JP7714969B2 - Moisture Detection Tag - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a moisture detection tag that is attached to a detection area and detects the presence of moisture in the detection area.

In general, there is a risk of water leaks occurring under sinks in kitchens, bathrooms, etc. in homes, and various countermeasures have been implemented to prevent this. One such countermeasure is to place a sensor that can detect the generation of moisture under the sink in a home's kitchen, bathroom, etc., and use this sensor to detect the generation of moisture due to water leaks, etc.

Patent Document 1 discloses a moisture detection sensor that forms a pair of conductive patterns on a base substrate, and when moisture is generated, the moisture shorts the pair of conductive patterns. The sensor then detects the generation of moisture by reading, via an antenna, whether the pair of conductive patterns are in a non-conductive or conductive state. Using this technology, it becomes possible to detect water leaks such as those described above.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2019-124657

In the device disclosed in Patent Document 1, the conductive pattern formed on the base substrate is exposed to allow moisture to easily adhere to it. This raises the risk of it deteriorating due to oxidation during storage or being physically damaged by friction during transport. If the conductive pattern deteriorates or is damaged in this way, it becomes impossible to detect the generation of moisture during use, which is a problem.

The present invention was made in consideration of the problems inherent in the conventional technology described above, and aims to provide a moisture detection tag that detects the generation of moisture by detecting the continuity of detection wiring provided on a base substrate, and that can be easily restored to its usable state while protecting the detection wiring when not in use.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides:
A base substrate;
an antenna and two detection wires provided on the base material;
a detecting means provided on the base member and connected to the antenna and the end of the detection wiring, respectively, for detecting a continuity state of the detection wiring and transmitting the detection result via the antenna in a non-contact manner;
a moisture detection tag having a protective sheet attached to the base material so as to cover the antenna, the two detection wires, and the detection means,
the protective sheet has a separation portion formed in a region spanning the two detection wires, the separation portion being partitioned and separable from the protective sheet via a separation line;
The separation portion is not attached to the base material or is releasably attached to the base material.

In the present invention configured as described above, the two non-conductive detection wires provided on the base substrate are exposed. Therefore, when moisture is generated around the moisture detection tag, the generated moisture adheres to the detection wires, causing the two detection wires to become conductive. This conductivity is then transmitted non-contact from the detection means via an antenna, thereby detecting the generation of moisture. However, when not in use, the detection wires are covered by a protective sheet attached to the base substrate, preventing the detection wires from deteriorating due to oxidation during storage or being physically damaged by friction during transport. Furthermore, although the protective sheet is attached to the base substrate, a separation section is formed in a region spanning the two detection wires, allowing it to be separated from the protective sheet via a separation line. This separation section is not attached to the base substrate or is removably attached. Therefore, when in use, the two detection wires can be exposed simply by breaking the separation line and separating the separation section from the protective sheet, allowing for easy access to the device in use.

Furthermore, if the separation section is configured to have a conductive layer on the surface facing the base substrate for conducting the two detection wires, the two detection wires will be in a conductive state via the conductive layer when the separation section is not separated from the separable sheet. Therefore, by confirming that the two detection wires are in a conductive state using the detection means, it is possible to confirm that the detection wires have not been disconnected in an unintended location before use, or to detect poor conductivity due to misalignment of the IC chip.

Furthermore, if the protective sheet is water-resistant, the antenna and detection means will be protected from moisture during use.

Also, a base substrate and
an antenna and two detection wires provided on the base material;
a detecting means provided on the base member and connected to the antenna and the end of the detection wiring, respectively, for detecting a continuity state of the detection wiring and transmitting the detection result via the antenna in a non-contact manner;
a protective sheet attached to the base substrate so as to cover the antenna, the two detection wires, and the detection means, except for a portion of an area spanning the two detection wires,
A covering piece is provided which covers the portions of the two detection wires that are not covered by the protective sheet and is removably attached to the base substrate.

In the present invention configured as described above, the two non-conductive detection wires provided on the base substrate are exposed. Therefore, when moisture is generated around the moisture detection tag, the generated moisture adheres to the detection wires, causing the two detection wires to become conductive. This conductivity is then transmitted non-contact from the detection means via an antenna, thereby detecting the generation of moisture. When not in use, the detection wires are covered by a protective sheet and covering piece attached to the base substrate, preventing the detection wires from deteriorating due to oxidation during storage or being physically damaged by friction during transport. Furthermore, because the covering piece is removably attached to the base substrate, when in use, the two detection wires can be exposed simply by peeling the covering piece from the base substrate, allowing for easy setup for use.

According to this invention, in a moisture detection tag that detects the generation of moisture by detecting the electrical continuity of detection wiring exposed on a base substrate, the detection wiring is covered by a protective sheet attached to the base substrate, and the protective sheet has a separation section in a region spanning two detection wiring that is partitioned and separable from the protective sheet via a separation line. This separation section is not attached to the base substrate or is removably attached. As a result, when the tag is not in use, the detection wiring is covered by the protective sheet, and when in use, the detection wiring can be exposed simply by breaking the separation line and separating the separation section from the protective sheet. This protects the detection wiring when not in use, while allowing for easy return to the state for use.

