JP2003263611A - Information reading/writing device and information managing system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a reader/writer capable of easily and surely reading/writing information even for an RFID tag set at a position which is difficult to recognize. <P>SOLUTION: A reader/writer 2 for reading/writing information through electromagentic connection with an external RFID tag 1 is provided with an antenna coil 24 electromagentically connectable to an antenna coil 11 of the RFID tag 1, a coil current detecting part 25 for detecting an impedance signal changing according to the change of the impedance of the antenna coil 24 due to the electomagnetic connection of the antenna coil 11 to the antenna coil 24, and a communication validity/invalidity judging part 26 for judging whether or not the electromagnetic connection of the antenna coil 11 and the antenna coil 24 is turned into a state in which the reading/writing of the information is available based on the impedance signal. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an information reading / writing device for reading or writing information with an external information recording device via electromagnetic coupling, and this information reading / writing device.
The present invention relates to an information management system using a writing device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, RFID (Radio Frequency Iden)
A technology has been developed in which a writable / readable electromagnetic wave data carrier (referred to as an "RFID tag") such as a tification tag is attached to an article and information about the article is recorded on the attached RFID tag. . Such a technique is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-8453.
No. 2 and Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-263024.

In this technology, a device (called a "reader / writer") for writing information into or reading information from the RFID tag is brought closer to the RFID tag, and more specifically, an antenna of the reader / writer is used. By bringing the RFID tag close to the RFID tag, writing / reading of information (referred to as “reading / writing of information”) becomes possible even if the reader / writer and the RFID tag are not in contact with each other.
However, in this technology, the distance between the reader / writer capable of reading and writing information and the RFID tag (referred to as “communication possible distance”) is relatively small. It is necessary to bring the writer and the RFID tag close to each other.

Conventionally, it is common to mount an RFID tag on the outside of an article, so that the reader / writer is attached to the RFID.
It was easy to get close to the tag.

[0005]

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION As will be described in the embodiments of the present invention, the inventor of the present invention intends to use the RFID tag by incorporating it in a position where it cannot be easily found from the outside of the article. developed. However, the inventor of the present application has also found that, when an RFID tag is built in an article, how to bring the reader / writer close to the RFID tag becomes a problem.

4A and 4B are views for explaining a method of bringing the reader / writer 52 close to the RFID tag 51 built in the sofa as the article 50. In the case of FIG. 4A, the antenna 52a of the reader / writer 52 is upsized to the same size as the article,
The RFID tag 51 is placed close to any part of the antenna 52a.

Further, in the case of FIG. 4B, a handy type reader / writer 62 is placed at a certain position around the article 50 and an attempt is made to actually read / write information, and it is determined whether the reading / writing of information succeeded or failed. If the reader / writer 62 is checked, if it fails, the reader / writer 62 is moved to another position and the reading / writing of information is tried again until the reading / writing of information succeeds.
It is arranged to be close to the tag 51.

However, in the case of FIG. 4 (a), since the reader / writer 52 is large, it is inconvenient to carry.

In the case of FIG. 4B, it is necessary to repeatedly read and write information. Since it takes a certain amount of time to read and write information, it also takes time to confirm whether the reading and writing of information has succeeded or failed, and if such work is repeated, the reader / writer 62 is set to RFI.
The inconvenience that it takes a long time to approach the D tag 51 occurs. Further, since it is necessary to reduce the distance between the reader / writer 62 and the RFID tag 51 in order to succeed in reading / writing information, the reader / writer 62 is relied upon depending on whether the reading / writing of information succeeded or failed. RF
It is a difficult task to bring it close to the ID tag 51. Furthermore, if the moving speed of the reader / writer 62 is too high, reading and writing of information may not be successful even if the reader / writer 62 temporarily approaches the RFID tag 51, and it is likely to overlook the proximity. Further, in the vicinity of the boundary between the success or failure of reading and writing of information, although reading and writing of information is successful in some cases, the read and written information may be inaccurate.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to make it easier to read and write information even for an information recording device (RFID tag) installed at a position that is difficult to recognize. An object of the present invention is to provide an information reading / writing device that can be surely performed, and an information management system using the information reading / writing device.

[0011]

Information reading / writing according to the present invention
The writing device is an information reading / writing device for reading or writing information via an electromagnetic coupling with an external information recording device, and in order to solve the above problems, the writing device is provided in the information recording device. A second antenna that can be electromagnetically coupled to the first antenna, and an impedance signal that detects an impedance signal that changes according to impedance changes of the second antenna due to electromagnetic coupling of the first antenna to the second antenna. A detection unit; and a determination unit that determines, based on the impedance signal, whether or not the electromagnetic coupling between the first antenna and the second antenna can read or write information. I am trying.

In the above configuration, the information reading / writing is performed by the electromagnetic coupling between the first antenna provided in the external information recording device and the second antenna provided in the information reading / writing device.
It is possible to read or write information (referred to as "reading and writing of information") between the writing device and the information recording device. That is, it is possible to read and write information even in a non-contact state between the information reading / writing device and the information recording device. In order to realize the reading and writing of information by such electromagnetic coupling, the degree of electromagnetic coupling needs to be sufficiently large, and for example, the distance between the first antenna and the second antenna is restricted.

