JP2006060763A - Ic-tag reader and/or writer and apparatus with the ic-tag reader and/or writer - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain an IC-tag reader and/or writer and an apparatus including the IC-tag reader and/or writer in which a distance between an antenna unit and another circuit portion can be extended, a degree of freedom in the arrangement of parts can be improved in the apparatus including the reader and/or writer, and the apparatus can be small-sized. <P>SOLUTION: The apparatus is divided into two units of a circuit unit 6 and an antenna unit 7, and signal transmission is performed via a transmission line 5 between a control circuit section 3 of the circuit unit 6 and a modulation/demodulation circuit section 4 of the antenna unit 7, thereby the degree of freedom in the arrangement of an antenna ANT1 is ensured. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a reader and / or writer for reading and / or writing data from / to an IC tag, and in particular, the reader and / or writer antenna part and data processing unit are separated and the reader and / or writer are separated. The present invention relates to an IC tag reader and / or writer capable of improving the degree of freedom of installation of a writer, and an apparatus having an IC tag reader and / or writer.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a conventional reader / writer.
In FIG. 8, a reader / writer 100 reads data from the IC tag 110 and writes data to the IC tag 110. The reader / writer 100 includes an oscillation circuit unit 101, a control circuit unit 102, a modulation / demodulation circuit unit 103, and an antenna ANTa. Has been. The IC tag 110 includes an antenna ANTb and a modulation / demodulation circuit unit 111. The oscillation circuit unit 101 generates and outputs a carrier wave for performing wireless communication with the IC tag 110.

  When data is written to the IC tag 110, the control circuit unit 102 performs input / output control of a data signal superimposed on the carrier wave output from the oscillation circuit unit 101. The modem circuit unit 103 receives the carrier wave and the data signal output from the control circuit unit 102, modulates the carrier wave based on the data signal, and outputs the modulated carrier wave to the antenna ANTa. The antenna ANTa emits the modulated data as radio waves. The IC tag 110 receives the radio wave transmitted from the reader / writer 100 by the antenna ANTb, and demodulates the received signal by the modulation / demodulation circuit unit 111.

A case where the reader / writer 100 reads data from the IC tag 110 will be described.
When read command data is sent from the reader / writer 100 to the IC tag 110, the IC tag 110 modulates desired data into a carrier wave by the modulation / demodulation circuit unit 111 and emits it as a radio wave from the antenna ANTb of the IC tag 110. The reader / writer 100 receives the radio wave with the antenna ANTa, demodulates the received signal with the modulation / demodulation circuit unit 103, and takes out desired data with the control circuit unit 102.

  The conventional reader / writer 100 having such a function is realized by realizing a circuit unit 105 including the oscillation circuit unit 101, the control circuit unit 102, and the modulation / demodulation circuit unit 103 by one chip or a plurality of integrated circuits. Assembled in different forms. Further, the circuit unit 105 and the antenna ANTa may be formed integrally, but when the antenna ANTa is installed away from the circuit unit 105, the circuit unit 105 and the antenna ANTa are connected by a cable.

In addition, conventionally, even when data is collectively read by a reader in a state where a plurality of articles are stacked, an ID tag and an ID tag reception power control method that can appropriately obtain each operation power source (For example, see Patent Document 1). In addition, by identifying the tag to which the identification code is assigned in a non-contact manner using a carrier wave in the radio frequency band, the object to which the tag is attached is identified, and the radio frequency code for controlling and managing the object. There is a radio frequency code identification method that can automatically cope with many design specifications for identification (see, for example, Patent Document 2).
JP 2002-259921 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-200749

However, in FIG. 8, when the circuit unit 105 and the antenna ANTa are connected by a cable, the modulated carrier wave is transmitted using the cable, so that the loss due to the cable increases as the frequency of the carrier wave increases. Can be extended only from about 100 mm to about 200 mm, which is a great restriction on the arrangement of the circuit unit 105 and the antenna ANTa.
In addition, unnecessary radio waves emitted from the cable connecting the circuit unit 105 and the antenna ANTa are noise sources for the circuits in the apparatus. Furthermore, since the generation of noise increases as the frequency of the carrier wave increases, it is difficult to separate the circuit unit 105 and the antenna ANTa when the frequency is high.

  The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-described problems. The modulation / demodulation circuit unit and the antenna constituting the reader and / or writer are integrated with each other and separated from other circuits as an antenna unit. The distance between the antenna unit and other circuit parts can be increased, the degree of freedom of arrangement of each part can be improved in a device having a reader and / or writer, and the device can be miniaturized. It is an object of the present invention to obtain an IC tag reader and / or writer and an apparatus having an IC tag reader and / or writer.

An IC tag reader and / or writer according to the present invention is an IC tag reader and / or writer for writing and / or reading data to / from at least one IC tag.
Comprising at least one antenna unit having the antenna for performing modulation or demodulation in response to a signal transmitted and received from the antenna;
The antenna unit portion is arranged separately from other circuit portions.

A circuit unit for outputting a data signal and a carrier wave to be transmitted from the antenna to the antenna unit, and extracting data from the signal demodulated by the antenna unit;
A signal transmission unit that performs signal transmission between the antenna unit unit and the circuit unit unit;
With
The antenna unit part and the circuit unit part are arranged separately.

Specifically, the antenna unit portion is
An antenna for transmitting and receiving signals;
A modulation / demodulation circuit unit that modulates an input carrier wave and a transmission data signal by a predetermined method to generate a signal to be transmitted from the antenna and demodulates a signal received by the antenna;
I was prepared to.

  In addition, when writing data to the IC tag, the circuit unit unit outputs a carrier wave of a predetermined frequency and a transmission data signal to the modulation / demodulation circuit unit, and when reading data from the IC tag, it is demodulated by the modulation / demodulation circuit unit. The data was extracted from the signal.

In this case, the circuit unit portion is
An oscillation circuit unit that generates and outputs a carrier wave of a predetermined frequency;
A control circuit unit that synchronizes the carrier wave and the transmission data signal and outputs the signal to the modulation / demodulation circuit unit;
I was prepared to.

The circuit unit portion is
An oscillation circuit unit that generates and outputs carrier waves of a plurality of frequencies, and
A switching circuit unit that exclusively selects and outputs one of the carrier waves output from the oscillation circuit unit in accordance with the input control signal;
A control circuit unit for synchronizing the carrier wave output from the switching circuit unit and the transmission data signal and outputting the same to the modulation / demodulation circuit unit;
With
The control circuit unit may control the operation of the switching circuit unit so as to select a carrier wave having a preset frequency according to an IC tag to be used.

The antenna unit section is
An antenna for transmitting and receiving signals;
A frequency multiplication circuit unit that multiplies the frequency of the carrier wave input together with the data signal from the circuit unit unit by a predetermined magnification, and
A modulation / demodulation circuit unit that modulates a signal output from the frequency multiplication circuit unit and a transmission data signal by a predetermined method to generate a signal to be transmitted from the antenna and demodulates a signal received by the antenna;
I was prepared to.

Specifically, the frequency multiplication circuit unit is
An antenna-side oscillation circuit unit that multiplies the frequency of the carrier wave from the carrier wave input from the circuit unit unit by a predetermined magnification and outputs the same;
A frequency divider circuit that divides the signal output from the antenna-side oscillator circuit;
A phase comparison circuit unit that compares the phase of the carrier wave from the circuit unit unit and the signal output from the frequency division circuit unit and outputs a signal indicating the comparison result;
With
The antenna-side oscillation circuit unit outputs a signal output from the phase comparison circuit unit so that a carrier wave from the circuit unit unit matches a phase of the signal output from the frequency divider circuit unit. The frequency was controlled.

  The frequency multiplication circuit unit may be configured by a PLL circuit that multiplies the frequency of the carrier wave from the circuit unit unit by a predetermined magnification and outputs the result.

  In addition, when writing data to the IC tag, the circuit unit unit outputs a carrier wave of a predetermined frequency to the frequency multiplication circuit unit, outputs a transmission data signal to the modulation / demodulation circuit unit, and reads data from the IC tag. In this case, data is extracted from the signal demodulated by the modem circuit unit.

In this case, the circuit unit portion is
An oscillation circuit unit that generates and outputs a carrier wave of a predetermined frequency;
A control circuit unit that synchronizes the carrier wave and the transmission data signal, and outputs the carrier wave to the frequency multiplication circuit unit and the transmission data signal to the modulation / demodulation circuit unit;
I was prepared to.

The antenna unit section is
An antenna for transmitting and receiving signals;
An oscillation circuit unit that generates and outputs a signal of a predetermined frequency;
A modulation / demodulation circuit unit that modulates a signal output from the oscillation circuit unit and a transmission data signal by a predetermined method to generate a signal to be transmitted from the antenna and demodulates a signal received by the antenna;
You may make it provide.