Furthermore, when the separation section has a conductive layer on the surface facing the base substrate for conducting the two detection wires, the two detection wires are in a conductive state via the conductive layer when the separation section is not separated from the separation sheet. Therefore, by confirming that the two detection wires are in a conductive state using the detection means, it is possible to check that the detection wires are not broken in unintended locations before use and to detect poor conductivity due to misalignment of the IC chip.

Furthermore, if the protective sheet is water-resistant, it can protect the antenna and detection means from moisture during use.

In addition, in a moisture detection tag that detects the generation of moisture by detecting the electrical continuity of detection wiring provided on a base substrate, the detection wiring is covered by a protective sheet and covering piece attached to the base substrate, and the covering piece is removably attached to the base substrate, so that when not in use, the detection wiring is covered by the protective sheet and covering piece.When in use, the detection wiring can be exposed simply by peeling the covering piece from the base substrate, allowing the detection wiring to be protected when not in use while easily returning to its usable state.

1A and 1B are diagrams showing a first embodiment of the moisture detection tag of the present invention, in which (a) is a diagram as seen from the surface, (b) is a cross-sectional view taken along A-A' in (a), (c) is a cross-sectional view taken along B-B' in (a), and (d) is a diagram showing the configuration in (a) with the waterproof sheet and adhesive layer removed. 2 is a diagram for explaining how to use the moisture detection tag shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 2A and 2B are diagrams showing an example of a usage form of the moisture detection tag shown in FIG. 1, in which FIG. 2A is an external perspective view, and FIG. 2B is a plan view seen from the direction of arrow A shown in FIG. 1A and 1B are diagrams for explaining the effect of the moisture detection tag shown in FIG. 1 when attached to the moisture detection area as shown in FIG. 3 and moisture occurs in the moisture detection area, where (a) shows the state when no moisture has occurred in the moisture detection area, and (b) shows the state when moisture has occurred in the moisture detection area. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a system for detecting water leakage in a moisture detection area using the moisture detection tag shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining a method for detecting water leakage in a moisture detection area when the moisture detection tag shown in FIG. 1 is attached to the moisture detection area as shown in FIG. 3 in the system shown in FIG. 5. 10A and 10B are diagrams showing a second embodiment of the moisture detection tag of the present invention, in which (a) is a diagram as seen from the surface, (b) is a cross-sectional view taken along A-A' in (a), (c) is a cross-sectional view taken along B-B' in (a), and (d) is a diagram showing the configuration in (a) with the waterproof sheet and adhesive layer removed. 8 is a flowchart for explaining a method for inspecting a continuity defect in the moisture detection tag shown in FIG. 7 in the system shown in FIG. 5 . 10A and 10B are diagrams showing a third embodiment of the moisture detection tag of the present invention, in which (a) is a diagram as seen from the surface, (b) is a cross-sectional view taken along A-A' in (a), (c) is a cross-sectional view taken along B-B' in (a), and (d) is a diagram showing the configuration in which the waterproof sheet and adhesive layer shown in (a) have been removed.

The following describes an embodiment of the present invention with reference to the drawings.

(First embodiment)
1 shows a first embodiment of the moisture detection tag of the present invention, with (a) being a view from the surface, (b) being a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A' in (a), (c) being a cross-sectional view taken along line B-B' in (a), and (d) being a diagram showing the configuration with the waterproof sheet 20 and adhesive layer 30a removed from (a). As will be described later, an adhesive-blocking layer 50 is laminated on the adhesive layer 30a, but in order to show the positional relationship between the detection wiring 13a, 13b and the adhesive-blocking layer 50, the adhesive-blocking layer 50 is shown in FIG. 1(d).

As shown in Figure 1, this embodiment is a moisture detection tag 1 constructed by laminating and adhering a water-resistant waterproof sheet 20 to the surface of a base substrate 10, and removably adhering a release paper 40 to the back surface of the base substrate 10.

The base substrate 10 is made of a moisture-absorbent material such as paper and has a rectangular shape. On one side of the base substrate 10, an antenna 12 for contactless communication and two detection wires 13a and 13b are formed, and an IC chip 11 that serves as the detection means is also mounted.

The antenna 12 is formed on one surface of the base substrate 10 with two isosceles triangular conductors lined up with a gap between them. However, the shape of the antenna 12 is not limited to this, and various other shapes are possible, such as two strip-shaped conductors lined up in a straight line with a gap between them, or an antenna made up of a single conductor.

One end of each of the two detection wires 13a and 13b is connected to the IC chip 11, and they extend parallel to each other in a direction away from the IC chip 11, terminating just before the edge of the base substrate 10.

