JP2015103064A - Rf id tag issuing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an RF ID tag issuing device capable of automatically sticking an RF ID level to a tag.SOLUTION: An RF ID tag issuing device 10 includes: a belt conveyor 55 which has a plurality of holes and conveys a tag 31 by air suction; a plate 56 which is provided below the belt conveyor 55 and extends a conveyance direction of the tag 31 and has a plurality of long holes; an RF ID label sticking device 70 which sticks a printed RF ID label 32 to the tag 31 being conveyed to obtain an RF ID tag 30; an RF ID communication unit 70 which reads out contents written in the RF ID tag 30 having the RF ID label 32 stuck thereto and verifies the written contents; and a multi-axis robot 135 which excludes an RF ID tag 30 in which a writing defect has been found by verification, in the most downstream part 50b of the belt conveyor 55.

Description

  The present invention relates to an RFID tag issuing device.

  Conventionally, various techniques using an RFID tag having an RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) inlet have been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  Patent Document 1 discloses a package sorting system in which packages are sorted by destination while being transported by a transport line. This baggage sorting system uses a wireless tag (RFID tag), which is detachably attached to a baggage and in which information including the destination is written, and writing information of a radio tag attached to the baggage when the baggage is transported on a transport line. An information receiving system for receiving, a sorting processing system for sorting packages by destination based on information received by the information receiving system, and a transporting means for each destination for transporting packages sorted by this sorting processing system by destination Is provided.

  By the way, it is a common practice to hang a tag with a product name, price, etc. printed on each product. An RFID tag can also be used in this type of tag. In this case, by performing wireless communication with an RFID tag that is a lowering tag, it is possible to easily perform storage management of individual products, inventory management, and collective settlement at a cash register, thereby improving workability.

  However, when a common tag is used for a store managed using an RFID tag and a store where the RFID tag cannot be used, the RFID tag function can be used even if the RFID tag is attached to a product in a store where the RFID tag cannot be used. Can not be used, so the RFID inlet is wasted.

  Therefore, for stores where RFID tags cannot be used, normal tags printed with barcodes are created, and for stores where RFID tags can be used, RFID tags labeled with RFID inlets are further labeled. It is conceivable to create an RFID tag by attaching a label manually. In this case, the problem that the RFID inlet is wasted in a store where the RFID tag cannot be used is solved.

  However, it is very troublesome to manually attach the RFID label to the tag, and workability is poor and improvement is required. There is also a desire to use an apparatus that can automatically attach RFID labels to tags.

JP 2002-255340 A

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide an RFID tag issuing device capable of realizing automation of application of an RFID label to a tag.

The present invention is grasped by the following composition.
(1) An RFID tag issuing device of the present invention has a plurality of holes, a belt conveyor that conveys tags by air suction, and a belt conveyor that is provided below the belt conveyor and extends in the tag conveying direction to a predetermined length. A plate having a plurality of long holes formed in the above, an RFID label affixing device that obtains an RFID tag by affixing a printed RFID label to a tag being transported, and contents written on the RFID label of the RFID tag An RFID communication unit that verifies the contents of reading and writing, and a multi-axis robot that eliminates an RFID tag having a writing failure found by the verification at the most downstream portion of the belt conveyor.

(2) The RFID tag issuing device of the present invention is characterized in that, in the configuration of (1), the plate is detachably cut off at a portion facing the RFID communication unit.

(3) The RFID tag issuing device according to the present invention has the above-described configuration (1) or (2), wherein the belt conveyor has a guide for tag positioning in a section in which the air sucked tag is placed. Features.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the RFID tag issuing apparatus which can implement | achieve automation of sticking to the tag of an RFID label can be provided.

