JP4660219B2 - Non-contact communication reader device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a reader device for non-contact communication that reads information by performing non-contact communication with devices such as a non-contact IC card and RFID (Radio Frequency Identification).

  An IC for a contactless communication integrated with an antenna and a memory for holding identification information (ID), an integrated circuit equipped with a wireless communication function, and a so-called contactless IC card or a wireless IC tag (RFID tag) are put into practical use. It has been proposed to be used for various purposes such as authentication and settlement.

  A reader or a reader / writer is used to perform wireless communication with such a non-contact communication IC and perform processing such as authentication and settlement. The reader device for non-contact communication in this specification corresponds to such a reader or a reader / writer.

  For example, when entering / leaving management is performed using a non-contact communication IC and a reader / writer device, a reader / writer device is usually required for entering / leaving management and for exit management. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 9, each of the control units 101 and 102 includes a control unit that performs control and signal processing of each unit and a radio unit that performs high-frequency signal processing, and antennas 111 and 112. A plurality of independent reader / writer devices are provided. For this reason, it is inevitable that the cost of the entire management system becomes high.

  Therefore, in Patent Document 1, as shown in FIG. 10, a plurality of antennas 131 and 132 are connected to one processing unit 121 in one reader / writer device, and the plurality of antennas 131 and 132 are connected by the processing unit 121. Some have been proposed to selectively switch. In this configuration, both entrance management and exit management can be performed with only one reader / writer device. Accordingly, since the number of reader / writer devices to be installed is halved, the cost of the system can be greatly reduced.

  For example, when entering / exiting management is performed, it is only necessary to connect two antennas used for communication when entering a room and one used for communication when leaving a room to one reader / writer device. It is thought that it is possible to cope with only the technique disclosed in.

  However, when a large number of objects to be managed exist, such as coin lockers, for example, when charging and security management is performed using a non-contact communication IC and reader / writer device, there are various types. A problem occurs.

  That is, in order to reduce the cost of the entire management system, it is necessary to connect a large number of antennas to a single reader / writer device and perform control so that the large number of antennas are selectively used. However, when there are multiple antennas at positions close to each other, signals transmitted from one non-contact communication IC may be received simultaneously by the multiple antennas of the same reader / writer device. In some cases, the user cannot specify the position where the IC for contactless communication is held. Therefore, for example, when a large number of lockers are densely arranged, the system may mistakenly manage a target locker and another locker adjacent thereto.

  Therefore, if the connection between the receiving circuit and the plurality of antennas is configured so as to switch the switches, adjacent antennas can be reliably separated from each other, but an expensive switch must be employed because the switching unit handles high-frequency signals. Since the number of switches increases as the number of antennas increases, an increase in cost is inevitable.

  In addition, when multiple antennas are selected and used in sequence, it takes a long time to scan all management objects unless the antennas are switched in a short cycle. Characteristics deteriorate. That is, it takes time from when the user holds the IC for contactless communication over a specific antenna of the reader / writer until the reader / writer detects it. However, if the antenna switching period is too short, communication between the IC for non-contact communication and the reader / writer device may fail, or the antenna may be switched during processing, resulting in an abnormal processing result. is there.

JP 2004-227315 A

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and is practical when managing a plurality of management objects using an installed non-contact communication reader device and a non-contact communication IC possessed by a user. An object of the present invention is to provide a reader device for non-contact communication capable of realizing performance at a lower cost.

  A reader device for non-contact communication according to the present invention is a reader device for non-contact communication that reads information by performing non-contact communication with an IC for non-contact communication, and includes a plurality of devices arranged for the non-contact communication. An antenna, a processing unit that is connected to the plurality of antennas and processes communication signals, an antenna switching unit that selectively switches the plurality of antennas, and a resonance frequency characteristic of an unselected antenna among the plurality of antennas is changed. Characteristic switching means.

