JP2002216092A - Radio communication medium and radio information processor and radio information processing system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a radio information processor capable of preventing a plurality of radio communication media from simultaneously making responses even when those radio communication media simultaneously enter a communication-enable area, and for realizing the efficiency improvement of radio communication and the operability improvement of a whole system. SOLUTION: This radio tag reader-writer for executing prescribed information processing by transmitting a command to a radio tag attached to articles carried at prescribed intervals one by one on a belt conveyer, and receiving a response to be transmitted from the radio tag which receives this command is provided with a command transmitting means for transmitting a command for designating the number of times of a response to be transmitted from the radio tag in response to the command transmitted to the radio tag.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a wireless communication medium such as a battery-less wireless tag attached to an article on a belt conveyor in a physical distribution management or an article assembling / conveying line. By performing wireless transmission and reception to and from the tag, a wireless information processing apparatus such as a wireless tag reader / writer that performs predetermined information processing such as transmission of power and transmission and reception of data to and from the wireless tag, and The present invention relates to a wireless information processing system such as a wireless tag processing system including a wireless tag reader / writer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Recently, for example, a wireless tag reader / writer for wirelessly communicating information with a wireless tag or a wireless card reader / writer for wirelessly communicating information with a wireless card has been used for distribution management, It is used in various systems such as assembly and transportation lines for articles, entry / exit management, and personal authentication.

For example, in logistics management, a wireless tag recording a management number, a destination and history information is attached to an article on a belt conveyor, and wirelessly communicates with a wireless tag reader / writer installed near the belt conveyor. This is used in a wireless tag processing system that automatically sorts delivery destinations of articles, reads and writes histories, and the like.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In a distribution line or an assembly conveyance line in which articles are flowed one by one, in order to improve production using a wireless tag processing system, it is necessary to (1) increase the intervals between articles on a belt conveyor. (2) It is essential to increase the conveyor speed of the belt conveyor.

However, in order to realize such conditions, there are the following problems.

(1) When the interval between articles placed one by one on a belt conveyor becomes narrow, a plurality of wireless tags exist in a communicable area of the wireless tag reader / writer, and each wireless tag responds simultaneously. Communication may not be possible due to interference.

(2) If the conveying speed of the belt conveyor is excessively increased, the processing speed may not catch up with the performance of the wireless tag and the wireless tag reader / writer.

Therefore, it is necessary to derive an appropriate transport speed (transport speed of articles) of the belt conveyor.

Therefore, the present invention prevents the wireless communication media from responding simultaneously even when a plurality of wireless communication media enter the communicable area of the wireless information processing device at the same time, and It is an object of the present invention to provide a wireless communication medium, a wireless information processing device, and a wireless information processing system capable of improving the efficiency of wireless communication and improving the workability of the entire system.

[0010]

A wireless information processing apparatus according to the present invention transmits a command to a wireless communication medium attached to an article conveyed one by one at a predetermined interval by a conveying means, and receives the command. When a command is transmitted to the wireless communication medium in a wireless information processing apparatus that performs predetermined information processing by receiving a response transmitted from the wireless communication medium, the command is transmitted from the wireless communication medium. Command transmission means for transmitting a command specifying the number of times of response to be performed.

Further, the wireless communication medium of the present invention is attached to articles conveyed one by one at a predetermined interval by a conveying means, receives a command transmitted from an external radio information processing apparatus, and responds to the command. In a wireless communication medium that transmits a response to the wireless information processing device, when a command that specifies the number of responses to be transmitted from the wireless information processing device is received, the response is repeated to the wireless information processing device the specified number of times. Is provided.

[0012] Further, the wireless information processing system of the present invention comprises:
The predetermined information processing is performed by wirelessly transmitting and receiving information between a wireless communication medium having a wireless communication function attached to articles conveyed one by one at a predetermined interval by the conveying means and the wireless communication medium. A wireless information processing apparatus for performing the communication, and interval detecting means for detecting an interval of the wireless communication medium attached to the conveyed article, wherein the wireless information processing apparatus detects the wireless communication detected by the interval detecting means. Response number calculating means for calculating the number of responses of the wireless communication medium based on the interval of the communication medium, and command transmitting means for transmitting to the wireless communication medium a command specifying the number of responses calculated by the response number calculating means Wherein the wireless communication medium comprises:
A response transmission unit is provided which, upon receiving a command transmitted from the wireless information processing device and specifying the number of responses, repeatedly transmits the response to the wireless information processing device the specified number of times.