It is a figure which shows the RFID tag which is a manufacturing object of embodiment which concerns on this invention, (a) is a top view of a RFID tag, (b) is a top view of a tag, (c) is a top view of a RFID label. It is sectional drawing which cut | disconnects and cuts off the tag by the AA line of Fig.1 (a). It is the schematic of the RFID tag issuing apparatus of embodiment which concerns on this invention. (A) is a B arrow view of FIG. 3, and is a top view which expands and shows a part of tag conveyance part, (b) is a figure which shows the state which isolate | separated the belt conveyor from the state of (a). It is a figure which shows the state which removed some plates in FIG.4 (b). FIG. 4 is a view as viewed from the direction of arrow C in FIG. It is an enlarged view of the RFID label sticking apparatus shown by FIG. (A) is a front view of the RFID label continuous body shown by FIG. 7, (b) is the DD sectional view taken on the line of (a). It is a block diagram of the RFID label sticking apparatus shown by FIG. FIG. 4 is a view as viewed from the direction of arrow E in FIG. 3, and is an enlarged plan view showing a tag distribution unit. (A) is a F arrow line view of FIG. 10, (b) is an effect | action figure of (a). It is a perspective view of the RFID tag shown by FIG. FIG. 4 is a block diagram of the RFID tag issuing device shown in FIG. 3. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a first operation example of the RFID tag issuing device shown in FIG. 3. It is a flowchart which shows the continuation of FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the continuation of FIG. (A) is a figure which shows the example of a display on the PC screen of printing information, (b) is a figure which shows the example of a display on the PC screen of NG information. 4 is a flowchart for explaining a second operation example of the RFID tag issuing device shown in FIG. 3.

  DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention (hereinafter referred to as “embodiments”) will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The same number is attached | subjected to the same element through the whole description of embodiment. The drawings are viewed in the direction of the reference numerals.

(Configuration of RFID tag 30)
Prior to the description of the RFID tag issuing device 10 (see FIG. 3) according to the present embodiment, the configuration of the RFID tag 30 that is a manufacturing target will be described with reference to FIGS.

  As shown in FIG. 1A, the RFID tag 30 includes a tag 31 and an RFID label 32 attached to the surface of the tag 31, and includes an RFID tag issuing device 10 (see FIG. 3). ), The RFID label 32 is automatically attached to the tag 31 and issued.

  As shown in FIG. 1B, the tag 31 has a substantially rectangular shape as shown in FIG. 1B, and the tag 31 is suspended in the vicinity of one short side. A hole 33 is provided. The RFID tag 30 is hung on an individual product (clothing in this example) by a string passed through the hanging hole 33 or the like. The material of the tag 31 is arbitrary, but can be selected from various materials such as paper and synthetic resin.

  As shown in FIG. 1C, the RFID label 32 has a rectangular planar shape and has a printing surface 32a on the surface. Various prints (in this example, a product name print 35a, a clothing size print 35b, a clothing color print 35c, a bar code print 35d, and a clothing price print are printed on the print surface 32a. Etc.) is given. In the following description, the content printed on the print surface 32a is referred to as “print information”.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the RFID label 32 includes an RFID inlet 36, a surface material 37 made of thermal paper or the like laminated on the surface of the RFID inlet 36, and an RFID label 32 provided on the back side of the RFID inlet 36. An adhesive layer 38 for adhering the tag 31 is provided.

  The RFID inlet 36 is mainly composed of a resin film 36a, has an IC (Integrated Circuit) chip 41 and an RFID antenna 42, and can write and read various information by wireless communication. The number and arrangement of the IC chip 41 and the RFID antenna 42 are arbitrary, but in this example, an example in which a pair of RFID antennas 42 is arranged along the longitudinal direction of the RFID inlet 36 is shown.

(Overall configuration of RFID tag issuing device 10)
Next, the overall configuration of the RFID tag issuing device 10 that issues the RFID tag 30 will be described with reference to FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the RFID tag issuing device 10 includes a base 11, a tag transport unit 50 that is provided on the base 11 and transports the tag 31 and the RFID tag 30, and the most upstream part of the tag transport unit 50. A tag supply unit 60 that supplies a tag 31 to 50a, an RFID label attaching device 70 that obtains an RFID tag 30 by attaching an RFID label 32 to the tag 31 being transported, and an RFID inlet 36 of the RFID tag 30 (see FIG. 2) The RFID communication unit 120 that verifies the contents written in the RFID tag and the RFID tag sorting unit 130 that sorts the RFID tag 30 in the most downstream part 50b of the tag transport unit 50 are provided.

  Further, the RFID tag issuing device 10 includes a first marker portion 12 (see FIG. 10) for applying an insertion position mark 43 to the RFID tag 30 and a second marker portion 13 (see FIG. 10) for applying a sorting mark 45 to the RFID tag 30. Reference). Further, the RFID tag issuing device 10 includes a front / back discriminating sensor 15 that discriminates the front and back of the tag 31 supplied to the tag transport unit 50 and a pasting sensor 16 that is provided below the RFID label pasting device 70 and detects the presence / absence of the tag 31. An activation sensor 17 that activates the RFID communication unit 120, an operation / display unit 18, a main control unit 21 that controls the operation of each unit, and a PC (Personal Computer) 22 connected to the main control unit 21. Prepare.

