JP4636324B2 - Wireless communication apparatus and tag label producing apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a wireless communication device that performs wireless communication of information with the outside, and a tag label creation device that creates a wireless label by reading or writing information to a wireless tag circuit element that is a type of the wireless communication device.

  RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) that reads / writes information of a wireless tag by transmitting and receiving an inquiry and receiving a response from a reader / writer as an interrogator to a small wireless tag as a responder The system is known.

  For example, a wireless tag circuit element included in a label-like wireless tag includes an IC circuit unit that stores predetermined wireless tag information and an antenna that is connected to the IC circuit unit and transmits / receives information. The IC circuit unit demodulates and interprets the signal received by the antenna, modulates and reflects the received carrier wave based on the information signal stored in the memory, and returns it to the interrogator via the antenna.

  As such an interrogator, for example, the one described in Patent Document 1 is conventionally known. In this prior art, a carrier wave from an oscillator is modulated and amplified and transmitted from an antenna to a responder. Then, in a quadrature demodulator, a reflected wave received from the responder by the antenna is multiplied by the carrier wave to generate a demodulated signal (I Signal) and the demodulated signal (Q signal) is generated by multiplying the carrier wave with the carrier wave whose phase is shifted by 90 ° (so-called IQ orthogonal demodulation) to demodulate the reflected wave. Yes.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 1-23187

  In the above prior art, when demodulating in the quadrature demodulator, the received signal strength of the I signal and the Q signal is detected by the level detector, and the signal having the larger received signal strength is selected and used. The reflected wave is demodulated. However, when the signal to be demodulated is selected only by the received signal strength in this way, for example, if the received signal strength is increased due to the presence of an interfering wave or the like, even if demodulated using the higher strength, The signal may contain a number of errors, making it impossible to obtain accurate information from the responder.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a wireless communication apparatus that can acquire information from a communication target based on a demodulated signal with few errors and improve communication accuracy.

  In order to achieve the above object, the first invention provides an information transmission means for transmitting a signal for accessing a communication target to the communication target, and after transmission from the information transmission means, the communication target accordingly Information receiving means for reading the received response signal, demodulation means for demodulating the response signal read by the information receiving means using a plurality of signals having different phases, and the plurality of signals by the demodulating means Error detecting means for detecting errors of a plurality of demodulated signals respectively demodulated using, and selecting means for selecting one of the plurality of demodulated signals based on the detection result of the error detecting means. Features.

  In the first invention of this application, a signal is transmitted from the information transmitting means to the communication target, and a response signal from the communication target is received and read by the information receiving means. The response signal is demodulated by a demodulating unit into a plurality of signals having different phases, and error detection is performed on each demodulated signal by the error detecting unit. Based on the error detection result, one demodulated signal is selected by the selecting unit. Selected. In this way, unlike a conventional technique in which a demodulated signal having a higher received signal strength is selected by selecting one demodulated signal based on a plurality of error detection results, a demodulated signal with fewer errors (or no errors). Therefore, it is possible to acquire information from a communication target based on the above, and therefore it is possible to improve communication accuracy (accuracy to acquire correct information) with the communication target.

  A second invention is characterized in that, in the first invention, the selecting means selects a signal detected by the error detecting means that there is no error or the least error among the plurality of demodulated signals. .

  By selecting one demodulated signal with no error or few errors based on multiple error detection results, information from the communication target can be acquired based on the demodulated signal with no error or few errors, and communication accuracy with the communication target (correct The accuracy with which information can be acquired can be improved.

  According to a third invention, in the first or second invention, the error detection means includes a code extraction means for extracting an error detection code included in the demodulated signal, and an error detection code from a data portion included in the demodulated signal. Code calculating means for calculating the error detection code, an error detecting code extracted by the code extracting means, and a comparing means for comparing the error detecting code calculated by the code calculating means.

  The error detection code extracted by the code extraction means and the error detection code calculated by the code calculation means are compared by the comparison means, and error detection of the demodulated signal is performed depending on whether they match (or how small the difference is). be able to.

  In a fourth aspect based on the third aspect, the error detection means uses a CRC code as the error detection code.

  The CRC code extracted by the code extraction means and the CRC code calculated by the code calculation means are compared by the comparison means, and error detection of the demodulated signal is performed depending on whether they match (or how small the difference is). it can.

  According to a fifth invention, in any one of the first to fourth inventions, the error detecting means includes error number detecting means for detecting the number of errors in the demodulated signal, and the selecting means includes a plurality of demodulated signals. The selection is performed based on the detection result of the error number detection means.

  Thus, by selecting a demodulated signal with a smaller number of errors by the selection means, information from the communication target can be acquired based on the demodulated signal with fewer errors (or no errors).

  A sixth invention is characterized in that, in any one of the first to fifth inventions, the error detecting means sequentially performs error detection of the plurality of demodulated signals for each demodulated signal.

  By performing error detection of a plurality of demodulated signals in parallel for each demodulated signal in succession, error detection in one demodulated signal is completed and the detection result is good (no errors or relatively few, etc.) ), It is possible to omit error detection for the remaining demodulated signals, so that the amount of detection processing can be reduced and the processing speed can be improved.

  A seventh invention is characterized in that, in the sixth invention, a storage means for storing and holding a selection result by the selection means is provided.

  As a result, the past selection history stored in the storage means is reflected in the subsequent processing, and efficient processing can be performed.

  According to an eighth aspect, in the seventh aspect, the storage unit stores the selection result and parameter information when communication is performed.

  In general, in the case of a communication method in which a modulation signal is transmitted to a communication target and a response signal is received and demodulated, the communication status can vary depending on the communication frequency, communication distance, modulation method, and the like. In the eighth invention of the present application, it is associated with tag attribute parameters such as the types of antennas and IC circuit portions of the RFID circuit elements, and parameter information including communication parameters such as carrier frequency of communication radio wave, communication protocol, communication distance, and transmission output. By storing the data in the storage means, it is possible to quickly perform demodulation at the time of subsequent access by using the stored contents.

  According to a ninth invention, in the seventh or eighth invention, the error detecting means is configured to detect errors in the demodulated signal having a large number of selections in a past predetermined period based on a selection result of the selecting means stored in the storage means. Detection is performed with priority.

  Correct information can be acquired more quickly by performing error detection preferentially this time for a demodulated signal that has been selected a large number of times in the past predetermined period, that is, with a high possibility of being able to perform communication without error or with little error.

  In a tenth aspect of the present invention, in any one of the seventh to ninth aspects, a carrier wave generating means for generating a carrier wave, a carrier wave modulating means for modulating the carrier wave generated by the carrier wave generating means and generating the modulated signal, Hopping control means for hopping the frequency of the carrier wave generated by the carrier wave generation means at a predetermined period.

  When the carrier wave generated by the carrier wave generating means is modulated by the carrier wave modulating means and transmitted to the communication target by the information transmitting means, the carrier frequency is hopped at a specific period by hopping the carrier frequency by the hopping control means. Communication can be performed.

  In an eleventh aspect based on the tenth aspect, the storage means stores and holds the selection result for each frequency to be hopped by the hopping control means.

  By storing and holding the selection result for each hopping frequency, it is possible to quickly perform demodulation at the time of subsequent access by using the stored contents.

  In a twelfth aspect based on any one of the first to eleventh aspects, the demodulating means demodulates the response signal read by the information receiving means by using two signals whose phases are different from each other by approximately 90 °. It is characterized by that.

  With respect to a demodulated signal after so-called quadrature detection using two signals whose phases differ by approximately 90 °, by selecting any one demodulated signal based on the respective error detection results, there are fewer errors (or no errors). Information from the communication target can be acquired based on the demodulated signal, and communication accuracy with the communication target (accuracy to acquire correct information) can be improved.

  A thirteenth invention is characterized in that in any one of the first to twelfth inventions, there is provided a glitch removing means for removing a glitch component contained in the response signal received by the information receiving means.

  By removing the unnecessary glitch component in the response signal by the glitch removing means and then performing demodulation by the demodulating means, accurate demodulation can be performed even in a noisy environment.

  In a fourteenth aspect based on any one of the first to thirteenth aspects, the information transmitting unit transmits a modulation signal for accessing a wireless tag circuit element as the communication target to the wireless tag circuit element. The information receiving means reads the response signal from the information transmitting means by the RFID circuit element.