Further, the wireless communication medium of the present invention is attached to articles conveyed one by one at predetermined intervals by a conveying means, and wirelessly transmits and receives information to and from an external wireless information processing apparatus. The medium includes a response transmission unit that, when receiving a transmission radio wave from the wireless information processing device, repeatedly transmits a predetermined number of responses to the wireless information processing device.

Further, the wireless information processing apparatus of the present invention transmits and receives information wirelessly to and from a wireless communication medium having a wireless communication function attached to articles conveyed one by one at predetermined intervals by the conveying means. In a wireless information processing apparatus that performs predetermined information processing by performing, a transmitting antenna for transmitting radio waves to a wireless communication medium attached to the article to be transported, and disposed on the transporting means,
The receiving sensitivity is configured such that the receiving sensitivity gradually changes from the upstream side to the downstream side with respect to the conveying direction of the article, and the radio wave is transmitted from a wireless communication medium attached to the article to be conveyed. An antenna, wireless communication means for performing wireless transmission and reception between the wireless communication medium via the transmission antenna and the reception antenna, and processing means for performing predetermined information processing based on a result of transmission and reception by the wireless communication means. I have it.

[0015]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

First, a first embodiment will be described.

FIG. 1 shows the configuration of a wireless tag processing system as a wireless information processing system according to the first embodiment. This wireless tag processing system includes a battery-less wireless tag 100 as a wireless communication medium, a wireless tag reader / writer 200 as a wireless information processing device for performing predetermined information processing by performing wireless communication with the wireless tag 100, This wireless tag reader / writer 2
00, and a control computer (PC) 300 that controls a belt conveyor 400 as a transport unit that transports the article to which the wireless tag 100 is attached.

The wireless tag 100 is used, for example, as shown in FIG. That is, the articles 500 are placed on the belt conveyor 400 one by one at a predetermined interval D,
It is assumed that the article 500 is conveyed in the direction indicated by the arrow. On each article 500, a wireless tag 100a, 100
b, 100c are attached, and each article 500 (wireless tags 100a, 100b, 100c) is conveyed by the belt conveyor 400 in such a state.

A rectangular area 600 surrounded by a dashed line on the belt conveyor 400 is a wireless tag reader.
A communicable area between the writer 200 and the wireless tag 100 is provided.
When 0 is entered, communication with the wireless tag reader / writer 200 becomes possible. The length of the communicable area 600 in the transport direction of the belt conveyor 400 is set to L (m), and the length in a direction orthogonal to the transport direction of the belt conveyor 400 is set to be equal to or larger than the width of the belt conveyor 400.

As shown in FIG. 1, for example, the wireless tag 100 includes a transmitting / receiving antenna 110 for transmitting / receiving to / from a wireless tag reader / writer 200, an antenna input / output circuit 120 for controlling the transmitting / receiving antenna 110, A power supply generation circuit 130 that generates a stabilized DC voltage by rectifying and smoothing the wave and supplies it to each circuit as an operation voltage, a demodulation circuit 140 that performs demodulation processing on a received signal, and performs various data processing and the like. It comprises a data processing circuit 150, a memory 160 for storing various data, a modulation circuit 170 for performing modulation processing on transmission data, and a transmission driver 180 for performing transmission processing.

As shown in FIG. 1, for example, the wireless tag reader / writer 200 drives a data processing circuit 210 for performing various data processing, a modulation circuit 220 for performing modulation processing on transmission data, and a transmission antenna 250 to be described later. The transmitting driver 230, the transmitting antenna 250 for transmitting the radio wave to the wireless tag 100, the receiving antenna 260 for receiving the radio wave transmitted from the wireless tag 100, the antenna input circuit 270 for controlling the receiving antenna 260, and the receiving signal It comprises a demodulation circuit 280 for performing demodulation processing.

The data processing circuit 210 of the wireless tag reader / writer 200 is connected to a control computer 300 as a host device. Control computer 300
Is a personal computer that controls the wireless tag reader / writer 200 and the belt conveyor 400.

