JP4465708B2 - Wireless tag information communication device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To read/write information only from/into a wireless tag circuit element of access target with a simple structure and a convenient method, without requiring the construction of a shield environment, the reduction of output power, and/or the method of identification communication or the like, even if hi-frequency waves in a UHF band or the like are used. <P>SOLUTION: A wireless tag information communication device comprises a cartridge 20 constituted so that a wireless tag circuit element 10A having an IC circuit 100 and an antenna 101 can be taken out sequentially, a signal processing circuit 52, a quartz resonator 56, a PLL 57, a VCO 58, a first mixer 71, a first amplifier 72, an antenna 40, and a conveyance guide 83 for holding the wireless tag circuit element 10A which has been taken out sequentially in a predetermined access area opposed to the antenna 40. The cartridge 20 is disposed so that the antenna 101 of the housed wireless tag circuit element 10A will be positioned in an area where the antenna sensitivity of the antenna 40 is relatively low. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&amp;NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a wireless tag capable of exchanging information with the outside through wireless communication, and more particularly to a wireless tag information communication apparatus that reads or writes information from / to a wireless tag circuit element provided in the wireless tag.

There is known an RFID ( Radio Frequency Identification) system that reads / writes information in a non-contact manner between a small wireless tag and a reader (reading device) / writer (writing device). For example, a wireless tag circuit element provided in a label-like wireless tag includes an IC circuit unit that stores predetermined information and an antenna unit that is connected to the IC circuit unit and transmits and receives information. Even if it is dirty or placed in an invisible position, information can be read / written from / to the IC circuit section from the reader / writer side, and various fields such as product management and inspection processes can be performed. Is expected to be put to practical use.

  For example, as a writer (writing device) for writing information to such a RFID circuit element, the one described in Patent Document 1 is known. In this prior art, belt-shaped paper with rectangular labels attached at predetermined intervals is sequentially unwound from the paper supply unit and supplied from one side of the housing, and the predetermined information generated by the module in the housing is By sequentially transmitting to the IC circuit portion of the RFID tag circuit element by transmitting to the RFID tag circuit element side attached to the label via the read / write antenna provided in the belt-shaped paper conveyance path. Finally, it is discharged from the other side of the housing.

JP 2002-2026 (paragraph numbers 0002 to 0009, FIGS. 1 to 4)

  In communication with wireless tags, the 125 KHz band that has been used for a long time and the 13.56 MHz band that has been used for a long time have been used. However, since those using these bands have a short communication distance, there is a problem that the use as a wireless tag is limited. Therefore, in the future, it is considered to use a high frequency in the UHF band (830 to 930 MHz band, 2.45 GHz band, etc.) that is widely used in Europe and the United States as a frequency band.

  In the above prior art, no special consideration has been given to the case of using such a high frequency band, so that as it is, not only the RFID tag circuit element that is the original information writing target but also the subsequent information is increased by increasing the communication distance. There is a possibility that information may be written to the IC circuit portion of another RFID circuit element. For this reason, if it is intended to prevent this, for example, it is possible to reduce the transmission output to enable communication with only tags in the immediate vicinity, or to communicate with the write target tag circuit element in a shielded environment, There has been a need for measures such as separately performing communication for identifying the tag circuit element and specifying communication targets to perform communication for writing information.

  In addition, when reading from the RFID circuit element, as in the above case, if the communication distance is increased as it is, not only the RFID circuit element that is the original information reading target but also other RFID tag circuit elements that follow. There is a possibility that the information of the IC circuit portion of the device is read out, and a similar measure is necessary to prevent this.

  The object of the present invention is that even when a high frequency in the UHF band is used, a method for constructing a shield environment, a method for reducing output, identification communication, etc. is not required, and a read or write target can be read with a simple structure and a simple method. An object of the present invention is to provide a wireless tag information communication apparatus capable of reading or writing information only to a wireless tag circuit element.

In order to achieve the above object, the first invention accommodates a plurality of RFID circuit elements each having an IC circuit part for storing predetermined information and a tag side antenna part connected to the IC circuit part for transmitting and receiving information. And a RFID circuit element storage unit configured to be sequentially extractable, an access information generation unit for accessing RFID tag information of the IC circuit unit, and a carrier wave for accessing the RFID tag information of the IC circuit unit A carrier generation unit for generating the carrier wave, a carrier wave modulation unit for modulating the carrier wave generated by the carrier wave generation unit using the access information generated by the access information generation unit, and amplifying the modulated wave modulated by the carrier wave modulation unit The modulated wave amplifying unit and the output of the modulated wave amplifying unit are transmitted to the IC circuit unit in a non-contact manner by wireless communication using a high frequency in the UHF band, A predetermined access area for accessing the RFID tag information from the device-side antenna unit for the device-side antenna unit for accessing the RFID tag information and the RFID circuit element sequentially taken out from the RFID circuit element storage unit The RFID tag circuit element storage portion is configured such that the tag side antenna portion of the stored RFID tag circuit element has substantially minimum radiation directivity of the device side antenna portion. It arrange | positions so that it may be located in the area | region which becomes .

  At the time of reading or writing to the RFID circuit element, the access information generated by the access information generation unit is used by the carrier modulation unit to modulate the carrier from the carrier generation unit, and is further amplified by the modulation wave amplification unit. Thereafter, the signal is transmitted from the device-side antenna unit to the IC circuit unit side of the RFID circuit element in a non-contact manner, thereby accessing the RFID tag information of the IC circuit unit.

Then, the RFID tag circuit element storage unit is arranged so that the antenna unit (tag side antenna unit) of the stored RFID tag circuit element is located in a region where the radiation directivity of the device side antenna unit is substantially minimized .

By arranging the tag-side antenna unit in a so-called null region where the radiation-directivity of the device-side antenna unit is hardly present, an antenna from the device-side antenna unit is used for the RFID circuit element stored in the RFID circuit element storage unit. The sensitivity is low and the strength of the communication signal is reduced. Therefore, after removal from the RFID circuit element storage unit, accessible only with Do Ri in the wireless tag information of the IC circuit part of the RFID circuit elements which are held in the RFID circuit element holding portion, the RFID circuit element storage unit Access to the RFID circuit element housed in the device from the device-side antenna can be reliably prevented. As a result, even when a high frequency in the UHF band is used, the RFID tag information can be read or written only to the RFID circuit element to be read or written by a simple structure and a simple method, and the shield environment No need for techniques such as construction, small output and identification communication.

In order to achieve the above object, the second invention accommodates a plurality of RFID circuit elements each having an IC circuit part for storing predetermined information and a tag side antenna part connected to the IC circuit part for transmitting and receiving information. And a RFID circuit element storage unit configured to be sequentially extractable, an access information generation unit for accessing RFID tag information of the IC circuit unit, and a carrier wave for accessing the RFID tag information of the IC circuit unit A carrier generation unit for generating the carrier wave, a carrier wave modulation unit for modulating the carrier wave generated by the carrier wave generation unit using the access information generated by the access information generation unit, and amplifying the modulated wave modulated by the carrier wave modulation unit The modulated wave amplifying unit and the output of the modulated wave amplifying unit are transmitted to the IC circuit unit in a non-contact manner by wireless communication using a high frequency in the UHF band, A predetermined access area for accessing the RFID tag information from the device-side antenna unit for the device-side antenna unit for accessing the RFID tag information and the RFID circuit element sequentially taken out from the RFID circuit element storage unit And the device-side antenna unit has a radiation direction of the tag-side antenna unit of the RFID tag circuit element located closest to the take-out side among the stored RFID tag circuit elements. It arrange | positions so that it may be located in the area | region where property is substantially the minimum .

  At the time of reading or writing to the RFID circuit element, the access information generated by the access information generation unit is used by the carrier modulation unit to modulate the carrier from the carrier generation unit, and is further amplified by the modulation wave amplification unit. Thereafter, the signal is transmitted from the device-side antenna unit to the IC circuit unit side of the RFID circuit element in a non-contact manner, thereby accessing the RFID tag information of the IC circuit unit.

The device-side antenna section is in an area where the radiation directivity of the tag-side antenna section of the RFID tag circuit element located closest to the take-out side among the RFID tag circuit elements housed in the RFID circuit element housing section is substantially minimized. The device-side antenna unit is arranged so as to be positioned.

By placing the device-side antenna section in a so-called null region where the radiation directivity of the tag-side antenna section of the RFID tag circuit element placed at the position closest to the RFID circuit element holding section is reduced, the RFID circuit element storage section The antenna sensitivity of the tag side antenna portion of the RFID tag circuit element housed in the device side antenna portion is low, and the strength of the communication signal is reduced. Therefore, Ri Do only accessible to RFID tag information of the IC circuit part of the RFID circuit element, can be reliably prevented access from the apparatus antenna portion with respect to the RFID circuit element housed in the wireless tag circuit element housing portion. As a result, even when a high frequency in the UHF band is used, the RFID tag information can be read or written only to the RFID circuit element to be read or written by a simple structure and a simple method, and the shield environment No need for techniques such as construction, small output and identification communication.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect of the invention, the tag-side antenna unit is configured by a linear dipole antenna, and the longitudinal direction of the element of the linear dipole antenna and the vicinity of the RFID circuit element holding unit The RFID tag circuit element is substantially in a transport direction.
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in any one of the first to third aspects, the device-side antenna unit includes a linear dipole antenna, and the longitudinal direction of the element of the linear dipole antenna of the device-side antenna unit is A direction in which the RFID tag circuit element is conveyed in the vicinity of the RFID circuit element holding portion is substantially along.

