JP4083174B2 - Wireless tag and method of using wireless tag - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a wireless tag having at least one IC chip and an antenna therein and capable of wirelessly communicating data, and an article management method using the wireless tag.

  A wireless tag including an IC chip and an antenna capable of storing information can transmit and receive data to and from a wireless device called an interrogator or a reader via radio waves. Such a wireless tag is disclosed in Patent Document 1, for example. In particular, wireless tags that use a radio frequency of 300 MHz or higher and do not have a power source inside have a long communicable distance with the reader and are relatively inexpensive, so they can be used for barcode replacement. Etc. are being considered. Such wireless tags that do not have a power source are disclosed in Patent Document 2 and Patent Document 3, for example.

  When the wireless tag does not have a power source for driving the IC chip, a method of obtaining a voltage by converting a radio wave from the reader into a direct current using a diode or a capacitor inside the IC chip is used. In addition, when the wireless tag has the above power source, a button-type battery, a film-like battery, a large-capacity capacitor, or the like is used as an IC driving power source.

  Radio waves used for communication between a wireless tag and a reader generally have a smaller propagation loss in the air as the transmission power increases, the communication distance between the wireless tag and the reader increases, and the frequency decreases. Therefore, the communication distance becomes long.

  FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a conventional wireless tag. The wireless tag 11 has an antenna unit 3 and an IC chip 2, and L in the figure indicates the length of the antenna in the longitudinal direction. The antenna unit 3 is designed to be impedance matched with the IC chip 2 only in a specific frequency band. The antenna unit 3 has a linear shape having a length corresponding to approximately a half wavelength, and is fed at the center thereof. That is, the antenna length L when using the 900 MHz band for communication is approximately 16 cm, and similarly, the antenna length L when using the 2.45 GHz band is approximately 6 cm. Therefore, when performing product management using both the 900 MHz band and the 2.45 GHz band for one product using this wireless tag, it is designed to match the impedance to the different frequency bands. Two types of tags are required.

  FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing another example of a conventional wireless tag. The wireless tag 12 has an antenna unit 3 and an IC chip 2, and L in the figure indicates the length of the antenna in the longitudinal direction. In order to solve the above problem, the antenna unit 3 has a substantially L shape so that impedance matching is performed in both of two different frequency bands. However, not only does the structure become complicated, but the length L of the antenna also has a low frequency. The entire wireless tag becomes larger because it must be matched to the band. Furthermore, the communication distance may be shortened from the viewpoint of transmission power consumption.

  Here, a problem in practical use will be described using a wireless tag having antennas of different frequency bands of 900 MHz band and 2.45 GHz band as an example.

  Since the 900 MHz band antenna has a lower frequency than the 2.45 GHz band antenna, there is an advantage that the communication distance between the reader and the wireless tag is several times longer than the communication distance of the 2.45 GHz band antenna. Suitable for communication. On the other hand, the antenna of 900 MHz band has the disadvantage that the length of the antenna becomes longer and the antenna becomes larger than the antenna of 2.45 GHz band, and the 2.45 GHz antenna is advantageous from the viewpoint of miniaturization. In addition, in practical use, there is a demand from users to increase the communication distance for inventory management of products, but to reduce the communication distance from the viewpoint of privacy protection after purchasing the product.

  In order to satisfy the user's request as described above, when the conventional wireless tag 11 as shown in FIG. 8 is used, for example, two types of tags of 900 MHz band and 2.45 GHz band are required. Not only does this increase the cost, it also has the disadvantage of complicated management.

  For the same purpose, when the conventional wireless tag 12 as shown in FIG. 9 is used, it is not necessary to prepare a plurality of types. However, since the wireless tag must be compatible with at least 900 MHz band, Has the disadvantage of becoming shorter.

Japanese Patent No. 2555361 JP 2002-298106 A JP 2004-295297 A

The technical problem of the present invention is to provide a wireless tag that is small, low-cost, and easy to manage, and a method of using the wireless tag.

According to the present invention, there is provided a wireless tag having at least an antenna portion and an IC chip, wherein the antenna portion is formed so as to be a line target on a line including the IC chip, and has at least one fixing portion. The antenna unit comprising the above-described excisable part, the antenna part comprising the fixed part and all the excisable parts is impedance-matched to a first frequency band, and the fixed part is After the excisable portion is removed, the wireless tag is obtained in which impedance matching is performed in a frequency band different from the first frequency band.

