JPH09212614A - Data marker - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve a data marker capable of incorporating the large amount of data and easily reading and writing the data in the data marker embedded or fixed to a road surface or the like. SOLUTION: For a rivet 1 which is a road surface embedded type data marker, the outer shape is formed as a metallic surrounding body 2, and for the surrounding body 2, the upper part is composed of a cylindrical part 2a and the lower part is composed of a nail part 2b. A data carrier 10 is fixed inside the cylindrical part 2a and the cylindrical part 2a is turned to a peripheral wall surrounding the data carrier 10. Then, on the cylindrical part 2a, a notch 2c is provided on one part. The data carrier 10 is provided with a transmission/ reception coil, a transmission/reception circuit and a storage part for storing electronic data and the transmission/reception coil of the data carrier generates induced electromotive force by electromagnetic field signals from a portable reader-writer and writes the data to the storage part through the transmission/ reception circuit.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a data marker embedded or fixed on a road surface such as a tack or a plate,
In particular, the present invention relates to a data indicator having a storage unit for storing electronic data and capable of writing or reading the data.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as this type of data marker, simple characters or symbols are shown on the upper part of the data marker like the marker tack 1 shown in FIG. 5, and by embedding this marker tack 1 in the road surface. , There is data showing the underground buried objects buried at that point. For example, the example of the data indicator shown in FIG. 5 indicates that the sewer pipe is buried in the direction of the arrow at this point.

[0003]

However, in the conventional data indicator, it is difficult to write data other than the minimum necessary data because the space that can be written above the data indicator is limited. Therefore, for example, the position of the point, the construction date, and the construction contractor name other than the data of the underground buried object must be managed by other means such as drawings. Therefore, in the actual construction, it is necessary to carry a huge amount of materials such as drawings, and the construction and data management are very complicated and there are problems such as making mistakes.

In view of such a problem, there has been proposed a data indicator which can store a large amount of data and can easily read / write the data (Japanese Patent Application No. 8-4860). The present invention is directed to further improving such data indicators.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, the object of claim 1 of the present invention is a data marker which is embedded or fixed on a road surface or the like, and which includes a metal enclosure and And a data carrier arranged inside the enclosure,
The data carrier has a transmission / reception coil, a transmission / reception circuit, and a storage unit for storing electronic data. The transmission / reception coil of the data carrier generates an induced electromotive force by an electromagnetic field signal from a portable reader / writer, and transmits / receives the signal. In the data indicator capable of writing data to the storage unit via a circuit, at least one position of a peripheral wall surrounding the data carrier of the enclosure is provided with a notch.

When a reader / writer is brought close to a data indicator provided with a data carrier, an electromagnetic field signal from the reader / writer causes an induced electromotive force in a transmission / reception coil of the data carrier. At this time, the metal enclosure also functions as a coil surrounding the data carrier, an induced current flows, and the direction of the magnetic field lines is opposite to the direction of the magnetic field lines from the read / write device. The electromagnetic field signal may be weakened, and the induced electromotive force induced in the transmission / reception coil of the data carrier may be reduced to prevent proper reception.
This is because the notch provided on the peripheral wall surrounding the data carrier of the enclosure cuts the current path on the metal surface of the peripheral wall surrounding the data carrier, and the induced current becomes very difficult to flow, so the electromagnetic field from the reader / writer is reduced. The signal can be reliably received by the transmission / reception coil of the data carrier, and the data can be written to the storage unit via the transmission / reception circuit. Further, it is also possible to read the data in the storage unit by converting the data in the storage unit via the transmission / reception circuit into an electromagnetic field signal by the transmission / reception coil and transmitting the electromagnetic field signal to the reader / writer.

By providing the data indicator with a data carrier and storing the necessary management data in its storage,
The data sign itself can have much more information than what was displayed above the conventional data sign,
More efficient construction and management. Also, the data of this data carrier can be kept up-to-date because it can be easily rewritten, so that the data indicator can keep accurate data.

A second aspect of the present invention is characterized in that, in the data indicator according to the first aspect, the data carrier rectifies an electromagnetic field signal from the reader / writer to be a power source. . The data indicator itself does not need to have a power source, so maintenance is not required. Further, as in the first aspect, the electromagnetic field signal from the reader / writer can be received by the transmission / reception coil of the data carrier without being weakened by the metal enclosure, so that the data carrier falls into a power shortage. Nothing.

