JPH03184750A - Identification system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To facilitate the detection of a responder in a critical state without using any special process for a battery check by transmitting an intrinsic serial number to an interrogator in the case where it is so judged that a battery is in the critical state through data out of a responder. CONSTITUTION:The state of a battery 47 is detected by a detector 46, and if it is normal, its output is set to 1 and it is fed to a response No. generating circuit 46, then it is fed to an antenna unit 6 and a controller 8 together with data read out of a memory 40 via a transmission control circuit 48. An FA computer 10 receives a signal out of a main control part 81, reading the machining data of a data part, and it controls machining for a workpiece on a pallet fitted with a responder 4 via a cutting machine, thereby writing the machining data in the memory 40 of the responder 4. The FA computer receiving a signal from the controller 8 first checks a response code, and outputs a command for reading a manufacturing number stored in the memory 40 of the responder 4 when a battery 47 is in a critical state, and then it quickly performs the replacement of the battery 47 and the responder 4 or the like after the manufacturing number is returned and the machining is over.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to an ID system, and particularly to a transponder exchange method thereof.

[Conventional technology] FIG. 6 shows the general configuration of the ID system.

When unprocessed products 2 (so-called parts, etc.) are received at a production factory or the like, the unprocessed products 2 as objects to be managed are placed on a pallet 3. A responder 4 is attached to this pallet 3. Pallet 3 carrying unprocessed product 2 is
The antenna unit 6a is carried by a belt conveyor etc.
When the antenna unit 6a passes in front of the transponder 4, communication is performed between the antenna unit 6a and the transponder 4. As a result, the data that the unprocessed product 2 has been received is transmitted to the antenna unit 6a and the controller 8.
a to the FA computer 10a. F.A.
Computer IOa sends this information to host computer 12. The host computer 12 thereby knows that the unprocessed product 2 has been stocked. At this time, data on how this unprocessed product 2 should be processed is stored in the responder 4.

The stored items 2 are then sent to a machine for processing. An antenna unit 1-6b is also provided here, and communication with the transponder 4 is performed. The antenna unit 6b reads the processed data stored in the transponder 4 and sends it to the FA computer 10b via the controller 8b. The FA computer 10b controls a machine or the like (not shown) to process the object 2 according to the read processing data.

Below, as shown in the figure, similar processing is performed in each process of assembly, inspection, and shipping, and finally the goods 2 are removed from pallet 3.
is taken down and shipped as product 2.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] In the ID system as described above, communication between the transponder 4 and the antenna unit 6a is performed by electromagnetic induction. For this reason, the transponder 4 houses a battery for obtaining communication energy. This battery is also used as a power source for a memory that stores data such as processing data.

If the transponder 4 is used for a long period of time, the battery will be exhausted, resulting in inconveniences such as communication being disabled or memory contents being lost. In particular, if the machining data changes due to battery consumption, there is a risk of manufacturing defective products.

The present invention aims to solve the above-mentioned problems and provide an ID system that can determine the degree of battery consumption.

[Means for Solving the Problems] The ID system according to claim 1 is characterized in that data indicating the state of battery voltage of the transponder is included in communication data from the transponder to the interrogator.

In the ID system of claim 2, when it is determined that the battery voltage is in a dangerous state based on the data from the transponder, a command is given to the transponder to obtain a unique identification number of the transponder; It is characterized in that a unique identification number is transmitted to the interrogator in response to this.

[Operation] By looking at the data indicating the state of battery voltage sent from the transponder, the degree of battery consumption can be known. Furthermore, since data indicating the battery voltage status is included in the normal communication data, no special process for battery checking is required.

Furthermore, if it is determined that the battery voltage is in a dangerous condition,
If the unique identification number of the transponder is transmitted to the interrogator, a transponder in danger can be easily discovered.

[Embodiment] FIG. 2 shows an external view of a part of an ID system according to an embodiment of the present invention. The object 2 to be managed is placed on a pallet 3 and moved on a conveyor (not shown) in the direction of the arrow. A transponder 4 is attached to the side of the pallet 3.

An antenna unit 6 is arranged at a position facing the transponder 4. Note that, as shown in FIG. 6, the antenna unit 6 is provided for each process that requires control. The antenna unit 6 is connected to the controller 8 by a cable 7.
These constitute an interrogator. Further, the controller 8 is connected to an FA computer 10 and a PC (programmable controller) 11.

FIG. 1A shows a block diagram of each part of the transponder 4, antenna unit 6, and controller 8. The responder 4 includes a memory 40 storing processed data, etc., a memory access control section 49, a main control section 41, a transmission control section 48, and a code conversion circuit 4.
2. A modulation/demodulation circuit 43, a transmission filter 44, a response generation register 45, and a battery life detection circuit 46 are provided, and each part receives power from a battery 47.