  With this configuration, a plurality of antennas can be switched by the antenna switching unit, and non-contact communication processing can be performed by the selected antenna and the processing unit. Further, by changing the resonance frequency characteristics of the non-selected antenna by the characteristic switching means, the frequency of the radio signal communicated between the non-contact communication reader device and the non-contact communication IC and the non-selected antenna By shifting the resonance frequency, it is possible to prevent a radio signal from being received by an unselected antenna. Therefore, when managing a plurality of management objects, for example, even when a plurality of antennas are arranged at positions adjacent to each other with a short distance, communication can be performed only with a specific antenna in a selected state. it can. Therefore, a plurality of antennas and a single processing unit enable good communication with each antenna, and practical performance can be realized at a lower cost while suppressing an increase in cost.

  Further, the present invention is the reader device for non-contact communication, wherein the antenna switching unit periodically switches the plurality of antennas, and the characteristic switching unit is in a selection state of the plurality of antennas. Accordingly, the resonant frequency characteristics of the antenna are periodically switched.

  With this configuration, a plurality of antennas can be selected and switched periodically, and good communication can be performed with each selected antenna.

  Also, the present invention is the reader device for contactless communication described above, comprising an amplifier connected to each of the plurality of antennas, wherein the antenna switching means has a switch for turning on and off the operation of each amplifier. The selection state of the plurality of antennas is switched by opening and closing the switch.

  With this configuration, by switching on and off the operations of the amplifiers connected to the plurality of antennas, it is possible to switch the antenna selection without switching the path through which the high-frequency signal flows. Therefore, the antenna can be switched at high speed by an inexpensive switch such as a semiconductor switch element without using an expensive high-frequency relay or the like. Also, high durability can be secured. For this reason, the predetermined performance can be ensured while suppressing the cost increase of the antenna switching means.

  Further, the present invention is the above-mentioned reader device for non-contact communication, wherein the plurality of antennas are constituted by loop antennas, and the characteristic switching means has a switch for short-circuiting or grounding the vicinity of the feeding portion of the antenna. The resonance frequency characteristics of the plurality of antennas are switched by opening and closing the switch.

  With this configuration, the resonance frequency characteristics of the antenna can be changed with an inexpensive and simple configuration by short-circuiting or grounding the vicinity of the feeding portion of the antenna with a switch.

  Further, the present invention is the above-described reader device for non-contact communication, wherein the switch is equivalent to a semiconductor switch element and the semiconductor switch element connected in series and the semiconductor switch element is in an off state. A detection preventing diode having a polarity opposite to the polarity of the formed diode is provided.

  With this configuration, it is possible to prevent a detection operation by a diode that is equivalently formed when the semiconductor switch element is in an OFF state, and it is possible to suppress problems during wireless communication.

  Further, the present invention is the above-mentioned reader device for non-contact communication, wherein the antenna switching means sequentially switches the antenna to be selected every predetermined time to another antenna and outputs a predetermined signal at the selected antenna. When reception is detected, it is assumed that switching to another antenna is performed after the processing related to the received signal is completed.

  With this configuration, it is possible to detect a radio signal from the non-contact communication IC by switching the antennas at a predetermined cycle in a plurality of antennas. For example, by shortening the antenna switching cycle, scanning can be performed at high speed even when the number of antennas is large, and response characteristics can be improved. In addition, by switching to another antenna after the processing related to the received signal is completed, the communication processing with the non-contact communication IC can be reliably executed.

  According to the present invention, when managing a plurality of management objects using a non-contact communication reader device installed and a non-contact communication IC possessed by a user, practical performance is realized at a lower cost. It is possible to provide a reader device for non-contact communication that can be used.

  In the present embodiment, non-contact communication is performed with a non-contact communication IC such as a non-contact IC card possessed by the user, authentication of identification information of the user or non-contact IC, billing settlement, etc. in a state where security is ensured. The structural example of the reader apparatus for non-contact communication which performs the process of is shown.

  Specifically, this is suitable when there are a plurality of management objects such as coin lockers and the management objects are arranged at adjacent positions. In addition, about the antenna for communicating with IC for non-contact communication, it shall each be installed for every management target object (for example, individual locker).

  First, a schematic configuration of an embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a reader device for non-contact communication according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration of a modification of the reader device for non-contact communication according to an embodiment of the present invention. .

