JP2010225025A - Rfid card, reader for rfid card, rfid system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a technology, in which a reader can accurately read information in a card and a large capacity of the card can be obtained at the same time, even if an RFID card is inserted in the card insertion part of the reader for the RFID card even if the RFID card is inserted reversely in front or rear and a front and back. <P>SOLUTION: The device is the RFID card in which even numbers of pieces of IC chips integrally formed with antenna (a coil on chip, a COC chip) are used and these chips are symmetrically arranged about the central axis in the card surface. In the reader for reading the card, when the RFID card is inserted in the card insertion part, even-numbered pieces of the antennas are symmetrically arranged to be positioned corresponding to each of the even-numbered pieces of the IC chips in the card. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an RFID card and an RFID card reader (RFID) using RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) technology that can read information on an IC chip in a non-contact manner by wireless communication (including cases where reading and writing are possible, the same applies hereinafter). Card reader / writer), and an RFID system.

  An RFID card has a structure in which an IC chip for recording information and an antenna for wireless communication connected to the IC chip are provided on a card base, and information is read from and written to the IC chip by wireless communication with the outside. Is possible.

  In this type of card, a module called an inlet is formed by externally connecting an antenna coil to a small IC chip for recording information, and this inlet is mounted on a card base (for example, see Patent Document 1). ) And a spiral antenna are integrally formed on the IC chip, and this antenna-integrated IC chip (referred to as a coil-on-chip (registered trademark), for example, see Patent Document 2) is mounted on a card substrate. There is a thing.

JP 2005-228895 A JP 2004-281838 A

  In the case of an inlet-type RFID card, the connection between a small IC chip terminal and an antenna is technically difficult, and the connection point may be disconnected when an excessive bending stress is applied when the card is used. For this reason, the IC chip cannot be arranged on the card center line where the stress load is large, and the mounting position on the card is, for example, a position deviated from the center line of the card surface on one side in the longitudinal direction. It is determined almost uniquely. As a result, when the card is inserted into the card insertion portion of the reader or the reader / writer (in the present application, both are simply referred to as “reader”) from one end side and when inserted from the opposite side (the other end side) ( In some cases, the card-side antenna has a different positional relationship with respect to the reader-side antenna when it is inserted face-up and when inserted face-down. For this reason, the correct insertion direction is inevitably determined for the card, and information on the card side cannot be read if the card is inserted in the wrong direction with respect to the reader. In addition to the restrictions on the mounting position on the card as described above, there is a restriction on the card area, and it is difficult to increase the number of IC chips mounted in the inlet type RFID card, so the so-called card capacity is naturally limited. .

  There are technologies to identify the insertion direction based on visibility and tactile sensation, such as printing the insertion direction on the card or providing a notch on the card itself, as a means for inserting the card in the correct orientation. If it takes time to confirm the previous direction, or if the insertion direction is wrong, it is necessary to reinsert it by discharging on the reader side. Further, if the electrical connection with the reader is made in the wrong insertion state, the card itself or the reader may be damaged, and there are various problems depending on the type of system.

  Note that an antenna integrated IC chip, a so-called coil-on-chip (also referred to as a COC chip) has a mounting area much smaller than an external coil type inlet because the antenna is integrally formed on the chip. Since there is almost no need to consider the disconnection caused by the bending stress described above, it is relatively easy to increase the capacity of the card by increasing the number of cards mounted on the card. In that case, the problem is how to arrange a plurality of coil-on-chips on the card in relation to the card insertion direction described above. In addition, when a plurality of IC chips are arranged at predetermined positions on the card, how to correctly read the information of these IC chips also becomes a problem.

  The present invention addresses the above-described problems, and even if an RFID card is inserted in the card insertion portion of an external RFID card reader before and after or with the front and back reversed, the reader can correctly read the information on the card. In the meantime, an object is to provide a technique capable of realizing a higher capacity of a card at the same time.

  A coil-on-chip in which an antenna for communication is integrally formed on the surface of an IC chip does not need to form an antenna inside the card and is resistant to physical pressure from the outside. Arrangement on the center line in the card surface is possible. By taking advantage of the features of this coil-on-chip, a plurality of chips can be mounted at positions including the card center line. As a result, the capacity of the RFID card can be increased as compared with the prior art, and the card insertion direction can be made unquestionable by associating the chip control order with the card insertion direction by arranging a plurality of chips symmetrically. . The present invention is configured as follows from such a viewpoint.