In order to achieve the above object, the fifth invention houses a plurality of RFID circuit elements each having an IC circuit section for storing predetermined information and a tag side antenna section connected to the IC circuit section for transmitting and receiving information. And a RFID circuit element storage unit configured to be sequentially extractable, an access information generation unit for accessing RFID tag information of the IC circuit unit, and a carrier wave for accessing the RFID tag information of the IC circuit unit A carrier generation unit for generating the carrier wave, a carrier wave modulation unit for modulating the carrier wave generated by the carrier wave generation unit using the access information generated by the access information generation unit, and amplifying the modulated wave modulated by the carrier wave modulation unit and modulating wave amplifying unit, the output of the modulation wave amplifier unit, and transmitted to the IC circuit part in a non-contact manner by wireless communication using high frequency UHF band A device-side antenna unit that accesses the RFID tag information and a RFID tag circuit element sequentially taken out from the RFID circuit element storage unit, a predetermined access area for accessing the RFID tag information from the device-side antenna unit The RFID circuit element storage unit and the device-side antenna unit of the tag-side antenna unit of the RFID circuit element stored in the RFID circuit element storage unit. The polarization plane and the polarization plane of the device-side antenna unit are arranged so as to be twisted with each other.

  At the time of reading or writing to the RFID circuit element, the access information generated by the access information generation unit is used by the carrier modulation unit to modulate the carrier from the carrier generation unit, and is further amplified by the modulation wave amplification unit. Thereafter, the signal is transmitted from the device-side antenna unit to the IC circuit unit side of the RFID circuit element in a non-contact manner, thereby accessing the RFID tag information of the IC circuit unit.

  And when the polarization plane of the tag side antenna section and the polarization plane of the apparatus side antenna section are in parallel relation, the communication signal strength of both is the greatest, and the communication signal becomes larger as they become non-parallel and have a crossing angle. The RFID tag circuit element is housed so that the polarization plane of the tag-side antenna section of the RFID tag circuit element and the polarization plane of the apparatus-side antenna section of the stored RFID tag circuit element are twisted with respect to each other. And the device-side antenna unit are arranged.

As a result, the polarization plane from the device-side antenna section does not match the polarization plane of the tag-side antenna section of the RFID circuit element housed in the RFID circuit element housing section, and the strength of the communication signal is reduced. For this reason, after taking out from the RFID circuit element storage unit, it is possible to access only the RFID tag information of the IC circuit of the RFID circuit element held in the RFID circuit element holding unit. As a result, even when a high frequency in the UHF band is used, the RFID tag information can be read or written only to the RFID circuit element to be read or written by a simple structure and a simple method, and the shield environment No need for techniques such as construction, small output and identification communication.

  [0021]

  [0022]

  [0023]

  [0024]

  [0025]

  [0026]

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention based on the fifth aspect , the RFID tag circuit element storage portion is configured such that the tag side antenna portion of the stored RFID tag circuit element has an electric field strength from the device side antenna portion. It is arranged so as to be located in a region that is 1/10 or less of the element holding portion.

  An apparatus for an RFID circuit element accommodated in an RFID tag circuit element storage section by arranging the tag antenna section in a region where the electric field intensity from the antenna antenna section is 1/10 or less of the RFID tag circuit element holding section. Access from the side antenna can be reliably prevented.

In a seventh aspect based on the fifth aspect , the RFID tag circuit element housing portion is configured such that the tag side antenna portion of the housed RFID tag circuit element has a radiation directivity of the device side antenna portion substantially minimized. It arrange | positions so that it may be located in an area | region.

  By placing the tag-side antenna part in the so-called null area where the radiation directivity of the device-side antenna part is almost non-existent, access from the device-side antenna part to the RFID circuit element stored in the RFID circuit element storage part is further ensured. Can be prevented.

In an eighth aspect based on the fifth aspect , the device-side antenna unit holds the strength of the reflected electric field from the tag-side antenna unit of the stored RFID circuit element in the RFID circuit element holding unit. The RFID tag circuit element is arranged so as to be located in a region that is 1/10 or less of the intensity of the reflected electric field from the tag side antenna portion.

  The strength of the reflected electric field from the tag side antenna portion of the stored RFID tag circuit element is 1 / of the strength of the reflected electric field from the tag side antenna portion of the RFID tag circuit element held by the RFID tag circuit element holding portion. By arranging the device-side antenna unit in an area of 10 or less, communication is established because the strength of the communication signal between the wireless tag circuit element housed in the wireless tag circuit element housing unit and the device-side antenna unit is small. Therefore, it is possible to reliably prevent access from the device-side antenna unit.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention based on the fifth aspect , the device-side antenna portion has a radiation directivity of the tag-side antenna portion of the RFID tag circuit element located closest to the take-out side among the stored RFID tag circuit elements. It arrange | positions so that it may be located in the area | region which becomes substantially the minimum.

  By placing the device-side antenna section in a so-called null region where the radiation directivity of the tag-side antenna section of the RFID tag circuit element placed at the position closest to the RFID circuit element holding section is reduced, the RFID circuit element storage section Access to the RFID circuit element housed in the device from the antenna unit on the device side can be prevented more reliably.

According to a tenth aspect of the invention, in any one of the fifth to ninth aspects of the invention, the RFID circuit element storage unit and the device-side antenna unit are the RFID circuit elements stored in the RFID circuit element storage unit. The polarization plane of the tag side antenna section and the polarization plane of the apparatus side antenna section are arranged so as to form an angle of 60 ° or more and 90 ° or less.

  When the plane of polarization of the tag side antenna section and the plane of polarization of the apparatus side antenna section are in a parallel relationship, the intensity of the communication signal of both is the greatest, and the intensity of the communication signal increases as they become non-parallel and have a crossing angle. Will go down. By setting the angle between the polarization planes to 60 ° or more, it is possible to halve the strength of the communication signals of the two compared with at least in the parallel relationship, and to the RFID circuit element housed in the RFID circuit element housing portion. Access from the device-side antenna can be reliably prevented.

According to an eleventh aspect of the present invention, in any one of the fifth to ninth aspects, the RFID circuit element storage unit and the device-side antenna unit are the RFID circuit elements stored in the RFID circuit element storage unit. The tag-side antenna unit and the device-side antenna unit are arranged so that a plane of polarization forms approximately 90 °.

  By making the angle between the polarization plane of the tag-side antenna section and the polarization plane of the apparatus-side antenna section approximately 90 °, communication is almost impossible, and the apparatus side with respect to the RFID circuit element housed in the RFID circuit element housing section Access from the antenna section can be prevented more reliably.

In a twelfth aspect according to any one of the fifth to eleventh aspects, the RFID circuit element storage unit and the RFID circuit element holding unit are the RFID circuit elements in the RFID circuit element storage unit. The polarization plane of the tag-side antenna section at the take-out position of the tag-side antenna and the polarization plane of the tag-side antenna section of the RFID tag circuit element already taken out and held in the RFID tag circuit element holding section are 60 ° or more and 90 ° It arrange | positions so that the following angles may be made.

  By making an angle of at least 60 ° or more between the polarization plane direction when it is taken out from the RFID circuit element storage section and the polarization plane direction when it is held by the RFID tag circuit element holding section, the apparatus side Compared to the case where communication is performed from the antenna unit to the tag-side antenna unit of the RFID circuit element in the RFID circuit element holding unit, among the RFID circuit elements in the RFID circuit element storage unit from the device-side antenna unit, the RFID circuit The device-side antenna unit for the RFID circuit element stored in the RFID circuit element storage unit can at least halve the strength of the communication signal when communicating with the tag antenna unit at the take-out position closest to the element holding unit. Can be reliably prevented from accessing.

  In a thirteenth aspect based on the twelfth aspect, the polarization plane of the tag side antenna section at the take-out position and the polarization plane of the tag side antenna section of the RFID tag circuit element held by the RFID tag circuit element holding section. Further, the apparatus further comprises a turn transporting means for transporting the RFID circuit element while turning the direction of the RFID circuit element between the take-out position and the RFID circuit element holding part so that the angle forms the angle of 60 degrees or more and 90 degrees or less. It is characterized by that.

  Thus, the direction of the RFID circuit element is changed between the time when the RFID circuit element is taken out from the RFID circuit element storage unit and before being conveyed to the RFID circuit element holding unit for reading or writing information. The polarization plane direction of the tag antenna portion can be changed by at least 60 °. As a result, the strength of the communication signal from the device-side antenna unit to the tag-side antenna unit in the RFID circuit element housing unit is at least greater than the strength of the communication signal from the device-side antenna unit to the tag-side antenna unit in the RFID tag circuit element holding unit. It is possible to halve and reliably prevent access from the device-side antenna unit to the RFID circuit element housed in the RFID circuit element housing unit.

