JPH0855250A - Radio card processing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide the radio card processing device which can make a necessary communication even unless a radio card bearer shows a radio card at a predetermined specific display attitude. CONSTITUTION:The communication means of this radio card processing device is provided with at least >=2 antennas 11a and 11b for radio card communication which are formed containing a specific angle. When the radio card is shown in a specific position to the communication means, the antennas for radio communication are switched in order at specific timing of time division, etc., a specific procedure of communication with the radio card is followed, and the subsequent communication is carried out by using the antenna for radio card communication which reaches a communication level first. In this case, the antennas for radio card communication are arranged on the communication means preferably at the attitude where the antenna 11a which is formed horizontally and the antenna 11b which is formed vertically form an L-sectioned shape.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a wireless card equipped with an electronic circuit such as an IC and having a data processing function such as a recording function for recording predetermined data and a wireless communication function.
The data recorded in the recording function is read to the wireless card processing device by the command transmitted from the wireless card processing device provided on the ground which is received by the wireless communication function provided in this wireless card, and is also transmitted from the wireless card processing device. The present invention relates to an improvement of a wireless card processing device used in a wireless card system that executes predetermined data processing such as recording data in a recording function. That is, in the wireless card processing device of the present invention, for example, when the owner of the wireless card used as a commuter pass passes through a predetermined passage where the ticket inspection device is arranged, the presentation state of the wireless card is not uniform. Even in the case, the present invention relates to a wireless card processing device capable of surely executing communication between the wireless card and the wireless card processing device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A card provided with a data processing function such as a recording function is used for various purposes such as a commuter pass, a prepaid card, and a security card. Among the cards used for such purposes, the magnetic card provided with the magnetic recording function has the following problems. It is necessary to bring the magnetic card, which is a magnetic recording read / write function, provided in the card processing device into contact with the magnetic card. Therefore, in the case of a commuter pass formed by a magnetic card, it is necessary to take the commuter pass out of the commuter pass and insert the commuter pass (magnetic card) into a predetermined gap in which the magnetic head is incorporated. Further, it is necessary to maintain the magnetic head against wear and dirt. There is also a problem that the recordable capacity is limited to about 100 bytes. Further, the magnetic recording may be destroyed by an external magnetic field or the like, and may be forged or tampered with. In place of the above-mentioned magnetic card, which has many problems, a card equipped with a non-contact type IC capable of executing data communication has attracted attention (hereinafter referred to as a wireless card). In other words, wireless cards have come to be used in automatic production processes, etc., and are being put to practical use and practical tests in fields where it is necessary to check individual information of the carrier for security purposes, etc., and to charge, collect, etc. ing. A wireless card that enables non-contact data communication has an advantage that data communication can be performed even if a person does not remove it from his / her hand. In a system using a wireless card, an electromagnetic induction method is generally used instead of radio waves for communication between a wireless card and a wireless card processing device, and a loop antenna is used as an antenna.

A ticket gate in a wireless card system using a wireless card as a commuter pass has a structure as shown in FIG. 4, for example. In FIG. 4, reference numeral 1 denotes the gate of the ticket gate of the station. Reference numerals 2 and 3 are barriers that define passages provided on both sides of the gate. A wireless card processing device (hereinafter referred to as a ground device) for checking a commuter pass (not shown) is built in the barrier 3. Reference numeral 11 is an antenna for a ground device (not shown) to communicate with a commuter pass (hereinafter referred to as a wireless card) 6. The wireless card 6 is presented to the antenna 11 in a horizontal position by a person (not shown) walking in the direction of the arrow M. Reference numeral 21 denotes an antenna for communicating with the wireless card 6 mounted on the wireless card 6 and a ground device (not shown). Further, 6B shown in FIG. 4 shows the wireless card 6 presented in a state of being vertical to the antenna 11. In applications other than commuter passes,
A system similar to the above is configured, such as providing a passageway (gate) for the presenter and providing a ground device at this gate. As means for expanding the communication area in order to cover the inaccuracy of the wireless card presentation position, there have been attempts to expand the area of the loop antenna of the ground station or connect a plurality of antennas in series.

