JP3835355B2 - Non-contact reader, information reader - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a contactless reader that wirelessly communicates with an information record carrier on which information is recorded, or an information reader that exchanges information on an information record carrier.
[0002]
[Prior art]
A conventional non-contact reader is shown in JP-A-7-321698. In this prior art, a coupling coil is placed in the vicinity of the RFID responder and connected to the antenna, so that communication with the interrogator is performed through the antenna and the coupling coil, extending the reading range of the responder, and wide It is designed to be able to respond to interrogator questions in the area.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, when the one that attaches RFID, such as the tires listed in the conventional example, is large, it was possible to respond to the interrogator's questions in a wide area by installing an antenna on the one that attaches RFID and extending the reading range. The reading range could not be expanded when the RFID attachment was small.
[0004]
The present invention solves the above-mentioned conventional problems, and uses a portable tag reader / writer to extend the reading range of a tag relative to the position of a human hand, or to set a direction in which a tag can be easily read and written. The purpose is to provide a non-contact reader and an information reader.
[0005]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, in the present invention, an antenna for wirelessly communicating with an information record carrier on which information is recorded, a housing incorporating the antenna, and between the antenna and the information record carrier A waveguide attachment provided in the casing so as to expand a communication range ; and an attachment / detachment portion provided in the casing to make the waveguide attachment removable from the casing. A non-contact reader in which a mark indicating the main directivity of an antenna is added to the detachable portion on the casing, and the mark is configured to indicate a position where the waveguide attachment is attached to the casing.
[0015]
Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. Here, the non-contact reader is a tag reader / writer and the information record carrier is a tag. FIG. 1 is an external view showing that tag information is read and written using a tag reader / writer, which is implemented by the present embodiment.
[0016]
Reference numeral 1 denotes a tag reader / writer capable of wirelessly reading information written in a non-contact IC card or a non-contact tag, or wirelessly writing information to a non-contact IC card or the like, and 2 an antenna built in the tag reader / writer 1. 3 is a tag direction mark and 4 is a tag. In the present embodiment, the tag direction mark 3 is attached to the convex portion 5 that constitutes a part of the casing in the vicinity where the antenna is embedded, but even if there is no such convex section, the casing It may be attached in the vicinity where the antenna is embedded.
[0017]
Although not shown, this tag reader / writer is connected to the antenna 2 and modulates / demodulates a radio wave received by the antenna 2 and a radio wave to be transmitted, a decoder for decoding a signal demodulated from the received radio wave, and a transmission signal A signal processing unit including a data generation unit, and a communication control unit that issues a signal transmission command and a reading command. The tag reader / writer 1 is configured by putting an antenna 2, the above-described modulation / demodulation unit, signal processing unit, communication control unit, and the like in a casing.
[0018]
As shown in FIG. 1, since the antenna 2 is inside the tag reader / writer 1 and cannot be seen, it is not possible to know in which direction the directivity is directed, so that the operator can determine how the tag reader / writer 1 may be directed to the tag 4. Is hard to understand. Therefore, when the directivity direction of the antenna is indicated as the tag direction mark 3 and the operator points the arrow in the direction in which the tag exists, reading and writing of information is most smoothly performed.
[0019]
FIG. 2 is an external view showing that tag information is read and written using a tag reader / writer and a waveguide attachment, which is implemented by the present embodiment. 1 is a tag reader / writer, 2 is an antenna, and 3 is a tag direction mark, which is the same as that of the embodiment shown in FIG. 4 is a tag.
[0020]
Reference numeral 6 denotes a waveguide coil, 7 denotes a waveguide attachment, 8 denotes an input / output coil, and the waveguide attachment 7 is attached to an attachment / detachment portion 9 that forms a part of the casing near the antenna 2 embedded in the tag reader / writer 2. It has become. When the waveguide attachment 7 is attached to the attaching / detaching portion 9 of the tag reader / writer 1 and electromagnetic waves are emitted from the antenna 2 in the tag reader / writer 1, electromagnetic induction is performed on the waveguide coil 6 in the waveguide attachment 7 and becomes a current, thereby the waveguide attachment. It is guided to the input / output coil 8 through the inside. As a result, electromagnetic waves are generated in the input / output coil 8, and information reaches the tag 4 by electromagnetic induction. The response electromagnetic wave from the tag 4 returns to the antenna 2 through the opposite path.