In a fourteenth aspect based on any one of the fifth to eleventh aspects, the RFID circuit element housing portion and the RFID circuit element holding portion are the RFID circuit elements in the RFID circuit element housing portion. The polarization plane of the tag-side antenna unit at the take-out position and the polarization plane of the tag-side antenna unit of the RFID circuit element already taken out and held by the RFID circuit element holding unit are approximately 90 °. It is characterized by being arranged.

  By making the polarization plane direction when taken out from the radio tag circuit element storage part approximately 90 ° with the polarization plane direction when held by the radio tag circuit element holding part, the radio tag is separated from the device side antenna part. Communication from the RFID tag circuit element in the circuit element storage unit to the tag side antenna unit can be made substantially impossible, and access from the device side antenna unit to the RFID tag circuit element stored in the RFID circuit element storage unit Can be prevented more reliably.

  In a fifteenth aspect based on the fourteenth aspect, the polarization plane of the tag side antenna section at the take-out position and the polarization plane of the tag side antenna section of the RFID tag circuit element held by the RFID tag circuit element holding section. Further, the apparatus further includes a turning and conveying means for conveying the RFID tag circuit element while turning the direction from the take-out position to the RFID tag circuit element holding portion so as to form approximately 90 °.

  Thus, the direction of the RFID circuit element is changed between the time when the RFID circuit element is taken out from the RFID circuit element storage unit and before being conveyed to the RFID circuit element holding unit for reading or writing information. The polarization plane direction of the tag antenna portion can be changed by approximately 90 °. As a result, the strength of the communication signal from the device-side antenna unit to the tag-side antenna unit in the RFID circuit element housing unit is significantly higher than the strength of the communication signal from the device-side antenna unit to the tag-side antenna unit in the RFID tag circuit element holding unit. It is possible to reduce (substantially disable communication), and it is possible to more reliably prevent access from the device-side antenna unit to the RFID circuit element housed in the RFID circuit element housing part.

  In a sixteenth aspect based on any one of the first to fifteenth aspects, the RFID circuit element housing portion winds a tape-shaped material in which the plurality of RFID circuit elements are sequentially formed in the longitudinal direction. A reel member is provided.

  Thereby, a plurality of RFID tag circuit elements can be sequentially taken out by rotating the reel member and unwinding the tape-shaped material.

  According to a seventeenth aspect of the present invention, in any one of the first to fifteenth aspects, the RFID circuit element storage unit includes a plurality of flat paper-like label materials each having one RFID circuit element formed thereon. A tray member that is stacked and stored in the flat stacking direction is provided.

  Accordingly, a plurality of RFID tag circuit elements can be sequentially taken out by pulling out the flat paper-like label material one by one from a take-out port provided on, for example, one side (for example, the side) of the tray member.

  According to the present invention, even when a high frequency in the UHF band is used, there is no need for a shield environment construction, a small output / identification communication method, etc., and a simple structure and a simple method can be used for reading or writing. The RFID tag information can be read or written only to the RFID tag circuit element.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The present embodiment is an embodiment in the case where the present invention is applied to a wireless tag generation system capable of only reading (not writing).

  A first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram showing a wireless tag generation system to which the wireless tag information communication apparatus of this embodiment is applied.

  In the RFID tag generating system 1 shown in FIG. 1, the RFID tag information communication device (reading device) 2 according to this embodiment includes a route server 4, a terminal 5, a general-purpose computer 6, and a general-purpose computer 6 via a wired or wireless communication line 3. A plurality of information servers 7 are connected.

  FIG. 2 is a conceptual configuration diagram showing a detailed structure of the RFID tag information communication apparatus 2.

  In FIG. 2, the RFID tag information communication apparatus 2 has a plurality of RFID tag circuit elements 10A and a detachable cartridge (RFID circuit element accommodation portion) 20 configured to be able to sequentially take them out. Yes.

  FIG. 3 is a view showing the detailed structure of the cartridge 20 as viewed from the direction III in FIG.

  3 and FIG. 2 described above, the cartridge 20 is wound with a belt-like base tape (tape label material) 21 in which a plurality of RFID circuit elements 10A are sequentially formed in the longitudinal direction (details will be described later). In addition, a first roll (reel member) 22, a second roll 24 around which a transparent cover film 23 having the same width as the base tape 21 is wound, and an ink around which a printing ink ribbon 25 is wound. The ribbon roll 26, the take-up roller 27 for taking up the ink ribbon 25 after printing, and the base tape 21 and the cover film 23 are pressed and bonded together to form a tag tape 28, and the tape is fed in the direction indicated by the arrow. The pressure roller 29 to be rotated is provided so as to be able to rotate about each axis. Of these, the take-up roller 27 and the pressure roller 29 are rotationally driven by the driving force of a cartridge motor 30 (see FIG. 2), for example, a pulse motor provided outside the cartridge. The driving of the cartridge motor 30 is controlled by a cartridge driving circuit 31 (see FIG. 2).

  The base tape 21 has a four-layer structure as shown in a partially enlarged view in FIG. 3, and is directed from the side (the right side in FIG. 3) to which the cover film 23 is later adhered to the opposite side (the left side in FIG. 3). Then, an adhesive layer 32, a colored base film 33 made of PET (polyethylene terephthalate), an adhesive layer 34, and a release paper 35 are laminated in this order. The base tape 21 and the first roll 22 constitute a wireless tag circuit element housing.

  An IC circuit unit 100 is integrally provided on the back side (left side in FIG. 3) of the base film 33, and an antenna unit 101 is formed on the surface of the back side of the base film 33. The antenna unit 101 constitutes the RFID circuit element 10A (see also FIG. 7 described later).

  FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram showing a functional configuration of the RFID circuit element 10A.

  In FIG. 4, the RFID circuit element 10A includes the antenna unit (tag) that transmits and receives signals in a contactless manner using a high frequency in the UHF band with an antenna 40 (details will be described later) provided in the RFID tag information communication apparatus 2. Side antenna unit) 101 and an IC circuit unit 100 connected to the antenna unit 101.

  The IC circuit unit 100 includes a rectifying unit 111 that rectifies a carrier wave received by the antenna unit 101, a power source unit 112 that accumulates energy of the carrier wave rectified by the rectifying unit 111, and serves as a driving power source, and the antenna unit. 101, a clock extraction unit 114 that extracts a clock signal from a carrier wave received by the carrier 101 and supplies the clock signal to a control unit 113 (described later), a memory unit 115 that functions as an information storage unit that can store a predetermined information signal, and the antenna unit A modulation / demodulation unit 116 connected to 101, and a control unit 113 for controlling the operation of the RFID circuit element 10A through the rectification unit 111, the clock extraction unit 114, the modulation / demodulation unit 116, and the like.

  The modem unit 116 demodulates the communication signal received from the antenna 40 of the RFID tag information communication apparatus 2 received by the antenna unit 101 and received from the antenna unit 101 based on the return signal from the control unit 113. Reflectively modulate the carrier wave.

  The control unit 113 interprets the received signal demodulated by the modulation / demodulation unit 116, generates a reply signal based on the information signal stored in the memory unit 115, and performs basic operations such as control for returning by the modulation / demodulation unit 116. Execute proper control. In the present embodiment, the IC circuit unit 100 is configured to be capable of only reading (not writing) information stored in the memory unit 115 via the control unit 113.

  Returning to FIG. 3, the adhesive layer 32 for later bonding the cover film 23 is formed on the front side (right side in FIG. 3) of the base film 33, and the back side of the base film 33 is formed by the adhesive layer 34. The release paper 35 is bonded to the base film 33. The release paper 35 is configured such that when the completed wireless tag 10 is affixed to a predetermined product or the like, it can be adhered to the product or the like by the adhesive layer 34 by peeling it off.

  The ink ribbon roll 26 and the take-up roller 27 are arranged on the back side of the cover film 23, that is, the side to be bonded to the base tape 21. At this time, in the vicinity of the cartridge 20, a thermal head 41 that is energized by the print drive circuit 42 (see FIG. 2) and performs printing (printing) on the cover film 23 is provided, and the ink ribbon 25 is connected to the thermal head 41. Is pressed against the back surface of the cover film 23.

  In such a configuration, the winding roller 27 and the pressure roller 29 are rotated in synchronization with each other in the directions indicated by the arrows by driving the cartridge motor 30, and a plurality of heat generation of the thermal head 41 is performed by the print driving circuit 42. The element is energized. As a result, a print 43 (see FIG. 6A described later) such as predetermined characters, symbols, and barcodes is printed on the back surface of the cover film 23 (= the surface on the adhesive layer 32 side, see FIG. 7 described later). Since the printing is performed from the back side, characters and the like to be mirrored are printed from the printing side). After this printing, the pressure-sensitive roller 29 is bonded to the base tape 21 to form the tag tape 28, and is unwound from the cartridge 20 through the conveyance guide 83 and is carried out.

