READING DEVICE

• US 20170372101A1
• Filed: 06/14/2017
• Published: 12/28/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 06/23/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toshiba Tec Corporation (Toshiba Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Fast Retailing Company Limited, Toshiba Tec Corporation (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: SUZUKI, Shigeaki, NAMIKI, Dai, TAMBARA, Takahiro
• Granted Patent: US 10,366,259 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: A47F 2010/005 using RFID elements
• CPC Class Codes: A47F 9/048 automatically
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10316 using at least one antenna particularly designed for interrogating the wireless record carriers antennas in general H01Q1/22
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/20 Point-of-sale [POS] network systems
• CPC Class Codes: G07G 1/0045 with a code reader for reading of an identifying code of the article to be registered, e.g. barcode reader or radio-frequency identity [RFID] reader
• CPC Class Codes: G07G 1/009 the reader being an RFID reader
• CPC Class Codes: G07G 3/00 Alarm indicators, e.g. bells

Abstract

According to one embodiment, a reading device is configured to read information from an RFID tag attached to a product. The reading device includes a housing, an antenna, an opening-and-closing lid, a detector, a reading unit, and an alert unit. The housing includes an opening portion, and therein a space for accommodating the product. The antenna is provided within the space. The opening-and-closing lid is opening and closing the opening portion. The detector is configured to detect an open or closed state of the opening-and-closing lid. The reading unit is configured to read the information from the RFID tag. The alert unit is configured to issue an alert on an operation method in accordance with the open or closed state of the opening-and-closing lid and an operation state of the reading unit.

Claims

1. A reading device configured to read information from an RFID tag attached to a product, comprising:

a housing including an opening portion functioning as an inlet and an outlet of the product, and including therein a space for accommodating the product;

an antenna provided within the space;

an opening-and-closing lid for opening and closing the opening portion;

a detector configured to detect an open or closed state of the opening-and-closing lid;

a reading unit configured to execute a reading process of reading, via the antenna, the information from the RFID tag of the product accommodated in the housing; and

an alert unit configured to issue an alert on an operation method in accordance with the open or closed state of the opening-and-closing lid and an operation state of the reading unit.

2. The reading device of claim 1, wherein the alert unit is configured to issue an alert to close the opening-and-closing lid, when the opening-and-closing lid is indicative of the open state while the reading unit is executing the reading process.

3. The reading device of claim 1, wherein the alert unit is configured to issue an alert to open the opening-and-closing lid, when the opening-and-closing lid is indicative of the closed state during a predetermined time after the reading unit finished the reading process.

4. The reading device of claim 1, wherein the alert unit is configured to issue the alert by outputting a display screen.

5. The reading device of claim 1, wherein the alert unit is configured to issue the alert by outputting speech.

6. A program stored in a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, the program being executed by a computer of a reading device comprising a housing including an opening portion functioning as an inlet and an outlet of a product and including therein a space for accommodating the product, an antenna provided within the space, and an opening-and-closing lid for opening and closing the opening portion, the program causing the computer to execute:

a procedure of detecting an open or closed state of the opening-and-closing lid;

a procedure of executing a reading process of reading, via the antenna, information from an RFID tag of the product accommodated in the housing; and

a procedure of issuing an alert on an operation method in accordance with the open or closed state of the opening-and-closing lid and a state of the reading process.