JP5011579B2 - RF tag reading apparatus, RF tag reading method and program - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an RF tag reading apparatus, an RF tag reading method, and a program for reading RF tags of a plurality of different communication standards.

  Non-contact IC cards, non-contact IC tags, and RF (Radio Frequency) tags (hereinafter, unless otherwise specified, RF tags include non-contact IC cards and non-contact IC tags) are passive and active. There is a type. The passive type does not contain a battery and receives a radio wave from a tag reader and returns a reflected wave. The active type has a battery and emits a radio wave by itself. The antenna of the passive RF tag reflects part of the radio wave from the tag reader, and returns ID (Identification) information on this reflected wave.

  The communication standard of the passive RF tag includes, for example, ISO / IEC (International Standardization Organization / International Electrotechnical Commission) 14443 Type A, Type B, ISO / IEC15693, FeliCa, ISO / IEC18000- 3 and ISO / IEC 18000-6 Type A, Type B, Type C using the UHF band frequency, ISO / IEC 18000-4 using the frequency of 2.45 GHz band, μ chip, and the like.

  As a related technique, Patent Document 1 discloses power supply power supplied to an antenna circuit corresponding to a type of a radio signal as an easy-to-use IC card reader corresponding to different communication standards (Type A and Type B). A method of switching corresponding to a communication standard is described.

  As a related technique, Patent Document 2 discloses a non-contact ID system that reads a unique ID (hereinafter referred to as UID) assigned to RF tags having different communication standards at a time. The technology described in Patent Document 2 transmits a request command including a plurality of communication standards to the reader module at a time, and the reader module sequentially transmits interrogation radio waves to the IC card for the plurality of communication standards. The reception result is received and the reception results are collected and transmitted to the host system. By reducing the number of communications between the reader module and the host system, the processing time of the entire system is shortened.

  As a method for shortening the communication time with the non-contact IC card, Patent Document 3 describes a method for transmitting inquiry signals from the host organization to the interrogator at once. In the non-contact ID system of Patent Document 3, when the host management device transmits a question request including a request for inquiring a non-contact IC card for different communication standards to each of a plurality of interrogators, When each interrogator transmits an interrogation signal, a stop request for requesting other interrogators to stop transmitting the interrogation signal to the non-contact IC card is included.

  The RFID communication apparatus of Patent Document 4 stores a waveform pattern for each RFID frequency band as a transmission block, encodes transmission data using the waveform pattern, transmits the data from the RF circuit, and receives data received by the RF circuit. Is sampled by the reception control block and then shaped through a predetermined filter to detect the code, so that one apparatus can cope with various communication standards.

Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2005-218020 JP 2005-309726 A JP 2006-268380 A JP 2007-134941 A

  As described above, there are a plurality of communication standards for the RF tag, and a plurality of communication standards for reading and writing the RF tag in one place may be mixed. In the related-art RF tag reader / writer system, switching of antenna modules and the like is controlled when processing programs of a plurality of communication standards are sequentially executed in order to add corresponding types of RF tags. In order to control the ON / OFF of the antenna module each time one program is executed, if the number of programs to be executed increases, there is a problem that the waiting time for switching the antenna module for communication increases.

  If the number of types of communication standards read / written by one RF tag reader / writer is increased, it takes a long time to detect an RF tag, and it is necessary to limit the types of RF tags that can be detected at one time.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and an RF tag reading apparatus, an RF tag reading method, and an RF tag reading apparatus that suppress an increase in RF tag detection time in an RF tag reading apparatus that supports a plurality of communication standards. The purpose is to provide a program.

In order to achieve the above object, an RF tag reader according to the first aspect of the present invention provides:
A plurality of reading means for reading each of RF tags of three or more different communication standards;
For the plurality of reading means, an order setting means for setting the execution order of the plurality of reading means by causing the execution order of the reading means of the communication standards having the same frequency band and / or modulation scheme to continue.
Switching means for sequentially executing the plurality of reading means according to the execution order set by the order setting means;
It is characterized by providing.

