JP2002352200A - Glove for rfid tag communication - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a glove for RFID tag communication, by which the load of cargo-handling work and operation is reduced by making equipment to be used for cargo-handling small in size and light in weight. SOLUTION: In the glove for RFID tag communication integrally provided with an RFID tag and the antenna of a reader/writer for communication in a non-contact state, an ON/OFF switch of the reader/writer is provided at the glove for RFID tag communication.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a glove for cargo handling, and more particularly to an antenna of a reader / writer capable of communicating information without contact with an RFID tag attached to luggage, and an ON / OFF of the reader / writer. The present invention relates to an RFID tag communication glove provided with an OFF switch integrally.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a method for communicating information with an RFID tag, a dedicated gate having a reader / writer for communicating with the RFID tag is provided for communication, or a glove having a built-in reader / writer function is used to hold luggage. A method of communication is known from Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H11-296628.

[0003] However, the method of providing a dedicated gate having a reader / writer requires the installation of a new facility and a place for installing the same, and the method of incorporating a reader / writer function in gloves has a small facility load. There is a drawback that a relatively heavy battery must be carried or the battery must be charged frequently in order to constantly supply drive power to the reader / writer.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention reduces the size of the reader / writer, the battery, and the overall equipment of the gloves to reduce the burden of cargo handling and operation. RF to save energy
An ID tag communication glove is provided with a reader / writer antenna and an ON / OFF switch integrally, and the reader / writer is turned ON only when handling the luggage with the glove.
The present invention has been completed with the idea of providing a switch that automatically turns off when the handling is completed.

[0005]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, in a glove for communicating with an RFID tag which is provided with an antenna of a reader / writer which communicates with the RFID tag in a non-contact manner, the glove of the reader / writer is attached to the glove. The present invention relates to a glove for communicating with an RFID tag, which is provided with an ON / OFF switch.

[0006]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. First, RFI used in the present invention
The D tag is an RFID (Radio Frequency)
This is a tag that can exchange information in a non-contact manner by using radio waves as a medium of the y Identification system. The RFID tag is composed of an antenna pattern and an IC chip provided on a base material such as paper or plastic, and a resonance circuit is formed by the antenna pattern and a capacitance element built in the IC chip. When receiving a ringing radio wave of a certain frequency from the reader / writer, the resonance circuit transmits the information stored in the memory to the reader / writer that is the transmission source and returns it. As described above, the RFID tag can communicate information with the reader / writer without contact.

[0007] The "RFID tag" includes a "non-contact IC".
When expressed in various names such as "tag", "contactless data carrier", "wireless IC tag", "contactless IC", "contactless IC label", "contactless IC card", "transponder", etc. Therefore, in the present invention, the term "RFID tag" is representatively used in the present invention, and the tag having the name expressed as described above is also included.

The frequency used by the RFID tag for communication is
UHF-SHF band (850-950 MHz, 2.4-
5GHz), HF band (10-15MHz), LF-MF
There is a band (100 to 500 KHz), and in the present invention, an RFID tag using any frequency can be applied. UHF-
Electromagnetic induction type RF using SHF band and HF band frequencies
The ID tag has a long communication distance but is expensive. LF-
Although the reading distance of the electrostatic coupling type RFID tag using the frequency in the MF band is relatively short, the price of the entire system including the RFID tag, the reader / writer, and the control device is relatively low and the application is wide. It can be suitably used for the invention.

FIG. 1 is a plan view and a sectional view showing an example of an RFID tag used in the present invention. FIG. 1A shows R
FIG. 1B is a plan view of the FID tag, and FIG. R
In the FID tag 10, an antenna pattern 14 is formed on an RFID tag base 17, and a resonance circuit is formed by the antenna pattern and a capacitance element built in the IC chip 11. Upon receiving a paging radio wave of a certain frequency from the reader / writer, the resonance circuit also receives the driving power of the RFID tag and transmits the information stored in the memory of the IC chip 11 to the reader / writer, which is the transmission source, to return. .