The invention according to claim 3 is characterized in that, in the data mark according to claim 1 or 2, a non-metallic medium is filled in the notch. As a result, the mechanical strength of the data marker does not deteriorate as compared with the case where there is no notch.

[0010]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an explanatory view showing an embodiment of a data sign embedded or fixed on a road surface according to the present invention. In the figure, 1 is a stud which is a road surface embedded type data marker, and the stud 1 has its outer shape constituted by an enclosure 2 made of metal, and the enclosure 2 has a cylindrical portion 2a at its upper portion and a nail portion at its lower portion. It consists of 2b. The data carrier 10 is fixed inside the tubular portion 2a, and the tubular portion 2a serves as a peripheral wall surrounding the data carrier 10. And the tubular portion 2a
A notch 2c is provided at one place.

As shown in FIG. 2, a transmission / reception coil 10a is arranged inside the data carrier 10 such that the center axis of the winding thereof coincides with the vertical direction of the tack 1. In the present example, the transmission / reception coil 10a uses a coil that also serves as a transmission coil and a reception coil, but it is also possible to separately provide the transmission coil and the reception coil, for example, concentrically. Inside the transmission / reception coil 10a, the transmission / reception circuit 10b is provided.
Further, an EEPROM 10c which is a storage unit described later is arranged, and the transmission / reception coil 10a, the transmission / reception circuit 10b, and the storage unit 10c are sealed by a plastic casing 10d. On the upper surface of the housing 10d of the data carrier 10, the data of the embedded object and its direction are visually represented as in the conventional case.

As a procedure for embedding the tack 1 in a road surface or the like, a hole is drilled in the road surface as in the conventional case, an adhesive is poured into the hole, and then the nail portion 2b of the tack 1 is inserted into the hole. Fix it. FIG. 4 shows a circuit block diagram of the data carrier 10 and a reader / writer (reader / writer) 20 for reading / writing data contained in the data indicator.

Transmission / reception circuit 10b of data carrier 10
Is a frequency discriminator 12, an S / P converter 13, and a controller 1.
4, P / S converter 16, M-sequence generator 17 which is a pseudo signal generator, oscillator 18, and power supply rectification circuit section 19. The reader / writer 20 includes a control unit 21, a P / S converter 22, a modulator 23, an oscillator 24, a power amplifier 25, a transmission / reception coil 26, a preamplifier 27, a correlator 28, and a display unit 2.
9, a keyboard 30 and an I / F unit 31. The transmission / reception coil 26 is composed of two coils in which a transmission coil and a reception coil are separately provided.

The reader / writer 20 configured as described above
The writing operation of the data carrier 10 to the EEPROM 10c from is performed as follows. First, a write command is generated from the control unit 21 in response to an external command via the keyboard 30 of the reader / writer 20 or the I / F unit 31, and the command signal is transmitted to the P / S converter 2.
2 is converted from parallel signal to serial signal,
In the next modulator 23, it is converted into frequency shift keying wave signals (FSK modulation signals) of frequencies F0 and F1 output from the oscillator 24. That is, the data bit “0” is converted into the signal of the frequency F0, and the data bit “1” is converted to the frequency F0.
1 signal. The frequency shift keying wave signal output from the modulator 23 is power-amplified by the power amplifier 25,
An electromagnetic field signal is transmitted from the transmission / reception coil 26 and transmitted.

The transmission / reception coil 10a of the data carrier 10 near the reader / writer 20 is coupled to the transmission / reception coil 26 in a non-contact manner by an electromagnetic field signal sent from the transmission / reception coil 26 of the reader / writer 20 to generate an induced electromotive force. Occurs. That is, a signal due to an induced electromotive force is generated in the transmission / reception coil 10a of the data carrier 10 by electromagnetic induction by causing a frequency shift keying wave signal to flow in the transmission / reception coil 26.

At this time, as shown in FIG. 3, the metal enclosure 2 also functions as a coil surrounding the data carrier 10, an induced current flows in the cylindrical portion 2a, and the direction of the magnetic field lines from the reader / writer 20 is changed. The direction of the magnetic force lines is opposite to that of the magnetic field lines, and the electromagnetic field signal from the reader / writer 20 is weakened, which may reduce the induced electromotive force induced in the transmission / reception coil 10a of the data carrier 10. However, it is provided in the tubular portion 2a. Since the current path on the metal surface of the tubular portion 2a is cut by the cut 2c, and the induced current becomes very difficult to flow, the electromagnetic field signal from the reader / writer 20 is hardly weakened and transmitted / received to / from the data carrier 10. Coil 10a
It is caught in.