  Further, referring back to FIG. 2, the RFID tag information communication apparatus 2 communicates with the RFID tag circuit element 10 </ b> A provided in the tag tape 28 with respect to the tag tape 28 passing through the conveyance guide 83 in association with the printing operation. The antenna (device-side antenna unit) 40 that transmits and receives signals by radio communication using high-frequency waves in the UHF band, and information (RFID tag information) of the IC circuit unit 100 of the RFID circuit element 10A via the antenna 40 The high-frequency circuit 51 for accessing (reading in this example), the signal read from the IC circuit unit 100 of the RFID circuit element 10A is processed to read information, and the IC circuit of the RFID circuit element 10A A signal processing circuit 52 that also functions as an access information generation unit that generates access information for accessing the unit 100, and the cartridge Control for controlling the overall operation of the RFID tag information communication apparatus 2 via the moving circuit 31, the print driving circuit 42, the high frequency circuit 51, the signal processing circuit 52, the solenoid driving circuit 88 and the sending roller driving circuit 90, which will be described later. Circuit 60.

  The control circuit 60 is a so-called microcomputer, and although not shown in detail, is composed of a central processing unit such as a CPU, a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), and the like, and is temporarily stored in the RAM. The signal processing is performed according to a program stored in advance in the ROM while using the function. The control circuit 60 is connected to the communication line 3 by an input / output interface 61, and can exchange information with the route server 4, the terminal 5, the general-purpose computer 6, the information server 7, and the like. Yes.

  FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram showing detailed functions of the high-frequency circuit 51.

  In FIG. 5, the high frequency circuit 51 receives a transmission unit 53 that transmits a signal to the RFID circuit element 10 </ b> A through the antenna 40 and a reflected wave from the RFID circuit element 10 </ b> A that is received by the antenna 40. The unit 54 and a directional coupler 55 are included.

  The transmission unit 53 is a crystal resonator 56 that functions as a carrier wave generation unit that generates a carrier wave for accessing (reading in this example) the RFID tag information of the IC circuit unit 100 of the RFID circuit element 10A. Locked Loop (57), VCO (Voltage Controlled Oscillator) 58, and a carrier wave generated by the carrier wave generator based on a signal supplied from the signal processing circuit 52 (for example, based on a “TX-ASK” signal) A first mixer 71 that functions as a carrier wave modulation unit that performs amplitude modulation) and a first amplifier 72 that functions as a modulation wave amplification unit that amplifies the modulated wave modulated by the first mixer 71. The carrier wave generated by the carrier wave generator preferably uses a UHF band frequency, and the output of the first amplifier 72 is transmitted to the antenna 40 via the directional coupler 55 to be a wireless tag. It is supplied to the IC circuit unit 100 of the circuit element 10A.

  The receiver 54 multiplies the reflected wave from the RFID circuit element 10A received by the antenna 40 and the carrier wave generated by the carrier wave generator, and the output of the second mixer 73 is a band. After being generated by the second wave generator 76 that is input through the pass filter 74 and amplified and supplied to the first limiter 75, the reflected wave from the RFID circuit element 10A received by the antenna 40, and the carrier wave generation unit A third mixer 77 that multiplies the carrier wave whose phase is shifted by 90 °, and a third amplifier 80 that inputs the output of the third mixer 77 through the band-pass filter 78 and amplifies and supplies the amplified signal to the second limiter 79; It has. The signal “RXS-I” output from the first limiter 75 and the signal “RXS-Q” output from the second limiter 79 are input to the signal processing circuit 52 and processed.

  At this time, the outputs of the first amplifier 76 and the third amplifier 80 are also input to an RSSI (Received Signal Strength Indicator) 81 so that a signal “RSSI” indicating the strength of those signals is input to the signal processing circuit 52. It has become. In this way, in the RFID tag information communication apparatus 2 of the present embodiment, the reflected wave from the RFID tag 10 is demodulated by IQ orthogonal demodulation.

  Returning to FIG. 2 again, the RFID tag information communication apparatus 2 is provided in the vicinity of the outlet portion of the cartridge 20, and reads (or writes) the RFID tag information from the IC circuit portion 100 of the RFID circuit element 10A. (See) a tag 82 that has been cut to a predetermined length and divided into label-like radio tags (radio tag labels) 24, and a radio tag at the time of the above-described reading (or writing, see modification examples described later) The circuit element 10A is set and held in a predetermined access area facing the antenna 40 (= reading position or writing position, see modification examples described later), and a pair of conveyance guides (wireless guides) for guiding each wireless tag 10 after cutting. Tag circuit element holding portion) 83, a delivery roller 85 that conveys and sends the guided wireless tag 10 to the carry-out port 84, And a sensor 86 for detecting the presence or absence of the line tag 10.

  The cutter 82 is driven by a solenoid 87 to perform its cutting operation, and the solenoid 87 is controlled by a solenoid drive circuit 88. The delivery roller 85 is driven by a delivery roller motor 89, and the motor 89 is controlled by a delivery roller drive circuit 90. The sensor 86 is a transmissive photoelectric sensor including a projector and a light receiver, for example. When the wireless tag 10 does not exist between the projector and the light receiver, the light output from the projector is input to the light receiver. On the other hand, when the wireless tag 10 exists between the projector and the light receiver, the light output from the projector is shielded and the control output from the light receiver is reversed.

  FIGS. 6A and 6B are diagrams showing an example of the appearance of the wireless tag 10 formed by completing the information reading (or writing, see the modification described later) and cutting as described above. 6A is a top view, and FIG. 6B is a bottom view. FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line VII-VII ′ in FIG.

  6 (a), 6 (b), and 7, the wireless tag 10 has a five-layer structure in which the cover film 23 is added to the four-layer structure shown in FIG. The cover film 23, the adhesive layer 32, the base film 33, the adhesive layer 34, and the release paper 35 constitute five layers from the (upper side in FIG. 7) to the opposite side (lower side in FIG. 7). As described above, the RFID circuit element 10A including the IC circuit unit 100 and the antenna unit 101 is provided on the back side of the base film 33, and the print 43 (in this example, the type of the RFID tag 10) is provided on the back surface of the cover film 23. "RF-ID" character) is printed.

  FIG. 8 is displayed on the terminal 5 or the general-purpose computer 6 when the RFID tag information communication apparatus 2 as described above accesses (in this example, reads) the RFID tag information of the IC circuit unit 100 of the RFID circuit element 10A. It is a figure showing an example of the screen performed.

  In FIG. 8, in this example, the print character 43 printed corresponding to the RFID circuit element 10A, the access (reading in this example) ID that is an ID unique to the RFID circuit element 10A, the information server 7 The stored address of the article information and the storage destination address of the corresponding information in the route server 4 can be displayed on the terminal 5 or the general-purpose computer 6. Then, the RFID tag information communication apparatus 2 is activated by the operation of the terminal 5 or the general-purpose computer 6 so that the print characters 43 are printed on the cover film 23 and the article information stored in the IC circuit unit 100 in advance. The wireless tag information is read out.

  FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a reading procedure of the RFID tag information from the IC circuit unit 100 of the RFID circuit element 10A in the control executed by the control circuit 60.

  In FIG. 9, this flow is started when a reading operation of the RFID tag information communication apparatus 2 is performed. First, in step S110, an operator N that counts the number of retries when a communication failure or the like is suspected is initialized to zero.

  In step S 120, the “Scroll All ID” command is output to the signal processing circuit 52. Based on this, a “Scroll All ID” signal as access information is generated by the signal processing circuit 52 and accessible via the high-frequency circuit 51 (in this example, the readable range; in this embodiment, this range is described later). (Restricted) is sent to the RFID circuit element 10A and prompts a reply.

  Next, in step S130, a reply signal (wireless tag information such as article information) transmitted from the RFID circuit element 10A in the accessible range corresponding to the “Scroll All ID” signal is received via the antenna 40. The high-frequency circuit 51 and the signal processing circuit 52 are used.

  Next, in step S140, it is determined whether or not there is only one reply signal received in step S130.

  If the determination is not satisfied, the process moves to step S150, 1 is added to N, and it is further determined in step S160 whether N = 5. If N ≦ 4, the determination is not satisfied and the routine returns to step S120 and the same procedure is repeated. If N = 5, the process moves to step S170, and an error display signal is output to the terminal 5 or the general-purpose computer 6 via the input / output interface 61 and the communication line 3, and a corresponding read failure (error) display is performed. Exit. In this way, even if reading is not successful, retry is performed up to five times.

  When the determination in step S140 is satisfied, reading of the RFID tag information from the RFID circuit element 10A to be read is completed, and this routine is finished.

  By the above routine, the RFID tag information of the IC circuit unit 100 of the RFID circuit element 10A to be accessed can be accessed and read.

