JP4828216B2 - RFID system and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an RFID system and an image forming apparatus, and more particularly to an image forming apparatus that forms an image and an RFID system that is used in the image forming apparatus.

  In general, if an image forming apparatus constituting a printer, a copier, a facsimile, or an MFP that combines these is a color model, a combination of a plurality of basic colors (generally, Y, M, C, and K) is combined. An image is being formed. For this reason, the electrophotographic image forming apparatus includes a plurality (types) of toner bottles for each color. The basic color toners stored in the toner bottle are slightly different in color and have different properties. For this reason, a conventional technique is known in which each toner bottle is identified and control according to the attribute of the toner, for example, fine color adjustment is performed.

  In the above-described conventional technology, a bottle identification chip storing information such as the attributes of toner stored in the toner bottle is mounted on the toner bottle. When the toner bottle is mounted on the MFP, The terminal of the circuit and the terminal of the identification chip are electrically connected. As another conventional technique, when a toner bottle is equipped with an RFID chip for identifying a bottle that stores information such as the attributes of toner stored in the toner bottle, and the toner bottle is attached to the MFP, the MFP There is known a technique of transferring information for bottle identification via an antenna for wireless communication with an RFID chip connected to a terminal of the internal circuit.

  As a result, in any of the above-described conventional techniques, the control circuit of the MFP can read and write information stored in the identification chip, and the toner bottle is identified and stored in the identification chip. It is possible to read out the attribute information of the information and perform fine adjustment of the color at the time of print output.

As a conventional technique related to an image forming apparatus using an RFID chip, for example, techniques described in Patent Documents 1 to 3 are known.
JP 2005-43588 A JP 2003-87044 A JP 2005-109920 A

  In the conventional technology for transferring information to and from the RFID chip via an antenna for wireless communication, the reader / writer loop antenna and the modulation / demodulation circuit are connected by a transmission line. There is a problem that the communication performance with the RFID tag is deteriorated due to the external noise superimposed on the RFID tag. The above-mentioned prior art has a problem that it is difficult to route the transmission line connecting the reader / writer loop antenna and the modulation / demodulation circuit at the time of assembling to the machine, and requires a lot of man-hours. There is a problem that the above-mentioned transmission line biting accident may occur in maintenance work by a person, leading to a decrease in reliability.

  The object of the present invention is to solve the problems of the prior art as described above, eliminate the need for transmission lines and eliminate the superposition of external noise, and reduce the number of assembly steps in the assembly line of the manufacturing plant, thereby reducing the assembly cost. It is an object of the present invention to provide an RFID system capable of eliminating a transmission line biting accident in maintenance work and an image forming apparatus incorporating the RFID system.

In order to achieve the above object, according to a first means of the present invention, in an RFID system that performs wireless communication between a loop antenna and an RFID tag, the loop antenna on the reader / writer side and the modulation / demodulation circuit are arranged on the same printed circuit board. The RFID tag is disposed opposite to the loop antenna, and a gap between the loop antenna and a wiring pattern on a printed circuit board surrounding the loop antenna is at least 1/2 or more of a short side of the antenna pattern, The wiring pattern is a GND pattern, the GND pattern is provided with an open portion on at least one side, and the power supply wiring pattern is disposed on the side where the open portion of the GND pattern is not provided. And

Further, the second means of the present invention is the RFID system that performs wireless communication between the loop antenna and the RFID tag, wherein the loop antenna on the reader / writer side and the modulation / demodulation circuit are arranged on the same printed circuit board. The RFID tag is arranged to face the loop antenna, and the gap between the loop antenna and the wiring pattern on the printed circuit board surrounding the loop antenna and the wiring pattern on the opposite surface of the circuit board is at least 1 / of the short side of the antenna pattern. 2 or more, and the wiring pattern and the wiring pattern on the opposite surface of the substrate are GND patterns. Both GND patterns are provided with an open portion on at least one side at the same position. Further, the power wiring pattern is the GND pattern. Arranged on the side where the open part of the pattern or wiring pattern on the opposite side of the board is not provided It is characterized in.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus for forming an image, the RFID tag is mounted on one or a plurality of toner bottles for supplying toner, and the substrate on which the plurality of toner bottles are mounted. An RFID system comprising the first means or the second means is constituted by a loop antenna .