Here, the overall operation of the wireless tag reader / writer 200 and the wireless tag 100 in the above configuration will be briefly described. The data processing circuit 210 of the wireless tag reader / writer 200 generates data of a data read command for communication with the wireless tag 100 and data of a response number designation command of the wireless tag 100 under the control of the control computer 300, The transmission signal is generated by modulating the data with a carrier by the modulation circuit 220. The generated transmission signal is amplified by the transmission driver 230 and then transmitted from the transmission antenna 250 as a transmission radio wave.

On the other hand, the wireless tag 1 attached to the article 500
00 is conveyed together with the article 500 by the belt conveyor 400 and enters the communicable area 600 near the transmission / reception antenna of the wireless tag reader / writer 200, and is transmitted from the wireless tag reader / writer 200 by the transmission / reception antenna 110 and the antenna input / output circuit 120. To receive the transmitted radio wave. The received transmission radio wave is supplied to the power generation circuit 130.
Rectified and smoothed, a power source is generated, and the wireless tag 1
00 is supplied to each circuit as power required for operation.

A transmission radio wave from the wireless tag reader / writer 200 received by the transmission / reception antenna 110 is transmitted to the data processing circuit 150 after being demodulated by the demodulation circuit 140. The data processing circuit 150 performs predetermined data processing using the memory 160 based on the received data,
Modulation circuit 170 uses the processing result as response data.
Send to

The modulation circuit 170 includes a data processing circuit 150
The transmission signal is generated by modulating the response data from the base station with a carrier wave. The generated transmission signal is amplified by the transmission driver 180, and then, as a transmission radio wave from the transmission / reception antenna 110 via the antenna input / output circuit 120, is repeated the number of times specified by the response number specification command from the wireless tag reader / writer 200. Sent.

The transmission radio wave transmitted from the wireless tag 100 is transmitted to the receiving antenna 26 of the wireless tag reader / writer 200.
The signal is received by the antenna input circuit 270, passes only necessary radio waves by the antenna input circuit 270, is demodulated by the demodulation circuit 280, and is transmitted to the data processing circuit 210. Data processing circuit 210
Performs predetermined data processing based on the received data, and sends a result of the processing to the control computer 300.

Next, the command of the wireless tag reader / writer 200, which is the gist of the first embodiment, is added to the command of the wireless tag reader / writer 200.
By adding a command specifying the number of response times of 0, the communicable area 6 of the wireless tag reader / writer 200
The operation for preventing a plurality of wireless tags sequentially included in 00 from responding simultaneously will be described in detail with reference to flowcharts shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 and a timing chart shown in FIG. In this example, a case will be described in which the number of responses N of the wireless tag 100 is, for example, three.

Now, as shown in FIG. 2, the wireless tags 100a, 100a are placed on an operating belt conveyor 400.
The articles 500 to which b and 100c are attached are placed and conveyed one by one at a predetermined interval D [m]. The wireless tag reader / writer 200 transmits a data read command and a response number designation command (N = 3) at a predetermined cycle (S11).

In this state, when the first wireless tag 100a enters the communicable area 600 and receives a command from the wireless tag reader / writer 200 (S21), the wireless tag 100a transmits response data to the command (S21). S22), wireless tag reader / writer 200
Receives the response data (S12, S1
3).

The wireless tag 100a repeatedly transmits the response data for the number of times (three times) specified by the response count specifying command from the wireless tag reader / writer 200, and ends the transmission of the response data. The transmission of the response data is prohibited even if the response number designation command is received from the writer 200 (S23, S24).

On the other hand, the wireless tag reader / writer 200 transmits the data read command and the response number designation command (N = 3) again after receiving the response data from the wireless tag 100a three times.

Next, the second wireless tag 100b enters the communicable area 600 and performs the same transmission and reception as the above-described wireless tag 100a, so that the wireless tag 100b repeatedly transmits response data three times and ends. . Further, the third wireless tag 100c can communicate with the communication area 60.
In the same manner, the wireless tag 100c repeatedly transmits response data three times and ends.

