JP2006293461A - Ic tag processor and ic tag processing method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an IC tag processor for reading/writing electronic information from/in an IC tag by setting a status to surely perform radio communication between a reading/writing device and an IC tag. <P>SOLUTION: This IC tag processor 10 is configured to read/write electronic information by radio communication between an IC tag 11 mounted on a conveyance medium 12 so as to be conveyed to an arrow (a) direction, and equipped with an antenna and an R/W device (writing/reading device) 14. This IC tag processor 10 is configured to execute preliminary scan prior to the reading/writing processing by the R/W device 14, and to confirm the valid region (communicatable electric field strength region) of the detectable IC tag, and to calculate a processable data capacity A by the R/W device 14. When data capacity M to be processed is compared with the processable data capacity A, and when the capacity M is larger, it is decided that the processing is invalid, and the main scan is inhibited. When it is decided that the processing is valid, the conveyance speed of the IC tag is lowered or increased so that the processable data capacity can be adjusted so as to be increased/decreased, and actual scan for reading/writing the electronic information from/in the IC tag is executed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an IC tag processing apparatus and a processing method, and more particularly to an IC tag processing apparatus and a processing method for reading and / or writing electronic information on an IC tag mounted on a transport medium and transported.

  A wireless communication element including a storage device, a communication device, and an antenna is a semiconductor element capable of writing / reading electronic information without contact, and is also called an RF-ID element, and various ICs such as a credit card. Recently, it is used in cards, but recently, the above wireless communication elements are attached to labels attached to various products, and various information about the products is recorded electronically and recorded as necessary. It has been proposed to read out information and use it for product management.

  In order to record electronic information on a wireless communication element (hereinafter referred to as an IC tag), an IC tag is mounted on a transport medium such as a recording paper to be transported by bonding or other means, and the transport medium is attached to the electronic information. An IC tag processing device having a reading / writing device (hereinafter referred to as an R / W device) for writing and reading is passed, and electronic information is transmitted / received via the antenna of the R / W device and the antenna of the IC tag. It is known that electronic information is read from and / or written to an IC tag in a non-contact state.

  Note that the carrier medium with the IC tag attached includes a label attached to the product, a tag, a mail sheet, etc., but in order to distinguish it from the “IC tag”, in the following description, it will be referred to as a “tag”. It goes without saying that "tags" include labels, cards, mail sheets and other similar items.

  When reading and / or writing electronic information to an IC tag attached to a tag, a stable communication environment between the R / W device and the IC tag, that is, the antenna and IC of the R / W device It is required that a communication environment in which radio waves are reliably transmitted to and received from the tag antenna is set, otherwise a communication error occurs.

  If the distribution state of the electric field intensity of the radio wave radiated from the antenna of the IC tag is clear, an electric field intensity range in which stable communication can be performed is searched, and the antenna of the R / W device may be arranged in that range. However, since the distribution state of the electric field intensity of the radio wave radiated from the IC tag antenna is difficult to understand, the position of the IC tag antenna is estimated from the outer dimension of the tag, and the R / R is determined based on the estimated IC tag antenna position. The position and angle of the W device antenna were determined.

  As described above, even if the antenna position and angle of the R / W device are determined based on the estimated IC tag antenna position, the R / W device actually reads and / or writes electronic information to the IC tag. Although it is necessary to confirm that no communication error occurs when performing the operation, it is difficult to perform such a confirmation test with the current R / W device. Therefore, reading and / or electronic information can be performed without performing the confirmation test. Alternatively, the writing process is performed, and when a communication error occurs, the IC tag transport speed is decreased and the electronic information is read and / or written again.

  In addition, in an R / W device that reads and writes electronic information on an IC tag in a non-contact manner, it is necessary to manually adjust the position of the antenna of the R / W device according to the position of the IC tag on the carrier medium. However, it is also proposed to provide an antenna on the carriage that prints on the carrier medium, scan the antenna in a direction perpendicular to the direction of conveyance of the recording medium, and write and read electronic information according to the position of the IC tag. (See Patent Document 1).

Furthermore, in an IC tag-attached mail paper in which the IC tag is pressure-bonded to the paper with a pressure-sensitive adhesive, the IC tag may be damaged or peeled off in the process of processing the mail paper. In order to remove such a mail sheet, an apparatus that performs visible marking on the mail sheet has been proposed (see Patent Document 2).
JP2003-300366A. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-191668.

  With the widespread use of the above-described conventional IC tags having a wireless communication function, various types of tag tags equipped with IC tags have come to be used. Conventionally, there is an antenna at the center position of the lowering tag, the center position is the position where the electric field strength of the antenna of the IC tag is the maximum, that is, the signal level that can be normally communicated between the antenna of the R / W device and the antenna of the IC tag In this case, the outside dimension of the lowering tag is set as a radio wave detection range of the IC tag (hereinafter referred to as an effective area of the IC tag), and the antenna position of the R / W device is determined.

