JP2000123124A - Hand-held reader and writer for id tag - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To attain the communication with many dishes having ID tags for a hand-held reader/writer that is used for ID tags even if these dishes are put on each other. SOLUTION: A transmitting antenna 33 consists of two coils 36 and 37 which are put adjacent to each other and wound with the same number of turns in the same direction and in the same shape. The switching is performed between a case where the radio waves are radiated by the currents supplied to the coils 36 and 37 in the same direction and a case where the radio waves are radiated by the currents supplied to both coils in the directions opposite to each other. Then a hand-held reader/writer is held beside the dishes which are put on each other. Under such conditions, the communication is performed with the ID tags of dishes put at the vertical both sides in the forward connection and then with the ID tag of the middle dish in the backward connection.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a handheld reader / writer for an ID tag which communicates with an ID tag by radio waves to exchange data.

[0002]

For example, a remote ID using a high-frequency radio wave is used as a moving object identification system.
There is a system. In this method, communication is performed between the controller and the ID tag by radio waves to read data of an ID tag at a remote position or write data to the ID tag.

[0003] Such a remote ID system is considered to be applied to various systems such as a delivery system, an inventory management system, and a sales system. As an example, there is a tallying system for a rotating sushi shop. The outline of this system is as follows. Data such as the type of sushi, the time it was made, the selling price, etc. is recorded on an ID tag embedded in the plate on which sushi is placed, To communicate with the ID tags on those dishes,
The data is obtained from the D tag and the amount to be paid by the customer is calculated.

In the case of application to such a counting system, if the reader / writer communicating with the ID tag is of a fixed type, a plate can be placed in the communication area of the fixed reader / writer to perform counting. good. However, the fixed type reader / writer is inconvenient because the plate must be brought to that position. Therefore, a hand-held reader / writer has been considered in order to make it possible to easily count data on a table on which a customer is sitting.

[0005] In a hand-held reader / writer, a reader / writer main body is normally held above a plate stacked on a table to perform a transmission / reception operation. However, since radio waves for transmission and reception are not so strong, depending on the number of stacked dishes, if a large number of dishes are stacked, a problem occurs that communication with the lower dish cannot be performed.

In this case, it seems that it is sufficient to hold the reader / writer body in the middle of a large number of stacked dishes for transmission / reception, but the transmission antenna of the reader / writer is one.
Since the magnetic field radiated from the transmitting antenna goes straight at the center of the coil, it can communicate with the plate near the reader / writer body, which is installed vertically with the transmitting antenna. Disappears. Therefore, in order to communicate with all the plates, the reader / writer main body must be moved up and down along a large number of stacked plates, and there is a problem that the operation is troublesome.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and has as its object to provide an ID capable of communicating with many ID-tagged objects without moving the main body. To provide a handheld reader / writer for a tag.

[0008]

According to the first aspect of the present invention,
In a handheld reader / writer for an ID tag provided with a transmitting antenna and a receiving antenna for transmitting and receiving a radio signal to / from an ID tag, the transmitting antenna has a first shape and a same number of turns arranged in the radial direction. Two coils, so that it is possible to switch between a case where currents flow in the first and second coils in the same direction and a case where currents flow in the opposite directions during transmission. It is a feature.