  In the above-described operation flow, an example in which the conveyance guide 83 is held and accessed in the access area with respect to the moving tag tape 28 in association with the printing operation is shown, but the present invention is not limited to this. That is, the access may be performed while the tag tape 28 is stopped at a predetermined position and held by the conveyance guide 83.

  Note that the correspondence between the generated ID of the wireless tag 10 and the information read from the IC circuit unit 100 of the wireless tag 10 is stored in the above-described route server 4 and necessary at the time of reading as described above. You can refer to it according to.

  In contrast to the basic configuration as described above, the most significant feature of the RFID tag information communication apparatus 2 of the present embodiment is that all RFID tag circuit elements housed in the cartridge 20 (including those immediately after being taken out) are included. The antenna unit 101 of 10A is a region where the directivity of the antenna 40 of the RFID tag information communication apparatus 2 is substantially minimum (a so-called null direction region where the electric field strength of the antenna 40 is almost eliminated, and the antenna 40 is a linear dipole antenna. , And a region in a direction substantially along the axial extension direction of the element). The operation and action of this embodiment with this configuration will be described below with reference to FIGS.

In this RFID tag generating system 1, the RFID tag circuit element 10A that is unwound from the cartridge 20 as a tag tape 28 and set and held at a predetermined position (access area) facing the antenna 40 by the conveyance guide 83 is sequentially accessed. (In this example, reading of the RFID tag information of the IC circuit unit 100) is performed. That is, the access information generated by the signal processing circuit 52 of the RFID tag information communication apparatus 2 (the aforementioned Scroll All
(ID signal) is used in the first mixer 71, the carrier wave from the VCO 58 is modulated, further amplified by the first amplifier 72, and then contactlessly contacted from the antenna 40 to the IC circuit unit 100 side of the RFID circuit element 10A. Communicated. At this time, when transmission / reception is performed by radio communication using a high frequency in the UHF band, the communication distance becomes longer due to its characteristics. In addition, information is also read out from the subsequent RFID circuit element (the RFID circuit element immediately after being unwound from the cartridge 20 immediately behind it or other RFID circuit element housed in the cartridge 20) 24A. There is a possibility that.

  Therefore, in the RFID tag information communication apparatus 2 according to the present embodiment, as described above, the antenna section 101 of the RFID circuit element 10A that is not originally an access (readout) target has the antenna 40 having a minimum directivity. It is located in a region (a so-called null direction region).

  FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram conceptually showing the above positional relationship, taking as an example the RFID circuit element 10A that is not the object of reading (in this example, that is about to be taken out from the cartridge 20). As shown in FIG. 10, the signal radiation pattern (radiation directivity) from the antenna 40 in this case is directed to the RFID circuit element 10A-0 to be read, but is not to be read, the RFID circuit element 10A- 1, the RFID circuit elements 10A-2,... Are outside the directivity range R of the antenna 40 and are substantially in the null direction N. FIG. 11 and FIG. 12 show this from the opposite viewpoint, and FIG. 11 and FIG. 11 are explanatory diagrams conceptually showing the signal radiation pattern from the antenna unit 101 of the RFID circuit element 10A-0 to be read. FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram conceptually showing a signal radiation pattern from the antenna unit 101 of the RFID circuit element 10A-1 that is not a read target.

  As shown in FIG. 11, the radiation pattern of the RFID circuit element 10A-1 to be read is directed toward the antenna 40, and the antenna 40 is located within the directivity range R of the RFID circuit element 10A-0. ing. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 12, with respect to the radiation pattern of the RFID circuit element 10A-1 that is not a read target, the antenna 40 is outside the directivity range R and is almost in the null direction N.

  Due to the mutual positional relationship described above, the strength of the communication signal from the antenna 40 is increased with respect to the RFID circuit element 10A-0 to be read, while the RFID tag is stored in the cartridge 20 that is not to be read or just after removal. For the circuit element 10A-1, the RFID tag circuit element 10A-2,..., The strength of the communication signal from the antenna 40 (and to the antenna 40) is greatly reduced, and only the RFID circuit element 10A-0 can communicate. It becomes. Therefore, even in the case of using a high frequency in the UHF band, a method for constructing a shield environment as in the conventional method, a method for reducing output, identification communication, etc. is required with a simple structure and a simple method as described above. The RFID tag information of the IC circuit unit 100 can be read only from the RFID tag circuit element 10A-0 to be read.

  In the first embodiment, the RFID tag circuit element housing portion includes the first roll 22 for winding the strip-shaped base tape 21 in which a plurality of RFID tag circuit elements 10A are sequentially formed in the longitudinal direction. Although the case where the cartridge 20 is provided has been described as an example, the present invention is not limited to this, and another aspect of the RFID tag circuit element storage portion may be used.

  FIG. 13 is a conceptual perspective view showing such a modification.

  In FIG. 13, in this modification, a substantially flat box-shaped tray member 91 is provided as the RFID circuit element housing portion. In this tray member 91, a plurality of flat paper-like label materials 92 each formed with one RFID circuit element 10A are stacked and stored in the stacking direction. A plurality of RFID tag circuit elements 10A can be sequentially taken out by pulling out the flat paper-like label material 92 one by one from a take-out port 91A provided on the side surface of the tray member 91 (the back side in the figure in this example). Yes.

  In the present modification, the tray member 91 is disposed so that the RFID circuit element 10A-0 immediately after being taken out is located at a position facing (directly below) the antenna 40 provided in the RFID tag information communication apparatus 2. Yes. As a result, the RFID circuit elements 10A-1,... That are not to be read in the state accommodated in the tray member 91 are outside the directivity range of the antenna 40 and are positioned in the null direction Na. 40 is also outside the directivity range of the antenna unit 101 of the RFID circuit elements 10A-1,... And located in the null direction Nb (that is, mutually located in the null direction). Therefore, as in the first embodiment, the strength of the communication signal from the antenna 40 is increased for the RFID circuit element 10A-0 to be read, while the RFID circuit element 10A-1 that is not to be read is ... In contrast, the strength of the communication signal from the antenna 40 (and to the antenna 40) is greatly reduced, and only the RFID circuit element 10A-0 can communicate, so that the same effect can be obtained.

  A second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

  The present embodiment is an embodiment that utilizes the difference in polarization plane between the reading device side antenna and the RFID circuit element side antenna unit. The same parts as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted as appropriate.

  FIG. 14 is a conceptual configuration diagram showing a detailed structure of the RFID tag information communication apparatus 2 ′ according to the present embodiment, and corresponds to FIG. 2 in the first embodiment. In addition, in order to avoid complication of illustration, illustration of the conveyance guide 83 and the sensor 86 is abbreviate | omitted.

  In FIG. 14, this embodiment is different from the first embodiment in the positional relationship between the cartridge 20 and the antenna 40 and the conveyance direction of the tag tape 28 after unwinding from the cartridge.

  That is, in the RFID tag information communication apparatus 2 ′, a turning conveyance roller 93 and a turning conveyance roller 94 are provided as a turning conveyance means for conveying the tag tape 28 while turning the direction of the RFID circuit element 10A during the conveyance. It has been. In this example, the tag tape 28 conveyed from the cartridge 20 to one side in the substantially horizontal direction (right side in FIG. 14) is first turned downward (turned) by the turning conveyance roller 93, and the cutting position by the cutter 82 is changed. After that, it is turned upward (turned) so as to be folded back by the turning turning conveyance roller 94, and is set in the access area in the vertical direction so as to face the antenna 40 arranged substantially in the vertical direction. The wireless tag 10 that has been read by the wireless tag circuit element 10 </ b> A- 0 and has been cut by the cutter 82 is further discharged by the carry-out port 84 provided above by the delivery roller 85.

  As described above, the plane of polarization of the antenna unit 101 of the RFID tag circuit element 10A-1 at the position where the cartridge 20 is removed (formed by a magnetic field and an electric field of a signal generated from the antenna and generated in an arbitrary plane direction including the antenna. And the polarization plane of the RFID circuit element 10A-0 held by a guide 83 (not shown in FIG. 14) and held at a position facing the antenna 40 are in a twisted position. In addition, a conveyance route that forms approximately 90 ° is realized. As a result, the cartridge 20 and the antenna 40 include the polarization plane of the antenna unit 101 of the RFID tag circuit elements 10A-1,. The polarization planes of the antennas 40 of the apparatus 2 are arranged so as to be twisted with each other and form approximately 90 ° (projection sectional area becomes small).

  Other configurations are substantially the same as those in the first embodiment.

  In the present embodiment, the following effects are obtained.