  However, in some large tags, the IC tag antenna is located in the peripheral part away from the center of the tag, and the effective area of the IC tag estimated from the outer dimensions of the tag is Actually, there are cases where the actual tag is different from the effective area of the IC tag.

  In addition, there has been a growing demand for increasing the reading and / or writing speed of electronic information and reducing waste in the manufacturing process of a tag with an IC tag. That is, in the R / W device, the data capacity that can be read and / or written is determined by the conveyance speed of the IC tag, but conventionally, before the reading and / or writing process of the electronic information by the R / W device, Since the data capacity writable by the R / W device could not be known, the conveyance speed of the IC tag could not be set to the optimum speed according to the data capacity handled.

  In addition, in the electronic information writing process, if data is transferred from the R / W device to the IC tag, if the IC tag antenna deviates from the radio wave detection range that is the communicable range of the R / W device antenna, a communication error occurs. However, if a communication error occurs, paper, toner, ink, etc. used as a tag will be wasted when printing is performed on the tag in synchronization with the electronic information writing process. .

  Furthermore, if the type of the tag is changed, the position of the antenna of the IC tag may change. In such a case, communication with the antenna of the R / W device becomes impossible. And resetting the IC tag transport speed are required, and it takes a lot of time to write electronic information to the IC tag as a whole.

  The present invention solves the above-described problems, adjusts the conveyance speed and recordable data capacity of the reading / writing device (R / W device) of the recording device according to the type of the IC tag, and reads / writes. To provide an IC tag processing device that can adjust the position angle of an antenna of a loading device and perform wireless communication between a reading / writing device and an IC tag under a stable and reliable communication environment It is the purpose.

  The present invention solves the above-mentioned problems, and the invention of claim 1 is an IC tag processing device for reading and writing electronic information to and from an IC tag having a storage device and a wireless communication device. A transport device that transports the IC tag mounted on a medium, a read / write device that reads and writes electronic information to and from the IC tag, an antenna attached thereto, and a control device, The control device performs a preliminary scan prior to a main scan for reading and / or writing electronic information on the IC tag by the reading / writing device, and obtains information on the electric field intensity distribution of the antenna of the IC tag. The IC tag processing device is characterized in that the effective area of the IC tag is determined.

  The control device sets the moving speed of the reading / writing device faster than the moving speed of the reading / writing device when performing the main scan when performing the preliminary scan.

  In addition, the control device may determine the IC by the reading / writing device based on information on the effective area of the IC tag obtained by the preliminary scan, the conveyance speed, and the data capacity of electronic information to be read and / or written. It is determined whether electronic information can be read from and / or written to the tag.

  The control device permits execution of the main scan when it is determined by the preliminary scan that the reading / writing device can read and / or write the electronic information with respect to the IC tag.

  The control device prohibits execution of the main scan when it is determined by the preliminary scan that the reading / writing device cannot read and / or write the electronic information with respect to the IC tag.

  Then, when it is determined by the preliminary scan that the reading / writing device can read and / or write electronic information on the IC tag, the control device reduces the IC tag transport speed, and It is assumed that the capacity for reading and / or writing electronic information to the IC tag by the writing device is increased, and the margin of the data capacity of electronic information to be read and / or written is increased.

  In addition, when it is determined by the preliminary scan that the reading / writing device can read and / or write the electronic information on the IC tag, the control device can detect the electronic information on the IC tag by the reading / writing device. The conveyance speed of the IC tag may be increased to a capacity capable of reading and / or writing.

  The invention according to claim 8 is an IC tag processing device that reads and writes electronic information to and from an IC tag having a storage device and a wireless communication device, and carries the IC tag mounted on a carrier medium. A transport device; a reading / writing device that reads and writes electronic information to and from the IC tag; and a control device, wherein the control device provides electronic information to the IC tag by the reading / writing device. Prior to the main scan for reading and / or writing information, a preliminary scan is performed to obtain information on the electric field strength distribution of the antenna of the IC tag to determine the angle or position of the antenna attached to the reading / writing device. This is an IC tag processing device.

  According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an IC tag processing device for reading and writing electronic information to and from an IC tag having a storage device and a wireless communication device, wherein the IC tag mounted on a transport medium is transported. A transport device; a reading / writing device that reads / writes electronic information from / to the IC tag; and a control device, wherein the control device provides electronic information to the IC tag by the reading / writing device. An IC tag processing apparatus characterized in that at least two preliminary scans are performed prior to a main scan for reading and / or writing and information relating to the arrangement of IC tags mounted on a carrier medium is calculated. .

  In the preliminary scan performed at least twice, the control device sets the antenna attached to the reading / writing device at a right angle to the IC tag transport direction at the first time and sets the antenna at the second time as the IC. A predetermined angle may be set with respect to the tag transport direction.

