FR2800186A1 - Product management system based on non-contact electronic tags, storing data in tag memory relating to product attributes which can be read and modified by interrogating stations interfaced with computer during product lifetime - Google Patents

Abstract

Each product to be monitored carries an electronic tag (10) with at least one memory storing product attribute information. An interrogation station (40) performs reading and writing of information from and into the memory (22). At least one data processing device (64) communicates via an interface (60) with the interrogation station to interpret data read from the tags and to determine which data should be read from and written into them.

Description

 The present invention relates to the field of contactless electronic tags which are read and stored remotely by a polling device. remote read / write emitting a magnetic or electromagnetic field.

He has known to use "bar" codes to identify products. These "bar" codes are read by an optical reading device, for example when the product passes to the cash counter and allow, through a computer system, to determine the price to pay. Once printed on the product to be identified, the "bar" codes have a purely passive role and can only be read one after the other, resulting in a limitation of their use in price determination and inventory management based on the number of products registered at the cash counter.

Furthermore, such a "bar code" system can not be used as such as an antitheft device except to add an antitheft label to each product. This label, which is of the electromagnetic, magneto-acoustic radio type, is, if necessary, deactivated during the checkout, so as not to trigger the alarm system when passing the product or products in the exit gate of the sales shop.

Such an anti-theft system leads to adding an element to the bar code, an element that must be treated in a different way from the latter both when it is put in place on the product and when it is being used, because it operates according to different physical principles so that the Combination of both "bar code" and burglar alarm systems is expensive.

To overcome these limitations of the "bar" codes, it is now proposed to use so-called electronic tags that include electronic circuits, including binary type memories, to record the equivalent of "bar" codes but also other information and incorporate an anti-theft system. In addition, the electronic circuits associated with these memories allow not only the reading of the latter but also their modification by a device 'interrogation / read / write.

These electronic labels have no contact or internal power source so that the interrogation / read / write device must transmit via an antenna, a magnetic or electromagnetic field that is received by the electronic tags via an antenna and of which a portion of the energy is used to power the electronic circuits of the label.

To interrogate the electronic tags, the magnetic or electromagnetic field is modulated in amplitude according to a particular coding which is interpreted by the labels located in a certain defined volume, in particular by the antenna radiation diagrams of the interrogation / read / write device and tags. e.

In response to these interrogation signals, electronic tags located in the volume transmit, via their antenna, also amplitude-modulated signals, which are interpreted by the interrogator / read / write device for the purpose of tag identification. answering and therefore associated products.

To prevent the electronic tags from responding simultaneously, which would lead to an impossibility of identification, he "" proposed anti-collision procedures which essentially consist of delaying the tag responses according to random delays with respect to the interrogation signals. /readind, writing.

A system using electronic tags and a magnetic / electromagnetic interrogation / reading / writing device makes it possible to address simultaneously all the labels (or products located in a certain volume, which avoids taking the products one by one to pass the "bar" codes in front of the optical reading device.

However, such a system involves electronic tags comprising very sophisticated microcircuits, in particular for implementing the anti-collision, as well as a very sophisticated interrogation / read / write device.

In addition, it involves modifying the computer system set up to use "bar" codes, this system being intended to identify the products one after the other by passing a detector of "bar" codes while the interrogation / read / write device for electronic tags is provided for identification of all products in a given volume.

"Bar" codes can only provide information that is frozen when it leaves the manufacturer's factory, such as the name of the manufacturer, the item identifier, the date of manufacture, the sell-by date. As a result, they do not allow tracking of the associated products throughout the distribution chain to the final customer by the indication of a recipient distributor, a place or store sale, a deadline of guarantee calculated from a date of sale, a changeover to a cash counter or flight detector gantry.

An object of the present invention is therefore to provide a product management system using non-contact electronic tags each associated with a product which does not have the "bar" code limitations and which also makes it possible to follow the product throughout the distribution and sales chain, including the follow-up of the guarantee granted.

In the patent EP 0 476 026, it has been described a method and device for counting and checking articles using electronic tags are interrogated using successive interrogation codes of all possible items. The article is identified when the interrogation code is identical to the code contained in the electronic tag. As a result, the procedure of identifying an article can be lengthy, which increases the time of passage in front of the checkout. This operation implies that the device knows in advance all possible interrogation codes.