  By selecting one demodulated signal based on a plurality of error detection results relating to the response signal from the RFID tag circuit element in the error detection means, the RFID tag circuit element based on the demodulated signal with fewer errors (or no error) is selected. Wireless tag information can be acquired, and communication accuracy with the wireless tag circuit element (accuracy capable of acquiring correct information) can be improved.

  In order to achieve the above object, the fifteenth invention of the present application includes information transmitting means for transmitting a modulation signal for accessing a RFID circuit element provided in a tape-like or sheet-like tag medium to the RFID circuit element. The information receiving means for reading the response signal received from the communication target after the transmission from the information transmitting means and the response signal read by the information receiving means are used as a plurality of signals having different phases. Demodulating means for demodulating each of the plurality of demodulated signals respectively demodulated using the plurality of signals by the demodulating means, and based on the detection results of the error detecting means, A selecting means for selecting one of the demodulated signals, a conveying means for conveying the tag medium, and a predetermined print on the tag medium conveyed by the conveying means. And having a Cormorant printing means.

  In the tag label producing apparatus according to the fifteenth aspect of the present invention, the modulated signal is transmitted from the information transmitting means to the communication target, and the response signal from the communication target is received and read by the information receiving means. The response signal is demodulated by a demodulating unit into a plurality of signals having different phases, and error detection is performed on each demodulated signal by the error detecting unit. Based on the error detection result, one demodulated signal is selected by the selecting unit. Selected. In this way, unlike a conventional technique in which a demodulated signal having a higher received signal strength is selected by selecting one demodulated signal based on a plurality of error detection results, a demodulated signal with fewer errors (or no errors). Therefore, it is possible to acquire information from a communication target based on the above, and therefore it is possible to improve communication accuracy (accuracy to acquire correct information) with the communication target. In particular, in the tag label producing apparatus, noise associated with the driving of the printing means and the motor driving of the conveying means is likely to occur. However, even if such noise is present, communication with the RFID tag circuit element can be performed correctly, so the accuracy is high. There is an effect that the RFID label can be well created.

  According to the present invention, information from a communication target can be acquired based on a demodulated signal with few errors, and communication accuracy can be improved.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram showing a wireless tag generation system to which the tag label producing apparatus of this embodiment is applied.

  In the RFID tag generating system 1 shown in FIG. 1, a tag label producing device 2 (wireless communication device) according to the present embodiment includes a route server 4, a terminal 5, a general-purpose computer 6, and a plurality of computers via a wired or wireless communication line 3. Connected to the information server 7.

  FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the overall schematic structure of the tag label producing apparatus 2 of the present embodiment (however, a cartridge 100 described later is removed and the opening / closing lid OC is opened).

  In FIG. 2, the tag label producing apparatus 2 includes an apparatus main body 8, a cartridge holder portion CH for accommodating a cartridge 100 (not shown) that is detachably attached to the apparatus main body 8, and a casing that forms an outline of the apparatus main body 8. 9 and an opening / closing lid OC rotatably connected to the apparatus main body 8 so as to cover the cartridge holder portion CH in the closed state.

  FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing only the casing of the cartridge. In FIG. 3, only the casing 90 constituting the casing of the cartridge 100 is shown, and a base tape, an ink ribbon, and a print-receiving tape, which will be described later, are drawn out from the inside thereof.

  In FIG. 3, a cartridge casing 90 is generally formed in a substantially flat plate having a substantially rectangular parallelepiped protrusion at a lower portion in the drawing, and a depth direction in the drawing being a thickness direction. A large round 90b is formed at two corners (upper left corner and lower right corner in the figure) of a substantially rectangular parallelepiped when viewed from the flat plate surface side, and further in the middle of the thickness direction of each round 90b. Is formed such that a positioning rib 91 having a thickness smaller than that of the casing body 90a protrudes laterally. And the flat rib contact surface 91a located on the same plane is formed in the surface (back surface in a figure) which faces the bottom face of the cartridge holder part CH by each positioning rib 91, respectively.

  FIG. 4 is a top view of the cartridge holder portion CH in a state where the cartridge 100 and the opening / closing lid OC are removed from the apparatus main body 8 as seen from the direction IV in FIG.

  In FIG. 4, the cartridge holder portion CH is provided as a recess in which the cartridge 100 can be detachably fitted to the apparatus main body 8. A holder bottom surface 92 located at the bottom of the cartridge holder portion CH has a print head 10 and a ribbon winding described later. A roller driving shaft 11, a pressure roller driving shaft 12, an antenna 14, and the like are provided, and positioning at the same height is performed at two corners corresponding to the arrangement of the two positioning ribs 91 when the cartridge 100 is mounted. A pin 93 is projected.

  FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the cartridge holder CH with the cartridge 100 and the opening / closing lid OC removed from the apparatus main body 8 as seen from the direction V in FIG.

  In FIG. 5, positioning pins 93 (only one is shown in FIG. 5) are erected vertically from the holder bottom surface 92. When the cartridge 100 is attached to the cartridge holder portion CH, The leading ends are in contact with the rib contact surfaces 91 a of the positioning ribs 91 to support the cartridge 100.

  FIG. 6 is a conceptual configuration diagram showing a detailed structure of the tag label producing apparatus 2.

  In FIG. 6, the apparatus main body 8 of the tag label producing apparatus 2 includes a print head (printing means, thermal head) 10 that performs predetermined printing (printing) on a print-receiving tape 103 fed out from a second roll (print-receiving tape roll) 104. A ribbon take-up roller drive shaft 11 that drives the ink ribbon 105 that has finished printing on the print-receiving tape 103, and a base tape (tag medium) that is fed from the print-receiving tape 103 and the first roll (tag tape roll) 102 , Tag tape) 101 and a pressure roller driving shaft 12 for feeding out from the cartridge 100 as a tag label tape 110 with print, and a RFID circuit element To (communication object, details are provided) (See below) for transmitting and receiving signals by radio communication using high frequency such as UHF band An antenna (device-side antenna) 14, a cutter 15 for cutting the printed tag label tape 110 into a predetermined length at a predetermined timing to generate a label-like RFID label T (details will be described later), and a RFID label T The housing 9 has a delivery roller 17 that conveys and sends it to the carry-out port 16.

  The antenna 14 is composed of a directional antenna (in this example, a planar antenna, more specifically, a so-called patch antenna) having directivity on one side (in this example, the front side of FIG. 6). Specifically, it is a microstrip antenna having a ground plane on the inner side of the device. The antenna 14 is designed to have directivity in the transport path (between the feed position from the roll and the pressure roller drive shaft 12) of the base tape 101 fed from the first roll 102. .

  On the other hand, the apparatus body 8 also demodulates the high-frequency circuit 21 for accessing (writing or reading) the RFID circuit element To via the antenna 14 and the signal read from the RFID circuit element To. The signal processing circuit 22 for performing predetermined processing (details will be described later), the cartridge motor 23 for driving the ribbon take-up roller driving shaft 11 and the pressure roller driving shaft 12 described above, and the cartridge motor 23 A cartridge drive circuit 24 that controls driving, a print drive circuit 25 that controls energization of the print head 10, a solenoid 26 that drives the cutter 15 to perform a cutting operation, and a solenoid drive that controls the solenoid 26 A circuit 27; a motor 28 for the feed roller that drives the feed roller 17; the high-frequency circuit 21; Road 22, and a control circuit 30 for cartridge driving circuit 24, the print driver circuit 25, the solenoid driving circuit 27, via the delivery roller driving circuit 29, and controls the tag label producing apparatus 2 overall operation.

  The control circuit 30 is a so-called microcomputer, and although not shown in detail, is composed of a central processing unit such as a CPU, a ROM, and a RAM, and is stored in advance in the ROM while using a temporary storage function of the RAM. Signal processing is performed according to the program. The control circuit 30 is connected to, for example, a communication line via the input / output interface 31, and is connected to the route server 4, the other terminal 5, the general-purpose computer 6, the information server 7 and the like connected to the communication line. It is possible to exchange information.

  FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the detailed structure of the cartridge 100.

  In FIG. 7, a cartridge 100 has a casing 90, the first roll 102 around which the strip-shaped base tape 101 is wound, which is disposed in the casing 90, and substantially the same width as the base tape 101. The second roll 104 around which the transparent print-receiving tape 103 is wound, the ribbon supply-side roll 111 for feeding out the ink ribbon 105 (thermal transfer ribbon, but not required if the print-receiving tape is a thermal tape), and after printing The ribbon take-up roller 106, the pressure roller 107 (conveying means), the guide roller 112, and the base tape 101 are inserted through the through-hole 113A, and the antenna 14 is moved to the first roll 102 side. And a shield member 113 for reducing leakage of radio wave signals.

