Product management apparatus and product with historical information recording device

• US 6,705,516 B1
• Filed: 04/26/1999
• Issued: 03/16/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 04/30/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Kubota, Michitaka
• Primary Examiner(s): French, Karl D.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Hess, Daniel A.
• Application Number:
  US09/299,835
• Time in Patent Office: 1,786 Days
• Field of Search: 119/174, 235/487, 235/385
• US Class Current: 235/375
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 3/00 Registering or indicating the condition or the working of machines or other apparatus, other than vehicles

Abstract

A historical information recording device provided in a product for storing in a recorder product historical information relating to the product'"'"'s manufacture, physical distribution, sale, registration, repair, and disposal and transmitting the information in response to information input from the outside, having a plurality of transmission modes and provided with a mode switcher for selecting a first transmission mode at the time of usual use and switching the transmission mode in response to an input signal to a second transmission mode with at least an output, frequency, method of modulation, or transmission time different from that of the first transmission mode, a historical information tamper prevention unit for prohibiting a write operation in the storage unit under predetermined conditions to prevent tampering of the product historical information, and a discriminator for discriminating if the recorder is the specific historical information recorder which should be covered by the recording and/or reproduction.

Claims

1. A product management apparatus comprising:

a main unit attached to a product and having

an input unit for inputting historical information of the product,

a recording means for recording the input historical information, and

a transmitting means for transmitting the recorded historical information;

an outside unit having a receiving means for receiving the historical information transmitted by the transmitting means; and

further wherein the transmitting means may be remotely configured to change a transmission characteristic of the transmitting means.

2. A product management apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein the outside unit further comprises a display for displaying the historical information.

3. A product management apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein the main unit and the outside unit are separate from each other.

4. A product management apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein the historical information is displayed on a display separate from the outside unit.

5. A product management apparatus comprising:

a main unit having an input means for inputting historical information,

a password imparting means for giving a password for at least part of the input historical information,

a recording means for recording the historical information, and

a transmitting means for transmitting the recorded historical information; and

further wherein the transmitting means may be remotely configured to change a transmission characteristic of the transmitting means,

and an outside unit having

a receiving means for receiving the historical information transmitted from the transmitting means,

a password comparing means for comparing the password given to the transmitted historical information, and

a password inputting means for inputting a password to the password comparing means.

6. A product provided with a historical information recording device comprising:

a main unit comprising an input means for inputting historical information, a password imparting means for giving a password for at least part of the input historical information, a recording means for recording the historical information, and

a transmitting means for transmitting the recorded historical information; and

further wherein the transmitting means may be remotely configured to change a transmission characteristic of the transmitting means.

said main unit communicates with an outside remote controller

said outside unit comprising;

a receiving means for receiving the historical information transmitted from the transmitting means, a password comparing means for comparing the password given to the transmitted historical information, and a password inputting means for inputting a password to the password comparing means.

7. A product management apparatus comprising an information recording device in a product for storing information relating to the product and means for transmitting the information in response to a signal input from the outside;

and further wherein the transmitting means may be remotely configured to change a transmission characteristic of the transmitting means.

8. A product management apparatus as set forth in claim 7, wherein a mode switcher selects a first transmission mode at a time of usual use and switches the transmission mode from the first transmission mode to a second transmission mode based on the input signal.

9. A product management apparatus as set forth in claim 8, wherein transmission of product information uses a radio wave.

10. A product management apparatus as set forth in claim 9, wherein the second transmission mode includes a transmission mode where the output power of a carrier wave transmitting the product information differs from that of the first transmission mode.

11. A product management apparatus as set forth in claim 9, wherein said second transmission mode includes a transmission mode where a frequency of a carrier wave transmitting the product information differs from that of the first transmission mode.

12. A product management apparatus as set forth in claim 9, wherein said second transmission mode includes a transmission mode where a method of modulation of the signal indicating the product information differs from that of the first transmission mode.

13. A product management apparatus as set forth in claim 9, wherein said second transmission mode includes a transmission mode where a transmission time of the signal indicating the product information differs from that of the first transmission mode.

14. A product management apparatus as set forth in claim 9, wherein said second transmission mode includes a transmission mode which indicates a location of the product.

15. A product management apparatus as set forth in claim 14, wherein a transmission mode of the signal including the announcing information in the second transmission mode differs from the first transmission mode in at least one of the output power, frequency, method of modulation, and transmission time of the carrier wave.

16. A product management apparatus as set forth in claim 7, wherein transmission of product information uses a radio wave.

17. A product management apparatus as set forth in claim 7, wherein a predetermined announce signal is transmitted in response to an input broadcast request signal without transmission of product historical information.

18. A product management apparatus as set forth in claim 7, wherein said historical information recording device comprises:

a fixed memory which is restricted to be written with information once and

a rewritable memory which allows the stored information to be rewritten.