An RF tag reading method according to a second aspect of the present invention includes:
For a plurality of reading processes for reading each of the RF tags of three or more different communication standards, the execution order of the reading processes of the communication standards having the same frequency band and / or modulation scheme is made continuous, An order setting step for setting the execution order of the reading process;
A switching step for sequentially executing the plurality of reading processes according to the execution order set in the order setting step;
It is characterized by providing.

A program according to the third aspect of the present invention is stored in a computer.
With regard to a plurality of reading processes for reading each of the RF tags of three or more different communication standards, the execution order of the reading processes of the communication standards having the same frequency band and / or modulation scheme is made continuous, An order setting step for setting the execution order of the reading process;
A switching step for sequentially executing the plurality of reading processes according to the execution order set in the order setting step;
Is executed.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to shorten the turnaround time for reading an RF tag with an RF tag reader that supports a plurality of communication standards. As a result, the types of RF tags that can be detected at a time can be increased.

It is a block diagram which shows the structural example of the RF tag reader which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of the frequency band for every communication standard, a channel number, and a modulation degree. It is a figure which shows the example of each stable time for every transmission / reception part. It is a figure which shows the example of waiting time at the time of performing a processing program in the order memorize | stored. It is a figure which shows the example of waiting time when a processing program is performed in the order rearranged by the processing order determination part. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an operation of determining a reading processing order according to the first embodiment. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a reading process switching operation according to the first embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the structural example of the RF tag reader which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is a conceptual diagram which shows the effect | action of the RF tag reader which concerns on Embodiment 2. FIG. It is a figure which shows the example of the reception waiting time for every communication standard and command. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a read processing operation according to the second embodiment. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an operation of response delay time measurement according to a modification of the second embodiment.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the drawings, the same or corresponding parts are denoted by the same reference numerals. The RF tag reading device, the RF tag reading method, and the program of the present invention can be applied not only to a device that only reads an RF tag, but also to a device that writes data to the RF tag. Normally, when writing to an RF tag, reading is continued in order to confirm that data has been written correctly. In general, the RF tag writing device is an RF tag read / write device. In the following embodiments, an RF tag reader will be described as a representative.

(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an RF tag reading apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. The RF tag reader 1 reads the RF tag 2 of a plurality of communication standards. The RF tag reader 1 includes a control unit 4, a program storage unit 7, a signal processing unit 9, a transmission / reception buffer 10, an AD / DA conversion unit 11, an RF selector 15, transmission / reception units 12a, 12b, and 12c, and an order. An information storage unit 14 is provided.

  The control unit 4 includes a PC interpreter 5, a protocol processing unit 6, and a processing order determination unit 13. The program storage unit 7 stores processing programs 16a to 16n for a plurality of communication standards. Hereinafter, the processing programs 16a to 16n are collectively referred to as a processing program 16.

  The control unit 4 includes a processor including a CPU, a memory, and an I / O. The control part 4 can also be comprised by FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array). In addition, the signal processing unit 9 and the AD / DA conversion unit 11 may be included in a digital signal processor (DSP).

  The program storage unit 7 includes a non-volatile memory such as a ROM (Read Only Memory), a flash memory, a hard disk, a DVD-RAM (Digital Versatile Disc Random Access Memory), a DVD-RW (Digital Versatile Disc ReWritable). Alternatively, each processing program 16 may be downloaded from the host computer 3 when the RF tag reader 1 is activated using a volatile memory. When the access time of the program storage unit 7 is longer than the switching of the reading process, each processing program 16 is resident in the memory of the control unit 4 and executed.

  The program storage unit 7 may store a control program 17 that executes processing order determination and reading processing switching described later, and may be loaded into the memory of the control unit 4 and executed. In this case, the control program 17 is loaded into the memory of the control unit 4 and executes the processes of the PC interpreter 5, the protocol processing unit 6, and the processing order determination unit 13.