The signal induced in the transmission / reception coil 10a is rectified by the power supply rectification circuit section 19, and the data carrier 1
It is used as a power source for each unit inside 0. Therefore, it is not necessary to incorporate a battery in the data carrier 10. Further, the signal induced in the transmission / reception coil 10a is the frequency discriminator 1
2 is discriminated into a frequency F0 and a frequency F1 and the next S
The data is converted into a parallel signal of data bits “0” and “1” by the / P converter 13 and given to the control unit 14. The control unit 14 decodes the write command sent from the reader / writer 20, and writes the next sent data in the memory area of the EEPROM 10c designated by the subsequently sent address.

In this way, the portable reader / writer 20
As the management data of the tack 1 written in the EEPROM 10c of the data carrier 10, there are, for example, a site address, a construction date, a trader name, a type of buried object, a buried depth, a direction of the buried object, and the like. Next, the read operation of the data carrier 10 from the reader / writer 20 will be described. First, the reader / writer 2
A read command is generated from the control unit 21 in response to an external command via the keyboard 30 of 0 or the I / F unit 31, and P
A serial signal is generated by the / S converter 22, and the modulator 23
Are converted into frequency shift keying wave signals of frequencies F0 and F1, and are amplified by the power amplifier 25.
Is transmitted as an electromagnetic field signal.

The transmitting / receiving coil 10a of the data carrier 10
Is an electromagnetic field signal generated by the frequency shift modulation wave signals of frequencies F0 and F1 sent from the transmission / reception coil 26 of the reader / writer 20, and the induced signal is rectified by the power supply rectification circuit unit 19. , The power sources of the respective parts are produced and brought into an operating state, the frequencies F0 and F1 are simultaneously discriminated by the frequency discriminator 12, converted into parallel signals by the S / P converter 13, and supplied to the control unit 14. Also at this time, since the cut 2c can prevent the induced current from flowing in the tubular portion 2a, the induced electromotive force induced in the transmission / reception coil 10a is not weakened.

When the control unit 14 decodes the read command sent from the reader / writer 20, it reads the data from the memory area of the EEPROM 10c designated by the subsequently sent address. This read signal is P /
It is converted into a serial signal by the S converter 16 and supplied to the M sequence generator 17. The M-sequence generator 17 generates a unique M-sequence signal as a spread spectrum signal according to the data bits 0 and 1, and the M-sequence signal and the signal from the oscillator 18 generate an M-sequence phase shift keying carrier signal (PSK). It becomes a modulated signal) and is transmitted from the transmission / reception coil 10a.

The electromagnetic field signal of the M-sequence phase shift keying carrier wave signal transmitted from the data carrier 10 is received by the transmission / reception coil 26 of the reader / writer 20, amplified by the preamplifier 27, and input to the correlator 28. It The correlator 28 calculates the autocorrelation between the input signal and the same predetermined M-sequence code used in the M-sequence generator 17 of the data carrier 10 to calculate the autocorrelation peak value. The data bit “0” or “1” corresponding to the used M-sequence code is determined as the received data.

By repeating the receiving operation with respect to the transmission signal from the data carrier 10 as described above, the data of the data carrier 10 is read and displayed on the display 29, or for management externally connected via the I / F section 31. The read data can be transferred to a computer or the like. According to this example, the current path on the metal surface of the tubular portion 2a surrounding the data carrier 10 is cut by the notch 2c, and it is possible to prevent the induced current from flowing through the tubular portion 2a. Therefore, the electromagnetic field from the reader / writer 20 is blocked. The signal can be reliably received by the transmission / reception coil 10a of the data carrier 10. Further, by forming the outer shape of the tack 1 with the metal enclosure 2, mechanical strength is also ensured.

FIG. 5 shows another embodiment of the present invention, in which the same reference numerals as in the previous embodiment denote the same members. In this example, a filling member 3 made of a hard non-metallic medium (for example, ceramic or hard plastic) is fitted in the cut 2c, and even in this case, the induction current is prevented from flowing in the tubular portion 2a. can do. Further, since the inside of the cut 2c is filled with the filling member 3, the mechanical strength can be secured to the same extent as when the cut 2c is not provided.