19. A product management apparatus comprising:

a historical information recording device in a product

and wherein the historical information recording device has a storage unit for storing product historical information relating to the product and further including a transmitting means; and

further wherein the transmitting means may be remotely configured to change a transmission characteristic of the transmitting means, and having a historical information tamper prevention unit for prohibiting a rewrite of the information stored in the storage unit under predetermined conditions to prevent tampering of the product historical information.

20. A product management apparatus as set forth in claim 19, wherein the historical information tamper prevention unit compares a password stored in the storage unit at the time of manufacture or the time of sale of the product and which is disclosed to the legitimate purchaser of the product or provided by the legitimate purchaser with a password input after the sale of the product and the device prohibits rewrites of the storage unit when the passwords do not match.

21. A product management apparatus as set forth in claim 19, wherein the historical information tamper prevention unit prohibits access to mode switching so as not to enter the write mode for rewrites for an address at which product historical information has already been stored in the storage unit.

22. A product management apparatus as set forth in claim 19, wherein the historical information tamper prevention unit prohibits access at the time of writing for an address at which the product historical information has already been stored in the storage unit.

23. A product management apparatus as set forth in claim 19, wherein the historical information tamper prevention unit allows rewrites of the storage unit a predetermined number of times and prohibits rewrites after the predetermined number of rewrites.

24. A product management apparatus as set forth in claim 19, wherein the historical information tamper prevention unit allows rewrites of the storage unit until a predetermined number of tries have been made and prohibits rewrites after the predetermined number of tries.

25. A product management apparatus as set forth in claim 19, wherein the historical information tamper prevention unit receives as an input a rewrite request signal for product historical information, discriminates an identification code from a terminal emitting the rewrite request signal, and compares the identification code with an identification code of the terminal first writing the product historical information for which the rewrite request has been made into the storage unit, and prohibits a rewrite of the product historical information depending on negative result of the comparison.

26. A product management apparatus as set forth in claim 19, wherein the historical information tamper prevention unit prohibits the rewrite of the product historical information requested after a predetermined time has elapsed from the initial writing based on time elapsed from the first writing when the product historical information was first written in the storage unit.

27. A product management apparatus as set forth in claim 19, wherein said historical information recording device further comprises a rewrite history storage controller for storing the rewrite historical information relating to the rewrites of the storage unit from the input signal and storing the information.

28. A product management apparatus comprising

a historical information recording device in a product and said historical information recording device having:

a storage unit for storing product information, and

a historical information destruction prevention unit for adding a predetermined limit on the read operations from the storage unit to prevent destruction of the product historical information by a read disturbance.

29. A product management apparatus as set forth in claim 28, wherein the historical information destruction prevention unit limits the number of read operations when the storage unit comprises a nonvolatile memory device.

30. A product management apparatus as set forth in claim 28, wherein the historical information destruction prevention unit extends the time required for read operations from the storage unit after the predetermined number of read operations when the storage unit is comprised of a nonvolatile memory device.

31. A product provided with an information recording device for storing product information and a means for transmitting the information in response to a signal input from the outside;

and further wherein the transmitting means may be remotely configured to change a transmission characteristic of the transmitting means.

32. A product as set forth in claim 31, wherein

said product has a product controller and

said historical information recording device has a means for outputting to the product controller a startup signal for starting up a predetermined means in the product able to announce the location of the product.

33. A product as set forth in claim 31, wherein a mode switcher serves also as a means for outputting a startup signal.

34. A product provided with an information recording device for storing product information, wherein

said information recording device has a tamper prevention unit for prohibiting rewrites of information stored in the storage unit under predetermined conditions to prevent tampering of the product historical information and further comprising a means for transmitting the information;

and further wherein the transmitting means may be remotely configured to change a transmission characteristic of the transmitting means.

35. A product as set forth in claim 34, wherein

said product has a product controller and

said controller stops a predetermined function of the product when the product historical information has been tampered with.

36. A product provided with an information recording device for storing in a storage unit product information, wherein

said information recording device has an information destruction prevention unit for adding a limit to the read operations from the storage unit to prevent destruction of the product historical information due to read disturbances.

37. A product provided with an information recording and/or reproducing device for recording and/or reproducing information to and from a specific information recorder in which specific information should be held, wherein

the information recording and/or reproducing device comprises a discriminator for discriminating whether or not the recorder is the specific historical information recorder and including a transmitting means;

and further wherein the transmitting means may be remotely configured to change a transmission characteristic of the transmitting means.

38. A product provided with a historical information recording and/or reproducing device as set forth in claim 37, wherein the discriminator discriminates information including at least numerals held by the historical information recorder to discriminate whether or not the historical information recorder is a specific historical information recorder.