JP2006085225A - Non-contact data carrier with sensor - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a self-transmission type non-contact data carrier with a sensor for preventing the plane dimension of an antenna for transmission from restricting the plane dimension of a circuit board without increasing any manufacturing process. <P>SOLUTION: Antenna wiring for transmission is formed with predetermined wiring length so as to be shaped like a stereoscopic coil alternately transmitted through the upper surface and lower surface of the circuit board, and extended horizontally to the surface of the circuit board by using a through-hole electrically connecting wiring on the upper surface and wiring on the lower surface of the circuit board. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a non-contact data carrier, and more particularly to a non-contact data carrier with a sensor that detects an external environment and transmits detected information by electromagnetic waves.

  In recent years, detection systems that regularly detect and manage the external environment have been used in various fields in order for traceability and monitoring of goods transportation and storage environments to provide consumers with peace of mind and trust. . For example, there is a system for maintaining and managing a strict and sufficient environment suitable for an article in an article storage warehouse. In such a system, the environment must be detected as close to the product as possible, so the sensor that detects the environment and the transmission circuit that transmits information on the measurement results based on the detection values using electromagnetic waves are integrated. A data carrier is installed at each location to be managed in the environment, and information on measurement results transmitted intermittently from each data carrier is received by receivers installed at one location or multiple locations. Maintenance is being carried out. In order to install a plurality of non-contact data carriers at any place as close as possible to the article, it is desirable to make the outer shape of the non-contact data carriers as small as possible.

Although electromagnetic waves are used as a means of transmitting measurement result information, a method of using light for the electromagnetic waves has been devised, but in the case of light, the presence of an obstacle between the non-contact data carrier and the receiver is allowed. The installation location is limited. For this reason, so-called radio waves are generally used as electromagnetic waves. When radio waves are used as the transmission means, it is necessary to provide a transmission antenna on the non-contact data carrier, and the length of the transmission antenna is determined according to the frequency band of the electromagnetic wave used. In order to ensure the length of the transmitting antenna, the transmitting antenna is formed in a planar coil shape on the outer peripheral portion of the surface of the circuit board (see, for example, Patent Document 1) or the transmitting antenna is connected to the circuit board. Is manufactured in a separate process and attached to a circuit board.
JP 2003-322569 A

  The environmental conditions required for transportation and storage vary depending on the goods, and the environment to be managed is various, such as temperature, humidity, illuminance, pressure, impact, acceleration, and position. For example, in the case of a photosensitive material, it is necessary to manage the illuminance, temperature, and humidity. In this case, the illuminance sensor, the temperature sensor, and the humidity sensor are mounted on one non-contact data carrier, and the illuminance, temperature, Humidity is detected, and the detection result or measurement result is transmitted by electromagnetic waves from the transmission circuit. Thus, it is necessary to mount a plurality of types of sensors on the non-contact data carrier depending on the article. Further, regarding the antenna for transmission, if the planar antenna is formed on the outer peripheral portion of the surface of the circuit board, the planar dimension of the transmission antenna is restricted, and the planar dimension of the circuit board becomes large. Alternatively, the transmission antenna can be manufactured in a separate process from the circuit board, and the planar dimensions of the circuit board can be reduced by a method of attaching to the circuit board, but the process of attaching the transmission antenna to the circuit board of the non-contact data carrier There is a problem that the manufacturing man-hour increases. Furthermore, the non-contact data carrier is required to automatically detect the external environment for a long period of time without receiving external power supply and transmit the information to an external control system or the like.

Therefore, the present invention is a non-contact data carrier with a sensor that detects an external environment and transmits information of the detection result by electromagnetic waves in order to solve the above-described problems of the prior art, without increasing the number of manufacturing steps. It is a first object of the present invention to provide a non-contact data carrier with a sensor in which the planar dimension of a transmitting antenna does not become a restriction on the planar dimension of a circuit board.
A second object is to provide a non-contact data carrier with a sensor capable of self-transmission.
A third object is to provide a non-contact data carrier with a sensor that detects one or a plurality of types of external environments and transmits measurement results based on the detected values.

