JP3884745B2 - Wireless communication device, RF tag reader / writer, and printer - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a wireless communication apparatus, an RF tag reader / writer, and a printer that read / write an RF tag.

  In recent years, RF tags that are used in a technology called RFID (Radio Frequency IDentification) and are also called IC tags are becoming widespread. Such RF tags are used in various fields because they can read and write data without contact by using radio waves, and can read and write data even when the tag itself is hidden.

  As such an RF tag, a label type incorporated in a printable label is known. Patent Document 1 describes an RF tag label printer having a function of reading / writing information by wireless communication in such a label type RF tag and a function of printing on a label surface incorporating the RF tag. ing.

  Such an RF tag label printer detects the label edge affixed to the mount, and performs printing on the label and reading / writing of the RF tag according to the transport distance from the label edge.

JP 2001-96814 A

  By the way, a label with a built-in RF tag is continuously pasted on the mount, and if the label specification is different, the position from the label end of the RF tag is also different. Further, the position of the RF tag built in the label from the label end may vary during manufacturing.

  When an RF tag having a variation in position from the label end is used, the RF tag label printer cannot communicate with a desired RF tag and cannot read / write the RF tag.

  Further, in the RF tag reading / writing process in the conventional wireless communication apparatus, RF tag reader / writer, and printer, since the RF tag is temporarily stopped to perform the reading / writing process, the reading / writing processing time is long. There is also a problem of becoming.

  Even if the location of the RF tag provided on the medium or the position from the label end of the RF tag varies, the present invention ensures reading / writing with respect to the RF tag without stopping the conveyance of the RF tag. An object of the present invention is to provide a wireless communication device, an RF tag reader / writer, and a printer that can be used.

The present invention relates to a wireless communication device that reads / writes RF tags provided on a plurality of print labels of a web-like label sheet to be conveyed, and a conveyance plate that forms a conveyance surface on which the label sheet is conveyed; An antenna for transmitting and receiving radio waves by disposing a radiation element at a position facing a region through which the RF tag provided on the label sheet conveyed on the conveyance surface passes, and the RF tag via the antenna A transmission / reception unit that performs communication between the transmission / reception unit and the RF tag, and is capable of passing radio waves that are output along with communication between the transmission / reception unit and the RF tag, and at least the radiation. a large radio wave passage section than the element, facing the radio wave direction emitted from said radiating element in the conveying direction upstream and downstream direction of the label paper by moving the position of the antenna A moving means for displacing a paper sensor in which the print label to a position where the RF tag enters the radio wave passage portion provided in the print label as a communication target of the reception unit detects the first state of being conveyed, When the paper sensor detects the first state, the direction of the radio wave radiated from the radiating element by the moving means is directed to the upstream side in the conveyance direction of the label paper within the range of the radio wave passing portion, Means for causing the transmission / reception unit to read / write the RF tag without stopping the conveyance of the label paper, a determination means for determining whether the RF tag has been read / written, and a means for determining If it is determined that could not be read / write to the RF tag, after repeating the retry of the RF tag is transported To follow the can is displaced toward the radio wave direction emitted from the radiating element by moving the position of the antenna in the downstream side of the label paper in the range of the radio wave passing portion by the moving means, the label Means for causing the transmission / reception unit to execute reading / writing with respect to the RF tag without stopping the conveyance of the sheet .

Therefore, when it is determined that reading / writing with respect to the RF tag cannot be performed when reading / writing the RF tag without stopping the conveyance of the label sheet, the moving means follows the movement of the conveyed RF tag. As a result, the position of the radiating element of the antenna is moved and the direction of the radio wave radiated from the radiating element is changed within the range of the radio wave passing portion of the carrier plate.

According to the present invention, even if the location of the RF tag provided on the label sheet and the position of the RF tag from the label end vary, if the RF tag is on the radio wave passing portion of the carrier plate, the RF tag Reading / writing with respect to the RF tag can be reliably performed without stopping the conveyance of the tag.

  An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. The printer of this embodiment is applied to a label printer.

  Here, FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional side view schematically showing the structure of the label printer 1 of the present embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing electrical connection of each part of the label printer 1. As shown in FIG. 1, the label printer 1 includes a platen roller 3, an ink ribbon 4, and a platen roller that draws and conveys a label sheet 2 wound in a roll shape, which is a medium, from the roll state in the conveyance direction A. A plurality of resistance heating elements (not shown), which is a print head that is arranged opposite to the print head 3 and prints a predetermined matter on the label paper 2 drawn out of the roll state via the ink ribbon 4. And the like. The ink ribbon 4 is disposed so as to be in pressure contact with the thermal head 5 and is in pressure contact with the platen roller 3 with the label paper 2 interposed therebetween.