  The invention of claim 11 is an IC tag processing method for reading and / or writing electronic information to an IC tag having a storage device and a wireless communication device, wherein the IC tag mounted on a carrier medium A step of carrying in a predetermined direction, a step of performing a preliminary scan prior to a main scan for reading and / or writing electronic information to and from the IC tag by a reading / writing device, and execution of the preliminary scanning. Obtaining an information on the electric field intensity distribution of the antenna of the IC tag thus obtained, and determining an effective area of the IC tag.

  As described above in detail, according to the present invention, even when there is no IC tag antenna at the center of the lowering tag, by performing a preliminary scan, the electric field strength distribution of the antenna is detected, and the IC tag including the antenna is effective. A stable and reliable communication environment can be set by determining the area.

  Further, since the data capacity that can be read and / or written by the reading / writing device can be known by performing the preliminary scan, the data capacity that can be read and / or written by changing the speed of the reading / writing device. Therefore, the IC tag transport speed can be set to the optimum speed according to the data volume handled.

  Furthermore, by performing a preliminary scan, even when a plurality of IC tags are mounted on the carrier medium, the dimensions and arrangement state of the plurality of IC tags can be automatically detected. Even if there is no information about the state, an IC tag processing device having a remarkable effect that cannot be seen in conventional IC tag processing devices, such as being able to read and / or write electronic information by individually recognizing IC tags Can be provided.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below.

[First Embodiment]
FIG. 1 is a front view of a transport medium having an IC tag attached thereto. Radio communication elements (hereinafter referred to as IC tags) 11 to be described later are mounted at a constant pitch p1 along the direction of arrow a, which is the moving direction of the carrier medium 12. The conveyance medium 12 is, for example, continuous paper used in a label printer or the like, or other conveyance medium. The conveyance medium 12 prints visible information such as desired characters on the conveyance medium 12, and is processed by an IC tag processing device described later. After writing desired electronic information to the IC tag 11, the label A to which the IC tag 11 to be attached to a product or the like is attached is attached by cutting to a predetermined length, for example, at the position of the chain line 12a in FIG. Complete. Although the label is used here, it goes without saying that similar items such as a card, a tag, and a tag are included.

  Further, the transport medium 12 is not limited to the example of the present embodiment, and any medium can be used as long as the IC tag 11 can be attached. For example, a cut sheet may be used instead of a continuous sheet.

  In the conveyance medium 12 shown in FIG. 1, the IC tags 11 are arranged in one row along the conveyance direction, but the IC tags 11 may be arranged in a plurality of rows along the conveyance direction. When arranged in a plurality of rows, electronic information can be written to a plurality of IC tags 11 substantially simultaneously.

  In FIG. 1, the outline of the IC tag 11 is a region where the electric field strength of the antenna of the IC tag is equal to or higher than a predetermined signal level (hereinafter, referred to as “normal communication” between the R / W device 14 and the antenna 15 described later). IC tag effective area). In the following description, the term “IC tag” includes an IC tag and its antenna, and the outline of the IC tag indicates the effective area of the IC tag.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining the configuration of an IC tag processing device 10 for writing / reading electronic information to / from the IC tag 11. The IC tag processing device 10 is a writing / reading device (hereinafter referred to as R / W device) 14. And an antenna 15 attached thereto and a position detection sensor 24. The transport medium 12 is configured to move at a constant speed in the direction of arrow a by transport roller pairs 18 and 19 driven by a transport motor 17.

  When the transport medium 12 moves at a constant speed in the direction of arrow a, the IC tag 11 mounted thereon at a constant pitch p1 also moves at a constant speed in the direction of arrow a, and the tip position of the IC tag 11 is the position of the transport medium. It is detected by a position detection sensor 24 arranged close to the conveyance path.

  An R / W device 14 for writing / reading electronic information to / from the IC tag 11 and an antenna 15 are arranged at a position away from the carrier medium 12 on the side where the IC tag 11 is mounted on the carrier medium 12.

  The IC tag 11 is a semiconductor element capable of writing / reading electronic information in a non-contact manner, and is composed of a wireless communication element including a wireless communication device and an antenna in addition to a storage device for storing electronic information. The electronic information can be read and / or written with the R / W device 14 by wireless communication.

  The R / W device 14 is input means connected to a control device 30 of the IC tag processing device 10 described later, for example, electronic information input from a computer (PC) 28 connected to the control device 30, or an operation panel 29, etc. When the electronic information to be written is input, the input electronic information is written to the IC tag 11 by wireless communication via the antenna 15 attached to the R / W device 14. The R / W device 14 is configured to read electronic information recorded on the IC tag 11 detected via the antenna 15 and output the electronic information to a computer (PC) 28 connected to the control device 30. ing.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the control device 30 that controls the IC tag processing device 10. The control device 30 is mainly composed of a CPU 31, and an input / output port of the CPU 31 includes a ROM 25, a RAM 26, an EEPROM 27, a position detection sensor 24 for storing control software, and a computer (PC) 28 to which information to be written is output. The operation panel 29 is connected. In addition, the R / W device 14 and the transfer motor 17 which are control target devices are connected.