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus that forms a color image by superimposing a plurality of basic colors, the RFID tag mounted on a plurality of toner bottles that supply toner for each basic color; An RFID system using the first means or the second means is constituted by a loop antenna provided on a substrate on which a plurality of toner bottles are mounted .

  According to the present invention, a factor that deteriorates the communication performance with the RFID tag due to external noise superimposed on the transmission line between the reader / writer loop antenna and the modem circuit is eliminated, and the distance between the reader / writer loop antenna and the modem circuit is eliminated. Since the loop antenna and the modulation / demodulation circuit are integrated on the printed circuit board to make it as close as possible, it is possible to eliminate the need for transmission lines and to ensure communication performance without superimposing external noise. The cost can be reduced. In addition, according to the present invention, it is possible to reduce the assembly cost of the transmission line and reduce the assembly cost in the assembly line of the manufacturing plant, and eliminate the bite accident of the transmission line in the maintenance work at the time of service. And reliability can be improved.

  Embodiments of an RFID system according to the present invention and an image forming apparatus incorporating the RFID system will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

  As is well known, an image forming apparatus to which an RFID system according to the present invention is applied constitutes a composite apparatus, which has a CPU, an internal memory, etc., and controls an entire apparatus, paper, etc. A scanner for reading the content of a document by the image forming unit, and information on the read document as electronic image data, code data input from the outside as electronic image data, and printing the electronic image data on paper or the like And a data storage unit capable of storing a large amount of information such as a hard disk device for storing electronic image data as necessary, and an operation panel used by a user to operate the image forming apparatus. May be.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a portion necessary for the present invention of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a state in which a toner bottle is arranged to face the RFID-R / W board in FIG. FIG. 1 and 2, 11 is a control board, 12 is an RFID-R / W board, 13 to 16 are reader / writer loop antennas (hereinafter simply referred to as antennas), 17 is a CPU ASIC, 18 is a CPU, 21 to 21 Reference numeral 24 denotes a toner bottle, and reference numerals 25 to 28 denote RFID tags.

  An image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention forms a color image, and a plurality (types) of toner bottles are interchangeably provided for each color, and each toner bottle is identified and stored. Control according to the attribute of the toner being used, for example, fine adjustment of the color is performed. In the embodiment of the present invention, an RFID tag that can read and write information wirelessly is used to identify each toner bottle.

  As shown in FIG. 1, an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention includes an ID chip provided in each toner bottle on a control board 11 on which a CPU ASIC 17 serving as an apparatus control unit that controls the entire apparatus is mounted. A signal is transmitted to and received from a certain RFID tag, and an RFID-R / W board 12 to which each toner bottle is attached is connected. The RFID-R / W board 12 is formed with antennas 13 to 16 having a loop pattern for transmitting and receiving signals to and from the RFID tag provided in each toner bottle. A modulation / demodulation circuit that exchanges signals with the RFID tag and a CPU 18 that controls transmission / reception of signals between the RFID-R / W board 12 and the control board 11 are mounted. Usually, the toner bottles of a plurality of basic colors (Y, M, C, K) are arranged in four lines (in-line) along the flow of image formation, and thus are formed on the RFID-R / W board 12. The antennas 13 to 16 are also formed in a four-line in-line so as to correspond to the arrangement of the toner bottles.

  As shown in FIG. 2, each of the toner bottles 21 to 24 includes a rotating part A and a fixing part B, and each toner has an attribute on the top of the fixing part B formed in a lid shape with respect to the rotating part A. RFID tags 25 to 28 storing information and the like are attached. When the toner bottles 21 to 24 are attached to the image forming apparatus, each of the RFID tags 25 to 28 attached to each of the toner bottles 21 to 24 and an antenna formed on the RFID-R / W board 12 are used. The positional relationship is such that each of 13 to 16 is almost directly facing.