  As shown in FIG. 2, such a label printer 1 is provided with a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 11 for centrally controlling each unit, and a system bus 12 from the CPU 11 is constituted by a flash memory. A ROM (Read Only Memory) 13 is connected. The ROM 13 stores various programs for operating the label printer 1. That is, the ROM 13 is a storage medium that stores a program. In addition, the system bus 12 from the CPU 11 is also connected to a RAM (Random Access Memory) 14 that is a storage unit that functions as various work areas such as developing programs stored in the ROM 13. That is, the CPU 11 executes various processes according to the program stored in the ROM 13 while using the RAM 14 as a work area. In addition, the thermal head 5, the wireless communication unit 7, and the platen roller 3 are rotated to the system bus 12 from the CPU 11 to convey the label paper 2 and the ink ribbon 4 and the output from the external device. A communication interface (I / F) 16 for inputting the printed data and the storage data stored in the RF tag T, an antenna drive unit 17 such as a motor, a paper sensor 18, and a paper sensor 19 are also connected.

  The antenna drive unit 17 is connected to an antenna 7a of the wireless communication unit 7 described later via a drive mechanism (not shown). Although details will be described later, the position of the antenna 7 a of the wireless communication unit 7 is moved by driving the antenna driving unit 17.

  The sheet sensors 18 and 19 are for detecting the conveyance timing of the label sheet 2 for printing in the sub-scanning direction. In the present embodiment, the sheet sensor is a transmission type sensor for such detection. Two types of sensors, a sensor 18 and a paper sensor 19 which is a reflection type sensor, are arranged in the paper transport path. The paper sensor 18 that is a transmissive sensor is a sensor that detects the mount 2a (see FIG. 3) between the print labels 2b (see FIG. 3) on the label paper 2, and the paper sensor 19 that is a reflective sensor is a label sensor. This is a sensor for detecting a position detection mark printed on the paper 2.

  That is, the wireless communication device of this embodiment includes a wireless communication unit 7 including a transmission / reception unit 7b that performs communication between an antenna 7a that transmits and receives radio waves and an RF tag T (see FIG. 4), and a radiating element 21 of the antenna 7a. The antenna driving unit 17 as a moving means for moving the position (see FIG. 5), paper sensors 18 and 19, and a CPU 11, ROM 13 and RAM 14 for driving and controlling the antenna driving unit 17.

  Next, the label paper 2 used for the label printer 1 will be described. Here, FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the label paper 2, and FIG. 4 is a sectional view thereof. As shown in FIG. 3, the label sheet 2 has a large number of print labels 2b on a mount 2a. The mount 2a is wound around a core 2c and formed in a roll shape. Further, as shown in FIG. 4, an RF tag T is embedded in the print label 2 b held on the label paper 2. The RF tag T and the print label 2b are integrated, and can be peeled off from the mount 2a after printing, and can be attached to other objects after being peeled off. Such an RF tag T is used in a technique called RFID (Radio Frequency IDentification), and is also called an IC tag. Although not particularly illustrated, the RF tag T is mainly configured by an IC chip including a storage unit that stores an ID and other data, and an antenna that can transmit data wirelessly. The wireless communication method with the wireless communication unit 7 may be any method such as an electrostatic coupling method, an electromagnetic coupling method, an electromagnetic induction method, and a microwave method.

  A basic processing operation by the CPU 11 of the label printer 1 will be briefly described. The CPU 11 selectively energizes and heats the resistance heating elements arranged in a line shape of the thermal head 5 in accordance with the print data input via the communication I / F 16 to melt or sublimate the ink on the ink ribbon 4 to label. The printing of the label 2 on the printing label 2b of the sheet 2 is performed, and the label sheet 2 moves relative to the thermal head 5 caused by the conveyance in the conveyance direction A of the label sheet 2 with the rotation of the platen roller 3 driven by the stepping motor 15. To print in the sub-scanning direction. Further, the CPU 11 rotates the ink ribbon 4 by the driving force from the stepping motor 15 and winds the used ink ribbon 4 by the winding shaft 4a. That is, the platen roller 3, the ink ribbon 4, and the thermal head 5 constitute a printing unit. Further, the platen roller 3 and the stepping motor 15 constitute a conveying means.

  Further, the label paper 2 which is sent out in the transport direction A according to the driving of the stepping motor 15 and is subjected to the printing process in this way passes through the wireless communication unit 7 during the transport. At this time, the CPU 11 writes the storage data stored in the RF tag T input via the communication I / F 16 to the RF tag T embedded in the print label 2 b by the wireless communication unit 7.