  When the front end position of the IC tag 11 is detected by the position detection sensor 24, the control device 30 detects the detection time of the IC tag 11, the moving speed (known speed) in the direction of arrow a of the carrier medium 12, and the R / W Based on the information on the effective area of the antenna 15 of the device 14 and the information on the effective area of the IC tag 11, the timing at which the effective areas overlap and normal communication can be performed is calculated.

  When the time previously determined by calculation has elapsed since the detection of the tip position of the IC tag 11, wireless communication is performed between the R / W device 14 and the IC tag 11, and electronic information is read from the IC tag 11. And / or write.

  When reading and / or writing electronic information to / from the IC tag 11, the R / W device 14 performs a preliminary scan on the IC tag 11 and the electric field intensity of the radio wave radiated from the antenna of the IC tag 11. Then, the main scan is executed to read and / or write electronic information. This will be described in detail later.

  Here, the preliminary scan and the main scan will be described. The preliminary scan is a scan for detecting the electric field intensity of the radio wave radiated from the antenna of the IC tag 11 and obtaining information such as the transport speed of the transport medium. The main scan is an IC by the R / W device 14. This is a scan for reading and / or writing electronic information to the tag 11.

  As described above with reference to FIG. 1, since the IC tags 11 can be arranged in one or a plurality of rows along the carrying direction on the conveyance medium 12, the preliminary scan is arranged in one or a plurality of rows. However, if the IC tag is arranged in a single column, it is executed for that single column.

  Further, even in the case of double row arrangement, if the prescanned IC tag is operating normally, it may be executed for any one of the double row arrangement IC tags. If it is not operating, it is executed again for the IC tags in other columns. In the automatic setting of the antenna angle, which will be described later, it is assumed that preliminary scanning is simultaneously performed for IC tags arranged in a plurality of rows.

  When multiple types of IC tags are mounted on the carrier medium, for example, when three types of IC tags A, B, and C are repeatedly arranged as (A, B, C) (A, B, C) Is a preliminary scan for one repeating unit (A, B, C).

  4A and 4B are diagrams for explaining the preliminary scan and the main scan that is subsequently executed. FIG. 4A shows the start point of the preliminary scan, FIG. 4B shows the end point of the preliminary scan, and FIG. FIG. 4C shows the positions of the IC tag 11 and the antenna 15 of the R / W device at the end of the main scan.

  When a predetermined time elapses after the tip position of the IC tag 11 transported by the transport medium 12 is detected by the position detection sensor 24, a preliminary scan is started when the tip of the IC tag 11 reaches directly below the antenna 15, and the above-described scanning is started. The electric field strength of the IC tag 11 is detected. FIG. 4A shows this state. When the IC tag 11 is conveyed and reaches the state shown in FIG. 4B, the preliminary scan is finished. At this time, the detection range of the electric field strength is D.

  When the preliminary scan is completed, the carrier medium 12 moves in the reverse direction, the tip of the IC tag 11 reaches just below the antenna 15, and the main scan is started. FIG. 4C shows this state. When the IC tag 11 is conveyed and reaches the state of FIG. 4D, the main scan (reading and / or writing of electronic information to the IC tag 11 by the R / W device 14) is completed. When the main scan is completed, visible information such as a character graphic can be recorded on the transport medium 12 by a printer PT or the like linked to the IC tag processing apparatus 10.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining detection of the electric field strength of the IC tag by the preliminary scan. FIG. 5A shows the positions of the antenna 15 and the IC tag 11 of the R / W device 14 at the start of the preliminary scan. 5B shows the positions of the antenna 15 and the IC tag 11 of the R / W device 14 at the end of the preliminary scan. FIG. 5C shows the electric field strength distribution with respect to the position where the IC tag 11 has moved.

  As shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, the IC tag 11 is conveyed directly under the antenna 15 in the direction of arrow a (from the bottom to the top in FIG. 5), and the electric field strength of the antenna is detected. The detected electric field strength distribution is as shown in FIG. 5 (c), and the electric field strength of the IC tag 11 that can be detected by the R / W device 14 is a range indicated by D that is equal to or higher than a predetermined level d. This is the same as the range previously indicated as D in FIG. The range indicated by D corresponds to the effective area of the IC tag 11 described above with reference to FIG.