The antenna unit 6 on the interrogator side includes a modulation/demodulation circuit 60.
, transmission coil 61, code conversion circuit 62, transmission control section 6
4, a main control section 63 and an interface 65 are provided.

The controller 8 also includes an FA computer IO and P
Interface 80 for communicating with CII
．． A main control section 81, a serial interface 82, and a transmission control section 83 are provided.

The operation of the ID system configured as described above will be explained with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

The FA computer 10 controls the controller 8 and the antenna unit 6 to send a REET command to the transponder 4. That is, the FA computer 10
is connected to the controller 8 via the R3-232C cable 9.
A read command is sent to (step S1). In addition,
The read command is composed of a code indicating that it is a read command, a read start address, and the number of read bytes (number of addresses).

The main control unit 81 of the controller 8 that receives this recognizes that it is a LEET command, and sends a transponder access command to the antenna unit 6 via the serial interface 82 (step S2.Sa). The code conversion circuit 62 of the antenna unit 6 converts the code format of the transponder access command. Specifically, the signal sent from the controller 8 is an NRZ code, and the code conversion circuit 62 converts this into a code of a self-synchronization method (a method in which data and a synchronized clock can be transmitted simultaneously). The converted signal is sent to a modulation/demodulation circuit 60, modulated, and applied to a coil 61. Therefore, the coil 61
Electromagnetic waves are generated around.

When the transponder 4 is not in front of the antenna unit 6 (that is, when the pallet 3 has not arrived at the processing position), no response signal is returned from the transponder 4. Therefore, the FA computer 10 continues to issue read commands, and the above operations are repeated.

Pallet 3 with transponder 4 in front of antenna unit 6
When the pallet 3 arrives, the pallet 3 is stopped at that position. The arrival of the pallet 3 may be detected by a sensor or the like, or may be detected by communication between the controller 8 and the responder 4. When the pallet 3 stops and the electromagnetic wave from the coil 61 is received by the coil 44 of the transponder 4, the transponder 4 inputs the output from the coil 44 to the modulation/demodulation circuit 43. The modulation/demodulation circuit 43 demodulates the modulated signal. The demodulated self-synchronization code is converted into an NRZ code in the code conversion circuit 42 and sent to the main control unit 41 via the transmission control unit 48 .

When the main control unit 41 recognizes that the received command is a read command, the memory access control unit 49 reads data from the corresponding address in the memory 40 (step S4.ss). The read data is code-converted by the code conversion circuit 42, modulated by the modulation/demodulation circuit 43, and applied to the coil 44 (step SS).

At this time, the control unit 41 outputs the response NO, the response NO that is the generation circuit, and the response NO from the register 45.
I will also send it back. Fig. B shows the circuit configuration around the response NO register 45.

The response NO register 45 is 1 byte (here 8
This outputs the data (response number, bit). Here, response No. 1 means that each bit is
This indicates whether the communication status is normal or abnormal, depending on whether it is O or O. In particular, in this invention, one bit of the response number is assigned to a flag indicating the battery status.

The state of the battery 47 is detected by a battery life detection circuit 46. The battery life detection circuit 46 includes a comparator that outputs O when the voltage of the battery 47 is lower than a predetermined voltage value, and outputs 1 when the voltage is normal. This predetermined voltage value may be set to a voltage at which the transponder 4 is capable of communicating but is likely to become unable to communicate in the near future, for example, a voltage value at the time when the voltage begins to drop below the standard voltage value. The detection output is sent via the inverter 51 to response No.9.
It is sent to the generation circuit 45. Therefore, when the battery is in a dangerous state (depleted state), l is output, and when the battery is in a normal state, O is output. The output from this inverter 51 is given to one bit of the response number register 45.

Response NO, data in register 45 is stored in memory 40
It is sent to the antenna unit 6 and controller 8 via the transmission control circuit 48 along with the data read from the .

The format of the response signal sent back from the responder 4 to the controller 8 is shown in FIG. A synchronization character is added to the beginning for synchronization.

The response NO follows the synchronization character, and then the data read from the memory 40 follows. A code for detecting transmission errors is attached at the end.

The response signal sent from the coil 44 of the transponder 4 is received by the antenna unit 6, demodulated, and N RZ
The code is converted into a code and input to the controller 8 (step S7). The main control unit 81 of the controller 8 transmits the response signal from the responder 4 to the interface 80 and the R
FA computer 1 via 3-232C cable 9
0 (step Ss, S9).