  The PC interpreter 5 reads the processing program 16 from the program storage unit 7 and causes the protocol processing unit 6 to execute it. Further, when the processing program 16 is downloaded from the host computer 3, the PC interpreter 5 performs it. In that case, when receiving a download instruction of the processing program 16, the program data to be continuously transmitted is received and stored in the program storage unit 7. Further, upon receiving a deletion instruction for the processing program 16, the corresponding program data is deleted from the program storage unit 7.

  When the PC interpreter 5 receives an instruction to read the identification code (ID) of the RF tag 2 and a user data read instruction (or write instruction) from the host computer 3, the PC interpreter 5 reads the processing program 16 from the program storage unit 7, It is sent to the protocol processing unit 6. If the communication standard of the target RF tag 2 instructed to be read is specified as one, the corresponding processing program 16 is sent to the protocol processing unit 6. If one communication standard is not designated, a plurality of designated processing programs 16 or all the processing programs 16 stored in the program storage unit 7 are sequentially sent to the protocol processing unit 6 to be executed in order. . When the reading of the RF tag 2 of an unspecified communication standard is repeatedly performed, the protocol processing unit 6 is caused to execute all the processing programs 16 stored in the program storage unit 7 in the repeated order.

  In the first embodiment, it is assumed that the communication standard of the RF tag 2 to be read is unknown and all the processing programs 16 stored in the program storage unit 7 are executed in order. The PC interpreter 5 inquires of the processing order determination unit 13 about the processing program 16 to be executed next. The processing order determination unit 13 reads the processing order determined in advance from the order information storage unit 14 and returns the identification number of the processing program 16 to be executed next to the PC interpreter 5.

  The PC interpreter 5 instructs the protocol processing unit 6 on the processing program 16 in accordance with the identification number of the processing program 16 received from the processing order storage unit 13, and transmits / receives the transmitting / receiving units 12 a to 12 c (hereinafter referred to as the RF selector 15) in accordance with the processing program 16. , Generically referred to as a transmission / reception unit 12). The RF selector 15 selects the transmission / reception unit 12 to be used in accordance with an instruction from the PC interpreter 5.

  The protocol processing unit 6 executes each processing program 16 and controls the signal processing unit 9 to communicate with the RF tag 2. The protocol processing unit 6 generates a packet to be transmitted and decodes the received packet. In addition to the generated transmission packet, the protocol processing unit 6 sends information such as a transmission channel number, a modulation degree, and a signal data rate to the signal processing unit 9.

  The signal processing unit 9 performs digital signal processing in transmission / reception with the RF tag 2. The signal processing unit 9 stores the received transmission packet in the transmission / reception buffer 10 and sends the transmission channel number and the modulation degree to the RF selector 15. Then, the transmission packet is decompressed so that the signal speed analog-converted by the AD / DA conversion section 11 becomes the instructed signal data speed, and is sent to the AD / DA conversion section 11. send.

  The RF selector 15 passes the transmission channel number and modulation degree received from the signal processing unit 9 to the selected transmission / reception unit 12 as they are. Further, the analog-converted transmission packet is transferred from the AD / DA converter 11 to the transmitter / receiver 12.

  The transmission / reception unit 12 sets the carrier frequency so that the designated transmission channel number is obtained, modulates the transmission packet in accordance with the modulation degree, and communicates with the RF tag 2. The transmission / reception unit 12 converts the received signal from the RF tag 2 into an intermediate frequency, demodulates it, and sends it to the AD / DA conversion unit 11.

  The AD / DA converter 11 digitally converts the demodulated received signal and sends it to the signal processor 9. The signal processing unit 9 accumulates received signals in the transmission / reception buffer 10. When a predetermined reception continuation time has elapsed since the transmission packet was transmitted, the reception signal accumulated in the transmission / reception buffer 10 until then is notified to the protocol processing unit 6.