  That is, the card according to the present invention includes a rectangular card base, an IC chip for recording information, and an antenna for wireless communication connected to the IC chip. An RFID card in which information in the IC chip can be read by wireless communication with the reader in a state where the card is inserted in the longitudinal direction of the card, and the antenna is integrally formed on the IC chip, A plurality of IC chips integrated with an antenna are provided on the card base, and are symmetrical with respect to a central axis (short axis central axis) extending in the short direction in the card surface. And a position symmetrical to the axis with respect to a central axis (longitudinal central axis) extending in the longitudinal direction in the card surface as a card insertion direction and / or a pair on the longitudinal central axis. And it is characterized in that it is arranged.

  The reader according to the present invention has a card insertion portion into which the RFID card is inserted, and reads the information by wireless communication with respect to an IC chip in the RFID card inserted into the card insertion portion. And, when an RFID card is inserted into the card insertion part, it is arranged so as to correspond to a plurality of IC chips in the card, respectively, and information can be transmitted and received between the corresponding IC chips. A plurality of antennas, and a control unit that reads information from the plurality of IC chips via the plurality of antennas.

  Furthermore, the system according to the present invention is an RFID system including the RFID card and the RFID card reader, and the reader is inserted when the RFID card is inserted into a card insertion portion of the RFID card reader. The control unit in the IC reads the chip code of the IC chip (coil-on-chip) positioned corresponding to the specific antenna among the plurality of antennas, and determines the insertion state of the RFID card from the read chip code. Then, the information in the plurality of IC chips is sequentially read in a predetermined order based on the determination result.

  In this case, an antenna switching circuit that switches connection states between the plurality of antennas and the control unit based on a signal from the control unit may be provided between the plurality of antennas and the control unit in the RFID card reader. it can. Then, when the RFID card is inserted into the card insertion part of the RFID card reader, the control part in the reader is connected to the chip code of the IC chip corresponding to the specific antenna among the plurality of antennas. And determining the insertion state of the RFID card from the read chip code, and switching the connection state with the plurality of antennas in a predetermined order via the antenna switching circuit based on the determination result. The information in the IC chip can be sequentially read.

  According to the RFID card of the present invention, a plurality of integrated antenna-type IC chips provided on a rectangular card substrate extend along the short axis direction in the card surface (short axis central axis). And / or the center in the longitudinal direction with respect to the central axis (longitudinal central axis) extending in the longitudinal direction in the card surface as the card insertion direction. Since this card is placed symmetrically on the axis, even if this card is inserted into the card insertion part of an external RFID card reader with its front and back sides or reversed, as long as viewed from the reader side, a plurality of IC chips and antennas The position where the antenna integrated with each chip exists does not change just by switching each position. Therefore, there is no reading failure that occurs when the antenna on the card side is not in place when inserted into the card insertion section of the reader, and information on each IC chip on the card can be read by wireless communication with the reader It becomes.

  Further, according to the RFID card reader of the present invention, when the RFID card is inserted into the card insertion portion as described above, a plurality of antennas provided in the reader are respectively connected to a plurality of IC chips in the RFID card. Since information can be transmitted / received to / from each IC chip in the card at the corresponding position, the control unit in the reader can read information in the plurality of IC chips via the plurality of antennas.

  Furthermore, according to the RFID system of the present invention, when the RFID card is inserted into the card insertion portion of the RFID card reader, the control unit in the reader detects a specific antenna among the plurality of antennas. The IC chip (coil-on-chip) chip code corresponding to this is read, the RFID card insertion state is discriminated from the read chip code, and the plurality of the codes are determined in a predetermined order based on the discrimination result. Since the information in the IC chips is sequentially read, even if the RFID card is inserted into the card insertion portion of the RFID card reader in the front / rear direction or the reverse side, the information in the plurality of IC chips is in a predetermined order in any case. It becomes possible to read correctly.

