JP2006121826A - Chargeable portable tag - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a chargeable portable tag wherein its internal battery for power supply is chargeable and necessity for battery replacement is obviated. <P>SOLUTION: The tag is so constructed that the controller CTL of a management system and the tag T carried by such a moving body as a person communicate with each other by infrared rays. The tag is constructed of a generation circuit 6 capable of generating electric power in the tag T by external irradiated light, a infrared ray receiver circuit 7 that receives emitted infrared rays, a signal (ID) synthesis circuit that synthesizes the received infrared signal with a position ID and a tag ID (unique ID), an infrared ray emitting circuit 9 that emits the synthesized ID as an infrared signal, and a secondary battery-charging and discharging circuit 10 that supplies these circuits with power and can be charged by the generation circuit. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a rechargeable portable tag, in particular, used in an unmanned management system and the like, and a tag carried by a person is charged by external irradiation light, so that it is not necessary to replace a built-in battery for power supply. The present invention relates to a rechargeable portable tag.

  Conventionally, as an entrance / exit management system that also serves as a crime prevention system, a tag receiver (controller) equipped with an antenna and a tag that is previously input management data and arranged on a moving object such as a person or a vehicle. Configure and arrange a tag receiver (controller) at or near the entrance and exit of the facility, communicate with light between this controller and the tag to authenticate the authentication database on the controller side and the data from the tag, As a result, an entrance / exit management system has been proposed in which an authorized person who owns a tag and a non-permitted person who does not own a tag are identified to accurately manage and prevent entry to and exit from a facility.

  By the way, the tag used in this management system is small in size so that it can be carried by a person, and has a built-in battery for power supply so that necessary communication with the controller side can be performed. In order to reduce the size and weight of the tag as the built-in battery, a so-called button-type small battery such as lithium is adopted.

  However, the button-type small battery consumes power in communication with the controller side when the tag is used, so that it is consumed periodically or when the battery is exhausted, replace it with a new battery. However, since the tag in this management system is used continuously for a long time for the purpose of use, the battery is very consumed and the replacement is troublesome. In many cases, the battery consumption is not noticed. If it is used, the management system will not function normally, and there will be a problem that the management will be hindered.

  In view of the problems of the tag used in the conventional management system and the like, the present invention provides a rechargeable portable tag that eliminates the need for battery replacement by enabling charging of the internal battery for power supply. With the goal.

  In order to achieve the above object, a rechargeable portable tag according to the present invention is a tag that communicates by infrared between a controller side of a management system and a tag carried by a mobile side such as a person. A power generation circuit capable of generating power by irradiation light, an infrared light reception circuit that receives infrared light emission, a signal (ID) composition circuit that synthesizes the infrared light reception signal with a position ID and a tag ID (unique ID), and a composite ID of infrared light It is characterized by comprising an infrared light emitting circuit that emits light as a signal, and a secondary battery and a charge / discharge circuit that supply power to these circuits and that can be charged from a power generation circuit.

  In this case, the power generation circuit and the infrared light emitting circuit can be integrated.

  In addition, the power generation circuit can be configured to generate power by external natural light such as the sun, illumination light, infrared light emission, or the like.

  According to the rechargeable portable tag of the present invention, in the tag in which the controller side of the management system and the tag carried by the moving side such as a person communicate with infrared rays, power can be generated by external irradiation light in the tag. A power generation circuit, an infrared light receiving circuit that receives infrared light emission, a signal (ID) composition circuit that synthesizes the infrared light reception signal with a position ID and a tag ID (unique ID), and a composite ID as an infrared signal. The built-in battery is always charged as long as it receives light by configuring the infrared light emitting circuit and the secondary battery and charge / discharge circuit that can supply power to these circuits and charge them from the power generation circuit. Can be used continuously for a long time without paying attention to battery consumption, and is freed from the hassle of battery replacement, allowing the management system to operate normally It is possible.

  Moreover, by integrating the power generation circuit and the infrared light emitting circuit, the circuit configuration in the tag can be simplified, and the tag can be made smaller and lighter.

  In addition, by enabling the power generation circuit to generate power using natural light such as the sun from the outside, illumination light, infrared light emission, etc., it is possible to generate power not only with a large amount of natural light and illumination light but also with a small amount of infrared light for communication. The tag can be used continuously for a long time without the trouble of battery replacement.

  DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, an embodiment of a chargeable portable tag according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of a chargeable portable tag according to the present invention.
As shown in FIG. 1, the present invention is not limited to a fixed side such as a factory, office, government office, other building, or structure. For example, a controller CTL disposed on a wall or a ceiling surface, and a person And a tag T having a unique ID that is carried or carried by a mobile body such as a vehicle, and transmits / receives an optical signal between the controller CTL and the tag T, and receives a signal received from the tag T. Authentication is determined with the authentication database arranged on the controller CTL side, the position ID and the tag ID are specified, and the person or vehicle entering and exiting is managed according to the authentication determination result.

Details of the management system will be described with reference to the block flow diagram shown in FIG.
Although the controller CTL is not particularly limited, for example, as shown in FIG. 1, a computer (CPU) 1 including a position ID generation circuit, an authentication determination circuit, etc. (both not shown), and an external I / O A control circuit 2 and an infrared transmission circuit 3 which converts a position ID signal formed by a position ID generation circuit (not shown) in the computer (CPU) 1 into an infrared optical signal and transmits it. An authentication database (not shown) that configures the authentication result to be acquired from the database using the tag ID and the position ID as a key is connected to this.
In addition, the infrared rays transmission circuit 3 can also be arrange | positioned inside the controller CTL as needed.