  Next, the wireless communication unit 7 will be described in detail. The wireless communication unit 7 generally includes an antenna 7a and a transmission / reception unit 7b (see FIG. 2). The transmission / reception unit 7b may be near the CPU 11 or near the antenna 7a. Here, FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view showing a configuration in the vicinity of the antenna 7 a of the wireless communication unit 7, and FIG. 6 is a plan view showing a relationship between the antenna 7 a of the wireless communication unit 7 and the RF tag T on the label sheet 2. . As shown in FIG. 5, the vicinity of the antenna 7 a of the wireless communication unit 7 includes an antenna 7 a and a transport plate 8. The antenna 7a and the transport plate 8 may be integrated, or the transport plate 8 may be retrofitted on the antenna 7a. As shown in FIG. 6, the mount 2 a of the label paper 2 is transported on the transport plate 8. A slit S larger than at least the radiating element 21 of the antenna 7a is formed in a substantially central portion of the transport plate 8. An antenna 7a is disposed below the slit S. The antenna 7a is disposed at a position facing a region through which the RF tag T provided on the label sheet 2 conveyed on the conveyance surface passes, and transmits and receives radio waves. The antenna 7a is provided so that the direction in which the output radio wave is strong is directed toward the RF tag T provided on the label paper 2 conveyed on the conveyance plate 8. That is, the slit S functions as a radio wave passage unit that is capable of passing radio waves output along with communication between the transmission / reception unit 7 b and the RF tag T and that is at least larger than the radiation element 21.

  The antenna 7a of the wireless communication unit 7 is a planar patch antenna, and the lower surface of the antenna is entirely grounded. The antenna 7a has a characteristic of radiating a radio wave from the radiating element 21 on the upper surface which is a radiation surface and outputting the radio wave strongly upward. The core wire of the coaxial cable 20 is connected to the feeding point X at the end of the radiating element 21 on the upper surface of the antenna 7a, and the outer conductor of the coaxial cable 20 is connected to the ground on the lower surface. The other end of the coaxial cable 20 is connected to a transmission / reception unit 7b that performs communication control and the like. Note that the ground portion of the antenna 7a may be stubbornly used as a column for maintaining the mechanical strength of the label printer 1.

  The transport plate 8 is made of metal, and a slit S is formed at a substantially central portion of the transport plate 8. The slit S is formed at a position facing the antenna 7a. That is, the radio wave transmitted to and received from the antenna 7 a passes through the slit S of the transport plate 8.

  In addition, as shown in FIG. 5, the shaft 22 is joined in parallel with the longitudinal direction of the slit S near the center of the lower surface of the antenna 7 a. In addition, since the lower surface of the antenna 7a is the entire ground, even if the member of the shaft 22 is metal, the characteristics of the antenna 7a are not affected. The shaft 22 is connected to the above-described antenna drive unit 17 through a drive mechanism, and the angle of the antenna 7a with respect to the transport plate 8 is changed by the antenna drive unit 17 rotating the shaft 22 according to the control of the CPU 11. be able to. That is, the antenna drive unit 17, the drive mechanism, and the shaft 22 constitute moving means for moving the position of the radiation element 21 of the antenna 7a.

  Next, among the functions that the program stored in the ROM 13 built in the label printer 1 causes the CPU 11 to execute, the characteristic functions provided in the label printer 1 of the present embodiment will be described.

  Here, an antenna moving process executed by the CPU 11 of the label printer 1 will be described. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the flow of the writing process including the antenna moving process, and FIG. 8 is a side view showing the moving range of the antenna 7a. Here, only the antenna moving process at the time of the writing process on the RF tag T will be described, but it goes without saying that the same antenna moving process is also executed at the time of the reading process on the RF tag T.

  When the CPU 11 detects the leading end portion of the print label 2b of the label paper 2 by the paper sensor 18 after starting the writing process (Y in Step S1), the CPU 11 drives the antenna driving unit 17 to rotate the shaft 22 of the antenna 7a. To move the antenna 7a to the position A (step S2). Thus, when the antenna 7a is at the position A, the writing range of the RF tag T is upstream in the transport direction of the label paper 2 in the slit S of the transport plate 8, as shown in FIG. In the label printer 1 of the present embodiment, the writing / reading process for the RF tag T is executed without stopping the conveyance of the label paper 2 by the conveying means.

  If the paper sensor 19 detects that the print label 2b has been transported to the position where the RF tag T enters the slit S of the transport plate 8 (Y in step S3), the writing process at the position A with respect to the RF tag T Is executed (step S4).