  As described above, according to the present invention, even if the RFID card is inserted into the card insertion portion of the RFID card reader in the front-rear direction or the reverse side, the information in the plurality of IC chips is in a predetermined order in any case. Therefore, the user using the RFID system does not need to be aware of the card insertion direction. At the same time, the system design eliminates the need for card ejection due to an incorrect insertion direction and error statement processing, and eliminates the need for card damage and reader damage due to incorrect insertion. Therefore, for example, even in a system used by a visually impaired person, the visually impaired person can use the system with peace of mind without requiring the assistance of a healthy person.

It is a top view which shows an example of the RFID card to which this invention is applied. FIG. 3 is a plan view schematically showing an antenna integrated IC chip (coil-on-chip, COC chip) used in the present invention. It is explanatory drawing used in order to demonstrate the RFID system which concerns on Example 1 of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the control action in the RFID system which concerns on Example 1 of this invention. In the RFID system according to the first embodiment of the present invention, when the RFID card is inserted into the card insertion portion of the RFID card reader, the control unit (microcomputer) of the reader accesses each antenna in a predetermined order. It is a figure which shows the memory space used. It is explanatory drawing used in order to demonstrate the RFID system which concerns on Example 2 of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the control action in the RFID system which concerns on Example 2 of this invention. In the RFID system according to the second embodiment of the present invention, when the RFID card is inserted into the card insertion portion of the RFID card reader, the reader control unit (microcomputer) accesses each antenna in a predetermined order. It is a figure which shows the memory space used. It is explanatory drawing used in order to demonstrate the RFID system which concerns on Example 3 of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the control action in the RFID system which concerns on Example 3 of this invention. In the RFID system according to the third embodiment of the present invention, when the RFID card is inserted into the card insertion portion of the RFID card reader, the reader control unit (microcomputer) accesses each antenna in a predetermined order. It is a figure which shows the memory space used.

  FIG. 1 shows an example of an RFID card to which the present invention is applied. The RFID card 1 has a configuration in which an even number (six in the illustrated example) of IC chips C are provided on a rectangular card base 2 made of plastic or the like. Each IC chip C is an IC-integrated IC chip (coil-on-chip, COC chip) in which a spiral antenna coil 3 is integrally formed on the chip surface as shown in FIG. Predetermined information such as a chip code for identifying itself and others is recorded in advance. In FIG. 2, the portions indicated by reference numerals 3a and 3b are connection points between the antenna 3 and the chip body disposed below the antenna 3.

  In the RFID card 1, the even number of integrated IC chips C are arranged at predetermined positions P1 to P6 that are symmetrical with respect to the central axis in the card surface. That is, as shown in FIG. 1, the positions P1 to P6 are symmetrical with respect to the central axis (short direction central axis) X extending in the short direction in the card surface, and the card insertion direction. At positions P1 and P3, P4 and P6, and two positions P2 and P5 on the longitudinal central axis Y that are symmetrical with respect to a central axis (longitudinal central axis) Y extending in the longitudinal direction in the card surface. , Each is arranged.

The actual sizes of the RFID card and the IC chip shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 are as follows. However, these are merely examples, and it goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to these.
・ Dimension Ll = 54 mm in the short direction of the RFID card,
The longitudinal dimension L2 of the card is 85 mm,
The distance L3 = 17.5 mm from the IC chip arranged at the outermost symmetrical position in the longitudinal direction of the card to the corresponding card edge in the longitudinal direction,
・ Distance L4 = 11 mm from the IC chip arranged at the outermost symmetrical position in the short direction of the card to the corresponding card end in the short direction

  Next, as an example of a system using the RFID card as described above, when the number of IC chips mounted on the RFID card is 6 (Example 1), when it is 4 (Example 2), Each of the two cases (Example 3) will be specifically described. Note that description is omitted when the number of IC chips mounted is 8 or more, but in principle, information on the IC chip can be read by a method according to the following method.

(When there are six IC chips) As shown in FIG. 3, in this example, an RFID card 1 similar to that shown in FIG. 1 and equipped with six antenna-integrated IC chips and this card are provided. 1 is used with an RFID card reader 10 for reading information in each of the IC chips C1 to C6.

