll containers to provide increased efficiency in the logistics operations of its customers.

Background

In order to prevent the loss and theft of roll containers, many customers in the equipment rental industry, including the logistics sector, visually manage their shipment, delivery, and rental operations using a ledger or bar code system, which requires each container to be scanned one at a time. Increasing the efficiency of this process has been a common management challenge facing the industry.

In response, Fujitsu and Fujitsu Frontech have developed UHF-band RFID tags specifically for metal pipe roll containers to achieve greater efficiency in asset management, shipping management, and rental operations of roll containers, while at the same time enabling users to efficiently control individual containers.

These UHF-band RFID tags were designed for easy attachment to the optimal location on the container, from which the tags can be read when stacked together—20mm from the container's metallic surface. By securing this space within the framework of the metal tubes, tags can be read both horizontally and vertically, even when containers are stacked on top of one another. Tags of up to ten folded and stacked pallets can be read at one time.

Product Features

1. Can be simultaneously read in narrow spaces
   Even when containers are stacked, the UHF-band RFID tags can be read simultaneously. Antennas, placed on the right and left sides of a forklift's path, can simultaneously read the tags on up to ten stacked containers being transported.
2. Designed specifically for roll containers
   UHF-band RFID tags can be attached to a roll container with a single touch. They are manufactured to withstand both impact shocks and an outdoor environment.
3. Increases inspection efficiency by 2/3
   Approximately ten seconds were required to scan the barcodes of ten roll containers one at a time. Using Fujitsu's tags, the same process can be accomplished in just three seconds.

The new tags will be exhibited at the Fujitsu booth at the 11th Annual Auto-ID Expo, which will be held September 16-18 at Tokyo Big Site.

Key Specifications

Applicable standard: ISO/IEC18000-6 Type C
Dimensions and weight: 109mm width x 55mm depth x 18mm height; approximately 25 grams.
Transmission range: approximately 2.5m (using a 4W-EIRP circularly polarized antenna)