The IC chip 11 is provided with two antenna terminals (not shown) and two detection terminals (not shown). The surface on which these antenna terminals and detection terminals are provided serves as the mounting surface. The IC chip 11 is mounted on the surface of the base substrate 10 on which the antenna 12 and detection wiring 13a, 13b are formed, and is fixed in place with anisotropic conductive paste (not shown). The antenna terminals of the IC chip 11 are each connected to the antenna 12, and the detection terminals of the IC chip 11 are connected to one end of each of the detection wiring 13a, 13b. The anisotropic conductive paste provides electrical continuity between the antenna terminals and the detection terminals and between the detection wiring 13a, 13b. The IC chip 11 detects the resistance between the detection wires 13a and 13b by passing a current generated by power obtained through contactless communication via the antenna 12 through the detection wires 13a and 13b, and detects the conduction state of the detection wires 13a and 13b based on the resistance value. It then converts the detection result into digital information and transmits it contactlessly via the antenna 12.

The waterproof sheet 20 serves as the protective sheet in the present invention. The waterproof sheet 20 has an adhesive layer 30a laminated over the entire surface of one side thereof, and is laminated over the entire surface of the base substrate 10 on which the antenna 12 and detection wiring 13a, 13b are provided, covering the antenna 12, detection wiring 13a, 13b, and IC chip 11, and is adhered by the adhesive layer 30a. The waterproof sheet 20 can be made of waterproof tack paper with an adhesive layer 30a laminated over one side thereof. In this way, covering the IC chip 11 with the waterproof sheet 20 protects the antenna 12 and IC chip 11 from moisture. Additionally, the waterproof sheet 20 has perforations 21 formed along the edge of the waterproof sheet 20 that serve as separation lines connecting two edges of the waterproof sheet 20 that are parallel to the detection wirings 13a, 13b, near the ends of the detection wirings 13a, 13b on the side opposite the IC chip 11. The side facing the ends of the detection wirings 13a, 13b on the side opposite the IC chip 11 via these perforations 21 forms a separation section 22 that is separable from the waterproof sheet 20. As a result, the waterproof sheet 20 has a separation section 22 formed in a region that straddles the detection wirings 13a, 13b and can be separated.

A glue-blocking layer 50 is laminated on the adhesive surface of the adhesive layer 30a that adheres to the base substrate 10 in the area facing the separation section 22 to neutralize the adhesive force of the adhesive layer 30a used to adhere the base substrate 10 and waterproof sheet 20. The glue-blocking layer 50 can be laminated by applying UV varnish and then curing it, or by attaching a thin piece of paper with the same width as the glue-blocking layer 50 to the adhesive layer 30a.

As a result, the waterproof sheet 20 is attached to the base substrate 10 by the adhesive layer 30a in areas of the base substrate 10 other than the separation section 22, and is not attached to the base substrate 10 in the separation section 22 by the adhesive-blocking layer 50.

The release paper 40 is constructed by applying a release agent (not shown) to one side of a release mount (not shown), and is removably attached to the base substrate 10 by an adhesive layer 30b.

The following describes how to use the moisture detection tag 1 configured as described above and its effects during use.

Figure 2 is a diagram illustrating how to use the moisture detection tag 1 shown in Figure 1.

When the moisture detection tag 1 shown in Figure 1 is unused, i.e., before use, the detection wiring 13a, 13b are all covered with the waterproof sheet 20 as described above.

When using the moisture detection tag 1 shown in Figure 1, as shown in Figure 2(a), the separation section 22 is cut off and separated by tearing the perforations 21. Although the waterproof sheet 20 is attached to the base substrate 10 by the adhesive layer 30a, the separation section 22 is not attached to the base substrate 10 by the adhesive-blocking layer 50 laminated on the adhesive layer 30a, and therefore can be cut off from the waterproof sheet 20 and separated from the base substrate 10.

When the separation portion 22 is cut away from the waterproof sheet 20, a portion of each of the detection wirings 13a and 13b is exposed, as shown in FIG. 2(b). As described above, the separation portion 22 faces the ends of the detection wirings 13a and 13b opposite the IC chip 11. Therefore, when the separation portion 22 is cut away from the waterproof sheet 20, the ends of the detection wirings 13a and 13b opposite the IC chip 11 are exposed.

When moisture adheres to the exposed parts of the detection wiring 13a and 13b, the generated moisture is detected.

Figure 3 shows an example of how the moisture detection tag 1 shown in Figure 1 can be used, with (a) being an external perspective view and (b) being a plan view seen from the direction of arrow A shown in (a).

The moisture detection tag 1 shown in Figure 1 can be attached to the floor surface 3 of the moisture detection area 2, which is the detection area, as shown in Figure 3, and used to detect moisture generated in the moisture detection area 2. In this case, the release paper 40 is peeled off, and the moisture detection tag 1 is attached to the side of the L-shaped angle 7 using the exposed adhesive layer 30b.

