JP2000348133A - Reader/writer for tag - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily read information from an optical information recording tag and an ID tag. SOLUTION: An optical unit 9 is provided in the front end of a handy reader/ writer 1. In this optical unit 9, a lens unit 16, a transmission antenna coil 15, and a reception antenna coil 18 are set on a printed circuit board 11, and an image formed by a condenser lens 16a is formed on a two-dimensional CCD 8. An optical information recording tag or an ID tag which exists is discriminated by operation to a switch 5, and read with the two-dimensional CCD 8 or read with the reception antenna coil 18 is executed in accordance with the classification of the existing tag.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to a tag reader / writer having a reading function for an optical information recording tag and an ID tag.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a code printed on a label attached to a product is read by a code reader to manage the sales and inventory of the product.

On the other hand, in recent years, it has become practical to sell and inventory goods by attaching an ID tag to a product and reading information stored in the ID tag with an ID tag reader. In this case, the amount of information that can be stored in the ID tag is larger than that of the code, so that it is possible to manage the product more finely. I have.

[0004]

However, in the case of such a system in which both tags are used together,
Since the configuration of the reading means for the code and the reading means for the ID tag are completely different, it is necessary to prepare a dedicated reader (a reader / writer in the case of an ID tag), which is complicated. In the case of a handheld reader,
Since two types of readers are provided, it is necessary to change the type of reader, and workability is extremely deteriorated.

In this case, the reading means for the code and the I
Although it is conceivable to integrate both of the reading means for the D tag, the overall size becomes large,
The reading position and the operation of the tag are different from each other, and the usability is poor.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a tag reader / writer capable of easily reading information from an optical information recording tag and an ID tag. is there.

[0007]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the optical information recording tag can be read by the optical reading means. Also, information from the ID tag can be read by the receiving antenna coil in a state where the power signal is transmitted from the transmitting antenna coil.

Here, the optical axis of the condenser lens for forming an image of the optical information recording tag on the optical reading means and the central axes of the transmitting antenna coil and the receiving antenna coil substantially coincide with each other. Therefore, when the optical information recording tag is read and when the ID tag is read, the positioning with respect to the tag is the same and the usability is excellent.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the condenser lens is held by the bobbin, and the transmission antenna coil and the reception antenna coil are wound around the bobbin. The center axis of the coil can be accurately matched.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the readable range of the optical information recording tag by the optical reading means or the readable range of the ID tag by the receiving antenna coil is indicated by the light projecting means. Can be reliably set.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the reading of the optical information recording tag and the reading of the ID tag can be performed by the same switch, so that the operating environment is the same and the usability is excellent.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, when the detecting means detects that either the optical information recording tag or the ID tag exists in the readable range, the detecting means detects the type of the tag. Since the corresponding reading operation is performed, information can be quickly read from the tag without performing a useless reading operation.

According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, when the detecting means detects the presence of both the optical information recording tag and the ID tag, the reading operation is executed sequentially for each tag.
Current consumption can be reduced as compared with the case where read operations are performed in parallel.

According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, when the reading of the optical information recording tag or the reading of the ID tag is completed, the notifying means gives a notification in a different notification form. Depending on the form, it is possible to confirm which tag has been read.

[0015]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS (First Embodiment) Hereinafter, a first embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a hand-held reader / writer will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 2 shows a plan view of the handheld reader / writer. In FIG. 2, the hand-held reader / writer 1 includes an operation unit 2 also serving as a grip unit, for example, a display unit 3 made of liquid crystal. Operation unit 2
Is provided with, for example, a plurality of key switches 4, and these key switches 4 are used to instruct operation contents. The operation unit 2 is provided with a switch (corresponding to a reading switch) 5 for mainly instructing the start of reading, in addition to the key switch 4 described above.

FIG. 1 shows a cross section of a hand-held reader / writer 1. In FIG. 1, a hand-held reader / writer 1
A printed wiring board 7 is fixed in a case 6 forming a housing of the present invention, and the key switches 4 are mounted in a matrix on one surface of the printed wiring board 7. A two-dimensional CCD (corresponding to optical reading means) 8 is mounted upright on the other surface of the printed wiring board 7.

An optical system unit 9 is disposed in an opening 6a formed at the front end of the case 6, and a mirror 10 is provided in the case 6 at a position on the optical axis of the optical system unit 9.
And a two-dimensional CCD 8 is located on the optical axis bent by the mirror 10. Accordingly, the object to be detected is transmitted via the optical system unit 9 and the mirror 10 to the second object.
An image is formed on the dimensional CCD 8.

FIG. 3 shows the front of the optical system unit 9. In FIG. 3, a rectangular printed wiring board 11 is shown.
A hole 12 is formed in the center of the LED, and a plurality of illumination LEDs (corresponding to light projecting means) 13 are mounted around the hole 12. A bobbin 14 is mounted on the printed wiring board 11 so as to correspond to a peripheral portion thereof, and a transmission antenna coil 15 is wound around the bobbin 14.

