JP2006195794A - Rf-id tag and mobile communication terminal incorporating rf-id tag - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a power supply consumption saving RF-ID tag and a mobile communication terminal incorporating the RF-ID tag. <P>SOLUTION: Electric power from a power supply is supplied to a radio transmitter only if information related to the device itself is included in a received electric wave, so that the power supply consumption saving RF-ID tag and the mobile communication terminal incorporating the RF-ID tag are obtained. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an RF-ID tag and an RF-ID tag built-in portable communication terminal.

In recent years, systems using RF-ID (Radio Frequency-Identification) are on the market. Most of them are passive RF-IDs, and the distance that radio waves fly is about several centimeters to several tens of centimeters. There is no fear of being scanned, and there is no need to have a battery because it does not transmit radio waves by itself. However, in the case of a system using active RF-ID, an active RF-ID tag is not required to emit radio waves. There is a risk that radio waves will be transmitted unnecessarily and scanned by a malicious third party, and the battery will be wasted.
Thus, an RF-ID tag and an RF-ID tag detection system that suppresses battery consumption by transmitting radio waves at different set times are disclosed (for example, see Patent Document 1).
JP 2000-113130 A

However, although the above-described conventional technology transmits radio waves at different set times, the radio waves are transmitted even in a time zone that is not used (for example, at night or on holidays), so that the battery is wasted.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an RF-ID tag and a mobile communication terminal with a built-in RF-ID tag, which suppresses power consumption.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the invention described in claim 1 includes a conversion unit that converts received radio waves into electric power, information that is operated by the electric power from the conversion unit and that analyzes the radio waves and relates to itself. It operates with the analysis means for judging whether or not the power, the wireless transmission unit for transmitting its own information by radio waves, the power source having the power necessary for transmitting the radio waves, and the power from the conversion unit And control means for controlling to supply power from the power source to the wireless transmission unit only when information relating to the self is included.
According to the first aspect of the present invention, since the power from the power source is supplied to the wireless transmission unit only when the received radio wave includes information related to itself, the power consumption is suppressed.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, a timer is provided for supplying power from the power source to the wireless transmission unit for a predetermined time.
According to the second aspect of the present invention, since power is supplied from the battery to the wireless transmission unit for a certain period of time, power consumption is suppressed.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect of the invention, when a primary battery is used as the power source, the control means should replace the power source when the voltage of the power source drops to a predetermined voltage. It is characterized by generating a signal to that effect.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, the user can grasp the replacement time of the primary battery as the power source, so that it can be replaced with a new primary battery before the power source is completely consumed.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect of the invention, when a secondary battery or an electric double layer capacitor is used as the power source, the power source is charged with a part of the power converted by the converter. It is characterized by being.
According to the invention described in claim 4, since the secondary battery or the electric double layer capacitor as the power source is charged with the power converted from the radio wave at the time of reception, the power source can be used semipermanently, and the power source can be replaced. Work is almost unnecessary.

The invention according to claim 5 converts the received radio wave into electric power, operates with the electric power from the converter and analyzes the radio wave to determine whether or not information related to itself is included. Analysis means, a wireless transmission unit for transmitting own information by radio waves, a power source having power necessary for transmitting radio waves, and power related to the self and information related to the self are provided. And control means for controlling to supply power from the power source to the wireless transmitter only when it is included.
According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, since the power from the power source is supplied to the wireless transmission unit only when the received radio wave includes information related to itself, the power consumption can be suppressed.

According to a sixth aspect of the invention, in the fifth aspect of the invention, a timer is provided for supplying power from the power source to the wireless transmission unit for a predetermined time.
According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, since power is supplied from the battery to the wireless transmission unit for a certain period of time, power consumption is suppressed.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, when a primary battery is used as the power source in the fifth or sixth aspect, the control means should replace the power source when the voltage of the power source drops to a predetermined voltage. It is characterized by generating a signal to that effect.
According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, the user can grasp the replacement time of the primary battery as the power source, so that it can be replaced with a new primary battery before the power source is completely consumed.