(Configuration of tag transport unit 50)
Then, the structure of the tag conveyance part 50 is demonstrated based on FIGS.
As shown in FIG. 3, the tag transport unit 50 is disposed on both sides of the suction box 51 provided on the upper portion of the base body 11, the suction compressor 52 for sucking the internal space of the suction box 51, and the suction box 51. A pair of rollers 53, an endless belt conveyor 55 wound around the pair of rollers 53, and a metal plate 56 provided below the belt conveyor 55.

  As shown in FIG. 4A, the belt conveyor 55 has a plurality of holes 55a that are regularly arranged in the conveyance direction of the tag 31 and the direction perpendicular thereto in plan view. The plurality of holes 55a communicate with the internal space of the suction box 51 (see FIG. 3), and the belt conveyor 55 sucks and conveys the tag 31 (see FIG. 3) by air suction through the plurality of holes 55a. .

  As shown in FIG. 4B, the plate 56 is disposed between the belt conveyor 55 and the suction box 51 (see FIG. 3), and has a plurality of long holes 56a formed with a predetermined length L. . Each of the plurality of long holes 56a extends in the transport direction of the tag 31, and is provided side by side in the transport direction of the tag 31 and the direction perpendicular thereto. The width of the long hole 56a is formed shorter than the width of the tag 31 to be conveyed. The plurality of long holes 56 a function to rectify the sucked air between the suction box 51 and the holes 55 a of the belt conveyor 55.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the plate 56 is detachably cut off at a portion facing the RFID communication unit 120, and a part 57 of the plate 56 can be removed. By removing a part 57 of the plate 56, the metal component is removed from the part facing the RFID communication unit 120, and thus radio wave interference is suppressed.

(Configuration of tag supply unit 60)
Then, the structure of the tag supply part 60 is demonstrated based on FIG.
As shown in FIG. 6, the tag supply unit 60 moves the tag storage body 61 in which a plurality of tags 31 are stacked and the uppermost tag 31 in the tag storage body 61 to the uppermost stream portion 50 a of the belt conveyor 55. The multi-axis robot 62 is provided.

  The multi-axis robot 62 has a suction pad 63 capable of sucking the tag 31 by air suction at the lower end, descends from just above the tag storage body 61, and is attracted to the uppermost tag 31 by the suction pad 63 and then rises. . Next, the multi-axis robot 62 moves horizontally above the uppermost stream portion 50 a of the belt conveyor 55 and then descends to release the tag 31 from the suction pad 63 and place it on the uppermost stream portion 50 a of the belt conveyor 55. . Further, the multi-axis robot 62 rises and moves horizontally right above the tag storage 61, and then descends and sucks the next top tag 31 with the suction pad 63.

  The belt conveyor 55 is provided with a guide 65 for positioning the tag 31 in the section where the tag 31 is placed. In this example, a rod-shaped guide 65 is arranged at the side end of the belt conveyor 55 along the conveyance direction of the tag 31. As a result, the tag 31 is placed while its conveyance direction side surface 31 a is guided by the guide 65, and is thus positioned at a normal position on the belt conveyor 55.

(Configuration of RFID label attaching device 70)
Next, the configuration of the RFID label affixing device 70 will be described with reference to FIGS.
As shown in FIG. 7, the RFID label affixing device 70 receives print information from the PC 22 (see FIG. 3), prints the received print information on the RFID label 32, and then prints the print information to the RFID inlet 36. This is a device for writing and further attaching an RFID label 32 to a tag 31.

  The RFID label affixing device 70 includes a print issuing unit 71 that performs printing on the RFID label 32, a writing unit 72 that writes the printing information to the RFID inlet 36 (see FIG. 2) of the printed RFID label 32, and the printing information written therein. And an attaching portion 73 for attaching the RFID label 32 to the tag 31.

  The print issuing unit 71 includes a box-shaped casing 76 having an outlet 75. The casing 76 has an operation unit 77 operated by a user and a display unit 78 that displays the state of the print issuing unit 71. And are provided.

  Inside the housing 76, a label supply shaft 82 that rotatably holds a RFID label continuous body 81 wound in a roll shape, a platen roller 85 that is rotationally driven by a stepping motor 83 (see FIG. 9), and a label A guide roller 86 for guiding the RFID label continuous body 81 from the supply shaft 82 to the platen roller 85 is provided. Furthermore, a thermal head 87 in which a plurality of heating elements are formed on the surface facing the platen roller 85 is provided inside the casing 76. A pitch sensor 88 is provided between the label supply shaft 82 and the platen roller 85.