When a high-frequency current is applied to a transmission antenna to radiate radio waves, if currents are applied to the first and second coils constituting the transmission antenna so that the currents are directed in the same direction, the magnetic field strength of the two coils is reduced. Weak in the vicinity and strong on both sides. Also, when currents are applied to the first and second coils in opposite directions, the magnetic field strength is strong in the vicinity of both coils and weak on both sides. Therefore, when applied to a tallying system of a rotating sushi shop, for example, by holding the main body in the middle of a number of stacked dishes, by flowing a current to the first and second coils in the same direction as each other It communicates with the ID tags on the plates on the upper and lower sides, and then communicates with the ID tags on the middle plate by passing currents through the first and second coils in opposite directions. Thereby, it is possible to communicate with all the dishes without moving the main body.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the main body includes a hand-held portion and a head provided at one end of the hand-held portion, and the transmitting antenna is mounted on the head when the head is turned upward. It is characterized by being provided side by side on the left and right. By radiating radio waves with the first and second coils positioned up and down, it is possible to communicate with all dishes as described above. On the other hand, when holding the hand-held portion of the main body in the hand and holding it in the middle of a large number of dishes stacked on the table, it is natural and easy to hold when the hand-held portion is in a horizontal position. By providing the first and second coils with their heads arranged side by side on one end of the hand-held part, the first and second coils are positioned vertically when the hand-held part is laid down. Operation becomes easier.

[0011]

FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment of the present invention.
This will be described with reference to FIG. In this example,
This is applied to a tallying system at a revolving sushi restaurant. Here, the rotating sushi shop is a shop having the following system.
A loop-shaped conveyor is provided in the store, and seats are provided along the conveyor. Sushi is placed on a plate,
It is transported to the audience by a conveyor. The customer takes a dish on which a favorite sushi is placed from among the dishes carried by the conveyor, and after eating, the dishes are sequentially stacked on the table. The shop places the sushi on a plate of a color or pattern corresponding to the selling price, so that the customer can know the approximate amount to be paid to the store from the stacked plates and the number of plates. After the meal, the clerk counts the number of dishes for each color or pattern, and determines the amount to be paid to the store.

As shown in FIG. 6, a dish 1 on which sushi is to be placed (object to be read / written) is made of plastic such as melanin resin, and has an ID tag 2 inside.
Is embedded. As shown in FIG. 7, the ID tag 2 includes an antenna coil 3 for transmitting and receiving a radio signal.
, A resonance capacitor 4, a control IC 5, and a smoothing unit 6. The resonance capacitor 4, the control IC 5, and the smoothing unit 6 are mounted on a printed wiring board 7.

The control IC 5 includes an MP as a control unit.
U (microprocessor unit) 8, rectifier 9,
The semiconductor elements constituting the modulation / demodulation unit 10 and the memory unit 11 are integrated into one chip. Although not shown, the smoothing unit 6 has a smoothing capacitor, a Zener diode, and the like.

The antenna coil 3 is connected in series with the resonance capacitor 4 to form a resonance circuit. When a predetermined high frequency power radio signal is transmitted from a reader / writer which is an external device, Receiving this, the rectification unit 9
Send to The rectifying unit 9 constitutes an operation power supply circuit together with the smoothing unit 6. The rectifying unit 9 rectifies an electric power radio signal transmitted from the resonance circuit, smoothes the electric power radio signal by the smoothing unit 6, and performs a DC voltage (operating electric power) of a constant voltage. ) And supply it to the MPU 8 and the like.

A signal such as data transmitted from a reader / writer is transmitted so as to be superimposed on an electric power radio signal, and the signal is demodulated by a modulation / demodulation unit 10 and provided to an MPU 8. The MPU 8 has a memory unit 11
Operates according to an operation program stored in a ROM included in the memory unit 11, executes a process corresponding to a signal input from the modem unit 10, and stores received data in an erasable non-volatile memory such as an EEPROM included in the memory unit 11. It writes or reads data from the memory unit 11, modulates it with the modem unit 10, and transmits it as a radio signal from the antenna coil 3.

FIG. 1 shows a main body 12 of a hand-held reader / writer which communicates with an ID tag 2 on a plate 1. The hand-held reader / writer body 12 includes an operation unit 13 also serving as a hand-held unit, and a head 14 provided at one end of the operation unit 13.
The head 14 is provided with a display unit 15 made of, for example, liquid crystal. The operation unit 13 is provided with, for example, a plurality of key switches 16. The key switches 16 are used to instruct operation contents and to input basic data necessary for totaling, for example, unit prices of the dishes 1 by type. It has become.