  The antenna unit section includes a signal generation circuit section that divides a signal output from the oscillation circuit section by a predetermined frequency dividing ratio and outputs the divided signal to the circuit unit section via the signal transmission section. The unit unit may output a data signal to be transmitted from the antenna to the modulation / demodulation circuit unit of the antenna unit unit in synchronization with the signal from the signal generation circuit unit.

In this case, the circuit unit portion is
A control circuit unit that synchronizes the transmission data signal with the signal from the signal generation circuit unit and outputs the signal to the modulation / demodulation circuit unit is provided.

  In addition, the signal transmission unit is composed of a transmission line for signal transmission.

  On the other hand, the antenna unit section and the circuit unit section may each include an interface circuit for transmitting and receiving signals via the signal transmission section.

An apparatus according to the present invention includes an IC tag reader and / or writer having at least one part having a predetermined function provided with an IC tag, and writing and reading data to and from the IC tag. In the device having
The IC tag reader and / or writer
Comprising at least one antenna unit having the antenna for performing modulation or demodulation in response to a signal transmitted and received from the antenna;
The antenna unit portion is arranged separately from other circuit portions.

A circuit unit for outputting a data signal and a carrier wave to be transmitted from the antenna to the antenna unit, and extracting data from the signal demodulated by the antenna unit;
A signal transmission unit that performs signal transmission between the antenna unit unit and the circuit unit unit;
With
The antenna unit part and the circuit unit part are arranged separately.

  Specifically, the antenna unit portion is arranged at the attachment portion of the parts.

  On the other hand, the IC tag includes an ID information storage unit that stores ID information including predetermined information of the IC tag, and the circuit unit unit acquires the ID information by a predetermined method, and acquires the acquired ID information. The communication mode corresponding to is used to communicate with the IC tag via the antenna unit.

  Specifically, when transmitting the data, the IC tag transmits the ID information before the data.

  In addition, the circuit unit unit detects the ID information from received data obtained through the antenna unit unit.

  The antenna unit unit detects the ID information from the received data. When the ID information is detected, the antenna unit unit transmits the detected ID information to the circuit unit unit via the signal transmission unit. Also good.

  Specifically, the circuit unit section has a plurality of different communication modes for communicating with the IC tag, and sequentially communicates with the IC tag through the antenna unit section using each communication mode. In addition, data is transmitted to and received from the IC tag using a communication mode when the ID information is normally obtained from the IC tag.

  The circuit unit section has a plurality of different communication modes for communicating with the IC tag, and when one of the communication modes is selected from the outside, the selected communication mode is used to select the communication mode. Data may be transmitted / received to / from the IC tag.

  The IC tag includes an ID information storage unit storing ID information including predetermined information of the IC tag, and the control circuit unit of the circuit unit unit acquires the ID information by a predetermined method, Using the communication mode corresponding to the acquired ID information, communication with the IC tag is performed via the antenna unit.

  Specifically, when transmitting the data, the IC tag transmits the ID information before the data.

  Further, the control circuit unit detects the ID information from received data obtained via the antenna unit unit.

  The antenna unit unit includes a detection unit that detects the ID information from the received data obtained from the modulation / demodulation circuit unit. When the detection unit detects the ID information, the detection unit transmits the detected ID information to the signal. You may make it transmit to the control circuit part of the said circuit unit part via a transmission part.

  Specifically, the control circuit unit has a plurality of different communication modes for communicating with the IC tag, and sequentially communicates with the IC tag via the antenna unit unit using the communication modes. In addition, data is transmitted to and received from the IC tag using a communication mode when the ID information is normally obtained from the IC tag.

  The control circuit unit has a plurality of different communication modes for communicating with the IC tag. When one of the communication modes is selected from the outside, the control circuit unit uses the selected communication mode. Data may be transmitted / received to / from the IC tag.

  Specifically, the communication mode includes an encoding method and a communication protocol method used for data transmission / reception.

  The communication mode selection operation is performed by software.

  The modulation / demodulation circuit unit may be integrated in a one-chip IC.

  The frequency multiplication circuit unit and the modulation / demodulation circuit unit may be integrated in a one-chip IC.

  The oscillation circuit unit and modulation / demodulation circuit unit may be integrated in a one-chip IC.

  In addition, the signal transmission unit is composed of a transmission line for signal transmission.

  On the other hand, the antenna unit section and the circuit unit section may each include an interface circuit for transmitting and receiving signals via the signal transmission section.

  According to the IC tag reader and / or writer and the apparatus having the IC tag reader and / or writer of the present invention, the antenna has an antenna and performs modulation or demodulation correspondingly to a signal transmitted and received from the antenna. An antenna unit unit and a circuit unit unit that outputs a data signal and a carrier wave to be transmitted from the antenna to the antenna unit unit and extracts data from a signal demodulated by the antenna unit unit are arranged separately. Therefore, the distance between the antenna unit portion and the circuit unit portion can be increased, the degree of freedom in arrangement of the antenna unit portion and the circuit unit portion can be improved, and such an IC tag reader and / or A device having a writer can be downsized.

In addition, since the antenna unit unit includes a frequency multiplication circuit unit that multiplies the carrier wave transmitted from the circuit unit unit, the circuit unit unit and the antenna unit can be used even when the frequency used for communication with the IC tag increases. Since only a signal having a low frequency is transmitted to the signal transmission unit connecting the units, unnecessary radio waves emitted from the signal transmission unit are reduced, and noise generation for the circuits in the apparatus can be reduced.
Further, the antenna unit unit and the circuit unit unit are generated by using a signal generated by the oscillation circuit unit of the antenna unit unit to generate a signal having a predetermined frequency to be used as a carrier wave, and frequency-divided by the signal generation circuit unit and converted to a low frequency. Therefore, unnecessary radio waves emitted from the signal transmission unit can be reduced, and the oscillation circuit unit of the circuit unit unit can be made unnecessary.

  Further, only the modulation / demodulation circuit unit and the part related to modulation / demodulation in the antenna unit unit are integrated in a one-chip IC, and the circuit related to the communication mode is processed by the control circuit unit. Therefore, the integrated circuit used in the antenna unit unit Therefore, the mass production efficiency can be improved and it can be manufactured at low cost. In addition, since the part related to the communication mode of the control circuit unit is realized by using, for example, a CPU that operates by software, the control circuit unit can be shared, and many communication modes can be used. Even if it corresponds, the increase in circuit scale can be suppressed. Furthermore, since the communication signal between the modulation / demodulation circuit unit and the control circuit unit is a digital signal, there is no signal attenuation even if the distance between the antenna unit unit and the circuit unit unit is increased, and the antenna unit unit The circuit unit can be freely arranged.

Next, the present invention will be described in detail based on the embodiments shown in the drawings.
First embodiment.
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration example of an IC tag reader / writer according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
In FIG. 1, a reader / writer 1 includes an oscillation circuit unit 2 that generates and outputs a carrier wave of a predetermined frequency, a control circuit unit 3 that inputs and outputs a data signal superimposed on the carrier wave from the oscillation circuit unit 2, A modulation / demodulation circuit unit 4, an antenna ANT 1, and a transmission path 5 are provided. The oscillation circuit unit 2 and the control circuit unit 3 form a circuit unit 6 which is one unit formed by one chip or a plurality of integrated circuits, and the antenna ANT1 and the modulation / demodulation circuit unit 4 form one unit to form an antenna unit. 7 is done. The circuit unit 6 forms a circuit unit section, the antenna unit 7 forms an antenna unit section, and the transmission path 5 forms a signal transmission section.

  In the circuit unit 6, the oscillation circuit unit 2 is connected to the control circuit unit 3, and in the antenna unit 7, the antenna ANT 1 is connected to the modulation / demodulation circuit unit 4. The control circuit unit 3 and the modulation / demodulation circuit unit 4 exchange signals via a transmission line 5 that transmits signals using signal lines, infrared rays, and the like. The oscillation circuit unit 2 generates and outputs a carrier wave for wireless communication with the IC tag 10, and the frequency of the carrier wave is generally 13.56 MHz, but depending on the application, a low frequency of 120 kHz to 500 kHz is used. In some cases, ultra-high frequency waves of 900 MHz and 2.45 GHz are used.

