JP2005190360A - Radio tag provided with function of preventing illegal removal - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent an active tag from being illegally removed from an article to which the active tag is attached. <P>SOLUTION: This radio tag is provided with a plurality of terminals which can be brought into contact with an external terminal, a means for connecting a first terminal of the plurality of terminals to a power supply part side and connecting a second terminal to a signal transmission part side, a voltage drop means for dropping a voltage applied from the power supply part to the signal transmission part, and a means for connecting at least one terminal other than the first and second terminals to the voltage drop means. When the first and second terminals are connected through the external terminal, the signal transmission part transmits a signal. When the first and second terminals are connected and the first terminal and at least the one terminal are connected, the voltage applied from the power supply part to the signal transmission part is dropped by the voltage drop means. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a wireless tag having a function of preventing illegal removal from an article.

  In recent years, RFID (Radio Frequency IDentification) tags, which are wireless tags for performing automatic recognition by performing wireless data communication, have become widespread. RFID tags include an active tag that has a built-in power supply and emits radio waves to a reader, and a passive tag that only receives radio waves from the reader.

  As an application of the active tag, for example, there is an inventory management system for automatically managing inventory of an article by attaching the active tag to the article and identifying the article by an ID transmitted from the active tag.

  In such a system, a radio wave indicating an ID is transmitted from the active tag at a predetermined time interval, and by checking the radio wave, it can be confirmed that an article corresponding to the ID exists. In addition to inventory management, the active tag can be used to prevent theft of important items by attaching it to important items such as an office personal computer and monitoring radio waves in the office and at the exit.

  However, when the conventional active tag is used, there is a problem that it is possible to take the article illegally by avoiding detection by the system by removing the active tag from the article and leaving it at the place where the article is located. is there. That is, since radio waves continue to be emitted from the active tag, there is a problem that the system misunderstands as if the article is left there and cannot detect illegal take-out.

In order to solve such a problem, it can be considered that the active tag cannot be easily removed from the article. In this case, however, it becomes difficult to reuse the active tag, which is uneconomical.
JP 2003-306186 A Special table 2002-513190 gazette

  The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object thereof is to provide an active tag having a function of preventing the active tag from being illegally removed from an article to which the active tag is attached.

  The above-described problem is a wireless tag including a signal transmission unit and a power supply unit, and includes a plurality of terminals that can contact an external terminal, and a first terminal that is one of the plurality of terminals. Means for connecting to the power supply unit side and connecting the second terminal to the signal transmission unit side, voltage drop means for dropping a voltage applied from the power supply unit to the signal transmission unit, and a plurality of terminals Means for connecting at least one of the terminals other than the first terminal and the second terminal to the voltage drop means, wherein the first terminal and the second terminal are When connected via an external terminal, the signal transmission unit transmits a signal, the first terminal and the second terminal are connected, and the first terminal and the at least one terminal If at least one terminal is connected, the voltage It is solved by a radio tag which is characterized by being configured so as to lower the voltage applied to the signal transmission portion from the power supply unit by the following means.

  According to the present invention, when a predetermined two terminals are connected, a signal is transmitted, and when these are not connected, a signal is not transmitted normally, and a dummy terminal is provided, including all dummy A wireless tag (active tag) that does not transmit a signal normally even when the terminal is connected can be provided. When this active tag is removed from the mounting means equipped with an external terminal, a signal is not transmitted normally, and a terminal that transmits a signal normally even if the terminals are connected to try to transmit a signal is found. Takes time to prevent illegal removal of the active tag.

  In addition, the wireless tag (active tag) is configured to be detachable from the attachment means, so that it can be reused, and a system using the active tag can be constructed economically. As the voltage drop means, an active element, a resistor having a low resistance value, a Zener diode, or the like can be used.

  As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide an active tag having a function of preventing the active tag from being illegally removed from an article to which the active tag is attached.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 shows a basic configuration of an active tag in the embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the active tag 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention includes a pin receiving terminal corresponding to each pin terminal so as to be detachable from a mounting mat 2 including a plurality of pin terminals. Configured. The mounting mat 2 is fixed to the article 3 with an adhesive, for example, so that it cannot be easily detached from the article 3. The active tag 1 emits a signal when it is attached to the attachment mat 2, and stops sending the signal when it is detached from the attachment mat.

  The active tag 1 and the mounting mat 2 are electrically connected when the pin terminal and the terminal of the receiving port come into contact with each other. However, the electric tag for transmitting radio waves in the active tag 1 is one circuit, and the electric circuit is established. There are two pin terminals of the mounting mat 2 for making them, and the two pin terminals are electrically connected in the mounting mat. The remaining pin terminals in the mounting mat 2 are dummy pins, and are not electrically connected to the above two pin terminals.