  As shown in FIG. 8A, the RFID label continuous body 81 is composed of a long strip-shaped mount 81a and a plurality of RFID labels 32 continuously formed at a predetermined pitch P along the longitudinal direction of the mount 81a. Is done. As shown in FIG. 8B, timing marks 91 are provided on the back surface of the mount 81a in accordance with the pitch P of the RFID label 32. This timing mark 91 is detected by a pitch sensor 88 (see FIG. 7).

  Returning to FIG. As shown in FIG. 7, the writing unit 72 includes a guide roller 92 provided in the vicinity of the outlet 75 of the housing 76 and guiding the RFID label continuous body 81 obliquely downward, and the RFID label continuous body 81 guided obliquely downward. A writing antenna 93 disposed below and a shielding plate 95 erected above the writing antenna 93 with the RFID label continuous body 81 interposed therebetween. The writing antenna 93 writes print information to the RFID antenna 42 (see FIG. 8A) of the RFID label 32 by wireless communication. The information written to the IC chip 41 of the RFID label 32 may be a product code or a unique code.

  The sticking unit 73 includes a peeling plate 96 that tapers at an acute angle toward the tag 31 to be conveyed, and a sticking roller 97 provided on the downstream side of the peeling plate 96. In the pasting unit 73, the RFID label 32 is peeled off from the mount 81 a by the peeling plate 96 and stuck on the surface of the tag 31 by the sticking roller 97.

  Furthermore, a control unit 98 that controls the operation of the RFID label affixing device 70 is provided inside the housing 76.

  As shown in FIG. 9, the main control unit 21 is connected to the control unit 98 through the interface 101, and the operation unit 77 and the display unit 78 are connected through the interface 102. The control unit 98 also operates in accordance with a ROM (Read Only Memory) 103 that stores a predetermined control program and font data, and a control program stored in the ROM 103, and a CPU 105 (Central Processing Unit) that controls each unit. And a RAM (Random Access Memory) 106 for storing various data necessary for the operation of the CPU 105, and a platen control circuit for controlling the operations of the stepping motor 83 and the thermal head 87 based on instructions from the CPU 105. 107 and the print control circuit 108 are connected.

  Further, a pitch sensor 88 is connected to the control unit 98 via a pitch control circuit 111, and a DC motor 113 that rotates the mount winding shaft 112 that winds the mount 81 a is connected via the winding control circuit 115. The Furthermore, a label detection sensor 117 is connected to the control unit 98 via a label detection control circuit 116, and a solenoid 119 is connected via a sticking control circuit 118.

(Operation example of RFID label attaching apparatus 70)
An operation example of the RFID label affixing device 70 configured as described above will be described.

  Returning to FIG. 7, first, in the print issuing unit 71, the RFID label continuous body 81 is sandwiched and sent between the platen roller 85 and the thermal head 87, and the thermal head 87 is based on the print information from the PC 22 (see FIG. 3). Thus, printing is performed on the printing surface 32a of the RFID label 32 (see FIG. 8B). The RFID label continuum 81 on which the RFID label 32 has been printed in this way is discharged from the outlet 75 and sent to the writing unit 72.

  The writing unit 72 writes the printing information to the RFID inlet 36 (see FIG. 8B) of the RFID label 32 by the writing antenna 93 based on the printing information from the PC 22 (see FIG. 3). At this time, the shielding plate 95 functions to suppress radio wave interference when writing print information to the RFID inlet 36 and prevent writing to other RFID labels 32. The shielding plate 95 is positioned between the writing antenna 93 and the peeling plate 96 and stands above the printing surface 32 a in a direction intersecting with the conveyance direction of the RFID label continuous body 81.

  When the tag 31 is detected by the sticking sensor 16, the RFID label continuum 81 that has passed through the writing unit 72 is peeled off from the mount 81 a by the peeling plate 96 and pressed against the surface of the tag 31 by the sticking roller 97. . As a result, the RFID label 32 is attached to the surface of the tag 31. At this time, the RFID label 32 is affixed to the tag 31 in a vertically long posture along the transport direction. On the other hand, the used mount 81a is guided to the upstream side in the transport direction and then wound on the mount winding shaft 112.

