Data carrier system

• US 5,570,086 A
• Filed: 10/15/1993
• Issued: 10/29/1996
• Est. Priority Date: 02/18/1992
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Citizen Holdings Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Citizen Watch Co Limited (Citizen Electronics Company Limited)
• Inventors: Higuchi, Haruhiko, Hanaoka, Tadashi
• Primary Examiner(s): Bowler, Alyssa H.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Rinehart, Mark H.
• Application Number:
  US08/137,017
• Time in Patent Office: 1,110 Days
• Field of Search: 340/825.54, 340/825.55, 340/825.31, 340/825.34, 340/572, 340/539, 235/375, 235/382, 235/382.5, 235/385, 343/895, 455/60, 455/69, 455/70
• US Class Current: 340/10.51
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/0723 the record carrier comprising an arrangement for non-contact communication, e.g. wireless communication circuits on transponder cards, non-contact smart cards or RFIDs
• 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 7/10039 interrogator driven, i.e. synchronous

Abstract

A data carrier system which uses a power sourceless electromagnetically coupled data carrier, wherein two-way data communication is made possible between a fixed facility and a data carrier. Provision is made for a synchronizing means which renders the frequencies and phases of AC magnetic fields emitted from the fixed facilities to be the same among a plurality of fixed facilities, such that interference will not take place among the plurality of fixed facilities even when they are arranged close to one another. Moreover, the electric power induced in the antenna of the fixed facility by the AC magnetic field generated from the data carrier is synchronously detected by using a synchronizing signal controlled by said synchronizing means.

Claims

1. A data carrier system in an automatic management system comprising:

a plurality of adjacent fixed facilities each having a constant two-way communication area;

a data carrier for carrying out a two-way communication with a selected one of the plurality of adjacent fixed facilities; and

selective detecting means installed in each of the plurality of adjacent fixed facilities for detecting the data signal from the data carrier;

the selected one of the plurality of fixed facilities recognizing stored data of a data carrier present in the constant communication area after receiving a data signal induced by an AC magnetic field generated by the data carrier present in the constant communication area of the fixed facilities, and the selected one of the plurality of fixed facilities rewriting the stored data of the data carrier by transmitting to the data carrier a rewriting signal induced by the AC magnetic field;

the selective detecting means detecting the data signal by discriminating the data signal induced by the AC magnetic field generated by the data carrier, from the data signals induced by the AC magnetic fields from the fixed facilities other than the selected one of the plurality of fixed facilities.

2. A data carrier system according to claim 1, comprising:

control means in each of the plurality of adjacent fixed facilities for rendering the frequencies and the phases of the AC magnetic fields to transmit the rewrite signal to the data carrier present in a respective communication area of the fixed facilities to be the same among the fixed facilities other than the selected one of the plurality of fixed facilities.

3. A data carrier system according to claim 2, wherein the control means is a common signal forming means for rendering the same AC signals that are sources for generating AC magnetic fields from the fixed facilities.

4. A data carrier system according to claim 3, wherein the fixed facilities further comprise:

an antenna that transmits the AC signals as the AC magnetic fields;

received signal detecting means for detecting as a received signal an antenna current, the antenna current including a change in the AC magnetic field transmitted from the antenna based on the stored data of the data carrier; and

synchronous detecting means, including a synchronous clock, for synchronously detecting the change as a data signal by synchronously detecting the received signal;

the synchronous clock being constituted by the AC signals that are rendered to the same by the common signal forming means.

5. A data carrier system according to claim 3, wherein the selective detecting means comprises a synchronous detecting circuit that uses synchronized clocks formed by AC signals that are rendered to be the same by the common signal forming means.

6. A data carrier system according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of adjacent fixed facilities comprises an antenna for emitting the AC magnetic field, the AC magnetic field forming an AC magnetic field region defining a communication area in which a data carrier that moves relative to the fixed facility remains long enough to transmit necessary data between the data carrier and the fixed facilities.

7. A data carrier system according to claim 6, wherein the AC magnetic field region defines the communication area of the fixed facility as having an approximate rectangular configuration with a predetermined width and a major axis extending in a direction in which the data carrier moves.

8. A data carrier system according to claim 7, wherein the antenna comprises:

a flat rectangular frame; and

, a winding wound in the form of a vortex on the frame.

9. A data carrier system according to claim 8, wherein the winding has a nonuniform density from a central portion of the frame toward an outer side thereof.

10. A data carrier system according to claim 4, wherein the common signal forming means includes at least one external AC signal generating means for supplying an AC signal to the plurality of fixed facilities and includes signal input means in each of the fixed facilities for inputting AC signals from external AC signal generating means.