The main body 12 of the hand-held reader / writer is provided with a main controller 17 and a remote controller 18 as shown in FIG. The main controller 17 is connected to the group of key switches 16 via a switch circuit 19 and communicates data with the display 15 and a higher-level device (for example, a personal computer). Etc. are connected. Also, the remote control unit 1
An antenna unit 21 for transmitting and receiving a radio signal to and from the ID tag 2 and a sounding unit 22 such as a buzzer are connected to 8. The switch circuit 19 transmits a signal corresponding to the operated key switch to the main control unit 17.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the control units 18 and 19 include MPUs 23 and 24, ROMs 25 and 26 storing operation programs, RAMs 27 and 28 for temporarily storing data, communication units 29 and The main control unit 17 and the remote control unit 18
Data transmission and reception are performed through the respective communication units 29 and 30. Further, the remote control unit 18 has a transmission unit 31 and a reception unit 32, and the transmission unit 31 and the reception unit 32 are connected to the transmission antenna 33 and the reception antenna 34 of the antenna unit 21.

The MPU 23 of the main control unit 17 processes data and controls peripheral devices. The MPU 23 executes processing according to signals sent from the remote control unit 18 or the switch circuit 19, and The processing contents or the processing results during the execution are displayed on the display unit 14.

On the other hand, the MPU 2 of the remote control unit 18
4 controls communication with the ID tag 2 and generates a sound
When communication with the ID tag 2 is performed, first, the carrier signal is modulated by the transmission unit 31 and transmitted from the transmission antenna 33 as a power radio signal, and then,
The data to be transmitted is modulated by the transmission unit 31 so as to be superimposed on the power radio signal, and transmitted from the transmission antenna 33.

The radio signal radiated from the ID tag 2 is received by the receiving antenna 34 and received by the receiving section 3.
The signal is demodulated in step 2 and discriminated as data. Then, the MPU 24 of the remote control unit 18 temporarily stores the data demodulated by the reception unit 32 in the RAM 28, and then transmits the data to the main control unit 17 via the communication unit 30. I have. The hand-held reader / writer body 12 having the above-described electrical configuration is provided with a battery 3 as its operating power source.
5 (see FIG. 2).

The transmitting antenna 33 is composed of first and second coils 36 and 37. The first and second coils 36 and 37 are wound in the same direction and in the same number of turns and in the same size and shape, in this embodiment, in the same rectangular shape. Although both the coils 36 and 37 are shown as being wound only once in the figure, they are actually wound many times. As shown in FIG. 1, these two coils 36 and 37 are arranged inside the head 14 of the hand-held reader / writer main body 12 so that the head 14 is positioned right and left. One side portions 36a and 37a of 36 and 37 are arranged in parallel close to each other. The receiving antenna 34 is also formed of a coil wound in a rectangular shape, and is disposed in the head 14 so as to surround both the coils 36 and 37.

One output terminal of the transmitting section 31 is connected to one end 36b of the first coil 36, and the other output terminal is connected to one input terminal of first and second relays 38 and 39 as switching means. Connected to the first coil 3
5 is connected to first and second relays 38 and 3
9 is connected to the other input terminal. One end 37b of the second coil 37 is connected to one output terminal of both relays 38 and 39, and the other end 37c is connected to the other output terminal of both relays 38 and 39. on the other hand,
Both ends of the receiving antenna 34 are connected to both input terminals of the receiving unit 32.

The first and second relays 38 and 3
Reference numeral 9 denotes a switch using a semiconductor element. The first and second relays 38 and 39 are MP
U24 controls the first and second switching states via the drive unit 40. Then, in the first switching state, the first
The relay 38 connects the other end 36c of the first coil 36 to one end 37b of the second coil 37, and the second relay 39 connects the other end 37c of the second coil 37 to the other output terminal of the transmitting unit 31. (See the solid line in FIG. 4). In the second switching state, the first relay 38 connects the other end 37c of the second coil 37 to the other output terminal of the transmission unit 31,
The relay 39 connects the other end 36c of the first coil 36 to the other end 37c of the second coil 37 (see the broken line in FIG. 4).

