JPH06223213A - Article identification method and connector - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Object] To provide an article identifying method and an article identifying apparatus capable of surely identifying an article to be identified with a simple circuit configuration. [Structure] An identification unit 2 incorporating an impedance circuit having a time constant unique to each identification target article is attached to the identification target article 1. The article identifying apparatus 3 connects the power source to the identification unit 2 attached to the article to be identified 1, disconnects the power source, and measures the voltage or current after a predetermined time has elapsed. Since the measured value depends on the time constant of the identification unit, the article to be identified can be identified.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for identifying products such as products, products and connectors. It can also be used in a subscriber line optical fiber core management system of a communication line network.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a system has been developed in which an item such as a product or a product is provided with an identifier for identifying the item, the identifier is recognized, and each item is identified. For example, a system in which a barcode is printed on a product and the product is optically read to identify each product has been put into practical use and widely used. This barcode-based product identification system requires a large area for printing a barcode, which is an identification code, on the surface of the product to be identified. Therefore, it is difficult to print a bar code on a small part such as a line connector, and even if it can be printed, a special and expensive reading device is required.

As another article identification device, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 4-17
As disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 4406, a method is known in which a memory element is attached to a connector, electrically connected to an article identification device, and information stored in the memory element is read to identify an article. There is. In such an identification method, since the memory element can be made small, it can be attached to a small article. However, in order to electrically connect and read information, four or more reading electrodes are required.
Therefore, there is a problem that the reading unit becomes large.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an article identification method and connection capable of reliably identifying an article to be identified with a simple circuit configuration. The purpose is to provide a connector.

[0005]

According to the present invention, in an article identifying method, an article to be identified is provided with an impedance circuit having at least electrostatic induction or capacitance, and the impedance circuit and a power source are electrically connected, It is characterized in that the article to be identified is identified by measuring the voltage or current after a lapse of a predetermined time after power-off or by measuring the discharge time after power-off.

Further, in the article identifying method, an impedance circuit having at least a resonance circuit is attached to the article to be identified, the impedance circuit and a power source are electrically connected, the resonance frequency after the power is cut off is measured, and the article to be identified is identified. It is characterized in that the articles are identified.

A time constant circuit such as an LR circuit or a CR circuit is used as an impedance circuit having electrostatic induction or capacitance, or an LC resonance circuit, a crystal oscillator, a ceramic oscillator or the like is used as a resonance circuit. It is also characterized by using the resonance element of.

The identification article may be a connector for connecting an optical fiber or a communication cable.

Further, in a connector for connecting cores of a communication line, an impedance circuit having at least electrostatic induction or capacitance is attached to the connector, and a connection electrode for the impedance circuit is provided. Alternatively, an impedance circuit having at least a resonance circuit is attached, and a connection electrode for the impedance circuit is provided.

[0010]

According to the present invention, since the impedance circuit is simply attached to the article to be identified, it can be mounted on a small article at a low cost, and the article identification device can be connected by using a bipolar electrode. The size of the connecting portion can be reduced. The article identification device to which the article to be identified is connected may be provided with a power supply and a unit capable of measuring the voltage or current, or the frequency or period, and thus the article to be identified can be easily identified. Even when the present invention is applied to a connector, since it can be configured with a simple circuit including passive elements, a connector that tends to be large can be suppressed to a small size.

[0011]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 is a block diagram for explaining one embodiment of the article identifying method of the present invention. In the figure, 1 is an article to be identified, 2 is an identification unit, and 3 is an article identification device. An identification unit 2 is attached to the identification target article 1.
The identification unit 2 has an impedance circuit having at least electrostatic induction or capacitance, or an impedance circuit having at least a resonance circuit, and has a connection electrode for the article identification device 3.

FIG. 2 is a circuit diagram showing a first specific example of the above-described embodiment. In this specific example, a CR series circuit is used as the impedance circuit provided in the identification unit 2 attached to the identification target article 1. In the figure, 2 is an identification unit, 4 is a connecting electrode, 5 is a resistor, 6 is a capacitor, 7 is a connecting terminal, 8 is a changeover switch, 9 is a voltage source, and 10 is a current measuring unit. The connection terminal 7, the changeover switch 8, the voltage source 9, and the current measuring unit 10 are part of the article identifying device described in FIG.