The antenna pattern 14 has a coil shape and forms a jumping circuit on the back surface of the RFID tag base 17 by the conductive member 13 and is connected to the bumps or pads of the IC chip 11 by the coil connection elements 15 and 16. The material of the RFID tag base 17 is not particularly limited as long as it is an insulating material. For example, films such as polyethylene terephthalate, polyvinyl chloride, polypropylene, polycarbonate, polyether sulfone, polyamide, and cellulose acetate can be applied. .
The thickness of the film is not particularly limited, either.
About 2 μm to 100 μm is preferable. Also, RFID
Additives such as a coloring agent, an antistatic agent, a lubricant, and a stabilizer may be mixed into the tag base 17 within a range that does not affect the function.

[0011] Such an RFID tag 10 is an RFID tag.
A metal foil such as an aluminum foil or a copper foil laminated on the tag base 17 can be formed by forming the antenna pattern 14 into a coil shape by etching after photo-etching or resist printing, and mounting the IC chip 11.
Its size can be reduced to 50 mm × 50 mm or less. Specifically, the product name “accuw” manufactured by Dai Nippon Printing Co., Ltd.
"ave" can be exemplified.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing another example of the RFID tag used in the present invention. FIG. 2 is a plan view of an electrostatic coupling type RFID tag in which an IC chip label 100L having an IC chip 100 is attached so as to be connected to both a pair of antenna patterns 111 and 112. The pair of antenna patterns 111 and 112 are formed by offset, gravure, flexo, silk screen printing, or the like using conductive ink. In conductive ink,
Use an ink in which carbon, graphite, aluminum powder, silver powder, or a mixture thereof is dispersed in a vehicle.

Specifically, the product name “B” manufactured by Motorola
"static", which is inexpensive and highly reliable, and has a short communication distance with a reader / writer, but is used at a short communication distance such that the cargo handling glove having an antenna function as in the present invention comes into contact with an RFID tag. If you do
It can be suitably used.

The "IC chip label" means that an IC chip 100 provided with an integrated circuit and / or a memory on a silicon substrate is tack-labeled so that it can be mounted on a pair of antenna patterns 111 and 112 of an RFID tag 101. The tack label itself may have a small pair of child antenna patterns connected to an IC chip.

Generally, the IC chip label 100L is
The FID tag is used by sticking to the antenna patterns 111 and 112 formed by printing on the base of the FID tag.
The C chip label 100L is also printed with a small pair of daughter antenna patterns using a conductive printing ink or the like.

The antenna patterns 111 and 112 printed on the base of the RFID tag 101 and the IC chip label 10
The pair of 0 L child antenna patterns are attached and bonded with an anisotropic conductive or non-conductive adhesive. The pressure-sensitive adhesive is applied to a pair of child antenna pattern surfaces of the IC chip label 100L in advance to form a tack label.

The recording capacity of the RFID tag is 1024 B in the case of a general IC memory of the IC chip 100.
It can record 128 characters in "its" and can be applied to the minimum information record of ordinary products and packaged luggage. Also, with a few kilobits, it is possible to record more than a two-dimensional barcode used in conventional luggage management. Further, unlike a two-dimensional barcode, there is an advantage that information can be additionally recorded and rewritten one by one as needed, and it can be used not only for management of loading / unloading of goods but also for delivery / quality of products.

The luggage handled using the gloves of the present invention is not particularly limited as long as it can attach an RFID tag, and includes, for example, daily necessities, beverages, foods, apparel goods, machines and mechanical parts, It may be a product such as an electric product or a building product, or a box in which a plurality of such products are packed. Further, the present invention can also be applied as an automatic recognition system for carrying in and out and lending for packages in the aviation industry, delivery in the transportation and distribution industry, management of library collections, management of rental CDs and videos, and the like.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a luggage to which an RFID tag for cargo handling is attached using the glove of the present invention. In the present invention, regarding the form of the RFID tags 10 and 101,
There are various shapes such as a label shape, a card shape, a coin shape, an inlet shape, etc., and any shape of the RFID tag can be applied, as shown in FIG. Alternatively, a plurality of them are packaged or packaged, and used by attaching them to an exterior body such as a cosmetic box, a cardboard box, a wooden box, a wrapper, a sealed letter, a handbag, and a container. The method of sticking is not particularly limited, and may be sticked with an adhesive or cellotape (registered trademark), or may be sticked in a small bag of paper or polyethylene. , May be stuck.

