JP2013235521A - Card arrangement identification system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a card arrangement identification system capable of preventing an excessive increase in the number of antennas, uniquely and accurately detecting position information of cards and, even when cards are overlapped, capable of identifying the cards.SOLUTION: The card arrangement identification system includes a plurality of first loop antennas 13 arranged at same intervals apart in a second direction and a plurality of second loop antennas 15 arranged at same intervals apart in a first direction, so that information on a card 50 can be read, via RF tag antennas T1-T3, as a position where the first and second loop antennas 13 and 15 intersect. In this case, the card 50 includes the three RF tag antennas T1-T3 that are disposed asymmetrically, and arrangement intervals SR1 and SC1 of the first and second loop antennas 13 and 15 are set in such a range as discriminating center intervals T12, T23, and T13 of the three RF tag antennas T1-T3, so as to reliably discriminate the position, an attitude, and a right side or a wrong side of the card 50.

Description

  The present invention relates to a card arrangement identification system using an RFID type wireless tag.

  As a card arrangement identification system, there is one described in Patent Document 1 below. In this card arrangement identification system, 1 to 3 tags are arranged in a card, antennas are arranged in a matrix on a board surface, and each antenna is arranged. The position of the tag is specified from the difference in signal intensity from the received tag. If the position of the tag can be specified, the position, angle, and front and back of the card can be specified from the positional relationship.

  As another card arrangement identification system, there is a system described in Patent Document 2 below. In this system, an optical pattern is formed on the back side of the card, and the pattern is detected from the lower side of the board so that the unique data of the card is detected. And arrangement (including position and angle) are detected.

  In addition, as a device for detecting the posture of a card, there is a device described in Patent Document 3 below, and this device specifies the orientation and front / back of the card at a specific position.

  In the system of Patent Document 1, since the antennas are arranged in a matrix as a means for obtaining position information, the number of antennas increases and hardware becomes expensive. In addition, a general reader / writer does not have a function of identifying the signal intensity from the tag, and it is necessary to prepare a reader / writer with a special specification. In general, if the tag is an active tag, the signal level changes depending on the battery capacity. If the tag is a passive tag, the power supplied from the reader / writer and the signal level returned by the tag change depending on the positional relationship between the tag and the antenna. It is considered difficult to realize the system of Patent Document 1.

  In the system of Patent Document 2, since an optical pattern formed on the back surface of a card is read, if a plurality of cards overlap, reading becomes difficult, the card pattern is fixed, and the card data is rewritten. There is a problem that can not be.

  Note that the device of Patent Document 3 is based on the premise that the card is arranged at a fixed reading position, and the card position and front / back are specified at the reading position. However, the position, posture, front and back, etc. cannot be specified.

JP 2008-125972 A JP 2002-301264 A JP 2006-277669 A

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems of the background art, can prevent an excessive increase in the number of antennas, can uniquely detect card position information on the board surface, and the like. It is an object of the present invention to provide a card arrangement identification system that enables card identification and the like even when two cards overlap.

  In order to achieve the above object, a card arrangement identification system according to the present invention includes a first antenna unit, a second antenna unit, an antenna switch, a reader / writer, and a management device. A card arrangement identification system for reading information from a card having at least one IC chip and three RF tag antennas arranged asymmetrically, wherein the first antenna unit extends in a first direction. A first antenna surface having a plurality of first loop antennas arranged at equal intervals in a second direction orthogonal to the direction, and a plurality of matching circuits provided along with the plurality of first loop antennas. The second antenna unit includes a plurality of second loop antennas extending in the second direction and arranged at equal intervals in the first direction, and a plurality of second loop antennas. A plurality of matching circuits provided in association with the first antenna surface, forming a second antenna surface, wherein the first antenna surface and the second antenna surface are superimposed, and the plurality of first loop antennas The arrangement interval and the arrangement interval of the plurality of second loop antennas are set in a range in which the relative intervals of the three RF tag antennas can be distinguished, and the reader / writer has the first and second antenna units of the first and second antenna units. The RF tag data is read while switching between the two loop antennas, the loop antenna number that can be read and the RF tag data are combined and notified to the management device. Based on the combination with the read RF tag data, the location information of the RF tag on the card is calculated, and the position, angle, and front / back of the card are determined. That. Since the system uses an RFID type wireless tag, it is possible to detect a position or the like in which individual cards are distinguished even if the cards are stacked.

  In the card arrangement identification system, the first antenna unit has a plurality of first loop antennas extending in the first direction and arranged at equal intervals in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction, and the second antenna. The unit has a plurality of second loop antennas extending in the second direction and arranged at equal intervals in the first direction, and the first antenna surface of the first antenna unit and the second antenna surface of the second antenna unit Are superimposed on each other, so that the card information can be read through the RF tag antenna and IC chip of the card as the position where the first and second loop antennas intersect. At this time, the card is an asymmetrical arrangement of three RF tag antennas, and the arrangement intervals of the plurality of first loop antennas and the arrangement intervals of the plurality of second loop antennas distinguish the relative intervals of the three RF tag antennas. Since it is set in a possible range, it is possible to reliably determine the position, posture, and front / back of the card from the combination of the antenna number from which the data is read and the data from the read RF tag.