According to the present invention, there is provided a wireless tag having at least an antenna portion and an IC chip, wherein the antenna portion is formed so as to be a line target on a line including the IC chip, and has a fixing portion and at least 3 The antenna unit is composed of the above-described excisable part, and the antenna part is composed of the fixed part and at least three or more excisable parts, and is impedance-matched to the first frequency band, and at least two or more After the excisable part is removed, at least one or more of the excisable part and the fixed part remaining are impedance-matched to a frequency band different from the first frequency band. A wireless tag is obtained.

  According to the present invention, the wireless tag is characterized in that the first frequency band is 800 MHz to 1000 MHz, and the frequency band different from the first frequency band is 2400 MHz to 2500 MHz. A tag is obtained.

  According to the present invention, there is provided the wireless tag, characterized in that at least a part of the wireless tag including the fixing portion has a fixing means or an adhesive means for fixing to another member. It is done.

According to the present invention, the wireless tag is attached to an article, communication is performed in the first frequency band, the excisable portion is removed, and communication is performed in a frequency band different from the first frequency band. The method of using the wireless tag according to any one of claims 1 to 4 is obtained.

  In the present invention, at least a part of the antenna portion of the wireless tag can be easily removed, and by changing the antenna length before and after the antenna portion is removed, the wireless tag can be impedance-matched to a plurality of frequency bands. Provide tags. The frequency band can be changed in several stages depending on the application, but it corresponds to the lowest frequency band before ablation, and can gradually correspond to the higher frequency band as the ablation area increases. .

  In addition, considering the size and application of the entire RFID tag, the corresponding frequency band is preferably 500 MHz or more and 3000 MHz or less before excision of the antenna part, and 900 MHz or more and 6000 MHz or less after excision. The user can set it freely. Practically, considering regulatory values at home and abroad, 800 MHz to 1000 MHz before excision, and 2400 MHz to 2500 MHz (2.4 GHz to 2.5 GHz) only in the fixed part after excision are particularly preferable.

  A part of the wireless tag including the antenna excisable part may be excised using a tool such as scissors or a knife. Processing such as providing perforations in advance or re-adhering after cutting as in a sealing method may be performed. As described above, when excising the excavable portion of the antenna, it is practical to excise a part of the wireless tag including the antenna peripheral portion instead of removing only a part of the antenna portion. .

  Further, in order to easily cut off a part of the antenna, it is preferable to provide means for fixing / adhering to other members only on a part of the wireless tag. At this time, the fixing / adhering means is not provided in the wireless tag excision part including the antenna excisable part, and more preferably, the fixing / adhering means is provided only in the remaining part of the wireless tag including the antenna fixing part. As a fixing means, it is preferable to add a fixing member such as a clip or a string. Adhesive means may be double-sided tape or adhesive. However, when pasting on merchandise, consumers can easily peel it off after purchase, or no trace will remain after peeling. It is also possible to use an appropriate bonding means. For the above purpose, it is also preferable to use a water-soluble adhesive. Moreover, you may provide the fixing / adhesion means which can be easily peeled even if it is a radio | wireless tag excision part containing an excisable part as needed.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the radio | wireless tag which can change easily the frequency band corresponding to an antenna according to a utilization purpose or the management stage can be provided. Furthermore, by using the wireless tag of the present invention, it has become possible to construct a more flexible management system for articles and the like with a minimum quantity or occupied area without using a large number of wireless tags.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of a wireless tag 1 according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. FIG. 1A shows the wireless tag 1 before part of the antenna part 3 is excised, and the antenna part 3 is composed of a fixing part 3a and an excisable part 3b. FIG. 1B shows the wireless tag 1 after the excisable portion 3b is excised, and the antenna is composed of a fixing portion 3a. A case of using the 900 MHz band in FIG. 1A and the 2.45 GHz band in FIG. 1B will be described. In FIG. 1A, the wireless tag 1 has a dipole antenna portion 3 impedance-matched to a frequency of 900 MHz, and the antenna length L is about 16 cm. Further, in FIG. 1B, the wireless tag remaining part 5 has a fixed part 3a impedance-matched to a frequency of 2.45 GHz band to form a dipole antenna, and the antenna length M is about 6 cm. is there. Note that the wireless tag 1 of FIG. 1A is provided with perforations 4 in advance, and the wireless tag excision part 6 including the excisable part 3b can be easily excised.

  The wireless tag shown in FIG. 1 is prepared, and the wireless tag 1 shown in FIG. 1A is attached to a product manufactured in a factory. At this time, the wireless tag substantially fixed only the remaining portion 5 of the wireless tag to the product using an adhesive. This product was delivered from the factory to the retail store via the warehouse and displayed as a storefront product. During this time, since the antenna unit 3 is impedance matched to the 900 MHz band, long distance communication was performed using a 900 MHz band reader for product management. Thereafter, 100 of these products are purchased together by a certain company, and the purchasing company separates the RFID tag excision part 6 including the excisable part 3b from the perforation 4 and forms the in-house facility as the RFID tag 1 in FIG. For internal use, use management was performed using a 2.45 GHz band reader. By using the management frequency band for short distances, it became possible to manage usage while protecting privacy.