In view of the above, the above-described structure is provided with a determination unit for determining whether or not information can be read and written by electromagnetic coupling. The determination unit detects the degree of electromagnetic coupling between the first antenna and the second antenna based on the impedance signal detected by the impedance signal detection unit, and whether the electromagnetic coupling can read and write information. Determine whether or not. Since the impedance signal changes according to the impedance change of the second antenna due to the electromagnetic coupling of the first antenna to the second antenna, it is possible to detect the degree of electromagnetic coupling based on the impedance signal. it can.

Therefore, in the above configuration, even when the position of the information recording device is difficult to recognize from the outside, the information is actually read when the judgment unit judges that the information can be read and written. By reading and writing, information can be surely read and written. This determination is based on the degree of electromagnetic coupling and can be performed in a shorter time than when information is actually read or written. Therefore, the determination can be repeated while moving the information reading / writing device in a shorter time and more easily than the conventional configuration, and the possibility of overlooking the proximity is low. Therefore, the information reading / writing device can be brought closer to the information recording device more easily than the conventional configuration. Further, since it is possible to determine a state in which the degree of electromagnetic coupling is sufficient as a state in which information can be read and written, it is possible to prevent inaccurate reading and writing of information as in the conventional configuration.
As described above, with the above configuration, it is possible to provide an information reading / writing device that can read and write information more easily and reliably.

The information reading / writing apparatus according to the present invention is the above information reading / writing apparatus, further, based on the impedance signal, the degree of electromagnetic coupling between the first antenna and the second antenna. It is preferable to provide an informing unit for informing.

In the above configuration, the notification unit notifies the user of the information reading / writing device of the degree of electromagnetic coupling by, for example, notifying the degree of electromagnetic coupling by sound or light. Based on the notification from the notification unit, the user can know in which direction the information reading / writing device is moved to increase the degree of electromagnetic coupling.
Therefore, the information reading / writing device can be brought closer to the information recording device more easily, and information can be read and written more easily.

The information reading / writing apparatus according to the present invention is the information reading / writing apparatus described above, wherein the information reading is performed when the determination unit determines that the information can be read or written. Alternatively, it is preferable to allow execution of the process for writing.

In the above configuration, since the processing for reading and writing information is performed when the information can be read and written, it is possible to read and write information more reliably.

An information reading / writing apparatus according to the present invention is the above information reading / writing apparatus, further comprising a signal applying section for applying an AC electric signal to the second antenna, and the impedance signal. It is preferable that the detection unit detects the impedance signal based on the electric signal given to the second antenna by the signal giving unit.

In the above configuration, the signal applying section applies an alternating electric signal to the second antenna, and the impedance signal detecting section can easily detect the impedance signal based on the applied electric signal. For example, when an electric signal for voltage control is applied, it is based on the current flowing through the second antenna, and when an electric signal for current control is applied, it is based on the voltage generated in the second antenna. Can be easily detected.

In the information reading / writing apparatus according to the present invention, in the above information reading / writing apparatus, it is determined that the signal applying section is in a state in which the determining section can read or write information. In this case, a signal for reading or writing information as the electric signal is used as the second electric signal.
When a signal is applied to the antenna and the determination unit determines that the information cannot be read or written, a signal for detecting the impedance signal is applied as the electrical signal to the second antenna. Preferably.

In the above configuration, when the determination section determines that the information can be read and written, an electric signal for reading and writing information, for example, an electric signal modulated for reading and writing information is signaled. Information can be read and written by being given to the second antenna by the giving unit. In addition, when the determination unit determines that the information cannot be read or written, an electric signal for detecting the impedance signal, for example, an unmodulated electric signal is given to the second antenna by the signal giving unit. Then, the impedance signal can be detected by using the electric signal.

That is, the signal applying section is provided with the function of applying the electric signal for reading and writing information to the second antenna and the function of applying the electric signal for detecting the impedance signal to the second antenna. be able to. As a result, the device configuration can be simplified as compared with the case where separate members having respective functions are provided.

An information reading / writing apparatus according to the present invention is the above information reading / writing apparatus, wherein:
Electrical energy is supplied by the electromagnetic coupling between the first antenna and the second antenna to operate, and the determination unit is configured such that the electromagnetic coupling between the first antenna and the second antenna is the information. It is preferable that the above-mentioned determination is made such that the state in which the electric energy necessary for operating the recording device can be supplied to the information recording device is a state in which information can be read or written.

In the above configuration, when the information recording device operates by receiving the supply of electric energy from the information reading / writing device, the operable state of the information recording device is defined as the information readable / writable state. Make a decision. This enables appropriate determination.

An information management system according to the present invention is characterized by including the information reading / writing device and the information recording device. This makes it possible to configure an information management system having the effects of the information reading / writing device.

In the information management system according to the present invention, in the above information management system, the information recording device is provided on the article, and the information reading / writing device specifies a seller or an owner of the article. It is preferable that the information to be written is written in the information recording device provided in the article.

Alternatively, in the information management system according to the present invention, in the above information management system, the information recording device is provided on the article, and the information reading / writing device is a seller or an owner of the article. It is preferable to read the information identifying the item from the information recording device provided in the article.

By using the above information management system,
For example, it is possible to provide an information recording device in an electric home appliance, a furniture, a bag, a bicycle, a motorcycle, or the like as an article, and write information specifying the seller or the owner of the article in the information recording apparatus. Further, by using the above-mentioned information management system, it is possible to acquire the information specifying the seller or the owner from the information recording device provided on the article.