  The reader device for non-contact communication according to the present embodiment includes a control unit 1 having a control circuit that controls each unit and a signal processing circuit that performs signal processing, and a radio unit 2 having a transmission circuit and a reception circuit that process high-frequency signals. Is included. Two amplifiers 4A and 4B are connected to the processing unit 3, and antennas 5A and 5B are connected to the amplifiers 4A and 4B, respectively. Each amplifier 4A, 4B is connected to a switch 6A, 6B such as a semiconductor switch that turns on and off the operation of the amplifier by opening and closing the connection to the ground. The switches 6A and 6B correspond to an example of an antenna switching unit.

  In this way, two amplifiers 4A and 4B and antennas 5A and 5B are provided for one processing unit 3, and the operation of the amplifier is controlled on and off by opening and closing the switches 6A and 6B connected to the amplifiers 4A and 4B. And one of the antennas can be selectively switched to operate.

  2 includes one processing unit 3 and an amplifier 7 and two antennas 5A and 5B connected to the processing unit 3 and the amplifier 7, and the amplifier 7 and the antennas 5A and 5B are provided. Is provided with a switch 8 such as a relay for switching the connection between the two antennas 5A and 5B. The switch 8 corresponds to an example of an antenna switching unit. Even in such a modification, one of the antennas can be selectively switched by the switch 8 to operate.

  FIG. 3 is a circuit diagram showing a circuit configuration of the antenna unit. In this embodiment, a short-circuit means for short-circuiting both ends of the loop antenna whose operation is stopped is provided in the antenna unit. This short-circuit means corresponds to an example of characteristic switching means for changing the resonance frequency characteristic of the antenna.

  As shown in FIG. 3A, in an antenna unit 50 formed of a loop antenna including a resonance circuit (not shown), a transistor QA as a short-circuit means for short-circuiting both ends of the antenna in the vicinity of the power feeding unit is connected. When the antenna unit 50 is selected and operated, the transistor QA is turned off to open the vicinity of the feeding portion of the loop antenna. When the antenna unit 50 is not operated, the transistor QA is turned on and the vicinity of the feeding portion of the loop antenna is short-circuited. Let When the antenna unit 50 is not operated, the vicinity of the power feeding unit may be grounded. Thereby, the resonance frequency of the antenna which is not selected can be changed, and malfunction due to resonance can be prevented.

  Here, in the configuration in which the transistor QA is connected to the feeding portion of the antenna unit 50 as shown in FIG. 3A, the equivalent circuit when this antenna unit 50 is selected (when the transistor QA is off) is shown in FIG. It can be expressed as (b). That is, the transistor QA forms a diode under the influence of the internal PN junction. In this case, since the diode formed by the transistor QA detects a signal applied to the antenna, a problem may occur in the transmission / reception operation of the antenna.

  Therefore, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3C, a diode DA for preventing detection is connected in series with the transistor QA. The equivalent circuit in this case can be expressed as shown in FIG. That is, two diodes are connected in series with opposite polarities. Thereby, the detection operation by the transistor QA can be prevented.

  Next, a specific configuration of the reader device for non-contact communication according to the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a main part of the reader device for non-contact communication according to the embodiment of the present invention.

  The reader device for contactless communication includes a signal processing circuit 10 that performs signal processing such as a baseband signal, a control circuit 20 that includes a CPU that controls each unit, and a transmission that performs modulation and outputs a high-frequency transmission signal. The circuit 30 is configured to include a receiving circuit 40 that performs detection or the like and demodulates a received signal, and a plurality of antenna units 50A and 50B. In this example, in order to simplify the explanation, it is assumed that the two antenna units 50A and 50B are connected to the processing unit and the radio unit constituting one reader / writer device, but the number of antennas to be connected Can be increased as needed.

  The signal processing circuit 10 has various functions necessary for communication with a predetermined non-contact communication IC. For example, various commands are sent to the IC for non-contact communication, the presence / absence of a response from the IC for non-contact communication, the processing of information encryption / decryption, etc. Authentication is performed for the response from the IC. The signal processing circuit 10 transmits and receives signals in synchronization with a synchronization signal input as a clock.