  An example of the circuit configuration inside the active tag is shown in FIG.

  The active tag shown in FIG. 2 includes a signal transmission unit 11 that transmits a signal by radio waves, a battery 12, and a voltage drop unit 13. A terminal 1 that is a pin terminal receptacle is connected to the battery 12 side, and a terminal 2. Is connected to the signal transmission unit 11 side, and is configured to generate a signal normally when the terminal 1 and the terminal 2 are electrically connected.

  Terminals 3 and 4 are dummy terminals and are connected to the voltage drop unit 13. For example, when the terminal 1 and the terminal 2 are not connected but the terminal 1 and the terminal 3 are electrically connected, the signal transmission unit 11 does not operate because no power supply voltage is applied to the signal transmission unit 11. For example, when the terminal 1 and the terminal 2 and the terminal 1 and the terminal 3 are connected at the same time, a voltage required for the operation of the signal transmission unit 11 cannot be obtained due to the voltage drop action by the voltage drop unit 13, and the signal transmission is performed. The unit 11 does not operate and does not transmit a signal. As the voltage drop unit 13 that drops the voltage applied to the signal transmission unit 11, an active element having such an action, a resistor having a low resistance value, an element such as a Zener diode can be used. In addition, it is configured so that it is easy to connect the terminals 3, 4, etc. to the terminal β in the figure instead of the terminal 2 by a switch or the like.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a pattern of pin terminals on the mounting mat when the number of pin terminals is four in total. FIG. 3A shows a pattern in which the pin terminal 1 and the pin terminal 2 are connected, FIG. 3B shows a pattern in which the pin terminal 1 and the pin terminal 3 are connected, and FIG. This is a pattern in which the pin terminal 1 and the pin terminal 4 are connected. In the case of the active tag having the circuit configuration shown in FIG. 2, a normal electric circuit is configured when the mounting mat shown in FIG. 3 (a) is attached, a signal is transmitted, and the RFID reader side receives the ID. Detection can be performed.

  By using the active tag and the mounting mat as described above, when the active tag is connected to the mounting mat, that is, when the active tag is connected to the article, a signal is transmitted, and the active tag is attached to the article or mounting. When it is removed from the mat, transmission of radio waves can be stopped. Thereby, it can be detected that the active tag has been removed from the article.

  Also, if you remove the active tag from the mounting mat and try to send a signal by connecting the two pin receptacle terminals of the active tag, multiple attempts are required because a dummy terminal is included It becomes. Also, even if there are three or more terminals connected and there is a correct combination that constitutes a normal circuit, the signal transmission unit does not operate due to the function of the voltage drop unit as described above. It does not transmit radio waves. Therefore, according to the active tag of the present invention, even if it is attempted to illegally remove the active tag from the mounting mat and send a signal, it takes time to reach the correct combination, and during that time it is possible to detect illegal removal, As a result, it is effective in preventing illegal removal. Further, since the active tag and the mounting mat can be attached and detached, the active tag can be reused, and a system using the active tag can be constructed economically.

  In addition, it is conceivable that the dummy terminal and the terminal connected to one side of the battery are simply short-circuited without providing a voltage drop means such as an active element. Since there is a possibility that the dummy terminal is immediately identified, a means for voltage drop is provided.

  Next, the configuration of the active tag in the embodiment of the present invention will be described in more detail.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram more specifically showing the configuration of the active tag in the embodiment of the present invention than the configuration shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 4, the battery power supply unit 22 is connected to the terminal unit 25 via a resistor 24. The terminal unit 25 includes a terminal 251 connected to the resistor 24 and a terminal switch unit 26, and the terminal switch unit 26 can switch connection of a plurality of terminals. That is, it is possible to connect one terminal of the plurality of terminals to the signal transmission unit 21 side and connect the remaining terminals to the voltage drop unit 23 side by a switch operation. As the voltage drop unit 23, an active element, a resistor having a low resistance value, a Zener diode, or the like can be used depending on the magnitude of the power supply voltage.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a circuit implementation example of the active tag. As shown in FIG. 5, a signal transmission unit 31, a battery 32, a resistor 34, a voltage drop unit 33, and a switch box 35 are accommodated in a housing 40 of the active tag.