The control circuit unit 3 performs input / output control of data superimposed on the carrier wave output from the oscillation circuit unit 2. The modulation / demodulation circuit unit 4 modulates the carrier wave and the data signal input from the control circuit unit 3 via the transmission path 5 by a predetermined method, outputs the modulated signal to the antenna ANT1, and outputs the received signal input from the antenna ANT1. Then, the signal is demodulated by a predetermined method and output to the control circuit unit 3 through the transmission line 5.
On the other hand, the IC tag 10 includes an antenna ANT 2 and a modem circuit unit 11, and the antenna ANT 2 is connected to the modem circuit unit 11. The internal configuration and operation of the IC tag 10 are publicly known, and detailed description of the configuration and operation is omitted.

A case where data is written to the IC tag 10 in such a configuration will be described.
The control circuit unit 3 synchronizes the carrier wave input from the oscillation circuit unit 2 and a signal indicating transmission data to be superimposed on the carrier wave, and outputs the signal to the modulation / demodulation circuit unit 4. The modem circuit unit 4 receives the carrier wave and the transmission data signal output from the control circuit unit 3, modulates the carrier wave based on the transmission data signal, and outputs the modulated carrier wave to the antenna ANT1. The antenna ANT1 emits the modulated signal as a radio wave. The IC tag 10 receives the radio wave transmitted from the reader / writer 1 by the antenna ANT2, and demodulates the received signal by the modulation / demodulation circuit unit 11.

Next, a case where data is read from the IC tag 10 will be described.
When read command data is transmitted from the reader / writer 1 to the IC tag 10, the IC tag 10 modulates desired data into a carrier wave by the modulation / demodulation circuit unit 11 and transmits it as a radio wave from the antenna ANT 2 of the IC tag 10. The reader / writer 1 receives the radio wave by the antenna ANT1, demodulates the received signal by the modulation / demodulation circuit unit 4, and takes out desired data by the control circuit unit 3.

  The reader / writer 1 is divided into two units of a circuit unit 6 and an antenna unit 7, and a transmission path 5 is provided between the control circuit unit 3 of the circuit unit 6 and the modulation / demodulation circuit unit 4 of the antenna unit 7. By performing signal transmission, the degree of freedom of arrangement of the antenna ANT1 is ensured. Further, when the modulation / demodulation circuit unit 4 is an integrated circuit, it can normally be made sufficiently smaller than the antenna ANT1, and by placing it in a part of the antenna ANT1, there is almost no influence on the arrangement of the antenna ANT1. Absent.

  As described above, the control circuit unit 3 and the modulation / demodulation circuit unit 4 are not superposed on the carrier wave and the data signal, and thus are separated from each other, and therefore between the modulation / demodulation circuit unit 4 and the antenna ANT1. In addition, the length of the transmission line 5 can be increased. For this reason, in a device incorporating the reader / writer 1, the degree of freedom of arrangement of the circuit unit 6 and the antenna unit 7 is increased, and the device can be miniaturized. In FIG. 1, the control circuit unit 3 and the modulation / demodulation circuit unit 4 are connected by the transmission line 5, but the oscillation circuit unit 2 and the control circuit unit 3 are connected by the transmission line 5, and the control circuit unit 3 is connected to the antenna. You may make it provide in a unit.

  Here, FIG. 1 shows an example in which there is one IC tag 10, but FIG. 2 shows a case where there are a plurality of IC tags 10. In FIG. 2, antenna units AU1 to AUn are provided corresponding to IC tags IT1 to ITn for IC tags IT1 to ITn (n is a natural number of n> 1), and each antenna unit AU1 to AUn transmits. Each is connected to the control circuit section 3 of the circuit unit 6 via the path 5. The IC tags IT1 to ITn have the same configuration as the IC tag 10, and the antenna units AU1 to AUn have the same configuration as the antenna unit 7. In FIG. 2, the operation of each part is the same as that in FIG. The antenna units AU1 to AUn each form an antenna unit portion.

Second embodiment.
In the first embodiment, the frequency of the carrier used for communication with the IC tag is one type, and the IC tag is attached to an environment where the radio wave of the frequency used for the carrier is shielded or attenuated. If it is, communication with the IC tag cannot be performed. Therefore, for each of a plurality of IC tags having different communication frequencies, a carrier wave of each communication frequency may be generated, and the respective carrier waves may be switched and used. The embodiment is as follows.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration example of an IC tag reader / writer according to the second embodiment of the present invention.
In FIG. 3, a reader / writer 21 generates an oscillation circuit unit 22 that generates and outputs a carrier wave having a plurality of predetermined frequencies, and among the carrier waves output from the oscillation circuit unit 22 in accordance with an input control signal. A switching circuit unit 23 that selects and outputs one; a control circuit unit 24 that performs switching control of the switching circuit unit 23 and inputs and outputs a data signal superimposed on a carrier wave from the switching circuit unit 23; , A transmission line 27, modulation / demodulation circuit units MD1 to MDn, and antennas ANT1 to ANTn.

  The oscillation circuit unit 22, the switching circuit unit 23, the control circuit unit 24, and the storage unit 25 form a circuit unit 26 that is one unit formed by one chip or a plurality of integrated circuits, and an antenna ANTk (k = 1 to n). ) And the modulation / demodulation circuit unit MDk form one unit to form the antenna unit AUk. The circuit unit 26 constitutes a circuit unit portion, the antenna units AU1 to AUn each constitute an antenna unit portion, and the transmission path 27 constitutes a signal transmission portion.

  The oscillation circuit unit 22 generates carrier waves S <b> 1 to Sm having a frequency from the first frequency to the m-th (m is a natural number satisfying 1 <m ≦ n) and outputs the generated carrier waves to the switching circuit unit 23. The switching circuit unit 23 exclusively selects any one of the carrier waves S1 to Sm input from the oscillation circuit unit 22 in accordance with a control signal from the control circuit unit 24 and outputs the selected carrier wave to the control circuit unit 24. . The storage unit 25 stores data such as communication frequencies and communication protocols of all the IC tags IT1 to ITn to be communicated, and the control circuit unit 24 stores these data stored in the storage unit 25. One carrier wave is selected on the basis of, and operation control is performed to the switching circuit unit 23 so as to output the selected carrier wave.

The modulation / demodulation circuit units MD1 to MDn receive a signal indicating the carrier wave and transmission data output from the control circuit unit 24 via a transmission line 27 that transmits a signal using a signal line, infrared rays, or the like. Are modulated based on the transmission data signal and sent to the corresponding antennas ANT1 to ANTn. The modulation / demodulation circuit units MD1 to MDn demodulate signals received by the corresponding antennas ANT1 to ANTn, and output the demodulated signals to the control circuit unit 24 via the transmission path 27. The control circuit unit 24 extracts data from the input signal.
The antennas ANTa1 to ANTan of the IC tags IT1 to ITn are arranged close to the antennas ANT1 to ANTn of the corresponding antenna units AU1 to AUn. The resonance frequency of the antenna ANTk (k = 1 to n) and the antenna ANTak is set to the same k-th frequency, and basically the IC tag ITk is the only IC tag that performs communication via the antenna ANTk.

However, when a plurality of IC tag side antennas can be arranged in the vicinity of one reader / writer side antenna and communication can be performed at the same frequency, one set of modulation / demodulation in the reader / writer side antenna unit It is also possible to communicate with a plurality of IC tags with a circuit portion and an antenna.
When the reader / writer 21 communicates with the IC tag ITk, the control circuit unit 24 reads data on the resonance frequency of the IC tag ITk stored in the storage unit 25 and sends the data to the switching circuit unit 23. The switching circuit unit 23 selects a carrier wave having a frequency corresponding to the signal from the control circuit unit 24 and outputs the selected carrier wave to the control circuit unit 24. The control circuit unit 24 further extracts select data of the IC tag ITk stored in the storage unit 25 and information such as a communication protocol, and outputs them to the modulation / demodulation circuit unit MDk together with the input carrier wave.

In the modulation / demodulation circuit unit MDk, the carrier wave is modulated based on the data signal and sent to the corresponding antenna ANTk. The radio wave emitted from the antenna ANTk is received by the antenna ANTak of the IC tag ITk, and the received signal is demodulated by the modulation / demodulation circuit unit MDak.
The control circuit unit 24 can prohibit the transmission of a radio wave using a carrier wave having the same frequency as the radio wave transmitted from the antenna ANTk from another antenna.

Even when the control circuit unit 24 does not have such a prohibition function, the same signal as that of the modulation / demodulation circuit unit MDk is sent to the other modulation / demodulation circuit unit of the reader / writer 21, and the antennas other than the antenna ANTk also receive the first signal. Although radio waves of k frequency are emitted, since the resonant frequency of antennas other than the antenna ANTk is not the kth frequency, radio waves transmitted from antennas other than the antenna ANTk are weak.
Further, since the resonance frequency of the antenna of the IC tag other than the IC tag ITk is not the k-th frequency, the signal induced to the antenna of the IC tag other than the IC tag ITk is very weak and communication cannot be performed.

