JP4666207B2 - Wireless tag information management device, wireless tag information reading device, and wireless tag - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a wireless tag information management device and a wireless tag information reading device for accessing a wireless tag capable of wireless communication of information with the outside.

RFID (Radio) for reading / writing information in a non-contact manner between a small wireless tag and a reader (reading device) / writer (writing device)
There is known a Frequency Identification) system.

  For example, a wireless tag circuit element provided in a label-like wireless tag includes an IC circuit unit that stores predetermined wireless tag information and an antenna that is connected to the IC circuit unit and transmits and receives information. Even if the battery is dirty or placed in an invisible position, the reader / writer can access (read / write information) the RFID tag information in the IC circuit unit, and manage the product. Practical use is expected in various fields such as inspection processes.

  Here, since the storage capacity of the IC circuit unit of the RFID circuit element is not so large, generally, the IC circuit unit stores predetermined identification information (tag ID) and a corresponding object. The article information itself is often stored and held in a separate database. Then, for example, the identification information of the RFID tag circuit element related to the object is read by a reader, and the article information related to the object is acquired by searching the database based on the read identification information.

  As an example of such a prior art, there is an information processing system described in Patent Document 1, for example. In this information processing system, a reading device (base station) provided for each sales floor of a store is connected to a database and a server provided at a place different from the store via a communication network. When the tag ID of the wireless tag attached to each product displayed at each store in the store is read by the reading device (wireless station), this tag ID is transmitted to the server. The server searches information stored and held in the database based on the tag ID, and extracts and acquires various product information (product catalog information, inventory information, sales record, etc.) of the product corresponding to the tag ID. The article information of the product acquired in this way is subjected to a predetermined process based on an operation signal from a portable operation terminal possessed by a store clerk input to the server via a base station of each sales floor.

JP 2001-147770 A

  As described above, a wireless tag is often handled (for example, attached, pasted, bundled, etc.) in the form of a label (= wireless tag label) together with a target product or article. At this time, separately from the tag ID stored in the RFID circuit element, if the information related to the tag information or the corresponding article information is printed on a label and used, the above-mentioned relation is received from the user side. It is very convenient to see the information. Therefore, in recent years, a tag label producing apparatus for producing an RFID label by combining information reading / writing on the RFID circuit element and printing on a label is being considered.

  In this tag label producing device, an IC circuit portion of each RFID circuit element is fed out from a roll of a label material such as a tape in which RFID circuit elements are arranged at a predetermined interval based on an operation instruction signal for producing a tag label by an operator. The tag ID is read / written, and then a predetermined printing is performed on each label, whereby the tag labels are continuously generated.

  Therefore, the configuration of the information processing system of the prior art is applied to the tag label producing apparatus as described above, the tag label producing apparatus, the server, the database, and the operation terminal are connected via a network, and reading / writing is performed by accessing the IC circuit unit. It is conceivable to associate the tag ID to be performed with the article information in the database. In this case, when an operation signal from the operation terminal is input to the tag label producing device, the tag access function of the tag label producing device accesses the ID circuit unit of the RFID circuit element to read / write the tag ID. Corresponding print information is printed on the tag label by the print function. An inquiry signal based on the tag ID is output from the tag label producing device to the database via the network, and a response signal (search result or the like) is inputted to the tag label producing device via the network.

  Here, as described above, when making an inquiry based on the tag ID from the tag label producing device to the database, if there are a plurality of databases to be searched, it is not possible to specify which database corresponds to the tag ID. Therefore, an inquiry must be made for each database. For this reason, it is difficult to easily and quickly access a database storing information corresponding to the target RFID circuit element and acquire the information.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a wireless tag information management device, a wireless tag information reading device, and a wireless tag that can easily and quickly access a database storing information corresponding to a target wireless tag circuit element and obtain information. It is in.

In order to achieve the above object, a first invention is a wireless tag information management device for managing information related to a wireless tag circuit element, wherein antenna means for performing wireless communication with the wireless tag circuit element; Tag identification for writing RFID tag circuit elements, comprising a database code portion associated with a database storing and holding information corresponding to the RFID circuit element and an object code portion associated with an object of the RFID circuit element Tag identification information generating means for generating information , and at least a correlation information between the object identification information of the object and the tag identification information of the RFID circuit element corresponding to the first object is stored and held as the database. A storage device comprising a database, first data access means for accessing the first database, and the first data An inquiry signal generating means for generating an inquiry signal for inquiring the assignable code contents to the object code portion relative to the base, the tag identification information generated by the tag identification information generating means, via said antenna means and the IC have a writing means for writing the circuit portion, the tag identification information generating means, depending on the reply result from the first database for the inquiry signal, and generates the tag identification information.

  In the first invention of this application, when information is written to the RFID circuit element, the tag identification information generating means generates tag identification information for writing the RFID circuit element, and the writing means generates the generated tag identification information. Is written to the RFID tag circuit element to be written via the antenna means. At this time, the tag identification information generated by the tag identification information generating means is provided with the database code portion and the object code portion, so that when the information is read later on the RFID circuit element after writing, A database code portion included in the tag identification information is acquired, and based on the information, it is possible to easily determine in which database information corresponding to the RFID circuit element is stored and held. As a result, it is possible to easily and quickly access the database and reliably acquire information corresponding to the target RFID circuit element.

In addition, the first data access means can easily and quickly access the first database provided in the storage device of the RFID tag information management device, and information corresponding to the target RFID tag circuit element can be reliably acquired.
Further, the inquiry signal generated by the inquiry signal generation means is used to inquire about the code contents that can be assigned to the object code portion, and the response result is obtained so that the tag identification information generation means can respond to the object corresponding to the response result. It is possible to perform so-called automatic assignment (numbering) in which a code is assigned to generate tag identification information for writing the RFID circuit element.

In a second aspect based on the first aspect , the tag identification information generating means includes, as the database code portion, at least a part of device identification information related to a wireless tag information management device including the first database. Tag identification information is generated.

  In the case of a normal system configuration that does not include a database on the device side that communicates with the wireless tag and creates the wireless tag label, for example, the correlation information is stored in one large-capacity (outside device) database connected to a plurality of the above-mentioned devices over the network Remember. Thereafter, when the information on the RFID label generated on the device side is read by the reading device, the database is accessed from each reading device (outside the device) to obtain the correlation information.

Here, in the second invention of the present application, since there is no common large-capacity database outside the device as described above, and the first database is built in the storage device in each RFID tag information management device, It is unclear which RFID tag information management device should access the first database when the RFID tag label information is read by the reading device. Therefore, in the second invention of the present application, when the tag identification information generating means generates the tag identification information, the tag identification information including at least a part of the device identification information of the wireless tag information management device provided with the first database is stored. Generate. As a result, when the RFID label information is read by the reading device, information on which RFID tag information management device should be accessed can be easily obtained, and the corresponding correlation information can be obtained from the first database. You can definitely get it.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect of the invention, the tag identification information generating unit includes, as the database code portion, a physical address, a logical address, and a unique address of the RFID tag information management device including the first database. The tag identification information including at least a part of at least one code among numbers is generated.

  RFID tag information including a first database storing and holding information corresponding to a target RFID circuit element using a physical address, a logical address, a unique number, etc. of the RFID tag information management device provided in the database code portion The management device can be easily identified.

In order to achieve the above object, a fourth invention is a wireless tag information management device for managing information related to a wireless tag circuit element, wherein antenna means for performing wireless communication with the wireless tag circuit element; Tag identification for writing RFID tag circuit elements, comprising a database code portion associated with a database storing and holding information corresponding to the RFID circuit element and an object code portion associated with an object of the RFID circuit element Tag identification information generating means for generating information, and as the database, at least an external device that stores and holds correlation information between the object identification information of the object and the tag identification information of the RFID circuit element corresponding to the object identification information Second data access means for accessing the second database, and the object code portion for the second database Inquiry signal generating means for generating an inquiry signal for inquiring about code contents that can be assigned to, and writing means for writing the tag identification information generated by the tag identification information generating means to the IC circuit unit via the antenna means And the tag identification information generation means generates the tag identification information according to a response result from the second database to the inquiry signal.

In the fourth invention of this application, when information is written to the RFID circuit element, the tag identification information generating means generates tag identification information for writing the RFID circuit element, and the writing means generates the generated tag identification information. Is written to the RFID tag circuit element to be written via the antenna means. At this time, the tag identification information generated by the tag identification information generating means is provided with the database code portion and the object code portion, so that when the information is read later on the RFID circuit element after writing, A database code portion included in the tag identification information is acquired, and based on the information, it is possible to easily determine in which database information corresponding to the RFID circuit element is stored and held. As a result, it is possible to easily and quickly access the database and reliably acquire information corresponding to the target RFID circuit element.
In addition, the second data access means can easily and quickly access the second database provided outside the RFID tag information management apparatus, and information corresponding to the target RFID tag circuit element can be reliably acquired.
Further, the inquiry signal generated by the inquiry signal generation means is used to inquire about the code contents that can be assigned to the object code portion, and the response result is obtained so that the tag identification information generation means can respond to the object corresponding to the response result. It is possible to perform so-called automatic assignment (numbering) in which a code is assigned to generate tag identification information for writing the RFID circuit element.

According to a fifth invention, in any one of the first to fourth inventions, there is provided drive means for feeding out a print medium associated with the RFID circuit element, and print means for performing predetermined printing on the print medium. It is characterized by having.

  The printing medium to be associated with the RFID circuit element is fed out by the driving means, and predetermined printing is performed on the fed printing medium by the printing means. Thereby, using the printed medium to be printed, a print label associated with the RFID circuit element (such as a tag label equipped with the RFID circuit element or a print label attached to the RFID circuit element) is created. Can do.

In order to achieve the above object, the sixth invention is assigned by a database code portion for accessing a database associated with a database storing and holding information corresponding to the RFID circuit element and an inquiry to the database. Antenna means for performing wireless communication with the RFID tag circuit element to be read , having tag identification information including an object code portion associated with the object of the RFID circuit element, and read by the antenna means It said RFID circuit extracts the database code portion included in the tag identification information element, and having a determining means for determining a database corresponding to the database code moieties its extraction.