Although the RFID tags 10 and 101 can communicate by radio, they are not beautiful in appearance, so that they cover the RFID tags 10 and 101 and are placed in the middle of the nameplate label that is normally used. It is preferred to wear.
The RFID tags 10 and 101 can be attached to a nameplate label and a product or cardboard, or formed on the back of the nameplate label or laminated on the back of the nameplate label, so that an outsider can use the RFID tag 10 or 101. , 101 are not known, and the RFID tags 10, 10
It is more suitable to use management such as quality management in addition to the luggage management according to 1.

The nameplate label is a pasted label in which general product names, selling points, sellers, dates of manufacture, and the like are displayed by printing such as offset printing, resin letterpress printing, gravure printing, flexo printing, and silk screen printing.・ Tack labels can be applied. In addition, various types such as a tubular shrink label or a stretch label printed on a shrinkable plastic film by gravure or silk screen printing can be applied.

The substrate for the glue-attached label, tack label, shrink label and stretch label is not particularly limited, but may be, for example, high quality paper, coated paper,
Papers such as impregnated paper and synthetic paper, synthetic resins such as polyethylene terephthalate / polypropylene / polyvinyl chloride / ethylene vinyl acetate copolymer, metal foils such as aluminum, and laminates of two or more layers thereof Can be applied.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a cargo handling state using the glove of the present invention. The luggage 2 to which the RFID tags 10 and 101 are attached is put on with a glove 1 for communicating with an RFID tag of the present invention, which will be described later, and is lifted for cargo handling. By handling in this way, the R affixed to the luggage 2
The distance is within a range where communication with the FID tags 10 and 101 is possible.
Information recorded in the memory of the FID tag can be read.

FIG. 5 shows the antenna function and ON of the present invention.
It is a conceptual diagram of the glove provided with the / OFF switch. RFI
Glove 1 for D tag communication has antenna 31, switch 3
2, a connection terminal 33, and a wiring 34. An antenna 31 is a reader / writer antenna that communicates with the RFID tag, and a switch 32 turns the reader / writer on / off.
The terminal 33 is a terminal for electrically connecting the antenna 31 and the main body of the redirector, and the wiring 34 is a wiring connecting the antenna 31 and the main body of the redirector.

As the antenna 31 for the reader / writer, a general antenna in which a metal wire such as a copper wire or an aluminum wire is coiled can be applied. As the switch 32, a piezoelectric switch that can be turned on by a pressing force can be applied, and the pressure applied between the glove and the baggage when carrying the baggage, the glove 1 for communicating with the RFID tag, and the other hand can be grasped. The switch is turned on by pressing with the hand. Also, one RFI
When the communication with the D tag is completed, the switch is automatically turned off.
Is set to the reader / writer that becomes

Antenna 31, switch 32 and connection terminal 3
The method for integrally providing the glove 3 with the cargo glove is not particularly limited. For example, the method may be performed by suturing between the cloth of the glove body and another covering cloth, or temporarily placing the cloth in another bag. It may be fastened with a magic tape (registered trademark) or the like, and it is sufficient if it does not fall off during cargo handling.

FIG. 6 is a conceptual diagram showing the arrangement of the glove, reader / writer, and battery of the present invention. The cargo handling operator is RFID
The glove 1 for tag communication is worn on at least one hand, and the antenna 31 and the switch 32 of the glove 1 are connected to the reader / writer body 40 via the wiring 34. The reader / writer main body 40 includes a battery 70 for supplying power, and a transmission / reception unit 41 for communicating with a host computer for management. The reader / writer main body 40 and the battery 70 are usually attached to a waist or the like for work.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of a system element for handling cargo using the glove of the present invention. The cargo handling system of the present invention
It is composed of RFID tags 10 and 101 attached to luggage, gloves 1 provided with an antenna 31 and a switch 32, a reader / writer main body 40, a battery 70, and a host computer 80.