  That is, in wireless communication between antennas, when the polarization planes of both antennas are parallel, the strength of the communication signals of the two is the highest, and the strength of the communication signal decreases as they become non-parallel and have an intersection angle. To go. In the present embodiment, as described above, the polarization planes of the antenna unit 101 and the antenna 40 of the RFID tag information communication apparatus 2 of the RFID circuit elements 10A-1,. The planes of polarization of each other do not match and the strength of the communication signal is reduced. Therefore, communication can be performed only with the RFID circuit element 10A-0 set and held in the access area after being taken out from the cartridge 20. In particular, in the present embodiment, since the polarization planes of the antenna unit 101 and the antenna 40 form 90 °, the antenna unit 101 such as the RFID circuit element 10A-1 and the RFID tag information communication device 2 are provided. As a result, the strength of the communication signal with the antenna 40 can be significantly reduced (substantially impossible to communicate), so that erroneous access (erroneous reading) to the RFID circuit element 10A-1 or the like that is not the target of reading can be further ensured. Can be prevented. Therefore, even in the case of using a high frequency in the UHF band, a method for constructing a shield environment as in the conventional method, a method for reducing output, and identifying communication is required by the simple structure and simple method as described above. The RFID tag information of the IC circuit unit 100 can be read only from the RFID tag circuit element 10A-0 to be read.

  A third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

  The present embodiment is an embodiment that utilizes both the antenna directivity characteristics according to the first embodiment and the antenna polarization plane characteristics according to the second embodiment. The same parts as those in the first and second embodiments are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof is omitted as appropriate.

  FIG. 15 is a conceptual configuration diagram showing a detailed structure of the RFID tag information communication apparatus 2 ″ according to the present embodiment, which corresponds to FIG. 2 in the first embodiment and FIG. 14 in the second embodiment. 14, the conveyance guide 83 and the sensor 86 are not shown in order to avoid complication of the illustration.

  In FIG. 15, the RFID tag information communication apparatus 2 ″ of the present embodiment is provided with a turning conveyance roller 95 as a turning conveyance means for conveying the tag tape 28 while turning the direction of the RFID circuit element 10A during the conveyance. In this example, the tag tape 28 transported from the cartridge 20 to one side in the substantially horizontal direction (left side in FIG. 15) is turned upward (turned) by the transport roller 95 and is directly used by the cutter 82. After passing through the cutting position, the access area is set in the vertical direction so as to face the antenna 40 disposed substantially in the vertical direction, and the RFID tag cut by the cutter 82 after reading of information to the RFID circuit element 10A is completed. 10 is further discharged by a carry-out port 84 provided above by a delivery roller 85. With the above, the cartridge 20 is discharged. And the RFID tag circuit element 10A-0 held by the guide 83 (not shown in FIG. 15) and held at the position facing the antenna 40. The planes of polarization are in twisted positions with respect to each other, and a transport route is formed so as to form approximately 90 °.

  As a result of the transport route, as an aspect of the present embodiment, as in the second embodiment, the antenna of the RFID circuit element 10A-1,... Housed in the cartridge 20 (including the one immediately after being taken out) is contained. The polarization plane of the unit 101 and the polarization plane of the antenna 40 of the RFID tag information communication apparatus 2 ″ are not only in a twisted position and substantially 90 °, but also in the same manner as in the first embodiment. 20 is an area in which the antenna unit 101 such as the RFID circuit element 10A-1 housed inside (including the one immediately after being taken out) has the directivity of the antenna 40 of the RFID tag information communication apparatus 2 ″ substantially reduced ( The so-called null direction No region).

  Other configurations are substantially the same as those in the first or second embodiment.

  In the present embodiment, the same effects as in the first embodiment and the same effects as in the second embodiment can be obtained together.

  That is, the RFID circuit element 10A-1 and the like that are stored in the cartridge 20 that is not the target of reading or immediately after removal are positioned in the null direction region outside the directivity of the antenna 40, and thus are connected to the antenna 40 (and to the antenna 40). (B) The strength of the communication signal is greatly reduced. Furthermore, since the polarization planes of the antenna unit 101 and the antenna 40 are 90 °, the antenna unit 101 such as the RFID circuit element 10A-1 and the RFID tag information communication apparatus 2 can be connected to each other. The strength of the communication signal with the antenna 40 can be remarkably reduced (substantially impossible to communicate). Therefore, information can be read out only to the RFID tag circuit element 10A-0 to be read out more reliably than in the first and second embodiments.

  In the third embodiment as well, as in the modified example of the first embodiment described above with reference to FIG. 13, the RFID tag circuit element storage portion may be another aspect of the RFID tag circuit element storage portion.

  FIG. 16 is a conceptual perspective view showing such a modification, and FIG. 17 is a plan view thereof. However, in order to prevent the illustration from becoming complicated, a part of the illustration is omitted.

  16 and 17, in this modified example, a substantially upright thin box-like tray member 91 'is provided as the RFID circuit element housing portion. In this tray member 91 ', a plurality of flat paper-like label materials 92' each formed with one RFID circuit element 10A are stacked and stored in the stacking direction (vertical direction in FIG. 17). It is like that. A plurality of RFID tag circuit elements 10A can be obtained by pulling out a flat paper-like label material 92 'one by one from a takeout port 91'A provided on one side of the tray member 91' (left side in FIG. 17 in this example). It can be taken out sequentially.

  In the present modification, the RFID circuit element 10A-0 immediately after being taken out is turned (turned) 90 ° to the right in the carrying direction by the turning carrying roller 95 ′ serving as a turning carrying means, and is sent to the RFID tag information communication apparatus. It is located at a position opposite to the antenna 40 provided.

  As a result, the RFID circuit elements 10A-1,... That are not to be read in the state stored in the tray member 91 ′ are outside the directivity range of the antenna 40 and are positioned in the null direction No ′. Since the polarization planes of the antenna unit 101 and the antenna 40 are 90 °, information can be reliably transmitted only to the RFID tag circuit element 10A-0 to be read, as in the third embodiment. Reading can be performed.

  In the above, in the first embodiment described above and its modification (FIG. 13), and in the third embodiment and its modification (FIG. 16 and FIG. 17), the RFID circuit element housing portion (cartridge 20 or The antenna portions 101 of all the RFID circuit elements 10A-1,... Of the tray member 91 or the tray member 91 ′) are regions (null regions) in which the directivity of the antenna 40 of the RFID tag information communication device 2 is substantially minimized. However, the present invention is not limited to this. That is, from the viewpoint of reducing readability of the RFID circuit elements 10A-1,... That are not to be read compared to the RFID circuit element 10A-0 that is to be read and preventing erroneous reading, the RFID circuit that is not to be read. The antenna section 101 of the element 10A-1,... Is a region where the antenna sensitivity of the antenna 40 of the RFID tag information communication apparatus 2 is relatively low, for example, the RFID circuit element 10A-0 from which the electric field strength from the antenna 40 is read. It suffices if the RFID tag circuit element storage portion (cartridge 20 or tray member 91 or tray member 91 ') is arranged so as to be located in an area that is 1/10 or less of the electric field strength of the position (access area) where it is placed. . In other words, the antenna 40 of the RFID tag information communication apparatus 2 is connected to a region where the antenna sensitivity of the antenna unit 101 of the RFID circuit elements 10A-1, ... not to be read is relatively low (for example, the reflected electric field from the antenna unit 101A). May be arranged so as to be located in a region where the intensity of the reflected electric field from the antenna unit 101 of the RFID circuit element 10A-0 to be read is 1/10 or less. In this case, the same effect is obtained.

  In the second embodiment, the third embodiment, and the modifications thereof (FIGS. 16 and 17), the RFID circuit elements 10A-1,. The plane of polarization of the antenna unit 101 and the plane of polarization of the antenna 40 of the RFID tag information communication apparatus 2 are arranged so as to form 90 ° with respect to each other, but the present invention is not limited to this. That is, from the viewpoint of reducing readability of the RFID circuit elements 10A-1,... That are not to be read compared to the RFID circuit element 10A-0 that is to be read and preventing erroneous reading, the RFID circuit that is not to be read. It is sufficient that the planes of polarization of the antenna unit 101 of the elements 10A-1,... And the antenna 40 of the RFID tag information communication apparatus 2 do not coincide with each other and are slightly shifted, and in that sense, it is sufficient if they are in twisted positions. In this case, as described above, the intensity of the communication signal decreases as the angle between the polarization planes (defined by the projection cross section) increases, so the intensity of the communication signal is reduced by half compared to the case where the polarization planes match. It is preferable to set it to at least ° (90 ° or less). Such a configuration can be easily realized, for example, by adjusting the turning angle of the turning and conveying roller 93 and the turning and conveying roller 94 as the turning and conveying means, or the turning and conveying roller 95 or the turning and conveying roller 95 ′.

  Further, in the second embodiment, the RFID tag circuit element storage portion is a tray of the modified example of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 13 or the modified example of the third embodiment shown in FIGS. It goes without saying that a so-called stack type member such as the member 91 or the tray member 91 'may be used.

  Furthermore, in all the embodiments and modifications described above, the case where the present invention is applied to a wireless tag generation system that can only be read (not writeable) has been described as an example. The present invention may be applied to a wireless tag generation system for writing wireless tag information to the IC circuit unit 100 of the element 10A.