In the RFID tag information reading device of the sixth invention of the present application, a database code portion for accessing the database to the tag identification information read by the antenna means and an object code portion associated with the object of the RFID circuit element are provided. When the information is read from the RFID circuit element, the database code part included in the tag identification information and the object code part associated with the object of the RFID circuit element are extracted and acquired. Then, the determining means determines the corresponding database based on the acquired database code portion, thereby specifying in which database the information corresponding to the RFID tag circuit element is stored and held. As a result, it is possible to easily and quickly access the database and reliably acquire information corresponding to the target RFID circuit element.

To achieve the above object, the seventh invention of the present application is a wireless tag having a wireless tag circuit element comprising an IC circuit section for storing information and an antenna connected to the IC circuit section, wherein the wireless tag The IC circuit portion of the circuit element is associated with a database that stores and holds information corresponding to the RFID circuit element, and is assigned by an inquiry to the database and a database code portion for accessing the database. Tag identification information including an object code portion associated with an object of an element is held.

The tag identification information stored and held in the IC circuit portion of the wireless tag circuit element includes a database code portion and an object code portion. By simply reading information with a so-called scanner or reader, a database code portion included in the tag identification information for accessing the database can be acquired. Thus, based on the information, it is possible to easily determine in which database the information corresponding to the RFID circuit element is stored and held, so that the target RFID circuit element can be accessed easily and quickly. The information corresponding to can be acquired with certainty.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the database which stored the information corresponding to the target RFID circuit element can be accessed easily and quickly, and information can be acquired.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram illustrating a wireless tag information management system including the wireless tag information management device of the present embodiment.

  In this wireless tag information management system 1 shown in FIG. 1, a wireless tag information management device (wireless tag information communication device) 2 includes a route server 4, a terminal 5 (operation terminal), a general-purpose device via a wired or wireless communication line 3. The computer 6, the information server 7, and the scanner 500 (wireless tag information reading device) are connected.

  The terminal 5 is, for example, a so-called microcomputer, and although not shown in detail, the terminal 5 includes a central processing unit such as a CPU, ROM, RAM, operation means such as a mouse / keyboard, display means such as a display, etc. Based on the operation of the means, signal processing is performed in accordance with a program stored in advance in the ROM using the temporary storage function of the RAM, and predetermined display is performed on the display means.

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

  In FIG. 2, the apparatus body 8 of the RFID tag information management apparatus 2 is provided with a cartridge holder portion (not shown) as a recess, and the cartridge 100 is detachably attached to this holder portion.

  The apparatus main body 8 includes a print head (thermal head, printing means) 10 that performs predetermined printing (printing) on the cover film (printed medium) 103 that is fed out from the second roll 104, and printing on the cover film 103 is completed. Printed tag label tape 110 while laminating the ribbon take-up roller drive shaft 11 for driving the ink ribbon 105, the cover film 103 and the base tape (tag tape) 101 fed out from the first roll (tag tape roll) 102. Wirelessly using a high frequency such as a UHF band between a pressure roller driving shaft (driving means) 12 for feeding out from the cartridge 100 and a RFID tag circuit element To (which will be described in detail later) provided on the printed tag label tape 110. An antenna (antenna means) 14 for transmitting and receiving signals by communication and the above-described tagger The bell tape 110 is cut to a predetermined length at a predetermined timing to generate a label-like RFID tag T (wireless tag, details will be described later), and the RFID label T to the carry-out port (discharge port) 16 It has a delivery roller 17 that conveys and delivers, and a housing (housing) 9 that includes an outer shell so as to accommodate them, and includes the cartridge holder portion and the carry-out port 16 in which the cartridge 100 is detachably fitted.

  The antenna 14 is composed of a directional antenna (a patch antenna that is well-known in this example and omits illustration and detailed description) having directivity on one side (in this example, the front side in FIG. 2). In addition, it is arranged in the vicinity of the axial direction of the first roll 102 (the back side as viewed in FIG. 2) so that it can communicate with the area X near the feeding portion of the base tape 101 of the first roll 102. Is arranged. In this example, a part of the first roll 102 is deviated from the area X, but the entire first roll 102 may be included in the area X.

  On the other hand, the apparatus main body 8 also processes the signal read from the RFID circuit element To and the RF circuit 21 for accessing (writing or reading) the RFID circuit element To via the antenna 14. A signal processing circuit 22 for the above, a cartridge motor 23 for driving the ribbon take-up roller driving shaft 11 and the pressure roller driving shaft 12 described above, a cartridge driving circuit 24 for controlling the driving of the cartridge motor 23, and the printing A print drive circuit 25 that controls energization of the head 10, a solenoid 26 that drives the cutter 15 to perform a cutting operation, a solenoid drive circuit 27 that controls the solenoid 26, and a feed that drives the feed roller 17. The roller motor 28, the high-frequency circuit 21, the signal processing circuit 22, and the cartridge drive circuit 24 A control circuit 30 for controlling the operation of the entire RFID tag information management device 2 via the print drive circuit 25, solenoid drive circuit 27, delivery roller drive circuit 29, etc., and various databases 201 (first database) are provided. And a storage device 200 including a non-volatile hard disk or the like.

  The control circuit 30 is a so-called microcomputer, and although not shown in detail, is composed of a central processing unit such as a CPU, a ROM, and a RAM, and is stored in advance in the ROM while using a temporary storage function of the RAM. Signal processing is performed according to the program. The control circuit 30 is connected to, for example, a communication line via the input / output interface 31, and is connected to the route server 4, the other terminal 5, the general-purpose computer 6, the information server 7 and the like connected to the communication line. Thus, exchange of information and signals (including input of operation signals from the terminal 5 and the like) is possible.

  FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the detailed structure of the cartridge 100.

  In FIG. 3, the cartridge 100 includes a casing 100 </ b> A, the first roll 102 around which the strip-shaped base tape 101 is wound and disposed in the casing 100 </ b> A, and substantially the same width as the base tape 101. The second roll 104 around which the transparent cover film 103 is wound, the ribbon supply side roll 111 for feeding out the ink ribbon 105 (thermal transfer ribbon, but not required if the cover film is a thermal tape), and after printing The ribbon take-up roller 106 for winding the ribbon 105, the base tape 101, and the cover film 103 are pressed and bonded to form the printed tag label tape, and the tape is fed in the direction indicated by the arrow A (= tape). A pressure roller 107 that also functions as a feed roller.

  The first roll 102 is wound with the base tape 101 in which a plurality of RFID tag circuit elements To are sequentially formed at predetermined equal intervals in the longitudinal direction around a reel member 102a.

  In this example, the base tape 101 has a four-layer structure (see a partially enlarged view in FIG. 3), from the side wound inside (right side in FIG. 3) to the opposite side (left side in FIG. 3), An adhesive layer 101a made of an appropriate adhesive material, a colored base film 101b made of PET (polyethylene terephthalate), an adhesive layer 101c made of an appropriate adhesive material, and a release paper 101d are laminated in this order.

  An antenna (tag side antenna) 152 for transmitting and receiving information is integrally provided on the back side (left side in FIG. 3) of the base film 101b, and information can be updated so as to be connected thereto (rewritable rewritable). The IC circuit unit 151 for storage is formed, and the RFID tag circuit element To is constituted by these.

  The adhesive layer 101a for later bonding the cover film 103 is formed on the front side (right side in FIG. 3) of the base film 101b, and the RFID circuit element is formed on the back side (left side in FIG. 3) of the base film 101b. The release paper 101d is bonded to the base film 101b by the adhesive layer 101c provided so as to enclose To. The release paper 101d is one that can be adhered to the product or the like by the adhesive layer 101c when the RFID label T finally completed in a label shape is attached to a predetermined product or the like by peeling it off. It is.

  The second roll 104 has the cover film 103 wound around a reel member 104a. The cover film 103 fed out from the second roll 104 is a ribbon driven by the ribbon supply side roll 111 and the ribbon take-up roller 106 arranged on the back side thereof (that is, the side to be bonded to the base tape 101). 105 is pressed against the print head 10 to be brought into contact with the back surface of the cover film 103.

  The ribbon winding roller 106 and the pressure roller 107 are driven by the driving force of the cartridge motor 23 (see FIG. 2 described above), for example, a pulse motor provided outside the cartridge 100. By being transmitted to the roller drive shaft 12, it is rotationally driven.

  In the cartridge 100 configured as described above, the base tape 101 fed out from the first roll 102 is supplied to the pressure roller 107. On the other hand, the cover film 103 fed out from the second roll 104 is ink driven by a ribbon supply side roll 111 and a ribbon take-up roller 106 arranged on the back side thereof (that is, the side to be bonded to the base tape 101). The ribbon 105 is pressed against the print head 10 and brought into contact with the back surface of the cover film 103.

  When the cartridge 100 is mounted on the cartridge holder portion of the apparatus main body 8 and a roll holder (not shown) is moved from the separation position to the contact position, the cover film 103 and the ink ribbon 105 are moved to the print head 10 and the platen roller. The base tape 101 and the cover film 103 are sandwiched between the pressure roller 107 and the sub-roller 109. The ribbon take-up roller 106 and the pressure roller 107 are rotationally driven in synchronization with the directions indicated by the arrows B and D by the driving force of the cartridge motor 23, respectively. At this time, the pressure roller driving shaft 12 is connected to the sub roller 109 and the platen roller 108 by a gear (not shown), and the pressure roller 107, the sub roller 109, and the platen roller are driven by the driving of the pressure roller driving shaft 12. The roller 108 rotates, the base tape 101 is fed out from the first roll 102, and is supplied to the pressure roller 107 as described above. On the other hand, the cover film 103 is fed out from the second roll 104 (see arrow A), and the plurality of heating elements of the print head 10 are energized by the print drive circuit 25. As a result, a print R (see FIG. 7 described later) is printed on the back surface of the cover film 103. The base tape 101 and the cover film 103 after the printing are bonded and integrated by the pressure roller 107 and the sub-roller 109 to form a tag label tape with print and are carried out of the cartridge 100. . The ink ribbon 105 that has finished printing on the cover film 103 is taken up by the ribbon take-up roller 106 by driving the ribbon take-up roller drive shaft 11. Further, a guide roller 120 is provided in the vicinity of the feeding of the first roll 102, and the positional relationship between the antenna 14 on the apparatus side and the RFID label T is predetermined even if the outer diameter changes depending on the remaining amount of the first roll 102. The communication condition with the RFID circuit element To is kept constant by regulating the range.

  FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram showing detailed functions of the high-frequency circuit 21. In FIG. 4, the high-frequency circuit 21 receives a transmission unit 32 that transmits a signal to the RFID circuit element To through the antenna 14 and a reflected wave from the RFID circuit element To that is received by the antenna 14. The unit 33 and the transmission / reception separator 34 are configured.

The transmitting unit 32 generates a carrier wave for accessing (writing or reading) the RFID tag information of the IC circuit unit 151 of the RFID circuit element To, a crystal resonator 35, and a PLL (Phase
The generated carrier wave is modulated on the basis of a signal supplied from the signal processing circuit 22 (Locked Loop) 36 and VCO (Voltage Controlled Oscillator) 37 (in this example, a “TX_ASK” signal from the signal processing circuit 22 A transmission multiplication circuit 38 (amplitude modulation based on the above) (however, in the case of amplitude modulation, an amplification factor variable amplifier or the like may be used) and a modulated wave (wireless tag information) modulated by the transmission multiplication circuit 38 And a variable transmission amplifier 39 that determines and amplifies the amplification factor according to the “TX_PWR” signal from 30. The generated carrier wave preferably uses a frequency in the UHF band, and the output of the transmission amplifier 39 is transmitted to the antenna 14 via the transmission / reception separator 34, and the IC circuit of the RFID circuit element To Supplied to the unit 151. Note that the RFID tag information is not limited to the signal modulated as described above, but may be only a carrier wave.

  The reception unit 33 is necessary from the reception first multiplication circuit 40 that multiplies the reflected wave from the RFID circuit element To received by the antenna 14 and the generated carrier wave, and the output of the reception first multiplication circuit 40. Received by the antenna 14, the first band-pass filter 41 for extracting only a signal in a wide band, the reception first amplifier 43 that amplifies the output of the first band-pass filter 41 and supplies the amplified signal to the first limiter 42. Required from the reception second multiplication circuit 44 that multiplies the reflected wave from the RFID circuit element To and the carrier wave generated by the transfer unit 49 and delayed in phase by 90 °, and the output of the reception second multiplication circuit 44. A second bandpass filter 45 for extracting only a signal in a wide band, and an output of the second bandpass filter 45 is inputted and amplified to be a second limiter. And a second receiving amplifier 47 for supplying to 46. The signal “RXS-I” output from the first limiter 42 and the signal “RXS-Q” output from the second limiter 46 are input to the signal processing circuit 22 and processed.

  The outputs of the reception first amplifier 43 and the reception second amplifier 47 are also input to an RSSI (Received Signal Strength Indicator) circuit 48, and a signal “RSSI” indicating the strength of these signals is input to the signal processing circuit 22. It has become so. In this way, in the RFID tag information management apparatus 2 of the present embodiment, demodulation of the reflected wave from the RFID tag circuit element To is performed by IQ orthogonal demodulation.

  FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram showing a functional configuration of the RFID circuit element To. In FIG. 5, the RFID circuit element To is connected to the antenna 152 on the RFID tag information management apparatus 2 side and the antenna 152 that transmits and receives signals in a non-contact manner using a high frequency such as a UHF band, and the antenna 152. And the IC circuit portion 151.

  The IC circuit unit 151 includes a rectification unit 153 that rectifies the carrier wave received by the antenna 152, and a power supply unit 154 that accumulates energy of the carrier wave rectified by the rectification unit 153 and serves as a driving power source for the IC circuit unit 151. A clock extraction unit 156 that extracts a clock signal from the carrier wave received by the antenna 152 and supplies the clock signal to the control unit 155; a memory unit 157 that can store a predetermined information signal; and a modulation / demodulation unit connected to the antenna 152 158, and the control unit 155 for controlling the operation of the RFID circuit element To through the rectifying unit 153, the clock extracting unit 156, the modem unit 158, and the like.

  The modem unit 158 demodulates the communication signal received from the antenna 15 of the RFID tag information management apparatus 2 received by the antenna 152, and based on the response signal from the control unit 155, converts the carrier wave received from the antenna 152. Modulated reflection.

  The control unit 155 interprets the received signal demodulated by the modulation / demodulation unit 158, generates a return signal based on the information signal stored in the memory unit 157, and performs basic control such as returning by the modulation / demodulation unit 158. Execute proper control.

  FIGS. 6A and 6B show an example of the appearance of the RFID label T formed by completing the information writing of the RFID circuit element To and the cutting of the printed tag label tape 110 as described above. 6A is a top view, and FIG. 6B is a bottom view. FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along section VII-VII ′ in FIG.

  6A, 6B, and 7, the RFID label T has a five-layer structure in which the cover film 103 is added to the four-layer structure shown in FIG. From the (upper side in FIG. 7) to the opposite side (lower side in FIG. 7), the cover film 103, the adhesive layer 101a, the base film 101b, the adhesive layer 101c, and the release paper 101d constitute five layers. As described above, the RFID circuit element To including the antenna 152 provided on the back side of the base film 101b is provided in the adhesive layer 101c and printed on the back surface of the cover film 103 (in this example, the RFID label T). "RF-ID" indicating the type) is printed.

  FIG. 8 shows the above-described terminal 5 (or general-purpose computer 6) when the RFID tag information management apparatus 2 accesses (writes or reads) the RFID tag information of the IC circuit unit 151 of the RFID circuit element To. It is a figure showing an example of the screen displayed on ().

  In FIG. 8, in this example, the tag label type, the print character R printed corresponding to the RFID circuit element To, the access (read or write) ID that is the tag ID unique to the RFID circuit element To, and the above-mentioned storage Storage of the address of article information (object information) stored in the database 201 of the apparatus 200 (details will be described later) and related information (see FIGS. 11 and 12 described later) in the information server 7 and the route server 4 The destination address or the like can be displayed on the terminal 5 (or the general-purpose computer 6).

  Then, the RFID tag information management device 2 is activated by the operation of the terminal 5 (or the general-purpose computer 6), and the print character R is printed on the cover film 103, and the IC circuit unit 151 is loaded with the print character R as described later. Object information such as a writing ID and article information corresponding thereto is written (or a tag ID stored in advance in the IC circuit unit 151 is read).

  At the time of writing (or reading) as described above, the tag ID (identification information) of the RFID label T written (or read) and the object of the RFID label T (the RFID label T is attached, adhered, Correspondence (= correlation information; so-called stringing information) with information (object information such as article information) etc. of articles / products / members / machines / equipment etc. to be attached and bundled is the storage device 200 described above. Are stored in the database 201 (may be further stored in the route server 4) and can be referred to as necessary. In addition to the correlation information, the object information and the like may be stored in the database 201 together (see FIGS. 11 and 12 described later). In the case where only the correlation information (so-called stringing information) is stored in the database 201 of the storage device 200, the object information or the like may be stored in the information server 7 (database outside the device) so that it can be referred to.

  In the wireless tag information management system 1 including the wireless tag information management device 2 having the above configuration, the wireless tag information management device 2 including the storage device 200 constituting the database 201 itself is wirelessly connected via the antenna 14. When writing a tag ID (tag identification information) in the tag circuit element To, the tag identification information is associated with a database 201 storing and holding information corresponding to the RFID circuit element To and the RFID circuit element To And an object code portion associated with the object. Hereinafter, the details will be described in order.

  FIG. 9 shows a case where three functions (storage device access function, tag information access function, and print function) of the above-described RFID tag information management apparatus 2 are executed based on an operation signal from the terminal (operation terminal) 5. It is a conceptual time chart.

  In FIG. 9, before actual data exchange, first, a status inquiry signal for inquiring about the cartridge type is output from the terminal 5 (step SS501). That is, the cartridge 100 has a different tag attribute parameter (tape width, tag arrangement interval, tag sensitivity, etc.) or communication parameter (frequency, communication protocol, etc.) related to the RFID circuit element To provided on the base tape 101. The cartridges are configured as different types of cartridges, and detected portions including information indicating the cartridge types are provided at appropriate positions of the cartridges 100. The cartridge holder portion of the RFID tag information management device 2 has appropriate detection means for reading the cartridge type information of the detected portion (for example, a mechanical sensor such as a mechanical switch, an optical sensor such as a barcode scanner, or a magnetic sensor). Sensor, detection by wireless communication, etc.). The detection result related to the cartridge type is input to the control circuit 30, for example, and the cartridge type information based on the detection result is output from the control circuit 30 to the terminal 5 as a status response signal in response to the status inquiry signal (step SS502). ).

  At this time, the database 201 of the storage device 200 in the wireless tag information management device 2 includes a plurality of databases 201A, 201B,... In detail (see FIG. 10 described later). When the operator operates the terminal 5 to select which database data is to be used, a database reference command signal corresponding to the selected data is output to the storage device 200 via the control circuit 30 (step SS503). In response to this, a data record (group) of data already registered in the database (= object information data of the RFID label T in this example) is extracted from the storage device 200 and used as reference data via the control circuit 30 to the terminal. For example, a list is displayed on the display means 5 (step SS504).

  The operator sees the reference data displayed on the display means and has already registered the data he / she wants to handle, such as issuing a tag label T related to the data or performing only data editing. In this case, the data is selected from the registered data list (step SS505). If it has not been registered, the data is newly entered into the corresponding database and registered (step SS506).

  When the data selection or data registration is completed in this way, the RFID label T (however, a simple print label without the RFID circuit element To can be issued) is not issued (= created) as it is. The operation ends (step SS507).

  When issuing the RFID label T, an appropriate operation corresponding to the terminal 5 is performed, so that an image of the appearance (printing mode) of the RFID tag T to be created is displayed in the control circuit 30 of the RFID tag information management apparatus 2. It is created and displayed on the display means of the terminal 5 (step SS508). Thereafter, the appearance image of the RFID label T created and previewed as described above is stored and held in a corresponding database in association with the data (object information, etc.) or tag ID (step SS513).