  The protocol processing unit 6 detects a response signal from the received signal, generates a response packet of the RF tag 2, and sends it to the PC interpreter 5. When the response signal cannot be detected, the protocol processing unit 6 notifies the PC interpreter 5 that there is no response of the communication standard. The PC interpreter 5 notifies the read result to the host computer 3. Subsequently, the PC interpreter 5 selects a processing program 16 to be executed next in accordance with the information of the processing order determination unit 13 and causes the protocol processing unit 6 to execute it.

  As described above, the processing unit 16, the protocol processing unit 6, the signal processing unit 9, the AD / DA conversion unit 11, and the transmission / reception unit 12 constitute reading means. The reading means may be configured by a dedicated circuit for each communication standard, without depending on the processing program 16. The PC interpreter 5, the RF selector 15 and the control program 17 constitute switching means. The processing order determination unit 13 is order setting means.

  Among the reading means, the protocol processing unit 6, the signal processing unit 9, the AD / DA conversion unit 11 (of which DA conversion), the transmission / reception unit 12 and the processing program 16 constitute a transmission unit. Further, if the response signal is detected as demodulation in a broad sense, the demodulating means includes a transmitting / receiving unit 12, an AD / DA conversion unit 11 (of which AD conversion), a signal processing unit, among reading units. 9 includes a protocol processing unit 6 and a processing program 16.

  The processing order determination unit 13 determines in advance the order in which the processing programs 16 are executed from the set of processing programs 16 stored in the program storage unit 7. FIG. 2 shows an example of the frequency band, channel number, and modulation degree for each communication standard. In the example of FIG. 2, it is assumed that all the modulation schemes are ASK (Amplitude Shift Keying), and the only difference in the modulation schemes is the modulation degree. The frequency band, channel number, and modulation degree for each communication standard may be described in the processing program 16. Alternatively, the association data as shown in FIG. 2 may be stored in the order information storage unit 14, for example.

  The processing order determination unit 13 acquires the used frequency band, the used channel number, and the used modulation method for each processing program 16 stored in the program storage unit 7. The processing order determination unit 13 classifies the processing program 16 by the used frequency band and / or the used modulation scheme, and further classifies the processing program 16 in the same used frequency band by the channel number.

  FIG. 3 shows an example of each stabilization time for each transmission / reception unit 12. The processing order determination unit 13 rearranges the processing programs 16 in ascending order of the stabilization waiting time according to the reference frequency stabilization time, channel change time, and modulation degree change time for each transmission / reception unit 12. That is, in the example of FIG. 3, the processing program 16 is first rearranged so that the used frequency band is continuous. Next, the processing programs 16 with the same frequency band are rearranged so that the processing programs 16 with the same modulation degree are continuous. Further, the processing program 16 having the same used frequency band and the same modulation degree is rearranged so that the used channel numbers are continuous. In other words, the processing program 16 is sorted using the frequency band, modulation degree, and channel number as keys in that order. However, the order of sorting of the keys may be any ascending order, descending order, or arbitrary order as long as the processing programs 16 having the same attribute need to continue.

  FIG. 4A shows an example of the waiting time when the processing program 16 is executed in the stored order. In the example of FIG. 4A, the communication standard processing execution order is A, E, F, B, G. Since the use frequency bands in the execution order are not continuous, the waiting time shown in FIG. 3 is required when the processing programs 16 are executed in the order shown in FIG. 4A. The stabilization waiting time in FIG. 4A is the sum of the reference frequency stabilization time, channel change time, and modulation degree change time. When the processing programs 16 of the five communication standards shown in FIG. 4A are executed in that order, the stable waiting time is 1080 μsec in total (the lowest stage).

  FIG. 4B shows an example of the waiting time when the processing program 16 is executed in the order rearranged by the processing order determination unit 13. In the example of FIG. 4B, the communication standard processing execution order is A, B, E, F, G. Since the used frequency band is continuous, the processing of the communication standard B and the communication standard G does not take the reference frequency stabilization time. Moreover, since the modulation degree is the same as that of the previous communication standard A in the communication standard B, the modulation degree change time is not required. As a result, the total stabilization waiting time is 660 μsec.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of determining the reading processing order according to the first embodiment. The reading process order determination is activated when the processing program 16 is added or deleted. The processing order determination unit 13 reads a list of reading processing communication standards of the processing program 16 stored in the program storage unit 7 from the PC interpreter 5 (step S11).