[0004]

The electromagnetic induction system in the communication means between the wireless card and the ground device (not shown) in the above wireless card system has the following problems. . FIG. 5 shows an outline of antenna coupling in the electromagnetic induction method. In FIG. 5A, reference numeral 11 is an antenna of the above-mentioned ground equipment. The antenna 11 has a loop shape, and in FIG. 5, the antenna 11 is viewed from the side surface thereof, and thus is shown as a single line. In FIG. 5A, the antenna 21 of the wireless card is
It shows a state in which A is presented completely parallel to the antenna 11. Now, when a signal current is passed through the antenna 11, a magnetic flux is generated, and a part of the magnetic flux φo is linked with the antenna 21A of the wireless card, and the signal current is induced in the antenna 21A to effectively communicate. used. Of the magnetic flux generated in the antenna 11, the above-mentioned remaining magnetic flux φn becomes invalid without interlinking with the antenna 21A of the wireless card.

As shown in FIG. 5B, when the antenna 21B of the wireless card is presented at a right angle to the antenna 11 of the ground equipment, the antenna 1 of the ground equipment is shown.
Since all the magnetic fluxes formed by 1 do not link the antenna 21B of the wireless card, the magnetic flux becomes an ineffective magnetic flux φn. Similar results are obtained when transmitting from the wireless card to the ground device. Therefore, when the wireless card is presented in the upright state shown in FIG. 4B, communication is not executed. When the angle formed by the antenna 11 of the terrestrial device and the antenna 21 of the wireless card is in the middle of the situation of the antenna 21A or 21B shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, the receiving side corresponds to the angle. Communication is enabled or disabled depending on the amount of magnetic flux that the antennas of For this reason, it is conceivable that a communication abnormality is detected by a sensor or the like provided separately, and a wireless card presenter is requested to re-present by a caution notice on a display device (not shown) provided in the ground device.

As described above, in the case of the conventional ground equipment,
Depending on the presentation state of the wireless card, communication cannot be performed, that is, because the wireless card cannot be checked, it is necessary to stop the traffic of the presenter of the wireless card until it is re-presented in the available state. Had been an obstacle to efficient execution on the side. There is a similar problem when the wireless card is used for security or the like other than the commuter pass. The above-mentioned problems are the same even if the effective area of the antenna is expanded, and as a countermeasure, for example, the antenna shape is modified into a wavy shape or a horseshoe shape. Of the magnetic flux added to, only the magnetic flux component interlinking with the antenna of the wireless card is effective, so it is effective for the presentation angle at which the effective magnetic flux φo is a predetermined amount or more, but the effective magnetic flux φo is the predetermined amount. The following presentation angles had no effect.

When it is desired to perform good communication between a mobile station and a fixed station, one station is provided with a plurality of antennas, and the antenna having the highest communication sensitivity is selected from the plurality of antennas for communication. Although the means has been implemented conventionally, it has been difficult to adopt it in an inexpensive system because the control function for selecting and using the optimum antenna is complicated.

The present invention has the above-mentioned problems (problems) of the conventional ones.
And a wireless card presenter can stably perform necessary communication even if the wireless card presenter does not present the wireless card in the predetermined presentation state as described above, that is, a wireless card that can effectively and effectively use the wireless card. An object is to provide a processing device.

[0009]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the wireless card processing device of the present invention has a pair of communication means of the wireless card processing device formed to form at least two mutually predetermined angles. An antenna for wireless card communication is provided, and when the wireless card is presented within a predetermined position with respect to the communication means, the antenna for wireless communication is sequentially switched at a predetermined timing such as time-division and the like. A predetermined communication procedure is executed, and subsequent communication is executed by the antenna for wireless card communication which has reached the communication level earlier. In this case, the above-mentioned antenna for wireless card communication is arranged to be arranged in the above-mentioned communication means in such a manner that the antenna formed in a horizontal state and the antenna formed in a vertical state form an L-shaped cross section. desirable.