  In the RFID label affixing device 70 that operates in this manner, the label detection sensor 117 may detect whether or not the RFID label 32 is peeled off from the mount 81a and affixed to the tag 31. Further, when the front / back discriminating sensor 15 discriminates the front / back side of the tag 31 and the printed surface of the tag 31 (the surface on which a pattern or the like is printed) faces upward, the RFID label 32 is not attached to the tag 31. You may control. In this case, for example, the RFID label 32 can be controlled not to be peeled from the mount 81a by moving the position of the peeling plate 96 by the solenoid 119 (see FIG. 9). Various sensors such as a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) camera can be used for the front / back discrimination sensor 15, for example.

(Configuration of RFID tag sorting unit 130 and first and second marker units 12 and 13)
Next, the configuration of the RFID tag sorting unit 130 and the first and second marker units 12 and 13 will be described with reference to FIGS.

  As shown in FIG. 10, the RFID tag sorting unit 130 is provided on the most downstream part 50 b of the belt conveyor 55, and a mounting table 131 on which the RFID tag 30 that has passed through the RFID communication unit 120 (see FIG. 3) is mounted. A non-defective product stacker 132 and a defective stacker 133 disposed adjacent to the mounting table 131 and a multi-axis robot 135 that moves the RFID tag 30 from the mounting table 131 to the good product stacker 132 or the defective stacker 133 are provided. The side 131a of the mounting table 131 on the first and second marker portions 12 and 13 side is from one side 31a in the conveyance direction of the RFID tag 30 mounted on the mounting table 131, as indicated by a broken line in FIG. Is also located inside. That is, the other conveyance direction side surface 31b of the RFID tag 30 mounted on the mounting table 131 is positioned by the guide 137 provided on the mounting table 131, and the RFID tag 30 is positioned in this way. 2, the side surface 31 a in the transport direction slightly protrudes from the side 131 a of the mounting table 131.

  The multi-axis robot 135 has a suction pad 136 capable of attracting the RFID tag 30 by air suction at the lower end. The multi-axis robot 135 descends from directly above the mounting table 131 and is attracted to the RFID tag 30 by the suction pad 136 and then ascends. Next, when the RFID tag 30 is determined to be a non-defective product by verification by the RFID communication unit 120, the multi-axis robot 135 moves the RFID tag 30 from directly above the mounting table 131 to a position directly above the non-defective stacker 132 and then descends. Then, the RFID tag 30 is released from the suction pad 136 and stored in the non-defective product stacker 132. Then, the multi-axis robot 135 rises and horizontally moves directly above the mounting table 131, and then descends and is again attracted to the next RFID tag 30 by the suction pad 136. On the other hand, when the RFID tag 30 is determined to be defective in writing by the verification, the multi-axis robot 135 moves the RFID tag 30 from the mounting table 131 right above the defective stacker 133 and then descends and removes the RFID tag 30 from the suction pad 136. The tag 30 is released and removed to the defective stacker 133.

  The first marker section 12 applies an insertion position mark 43 (see FIG. 12) to the RFID tag 30 next to the write-inferior RFID tag 30 that is found by the verification. Further, the second marker unit 13 applies a sorting mark 45 (see FIG. 12) to the RFID tags 30 with different print information. Here, the “separation” for applying the sorting mark 45 is, for example, an SKU (Stock Keeping Unit).

  In this example, the first and second marker portions 12 and 13 are arranged on the side ends of the mounting table 131. However, if the most downstream portion 50b of the belt conveyor 55 is used, the first and second marker portions are arranged. The positions of 12 and 13 are arbitrary. For example, as indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 10, the first and second marker portions 12 and 13 can be arranged at the side ends of the belt conveyor 55. When the first and second marker portions 12 and 13 are arranged on the side end of the belt conveyor 55, a tag width adjusting guide (not shown) is provided, and the RFID tag 30 is moved along the tag width adjusting guide. The two marker portions 12 and 13 can be brought close to each other.