  In the above description, the toner in each of the toner bottles 21 to 14 is supplied to the image image forming unit while rotating the rotating unit A of the toner bottle, but the fixing unit B of the toner bottle does not rotate. In addition, the fixed part B and the rotating part A are combined in a cylindrical shape so as to be able to slip each other, and the mutual relationship between the RFID tag attached to the fixed part B and the antenna changes. There is nothing. In addition, the toner in each toner bottle may spill slightly during use, but the toner bottle is usually installed in a nearly horizontal state. As a result, the substrate surface of the RFID-R / W board 12 is vertical. In addition, since signals are transmitted and received wirelessly between the RFID tag and the antenna, it is possible to set a wide space between the RFID tag and the antenna (8 mm ± 2 mm in the first embodiment of the present invention). Therefore, the RFID-R / W board 12 and the RFID tag provided on the toner bottle can be protected from spilled toner.

  In the above description, the fixing portion B of the toner bottle is configured not to rotate even when the rotating portion A rotates. However, an RFID tag is attached to the top of the fixing portion B. In this case, even when the fixing part B of the toner bottle is rotated with the rotation of the rotating part A, signals can be transmitted and received wirelessly between the RFID tag and the antenna.

  In the embodiment of the present invention as described above, the control circuit of the image forming apparatus applies a radio wave having a predetermined frequency to the RFID tag as the ID chip from the antenna and receives the radio wave from the RFID tag. In response, the information stored in the RFID tag is read and written, the toner bottle is identified, and the attribute information of the information stored in the RFID tag is read to fine-tune the color at the time of printing. Since the information in the RFID tag can be read and written wirelessly, wiring can be omitted, and the accuracy of toner bottle mounting is not strictly required, and the image forming apparatus can be easily manufactured. Can be done. Further, when the toner bottle is replaced, even if a wrong color toner bottle is attached, it can be detected and notified to the user.

  As described above, in order to provide the antenna and the modulation / demodulation circuit integrally on the RFID-R / W board 12, the electromagnetic coupling interference between the antenna and the modulation / demodulation circuit and the electromagnetic coupling interference around the antenna are provided. It is necessary to remove.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the relationship between the antenna provided on the RFID-R / W board 12 and other wiring patterns on the board. FIG. 3A shows an antenna of the RFID-R / W board 12, here a portion where the antenna 13 is provided. A GND pattern 31 exists in the vicinity of the antenna 13, and around the antenna 13, A gap portion 32 exists between the GND pattern 31 and the GND pattern 31. The RFID-R / W board 12 is made of glass epoxy resin or the like as shown in FIG. 3 (b) showing a cross section CC ′ of FIG. 3 (a), and has a surface of 18 μm. A GND pattern 31 and an antenna 13 made of a thick copper foil are formed, and further covered with a resist coat 33 from above.

  In the relationship between the antenna and the wiring pattern on the RFID-R / W board 12 as described above, when the short side of the antenna is a and the long side is b, the antenna formed in a loop and the surrounding wiring By forming the gap portion 32 so that the gap between the pattern and the GND pattern here is (1/2) a or more, electromagnetic coupling interference around the antenna can be removed, and the antenna 13 and the RFID can be removed. A better coupling with the tag 25 can be made. This has been found by the present inventors. With such a configuration, information in the RFID tag can be read and written wirelessly with high reliability.

  Next, the relationship between various antennas based on the knowledge as described above and other wiring patterns on the board will be described.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example in which an antenna is provided so as to be surrounded by a GND pattern. The example shown in FIG. 4 is an example in which a space for providing the antenna 13 is provided in the GND pattern 31 provided on the entire surface of the board so that a gap portion 32 of a / 2 or more is formed around the antenna 13 from the antenna 13. is there. In the case of this example, by providing a gap 32 of a / 2 or more from the antenna 13 around the antenna 13, electromagnetic coupling interference around the antenna can be removed, and the antenna 13 and the RFID tag 25 can be removed. Bonding can be performed well. However, in the example shown in FIG. 4, a looped eddy current flows in the GND pattern 31 surrounding the antenna 13 by a radiated electromagnetic field from the antenna 13, but the information in the RFID tag is transmitted wirelessly. In some cases, the reliability of reading and writing is impaired.