(Embodiment 2)
FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of the wireless tag 1 according to the second embodiment of the present invention. The wireless tag 1 includes a wireless tag removing unit 6 and a wireless tag remaining unit 5, and the continuously formed antenna unit 3 is impedance-matched to the 700 MHz band. Further, the wireless tag remaining part 5 after the wireless tag cutting part 6 is cut is impedance-matched to the 3.0 GHz band. The wireless tag excision part 6 is fixed so as to be integrated with a double-sided tape after being cut along the notch part 43 except for the antenna part 3 so as to be easily removed, thereby forming the wireless tag 1. This wireless tag was used for product management using the wireless tag shown in FIG. 1, and the same effect could be obtained.

(Embodiment 3)
FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of the wireless tag 1 according to the third embodiment of the present invention. The wireless tag 1 includes a wireless tag removing unit 6 and a wireless tag remaining portion 5, and the continuously formed antenna unit 3 is impedance-matched to the 900 MHz band. Further, the wireless tag remaining part 5 after the wireless tag cutting part 6 is cut is impedance-matched to the 2.45 GHz band. The wireless tag excision part 6 is fixed so as to be integrated with a double-sided tape after being cut along the notch part 43 except for the antenna part 3 so as to be easily removed, thereby forming the wireless tag 1. This wireless tag was used for product management using the wireless tag shown in FIG. 1, and the same effect could be obtained.

(Embodiment 4)
FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of the wireless tag 1 according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention. The wireless tag 1 includes wireless tag removing portions 61 and 62 and a wireless tag remaining portion 5, and the continuously formed antenna portion 3 is impedance-matched to the 1000 MHz band. The wireless tag after the wireless tag cutting portion 61 is cut by the perforation 41 is impedance-matched to the 1500 MHz band, and the wireless tag remaining portion 5 after the wireless tag cutting portion 62 is cut by the perforation 42 is 2.45 GHz. Impedance matched to the band.

  The wireless tag 1 shown in FIG. 3 was prepared, and from the factory shipment to the retail store delivery, a long distance communication was performed using a 1000 MHz band reader, and the same management was performed. After that, the RFID tag excision part 61 is excised by the perforation 41, and used for the storefront display of a retail store having a smaller sales area than that of the first embodiment, and the in-store product management is performed using a 1500 MHz band reader. It was. Thereafter, 200 of these products are purchased together in a public facility, and the purchased public facility separates the RFID tag excision part 62 from the perforation 42 and uses it in the public facility, and uses a 2.45 GHz band reader. We managed usage. By using the management frequency band for short distances, it has become possible to manage the use of retail stores and public facilities while protecting privacy.

(Embodiment 5)
FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of the wireless tag 1 according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention. The wireless tag 1 includes a wireless tag removing unit 6 and a wireless tag remaining portion 5, and the continuously formed antenna unit 3 is impedance-matched to the 900 MHz band. Further, the wireless tag remaining part 5 after the wireless tag cutting part 6 is cut is impedance-matched to the 2.45 GHz band. The wireless tag excision portion 6 is fixed so as to be integrated with a double-sided tape after being cut along the cut portion 41 except for the antenna portion 3 so as to be easily removed, thereby forming the wireless tag 1. This wireless tag was used for product management using the wireless tag shown in FIG. 1, and the same effect could be obtained.

(Embodiment 6)
FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of the wireless tag 1 according to the sixth embodiment of the present invention. The wireless tag 1 includes wireless tag removing units 63 and 64 and a wireless tag remaining portion 5, and the continuously formed antenna unit 3 is impedance-matched to the 915 MHz band. The wireless tag after the wireless tag excision part 63 is excised by the perforation 43 is impedance-matched to the 950 MHz band, and the wireless tag remaining part 5 after the radio tag excision part 64 is excised by the perforation 44 is 2.45 GHz. Impedance matched to the band.

  The wireless tag 1 shown in FIG. 5 was prepared, and production management in a factory in North America was long-distance communication management using a 915 MHz band reader. After that, when the product was delivered to Japan, the RFID tag excision part 63 was excised by the perforation 43 and used for the storefront display of the retail store, and the in-store product management was performed using a reader of 950 MHz band. Thereafter, 300 of these products are purchased together at a public facility, and the purchased public facility separates the RFID tag excision section 64 from the perforation 44 and uses it in the public facility, and uses a 2.45 GHz band reader. We managed usage. By changing the management frequency band, it has become possible to manage usage while protecting the privacy of both retail stores and public facilities.