A non-contact data carrier with a sensor according to claim 1 of the present invention is a sensor that detects an external environment and outputs the detected value, a memory that stores a detected value from the sensor, and a measurement result based on the detected value. And a transmission circuit for transmitting the unique identification number by electromagnetic waves and a transmission antenna, and a control circuit for writing the detection value of the sensor to the memory, reading it, and outputting the measurement result based on the detection value to the transmission circuit. In the non-contact data carrier with sensor, the transmitting antenna uses a through hole that electrically connects the wiring on the upper surface and the wiring on the lower surface of the circuit board on which the components constituting the sensor non-contact data carrier are mounted, A three-dimensional coil shape extending in the horizontal direction with respect to the circuit board surface via the upper and lower surfaces of the circuit board alternately, and having a predetermined wiring length. The features.
A non-contact data carrier with a sensor according to claim 2 of the present invention is characterized in that a battery as a power source for driving each part of the non-contact data carrier with a sensor is detachably attached.
The non-contact data carrier with a sensor according to claim 3 of the present invention is one or a plurality of types of temperature sensor, humidity sensor, illuminance (light) sensor, pressure sensor, gas sensor, impact sensor, acceleration sensor, and position sensor. It is characterized by being selected.

According to the non-contact data carrier with a sensor according to claim 1 of the present invention, a sensor that detects the external environment and outputs the detected value, a memory that stores the detected value from the sensor, and the detected value are used. A transmission circuit and a transmission antenna that transmit the measurement result and the unique identification number by electromagnetic waves, and a control circuit that writes and reads the detection value of the sensor in the memory, and outputs the measurement result based on the detection value to the transmission circuit. In the configured non-contact data carrier with sensor, the transmitting antenna has a through hole that electrically connects the upper surface wiring and the lower surface wiring of the circuit board on which the components constituting the sensor non-contact data carrier are mounted. Used to form a predetermined wiring length in a three-dimensional coil shape that extends in the horizontal direction with respect to the circuit board surface via the upper and lower surfaces of the circuit board alternately. That. Therefore, it is a non-contact data carrier with a sensor that detects the external environment and transmits information of the detection result by electromagnetic waves, and the planar dimension of the transmitting antenna does not become a restriction on the planar dimension of the circuit board without increasing the manufacturing process. A non-contact data carrier with a sensor can be provided.
According to the non-contact data carrier with a sensor according to claim 2 of the present invention, a battery as a power source for driving each part of the non-contact data carrier with a sensor is detachably provided. Therefore, it is possible to provide a non-contact data carrier with a sensor capable of self-transmission.
According to the non-contact data carrier with a sensor according to claim 3 of the present invention, one or more of a temperature sensor, a humidity sensor, an illuminance (light) sensor, a pressure sensor, a gas sensor, an impact sensor, an acceleration sensor, and a position sensor. It is configured by selecting a type. Therefore, it is possible to provide a non-contact data carrier with a sensor that detects one or more types of external environments and transmits measurement results based on the detected values.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the drawings.
The non-contact data carrier with sensor according to the present invention is installed in each of one or more places where it is desired to detect the environment, and information on the measurement result transmitted from the non-contact data carrier with sensor is received by the receiving device. The environment where the non-contact data carrier with sensor is installed is maintained in a predetermined state. Alternatively, the state of the environment is stored as a record.

  A non-contact data carrier with a sensor according to the present invention includes a circuit board having conductive wiring formed on its surface such as an epoxy resin, a sensor for detecting a plurality of types of external environments on the circuit board, A semiconductor integrated circuit in which a signal selection circuit for appropriately selecting a signal, an A / D converter (analog / digital converter), a microcomputer as an operation control circuit having a memory and a control circuit are integrated, and a transmission for transmitting electromagnetic waves A transmission circuit including a trusted antenna and a battery serving as a power source for driving the apparatus are mounted and incorporated in a housing.

  A schematic external view of one embodiment of a non-contact data carrier with a sensor according to the present invention is shown in FIG. FIG. 1A is a top view, and FIG. 1B is a cross-sectional view of FIG. In this example, a temperature sensor 11, a humidity sensor 12, and an illuminance sensor 13 are attached to the upper surface of the circuit board 10 for detecting the external environment. Further, a semiconductor integrated circuit 14 in which a microcomputer as an arithmetic control circuit having a signal selection circuit, an A / D converter (analog / digital converter), a memory and a control circuit is integrated, and transmission data edited by the arithmetic control circuit. A transmission circuit 15 that modulates the signal to a high frequency and transmits it as a radio wave, and a transmission antenna 16 for transmitting by electromagnetic waves are attached. Here, the wiring of the transmitting antenna 16 is also wired on the lower surface of the circuit board 10 through a through hole. On the lower surface of the circuit board, a battery 20 serving as a power source is housed and attached so as to be detachable from the battery holder 21. The circuit board is incorporated in a housing (not shown). In FIG. 1, the wiring on the circuit board is not shown.