  Thereafter, in order to confirm whether or not the writing to the RF tag T has been performed correctly, the information stored in the RF tag T is read and compared with the written information to determine whether or not the writing is OK (step S5: Determination means).

  If it is confirmed that the writing is OK (Y in step S5), the writing is successful and the writing process to the RF tag T is completed.

  On the other hand, when it is confirmed that the writing is not OK (N in step S5), the CPU 11 detects that the position of the RF tag T has passed about 1/3 of the width of the slit S of the transport plate 8 by the paper sensor 19. Until this time (Y in step S6), the writing process in step S4 and the comparison process in step S5 are retried.

  If it is determined that writing at the position A on the RF tag T could not be performed until the time when the paper sensor 19 detects that the position of the RF tag T has passed about 1/3 of the width of the slit S of the transport plate 8 (step S1). (Y in S6), the antenna drive unit 17 is driven to rotate the shaft 22 of the antenna 7a to move the antenna 7a to the position B (step S7: radio wave direction changing means), and writing to the RF tag T at the position B Processing is executed (step S8). Thus, when the antenna 7a is at the position B, the writing range of the RF tag T is near the center of the slit S of the transport plate 8 as shown in FIG.

  Thereafter, in order to confirm whether or not the writing to the RF tag T has been performed correctly, the information stored in the RF tag T is read and compared with the written information to determine whether or not the writing is OK (step S9: Determination means).

  If it is confirmed that the writing is OK (Y in step S9), the writing is successful and the writing process to the RF tag T is completed.

  On the other hand, if it is confirmed that the writing is not OK (N in step S9), the CPU 11 detects that the position of the RF tag T has passed about 2/3 of the width of the slit S of the transport plate 8 by the paper sensor 19. Until this time (Y in step S10), the writing process in step S8 and the comparison process in step S9 are retried.

  When it is determined that the writing at the position B on the RF tag T has not been performed until the time when the paper sensor 19 detects that the position of the RF tag T has passed about 2/3 of the width of the slit S of the transport plate 8 (step B). (Y in S10), the antenna drive unit 17 is driven to rotate the shaft 22 of the antenna 7a to move the antenna 7a to the position C (step S11: radio wave direction changing means), and writing to the RF tag T at the position C Processing is executed (step S12). When the antenna 7a is at the position C as described above, the writing range of the RF tag T is on the downstream side in the transport direction of the label paper 2 in the slit S of the transport plate 8 as shown in FIG.

  Thereafter, in order to confirm whether or not the writing to the RF tag T has been performed correctly, the information stored in the RF tag T is read and compared with the written information to determine whether or not the writing is OK (step S13: Determination means).

  When it is confirmed that the writing is OK (Y in step S13), the writing is successful and the writing process to the RF tag T is finished.

  On the other hand, if it is confirmed that the writing is not OK (N in step S13), the CPU 11 continues until the RF sensor T detects that the RF tag T has passed through the slit S of the conveying plate 8 (Y in step S14). The writing process in S12 and the comparison process in step S13 are retried.

  If it is determined that the writing at the position C with respect to the RF tag T has not been performed until the time when the RF sensor T has passed the slit S of the conveying plate 8 is detected by the paper sensor 19 (Y in step S14), the writing has failed. The writing process is terminated.

  When the antenna 7a is moved from the position A to the position B and the position C, the writing process and the comparison process may be performed without stopping the antenna 7a in accordance with the conveyance speed of the RF tag T.

  By doing so, even if the location of the RF tag T provided on the label paper 2 varies, if the RF tag T is on the slit S of the transport plate 8, writing to the RF tag T is surely performed. Can do.

  The moving range of the antenna 7a is a range of the position C where the antenna 7a passes from the position A to the position B, and does not make one rotation. By doing so, it is possible to prevent the coaxial cable 20 connected to the antenna 7a from being twisted.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, when it is determined that reading / writing with respect to the RF tag T cannot be performed when reading / writing of the RF tag T is performed without stopping the sheet conveyance by the conveying unit. The position of the radiating element 21 of the antenna 7a is moved by the moving means following the movement of the RF tag T conveyed by the means, and the direction of the radio wave radiated from the radiating element 21 is changed. As a result, even if the location of the RF tag T provided on the label paper 2 and the position of the RF tag T from the label end of the print label 2b vary, the RF tag T is not transported without stopping. Reading / writing with respect to the tag T can be performed reliably.

  In the present embodiment, the moving position of the antenna 7a is set to the three positions of position A, position B, and position C, but is not limited to this.