  The six IC chips C1 to C6 in this case are six symmetrical positions P1 to P6 in the RFID card shown in FIG. 1, that is, positions that are symmetrical with respect to the central axis X in the lateral direction in the card surface. And are arranged at two positions on the longitudinal center axis Y and a position that is axially symmetric with respect to the longitudinal center axis Y in the card surface. In FIG. 3, when the card is viewed from the upper side of the card surface, the direction of the longitudinal direction is the forward direction (the card insertion direction indicated by the arrow in the figure is the forward direction). And the positions of the IC chips C1 to C6 when the front and back of the card are reversed are shown.

  On the other hand, the RFID card reader 10 used in this example can transmit and receive information between the card insertion portion 11 into which the RFID card 1 is inserted and the six IC chips C1 to C6 in the RFID card 1. The six antennas A1 to A6, a control unit (microcomputer 12 to be described later) for reading information in the six IC chips C1 to C6 through the six antennas A1 to A6, and the control unit The antenna switching circuit 13 is arranged between the six antennas A1 to A6 and switches the connection state between the control unit and the six antennas A1 to A6 by a signal from the control unit.

  The six antennas A1 to A6 are respectively positioned corresponding to the six IC chips C1 to C6 in the card when the RFID card 1 is inserted into the card insertion portion 11 (here, they are physically overlapped). ) Are arranged symmetrically. Then, with the RFID card 1 inserted into the card insertion portion 11, the antenna 3 (see FIG. 2) in each of the IC chips C1 to C6 on the card 1 side and the antennas A1 to A6 on the reader side. Information can be sent to and received from.

  The control unit is composed of a microcomputer 12 having a CPU and a memory (the same applies to the following embodiments). When the RFID card 1 is inserted into the card insertion portion 11, a specific antenna (antenna A1 in this example) is selected from the six antennas A1 to A6 on the reader side regardless of the insertion direction. Through the antenna switching circuit 13 in accordance with the determination result. Information on each of the IC chips C1 to C6 can be sequentially read by switching the connection state with the six antennas A1 to A6. Next, this reading operation will be described. In the following description, the IC chip on the RFID card is also simply referred to as a chip.

  In the case of this example, the RFID card 1 can be inserted during use by the user in the [forward / front], [forward / back], [reverse / front], [reverse / There are four states. The combinations in which the reader-side antennas A1 to A6 and the card-side chip (in other words, the antenna 3) are physically overlapped in each inserted state are as shown in FIG. 3 and Table 1 below. .

  As shown in FIG. 4, first, the code of the chip overlapped with the antenna A1 is read, and the insertion state of the card 1 is determined from the read code. Based on the determination result, the microcomputer 12 switches the connection state with the antennas A1 to A6 via the antenna switching circuit 13 so that the microcomputer 12 can access in the order of chips C1, C2, C3, C4, C5, and C6. Are accessed in a predetermined order (see FIG. 4) to form a memory space. Specifically, for example, when the chip code read by the antenna A1 is that of the chip C1, as shown in FIG. 4, the microcomputer 10 determines that the card insertion direction is [positive direction / front]. The antennas are switched in the order of antennas A1, A2, A3, A4, A5, and A6, and these pieces of information are read in the order of chips C1, C2, C3, C4, C5, and C6, and stored in the memory space. By doing so, as shown in FIG. 5, the card capacity visible to the user is always the sum of the chips C1 to C6 and the chips C1 to C6 are continuously connected regardless of the card insertion state. Can be handled as a large memory space M1.

(When there are four IC chips) As shown in FIG. 6, in this example, in this example, an RFID card 21 on which four antenna-integrated IC chips are mounted, and the IC chips C1, C3, C4 on the card 21 are provided. , And an RFID card reader 30 for reading information in C6.

  The four IC chips C1, C3, C4, and C6 in this case are positioned symmetrically with respect to the short direction central axis X in the card surface, and the longitudinal central axis Y in the card surface is the same. They are arranged at positions that are axially symmetric with respect to the reference.

  The RFID card reader 30 used in this example transmits and receives information between the card insertion portion 31 into which the RFID card 21 is inserted and the four IC chips C1, C3, C4, and C6 in the RFID card 21. Read the information in the four IC chips C1, C3, C4, C6 through the four enabled antennas A1, A3, A4, A6 and these four antennas A1, A3, A4, A6 The microcomputer (control unit) 32 and the microcomputer 32 and the four antennas A1, A3, A4, A6 are arranged between the microcomputer 32 and the four antennas A1, A3, A4, And an antenna switching circuit 33 for switching the connection state with A6.

