Sheet, display medium unit, sheet attaching device, and sheet detaching device

• US 20060209354A1
• Filed: 08/18/2005
• Published: 09/21/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 03/16/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Fuji Xerox Company Limited (Fujifilm Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Fuji Xerox Company Limited (Fujifilm Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Hayashi, Naoki, Ishii, Tsutomu, Watanabe, Masao, Saito, Yasunori, Mizutani, Ryota, Koshimizu, Minoru, Iida, Kiyoshi, Funo, Hiroyuki, Hotta, Hiroyuki
• Granted Patent: US 7,817,146 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 358/406
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/133305 Flexible substrates, e.g. plastics, organic film
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 2201/58 Arrangements comprising a monitoring photodetector
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/016 Input arrangements with force or tactile feedback as computer generated output to the user
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0346 with detection of the device orientation or free movement in a 3D space, e.g. 3D mice, 6-DOF [six degrees of freedom] pointers using gyroscopes, accelerometers or tilt-sensors

Abstract

The present invention provides a sheet with plural wireless measuring units, each of which, when a radio signal is sent, measures physical quantity surrounding itself by using the radio signal as an energy source, and generates and sends a radio signal having an attribute reflecting the measured physical quantity.

Claims

1. A sheet with a plurality of wireless measuring units, each of which, when a radio signal is sent, measures physical quantity surrounding itself by using the radio signal as an energy source, and generates and sends a radio signal having an attribute reflecting the measured physical quantity.

2. A sheet according to claim 1, wherein the physical quantity is at least one of temperature, pressure, light, and acceleration.

3. A sheet according to claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of wireless measuring units comprises:

an exciter which receives a radio signal and generates a mechanical vibration;

a vibration medium on which a surface acoustic wave is caused by a mechanical vibration generated by the exciter, and on which an attribute of the surface acoustic wave changes in response to physical quantity; and

a transmitter which converts the surface acoustic wave generated on the vibration medium to an electrical signal and sends it as a radio signal.

4. A display medium unit comprising:

a sheet with a plurality of wireless measuring units, each of which, when a radio signal is sent, measures physical quantity surrounding itself by using the radio signal as an energy source, and generates and sends a radio signal having an attribute reflecting the measured physical quantity; and

a sheet-like display medium which is laid on the sheet.

5. A display medium unit according to claim 4, wherein the sheet is detachable from the display medium.

6. A display medium unit according to claim 4, wherein the display medium is an electronic paper.

7. A display medium unit according to claim 4, wherein each of the plurality of wireless measuring units comprises:

an exciter which receives a radio signal and generates a mechanical vibration;

a vibration medium on which a surface acoustic wave is caused by a mechanical vibration generated by the exciter, and on which an attribute of the surface acoustic wave changes in response to physical quantity; and

a transmitter which converts the surface acoustic wave generated on the vibration medium to an electrical signal and sends it as a radio signal.

8. A sheet attaching device comprising:

a sheet housing unit which houses a plurality of sheets with a plurality of wireless measuring units, each of which, when a radio signal is sent, measures physical quantity surrounding itself by using the radio signal as an energy source, and generates and sends a radio signal having an attribute reflecting the measured physical quantity;

a sheet feeder which feeds a sheet-like display medium; and

a sheet attaching unit which takes one or a plurality of sheets out of the sheet housing unit, and attaches the one or a plurality of sheets to a sheet-like display medium fed by the sheet feeder.

9. A sheet attaching device according to claim 8, further comprising a selector which selects a type of a sheet to be taken out of the sheet housing unit, and wherein:

the sheet housing unit houses a plurality of types of sheets; and

the sheet attaching unit takes a sheet of a type selected by the selector out of the sheet housing unit, and attaches the sheet to a sheet-like display medium fed by the sheet feeder.

10. A sheet attaching device according to claim 8, further comprising:

a receiver which receives a radio signal sent from a wireless measuring unit attached to a sheet;

a sheet ID identifying unit which identifies a sheet ID of a sheet on the basis of a radio signal received by the receiver;

a display medium ID reader which reads an ID of a display medium;

a transmitter which transmits a display medium ID read by the display medium ID reader and a sheet ID identified by the sheet ID identifying unit to a predetermined communication apparatus in association with each other.

11. A sheet attaching device according to claim 8, further comprising:

a receiver which receives a radio signal sent from a wireless measuring unit attached to a sheet;

a sheet ID identifying unit which identifies a sheet ID of a sheet on the basis of a radio signal received by the receiver;

a display medium ID reader which reads an ID of a display medium;

a storage unit which stores a display medium ID read by the display medium ID reader and a sheet ID identified by the sheet ID identifying unit in association with each other.

12. A sheet detaching device comprising a sheet detaching unit which detaches a sheet from a sheet-like display medium to which the sheet is attached, wherein

the sheet has a plurality of wireless measuring units, each of which, when a radio signal is sent, measures physical quantity surrounding itself by using the radio signal as an energy source, and generates and sends a radio signal having an attribute reflecting the measured physical quantity.