Thus, when the article is illegally dumped, the seller or the owner is specified and the person is liable, or the article is lost. It becomes possible to return it to the owner.

Here, in the above information management system, it is possible to easily read and write information even when the position of the information recording device is difficult to recognize from the outside as described above. Therefore, the information recording device can be provided inside the article, particularly at a position where it is difficult to remove or destroy the article. Therefore, it is less likely that the information recording device itself or the recorded information will be lost at the time of illegal dumping, and the seller or the owner can be more surely specified. Further, by providing the information recording device at a position that is difficult to recognize from the outside, it is possible to prevent the decorative property of the article surface from being impaired. As such, the information management system is particularly suitable for the above-mentioned uses.

[0032]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the information management system 3 according to this embodiment. The information management system 3 includes an RFID tag 1 (information recording device) and a reader / writer 2 (information reading / writing device).

The RFID tag 1, which is also called a non-contact ID tag, a wireless ID tag, a non-contact tag, or a wireless tag, stores information (information consisting of digital data) written by the reader / writer 2, and leader/
The information stored at the time of reading by the writer 2 is reproduced. In addition, the reader / writer 2 is an RFID
Information is read from or written in the tag 1. The reader / writer 2 (information reading / writing device) may read information only or may only write information, and may read and write information. It may be performed. That is, the reader / writer 2 (information reading / writing device) may be one that can read and / or write information.

First, the RFID tag 1 will be described.
The RFID tag 1 includes an antenna coil 11 (first antenna), a power supply circuit 12, a data demodulation unit 13, a logic circuit 14, a storage unit 15, and a data reproduction unit 16.

The antenna coil 11 is a reader / discussed later.
This is a coil having a function as an antenna that realizes electromagnetic induction coupling (called “electromagnetic coupling”) with the antenna coil 24 of the writer 2.

The power supply circuit 12 is a circuit for generating electric power based on the electric energy supplied from the reader / writer 2 to the antenna coil 11 via electromagnetic coupling.
The power supply circuit 12 supplies the generated power to each part of the RFID tag 1, for example, the data demodulation part 13, the logic circuit 14, and the data reproduction part 16 to operate. The electric energy supplied from the reader / writer 2 to the antenna coil 11 is, as will be described later,
This is based on the current flowing through the antenna coil 11 by electromagnetic induction when the transmission signal is sent to the antenna coil 24.

The data demodulating section 13 demodulates the data contained in the signal based on the signal transmitted from the reader / writer 2 to the antenna coil 11 via electromagnetic coupling and sends the demodulated data to the logic circuit 14.

When the data to be written is sent, the logic circuit 14 writes the data in the storage section 15. Further, the logic circuit 14 reads the data from the storage unit 15 and sends it to the data reproducing unit 16 when the reader / writer 2 reads the data.

The storage unit 15 stores the data written by the logic circuit 14. The data stored in the storage unit 15 is read by the logic circuit 14. The storage unit 15 is composed of, for example, FeRAM.

When the data is sent from the logic circuit 14, the data reproducing section 16 reproduces the data so that the reader / writer 2 can read the data via the antenna coil 11. Specifically, the data reproducing unit 16 reproduces data by, for example, the LS (Load Switch) method.
That is, the data reproducing unit 16 turns on / off the electric load connected to the antenna coil 11 based on the data, and thus the antenna coil 24 of the reader / writer 2 is turned on.
Data is reproduced as a change in impedance as viewed.

Next, the reader / writer 2 will be described. The reader / writer 2 includes a carrier wave generation unit 21 and a modulation unit 2
2, amplification unit 23, antenna coil 24 (second antenna), coil current detection unit 25 (impedance signal detection unit), communication availability determination unit 26 (determination unit), communication distance notification unit 27 (notification unit), and control unit 28 (CPU). The control unit 28 also includes a data generation unit 28a and a data demodulation unit 28b.

The carrier wave generating section 21 conveys data from the reader / writer 2 to the RFID tag 1, and R
A carrier wave for reading data from the FID tag 1 is generated. This carrier wave is, for example, a voltage-controlled AC signal, and is, for example, a sine wave signal having a frequency of 13.56 MHz. Although the following description is made assuming that the carrier wave is a voltage-controlled AC signal, the present invention is not limited to this, and the carrier wave may be a current-controlled AC signal.

The modulator 22 superimposes the data on the carrier generated by the carrier generator 21 based on the data sent from the data generator 28a of the controller 28, and amplifies it as a transmission signal which is an electric signal. Send to section 23. Modulator 2
The data superposition in 2 is performed by, for example, ASK (Amplitude).
This is done by modulating the voltage of the carrier wave with Shift Keying). Note that the modulation unit 22 keeps the carrier wave generated by the carrier wave generation unit 21 as it is (that is, an unmodulated carrier wave) during a period in which data is not sent from the data generation unit 28a, particularly during a period in which data is read from the RFID tag 1. Is sent to the amplifier 23 as a transmission signal.

The amplifier 23 amplifies the voltage of the transmission signal sent from the modulator 22 and sends it to the antenna coil 24.

The antenna coil 24 is a coil having a function as an antenna that is electromagnetically coupled to the antenna coil 11 of the RFID tag 1. The antenna coil 24 receives and transmits data by electromagnetic coupling with the antenna coil 11.