In addition, the method is limited to article accounting and control functions and is therefore not suitable for performing other functions such as tracking the article during the distribution chain, functions that require writing. in the electronic tag. Finally, this device of the prior art does not easily adapt to existing systems implementing "bar" codes because it does not perform a direct reading of the identification code of the article, which implies the implementation of an interface to achieve this adaptation to existing systems.

The invention therefore relates to a product management system carrying contactless electronic tags characterized in that it comprises - a plurality of electronic tags each carried by a product, each electronic tag having at least one memory for recording various information identifying all or part of the attributes of the associated product, at least one remote interrogation / read / write device for each electronic tag during the associated product run in the vicinity of said interrogation / read / write device for recording in the memory the various information identifying the attributes of the associated product to read all or part of the information thus recorded, at least one computer device for interpreting the information, read in memory and provide additional information relating to the associated product, an interface between the interrogation device n / read / write and the computer device for determining the information to be read or stored in the memory Other features and advantages of the present invention will appear on reading the following description of a particular embodiment, said description being made in connection with the accompanying drawings in which - Figure 1 is a block diagram of a product management system carrying contactless electronic tags according to the invention, and - Figure 2 is a diagram showing, for information, the elements of storing the product attributes contained in the memory of the electronic tag.

A contactless electronic tag 10 comprises, for example (FIG. 1), an antenna 12 constituted by a tuned circuit which comprises an induction winding 14 and a capacitor 16. The tuning frequency FO of the antenna 12 is, for example, 13.56 Megahertz.

This tuned antenna circuit is connected to different circuits which each perform a particular function. Thus, a circuit 24 performs the function of full wave rectification of the signal across the circuit tuned, for example, by a diode bridge 8. This rectifying circuit 24 is followed by a filter capacitor 26 of the rectified signal which provides the supply voltage Vdd of all the other circuits of the electronic tag, in particular those represented in FIG.

A circuit 18 realizes the so-called clock function and the synchronization of the latter from the frequency F0. The signals at different frequencies provided by this clock circuit 18 are applied to the other circuits of the label represented or not except at the antenna 12 and the rectifying circuit 24.

The circuit 20 performs the function of demodulating and decoding signals which modulate the signal at the carrier frequency F0, which signals constitute information received by the tag.

The information relating to the product to which label is associated is stored in a memory 22 which is addressable by a recording / playback circuit 30.

This recording / reading circuit 30 is under the control of the signals detected and decoded by the circuit and provides signals which are applied to a message synthesis circuit 32.

The messages provided by the synthesis circuit 32 are applied to an antenna charge modulation circuit which has been shown schematically by a circuit 28 and a switch 38 controlled by the circuit 28. A load resistor 36 has been represented in series with the switch 38.

The interrogation / read / write device of the tag 10 comprises for example, in a known manner, an antenna 42 consisting of a tuned circuit which comprises an induction winding 44 and a capacitor 66, the tuning frequency being F0.

two antennas 12 and 42 are magnetically coupled as shown by the arrow 46.

The antenna 42 is powered by electrical signals at the carrier frequency FO which are modulated by low frequency digital signals conveying the information to be transmitted to the tag 10.

modulated electrical signals are produced by a modulator 50 which receives, on the one hand, a signal at the frequency FO of an oscillator 48 and the modulation signals of a message generator 52. The output signals of the modulator 50 are applied to a power amplifier 54 whose output terminal is directly connected to the antenna 42. The signals received by the antenna 42 are applied to a receiving circuit 56 which carries out their detection demodulation and decoding. The decoded signals are applied to a microprocessor 58 which interprets them and provides the control signals of the message generator 52.

In the case where the decoded signals correspond to a code identifying the type of product, this identification code is transmitted to an accounting device 60 or interface identical to those used in the "bar code" systems and which connected to a computing device. Providing the prices of the articles. This interface 60 displays on a screen 62 the price of each product that passed in front of the interrogation device / read / write and adds the prices corresponding to the different products. The total price of the products is displayed on the screen 62 as the products pass in front of the interrogation / read / write device.

As will be described below, the interface 60 transmits messages and / or provides electrical signals to the interrogation / read / write device 40 and more particularly to the microprocessor 58, to indicate, in particular, that the price of the product has recorded and, consequently, that he can transmit to the electronic label of the product a message indicating for example that the product is free to leave the store without being suspected of having been stolen. This message will have the effect, in the electronic tag, update in the memory 22, code said anti-theft so as to avoid the triggering of an alarm when passing the product in an exit gate equipped with a interrogation / reading device of electronic tags is specially adapted to read the antitheft code.