  The pressure roller 107 presses and adheres the base tape 101 and the print-receiving tape 103 to feed the tape in the direction indicated by the arrow A while forming the printed tag label tape 110 (that is, also functions as a tape feed roller). ).

  The first roll 102 is wound with the base tape 101 in which a plurality of RFID tag circuit elements To are sequentially formed at predetermined equal intervals in the longitudinal direction around a reel member 102a.

  In this example, the base tape 101 has a four-layer structure (see a partially enlarged view in FIG. 7), from the side wound inside (right side in FIG. 7) to the opposite side (left side in FIG. 7), An adhesive layer 101a made of an appropriate adhesive material, a colored base film 101b made of PET (polyethylene terephthalate), etc., an adhesive layer 101c made of an appropriate adhesive material, and a release paper (release material) 101d are laminated in this order. Yes.

  An antenna (tag-side antenna) 152 that transmits and receives information is integrally provided on the back side (left side in FIG. 7) of the base film 101b in this example, and an IC circuit that stores information so as to be connected thereto. The portion 151 is formed, and the RFID tag circuit element To is configured by these.

  On the front side (right side in FIG. 7) of the base film 101b is formed the adhesive layer 101a for later bonding the print-receiving tape 103, and on the back side (left side in FIG. 7) of the base film 101b is a RFID circuit. The release paper 101d is bonded to the base film 101b by the adhesive layer 101c provided so as to enclose the element To. The release paper 101d is one that can be adhered to the product or the like by the adhesive layer 101c when the RFID label T finally completed in a label shape is attached to a predetermined product or the like by peeling it off. It is.

  The second roll 104 has the print-receiving tape 103 wound around a reel member 104a. The print-receiving tape 103 fed out from the second roll 104 is driven by the ribbon supply side roll 111 and the ribbon take-up roller 106 arranged on the back side thereof (that is, the side to be bonded to the base tape 101). The ribbon 105 is brought into contact with the back surface of the print-receiving tape 103 by being pressed by the print head 10.

  The ribbon take-up roller 106 and the pressure roller 107 are driven by the driving force of the cartridge motor 23 (see FIG. 6 described above), for example, a pulse motor provided outside the cartridge 100. By being transmitted to the roller drive shaft 12, it is rotationally driven.

  In the cartridge 100 configured as described above, the base tape 101 fed out from the first roll 102 is supplied to the pressure roller 107. On the other hand, the print-receiving tape 103 fed out from the second roll 104 is driven by a ribbon supply-side roll 111 and a ribbon take-up roller 106 disposed on the back side thereof (that is, the side to be bonded to the base tape 101). The ink ribbon 105 is pressed by the print head 10 and brought into contact with the back surface of the print-receiving tape 103.

  When the cartridge 100 is attached to the cartridge holder CH of the apparatus main body 8 and a roll holder (not shown) is moved from the separation position to the contact position, the print-receiving tape 103 and the ink ribbon 105 are connected to the print head 10. While sandwiched between the platen roller 108, the base tape 101 and the print-receiving tape 103 are sandwiched between the pressure roller 107 and the sub roller 109. The ribbon take-up roller 106 and the pressure roller 107 are rotationally driven in synchronization with the directions indicated by the arrows B and D by the driving force of the cartridge motor 23, respectively. At this time, the pressure roller driving shaft 12 is connected to the sub roller 109 and the platen roller 108 by a gear (not shown), and the pressure roller 107, the sub roller 109, and the platen roller are driven by the driving of the pressure roller driving shaft 12. The roller 108 rotates, the base tape 101 is fed out from the first roll 102, and is supplied to the pressure roller 107 as described above. On the other hand, the print-receiving tape 103 is fed out from the second roll 104, and the plurality of heating elements of the print head 10 are energized by the print drive circuit 25. As a result, a print R (see FIG. 12 described later) corresponding to the RFID circuit element To on the base tape 101 to be bonded is printed on the back surface of the print-receiving tape 103. The base tape 101 and the print-receiving tape 103 after the printing are bonded and integrated by the pressure roller 107 and the sub-roller 109 to form a printed tag label tape 110, which is carried out of the cartridge 100. Is done. The ink ribbon 105 that has finished printing on the print-receiving tape 103 is taken up by the ribbon take-up roller 106 by driving the ribbon take-up roller drive shaft 11.

  The guide roller 112 is fed out from the first roll 102 even if the feeding position of the base tape 101 from the first roll 102 varies as the base tape 101 is consumed (see the two-dot chain line in FIG. 7). Further, the transport path of the base tape 101 is guided so as to pass through a predetermined position in the surface direction of the antenna 14 (almost central position in this example) (or so as to be regulated within a predetermined range therefrom). .

  FIG. 8 is a functional block diagram showing detailed functions of the high-frequency circuit 21. In FIG. 8, the high frequency circuit 21 receives a transmission unit 32 that transmits a signal to the RFID circuit element To through the antenna 14 and a reflected wave from the RFID circuit element To that is received by the antenna 14. The unit 33 and the transmission / reception separator 34 are configured.

The transmitting unit 32 generates a carrier wave for accessing (writing or reading) the RFID tag information of the IC circuit unit 151 of the RFID circuit element To, a crystal resonator 35, and a PLL (Phase
(Locked Loop) 36, VCO (Voltage Controlled Oscillator) 37 (these three constitute carrier generation means), and the generated carrier is modulated based on the signal supplied from the signal processing circuit 22 (this In the example, a transmission multiplication circuit 38 (amplitude modulation based on the “TX_ASK” signal from the signal processing circuit 22) (carrier modulation means, but in the case of amplitude modulation, an amplification factor variable amplifier or the like may be used), and its transmission multiplication circuit And a variable transmission amplifier 39 that determines and amplifies the modulation wave modulated by the signal 38 based on the “TX_PWR” signal from the control circuit 30. The generated carrier wave preferably uses a frequency in the UHF band, and the output of the transmission amplifier 39 is transmitted to the antenna 14 via the transmission / reception separator 34, and the IC circuit of the RFID circuit element To Supplied to the unit 151. The carrier wave generated from the crystal unit 35, the PLL 36, and the VCO 37 is configured to be hopped at a predetermined cycle by a frequency control signal input from the control circuit 30 to the PLL 36 (details will be described later). (See FIG. 19 and the like).

  The reception unit 33 is necessary from the reception first multiplication circuit 40 that multiplies the reflected wave from the RFID circuit element To received by the antenna 14 and the generated carrier wave, and the output of the reception first multiplication circuit 40. Received by the antenna 14, the first band-pass filter 41 for extracting only a signal in a wide band, the reception first amplifier 43 that amplifies the output of the first band-pass filter 41 and supplies the amplified signal to the first limiter 42. A reception second multiplication circuit 44 that multiplies the reflected wave from the RFID circuit element To and the carrier wave that has been generated and delayed by 90 ° by the phase shifter 49, and the output of the reception second multiplication circuit 44. A second bandpass filter 45 for extracting only a signal of a necessary band, and an output of the second bandpass filter 45 is inputted and amplified to be a second limiter. A reception second amplifier 47 that supplies the data to the sutter 46 is provided. The signal “RXS-I” output from the first limiter 42 and the signal “RXS-Q” output from the second limiter 46 are input to the signal processing circuit 22 and processed.

  The outputs of the reception first amplifier 43 and the reception second amplifier 47 are also input to an RSSI (Received Signal Strength Indicator) circuit 48, and a signal “RSSI” indicating the strength of these signals is input to the signal processing circuit 22. It has become so.

  FIG. 9 is a functional block diagram showing a detailed functional configuration of the main part of the signal processing circuit 22. In FIG. 9, the signal processing circuit 22 receives a glitch removal circuit 201A that removes glitch components included in the received signals received by the antenna 14 and supplied from the limiters 46 and 42 of the receiving unit 33 of the high-frequency circuit 21, respectively. 201B (glitch removing means), and FM demodulating circuit 202A for demodulating the received signal from which this glitch component has been removed and reading out a predetermined information signal (= modulated signal by the RFID circuit element To) included in the received signal 202B and serial-parallel conversion circuits (code extraction means) 203A, 203B each having CRC code section cutout circuits 204A, 204B for extracting error detection codes (CRC codes in this example) included in the demodulated signal, The demodulated signals are demodulated by the FM demodulation circuits 202A and 202B. CRC calculation circuits 205A and 205B (code calculation means) for calculating the CRC code from the data portions included in the demodulated signals input from the Larel conversion circuits 203A and 203B, and the CRC calculated by the CRC calculation circuits 205A and 205B, respectively. Comparing circuits 206A and 206B (comparison means) for comparing the code and the CRC code extracted by the serial-parallel conversion circuits 203A and 203B are provided.