According to a specific aspect of the present invention, in the system described above, in the card, the distance between the outer shapes of the first RF tag antenna and the second RF tag antenna is D12, and the distance between the outer shapes of the second RF tag antenna and the third RF tag antenna. The distance is D23, the distance between the outer shapes of the first RF tag antenna and the third RF tag antenna is D13, the arrangement interval of the plurality of first loop antennas is SR1, and the arrangement interval of the plurality of second loop antennas is SC1. If
D23 ≧ 0
D12 ≧ D23 + SR1
D12 ≧ D23 + SC1
D13 ≧ D12 + SR1
D13 ≧ D12 + SC1
Meet all of the conditions. In this case, the arrangement of the three RF tag antennas in the card is easily and reliably detected as an intersection of the first RF tag antenna constituting the first antenna unit and the second RF tag antenna constituting the second antenna unit.

  According to another aspect of the present invention, the card has three IC chips individually connected to three RF tag antennas. In this case, the positions of the three RF tag antennas can be detected individually.

  According to still another aspect of the present invention, a card includes one IC chip connected to two RF tag antennas and one connected to the remaining one RF tag antenna among the three RF tag antennas. IC chip. In this case, the positions of the three RF tag antennas can be detected separately for the two RF tag antennas and the remaining one RF tag antenna.

According to still another aspect of the present invention, the card has one IC chip connected to three RF tag antennas, and the axis parallel to the long side of the card is the X axis, and the axis is parallel to the short side. Is the Y axis, of the distance between the centers of the first RF tag antenna and the second RF tag antenna, the length of the component parallel to the X axis is DX4, the length of the component parallel to the Y axis is DY4, and the second RF Of the distance between the centers of the tag antenna and the third RF tag antenna, the length of the component parallel to the X axis is DX5, the length of the component parallel to the Y axis is DY5, and the first RF tag antenna and the third RF tag antenna The length of the component parallel to the X axis is DX6, the length of the component parallel to the Y axis is DY6, and the array interval of the plurality of first loop antennas is SR1, Arrangement interval of second loop antenna In the case of the SC1,
DX4 ≧ SR1, SC1
DY4 ≧ SR1, SC1
DX6>DX5> DX4
DY5>DY6> DY4
DX5> DY6
DX6-DY5 ≧ SR1
DX6-DY5 ≧ SC1
Meet all of the conditions. In this case, even if the card has one IC chip connected to the three RF tag antennas, the position, posture, and front and back of the card can be reliably determined.

  According to still another aspect of the present invention, the first and second antenna units are disposed between the first and second loop antennas and the matching circuit to individually short-circuit the first and second loop antennas. A switch circuit capable of In this case, by selecting a specific loop antenna from a plurality of first loop antennas and simultaneously short-circuiting an unselected antenna loop, the unselected loop antenna will not function as a resonant antenna. It is possible to prevent the other loop antenna from affecting the characteristics of the antenna, and to improve the accuracy of the location information obtained from the reading result of the RF tag antenna or the IC chip.

  According to still another aspect of the present invention, the first loop antenna includes a plurality of third loop antennas extending in the first direction and arranged in the second direction at the same interval as the first antenna unit. A third antenna unit that forms a third antenna surface by being connected to a plurality of matching circuits provided along with it, and extends in the second direction at the same interval as the second antenna unit in the first direction. A fourth antenna unit having a plurality of fourth loop antennas arranged and being connected to a plurality of matching circuits provided in association with the plurality of second loop antennas to form a fourth antenna surface; The third antenna surface and the fourth antenna surface are superimposed, and the connection pattern of the third loop antenna to the plurality of matching circuits is that of the first loop antenna. The connection patterns for the first loop antenna are different from the connection patterns for the number of matching circuits, and the connection patterns for the plurality of matching circuits of the fourth loop antenna are the plurality of matching circuits of the second loop antenna. The connection pattern of the second loop antenna is different from that of the connection pattern. In this case, the reader / writer for the first and second antenna units can be used for the third and fourth antenna units, and a card on a large board can be detected quickly and efficiently with a small number of reader / writers. .

  According to still another aspect of the present invention, the connection pattern for the plurality of matching circuits of the third loop antenna skips one connection pattern for the plurality of matching circuits of the first loop antenna, and the second half is the first half. The connection pattern for the plurality of matching circuits of the fourth loop antenna is skipped by one connection pattern for the plurality of matching circuits of the second loop antenna, and the second half is between the first half. Between.

It is a figure explaining the card arrangement | positioning identification system which concerns on 1st Embodiment. (A), (B) is a figure explaining the arrangement | sequence of a loop antenna. It is a figure explaining the loop antenna shown in FIG. 1, and its peripheral circuit. It is a figure explaining the detection of the position of a card | curd by the card arrangement | positioning identification system of FIG. It is a figure explaining the card | curd used for the card arrangement | positioning identification system which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure explaining the card | curd used for the card arrangement | positioning identification system which concerns on 3rd Embodiment. It is a figure explaining the card arrangement | positioning identification system which concerns on 4th Embodiment.

[First Embodiment]
Hereinafter, the card arrangement identification system according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

  A card arrangement identification system 100 shown in FIG. 1 is for specifying unique information, position, posture, front and back, etc. of the card 50 on the board surface 71. The antenna device 10 for signal transmission and reception, and the antenna device 10 Among these, an antenna switching device 20 that operates a specific loop antenna, a reader / writer 30 that drives the antenna device 10, and a management device 80 that operates the reader / writer 30 to identify the arrangement of cards are provided.