The identification method will be described. First, the connection terminal 7 is connected to the article to be identified, for example, the connection electrode 4 of the identification unit 2 attached to the connector. First, the changeover switch 8 is connected to the voltage source 9 side, and charges are accumulated in the capacitor 6 of the identification unit 2. afterwards,
The changeover switch 8 is changed over to the current measuring section 10 side. The current passing through the current measuring unit 10 becomes a discharge current based on a time constant determined by the values of the resistor 5 and the capacitor 6. Therefore, by reading the current value after a fixed time from when the changeover switch 8 was switched, A current value corresponding to the value of the capacitor 6 can be obtained. The read current value is not shown,
It is sent to the signal processing unit. Therefore, by determining the values of the resistor 5 and the capacitor 6 depending on the article to be identified,
The article to be identified can be identified. The voltage source 9 used as the power source may be a current source.

FIG. 3 is a circuit diagram showing a second specific example of the above embodiment. In this specific example, a CR parallel circuit is used as the impedance circuit provided in the identification unit 2 attached to the article to be identified 1. In the figure, 2 is an identification unit, 4 is a connecting electrode, 5 is a resistor, 6 is a capacitor, 7 is a connecting terminal, 11 is a current source, 12 is a voltage measuring unit, and 13 is a switch. Connection terminal 7, current source 1
1, the voltage measuring unit 12, and the switch 13 are a part of the article identification device described in FIG.

The identification method will be described. First, the connection terminal 7 is connected to the article to be identified, for example, the connection electrode 4 of the identification unit 2 attached to the connector. First, the switch 13 is turned on, and the electric current is accumulated in the capacitor 6 of the identification unit 2 by the current source 13. After that, the switch 13 is turned off and the capacitor 6
Is discharged to the resistor 5, and the terminal voltage of the capacitor 6 is measured by the voltage measuring unit 12. The measured voltage of the voltage measuring unit 12 is a discharge voltage based on the time constant determined by the values of the resistor 5 and the capacitor 6. Therefore, by reading the voltage value after a fixed time from when the switch 13 is turned off, A voltage value corresponding to the value of the capacitor 6 can be obtained. The read voltage value is sent to a signal processing unit (not shown). Therefore, by determining the values of the resistor 5 and the capacitor 6 depending on the article to be identified, the article to be identified can be identified. The current source 1 used as the power source
1 may use a voltage source.

FIG. 4 is a circuit diagram showing a third specific example of the above-mentioned embodiment. In this specific example, an LC parallel circuit is used as the impedance circuit provided in the identification unit 2 attached to the identification target article 1. In the figure, 2 is an identification unit, 4 is a connection electrode, 7 is a connection terminal,
11 is a current source, 13 is a switch, 14 is a capacitor, 1
Reference numeral 5 is an inductance, and 16 is a frequency measuring unit. The capacitor 14 and the inductance 15 form a resonance circuit. In this embodiment, the connection terminal 7, the current source 11, the switch 13, and the frequency measuring unit 16 form a part of the article identifying device described in FIG.

The identification method will be described. First, the connection terminal 7 is connected to the article to be identified, for example, the connection electrode 4 of the identification unit 2 attached to the connector. First, the switch 13 is turned on to connect the side of the current source 11, the charge is accumulated in the capacitor 14 of the identification unit 2, and then the switch 8 is turned off. Since the power supply was cut off, the capacitor 14 and the inductance 15
The resonance circuit resonates, and the frequency is measured by the frequency measuring unit 16, whereby the identification unit 2 can be identified. By changing the resonance frequency of the capacitor 14 and the inductance 15, it is possible to identify the article to be identified whose resolution is limited by the frequency measuring unit. A voltage source may be used as the power source.