  When the reader / writer 21 communicates with an IC tag other than the IC tag ITk, for example, the IC tag IT2, the control circuit unit 24 selects the carrier wave S2 of the second frequency corresponding to the IC tag IT2 in the switching circuit unit 23. The IC tag IT2 select data stored in the storage unit 25 and information such as the communication protocol are output to the modulation / demodulation circuit unit MD2 through the transmission line 27 together with the carrier wave S2 of the second frequency. As with the tag ITk, communication can be performed only with the IC tag IT2.

Since the communication speed between the IC tag and the reader / writer increases as the frequency of the carrier wave increases, the frequency at which communication between the reader / writer and the IC tag is performed depends on the environment in which the IC tag is attached and the necessary frequency. Change according to the communication speed.
When the material of the surface to which the IC tag is attached is a metal or a conductive material, a low frequency of 120 kHz to 500 kHz that is not easily affected by these materials is selected. In addition, when the IC tag is attached to a nonmetal or an insulating material, a high frequency of 13.56 MHz can be used, and the communication speed can be increased.

Furthermore, a frequency such as 900 kHz or 2.4 GHz can be selected depending on the required communication speed and the environment of the IC tag mounting surface.
FIG. 4 shows an example in which the reader / writer according to the second embodiment is applied to an apparatus such as a copying machine or a printer.
In FIG. 4, a plurality of parts 35 and 36 are attached to the attachment portion 32 in the device 31. For example, when the apparatus 31 is a copying machine, a printer, or the like, the parts 35 and 36 may be a toner portion. In order to ensure the performance of the device 31, it is necessary to check each piece of information of the parts 35 and 36. Therefore, the IC tags IT1 and IT2 are attached to the parts 35 and 36, and the information of the IC tags IT1 and IT2 attached to the parts 35 and 36 is confirmed by the reader / writer 21.

  An IC tag IT1 is attached to the part 35. The attachment position is provided in the vicinity of the attachment portion 32 for attaching the part 35 to the apparatus 31. The antenna ANT1 of the reader / writer 21 that communicates with the IC tag IT1 is disposed at the attachment portion 32 of the device 31 and is attached as close as possible to the IC tag IT1 attached to the part 35. The same applies to the attachment positions of the IC tag IT2 attached to the part 36 and the antenna ANT2 on the reader / writer 21 side.

  If the material of the part 35 is a non-metal or an insulating material, the data transfer speed can be increased by selecting a high frequency such as 13.56 MHz as the first frequency for communicating with the IC tag IT1. Further, when the material is a metal or a conductive material like the part 36, a low frequency of 120 kHz to 500 kHz is selected as a communication frequency that is not easily affected by the metal. Furthermore, other frequencies such as 900 kHz and 2.4 GHz can be used in consideration of the material of the parts and the necessary communication speed.

A plurality of parts are attached to the attachment portion 32 in the device 31. In order to ensure the performance of the device 31, it is necessary to check information on each part. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 4, an IC tag may be attached to each part, and information on the IC tag attached to each part may be confirmed by a reader / writer.
In FIG. 4, the case where the number of parts is two is shown as an example, but an IC tag can be attached to all parts attached to the device 31.

  Since each part is mounted at various locations on the device, the antenna unit of the reader / writer is also placed at a position corresponding to the IC tag attached to each part, so the distance from the circuit unit to the antenna unit is long. The case will come out. Even in such a case, as in the reader / writer 21 of the second embodiment, in each antenna unit AU1 to AUn, the modulation / demodulation circuit unit is integrated with the antenna, so each antenna unit AU1 to AUn. Data can be exchanged even if the distance between the circuit unit 26 and the circuit unit 26 is large, the degree of freedom of arrangement of each part in the apparatus is improved, and the apparatus can be miniaturized.

Third embodiment.
In each of the first and second embodiments, the control circuit unit of the circuit unit and the modulation / demodulation circuit unit of the antenna unit are directly connected via the transmission path. However, an interface circuit is provided for each of the circuit unit and the antenna unit. The interface circuits may be connected by the transmission line 5, and such a configuration is a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a configuration example of an IC tag reader / writer according to the third embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 5, the configuration in the case of FIG. 1 is shown as an example. The same or similar parts as in FIG. 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof is omitted here, and the differences from FIG. Only explained.
5 differs from FIG. 1 in that a communication circuit unit 41 that forms an interface circuit in the circuit unit 6 and a communication circuit unit 42 that forms an interface circuit in the antenna unit 7 are provided. 1 is replaced with the circuit unit 6a, the antenna unit 7 of FIG. 1 is replaced with the antenna unit 7a, and the reader / writer 1 of FIG. 1 is replaced with the reader / writer 1a.

  In FIG. 5, a reader / writer 1a includes an oscillation circuit unit 2, a control circuit unit 3, a modulation / demodulation circuit unit 4, an antenna ANT1, a transmission path 5, and a communication circuit unit that forms an interface circuit for performing serial communication. 41, 42. The oscillation circuit unit 2, the control circuit unit 3 and the communication circuit unit 41 constitute a circuit unit 6a which is one unit formed by one chip or a plurality of integrated circuits. The antenna ANT1, the modulation / demodulation circuit unit 4 and the communication circuit unit 42 Form one unit to form an antenna unit 7a.

  In the circuit unit 6a, the communication circuit unit 41 is connected to the control circuit unit 3, and in the antenna unit 7a, the communication circuit unit 42 is connected to the modulation / demodulation circuit unit 4. The communication circuit unit 41 and the communication circuit unit 42 exchange signals via the transmission path 5. The modulation / demodulation circuit unit 4 modulates the carrier wave and the transmission data signal input from the control circuit unit 3 via the communication circuit unit 41 by a predetermined method, and the predetermined method for the reception signal input from the antenna ANT1. The data signal obtained by the demodulation is input from the communication circuit unit 42 to the control circuit unit 3 via the transmission path 5 and from the transmission path 5 via the communication circuit unit 41.

  For this reason, the same effects as those of the first embodiment can be obtained, and serial communication can be performed between the circuit unit 6a and the antenna unit 7a using the transmission line 5. Therefore, it is possible to more reliably exchange signals between the circuit unit 6a and the antenna unit 7a. In FIG. 5, the control circuit unit 3 and the modulation / demodulation circuit unit 4 are connected by the transmission path 5 and the communication circuit units 41 and 42, but the oscillation circuit unit 2 and the control circuit unit 3 are connected. The transmission line 5 and the communication circuit units 41 and 42 may be connected, and the control circuit unit 3 may be provided in the antenna unit.

  Here, FIG. 5 shows an example in which there is one IC tag 10, but FIG. 6 shows a case where there are a plurality of IC tags 10. In FIG. 6, antenna units AUa1 to AUan are provided corresponding to the IC tags IT1 to ITn with respect to the IC tags IT1 to ITn, and each antenna unit AUa1 to AUan includes a communication circuit unit 42 and a transmission path. 5 is connected to the communication circuit section 41 of the circuit unit 6a. The antenna units AUa1 to AUan have the same configuration as the antenna unit 7a. In FIG. 6, the operation of each part is the same as in FIG.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing another configuration example of the IC tag reader / writer according to the third embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 shows the configuration in the case of FIG. 3 as an example. Components that are the same as or similar to those in FIG. 3 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof is omitted here, and only differences from FIG. 3 are described.
7 differs from FIG. 3 in that a communication circuit section 41 is provided between the control circuit section 24 of the circuit unit 26 and the transmission path 27, and the modulation / demodulation circuit sections MD1 to MDn of the antenna units AU1 to AUn and the transmission path 27. The communication circuit unit 42 is provided between each of them. By making it as shown in FIG. 7, the distance between each antenna unit and the circuit unit can be increased, and the degree of freedom of the arrangement of the antenna unit and the circuit unit in the apparatus equipped with the reader / writer can be further increased. it can.

  In FIGS. 5 to 7, the antenna unit may be provided with an oscillation circuit unit to support asynchronous communication.

Fourth embodiment.
In the first to third embodiments, when the communication frequency between the reader / writer and the IC tag becomes 900 MHz or 2.45 GHz, the cable that forms the transmission line connecting the circuit unit and the antenna unit. Since unnecessary radio waves emitted from the device become a source of noise generation for the circuits in the device, the length of the transmission line can be made too long when the communication frequency between the reader / writer and the IC tag becomes high. There wasn't. Therefore, an oscillation circuit for generating a carrier wave for communicating with the IC tag may be provided in the antenna unit, and this is the fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a configuration example of an IC tag reader / writer according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 9, the same or similar parts as those in FIG. 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted here, and only differences from FIG. 1 will be described.
9 differs from FIG. 1 in that the antenna unit 7 of FIG. 1 is provided with an antenna-side oscillation circuit unit 52, a frequency divider circuit unit 53, and a phase comparison circuit unit 54. The antenna unit 7 is replaced with an antenna unit 51, and the reader / writer 1 of FIG.