  The antenna device 10 includes a first antenna unit 11 and a second antenna unit 12.

  The first antenna unit 11 includes a plurality of first loop antennas 13 that extend in the x direction that is the first direction and are arranged at equal intervals in the y direction that is the second direction orthogonal to the first direction, and these And a plurality of matching circuits 14 provided in association with the first loop antenna 13. In a specific example, the first loop antenna 13 is composed of n first loop antennas R1 to R11,... Rn, and the matching circuit 14 is also composed of n matching circuits MR1 to MR11,.

  As schematically shown in FIG. 2A, the first loop antennas R1 to Rn of the first antenna unit 11 are individually connected to the matching circuits MR1 to MRn, respectively. The first loop antennas R1 to Rn form a first antenna surface AP1 having a two-dimensional extent in the x direction and the y direction as a whole. The interval between the central axes of the first loop antennas R1 to Rn is the arrangement interval SR1 of the first loop antennas R1 to Rn.

  As schematically shown in FIG. 3, the first antenna unit 11 is disposed between the first loop antennas R1 to Rn and the matching circuits MR1 to MRn and individually shorts the first loop antennas R1 to Rn. It further has a switch circuit 18 capable of

  Returning to FIG. 1, the second antenna unit 12 includes a plurality of second loop antennas 15 extending in the y direction that is the second direction and arranged at equal intervals in the x direction that is the first direction. And a plurality of matching circuits 16 provided in association with the two-loop antenna 15. In the specific example, the second loop antenna 15 includes n second loop antennas C1 to C19,... Cn, and the matching circuit 16 also includes n matching circuits MC1 to MC19,.

  As schematically shown in FIG. 2B, the second loop antennas C1 to Cn of the second antenna unit 12 are individually connected to the matching circuits MC1 to MCn, respectively. The second loop antennas C1 to Cn form a second antenna surface AP2 having a two-dimensional extent in the x direction and the y direction as a whole. The second antenna surface AP2 overlaps with the first antenna surface AP1 and has a substantially equal area. The interval between the central axes of the second loop antennas C1 to Cn is the arrangement interval SC2 of the second loop antennas C1 to Cn. In the specific example, the arrangement interval SC1 of the second loop antennas C1 to Cn is substantially equal to the arrangement interval SR1 of the first loop antennas R1 to Rn, but the arrangement intervals SC1 and SR1 may be different. . The loop width Wc of the second loop antennas C1 to Cn is substantially equal to the loop width Wr of the first loop antennas R1 to Rn, but the loop widths Wr and Wc may be different. Further, the loop widths Wr and Wc of the loop antennas R1 to Rn and C1 to Cn can be narrowed to about half of the arrangement intervals SC1 and SR1, for example.

  Returning to FIG. 1, the second antenna unit 12 is omitted between the second loop antennas C <b> 1 to Cn and the matching circuits MC <b> 1 to MCn to individually short-circuit the second loop antennas C <b> 1 to Cn. It further has a switch circuit that can do this. The switch circuit of the second antenna unit 12 has the same structure as the switch circuit 18 of the first antenna unit 11.

  The antenna switching device 20 is operated by a control signal from the reader / writer 30, and selects and operates one of the first loop antennas R1 to Rn and the second loop antennas C1 to Cn. At this time, the antenna switching device 20 causes the switch circuit 18 of FIG. 3 to short-circuit the loop antenna that is not selected and is not operated among the first loop antennas R1 to Rn and the second loop antennas C1 to Cn. That is, when the reader / writer 30 selects any one of the loop antennas R1 to Rn and C1 to Cn as an antenna for reading the RF tag data from the card 50, the switch circuit connected to the loop antenna. When 18 is opened, it functions as a resonant antenna. On the other hand, when the reader / writer 30 does not select any one of the loop antennas R1 to Rn and C1 to Cn as an antenna for reading the RF tag data from the card 50, the switch circuit 18 connected to the loop antenna. Will not function as a resonant antenna. As a result, the characteristics of the selected loop antenna can be prevented from being influenced by other loop antennas, and the accuracy of the location information obtained from the data reading result from the RF tag of the card 50 can be improved.

  The antenna switching device 20 can be provided separately for the first loop antennas R1 to Rn and the second loop antennas C1 to Cn. In this case, the reader / writer 30 can be provided for each antenna switching device 20. Furthermore, the first loop antennas R1 to Rn can be divided into small groups, and the antenna switching device 20 and the reader / writer 30 can be provided for each group.

  The reader / writer 30 shown in FIG. 1 includes a transmission circuit that generates a transmission signal, a reception circuit that receives and decodes the reception signal, and a control circuit that controls the operation of the reader / writer 30, although detailed description is omitted. . Among these, the control circuit selects one of the loop antennas R1 to Rn and C1 to Cn by outputting a control signal to the antenna switching device 20 and the switch circuit 18 as described above. To perform the detection operation. The reader / writer 30 analyzes the ID information and the like of the RF tag from the card 50 from the received signal detected by the selected loop antenna, and positions of the loop antennas R1 to Rn and C1 to Cn selected in association with the ID information. Get information.