[0010]

According to the present invention, as described above, since the antenna is formed in the wireless card processing device to perform the communication processing, the communication is surely executed without being affected by the state of the wireless card presented. It When the wireless card communication antenna provided in the wireless card processing device is composed of an antenna formed in a horizontal state and an antenna formed in a vertical state,
The most effective communication state can be obtained with a small number of antennas, and the surface of the terrestrial device can be configured to be perpendicular to the horizontal plane, resulting in an excellent design.

[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of a wireless card system in which the above-described wireless card is applied to a commuter pass and a wireless card processing device is applied to a station ticket inspection device will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. explain. In FIG. 2, the same components as those of the conventional one are designated by the same reference numerals as those in FIG. Therefore, the wireless communication means described in this embodiment is of the magnetic induction type, and each antenna is a loop antenna.
In FIG. 2, reference numeral 1 denotes a gate portion of a ticket gate of a station, and 2 and 3 are barriers provided on both sides of the gate for partitioning passages. On the upper part of the barrier 3, a ticket inspection device 4 which is a personal terminal device of a wireless card (commuter pass etc.) processing device (ground device) is mounted. The ticket inspection device 4 is composed of a horizontal portion 4a, a vertical portion 4b, and a display portion 4c. The main body of the ground device, whose detailed functions will be described later, is housed inside the barrier 3 or inside the ticket inspection device 4. A first antenna 11a for communicating with a wireless card 6 presented in a horizontal state is arranged inside the horizontal portion 4a, and a wireless card presented in a vertical state inside the vertical portion 4b. A second antenna 11b for communicating with 6 is provided. The display unit 4c is provided with a display function 5 such as a lamp or a liquid crystal for displaying information to be reported to passersby and the like. The wireless card 6 is presented to the ticket inspection apparatus 4 by a person (not shown) walking in the direction of the arrow M. Reference numeral 21 denotes an antenna for communicating with the wireless card 6 mounted on the wireless card 6 and a ground device (not shown). Further, 6B shows another presentation state of the presented wireless card 6.

Next, the functions of the ground device and the wireless card according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 shows a configuration example of a wireless card processing function provided in the terrestrial device and a wireless card function provided in the wireless card, and FIG. 3 shows a flow for explaining the function of this function. FIG.
(A) shows the configuration of the functional elements of the ground device, and (B) of the figure shows the configuration of the functional elements of the wireless card. Note that FIG. 1 shows main functional elements for explaining the present invention, and other functional elements such as a carrier wave oscillating function are omitted and simplified. In FIG. 1A, 10 is a ground function unit 11a provided in the ground device, which is the first antenna described above with reference to FIG.
11b is a second antenna. First antenna 11a
Both the second antenna 11b and the second antenna 11b are used for both transmission and reception. First antenna 11a, second antenna 1
Both 1b are connected to the antenna switching / transmission / reception function 12. The output of the antenna switching / transmission / reception function 12 is input to the level determination function 13, and the output of the level determination function 13 is input to the demodulation function 14 and the control function 15. Demodulation function 1
The output of 4 is also input to the control function 15. The control function 15 is connected to the display function 5 and the memory 17 described in FIG. The output of the control function 15 is input to the modulation function 16 and the antenna switching / transmission / reception function 12 described above.
Reference numeral 18 denotes a power supply function for operating each of the above functions. The power supply function 18 converts a commercial power supply to be received into a predetermined voltage and rectifies it to obtain a required DC voltage.

In FIG. 1B, 20 is a wireless card function unit provided in the wireless card, and 21 is the antenna described above with reference to FIG. 2, which is used for both transmission and reception. The antenna 21 is input to the reception / demodulation function 22, and the reception signal before demodulation is connected to the power supply function 26. The power supply function 26 converts the received energy received into a direct current voltage of a predetermined value necessary for operating each function in the wireless card. The demodulation output of the reception / demodulation function 22 is input to the control function 23, and the control function 23 is connected to the memory 24. Control function 23
The output of is input to the modulation / transmission function 25, and the modulation / transmission function 25 is connected to the antenna 21 described above. The antenna 21 communicates with the first antenna 11a or 11b of the above-mentioned ground equipment, as will be described later in detail. Control function 23
Also has a function of switching between transmission and reception by the antenna 21.