Figure 4 is a diagram for explaining the effect of the moisture detection tag 1 shown in Figure 1 when attached to the moisture detection area 2 as shown in Figure 3 and moisture occurs in the moisture detection area 2. (a) is a diagram showing the state when no moisture has occurred in the moisture detection area 2, and (b) is a diagram showing the state when moisture has occurred in the moisture detection area 2.

When the moisture detection tag 1 shown in Figure 1 is attached to the moisture detection area 2 as shown in Figure 3 and moisture is not being generated in the moisture detection area 2 due to a water leak or the like, there is no conductivity between the detection wires 13a and 13b, as shown in Figure 4(a), and therefore the detection wires 13a and 13b are in a non-conductive state.

On the other hand, when the moisture detection tag 1 shown in Figure 1 is attached to the moisture detection area 2 as shown in Figure 3 and moisture is generated in the moisture detection area 2 due to a water leak or the like, the generated moisture 4 adheres to the ends of the detection wires 13a, 13b that are not covered by the waterproof sheet 20, as shown in Figure 4(b), causing the two detection wires 13a, 13b to short-circuit and become conductive. Then, by detecting the conductive state between the detection wires 13a, 13b, it is detected that moisture has been generated in the moisture detection area 2 due to a water leak or the like.

As such, when moisture is not being generated in the moisture detection area 2 due to a water leak or the like, the detection wires 13a and 13b are non-conductive. On the other hand, when moisture is being generated in the moisture detection area 2 due to a water leak or the like, the detection wires 13a and 13b are conductive. Therefore, by detecting the conductivity of the detection wires 13a and 13b, it is possible to detect the generation of moisture in the moisture detection area 2 due to a water leak or the like. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 3, the moisture detection tag 1 is attached to the moisture detection area 2 by adhering it to the side of the L-shaped angle 7 rather than to the floor surface 3 of the moisture detection area 2. By adhering the moisture detection tag 1 to the L-shaped angle 7 so that the ends of the detection wires 13a and 13b exposed from the waterproof sheet 20 are facing downward, if moisture accumulates on the floor surface 3 of the moisture detection area 2, it is possible to gain time between the detection wires 13a and 13b becoming conductive due to the generated moisture and the IC chip 11 and antenna 12 becoming submerged due to the generated moisture. Furthermore, as shown in Figure 3, by attaching the moisture detection tag 1 to the side of the L-shaped angle 7 rather than to the side wall of the moisture detection area 2, work efficiency is improved, especially when the moisture detection area 2 is narrow.

As described above, in the moisture detection tag 1 shown in Figure 1, the two non-conductive detection wires 13a, 13b provided on the base substrate 10 are exposed. Therefore, if moisture is generated around the moisture detection tag 1, the generated moisture will adhere to the detection wires 13a, 13b, causing the two detection wires 13a, 13b to become conductive. This conductivity is then transmitted contactlessly from the IC chip 11 via the antenna 12, thereby detecting the generation of moisture. However, when not in use, the detection wires 13a, 13b are covered by a waterproof sheet 20 attached to the base substrate 10, which prevents the detection wires 13a, 13b from deteriorating due to oxidation during storage or from being physically damaged by friction during transport, etc. Furthermore, although the waterproof sheet 20 is attached to the base substrate 10, a separation section 22 that is not attached to the base substrate 10 is formed in a region spanning the two detection wires 13a, 13b via perforations 21 so that it can be separated from the waterproof sheet 20. During use, the two detection wires 13a, 13b can be exposed simply by tearing the perforations 21 and separating the separation section 22 from the waterproof sheet 20, allowing for easy use. Furthermore, because the waterproof sheet 20 is laminated and attached to the entire surface of the base substrate 10, when manufacturing moisture detection tags 1 using a strip-shaped sheet body in which multiple moisture detection tags 1 are arranged in a row, there are no steps compared to when the separation section is pre-cut, making the sheet body easier to handle during processes such as winding it up into a roll.

In the moisture detection tag 1 shown in Figure 1, an adhesive-blocking layer 50 is laminated on the area of the adhesive surface of the adhesive layer 30a that faces the separation section 22 on the base substrate 10, so that the separation section 22 is not attached to the base substrate 10 by the adhesive-blocking layer 50. However, the separation section 22 may also be attached to the base substrate 10 in a releasable manner. In this case, corner cuts or the like may be provided in the separation section 22 to make it easier to peel the separation section 22 from the base substrate 10.

Below, we will explain a specific method for detecting the occurrence of a water leak in the moisture detection area 2 using the moisture detection tag 1, utilizing the above-mentioned effects.

Figure 5 shows an example of a system for detecting water leaks in the moisture detection area 2 using the moisture detection tag 1 shown in Figure 1.