  The management device 80 controls the operation of the reader / writer 30, and the ID information of the card 50 read by the reader / writer 30 and the loop antennas R1 to Rn and C1 to Cn selected and used for reading at that time. Store in association with location information. In addition, the management device 80 uses the three RF tag antennas 51 and 52 provided on the card 50 based on the ID information and the like of the card 50 and the position information of the loop antennas R1 to Rn and C1 to Cn associated therewith. , 53 (hereinafter also referred to as location information). Furthermore, the management device 80 uses the relative arrangement relationship of the arrangement (location information) of the three RF tag antennas 51, 52, 53 provided on the card 50, and the RF tag antennas 51, 52, 53, the position, posture, and front / back of the card 50 are determined by collating the information with respect to the arrangement relationship 53, and the result is output.

  Hereinafter, the arrangement relationship of the three RF tag antennas 51, 52, and 53 provided on the card 50 will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the card 50 includes three RF tag antennas 51, 52, 53 and three IC chips 54, 55, 56 individually connected to the three RF tag antennas 51, 52, 53. Have. The three RF tag antennas 51, 52, 53 are arranged asymmetrically, and it is possible to discriminate not only the position but also the front and back sides.

Hereinafter, the arrangement of the three RF tag antennas 51, 52, and 53 will be described in detail. Here, the RF tag antenna 51 is referred to as a first RF tag antenna T1, the RF tag antenna 52 is referred to as a second RF tag antenna T2, and the RF tag antenna 53 is referred to as a third RF tag antenna T3. The distance between the outer shapes of the first RF tag antenna T1 and the second RF tag antenna T2 is D12, the distance between the outer shapes of the second RF tag antenna T2 and the third RF tag antenna T3 is D23, and the first RF tag antenna T1 and the third RF tag antenna. The distance between the outer shapes with T3 is D13. As already described, the arrangement interval of the plurality of first loop antennas R1 to Rn is SR1, and the arrangement interval of the plurality of second loop antennas C1 to Cn is SC1. In the case of the present embodiment, the arrangement relationship of the three RF tag antennas 51, 52, 53 provided on the card 50, that is, the first to third RF tag antennas T1 to T3, is expressed by the following conditional expressions (1) to (5).
D23 ≧ 0 (1)
D12 ≧ D23 + SR1 (2)
D12 ≧ D23 + SC1 (3)
D13 ≧ D12 + SR1 (4)
D13 ≧ D12 + SC1 (5)
It is what satisfies. Here, the conditional expression (1) indicates that the distance D23 between the outer shapes of the second and third RF tag antennas T2 and T3 that are closest to each other is zero or more, and the first loop antennas R1 to Rn and the second loop antennas C1 to Cn This means that detection is possible with at least two different loop antennas. Conditional expressions (2) and (3) indicate that the distance D12 between the first and second RF tag antennas T1 and T2 that are next adjacent to each other is the first loop antenna R1 in the y direction with respect to the minimum distance D23 between the outer shapes. It means that it is larger than the sum of the arrangement interval SR1 of Rn or the arrangement interval SC1 of the second loop antennas C1 to Cn in the x direction. Further, in the conditional expressions (4) and (5), the distance between the outer shapes D13 of the first and third RF tag antennas T1 and T3 that are the farthest apart is the arrangement interval SR1 or the arrangement interval SC1 with respect to the intermediate outer shape distance D12. Means greater than the sum. As described above, the distance D23 between the outer shapes of the second and third RF tag antennas T2 and T3, the distance D12 between the outer shapes of the first and second RF tag antennas T1 and T2, and the distance between the outer shapes of the first and third RF tag antennas T1 and T3. The distance D13 can be detected as an apex of an asymmetric triangle by the first loop antennas R1 to Rn and the second loop antennas C1 to Cn. Here, the center position of the card 50 can be determined from the intermediate position between the first and third RF tag antennas T1 and T3 among the detected location information of the first to third RF tag antennas T1 to T3. Moreover, the front and back of the card | curd 50 can be determined from the arrangement | positioning relationship of the location information of 1st-3rd RF tag antenna T1-T3.

  In the case shown in FIG. 4, the first RF tag antenna T1 can be read by the loop antennas R7 and C5, and the address (location information) of the first RF tag antenna T1, that is, the first IC chip IT1 connected thereto, is (R7, C5 Similarly, the address of the second RF tag antenna T2 can be read by the loop antennas R7 and C9, and the address of the second RF tag antenna T2, that is, the second IC chip IT2 connected thereto is (R7). , C9). Further, the address of the third RF tag antenna T3 can be read by the loop antennas R5 and C9, and the address of the third RF tag antenna T3, that is, the third IC chip IT3 connected thereto, can be determined as (R5, C9). it can. Thus, the center-to-center distance T12 between the first and second RF tag antennas T1 and T2, the center-to-center distance T23 between the second and third RF tag antennas T2 and T3, and the center between the first and third RF tag antennas T1 and T3. It can be seen that the distance T13 is detected as an apex of an asymmetric triangle in which the lengths of all three sides are different, and the card 50 is a table and the center is located at (R6, C7).