Further, an infrared light emitting device 4, for example, an infrared light emitting LED is connected to the infrared transmission circuit 3 of the controller CTL, and a position ID signal from the infrared transmission circuit 3 is converted into an optical signal so as to emit light as infrared light. Although not particularly limited, for example, when a person holding a tag T having a unique ID enters the infrared irradiation area of the infrared light emitter 4, the infrared signal is transmitted from the tag T to the infrared signal. Is configured to receive light.
A plurality of infrared light emitters 4 (infrared light emitting LEDs) can be arranged in one virtual gate that is a set place for detecting entry and exit, and a plurality of virtual gates configured as described above can be provided. It can be arranged.

When the tag T is carried by a person, for example, an operator, the tag T is formed as a name tag or a batch and is sized and shaped to be easily worn on the chest, or is suspended from the neck and is irradiated from the outside. And infrared light from the infrared emitter can be received directly.
In addition, when installing in a vehicle, it comprises so that irradiation light and infrared rays light emission can be similarly received from the exterior, such as a hood of a vehicle.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 1, the tag T has a power generation circuit capable of generating electric power from outside light (external light) such as natural light such as the sun, illumination light, and infrared light emission in one case. 6, an infrared light receiving circuit 7 capable of receiving infrared light emission, an optical signal received by the infrared light receiving circuit 7 is converted into a position ID, and the position ID and a tag ID (unique ID) are synthesized. Signal (ID) synthesis circuit 8, infrared light emission circuit 9 that converts the synthesis ID into an infrared signal and emits infrared light from the light emitting LED, infrared reception circuit 7, signal (ID) synthesis circuit 8 The charging circuit 10 includes a built-in secondary battery and a charge / discharge circuit 10 so as to supply power to the infrared light emitting circuit 9. The power generating circuit 6 and the infrared light receiving circuit 7 are integrated as necessary, thereby providing one circuit. In infrared It is also possible to make both a receiver and the power generation function of the item.
In this case, the light receiving photodiode used for the infrared light receiving circuit 7 converts external light, illumination light, and light from the infrared light emitter into electric energy and stores it in the secondary battery. It is desirable to use one having a large area sensitivity.

  The secondary battery and charging / discharging circuit 10 built in the tag T are constituted by a chargeable / dischargeable battery and a charging / discharging circuit, and generate external irradiation light such as natural light such as the sun, illumination light, and infrared light emission. The electric power generated by receiving light at the circuit 6 is charged by the secondary battery and the charge / discharge circuit 10, and at the same time, from the secondary battery and the charge / discharge circuit 10, the infrared light receiving circuit 7, the signal (ID ) It is configured to be electrically connected so that power can be supplied to the combining circuit 8 and the infrared light emitting circuit 9.

  The infrared receiving circuit 5 for receiving the infrared signal emitted from the tag T is not particularly limited, but, for example, is arranged near the controller CTL and connected to the controller CTL. The infrared signal received by the infrared receiving circuit 5 is arranged so that it can be input to the external I / O control circuit 2 in the controller CTL.

Next, the operation of the chargeable portable tag of the present invention will be described.
An optical signal is transmitted and received between the controller CTL and the tag T, a received signal from the tag T is determined as an authentication database arranged on the controller CTL side, a position ID and a tag ID are specified, and the authentication determination When managing the person or vehicle which goes in and out based on the result, the necessary power is supplied from the secondary battery and the charge / discharge circuit 10 to each circuit 7, 8, 9 in the tag T, and natural light such as the sun, illumination light Irradiation light from outside such as infrared light emission is received by the light receiving photodiode of the power generation circuit 6, so that the light is converted into electric energy and stored in the secondary battery and the charge / discharge circuit 10 at the same time as feeding. Become. For this reason, since the built-in battery is always charged, the built-in battery can be used continuously without replacement.

  As mentioned above, although the portable tag of this invention was demonstrated based on the Example, this invention is not limited to the structure described in the said Example, In the range which does not deviate from the meaning, the structure is suitably used. It can be changed.

  The rechargeable portable tag of the present invention has a characteristic that it can be used continuously for a long time by charging the internal battery for power supply in a tag carried by a person with external irradiation light. Because it has, it can be used suitably for the application of the built-in power supply device for tags used in the management system, etc., for example, it can also be used for the application of small communication equipment that is carried to the exposed position. Can do.

It is explanatory drawing which shows one Example of the portable tag which can be charged of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

CTL controller T tag 1 computer (CPU)
2 External I / O control circuit 3 Infrared transmitter circuit 4 Infrared emitter (Infrared LED)
5 Infrared receiving circuit 6 Power generation circuit 7 Infrared light receiving circuit 8 Signal (ID) synthesis circuit 9 Infrared light emitting circuit 10 Secondary battery, charge / discharge circuit

Claims (3)

  In a tag that communicates by infrared between the controller side of the management system and a tag carried by a mobile side such as a person, a power generation circuit that can generate power by external irradiation light in the tag, and infrared light that receives infrared light emission A light receiving circuit, a signal (ID) combining circuit for combining the infrared light receiving signal with a position ID and a tag ID (unique ID), an infrared light emitting circuit configured to emit the combined ID as an infrared signal, and power to these circuits A rechargeable portable tag comprising a secondary battery and a charge / discharge circuit that can be charged by a power generation circuit and can be charged from a power generation circuit.   The rechargeable portable tag according to claim 1, wherein the power generation circuit and the infrared light emitting circuit are integrated.   The rechargeable portable tag according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the power generation circuit can generate power by external natural light such as the sun, illumination light, infrared light emission, or the like.

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