As means for detecting the frequency, for example,
It can be configured to count the oscillation pulses within a unit time. Further, the reference oscillation pulse having a high frequency serving as a reference is used to count the reference oscillation pulses within a predetermined number of oscillation cycles of the article to be identified, for example, one cycle or half cycle, or a plurality of cycles. You can also The object to be identified can be identified by comparing the detected oscillation frequency with a predetermined frequency value. Further, at a frequency corresponding to the article to be identified that may be connected to the article identification device, for example, a table is created, and the table is referred to based on the detected frequency to electrically connect the article. The identified article can be identified. This identification processing can be performed by using, for example, a CPU or the like for the detected frequency.

In the above two specific examples, simple circuit examples are shown, but not limited to these circuits, various circuits can be configured. In the first and second specific examples,
C as an element in the identification unit attached to the article to be identified
Although the time constant circuit including the R series circuit and the CR parallel circuit is used, the time constant circuit is not limited to this. An LR circuit or an appropriate time constant circuit can be used. Also, the third specific example is not limited to the resonance circuit including the LC parallel circuit. A suitable resonance circuit can be used. A resonant element such as a crystal resonator or a ceramic resonator can also be used.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram for explaining another embodiment of the article identifying method of the present invention. In the figure, 21 is L
C resonance circuit, 22 is a multiplexer, 23 is a power supply and frequency counter, and 24 is a CPU. In this embodiment, a plurality of articles to be identified can be identified. For this reason, the article identifying apparatus is provided with a plurality of receiving portions that can receive each article to be identified. A multiplexer 22, a power supply and frequency counter 23, and a CPU 24 are provided in the electrical circuit configuration of the article identifying device. An LC resonance circuit 21 having a different resonance frequency is attached to each of the articles to be identified. When the article to be identified is set in the receiving section of the article identifying apparatus, the LC resonance circuit 21 is connected to the connection terminal provided in the receiving section. That is, one of the LC resonance circuits 21 of the receiving section is commonly connected to one of the connection terminals of the power supply and the frequency counter 23, and the other is connected to the other of the power supply and the frequency counter 23 via the multiplexer 22, respectively. Connected to the connection terminal. The multiplexer 22 selects one of the connected LC resonance circuits 21 according to the selection signal output from the CPU 24 and connects it to the power supply and the frequency counter 23. The power supply and frequency counter 23 applies and disconnects the power supply according to a command from the CPU 24, and measures the vibration frequency in the LC resonance circuit 21. The measured frequency information is transmitted to the CPU 24. C
The PU 24 is preliminarily prepared with a correspondence table of information regarding the article to be identified and the resonance frequency. Based on this table, the LC resonance circuit 21 selected from the frequency information is selected.
Identifies the article to be identified to which is attached.