  FIG. 5 is an example for explaining the arrangement of antennas in the GND pattern that can solve the problems in the example shown in FIG. In this example, at least one side of the GND pattern 31 surrounding the antenna 13 in the example shown in FIG. 4 is deleted, and a gap 32 having an open portion is provided around the antenna 13. With this configuration, the GND pattern 31 surrounding the antenna 13 does not form a loop, and it is possible to prevent eddy currents from flowing. Even in the case of 2 or less, electromagnetic coupling interference around the antenna can be removed, and better coupling between the antenna 13 and the RFID tag 25 can be performed.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram showing another example of the relationship between the antenna provided on the RFID-R / W board 12 and other wiring patterns on the board. In the example shown in FIG. 6, as in the case described with reference to FIG. 5, at least one side of the GND pattern 31 surrounding the antenna 13 is deleted, and a gap 32 having an open portion is provided around the antenna 13. This is an example in which the power supply wiring pattern 61 is disposed on the side of the GND pattern 31 that is not the open portion side. In the example shown in FIG. 6 as well, as in the case described with reference to FIG. 5, the GND pattern 31 surrounding the antenna 13 does not form a loop, and it is possible to prevent the eddy current from flowing. Become.

  FIG. 7 is an example in which the power supply wiring pattern 61 is arranged on the open side of the GND pattern 31 in the example shown in FIG. In the case of the example shown in FIG. 7, a parasitic capacitor 71 is formed between the GND pattern 31 and the power supply wiring pattern 61, and an eddy current is generated between the GND pattern 31 and the power supply wiring pattern 61 via the capacitor 71. Is created, and an eddy current flows through this loop, which may undesirably deteriorate the reliability of reading and writing information in the RFID tag by radio.

  FIG. 8 is an example in which a signal wiring pattern 81 is arranged on the open side of the GND pattern 31 in the example shown in FIG. In the example shown in FIG. 8, a parasitic capacitor 82 is formed between the GND pattern 31 and the signal wiring pattern 81, and an eddy current is generated between the GND pattern 31 and the signal wiring pattern 81 via the capacitor 82. Since an eddy current flows through this loop, the reliability of reading and writing of information in the RFID tag by radio may be impaired.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining the relationship between the antenna and the wiring pattern existing on the surface opposite to the surface on which the antenna of the RFID-R / W board 12 is provided. The RFID-R / W board 12 may be provided with a wiring pattern on the surface opposite to the surface on which the antenna is provided. FIG. 9A is the same as that shown in FIG. 4, but the wiring pattern 91 is formed on the back surface of the RFID-R / W board 12 as shown in FIG. If present, the wiring pattern 91 provided on the surface opposite to the surface on which the antenna is provided needs to be arranged around the antenna 13 so that a gap portion of a / 2 or more is formed from the antenna 13.

  FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example in which the power supply wiring pattern 61 is arranged on the surface opposite to the surface on which the antenna of the RFID-R / W board 12 is provided in the example shown in FIG. In the case of the example shown in FIG. 10, a parasitic capacitor 71 is formed between the GND pattern 31 and the power wiring pattern 61 provided on the opposite surface of the RFID-R / W board 12. A loop in which an eddy current flows between the pattern 31 and the power supply wiring pattern 61 is created. Since the eddy current flows in this loop, the reliability of reading and writing of information in the RFID tag by radio may be impaired. It is not preferable.