In the first switching state, the first coil 36 and the second coil 37 are connected in series so that currents flow in the same direction as shown in FIG. 5 in the second switching state.
As shown in (b), they are connected in series (hereinafter, reverse connection) so that currents flow in opposite directions. For this reason, in the forward connection, currents flow in mutually opposite sides 36a, 37a of both coils 36, 37 when radio waves are radiated in opposite directions. Is weak at the center and strong at both sides. In the reverse connection, one side 36 of both coils 36 and 37 which are close to each other is connected.
Since the currents flow in a and 37a in the same direction, the magnetic field strength of the relevant portion becomes strong, and the magnetic field strength of the transmitting antenna 33 as a whole is strong at the center and weak on both sides.

Next, the operation of the above configuration will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 8, when totaling the payment amounts of customers who have completed a meal, one group of dishes holding the operation unit 13 of the main body 12 of the hand-held reader / writer and holding the main body 12 on the table To the center in the vertical direction next to At this time, the posture of the hand-held reader / writer when the main body 12 is laid down is a comfortable posture for holding the operation unit 13, and in this state, the first and second coils 36 and 37 are vertically positioned. It becomes a form to do.

Then, a read switch (counting switch) is selected from the group of key switches 16 and operated. Then, the MPU 23 of the main control unit 17 executes step S1.
Is determined to be "YES", and the counting command is sent to the remote control unit 18.
Send to Then, upon receiving the tallying command, the MPU 24 of the remote control unit 18 determines in step S2 that the driving unit 4
0, the first and second relays 38 and 39 are switched so as to be in the forward connection state.

Thereafter, the MPU 24 of the remote control unit 18
Is transmitted from the transmitting antenna 33 as a power radio wave signal after modulating the carrier signal in the transmission unit 31, and thereafter, the transmission unit 31 transmits the data to be transmitted so as to be superimposed on the power radio wave signal.
And transmitted from the transmission antenna 33. Meanwhile, plate 1
On the ID tag 2 side, the transmitted radio signal is received by the antenna coil 3, and the radio signal is rectified and smoothed by the rectifying unit 9 and the smoothing unit to be converted into DC power of a constant power.
It is supplied as a power supply for operation such as U8.

When the power for operation is supplied, the MPU 8 of the ID tag 2 of each plate 1 starts operating and performs processing according to the content of the transmitted signal, in this case, the ID of the plate 1 from the memory unit 11. An operation of reading data such as the number and the type of the dish 1 and modulating the data with the modem 10 and transmitting the data from the antenna coil 3 is performed. The radio signal transmitted from the ID tag 2 of each plate 1 is received by the receiving antenna 34 of the handheld reader / writer main body 12, and the received signal is received by the receiving unit 3.
2, and the demodulated data is stored in the RAM 27 (the above steps S3 and S4 are repeated).

Here, since the first and second coils 36 and 37 of the transmission antenna 33 are in the forward connection state, the intensity of the transmitted magnetic field is weak at the center of the transmission antenna 33. For this reason, in the ID tag 2 of the plate 1 in the immediate vicinity of the hand-held reader / writer main body 12, the strength of the received radio signal is weak.
Therefore, a DC power supply having a voltage necessary for the operation of the MPU 8 or the like cannot be obtained. Therefore, the handheld reader / writer body 12
Since the ID tag 2 of the plate 1 in the immediate vicinity is in a power shortage state, the above operation is not performed, and the main body 12 of the handheld reader / writer communicates with the ID tag 2 of the plate 1 in the immediate vicinity. Never.