  The processing order determination unit 13 changes the order of the processing program 16 to an order in which the used frequency bands are continuous (step S12). Next, the modulation schemes are rearranged in the same order in the same frequency band (step S13). Further, in the same frequency band and modulation scheme, the channel numbers are continued and the processing order is determined (step S14). The processing order determination unit 13 stores the determined processing order in the order information storage unit 14 (step S15).

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the operation of switching the reading process according to the first embodiment. The PC interpreter 5 initializes a variable i indicating the execution order number to 1 (step S21). The PC interpreter 5 inquires the processing order determination unit 13 about the processing program 16 with the i-th execution order, and causes the protocol processing unit 6 to execute the processing program 16 with the i-th execution order (step S22).

  The PC interpreter 5 adds 1 to the number variable i (step S23), and if the variable i does not exceed the maximum number of processing programs 16 to be executed (step S24; NO), the next execution order i-th The processing program 16 is executed (step S22). If the variable i exceeds the maximum number of processing programs 16 to be executed (step S24; YES), the execution of the series of processing programs 16 is terminated.

  As described above, according to the first embodiment, when each reading process of a plurality (three or more) of RF tags 2 of communication standards is continuously performed, waiting for switching the communication standards to be read is performed. Time can be shortened. As a result, the turnaround time for reading one RF tag 2 can be shortened.

(Embodiment 2)
FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the RF tag reader 1 according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. After transmitting the transmission packet, the RF tag reader 1 of the second embodiment detects the response signal from the point where the RF tag 2 will start transmitting the response signal. Hereinafter, differences from the first embodiment will be mainly described.

  The RF tag reader 1 according to the second embodiment includes a timer 8 in addition to the configuration of the first embodiment. The timer 8 is a time measuring means for measuring the reception waiting time and the reception continuation time. The reception waiting time is the time from when the transmission packet is transmitted to the point immediately before the RF tag 2 starts transmitting the response signal. The reception duration includes a time during which the RF tag 2 is transmitting a response signal, and is a time that allows for a margin such as a variation in transmission time.

  FIG. 8 is a conceptual diagram showing the operation of the RF tag reader 1 according to the second embodiment. 8 represents the operation of the RF tag reader 1, and the line below the line represents the operation of the RF tag 2. FIG. 8A shows a case where a response signal is detected immediately after a transmission packet is transmitted. FIG. 8B shows a case where the response signal is detected from the point where the reception waiting time has elapsed after transmitting the transmission packet.

  The RF tag reader 1 is activated while charging the RF tag 2 by transmitting a carrier wave. The RF tag reader 1 transmits a transmission packet including a read or write command, and continues to transmit a carrier wave thereafter. The RF tag 2 receives the transmission packet, analyzes the command, and generates a response signal that matches the command. The RF tag 2 transmits a response by superimposing a response signal on the reflected wave of the carrier wave transmitted by the RF tag reader 1.

  In FIG. 8A, the response signal is detected at the same time as the transmission of the command (transmission packet). On the other hand, in FIG. 8B, the response signal is detected from the point where the waiting time has elapsed since the command was transmitted. Since the response signal is not transmitted while the RF tag 2 is generating the response signal, it is not necessary to detect the response signal from the received data during that time. In FIG. 8B, since the analysis of the invalid received data is not performed, the analysis of the response signal can be shortened.

  FIG. 9 shows an example of the communication standard and the reception waiting time for each command. In one communication standard, when reading only the identification code (ID) of the RF tag 2 (command = “Get ID”), reading other stored data (command = “ReadData”), and writing data In this case (command = “WriteData”), the reception waiting time and the reception continuation time are different. The case of writing data is described because it is confirmed that the written data is read and written correctly. Further, the reception waiting time and the reception duration time are different for each communication standard.