11. The data carrier system of claim 4 comprising

a data demodulating circuit in each of the fixed facilities, each said demodulating circuit including

a current-voltage converter for converting current flowing through the antenna coil into a voltage,

a voltage subtraction circuit for extracting a difference voltage between said converted voltage and the AC voltage output from the AC signal generating circuit;

and

a synchronous rectifying circuit for detecting and rectifying said difference voltage.

12. A data carrier system according to claim 4, wherein a plurality of said fixed facilities are adjacent one another, and the control means adjusts the frequency and phase of said AC signal in one fixed facility relative to the frequency and phase of other fixed facilities.

13. A data carrier system according to claim 4, wherein said received signal detecting means includes a current-voltage converter circuit that converts an induced current flowing through said antenna into a voltage signal.

14. A data carrier system according to claim 4, further comprising a voltage adjusting circuit for forming a reference signal from said AC signal, and a subtraction circuit for extracting a difference signal between said received signal and the reference signal, said difference signal being detected by said synchronous detecting means.

15. A data carrier system according to claim 14, further comprising:

an amplitude difference detecting circuit for detecting a difference in amplitude between the received signal and the reference signal for outputting amplitude difference data, and an AC signal adjusting circuit for bringing the amplitudes into agreement between the received signal and the reference signal in response to said amplitude difference data.

16. A data carrier system according to claim 14, further comprising, a phase difference detecting circuit for detecting a difference in phase between said received signal and the reference signal and for outputting phase difference data, and said AC signal adjusting circuit having a phase adjusting circuit for bringing the phases between the received signal and the reference signal into agreement in response to said phase difference data.

20. A data carrier system according to claim 10, wherein the control means provided in each of the fixed facilities includes both the individual AC signal generating means contained in the fixed facilities and the signal input means for inputting the AC signals from the external AC signal generating means.

21. A data carrier system according to claim 20, wherein the fixed facilities has the individual AC signal generating means that serves as a clock for the internal circuit and a switching means for switching the signal from the signal input means.

22. A data carrier system according to claim 10, wherein the signal input means provided in each of the fixed facilities has an insulating means that insulates a direct current flow between the external AC signal generating means provided outside of the fixed facilities and the fixed facilities.

17. A data carrier system according to clam 10, comprising an individual AC generating means in at least one of the plurality of fixed facilities, the same AC signals being fed from the at least one of the fixed facilities having the individual AC signal generating means to other fixed facilities.

18. A data carrier system according to claim 17, wherein the control means provided in each of the plurality of fixed facilities has both the individual AC signal generating means contained in the fixed facilities and the signal input means for inputting the AC signals from the external AC signal generating means.

19. A data carrier system according to claim 18, wherein each of the plurality of fixed facilities includes the individual AC signal generating means that serves as a clock for an internal circuit of the respective fixed facility and a switching means for switching the signal from the signal input means.

23. In a fixed facility used in a power sourceless electromagnetically coupled data carrier system, an antenna for a data carrier generates an AC electromagnetic field to feed electric power to the data carrier and has a winding that is wound in a vortex shape on nearly a plane, the density of said winding being lower near the center of vortex and higher toward the outer periphery of the vortex.

24. A data carrier system comprising a power sourceless electromagnetically coupled data carrier and fixed facilities that effect two-way data communication relative to said data carrier, wherein a synchronizing signal is transmitted from a synchronizing signal generating means contained in a particular fixed facility to a plurality of other fixed facilities in order to render to be the same among the plurality of fixed facilities the frequencies and phases of AC magnetic fields that are generated from the fixed facilities to transmit electric power and data to the data carrier, the synchronizing signal being transmitted from the synchronizing signal generating means contained in said particular fixed facility to other fixed facilities through an insulation means that is insulated in a DC manner from the synchronizing signal generating means.

25. A data carrier system according to claim 24, wherein the synchronizing signal generating means contained in said particular fixed facility is driven by at least two or more different power sources.

26. A fixed facility in a data carrier system wherein an AC magnetic field is radiated from an antenna coil to feed electric power and data to a data carrier in the form of the AC magnetic field, a change in the AC magnetic field generated by the data carrier is detected through the antenna coil, and the data transmitted from the data carrier is received, the fixed facility comprising

AC signal generating means for generating an AC voltage output;

a signal modulating circuit for modulating the AC voltage output to superpose the data;

an antenna drive circuit for amplifying the modulated AC voltage and feeding the amplified electric power to said antenna coil to generate the AC magnetic field;

a synchronous detecting circuit for detecting and rectifying the current flowing through the antenna coil to demodulate the data from the data carrier received by the antenna coil, said synchronizing detecting circuit being brought into synchronism with the AC voltage output from said AC signal generating means; and

adjusting means for adjusting the frequency and phase of the AC voltage output from said AC signal generating circuit.