  Of these, the four antennas A1, A3, A4, and A6 are respectively positioned corresponding to the four IC chips C1, C3, C4, and C6 in the card when the RFID card 21 is inserted into the card insertion portion 31 ( As in the case of the first embodiment, they are arranged symmetrically so as to be physically overlapped. Then, with the RFID card 21 inserted into the card insertion portion 31, an antenna (not shown) in each of the IC chips C1, C3, C4, C6 on the card side and the reader-side antenna A1 that are positioned corresponding to each other. , A3, A4, and A6 can transmit and receive information.

  In addition, the microcomputer 32 in this example, when the RFID card 21 is inserted into the card insertion unit 31, of the four antennas A1, A3, A4, A6 on the reader side, regardless of the insertion direction. The chip code of the IC chip corresponding to this is read via a specific antenna (antenna A1 as in the first embodiment), and the insertion state of the RFID card 21 is determined from the read chip code. Based on the antenna switching circuit 33, the connection state with the four antennas A1, A3, A4, A6 is switched in a predetermined order so that information in each IC chip C1, C3, C4, C6 can be read sequentially. It has become. The reading operation in this case is as follows.

  As the insertion state of the RFID card 21 that may occur in use by the user, as in the first embodiment, [forward direction / front], [forward direction / back], [reverse direction / front], [ There are four states (reverse direction / back) (see FIG. 6). Table 3 shows combinations in which the antennas A1, A3, A4, and A6 and the chips C1, C3, C4, and C6 are physically overlapped in the individual insertion states.

  As shown in FIG. 7, also in the case of this example, first, the code of the chip overlapped with the antenna A1 is read to determine the card insertion state. Based on the determination result, the connection state with the antennas A1, A3, A4, A6 is switched by the antenna switching circuit 32 so that the microcomputer 32 can access in the order of C1, C3, C4, C6 in this example. Are accessed in a predetermined order (see FIG. 7) to form a memory space. Specifically, for example, when the chip code read by the antenna A1 is that of the chip C4, the microcomputer 32 determines that the card insertion direction is [reverse direction / back] as shown in FIG. The antennas are switched in the order of antennas A4, A6, A1, and A3, and these pieces of information are read in the order of chips C1, C3, C4, and C6, and then stored in the memory space. By doing so, the card capacity visible to the user is always the sum of the chips C1, C3, C4, and C6 and the chips C1, C3, C4, and C6 are continuous regardless of the card insertion state. Can be handled as a memory space M2 as shown in FIG.

(In the case of two IC chips) As shown in FIG. 9, in this example, the RFID card 41 on which two antenna-integrated IC chips are mounted, and information on the IC chips C2 and C5 on the card 41 The RFID card reader 50 is used for reading.

  In this case, the two IC chips C2 and C5 are two positions on the longitudinal center axis Y in the card surface at positions symmetrical with respect to the lateral center axis X in the card surface. Are arranged symmetrically.

  The RFID card reader 50 used in this example can transmit and receive information between the card insertion portion 51 into which the RFID card 41 is inserted and the two IC chips C2 and C5 in the RFID card 41. Two antennas A2 and A5, a microcomputer (control unit) 52 for reading information in the two IC chips C2 and C5 through the two antennas A2 and A5, and the microcomputer 52 and the two antennas The antenna switching circuit 53 is arranged between A2 and A5 and switches the connection state between the microcomputer 52 and the two antennas A2 and A5 by a signal from the microcomputer 52.

  Of these, the two antennas A2 and A5 are respectively positioned corresponding to the two IC chips C2 and C5 in the card 41 when the RFID card 41 is inserted into the card insertion part 51 (in the case of the first and second embodiments). As well as being physically overlapped). Then, with the RFID card 41 inserted into the card insertion portion 51, an antenna (not shown) in each of the IC chips C2 and C5 on the card side and the antennas A2 and A5 on the reader side 50 that are positioned corresponding to each other. Information can be transmitted and received between the two.