As shown in Figure 5, a system for detecting water leaks in the moisture detection area 2 shown in Figure 3 using the moisture detection tag 1 shown in Figure 1 could be a system having a reader/writer 5 as a reading means capable of contactless communication with the moisture detection tag 1, and a management computer 6 as a processing means connected to the reader/writer 5 via a wired or wireless connection. It is also possible to use a handheld terminal as the reader/writer, which has both a reading means and a processing means built in, in which case the management computer would not be necessary.

Figure 6 is a flowchart illustrating a method for detecting water leakage in the moisture detection area 2 when the moisture detection tag 1 shown in Figure 1 is attached to the moisture detection area 2 as shown in Figure 3 in the system shown in Figure 5.

In the moisture detection tag 1 shown in Figure 1, when the reader/writer 5 is held within the communication range of the moisture detection tag 1 and the reader/writer 5 detects the moisture detection tag 1 (step 1), the reader/writer 5 first supplies power to the moisture detection tag 1 and sends a command to the moisture detection tag 1 to detect the continuity state of the detection wiring 13a, 13b and transmit the detection results (step 2).

When the power supplied from the reader/writer 5 is obtained by the moisture detection tag 1 and the command sent from the reader/writer 5 is received by the IC chip 11 via the antenna 12 of the moisture detection tag 1 (step 3), the power supplied from the reader/writer 5 supplies current to the detection wiring 13a, 13b.

In the IC chip 11, the resistance between the detection wires 13a and 13b is detected using the supplied current, thereby detecting the continuity of the detection wires 13a and 13b (step 4). Here, when the moisture detection tag 1 is attached to the moisture detection area 2 as shown in FIG. 3 and no water leak is occurring in the moisture detection area 2, the detection wires 13a and 13b are in a non-conductive state. In this state, even if current is supplied to the detection wires 13a and 13b by power supplied from the reader/writer 5, no current flows through the detection wires 13a and 13b because the detection wires 13a and 13b are in a non-conductive state. As a result, the resistance detected by the IC chip 11 is nearly infinite.

If the detected resistance value is nearly infinite, the IC chip 11 determines that there is a discontinuity between the detection wires 13a and 13b. This determination result is converted into digital information as a detection result of the continuity state of the detection wires 13a and 13b and is contactlessly transmitted to the reader/writer 5 via the antenna 12 (step 5). Note that, as described below, the resistance value detected by the IC chip 11 when there is a continuity between the detection wires 13a and 13b is the resistance value when the detection wires 13a and 13b are short-circuited by moisture 4, i.e., the maximum resistance value when the detection wires 13a and 13b are connected to each other between their exposed portions on the waterproof sheet 20. Therefore, instead of nearly infinite, the resistance value used by the IC chip 11 to determine that there is a discontinuity between the detection wires 13a and 13b may be a certain threshold value or greater than the resistance value when the detection wires 13a and 13b are connected to each other between their exposed portions on the waterproof sheet 20.

On the other hand, if the moisture detection tag 1 is attached to the moisture detection area 2 as shown in Figure 3 and water leakage occurs in the moisture detection area 2, as described above, the detection wires 13a and 13b will be short-circuited by the moisture 4, causing conductivity between the detection wires 13a and 13b, and the IC chip 11 will detect the resistance value of the connection between the detection wires 13a and 13b in the area where the moisture 4 is attached.

If the detection wiring 13a and the detection wiring 13b are short-circuited by moisture 4 and are therefore in a conductive state, as described above, the detected resistance value will be at most the resistance value at which the detection wiring 13a and the detection wiring 13b are connected to each other between the parts exposed from the waterproof sheet 20. Therefore, in the IC chip 11, if the detected resistance value is equal to or less than the resistance value at which the detection wiring 13a and the detection wiring 13b are connected to each other between the parts exposed from the waterproof sheet 20, it is determined that the detection wirings 13a and 13b are in a conductive state, and this determination result is converted into digital information as the detection result of the conductive state of the detection wirings 13a and 13b and is transmitted contactlessly to the reader/writer 5 via the antenna 12. As described above, when the detection wires 13a and 13b are not electrically connected, the resistance value detected by the IC chip 11 is nearly infinite. Therefore, the resistance value used by the IC chip 11 to determine that the detection wires 13a and 13b are electrically connected may not be the resistance value at which the detection wires 13a and 13b are connected to each other between the exposed portions of the waterproof sheet 20, but may be a value equal to or less than a certain threshold value.

In this way, the reader/writer 5 transmits the conductivity state of the detection wiring 13a, 13b detected by the moisture detection tag 1 contactlessly via the antenna 12.

When the detection result transmitted contactlessly from the moisture detection tag 1 to the reader/writer 5 as described above is received by the reader/writer 5 (step 6), the detection result received by the reader/writer 5 is transferred to the management computer 6 (step 7).