The invention according to claim 8 is the invention according to claim 6 or 7, wherein when the secondary battery or the electric double layer capacitor is used as the power source, the power source is charged with a part of the power converted by the converter. It is characterized by being.
According to the invention described in claim 8, since the secondary battery or the electric double layer capacitor as the power source is charged with the electric power converted from the radio wave at the time of reception, the power source can be used semipermanently, and the power source can be replaced. Work is almost unnecessary.

  According to the present invention, the power from the power source is supplied to the wireless transmission unit only when the received radio wave includes information related to itself, so that the RF-ID tag and the RF-ID with reduced power consumption are provided. A portable communication terminal with a built-in tag is obtained.

  The RF-ID tag (RF-ID tag built-in portable communication terminal) of the present embodiment is related to itself by operating the power from the conversion unit that converts the received radio wave into power, and analyzing the radio wave while operating with the power from the conversion unit. Analysis means for determining whether or not information is included, a wireless transmitter for transmitting own information by radio waves, a power source having power necessary for transmitting radio waves, and power from a converter And control means for controlling to supply power from the power source to the wireless transmission unit only when it operates and information related to itself is included.

  In addition to the above configuration, the RF-ID tag (RF-ID tag built-in mobile communication terminal) of the present embodiment may include a timer for supplying power from the power source to the wireless transmission unit for a certain period of time. When the primary battery is used, the control means may generate a signal indicating that the power supply should be replaced when the power supply voltage drops to a predetermined voltage. A secondary battery or an electric double layer capacitor is used as the power supply. In this case, the power source may be configured to be charged with a part of the power converted by the conversion unit.

  That is, this RF-ID tag (or a portable communication terminal with a built-in RF-ID tag) normally functions as a passive RF-ID tag (or a portable communication terminal with a built-in RF-ID tag) and is transmitted from the RFID reader device. When a radio wave is received, information is analyzed from the received radio wave, and when information related to the radio wave is included, the radio transmitter is turned on to function as an active RFID.

[Example 1]
FIG. 1 shows a main part of a circuit configuration of an embodiment of an RF-ID tag according to the present invention.
The RF-ID tag 1 according to the present embodiment has an RF-ID reader device radio wave receiver 2 that receives radio waves from the RF-ID reader device, a received radio wave analyzer 3 that analyzes the received radio waves, and overall control of each unit. A control unit 4 that performs power, a power-on unit 5 that inputs power from the power source 9 to the radio transmission unit 7, an information storage unit 6 that stores the obtained information, and a radio that feeds radio waves to the transmission antenna unit 8. A transmitter 7, a transmitting antenna unit 8 that radiates radio waves, and a power source 9 for driving only the wireless transmitter 7 are provided.

The external shape of the RF-ID tag 1 is a rectangle with rounded corners in the figure, but the present invention is not limited to this, and is square, circular, elliptical, oval, polygonal, star-shaped. Or any shape of these combinations may be sufficient.
The RF-ID reader device radio wave receiver 2 has a front-end circuit and a receiving antenna. The front-end circuit includes, for example, a high frequency amplifier circuit, a local oscillation circuit, a frequency mixing circuit, and an intermediate frequency amplifier circuit (superheterodyne circuit). When the transmission frequency (reception frequency) is below the short wave band, the front end circuit may use a straight system.
When the reception frequency is 303 MHz, for example, a spider tag (registered trademark) manufactured by RF CODE is used as the reception antenna.
The received radio wave analysis unit 3 may be a circuit having a function of determining the presence or absence of data related to itself in the received radio wave.
An example of the control unit 4 is a CPU (Central Processing Unit).
As the power-on unit 5, for example, a switching circuit using a transistor or an analog switch is used, but a relay may be used.
For example, a ROM (Read Only Memory) is used as the information storage unit 6 and stores its own data (ID number, address, name, date of birth, etc.).
When the transmission frequency is 303 MHz, for example, a spider tag (registered trademark) manufactured by RF CODE is used as the transmission antenna unit 8, but the specification is that the transmission frequency is 303 MHz and the electric field intensity of the transmitted radio wave is 500 μV / m (3 m point) Other antennas may be used as long as the antenna satisfies the above.
When the transmission frequency and the reception frequency are different (for example, the transmission frequency is 303 MHz and the reception frequency is 2.45 GHz), an antenna (for example, a frequency of 2.45 GHz) received by a general radio wave type RF-ID tag is used. Used.