  If the above principle is used, it becomes possible to distinguish the posture states of all the cards 50 in the eight-pattern arrangement shown in FIG. Specifically, a card CA1 corresponding to the case where the card 50 has an angle of 0 ° in the table, a card CA2 corresponding to an angle of 90 ° in the table, and a card CA3 corresponding to an angle of 180 ° in the table. The card CA4 corresponds to the case where the angle is 270 ° in the front, the card CA5 corresponds to the case where the angle is 0 ° on the back, the card CA6 corresponds to the case where the angle is 90 ° on the back, and the angle is 180 ° on the back. It is possible to determine which state is the card CA7 corresponding to the case, the card CA8 corresponding to the case where the angle is 270 ° on the back, and the like. The center position of the card 50 can also be calculated. ID information and the like can be read from the IC chips IT1 to IT3 provided on the card 50, and the type of the card 50 can be determined.

  In the above description, the posture of the card 50 is detected in units of 90 °, but the posture of the card 50 can also be determined in units of finer angles. In this case, if necessary, the arrangement interval SR1 of the first loop antennas R1 to Rn and the arrangement interval SC1 of the second loop antennas C1 to Cn are further reduced to increase the position detection resolution.

  In the card arrangement identification system 100 according to the first embodiment described above, the first antenna units 11 extend in the first direction (x direction) and are arranged in a second direction (y direction) at equal intervals. 1 loop antenna 13 (R1 to Rn), and the second antenna unit 12 has a plurality of second loop antennas 15 (C1 to Cn) extending in the second direction and arranged at equal intervals in the first direction. In addition, since the first antenna surface AP1 of the first antenna unit 11 and the second antenna surface AP2 of the second antenna unit 12 are overlapped, the position where the first and second loop antennas 13 and 15 intersect is the card. Information on the card 50 can be read through the 50 RF tag antennas T1 to T3 and the IC chips IT1 to IT3. At this time, the card 50 has three RF tag antennas T1 to T3 arranged asymmetrically, and the arrangement interval SR1 of the plurality of first loop antennas 13 and the arrangement interval SC1 of the plurality of second loop antennas 15 are three. Since the center intervals T12, T23, and T13, which are relative intervals of the RF tag antennas T1 to T3, are set in a distinguishable range, the combination of the antenna number from which data is read and the data from the read RF tag is used to determine the card 50 The position, posture, and front and back sides can be reliably determined.

[Second Embodiment]
Hereinafter, the card arrangement identification system according to the second embodiment will be described. The card arrangement identification system according to the second embodiment is a modification of the first embodiment, and parts that are not particularly described are the same as those in the first embodiment.

  FIG. 5A corresponds to FIG. 4 and is a diagram for explaining a card 250 that is a target of discrimination by the card arrangement identification system 100 of the second embodiment. In this case, the IC chip is partially shared. Specifically, the card 250 includes one IC chip IT4 connected to two RF tag antennas T41 and T42 among the three RF tag antennas T41, T42, and T51 and the remaining one RF tag antenna T51. It has one IC chip IT5 connected. That is, in the RF tag built in the card 50, two antennas T41 and T42 are connected to one IC chip IT4, and both RF tag antennas T41 and T42 are connected in series or in parallel. Yes. Note that the arrangement relationship between the three RF tag antennas T41, T42, and T51 shown in FIG. 5A is the same as the arrangement relationship between the three RF tag antennas T1, T2, and T3 shown in FIG. In this case, the positions of the three RF tag antennas T41, T42, and T51 are detected separately for the two RF tag antennas T41, T42 and the remaining one RF tag antenna T51. Here, even if two RF tag antennas T41 and T42 are connected to one IC chip IT4, if there is an unreadable area between both RF tag antennas TT41 and T42, the addresses of the RF tag antennas T41 and T42 are specified. can do. That is, the RF tag antennas T41 and T42 are connected to the same IC chip IT4, and two different addresses exist in the same IC chip IT4, but the RF tag antennas T51 and ICs constituting the other RF tag. Since only one address is obtained for the chip IT5, the position, posture (angle, etc.), and front and back of the card 250 are determined from the positional relationship of the addresses of these RF tag antennas T41, T42, and T51 as in the first embodiment. Can be calculated.

  FIG. 5B shows a modification of FIG. 5A, and the card 250 is connected to two RF tag antennas T41, T42 among the three RF tag antennas T41, T42, T51. It has one IC chip IT4 and one IC chip IT5 connected to the remaining one RF tag antenna T51. However, the arrangement relationship between the three RF tag antennas T41, T42, and T51 shown in FIG. 5B is the same as the arrangement relationship between the three RF tag antennas T1, T3, and T2 shown in FIG.

  FIG. 5C shows another modification of FIG. 5A, and the card 250 is connected to two RF tag antennas T41, T42 among the three RF tag antennas T41, T42, T51. One IC chip IT4 and one IC chip IT5 connected to the remaining one RF tag antenna T51. However, the arrangement relationship between the three RF tag antennas T41, T42, and T51 shown in FIG. 5C is the same as the arrangement relationship between the three RF tag antennas T3, T1, and T2 shown in FIG.

  In the case of the present embodiment, since the position, posture (angle, etc.), and front and back of the card 250 are calculated using the two IC chips IT4, IT5, the cost of the card 250 can be reduced as compared with the case of the first embodiment. It becomes possible.