  In addition, the microcomputer 52 in this example, when the RFID card 41 is inserted into the card insertion unit 51, the specific antenna of the two antennas A2 and A5 on the reader 50 side regardless of the insertion direction. The chip code of the IC chip corresponding to this is read via (antenna A2 in this example), the insertion state of the RFID card 41 is determined from the read chip code, and the antenna switching circuit 53 is set based on the determination result. Thus, the connection state between the two antennas A2 and A5 is switched in a predetermined order, and information in each IC chip C2 and C5 can be read sequentially. The reading operation in this case is as follows.

  The card insertion state that can occur in use by the user is the same as in the first and second embodiments, [forward / front], [forward / back], [reverse / front], [ There are four states (reverse direction / back) (see FIG. 9). Table 3 shows combinations in which the antennas A2 and A5 and the chips C2 and C5 are physically overlapped in the individual insertion states.

  As shown in FIG. 10, first, the code of the chip overlapped with the antenna A2 is read to determine the insertion state of the card 41. Based on the determination result, the connection state with the antennas A2 and A5 is switched by the antenna switching circuit 53 so that the microcomputer 52 can access the microcomputers in the order of C2 and C5 in this example. ) To form a memory space. Specifically, for example, when the chip code read by the antenna A2 is that of the chip C2, the microcomputer 52 determines that the card insertion direction is [forward direction / front] as shown in FIG. Then, the antennas are switched in the order of antennas A2 → A5, and these pieces of information are read in the order of chips C2 → C5 and stored in the memory space. By doing so, the card capacity seen by the user is always the sum of the chips C2 and C5 and the chips C2 and C5 are continuously connected as shown in FIG. Can be handled as a large memory space M3.

1, 21, 41 RFID card 2 Card base 3 Antenna 10, 30, 50 in IC chip RFID card reader 11, 31, 51 Card insertion part 12, 31, 52 Control part (microcomputer)
13, 33, 53 Antenna switching circuit A1, A2, A3, A4, A5, A6 Antenna C, C1, C2, C3, C4, C5, C6 in the RFID card reader X Integrated antenna type IC chip X Center in the short direction Axis Y Longitudinal central axis

Claims (4)

A rectangular card base, an IC chip for recording information, and a wireless communication antenna connected to the IC chip, and inserted in the card longitudinal direction of a card insertion portion of a predetermined external reader An RFID card in which information in the IC chip can be read by wireless communication with the reader in a state,
The antenna is integrally formed on the IC chip,
A plurality of IC chips integrally formed with the antenna are provided on the card base, and the position is a target of the axis with respect to a central axis (short axis central axis) extending in the short direction in the card surface. In addition, it is symmetrically arranged on the position and / or on the longitudinal central axis with respect to the central axis (longitudinal central axis) extending in the longitudinal direction in the card surface as the card insertion direction. RFID card characterized by An RFID card reader having a card insertion part into which the RFID card according to claim 1 is inserted, and reading information by wireless communication with respect to an IC chip in the RFID card inserted into the card insertion part,
A plurality of antennas arranged so as to correspond to a plurality of IC chips in the card when an RFID card is inserted into the card insertion portion, and to transmit / receive information to / from the corresponding IC chips When,
An RFID card reader comprising: a control unit that reads information from the plurality of IC chips via the plurality of antennas. An RFID system comprising the RFID card according to claim 1 and the RFID card reader according to claim 2,
When the RFID card is inserted into the card insertion portion of the RFID card reader, the control portion of the reader is positioned corresponding to the chip via the specific antenna of the plurality of antennas. An RFID system comprising: reading a code; discriminating an insertion state of an RFID card from the read chip code; and sequentially reading information in the plurality of IC chips in a predetermined order based on the discrimination result. An RFID system comprising the RFID card according to claim 1 and the RFID card reader according to claim 2,
Between the plurality of antennas and the control unit in the RFID card reader, an antenna switching circuit for switching the connection state between the plurality of antennas and the control unit based on a signal from the control unit is provided,
When the RFID card is inserted into the card insertion portion of the RFID card reader, the control portion of the reader is positioned corresponding to the chip via the specific antenna of the plurality of antennas. A code is read, an RFID card insertion state is discriminated from the read chip code, and the plurality of antennas are switched in a predetermined order via an antenna switching circuit based on the discrimination result. An RFID system characterized by sequentially reading information in an IC chip.

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