  Here, the CRC code will be described. In general, in wireless communication, various error controls are usually performed in order to mechanically detect an information communication error caused by noise such as a line surrounding environment. At this time, CRC (Cyclic Redundancy Check) is one of the methods for detecting a communication error (ie, checking whether data is broken) between transmission data and reception data. Widely used in

In CRC, the transmission data is divided by a generator polynomial, and a remainder is calculated to create a bit string (error detection code) for error checking. When the transmission bit string P (x), the generator polynomial G (x), and the highest order of the generator polynomial are ⁿ , the remainder of P (x) · x ⁿ / G (x) is the CRC code. For example, the transmission bit is
“01100100” (P (x) = x ⁶ + x ⁵ + x ² )
And the generator polynomial is G (x) = x ⁶ + x ²
If
P (x) · x ⁶ / G (x) = x ⁶ + x ⁵ x remainder x ³
Therefore, the CRC code is “1000”.

  The bit string calculated in this way is added to the transmission data as a CRC code and transmitted. On the receiving side, the CRC bit string is calculated by the same calculation formula and compared with the CRC bit string added to the received data. As for this CRC code, the same code is always generated from the same data, and if even one bit of data is different, a completely different CRC code is generated. Therefore, by performing the above comparison, transmission data and reception data are It is possible to detect whether they match correctly (whether an error has occurred).

  The comparison circuits 206A and 206B compare the CRC code from the CRC calculation circuits 205A and 205B with the CRC code from the serial-parallel conversion circuits 203A and 203B (whether there is no error or the error is Which is less) is output to the control circuit 30.

  At this time, the demodulated signals (demodulated data) from the serial-parallel conversion circuits 203A and 203B are also input to the control circuit 30, and these two demodulated signals are output in accordance with the comparison result in the comparison circuits 206A and 206B. Among them, the information detected by the comparison circuits 206A and 206B as having no error or having the smallest error is selected, and this is recognized as the information returned from the RFID circuit element To. A specific method of comparing the comparison circuits 206A and 206B and the selection recognition in the control circuit 30 that receives the comparison will be described in detail below.

  That is, when there is no CRC code error in either the Q signal or the I signal, any demodulated signal may be used. In addition, when there is an error in the CRC code only in one of them, the demodulated signal having no CRC code error is used.

  When there is an error in both CRC codes, there are the following two types. First, if the two demodulated signals match, it can be known that there is an error, but it cannot be estimated where the error is (the same amount of information does not increase the amount of information).

  On the other hand, if the two received data do not match, the nearest code data from the demodulated signal data Rr on the I signal side and the demodulated signal data Rq on the Q signal side is transmitted from the RFID circuit element To. Determined as transmission information. For example, as shown in FIG. 10, the reply data Rt from the RFID circuit element To is received as received data of Rr and Rq (but different values) on the I and Q channels by mistake due to an error in the communication path. In this case, it is possible to determine the information having the shortest inter-code distance from Rr and Rq as transmission data.

  In other words, the transmission data has a CRC field to which the inter-code distance of the transmission data becomes 2 or more (if the ID differs by 1 bit, the data transmitted with the CRC code added has a difference of 2 bits or more. ). In other words, if one bit is wrong, the original transmission data should be obtained if one bit is inverted by one bit. Therefore, the original transmission data can be determined at the match by searching for a bit position where Rr and Rq, which are obtained by inverting some one bit, match each other.

  As described above, in the tag label producing apparatus 2 of this embodiment, the reflected wave from the RFID circuit element To is demodulated by IQ orthogonal demodulation.

  FIG. 11 is a functional block diagram showing a functional configuration of the RFID circuit element To. In FIG. 11, the RFID circuit element To is configured to transmit and receive a signal in a non-contact manner using the high frequency such as the UHF band with the antenna 14 on the tag label producing apparatus 2 side, and the antenna 152 connected to the antenna 152. IC circuit portion 151.

  The IC circuit unit 151 includes a rectification unit 153 that rectifies the carrier wave received by the antenna 152, a power supply unit 154 that accumulates energy of the carrier wave rectified by the rectification unit 153 and serves as a driving power source, and the antenna 152. A clock extraction unit 156 that extracts a clock signal from the received carrier wave and supplies the clock signal to the control unit 155, a memory unit 157 that can store a predetermined information signal, a modem unit 158 connected to the antenna 152, and the rectifier And a control unit 155 for controlling the operation of the RFID circuit element To via the unit 153, the clock extraction unit 156, the modulation / demodulation unit 158, and the like.

  The modem 158 demodulates the communication signal received from the antenna 14 of the tag label producing apparatus 2 received by the antenna 152, and modulates and reflects the carrier wave received from the antenna 152 based on the response signal from the controller 155. To do.

  The control unit 155 interprets the received signal demodulated by the modulation / demodulation unit 158, generates a return signal based on the information signal stored in the memory unit 157, and performs basic control such as returning by the modulation / demodulation unit 158. Execute proper control.

  The clock extraction unit 154 extracts a clock component from the received signal and extracts the clock to the control unit 157, and supplies a clock corresponding to the speed of the clock component of the received signal to the control unit 157.

  12 (a) and 12 (b) show an example of the appearance of the RFID label T formed after the writing of information on the RFID circuit element To and the cutting of the printed tag label tape 110 are completed as described above. FIG. 12A is a top view, and FIG. 12B is a bottom view. FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view taken along section XIII-XIII ′ in FIG.

  12A, 12B, and 13, the RFID label T has a five-layer structure in which the print-receiving tape 103 is added to the four-layer structure shown in FIG. From the 103 side (upper side in FIG. 13) to the opposite side (lower side in FIG. 13), the print-receiving tape 103, the adhesive layer 101a, the base film 101b, the adhesive layer 101c, and the release paper 101d constitute five layers. Yes. As described above, the RFID circuit element To including the antenna 152 provided on the back side of the base film 101b is provided in the adhesive layer 101c and printed on the back surface of the print-receiving tape 103 (in this example, the RFID tag T). "RF-ID" indicating the type) is printed.

  FIG. 14 shows a screen displayed on the terminal 5 or the general-purpose computer 6 when accessing (writing or reading) the RFID tag information of the IC circuit unit 151 of the RFID circuit element To by the tag label producing apparatus 2 as described above. It is a figure showing an example.

  In FIG. 14, in this example, the type (access frequency and tape size) of the RFID label T, the print character R printed corresponding to the RFID circuit element To, and identification information unique to the RFID circuit element To. The access (write or read) ID, the address of the article information stored in the information server 7 and the storage address of the corresponding information in the route server 4 can be displayed on the terminal 5 or the general-purpose computer 6. Yes. Then, the tag label producing apparatus 2 is operated by the operation of the terminal 5 or the general-purpose computer 6 so that the print character R is printed on the print-receiving tape 103 and the write ID and information such as article information are printed on the IC circuit unit 151. Is written (or wireless tag information such as article information stored in advance in the IC circuit unit 151 is read). Note that “reading / writing” of RFID tag information in this case is not only broadly so-called data reading / writing, but also transmission of a signal that pauses a response such as a signal based on the “Kill” and “Sleep” commands. Including.

  At the time of writing (or reading) as described above, the ID of the generated RFID label T and the information read from the IC circuit unit 151 of the RFID label T (or information written to the IC circuit unit 151) The correspondence relationship is stored in the route server 4 and can be referred to as necessary.

  Hereinafter, a control procedure executed by the control circuit 30 will be described.

  FIG. 15 shows the production of the RFID label T described above, that is, the substrate tape 101 is conveyed and the RFID tag information is written while the printing tape 103 is conveyed and predetermined printing is performed by the print head 10. 103 and the base tape 101 are pasted together to form a printed tag label tape 110, and then the printed tag label tape 110 is cut by the RFID circuit element To to form the RFID label T, which is executed by the control circuit 30. It is a flowchart showing a control procedure.