As described above, by designating the number of responses of the wireless tag 100 from the wireless tag reader / writer 200, the response data of each wireless tag 100 does not interfere with each other, and the response data of all wireless tags 100 is transmitted to the wireless tag reader / writer. The writer 200 can reliably acquire the information.

Here, design conditions for implementing the above-described present invention and efficiently operating an actual system are shown below.

D> 2 × V × (T × N + t) where L> 2 × V × (T × N + t) (1) D: installation interval [m] of wireless tag T: response time of wireless tag + Free time until continuous response [S] t: Transmission command time of wireless tag reader / writer + response start time of wireless tag [S] N: Number of times of response specified of wireless tag [times] V: Transport speed of belt conveyor [m / S] L: Length of the communicable area of the RFID tag reader / writer and the RFID tag in the direction of the belt conveyor conveyance [m] (Example) T = 0.04 [S], t = 0.01 [S], N = 3
[Times], V = 0.5 [m / S], L = 0.5 [S], installation interval D of wireless tag 100 attached to article 500
Is D> 2 × 0.5 × (0.04 × 3 + 0.01)> 0.
13 [m] (L> 0.13 is satisfied), and the installation interval D of the wireless tag 100 attached to the article 500 may be 0.13 m or more.

When the location where this system is installed has a lot of spatial noise, the response data repetition number N from the wireless tag 100 is increased from “3” to “5”, so that even in a noisy environment, Wireless tag reader
The writer 200 can reliably receive the response data from the wireless tag 100.

(Example) When N = 5, the wireless tag 100
Is D> 2 × 0.5 × (0.04 × 5 + 0.01)> 0.
21 [m] (L> 0.21 is satisfied), and the installation interval D of the wireless tag 100 attached to the article
Should be 0.21 m or more.

Next, a second embodiment will be described.

In the second embodiment, the interval D between the wireless tags 100 is detected in advance, and the detected interval D between the wireless tags 100 is determined.
From the above result, the optimal transport speed of the belt conveyor 400 and the optimal number of responses of the wireless tag 100 are calculated from the above equation (1), and the transport speed of the belt conveyor 400 and the number of responses of the wireless tag 100 are variably controlled. The details will be described below.

FIG. 6 schematically shows a main part of a wireless tag processing system according to the second embodiment. The difference between the second embodiment and the first embodiment (FIG. 2) is that the communicable area 700 of the wireless tag interval detector described later is located before the communicable area 600 of the wireless tag reader / writer 200. Are set, and the others are the same as those in FIG. The length of the communicable area 700 in the direction orthogonal to the conveying direction of the belt conveyor 400 is equal to or larger than the width of the belt conveyor 400, and
Is shorter than the communicable area 600,
Each is set.

FIG. 7 shows the configuration of a wireless tag processing system according to the second embodiment. The difference between the second embodiment and the first embodiment (FIG. 1) is that
RFID tag interval detector 201 as an interval detecting unit for detecting an interval D between wireless tags 100 attached to articles 500 conveyed on belt conveyor 400, and a conveying speed control unit for variably controlling the conveying speed of belt conveyor 400 1 in that a conveyor speed variable control device 410 has been added.

The wireless tag interval detector 201 is connected to the control computer 300 and has the same configuration as the wireless tag reader / writer 200, but does not transmit the response count designation command and transmits only the data read command for a predetermined period. Sending in. The variable conveyor speed control device 410 is connected to the control computer 300 and operates under the control of the control computer 300.

In such a configuration, the gap D between the wireless tags 100, which is the gist of the second embodiment, is detected in advance, and the transport speed of the belt conveyor 400 and the number of responses of the wireless tags 100 are determined based on the detected gap D. The operation of variably controlling the transport speed of the belt conveyor 400 and the number of responses of the wireless tag 100 will be described in detail with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

Now, as shown in FIG. 6, the wireless tags 100a, 100b, 100c are
Are sequentially conveyed one by one, the control computer 300 operates the wireless tag interval detector 2
01, 100a, 100b, 10 attached to the conveyed article 500 based on the wireless tag detection signal
An interval D of 0c is detected (S31).

That is, first, when the head wireless tag 100a enters the communicable area 700 of the wireless tag interval detector 201 and receives a command from the wireless tag interval detector 201, the wireless tag 100a responds to the command by the response data. Is transmitted to the wireless tag interval detector 201.
Receives the response data, detects that the wireless tag 100a has been conveyed, and sends a detection signal to the control computer 300.