  The protocol processing unit 6 in FIG. 7 sends information on the reception waiting time and the reception duration time to the signal processing unit 9 in addition to the transmission packet, the transmission channel number, the modulation factor, and the signal data rate. The signal processing unit 9 stores the received transmission packet in the transmission / reception buffer 10 and sends information about the reception waiting time and the reception duration time to the timer 8. The signal processing unit 9 starts the timer 8 after sending the transmission packet to the AD / DA conversion unit 11.

  The timer 8 is activated by the signal processing unit 9 to start time measurement, and instructs the signal processing unit 9 to start reception when the reception waiting time elapses. After that, when the reception continuation time has elapsed, the signal processing unit 9 is instructed to end reception.

  When the signal processing unit 9 receives the reception start instruction, the signal processing unit 9 accumulates the reception signal transmitted from the AD / DA conversion unit 11 in the transmission / reception buffer 10. Further, when receiving a reception end instruction, the reception signal storage is ended, and the reception signal stored in the transmission / reception buffer 10 until then is notified to the protocol processing unit 6. The transmission / reception buffer 10 does not accumulate the reception signal until the reception waiting time elapses after the transmission signal is transmitted.

  The protocol processing unit 6 detects the response signal from the reception signal after the point when the reception waiting time has elapsed after transmitting the transmission signal, generates a response packet of the RF tag 2, and sends it to the PC interpreter 5. The protocol processing unit 6 does not analyze the reception signal until the reception waiting time elapses after transmitting the transmission signal.

  FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the RF tag reading process according to the second embodiment. The operation of the RF tag reading process in FIG. 10 corresponds to the reading process in step 22 in FIG.

  The signal processing unit 9 transmits a carrier wave from the transmission / reception unit 12 to activate the RF tag 2 (step S31), and transmits a read signal (transmission packet) (step S32). When the timer 8 measures the reception waiting time and gives an instruction to start reception (step S33), the signal processing unit 9 starts to accumulate received signals (step S34).

  When the timer 8 measures the reception continuation time and the predetermined time has elapsed (step S35), the signal processing unit 9 ends the accumulation of the reception signal, and the protocol processing unit 6 obtains a response signal from the accumulated reception signal. It detects (step S36).

  If the protocol processor 6 can detect the response signal (step S37; YES), the protocol processor 6 sends the response signal of the communication standard at this time to the PC interpreter 5 and stores it (step S38). If the response signal cannot be detected (step S37; NO), the communication standard without RF tag 2 at this time is set (step S39).

  As described above, according to the RF tag reader 1 of the second embodiment, the transmission / reception buffer 10 does not accumulate the reception signal until the reception waiting time elapses after the transmission signal is transmitted. Further, the protocol processing unit 6 does not analyze the received signal until the reception waiting time elapses after transmitting the transmission signal. As a result, the amount of received signal to be analyzed is reduced, and the capacity of the receiving buffer can be reduced and the response signal detection time can be shortened. Alternatively, even when the response signal detection time is the same, it is possible to reduce the processor speed of the protocol processing and thereby reduce the power consumption of the apparatus. Further, in the reception waiting time, the rearrangement of communication standards according to the first embodiment or the next transmission packet can be stored in the transmission / reception buffer 10.

(Modification of Embodiment 2)
As a modification of the second embodiment, a case where the RF tag reader 1 measures the response delay time of the RF tag 2 will be described. The response delay time is an elapsed time from when the transmission packet is transmitted on the received signal until the response signal of the RF tag 2 is detected. In the modification of the second embodiment, the waiting time is calculated from the measured response delay time.

  FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an operation for measuring the response delay time. The response delay time measurement is not always performed for each reading operation, but is performed only in a mode in which the response delay time is measured in order to calculate the waiting time. Similar to the reading process of FIG. 10, a carrier wave is transmitted (step S41), and a reading signal is transmitted (step S42). Simultaneously with the start of time measurement (step S43), detection of a response signal from the received signal is started (step S44). In this case, the signal processing unit 9 sends the received signal to the protocol processing unit 6 without accumulating (or accumulating) the received signal. The protocol processing unit 6 detects response signals sequentially from the beginning of the reception signal immediately after transmitting the transmission signal.