When the detection results transferred from the reader/writer 5 are received by the management computer 6 (step 8), the management computer 6 determines whether or not a water leak has occurred in the moisture detection area 2 based on the detection results that were contactlessly transmitted from the moisture detection tag 1 to the reader/writer 5 and transferred to the management computer 6 (step 9). Specifically, if the detection results transferred from the reader/writer 5 to the management computer 6 show a state of non-conduction between the detection wires 13a and 13b, it is determined that no water leak has occurred in the moisture detection area 2; however, if the detection wires 13a and 13b are in a state of conduit, it is determined that a water leak has occurred in the moisture detection area 2.

In this way, by attaching the moisture detection tag 1 to the moisture detection area 2 and using the reader/writer 5 to check the conductivity of the detection wiring 13a, 13b of the moisture detection tag 1 in a non-contact manner, it is possible to detect the generation of moisture due to a water leak or the like in the moisture detection area 2. Therefore, even if the moisture detection area 2 is located, for example, under a sink in a kitchen or bathroom in a home, where the generation of moisture due to a water leak or the like cannot be confirmed without opening a door or pulling out a drawer, the generation of moisture due to a water leak or the like can still be easily detected.

Second Embodiment
7A and 7B are diagrams showing a second embodiment of the moisture detection tag of the present invention, with (a) being a view from the front, (b) being a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A' in (a), (c) being a cross-sectional view taken along line B-B' in (a), and (d) being a diagram showing the configuration in (a) with the waterproof sheet 20 and adhesive layer 30a removed. As will be described later, a conductive layer 60 is laminated on the adhesive layer 30a via an adhesive-blocking layer 50, but in order to show the positional relationship between the detection wiring 13a, 13b and the conductive layer 60, the conductive layer 60 is shown in FIG. 7D.

As shown in Figure 7, this moisture detection tag 101 differs from the one shown in Figure 1 in that a conductive layer 60 is laminated on the adhesive layer 30a via an adhesive-blocking layer 50 at the separation portion 22 of the waterproof sheet 20.

In the moisture detection tag 101 configured as described above, when the separation portion 22 is not separated from the waterproof sheet 20, the two detection wires 13a, 13b are conductive via the conductive layer 60. Therefore, by checking this conductive state, it is possible to confirm that the detection wires 13a, 13b are not disconnected in unintended locations before use and to detect poor conductivity due to misalignment of the IC chip 11.

In this embodiment, the conductive layer 60 is laminated on the adhesive-blocking layer 50, so that the conductive layer 60 is in the form of a strip along the edge of the waterproof sheet 20. However, the conductive layer 60 only needs to be provided between the detection wirings 13a and 13b so as to straddle at least two detection wirings 13a and 13b.

Figure 8 is a flowchart illustrating a method for testing for continuity defects in the moisture detection tag 101 shown in Figure 7 in the system shown in Figure 5.

In the moisture detection tag 101 shown in Figure 7, when the reader/writer 5 is brought close to the moisture detection tag 101 while the separation portion 22 is not separated from the waterproof sheet 20 and the reader/writer 5 detects the moisture detection tag 1 (step 11), similar to the processing in the flowchart shown in Figure 6, the reader/writer 5 first supplies power to the moisture detection tag 1 and sends a command to the moisture detection tag 1 to detect the continuity state of the detection wiring 13a, 13b and transmit the detection results (step 12).

When the power supplied from the reader/writer 5 is obtained by the moisture detection tag 101 and the command sent from the reader/writer 5 is received by the IC chip 11 via the antenna 12 of the moisture detection tag 101 (step 13), a current is supplied to the detection wiring 13a, 13b by the power supplied from the reader/writer 5.

In the IC chip 11, the resistance between the detection wires 13a, 13b is detected using the supplied current, thereby detecting the continuity of the detection wires 13a, 13b (step 14). If the detection wires 13a, 13b of the moisture detection tag 101 are not disconnected in an unintended location before use, and if there is no continuity defect due to misalignment of the IC chip 11, the detection wires 13a, 13b will be in a conductive state via the conductive layer 60, and the resistance of the connection between the detection wires 13a and 13b via the conductive layer 60 will be detected in the IC chip 11.

When the detection wiring 13a and the detection wiring 13b are in a conductive state via the conductive layer 60, the detected resistance value is the resistance value when the detection wiring 13a and the detection wiring 13b are connected via the conductive layer 60. Therefore, in the IC chip 11, if the detected resistance value is equal to or less than the resistance value when the detection wiring 13a and the detection wiring 13b are connected via the conductive layer 60, it is determined that the detection wirings 13a and 13b are in a conductive state, and this determination result is converted into digital information as the detection result of the conductive state of the detection wirings 13a and 13b and is contactlessly transmitted to the reader/writer 5 via the antenna 12 (step 15). Note that, since the resistance value detected by the IC chip 11 when the detection wirings 13a, 13b are in a non-conductive state is nearly infinite, as will be described later, the resistance value used by the IC chip 11 to determine that the detection wirings 13a, 13b are in a conductive state may not be the resistance value when the detection wirings 13a and 13b are connected via the conductive layer 60, but may be a value equal to or less than a certain threshold value that is greater than that.