As an RFID tag, an electromagnetic coupling type RF
Although the ID tag 10 and the electrostatic coupling type RFID tag 101 have been described, the functional elements are the same. Antenna 21,
Transmission / reception circuit 22, power reception circuit 23, CPU 24, RO
M25, RAM 26, and EEPROM 27. The power receiving circuit 23 receives a paging radio wave from the reader / writer, converts it into power for driving the RFID tag,
The ID tag is activated.

The CPU 24 of the activated RFID tag
By using the memory RAM 26 and the primary memory EEPROM 27 according to the program of the ROM 25, the attribute information of the pre-recorded product or package is transmitted to the transmitting / receiving circuit 2
2. Send back as radio waves through the antenna 21 in a non-contact manner.

The radio wave is received by the antenna 31 of the glove 1 for communicating with the RFID tag and transmitted to the reader / writer main body 40. The reader / writer main body 40 includes a transmission / reception circuit 42, a power transmission circuit 43, a CPU 44, a ROM 45, and a RAM 46. The received radio wave is read by the CPU 44 by the program in the ROM 45 via the transmission / reception circuit 42.
When the cargo handling work is performed one after another, the luggage information is stored in the RAM 46.
Is accumulated in The power transmission circuit 43 is a circuit for supplying power to the RFID tag.

Transmission / reception means 41 of reader / writer body 40
Is a higher-level device, which sequentially or accumulates package information via the transmission / reception means 51 of the host computer 80 to the host computer 80 which manages import / export. As the transmission / reception means 41 and 51, a method by wire from a terminal or a method by wireless communication using radio waves or infrared rays can be applied. Wireless communication using radio waves includes a short-range wireless communication standard "Bluetooth" using microwaves in the 2.45 GHz band, proposed by five companies including Ericsson, Nokia, IBM, Intel and Toshiba, and the 5 GHz band. Can also be used.

The battery 70 is for supplying drive power to the reader / writer, and a primary battery and a secondary battery can be applied. When supplying driving power to the reader / writer at all times, the batteries must be replaced frequently when using primary batteries and carry relatively heavy batteries when using secondary batteries. Alternatively, the secondary battery must be charged frequently.

However, according to the present invention, since the switch 32 for turning on / off the reader / writer is provided to the glove 1 for communicating with the RFID tag, it is sufficient to supply the power only at the moment of holding the luggage. The time to carry one piece of luggage and communicate with the RFID tag of the luggage is at most a time in seconds, and even if the time of the day's cargo handling work is accumulated, a battery that supplies a small amount of power only for the communication time may be sufficient. The effect of reducing the size and weight of a heavy battery is significant.

The host computer 80 may be a personal computer or a server. Generally, the CPU 54, ROM 55, RA
It has an M56, and includes a recording unit such as an FDD 52, a CDD 53, and an HD 54, and an input unit 63 such as a printer 61, a monitor 62, and a keyboard via input / output units 58 and 59.

The baggage information sent from the reader / writer to the host computer is subjected to predetermined processing, and
2 and can be printed out by the printer 61. In this way, the data of loading and unloading can be automatically collected, totaled, and output, so that the burden on the cargo handling worker can be reduced and the efficiency can be improved. Further, if the data of the carry-in and carry-out is sequentially sent to the host computer, the situation can be grasped in real time, and the progress of the physical distribution management and the response to the emergency cargo handling can be performed.

[0037]

Example 1 (Example 1) Using the product name "accuwave" manufactured by Dai Nippon Printing Co., Ltd. as an RFID tag, on the side of a dummy cardboard box and on the surface of high-quality paper 110 g / m ² Delivery destination, product name, quantity Then, the product was adhered in a state where the manufacturer was arranged on the back surface of a product tack label printed by an inkjet printer. On the other hand, using a general IC card reader / writer, the antenna and the piezoelectric switch made of the copper wire coil are pulled out by code wiring, and the antenna and the piezoelectric switch are put in the pockets on the palm side of the glove. Inserted.