Next, the second wireless tag 100b enters the communicable area 700, and performs the same transmission and reception as the above-described wireless tag 100a, whereby the wireless tag 100b is detected, and the detection signal is sent to the control computer 300. Sent. Further, the third wireless tag 100c enters the communicable area 700 and performs the same transmission and reception as the above-described wireless tag 100a, whereby the wireless tag 100c is detected, and the detection signal is transmitted to the control computer 300.

The control computer 300 controls the wireless tag 10
When the detection signals 0a, 100b, and 100c are sequentially input, the wireless tags 100a, 100b, and 100c are based on the detection signals.
The intervals D between 0b and 100c are sequentially detected. Here, the detection of the interval D is performed, for example, from the time when the detection signal of the wireless tag 100a is input to the time when the detection signal of the wireless tag 100b is input, or the time after the detection signal of the wireless tag 100b is input. The detection is performed by counting the time until the detection signal of the tag 100c is input.

When the interval D is detected in this way, the control computer 300 calculates, for each of the detected intervals D, the optimum transport speed of the belt conveyor 400 for the interval D from the interval D and the above equation (1). V, and the number of responses N of the wireless tag 100 are calculated (S3).
2).

Here, when calculating the transport speed V of the belt conveyor 400, the above formula (1) is calculated by expanding the formula (1) into the following formula (2).

V> D / (2 × (T × N + t)) (2) When the optimum transport speed V and the number of responses N are calculated in this way, the control computer 300 changes the calculated transport speed V to a variable conveyor speed. Send to control device 410. The variable conveyor speed control device 410 is connected to the control computer 30.
By variably controlling the number of rotations of a not-shown conveyor drive motor so that the transport speed V sent from 0 is obtained,
The transfer speed of the belt conveyor 400 is variably controlled (S3
3).

The control computer 300 sends the calculated number of responses N to the wireless tag reader / writer 200. The wireless tag reader / writer 200 transmits a response count specifying command specifying the response count N sent from the control computer 300 together with the data read command at a predetermined cycle (S33).

In this state, when the first wireless tag 100a enters the communicable area 600 and receives a command from the wireless tag reader / writer 200, the wireless tag 100a
Sends the response data for that command,
The wireless tag reader / writer 200 receives the response data (S34, S35).

The wireless tag 100a repeatedly transmits the response data the number of times (N times) specified by the response count specifying command from the wireless tag reader / writer 200, ends the transmission of the response data, and thereafter, the wireless tag reader 100a. -Prohibit the transmission of response data even when receiving the response number designation command from the writer 200.

On the other hand, after receiving the response data N times from the wireless tag 100a, the wireless tag reader / writer 200 transmits again the data read command and the response number designation command for the next wireless tag 100b.

Next, the second wireless tag 100b enters the communicable area 600 and performs the same transmission and reception as the above-described wireless tag 100a, so that the wireless tag 100b repeatedly transmits the response data N times as specified. To end. Further, the third wireless tag 100c starts to enter the communicable area 600, and similarly, the wireless tag 100c repeatedly transmits the response data for the specified N times and ends.

As described above, the interval D between the wireless tags 100 is detected in advance, and the speed V of the belt conveyor 400 and the number of responses N of the wireless tags 100 are automatically varied using the above equation (1). By controlling, even when the interval between the articles 500 to which the wireless tags 100 conveyed one by one by the belt conveyor 400 are attached is extremely separated or narrow, the wireless tags are automatically detected and detected. 100
Communication can be reliably performed, and the operation rate of the transport system can be improved.

Next, a third embodiment will be described.

In the first and second embodiments described above, the number of responses of the wireless tag 100 is specified as a command from the wireless tag reader / writer 200. However, in the third embodiment, the wireless tag 100 itself uses This is a case where the number of responses is fixed from the beginning, and will be described in detail with reference to flowcharts shown in FIGS. 9 and 10 and a timing chart shown in FIG. In this example, the wireless tag 1
The case where the number of responses N of 00 is fixed to, for example, three will be described.