  Next, a process for determining whether or not the R / W device 14 can process from the effective area of the detectable IC tag 11 obtained by the preliminary scan, the conveyance speed, and the data capacity of electronic information to be processed is described. explain. This determination process is executed by the CPU of the control device 30 described above.

  In the following description, a process for determining whether or not electronic information can be written (recorded) will be described as an example. However, for the electronic information reading process, the detectable IC tag 11 detected by the preliminary scan is used. It is assumed that the conveyance speed of the IC tag 11 is adjusted based on the effective area and the predetermined maximum value of the writable data capacity of the IC tag.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining electronic information recordability determination processing by the R / W device executed by the control device 30. First, the effective area of the detectable IC tag 11 obtained by the preliminary scan described above is confirmed (step P1), and the data capacity that can be recorded (written) by the R / W device 14 is calculated (step P2). For example, the width of the effective area (width in the transport direction) of the IC tag 11 transported in the direction of the arrow a is 200 mm, the writing speed to the IC tag 11 by the R / W device 14 is 0.3 bytes / 1 millisecond, IC If the conveyance speed V of the tag 11 is 90 mm / second, the time during which the IC tag 11 is in the detectable range is 200 mm / 90 mm / second = 2.2 seconds. Therefore, the recordable data capacity A is A = 2.2 × 0.3 × 1000 = 660 bytes.

  When a margin of 1.5 times is expected for the recordable data capacity, for example, the recordable data capacity B including the margin is B = 660 / 1.5 = 440 bytes.

  The data volume M to be recorded is compared with the recordable data volume A (step P3). As a result of the comparison, if the data capacity M of the electronic information to be recorded is large, it is determined that recording is impossible, a warning to that effect is output, and the main scan is prohibited (step P4). If the recordable data capacity A is large as a result of the comparison in step P3, it is determined that recording is possible, and the main scan is accepted (step P5).

  The data volume M to be recorded is compared with the recordable data volume B including a margin (step P6). If the data capacity M of the electronic information to be recorded is larger as a result of the comparison, the recordable data capacity B is increased by lowering the IC tag transport speed (step P7). If the recordable data capacity B including the margin is larger as a result of the comparison in step P6, the IC tag transport speed is increased to the recordable data capacity B (step P8). This completes the determination process (writing process) of whether or not electronic information can be recorded, and the process returns to the main routine.

  For example, in the previous calculation, the data capacity A that can be recorded by the R / W device 14 is 660 bytes, but if the data capacity M of the electronic information to be recorded is 500 bytes, the margin is 660 bytes / 500 bytes. = 1.3 times, but when expanding the margin to 1.5 times, it is necessary to increase the recordable data capacity B to 500 bytes × 1.5 = 750 bytes, and the IC tag transport speed at that time Is 200 mm × 0.3 × 1000/750 = 80 mm / sec.

  In the previous calculation, the data capacity A that can be recorded by the R / W device 14 is 660 bytes. However, if the data capacity M of the electronic information to be recorded is 300 bytes, the margin is 660 bytes / 300 bytes = There will be 2.2 times. In this case, when the margin is reduced to 1.5 times and the processing time is reduced accordingly, if the recordable data capacity A is reduced to 300 bytes × 1.5 = 450 bytes, the IC tag at that time The conveyance speed is 200 mm × 0.3 × 1000/450 = 133 mm / second.

[Second Embodiment]
An IC tag processing apparatus according to the second embodiment will be described. The IC tag processing device according to the second embodiment is an IC tag processing device capable of recording electronic information at high speed onto an IC tag having a large recordable data capacity.

  The IC tag 11 is arranged along the transport direction on the transport medium 12 in the same manner as the IC tag 11 described with reference to FIG. 1 in the first embodiment. A plurality of IC tags 11 may be arranged in a row so that electronic information is processed substantially simultaneously. In this case, it is necessary to sequentially recognize the plurality of IC tags in order to sequentially process the plurality of IC tags without simultaneously detecting the plurality of IC tags.

  FIG. 7 is a front view for explaining the configuration of the IC tag processing apparatus according to the second embodiment, and FIG. 8 shows the relationship between the IC tag processing apparatus according to the second embodiment and the position of the IC tag on the transport medium. It is a top view to explain.

  In the IC tag processing device 40 of the second embodiment, a plurality of R / W devices 14 and antennas 15 are arranged at a constant pitch p2 on a conveyor belt 34 installed between a driving roller 32 and a driven roller 33. (Six in the configuration shown in FIG. 7) Attach and drive the conveyor belt 34 by the pulse motor 35 to move the R / W device 14 and the antenna 15 in the direction of arrow b.

  The antenna 15 adjusts its position and angle according to the effective area of the IC tag detected by a method described later, so that the communication state between the R / W device 14 and the IC tag is maintained well. To do.