Next, the function of the present invention in the above-mentioned structure will be described. In FIG. 1 and FIG. 3 (A), the ground function unit 1
When 0 starts operating (start), the first contact procedure
As a step, the control function 15 outputs a trigger signal to the modulation function 16 and an antenna switching signal to the antenna switching / transmission / reception function 12 at preset predetermined time intervals.
Next, the modulation function 16 inputs the trigger signal modulated into a predetermined carrier into the antenna switching / transmission / reception function 12. When the first antenna 11a is selected by the function of the switching function of the antenna switching / transmission / reception function 12, a trigger signal (So shown in FIG. 3B) is transmitted from the first antenna 11a. When the first antenna 11a transmits the trigger signal, the antenna switching / transmission / reception function 12 works to enter the reception state, and waits for a response signal from the wireless card function unit 20 for a predetermined time. If there is no response signal, the second antenna 11b is selected by the function of the switching function of the antenna switching / transmission / reception function 12 by the antenna switching signal output from the control function 15, and the trigger signal is transmitted from the second antenna 11b. Second antenna 1
When 1b transmits the trigger signal, the antenna switching / transmission / reception function 12 operates to enter the reception state, and waits for a response signal from the wireless card function unit 20 for a predetermined time. If there is no response signal, it returns to the beginning and the first antenna 1
The trigger signal is transmitted from 1a, and the above-described operation is repeatedly executed.

When the wireless card 6 is presented as shown in FIG. 2 and the wireless card function unit 20 enters the communication possible area passing state for the ground function unit 10 (O shown in FIG. 3B),
The reception signal of the antenna 21 that receives the trigger signal is received.
The signal is amplified by the demodulation function 22 and input to the power supply function 26, converted into a predetermined DC voltage, and supplied to each unit of the wireless card function. The trigger signal demodulated by the reception / demodulation function 22 is recognized by the control function 23, and a preset response signal is created, and the modulation / transmission function 25 modulates and amplifies it into a predetermined carrier wave and transmits it from the antenna 21.

While the first antenna 11a is waiting for reception, FIG.
When the response signal is received as shown in (A), the received response signal is amplified by the antenna switching / transmission / reception function 12 and then the reception level is determined by the level determination function 13. For example, if the mutual angle between the first antenna 11a and the antenna 21 is large and the reception power of the wireless card function unit 20 is small,
The first antenna 1 is still in the position where the wireless card 6 is presented.
When the facing area between 1a and the antenna 21 is small and the received power is small, the voltage generated by the power supply function 26 is lower than the required value. Therefore, since the transmission power of the antenna 21 is low, the input of the response signal to the level determination function 13 is smaller than the preset determination level. Therefore, the response level is O
Since it does not become K, the level determination function 13 outputs a determination signal to the control function 15, the control function 15 outputs an antenna switching signal, and the second antenna 11b is selected by the switching function of the antenna switching / transmission / reception function 12. Then, the trigger signal is transmitted from the second antenna 11b.

When the second antenna 11b receives a response signal while waiting for reception, the received response signal switches the antenna.
Level amplification function 1 after amplification by transmission / reception function 12
The reception level is determined in 3. When the reception level is lower than the preset determination level, that is, when the response level does not become OK, the level determination function 13 outputs a determination signal to the control function 15, and the control function 15 outputs an antenna switching signal to the antenna. Due to the function of the switching function of the switching / transmission / reception function 12, the first antenna 11a is selected and
The trigger signal is transmitted from the antenna 11a of
The above operation is repeatedly executed.