The coil current detector 25 detects a current (referred to as “coil current”) flowing through the antenna coil 24, generates a signal corresponding to the coil current, and supplies the signal to the communication availability determination unit 26 and the communication distance notification unit 27. send. The coil current is
It is generated based on a transmission signal sent from the amplification unit 23 to the antenna coil 24, and changes according to the impedance change of the antenna coil 24 due to electromagnetic coupling of the antenna coil 11 of the RFID tag 1 to the antenna coil 24. Is. The coil current also changes according to the impedance change of the antenna coil 24 due to the change of the electric circuit on the antenna coil 11 side electromagnetically coupled to the antenna coil 24, that is, the electric circuit of the RFID tag 1. Therefore, a signal corresponding to the coil current generated by the coil current detector 25 is called an impedance signal.

The communication availability determination unit 26 determines the antenna coil 11 of the RFID tag 1 based on the impedance signal.
And the electromagnetic coupling between the antenna coil 24 of the reader / writer 2 can read or write data (referred to as "reading and writing of data") or not (whether communication is possible or not). Then, the communication availability determination unit 26
Controls the determination result and the impedance signal.
Send to 8.

The data generation unit 28a of the control unit 28 determines whether the RFID tag 1 is based on the determination result of the communication availability determination unit 26.
The data to be written in is generated and sent to the modulator 22. That is, when the determination result of the communication availability determination unit 26 is “a state in which data can be read and written”, a process for writing data, that is, a process for sending data to the modulation unit 22 is performed.

Therefore, the communication availability determination unit 26 has a function of permitting the execution of the process for writing the data when it is determined that "the state in which the data can be read and written" is determined. This makes it possible to read and write data more reliably.

The data generated by the data generation unit 28a is information input from an input unit (not shown) provided in the reader / writer 2 or the reader / writer 2
It is based on information sent from a computer or the like (not shown) connected to the.

The data demodulation unit 28b of the control unit 28 demodulates the impedance signal based on the determination result of the communication availability determination unit 26 and acquires the data read from the RFID tag 1. That is, when the determination result of the communication availability determination unit 26 is “a state in which data can be read and written,”
A process for reading data, that is, a process for demodulating an impedance signal sent from the coil current detection unit 25 is performed. Therefore, the communication permission / inhibition determination unit 26 has a function of permitting the execution of the process for reading the data when it is determined that “the data can be read / written”.

The data demodulated by the data demodulation unit 28b is sent to a display unit (not shown) provided in the reader / writer 2 for display, a computer connected to the reader / writer 2, or the like. It is sent to (not shown) and appropriately processed.

The communication distance notifying section 27, based on the impedance signal sent from the coil current detecting section 25,
The degree of electromagnetic coupling between the antenna coil 11 of the RFID tag 1 and the antenna coil 24 of the reader / writer 2 is reported.

As a method of informing, for example, a speaker is provided in the communication distance informing section 27, the volume of the sound emitted from the speaker is increased as the degree of electromagnetic coupling increases, and the volume is increased as the degree of electromagnetic coupling decreases. It is conceivable to make the value smaller. In addition, the communication distance notification unit 27 is provided with an LED (Light Emitting Diode), and the LED is blinked quickly as the degree of electromagnetic coupling increases, and in the state where data can be read and written, LE
A method of lighting D, or a method of forming a level bar with LEDs and displaying the degree of electromagnetic coupling as the level of the level bar can be considered.
The notification method is not limited to these, and any method that allows the user of the reader / writer 2 to recognize the degree of electromagnetic coupling may be used.

In this way, the communication distance notification unit 27
The user of the reader / writer 2 can be made to recognize the degree of electromagnetic coupling. The user can know in which direction the reader / writer 2 should be moved to increase the degree of electromagnetic coupling based on the notification from the communication distance notification unit 27. Therefore, even if the position of the RFID tag 1 is difficult to recognize, the reader / writer 2 can be more easily
Can be brought closer to the RFID tag 1 and data can be read and written more easily.

Here, based on the impedance signal, R
The principle by which the degree of electromagnetic coupling between the antenna coil 11 of the FID tag 1 and the antenna coil 24 of the reader / writer 2 can be known will be described.

The degree of electromagnetic coupling depends on the antenna coil 11
It is related to the magnitude of the influence of electromagnetic induction that occurs between the antenna coil 24 and the antenna coil 24, and depends on the distance between the antenna coil 11 and the antenna coil 24 and the substance interposed between the antenna coil 11 and the antenna coil 24. Change.

For example, when the resonance frequency of the antenna coil 24 (single antenna coil 24 alone) in the state of not being electromagnetically coupled is made to coincide with the frequency of the carrier wave, the current flowing through the antenna coil 24 in the single antenna coil 24 is in the resonance state. Maximum current at. When the RFID tag 1 enters the electromagnetically connectable area of the reader / writer 2, the antenna coil 2
The impedance of No. 4 changes from the resonance state, and the current flowing through the antenna coil 24 becomes smaller than the maximum current in the resonance state.

Therefore, the reader / writer 2 uses the RFID
As the distance from the tag 1 increases, the degree of electromagnetic coupling decreases and the impedance of the antenna coil 24 changes so as to approach the resonance state. The current flowing through the antenna coil 24 increases so as to approach the maximum current in the resonance state in almost proportion to the amount of change in the impedance. Conversely, as the reader / writer 2 approaches the RFID tag 1, the degree of electromagnetic coupling increases and the impedance of the antenna coil 24 changes so as to move away from the resonance state. The current flowing through the antenna coil 24 deviates from the maximum current in the resonance state and becomes smaller in proportion to the amount of change in the impedance.