In this embodiment, the case where the transmission antenna and the reception antenna are used separately has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the transmission antenna and the reception antenna may be combined. Also, the frequency is not limited, and may be 13.56 MHz and 900 MHz bands or other frequency bands.
Here, when the transmitting antenna unit 8 and the receiving antenna are used together, it is necessary to use an antenna switching circuit. As the antenna switching circuit, for example, the other end of the analog switch having the RF-ID reader device radio wave receiving unit 2 connected to one end and the other end of the analog switch having the radio transmitting unit 7 connected to one end are connected in common. Switching is performed by connecting an antenna to the common terminal and turning on one of the analog switches (not shown).

  As the power source 9, a secondary battery (carbon / lithium battery, vanadium / lithium battery, manganese dioxide / lithium battery, polyaniline / lithium battery, nickel / cadmium storage battery, nickel metal hydride storage battery, sealed lead storage battery, etc.) or electric double layer capacitor is used. Use is used. The battery capacity is preferably about 100 mAh. As the outer size, if it is a coin type, a size having a diameter of 10 mm and a thickness of 2 mm or less is preferable. When an electric double layer capacitor is used, the capacitance is preferably about 0.047 F, and the outer size is preferably about 42 mm × 26 mm × 2 mm.

  Here, since the voltage drops exponentially in the discharge characteristics of the electric double layer capacitor, when the electric double layer capacitor is used as the power source 9, for example, a stable circuit such as a smoothing circuit, a limiter circuit, or a three-terminal regulator is used. It is preferable to set a constant voltage (transmittable voltage) only for a certain period of time (transmission time) using an integrated power supply circuit.

  This RF-ID tag 1 processes the radio wave received by the RF-ID reader apparatus radio wave receiver 2 into a baseband signal, sends the baseband signal to the received radio wave analyzer 3, and the received radio wave analyzer 3 When it recognizes that the RF-ID tag 1 is a signal to be received, it sends active RF-ID function ON information to the control unit 4, and when the control unit 4 receives the active RF-ID function ON information, 5 is instructed to supply power to the wireless transmission unit 7, and when the power-on unit 5 receives the power supply instruction, the power from the power source 9 is supplied to the wireless transmission unit 7.

  In FIG. 3, two reader devices 12 and 13 are shown in the facility 11, but the RF-ID tag (RF-ID tag built-in portable communication terminal) of the present invention has one reader device in the facility 11. May be provided.

[Description of Operation of Example 1]
The operation of the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 1, FIG. 2, and FIG.
FIG. 2 shows a state from when the RF-ID tag 1 shown in FIG. 1 receives a radio wave from the RF-ID reader device to a state in which the radio wave is transmitted as an active RF-ID tag. is there.
In FIG. 2, when the RF-ID tag 1 is in the state T1, the radio wave is not transmitted, enters the facility 11, enters the state T2 in which the radio wave S1 from the RF-ID reader device 12 is received, and the RF-ID tag 1 is in a state T3 for transmitting radio waves when the radio wave S1 includes information related to itself.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the operation of one embodiment of the RF-ID tag shown in FIG.
The RF-ID tag 1 monitors whether or not the RF-ID reader radio wave receiving unit 2 always receives radio waves from the RF-ID reader device 12 (step S101).
At this time, the RF-ID tag 1 is not transmitting radio waves, and is in a state S1.
When the RF-ID tag 1 receives the radio wave R1 from the RF-ID reader device 12 (Y in step S101), the RF-ID tag 1 enters a state S2, and the received radio wave analysis unit 3 demodulates the received radio wave to the baseband ( S102), it is determined whether or not the signal is to be received by itself, and if the signal is to be received by itself (Y in step S103), the received radio wave analysis unit 3 instructs the control unit 4 to “active RF. -"ID function ON" is transmitted (step S104).