  Based on the above steps, when the operator inputs (starts) a tag generation (issue) start instruction at the terminal 5, as described above, a tag information access (= data write in this example) command, a print command, One operation signal including a storage device access (issued data registration) command is output to the RFID tag information management device 2 side.

  Among them, the print command signal is input to the print drive circuit 25 via the control circuit 30 (step SS514), and the print head 10 is driven to perform the corresponding print on the cover film 103.

  Data writing depends on whether the tag ID setting (numbering) of the RFID circuit element To is performed by the automatic assignment method or the manual input method.

  In the case of the manual input method (step SS540), the operator sets the tag ID to be written and inputs the ID to the terminal 5 so that the data write command signal included in the operation signal is passed through the control circuit 30. Input to the signal processing circuit 22 and the high-frequency circuit 21 (step SS515), the set tag ID is generated, and information such as the generated tag ID is written through the antenna 14.

  In the case of the automatic allocation (automatic numbering) method (step SS541), a status inquiry signal for numbering is first output from the terminal 5 before actual data exchange (step SS542). Here, when the RFID tag information management device 2 is turned on, for example, the control circuit 30 detects device identification information of the RFID tag information management device 2 (for example, a physical address such as a so-called Ethernet (registered trademark, the same applies hereinafter) or a Mac address) , Or a logical address such as an IP address, a manufacturing number / serial number, or a device-specific number such as an arbitrary management number set by a switch on the device by the administrator) or a part thereof (or the above status) The device type information acquired in advance from the control circuit 30 in response to the status inquiry signal is output to the terminal 5 as a status response (notification) signal (step SS543). Appropriately displayed on the display means.

  When an operator who confirms the displayed status appropriately operates the terminal 5 to instruct automatic numbering, an automatic numbering command signal corresponding to this is output to the storage device 200 via the control circuit 30. (Step SS544). In response to this, an unused number for tag ID numbering (= unused number or not yet associated with data already registered in the database (= object information data of the RFID label T in this example)) The group of the plurality of numbers) is searched in the storage device 200 (step SS545), and the empty number data of the search extraction result is displayed as a list on the display means of the terminal 5 via the control circuit 30 (step SS546). When the operator confirming the displayed tag ID (candidate) operates the terminal 5 appropriately (selects from a plurality of tag IDs, approves one tag ID, etc.), writing is performed when the RFID label T is created. The tag ID to be performed is determined (step SS547). Thereafter, a data write command signal included in the operation signal is input to the signal processing circuit 22 and the high frequency circuit 21 via the control circuit 30 (step SS515), and the determined tag ID is generated, and the generated tag ID is generated. And the like are written through the antenna 14.

  The issued data registration command included in the operation signal is input to the control circuit 30, and the report signal indicating that the data writing has been successful (step SS517) and the report signal indicating that the printing has been successful (step SS518) are controlled. Waiting for input to the circuit 30, confirming this, and storing the correlation (linkage) information (or object information in addition) between the written tag ID and the object information from the control circuit 30. It registers as issue data in the database 201 of the apparatus 200 (step SS519). Then, a data write success report signal indicating that it has been registered is output from the control circuit 30 side to the operation terminal 5 (step SS520). When printing or writing fails, a data writing failure report signal (step SS521A) and a printing failure report signal (step SS521B) to that effect are output from the control circuit 30 side to the operation terminal 5. Then, a result display (success display or error display) corresponding to the report signal is performed on the display means of the operation terminal 5 (step SS522).

  FIG. 10 is a database selection screen displayed on the display means of the terminal 5 when the database reference command signal is output from the terminal 5 to the storage device 200 in Step SS503 of FIG. In FIG. 10, as an example, the database 201 of the storage device 200 of the RFID tag information management device 2 includes an employee information database 201A, an article information database 201B, a customer information database 201C, and a patent information database 201D. Represents. For the database 201 selected from these four, the reference command signal is output to the storage device 200 in step SS503 as described above, and the data record (group) is displayed from the database 201 as reference data on the display means of the terminal 5. Is done.

  FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of the data record displayed in this way. In this example, for example, a record displayed on the terminal 5 as reference data when the employee information database 201A shown in FIG. 10 is selected in order to create an employee name tag as a handling object of the RFID label T is shown. Yes. As shown in the figure, in this example, “employee code”, “name”, “phonetic”, “gender code”, “affiliation code”, “extension number”, “e-mail address”, “face photo” as object identification information as record items “File Name” “Label Base Color Code” “Label Print Color Code” “Label Image File Name” “ID Bit Length” “Tag ID (Hexadecimal Notation)” “Protocol Code” “Issue Date” “Issuance Reason Code” Each column of “valid / invalid flag” is provided.

  Of these, “employee code”, “name”, “reading”, “gender code”, “affiliation department code”, “extension number”, “e-mail address”, “face photo file name” are so-called object information (the name of the employee wearing the name tag Information), and that the object information and the “tag ID” are associated with each other by the table in the horizontal row substantially forms correlation information (link information) between the object information and the tag ID. ing.

  In addition, “label base color code” “label printing color code” “label image file name” “ID bit length” “protocol code” “issue date” “issue reason code” “valid / invalid flag” are the other RFID label T Is accompanying information.

  Among them, “Issuance reason code” is “0” for initial issue (= new issue), “1” for failure reissue due to failure, “2” for lost Reissue is indicated.

  When the “valid / invalid flag” is “1”, the RFID circuit element To functions normally, and when it is “0”, the RFID circuit element To does not function normally (RFID information management). This includes a case where the function is invalidated or hibernated by a command transmission on the apparatus 2 side and a case where reading / writing or printing has failed).

  FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating another display example of the data record. In this example, for example, a record displayed on the terminal 5 as reference data when the article information database 201B shown in FIG. 10 is selected in order to create a management label of an in-house managed part as a handling target of the RFID label T. Is shown. As shown in the figure, in this example, “item code”, “item name”, “model number”, “purchase date”, “management department code”, “administrator code”, “photo file name”, “label” as object identification information as record items. “Base color code” “Label print color code” “Label image file name” “ID bit length” “Tag ID (hexadecimal notation)” “Protocol code” “Issue date” “Issuance reason code” “Valid / invalid flag ") Are provided.

  Among these, “article code”, “article name”, “model number”, “purchase date”, “management department code”, “administrator code”, and “photo file name” are so-called object information (information on the article to be labeled). Similar to the above, the fact that the object information and the “tag ID” are related by the table in the horizontal row substantially forms the correlation information (link information) between the object information and the tag ID. .

  Similarly to the above, “label base color code” “label print color code” “label image file name” “ID bit length” “protocol code” “issue date” “issue reason code” “valid / invalid flag” are RFID tag labels This is information accompanying T.

  The handling of “issuance reason code”, “tag ID”, “issuance date”, “issuance reason code”, etc. is the same as described above, and the explanation is omitted.

  FIG. 13 shows the above-mentioned after the operator confirms the appearance (printing mode) image of the RFID label T at the terminal 5 in step SS508 of FIG. 9 (or may be an appropriate timing before that). FIG. 5 is a selection operation screen displayed on the display means for performing an operation to select whether to set the tag ID (numbering) of the RFID circuit element To by the automatic assignment method or the manual input method. .

  In FIG. 13, five check boxes 220A, 220B, 220C, 220D, and 220E are provided for the ID assignment method.

  The check box 220A is selected when the above-described manual input method is performed. When the check box 220A is selected and the OK button 221 is operated, the first fixed area (in this example, 4 bits worth) of the tag ID is selected. ) Is set to 0, and the predetermined area (60 bits in this example) following this can be arbitrarily set by operating and inputting the tag ID to be written as described above, and the tag set in this way Information including ID can be written (see Step SS540 and Step SS515 in FIG. 9).

  The check boxes 220B, 220C, and 220D are selected when the automatic numbering method described above is performed.

  The check box 220B is selected when a part that can be manually input is left (automatic setting (1)) while being based on automatic numbering. This check box 220B is selected, and an OK button 221 is selected. Is operated, the first fixed area (4 bits in this example) of the tag ID is set to 0, and the subsequent predetermined area (in this example, 32 bits) can be arbitrarily set as described above, and the subsequent predetermined area As for (automatic numbering area), the empty number for tag ID (see step SS546 in FIG. 9) of the database 201 retrieved from the storage device 200 and input from the control circuit 30 as described above is a predetermined mode (predetermined). Automatically assigned in a given order, including at random), and the tag ID manually and automatically set in this way is the final tag I It is determined as it is possible to perform information writing containing (step SS547 see Figure 9) which (see step SS515 in FIG. 9).

  The check box 220C is selected when automatic numbering is performed using the serial number of the RFID tag information management apparatus 2 (automatic setting (2)), and this check box 220C is selected and the OK button 221 is operated. Then, for the first fixed area (in this example, 28 bits) of the tag ID, a device unique number (serial number, in this example) as device identification information of the RFID tag information management device 2 obtained via the control circuit 30 is obtained. 9 (see step SS543 in FIG. 9) (corresponding to the database code portion associated with the database). In addition, for a predetermined area (automatic numbering area) subsequent to this, an empty number for tag ID in the database 201 is automatically assigned and assigned in a predetermined manner (corresponding to an object of the RFID circuit element). The tag ID automatically set in this way is generated as final tag identification information in the signal processing circuit 22 and the high-frequency circuit 21, and information including this can be written.

  The check box 220D is selected when automatic numbering is performed using the physical address (in this example, the MAC address) of the wireless tag information management device 2 (automatic setting (3)). When the user selects and operates the OK button 221, the MAC address (device identification information of the RFID tag information management device 2 obtained via the control circuit 30 is obtained for the first fixed area (for 52 bits in this example) of the tag ID. 9 (see step SS543 in FIG. 9) (corresponding to the database code portion associated with the database). In addition, for a predetermined area (automatic numbering area) subsequent to this, an empty number for tag ID in the database 201 is automatically assigned and assigned in a predetermined manner (corresponding to an object of the RFID circuit element). The tag ID automatically set in this way is generated as final tag identification information in the signal processing circuit 22 and the high-frequency circuit 21, and information including this can be written.