  The control circuit 20 has a built-in microprocessor, controls the signal processing circuit 10, and outputs the antenna switching signal SG1 while monitoring the state of the signal processing circuit 10. Further, each antenna unit 50A, 50B manages whether or not the communication partner non-contact communication IC is available, and outputs a control signal SG2 indicating the management state.

  The transmission circuit 30 includes a carrier oscillator 31, a modulation circuit 32, two systems of an amplifier 33 and a filter circuit 34, an amplifier 35 and a filter circuit 36, an inverter 37, an inverter 38, and transistors Q1 and Q3.

  The carrier oscillator 31 always outputs a signal of a carrier wave (for example, 13.56 MHz) of a signal to be transmitted to the non-contact communication IC. A carrier wave signal (carrier signal) output from the carrier oscillator 31 is input to the amplifiers 33 and 35 and the signal processing circuit 10.

  The modulation circuit 32 converts the transmission signal output from the signal processing circuit 10 into a modulation signal and outputs the modulation signal to the amplifiers 33 and 35. The amplifier 33 and the amplifier 35 modulate and amplify the transmission signal from the carrier wave signal and the modulation signal, and output the result. The amplifiers 33 and 35 are connected between the transistors Q1 and Q3 constituting the antenna switching means between the ground in order to turn on and off the respective operations. The antenna switching signal SG1 output from the control circuit 20 is directly applied to the control terminal (base) of the transistor Q1, and the antenna switching signal SG1 is inverted by the inverter 38 and applied to the control terminal (base) of the transistor Q3. .

  The transmission signal output from the amplifier 33 is band-limited by the filter circuit 34 and output, and the transmission signal output from the amplifier 35 is band-limited and output by the filter circuit 36.

  On the other hand, the reception circuit 40 includes a detection circuit 41, a filter circuit 42, and an amplifier 43. The signals received by the antenna units 50A and 50B of the reader device for non-contact communication are detected by the detection circuit 41, and only the signal component in the target band is extracted by the filter circuit 42, and then amplified by the amplifier 43. The received signal is input to the signal processing circuit 10.

  The antenna units 50A and 50B are loop antennas having resonance circuits having the same characteristics. In the antenna unit 50A, a power feeding unit at one end is connected to the output of the filter circuit 34 and the input of the detection circuit 41 via the capacitor C1, and the other end is grounded. The antenna unit 50B has one end of the power supply unit connected to the output of the filter circuit 36 and the input of the detection circuit 41 via the capacitor C2, and the other end connected to the ground.

  In addition, a series circuit of a transistor Q2 and a diode D1 serving as a switch for short-circuiting the antenna unit 50A is connected between the vicinity of the power supply unit of the antenna unit 50A and the ground, and the vicinity of the power supply unit of the antenna unit 50B and the ground. In between, a series circuit of a transistor Q4 and a diode D2 serving as a switch for short-circuiting the antenna unit 50B is connected. The diodes D1 and D2 function as the aforementioned diode for preventing detection. The antenna switching signal SG1 output from the control circuit 20 is inverted and applied to the control terminal (base) of the transistor Q2 by the inverter 37, and the antenna switching signal SG1 is applied to the control terminal (base) of the transistor Q4 as it is. .

  In this configuration, two antenna units 50A and 50B are commonly connected to the input of the same receiving circuit 40 via capacitors C1 and C2. Therefore, for example, when signals transmitted from the same non-contact communication IC are received by the two antenna units 50A and 50B, the user selects the non-contact communication IC as either the antenna unit 50A or the antenna unit 50B. It is impossible to distinguish whether it is close to.

  Therefore, on / off control of the transistors Q2 and Q4 is performed according to the selected state of the antenna units 50A and 50B selected by turning on and off the transistors Q1 and Q3 by the antenna switching signal SG1, and the power feeding unit of the antenna unit in one non-selected state is controlled. Short circuit and ground. When the power feeding unit is short-circuited in this way, the impedance of the resonance circuit of one antenna unit changes, so that the resonance frequency is shifted. As a result, only the selected antenna unit receives the target signal, and the non-selected antenna unit cannot receive the signal of the target frequency. Therefore, the antenna unit that has received the signal transmitted from the non-contact communication IC Can be reliably identified.

