Tag selector, tag selection system, and tag selection method

• US 20050103835A1
• Filed: 10/13/2004
• Published: 05/19/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 11/14/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: NTT Docomo Incorporated (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation)
• Original Assignee: NTT Docomo Incorporated (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation)
• Inventors: Yamazaki, Kenichi, Sakamoto, Kenji, Kunito, Goro
• Granted Patent: US 7,224,277 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 235/375
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising

Abstract

When a tag selector 30 receives a plurality of RFID tag IDs detected by an RFID tag reader 10, by a tag ID receiving part 31, it acquires nonspecificities corresponding to these RFID tag IDs from an attribute information DB 41. The tag selector 30 selects an RFID tag ID with a nonspecificity smaller than a predetermined selected tag threshold by a tag ID selecting part 33 and notifies a service determining device 50 of it. A nonspecificity is an index indicating a diversity of use of an article to which a corresponding RFID tag is attached. Therefore, the service determining device 50 determines a service to be provided for the user, based on the RFID tag ID with the low nonspecificity value, whereby it becomes feasible to promptly provide the service very likely desired by the user.

Claims

1. A tag selector comprising selecting means for selecting an ID of a specific RFID tag out of IDs of RFID tags detected by an RFID tag reader, based on attribute information items of the RFID tags.

2. The tag selector according to claim 1,

wherein the attribute information items are nonspecificities of objects to which the RFID tags are attached, and

wherein the selecting means selects the ID of the specific RFID tag out of the IDs of the RFID tags, based on magnitudes of the nonspecificities of the RFID tags.

3. A tag selection system comprising:

an accumulation device for accumulating IDs of RFID tags detected by an RFID tag reader and for transferring the IDs of the RFID tags to a tag selector;

a storage device for storing attribute information items of the RFID tags; and

the tag selector for selecting an ID of a specific RFID tag out of the IDs of the RFID tags transferred from the accumulation device, based on the attribute information items of the RFID tags acquired from the storage device.

4. The tag selection system according to claim 3, wherein the attribute information items are fixed values presenting little change with time,

the tag selection system further comprising a cache device for temporarily retaining the fixed values of the RFID tags,

wherein the tag selector selects the ID of the specific RFID tag out of the IDs of the RFID tags transferred from the accumulation device, based on the fixed values of the RFID tags acquired from the cache device.

5. A tag selection method comprising:

an accumulation step wherein an accumulation device accumulates IDs of RFID tags detected by an RFID tag reader;

a transfer step wherein the accumulation device transfers the IDs of the RFID tags accumulated in the accumulation step, to a tag selector;

an acquisition step wherein the tag selector acquires attribute information items of the RFID tags from a storage device; and

a selection step wherein the tag selector selects an ID of a specific RFID tag out of the IDs of the RFID tags transferred in the transfer step, based on the attribute information items of the RFID tags acquired in the acquisition step.