(Embodiment 7)
FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of the wireless tag 1 according to the seventh embodiment of the present invention. The wireless tag 1 is embedded in a product price tag 7. The wireless tag 1 includes a wireless tag removing unit 6 and a wireless tag remaining unit 5, and the wireless tag removing unit 6 is generally used for product management generally performed through a perforation 4 provided on a product price tag 7. The product is easily and unconsciously removed by the operation of tearing off a part of the price tag of the product. In this embodiment, the wireless tag 1 is embedded in the price tag 7 of the product, but it goes without saying that the same operation and effect can be obtained even if it is attached by a general adhesive means. The string 13 is an example of a fixing unit that fixes the wireless tag 1 to the product body via the product price tag 7.

(Embodiment 8)
FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of the wireless tag 1 according to the eighth embodiment of the present invention. The wireless tag 1 includes a wireless tag removing portion 6 and a wireless tag remaining portion 5, and only the wireless tag remaining portion 5 is bonded to the article 9 via an adhesive 8. With this configuration, the wireless tag removing unit 6 can be easily excised through the perforation 4. In addition, using the same wireless tag, the wireless tag removing unit 6 was temporarily fixed with another adhesive having a weaker adhesive force than the adhesive 8 and less likely to leave a trace. The same effect was obtained. . The product 9 may be a product itself, and even if it is a product price tag, the same effect is obtained.

  The embodiments of the present invention have been described with reference to examples. However, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, and the present invention can be applied even if there is a design change within the scope of the present invention. include. That is, it goes without saying that the present invention also includes various variations and modifications that would be obvious to those skilled in the art.

  By using the wireless tag of the present invention, in the management of various goods represented by distribution management, sales management, inventory management, usage status management of products, etc., it is flexible to changes in management means, managers, management areas, etc. It is possible to build a system that can respond.

Explanatory drawing of the wireless tag by Embodiment 1 of this invention. FIG. 1A shows a state before part of the wireless tag is removed, and FIG. 1B shows a state after part of the wireless tag is removed. Explanatory drawing of the radio | wireless tag by Embodiment 2 and Embodiment 3 of this invention. Explanatory drawing of the radio | wireless tag by Embodiment 4 of this invention. Explanatory drawing of the radio | wireless tag by Embodiment 5 of this invention. Explanatory drawing of the wireless tag by Embodiment 6 of this invention. Explanatory drawing of the radio | wireless tag by Embodiment 7 of this invention. Explanatory drawing of the wireless tag by Embodiment 8 of this invention. Explanatory drawing of the conventional radio | wireless tag. Explanatory drawing of the other conventional wireless tag.

Explanation of symbols

1, 11, 12 RFID tag 2 IC chip 3, 3a, 3b Antenna part (3a is a fixed part, 3b is a resectable part)
4, 41, 42 Perforation 43 Cut section 5 Wireless tag remaining section 6, 61, 62, 63, 64 Wireless tag removal section 7 Product price tag
8 Adhesive 9 Article 13 String L, M Length of antenna

Claims (5)

A wireless tag having at least an antenna part and an IC chip, wherein the antenna part is formed to be a line object on a line including the IC chip, and includes a fixing part and at least one or more excisable parts. The antenna unit comprising the fixed part and all the excisable parts is impedance-matched to a first frequency band, and the fixed part removes all the excisable parts After that, the wireless tag is impedance-matched to a frequency band different from the first frequency band. A wireless tag having at least an antenna part and an IC chip, wherein the antenna part is formed to be a line object on a line including the IC chip, and includes a fixing part and at least three or more excisable parts. The antenna unit comprising the fixed part and at least three or more excisable parts is impedance-matched to a first frequency band, and at least two or more excisable parts are removed. After that, the wireless tag, wherein the remaining continuous portion including at least one excisable portion and the fixing portion is impedance-matched to a frequency band different from the first frequency band.   3. The wireless tag according to claim 1, wherein the first frequency band is 800 MHz to 1000 MHz, and the frequency band different from the first frequency is 2400 MHz to 2500 MHz. Wireless tag. The wireless tag according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein at least a part of the wireless tag including the fixing portion has a fixing means or an adhesive means for fixing to another member. A featured wireless tag. The wireless tag is attached to an article, and after performing communication in the first frequency band, the excisable portion is removed, and communication is performed in a frequency band different from the first frequency band. A method of using the wireless tag according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

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