WIRELESS TAG COMMUNICATION DEVICE AND WIRELESS TAG COMMUNICATION PROGRAM

• US 20150035651A1
• Filed: 08/01/2014
• Published: 02/05/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 08/05/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toshiba Tec Corporation (Toshiba Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toshiba Tec Corporation (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: Tsuchida, Sunao, Sano, Kouichi, Yaginuma, Jun
• Granted Patent: US 9,268,980 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/10.5
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10089 the interrogation device using at least one directional antenna or directional interrogation field to resolve the collision direction or location finding, such as triangulation techniques, G01S13/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10217 parameter settings controlling the transmission power of the interrogator

Abstract

According to one embodiment, a wireless tag communication device which communicates with a wireless tag includes a communication unit that designates a target wireless tag to read tag information stored in the wireless tag; a read-state determination unit that determines a read state of the tag information read by the communication unit; an output adjustment unit that varies a radio wave output to be transmitted to the wireless tag in response to the result of the determination by the read-state determination unit; a signal strength detection unit that detects the signal strength of a reply signal received from the wireless tag via the communication unit; and a control unit that switches the operation mode of the communication unit between a long-distance mode to communicate with the wireless tag while the output adjustment unit varies the radio wave output and a near-field mode to communicate with the wireless tag while the signal strength detection unit detects the signal strength.

Claims

1. A wireless tag communication device which communicates with a wireless tag, comprising:

a communication unit that designates a target wireless tag to read tag information stored in the wireless tag;

a read-state determination unit that determines a read state of the tag information read by the communication unit;

an output adjustment unit that varies a radio wave output to be transmitted to the wireless tag in response to the result of the determination by the read-state determination unit;

a signal strength detection unit that detects the received signal strength indicator of a reply signal received from the wireless tag via the communication unit; and

a control unit that switches the operation mode of the communication unit between a long-distance mode to communicate with the wireless tag while the output adjustment unit varies the radio wave output and a near-field mode to communicate with the wireless tag while the signal strength detection unit that detects the signal strength.

2. The device according to claim 1, further comprising a notification unit that notifies the read state of the wireless tag in response to the signal strength detected by the signal strength detection unit in the near-field mode.

3. The device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit switches the operation mode from the long-distance mode to the near-field mode when the radio wave output adjusted by the output adjustment unit reaches a preset threshold.

4. The device according to claim 1, wherein the signal strength of the reply signal from the wireless tag is also detected in the long-distance mode and the control unit switches the operation mode from the long-distance mode to the near-field mode when the signal strength detected by the signal strength detection unit is larger than a preset threshold.

5. The device according to claim 1, further comprising a storage unit which stores the signal strength detected by the signal strength detection unit,

wherein the signal strength of the reply signal from the wireless tag is also detected in the long-distance mode and the control unit switches the operation mode from the long-distance mode to the near-field mode when the difference between the signal intensities stored in the storage unit during a predetermined period is equal to or smaller than a preset value.

6. A non-transitory storage medium encoded with a computer readable program to communicate with a wireless tag, and read and process tag information stored in the wireless tag, the program causing a computer to execute:

a communication function adapted to designate a target wireless tag to read tag information stored in the wireless tag;

a read-state determination function adapted to determine a read state of the tag information;

an output adjustment function adapted to vary a radio wave output to be transmitted to the wireless tag in response to the result of the determination of the read state;

a signal strength detection function adapted to detect the signal strength of a reply signal received from the wireless tag; and

a control function adapted to switch the read operation mode in the communication function between a long-distance mode to communicate with the wireless tag while the radio wave output is varied and a near-field mode to communicate with the wireless tag while the signal strength of the reply signal is detected.