  In FIG. 9, the reader / writer 50 includes a circuit unit 6, an antenna unit 51, and a transmission path 5 that connects the circuit unit 6 and the antenna unit 51. The circuit unit 6 includes the oscillation circuit unit 2 and the control circuit unit 3, and the antenna unit 51 generates and outputs a signal having a frequency corresponding to the input / output signal, the modulation / demodulation circuit unit 4, the antenna ANT1. Side oscillation circuit unit 52, frequency divider circuit unit 53 that divides and outputs an output signal of antenna side oscillation circuit unit 52 by a predetermined frequency division ratio, and a signal and a circuit input from frequency divider circuit unit 53 And a phase comparison circuit unit 54 that performs phase comparison of signals input from the control circuit unit 3 of the unit 6. The antenna unit 51 constitutes an antenna unit portion, and the antenna-side oscillation circuit portion 52, the frequency divider circuit portion 53, and the phase comparison circuit portion 54 constitute a frequency multiplication circuit portion.

  In the antenna unit 51, the phase comparison circuit unit 54 compares the phase of the carrier wave input from the control circuit unit 3 of the circuit unit 6 via the transmission path 5 and the signal output from the frequency division circuit unit 53. The unit 54 outputs a signal indicating the comparison result to the antenna-side oscillation circuit unit 52, and adjusts the frequency of the output signal of the antenna-side oscillation circuit unit 52 so that the phases of the two signals compared in phase match. . The modulation / demodulation circuit unit 4 uses the frequency signal output from the antenna-side oscillation circuit unit 52 as a carrier wave, modulates the data transmitted from the control circuit unit 3 of the circuit unit 6, and transmits a radio wave from the antenna ANT1.

  Thus, even if the frequency of the signal output from the antenna-side oscillation circuit unit 52 is 900 MHz or 2.45 GHz, the carrier wave output from the control circuit unit 3 of the circuit unit 6 is The frequency may be lower than the signal output from the side oscillation circuit unit 52. For this reason, only a low-frequency carrier wave is transmitted to the transmission line 5 connecting the circuit unit 6 and the antenna unit 51, so that unnecessary radio waves emitted from the cable forming the transmission line 5 are reduced, Noise generation on the circuit can be reduced.

  On the other hand, in FIG. 9, a PLL (Phase Locked Loop) circuit 55 may be used as shown in FIG. 10 instead of the antenna side oscillation circuit unit 52, the frequency dividing circuit unit 53, and the phase comparison circuit unit 54. The PLL circuit 55 forms a frequency multiplication circuit unit. 9 and 10, the reader / writer 1 having the configuration shown in FIG. 1 has been described as an example. However, in the case of the configurations shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the antenna units AU1 to AUn are respectively configured as the antenna units 51. That's fine.

Fifth embodiment.
In the fourth embodiment, a carrier wave of a signal to be transmitted from the circuit unit 6 to the antenna unit 51 is generated by the oscillation circuit unit 2 in the circuit unit 6, but from the frequency dividing circuit unit 53 of the antenna unit 51. The output signal may be output as a carrier wave to the control circuit unit 3 of the circuit unit 6, and such a configuration is the fifth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a configuration example of an IC tag reader / writer according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 11, the same or similar elements as those in FIG. 9 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted here, and only the differences from FIG. 9 will be described.
11 differs from FIG. 9 in that the oscillation circuit unit 2 of the circuit unit 6 is eliminated, and the control circuit unit 3 receives a signal from the frequency dividing circuit unit 53, and the control circuit unit 3 receives the input signal. Is used as a carrier wave. Accordingly, the circuit unit 6 in FIG. 9 is changed to the circuit unit 61, and the reader / writer 50 in FIG. 9 is changed to the reader / writer 60.

  In FIG. 11, the carrier wave generated by the antenna-side oscillation circuit unit 52 of the antenna unit 51 is frequency-divided by the frequency dividing circuit unit 53 at a predetermined frequency dividing ratio, and the frequency dividing circuit unit 53 controls the control circuit unit 3 of the circuit unit 61. In addition, an oscillation signal having a frequency lower than that of a carrier wave used for communication with the IC tag 10 is input. The control circuit unit 3 uses the input signal as a carrier wave for transmitting data to the modulation / demodulation circuit unit 4 of the antenna unit 51. In this way, the carrier wave used when transmitting data from the circuit unit 61 to the antenna unit 51 can be set to a frequency lower than the carrier wave used for communication with the IC tag 10, and the antenna unit 51 and the circuit unit 61. Unnecessary radio waves emitted from the transmission line 5 connecting the two and the like are reduced, and the generation of noise for the circuits in the apparatus can be reduced. In the case of FIG. 11, the phase comparison circuit unit 54 incorporates an oscillation circuit (not shown) that generates a signal having a predetermined reference frequency, and the circuit unit 61 forms a circuit unit unit, and the antenna-side oscillation circuit. The unit 52, the frequency divider circuit unit 53, and the phase comparison circuit unit 54 constitute an oscillation circuit unit, and the frequency divider circuit unit 53 constitutes a signal generation circuit unit.

Sixth embodiment.
In the fifth embodiment, the control circuit unit of the circuit unit and the modulation / demodulation circuit unit of the antenna unit are directly connected via the transmission path. However, an interface circuit is provided in each of the circuit unit and the antenna unit, and each interface is connected. A circuit may be connected by the transmission line 5, and such a configuration is a sixth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a configuration example of an IC tag reader / writer according to the sixth embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 12, the configuration in the case of FIG. 11 is shown as an example. The same or similar parts as in FIG. 11 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof is omitted here, and the difference from FIG. Only explained.
12 differs from FIG. 11 in that a communication circuit unit 57 that forms an interface circuit is provided in the antenna unit 51 in FIG. 11, and a communication circuit unit 62 that forms an interface circuit is provided in the circuit unit 61 in FIG. Accordingly, the antenna unit 51 of FIG. 11 is replaced with the antenna unit 51a, the circuit unit 61 of FIG. 11 is replaced with the circuit unit 61a, and the reader / writer 60 of FIG. 11 is replaced with the reader / writer 60a.

  12, the reader / writer 60a includes a circuit unit 61a, an antenna unit 51a, and a transmission path 5 that connects the circuit unit 61a and the antenna unit 51a. The circuit unit 61a includes a control circuit unit 3 and a communication circuit unit 62 that forms an interface circuit for performing serial communication with the antenna unit 51a. The antenna unit 51a is a communication that forms an interface circuit for performing serial communication with the modulation / demodulation circuit unit 4, the antenna-side oscillation circuit unit 52, the frequency dividing circuit unit 53, the phase comparison circuit unit 54, and the circuit unit 61a. The circuit part 57 is provided. The antenna unit 51a forms an antenna unit portion, and the circuit unit 61a forms a circuit unit portion.

  In the circuit unit 61a, the communication circuit unit 62 is connected to the control circuit unit 3, and in the antenna unit 51a, the communication circuit unit 57 is connected to the modulation / demodulation circuit unit 4 and the frequency divider circuit unit 53. The communication circuit unit 57 and the communication circuit unit 62 exchange signals via the transmission path 5. The signal frequency-divided by the frequency divider 53 is output from the communication circuit 57 to the control circuit 3 via the transmission path 5 and from the transmission path 5 via the communication circuit 62. The control circuit unit 3 superimposes transmission data on the signal input from the frequency dividing circuit unit 53 and transmits the data to the modulation / demodulation circuit unit 4 from the communication circuit unit 62 through the transmission line 5 and from the transmission line 5 through the communication circuit unit 57. Output.

The modulation / demodulation circuit unit 4 modulates the transmission data signal input from the control circuit unit 3 via the communication circuit unit 57 and the carrier wave input from the antenna-side oscillation circuit unit 52 by a predetermined method and outputs the modulated signal to the antenna ANT1. Then, the received signal input from the antenna ANT1 is demodulated by a predetermined method, and the data signal obtained by the demodulation is transmitted from the communication circuit unit 57 to the transmission path 5, and further from the transmission path 5 to the communication circuit section 62. To the control circuit unit 3.
Here, in FIG. 12, the case where there is one IC tag 10 is shown as an example. However, when there are a plurality of IC tags 10, the antenna units AUa1 to AUan in FIG. 6 are configured as the antenna unit 51a in FIG. The circuit unit 6a in FIG. 6 may be replaced with the circuit unit 61a in FIG.