  In FIG. 15, first, when the writing operation of the tag label producing apparatus 2 is performed in step S105, this flow is started. Then, the RFID tag information to be written to the RFID circuit element To that has been input via the terminal 5 or the general-purpose computer 6 and the RFID tag label T to be printed by the print head 10 corresponding to the RFID tag information. Print information is read through the communication line 3 and the input / output interface 31.

  Thereafter, in step S110, there is no response from the RFID circuit element To, variables M and N for counting the number of times of retry (retry) (number of access attempts), and a flag F indicating whether communication is good or bad are set to 0. Initialize to.

  In step S 115, a control signal is output to the cartridge driving circuit 24, and the ribbon take-up roller 106 and the pressure roller 107 are driven to rotate by the driving force of the cartridge motor 23. As a result, the base tape 101 is fed out from the first roll 102 and supplied to the pressure roller 107, and the print-receiving tape 103 is fed out from the second roll 104. Further, a control signal is output to the delivery roller motor 28 via the delivery roller drive circuit 29 to drive the delivery roller 17 to rotate. As a result, as described above, the base tape 101 and the print-receiving tape 103 are bonded and integrated with the pressure roller 107 (and by the sub-roller 109), and the printed tag label tape 110 is moved outward from the cartridge body 100. It is conveyed.

  Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S120, where the base tape 101 and the print-receiving tape 103 are set to a predetermined value C (for example, the writing and printing of the RFID tag information to the print area of the preceding RFID circuit element To and the print-receiving tape 103 corresponding thereto are completed. Then, it is determined whether or not the next RFID circuit element To has been transported by a transport distance that reaches a position substantially opposite to the antenna 14). The conveyance distance at this time may be determined by, for example, detecting with a known tape sensor separately provided with an appropriate identification mark provided on the base tape 101. If the determination is satisfied, the process proceeds to step S200.

  In step S200, tag information writing / printing processing is performed, memory initialization (erasing) for writing is performed, and then a transmission signal including wireless tag information is transmitted to the wireless tag circuit element To on the base tape 101 for writing. In addition, the print head 10 prints the print R on the corresponding area of the print tape 103 (see FIG. 16 described later for details). When step S200 is completed, the process proceeds to step S125.

  In step S125, it is determined whether or not flag F = 0. If the writing process has been completed normally, F = 0 remains (see step S385 in the flow shown in FIG. 16 described later), so this determination is satisfied, and the routine goes to step S130.

  In step S130, the combination of the information written in the RFID circuit element To in step S200 and the print information already printed by the print head 10 corresponding to this is sent via the input / output interface 31 and the communication line 3. The data is output via the terminal 5 or the general-purpose computer 6 and stored in the information server 7 or the route server 4. The stored data is stored and held in, for example, a database so that it can be referred to from the terminal 5 or the general-purpose computer 6 as necessary.

  Thereafter, in step S135, it is confirmed whether or not the printing on the area corresponding to the RFID circuit element To that is the processing target at this point in the tape to be printed 103 has been completed, and then the process proceeds to step S140.

  In step S125 described above, if the writing process is not normally completed for some reason, F = 1 is set (see step S385 in the flow shown in FIG. 16 described later), so that the determination in S125 is satisfied. In step S137, a control signal is output to the print drive circuit 25 to stop energizing the print head 10 and stop printing. In this way, it is clearly displayed that the RFID circuit element To is not a normal product due to the suspension of printing. In addition, you may be made to perform the printing of special modes, such as an alarm and alerting to that effect, not stop during printing.

  After step S137 ends, the process proceeds to step S140.

  In step S140, the printed tag label tape 110 further has a predetermined amount (for example, all of the target RFID circuit elements To and the corresponding print area of the print-receiving tape 103 have a cutter 15 with a predetermined length (margin amount). ) Judge whether it has been transported by a transport distance that only exceeds a minute). Similar to step S120 described above, the conveyance distance at this time may be determined by, for example, detecting the marking with a tape sensor. If the determination is satisfied, the process moves to step S145.

  In step S145, control signals are output to the cartridge drive circuit 24 and the delivery roller drive circuit 29, the drive of the cartridge motor 23 and the delivery roller motor 28 is stopped, and the ribbon take-up roller 106, pressure roller 107, and delivery roller are stopped. The rotation of 17 is stopped. Thereby, the feeding of the base tape 101 from the first roll 102, the feeding of the print-receiving tape 103 from the second roll 104, and the conveyance of the tag label tape 110 with print by the delivery roller 17 are stopped.

  Thereafter, in step S150, a control signal is outputted to the solenoid drive circuit 27 to drive the solenoid 26, and the printed tag label tape 110 is cut by the cutter 15. As described above, at this time, for example, the RFID tag circuit element To to be processed and the printed tag label tape 110 to which the print area of the print-receiving tape 103 corresponding thereto is pasted sufficiently exceed the cutter 15. When the cutter 15 is cut, the RFID tag label T in the form of a label in which the RFID tag information is written in the RFID circuit element To and the predetermined printing is performed corresponding thereto is generated.

  Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S155, where a control signal is output to the delivery roller drive circuit 29, the drive of the delivery roller motor 28 is resumed, and the delivery roller 17 is rotated. As a result, the conveyance by the delivery roller 17 is resumed, and the RFID label T generated in the label shape in step S150 is conveyed toward the carry-out port 16 and is discharged from the carry-out port 16 to the outside of the apparatus 2.

  FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing the detailed procedure of step S200 described above.

  In FIG. 16, first, in step S300, a control signal is output to the print drive circuit 25, the print head 10 is energized, and the area corresponding to the RFID circuit element To to be processed in the print target tape 103 ( A print R such as characters, symbols, barcodes, and the like read in step S105 of FIG. 15 is printed on the surface of the RFID tag circuit element To attached to the back surface of the RFID circuit element To by the pressure roller 107.

  In step S310, an identification number ID assigned to the RFID circuit element To to be written is set by a known appropriate method.

  Thereafter, in step S320, an “Erase” command for initializing information stored in the memory unit 157 of the RFID circuit element To is output to the signal processing circuit 22. Based on this, an “Erase” signal as access information is generated in the signal processing circuit 22 and transmitted to the RFID tag circuit element To to be written through the high frequency circuit 21 to initialize the memory unit 157.

  Next, in step S 330, a “Verify” command for checking the contents of the memory unit 157 is output to the signal processing circuit 22. Based on this, a “Verify” signal as access information is generated by the signal processing circuit 22 and transmitted to the RFID circuit element To as an information write target via the high frequency circuit 21 to prompt a reply. Thereafter, in step S340, a reply signal transmitted from the RFID tag circuit element To to be written in response to the “Verify” signal is received via the antenna 14 and taken in via the high frequency circuit 21 and the signal processing circuit 22. At this time, as described above, the reply signal from the RFID circuit element To is demodulated of the reflected wave from the RFID circuit element To by IQ orthogonal demodulation, and there is no error in the two demodulated signals. This is recognized as information returned from the RFID circuit element To.

  Next, in step S350, based on the reply signal, information in the memory unit 157 of the RFID circuit element To is confirmed, and it is determined whether or not the memory unit 157 has been normally initialized.

  If the determination is not satisfied, the process moves to step S360, 1 is added to M, and it is further determined in step S370 whether M = 5. If M ≦ 4, the determination is not satisfied and the routine returns to step S320 and the same procedure is repeated. If M = 5, the process proceeds to step S380, where an error display signal is output to the terminal 5 or the general-purpose computer 6 via the input / output interface 31 and the communication line 3, and a corresponding writing failure (error) display is performed. Exit. In this way, even if initialization is not successful, retry is performed up to five times.

  When the determination in step S350 is satisfied, the process proceeds to step S390, and a “Program” command for writing desired data in the memory unit 157 is output to the signal processing circuit 22. Based on this, a “Program” signal as access information including ID information to be written by the signal processing circuit 22 is generated and transmitted to the RFID circuit element To as the information writing target via the high frequency circuit 21, and is stored in the memory unit 157. Information is written.

  Thereafter, a “Verify” command is output to the signal processing circuit 22 in step S400. Based on this, a “Verify” signal as access information is generated by the signal processing circuit 22 and transmitted to the RFID circuit element To as an information write target via the high frequency circuit 21 to prompt a reply. Thereafter, in step S 410, a reply signal transmitted from the RFID tag circuit element To to be written in response to the “Verify” signal is received via the antenna 14 and taken in via the high-frequency circuit 21 and the signal processing circuit 22. At this time, similarly to the above, the demodulation of the reflected wave from the RFID circuit element To is performed by IQ orthogonal demodulation, and the one of the two demodulated signals is selected, and this is selected from the RFID circuit element To. Recognize that the information is returned.