  For the first and second marker portions 12 and 13, a well-known marking technique (for example, a side coloring device disclosed in JP 2009-233613 A) can be used. In this example, as shown in FIG. 11A, the first marker portion 12 includes a cylindrical ink roller portion 12a, a roller support portion 12b that rotatably supports the ink roller portion 12a, and an RFID tag. 30 is provided with a swinging portion 12d that is pivotably mounted about a rotation shaft 12c that is substantially parallel to the conveying direction 30 and a cylinder portion 12e that rotates the swinging portion 12d. In addition, since the component of the 2nd marker part 13 is the same as the component (code | symbol 12a-code | symbol 12e) of the 1st marker part 12, description is abbreviate | omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 11B, in each of the first and second marker portions 12 and 13, the swinging portion 12d is moved to the cylinder portion 12e in the direction in which the ink roller portion 12a hits the side surface 31a of the RFID tag 30 in the transport direction. Is rotated by bringing the ink roller portion 12a into contact with the side surface 31a of the RFID tag 30 in the conveyance direction. The insertion position mark 43 (see FIG. 12) and the sorting mark 45 (see FIG. 12) obtained by this coloring control the operation of the first and second marker portions 12 and 13 according to the speed of the belt conveyor 55. Thus, the RFID tag 30 can be applied to different positions on the side surface 31a in the conveyance direction. For example, in the first marker portion 12, an insertion position mark 43 (see FIG. 12) is applied to the upstream portion of the side surface 31a in the transport direction on the RFID tag 30 next to the poorly written RFID tag 30 found by the verification. Further, in the second marker portion 13, a sorting mark 45 (see FIG. 12) is applied to a downstream portion of the conveyance direction side surface 31a on the leading RFID tag 30 serving as a partition. Further, the insertion position mark 43 and the sorting mark 45 may be colored with different colors.

(Configuration of main control unit 21)
Next, the structure of the main control part 21 is demonstrated based on FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 13, the main control unit 21 includes a tag supply unit 60, an RFID label sticking device 70, an RFID communication unit 120, an RFID tag sorting unit 130, a tag transport unit 50, a first marker unit 12, a second The marker unit 13, the front / back discrimination sensor 15, the activation sensor 17, and the operation / display unit 18 are connected.

  The RFID communication unit 120 is provided with an antenna that communicates with the IC chip 41 of the RFID inlet 36 and reads information from the IC chip 41. The RFID communication unit 120 is activated when the RFID label 32 created by the RFID label affixing device 70 is detected by the activation sensor 17, reads the contents written in the RFID inlet 36 of the RFID tag 30, and writes the contents. Validate the contents. The main control unit 21 controls the operation of the multi-axis robot 135 of the RFID tag sorting unit 130 based on the verification result of the written content, and sets the RFID tag 30 to the non-defective stacker 132 or the defective stacker 133 according to the quality of the RFID tag 30. Sort out. The main control unit 21 operates the first marker unit 12 to apply the insertion position mark 43 to the RFID tag 30 next to the defectively written RFID tag 30, while applying the insertion position mark 43 to the first RFID tag 30 serving as a delimiter. On the other hand, the insertion position mark 43 is applied by operating the second marker portion 13.

(Operation example of RFID tag issuing device 10)
Next, a first operation example of the RFID tag issuing device 10 by the main control unit 21 and the control unit 98 will be described with reference to FIGS.

  As shown in FIG. 14, after starting, it is determined in step SA1 whether or not print information (see FIG. 17A) has been received. When the print information is received, the process proceeds to step SA2, and the RFID label continuous body 81 is fed out to print on the print surface 32a of the RFID label 32. Then, the process proceeds to step SA3, and the print information is further transferred to the RFID inlet of the RFID label 32. Write to 36 IC chips 41, and proceed to Step SA4. On the other hand, when print information is not received, step SA1 is repeatedly executed.

  In step SA4, it is determined whether or not the printed RFID label 32 has reached a stop position (for example, the tip of the peeling plate 96). If the printed RFID label 32 has reached the stop position, the process proceeds to step SA5, the feeding of the RFID label continuous body 81 is stopped, and the process proceeds to step SA6. On the other hand, if the printed RFID label 32 has not reached the stop position, step SA4 is repeatedly executed.

  In step SA6, it is determined whether or not the tag 31 is detected by the pasting sensor 16. If the tag 31 is detected, the process proceeds to step SA7, the feeding of the RFID label continuous body 81 is resumed, and then the process proceeds to step SA8 where the RFID label 32 is peeled off by the peeling plate 96 and attached to the tag 31. When attaching the RFID label 32 to the tag 31, the RFID label 32 is attached so as not to overlap the hanging hole 33 of the tag 31. Then, the process proceeds to step SA9, the RFID label continuous body 81 is back-fed, the leading end portion of the next unprinted RFID label 32 is returned to the position of the thermal head 87, and the process proceeds to step SA10. On the other hand, if the tag 31 is not detected in step SA6, step SA6 is repeatedly executed.