  FIG. 11 is an example in which the signal wiring pattern 81 is arranged on the surface opposite to the surface on which the antenna of the RFID-R / W board 12 is provided in the example shown in FIG. In the case of the example shown in FIG. 11, a parasitic capacitor 82 is formed between the GND pattern 31 and the signal wiring pattern 81 provided on the opposite surface of the RFID-R / W board 12. A loop in which an eddy current flows between the pattern 31 and the signal wiring pattern 81 is created. Since an eddy current flows in this loop, the reliability of reading and writing of information in the RFID tag by radio may be impaired. It is not preferable.

  FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example in which the power supply wiring pattern 61 is arranged on the surface opposite to the surface on which the antenna of the RFID-R / W board 12 is provided in the example shown in FIG. In the case of the example shown in FIG. 12, the GND pattern 31 surrounding the antenna 13 and the power supply wiring pattern 61 provided on the back side do not form a loop, and it is possible to prevent eddy current from flowing. In this case, there is no problem even if the GND pattern 31 and the power supply wiring pattern 61 provided on the back surface side are arranged so as to overlap each other via the board 12.

  FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example in which a signal wiring pattern 81 is arranged instead of the power supply wiring pattern 61 provided on the surface opposite to the surface on which the antenna of the RFID-R / W board 12 is provided in the example shown in FIG. is there. In the case of the example shown in FIG. 13, the GND pattern 31 surrounding the antenna 13 and the signal wiring pattern 81 provided on the back surface side do not form a loop, and it is possible to prevent eddy current from flowing. In this case as well, there is no problem even if the GND pattern 31 and the signal wiring pattern 81 provided on the back surface side are arranged so as to overlap each other via the board 12.

  FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating the relationship between the communicable distance between the antenna and the RFID tag and the distance between the antenna metal and the distance between the antenna and the wiring pattern around the antenna. As can be seen from FIG. 14, when the distance between the antenna metal and the wiring pattern around the antenna is 6 mm or more, the communicable distance between the antenna and the RFID tag can be ensured up to 12 mm. When the distance between the antenna metal is 4 mm or less, the communicable distance between the antenna and the RFID tag is 6 mm or less, and it is difficult to install the RFID tag arranged facing the antenna on the RFID-R / W board 12. become.

  FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating a state of an antenna arrangement surface (toner bottle facing surface) and a component mounting surface of the RFID-R / W board 12 according to the embodiment of the present invention. As can be seen from FIG. 15, there is no wiring pattern around the antenna on the antenna arrangement surface of the RFID-R / W board 12, and also on the component mounting surface, the antenna on the antenna arrangement surface and its antenna There is no wiring pattern around.

  FIG. 16 is a side view showing details of a state in which the toner bottle is disposed facing the RFID-R / W board. The RFID-R / W board 12 is provided with an antenna 13 on the surface facing the toner bottle 21, and the opposite surface is a component mounting surface. Then, wiring such as a GND pattern, a power supply wiring pattern, and a signal wiring pattern is applied to both surfaces. The toner bottle 21 placed opposite to the antenna 13 can be pulled out, and an RFID tag 25 including a tag antenna, a tag substrate, and a tag IC is provided on the lid. A toner bottle 21 is installed between the RFID tag 25 and the antenna 13 on the RFID-R / W board 12 so as to have a certain distance.