  On the other hand, the IC tag 11 is mounted on the transport medium 12 at a constant pitch p1, and the transport medium 12 moves at a constant speed in the direction of arrow a by a pair of transport rollers 18 and 19 driven by the transport motor 17. It is configured as follows.

  Position facing the drive roller 32 as means for inputting electronic information to be written to the R / W device 14 from a computer of a control device (not shown) and means for outputting electronic information read from the R / W device 14 A contactor 36 that contacts the R / W device 14 is disposed. In addition, electronic information to be written to the R / W device may be input from the computer of the control device by wireless communication means, and electronic information read by the R / W device may be output to the computer of the control device.

  When writing electronic information to the IC tag 11, when the transported R / W device 14 passes through the contact 36, electronic information to be written is input from the computer of the control device via the contact 36. / W is stored in a storage device inside the device 14. In the R / W device 14 in which the electronic information to be written is stored in the internal storage device, the effective area of the antenna 15 of the transported R / W device 14 overlaps the effective area of the antenna of the IC tag 11 to be transported. When wireless communication is performed with the IC tag 11, electronic information is written to the IC tag 11.

  Further, when reading electronic information from the IC tag 11, when the effective area of the antenna 15 of the transported R / W device 14 overlaps the effective area of the antenna of the IC tag 11 being transported, between the IC tag 11 Wireless communication is performed, electronic information is read from the IC tag 11 and stored in a storage device inside the R / W device 14. When the transported R / W device 14 passes through the contact 36, the electronic information stored in the storage device inside the R / W device 14 is output to the computer of the control device via the contact 36.

  According to the second embodiment, since the R / W device 14 and the antenna 15 are moved in the direction of the arrow b, it is possible to secure a long communication time with the IC tag 11 that moves in the direction of the arrow a. A large amount of electronic information can be read from and / or written to an IC tag having a large capacity. Further, when reading and / or writing electronic information to a plurality of IC tags at the same time, it is possible to further speed up the processing of electronic information for the IC tags.

  In this configuration, as shown in FIG. 8, the antenna 15 of the R / W device is always positioned in the effective area of the IC tag 11 based on the information related to the effective area of the IC tag 11 obtained by the preliminary scan. A pulse motor 35 that drives the conveyor belt 34 is controlled. Thereby, stable communication can be ensured between the R / W device 14 and the IC tag 11.

  Further, as described above, when the IC tags 11 are arranged on the transport medium 12 in a plurality of rows along the transport direction, electronic information is read from and / or written to the plurality of IC tags 11 substantially simultaneously. Can do. In this case, in order to sequentially process a plurality of IC tags without simultaneously detecting the plurality of IC tags, it is necessary to sequentially recognize the plurality of IC tags.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining a method of sequentially recognizing the IC tags 11 arranged in a plurality of rows along the transport direction on the transport medium 12. In the following description, the conveyance direction (arrow a direction) of the IC tag 11 is the Y-axis direction, and the direction orthogonal to this is the X-axis direction.

  The IC tag 11 has an effective area dimension Rw in the X-axis direction and an effective area dimension Rt in the Y-axis direction, and is arranged with three gaps Gw in the X-axis direction, and three IC tags 11 with a gap Gt in the Y-axis direction. N (two in FIG. 9) are arranged in the column. The antenna 15 of the R / W device is arranged such that the longitudinal direction of the antenna 15 is located at the lower right corner P1 of the effective area of the upper right IC tag (11a) and the upper left corner P2 of the effective area of the lower left IC tag (11b) in FIG. Are inclined with respect to the X axis by an angle θ. At this time, the inclination angle θ of the antenna 15 is expressed by the following equation (1).

tan θ = Gt / {(Rw × n) + (Gw × (n−1))} (1)
Here, when the arrangement of the IC tag 11 on the carrier medium 12 is determined in advance, Rw, Gw, Gt, and n are used to obtain the inclination angle θ of the antenna 15 using numerical values relating to the arrangement. Can do. Further, according to the method described below, each of Rw, Gw, Gt, and n can be obtained by two preliminary scans without knowing in advance, and the inclination angle θ of the antenna 15 is automatically calculated. be able to.

  FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an automatic calculation method of the antenna inclination angle θ. In the following description, the conveyance direction (arrow a direction) of the IC tag 11 is the Y-axis direction, and the direction orthogonal to this is the X-axis direction.

  First, the inclination angle θ of the antenna 15 is set to 0 ° (θ = 0 °), and the first preliminary scan is performed. FIG. 10A shows this state.

  The effective area dimension Rt of the IC tag 11 in the Y-axis direction is the product of the transport speed V of the transport medium 12 and the time t1 from the front end to the rear end of the effective area Rt of the IC tag 11 through the antenna 15. It is expressed as V × t1. Further, the gap Gt in the Y-axis direction between two adjacent IC tags 11 is equal to the transport speed V of the transport medium 12 and the next IC after the rear end of the effective area of the first IC tag 11 passes the antenna 15. This is a product of time t2 until the front end of the effective area of the tag 11 reaches the antenna 15, and is represented by Gt = V × t2.