On the other hand, if the detection wires 13a, 13b of the moisture detection tag 101 are disconnected in an unintended location before use or if poor conductivity occurs due to misalignment of the IC chip 11, even though the detection wires 13a and 13b are connected via the conductive layer 60, no current will flow through the detection wires 13a, 13b even if current is supplied to the detection wires 13a, 13b by power supplied from the reader/writer 5, and as a result, the resistance value detected by the IC chip 11 will be almost infinite.

If the detected resistance value is nearly infinite, the IC chip 11 determines that the detection wires 13a and 13b are in a non-conductive state, and this determination result is converted into digital information as a detection result of the conductivity state of the detection wires 13a and 13b, and is contactlessly transmitted to the reader/writer 5 via the antenna 12. Note that, as described above, the resistance value detected by the IC chip 11 when the detection wires 13a and 13b are in a conductive state is the resistance value when the detection wires 13a and 13b are connected via the conductive layer 60. Therefore, the resistance value used by the IC chip 11 to determine that the detection wires 13a and 13b are in a non-conductive state may not be nearly infinite, but may be a value equal to or greater than a certain threshold value greater than the resistance value when the detection wires 13a and 13b are connected via the conductive layer 60.

In this way, the reader/writer 5 transmits the conductivity state of the detection wiring 13a, 13b detected by the moisture detection tag 101 in a non-contact manner via the antenna 12.

When the detection result transmitted contactlessly from the moisture detection tag 101 to the reader/writer 5 as described above is received by the reader/writer 5 (step 16), the detection result received by the reader/writer 5 is transferred to the management computer 6 (step 17).

When the detection results transferred from the reader/writer 5 are received by the management computer 6 (step 18), the management computer 6 determines, based on the detection results that were contactlessly transmitted from the moisture detection tag 101 to the reader/writer 5 and transferred to the management computer 6, whether the detection wiring 13a, 13b is broken in an unintended location before use or whether there is poor conductivity due to misalignment of the IC chip 11 (step 19). Specifically, if the detection results transferred from the reader/writer 5 to the management computer 6 show that the detection wires 13a, 13b are in a conductive state, it is determined that the detection wires 13a, 13b are not disconnected in an unintended location before use or that there is no conductivity defect due to misalignment of the IC chip 11; if the detection wires 13a, 13b are not in a conductive state, it is determined that there is a conductivity defect, such as that the detection wires 13a, 13b are disconnected in an unintended location before use or that there is a conductivity defect due to misalignment of the IC chip 11.

In this embodiment, the conductive layer 60 is laminated on the adhesive-blocking layer 50 in the separation section 22 of the waterproof sheet 20, but the conductive layer 60 may also be laminated in the area of the base substrate 10 facing the separation section 22. In this case, however, the conductive layer 60 must be configured so that it can be separated from the base substrate 10 when the separation section 22 is cut away from the waterproof sheet 20.

Furthermore, if the conductive layer 60 also serves as the adhesive-blocking layer 50, there is no need to provide the adhesive-blocking layer 50.

In addition, in the two embodiments described above, the two detection wires 13a, 13b were described as terminating just before the edge of the base substrate 10, but they may also extend to the edge of the base substrate 10. However, terminating the two detection wires 13a, 13b just before the edge of the base substrate 10 ensures that the detection wires 13a, 13b are completely covered by the waterproof sheet 20 when the separation portion 22 is not separated from the waterproof sheet 20, thereby ensuring that the detection wires 13a, 13b are not deteriorated by oxidation or physically damaged. On the other hand, in cases where the two detection wires 13a, 13b extend to the edge of the base substrate 10, the ends of the detection wires 13a, 13b are exposed from the edge of the moisture detection tag 1. Therefore, even without using the conductive layer 60 described above, the conductivity of the detection wires 13a, 13b can be confirmed on the IC chip 11 when the separation section 22 is not separated from the waterproof sheet 20. This makes it possible to check that the detection wires 13a, 13b are not broken in unintended locations before use and to detect poor conductivity due to misalignment of the IC chip 11.

(Third embodiment)
9 shows a third embodiment of the moisture detection tag of the present invention, where (a) is a view from the front, (b) is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A' in (a), (c) is a cross-sectional view taken along line B-B' in (a), and (d) is a diagram showing the configuration with the waterproof sheet 20 and adhesive layer 30a removed from (a). As in the case of (a) shown in Fig. 1, an adhesive-blocking layer 50 is laminated on the adhesive layer 30a, but in Fig. 9(d) the adhesive-blocking layer 50 is shown to show the positional relationship between the detection wiring 13a, 13b and the adhesive-blocking layer 50.