  In this case, in the configuration of the RFID tag information communication apparatus 2 described above, the high frequency circuit 51 performs a function of accessing (writing) the RFID tag information of the IC circuit unit 100 of the RFID tag circuit element 10A via the antenna 40 and transmitting the information. The crystal resonator 56, the PLL 57, and the VCO 58 of the unit 53 function as a carrier generation unit that generates a carrier for accessing (writing) the RFID tag information of the IC circuit unit 100. Further, the signal processing circuit 52 functions as an access information generation unit that generates access information (an “Erase” signal, a “Verify” signal, a “Program” signal, etc., which will be described later) for accessing the IC circuit unit 100.

  As described above with reference to FIG. 8, in this case, the terminal 5 or the general-purpose computer 6 has the print character 43, the access (write in this case) ID of the RFID circuit element 10A, and the address of the article information. , And the storage address of the correspondence information, etc. are displayed. Then, the RFID tag information communication apparatus 2 is activated by the operation of the terminal 5 or the general-purpose computer 6, and the print characters 43 are printed on the cover film 23, and the write ID, article information, etc. are written on the IC circuit unit 100. Information is written.

  FIG. 18 is a flowchart showing a procedure for writing RFID tag information to the IC circuit unit 100 of the RFID circuit element 10A in the control executed by the control circuit 60 in this modification.

  In FIG. 18, this flow is started when the writing operation of the RFID tag information communication apparatus 2 is performed. First, in step S210, operators N and M for counting the number of retries (retry) when communication failure is suspected are initialized to 0, respectively.

  In step S 220, the “Erase” command is output to the signal processing circuit 52. Based on this, an “Erase” signal as access information is generated by the signal processing circuit 52 and transmitted to the RFID circuit element 10A to be accessed (in this example, to be written) via the high frequency circuit 51, and the memory unit 115 is initialize.

  Next, a “Verify” command is output to the signal processing circuit 52 in step S230. Based on this, a “Verify” signal as access information is generated by the signal processing circuit 52 and transmitted to the RFID circuit element 10A to which information is to be written via the high frequency circuit 51 to prompt a reply. Thereafter, in step S240, a reply signal transmitted from the RFID tag circuit element 10A to be written in response to the “Verify” signal is received via the antenna 40, and taken in via the high frequency circuit 51 and the signal processing circuit 52.

  Next, in step S250, based on the reply signal, information in the memory unit 115 of the RFID circuit element 10A is checked to determine whether or not the memory unit 115 has been normally initialized.

  If the determination is not satisfied, the process moves to step S260, 1 is added to M, and it is further determined in step S270 whether M = 5. If M ≦ 4, the determination is not satisfied and the routine returns to step S220 and the same procedure is repeated. If M = 5, the process proceeds to step S280, where an error display signal is output to the terminal 5 or the general-purpose computer 6 via the input / output interface 61 and the communication line 3, and the corresponding writing failure (error) display is performed. Exit. In this way, even if initialization is not successful, retry is performed up to five times.

  If the determination in step S250 is satisfied, the process moves to step S290, and a “Program” command is output to the signal processing circuit 52. Based on this, a “Program” signal as access information, which is predetermined information to be originally written by the signal processing circuit 52, is generated and transmitted to the RFID circuit element 10 A to which information is written via the high frequency circuit 51, and its memory unit The predetermined information is written in 115.

  Thereafter, a “Verify” command is output to the signal processing circuit 52 in step S300. Based on this, a “Verify” signal as access information is generated by the signal processing circuit 52 and transmitted to the RFID circuit element 10A to which information is to be written via the high frequency circuit 51 to prompt a reply. Thereafter, in step S 310, the reply signal transmitted from the RFID tag circuit element 10 A to be written in response to the “Verify” signal is received via the antenna 40 and taken in via the high frequency circuit 51 and the signal processing circuit 52.

  Next, in step S320, based on the reply signal, the information stored in the memory unit 115 of the RFID circuit element 10A is confirmed, and whether or not the transmitted predetermined information is normally stored in the memory unit 115. Determine whether.

  If the determination is not satisfied, the process moves to step S330, 1 is added to N, and it is further determined in step S340 whether N = 5. If N ≦ 4, the determination is not satisfied and the routine returns to step S290 and the same procedure is repeated. If N = 5, the process proceeds to step S280 described above, and similarly, writing failure (error) display corresponding to the terminal 5 or the general-purpose computer 6 is performed, and this routine is terminated. In this way, even if information writing is not successful, retry is performed up to five times.

  If the determination in step S320 is satisfied, the process moves to step S350, and a “Lock” command is output to the signal processing circuit 52. Based on this, a “Lock” signal is generated by the signal processing circuit 52 and transmitted to the RFID circuit element 10A to which information is to be written via the high frequency circuit 51, and writing of new information to the RFID circuit element 10A is prohibited. This routine is then terminated.

  By the above routine, desired information (RF tag information) can be written to the IC circuit unit 100 of the RFID tag circuit element 10A to be written.

  As described above, with respect to the basic configuration and function for writing the RFID tag information to the IC circuit portion 100, the RFID tag circuit element storage portion (cartridge 20 or cartridge) in the first to third embodiments described above or their modifications is described. By applying the mutual positional relationship between the tray member 91 or the tray member 91 ′) and the antenna 40 of the RFID tag information communication apparatus 2, communication from the antenna 40 is performed to the RFID tag circuit element 10 </ b> A- 0 to be written. The signal strength is increased. On the other hand, communication from the antenna 40 (and to the antenna 40) with respect to the RFID circuit element 10A-1, the RFID circuit element 10A-2,. The strength of the signal is greatly reduced, and communication is possible only with the RFID circuit element 10A-0. Therefore, as described above, even when using a high frequency in the UHF band, a method for constructing a shield environment as in the conventional method, a method for reducing output, identification communication, etc., with a simple structure and a simple method as described above. The RFID tag information can be written to the IC circuit unit 100 only to the RFID tag circuit element 10A-0 to be written without needing to be written.

  Further, in the above description, the RFID circuit element housing portion is not limited to a detachable unit on the RFID tag information communication device main body side such as a cartridge or a tray member. A thing may be used. In this case, the same effect is obtained.

  Further, as described above, the RFID tag information communication device 2, the RFID tag information communication device 2 ′, and the RFID tag information communication device 2 ″ read or write the RFID tag information from the IC circuit unit 100 of the RFID tag circuit element 10A. Although the printing for identifying the RFID circuit element 10A is performed by the thermal head 41, this printing is not necessarily performed, and the RFID tag information may be read or written only. I do not care.

  In addition, although not illustrated one by one, the present invention is implemented with various modifications within a range not departing from the gist thereof.

1 is a system configuration diagram showing a wireless tag generation system to which a wireless tag information communication device of a first exemplary embodiment of the present invention is applied. It is a notional block diagram showing the detailed structure of the RFID tag information communication apparatus shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the detailed structure of the cartridge shown in FIG. 2 as viewed from the direction of the arrow III in FIG. 2. FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram showing a functional configuration of the RFID tag circuit element shown in FIG. 3. FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram showing detailed functions of the high-frequency circuit shown in FIG. 4. It is the top view and bottom view showing an example of the appearance of the wireless tag formed after information reading and cutting were completed. It is a cross-sectional view by the VII-VII 'cross section in FIG. It is a figure showing an example of the screen displayed on an above-mentioned terminal or general purpose computer at the time of reading of the information to the RFID circuit element by the RFID tag information communication apparatus. It is a flowchart showing the read-out procedure of RFID tag information among the controls performed by the control circuit. It is explanatory drawing which showed notionally the radiation directivity of the apparatus side antenna. It is explanatory drawing which showed notionally the radiation directivity of the antenna part of the RFID circuit element to be read. It is explanatory drawing which showed notionally the radiation directivity of the antenna part of the RFID circuit element which is not a reading object. It is a conceptual perspective view showing the modification which provided the tray member as a radio | wireless tag circuit element accommodating part. It is a notional block diagram showing the detailed structure of the RFID tag information communication apparatus by the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a conceptual block diagram showing the detailed structure of the RFID tag information communication apparatus by the 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is a conceptual perspective view showing the modification which provided the tray member as a radio | wireless tag circuit element accommodating part. It is a top view of the structure shown in FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a procedure for writing the RFID tag information in the control executed by the control circuit in a modification in which RFID tag information is written to the IC circuit unit.