  Next, the inclination angle θ of the antenna 15 is set to θ1 (θ = θ1), and the second preliminary scan is performed. FIG. 10B shows this state. The inclination angle θ1 of the antenna 15 is set such that the width (dimension in the X-axis direction) of the carrier medium 12 is W (known value) and the Y-axis direction of two adjacent IC tags 11 calculated in the first preliminary scan. From the interval Gt, it is expressed by the following equation (2).

tan θ1 = Gt / W (2)
In FIG. 10B, the IC tags 11 arranged on the carrier medium 12 are IC tags 11a, 11b, and 11c in order from the left to the right in the second row, and the left in the third row is 11d, and the IC tag 11a. The upper left corner of the effective area of P1 is P1, the lower right corner is P2, the upper left corner of the effective area of the IC tag 11b is P3, the upper left corner of the effective area of the IC tag 11c is P5, and the upper left corner of the effective area of the IC tag 11d is P7. T12 is the time (P1 to P2) from when P1 is detected by the antenna 15 until P2 is detected, and t13 is the time (P1 to P3) from when P1 is detected by the antenna 15 until P3 is detected. Then, the effective area dimension Rw in the X-axis direction of the IC tag 11 and the effective area interval Gw in the X-axis direction of two adjacent IC tags 11 are expressed by the following equations (3) and (4), respectively. .

Rw = {V × (t12) −Rt} / tan θ1 (3)
Gw = {V × (t13)} / tan θ1-Rw (4)
The number n of arrangements of the IC tags 11 in the X-axis direction can be obtained as follows. That is, the time from when P1 is detected by the antenna 15 until P3 is detected (P1 to P3) and the time from when P3 is detected until P5 is detected (P3 to P5) are somewhat arranged. Even if there is an error, it can be regarded as substantially the same time, and the time (P5 to P7) from the detection of P5 until the detection of P7 in the next column is the time (P1 to P3) or (P3 to P3). Longer than P5). Therefore, the number n of arrangements is a number (3 in this example) obtained by adding 1 to the number of times (P1 to P3) or (P3 to P5) that can be regarded as the same time (2 in this example).

  Since the numerical values Rw, Gw, Gt, and n are obtained as described above, the inclination angle θ of the antenna 15 is automatically calculated by substituting the numerical values Rw, Gw, Gt, and n into the equation (1) described above. be able to.

  With the method described above, at least two preliminary scans are performed, the inclination angle θ of the antenna 15 of the R / W device is automatically calculated, and the preliminary scan is performed by setting the antenna 15 to the calculated inclination angle θ. By doing so, it is possible to obtain the dimensions Rw and Rt of the effective area of the IC tag 11 on the carrier medium 12, the distances Gw and Gt between the effective areas of the adjacent IC tags 11, and the number n of the IC tags 11. .

  As a result, when a plurality of IC tags are arranged on the carrying medium in the carrying direction and in a direction intersecting with the carrying medium, the size, arrangement interval, and number of effective areas of the IC tag are not clear, the arrangement of the IC tags, etc. Even when different types of carrier media are mixed, information on the size, arrangement interval, and number of effective areas of these IC tags can be obtained by preliminary scanning, and a plurality of IC tags arranged on the carrier medium can be obtained. The effective area can be sequentially recognized, and electronic information can be read and / or written to the plurality of IC tags 11 at high speed almost simultaneously.

  In the second embodiment described above, the R / W device 14 and the antenna 15 are moved. However, the R / W device 14 and the antenna 15 may be fixedly arranged.

  Further, when the IC tags 11 are arranged on the carrier medium 12 in a plurality of rows along the carrying direction, a method of sequentially recognizing the plurality of IC tags and the arrangement of the IC tags 11 on the carrier medium 12 are arranged. The method of calculating the indicated data Rw, Gw, Gt, n and automatically calculating the inclination angle θ of the antenna 15 can also be applied to the first embodiment. In this case, the antenna 15 is configured to be tiltable also in the first embodiment.

  In the first and second embodiments, the mechanism for tilting the antenna 15 is appropriately configured by employing known means.

  An IC tag processing device that reads and / or writes electronic information to and from an IC tag having a storage device and a wireless communication device, and between the reading and writing devices for a plurality of IC tags to be conveyed High-speed, highly reliable recording that reads and / or writes electronic information to and from an IC tag by setting a state in which communication can be reliably performed between the reading / writing device and the IC tag. It is an IC tag processing device that can be used.