  Next, in step S420, based on the reply signal, the information stored in the memory unit 157 of the RFID circuit element To is confirmed, and whether or not the transmitted predetermined information is normally stored in the memory unit 157. Determine whether.

  If the determination is not satisfied, the process moves to step S430, 1 is added to N, and it is further determined in step S440 whether N = 5. If N ≦ 4, the determination is not satisfied and the routine returns to step S390 and the same procedure is repeated. In the case of N = 5, the process proceeds to the above-described step S380, and the writing failure (error) display corresponding to the terminal 5 or the general-purpose computer 6 is similarly performed. In step S385, the above-described flag F = 1 is set, and this flow is performed. finish. In this way, even if information writing is not successful, retry is performed up to five times.

  If the determination in step S420 is satisfied, the process moves to step S450, and a “Lock” command is output to the signal processing circuit 22. Based on this, a “Lock” signal is generated in the signal processing circuit 22 and transmitted to the RFID circuit element To as the information writing target via the high frequency circuit 21, and writing of new information to the RFID circuit element To is prohibited. Is done. As a result, the writing of the RFID tag information to the RFID circuit element To to be written is completed, the RFID circuit element To is discharged as described above, and this flow is finished.

  By the above routine, the corresponding RFID tag information is written to the RFID tag circuit element To to be written on the base tape 101 in the cartridge 100, and the RFID tag is written to the corresponding area on the print-receiving tape 103. The print R corresponding to the information can be printed.

  In the above, the transmission unit 32 and the antenna 14 of the high-frequency circuit 21 constitute information transmission means described in each claim, and the reception unit 33 and the antenna 14 constitute information reception means. Further, the FM demodulation circuits 202A and 202B constitute demodulation means for demodulating the response signal read by the information receiving means using a plurality of signals having different phases from each other.

  Further, serial-parallel conversion circuits 203A and 203B (including CRC code section extraction circuits 204A and 204B), CRC calculation circuits 205A and 205B, and comparison circuits 206A and 206B use a plurality of signals in the demodulation means. An error detection unit configured to detect an error of each of the demodulated signals demodulated is configured, and a selection unit configured to select one of the demodulated signals by the control circuit 30 based on the detection result of the error detection unit is configured. To do. The comparison circuits 206A and 206B also constitute error number detection means for detecting the number of errors in the demodulated signal.

  As described above, in the tag label producing apparatus 2 of this embodiment, when producing the RFID label T, the cartridge 100 containing the base tape 101 provided with the RFID circuit element To is attached to the cartridge holder CH. Then, wireless communication is performed from the antenna on the apparatus side to the RFID circuit element To of the base tape 101 continuously supplied from the cartridge 100, and access (information reading or writing) to the IC circuit unit 151 is performed.

  At this time, the modulated signal modulated by the transmitter 32 of the high frequency circuit 32 is transmitted from the antenna 14 to the RFID circuit element To, and the response signal from the RFID circuit element To is received by the antenna 14 and read into the receiver 33. . This response signal is further demodulated by the FM demodulation circuits 202A and 202B of the signal processing circuit 22 with a plurality of signals having different phases (in this example, Q signal and I signal having a phase difference of 90 °). Error detection is performed using a CRC code, and a demodulated signal of either the Q signal or the I signal is selected by the control circuit 30 based on the error detection result. In this way, by selecting one demodulated signal based on a plurality of error detection results, the RFID circuit element To based on the demodulated signal with no error is different from the prior art that simply selects the demodulated signal having the higher received signal strength. Therefore, it is possible to improve the communication performance (capability of acquiring correct information) with the RFID circuit element To. In particular, in the case of a tag label producing apparatus, noise associated with driving of the print head 10 and driving of the motor during tape conveyance is likely to occur. However, even if such noise is present, communication with the RFID circuit element To can be performed correctly. There is an effect that the RFID label T can be created at high speed even while being conveyed or printed.

  In the present embodiment, in particular, by removing unnecessary glitch components in the response signal by the glitch removing circuits 201A and 201B and then performing demodulation by the FM demodulating circuits 202A and 202B, more accurate in an environment with noise more accurately. Demodulation can be performed.

  Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the technical idea and spirit thereof. Hereinafter, such modifications will be described.

(1) When the RFID circuit element is read-only In the above description, the case where the RFID tag information is transmitted to the RFID circuit element To and written to the IC circuit unit has been described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to this. . That is, while reading the RFID tag information from the read-only RFID circuit element To in which predetermined RFID tag information (tag identification information, etc.) is stored and retained in a non-rewritable manner, a label is created by performing printing corresponding to the RFID tag information. This is also applicable to such a case.

  In this case, only the print information is read in step S105 in FIG. 15, and the RFID tag information is read in step S200 (see FIG. 17 described later for details). Thereafter, in step S130, the combination of the print information and the read RFID tag information is stored.

  FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing a detailed procedure of the wireless tag reading process.

In FIG. 17, when the RFID circuit element To to be read is conveyed to the vicinity of the antenna 14, in step S501, the information stored in the RFID circuit element To is read “Scroll”.
The “All ID” command is output to the signal processing circuit 22. Based on this, a “Scroll All ID” signal as RFID tag information is generated by the signal processing circuit 22 and transmitted to the RFID tag circuit element To to be read via the high frequency circuit 21 to prompt a reply.

  Next, in step S502, a reply signal (RFID tag information including tag ID information) transmitted from the RFID tag circuit element To to be read in response to the “Scroll All ID” signal is received via the antenna 14. Then, the high-frequency circuit 21 and the signal processing circuit 22 are used. At this time, as described above, the reflected wave from the RFID circuit element To is demodulated by IQ orthogonal demodulation of the reply signal from the RFID circuit element To, and there is no error in the two demodulated signals or The one detected as having the smallest error is selected, and this is recognized as the information returned from the RFID circuit element To.

  Next, in step S503, based on the selection recognition of the demodulated signal described in step S502, it is determined whether information has been correctly acquired from the RFID circuit element To without error.

  If the determination is not satisfied, the process moves to step S504, 1 is added to N, and it is further determined in step S505 whether N = 5. If N ≦ 4, the determination is not satisfied and the routine returns to step S501 and the same procedure is repeated. If N = 5, the process proceeds to step S506, where an error display signal is output to the terminal 5 or the general-purpose computer 6 via the input / output interface 31 and the communication line 3, and the corresponding reading failure (error) display is performed. In step S507, the flag F is set to 1, and this routine is terminated. Thus, even if information reading is unsuccessful, retrying is performed up to five times, so that the reading reliability can be ensured to ensure completeness.

  If the determination in step S503 is satisfied, reading of the RFID tag information from the RFID circuit element To to be read is completed, and this routine ends.

  According to the above routine, this modification can access and read the RFID tag information (tag identification information etc.) of the IC circuit unit for the RFID circuit element To to be read in the cartridge.

  And also in this modification, the effect similar to the said 1st Embodiment can be acquired.

(2) When error detection is performed by software In other words, in the above embodiment, calculation and comparison of CRC codes using hardware such as CRC calculation circuits 205A and 205B and comparison circuits 206A and 206B as shown in FIG. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and all error detection including these functions may be performed by software in the control circuit 30.

  FIG. 18 is a functional block diagram showing a functional configuration of the signal processing circuit 22 ′ in this modification, and corresponds to FIG. 9 of the above embodiment. Parts equivalent to those in FIG. 9 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted as appropriate.

  18, in this signal processing circuit 22 ′, a first memory 207A and a second memory 207B each having a register function are provided in place of the CRC calculation circuits 205A and 205B and the comparison circuits 206A and 206B of the signal processing circuit 22 of FIG. Is provided. In these memories 207A and 207B, the data portion included in the demodulated signals from the serial-parallel conversion circuits 203A and 203B and the CRC code extracted by the serial-parallel conversion circuits 203A and 203B are respectively input and temporarily stored. In response to a control signal (output instruction signal) from the control circuit 30, the contents stored in the memories 207A and 207B are taken into the control circuit 30 (details will be described later).