On the contrary, if it is not a signal that it should receive (N in step S103), the process is ended and it is monitored again whether or not the radio wave from the RF-ID reader device 12 is received (step S101). ) State S1 is entered.
When the RF-ID tag 1 receives “active RF-ID function ON” at the control unit 4, the control unit 4 supplies power to the information storage unit 6 and the wireless transmission unit 7 with respect to the power-on unit 5. An instruction to supply is sent (step S105), and at the same time, the “power ON timer” is started (step S106).
The power-on unit 5 supplies power to the information storage unit 6 and the wireless transmission unit 7 in response to a power supply instruction from the control unit 4.
When power from the power source 9 is supplied to the information storage unit 6 and the wireless transmission unit 7, the information storage unit 6 sends unique information stored therein to the wireless transmission unit 7, and the wireless transmission unit 7 is unique. The high frequency (carrier wave) is modulated with the information of the above, and the radio wave R2 is transmitted from the transmitting antenna unit 8 (step S107), and the state becomes S3.
When the “power ON timer” times out (Y in step S108), the control unit 4 of the RF-ID tag 1 receives the radio wave R1 from the RF-ID reader device 12 again (Y in step S109). The process of S102 is performed and thereafter repeated.

When the “power ON timer” has timed out (Y in step S108), the RF-ID tag 1 does not receive the radio wave R1 from the RF-ID reader device 12 (N in step S109). Is instructed to stop supplying power to the information storage unit 6 and the wireless transmission unit 7 (step S109), and the wireless transmission unit 7 stops transmitting the radio wave R2.
The power source 9 is charged when radio waves are received, and is discharged only when the wireless transmitter 7 transmits.
According to the present embodiment, since the power from the power source is supplied to the wireless transmission unit only when the received radio wave includes information related to itself, not only the power consumption can be suppressed, but also the power source 9 By repeating charging and discharging, it can be used almost semi-permanently and there is no need for replacement work.

[Example 2]
Explains the case where a primary battery (for example, manganese battery, alkaline battery, lithium graphite fluoride battery, manganese dioxide / lithium battery, thionyl chloride / lithium battery, lithium copper oxide battery, alkaline button battery, air battery) is used as the power source. To do.
Since the RF-ID tag 1 cannot be reused by charging when a primary battery is used as a power source, it needs to be replaced when the primary battery reaches the end of its life.
For this reason, in this embodiment, the control means (see FIG. 1) is configured such that the voltage of the primary battery as the power source is the minimum voltage from which the nominal voltage can reach the reader devices 12 and 13 from the RF-ID tag. When the voltage drops to (voltage), a signal indicating that the power supply should be replaced is generated.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of another embodiment of the RF-ID tag shown in FIG.
The difference between the flowchart shown in FIG. 4 and the flowchart shown in FIG. 3 is that the power supply voltage is a predetermined voltage (for example, the nominal voltage of the primary battery as the power supply is 1.5 V, and the minimum voltage that can be transmitted is 1.V. Step S201 for determining whether or not the voltage of the primary battery has decreased from 1.5V to 1.2V, and a signal indicating that the power supply should be replaced is transmitted by radio waves. Step S212.