  The check box 220E is selected when automatic numbering is performed using the logical address of the RFID tag information management apparatus 2 (in this example, an IP address, the same applies hereinafter) (automatic setting (4)). When the box 220E is selected and the OK button 221 is operated, the first fixed area (36 bits in this example) of the tag ID is used as the device identification information of the wireless tag information management device 2 obtained through the control circuit 30. An IP address (see step SS543 in FIG. 9) is included (corresponding to the database code portion associated with the database). In addition, for a predetermined area (automatic numbering area) subsequent to this, an empty number for tag ID in the database 201 is automatically assigned and assigned in a predetermined manner (corresponding to an object of the RFID circuit element). The tag ID automatically set in this way is generated as final tag identification information in the signal processing circuit 22 and the high-frequency circuit 21, and information including this can be written.

  In this example, a check box 220F corresponding to a case where information is read instead of writing information to the RFID circuit element To as described above (see a modification using FIGS. 23 and 19 described later) is also provided. An example to be displayed is shown. By selecting this check box 220F and operating the OK button 221, the flow shown in FIG. 23 described later is executed instead of the flow shown in FIG.

  It should be noted that a check box may be provided so that creation of a normal print label without a tag and editing of data (print data only) associated therewith can also be selected.

  On the other hand, in response to the print command signal at step SS514, the data write command signal at step SS515, and the data registration command signal at step SS516 in FIG. Information (tag ID) writing to the unit 151, printing by the print head 10, and registration of data (data records illustrated in FIGS. 11 and 12 including the tag ID) to the database 201 are performed. FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing a control procedure executed by the control circuit 30 when performing these operations.

  In FIG. 14, the aforementioned operation signals including the print command signal, the data write command signal, and the data registration command signal are input to the control circuit 30 via the communication line 3 and the input / output interface 31 by a predetermined operation in the terminal 5 ( Once identified (see step SS514, step SS515, step SS516 in FIG. 9), this flow is started. First, in step S10, information to be written from the antenna 14 to the IC circuit unit 151 of the RFID circuit element To based on the data write command signal from the terminal 5 (automatically set in step SS547 in FIG. 9 or step Including the tag ID manually set in SS540, and print information to be printed on the RFID label T by the print head 10 (for example, the tag ID itself of the corresponding RFID circuit element To or information corresponding to the use of the RFID tag T) ) And are acquired.

  Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S15, and a variable N for counting the number of times of retry (retry) when there is no response from the RFID circuit element To and a flag F indicating whether communication is good or bad are initialized to zero.

  In step S20, a control signal is output to the cartridge drive circuit 24, and the ribbon take-up roller 106 and the pressure roller 107 are driven to rotate by the drive force of the cartridge motor 23. Thereby, the base tape 101 is fed out from the first roll 102 and supplied to the pressure roller 107, and the cover film 103 is fed out from the second roll 104. Further, a control signal is output to the delivery roller motor 28 via the delivery roller drive circuit 29 to drive the delivery roller 17 to rotate. As a result, as described above, the base tape 101 and the cover film 103 (which has been printed as will be described later) are bonded and integrated by the pressure roller 107 and the sub-roller 109 to form a tag label tape 110 with print. The tapes 101, 103, and 110 are started to be driven so as to be conveyed outward from the cartridge body 100.

  Next, in step S30, the above-described predetermined RFID tag information (tag ID or the like) to be written is transmitted to the RFID circuit element To and written (refer to FIG. 15 described later for details).

  Then, the process proceeds to step S35, a control signal is output to the print drive circuit 25, the print head 10 is energized, and the cover film 103 is arranged at predetermined intervals (for example, at a predetermined pitch on the base tape 101). A print R such as a character, a symbol, or a bar code obtained in step S10 is printed on an area to be attached to the back surface of the RFID circuit element To. When step S35 ends, the process proceeds to step S39.

  In step S39, it is determined whether or not the flag F = 0. If the writing process has been completed normally, F = 0 remains (see step S38 in the flow shown in FIG. 15 described later), so this determination is satisfied, and the routine goes to step S50.

  In step S50, after confirming whether or not all the printing in the area corresponding to the RFID circuit element To which is the processing target at this time in the cover film 103 is completed, the process proceeds to step S60.

  Note that if the writing process is not normally completed for some reason, F = 1 is set (see step S38 in the flow shown in FIG. 15 to be described later), so the determination in step S39 described above is not satisfied, and the process returns to step S45. Then, a control signal is output to the print drive circuit 25 to stop energization of the print head 10 and stop printing. As described above, the fact that the RFID circuit element To is not a normal product is clearly displayed by stopping the printing, and then the process proceeds to step S60.

  In step S60, it is determined whether the printed tag label tape 110 has been transported to a predetermined position to be cut by the cutter 15. Specifically, for example, whether the target RFID circuit element To and the print area of the cover film 103 corresponding to the target RFID circuit element To all exceed the cutter 15 by a predetermined length (margin amount) An appropriate identification mark provided corresponding to each RFID circuit element To on 101 (specifically, for example, release sheet 101d or cover film 103) may be provided outside cartridge 100 (for example, further downstream of cutter 15 in the transport direction). It is sufficient to perform detection by using a known tape sensor provided on the side). In addition, without such detection, it is determined based on the print information whether the length of the print character length of the print R plus a predetermined blank area exceeds the total length of the RFID circuit element To (is exceeded). For example, it is possible to avoid cutting the RFID circuit element To to be bonded by cutting the margin area outside with the cutter 15 at least when the printing of the cover film 103 is completed). Also good.

  If this determination is satisfied, the process moves to step S70. In step S70, control signals are output to the cartridge drive circuit 24 and the delivery roller drive circuit 29, the drive of the cartridge motor 23 and the delivery roller motor 28 is stopped, and the ribbon take-up roller 106, the pressure roller 107, and the delivery roller. The rotation of 17 is stopped. Thereby, the feeding of the base tape 101 from the first roll 102, the feeding of the cover film 103 from the second roll 104, and the conveyance of the tag label tape 110 with print by the feed roller 17 are stopped.

  Thereafter, in step S80, a control signal is output to the solenoid drive circuit 27 to drive the solenoid 26, and the printed tag label tape 110 is cut by the cutter 15. As described above, at this time, for example, the RFID tag circuit element To to be processed and the print area of the cover film 103 corresponding thereto all sufficiently exceed the cutter 15, and by cutting the cutter 15, the RFID tag A label-like RFID label T on which the RFID tag information of the circuit element To is read and predetermined printing corresponding to the RFID tag information is performed is generated.

  Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S90, where a control signal is output to the delivery roller drive circuit 29, the drive of the delivery roller motor 28 is resumed, and the delivery roller 17 is rotated. As a result, the conveyance by the delivery roller 17 is resumed, and the RFID label T generated in the label shape in step S150 is conveyed toward the carry-out port 16 and is discharged from the carry-out port 16 to the outside of the apparatus 2.

  In step S100, all RFID tag information of the IC circuit unit 151 provided in the RFID label circuit element To remaining in the communication range (the above-described region X) in the cartridge 100 is erased (initialized). Specifically, an “Erase” command for initializing information stored in the memory unit 157 of the RFID circuit element To is output to the signal processing circuit 22. Based on this, an “Erase” signal is generated by the signal processing circuit 22 and transmitted to all the RFID circuit elements To in the communication range (the above-mentioned region X) via the transmission unit 32 and the antenna 14 of the high-frequency circuit 21, and the memory unit 157 is initialized.

  Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S110, and it is determined whether or not the flag F = 0. If the writing process is normally completed, F = 0 remains (see step S38 in the flow shown in FIG. 15 described later), and the determination is satisfied (corresponding to step S517 in FIG. 9). In this case, Since the determination in step S39 is satisfied and the printing is normally completed in step S50 (corresponding to step S518 in FIG. 9), the process proceeds to step S120, and the wireless tag written in the RFID circuit element To in the step S30. A combination of tag information (tag ID and the like) and print information printed by the print head 10 corresponding thereto, together with other related information (including object information of the RFID label T in this example), a storage device 200 for writing and registering in the database 201 (corresponding to step SS519 in FIG. 9 above; overwriting if already registered) Update). This stored data is stored and held in the database 201 so that it can be referred to from the terminal 5 (or the general-purpose computer 6) as necessary.

  Note that if the writing process is not normally completed for some reason, F = 1 is set (see step S38 in the flow shown in FIG. 15 described later), so the determination in step S110 described above is not satisfied, and the process returns to step S130. Then, an error display signal is output to the terminal 5 (or the general-purpose computer 6) via the input / output interface 31 and the communication line 3 (corresponding to step SS520 and step SS521 in FIG. 9), and the corresponding writing failure (error) display. (Corresponding to step SS522), this flow is terminated.

  FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing the detailed procedure of step S30.

  In FIG. 15, when the above-described step S <b> 20 in FIG. 14 ends, the process first proceeds to step S <b> 31 and a “Program” command for writing desired data in the memory unit 157 is output to the signal processing circuit 22. Based on this, a “Program” signal as radio tag information including a tag ID originally intended to be written is generated by the signal processing circuit 22 and is communicated within the communicable area via the transmitter 32 and the antenna 14 of the high-frequency circuit 21 (the above-mentioned region X And the information is written in the memory unit 157.

  Thereafter, in step S 32, a “Verify” command for confirming the contents of the memory unit 157 is output to the signal processing circuit 22. Based on this, a “Verify” signal is generated by the signal processing circuit 22 and transmitted to all the RFID circuit elements To in the communicable area via the transmitter 32 and the antenna 14 of the high-frequency circuit 21 to prompt a reply.

  Then, the process proceeds to step S33, and a reply (response) signal transmitted (returned) from all the RFID circuit elements To in the communicable area corresponding to the “Verify” signal is received via the antenna 14, and the high frequency signal is received. The data is taken in via the receiving unit 33 and the signal processing circuit 22 of the circuit 21.