  Until the response signal is detected, search is performed from the head of the received signal (step S45; NO, step S46; NO). If the response signal can be detected (step S45; YES), the elapsed time until the head of the response signal is set as the response delay time (step S47). If the predetermined maximum time is exceeded before detecting the response signal (step S45; NO, step S46; YES), it is set that the response delay time could not be measured at this time (step S48), and the process ends.

  The signal processing unit 9 may accumulate the reception signal immediately after transmitting the transmission signal, and the protocol processing unit 6 may detect the response signal from the accumulated reception signal. In this case, the elapsed time from the beginning of the received signal to the position of the received signal where the response signal is detected is defined as a response delay time.

  The control unit 4 can measure the response delay time several times and set the minimum value as the waiting time. Further, the waiting time may be made shorter than the response delay time in consideration of a margin. According to the modification of the second embodiment, the response delay time of the RF tag 2 can be measured and the waiting time can be set.

  The present invention has been described above with reference to preferred embodiments and specific examples. However, the present invention is not necessarily limited to the above-described embodiments and specific examples, and various modifications may be made within the scope of the technical idea. Can be implemented. In addition, the above-described apparatus configuration and flowchart are examples, and can be arbitrarily changed and modified.

  Other suitable modifications of the present invention include the following configurations.

Regarding the RF tag reader according to the first aspect of the present invention,
Preferably, the order setting means further continues the execution order of the reading means of the communication standard having the same communication channel and / or modulation scheme among the reading means having the same frequency band, and Set the execution order.

Preferably, the reading means includes
Transmitting means for transmitting a read signal to the RF tag;
A time measuring means for measuring a predetermined time after transmitting a reading signal by the transmitting means;
Demodulation means for demodulating a received signal to detect a response signal of the RF tag;
With
The demodulation means starts detecting the response signal from the point where the predetermined time has elapsed after transmitting the read signal.

Preferably, further, a delay time measurement for measuring an elapsed time from the time of the received signal when the reading signal is transmitted by the transmitting means to the time of the received signal for detecting the response signal of the RF tag by the demodulating means. With means,
The time measuring means measures the passage of a predetermined time calculated from the elapsed time measured by the delay time measuring means.

Regarding the RF tag reading method according to the second aspect of the present invention,
Preferably, in the order setting step, the reading process of the communication standard having the same communication channel and / or the same modulation scheme among the reading processes having the same frequency band is continued, and the plurality of reading processes are performed. Set the execution order.

Preferably, the reading process includes
A transmission step of transmitting a read signal to the RF tag;
A time measuring step of measuring a predetermined time after transmitting the reading signal in the transmitting step;
A demodulation step of demodulating a received signal to detect a response signal of the RF tag;
With
In the demodulation step, detection of the response signal is started when the predetermined time has elapsed after transmitting the read signal.

Preferably, further, a delay time measurement for measuring an elapsed time from the time of the reception signal when the read signal is transmitted in the transmission step to the time of the reception signal for detecting the response signal of the RF tag in the demodulation step. With steps,
The time measuring step measures the passage of a predetermined time calculated from the elapsed time measured in the delay time measuring step.

  In addition, the above-described hardware configuration and flowchart are examples, and can be arbitrarily changed and modified.

  RF tag reading process including a control unit 4, a program storage unit 7, a signal processing unit 9, a transmission / reception buffer 10, an AD / DA conversion unit 11, an RF selector 15, an order information storage unit 14 and a timer 8 The central part of performing the above can be realized by using a normal computer system without depending on a dedicated system. For example, a computer program for executing the above operation is stored and distributed in a computer-readable recording medium (flexible disk, CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, etc.), and the computer program is installed in the computer. Thus, the RF tag reader 1 that executes the above-described processing may be configured. Further, the RF tag reader 1 may be configured by storing the computer program in a storage device included in a server device on a communication network such as the Internet and downloading the computer program by a normal computer system.