Steps S202 to S211 in the flowchart shown in FIG. 4 are the same as steps S101 to S110 in the flowchart shown in FIG.
According to the present embodiment, since the power from the power source is supplied to the wireless transmitter only when the received radio wave contains information related to itself, not only the power consumption is suppressed, but also the power source Since the user can grasp the replacement time of the primary battery, it can be replaced with a new primary battery before the power supply is completely consumed.
The primary battery can be replaced by providing a storage box capable of replacing the primary battery in the housing of the RF-ID tag in advance, and opening the back cover (not shown).

[Explanation of effects]
According to the present embodiment, the RF-ID tag does not always transmit radio waves, but transmits as necessary. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the power consumption of the RF-ID tag, for example, the battery, In places where the reader device does not exist, radio waves are not transmitted unnecessarily, so that the radio waves are not scanned by a malicious third party.
In the present embodiment, the case of the RF-ID tag has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the mobile communication terminal may incorporate the RF-ID tag.

  The RF-ID tag of the present invention can be carried by nursery school children, kindergarten children, students, etc., and used for location management when passing the school gate or in the school (inside the school). The RF-ID tag or RF-ID tag built-in mobile communication terminal (mobile phone, PDA (Personal Digital Assistants: portable information terminal), notebook personal computer) of the present invention is carried by an office worker or a store clerk and passes through a common gate. And can be used for location management when in the premises (inside the store). That is, the present invention can be used for personnel entry / exit management and location management in a limited facility.

2 shows a main part of a circuit configuration of an embodiment of an RF-ID tag according to the present invention. 1 illustrates a state from when the RF-ID tag 1 illustrated in FIG. 1 receives a radio wave from the RF-ID reader device to a state in which the radio wave is transmitted as an active RF-ID tag. 2 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of an example of the RF-ID tag illustrated in FIG. 1. It is the flowchart which showed the operation | movement of the other Example of the RF-ID tag shown in FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 RF-ID tag 2 RF-ID reader apparatus radio wave receiving part 3 Received radio wave analysis part 4 Control part 5 Power-on part 6 Information storage part 7 Wireless transmission part 8 Transmitting antenna part 9 Power supply

Claims (8)

A conversion unit that converts received radio waves into electric power;
Analyzing means that operates with the electric power from the converter and analyzes the radio wave to determine whether or not information related to the self is included;
A wireless transmitter for transmitting own information via radio waves,
A power supply having the power necessary to transmit radio waves,
And control means for controlling to supply power from the power source to the wireless transmission unit only when it operates with power from the conversion unit and information related to itself is included. RF-ID tag.   The RF-ID tag according to claim 1, further comprising a timer for supplying power from the power source to the wireless transmission unit for a predetermined time.   3. When a primary battery is used as the power source, the control means generates a signal indicating that the power source should be replaced when the voltage of the power source drops to a predetermined voltage. RF-ID tag.   3. The RF-ID tag according to claim 1, wherein when a secondary battery or an electric double layer capacitor is used as the power source, the power source is charged with a part of the power converted by the conversion unit. . A conversion unit that converts received radio waves into electric power;
Analyzing means that operates with the electric power from the converter and analyzes the radio wave to determine whether or not information related to the self is included;
A wireless transmitter for transmitting own information via radio waves,
A power supply having the power necessary to transmit radio waves,
And control means for controlling to supply power from the power source to the wireless transmission unit only when it operates with power from the conversion unit and information related to itself is included. A mobile communication terminal with a built-in RF-ID tag.   6. The RF-ID tag built-in portable communication terminal according to claim 5, further comprising a timer for supplying power from the power source to the wireless transmitter for a predetermined time.   7. When a primary battery is used as the power source, the control means generates a signal indicating that the power source should be replaced when the voltage of the power source drops to a predetermined voltage. Mobile communication terminal with built-in RF-ID tag.   7. The RF-ID tag according to claim 5, wherein when a secondary battery or an electric double layer capacitor is used as the power source, the power source is charged with a part of the power converted by the conversion unit. Built-in mobile communication terminal.

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