  According to each of the embodiments of the present invention described above, in any case, a factor that deteriorates the communication performance with the RFID tag due to external noise superimposed on the transmission line between the reader / writer loop antenna and the modem circuit is eliminated. Because the distance between the reader / writer loop antenna and the modulation / demodulation circuit can be as close as possible, the loop antenna and the modulation / demodulation circuit are integrated on the printed circuit board, eliminating the need for transmission lines and eliminating external noise superposition. Communication performance can be ensured, and the cost of the transmission line itself can be reduced. In addition, according to the embodiment of the present invention, in the assembly line of the manufacturing plant, it is possible to reduce the number of transmission lines and reduce the assembly cost. The reliability can be improved.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a portion necessary for the present invention of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a top view illustrating a state in which a toner bottle is disposed to face the RFID-R / W board in FIG. 1. It is a figure which shows the relationship between the antenna provided on the RFID-R / W board, and the other wiring pattern on a board. It is a figure which shows the example at the time of providing an antenna so that it may be enclosed by a GND pattern. FIG. 5 is an example for explaining an antenna arrangement in a GND pattern that can solve the problem in the example shown in FIG. 4. It is a figure which shows the other example of the relationship between the antenna provided on the RFID-R / W board, and the other wiring pattern on a board. In the example illustrated in FIG. 6, the power supply wiring pattern is disposed on the open side of the GND pattern. In the example shown in FIG. 6, the signal wiring pattern is arranged on the open side of the GND pattern. It is a figure explaining the relationship between the wiring pattern and antenna which exist in the surface opposite to the surface in which the antenna of a RFID-R / W board is provided. In the example shown in FIG. 7, it is a figure which shows the example which has arrange | positioned the power supply wiring pattern in the surface opposite to the surface in which the antenna of a RFID-R / W board is provided. In the example shown in FIG. 8, the signal wiring pattern is arranged on the surface opposite to the surface on which the antenna of the RFID-R / W board is provided. In the example shown in FIG. 6, it is a figure which shows the example which has arrange | positioned the power supply wiring pattern in the surface opposite to the surface in which the antenna of the RFID-R / W board 12 is provided. In the example shown in FIG. 12, it is a figure which shows the example which has arrange | positioned the signal wiring pattern instead of the power supply wiring pattern provided in the surface opposite to the surface in which the antenna of an RFID-R / W board is provided. It is a figure which shows the relationship between the communicable distance between an antenna and an RFID tag, and the distance between antenna metals which is the distance of an antenna and the wiring pattern around an antenna. It is a figure which shows the mode of the antenna arrangement | positioning surface (toner bottle opposing surface) and component mounting surface of the RFID-R / W board in embodiment of this invention. FIG. 6 is a side view showing details of a state in which a toner bottle is disposed facing an RFID-R / W board.

Explanation of symbols

11 Control Board 12 RFID-R / W Board 13-16 Reader / Writer Loop Antenna 17 CPU ASIC
18 CPU
21-24 Toner bottle 25-28 RFID tag 31 GND pattern 32 Gap

Claims (4)

In an RFID system that performs wireless communication between a loop antenna and an RFID tag,
The loop antenna on the reader / writer side and the modulation / demodulation circuit are arranged on the same printed circuit board, the RFID tag is arranged to face the loop antenna, and a gap between the loop antenna and a wiring pattern on the printed circuit board surrounding the loop antenna Is at least ½ of the short side of the antenna pattern, the wiring pattern is a GND pattern, the GND pattern is provided with an open portion on at least one side, and the power supply wiring pattern is the GND pattern. An RFID system, wherein the RFID system is disposed on a side where no opening is provided . In an RFID system that performs wireless communication between a loop antenna and an RFID tag,
The loop antenna on the reader / writer side and the modulation / demodulation circuit are arranged on the same printed circuit board, the RFID tag is arranged to face the loop antenna, the loop antenna and a wiring pattern on the printed circuit board surrounding the loop antenna, and The gap with the wiring pattern on the opposite surface of the substrate is at least 1/2 or more of the short side of the antenna pattern, the wiring pattern and the wiring pattern on the opposite surface of the substrate are GND patterns, and both GND patterns are the same. An open portion is provided on at least one side of the position, and the power supply wiring pattern is arranged on the GND pattern or the side where the open portion of the wiring pattern on the opposite surface of the substrate is not provided. RFID system. 3. The image forming apparatus for forming an image, comprising: an RFID tag mounted on one or a plurality of toner bottles for supplying toner; and a loop antenna provided on a substrate on which the plurality of toner bottles are mounted. An image forming apparatus comprising the above RFID system . In an image forming apparatus that forms a color image by superimposing a plurality of basic colors, an RFID tag mounted on a plurality of toner bottles that supply toner for each basic color and a substrate on which the plurality of toner bottles are mounted are provided. An image forming apparatus comprising the RFID system according to claim 1 or 2 and a loop antenna .