  Next, in step S34, based on the reception result of step S33, at least one of all the RFID circuit elements To in the communication area, any valid reply signal (that has been normally stored in the memory unit 157). It is determined whether or not a signal indicating

  If the determination is satisfied, the data is correctly written in at least one RFID circuit element To in the area X, and the writing failure to all the RFID circuit elements To in the area X is avoided. Exit the routine. If the determination is not satisfied, the process moves to step S35, 1 is added to N, and it is further determined in step S36 whether N = 5. If N ≦ 4, the determination is not satisfied and the routine returns to step S31 and the same procedure is repeated. If N = 5, the flag F is set to 1 in step S38 described above, and this routine is terminated. In this way, even if information writing is not successful, retry is performed up to five times. Thus, even if information writing from the antenna 14 to the RFID circuit element To in the region X is malfunctioning, retry is performed up to a predetermined number of times N (N = 5 in the above example). In order to ensure the writing reliability, everything can be done. Further, in the above, the write transmission power may be sequentially increased during the above retry N times. Further, after retrying N times and setting flag F = 1 in step S38 in FIG. 15, printing is not stopped in step S45 in FIG. 14, but some writing (retry) failure (warning) is indicated. Printing or the like may be performed.

  FIG. 16 is a functional block diagram showing details of the functional configuration of the scanner 500. In FIG. 16, the scanner 500 includes a control unit 520 and an antenna (antenna means) 530.

  The control unit 520 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 521, a network communication control unit 522 that controls signal exchange via the network NW, a memory 523 such as a RAM or a ROM, and the wireless communication via the antenna 530. An antenna 152 provided in the tag circuit element To and an RF communication control unit 540 that performs communication control are provided.

  FIG. 17 is a functional block diagram showing detailed configurations of the RF communication control unit 540 and the antenna 530.

  In FIG. 17, the antenna 530 includes one transmission antenna (antenna element) 610 and a plurality (three in this example) of reception antennas (antenna elements) 611A, 611B, and 611C.

  The RF communication control unit 540 accesses information (wireless tag information) of the IC circuit unit 151 of the RFID circuit element To via the transmission antenna 610 and the reception antennas 611A, 611B, and 611C (in this example, reading is performed). Transmission unit 612 and reception unit 613 (= high frequency circuit), phase control units 603A, 603B, and 603C related to the reception antennas 611A, 611B, and 611C, respectively, and addition for adding outputs from these phase control units 603A to 603C A device 605 for processing the signal read from the IC circuit unit 151 of the RFID circuit element To to read information and generating access information for accessing the IC circuit unit 151 of the RFID circuit element To It is connected to the CPU 521 including functions.

  The phase control units 603A, 603B, and 603C receive the phase control signal from the CPU 521, and phase shifters 606A, 606B, and 606C that variably set the phases of the received radio wave signals at the receiving antennas 611A, 611B, and 611C, respectively. Variable gain amplifiers (amplification variable amplifiers) 608A, 608B, which variably amplify the signals input from the phase shifters 606A, 606B, 606C and output the signals to the adder 605 in response to the signals from the CPU 521. 608C.

  The transmission unit 612 transmits a signal to the RFID circuit element To through the transmission antenna 610, and accesses the RFID tag information of the IC circuit unit 151 of the RFID circuit element To (in this example, performs reading). ) And a carrier wave generated by the carrier wave generator based on a signal supplied from the CPU 521 (in this example, amplitude modulation based on a “TX_ASK” signal from the CPU 521) ) Transmission multiplier circuit 616 (in the case of “TX_ASK signal”, an amplification factor variable amplifier or the like may be used) and the modulated wave modulated by the transmission multiplier circuit 616 (in this example, “TX_PWR” from the CPU 521). And a transmission amplifier 617 for amplifying the amplification factor determined by the signal. The carrier wave generated by the carrier wave generation unit is preferably set to a frequency of 300 MHz or higher, and preferably 900 MHz or 2.45 GHz. The output of the transmission amplifier 617 is transmitted to the transmission antenna 610 and wirelessly transmitted. This is supplied to the IC circuit 151 of the tag circuit element To.

  The receiving unit 613 generates a reflected wave from the RFID circuit element To received by the receiving antennas 611A, 611B, and 611C and summed by the adder 605 through the phase control units 603A, 603B, and 603C and the carrier wave generating unit. A reception first multiplication circuit 618 for multiplying the received carrier wave, a first bandpass filter 619 for extracting only a signal of a necessary band from the output of the reception first multiplication circuit 618, and the first bandpass filter 619. Received by the receiving antennas 611A to 611C, the first limiter 620 for further amplifying the output of the receiving first amplifier 621 and converting it to a digital signal, and the phase control unit 603A. ˜C from the RFID circuit element To added by the adder 605 through 603C A reception second multiplication circuit 622 that multiplies the wave and the carrier wave generated by the carrier wave generation unit and then delayed in phase by 90 ° by the phase shifter 627, and a signal in a necessary band from the output of the reception second multiplication circuit 622 A second band-pass filter 623 for extracting only the signal, a reception second amplifier 625 for amplifying the output of the second band-pass filter 623, and further amplifying the output of the reception second amplifier 625 for conversion into a digital signal. And a second limiter 624. The signal “RXS-I” output from the first limiter 620 and the signal “RXS-Q” output from the second limiter 624 are input to the CPU 521 and processed.

  The outputs of the reception first amplifier 621 and the reception second amplifier 625 are also input to an RSSI (Received Signal Strength Indicator) circuit 626, and a signal “RSSI” indicating the strength of those signals is input to the CPU 521. In this manner, the RF communication control unit 540 of the scanner 500 according to the present embodiment demodulates the reflected wave from the RFID tag circuit element To by IQ orthogonal demodulation.

  The CPU 521 is a so-called microcomputer, and although not shown in detail, the CPU 521 is composed of a central processing unit such as a CPU, a ROM, and a RAM, and is a program stored in advance in the ROM while using a temporary storage function of the RAM. The signal processing is performed according to the above. The CPU 521 inputs a received signal from the above-described high-frequency circuit receiving unit 613 and performs predetermined arithmetic processing, and performs an amplification control signal and a modulation control signal to the above-described high-frequency circuit transmitting unit 612, and phase control units 603A to 603H. Output phase control signal to The CPU 521 is configured to exchange information with the route server 4, the information server 7, the terminal 5, the general-purpose computer 6 and the like via the communication line 3 (or another input / output interface). ing.

  FIG. 18 is a conceptual time chart showing the operation of the scanner 500.

  In FIG. 18, first, the RFID circuit element To that is a scan target is detected (reading the RFID tag information of the IC circuit 151, see FIG. 19 described later), and the tag identification information (tag) of the RFID circuit element To is detected. ID) is acquired (step SS550).

  After that, information corresponding to the tag ID (or extracting the database code part included in the tag ID as necessary and corresponding to the database code part) (= link information or in addition to this) In addition, the database 201 storing the object information) is accessed to acquire the information. The operation at this time is divided depending on which method the above-described tag ID setting (unnumbered) is performed.

  When the tag ID is manually set (see the check box 220A in FIG. 13 described above), when the tag ID is automatically numbered so that a part of the tag ID can be manually input (automatic setting (1), FIG. 13). When the information is read (see the check box 220F in FIG. 13), the tag ID is assigned to the database 201 of all the RFID tag information management apparatuses 2 accessible via the communication line 3. The search is performed brute force until they match (step SS551). Specifically, a database search command signal is output to the control circuit 30 of a certain RFID tag information management apparatus 2 (step SS552), and the database 201 of the storage device 200 of the RFID tag information management apparatus 2 is acquired as described above. The retrieved tag ID is used as a search key (step SS553). The search result data is transmitted from the storage device 200 to the scanner 500 via the control circuit 30 (step SS554). If there is data (link information or object information) that matches (or includes, the same applies hereinafter) to the tag ID of the search key (step SS555), the link information or object information is acquired by the scanner 500, For example, the information is displayed as a search result on an appropriate display unit provided in the scanner 500 (step SS556). If there is no data that matches the tag ID of the search key, the inquiry target is switched to another RFID tag information management device 2 (step SS557), and the control circuit 30 of the RFID tag information management device 2 is similar to the above. The database search command signal is output (step SS552), the search is performed using the same tag ID as the search key (step SS553), the search result is acquired (step SS554), and these procedures match the tag ID of the search key. Repeat until is found.

  If the tag ID is automatically numbered using the device unique number of the RFID tag information management device 2 (see the check box 220C in FIG. 13 described above), all accessible via the communication line 3 The control circuit 30 of the RFID tag information management apparatus 2 performs a brute force search until the apparatus unique number (in this example, the apparatus serial number) matches (step SS558). Specifically, a device serial number inquiry signal is output to the control circuit 30 of a certain RFID tag information management device 2 (step SS559). A response (notification) to this inquiry is transmitted from the control circuit 30 to the scanner 500 (step SS560). If the serial numbers match (or include, the same applies hereinafter), the serial numbers match as in step SS552. The database search command signal is output to the control circuit 30 of the RFID tag information management apparatus 2 (step SS562), and the database 201 of the storage device 200 of the RFID tag information management apparatus 2 is used as the search key. Search is performed (step SS563). As a result, the link information (or object information) corresponding to the tag ID is acquired by the scanner 500, and the information is displayed as a search result on an appropriate display means provided in the scanner 500, as described above. (Step SS556).

  On the other hand, if the serial numbers do not match in the response (notification) to the device serial number inquiry signal, the inquiry target is switched to another RFID tag information management device 2 (step SS564), and the RFID tag information management device concerned 2 outputs a device serial number inquiry signal similar to the above to the control circuit 30 (step SS559), receives a response (notification) (step SS560), and performs the same procedure for the RFID tag information management device having the same serial number Repeat until 2 is found.

  When the tag ID is automatically assigned using a physical address (such as a MAC address or Ethernet) or a logical address (such as an IP address) of the wireless tag information management device 2 (the above-described check box 220D in FIG. 13). , 220E), the RFID tag information management device 2 to be accessed is uniquely determined by the address. Therefore, the above-described database search command signal is directly output to the control circuit 30 of the specified RFID tag information management device 2 (step SS562), and the database 201 of the storage device 200 of the RFID tag information management device 2 is acquired. The retrieved tag ID is used as a search key (step SS563). As a result, the link information (or object information) corresponding to the tag ID is acquired by the scanner 500, and the information is displayed on the display means of the scanner 500 as a search result (step SS556).

  FIG. 19 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure by the CPU 521 during the tag detection operation (see step SS550 in FIG. 18) by the scanner 500 described above.

