JP2017184227A - Non-contact communication device and toy - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a non-contact communication device and a toy that can obtain electronic information from various formats of information retention media.SOLUTION: A non-contact communication device 20 of a toy 10 comprises: an antenna coil 21; and a circuit board 22 on which mounted is a signal processing circuit 23 for processing a signal transmitted between an information retention medium 100 and the non-contact communication device via the antenna coil 21. The antenna coil 21 includes a first coil loop section 211, and a second coil loop section 212 arranged inside the first coil loop section 211. The first coil loop section 211 and the second coil loop section 212 are wound around a straight line CL in the same direction and interconnected in series with the signal processing circuit 23.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a non-contact communication apparatus and a toy that perform wireless communication with an information holding medium that holds electronic information.

  In non-contact communication at a relatively short distance known as NFC (Near field communication), a signal is generally transmitted using an AC magnetic field formed between the non-contact communication device and the information holding medium as a transmission medium.

  The antennas of the non-contact communication apparatus and the information holding medium are generally configured by loop coils. An AC magnetic field is formed when an AC current is passed through the antenna coil of the non-contact communication device. This AC magnetic field generates an induced electromotive force in the antenna coil of the information holding medium. The holding medium IC is driven. Then, the electronic information held in the IC of the information holding medium is transmitted to the antenna coil of the non-contact communication device from the antenna coil of the information holding medium by being placed on the AC magnetic field.

  The diameter of the antenna coil of the non-contact communication device is larger than the diameter of the antenna coil of the information holding medium. Is a generally spherical region with a diameter of. When the antenna coil of the information holding medium is arranged in this area, stable communication is established between the non-contact communication device and the information holding medium.

  In order to expand the communicable area of the non-contact communication device, the diameter of the antenna coil of the non-contact communication device may be increased. If the diameter of the antenna coil is large, communication with the information holding medium may not be stable. In the antenna device described in Patent Document 1, a plurality of antenna elements having relatively small apertures are arranged to expand a communicable area, and further, communication is stabilized at various points in the area.

JP 2008-167144 A

  The antenna coil and IC of the information holding medium are provided on the information holding medium in the form of a tag in which these are integrated. There are various forms of tags, for example, a card type in which an antenna coil and an IC are sealed in a card-size resin, and a chip type in which an antenna coil and an IC are sealed in a chip-size resin. The diameter of the antenna coil varies depending on the form of the tag, and the nature of the alternating magnetic field formed around the antenna coil also varies depending on the form of the tag. For example, an antenna coil of a card type tag forms a magnetic field over a relatively wide range, and an antenna coil of a chip type tag forms a magnetic field concentrated in a relatively narrow range.

  The antenna coil of the non-contact communication device is designed according to the tag of the target form, and becomes incapable of communication due to the difference in the properties of the magnetic field between the tags of different forms or the communicable area There was a risk of narrowing. In the antenna device described in Patent Document 1, a plurality of antenna elements having relatively small diameters are arranged from the viewpoint of expanding a communicable region, and communication with a relatively small tag corresponding to the antenna element is possible. Although the area can be expanded, expansion of the communicable area with a relatively large tag cannot be expected. Moreover, since a plurality of antenna elements are used, there is a concern about an increase in manufacturing cost.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a non-contact communication device and a toy that can acquire electronic information from various types of information holding media.

  A non-contact communication apparatus according to the present invention is a non-contact communication apparatus that wirelessly communicates with an information holding medium that holds electronic information, between an antenna coil and the information holding medium via the antenna coil. A signal processing circuit for processing a signal transmitted in the antenna coil, wherein the antenna coil includes a first coil loop portion and a second coil loop portion disposed inside the first coil loop portion. The first coil loop portion and the second coil loop portion are wound in the same direction around a straight line passing through the first coil loop portion and the second coil loop portion, and are connected to the signal processing circuit in series with each other. It is characterized by.

  In the non-contact communication apparatus according to the present invention, the first coil loop part and the second coil loop part may be arranged on the same axis.

  In the non-contact communication device according to the present invention, the first coil loop part and the second coil loop part may have similar loop shapes.

  A toy according to the present invention includes a communication unit configured by the non-contact communication device, an operation unit, and a storage unit that stores a plurality of operation data for operating the operation unit in association with the electronic information. A control unit that operates the operation unit based on operation data corresponding to the electronic information acquired by the communication unit among the plurality of operation data stored in the storage unit. .

  In the toy according to the present invention, the operation unit may output an effect including at least one of sound, light, display, and movement.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the non-contact communication apparatus and toy which can acquire electronic information from the information holding medium of various forms can be provided.

It is a perspective view of a non-contact communication apparatus and a toy for explaining an embodiment of the present invention. It is a functional block diagram of the toy of FIG. (A) is a schematic diagram of an AC magnetic field formed by the first coil loop portion of FIG. 1, and (B) is a schematic diagram of an AC magnetic field formed by the second coil loop portion of FIG. ) Is a schematic diagram of the intensity distribution of an alternating magnetic field formed around the antenna coil of FIG. It is a perspective view of an example of an information retention medium. (A) is a top view which shows the relationship between the antenna coil of the toy of FIG. 1, and the antenna coil of the information retention medium of FIG. 4, (B) is sectional drawing. It is a perspective view of the other example of an information holding medium. (A) is a top view which shows the relationship between the antenna coil of the toy of FIG. 1, and the antenna coil of the information retention medium of FIG. 6, (B) is sectional drawing.