[Third Embodiment]
Hereinafter, the card arrangement identification system according to the third embodiment will be described. The card arrangement identification system according to the third embodiment is a modification of the first embodiment, and parts that are not particularly described are the same as those in the first embodiment.

  FIG. 6 corresponds to FIG. 4 and is a diagram for explaining a card 350 that is a discrimination target by the card arrangement identification system 100 of the third embodiment. In this case, the IC chip is shared. Specifically, the card 350 has three RF tag antennas T61, T62, and T63, and one IC chip IT6 connected thereto.

Hereinafter, the arrangement and the like of the three RF tag antennas T61, T62, and T63 will be described. The axis parallel to the long side of the card 350 is defined as the X axis, the axis parallel to the short side of the card 350 is defined as the Y axis, and the X axis of the center-to-center distance between the first RF tag antenna T61 and the second RF tag antenna T62 is The length of the parallel component is DX4, and the length of the component parallel to the Y axis is DY4. Of the distance between the centers of the second RF tag antenna T62 and the third RF tag antenna T63, the length of the component parallel to the X axis is DX5, and the length of the component parallel to the Y axis is DY5. Furthermore, of the distance between the centers of the first RF tag antenna T61 and the third RF tag antenna T63, the length of the component parallel to the X axis is DX5, and the length of the component parallel to the Y axis is DY5. In the case of this embodiment, the arrangement relationship of the three RF tag antennas 51, 52, 53 provided on the card 50, that is, the first to third RF tag antennas T61 to T63, is expressed by the following conditional expressions (6) to (12).
DX4 ≧ SR1, SC1 (6)
DY4 ≧ SR1, SC1 (7)
DX6>DX5> DX4 (8)
DY5>DY6> DY4 (9)
DX5> DY6 (10)
DX6-DY5 ≧ SR1 (11)
DX6-DY5 ≧ SC1 (12)
All the conditions are met.

  In the present embodiment, three RF tag antennas T61, T62, T63 are connected to one IC chip IT6, and the antenna arrangement in the card is reviewed so that all antenna addresses can be calculated as different addresses. In order to recognize all as different addresses, it is necessary that all three RF tag antennas T61, T62, T63 can be recognized by different antenna numbers of the horizontally long first loop antennas 13 (R1 to Rn). It needs to be recognized by different antenna numbers of the two-loop antenna 15 (C1 to Cn). Conditional expressions (6) and (7) mean that the distance between the centers of the first and second RF tag antennas T61 and T62 is the shortest. Conditional expressions (8) to (10) mean that the center of the first RF tag antenna T61 is farther from the center of the third RF tag antenna T63 than the center of the second RF tag antenna T62. Conditional expressions (11) and (12) indicate that DX6 is longer than the array interval of the loop antennas than DY5, and the X-axis direction from which DX6 is obtained is the long side of the card. Means.

  In the case of this embodiment, the position, orientation (angle, etc.), and front and back of the card 350 can be calculated from the positional relationship of the addresses of the RF tag antennas T61, T62, and T63, as in the first embodiment. At this time, since the position, posture (angle, etc.) and front and back of the card 350 are calculated using one IC chip IT6, the cost of the card 350 can be further reduced as compared with the case of the second embodiment.

[Fourth Embodiment]
Hereinafter, the card arrangement identification system according to the fourth embodiment will be described. The card arrangement identification system according to the fourth embodiment is a modification of the first embodiment, and parts that are not particularly described are the same as those in the first embodiment.

  FIG. 7 corresponds to a part of FIG. 1 and illustrates the antenna device 10 and the like incorporated in the card arrangement identification system 100 of the fourth embodiment. The antenna device 10 includes a third antenna unit 411 obtained by extending the first antenna unit 11 and a fourth antenna unit 412 obtained by extending the second antenna unit 12. The third antenna unit 411 has a plurality of third loop antennas R1b to Rnb extending in the first direction (x direction) and arranged in the second direction (y direction) at the same regular intervals as the first antenna unit 11. . The third antenna unit 411 is connected to a plurality of matching circuits MR1 to MRn provided in association with the first loop antennas R1a to Rna of the first antenna unit 11, and forms a third antenna surface AP3. The fourth antenna unit 412 has a plurality of fourth loop antennas C1b to Cnb extending in the second direction (y direction) and arranged in the first direction (x direction) at the same regular intervals as the second antenna unit 12. . The fourth antenna unit 412 is connected to a plurality of matching circuits MC1 to MCn provided in association with the second loop antennas C1a to Cna of the second antenna unit 12 to form a fourth antenna surface AP4.

  In addition, the first and third antenna surfaces AP1 and AP3 that are the first and third antenna units 11 and 411 are combined, and the second and fourth antenna surfaces AP2 that are the second and fourth antenna units 12 and 412 that are combined. , AP4 are superimposed.

  Further, the connection patterns of the third loop antennas R1b to Rnb to the plurality of matching circuits MR1 to MRn are the first loop antennas R1a to Rna to the connection patterns of the first loop antennas R1a to Rna to the matching circuits MR1 to MRn. The connection patterns are different so as to be thinned out. Similarly, the connection patterns for the plurality of matching circuits MC1 to MCn of the fourth loop antennas C1b to Cnb are the second loop antennas C1a to Cn with respect to the connection patterns for the plurality of matching circuits MC1 to MCn of the second loop antennas C1a to Cna. It is different so as to thin out the connection pattern of Cna.