FIG. 6 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an application example when the present invention is applied to connection of an optical fiber cable. In the figure, 31 is a PCB, 32 is a connector, 33 is an identification unit, 34 is an optical fiber, 35 is an optical cable, 36 is a control device, and 37 is an identification circuit. In this example, an optical cable is connected at a manhole or a relay station. The control device 36 is composed of a CPU, an exchange, and the like. An optical cable 35 extending from the control device 36 is combined with another optical cable at a manhole or a relay station. When connecting an optical cable, it is necessary to combine each optical fiber 34 in the optical cable with an optical fiber in another optical cable. The connectors 32 are provided at the ends of the optical fibers 34 on both sides.
An identification unit 33 for identifying 2 is provided. The above-mentioned impedance circuit is built in the identification unit 33. The connector 32 provided with the identification unit 33 is attached to a PCB (printed circuit board) 31. The optical fibers 34 attached to both sides of the PCB 31 will be coupled together. With that,
The impedance circuit in the identification unit 33 is PCB3.
It is electrically connected to the electrode arranged at 1. PCB31
The upper electrodes are provided on both sides, and each is connected to the identification circuit 37. This identification circuit 37
Is composed of, for example, a multiplexer 22, a power supply, a frequency counter 23, and the like, similar to the circuit configuration shown in FIG. Then, according to an instruction from the control device 36, data corresponding to the oscillation frequency of the identification unit 33 provided in the connector 32 is transmitted to the control device 36. When the CPU 24 of FIG. 5 is installed in the identification circuit 37, the connector identification result, its arrangement information, and the like can be transmitted to the control device 36. By using these pieces of information, the control device can detect which connector is connected to which connector. For the connection between the control device 36 and the identification circuit 37, a specific optical cable or electric wire in the optical cable may be used, or a separately arranged electric wire may be used.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory view of connection of optical fibers.
In the figure, the same parts as those in FIG. 6 are designated by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted. Each optical fiber 34 in the two optical cables 35
Are attached and bonded to the PCB as described in FIG. At this time, by grasping the correspondence between the optical fibers at each relay point, that is, which optical fiber is coupled to which optical fiber, the optical fiber connected to the control device 36 and the optical fiber at the end of the laid optical cable are grasped. It is possible to grasp the correspondence of the fiber. For example,
The connectors 32 provided on the optical fibers 34 in the optical cable 35 connected to the control device 36 are connected to A1 and B
1 ,. ． ． , And the connector 32 provided on the optical fiber 34 in another optical cable is connected to A2, B2 ,. ． ． And
The connector 32 is mounted on a PCB (not shown) to couple the optical fibers. At this time, assuming that the connections are as shown in FIG. 7A, in the control device 36, the identification circuits have the identification circuits A1, B1, A2, B2 ,. ． ． And connector information that connector A1 and A2 and connector B1 and B2 are connected is obtained. Such connection information is obtained at each connection point such as a manhole or a relay point. By tracing this coupling information, it is possible to manage which optical fiber is coupled to which optical fiber is coupled to the control device 36 and which device is connected to it.

Conventionally, work has been carried out so that each optical fiber is accurately coupled at the connection point, and the coupling relationship of the optical fibers is maintained. However, by performing management using the coupling information as described above, the optical fibers are appropriately coupled at the connection point, and for example, A1 and B2 and B1 and A2 are coupled as shown in FIG. 7B. Even in such a case, the connection state of each fiber can be grasped from this coupling information. Therefore, the connecting work at the connection point is only required to attach an appropriate optical fiber connector to the PCB, and then the control device 36 may be configured to select the optical fiber, which greatly simplifies the connecting work.
In addition, it is possible to prevent wiring mistakes.

FIG. 8 is a schematic configuration diagram showing another mode of an application example in which the present invention is applied to the connection of an optical fiber cable. In the figure, the same parts as those in FIG. 6 are designated by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted. FIG. 6 shows an example in which optical fiber connectors are attached from both sides of the PCB to couple the optical fibers, but in this example, the optical fibers are coupled by the connectors 32, and after the coupling, the identification unit 33 portion is removed. P
It is configured to be connected to the CB31. In such a configuration, the PCB 31 may be provided with at least terminals for electrically connecting the elements in the identification unit 33.

The application examples of the optical cable connection shown in FIGS. 6 to 8 can be directly applied to the communication cable connection. In the case of a communication cable, since it is sufficient to electrically connect the electric wires in the communication cable at the connection point, it is not always necessary to connect the electric wires facing each other as shown in FIG. 6 and FIG. The wires can be connected by arranging them side by side and providing wiring for electrically connecting the wires on the PCB. Also in this case, connection management can be performed based on the connection information of each electric wire, connection work can be simplified, and connection mistakes can be prevented.

Further, as another application example, the present invention can be applied to a lending business such as video tapes, CDs, cassette tapes, and books. For example, videotape, CD,
An identification unit is attached to a rented item such as a cassette tape or a book, and when the user brings the rented item to the counter at the time of renting, the rented item is placed or inserted into the item identification device of the present invention and identified. The unit and the article identifying device are electrically connected. Then, as described above, it is possible to identify the rented item by detecting the oscillation frequency and input the data of the lent item as it is to the lending management system or the like.