The first antenna 1 in the ground function unit 10
When the response signal is received by the 1a or the second antenna 11b while waiting for reception and the result of the determination by the level determination function 13 is that the reception level is higher than a preset determination level, that is, when the response level is OK, the response signal Is demodulation function 1
4 and demodulated and input to the control function 15. In addition, the control function 15 fixes the switching function of the antenna switching / transmission / reception function 12 to the response signal receiving antenna when the response level becomes OK according to the determination signal input from the level determination function 13. With the above, when the execution of the communication procedure is completed, the execution state (C shown in FIG. 3B) of the communication processing between the ground function unit 10 and the wireless card function unit 20 is entered. This fixed antenna is the antenna that is initially in a predetermined communication state set in advance. Further, in the ground function section 10, the function of the control function 15 causes a display on the predetermined display function 5. For example, the red light is lit while the response signal is not received, the orange light is lit while the response signal is received but the level is low, and the blue light is lit during the communication process. Alternatively, when the response signal is received but the level is low, the word "presentation state correction" is displayed. In addition, a predetermined display provided in the display function 5 is executed. The control function 15 of the terrestrial function unit 10 interprets the input demodulated response signal to determine the type / individual of the wireless card in communication, and the necessary data corresponding to the type / individual of the wireless card. Is read from the memory 17 to generate a signal to be transmitted to the corresponding wireless card by performing predetermined data processing, and the signal is transmitted from the fixed antenna.

In the wireless card function unit 20 which has received the transmission signal from the ground function unit 10, the control function 23 interprets the reception signal, reads the recorded data in the memory 24 according to the reception signal, and transmits the read data to the ground device. Alternatively, processing such as writing the reception data sent by the reception signal to the memory 24 is executed. When the communication processing corresponding to the wireless card presented as described above is executed and all necessary processing is completed, the ground function unit 10 transmits a communication completion signal to the wireless card function unit 20, and then the communication function shown in FIG. Returning to the beginning of the flow shown in (), the trigger signal is transmitted while switching the transmission antennas in sequence, and the reception of the next response signal is waited for. The wireless card function unit 20 that has received the communication completion signal stops the transmission of the response signal to the subsequently received trigger signal. The wireless card function unit 20 includes the antennas 11a and 11b of the ground function unit.
When passing the effective presentation position area (communication area) determined by the condition of (3) and not receiving the signal transmitted by the ground function unit 10, the DC voltage output from the power supply function 26 disappears, each function is reset, and the wireless card function Department 20 stops working.

FIG. 3B shows the entire time flow of the communication status between the above-mentioned specific wireless card and the ground function. In FIG. 3B, the time flow is shown in the vertical downward direction, the ground device is shown on the left side, and the wireless card is shown on the right side.
The ground equipment continuously transmits the trigger signal So. When the presented wireless card 6 enters the communication area O and the wireless card function unit 20 receives a trigger signal of a predetermined level or higher, a response signal is transmitted after the processing time t. As for the response signal, since the wireless card function unit 20 has received the trigger signal of a predetermined level or higher, the response signal is determined to be the reception level OK by the ground function unit 10, and the communication antenna is fixed and the response signal corresponds to the response signal. The first signal necessary for communication processing is transmitted, and thereafter, the ground function unit 10 follows a predetermined rule.
And the wireless card function unit 20 communicate with each other to execute communication processing. When the terrestrial function unit 10 receives the last signal required for the communication process from the wireless card function unit 20, it transmits a communication completion signal, and the execution state C of the communication process between the terrestrial function unit 10 and the wireless card function unit 20 is completed. . Since the wireless card function unit 20 that has received the communication completion signal does not transmit the response signal even if it receives the trigger signal after the completion of the communication process, the ground function unit 10 repeatedly transmits the trigger signal while switching the transmission antennas as in the beginning. To do. The presented wireless card is moved out of the communicable area passing state O by the operation of the presenter. Since the execution of the communication process for the ticket inspection of the commuter pass and the like shown in this embodiment is completed in about 0.15 seconds, the subsequent communication is executed by the antenna which is in the predetermined communication state which is initially set in advance. Even in this case, there is no fear that the communication will be interrupted due to a change in mutual angle or position of the antenna of the ground function unit and the antenna of the wireless card function unit during communication.