The cargo worker wore gloves for communicating with the RFID tag on his right hand, and ordinary gloves on his left hand. The power supply of the reader / writer is assumed to be four AA batteries, attached to the waist together with the reader / writer main body, the left hand presses the switch attached to the right hand, the reader / writer is turned on, and the RFID is turned on.
When the dummy cardboard box to which the tag was attached was lifted, the power of the reader / writer was turned off after reading the attribute information of the RFID tag. It is preferable that the switch is turned on manually because the switch is difficult to be turned on in the case of an uneven or soft product.

(Example 2) A glove and a reader / writer were the same as those in Example 1 using a product name "Bistatix" manufactured by Motorola as an RFID tag. The cargo handling worker wore gloves for communicating with the RFID tag on the right hand, and ordinary gloves on the left hand, and attached to the waist together with the reader / writer body.

When the worker lifts the dummy cardboard box to which the RFID tag has been attached, the switch attached to the right hand is automatically pressed by the force holding the cardboard.
N, and after reading the attribute information of the RFID tag, the power of the reader / writer was turned off. As described above, ten cardboard boxes were lifted one after another, loaded into a truck, and then sent to a host computer for printing out. Ten pieces of product information were issued.

[0041]

According to the present invention, the switch 32 for turning on / off the reader / writer for the glove 1 for communicating with the RFID tag is provided.
It is only necessary to supply a small amount of electric power for only the moment of holding the baggage in seconds, and it is possible to reduce the size and weight of relatively heavy batteries in the cargo handling system. The burden is light, and the efficiency can be improved.

Further, since the data of loading and unloading can be automatically collected, totalized and output, if the data of loading and unloading is sequentially sent to the host computer, the situation can be grasped in real time, It can also manage logistics progress and respond to emergency cargo handling.

When the luggage is uneven or soft, the ON / OFF switch 32 of the reader / writer is difficult to turn on, but it is more reliable to turn on the switch manually in a shorter time. It is an aspect of claim 2 that can be performed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view and a cross-sectional view illustrating an example of an RFID tag used in the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing another example of the RFID tag used in the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a package to which an RFID tag to be loaded is attached using the glove of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a cargo handling state using the glove of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a conceptual diagram of a glove provided with an antenna function and an ON / OFF switch according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a conceptual diagram showing an arrangement of a glove, a reader / writer, and a battery according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a configuration diagram of a system element used for cargo handling using the glove of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Glove 2 Luggage 10, 101 RFID tag 11, 100 IC chip 12 IC board 13 Conductive member 14, 111, 112 Antenna pattern 15, 16 Connection element 17 RFID tag base 22, 42 Transmission / reception circuit 23 Power reception circuit 24, 44, 54 CPU 25, 45, 55 ROM 26, 46, 56 RAM 27 EEPROM 31 Antenna 32 Switch 34 Wiring 40 Reader / writer main body 41, 42 Transmission / reception means 52 FDD 53 CDD 54 HD 58, 59 Input / output unit 61 Printer 62 Monitor 63 Input unit 70 Battery 80 Host computer 100L IC chip label

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An RFID tag communication glove provided integrally with an antenna of a reader / writer for communicating with an RFID tag in a non-contact manner, wherein the RFID tag communication glove is provided with an ON / OFF switch of the reader / writer. Characteristic gloves for RFID tag communication. 2. The on / off of the reader / writer is manually turned on when handling the luggage by wearing the glove,
2. The glove for RFID tag communication according to claim 1, wherein the glove is automatically turned off when the handling is completed. 3. The on / off of the reader / writer is automatically turned on when handling the luggage by wearing the glove.
The glove for RFID tag communication according to claim 1, wherein the glove is automatically turned off when the handling is completed.