Control method, control system, RFID antenna and connection investigation method

• US 20070188328A1
• Filed: 05/31/2006
• Published: 08/16/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 02/15/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Mochizuki, Tomoyuki, Sano, Hideki
• Granted Patent: US 7,898,392 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/572.700
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 17/00 Methods or arrangements for effecting co-operative working between equipments covered by two or more of main groups G06K1/00 - G06K15/00, e.g. automatic card files incorporating conveying and reading operations
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/0008 General problems related to the reading of electronic memory record carriers, independent of its reading method, e.g. power transfer
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10356 using a plurality of antennas, e.g. configurations including means to resolve interference between the plurality of antennas

Abstract

A technique of preventing occurrence of interference even when a plurality of RFID antennas are used simultaneously. Each RFID antenna is attached with a calibration RFID tag. A combination of RFID antennas that causes a problem is acquired based on whether information held by the calibration RFID tag can be read from each of the RFID antennas that have performed reading simultaneously. Then, an RFID antenna use procedure is generated such that the RFID antennas in the acquired combination are not used simultaneously. Each RFID antenna is operated according to the generated use procedure.

Claims

1. A control method by an RFID control system comprising a plurality of RFID antennas each having a calibration RFID tag, one or more RFID reader/writers that perform reading by operating each of said RFID antennas, and a control unit that controls each of said RFID reader/writers, wherein:

said control unit comprises a storage unit that stores an antenna use procedure including one or more use timings each in turn includes one or more RFID antennas to be operated simultaneously; and

performs a control step in which the RFID antennas included in each of said use timings in said antenna use procedure read from said storage unit are operated simultaneously;

each of said RFID reader/writers performs;

a read step in which the RFID reader/writer in question reads information held by a calibration RFID tag through an RFID antennas; and

an output step in which the RFID reader/writer in question outputs the read information to said control unit; and

said control unit performs;

a read result acquisition step in which the control unit receives the information read by each of RFID antennas that are operated simultaneously from each of said RFID reader/writers;

a non-readable combination acquisition step in which the control unit acquires a combination of RFID antennas that do not read information held by the respective calibration RFID tags, among said RFID antennas that are operated simultaneously; and

a update step in which, when the combination of RFID antennas that do not read information held by the respective calibration RFID tags is acquired, the RFID antennas included in each of said use timings in the antenna use procedure in said storage unit is changed to a combination that does not coincide with the acquired combination.

2. A control method according to claim 1, wherein:

said storage unit further stores configuration information that indicates each of said RFID reader/writers and RFID antennas connected to each of said RFID reader/writers; and

said control unit further performs;

a combination acquisition step in which a combination of RFID antennas connected to a same RFID reader/writer is acquired from said configuration information read from said storage unit; and

an antenna use procedure generation step in which the antenna use procedure is generated such that said procedure includes one or more use timings each including one or more RFID antennas to be operated simultaneously, and RFID antennas included in each use timing do not coincide with a combination of RFID antennas connected with one RFID reader/writer.

3. A control system comprising a plurality of RFID antennas each having a calibration RFID tag, one or more RFID reader/writers that perform reading by operating each of said RFID antennas, and a control unit that controls each of said RFID reader/writers, wherein:

said control unit comprises;

a storage unit that stores an antenna use procedure including one or more use timings each in turn including one or more RFID antennas;

a control means that simultaneously operates RFID antennas included in each use timing included in the antenna use procedure read from said storage unit;

a read result acquisition means;

a non-readable combination acquisition means; and

an update means; and

each of said RFID reader/writer performs;

a read step in which the RFID reader/writer in question reads information held by a calibration RFID tag through an RFID antennas; and

an output step in which the RFID reader/writer in question outputs the read information to said control unit;

said read result acquisition means receives information read by a plurality of RFID antennas that are operated simultaneously from each of said RFID reader/writers;

said non-readable combination acquisition means acquires a combination of RFID antennas that do not read information held by the respective calibration RFID tags, among said RFID antennas that are operated simultaneously; and

when the combination of RFID antennas that do not read information held by respective calibration RFID tags is acquired, said update means changes the RFID antennas included in each of said use timings in the antenna use procedure in said storage unit to RFID antennas that does not coincide with the acquired combination.

4. An RFID antenna connected to a control unit through a RFID reader/writer controlled by said control unit, wherein:

said RFID antenna has a verification RFID tag for verifying whether said RFID antenna can perform at least one of writing and reading.

5. A connection investigation method in an RFID control system comprising a plurality of RFID antennas each having a calibration RFID tag, an RFID reader/writer that performs reading by operating each of said RFID antennas, and a control unit, wherein:

said RFID reader/writer performs;

a read step in which the RFID reader/writer in question reads information held by a calibration RFID tag through an RFID antennas; and

an output step in which the RFID reader/writer in question outputs the read information to said control unit;

said control unit comprises a storage unit that stores information indicating each of said RFID antennas in association with information read the RFID antenna in question; and

said control unit performs;

a read result acquisition step in which the control unit receives information read by an RFID antenna from said RFID reader/writer;

a judgment step in which the control unit reads the information associated with the RFID antenna that has read said information received, from said storage unit, and judges whether the received information coincides with the information read from the storage unit; and

an output step in which a result of said judgment step is outputted.