  In the mounting example illustrated in FIG. 5, the signal transmission unit 31 is configured by two boards, and one board 311 is connected to the voltage drop unit 33 and the battery 32. The other board 312 is connected to one terminal 351 among a plurality of terminals constituting a pin receptacle housed in the switch box 35. The battery terminal 321 is connected to the resistor 34, and the resistor 34 is connected to the terminal switch unit 37 in the switch box 35. The terminal 331 of the voltage drop unit 33 is connected to the terminal switch unit 36 in the switch box 35. The terminal switch unit 37 in the switch box 35 is connected to three pin receptacle terminals 352, 353, and 354 that are not connected to the signal transmission unit 312 among the four pin receptacle terminals accommodated in the switch box 35. By operating the DIP switch in the terminal switch unit 37, one of the three pin receptacles is selected and connected to the resistor 34. The terminal switch unit 36 in the switch box 35 is connected to three pin receiving terminals not connected to the signal transmitting unit 31 among the four pin receiving terminals accommodated in the switch box 35, and the terminal switch unit One or a plurality of pin receptacle terminals not connected to the resistor 34 are connected to the voltage drop unit 33 by operating the DIP switch 36. As described above, since the setting of the connection destination of the pin receptacle terminal can be easily changed, it is possible to quickly provide an active tag having a setting as required.

  In the configuration of FIG. 5, when the terminal 351 is connected to the signal transmission unit 31, the terminal 352 is connected to the resistor 34, and the other terminals are connected to the voltage drop unit 33, 5 mounting mats 50 fit. That is, a signal can be transmitted by attaching an active tag to the attachment mat 50. The connecting portion of the attachment mat is coated so that it cannot be determined from the outside which pin terminal is connected to which pin terminal.

  Note that the number of pins of the active tag need not be the same as the number of pins of the mounting mat. Further, the joining of the active tag and the mounting mat is not limited to being performed via the pin terminal as in the above example. For example, the terminal of the active tag and the terminal of the mounting mat are simply in contact with each other, and the joining mechanism may be provided in another part (for example, the part of the casing of the active tag).

  FIG. 6 shows a configuration example of an article theft prevention system using the active tag of the present invention. In this article theft prevention system, leaders are divided into a plurality of groups, and the management server manages the plurality of leaders for each group. An article to which the active tag of the present invention is attached is managed in association with a group of leaders.

  In the example shown in FIG. 6, the active tag attached to the correct attachment mat emits a signal containing the ID twice every 3 seconds. The management server manages the history of signals for each article and constantly checks whether the signals are received normally.

  When the active tag is removed from the article, signal transmission is stopped by the function of the active tag. If the management server does not receive a signal with a specific ID for 30 seconds or more, it sends a message to the management terminal or sends an e-mail to warn about the article corresponding to the ID that has not received the signal. I do.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications and applications can be made within the scope of the claims.

It is a figure which shows the basic composition of the active tag in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the circuit structural example inside an active tag. It is a figure which shows the pattern of the pin terminal in an attachment mat. It is the figure which showed concretely the structure of the active tag in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the circuit mounting example of an active tag. It is a figure which shows the structural example of the goods antitheft system using the active tag of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Active tag 2 Mounting mat 11, 21, 31 Signal transmission part 12, 22, 32 Battery 13, 23, 33 Voltage drop part 24, 34 Resistance 25, 35 Terminal part (switch box)
26, 36, 37 Terminal switch section 40 Active tag housing

Claims (5)

A wireless tag including a signal transmission unit and a power supply unit,
A plurality of terminals that can contact external terminals;
Means for connecting a first terminal, which is one of the plurality of terminals, to the power supply unit side, and connecting a second terminal to the signal transmission unit side;
Voltage drop means for dropping a voltage applied from the power supply unit to the signal transmission unit;
Means for connecting at least one of the plurality of terminals other than the first terminal and the second terminal to the voltage drop means;
When the first terminal and the second terminal are connected via the external terminal, the signal transmission unit transmits a signal, and the first terminal and the second terminal are connected. Further, when the first terminal and at least one terminal of the at least one terminal are connected, the voltage applied from the power supply unit to the signal transmission unit is dropped by the voltage drop unit. A wireless tag characterized by that.   The wireless tag according to claim 1, wherein the wireless tag is configured to be attachable to and detachable from attachment means having a plurality of terminals as the external terminals.   The wireless tag according to claim 2, wherein in the attachment means, two terminals corresponding to the first terminal and the second terminal are electrically connected.   The wireless tag according to claim 1, wherein the voltage drop means is any one of an active element, a resistor, and a Zener diode. The wireless tag according to claim 1,
A wireless tag with attachment means, wherein the wireless tag is configured to be detachable from the wireless tag and has a plurality of terminals as the external terminals.

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