Further, as another application example, a large number of compartments are provided on a plane, electric terminals are provided in each compartment, and an identification unit is attached to an article arranged on this plane, and the identification unit is provided. It may be possible to detect the position where the article is placed by electrically connecting the terminal to the terminal on the plane. For example, a game board can be considered as a plane and a piece can be considered as an article. Each piece may be provided with an identification unit having a different oscillation frequency depending on its type. Further, it is possible to consider a case where a schedule table is used as a plane and a plate on which an actual work is written is used as an article. In this case, an identification unit having a different oscillation frequency for each work may be provided. In such an application example, it is possible to use an article identification device configured to connect a large number of articles as shown in FIG.

[0028]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, since the impedance circuit is simply attached to the article to be identified, it is inexpensive and can be mounted on a small article. It suffices to connect the electrodes with two poles, and the size of the connecting portion can be reduced. In particular, if it is used in a system for monitoring the connection state of communication lines, the module mounted on the connector can be downsized, the number of electrode pins can be reduced, and the configuration can be simplified. Therefore, it is more effective when used in a core switching system for an outdoor rail network.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram for explaining an embodiment of an article identification method of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a circuit diagram showing a first specific example in the embodiment of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a circuit diagram showing a second specific example in the embodiment of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a circuit diagram showing a third specific example in the embodiment of FIG.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram for explaining another embodiment of the article identifying method of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an application example when the present invention is applied to connection of an optical fiber cable.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of connection of optical fibers.

FIG. 8 is a schematic configuration diagram showing another mode of an application example when the present invention is applied to connection of an optical fiber cable.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Identified item 2 Identification unit 3 Item identification device 4 Connection electrode 5 Resistance 6 Capacitor 7 Connection terminal 8 Changeover switch 9 Voltage source 10 Current measuring unit 11 Current source 12 Voltage measuring unit 13 Switch 14 Capacitor 15 Inductance 16 Frequency measuring unit 21 LC Resonance circuit 22 Multiplexer 23 Power supply and frequency counter 24 CPU 31 PCB 32 Connector 33 Identification unit 34 Optical fiber 35 Optical cable 36 Controller 37 Identification circuit

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Tomoaki Tomoaki 1 Taya-cho, Sakae-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd. Yokohama Works (72) Inventor Fumio Otsuki 1-6, Uchiyuki-cho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo No. Japan Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation (72) Inventor Katsuya Yamashita 1-1-6 Uchisaiwaicho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo Japan Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. An impedance circuit having at least electrostatic induction or electrostatic capacitance is attached to an article to be identified, the impedance circuit and a power source are electrically connected, and a voltage or current after a predetermined time has elapsed after the power source was cut off. An article identification method, which comprises measuring and identifying the article to be identified. 2. An article to be identified is provided with an impedance circuit having at least electrostatic induction or capacitance, the impedance circuit and a power source are electrically connected, the discharge time after the power is cut off is measured, and the article to be identified is identified. An article identification method, characterized in that an article is identified. 3. An article to be identified is provided with an impedance circuit having at least a resonance circuit, the impedance circuit and a power source are electrically connected, the resonance frequency after the power is cut off is measured, and the article to be identified is identified. An article identification method characterized by the above. 4. The article identifying method according to claim 1, wherein a time constant circuit such as an LR circuit or a CR circuit is used as the impedance circuit having electrostatic induction or electrostatic capacity. 5. The article identification method according to claim 3, wherein an LC resonance circuit or a resonance element such as a crystal resonator or a ceramic resonator is used as the resonance circuit. 6. The article identifying method according to claim 1, wherein the article to be identified is an optical fiber connector. 7. The article identifying method according to claim 1, wherein the article to be identified is a connector for connecting a communication cable. 8. A connector for connecting cores of a communication line, wherein an impedance circuit having at least electrostatic induction or capacitance is attached to the connector, and a connection electrode for the impedance circuit is provided. Characteristic connector. 9. A connector for connecting a core wire of a communication line, wherein an impedance circuit having at least a resonance circuit is attached to the connector, and a connection electrode for the impedance circuit is provided. .