  Further, in this modification, the frequency of the carrier wave generated from the crystal resonator 35, the PLL 36, and the VCO 37 is hopped at a specific period by the frequency control signal of the control circuit 30 described above, and the past Q signal and The success or failure of communication at the time of accessing the I signal (whether there is no error or the number of errors is small and whether information can be acquired with high accuracy) is recorded as a history. FIG. 19 is a diagram showing the communication success / failure history. The communication success / failure history for the Q signal and the I signal is shown for each hopping frequency f0, f1, f2, f3,... Switched in a certain order as described later. For example, in this example, it is stored and held in, for example, a RAM (storage means) in the control circuit 30 as “success” and “failure” (rewriteable). And when accessing after that, it can communicate efficiently using the said log | history.

  FIG. 20 is a flowchart showing a detailed procedure of step S200 executed by the control circuit 30 of the present modification, and corresponds to the above-described FIG. The same steps as those in FIG. 16 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof is omitted. In FIG. 20, step S290 is newly provided before step S300, and the hopping frequency is initially set to fo. In addition, the determination in step S370 is not satisfied and the determination in step S440 is performed while returning to step S320. On the way back to step S390 if not satisfied, step S375 and step S445 are newly provided to switch the hopping frequency to the next value (in the order of f0, f1, f2, f3,...). .

  In steps S340 ′ and S410 ′ corresponding to steps S340 and S410, respectively, predetermined processing for performing the above-described error detection function is performed. FIG. 21 is a flowchart showing the detailed control contents of steps S340 ′ and S410 ′.

  In FIG. 21, first, in step S601, the communication success / failure history information stored in the RAM or the like is accessed, and the hopping frequency to be communicated at that time (whether it is initially set to fo in step S290, step S375 or step S45). Referring to the history corresponding to the newly switched frequency fn), the history such as “success” and “failure” is acquired for each of the Q signal and the I signal.

  Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S602, and it is determined whether or not the communication success / failure in the Q signal is “success” in the acquisition history. If it is “success”, the determination is satisfied, and the routine goes to Step S603. In step S603, the output instruction signal is output to the first memory 207A, the demodulated data stored in the first memory 207A is read, and the CRC code is calculated. At this time, the CRC code extracted from the demodulated signal by the CRC code section extraction circuit 204A is also read from the first memory 207A.

  In step S604, it is determined whether the CRC code calculated in step S603 matches the CRC code read from the first memory 207A. If these two are equal to each other, this determination is satisfied and it is considered that the Q signal has been correctly communicated, and the process proceeds to step S605 (read in step S603), and the demodulated data from the first memory 207A is read out from the RFID circuit. The information returned from the element To is confirmed and fetched.

  In step S604, if the CRC code calculated in step S603 and the CRC code read from the first memory 207A do not match, the determination is not satisfied, and it is considered that communication has not been performed correctly for the Q signal. The process moves to S607.

  In step S607, the output instruction signal is output to the second memory 207B, the demodulated data stored in the second memory 207B is read, and the CRC code is calculated. At this time, the CRC code extracted from the demodulated signal by the CRC code section extraction circuit 204B is also read from the second memory 207B.

  In step S608, it is determined whether the CRC code calculated in step S607 matches the CRC code read from the second memory 207B. If these two are equal to each other, this determination is satisfied and it is considered that communication has been correctly performed for the I signal, and the process proceeds to step S609 (read in step S607), and the demodulated data from the second memory 207B is used as the RFID circuit. The information returned from the element To is confirmed and fetched.

  In step S608, if the CRC code calculated in step S607 and the CRC code read from the second memory 207B do not match, the determination is not satisfied, and it is considered that communication has not been performed correctly for the I signal, The process directly proceeds to step S606 described later.

  On the other hand, in the above-described step S602, if the success / failure of communication in the Q signal is “failure” in the acquisition history, this determination is not satisfied, and the routine goes to step S610. In step S610, the output instruction signal is output to the second memory 207B, the demodulated data stored in the second memory 207B is read, and the CRC code is calculated. At this time, the CRC code extracted from the demodulated signal by the CRC code section extraction circuit 204B is also read from the second memory 207B.

  In step S611, it is determined whether or not the CRC code calculated in step S610 matches the CRC code read from the second memory 207B. If these two are equal to each other, this determination is satisfied, and it is considered that communication has been correctly performed for the I signal. The process proceeds to step S612 (read in step S610), and the demodulated data from the second memory 207B is used as the RFID circuit. The information returned from the element To is confirmed and fetched.

  In step S611, if the CRC code calculated in step S610 does not match the CRC code read from the second memory 207B, the determination is not satisfied, and it is considered that communication has not been correctly performed for the I signal. The process moves to S613.

  In step S613, an output instruction signal is output to the first memory 207A, the demodulated data stored in the first memory 207A is read, and the CRC code is calculated. At this time, the CRC code extracted from the demodulated signal by the CRC code section extraction circuit 204A is also read from the first memory 207A.

  In step S614, it is determined whether the CRC code calculated in step S613 matches the CRC code read from the first memory 207A. If these two are equal to each other, this determination is satisfied and it is considered that the Q signal has been correctly communicated, and the process proceeds to step S615 (read in step S613) and the demodulated data from the first memory 207A is read out by the RFID circuit. The information returned from the element To is confirmed and fetched.

  In step S614, if the CRC code calculated in step S613 does not match the CRC code read from the first memory 207A, the determination is not satisfied, and it is considered that communication has not been performed correctly for the Q signal. The process directly proceeds to step S606 described later.

  When step S605, step S609, step S612, and step S615 described above are completed, the process proceeds to step S606 (including the case where the determination is not satisfied in step S08 and step S614).

  In step S606, the error detection result of each of the Q signal and the I signal is overwritten and updated with the communication success / failure history information acquired in step S601 as the latest success / failure history, and this flow is finished.

  In the above, step S603, step S604, step S607, step S608, step S610, step S611, step S613, step of the flow shown in FIG. 21 executed by the CRC code section cutout circuits 204A and 204B and the control circuit 30. S614 performs error detection of a plurality of demodulated signals respectively demodulated using a plurality of signals by the demodulator according to each claim (in particular, error detection of a plurality of demodulated signals is sequentially performed for each demodulated signal) ) Configure error detection means.

  Among them, CRC code section extraction circuits 204A and 204B constitute code extraction means for extracting an error detection code included in the demodulated signal. Steps S603, S607, S610, and S613 are data included in the demodulated signal. The code calculation means for calculating the error detection code is configured from the portion, and step S604, step S608, step S611, and step S614 are the error detection code extracted by the code extraction means and the error detection calculated by the code calculation means. Comparing means for comparing the code is configured.

  Further, step S605, step S609, step S612, and step S615 constitute a selection unit that selects one of a plurality of demodulated signals based on the detection result of the error detection unit.

  Further, the control circuit 30 also constitutes hopping control means for hopping the frequency of the carrier wave generated by the carrier wave generation means at a specific period.

  Also according to this modification, unlike the above-described prior art, which simply selects the demodulated signal having the higher received signal strength, the RFID circuit element To from the RFID circuit element To is based on the demodulated signal with fewer errors (or no errors). Information is acquired and the effect that communication accuracy can be improved is acquired. In particular, in this modification, error detection of the I signal and the Q signal is not performed in parallel, but is performed sequentially for each signal (see step S604, step S611, etc. in FIG. 21). Error detection on the I signal side can be omitted by proceeding from step S604 to step S605 to step S606, so that the detection processing amount can be reduced and control can be performed. The processing speed in the circuit 30 can be improved.

  Since the past communication success / failure history (in other words, the selection result of Q signal or I signal at each carrier frequency) is stored in the RAM as described above, based on the selection result, in the past predetermined period. Error detection of a signal having a large number of selections may be performed preferentially (first in order). In this case, correct information can be acquired more quickly by performing error detection preferentially this time for signals that have a large number of past selections, that is, signals that are likely to be error-free or have low communication.

  In addition to the selection result in the RAM, parameter information (tag attribute parameters such as the types of the antenna 152 and the IC circuit unit 151 of the RFID circuit element To, the carrier frequency of the communication radio wave, the communication when performing each communication) (Including communication parameters such as protocol, communication distance, and transmission output) may be stored together. That is, in general, in the case of a communication method in which a modulation signal is transmitted to a communication target and a response signal is received and demodulated, the communication status can vary depending on the communication frequency, communication distance, modulation method, and the like. By storing the information in the RAM in association with the parameter information as described above, it is possible to perform the demodulation at the time of subsequent access more reliably and quickly by using the stored contents.