  For this reason, the same effects as those of the fifth embodiment can be obtained, and serial communication can be performed between the circuit unit 61a and the antenna unit 51a using the transmission line 5. Further, it is possible to more reliably exchange signals between the circuit unit 61a and the antenna unit 51a. Since the carrier wave used for communication with the IC tag is converted into a low-frequency clock to communicate with the circuit unit, it is emitted from the cable forming the transmission path 5 connecting the antenna unit and the circuit unit. Unnecessary radio waves are reduced, and noise generation for circuits in the apparatus can be reduced.

  In the above description, an example in which the reader / writer of the second embodiment is applied to an apparatus such as a copying machine or a printer is shown in FIG. 4, but the reader / writer in each of the other embodiments is copied. FIG. 4 shows a case where the present invention is applied to an apparatus such as a machine or a printer. Specifically, in the case of FIG. 1, the circuit unit 26 in FIG. 4 becomes the circuit unit 6, the transmission path 27 in FIG. 4 becomes the transmission path 5, and the modulation / demodulation circuit unit MD1 in FIG. Thus, the IC tag IT1 in FIG. 4 becomes the IC tag 10, and there is no antenna ANT2, modulation / demodulation circuit unit MD2, and IC tag IT2. In the case of FIG. 2, the circuit unit 26 in FIG. 4 becomes the circuit unit 6, the transmission path 27 in FIG. 4 becomes the transmission path 5, and the modulation / demodulation circuit units MD1 and MD2 in FIG. Become.

  In the case of FIG. 5, the circuit unit 26 in FIG. 4 becomes the circuit unit 6a, the transmission path 27 in FIG. 4 becomes the transmission path 5, and the modulation / demodulation circuit unit MD1 in FIG. The IC tag IT1 in FIG. 4 is replaced with the IC tag 10, and the antenna ANT2, the modulation / demodulation circuit unit MD2, and the IC tag IT2 are not provided. In the case of FIG. 6, the circuit unit 26 in FIG. 4 becomes the circuit unit 6a, the transmission path 27 in FIG. 4 becomes the transmission path 5, and the modulation / demodulation circuit units MD1 and MD2 in FIG. Each is replaced with a combination of the circuit portions 42. In the case of FIG. 7, the modulation / demodulation circuit unit MD1 of FIG. 4 combines the modulation / demodulation circuit unit MD1 and the communication circuit unit 42, and the modulation / demodulation circuit unit MD2 of FIG. 4 combines the modulation / demodulation circuit unit MD2 and the communication circuit unit 42. Respectively.

  Next, in the case of FIG. 9, the circuit unit 26 in FIG. 4 becomes the circuit unit 6, the transmission path 27 in FIG. 4 becomes the transmission path 5, and the modulation / demodulation circuit section MD1 in FIG. The IC tag IT1 shown in FIG. 4 is replaced with the IC tag 10 and the antenna ANT2, the modulation / demodulation circuit part MD2, and the IC tag IT2 are not provided in place of the circuit part 52, the frequency dividing circuit part 53, and the phase comparison circuit part 54. In the case of FIG. 10, the circuit unit 26 of FIG. 4 becomes the circuit unit 6, the transmission path 27 of FIG. 4 becomes the transmission path 5, and the modulation / demodulation circuit unit MD 1 of FIG. 4 combines the modulation / demodulation circuit unit 4 and the PLL circuit 55. The IC tag IT1 in FIG. 4 is replaced with the IC tag 10, and the antenna ANT2, the modulation / demodulation circuit unit MD2, and the IC tag IT2 are not provided.

  In the case of FIG. 11, the circuit unit 26 in FIG. 4 becomes the circuit unit 61, the transmission path 27 in FIG. 4 becomes the transmission path 5, and the modulation / demodulation circuit unit MD1 in FIG. The IC tag IT1 in FIG. 4 is replaced with the IC tag 10 and the antenna ANT2, the modulation / demodulation circuit part MD2, and the IC tag IT2 are not provided. In the case of FIG. 12, the circuit unit 26 in FIG. 4 becomes the circuit unit 61a, the transmission path 27 in FIG. 4 becomes the transmission path 5, and the modulation / demodulation circuit unit MD1 in FIG. 4 is replaced with a combination of the frequency divider circuit unit 53, the phase comparison circuit unit 54, and the communication circuit unit 57, and the IC tag IT1 in FIG. 4 becomes the IC tag 10, and there is no antenna ANT2, modulation / demodulation circuit unit MD2, and IC tag IT2. .

  In the above description, the IC tag reader / writer has been described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to this and is applied to an IC tag reader and / or writer.

  The circuits included in the antenna units shown in FIGS. 10 to 12 are each integrated in a one-chip IC.

Seventh embodiment.
Even if the IC tag uses radio waves in the same frequency band, various methods are used for encoding communication data and communication protocols. Therefore, in order to communicate with the IC tag, the IC tag and the reader / The writer's encoding method and communication protocol had to match. There is no particular problem as long as the reader / writer communicates only with a specific IC tag whose coding method and communication protocol are known in advance. However, in order to enable the reader / writer to communicate with various IC tags having different encoding methods and communication protocols, the encoding method and communication protocol of the IC tag that performs communication are recognized, and I had to match the communication mode of the IC tag. However, if a plurality of reader / writers having different communication modes are provided to match the communication mode for each IC tag, there is a problem that the circuit scale increases and the cost increases.
For this reason, the reader / writer circuit is divided into a circuit portion that is not changed by the communication mode and a circuit portion that is changed by the communication mode, and the circuit portion that is not changed is realized by a one-chip IC. The circuit portion that receives the signal may be realized by software using a CPU, and this is the seventh embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a configuration example of an IC tag reader / writer according to the seventh embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 13, the configuration in the case of FIG. 1 is shown as an example. The same or similar parts as in FIG. 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof is omitted here, and the differences from FIG. Only explained.
13 differs from FIG. 1 in that the IC tag 10 includes an ID information storage unit 81 that stores ID information that is its own information, and the ID information is detected from the received data demodulated by the modem circuit unit 4. 1 is provided in the control circuit unit 3, and accordingly, the IC tag 10 of FIG. 1 is set to the IC tag 80, and the control circuit unit 3 of FIG. 1 is set to the control circuit unit 72. The circuit unit 6 in FIG. 1 is replaced with a circuit unit 73, and the reader / writer 1 in FIG. 1 is replaced with a reader / writer 70.

  In FIG. 13, a reader / writer 70 exchanges data with IC tags having different communication protocols. The reader / writer 70 generates and outputs a carrier wave of a predetermined frequency, A control circuit unit 72 for inputting / outputting a data signal superimposed on a carrier wave, a modulation / demodulation circuit unit 4, an antenna ANT1, and a transmission line 5 are provided. The oscillation circuit unit 2 and the control circuit unit 72 constitute a circuit unit 73 which is one unit formed by one chip or a plurality of integrated circuits. On the other hand, the IC tag 80 includes an antenna ANT2, a modulation / demodulation circuit unit 11, and an ID information storage unit 81 that stores in advance ID information that is information of the IC tag 80. The ID information storage unit 81 is included in the modulation / demodulation circuit unit 11. It is connected. The control circuit unit 72 is provided with a detection unit 71 that detects the ID information from the reception data demodulated by the modulation / demodulation circuit unit 4. The circuit unit 73 forms a circuit unit, and the modulation / demodulation circuit 4 in the antenna unit 7 is integrated in a one-chip IC.

  In such a configuration, when the reader / writer 70 communicates with the IC tag 80, first, the control circuit unit 72 receives the ID information stored in the ID information storage unit 81 of the IC tag 80. The ID data reception signal is transmitted from the antenna unit 7 to the IC tag 80. When receiving the ID data reception signal, the IC tag 80 first outputs ID information as shown in FIG. As the ID information, for example, a predetermined number of 50% duty cycle pulse trains as shown in FIG. 14A or a 25% duty cycle as shown in FIG. A predetermined number of pulse trains are output.

  Here, as a method for acquiring the ID information of the IC tag 80, for example, when the ID information of the IC tag 80 is known in advance, for example, the control circuit unit 72 of the reader / writer 70 is supplied with an encoding method, The communication protocol may be set from the outside. In addition, a plurality of communication modes, that is, a plurality of encoding methods and communication protocols are set in advance in the control circuit unit 72, and the control circuit unit 72 uses the different encoding methods and communication protocols in sequence to connect the IC tag 80. Communication may be performed, and data may be transmitted to and received from the IC tag 80 using the encoding method and communication protocol from which the ID information is obtained.