In FIG. 19, in step S <b> 601, “Scroll” as RFID tag information for reading information stored in the RFID circuit element To.
An “All ID” signal is generated and transmitted to the RFID circuit element To to be read via the transmission unit 612 and the transmission antenna 610 of the RF communication control unit 540 to prompt a reply.

  Next, in step S602, the reply signal (the RFID tag information including the tag ID) transmitted from the RFID circuit element To to be read corresponding to the “Scroll All ID” signal is received via the receiving antennas 611A to 611C. Are received via the receiving unit 613 of the RF communication control unit 540.

  Next, in step S603, it is determined using a known error detection code (CRC code; Cyclic Redundancy Check, etc.) whether or not there is an error in the reply signal received in step S602.

  If the determination is not satisfied, the process moves to step S604, 1 is added to N, and it is further determined in step S605 whether N = 5. If N ≦ 4, the determination is not satisfied and the routine returns to step S601 and the same procedure is repeated. If N = 5, the process proceeds to step S607, and this flow is ended with the flag F = 1. In this way, even if information reading is unsuccessful, retrying is performed up to five times, so that the reading can be ensured.

  When the determination in step S603 is satisfied, reading of the RFID tag information from the RFID circuit element To to be read is completed, and this flow ends.

  According to the above procedure, the RFID tag circuit element To to be read can be accessed and read from the RFID tag information (tag ID information, etc.) of the IC circuit unit 151.

  In the above, the signal processing circuit 22 and the transmission unit 32 of the high-frequency circuit 21 constitute tag identification information generating means for generating tag identification information for writing the RFID circuit element according to each claim, and the transmission of the high-frequency circuit 21 The unit 32 also constitutes a writing unit for writing the tag identification information generated by the tag identification information generating unit to the IC circuit unit via the antenna unit.

  Further, step S120 in the flow of FIG. 14 executed by the control circuit 30 constitutes a first data access means for accessing the first database.

  Furthermore, the control circuit 30 that generates the automatic numbering command signal in step SS544 of the flow of FIG. 9 corresponds to an inquiry signal generation unit that generates an inquiry signal for inquiring the code contents that can be assigned to the object code portion to the first database. To do.

  Further, after the tag detection in step SS550 in the flow of FIG. 18, all the RFID tag information management devices 2 accessible in relation to step SS558 are searched until the serial numbers match, and the physical address is detected in step SS565. Alternatively, specifying the RFID tag information management device 2 to be accessed using a logical address extracts the database code portion included in the tag identification information of the RFID tag circuit element read by the antenna means, and the extracted database code This corresponds to determination means for determining a database corresponding to the portion.

  In the wireless tag information management device 2 of the present embodiment described above, when information is written to the wireless tag circuit element To, the signal processing circuit 22 and the high frequency circuit transmitter 32 generate a tag ID, and this tag ID Is transmitted to the RFID tag circuit element To to be written through the antenna 14 and written in the IC circuit unit 151. At this time, a database code part (device unique number, MAC address, IP address, etc. in the above example) and object code part (in the above example, automatically assigned and assigned to the generated tag ID) Free number). Thus, when information is read later on the RFID circuit element To after writing information, the database code portion included in the read tag ID is obtained, so that information corresponding to the RFID circuit element To can be obtained. It is possible to easily determine which database 201 is stored and held. As a result, it is possible to easily and quickly access the database 201 and reliably acquire information (linkage information or object information) corresponding to the target RFID circuit element To.

  In the present embodiment, the following effects are also obtained. That is, in the case of a normal system configuration that does not have a database on the device side that communicates with the RFID circuit element and creates the RFID tag label, for example, one large-capacity (outside device) database connected to a plurality of the above-mentioned devices over the network To store correlation information. Thereafter, when the information on the RFID label generated on the device side is read by the reading device, the database is accessed from each reading device (outside the device) to obtain the correlation information. Here, when the database 201 is built in the storage device 200 in each of the RFID tag information management devices 2 as in the present embodiment, the database 201 is not provided with a common large-capacity database outside the device as described above. Then, when the information of the RFID label circuit element To is read by the reading device (scanner), it is unclear which database 201 of the RFID tag information management device 2 should be accessed.

  Therefore, when the tag ID is generated by the signal processing circuit 22 and the high-frequency circuit transmission unit 31 of the wireless tag information management device 2, the above-described device identification information (physical address and logic) of the wireless tag information management device 2 including the database 201 is generated. A tag ID including at least a part of an address, a unique number, etc. is generated. Thereby, when the information of the RFID label T is read, it is possible to easily obtain information on which RFID tag information management apparatus 2 the database 201 should be accessed. Information can be obtained reliably.

  In the scanner 500 of this embodiment, the database code portion included in the tag ID read via the antennas 611A to 611C is extracted and acquired, and the corresponding database is determined based on the acquired database code portion (physical Specify the device directly using the address or logical address, or specify the device using the device unique number). Thereby, it is specified in which database 201 (in the RFID tag information management apparatus 2) the information corresponding to the RFID circuit element To is stored and held. As a result, it is possible to easily and quickly access the database 201 and reliably acquire information (linkage information or object information) corresponding to the target RFID circuit element To.

  In addition to the above-described embodiments, the present invention can be further modified in various ways without departing from the scope of the gist and technical idea. Hereinafter, such modifications will be sequentially described.

(1) When the in-device database is omitted and the out-of-device database is used In the above embodiment, the tag ID of the RFID label T that has been written (or read in a modified example that will be described later, the same applies hereinafter) and the RFID label T The correlation information with the object information or the like (or the object information together) is stored in the database 201 of the storage device 200 provided in the tag label producing apparatus 2, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the information server 7 outside the apparatus 2 Alternatively, the function may be substituted for the route server 4 and stored so that they can be referred to as necessary.

  In this case, the information server 7 and the route server 4 constitute a second database described in each claim, and step S120 in the flow of FIG. 14 executed by the control circuit 30 accesses the second database. The second data access means for performing is configured.

  Also in the present modification, as in the above embodiment, the database 201 storing and holding information corresponding to the RFID tag circuit element To to be accessed in the cartridge 100 is easily identified and accessed easily and quickly, and the target RFID tag The original effect of the present invention that information corresponding to the circuit element To can be acquired with certainty can be obtained.

(2) When using a local network As described above in FIG. 1, the RFID tag information management device 2 and the terminal 5 are incorporated into a (wide area) network via the communication line 3. However, the present invention is not limited to this. That is, using the fact that the storage device 200 including the database 201 is provided on the RFID tag information management device 2 side as described above, only the terminal 5 and the RFID tag information management device 2 are connected via a local network. Configuration (closed system configuration not connected to a wide area network) is also possible. ). FIG. 20 shows an example of such a case, where the RFID tag information management apparatus 2 and the terminal 5 are connected by a local network (so-called LAN or the like) (not connected to other external lines), and wirelessly by these. A tag information management system 1 'is formed.

  In this case, the flow of various signals in the terminal 5 and the wireless tag information management device 2 is basically the same as that in the above embodiment, and thus description thereof is omitted.

  Also by this modification, the same effect as the above embodiment can be obtained.

(3) When the RFID tag information management device alone has all the functions In other words, the operation means (keyboard, mouse, etc.) and the display means in which all the functions of the terminal 5 in the above embodiment are separately provided on the RFID tag information management device 2 side (For example, a touch panel can be used for both). FIG. 21 is a conceptual block diagram showing the detailed structure of the RFID tag information management apparatus 2 ′ at this time, and corresponds to FIG. 2 of the above embodiment. In this example, the operation / display means (such as a touch panel) 250 is provided. The operation signal in this case is generated and output by the operation / display means, and is input to the control circuit 30 in the same RFID tag information management apparatus 2 ′.

  FIG. 22 shows a conceptual time chart when executed by the RFID tag information management apparatus 2 ′ at this time, and corresponds to FIG. 9 of the above embodiment. Procedures equivalent to those in FIG. 9 are denoted by the same reference numerals. In the illustrated example, the case where the wireless tag information management device 2 'alone (so-called stand-alone) performs the same functions as those of the terminal 5 and the wireless tag information management device 2 in the above embodiment is shown as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and some functions may be simplified in order to simplify and reduce the CPU arithmetic function of the control circuit 30 and the storage capacity of various memories. For example, it is assumed that only data already registered in the database 201 of the storage device 200 is used, and data editing / new data input may be disabled.

  Also by this modification, the same effect as the above embodiment can be obtained.

(4) In the case of using a read-only RFID circuit element In the above, as an example, the RFID tag information (tag ID, etc.) is transmitted to the RFID circuit element To and information is written to the IC circuit 151. Although explained, it is not limited to this. That is, while reading the RFID tag information including the tag ID from the read-only RFID circuit element To in which predetermined RFID tag information (tag ID, etc.) is stored and retained in a non-rewritable manner, the corresponding printing is performed. The RFID label T may be produced, and the present invention can be applied to such a case.

  FIG. 23 is a conceptual time chart showing the operation of the RFID tag information management apparatus 2 in this modification, and is a diagram substantially corresponding to FIG. 9 of the above embodiment. The same steps as those in FIG. 9 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted or simplified as appropriate.

  In FIG. 23, the appearance image of the RFID label T similar to that in FIG. 9 is stored and held in the database (step SS513), and an operation (instruction) to start tag creation (issuance) is input, and tag information access (= in this example) One operation signal comprising a data reading) command, a printing command, and a storage device access (issued data registration) command is output to the RFID tag information management device 2 side. The print command signal is input to the print drive circuit 25 through the control circuit 30 as in FIG. 9 (step SS514), and the print head 10 is driven to perform the corresponding print on the cover film 103. The data read command signal is input to the signal processing circuit 22 and the high frequency circuit 21 via the control circuit 30 (step SS515A corresponding to step SS515), and information reading is performed via the antenna 14. The issued data registration command is input to the control circuit 30, and a report signal indicating that the data reading has been successful (step SS517A corresponding to the step SS517) and a report signal indicating that the printing has been successful (step SS518) are provided. The information is confirmed and the correlation (linkage) information (or the object information) between the tag ID read from the control circuit 30 and the object information is also stored in the storage device 200. Is registered in the database 201 as issuance data (step SS519). Thereafter, Step SS520, Step SS521A, Step SS521B, and Step SS522 are the same as those in FIG.