  Next, the transmitting antenna will be described in more detail. 2 is a partially enlarged view of the transmitting antenna 16 of FIG. 1, FIG. 2 (a) is a top view, (b) is a bottom view, and (c) is a cross section of FIG. 2 (a) BB. FIG. The wiring 16a on the upper surface of the transmitting antenna and the wiring 16b on the lower surface of the transmitting antenna provided on the circuit board are electrically connected through the through holes 17, whereby the wiring of the transmitting antenna is alternately arranged on the upper and lower surfaces of the circuit board. A predetermined length of the transmitting antenna is secured by a three-dimensional coil shape extending in the direction X in FIG. 2A and having a thickness of the circuit board. In FIGS. 2A and 2B, the wiring on the opposite side to the circuit board of the wiring of the transmitting antenna is indicated by a broken line. By forming the transmitting antenna on the circuit board in this way, the transmitting antenna is also incorporated at the same time in the circuit board manufacturing process, and the plane dimensions of the transmitting antenna are limited to the plane dimensions of the circuit board without increasing the manufacturing process. Therefore, the planar dimension of the circuit board can be reduced.

  Next, the operation of the circuit of the non-contact data carrier with sensor will be described. FIG. 4 is a signal processing configuration diagram of a sensor-equipped data carrier according to an embodiment of the present invention. When the control circuit 39 that controls the entire non-contact data carrier with sensor starts its operation, it first reads out the control parameter and the unique identification number stored in the memory 40. The control parameters include the type of sensor installed in the device, the circuit number (channel number) connected to it, the time interval (sampling period) detected by each sensor, and the time for transmitting data to the outside. An instruction for an interval (transmission cycle) is included, and the non-contact data carrier with sensor is controlled based on the information of the control parameter. The memory 40 is a non-volatile memory and can be rewritten from the outside.

  The control circuit 39 turns on the power of the sensor at the time of the designated sampling period of each sensor, selects the sensor to be detected by the signal selection circuit 37 that switches the detection signal of the sensor, and controls the sensor to the external environment. Detection is started and a detection value is received. The A / D converter 38 converts the detected value, which is an analog signal, into a digital signal. The control circuit 39 temporarily stores the detected value converted into the digital signal in the memory 40 as a pair with the channel number, and subsequently switches the sensor to be detected as necessary to obtain a new detected value. It is converted into a digital signal by the D converter 38 and temporarily stored in a corresponding new area of the memory 40. The control circuit 39 turns off the sensor when all of the predetermined types of detection values are temporarily stored. The control circuit 39 reads the unique identification number and the detection result temporarily stored in the memory 40 from the memory 40 at the time of the instructed transmission cycle, and calculates the measurement result based on the detection result as necessary (for example, The discomfort index is calculated based on temperature and humidity), the unique identification number, the detection result, and the measurement result are edited and transmitted. Next, the transmission circuit 35 is turned on, the created transmission data is sent to the transmission circuit 35, and when the transmission is completed, the transmission circuit 35 is turned off. In this way, the power of the necessary circuit portion is turned on only when circuit operation is necessary, and the power is turned off when unnecessary. The transmission cycle may be the same as the sampling cycle of the sensor, but the number of transmissions can be reduced by setting an integer multiple of the sampling frequency of the sensor. In this way, the power consumption of the sensorless contactless data carrier can be reduced and the battery life can be extended.

  Furthermore, in the non-contact data carrier with sensor according to the present invention, a battery as a power source is housed so as to be detachable from the battery holder, and is attached to the lower surface of the circuit board, so that self-transmission is possible. Moreover, since the battery can be replaced, the non-contact data carrier body with sensor can be reused, and the life of the non-contact data carrier body with sensor can be extended.

  In the present embodiment, an example in which a temperature sensor, a humidity sensor, and an illuminance sensor are attached is shown, but when the non-contact data carrier with a sensor of the present embodiment is used for environmental management of a room, the temperature of the room The variation in humidity is small compared to the variation in illuminance. Although the room temperature and humidity are unlikely to change abruptly, the illuminance is likely to change abruptly due to ON / OFF of lighting fixtures or obstacles. For this reason, it can be considered that the sampling cycle of the temperature sensor and the humidity sensor is set longer than the sampling cycle of the illuminance sensor. In this case, it is possible to easily cope with the setting of the control parameters by simply instructing the setting of the sampling period for each sensor to an appropriate value.