  As shown in FIG. 15, in step SA10, the activation sensor 17 determines whether or not the RFID tag 30 with the RFID label 32 attached thereto is detected. When the RFID tag 30 is detected, the process proceeds to step SA11, the RFID communication unit 120 reads and verifies the written content of the RFID tag 30, and the process proceeds to step SA12. On the other hand, if the RFID tag 30 is not detected in step SA10, step SA10 is repeatedly executed.

  In step SA12, based on the verification result in step SA11, it is determined whether or not the print information is normally written in the IC chip 41 of the RFID tag 30. If the print information has been normally written in the RFID tag 30, the process proceeds to step SA13, the information of “written” is transmitted to the PC 22, and then the process proceeds to step SA14, where the multi-axis robot 135 attaches the RFID tag 30 to the non-defective stacker. Move to 132 and proceed to Step SA15.

  In step SA15, it is determined whether or not the next print information has been received. If the next print information is received, the process returns to step SA2, and if the next print information is not received, the process ends.

  On the other hand, if the print information is not normally written in the IC chip 41 of the RFID tag 30 in step SA12, the process proceeds to step SA16, and the information “not writable” is transmitted to the PC 22, and then the process proceeds to step SA17. Information (see FIG. 17B) is created. Then, the process proceeds to step SA18, the RFID tag 30 is moved to the defective stacker 133 by the multi-axis robot 135, and the process proceeds to step SA19.

  As shown in FIG. 16, in step SA19, it is determined whether or not the next print information has been received. When the next print information is received, the process proceeds to step SA20, the print information is written in the RFID inlet 36 of the RFID label 32, and the process proceeds to step SA21. The RFID communication unit 120 reads and verifies the written contents of the RFID tag 30. The process proceeds to step SA22. On the other hand, if the next print information is not received in step SA19, the process ends.

  In step SA22, based on the verification result in step SA21, it is determined whether or not the print information is normally written in the RFID tag 30. If the print information has been normally written in the RFID tag 30, the process proceeds to step SA23, and after the “written” information is transmitted to the PC 22, the process proceeds to step SA24. 30 is provided with an insertion position mark 43. In step SA25, the multi-axis robot 135 moves the RFID tag 30 to the non-defective stacker 132, and the process returns to step SA15. On the other hand, if the print information is not normally written in the RFID tag 30, the process returns to step SA16.

(Second operation example of RFID tag issuing device 10)
Subsequently, a second operation example of the RFID tag issuing device 10 will be described with reference to FIG.

  In the first operation example described above, when the RFID tag 30 with poor writing is issued, the number of good RFID tags 30 is insufficient by the number of RFID tags 30 with poor writing with respect to the planned quantity. In the second operation example, the insufficient RFID tags 30 are reissued. First, the operator confirms NG information on the screen of the PC 22 and reissues it using the RFID tag issuing device 10.

  As shown in FIG. 18, when the RFID tag issuing device 10 is started, it is determined in step SB1 whether or not the RFID tag 30 is issued based on the NG information. If the RFID tag 30 is issued based on the NG information, the process proceeds to step SB2. If the RFID tag 30 is not issued, step SB1 is repeatedly executed.

  In step SB2, it is determined whether or not the RFID tag 30 has been reissued for all NG information. If the RFID tag 30 has been reissued for all NG information, the process ends. If the RFID tag 30 has not been reissued for all NG information, step SB2 is repeatedly executed.

  The operator (operator) reissues the RFID issued to the front side or the rear side of the RFID tag 30 to which the insertion position mark 43 is applied, among the aggregate of the RFID tags 30 issued in the first operation example described above. Insert the tag 30. As a result, the shortage of RFID tags 30 caused by defective writing can be compensated, and a set of non-defective RFID tags 30 in a planned quantity can be obtained.

(Effect of embodiment)
The effects of the RFID tag issuing device 10 described above will be described.
According to the present embodiment, the supply of the tag 31, the transport of the tag 31, the writing of the RFID inlet 36 to the IC chip 41, the application of the RFID label 32 to the tag 31, the verification of the written contents of the IC chip 41 of the RFID inlet 36 It is possible to realize automation of a series of operations including the movement of the non-defective RFID tag 30 and the removal of the defective RFID tag 30. In addition, since the RFID tag 30 is wirelessly communicated while being conveyed on the belt conveyor 55, the RFID tag 30 can be produced efficiently.