2 RFID tag information communication device 2 ′ RFID tag information communication device 2 ″ RFID tag information communication device 10 RFID tag 10A RFID tag circuit element 10A-0 RFID tag circuit element to be accessed 10A-1 RFID tag circuit element to be excluded from access 10A -2 RFID tag circuit element not subject to access 20 Cartridge (RFID tag circuit element storage)
21 Base material tape (tape label material)
22 First roll (reel member)
40 Antenna (device side antenna)
52 Signal processing circuit (access information generator)
56 Crystal resonator (carrier wave generator)
57 PLL (Carrier Generation Unit)
58 VCO (Carrier Generation Unit)
71 1st mixer (carrier modulation unit)
72 1st amplifier (modulation wave amplification part)
83 Transport guide (RFID tag circuit element holder)
91 Tray member (wireless tag circuit element storage)
91 'Tray member (RFID tag circuit element storage)
92 Label material 92 'Label material 93 Turning conveyance roller (turning conveyance means)
94 Turning conveyance roller (turning conveyance means)
95 Turning conveyance roller (turning conveyance means)
95 'turning conveyance roller (turning conveyance means)
100 IC circuit section 101 Antenna section (tag side antenna section)

Claims (17)

An RFID circuit element storage unit configured to store an IC circuit unit that stores predetermined information and a tag side antenna unit that is connected to the IC circuit unit and transmits / receives information and that can be sequentially taken out When,
An access information generating unit for accessing the RFID tag information of the IC circuit unit;
A carrier generation unit for generating a carrier for accessing the RFID tag information of the IC circuit unit;
A carrier wave modulation unit that modulates the carrier wave generated by the carrier wave generation unit using the access information generated by the access information generation unit;
A modulated wave amplifying unit for amplifying the modulated wave modulated by the carrier wave modulating unit;
An output of the modulated wave amplifying unit is transmitted to the IC circuit unit in a non-contact manner by wireless communication using a high frequency in the UHF band, and the device side antenna unit for accessing the wireless tag information;
A wireless tag circuit element holding unit for holding the wireless tag circuit elements sequentially taken out from the wireless tag circuit element storage unit in a predetermined access area for accessing the wireless tag information from the device-side antenna unit;
The RFID circuit element housing portion is arranged so that the tag antenna portion of the RFID tag circuit element is located in a region where the radiation directivity of the device antenna portion is substantially minimized . A wireless tag information communication device characterized by the above. An RFID circuit element storage unit configured to store an IC circuit unit that stores predetermined information and a tag side antenna unit that is connected to the IC circuit unit and transmits / receives information and that can be sequentially taken out When,
An access information generating unit for accessing the RFID tag information of the IC circuit unit;
A carrier generation unit for generating a carrier for accessing the RFID tag information of the IC circuit unit;
A carrier wave modulation unit that modulates the carrier wave generated by the carrier wave generation unit using the access information generated by the access information generation unit;
A modulated wave amplifying unit for amplifying the modulated wave modulated by the carrier wave modulating unit;
An output of the modulated wave amplifying unit is transmitted to the IC circuit unit in a non-contact manner by wireless communication using a high frequency in the UHF band, and the device side antenna unit for accessing the wireless tag information;
A wireless tag circuit element holding unit for holding the wireless tag circuit elements sequentially taken out from the wireless tag circuit element storage unit in a predetermined access area for accessing the wireless tag information from the device-side antenna unit;
The device-side antenna unit is disposed so as to be positioned in a region where the radiation directivity of the tag-side antenna unit of the RFID tag circuit element located closest to the take-out side among the stored RFID tag circuit elements is substantially minimized. A wireless tag information communication apparatus, wherein The wireless tag information communication device according to claim 1 or 2,
The tag side antenna part is composed of a linear dipole antenna,
The longitudinal direction of the element of the linear dipole antenna and the conveying direction of the RFID circuit element in the vicinity of the RFID circuit element holding portion are substantially along.
A wireless tag information communication apparatus characterized by the above. The wireless tag information communication device according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The device-side antenna unit is composed of a linear dipole antenna,
The longitudinal direction of the element of the linear dipole antenna of the device side antenna section and the conveying direction of the RFID circuit element in the vicinity of the RFID circuit element holding section are substantially along.
A wireless tag information communication apparatus characterized by the above. An RFID circuit element storage unit configured to store an IC circuit unit that stores predetermined information and a tag side antenna unit that is connected to the IC circuit unit and transmits / receives information and that can be sequentially taken out When,
An access information generating unit for accessing the RFID tag information of the IC circuit unit;
A carrier generation unit for generating a carrier for accessing the RFID tag information of the IC circuit unit;
A carrier wave modulation unit that modulates the carrier wave generated by the carrier wave generation unit using the access information generated by the access information generation unit;
A modulated wave amplifying unit for amplifying the modulated wave modulated by the carrier wave modulating unit;
An output of the modulated wave amplifying unit is transmitted to the IC circuit unit in a non-contact manner by wireless communication using a high frequency in the UHF band, and the device side antenna unit for accessing the RFID tag information;
A wireless tag circuit element holding unit for holding the wireless tag circuit elements sequentially taken out from the wireless tag circuit element storage unit in a predetermined access area for accessing the wireless tag information from the device-side antenna unit;
The RFID tag circuit element storage unit and the device side antenna unit have a polarization plane of the tag side antenna unit and a polarization plane of the device side antenna unit of the RFID tag circuit element stored in the RFID tag circuit element storage unit. An RFID tag information communication apparatus, wherein the RFID tag information communication apparatus is arranged so as to be twisted with respect to each other. The wireless tag information communication device according to claim 5 ,
In the RFID tag circuit element storage portion, the tag side antenna portion of the stored RFID tag circuit element is in a region where the electric field strength from the device side antenna portion is 1/10 or less of the RFID tag circuit element holding portion. An RFID tag information communication apparatus, wherein the RFID tag information communication apparatus is arranged so as to be positioned. The wireless tag information communication device according to claim 5 ,
The RFID tag circuit element storage portion is disposed such that the tag side antenna portion of the stored RFID tag circuit element is located in a region where radiation directivity of the device side antenna portion is substantially minimized. A wireless tag information communication device characterized by the above. The wireless tag information communication device according to claim 5 ,
The device-side antenna unit includes the tag-side antenna of the RFID circuit element in which strength of a reflected electric field from the tag-side antenna unit of the stored RFID circuit element is held in the RFID circuit element holding unit. The RFID tag information communication apparatus is arranged so as to be located in a region that is 1/10 or less of the intensity of the reflected electric field from the portion. The wireless tag information communication device according to claim 5 ,
The device-side antenna unit is disposed so as to be positioned in a region where the radiation directivity of the tag-side antenna unit of the RFID tag circuit element located closest to the take-out side among the stored RFID tag circuit elements is substantially minimized. A wireless tag information communication apparatus, wherein The wireless tag information communication device according to any one of claims 5 to 9 ,
The RFID tag circuit element storage unit and the device side antenna unit have a polarization plane of the tag side antenna unit and a polarization plane of the device side antenna unit of the RFID tag circuit element stored in the RFID tag circuit element storage unit. An RFID tag information communication device, wherein the RFID tag information communication device is arranged so as to form an angle of 60 ° or more and 90 ° or less. The wireless tag information communication device according to any one of claims 5 to 9 ,
In the RFID tag circuit element housing part and the device side antenna unit, the polarization plane of the tag side antenna unit and the polarization plane of the device side antenna unit of the RFID tag circuit element housed in the RFID tag circuit element housing unit are approximately. An RFID tag information communication device, which is arranged to form 90 °. The wireless tag information communication device according to any one of claims 5 to 11 ,
The RFID tag circuit element storage unit and the RFID tag circuit element holding unit include a polarization plane of the tag side antenna unit at the extraction position of the RFID tag circuit element in the RFID tag circuit element storage unit, and the RFID tag that has already been extracted. RFID tag information, wherein the RFID tag information is arranged such that a polarization plane of the tag side antenna portion of the RFID tag circuit element held by the circuit element holding portion forms an angle of 60 ° or more and 90 ° or less Communication device. The wireless tag information communication apparatus according to claim 12,
An angle between the polarization plane of the tag-side antenna section at the take-out position and the polarization plane of the tag-side antenna section of the RFID tag circuit element held by the RFID tag circuit element holding section is 60 ° or more and 90 ° or less. As described above, the RFID tag information communication apparatus further includes a turning conveyance unit that conveys the RFID tag circuit element while changing the direction of the RFID tag circuit element between the take-out position and the RFID tag circuit element holding unit. The wireless tag information communication device according to any one of claims 5 to 11 ,
The RFID tag circuit element storage unit and the RFID tag circuit element holding unit include a polarization plane of the tag side antenna unit at the extraction position of the RFID tag circuit element in the RFID tag circuit element storage unit, and the RFID tag that has already been extracted. An RFID tag information communication apparatus, wherein the RFID tag circuit element held by the circuit element holding part is arranged so that a plane of polarization of the tag side antenna part of the RFID tag circuit element forms approximately 90 °. The wireless tag information communication device according to claim 14,
The extraction is performed such that the polarization plane of the tag-side antenna unit at the extraction position and the polarization plane of the tag-side antenna unit of the RFID tag circuit element held by the RFID circuit element holding unit form approximately 90 °. The RFID tag information communication apparatus further comprising a turning conveyance means for conveying the RFID tag circuit element while changing a direction between the position and the RFID tag circuit element holding unit. The wireless tag information communication device according to any one of claims 1 to 15,
The RFID tag information communication apparatus, wherein the RFID tag circuit element storage section includes a reel member for winding a tape-shaped label material in which the RFID tag circuit elements are sequentially formed in the longitudinal direction. The wireless tag information communication device according to any one of claims 1 to 15,
The RFID circuit element storage unit includes a tray member that stores a plurality of flat paper-like label materials each having one RFID circuit element formed in a stacking direction. RFID tag information communication device.

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