The format of communication data at this time is shown in FIG. The response signal sent from the responder 4 is converted into a code for communication with the FA computer 10, and is sent to the FA computer 10 as data as shown in FIG.

Upon receiving this, the FA computer 10 reads the processing data in the data section and learns what processing is to be performed on the object 2 on the pallet 3 to which the transponder 4 was attached. Based on this processing data, the FA computer IO controls a processing machine (such as a robot) to process the object 2. When the processing is completed, a write command is output in the same manner as the read command described above, and the transponder 4
Data indicating the machining state is written into the memory 40 of the machine. This data indicating the machining state is used in subsequent machining machines.

By the way, F that received the response signal from the controller 8
The A computer 10 checks the response code before performing the above operation (steps S, o). This will tell you if the battery is in a dangerous condition. Information that there is a transponder in a dangerous state is sent to a higher-level host computer via a communication line or the like.

If the battery is found to be in a dangerous state, the FA computer 10 further outputs a command to read the serial number of the transponder 4 in step Sll. Each transponder is assigned a serial number, which is a unique identification number, and this serial number is stored at a specific address in the memory 40. Therefore, the FA computer 10 sends out a REET command by specifying the address where this serial number is stored. Hereinafter, in the same way as the above description, the FA computer 10
The serial number of the transponder 4 is shortcutted (steps S12 to S, 9). The FA computer 10 also sends this serial number to the upper host. Since all FA computers 10 are connected to this host, the serial numbers of all responders in danger are sent to the host. Therefore, after processing of the object 2 is completed, the corresponding transponder can be found based on the serial number, and the battery or transponder can be replaced quickly.

In addition, even if it is announced that the battery voltage is dangerous as shown in "-", the responder 4 can be used for the time being, so machining, etc. can be continued, and after the machining is completed, the battery can be replaced, etc. Therefore, dangerous transponder 4 can be replaced without having the same effect on the manufacturing process.

Further, in order to prevent the serial number stored in the memory 40 at the time of manufacture from being inadvertently erased by a write command or the like, the address where the serial number is stored is protected against writing.

In the above embodiment, communication with the antenna unit 6 is performed while the pallet 3 is stopped, but if communication time can be secured, there is no need to stop the pallet 3.

In addition, in the above embodiment, the pallet 3 on which the object 2 is placed is
By attaching the transponder 4 to the object 2, the transponder 4 is indirectly attached to the object 2.

However, depending on the case, the transponder 4 may be attached directly to the object 2.

Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the controller 8 is controlled by the FA computer 10, but the programmable
A control device such as a controller may also be used.

Note that the control unit 41 of the responder 4 can be configured by a CPU or a logic circuit.

[Effects of the Invention] The ID system according to claim 1 is characterized in that data indicating the state of battery voltage of the transponder is included in communication data from the transponder to the interrogator.

Therefore, the interrogator can know the degree of battery consumption by looking at the data indicating the state of battery voltage sent from the transponder. Furthermore, since data indicating the battery voltage status is included in the normal communication data, no special process for battery checking is required.

When the ID system of claim 2 determines that the battery voltage is in a dangerous state based on the data from the transponder, it gives a command to the transponder to obtain a unique identification number of the transponder, and the transponder It is characterized by transmitting a unique identification number to the interrogator in response to the request.

Therefore, it is easy to discover a transponder in a dangerous state.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1A is a block diagram of the transponder 4, antenna unit 6, and controller 8. FIG. 1B is a diagram showing the circuit configuration around the response No. register 45. FIG. 2 is an external view of a part of the ID system. FIG. 3 is an operation flowchart of an ID system according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the format of a response signal from the transponder 4 to the controller 8; FIG. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the format of the response signal sent from 8 to the FA computer 10, and FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the configuration of the boat ID system. 4 ・ 6 ・ 8 ・ 45 ・ 46 ・ 47 ・Responder Antenna unit Controller Response No. register Battery life detection circuit Battery No. 1

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) A transponder is attached directly or indirectly to the managed object, an interrogator that communicates with the transponder is placed at a predetermined moving position of the managed object, and a control device connected to the interrogator responds. Identification of managed objects according to the content of communication with the device
An ID system that performs control, characterized in that communication data from the transponder to the interrogator includes data indicating the state of battery voltage of the transponder.
system. (2) In the ID system of claim 1, when it is determined that the battery voltage is in a dangerous state based on the data from the transponder, a command is given to the transponder to obtain the unique identification number of the transponder; The device is characterized in that it transmits a unique identification number to the interrogator in response to this.