That is, the degree of change in impedance seen from the antenna coil 24 can be known from the degree of change in current flowing through the antenna coil 24, and the degree of change in impedance between the antenna coil 11 and the antenna coil 24 can be known from the degree of change in impedance. The degree of electromagnetic coupling of can be known.

Note that the determination in the communication availability determination unit 26 is also based on this principle, so that it is possible to determine that communication is possible when the degree of decrease in the coil current exceeds a predetermined value from the degree of change in impedance.

Next, the criteria for the determination by the communication availability determination unit 26 will be described. As mentioned above, RFID tag 1
Operates with electric power generated in the power supply circuit 12 based on electric energy supplied from the reader / writer 2 to the antenna coil 11 via electromagnetic coupling. Whether or not data can be read or written depends on whether or not the RFID tag 1 can operate. Therefore,
When the degree of electromagnetic coupling becomes small and sufficient electric energy cannot be supplied from the reader / writer 2 to the RFID tag 1, the RFID tag 1 cannot operate and data cannot be read or written.

Therefore, the value of the impedance signal (referred to as "impedance signal reference value") in the case where the electromagnetic coupling state is a state in which the minimum electric energy required to operate the RFID tag 1 is supplied is referred to in advance. The impedance may be determined in advance, and the communication availability determination unit 26 may make a determination based on this impedance signal reference value. A margin may be taken into consideration in the above-mentioned "minimum electric energy required to operate the RFID tag 1".

That is, the communication availability determination unit 26 determines that the electromagnetic coupling between the antenna coil 11 and the antenna coil 24 is
The state in which the electric energy required to operate the RFID tag 1 can be supplied to the RFID tag 1 is determined as the state in which data can be read and written. This enables appropriate determination.

As described above, the reader / writer 2 of the present embodiment performs at least one of reading and writing of data (information) with the external RFID tag 1 through electromagnetic coupling. Then, the reader / writer 2 is R
The antenna coil 11 provided in the FID tag 1 and the antenna coil 24 that can be electromagnetically coupled are provided. Further, the reader / writer 2 detects the impedance signal that changes according to the impedance change of the antenna coil 24 due to the electromagnetic coupling of the antenna coil 11 to the antenna coil 24, and the coil current detection unit 25 based on this impedance signal. A communication availability determination unit 26 that determines whether or not the electromagnetic coupling between the antenna coil 11 and the antenna coil 24 is in a state where data can be read and written.

In this reader / writer 2, data can be read from and written to the RFID tag 1 by electromagnetic coupling between the antenna coil 24 and the antenna coil 11 provided in the RFID tag 1. That is, data can be read and written even when the reader / writer 2 and the RFID tag 1 are in non-contact with each other. In order to realize the reading and writing of data by such electromagnetic coupling,
The degree of electromagnetic coupling needs to be sufficiently large, and for example, the distance between the RFID tag 1 and the antenna coil 24 is restricted.

Therefore, the reader / writer 2 is provided with a communication availability determination unit 26 that determines whether or not data can be read and written by electromagnetic coupling. The communication availability determination unit 26 detects the degree of electromagnetic coupling between the antenna coil 11 and the antenna coil 24 based on the impedance signal detected by the coil current detection unit 25, and the electromagnetic coupling reads and writes data. It is determined whether the state can be performed. Since the impedance signal changes according to the impedance change of the antenna coil 24 due to the electromagnetic coupling of the antenna coil 11 to the antenna coil 24, the degree of electromagnetic coupling can be detected based on this impedance signal. it can.

Therefore, in the reader / writer 2, even when the position of the RFID tag 1 is difficult to recognize from the outside, when the communication availability determination unit 26 determines that the data can be read and written. By actually reading / writing data, it is possible to surely read / write data.

This determination is based on the degree of electromagnetic coupling and can be performed in a shorter time than when data is actually read or written. Therefore, it is possible to easily repeat the determination while moving the reader / writer 2 in a shorter time than the conventional configuration, and it is unlikely to overlook that the reader / writer 2 and the RFID tag 1 are close to each other. Therefore, the reader / writer 2 can be more easily connected to the RFI than the conventional configuration.
It can be brought close to D tag 1. Further, since the state in which the degree of electromagnetic coupling is sufficient can be determined as the state in which the reading and writing of data can be performed, it is possible to prevent the reading and writing of data from becoming inaccurate as in the conventional configuration.

Further, the reader / writer 2 has a carrier wave generating section 21, a modulating section 22, and an amplifying section 23 for giving a transmission signal which is an alternating electric signal to the antenna coil 24.
(These are referred to as "signal providing unit"). The coil current detection unit 25 detects the impedance signal based on the transmission signal given to the antenna coil 24 by the signal giving unit.

In this configuration, the signal applying unit applies the transmission signal to the antenna coil 24, and the coil current detecting unit 25 can easily detect the impedance signal based on the applied transmission signal. In the above,
The antenna coil 2 is provided by applying a voltage control transmission signal.
The case where the impedance signal is detected based on the coil current flowing in 4 has been described, but the impedance signal can also be detected based on the voltage generated in the antenna coil 24 by applying the current control transmission signal.