  DETAILED DESCRIPTION Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention (hereinafter referred to as “embodiments”) will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Note that the same number is assigned to the same element throughout the description of the embodiment. The drawings are viewed in the direction of the reference numerals.

  FIG. 1 shows an example of a non-contact communication device and a toy for explaining an embodiment of the present invention.

  The toy 10 exchanges electronic information with an information holding medium that holds electronic information, and operates based on the electronic information acquired from the information holding medium.

  The toy 10 includes a non-contact communication device 20 that performs wireless communication with an information holding medium. The non-contact communication device 20 is accommodated in a housing (not shown) that forms the outer shape of the toy 10. The non-contact communication device 20 includes an antenna coil 21 and a circuit board 22 on which a signal processing circuit that processes a signal transmitted between the information holding medium via the antenna coil 21 is mounted.

  The antenna coil 21 includes a first coil loop portion 211 and a second coil loop portion 212 that is disposed inside the first coil loop portion 211. The first coil loop section 211 and the second coil loop section 212 are wound in the same direction around the straight line CL that penetrates the first coil loop section 211 and the second coil loop section 212, and are connected to each other in series with the signal processing of the circuit board 22. Connected to the circuit. In this example, the first coil loop portion 211 and the second coil loop portion 212 have a substantially circular loop shape similar to each other, and are arranged on the same axis and on the same plane with the straight line CL as the central axis. Has been.

  FIG. 2 shows functional blocks of the toy 10.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the toy 10 includes a communication unit 31, an operation unit 32, a storage unit 33, a control unit 34, a power supply unit 35, and an operation unit 36.

  The communication unit 31 is configured by the non-contact communication device 20 having the signal processing circuit 23 mounted on the antenna coil 21 and the circuit board 22, and transmits signals to and from the information holding medium 100. The operation unit 32 includes a sound generator such as a speaker and a light emitting element such as an LED, and is configured to output an effect including at least one of sound and light. The storage unit 33 includes a ROM and the like, and stores a plurality of operation data for operating the operation unit 32 in association with electronic information held in the information holding medium 100. In addition, the operation unit 32 can also include a display body using a display medium or the like, an operation mechanism using a motor, or the like.

  The control unit 34 is configured mainly with a CPU, and controls the communication unit 31, the operation unit 32, and the storage unit 33 in an integrated manner. The control unit 34 operates the operation unit 32 based on operation data corresponding to the electronic information acquired from the information holding medium 100 by the communication unit 31 among the plurality of operation data stored in the storage unit 33.

  The power supply unit 35 supplies operating power to the communication unit 31, the operation unit 32, the storage unit 33, and the control unit 34. The operation unit 36 includes a power switch and a switch that instructs the control unit 34 to start communication by the communication unit 31.

  An information holding medium 100 that communicates with the toy 10 includes an antenna coil 101 and an IC 102, and electronic information is held in the IC 102.

  Communication between the toy 10 and the information holding medium 100 is performed as follows.

  When an instruction to start communication is given by operating the switch of the operation unit 36, an alternating current is supplied to the antenna coil 21 of the toy 10, and an alternating magnetic field is formed around the antenna coil 21. An induced electromotive force is generated in the antenna coil 101 of the information holding medium 100 arranged in the alternating magnetic field, and a current flows, so that the IC 102 to which the antenna coil 101 is connected is driven. Then, a signal modulated based on the electronic information held in the IC 102 is put on an alternating magnetic field, transmitted from the antenna coil 101 of the information holding medium 100 to the antenna coil 21 of the toy 10, and received by the antenna coil 21. The signal is demodulated by the signal processing circuit 23, and electronic information is extracted.

  FIG. 3 shows an example of an alternating magnetic field formed around the antenna coil 21.

  The alternating magnetic field formed around the antenna coil 21 is a combination of the alternating magnetic field formed by the first coil loop portion 211 and the alternating magnetic field formed by the second coil loop portion 212.

  As described above, the first coil loop portion 211 and the second coil loop portion 212 are wound around the straight line CL in the same direction and connected to the signal processing circuit 23 of the circuit board 22 in series with each other. The phase of the alternating magnetic field formed by the first coil loop portion 211 and the alternating magnetic field formed by the second coil loop portion 212 are the same.

  Accordingly, the first coil loop portion 211 and the second coil loop portion 212 are weakened to each other in the non-overlapping region of the first coil loop portion 211 and the second coil loop portion 212, that is, the second coil loop portion 212. In the inner region, that is, in the overlapping region of the first coil loop portion 211 and the second coil loop portion 212, they strengthen each other. Therefore, the alternating magnetic field formed around the antenna coil 21 exhibits a magnetic field strength distribution having peaks in the vicinity of the conductor of the first coil loop portion 211 and in the inner region of the second coil loop portion 212.