Now, as shown in FIG. 2, the wireless tags 100a, 100b, 100c are
Are sequentially transported one by one.
The wireless tag reader / writer 200 transmits a data read command at a predetermined cycle (S41).

In this state, when the head wireless tag 100a enters the communicable area 600 and receives a command from the wireless tag reader / writer 200 (S51), the wireless tag 100a transmits response data to the command (S51). S52), wireless tag reader / writer 200
Receives the response data (S42, S4
3).

The wireless tag 100a repeatedly transmits the response data a predetermined number of times (three times) and then terminates the transmission of the response data.
Thereafter, even if a data read command is received from the wireless tag reader / writer 200, transmission of response data is prohibited (S53).

On the other hand, the wireless tag reader / writer 200 transmits the data read command to the next wireless tag 100b again after receiving the response data three times from the wireless tag 100a.

Next, the second wireless tag 100b enters the communicable area 600 and performs the same transmission and reception as the above-described wireless tag 100a, so that the wireless tag 100b repeatedly transmits response data three times and ends. . Further, the third wireless tag 100c can communicate with the communication area 60.
In the same manner, the wireless tag 100c repeatedly transmits response data three times and ends.

FIG. 11 shows a case where the number of responses is three as described above, and the wireless tags 100a, 100b, 1
00c is received by the wireless tag reader / writer 200 without interference.

However, the number of responses N of the wireless tag 100, the interval D between the wireless tags 100, and the transport speed V of the belt conveyor 400 are values determined by the above equation (1).

As described above, by fixing the number of responses of the wireless tag 100, the number of responses of the wireless tag 100 can be specified from the wireless tag reader / writer 200 as in the first embodiment. Communication processing is simpler than in the embodiment with the wireless tag interval detection function, and time efficiency is improved.

In the third embodiment, the data read command is not transmitted from the wireless tag reader / writer 200 to the wireless tag 100, and the wireless tag reader / writer 200 always transmits the unmodulated wave. When the wireless tag 100 receives an unmodulated wave from the wireless tag reader / writer 200, a method of transmitting a response N times fixed in advance is also possible.

Next, a fourth embodiment will be described.

In the fourth embodiment, when the wireless tag reader / writer 200 has successfully received the response from the wireless tag 100, the wireless tag reader / writer 200 transmits a command to end the transmission of the response. This will be described in detail with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

Now, as shown in FIG. 2, the wireless tags 100a, 100b, 100c are
Are sequentially transported one by one.
The wireless tag reader / writer 200 transmits a data read command at a predetermined cycle (S61).

In this state, when the first wireless tag 100a enters the communicable area 600 and receives a command from the wireless tag reader / writer 200 (S71), the wireless tag 100a transmits response data to the command (S71). S72), wireless tag reader / writer 200
Receives the response data (S62).

When receiving the response data, the wireless tag reader / writer 200 checks the response data sent from the wireless tag 100a for an error (for example,
Data format check, parity check, etc.)
Is performed (S63). As a result of the error check, if the response data is normal, the wireless tag reader / writer 200 transmits a command designating the end of the response transmission to the wireless tag 100a (S64).

As a result of the error check in step S63,
If the response data is not normal, the wireless tag reader
The writer 200 returns to step S61 and transmits the data read command again.

When the wireless tag 100a receives the response transmission end command from the wireless tag reader / writer 200 (S73), it ends the transmission of the response data at that time, and thereafter issues a data read command from the wireless tag reader / writer 200. Even if received, transmission of the response data is prohibited (S74).

On the other hand, after transmitting the response transmission end command, the wireless tag reader / writer 200 returns to step S61 and transmits the data read command for the next wireless tag 100b again.

Next, the second wireless tag 100b enters the communicable area 600 and performs the same transmission / reception operation as the above-described wireless tag 100a. Further, the third wireless tag 100c starts to enter the communicable area 600, and similarly, the wireless tag 100c performs the same transmission / reception operation as the above-described wireless tag 100a.

As described above, the wireless tag reader / writer 2
When the response of the wireless tag reader / writer 200 is successfully received from the wireless tag 100, a command for terminating the transmission of the response is transmitted.
Although the response of the wireless tag 100 has been normally received, the wireless tag 100 does not need to be received many times, and the wireless tag 100 conveyed by the belt conveyer 400 takes the time of the interval of the wireless tag 100 to enter. 100 communications can be terminated. Therefore, the communication processing time is improved.