Hole 13 formed in printed wiring board 11
Is equipped with a lens unit 16. This lens unit 16 is formed integrally with a condenser lens 16a for condensing light reflected from a detection target and a light projection lens 16b for projecting light from the illumination LED 13 to the front. .

On the other hand, a bobbin 17 is mounted on the back surface of the printed wiring board 11, and a receiving antenna coil 18 is wound around the bobbin 17 (only shown in FIG. 1).

FIG. 5 shows an electrical configuration of the hand-held reader / writer 1. A microcomputer (hereinafter referred to as a microcomputer) (corresponding to a detecting means) 19 controls lighting of the illumination LED 13 in accordance with the operation of the switch 5 and detects an image signal from the two-dimensional CCD 8. I have. The microcomputer 19 outputs a power signal to the transmission antenna coil 15 and extracts a reception signal from the ID tag received by the reception antenna coil 18.

Here, when communicating with the ID tag, the microcomputer 19 forms a resonance circuit with the transmission antenna coil 15 and the capacitor by the automatic tuning circuit 20.
The capacitance of the capacitor of the resonance circuit is automatically controlled so that the resonance frequency becomes substantially the same as the transmission frequency. Further, the microcomputer 19 notifies the user of the end of reading by driving a sound generator (corresponding to a notifying unit) 21.

Next, the operation of the above configuration will be described. The products displayed in the store are attached with tags that store information such as the type, price or purchase date of the products, and the clerk reads the tag information from the tags and counts them by computer to manage the products. It is supposed to do. In this case, two types of tags, an optical information recording tag having a two-dimensional code indicating tag information printed on its surface, and an ID tag having information stored in an internal memory, are used in combination. In this case, an ID tag is attached to a product having a large amount of information to be stored.

When reading the tag information from the tag attached to the product, the clerk operates the switch 5 with the handheld reader / writer 1 facing the tag. FIG. 6 shows the operation of the microcomputer 5. 6, when the switch 5 is operated (S101: Y)
ES), after the lighting LED 13 is weakly lit (S10).
2) the transmission antenna coil 15 by the automatic tuning circuit 20;
(S103).

Subsequently, it is determined whether the reflection intensity is larger than the limit value based on the amount of light received by the two-dimensional CCD 8 (S10).
4). That is, when the handheld reader / writer 1 is located at an appropriate position with respect to the optical information recording tag, the optical information recording tag exists in the irradiation range of the illumination LED 13, so that the illumination LED 13 emits the light. The reflected light is reflected by the optical information recording tag and enters the hand-held reader / writer 1, so that it is received by the two-dimensional CCD 8 while being collected by the condenser lens 16 a of the lens unit 16. As a result, the amount of light received by the two-dimensional CCD becomes larger than the limit value, so that it can be determined that an optical information recording ID tag is present.

Subsequently, it is determined whether the inductance of the resonance circuit has changed (S107). That is, when the ID tag is present, the inductance of the resonance circuit mainly composed of the transmitting antenna coil 15 largely varies depending on the distance from the ID tag due to the magnetic coupling with the ID tag as a result of the automatic tuning. Is larger than the limit value, it can be determined that an ID tag exists.

Here, when the microcomputer 19 determines that an optical information recording tag is present as a result of the above determination (S104: YES), the microcomputer 19 starts optical reading (S104).
105), a two-dimensional code is read by the two-dimensional CCD 8 in a state where the illumination LED 13 is strongly lit, and output to the host device. For the host device, the handheld reader / writer 1
By decoding the two-dimensional code sent from the company, the type, price or purchase date of the product is collected.

Here, when the optical reading is completed as described above, the microcomputer 19 generates a "buzz" sound from the sound generator 21 (S106). Therefore, when such a sound is emitted from the handheld reader / writer 1, the user can determine that the optical reading has been completed.

When the microcomputer 19 determines that an ID tag is present (S107: YES), the microcomputer 19 starts reading the ID tag, and outputs a power signal to the transmitting antenna coil 15 to convert the power signal into an ID. Send to tag.

The ID tag generates an electric power by receiving a power signal, starts operation, and transmits information stored in the memory. Thereby, tag information can be read from the ID tag by extracting information from the output signal from the receiving antenna coil 18.

Here, when the reading of the tag information from the ID tag is completed as described above, the microcomputer 19 generates a beep sound (S109). Therefore, when such a sound is emitted from the handheld reader / writer 1, the user can determine that the reading of the ID tag has been completed.

As a result of the above operation, when both the optical information recording tag and the ID tag are present, the reading operation for the optical information recording tag is performed, and then the reading operation for the ID tag is performed. become. Then, the microcomputer 19 determines whether reading from the tag determined to be present has succeeded (S110), and when the reading has failed, performs the above-described reading operation again.