  In addition, by short-circuiting the power feeding unit of the antenna unit in the non-selected state, the carrier signal is not transmitted from the antenna unit in the non-selected state even if the carrier signal is always output from the transmission circuit 30. It is also possible to stop the operation of the non-contact communication IC approaching the part. That is, since a general non-contact communication IC uses the power of the received carrier signal as a power source, the operation of the non-contact communication IC stops by stopping the transmission of the carrier signal. Thereby, for example, when an unauthorized non-contact communication IC is detected, it is possible to lock the operation of the corresponding non-contact communication IC so that it is not illegally used.

  In the configuration example shown in FIG. 4, a semiconductor switch is employed to connect or open the amplifiers 33 and 35 and the power feeding units of the antenna units 50A and 50B and the ground. However, a mechanical switch such as a relay is used. Can also be replaced. It is also possible to switch a plurality of antennas with a mechanical switch such as a relay. FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a modification of the main part of the reader device for non-contact communication. In this modification, the switch by the transistors Q1 and Q3 in the configuration of FIG. 4 is replaced with a relay circuit 71, and a single transmission circuit 70 is configured. A relay circuit 71 is provided between the transmission circuit 70 and the reception circuit 40 and the antenna units 50A and 50B, and an antenna switching signal SG1 is input from the control circuit 20. The antenna switching signal SG1 is inverted and applied by the inverter 72 to the control terminal (base) of the transistor Q2, and the antenna switching signal SG1 is applied to the control terminal (base) of the transistor Q4 as it is. Also in the modified example shown in FIG. 5, the antenna unit 50A or 50B can be selectively switched by the antenna switching signal SG1, and the non-selected antenna unit can be short-circuited or grounded.

  Although the circuit shown in FIG. 4 seems to have a relatively complicated configuration, the cost of the semiconductor circuit can be greatly reduced by configuring it as an integrated circuit, so that the cost is lower than when a mechanical switch is used. Is easily reduced.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the antenna switching signal and the operations of the transistors Q1 to Q4 in the non-contact communication reader device of this embodiment. In the present embodiment, the transistor Q1 is provided as a switch to control the on / off of the amplifier 33, and the transistor Q3 is provided as a switch to control the on / off of the amplifier 35.

  When the antenna switching signal SG1 is H (high level), the transistor Q1 is turned on, the transistor Q2 is turned off, the transistor Q3 is turned off, and the transistor Q4 is turned on. In this case, the antenna unit 50B is selected, the non-selected antenna unit 50A is short-circuited, and the resonance frequency changes. When the antenna switching signal SG1 is L (low level), the transistor Q1 is turned off, the transistor Q2 is turned on, the transistor Q3 is turned on, and the transistor Q4 is turned off. In this case, the antenna unit 50A is selected, the non-selected antenna unit 50B is short-circuited, and the resonance frequency changes.

  That is, any one of the antennas is always selected by the control of the antenna switching signal SG1 output from the control circuit 20, and the other antennas are not selected. In practice, antenna switching is performed periodically in a short cycle.

  Next, operations of the signal processing circuit 10 and the control circuit 20 related to switching between the antenna units 50A and 50B will be described. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure relating to antenna switching in the contactless communication reader device of this embodiment.

  First, a signal received by one of the antennas is processed by the receiving circuit 40 and the signal processing circuit 10 to identify whether or not a response from the non-contact communication IC has been detected (step S11). If no response is detected, it is determined whether 0.1 second has elapsed since the antenna was switched (step S12). If 0.1 second has not elapsed, the process returns to step S11.

  When 0.1 second has elapsed in step S12, the two antenna units 50A and 50B are switched (step S13). Here, by switching the state of the antenna switching signal SG1, the two antenna units 50A and 50B are alternately switched every time step S13 is executed. In addition, what is necessary is just to select cyclically in order, when the number of antennas is three or more. Therefore, when a response from the IC for non-contact communication is not detected, the selected antenna is switched every time 0.1 second elapses.