The front view of the conveyance medium with which the IC tag was mounted | worn. The front view explaining the structure of the IC tag processing apparatus of 1st Embodiment. The block diagram of the control apparatus which controls the IC tag processing apparatus of 1st Embodiment. The figure explaining preliminary scan and the main scan performed following this. The figure explaining the detection of the electric field strength of an IC tag by preliminary scanning. 7 is a flowchart for explaining electronic information writable determination processing by the R / W device. The front view explaining the structure of the IC tag processing apparatus of 2nd Embodiment. The top view explaining the relationship between the IC tag processing apparatus of 2nd Embodiment, and the position of the IC tag on a conveyance medium. The figure explaining the method of recognizing sequentially the IC tag arrange | positioned in multiple rows along the conveyance direction on a conveyance medium. The figure explaining the automatic calculation method of the inclination-angle (theta) of an antenna.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 IC tag processing apparatus 11 IC tag 12 Conveyance medium 14 R / W apparatus (reading / writing apparatus)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 15 Antenna 17 Conveyance motor 18, 19 Conveyance roller pair 20 Moving apparatus 24 Position detection sensor 30 Control apparatus 32 Drive roller 33 Followed roller 34 Conveyance belt 35 Pulse motor 36 Contact 40 IC tag processing apparatus

Claims (11)

An IC tag processing device that reads and writes electronic information to and from an IC tag having a storage device and a wireless communication device,
A transport device for transporting the IC tag mounted on a transport medium;
A reading / writing device for reading and writing electronic information to and from the IC tag, and an antenna attached thereto,
A control device,
The control device performs a preliminary scan prior to a main scan for reading and / or writing electronic information on the IC tag by the reading / writing device, and obtains information on the electric field intensity distribution of the antenna of the IC tag. And determining an effective area of the IC tag. 2. The control device according to claim 1, wherein when the preliminary scan is performed, the moving speed of the reading / writing device is set to be higher than the moving speed of the reading / writing device when performing the main scan. IC tag processing device. The control device is configured to control the IC tag by the reading / writing device based on information on the effective area of the IC tag obtained by the preliminary scan, the conveyance speed, and the data capacity of electronic information to be read and / or written. 2. The IC tag processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein it is determined whether or not electronic information can be read and / or written. The control device allows the execution of the main scan when it is determined by the preliminary scan that the reading / writing device can read and / or write the electronic information with respect to the IC tag. The IC tag processing device according to 1. The control device prohibits execution of a main scan when it is determined that reading and / or writing of electronic information with respect to an IC tag by the reading / writing device is impossible by the preliminary scanning. 4. The IC tag processing device according to 3. When it is determined that the electronic information can be read and / or written to the IC tag by the reading / writing device by the preliminary scanning, the control device decreases the conveyance speed of the IC tag and performs the reading / writing. 4. The IC tag processing according to claim 3, wherein a capacity of reading and / or writing electronic information to the IC tag by the apparatus is increased, and a margin of data capacity of electronic information to be read and / or written is increased. apparatus. When it is determined by the preliminary scan that the reading / writing device can read and / or write electronic information on the IC tag, the control device reads the electronic information on the IC tag by the reading / writing device. 4. The IC tag processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the conveyance speed of the IC tag is increased to a writable capacity. An IC tag processing device that reads and writes electronic information to and from an IC tag having a storage device and a wireless communication device,
A transport device for transporting the IC tag mounted on a transport medium;
A read / write device for reading and writing electronic information to and from the IC tag;
A control device,
The control device performs a preliminary scan prior to a main scan for reading and / or writing electronic information on the IC tag by the reading / writing device, and obtains information on the electric field intensity distribution of the antenna of the IC tag. An IC tag processing device characterized in that an angle or a position of an antenna attached to the reading / writing device is determined. An IC tag processing device that reads and writes electronic information to and from an IC tag having a storage device and a wireless communication device,
A transport device for transporting the IC tag mounted on a transport medium;
A read / write device for reading and writing electronic information to and from the IC tag;
A control device,
The controller performs at least two preliminary scans prior to the main scan for reading and / or writing electronic information to and from the IC tag by the read / write device, and is mounted on the carrier medium An IC tag processing apparatus that calculates information related to an IC tag arrangement. In the preliminary scan performed at least twice, the control device sets the antenna attached to the reading / writing device at a right angle to the IC tag transport direction at the first time, and the antenna is connected to the IC tag at the second time. The IC tag processing device according to claim 9, wherein the IC tag processing device is set at a predetermined angle with respect to the transport direction. An IC tag processing method for reading and / or writing electronic information with respect to an IC tag provided with a storage device and a wireless communication device,
Transporting the IC tag mounted on a transport medium in a predetermined direction;
Performing a preliminary scan prior to a main scan for reading and / or writing electronic information to and from the IC tag by a reader / writer;
A method of determining an effective area of the IC tag by obtaining information on the electric field intensity distribution of the antenna of the IC tag obtained by the execution of the preliminary scan.

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