RADIO-FREQUENCY TAG COMMUNICATION DEVICE

• US 20110193687A1
• Filed: 02/16/2010
• Published: 08/11/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 02/18/2009
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
• Original Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
• Inventors: Hirata, Hironori
• Application Number:
  US12/706,467
• Publication Number:
  US 20110193687A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/10.4
• 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 7/10316 using at least one antenna particularly designed for interrogating the wireless record carriers antennas in general H01Q1/22

Abstract

A radio-frequency tag communication device configured to appropriately minimize a failure in reading out of a targeted radio-frequency tag is provided. The radio-frequency tag communication device comprises a polarization-plane switching control portion 78 operative to switch polarization planes of an antenna within one-third of a time interval T_Stay preliminarily set in which the targeted radio-frequency tag 14 stays in a communication field, and a communication control portion 76 controlling a parameter used in communication so as to complete the communication in association with a command group to execute a series of communications with plural radio-frequency tags 14 selected in response to a “Select” command once within a time interval in which the polarization-plane switching control portion 78 switches the polarization planes of the antenna.

Claims

1. A radio-frequency tag communication device, having an antenna operative to switch polarization planes used a communication, and executing the communication of information with a radio-frequency tag and executing a control to switch the polarization planes of the antenna during the communication, the radio-frequency tag communication device comprising:

a polarization-plane switching control portion operative to switch the polarization planes of the antenna within one-third of a time period preliminarily set in which a targeted radio-frequency tag stays in a communication field; and

a communication control portion controlling at least one of a frequency, a modulating system, a response wait time and a commands order relevant to the communication such that the communication in association with a command group to execute a series of communications with plural radio-frequency tags selected in response to a predetermined selection command is completed once within a time interval in which the polarization-plane switching control portion switches the polarization planes of the antenna.

2. The radio-frequency tag communication device according to claim 1, wherein when no communication in association with the command group to execute the series of communications with the plural radio-frequency tags selected in response to the predetermined selection command is completed within the time interval in which the polarization-plane switching control portion switches the polarization planes of the antenna, the communication control portion alters at least one of the frequency, the modulating system, the response wait time and the commands order relevant to the communication in a subsequent communication.

3. The radio-frequency tag communication device according to claim 1, further comprising:

a communication time determining portion determining whether the communication in association with the command group for executing the series of communications with the plural radio-frequency tags selected in response to the predetermined selection command falls in the time interval in which the polarization-plane switching control portion switches the polarization planes of the antenna by altering at least one of the frequency, the modulating system, the response wait time and the commands order relevant to the communication, when no communication in association with the command group to execute the series of communications with the plural radio-frequency tags selected in response to the predetermined selection command is completed within the time interval in which the polarization-plane switching control portion switches the polarization planes of the antenna; and

an alarm output control portion outputting an alarm indicative of an incapability of optimizing a communication time when an answer of the communication time determining portion is negative.

4. The radio-frequency tag communication device according to claim 2, further comprising:

a communication time determining portion determining whether the communication in association with the command group for executing the series of communications with the plural radio-frequency tags selected in response to the predetermined selection command falls in the time interval in which the polarization-plane switching control portion switches the polarization planes of the antenna by altering at least one of the frequency, the modulating system, the response wait time and the commands order relevant to the communication, when no communication in association with the command group to execute the series of communications with the plural radio-frequency tags selected in response to the predetermined selection command is completed within the time interval in which the polarization-plane switching control portion switches the polarization planes of the antenna; and

an alarm output control portion outputting an alarm indicative of an incapability of optimizing a communication time when an answer of the communication time determining portion is negative.

5. The radio-frequency tag communication device according to claim 1, further comprising an alarm output control portion outputting an alarm indicative of an occasion in which no communication in association with the command group to execute the series of communications with the plural radio-frequency tags selected in response to the predetermined selection command is not completed within the time interval in which the polarization-plane switching control portion switches the polarization planes of the antenna.

6. The radio-frequency tag communication device according to claim 2, further comprising an alarm output control portion outputting an alarm indicative of an occasion in which no communication in association with the command group to execute the series of communications with the plural radio-frequency tags selected in response to the predetermined selection command is not completed within the time interval in which the polarization-plane switching control portion switches the polarization planes of the antenna.

7. The radio-frequency tag communication device according to claim 1, wherein the communication control portion performs a frequency hopping control for varying the frequency used in the communication with the radio-frequency tags at predetermined time intervals, and the polarization-plane switching control portion switches the polarization planes of the antenna each time when the communication control portion performs the frequency hopping control.

8. The radio-frequency tag communication device according to claim 2, wherein the communication control portion performs a frequency hopping control for varying the frequency used in the communication with the radio-frequency tags at predetermined time intervals, and the polarization-plane switching control portion switches the polarization planes of the antenna each time when the communication control portion performs the frequency hopping control.

9. A radio-frequency tag communication device, having an antenna operative to switch polarization planes used in a communication, executing the communication of information with a radio-frequency tag and executing a control to switch the polarization planes of the antenna during the communication, the radio-frequency tag communication device comprising:

a polarization-plane switching control portion operative to switch the polarization planes of the antenna each time when the communication in association with a command group to execute a series of communications with plural radio-frequency tags selected in response to a predetermined selection command is completed.