  In this modification, an appropriate shield means or the like is used so that the region X does not enter the roll 102 in the cartridge structure shown in FIG. 3 (so as not to communicate with the RFID circuit element To in the roll 102). In addition, the RFID tag information management device 2 is provided in accordance with the procedure of FIG. 14 (= in this modification, the print command signal at step SS514, the data read command signal at step SS515A, and the data registration command signal at step SS516 in FIG. 23). In step S10 in the procedure to be executed, only the print information is read, and in step S30, the RFID tag information is read (refer to FIG. 24 described later for details). Thereafter, in step S120, the combination of the print information and the read RFID tag information is stored.

  FIG. 24 is a flowchart showing the detailed procedure of the wireless tag reading process.

In FIG. 24, when the RFID circuit element To to be read information is transported to the vicinity of the antenna 14, in step S101, information stored in the RFID circuit element To is read “Scroll”.
The “All ID” command is output to the signal processing circuit 22. Based on this, a “Scroll All ID” signal as RFID tag information is generated by the signal processing circuit 22 and transmitted to the RFID tag circuit element To to be read via the high frequency circuit 21 to prompt a reply.

  Next, in step S102, the reply signal (the RFID tag information including the tag ID) transmitted from the RFID circuit element To to be read corresponding to the “Scroll All ID” signal is received via the antenna 14. The high-frequency circuit 21 and the signal processing circuit 22 are used.

  Next, in step S103, it is determined using a known error detection code (CRC code; Cyclic Redundancy Check, etc.) whether or not there is an error in the reply signal received in step S102.

  If the determination is not satisfied, the process moves to step S104, 1 is added to N, and it is further determined in step S105 whether N = 5. If N ≦ 4, the determination is not satisfied and the routine returns to step S101 and the same procedure is repeated. If N = 5, the process proceeds to step S107, and this routine is terminated with the flag F = 1. In this way, even if information reading is unsuccessful, retrying is performed up to five times, so that the reading can be ensured.

  If the determination in step S103 is satisfied, reading of the RFID tag information from the RFID circuit element To to be read is completed, and this routine ends.

  Through the above routine, the RFID tag circuit element To to be read in the cartridge can access and read the RFID tag information (tag ID information, etc.) of the IC circuit unit.

  Also by this modification, the same effect as the above embodiment can be obtained.

(5) Other
(a) Other forms of storage device In the above description, the hard disk has been described as an example of the storage device 200. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a non-volatile memory medium such as a so-called SD (Secure Digital) memory card may be used. .

  Further, the storage device 200 may be provided so as to be detachable from the device main body 8 of the wireless tag information management device 2. In this case, it can be freely attached to or detached from the device main body 8 as required. For example, a storage device is prepared for each operator or for each purpose, and each storage device is attached and detached at the time of use. Can be used. Also, backup can be easily taken.

(b) Other forms of tape and printing medium In the above, the cover film 103 as the printing medium after printing and the base tape 101 are bonded together to form a printed tag label tape 110, which is cut and the RFID label The case of T is described as an example, but the present invention is not limited to this. The printed medium to be printed and the RFID tag circuit element To tape to be attached (= associated) to this are separately prepared and discharged out of the apparatus, and the user separately creates the printed medium and the tag. You may apply this invention to the tag label production apparatus which bonds a entering tape. Further, for example, the RFID circuit element To is arranged on the printing medium itself, and printing is performed on the printing medium with a print head, and information is read from or written to the RFID circuit element To included therein to produce the RFID label T. May be.

  Further, in the above description, the tape-shaped cover film 103 fed out from the second roll 104 has been described as an example of the medium to be printed. It may be supplied from a cartridge by an appropriate drive roller (drive means), and printing may be performed on this.

  In addition to those already described, the methods according to the above-described embodiments and modifications may be used in appropriate combination.

  The “Erase” signal, “Verify” signal, “Program” signal, and the like used above are assumed to conform to the specifications established by EPC global. EPC global is a non-profit corporation established jointly by the International EAN Association, which is an international organization of distribution codes, and the United Code Code Council (UCC), which is an American distribution code organization. Note that signals conforming to other standards may be used as long as they perform the same function.

  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 illustrating a wireless tag information management system to which a wireless tag information management device according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied. It is a notional block diagram showing the detailed structure of the RFID tag information management apparatus shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a detailed structure of the cartridge shown in FIG. 2. It is a functional block diagram showing the detailed function of the high frequency circuit shown in FIG. It is a functional block diagram showing the functional structure of a wireless tag circuit element. It is the upper surface figure and bottom view showing an example of the appearance of a RFID tag label. 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 operation terminal in accessing the wireless tag information. 7 is a conceptual time chart when a storage device access function, a tag information access function, and a print function of the RFID tag information management device are executed based on an operation signal from a terminal. It is a figure showing the screen for database selection displayed on the display means of a terminal when a database reference command signal is output in step SS503 of FIG. It is a figure showing an example of the data record displayed on the display means of the terminal. It is a figure showing an example of the data record displayed on the display means of the terminal. The figure showing the screen for selection operation displayed in a display means in order to perform operation in order to select whether to perform tag ID setting (numbering) of an RFID circuit element by an automatic allocation method or a manual input method It is. It is a flowchart showing the control procedure performed by the control circuit. It is a flowchart showing the detailed procedure of step S30 of FIG. FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram illustrating details of a functional configuration of the scanner illustrated in FIG. 1. It is a functional block diagram showing the detailed structure of a RF communication control part and an antenna. It is a conceptual time chart showing operation of a scanner. It is a flowchart showing the process sequence by CPU at the time of the tag detection operation | movement by a scanner. It is a figure showing the modification by which only the operation terminal and the RFID tag information management apparatus were connected in the local network. It is a conceptual block diagram in the modification in which a single radio tag information management device has all the functions. It is a conceptual time chart performed with a radio | wireless tag information management apparatus. It is a conceptual time chart showing operation | movement of a RFID tag information management apparatus in the modification using a read-only RFID circuit element. It is a flowchart showing the detailed procedure of the radio | wireless tag read process which the control circuit of a radio | wireless tag information management apparatus performs.

Explanation of symbols

2 RFID tag information management device 2 'RFID tag information management device 4 Route server (second database)
7 Information server (second database)
10 Print head (printing means)
12 Pressure roller drive shaft (drive means)
14 Antenna (antenna means)
21 High frequency circuit 22 Signal processing circuit (tag identification information generation)
30 control circuit (first data access means, inquiry signal generation means;
Second data access means)
32 Transmitter (tag identification information generating means, writing means)
100 cartridge 101 base tape (tag tape)
102 1st roll (tag tape roll)
151 IC circuit unit 152 Antenna 200 Storage device 201 Database (first database)
500 Scanner (Radio tag information reader)
530 antenna (antenna means)
T wireless tag label (wireless tag)
To RFID tag circuit element

Claims (7)

A wireless tag information management device that manages information related to a wireless tag circuit element,
Antenna means for performing wireless communication with the RFID circuit element;
Tag identification for writing RFID tag circuit elements, comprising a database code portion associated with a database storing and holding information corresponding to the RFID circuit element and an object code portion associated with an object of the RFID circuit element Tag identification information generating means for generating information;
As the database, at least a storage device including a first database that stores and holds correlation information between the object identification information of the object and the tag identification information of the RFID circuit element corresponding to the object identification information;
First data access means for accessing the first database;
Inquiry signal generating means for generating an inquiry signal for inquiring about the code contents that can be assigned to the object code portion with respect to the first database;
The tag identification information generated by the tag identification information generating means, have a writing means for writing via said antenna means to said IC circuit part,
The tag identification information generating means includes
The RFID tag information management device , wherein the tag identification information is generated according to a response result from the first database to the inquiry signal . The wireless tag information management device according to claim 1 ,
The tag identification information generating means generates the tag identification information including at least a part of device identification information related to a wireless tag information management device including the first database as the database code portion. Wireless tag information management device. In the wireless tag information management device according to claim 1 or 2 ,
The tag identification information generating means includes at least a part of at least one code among a physical address, a logical address, and a unique identification number of a network of the RFID tag information management apparatus including the first database as the database code portion. An apparatus for managing RFID tag information, comprising: generating the tag identification information. A wireless tag information management device that manages information related to a wireless tag circuit element,
Antenna means for performing wireless communication with the RFID circuit element;
Tag identification for writing RFID tag circuit elements, comprising a database code portion associated with a database storing and holding information corresponding to the RFID circuit element and an object code portion associated with an object of the RFID circuit element Tag identification information generating means for generating information;
As the database, at least second data for accessing a second database outside the apparatus that stores and holds correlation information between the object identification information of the object and the tag identification information of the RFID circuit element corresponding to the object identification information. Access means;
Inquiry signal generating means for generating an inquiry signal for inquiring the code content that can be assigned to the object code portion with respect to the second database;
Writing means for writing the tag identification information generated by the tag identification information generation means to the IC circuit unit via the antenna means;
The tag identification information generating unit generates the tag identification information according to a response result from the second database to the inquiry signal. The wireless tag information management device according to any one of claims 1 to 4 ,
Drive means for feeding out a print medium associated with the RFID circuit element;
A wireless tag information management apparatus comprising: a printing unit that performs predetermined printing on the printing medium. A database code portion associated with a database storing and holding information corresponding to the RFID circuit element and an object code assigned by accessing the database and associated with the object of the RFID circuit element Antenna means for performing wireless communication with a RFID circuit element to be read , having tag identification information comprising a portion ;
Extracting the database code portion included in the tag identification information of the wireless tag circuit element read by the antenna means, and wherein a determination means for determining a database corresponding to the database code portion the extracted RFID tag information reader. A wireless tag having a wireless tag circuit element comprising an IC circuit portion for storing information and an antenna connected to the IC circuit portion,
The IC circuit part of the RFID circuit element is
A database code portion for accessing and storing the information corresponding to the RFID circuit element and an object assigned by an inquiry to the database and associated with the object of the RFID circuit element A wireless tag characterized by holding tag identification information including a code portion.

Images