  In the above description, the RFID tag information is transmitted to the RFID circuit element To and the IC circuit unit is written. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the reading is performed as in the modification (1). The present invention may be applied to the case where a label is created by reading the RFID tag information from the dedicated RFID circuit element To and performing printing corresponding thereto. In this case, the same effect is obtained.

(3) Others The above has described the case where the tag tape is wound to form a roll, the roll is arranged in the cartridge and the tag tape is fed out, but the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, a long flat paper-like or strip-like tape or sheet in which at least one RFID circuit element To is arranged (the one formed by cutting a tape wound around a roll and cutting it to an appropriate length) Are stacked in a predetermined storage unit to form a cartridge, and the cartridge is attached to the cartridge holder on the tag label producing apparatus side, and is transported and transported from the storage unit for printing and writing to produce a tag label. May be.

  Furthermore, the present invention is not limited to the cartridge system, and the above-described roll is directly attached to the tag label producing apparatus, and a long flat paper or strip-like tape or sheet is transferred from the outside of the tag label producing apparatus one by one by a predetermined feeder mechanism. However, it is also possible to supply the tag label producing apparatus. In these cases, the same effect as described above is obtained.

  In addition, the modifications according to the two embodiments described above can be combined as appropriate regardless of the distinction between the embodiments.

Also, the “Scroll” used above
The “All ID” signal, the “Erase” signal, the “Verify” signal, the “Program” signal, the “Kill” signal, and the “Sleep” signal are assumed to conform to the specifications established by the EPC global. EPC global is a non-profit corporation established jointly by the International EAN Association, which is an international organization of distribution codes, and the United Code Code Council (UCC), which is an American distribution code organization. Note that signals conforming to other standards may be used as long as they perform the same function.

  In addition, although not illustrated one by one, the present invention is implemented with various modifications within a range not departing from the gist thereof.

1 is a system configuration diagram showing a wireless tag generation system to which a tag label producing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied. It is a perspective view showing the whole schematic structure of a tag label production apparatus. It is a perspective view showing the casing of the cartridge. FIG. 4 is a top view of the cartridge holder part with the cartridge and the opening / closing lid removed from the apparatus main body as seen from the direction IV in FIG. 2. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the cartridge holder portion in a state where a cartridge and an opening / closing lid are removed from the apparatus main body as seen from a direction V in FIG. 2. It is a conceptual block diagram showing the detailed structure of a tag label production apparatus. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the detailed structure of a cartridge. It is a functional block diagram showing the detailed function of a high frequency circuit. It is a functional block diagram showing the principal part detailed functional composition of a signal processing circuit. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the specific method of the comparison of a comparison circuit, and the selection recognition in the control circuit which received this. It is a functional block diagram showing the functional structure of a wireless tag circuit element. It is the upper surface figure and bottom view showing an example of the appearance of a RFID tag label. It is a cross-sectional view by the XIII-XIII 'cross section in FIG. It is a figure showing an example of the screen displayed on a terminal or a general purpose computer at the time of writing or reading of RFID tag information. It is a flowchart showing the control procedure performed by the control circuit shown in FIG. It is a flowchart showing the detailed procedure of step S200 in FIG. It is a flowchart showing the RFID tag information reading procedure performed by the control circuit. It is a functional block diagram showing the functional structure of the signal processing circuit in the modification which performs error detection by software. It is a figure showing an example of a communication success / failure log | history. It is a flowchart showing the detailed procedure of step S200 which a control circuit performs. It is a flowchart showing the detailed control content of step S340 'and step S410' shown in FIG.

Explanation of symbols

2 Tag label making device (wireless communication device)
10 Print head (printing means)
14 Antenna (device side antenna, information transmitting means, information receiving means)
21 High frequency circuit 30 Control circuit (selection means; error detection means, hopping control means)
32 Transmitter (information transmission means)
33 Receiving part (information receiving means)
35 Crystal resonator (carrier wave generation means)
36 PLL (carrier generation means)
37 VCO (carrier generation means)
38 Transmission multiplier circuit (carrier modulation means)
100 cartridge 101 base tape (tag medium)
107 Pressure roller (conveying means)
151 IC circuit section 152 Antenna (tag side antenna)
201A, B Glitch removal circuit (glitch removal means)
202A, B FM demodulation circuit (demodulation means)
203A, B Serial-parallel conversion circuit (error detection means)
204A, B CRC code extraction circuit (code extraction means, error detection means)
205A, B CRC calculation circuit (code calculation means, error detection means)
206A, B comparison circuit (comparison means, error detection means)
To RFID tag circuit element (communication target)

Claims (15)

Information transmitting means for transmitting a signal for accessing a communication target to the communication target;
An information receiving means for reading a response signal received from the communication object after transmission from the information transmitting means;
Demodulating means for demodulating the response signal read by the information receiving means using a plurality of signals having different phases from each other;
Error detecting means for performing error detection of a plurality of demodulated signals respectively demodulated using the plurality of signals by the demodulating means;
A radio communication apparatus comprising: a selection unit that selects one of the plurality of demodulated signals based on a detection result of the error detection unit. The wireless communication device according to claim 1, wherein
The wireless communication apparatus, wherein the selecting means selects a signal detected by the error detecting means that there is no error or the smallest error among the plurality of demodulated signals. The wireless communication apparatus according to claim 1 or 2,
The error detection means includes
Code extraction means for extracting an error detection code included in the demodulated signal;
Code calculating means for calculating an error detection code from a data portion included in the demodulated signal;
A wireless communication apparatus comprising: an error detection code extracted by the code extraction means; and a comparison means for comparing the error detection code calculated by the code calculation means. The wireless communication device according to claim 3, wherein
The wireless communication apparatus, wherein the error detection means uses a CRC code as the error detection code. The wireless communication device according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The error detection means comprises error number detection means for detecting the number of errors in the demodulated signal,
The wireless communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the selection unit performs the selection based on a detection result of the error number detection unit relating to a plurality of the demodulated signals. The wireless communication apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
The wireless communication apparatus, wherein the error detection means sequentially performs error detection of the plurality of demodulated signals for each demodulated signal. The wireless communication device according to claim 6, wherein
A wireless communication apparatus comprising storage means for storing and holding a selection result obtained by the selection means. The wireless communication device according to claim 7, wherein
The said memory | storage means memorize | stores the parameter information at the time of performing the selection result and communication, The radio | wireless communication apparatus characterized by the above-mentioned. The wireless communication device according to claim 7 or 8,
The error detection means preferentially performs error detection of the demodulated signal having a large number of selections in the past predetermined period based on the selection result of the selection means stored in the storage means. . The wireless communication apparatus according to any one of claims 7 to 9,
Carrier wave generating means for generating a carrier wave;
Carrier modulation means for modulating the carrier wave generated by the carrier wave generation means to generate the modulated signal;
And a hopping control means for hopping the frequency of the carrier wave generated by the carrier wave generation means at a predetermined cycle. The wireless communication apparatus according to claim 10.
The wireless communication apparatus, wherein the storage means stores and holds the selection result for each frequency hopped by the hopping control means. The wireless communication device according to any one of claims 1 to 11,
The radio communication apparatus, wherein the demodulating means demodulates the response signal read by the information receiving means using two signals whose phases are different from each other by approximately 90 °. The wireless communication apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 12,
A radio communication apparatus comprising: a glitch removing unit that removes a glitch component included in the response signal received by the information receiving unit. The wireless communication device according to any one of claims 1 to 13,
The information transmission means transmits a modulation signal for accessing the RFID circuit element as the communication target to the RFID circuit element,
The wireless communication apparatus, wherein the information receiving means reads a response signal from the information transmitting means by the wireless tag circuit element. Information transmitting means for transmitting a modulation signal for accessing the RFID tag circuit element provided in the tape-like or sheet-like tag medium;
An information receiving means for reading a response signal received from the communication object after transmission from the information transmitting means;
Demodulating means for demodulating the response signal read by the information receiving means using a plurality of signals having different phases from each other;
Error detecting means for performing error detection of a plurality of demodulated signals respectively demodulated using the plurality of signals by the demodulating means;
Based on the detection result of the error detection means, a selection means for selecting one of the plurality of demodulated signals, a transport means for transporting the tag medium,
A tag label producing apparatus comprising: a printing unit that performs predetermined printing on the tag medium conveyed by the conveyance unit.

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