Next, a fifth embodiment will be described.

In the fifth embodiment, the sensitivity of the receiving antenna 260 of the wireless tag reader / writer 200 is increased in accordance with the direction in which the belt conveyor 400 is conveyed. The wireless tag 1 next to the wireless tag 100a
00b, the receiving sensitivity is higher than that of the wireless tags 10b.
Even if the responses of 0a and 100b collide, the first wireless tag 100a can reliably communicate, and will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 14 and FIG.

FIG. 14 shows a wireless tag reader / writer 200.
2 shows the configuration of the transmission antenna 250 and the reception antenna 260. As shown in FIG.
0 is wound on the belt conveyor 400 in a rectangular loop shape having substantially the same shape as the communicable area 600 of the wireless tag reader / writer 200, and the receiving antenna 260 is wound in a rectangular spiral shape. The loop-shaped transmitting antenna 2
50, the center of the spiral is moved from the center of the loop-shaped transmitting antenna 250 to the belt conveyor 40.
The spiral receiving antenna 260 is arranged in a state shifted to the downstream side with respect to the transport direction of 0.

With such a configuration, the wireless tag reader
As shown in FIG. 15, the receiving antenna 260 of the writer 200 is a receiving antenna having a non-uniform receiving sensitivity in which the receiving sensitivity increases as it goes downstream with respect to the transport direction of the belt conveyor 400.

Therefore, even when a plurality of wireless tags 100 enter the communicable area 600 of the wireless tag reader / writer 200, communication can be performed with only the wireless tags 100 having high reception sensitivity, and collision can be prevented.

The fifth embodiment is similar to the first embodiment described above.
It is also possible to use together with the fourth to fourth embodiments,
By using them together, more remarkable effects can be expected.

In the above embodiment, the case where the present invention is applied to a wireless tag and a wireless tag reader / writer for processing the wireless tag has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this. Since the wireless card has almost the same function except for the appearance and shape,
It goes without saying that the present invention can be similarly applied to a wireless card and a wireless card reader / writer that processes the wireless card.

[0086]

As described above in detail, according to the present invention, even when a plurality of wireless communication media enter the communicable area of the wireless information processing device at the same time, the wireless communication media respond simultaneously. To prevent
A wireless communication medium, a wireless information processing device, and a wireless information processing system capable of improving the efficiency of wireless communication and improving the workability of the entire system can be provided.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a wireless tag processing system according to a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view schematically showing a main part of the wireless tag processing system according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the wireless tag reader / writer according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of the wireless tag according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a timing chart illustrating the operation of the wireless tag processing system according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 6 is an exemplary perspective view schematically showing a main part of a wireless tag processing system according to a second embodiment;

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a wireless tag processing system according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of the wireless tag reader / writer according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the wireless tag reader / writer according to the third embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of the wireless tag according to the third embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a timing chart illustrating the operation of the wireless tag processing system according to the third embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the wireless tag reader / writer according to the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of the wireless tag according to the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 14 is a configuration diagram schematically showing a configuration of a transmission antenna and a reception antenna of a wireless tag reader / writer according to a fifth embodiment.

FIG. 15 is a characteristic diagram showing the receiving sensitivity of the receiving antenna configured as shown in FIG. 14;

[Explanation of symbols]

100, 100a, 100b, 100c: wireless tag (wireless communication medium), 110: transmission / reception antenna, 120: antenna input / output circuit, 130: power generation circuit, 140: demodulation circuit, 150: data processing circuit, 160: memory, 17
0: modulation circuit, 180: transmission driver, 200: wireless tag reader / writer (wireless information processing device), 201: wireless tag interval detector (interval detection means), 210: data processing circuit, 220: modulation circuit, 230: transmission Driver, 25
0: transmitting antenna, 260: receiving antenna, 270: antenna input circuit, 280: demodulation circuit, 300: control computer, 400: belt conveyor (conveying means), 41
0: variable conveyor speed control device (transport speed control means)
500: article, 600: communicable area of wireless tag reader / writer, 700: communicable area of wireless tag interval detector.