  In the present embodiment, the antenna 7a is moved by driving the antenna driving unit 17 and rotating the shaft 22 of the antenna 7a. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, as shown in FIG. 9, the antenna 7a may be moved in a direction parallel to the conveyance direction of the label paper 2 so as to reciprocate between the positions A ', B', and C '. In this case, instead of providing the shaft 22 on the antenna 7a, a parallel movement mechanism for reciprocating the antenna 7a in a direction parallel to the conveyance direction of the label paper 2 (RF tag T) is provided, and this parallel movement mechanism is used as the antenna. What is necessary is just to drive by the drive part 17. By doing so, even if the location of the RF tag T provided on the label paper 2 varies, if the RF tag T is on the slit S of the transport plate 8, writing to the RF tag T is surely performed. Can do.

  In the present embodiment, the antenna 7a is described as a planar patch antenna. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a dipole antenna, a Yagi antenna, a horn antenna, a loop antenna, or the like may be used.

  In the present embodiment, the label sheet 2 including the RF tag T is applied as the medium, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a card, a label, a seal, or the like formed of plastic or resin as a medium may be applied, and reading / writing may be performed on an RF tag provided on the medium.

  Furthermore, although the label printer 1 including the wireless communication unit 7 has been described in the present embodiment, the present invention is not limited to this. An RF tag reader / writer may be provided that includes a transport unit that transports a medium including the RF tag T and the wireless communication unit 7 without including the printing unit.

1 is a longitudinal side view schematically showing the structure of a label printer according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a block diagram which shows the electrical connection of each part of a label printer. It is a perspective view which shows a label paper. FIG. It is a disassembled perspective view which shows the structure of the antenna vicinity of a radio | wireless communication part. It is a top view which shows the relationship between the antenna of a radio | wireless communication part, and the RF tag on label paper. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the write-in process including an antenna movement process. It is a side view which shows the movement range of an antenna. It is a modification of an antenna, Comprising: It is a side view which shows the movement range of the antenna.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Printer, 2 ... Medium, 3, 4, 5 ... Printing part, 3,15 ... Conveyance means, 7a ... Antenna, 7b ... Transmission / reception part, 8 ... Conveyance board, 21 ... Radiation element, S ... Radio wave passage part, T ... RF tag

Claims (5)

In a wireless communication apparatus that reads / writes RF tags provided on a plurality of print labels of a web-like label sheet to be conveyed,
A transport plate that forms a transport surface on which the label paper is transported;
An antenna for transmitting and receiving radio waves by disposing a radiation element at a position facing a region through which the RF tag provided on the label sheet conveyed on the conveyance surface passes;
A transceiver that communicates with the RF tag via the antenna;
A radio wave passing portion provided at a position facing the radiating element of the transport plate, capable of passing a radio wave output in accordance with communication between the transmitting / receiving unit and the RF tag, and at least larger than the radiating element; ,
A moving means for displacing the direction of the radio wave radiated from the radiating element by moving the position of the antenna toward the upstream and downstream directions in the conveyance direction of the label paper ;
A paper sensor for detecting a first state in which the print label is conveyed to a position where an RF tag provided on the print label to be communicated by the transmission / reception unit enters the radio wave passage unit;
When the paper sensor detects the first state, the direction of the radio wave radiated from the radiating element by the moving means is directed to the upstream side in the conveyance direction of the label paper within the range of the radio wave passing portion, Means for causing the transceiver to read / write the RF tag without stopping the conveyance of the label paper;
Determination means for determining whether reading / writing with respect to the RF tag has been performed;
If it is determined by the determination means that the reading / writing with respect to the RF tag could not be performed, after retrying, the position of the antenna is moved by the moving means following the movement of the RF tag being conveyed. The direction of the radio wave radiated from the radiating element is displaced toward the downstream side in the conveyance direction of the label paper within the range of the radio wave passage unit, and the reading and receiving unit reads the RF tag without stopping the conveyance of the label paper / Means to execute writing,
A wireless communication apparatus comprising: The moving means changes an angle of the radiating element with respect to the RF tag positioned at a read / write position;
The wireless communication apparatus according to claim 1 . The moving means reciprocates the radiating element in a direction parallel to the conveying direction of the RF tag.
The wireless communication apparatus according to claim 1 . Conveying means for conveying a medium equipped with an RF tag;
The wireless communication apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3 , wherein the RF tag provided in the medium transported by the transport unit is read / written.
An RF tag reader / writer comprising: Conveying means for conveying a medium equipped with an RF tag;
A printing unit for printing on the medium;
A wireless communication device according to any one of claims 1 to 3 for reading / writing of the RF tag provided in the medium conveyed by the conveying means,
A printer comprising:

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