  The first coil loop portion 211 and the second coil loop portion 212 of the antenna coil 21 are preferably arranged on the same axis with the straight line CL as the center. Thereby, the axial symmetry of the intensity distribution of the alternating magnetic field formed around the antenna coil 21 can be enhanced, and the communication sensitivity distribution can be made uniform.

  The first coil loop portion 211 and the second coil loop portion 212 preferably have similar loop shapes. Thereby, the axial symmetry of the intensity distribution of the alternating magnetic field formed around the antenna coil 21 can be enhanced, and the communication sensitivity distribution can be made uniform.

  Preferably, the first coil loop portion 211 and the second coil loop portion 212 are preferably provided on substantially the same plane.

  Next, a usage example of the toy 10 will be described with reference to FIGS.

  The information holding medium shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 is a card 100A, and a card type tag 103A in which an antenna coil 101A and an IC 102A are integrated is embedded in the card 100A.

  As shown in FIG. 5A, the antenna coil 101A formed on the card type tag 103A of the card 100A is composed of a circuit pattern with a relatively large diameter formed in a loop shape along the edge of the card 100A. . The diameter of the antenna coil 101 </ b> A is smaller than the diameter of the first coil loop portion 211 of the antenna coil 21 of the toy 10 and larger than the diameter of the second coil loop portion 212.

  As shown in FIG. 5B, the antenna coil 101A deviates from the peak in the inner region of the second coil loop portion 212 in the AC magnetic field intensity distribution formed around the antenna coil 21, but the first coil It arrange | positions in the peak of the vicinity of the conductor of the loop part 211, and the stable communication is established between the toy 10 and the card | curd 100A.

  The information holding medium shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 is a figure 100B, and a chip-type tag 103B in which an antenna coil 101B and an IC 102B are integrated is embedded in the legs of the figure 100B.

  As shown in FIG. 7A, the diameter of the antenna coil 101B formed on the chip-type tag 103B of the figure 100B is smaller than the diameter of the first coil loop portion 211 of the antenna coil 21 of the toy 10, and The diameter is smaller than the diameter of the two-coil loop portion 212.

  As shown in FIG. 7B, the antenna coil 101B deviates from the peak near the conductor of the first coil loop portion 211 in the intensity distribution of the alternating magnetic field formed around the antenna coil 21, but the second It arrange | positions in the peak of the inner area | region of the coil loop part 212, and the stable communication is established between the toy 10 and the figure 100B.

  As described above, according to the toy 10 including the non-contact communication device 20, electronic information can be acquired from various types of information holding media by the set of antenna coil 21 and signal processing circuit 23.

  In the non-contact communication device 20 and the toy 10 described above, the antenna coil 21 has a first coil loop portion 211 and a second coil loop portion 212 disposed inside the first coil loop portion 211. The first coil loop section 211 and the second coil loop section 212 are wound in the same direction around the straight line CL that penetrates the first coil loop section 211 and the second coil loop section 212 and are connected to the circuit board 22 in series with each other. It is connected. For this reason, communication of reading and writing can be established with various types (sizes) of information holding media.

  In addition, the non-contact communication apparatus and toy of this invention are not limited to each embodiment mentioned above, A suitable deformation | transformation, improvement, etc. are possible. For example, the example in which the toy 10 acquires the electronic information held in the IC 102 of the information holding medium 100 has been described. However, the IC 102 can be configured to be rewritable, and the toy 10 can be configured to write the electronic information in the IC 102. .

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Toy 20 Non-contact communication apparatus 21 Antenna coil 22 Circuit board 23 Signal processing circuit 31 Communication part 32 Operation part 33 Storage part 34 Control part 35 Power supply part 36 Operation part 100 Information holding medium 100A Card 100B Figure 101 Antenna coil 101A Antenna coil 101B Antenna coil 103A Card type tag 103B Chip type tag 211 First coil loop part 212 Second coil loop part CL Straight line

Claims (5)

A non-contact communication device that wirelessly communicates with an information holding medium that holds electronic information,
An antenna coil;
A signal processing circuit for processing a signal transmitted to and from the information holding medium via the antenna coil;
With
The antenna coil includes a first coil loop portion and a second coil loop portion disposed inside the first coil loop portion,
The first coil loop unit and the second coil loop unit are wound in the same direction around a straight line passing through the first coil loop unit and the second coil loop unit, and are connected to the signal processing circuit in series with each other. Non-contact communication device. The contactless communication device according to claim 1,
The first coil loop part and the second coil loop part are non-contact communication devices arranged on the same axis. The contactless communication device according to claim 1 or 2,
The first coil loop unit and the second coil loop unit are non-contact communication devices having loop shapes similar to each other. A communication unit configured by the non-contact communication device according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
A moving part;
A storage unit that stores a plurality of operation data for operating the operation unit in association with the electronic information;
A control unit that operates the operation unit based on operation data corresponding to the electronic information acquired by the communication unit among the plurality of operation data stored in the storage unit;
A toy with The toy according to claim 4,
The operation unit is a toy that outputs an effect including at least one of sound, light, display, and movement.

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