When data is received from the ID tags 2 of all the plates 1 that can communicate in the forward connection state in this manner,
The MPU 24 of the remote control unit 18 determines "Y" in step S4.
ES ", and in the next step S5, the first and second relays 38 and 39 are switched via the drive unit 40 to establish a reverse connection state. In the reverse connection state, the intensity of the radio wave transmitted from the handheld reader / writer main body 12 is strong at the center of the transmission antenna 33. For this reason, the ID tag 2 of the plate 1 in the immediate vicinity of the hand-held reader / writer main body 12 operates, and the ID of the plate 1 vertically separated therefrom.
Since the tag 2 is in a power shortage state, the tag 2 can communicate with the ID tag 2 of the plate 1 that could not communicate in the forward connection state.

When data is obtained from the ID tags 2 of all the plates 1 communicable by the reverse connection in the same manner as described above (steps S6 and S7 are repeated), the remote control unit 1
The MPU 24 of No. 8 becomes “YES” in step S7, and completes the communication operation. Then, the MPU 23 of the main control unit 17
Calculates the amount to be paid by the customer from the type (price) of each dish 1 stored in the RAM 27 and the number thereof.

Here, the determination as to whether or not communication has been made with the ID tags 2 of all dishes 1 is as follows, for example. The ID tag 2 of the dish 1 in a communicable state is sequentially communicating with the hand-held reader / writer main body 12, and the hand-held reader / writer main body 1
In the second RAM 28, the ID number of the dish 1 after the communication is stored. Then, all the ID numbers of the dishes 1 to be communicated are RA.
When the state stored in M28 has continued for a predetermined time, it is determined that communication with the ID tags 2 of all dishes 1 in a communicable state has been completed.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the two coils 36 and 37 constituting the transmitting antenna 33 can be switched between the forward connection and the reverse connection, so that the hand-held reader / writer body 12 is stacked. When communicating with all of the ID tags 2 of the large number of plates 1, the hand-held reader / writer body 12
This can be done without having to move and while maintaining the middle position. Further, when the switching between the forward connection and the reverse connection is automatically performed as in the present embodiment, the trouble of the switching can be omitted, and the operation is convenient.

In this embodiment, both coils 36 and 37 of the hand-held reader / writer main body 12 are arranged in the head 14 such that the heads 14 are arranged side by side when the head 14 is turned up.
Excellent operability can be achieved. That is, when the hand-held reader / writer body 12 communicates with the stacked dishes 1, the two coils 36 and 37 cannot communicate with the dishes 1 on both upper and lower sides of the hand-held reader / writer body 12 unless the coils 36 and 37 are arranged vertically. . Main body of handheld reader / writer 1
When the user holds the operation unit 13 in his / her hand and holds the main body 12 at the center in the vertical direction next to the group of plates 1 stacked on the table, the handheld reader / writer main body 12 is turned sideways.
In this state, the first and second coils 36 and 37 are located vertically, and the operability is good.

In this embodiment, since the receiving antenna 34 is disposed around both the coils 36 and 37,
When both 6, 37 are in the reverse connection state, both coils 3
Since the electromotive force generated in the receiving antenna 34 due to the current flowing through the coils 6 and 37 is opposite to each other for each of the coils 36 and 37, noise from the transmitting antenna 33 hardly enters the receiving antenna 34.

When the number of the stacked plates 1 is small, the hand-held reader / writer body 12 may be held and read beside the plate 1, but may be held and read on the plate 1. You may do it. However, since the transmitting antenna 33 is composed of two adjacent coils 36 and 37, in the reverse connection state, when a radio wave is radiated from above the plate 1, the antenna of the plate 1 is Since the electromotive force generated in the use coil 3 is reversed and an operation power supply cannot be obtained, the forward connection state must be established. Further, when reading from the side of the stacked dishes 1, since the lines of magnetic force interlinking with the antenna coil 3 of the dishes 1 do not occur in the forward connection state, the connection must always be made in the reverse direction.