As shown in Figure 9, this embodiment is a moisture detection tag 201 in which the shapes of the detection wiring 213a and 213b are different from those shown in Figure 1.

In this embodiment of the moisture detection tag 201, portions of the two detection wires 213a, 213b are formed parallel to the perforation 21 in the area facing the separation section 22 of the waterproof sheet 20. In the portion parallel to the perforation 21, moisture causes the two detection wires 213a, 213b to short-circuit and become conductive in the same manner as described above, thereby detecting moisture.

In the three embodiments described above, the perforations 21 for separating the separation section 22 are formed connecting the two edges of the waterproof sheet 20, and one area is separated from the waterproof sheet 20 via the perforations 21 to form the separation section 22. However, the separation section 22 may be cut out from the waterproof sheet 20 by perforations on three or four sides, so long as it is provided in a region spanning two detection wires 13a, 13b, 213a, 213b, and is separated so as to be separated.

In addition, in the three embodiments described above, the two detection wires 13a, 13b, 213a, 213b extend parallel to each other, but the two detection wires do not have to extend parallel to each other. Furthermore, the shape of the two detection wires may be comb-like or the like, and is not limited to the linear shape shown in the three embodiments described above.

(Other embodiments)
In the above-described embodiment, the waterproof sheet 20 is partitioned and separated into two parts, the separation part 22, which covers the detection wirings 13a, 13b, 213a, and 213b when not in use, but exposes the detection wirings 13a, 13b, 213a, and 213b when in use. However, a covering piece may be provided separately from the waterproof sheet 20, which covers part of the detection wirings 13a, 13b, 213a, and 213b when not in use, and exposes the detection wirings 13a, 13b, 213a, and 213b when in use. In this case, the waterproof sheet is attached to the base substrate so as to cover the antenna 12, the detection wirings 13a, 13b, 213a, 213b and the IC chip 11, except for a small area spanning the two detection wirings 13a, 13b, 213a, 213b, and the covering piece is configured to cover the parts of the detection wirings 13a, 13b, 213a, 213b that are not covered by the waterproof sheet 20 and is removably attached to the base substrate 10.

Even in a moisture detection tag configured in this manner, the two non-conductive detection wires 13a, 13b, 213a, 213b provided on the base substrate 10 are exposed. Therefore, if moisture is generated around the moisture detection tag, the generated moisture will adhere to the detection wires 13a, 13b, 213a, 213b, causing the two detection wires 13a, 13b, 213a, 213b to become conductive. This conductivity is transmitted non-contact from the IC chip 11 via the antenna 12, thereby detecting the generation of moisture. However, when the tag is not in use, the detection wires 13a, 13b, 213a, 213b are covered by the waterproof sheet 20 and covering piece attached to the base substrate 10. This prevents the detection wires 13a, 13b, 213a, 213b from deteriorating due to oxidation during storage, and prevents the detection wires from being physically damaged by friction during transport, etc. Furthermore, because the covering piece is removably attached to the base substrate 10, when in use, the two detection wires 13a, 13b, 213a, 213b can be exposed simply by peeling the covering piece from the base substrate 10, making it easy to set the device in its ready-to-use state.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1, 101, 201 Moisture detection tag 2 Moisture detection area 3 Floor surface 4 Moisture 5 Reader/writer 6 Management computer 7 L-shaped angle 10 Base substrate 11 IC chip 12 Antenna 13a, 13b, 213a, 213b Detection wiring 20 Waterproof sheet 21 Perforation 22 Separation section 30a, 30b Adhesive layer 40 Release paper 50 Adhesive-blocking layer 60 Conductive layer

Claims (3)

A base substrate;
an antenna and two detection wires provided on the base material;
a detecting means provided on the base member and connected to the antenna and the end of the detection wiring, respectively, for detecting a continuity state of the detection wiring and transmitting the detection result via the antenna in a non-contact manner;
a moisture detection tag having a protective sheet attached to the base material so as to cover the antenna, the two detection wires, and the detection means,
the protective sheet has a separation portion formed in a region spanning the two detection wires, the separation portion being partitioned and separable from the protective sheet via a separation line;
The separated portion is a moisture detection tag that is not attached to the base substrate. A base substrate;
an antenna and two detection wires provided on the base material;
a detecting means provided on the base member and connected to the antenna and the end of the detection wiring, respectively, for detecting a continuity state of the detection wiring and transmitting the detection result via the antenna in a non-contact manner;
a moisture detection tag having a protective sheet attached to the base material so as to cover the antenna, the two detection wires, and the detection means,
the protective sheet has a separation portion formed in a region spanning the two detection wires, the separation portion being partitioned and separable from the protective sheet via a separation line;
The separation portion is not attached to the base substrate or is removably attached to the base substrate, and the moisture detection tag has a conductive layer on the surface facing the base substrate for conducting the two detection wirings . The moisture detection tag according to claim 1 or 2,
The moisture detection tag, wherein the protective sheet is water-resistant.