  The ID information transmitted from the IC tag 80 is demodulated by the modulation / demodulation circuit unit 4 of the antenna unit 7 of the reader / writer 70, sent to the control circuit unit 72 in the circuit unit 73, and detected by the detection unit 71 of the control circuit unit 72. The ID information of the IC tag 80 is detected. The detecting unit 71 detects the starting point of the data in FIG. 14 by analyzing the ID information that is the head of the received data. The control circuit unit 72 selects a communication mode according to the ID information analyzed by the detection unit 71 and communicates with the IC tag 80. The communication mode includes a data encoding method used for data transmission / reception and a communication protocol method. The part related to the communication mode is realized by using a CPU or the like included in the control circuit unit 72 and operating with software. In this way, communication with an IC tag having a different communication mode is possible with one reader / writer 70.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing an example of processing for transmitting / receiving data to / from the IC tag 80 in the reader / writer 70 of FIG. 13, and the control circuit after the ID information is obtained from the IC tag 80 using FIG. The operation of the unit 72 will be described in a little more detail.
In FIG. 15, first, the control circuit unit 72 prepares transmission data to the IC tag 80 by receiving data from a host device (not shown) (step S1). Next, the control circuit unit 72 selects a communication protocol corresponding to the IC tag 80 to be communicated (step S2), and converts transmission data into communication protocol data corresponding to the communication protocol specification (step S3). Next, the control circuit unit 72 selects an encoding method corresponding to the IC tag to be communicated (step S4), and encodes communication protocol data using the selected encoding method (step S5).

  Thereafter, the control circuit unit 72 transmits the encoded data to the modulation / demodulation circuit unit 4 (step S6). After the data transmission, the control circuit unit 72 confirms whether or not the detection unit 71 has detected the ID information of the IC tag 80 from the received data input from the modulation / demodulation circuit unit 4 (step S7). If the information is not detected (NO), the operation of step S7 is continued, and if the detection unit 71 detects the ID information (YES), the data start point can be detected, and the subsequent data is modulated. Treated as received data. The control circuit unit 72 selects a decoding method corresponding to the IC tag to be communicated (step S8), decodes the modulated reception data, and converts it into communication protocol data (step S9). Next, the control circuit unit 72 selects a communication protocol corresponding to the IC tag to be communicated (step S10), and converts the communication protocol data into received data (step S11). When a series of transmission / reception is completed, the control circuit 72 waits until the next reception data is prepared.

In FIG. 13, the case of having the configuration of FIG. 1 has been described as an example. However, even in the case of the other configuration, the detection unit 71 may be provided in the control circuit unit. Since this is the same as the case of, the description is omitted.
Here, FIG. 13 shows an example in which the detection unit 71 is provided in the control circuit unit 72. However, the detection unit 71 may be provided in the antenna unit 7. In this case, FIG. As shown in FIG.
FIG. 16 is a diagram showing another configuration example of the IC tag reader / writer according to the seventh embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 16, the same or similar elements as those in FIG. 13 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof is omitted here, and only differences from FIG. 13 will be described.

16 is different from FIG. 13 in that the detection unit 71 is provided in the antenna unit 7. Accordingly, the circuit unit 73 is replaced with the circuit unit 6 in FIG. 1, and the antenna unit 7 in FIG. Is the antenna unit 75, and the reader / writer 70 of FIG. 1 is the reader / writer 70a.
In FIG. 16, the reader / writer 70a acquires the ID information of the IC tag 80 in the same manner as in FIG. The ID information sent from the IC tag 80 is demodulated by the modulation / demodulation circuit unit 4 of the antenna unit 75 of the reader / writer 70a, and the detection unit 71 analyzes the demodulated data and transmits the analysis result to the transmission line 5 To the control circuit unit 3 of the circuit unit 6. The control circuit unit 3 selects a communication mode corresponding to the ID information analyzed by the detection unit 71 and performs communication with the IC tag 80. In the case of FIG. 16, the antenna unit 75 constitutes an antenna unit portion, and the detection portion 71 is integrated on a one-chip IC together with other circuits included in the antenna unit 75.

  As described above, the reader / writer in the seventh embodiment can obtain the same effects as those of the first embodiment, and only the modulation / demodulation circuit unit and the part related to modulation / demodulation in communication with the IC tag. Is integrated on a single chip, and the circuits related to the communication mode are processed by the control circuit unit. Therefore, the integrated circuit used in the antenna unit is very versatile, and a mass production effect is obtained. Can be manufactured inexpensively. In addition, since the communication mode is realized by software using a CPU or the like included in the control circuit unit, the control circuit unit can be shared, and even if it is compatible with many communication modes, An increase in circuit scale can be suppressed.

  In the description of the seventh embodiment, the IC tag reader / writer has been described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to this and is applied to an IC tag reader and / or writer. It is.

It is the figure which showed the structural example of the reader / writer for IC tags in the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is the figure which showed the other structural example of the reader / writer for IC tags in the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is the figure which showed the structural example of the reader / writer for IC tags in the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. An example in which the IC tag reader / writer according to the second embodiment is applied to an apparatus is shown. It is the figure which showed the structural example of the reader / writer for IC tags in the 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is the figure which showed the other structural example of the reader / writer for IC tags in the 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is the figure which showed the other structural example of the reader / writer for IC tags in the 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is the block diagram which showed the structural example of the conventional reader / writer. It is the figure which showed the structural example of the reader / writer for IC tags in the 4th Embodiment of this invention. It is the figure which showed the other structural example of the reader / writer for IC tags in the 4th Embodiment of this invention. It is the figure which showed the structural example of the reader / writer for IC tags in the 5th Embodiment of this invention. It is the figure which showed the structural example of the reader / writer for IC tags in the 6th Embodiment of this invention. It is the figure which showed the structural example of the reader / writer for IC tags in the 7th Embodiment of this invention. It is the figure which showed the example of the ID information transmitted from IC tag 80 of FIG. It is the flowchart which showed the operation example of the control circuit part of the reader / writer for IC tags in this 7th Embodiment. It is the figure which showed the other structural example of the reader / writer for IC tags in the 7th Embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

1, 1a, 21, 21a, 50, 60, 60a, 70, 70a Reader / writer 2,22 Oscillator circuit unit 3,24,72,72a Control circuit unit 4,11, MD1 to MDn Modem circuit unit 5,27 Transmission Path 6, 26, 61, 61a, 73, 73a circuit unit 7, 7a, AU1 to AUn, AUa1 to AUan, 51, 51a, 75 antenna unit 10, IT1 to ITn, 80 IC tag 23 switching circuit unit 25 storage unit 31 Device 32 Attaching part 35, 36 Parts 41, 42, 57, 62 Communication circuit part ANT1, ANT2, ANT1 to ANTn, ANTa1 to ANTan Antenna 52 Antenna side oscillation circuit part 53 Dividing circuit part 54 Phase comparison circuit part 55 PLL circuit 71 Detection unit 81 ID information storage unit

Claims (38)