FIG. 6 shows another embodiment of the present invention, in which reference numeral 6 is a plate as a data marker fixed to a road surface or the like. The plate 6 not only displays the same as the tack 1 of the previous embodiment, but is also used as a boundary display plate in which boundaries and boundary points are indicated by arrows. Alternatively, they are fixed by being bonded with an adhesive material. The plate 6 is composed of a metal enclosure 7, and a data carrier 10 is inserted and fixed in a hole 7 a provided in the enclosure 7. The inner peripheral wall 7b of the hole 7a surrounding the data carrier 10 is provided with three notches 7c. The notch 7c does not extend from the inner peripheral wall 7b to the outer surface of the enclosure 7 and ends at a midway position thereof, but even in this case, the current path on the surface of the inner peripheral wall 7b is cut off, and in the vicinity of the data carrier 10. Since the induced current becomes very difficult to flow, the electromagnetic field signal from the reader / writer 20 can be reliably received by the transmission / reception coil 10a of the data carrier 10. As described above, since it is necessary to make it difficult for the induced current near the data carrier 10 to flow, a groove-shaped notch as in this example may be used.

EEPROM 1 of this data carrier 10
The write / read operation from the reader / writer 20 for 0c is the same as in the previous example. Reader / writer 2
As the management data written in the data carrier 10 of the plate 6 by 0, for example, the position of the boundary point, the site address,
There is a construction date, a trader name, etc. Alternatively, the same content as that of the tack 1 of the previous example can be written as management data.

In each of the above-described embodiments, the data sign itself can have much more information than what is displayed above the conventional data sign, so that construction and management can be performed more efficiently. You can do it. Also, the data of this data carrier can be kept up-to-date because it can be easily rewritten, so that the data indicator can keep accurate data.

As the data indicator, in addition to the above-mentioned tacks for indicating the buried pipe and the plate for indicating the boundary line, it is also possible to use them for data indicators such as reference tacks and reference plates for surveying. it can.

[0028]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the invention, the electromagnetic field signal from the reader / writer is received by the transmission / reception coil of the data carrier without being weakened by the metal enclosure. be able to. Further, since the metal enclosure is used, it is possible to secure the mechanical strength.

According to the second aspect of the invention, it is not necessary to provide the data indicator itself with a power source, and maintenance is unnecessary. Further, as in the first aspect, the electromagnetic field signal from the reader / writer can be received by the transmission / reception coil of the data carrier without being weakened by the metal enclosure, so that the data carrier falls into a power shortage. Nothing.

According to the third aspect of the invention, since the non-metallic medium is filled in the cut, the mechanical strength is not deteriorated as compared with the case where there is no cut.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory perspective view showing an embodiment of a data marker embedded or fixed on a road surface and a reader / writer (reader / writer) for reading / writing data contained in the data marker according to the present invention. It is a figure.

2 is a plan view showing the inside of the data carrier 10. FIG.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the principle of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a circuit block diagram of a data carrier and a reader / writer.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory perspective view showing another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory perspective view showing another embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 tack (data marker) 2 metal enclosure 2a cylindrical portion 2c cut 6 plate (data marker) 7 metal enclosure 7b peripheral wall 7c cut 10 data carrier 10a transceiver coil 10c EEPROM (memory) 19 power rectifier 20 Reader / Writer (reader / writer)

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A data marker to be embedded or fixed on a road surface, comprising a metal enclosure and a data carrier arranged inside the enclosure, the data carrier being a transmitting / receiving coil, transmitting / receiving coil. A storage unit for storing a circuit and electronic data, and the transmission / reception coil of the data carrier,
In a data indicator capable of generating an induced electromotive force by an electromagnetic field signal from a portable read / write device and writing data to the storage unit via a transmission / reception circuit, a peripheral wall surrounding a data carrier of the enclosure. A data indicator characterized by having a notch in at least one location. 2. The data carrier is the read / write device.
The data indicator according to claim 1, wherein the electromagnetic field signal from the writer is rectified and used as a power source. 3. The data indicator according to claim 1, wherein the notch is filled with a non-metallic medium.