FIG. 10 showing a second embodiment of the present invention addresses such a case. That is, an upper reading switch and a horizontal reading switch are provided in the key switch 16 group. Then, when reading from the top of the plate 1, first, the upper reading switch is operated so as to be in the forward connection state. Then, the MPU 24 determines whether the upper reading switch is ON or not in Step SA.
1 is “YES” and the relay 3
6 and 37 are switched (step SA2), and both coils 36 and 37 are connected in the forward direction. And MP
U24 communicates with the ID tag 2 of the dish 1 in the same manner as described above (step SA5), and ends.

When reading from the side of the plate 1, a horizontal reading switch is operated. Then, the MPU 24 determines “NO” in step SA1 to determine whether the upper reading switch is ON, and “YES” in step SA3 to determine whether the horizontal reading switch is ON. 39 is switched and both coils 3
6, 37 are set in the reverse connection state (step SA4).
Then, the MPU 24 communicates with the ID tag 2 of the dish 1 (step SA5), and ends.

In this case, as in the third embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 11, the configuration may be such that the forward connection and the reverse connection are automatically switched. That is, when the read switch is turned on, the MPU 24 turns to “YES” in step SB1, and connects the coils 36 and 37 in the reverse connection state (step SB2). Then, communication processing with the ID tag 2 of the plate 1 is performed (step SB3).

Thereafter, the MPU 24 determines whether or not the reading has been normally performed (step SB4). If the communication has been normally performed and the reading has been performed normally, the MPU 24 determines in step SB4 that "YE
S "and ends. If the reading has not been performed normally, "NO" is determined in step SB4, and a forward connection state is set in next step SB5. Then, communication processing with the ID tag 2 of the plate 1 is performed (step SB6), and thereafter, it is determined whether or not the reading has been normally performed (step SB7). If the reading has been normally performed, “YES” is determined in step SB7, End. If the reading is normal, "N" is determined in step SB7.
O ", and returns to step SB2 again to perform the above-described operation.

The present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above and shown in the drawings, but can be extended or modified as follows. In the first embodiment, both coils 36,
Switching between the forward connection and the reverse connection of 37 may be performed manually. The object to be read is not limited to the ID tag 2 attached to the product stacked vertically, such as the plate 1 of a rotating sushi shop, but may be attached to a product having circumstances that can be arranged horizontally such as clothing and accessories. ID tag may be used.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view of a hand-held reader / writer showing a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of the handheld reader / writer.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a main control unit.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a remote control unit.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a connection state of two coils of a transmission antenna.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a dish.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of a dish ID tag.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing a state in which a tallying process is performed.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the control content of a tallying process.

FIG. 10 is a view corresponding to FIG. 9 showing a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a view corresponding to FIG. 9 showing a third embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

In the figure, 1 is a plate, 2 is an ID tag, 3 is an antenna coil,
12 is a hand-held reader / writer, 13 is an operation unit (hand-held unit), 14 is a head, 17 is a main control unit, 18 is a remote control unit, 33 is a transmitting antenna, 36 and 37 are first and second coils, 37 and 38 are first and second relays.

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued on the front page F term (reference) 5B058 CA17 YA20 5J021 AA02 AB04 CA03 CA06 DB04 FA02 FA13 FA17 FA20 FA24 FA26 FA30 FA31 FA32 GA03 GA08 HA03 HA05 JA01 JA10

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A handheld reader / writer for an ID tag having a transmitting antenna and a receiving antenna for transmitting and receiving radio signals to and from an ID tag, wherein the transmitting antenna has the same shape and the same number of turns arranged in a radial direction. Of the first and second coils, and can be switched between a case where currents flow in the first and second coils in the same direction and a case where currents flow in the opposite directions during transmission. A handheld reader / writer for an ID tag, characterized in that the reader / writer is configured as follows. 2. The main body includes a hand-held portion and a head provided at one end of the hand-held portion, and the transmitting antenna is provided so as to be arranged side by side on the head when the head is turned upward. The handheld reader / writer for an ID tag according to claim 1, wherein the reader / writer is provided.