When the communication availability determination unit 26 determines that the data can be read and written, the signal adding unit is a signal for reading and writing data as a transmission signal, specifically, the data A signal modulated by the modulation unit 22 for reading and writing is applied to the antenna coil 24, and when the communication availability determination unit 26 determines that the data cannot be read and written, the impedance signal is used as a transmission signal. A signal for detection, specifically, an unmodulated transmission signal is applied to the antenna coil 24.

In this configuration, the signal adding section has a function of giving a transmission signal for reading and writing data to the antenna coil 24 and a function of giving a transmission signal for detecting an impedance signal to the antenna coil 24. You can give it to me. As a result, the device configuration can be simplified as compared with the case where separate members having respective functions are provided. Further, based on the determination of the communication availability determination unit 26, the control unit 28 can automatically switch each function of the signal providing unit.

Next, a usage pattern of the information management system 3 including the RFID tag 1 and the reader / writer 2 described above will be described.

(Usage mode 1) The amount of waste generated from the lifestyle of "mass production, mass consumption" in recent years is increasing steadily. For example, even the air conditioners, TVs, refrigerators, and washing machines, which are the four main items of home electric appliances, are disposed of 18 million units per year and 600,000 tons in weight. In such waste, most of the metal is recovered, but most of it is landfilled.

With the aim of overcoming such a situation, the Specified Household Machinery Act (Home Appliance Recycling Act) was enacted,
It will be fully enforced from April 1, 2001.

According to this law, when the seller is requested to collect the waste of the device sold by himself or the same kind of device as the device to be sold, he is obliged to collect the waste, and the manufacturer himself It imposes the obligation to re-commercialize the waste of manufactured equipment, etc., collected by the seller or the municipality.
Thereby, the waste is considered to be recycled.

However, it is basically necessary for the consumer (waste generator) to bear the cost of collecting, transporting, recycling, etc. of the waste, and the consumer who cannot bear the cost disposes of it. The problem of illegally dumping things is increasing.

Further, there is a problem in that the seller who has collected the waste does not hand it over to the manufacturer but re-commercializes it independently and sells it, and unreasonably receives the re-commercialization cost from the consumer. Can also be considered.

On the other hand, measures against household appliances not specified by the Specified Household Equipment Act as specific household appliances or furniture, bags, tires, bicycles, motorcycles, etc. which are not covered by the Specified Household Equipment Act However, there still remains the problem of illegal dumping by consumers who are troubled with the disposal of these wastes.

The information management system 3 can be used in order to suppress illegal dumping and fraud in recycling, and to smoothly promote recycling such as recycling.

Specifically, at the manufacturing stage of articles (equipment) such as home electric appliances, furniture, and bicycles, etc., the inside of the article cannot be easily taken out by disassembling the article or destroying a part of the article. Alternatively, the RFID tag 1 is installed at a position (part) where it cannot be disassembled or destroyed. Then, when the goods are sold, at the store, etc., the sale date, the name and address of the seller (information identifying the seller), or the name and address of the purchaser (consumer, owner) (owner (Information for specifying) is written in the RFID tag 1 installed inside the article by the reader / writer 2. And this RFID
The information written in the tag 1 is set in a state in which it cannot be rewritten or erased.

As a result, the seller or purchaser of this article can be identified from this article using the reader / writer 2. That is, since the RFID tag 1 cannot be easily taken out by disassembling the article, breaking a part of the article, or the like, even if the article is illegally dumped, the seller or purchaser of the article can be identified from the article. it can.

Since the RFID tag 1 can be installed in an inconspicuous position inside the article, the above information can be added to the article without impairing the decorative property of the article surface. Further, since the information can be repeatedly written in the RFID tag 1, it is possible to write in the RFID tag 1 information for history management such as repair, reuse, and resale of articles in addition to the above information.

If the retailer (seller) stipulated by the Specified Household Machinery Law collects the remanufacturing cost of the article from the person who has discharged the article as waste (discharging person), If the person pays the collection fee to the RFID tag 1 under the condition of being monitored, the problem that the retailer recycles the item collected and resells it, thereby illegally obtaining the cost of re-commercialization from the emitter be able to.

FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining a usage pattern in which the information management system 3 is used to remanufacture a television as an article.

First, in the manufacturing process of a TV manufacturer, the RFID tag 1 is assembled into a TV assembly part,
Or install it in the TV case (). At this time, R
The assembly part for installing the FID tag 1 is preferably a part that can be completely hidden inside the TV after the assembly of the television is completed, and a complicated shape part inside is preferable in the case of a housing. In addition,
The RFID tag 1 installed in this process can also be used for production history management in the television manufacturing process.

Next, when this television is sold (), at the store, the reader / writer 2 causes the RFID tag 1 installed in the television to display the information at the time of sale,
For example, write the seller's name and address, the date of sale, the purchaser's name and address. This information is written to the RFID tag 1 which is unknown where it is installed on the television, but by using the reader / writer 2 including the communication availability determination unit 26 and the communication distance notification unit 27. The work can be easily performed as described above.

When the purchaser of this television brings this television to the store for replacement or disposal (), the store sends the information written in the RFID tag 1 installed in this television to the reader / writer 2. Read using. Based on this read information, it can be confirmed that the TV brought in was sold at its own store or affiliated store, and this TV can be collected according to the provisions of the Specified Household Equipment Act. it can. At this time, the distributor confirms the information on the re-commercialization cost or the collection and transportation cost received from the distributor (buyer) who brought in the TV, and the reader / writer 2 is used to set the information on the TV. By writing on the RFID tag 1, it is possible to avoid the problem that the retailer recycles and resells and thereby illegally obtains the re-commercialization cost received from the discharger.