  One horizontally long first loop antenna R1a to Rna and another horizontally long first loop antenna R1b to Rnb are connected in series or in parallel to each matching circuit MR1 to MRn, and all the loop antennas are equally spaced. They are lined up. More specifically, the first loop antennas R1a to Rna are arranged in order to form the first antenna surface AP1, and then the matching circuits MR1 to MRn common to the first loop antennas R1a to Rna. Among the first loop antennas R1b to Rnb connected to the first loop antennas R1b to Rn, odd-numbered or even-numbered loop antennas are arranged side by side as indicated by reference characters R1b, R3b,. The remaining even-numbered or odd-numbered loop antennas are arranged side by side as shown by reference numerals R2b, R4b,... To form the third antenna surface AP3. On the other hand, first, the second loop antennas C1a to Cna are arranged in order to form the second antenna surface AP2, and then connected to the matching circuits MC1 to MCn common to the second loop antennas C1a to Cna. Among the second loop antennas C1b to Cnb, odd-numbered or even-numbered loop antennas are arranged side by side as indicated by reference numerals R1b, R3b,... And the remaining ones of the first loop antennas C1b to Cnb. , Even-numbered or odd-numbered loop antennas are arranged side by side as shown by reference numerals C2b, C4b,... To form the fourth antenna surface AP4.

  In the case of the present embodiment, the cards 50 on the first antenna surface AP1 and the third antenna surface AP3 are distinguished by devising the arrangement of the first loop antennas R1b to Rnb and the second loop antennas C1b to Cnb. The second antenna surface AP2 and the fourth antenna surface AP4 can be distinguished. That is, when the address difference between the RF tag antennas T1 to T3 constituting the same card 50 does not exceed a predetermined threshold, the card 50 is detected on the first and second antenna surfaces AP1 and AP2, and the same card 50 is detected. When the address difference between the RF tag antennas T1 to T3 that constitutes exceeds a predetermined threshold, it can be seen that the card 50 is detected on the third and fourth antenna surfaces AP3 and AP4. For the cards 50 detected on the third and fourth antenna surfaces AP3 and AP4, the arrangement of the loop antennas R1b to Rnb and C1b to Cnb is made to coincide with the arrangement of the loop antennas R1a to Rna and C1a to Cna. Address conversion is performed, the relative intervals between the three RF tag antennas T1 to T3 are calculated, and the position, posture, and front and back of the card 50 can be discriminated.

In the example of FIG. 7, the location information of the card 50 arranged in the left area of the drawing is T1: (R4, C2).
T2: (R4, C6)
T3: (R2, C6)
It has become. On the other hand, the location information of the card 50 arranged in the right area of the drawing is T1: (R4, C7).
T2: (R4, C6)
T3: (R2, C6)
It has become. Here, when both cards 50 and 50 are detected, the addresses of the RF tag antennas T2 and T3 are the same, but the addresses of the RF tag antenna T1 are different from each other, and the address numbers of the RF tag antennas T1 and T2 are the same. From the combination pattern, the two cards 50 and 50 in the left and right regions, that is, the second and fourth antenna surfaces AP2 and AP4 can be distinguished.

  According to the present embodiment, the antenna surface can be secured four times without increasing the number of antenna switching devices 20 and reader / writers 30. Therefore, the number of antenna switching is reduced, and the RF tag including the RF tag antennas T1 to T3 and the like. The reading processing speed can be increased.

  That is, in the case of this embodiment, the reader / writer for the first and second antenna units can also be used for the third and fourth antenna units, and a card on a large board can be quickly and efficiently used with a small number of reader / writers. Can be detected.

  In the fourth embodiment, the arrangement of the loop antennas R1b to Rnb, C1b to Cnb is an odd number or an even number with reference to the arrangement of the loop antennas R1a to Rna, C1a to Cna. However, the arrangement of the loop antennas R1b to Rnb and C1b to Cnb can be set in consideration of an integer remainder system of 3 or more.

  Although the present invention has been described based on the above embodiments, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments.

  For example, in the above embodiment, the contour shape of the antenna surfaces AP1 and AP2 of the antenna units 11 and 12 is not limited to a quadrangle, and can be various shapes.

  Further, it is also possible to determine not only the position, posture, and back and front of the card 50, but only the position and back of the card 50, or only the position and posture, for example. That is, at least one or more of the position, posture, and front and back of the card 50 can be determined.