According to the invention, the message transmitted to the electronic tag after accounting for the product can be used for other functions than antitheft function indicated above.

The other functions are for example following - the inhibition of the label to avoid a second posting, - the recording in the memory 22 of a warranty expiration date which is for example calculated from the date of transition to the box by adding the duration of the guarantee contained in memory 22, - the recording in the memory 22 of a code identifying the place of sale of the product, - the recording in the memory 22 of the sale date of the product.

These dates and codes stored in the memory at the time of checkout formalize the sale and track the product during the period of use after the sale.

The memory 22 makes it possible to record in each electronic tag a plurality of codes in order to perform various functions adapted to the products under consideration and to the aims pursued.

Thus, to track a product throughout its lifetime, from its manufacture to its disposal, the memory 22 of the electronic tag will contain Figure 2), in binary form, for example, at least following codes - a first code 70 identifying the type of product so as to make it possible to determine the price via computing device 64, - a second code 72 identifying the product in a batch of products of the same type, and - a third code 74 identifying the batch, example the code assigned to the recipient / distributor of the batch By the combination of these three codes, each product of the same type intended for a distributor is individually identified because its second binary code will be different from one product to another identical product for this distributor.

When going to checkout, only the first code 70 read and used to determine the price via the computer system.

third code 74 is used to identify the distributor by the warranty department while the second code 72 serves to identify the product at the manufacturer.

first code is registered when the label is affixed to the product while the second code is registered when creating a batch of products of the same type for delivery to the same recipient / distributor. Thus, it is possible to use the same series for second codes several times, provided that the recipient / distributor is different. Of course the size of the second code will depend on the maximum number of products that can be delivered to the same recipient / distributor.

To implement more advanced systems, the memory 22 will contain other codes 76 and identifying other attributes of the product, for example the name of the manufacturer, the date of manufacture of the product the expiry date of the product, the duration of the product. warranty, country of manufacture of the product, place of destination / sale, etc.

codes are stored in the memory 22 label at different stages between the place of manufacture and the one of sale. Thus, the product identifier, the name of the manufacturer, the date of manufacture / expiry, the warranty period and the country of manufacture are recorded at the place of manufacture. The serial number of the product in a lot, the name of the consignee / distributor and the place of sale are recorded upon delivery. The date of sale recorded at the time of checkout and can then be combined with the duration of the warranty to set the deadline for this warranty.

codes that are used in a label to define the attributes of the products will be chosen based on the interest they have in the management of the products thus labeled and the resulting cost of the label vis-à-vis -vis the product cost thus labeled.

memory 22 is also provided, as indicated above, to record in a part 80 a theft code which is deactivated when going to the cash counter if the product has been taken into account. Thus any passage of the product without payment or at an exit other the cash will cause the emission of an alarm provided that this other output is equipped with a system 'interrogation / reading adapted.

The memory 22 is also provided, as indicated above, to record in a part 82 an inhibition code which, when activated after a first accounting of the product, prevents a second posting. More precisely, the activation of this code makes the label mute to any interrogation.

Claims (3)

A product management system carrying contactless electronic tags characterized in that comprises a plurality of electronic tags each carried by a product, each electronic tag having at least one memory (22) for recording various information (70, 72 74, 76, 78, 80, 82) identifying all or part of the attributes of the associated product, at least one remote interrogation / read / write device (4 of each electronic tag (10) during the passage of the associated product in proximity to said device interrogation / read / write method for storing in the memory (22) the various information (70 to 82) identifying the attributes of the associated product and for reading all or part of the information thus recorded, at least one computing device (64) for interpreting information (70 to 82) read from memory (22) and provide additional product information associated, and - an interface (60) between the interrogator / read / write device (40) and the computing device (64) for determining the information to be read or stored in the memory (22). 2. System according to claim 1, characterized in that the information (70 to 82) contained in the memory 22, identifying the attributes of the associated product, are in the form of binary codes comprising at least a first code (70) identifying the type of product ; a second code (72) identifying the product in a batch of products of the same type, and a third code (74) identifying the batch. 3. System according to claim 2, characterized in that the memory (22) further contains at least one of the following codes - a code of inhibition of the electronic tag, - a code of duration of the guarantee granted, a code identifying the warranty expiration date, a code identifying the place of sale of the product, a code identifying the date of sale of the product, and a code said anti-theft.