  In addition, air suction in the plurality of holes 55a of the belt conveyor 55 is made uniform in the conveying direction and the direction perpendicular thereto by the rectifying action by the long holes 56a of the plate 56, so that the tag 31 or the RFID tag 30 is stabilized on the belt conveyor 55. Can be conveyed. In addition, if a part 57 of the plate 56 is removed, radio wave interference due to metal parts can be suppressed at a portion facing the RFID communication unit 120. As a result, the RFID communication unit 120 and the RFID inlet 36 can be wirelessly communicated with high accuracy, and the defectively written RFID tag 30 can be more accurately excluded.

  Further, since the guide 65 is provided on the belt conveyor 55 in the section where the air-suctioned tag 31 is placed, the tag 31 can be placed on the belt conveyor 55 more accurately.

  Further, the insertion position mark 43 is applied to the RFID tag 30 next to the defectively written RFID tag 30 by the first marker unit 12, so that the position of the insertion position mark 43 is set in the stacked RFID tag 30 aggregate. Since it can be visually recognized, the insufficient RFID tags 30 can be easily inserted into the assembly of the RFID tags 30. In addition, by applying the sorting mark 45 to the first RFID tag 30 in the section with different printing information by the second marker portion 13, the position of the sorting mark 45 can be visually recognized in the stacked RFID tag 30 assembly. Lot separation can be easily confirmed.

  In addition, by inserting the insertion position mark 43 and the sorting mark 45 at different positions on the side surface 31a in the transport direction of the RFID tag 30 in accordance with the speed of the belt conveyor 55, the insertion position mark 43 and the sorting mark 45 can be RFIDd with higher accuracy. It can be applied to the tag 30.

  Further, the interference plate 95 standing above the writing antenna 93 at the outlet 75 of the RFID label sticking device 70 can suppress radio wave interference even when printing information is written to the RFID inlet 36.

  Further, if the front and back discriminating sensor 15 provided on the upstream side of the RFID label affixing device 70 discriminates the front and back of the tag 31 so that the RFID label 32 is not affixed to the printed surface on which a pattern or the like is applied, the defective product The generation of the RFID tag 30 can be further prevented.

  In addition, since the RFID label 32 is attached to the tag 31 so as to be vertically long along the transport direction, when the RFID label 32 is peeled off, the thickness portion of the RFID label 32 to be peeled off (more specifically, the film 36a) The width of the (thickness portion) becomes narrower. As a result, the RFID label 32 is more easily peeled from the mount 81a.

  As mentioned above, although this invention was demonstrated using embodiment, it cannot be overemphasized that the technical scope of this invention is not limited to the range as described in the said embodiment. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications or improvements can be added to the above embodiment. Further, it is apparent from the scope of the claims that the embodiments added with such changes or improvements can be included in the technical scope of the present invention.

  For example, in the above-described embodiment, the print information and the write information are output from the PC 22 to the RFID label attaching apparatus 70 via the main control unit 21, but the print information and the write are directly output from the PC 22 to the RFID label attaching apparatus 70. Information may be output. In this case, the RFID communication unit 120 can be provided in the RFID label attaching device 70.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 RFID tag issuing apparatus 12 1st marker part 13 2nd marker part 15 Front and back discrimination | determination sensor 30 RFID tag 31 Tag 31a Conveyance direction side surface 32 RFID label 43 Insertion position mark 45 Sorting mark 50b Most downstream part 55 Belt conveyor 55a Hole 56 Plate 56a Long hole 57 Part of plate 65 Guide 70 RFID label sticking device 75 Exit 95 Shield plate 120 RFID communication unit 135 Multi-axis robot L Predetermined length

Claims (3)

A belt conveyor having a plurality of holes and carrying tags by air suction;
A plate that is provided below the belt conveyor and has a plurality of elongated holes that extend in the carrying direction of the tag and are formed with a predetermined length;
An RFID label affixing device for affixing a printed RFID label to the tag being transported to obtain an RFID tag;
An RFID communication unit that reads the content written on the RFID label of the RFID tag and verifies the written content;
An RFID tag issuing device, comprising: a multi-axis robot that eliminates an RFID tag with poor writing found by verification at the most downstream portion of the belt conveyor.   The RFID tag issuing device according to claim 1, wherein the plate is detachably cut off at a portion facing the RFID communication unit.   The RFID tag issuing device according to claim 1, wherein the belt conveyor has a guide for positioning the tag in a section where the tag sucked by air is placed.

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