The above description shows an embodiment for explaining the basic configuration and the operation thereof for realizing the technical idea of the present invention, and it is appropriate to correspond to the purpose of use of the wireless card and its conditions. Apply it. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the two antennas of the ground device are arranged on the barrier so as to be orthogonal to each other in a state of having an L-shaped cross section has been described. Two or more antennas may be arranged so as to have an appropriate positional relationship and angular relationship with each other in accordance with the usage conditions of the wireless card such as when used for security to be mounted. That is, the arrangement angle is determined according to the angle at which the wireless card is most frequently presented.
It suffices to appropriately switch each antenna by the control function. Therefore, the terrestrial function and the wireless card function, and the respective configuration functions and functions can be applied to any case configured according to the purpose of use and the conditions of the wireless card, and if the communication procedure therefor is appropriately set in advance. good. Therefore, the configuration of the functional elements shown in FIG. 1 and the flow shown in FIG. 3 are not limited and may be appropriately configured. Further, since the function as described above can be realized, if the execution time of the communication processing is appropriately shorter than the variation time of the mutual positional relationship between the wireless card and the wireless card processing device, what type of wireless Of course, it can also be applied to a card system. The display function shown in the embodiment may not necessarily be provided depending on the conditions of the wireless card system.

[0022]

As described above, according to the present invention, since the antenna provided in the wireless card processing device is configured to perform the communication processing, it has the following excellent effects. A stable communication is surely executed without being influenced by the presentation state of the wireless card presented to the barrier of the wireless card processing device and without requiring a complicated control function. Therefore, it is possible to obtain a wireless card processing device in which the wireless card can be effectively and effectively used. Further, when the wireless card communication antenna provided in the wireless card processing device is composed of an antenna formed in a horizontal state and an antenna formed in a vertical state, an economical and effective communication state can be obtained.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of element functions in a wireless card system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 (A) is a block diagram of a ground functional unit of a ground device, and FIG. 1 (B) is a wireless card wireless. It is a block diagram of a card function part.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a commuter pass ticket gate to which the present invention is applied.

3A and 3B are schematic flow charts for explaining the operation of the schematic configuration shown in FIG. 1 of the present invention. FIG. 3A is for explaining the main operation of the present invention, and FIG. 3B is a communication process. It is for explaining the whole operation in.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a commuter pass ticket gate which is an example of a conventional wireless card processing device.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of an electromagnetic induction type antenna coupling for explaining the problems of the conventional wireless card processing device. FIG. 5A shows the case where the wireless card is presented in parallel with the antenna. FIG. 2B shows a case where the wireless card is presented in a state of being orthogonal to the antenna.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1: Gate of station ticket gate 2, 3: Barrier 4: Ticket inspection device 5: Display function 6: Wireless card 10: Ground function part 11a, 11b, 21, 21A, 21B: Antenna 12: Antenna switching / transmission / reception function 13: Level determination function 14: Demodulation function 15, 23: Control function 16: Modulation function 17, 24: Memory 18, 26: Power supply function 20: Wireless card function unit 22: Reception / demodulation function 25: Modulation / transmission function

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. The communication means of the wireless card processing device,
At least two or more antennas for wireless card communication formed so as to form a predetermined angle with each other are provided, and when the wireless card is presented within a predetermined position with respect to the communication means, the antennas for wireless communication are turned on. It is characterized in that the predetermined communication procedure with the wireless card is executed by sequentially switching at a predetermined timing such as division, and the subsequent communication is executed by the antenna for wireless card communication that has reached the communication level earlier. Wireless card processing device. 2. The above-mentioned antenna for communication with a wireless card,
2. The wireless card processing device according to claim 1, wherein the wireless card processing device is arranged in the communication means so as to form an L-shaped cross section by an antenna formed in a horizontal state and an antenna formed in a vertical state.