  Further, when the function of the RF tag reader 1 is realized by sharing an OS (operating system) and an application program, or by cooperation between the OS and the application program, only the application program portion is stored in a recording medium or a storage device. It may be stored.

  It is also possible to superimpose a computer program on a carrier wave and distribute it via a communication network. For example, the computer program may be posted on a bulletin board (BBS, Bulletin Board System) on a communication network, and the computer program distributed via the network. The computer program may be started and executed in the same manner as other application programs under the control of the OS, so that the above-described processing may be executed.

1 RF tag reader
2 RF tag
3 Host computer
4 Control unit
5 PC interpreter
6 Protocol processing part
7 Program storage
8 Timer
9 Signal processor
10 Send / receive buffer
11 AD / DA converter 12a, 12b, 12c Transmitter / receiver
13 Processing order determination unit
14 Order information storage unit
15 RF selector
16a, 16n processing program
17 Control program

Claims (9)

A plurality of reading means for reading each of RF tags of three or more different communication standards;
For the plurality of reading means, an order setting means for setting the execution order of the plurality of reading means by causing the execution order of the reading means of the communication standards having the same frequency band and / or modulation scheme to continue.
Switching means for sequentially executing the plurality of reading means according to the execution order set by the order setting means;
An RF tag reader comprising:   The order setting means further sets the execution order of the plurality of reading means by consecutively executing the reading order of the communication standards reading means having the same communication channel among the reading means having the same frequency band. The RF tag reader according to claim 1. The reading means includes
Transmitting means for transmitting a read signal to the RF tag;
A time measuring means for measuring a predetermined time after transmitting a reading signal by the transmitting means;
Demodulation means for demodulating a received signal to detect a response signal of the RF tag;
With
The demodulating means starts detecting the response signal from the point where the predetermined time has elapsed after transmitting the read signal;
The RF tag reader according to claim 1 or 2, wherein A delay time measuring means for measuring an elapsed time from the time of the reception signal when the transmission signal is transmitted by the transmission means to the time of the reception signal for detecting the response signal of the RF tag by the demodulation means;
The time measuring means measures the passage of a predetermined time calculated from the elapsed time measured by the delay time measuring means;
The RF tag reader according to claim 3. For a plurality of reading processes for reading each of the RF tags of three or more different communication standards, the execution order of the reading processes of the communication standards having the same frequency band and / or modulation scheme is made continuous, An order setting step for setting the execution order of the reading process;
A switching step for sequentially executing the plurality of reading processes according to the execution order set in the order setting step;
An RF tag reading method comprising:   The order setting step further includes setting the execution order of the plurality of reading processes by continuously executing the reading processes of the communication standards having the same communication channel among the reading processes having the same frequency band. The RF tag reading method according to claim 5. The reading process includes
A transmission step of transmitting a read signal to the RF tag;
A time measuring step of measuring a predetermined time after transmitting the reading signal in the transmitting step;
A demodulation step of demodulating a received signal to detect a response signal of the RF tag;
With
The demodulation step starts detecting the response signal from the point where the predetermined time has elapsed after transmitting the read signal;
The RF tag reading method according to claim 5 or 6. A delay time measuring step of measuring an elapsed time from the time of the reception signal when the read signal is transmitted in the transmission step to the time of the reception signal for detecting the response signal of the RF tag in the demodulation step;
The time measuring step measures the passage of a predetermined time calculated from the elapsed time measured in the delay time measuring step.
The RF tag reading method according to claim 7. On the computer,
For a plurality of reading processes for reading each of the RF tags of three or more different communication standards, the execution order of the reading processes of the communication standards having the same frequency band and / or modulation scheme is made continuous, An order setting step for setting the execution order of the reading process;
A switching step for sequentially executing the plurality of reading processes according to the execution order set in the order setting step;
A program characterized by having executed.

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