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. A command is transmitted to a wireless communication medium attached to an article conveyed one by one at a predetermined interval by a conveying means, and a response transmitted from the radio communication medium receiving the command is received. In the wireless information processing apparatus performing predetermined information processing, when transmitting a command to the wireless communication medium, a command for transmitting a command designating the number of responses transmitted from the wireless communication medium to the command A wireless information processing apparatus comprising transmission means. 2. A command attached to an article conveyed one by one at a predetermined interval by a conveying unit, received from an external wireless information processing apparatus, and a response to the command is sent to the wireless information processing apparatus. A wireless communication medium for transmitting, when receiving a command specified the number of responses transmitted from the wireless information processing apparatus, a response transmitting unit configured to transmit the response repeatedly to the wireless information processing apparatus the specified number of times; A wireless communication medium characterized by: 3. A radio communication medium having a radio communication function attached to articles conveyed one by one at a predetermined interval by a conveyance means, and wirelessly transmitting and receiving information between the radio communication medium and the radio communication medium. A wireless information processing device that performs predetermined information processing; and an interval detecting unit that detects an interval between the wireless communication media attached to the conveyed articles. A response count calculating unit configured to calculate a response count of the wireless communication medium based on the detected interval of the wireless communication medium; and a command specifying the response count calculated by the response count calculation unit, for the wireless communication medium. Command transmitting means for transmitting, the wireless communication medium, the number of responses transmitted from the wireless information processing apparatus Upon receiving a given command, the wireless information processing system, characterized by comprising a response transmitting means for transmitting the number of repetitions response that is specified for the wireless information processing apparatus. 4. The apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising a transport speed control unit that variably controls a transport speed of said transport unit in accordance with an interval between said wireless communication media detected by said interval detection unit. Wireless information processing system. 5. A wireless communication medium attached to articles conveyed one by one at a predetermined interval by a conveying means and configured to wirelessly transmit and receive information to and from an external radio information processing apparatus, And a response transmitting means for repeatedly transmitting a predetermined number of responses to the wireless information processing apparatus when receiving a transmission radio wave from the wireless communication medium. 6. When a response transmitted from the wireless communication medium is received, response determination means for determining whether the received response is normal, and the response determination means determines that the received response is normal. The wireless information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a command transmission unit configured to transmit a command designating termination of transmission of a response to the wireless communication medium when the command is transmitted. 7. When receiving a command designating termination of transmission of a response transmitted from the wireless information processing apparatus,
3. The wireless communication medium according to claim 2, further comprising a response transmission control unit that terminates transmission of a response to the wireless information processing device. 8. A transmitting antenna for transmitting a radio wave to a wireless communication medium attached to the article to be conveyed, the transmitting antenna being arranged on the conveying means, and from an upstream side in a conveying direction of the article. A receiving antenna configured to receive the radio wave transmitted from a wireless communication medium attached to the conveyed article, wherein the receiving sensitivity is configured to gradually change toward the downstream side, and further comprising: The wireless information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: 9. Predetermined information processing is performed by wirelessly transmitting and receiving information to and from a wireless communication medium having a wireless communication function attached to articles conveyed one by one at predetermined intervals by a conveying means. In the wireless information processing apparatus, a transmission antenna for transmitting a radio wave to a wireless communication medium attached to the article to be transported, the transmission antenna being disposed on the transporting unit, and being upstream in a transport direction of the article. And a receiving antenna for receiving radio waves transmitted from a wireless communication medium attached to the conveyed article, wherein the receiving antenna is configured to gradually change from the downstream toward the downstream. Wireless communication means for performing wireless transmission and reception with the wireless communication medium via the wireless communication medium; and performing predetermined information processing based on a result of transmission and reception by the wireless communication means. Wireless information processing apparatus which is characterized by comprising the Nau processing means. 10. The transmitting antenna is wound in a loop shape, and the receiving antenna is wound in a spiral shape. The center of the spiral of the spiral is formed inside the looped transmitting antenna. 10. The wireless information processing according to claim 8, wherein the spiral receiving antenna is disposed in a state where the receiving antenna is moved from a center portion of the loop transmitting antenna toward a conveying direction of the article. apparatus.