  In addition, when the environmental management of the illuminance is unnecessary and the environmental management of only the temperature and humidity is omitted, the mounting process of the illuminance sensor of this embodiment is omitted, and the type of sensor mounted in the setting of the control parameter is the temperature sensor. Only the description of the humidity sensor. As a result, the circuit board on which the three types of sensors of this embodiment are mounted and the microcomputer program can be used as they are. In particular, with respect to the manufacture of circuit boards, it is possible to avoid a small amount and a wide variety of products, and thus the manufacturing cost of circuit boards can be reduced.

  In the present embodiment, the temperature sensor, the humidity sensor, and the illuminance sensor are cited as sensors for detecting the external environment. However, the sensor mounted on the non-contact data carrier with sensor according to the present invention detects the external environment as an electrical signal. Anything can be output. In addition to the sensors, there are, for example, pressure, gas, impact, acceleration, position sensor, and the like.

  Next, a modification of the present embodiment with respect to the transmitting antenna will be described. FIG. 3 is a partially enlarged view of the modified transmitting antenna of the present embodiment of FIG. 2, FIG. 3 (a) is a top view, (b) is a bottom view, and (c) is FIG. 3 (a). ) CC sectional view. The wiring 26a on the upper surface of the transmitting antenna provided on the circuit board and the wiring 26b on the lower surface are electrically connected by a through hole 27, whereby the wiring of the transmitting antenna is alternately arranged on the upper and lower surfaces of the circuit board. A predetermined length of the transmitting antenna is ensured by a three-dimensional coil shape extending in the Y direction in FIG. 3A and having the thickness of the circuit board. In FIGS. 3A and 3B, the wiring on the surface opposite to the circuit board of the wiring of the transmitting antenna is indicated by a broken line. By forming the transmitting antenna on the circuit board in this way, the transmitting antenna is also incorporated at the same time in the circuit board manufacturing process, and the plane dimensions of the transmitting antenna are limited to the plane dimensions of the circuit board without increasing the manufacturing process. Therefore, the planar dimension of the circuit board can be reduced.

  In the present embodiment, the plane size of the circuit board of the non-contact data carrier with sensor including the antenna using the transmission frequency of 315 MHz and the length of the transmitting antenna set to about 240 mm of a quarter wavelength of the electromagnetic wave is 20 mm × 20 mm and high. The communication distance was 10 m. The planar dimensions of the circuit board of this embodiment are due to restrictions from the planar dimensions of the battery, and the planar dimensions of the transmitting antenna are not limited by the planar dimensions of the circuit board, and are small, thin, and versatile. A transmission-type non-contact data carrier with a sensor was realized.

1 is a schematic outline view of an embodiment of a non-contact data carrier with a sensor according to the present invention. FIG. The elements on larger scale of the antenna wiring part for transmission by this invention. The elements on larger scale of the modification of the antenna wiring for transmission by this invention. The signal processing block diagram of one Embodiment of the non-contact data carrier with a sensor by this invention.

Explanation of symbols

10, 30 Circuit board 11, 31 Temperature sensor 12, 32 Humidity sensor 13, 33 Illuminance sensor 14, 34 Semiconductor integrated circuit 15, 35 Transmission circuit 16, 36 Transmission antenna 16a, 26a Transmission antenna wiring 16b on the upper surface of the circuit board, 26b Transmitting antenna wiring 17 and 27 on the lower surface of the circuit board Through hole 20 Battery 21 Battery holder 37 Signal selection circuit 38 A / D converter 39 Control circuit 40 Memory

Claims (3)

A sensor that detects the external environment and outputs the detected value;
A memory for storing a detection value from the sensor;
A transmission circuit and a transmission antenna for transmitting the measurement result based on the detection value and the unique identification number by electromagnetic waves;
A control circuit that writes and reads the detection value of the sensor in the memory, and outputs a measurement result based on the detection value to a transmission circuit;
In a non-contact data carrier with a sensor composed of
The transmitting antenna uses through holes that electrically connect the wiring on the upper surface and the lower surface of the circuit board on which the components constituting the non-contact data carrier with sensor are mounted, and the upper and lower surfaces of the circuit board are alternately arranged. A non-contact data carrier with a sensor having a predetermined wiring length in a three-dimensional coil shape extending in a horizontal direction with respect to a circuit board surface.   The non-contact data carrier with a sensor according to claim 1, further comprising a battery which is a power source for driving each part of the non-contact data carrier with a sensor. The sensor is configured by selecting one or a plurality of types from among a temperature sensor, a humidity sensor, an illuminance (light) sensor, a pressure sensor, a gas sensor, an impact sensor, an acceleration sensor, and a position sensor. Item 3. A contactless data carrier with a sensor according to item 1 or 2.

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