  When a response from the non-contact communication IC is detected in step S11, the result of mutual authentication is confirmed (step S14). That is, the non-contact communication reader apparatus recognizes the non-contact communication IC as a regular card and checks whether the non-contact communication IC recognizes the non-contact communication reader apparatus as a regular reader / writer. .

  If the result of mutual authentication is OK, the process proceeds to the next step S16, and if it is NG, NG display is performed (step S15). In step S15, a control signal SG2 is output from the control circuit 20, and a message indicating NG is displayed on a display unit (not shown) in order to notify the user that the corresponding non-contact communication IC is unavailable. . In step S13, antenna switching is performed.

  If the result of mutual authentication is OK, it is confirmed whether or not a response from the non-contact communication IC is detected after the mutual authentication is successful (step S16). Here, when a response cannot be detected, it is determined whether or not a predetermined time (40 milliseconds) has elapsed (step S17). When a predetermined time elapses during which no response is detected in steps S16 and S17, the process proceeds to step S15 to perform NG display and notify the user of an error.

  If a response from the non-contact communication IC is detected after the mutual authentication is successful, it is determined whether or not the information reading operation (read) from the non-contact communication IC has been performed normally. (Step S18). Here, if normal, the process proceeds to the next step S19, and if there is an abnormality, the process proceeds to step S15 to perform NG display to notify the user of the error. If the reading operation has been performed normally, it is determined whether or not the information writing operation (writing) to the non-contact communication IC has been performed normally (step S19). Here, if normal, the process proceeds to the next step S20, and if there is an abnormality, the process proceeds to step S15 to perform NG display to notify the user of the error.

  When reading and writing to the non-contact communication IC are normally completed, an OK display is performed on a display unit (not shown) in order to notify the user that the processing has been normally performed (step S20). Here, it is recognized that the corresponding non-contact communication IC, that is, the non-contact communication IC that is considered to be facing the specific antenna portion currently selected, can be used, and reading and writing are normally performed. The fact that it has been done is displayed on the display unit. Specifically, for example, the control signal SG2 output from the control circuit 20 is used to notify the user of the available state, processing completion, and the like. For example, in the case of a device that manages a coin locker or the like, the use of the management target object (for example, an individual locker) associated with a specific antenna unit currently selected in the corresponding contactless communication IC is permitted. Necessary processing such as authentication processing and billing settlement.

  After all processing necessary for various exchanges (communication protocols) with the non-contact communication IC is completed and OK display is performed, the process proceeds to step S13 to switch the antenna. Therefore, the antenna is switched after the communication process with one non-contact communication IC is completely completed.

  For this reason, the process is not interrupted or the execution of the process is not delayed by the periodic switching of the antenna. However, if there is no non-contact communication IC close to the selected antenna unit, it can be selected by switching to the next antenna unit with a period of 0.1 seconds. Therefore, for example, even when 10 independent management objects exist and 10 antenna units are connected to the processing unit of the reader device for non-contact communication, the antenna scan within 1 second is possible. Therefore, it is possible to reliably detect the IC for non-contact communication, and a favorable response characteristic can be expected.

  Note that the operation procedure shown in FIG. 7 may be changed as necessary in accordance with, for example, a change in a standard such as a communication protocol.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a configuration example in which the non-contact communication reader device of this embodiment is applied to a coin locker. For example, in the coin locker 60 in which eight storage units 61A to 61H are connected, the processing unit 3 having one control unit 1 and the radio unit 3 is provided. And antenna part 62A-62H is arrange | positioned in each accommodating part 61A-61H. In this configuration, by selectively switching the antenna units 62A to 62H in the processing unit 3, the eight antenna units 62A to 62H can be selectively operated while switching at high speed by one processing unit, and there is no communication error. Authentication and payment processing by contact communication becomes possible. In particular, a non-contact communication reader device having a relatively small communicable distance such as a non-contact IC card reader / writer device is used, and a large number of management objects such as a coin locker storage unit are close to each other. This embodiment is suitable when it is necessary to distinguish them in a state where they are lined up.