[0021]
The waveguide attachment 7 can be attached to and detached from the tag reader / writer 1 as described above, and the waveguide attachment 7 is attached to the tag reader / writer 1 only when necessary, and information can be read from and written to the tag 4 away from the operator.
[0022]
Moreover, convenience is further improved by making the waveguide attachment extendable and contractible. FIG. 3A is a side view showing an example in which this waveguide attachment is configured to be stretchable and 12 is a waveguide attachment configured to be stretchable. This waveguide attachment is composed of two cylinders, and a groove 14 is provided in one cylinder, and a locking portion 15 provided in the other cylinder is locked in this groove 14. By providing a plurality of the grooves 14, the locking position of the cylinder having the locking portion 15 can be changed, and the length of the waveguide attachment 13 can be expanded and contracted. FIG. 3B is a cross-sectional view showing a locked state by the locking portion 15 and the groove 14.
[0023]
In this way, in order to make the waveguide attachment extendable / contractable, a curl cord may be used as shown in FIG. 3 for the line connecting the waveguide coil 10 and the input / output coil 11.
[0024]
【The invention's effect】
In the first invention, an antenna for wirelessly communicating with an information record carrier on which information is recorded, a housing incorporating the antenna, and a communication range between the antenna and the information record carrier are expanded. and the waveguide attachment provided on the housing so as, the waveguide attachment anda detachable portion provided on the housing for detachable from said housing, main directivity of the antenna Is attached to the attachment / detachment portion on the casing, and the mark is configured to indicate a position where the waveguide attachment is attached to the casing. With this configuration, the user can know the orientation of the antenna of the non-contact reader very easily from the mark indicating the directivity of the built-in antenna. Therefore, the direction in which the antenna is most easily communicated with the information storage carrier Since the mark is added to a position in the vicinity of the detachable portion when the waveguide attachment for assisting communication between the non-contact reader and the information storage carrier is attached to the housing. In addition, the position where the waveguide attachment is attached can be easily and clearly known. In the second invention, the waveguide attachment is configured to be extendable in the direction indicated by the mark after being attached to the casing. With this configuration, the user can very easily know that the waveguide attachment has only to be extended in the direction indicated by the mark. In the third aspect of the invention, the waveguide attachment includes a waveguide coil and a curl coil that connects the input / output coils. With this configuration, the stretchability of the waveguide attachment can be easily achieved.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is an external view showing that tag information is read and written using a tag reader / writer in an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a tag reader / writer and a waveguide attachment in the embodiment. Fig. 3 is an external view showing reading / writing of tag information. Fig. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration of a telescopic waveguide attachment in the same embodiment.
1 Tag Reader / Writer 2 Antenna 3 Tag Direction Mark 4 Tag 5 Waveguide Coil 6 Waveguide Attachment 7 Input / Output Coil

Claims (3)

An antenna for wireless communication with an information record carrier on which information is recorded;
A housing containing the antenna;
A waveguide attachment provided in the housing to expand a communication range between the antenna and the information record carrier;
An attachment / detachment portion provided in the housing in order to make the waveguide attachment detachable from the housing;
In a non-contact reader in which a mark indicating the main directivity of the antenna is added to the detachable portion on the housing,
The mark indicates a position where the waveguide attachment is attached to the housing,
When the waveguide attachment is attached to the detachable portion, the waveguide attachment has an input / output coil positioned away from the antenna, and the input / output coil emits an electromagnetic wave from the antenna transmitted by electromagnetic induction. A non-contact reader characterized by that.   The non-contact reader according to claim 1, wherein the waveguide attachment is extendable in a direction indicated by the mark after being attached to the housing.   The non-contact reader according to claim 2, wherein the waveguide attachment includes a waveguide coil, an input / output coil, and a curl coil connecting the two types of coils.

Images