Alternatively, when the purchaser of this television illegally dumps this television (), the reader / writer 2 is used to read this television from the information written in the RFID tag 1 installed in this television. It is possible to read the information about the purchaser, identify the purchaser, and have the illegally dumped television accepted.

As described above, the purchaser of the television brings this television to the store, and the television received by the store is delivered to the manufacturer in accordance with the regulations of the Specified Household Equipment Act (). The manufacturer reads the information written on the RFID tag 1 installed on the television, and that it is not recycled by the following method,
After confirming the repair history, etc., determine the method of recycling.

Alternatively, when the dealer recycles the received television for resale (), the RFID tag 1 is used to input information such as the exchanged parts and repaired parts, and purchase for further resale. Enter information about the person.

As described above, as a usage pattern of the information management system 3, the reader / writer 2 writes the information of the seller or purchaser of the article in the RFID tag 1 attached to the article, and the owner of the article is specified. A method of using the information management system 3 such as using the written information in order to do so can be considered. In this usage method, RFID
An operation method of the information management system 3 in which information is written in the tag 1 at a store is also conceivable. further,
In the above usage method, the RFID tag 1 can be used as a management slip or the like by writing information under the supervision of a third party.

(Usage Form 2) FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining a usage form in which the information management system 3 is used to name an article.

It is also conceivable to install the RFID tag 1 inside furniture or a bag which is an article and use it as a name of the owner or user of the article. In this case, since the RFID tag 1 can be installed inside the article, it is hard to think that the article surface will not be damaged and the RFID tag 1 can be destroyed or taken out to be taken out.

In the case of this usage form, the above-described usage form 1
Like the above, it can be used to prevent illegal dumping by the person who discharged the article, and can also be used to identify the owner when the article is lost due to theft or loss.

The information of the RFID tag 1 installed in the bag can also be used for security at the air passenger terminal or the like, or baggage sorting. That is, based on the name of the RFID tag 1, it is possible to use, for example, to exclude an article that is not owned by the passenger who has performed the boarding procedure for the aircraft.

As described above, the information management system 3 is
The FID tag 1 is provided on the article, and the reader / writer 2 writes information for identifying the seller or owner of the article to the RFID tag 1 provided on the article.

Further, in the information management system 3, the RFID tag 1 is provided on the article, and the reader / writer 2 provides the information for identifying the seller or the owner of the article from the RFID tag 1 provided on the article. It can also be read.

Accordingly, in the case where the article is illegally dumped, the seller or the owner is specified and the person is liable, or the article is lost. It becomes possible to return it to the owner.

Here, the information management system 3 can easily read and write information even when it is difficult to recognize the position of the RFID tag 1 from the outside as described above. Therefore, the RFID tag 1 can be provided inside the article, particularly at a position where it is difficult to remove or destroy the article.
Therefore, it is less likely that the RFID tag 1 itself or the recorded information will be lost at the time of illegal dumping, and the seller or the owner can be identified more reliably. Further, by providing the RFID tag 1 at a position that is difficult to recognize from the outside, it is possible to prevent the decorative property of the article surface from being damaged. In this way, the information management system 3
It is particularly suitable for the applications mentioned above.

[0103]

The information reading / writing apparatus according to the present invention is an information reading / writing apparatus for reading or writing information with an external information recording apparatus via electromagnetic coupling. A second antenna that can be electromagnetically coupled to the first antenna provided in the device, an impedance signal detection unit that detects an impedance signal that changes according to a change in impedance of the second antenna, and electromagnetic coupling information based on the impedance signal. And a determination unit that determines whether or not it is possible to read or write.

In the above-mentioned structure, the judgment section for judging whether or not the information can be read / written by the electromagnetic coupling is provided. The determination unit detects the degree of electromagnetic coupling between the first antenna and the second antenna based on the impedance signal detected by the impedance signal detection unit,
It is determined whether the electromagnetic coupling is in a state capable of reading and writing information.

Therefore, in the above configuration, even if the position of the information recording apparatus is difficult to recognize from the outside, the information is actually read when the judgment section judges that the information can be read and written. By reading and writing, information can be read and written more easily and surely. As described above, with the above configuration, it is possible to provide an information reading / writing device that can read and write information more easily and reliably.

The information reading / writing device according to the present invention is preferably the above information reading / writing device, further comprising a notifying unit for notifying the degree of electromagnetic coupling based on the impedance signal.

With the above arrangement, the user of the information reading / writing device can be made aware of the degree of electromagnetic coupling. Based on the notification from the notification unit, the user can know in which direction the information reading / writing device is moved to increase the degree of electromagnetic coupling. Therefore, the information reading / writing device can be brought closer to the information recording device more easily, and information can be read and written more easily.

The information reading / writing apparatus according to the present invention is the information reading / writing apparatus described above, wherein when the judging section judges that the information can be read or written, the information reading / writing apparatus can read or write the information. It is preferable to allow execution of the processing for.

In the above configuration, since the processing for reading and writing information is performed in a state in which reading and writing of information is impossible, it is possible to read and write information more reliably.

An information reading / writing apparatus according to the present invention is the above information reading / writing apparatus, further comprising a signal adding section for applying an AC electric signal to the second antenna,
It is preferable that the impedance signal detection unit detects the impedance signal based on the electric signal given to the second antenna by the signal giving unit.