When writing information to the ID tag, the switch 5 is operated while writing information is set in the handheld reader / writer 1 and the writing mode is set. Then, since the microcomputer 19 transmits the power signal with the write information superimposed thereon, the ID tag determines the information superimposed on the power signal and stores it in the memory.

According to such an embodiment, the reading function is executed in the configuration in which the hand-held reader / writer 1 has the function of reading information from the optical information recording tag and the function of reading information from the ID tag. And the central axis of the transmitting antenna coil 15 and the central axis of the receiving antenna coil 18 for executing communication between the ID tag and the optical axis of the optical system, so that their directional characteristics are in the same direction, The operating environment of the hand-held reader / writer 1 for reading information from the optical information recording tag and the ID tag can be the same. Therefore, as compared with a configuration in which both functions are simply combined, any tag can be used in the same operation environment, and the usability is extremely excellent.

In addition, the operation of reading the information from both the optical information recording tag and the ID tag is performed by operating the switch 5, so that it is easier to use as compared with a configuration in which a dedicated switch is provided for each. And the configuration can be simplified.

Further, since the type of the tag existing at the readable position is determined and the reading operation is performed only on the existing tag, it is possible to prevent the unnecessary reading operation from being performed. The reading time can be reduced.

Further, when both types of tags are present due to the overlap of the optical information recording tag and the ID tag, the reading operation for the optical information recording tag is performed, and then the reading for the ID tag is performed. Since the operation is performed, it is possible to prevent current consumption from being excessively increased as compared with a configuration in which both read operations are performed in parallel.

(Second Embodiment) Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
The same reference numerals are given to the same portions as those of the embodiment, and the description is omitted. In the second embodiment, a transmitting antenna coil and a receiving antenna coil are wound around the outer periphery of a bobbin holding a lens unit.

FIG. 7 shows the front of the optical unit, and FIG.
Shows the cross section. 7 and 8, the lens unit 16 is held on the inner periphery of the bobbin 31. That is, the bobbin 31 is formed by integrating the first bobbin 31a and the second bobbin 31b, and the lens unit 16 is held between the bobbins 31a and 31b. In this case, the transmitting antenna coil 15 and the receiving antenna coil 18 are wound around the outer periphery of the bobbin 31.

According to such an embodiment, the transmitting antenna coil 15 and the receiving antenna coil 18 are wound around the outer periphery of the bobbin 31 holding the lens unit 16, so that the present embodiment is different from the first embodiment. As a result, the optical axis of the lens unit 16 and the central axis of each of the antenna coils 15 and 18 can be made to coincide with each other with high accuracy, and variations in the performance of reading information from the tag can be reduced.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, but can be modified or expanded as follows. The transmission antenna coil and the reception antenna coil may be shared. The optical reading code may be a one-dimensional code such as a bar code.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a hand-held reader / writer according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a handheld reader / writer.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a main part of the optical system unit.

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a lens unit of the optical system unit.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing an electrical configuration of a handheld reader / writer.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the operation of the handheld reader / writer.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view showing a lens unit according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a plan view of a lens unit.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 is a handheld reader / writer, 5 is a switch (reading switch), 8 is a two-dimensional CCD (optical reading means), 13
Is a light emitting LED (light emitting means), 15 is a transmitting antenna coil, 16 is a lens unit, 16a is a condenser lens, 18
Is a receiving antenna coil, 19 is a microcomputer (detection means), 21 is a sound generator (notification means), and 31 is a bobbin.

Claims (7)

[Claims] An optical reading means for reading information from an optical information recording tag based on an image formed by a condenser lens; a transmitting antenna coil for transmitting a power signal to an ID tag; and a signal from the ID tag. A reader / writer for a tag, comprising: a receiving antenna coil for receiving; and an optical axis of the condenser lens and a center axis of the transmitting antenna coil and the central axis of the receiving antenna coil substantially coincide with each other. 2. The tag reader / writer according to claim 1, further comprising a bobbin holding the condenser lens, wherein the transmitting antenna coil and the receiving antenna coil are wound around the bobbin. 3. A light projecting means for indicating a readable range of the optical reading means with respect to the optical information recording tag or a receivable range of the receiving antenna coil with respect to the ID tag. 2. The tag reader / writer according to item 2. 4. The tag reader / writer according to claim 1, wherein a read switch for the optical information recording tag and a read switch for the ID tag are shared. 5. The optical information recording tag or the I information tag.
5. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a detecting unit configured to detect that the D tag exists in a readable range, and performing a reading operation according to a type of the tag detected by the detecting unit. 6. Tag reader / writer. 6. The apparatus according to claim 5, wherein when the detecting means detects the presence of both the optical information recording tag and the ID tag, the reading operation is sequentially performed for each tag. Reader / writer for tags. 7. A notifying means for notifying that the reading operation for the optical information recording tag or the reading operation for the ID tag is completed in a different notification form. 2. A tag reader / writer according to item 1.