  In the present embodiment described above, even if the number of management objects to be managed increases, it is possible to cope with the addition of a part of the antenna and the circuit by one processing unit, and it is possible to manage a large number of management objects at low cost. It becomes possible. Moreover, even when adjacent management objects are close to each other, short-circuiting the non-selected antennas can prevent the adjacent antennas from interfering with each other, so that multiple management objects can be reliably distinguished and managed. can do. For this reason, a reliable operation can be expected even when a large number of antennas are connected to one processing unit or when the distance between adjacent antennas is close to each other. A communication reader device can be realized at a lower cost. Therefore, for example, a coin locker has a large number of management objects, adjacent management objects are arranged in a state of being close to each other, and moreover, by applying to an application where it is required to reduce the cost of the management device as much as possible, A big effect is acquired.

  The present invention realizes practical performance at a lower cost when managing a plurality of management objects using an installed non-contact communication reader device and a non-contact communication IC possessed by a user. It has a possible effect, and is useful for a reader device for non-contact communication that reads information by performing non-contact communication with devices such as a non-contact IC card and RFID.

The block diagram which shows schematic structure of the reader apparatus for non-contact communication concerning embodiment of this invention The figure which shows the structure of the modification of the reader apparatus for non-contact communication which concerns on embodiment of this invention. The circuit diagram which shows the circuit structure of the antenna part which concerns on this embodiment The block diagram which shows the structure of the principal part of the reader apparatus for non-contact communication which concerns on embodiment of this invention. The block diagram which shows the structure of the modification of the principal part of the reader apparatus for non-contact communication which concerns on embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows the operation | movement of the antenna switching signal and transistor Q1-Q4 in the reader apparatus for non-contact communication of this embodiment The flowchart which shows the process sequence regarding the antenna switching in the reader apparatus for non-contact communication of this embodiment The figure which shows the structural example which applied the reader apparatus for non-contact communication of this embodiment to the coin locker Block diagram showing a configuration example of a reader device for non-contact communication Block diagram showing a configuration example of a reader device for non-contact communication

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Control part 2 Radio | wireless part 3 Processing part 4A, 4B, 7 Amplifier 5A, 5B Antenna 6A, 6B, 8 Switch 10 Signal processing circuit 20 Control circuit 30, 70 Transmission circuit 31 Carrier oscillator 32 Modulation circuit 33, 35 Amplifier 34, 36 Filter circuit 37, 38, 72 Inverter 40 Receiving circuit 41 Detection circuit 42 Filter circuit 43 Amplifier 50, 50A, 50B Antenna portion 71 Relay circuit Q1, Q2, Q3, Q4, QA Transistors D1, D2, DA diode C1, C2 Capacitor

Claims (4)

A non-contact communication reader device that reads information by performing non-contact communication with an IC for non-contact communication,
A plurality of antennas arranged for the contactless communication;
A processing unit connected to the plurality of antennas for processing communication signals;
Antenna switching means for selectively switching the plurality of antennas;
And a characteristic switching means for changing the resonance frequency characteristics of the non-selected state antenna in the plurality of antennas
The plurality of antennas are configured by loop antennas,
The characteristic switching means has a switch that short-circuits or grounds the vicinity of the power feeding portion of the antenna, and switches resonance frequency characteristics of the plurality of antennas by opening and closing the switch.
The switch includes a semiconductor switch element and a detection preventing diode connected in series with the semiconductor switch element and having a polarity opposite to that of the diode formed equivalently when the semiconductor switch element is in an OFF state. A non-contact communication reader device. The reader device for non-contact communication according to claim 1,
The antenna switching unit periodically switches the plurality of antennas, and the characteristic switching unit performs periodic switching of the resonance frequency characteristics of the antennas according to a selection state of the plurality of antennas. Reader device. The reader device for contactless communication according to claim 1 or 2,
An amplifier connected to each of the plurality of antennas;
The antenna switching means has a switch for turning on and off the operation of each amplifier, and is a reader device for non-contact communication that switches the selection state of the plurality of antennas by opening and closing the switch. The reader device for contactless communication according to any one of claims 1 to 3 ,
The antenna switching means sequentially switches the antenna to be selected every predetermined time to another antenna, and when the reception of a predetermined signal is detected at the selected antenna, the antenna switching means Reader device for non-contact communication that switches to the other antenna.

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