In an IC tag reader and / or writer that writes data to and / or reads data from at least one IC tag,
Comprising at least one antenna unit having the antenna for performing modulation or demodulation in response to a signal transmitted and received from the antenna;
The antenna unit portion is disposed separately from other circuit portions, and is a reader and / or writer for an IC tag, characterized in that A circuit unit that outputs a data signal and a carrier wave to be transmitted from the antenna to the antenna unit, and extracts data from the signal demodulated by the antenna unit;
A signal transmission unit that performs signal transmission between the antenna unit unit and the circuit unit unit;
With
2. The IC tag reader and / or writer according to claim 1, wherein the antenna unit part and the circuit unit part are arranged separately. The antenna unit section is
An antenna for transmitting and receiving signals;
A modulation / demodulation circuit unit that modulates an input carrier wave and a transmission data signal by a predetermined method to generate a signal to be transmitted from the antenna and demodulates a signal received by the antenna;
The IC tag reader and / or writer according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising:   When writing data to the IC tag, the circuit unit unit outputs a carrier wave of a predetermined frequency and a transmission data signal to the modulation / demodulation circuit unit, and when reading data from the IC tag, the signal demodulated by the modulation / demodulation circuit unit 4. The IC tag reader and / or writer according to claim 3, wherein data is extracted from the data. The circuit unit portion is
An oscillation circuit unit that generates and outputs a carrier wave of a predetermined frequency;
A control circuit unit that synchronizes the carrier wave and the transmission data signal and outputs the signal to the modulation / demodulation circuit unit;
5. The IC tag reader and / or writer according to claim 4, further comprising: The circuit unit portion is
An oscillation circuit unit that generates and outputs carrier waves of a plurality of frequencies, and
A switching circuit unit that exclusively selects and outputs one of the carrier waves output from the oscillation circuit unit in accordance with the input control signal;
A control circuit unit for synchronizing the carrier wave output from the switching circuit unit and the transmission data signal and outputting the same to the modulation / demodulation circuit unit;
With
5. The IC tag reader and / or the IC tag reader according to claim 4, wherein the control circuit unit controls the operation of the switching circuit unit so as to select a carrier wave having a preset frequency according to an IC tag to be used. Or a writer. The antenna unit section is
An antenna for transmitting and receiving signals;
A frequency multiplication circuit unit that multiplies the frequency of the carrier wave input together with the data signal from the circuit unit unit by a predetermined magnification, and
A modulation / demodulation circuit unit that modulates a signal output from the frequency multiplication circuit unit and a transmission data signal by a predetermined method to generate a signal to be transmitted from the antenna and demodulates a signal received by the antenna;
The IC tag reader and / or writer according to claim 2, further comprising: The frequency multiplication circuit unit is
An antenna-side oscillation circuit unit that multiplies the frequency of the carrier wave from the carrier wave input from the circuit unit unit by a predetermined magnification and outputs the same;
A frequency divider circuit that divides the signal output from the antenna-side oscillator circuit;
A phase comparison circuit unit that compares the phase of the carrier wave from the circuit unit unit and the signal output from the frequency division circuit unit and outputs a signal indicating the comparison result;
With
The antenna-side oscillation circuit unit outputs a signal output from the phase comparison circuit unit so that a carrier wave from the circuit unit unit matches a phase of the signal output from the frequency divider circuit unit. 8. The IC tag reader and / or writer according to claim 7, wherein the frequency is controlled.   8. The IC tag reader and / or writer according to claim 7, wherein the frequency multiplication circuit unit is constituted by a PLL circuit that multiplies the frequency of the carrier wave from the circuit unit unit by a predetermined magnification and outputs the result.   When writing data to the IC tag, the circuit unit unit outputs a carrier wave of a predetermined frequency to the frequency multiplication circuit unit and outputs a transmission data signal to the modulation / demodulation circuit unit, and reads data from the IC tag. 10. The IC tag reader and / or writer according to claim 7, 8 or 9, wherein data is extracted from the signal demodulated by the modem circuit unit. The circuit unit portion is
An oscillation circuit unit that generates and outputs a carrier wave of a predetermined frequency;
A control circuit unit that synchronizes the carrier wave and the transmission data signal, and outputs the carrier wave to the frequency multiplication circuit unit and the transmission data signal to the modulation / demodulation circuit unit;
11. The IC tag reader and / or writer according to claim 10, further comprising: The antenna unit section is
An antenna for transmitting and receiving signals;
An oscillation circuit unit that generates and outputs a signal of a predetermined frequency;
A modulation / demodulation circuit unit that modulates a signal output from the oscillation circuit unit and a transmission data signal by a predetermined method to generate a signal to be transmitted from the antenna and demodulates a signal received by the antenna;
The IC tag reader and / or writer according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising:   The antenna unit unit includes a signal generation circuit unit that divides a signal output from the oscillation circuit unit by a predetermined frequency division ratio and outputs the signal to the circuit unit unit via the signal transmission unit, and the circuit unit unit. 13. The IC tag reader according to claim 12, wherein a data signal to be transmitted from the antenna is output to the modulation / demodulation circuit unit of the antenna unit unit in synchronization with a signal from the signal generation circuit unit. / Or writer. The circuit unit portion is
14. The IC tag reader and / or writer according to claim 13, further comprising a control circuit unit that synchronizes the transmission data signal with a signal from the signal generation circuit unit and outputs the signal to the modulation / demodulation circuit unit.   15. The IC tag according to claim 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 or 14, wherein the signal transmission unit includes a transmission path for performing signal transmission. Reader and / or writer.   The antenna unit and the circuit unit each include an interface circuit for transmitting and receiving signals via a signal transmission unit, respectively. The reader and / or writer for an IC tag according to 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 or 15. In an apparatus having at least one part having a predetermined function provided with an IC tag and having an IC tag reader and / or writer for writing and reading data to and from the IC tag,
The IC tag reader and / or writer
Comprising at least one antenna unit having the antenna for performing modulation or demodulation in response to a signal transmitted and received from the antenna;
The antenna unit unit is disposed separately from other circuit units. A circuit unit that outputs a data signal and a carrier wave to be transmitted from the antenna to the antenna unit, and extracts data from the signal demodulated by the antenna unit;
A signal transmission unit that performs signal transmission between the antenna unit unit and the circuit unit unit;
With
The apparatus according to claim 17, wherein the antenna unit part and the circuit unit part are arranged separately.   The apparatus according to claim 17 or 18, wherein the antenna unit part is arranged at an attachment part of the parts.   The IC tag includes an ID information storage unit that stores ID information including predetermined information of the IC tag, and the circuit unit unit acquires the ID information by a predetermined method and corresponds to the acquired ID information. 3. The IC tag reader and / or writer according to claim 2, wherein communication is performed with the IC tag via the antenna unit portion using a communication mode.   21. The IC tag reader and / or writer according to claim 20, wherein the IC tag transmits the ID information before the data when transmitting the data.   22. The IC tag reader and / or writer according to claim 20 or 21, wherein the circuit unit unit detects the ID information from reception data obtained via the antenna unit unit.   The antenna unit unit detects the ID information from received data, and when the ID information is detected, transmits the detected ID information to the circuit unit unit via the signal transmission unit. The IC tag reader and / or writer according to claim 20 or 21.   The circuit unit unit has a plurality of different communication modes for communicating with the IC tag, and sequentially communicates with the IC tag through the antenna unit unit using each communication mode. 24. The IC tag reader and / or writer according to claim 20, 21, 22 or 23, wherein data is transmitted to and received from the IC tag using a communication mode when the ID information is normally obtained. .   The circuit unit unit has a plurality of different communication modes for communicating with an IC tag, and when one of the communication modes is selected from the outside, the IC tag is used using the selected communication mode. 24. The IC tag reader and / or writer according to claim 20, 21, 22 or 23, wherein data is transmitted and received.   The IC tag includes an ID information storage unit that stores ID information including predetermined information of the IC tag, and the control circuit unit of the circuit unit unit acquires the ID information by a predetermined method. 15. The IC tag reader and / or writer according to claim 5, 6, 11 or 14, wherein communication is performed with the IC tag via the antenna unit section using a communication mode corresponding to ID information.   27. The IC tag reader and / or writer according to claim 26, wherein the IC tag transmits the ID information before the data when transmitting the data.   28. The IC tag reader and / or writer according to claim 26 or 27, wherein the control circuit unit detects the ID information from reception data obtained via an antenna unit unit.   The antenna unit unit includes a detection unit that detects the ID information from the reception data obtained from the modulation / demodulation circuit unit, and the detection unit detects the ID information and detects the detected ID information. 28. The IC tag reader and / or writer according to claim 26 or 27, wherein the data is transmitted to the control circuit section of the circuit unit section via the terminal.   The control circuit unit has a plurality of different communication modes for communicating with the IC tag, communicates with the IC tag via the antenna unit unit using each communication mode in sequence, and from the IC tag 30. The IC tag reader and / or writer according to claim 26, 27, 28, or 29, wherein data is transmitted / received to / from the IC tag using a communication mode when the ID information is normally obtained. .   The control circuit unit has a plurality of different communication modes for communicating with an IC tag, and when one of the communication modes is selected from the outside, the IC tag is used using the selected communication mode. 30. The IC tag reader and / or writer according to claim 26, 27, 28, or 29, wherein data is transmitted and received.   The communication mode includes an encoding method and a communication protocol method used for data transmission / reception, or the communication mode according to claim 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30 or 31. The IC tag reader and / or writer according to 31.   31. The IC tag reader and / or writer according to claim 20, 24, 26 or 30, wherein the communication mode selection operation is performed by software.   4. The IC tag reader and / or writer according to claim 3, wherein the modulation / demodulation circuit unit is integrated in a one-chip IC.   8. The IC tag reader and / or writer according to claim 7, wherein the frequency multiplication circuit unit and the modulation / demodulation circuit unit are integrated in a one-chip IC.   13. The IC tag reader and / or writer according to claim 12, wherein the oscillation circuit unit and the modulation / demodulation circuit unit are integrated in a one-chip IC.   The said signal transmission part consists of a transmission line which performs a signal transmission, The 21, 20, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34 characterized by the above-mentioned. 35. The reader / writer for IC tags according to 35 or 36. The antenna unit section and the circuit unit section each include an interface circuit for transmitting and receiving a signal through a signal transmission section, respectively. 28, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27 , 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36 or 37 IC tag reader and / or writer.

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