AP1, AP2 ... antenna surface, IT1-IT3 ... IC chip, IT4, IT5, IT6 ... IC chip, MC1-MCn ... matching circuit, MR1-MRn ... matching circuit, R1-Rn ... first loop antenna, R1a-Rna ... 1st loop antenna, R1b-Rnb ... 3rd loop antenna, C1-Cn ... 2nd loop antenna, C1a-Cna ... 2nd loop antenna, C1b-Cnb ... 4th loop antenna, T1, T2, T3 ... tag antenna, T41, T42, T51 ... tag antenna, T61, T62, T63 ... tag antenna, 10 ... antenna device, 11 ... first antenna unit, 12 ... second antenna unit, 13 ... first loop antenna, 14 ... matching circuit, 15 ... second loop antenna, 16 ... matching circuit, 18 ... Switch circuit, 20 ... Antenna switching device, 30 ... Reader / writer, 50 ... Card, 51, 52, 53 ... Tag antenna, 54, 55, 56 ... IC chip, 71 ... Board surface, 80 ... Management device, 81 ... Storage unit, 100: Card arrangement identification system

Claims (8)

A first antenna unit, a second antenna unit, an antenna switcher, a reader / writer, and a management device are provided. The RF antenna includes three RF tag antennas and at least one IC chip, and the three RF tag antennas are asymmetric. A card arrangement identification system for reading information from arranged cards,
The first antenna unit is attached to a plurality of first loop antennas extending in a first direction and arranged at equal intervals in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction, and the plurality of first loop antennas. A plurality of matching circuits provided to form a first antenna surface,
The second antenna unit includes a plurality of second loop antennas extending in the second direction and arranged at equal intervals in the first direction, and a plurality of second loop antennas attached to the plurality of second loop antennas. And forming a second antenna surface with a matching circuit,
The first antenna surface and the second antenna surface overlap,
The arrangement intervals of the plurality of first loop antennas and the arrangement intervals of the plurality of second loop antennas are set in a range in which the relative intervals of the three RF tag antennas can be distinguished,
The reader / writer reads the RF tag data while switching the plurality of first and second loop antennas of the first and second antenna units, and the loop antenna number and the RF tag data that can be read, To the management device in combination,
The management device calculates the location information of the RF tag on the card from the combination of the antenna number that has read each data and the data of the RF tag that has been read, and determines the position, posture, and front and back of the card. A card arrangement identification system characterized by discriminating. Among the cards, the distance between the outer shapes of the first RF tag antenna and the second RF tag antenna is D12, the distance between the outer shapes of the second RF tag antenna and the third RF tag antenna is D23, and the first RF tag antenna and the third RF tag antenna. And the distance between the outer shapes of the plurality of first loop antennas as SR1, and the plurality of second loop antennas as SC1.
D23 ≧ 0
D12 ≧ D23 + SR1
D12 ≧ D23 + SC1
D13 ≧ D12 + SR1
D13 ≧ D12 + SC1
The card arrangement identification system according to claim 1, wherein all of the conditions are satisfied.   The card placement / identification system according to claim 2, wherein the card has three IC chips individually connected to the three RF tag antennas.   The card has one IC chip connected to two RF tag antennas among the three RF tag antennas, and one IC chip connected to the remaining one RF tag antenna. The card arrangement identification system according to claim 2. The card has one IC chip connected to the three RF tag antennas,
The axis parallel to the long side of the card is the X axis, the axis parallel to the short side is the Y axis, and the length of the component parallel to the X axis in the distance between the centers of the first RF tag antenna and the second RF tag antenna. Is DX4, the length of the component parallel to the Y axis is DY4, and the length of the component parallel to the X axis of the distance between the center of the second RF tag antenna and the third RF tag antenna is DX5, parallel to the Y axis. The length of the component that is parallel to the X axis of the distance between the centers of the first RF tag antenna and the third RF tag antenna is DX6, and the length of the component that is parallel to the Y axis is DY6. And when the arrangement interval of the plurality of first loop antennas is SR1, and the arrangement interval of the plurality of second loop antennas is SC1,
DX4 ≧ SR1, SC1
DY4 ≧ SR1, SC1
DX6>DX5> DX4
DY5>DY6> DY4
DX5> DY6
DX6-DY5 ≧ SR1
DX6-DY5 ≧ SC1
The card arrangement identification system according to claim 1, wherein all of the conditions are satisfied.   The first and second antenna units further include a switch circuit that is disposed between the first and second loop antennas and a matching circuit and can individually short-circuit the first and second loop antennas. The card arrangement identification system according to any one of claims 1 to 5. The plurality of third loop antennas extending in the first direction and arranged in the second direction at the same interval as the first antenna unit, and provided in association with the plurality of first loop antennas The third antenna unit that forms a third antenna surface by being connected to a plurality of matching circuits, and extends in the second direction and is arranged at the same interval in the first direction as the second antenna unit. And a fourth antenna unit that forms a fourth antenna surface by being connected to a plurality of matching circuits provided in association with the plurality of second loop antennas. ,
The first and third antenna surfaces and the second and fourth antenna surfaces overlap,
The connection pattern of the third loop antenna to the plurality of matching circuits is different from the connection pattern of the first loop antenna to the plurality of matching circuits so that the connection pattern of the first loop antenna is thinned out. ,
The connection pattern of the fourth loop antenna to the plurality of matching circuits is different from the connection pattern of the second loop antenna to the plurality of matching circuits so that the connection pattern of the second loop antenna is thinned out. The card arrangement identification system according to any one of claims 1 to 6. The connection pattern of the third loop antenna with respect to the plurality of matching circuits is a pattern in which the connection pattern of the first loop antenna with respect to the plurality of matching circuits is skipped by one and the latter half is sandwiched between the first half. Yes,
The connection pattern of the fourth loop antenna to the plurality of matching circuits is such that one connection pattern of the second loop antenna to the plurality of matching circuits is skipped, and the latter half is sandwiched between the first half. The card arrangement identification system according to claim 7, wherein the card arrangement identification system is provided.

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