In the above structure, the signal applying section applies an alternating electric signal to the second antenna, and the impedance signal detecting section can easily detect the impedance signal based on the applied electric signal.

The information reading / writing apparatus according to the present invention is the above-mentioned information reading / writing apparatus, and when the signal applying unit is judged to be in a state capable of reading or writing information, As a signal, a signal for reading or writing information is applied to the second antenna, and when it is determined that the state in which reading or writing of information is not possible is performed, a signal for detecting an impedance signal as an electric signal is given as a first signal. It is preferable to give it to two antennas.

In the above structure, the function of applying an electric signal for reading and writing information to the second antenna and the function of applying an electric signal for detecting an impedance signal to the second antenna are applied. Can be given to a department. As a result, the device configuration can be simplified as compared with the case where separate members having respective functions are provided.

In the information reading / writing apparatus according to the present invention, in the above-mentioned information reading / writing apparatus, the information recording apparatus operates by being supplied with electric energy by electromagnetic coupling, and the judging section is an electromagnetic It is preferable to make the above determination as a state in which the electric energy necessary for operating the information recording apparatus can be supplied to the information recording apparatus so that the information can be read or written.

In the above configuration, when the information recording device operates by receiving the supply of electric energy from the information reading / writing device, the operable state of the information recording device is defined as the information readable / writable state. Make a decision. This enables appropriate determination.

An information management system according to the present invention has a configuration including the above information reading / writing device and the above information recording device. This makes it possible to configure an information management system having the effects of the information reading / writing device.

In the information management system according to the present invention, in the above information management system, the information recording device is provided on the article, and the information reading / writing device provides the information for identifying the seller or the owner of the article. It is preferable to write to the information recording device provided in.

Alternatively, in the information management system according to the present invention, in the above information management system, the information recording device is provided on the article, and the information reading / writing device specifies the seller or the owner of the article. Is preferably read from an information recording device provided on the article.

By using the above information management system,
For example, it is possible to provide an information recording device in an electric home appliance, a furniture, a bag, a bicycle, a motorcycle, or the like as an article, and write information specifying the seller or the owner of the article in the information recording apparatus. Further, by using the above-mentioned information management system, it is possible to acquire the information specifying the seller or the owner from the information recording device provided on the article.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an information management system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining a usage pattern in which the information management system of FIG. 1 is used for recycling a television.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining a usage pattern in which the information management system of FIG. 1 is used for a name of an article.

4A and 4B are drawings for explaining a method of bringing a reader / writer close to an RFID tag built in a sofa as an article.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 RFID tag 2 Reader / Writer 3 Information management system 11 antenna coil 12 power supply circuit 13 Data demodulator 14 Control unit 15 memory 16 Data playback unit 21 Carrier wave generator 22 Modulator 23 Amplifier 24 antenna coil 25 Coil current detector 26 Communication availability determination unit 27 Communication distance notification unit 28 Control unit 28a Data generation unit 28b data demodulator

Front page continuation (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification code FI theme code (reference) H04B 1/59 G06K 19/00 H

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. An information reading / writing device for reading or writing information from or to an external information recording device via electromagnetic coupling, which can be electromagnetically coupled to a first antenna provided in the information recording device. A second antenna, an impedance signal detection unit that detects an impedance signal that changes according to an impedance change of the second antenna due to electromagnetic coupling of the first antenna to the second antenna, and based on the impedance signal, An information reading / writing device, comprising: a determination unit that determines whether or not the electromagnetic coupling between the first antenna and the second antenna can read or write information. 2. The information reading / writing device according to claim 1, further comprising: a notifying unit for notifying a degree of electromagnetic coupling between the first antenna and the second antenna based on the impedance signal. An information reading / writing device characterized by: 3. The information reading / writing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the determination section is for reading or writing information when it is determined that the information can be read or written. An information reading / writing device, which permits execution of the above process. 4. The information reading / writing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a signal applying section for applying an AC electric signal to the second antenna, wherein the impedance signal detection is performed. An information reading / writing device, wherein the unit detects the impedance signal based on the electric signal given to the second antenna by the signal giving unit. 5. The information reading / writing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the signal providing unit determines the electric signal when the determination unit determines that the information can be read or written. As a result, a signal for reading or writing information is given to the second antenna, and when it is determined by the determination unit that the information cannot be read or written, the impedance signal is set as the electrical signal. An information reading / writing device characterized in that a signal for detection is applied to the second antenna. 6. The information reading / writing device according to claim 1, wherein the information recording device generates electric energy by electromagnetic coupling between the first antenna and the second antenna. The determination section is configured to supply electric energy necessary for operating the information recording device to the information recording device by electromagnetic coupling between the first antenna and the second antenna. An information reading / writing apparatus, wherein the above determination is performed as a state in which information can be read or written, indicating that it is in a state in which the information can be supplied. 7. An information management system including the information reading / writing device according to claim 1 and the information recording device. 8. The information management system according to claim 7, wherein the information recording device is provided in an article, and the information reading / writing device stores information for identifying a seller or an owner of the article. An information management system characterized by writing in an information recording device provided on the article. 9. The information management system according to claim 7, wherein the information recording device is provided in an article, and the information reading / writing device provides information for identifying a seller or an owner of the article. An information management system characterized by reading from an information recording device provided on the article.