Communication system, communication method, and program thereof

• US 7,580,724 B2
• Filed: 03/19/2004
• Issued: 08/25/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 03/20/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Office Misumi Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Office Misumi Company Limited
• Inventors: Ueda, Yasuto
• Primary Examiner(s): Bhattacharya; Sam
• Application Number:
  US10/549,973
• Publication Number:
  US 20060089168A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,985 Days
• Field of Search: 340/825.49, 340/573.1, 340/825.36, 340/539.13, 340/539.14
• US Class Current: 455/550.1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/1427 with transmitter-receiver for distance detection

Abstract

A communication system, a communication method and program thereof capable of easily constructing a system in which communication between an IC tag and a mobile information terminal having a built-in or externally-attached reader/writer is used. URL information in the Web page for disclosing personal information stored on the IC tag is read by the reader/writer and the information is accessed. A security system is provided in which an alarm is performed for preventing losing an article according to the communication state between the IC tag and the reader/writer, and if an article is lost, its position information can be checked by a mobile information terminal or another terminal device.

Claims

1. A communication system comprising:

an IC tag attached to an object;

a reader/writer provided with a function for communicating with the IC tag for a predetermined time;

a mobile information terminal for carrying the reader/writer;

wherein the mobile information terminal comprises the functions of;

a first alarm emission function for emitting a first alarm when communication with the reader/writer and the IC tag becomes impossible;

a second alarm emission function for emitting a second alarm when communication with the reader/writer and the IC tag becomes possible;

a position information acquisition function for acquiring a position information of the mobile information terminal when communication with the reader/writer and the IC tag becomes impossible; and

a display function for displaying the position information acquired by the position information acquisition function,

wherein said first alarm and said second alarm are different and are selected from the group of alarms consisting of sound, luminescence, vibration and screen information, or its combination, and wherein the setting change is arbitrarily possible from the mobile information terminal.

2. The communication system according to claim 1, wherein the mobile information terminal suitably changes a timing for acquiring the position information by the position information acquisition function in accordance with an electric wave environment when communication of the reader/writer and the IC tag becomes impossible.

3. The communication system according to claim 1, wherein the IC tag provides a unique identification number and setting change of correlation data with the object being arbitrarily possible via the reader/writer from the mobile information terminal.

4. The communication system according to claim 2, wherein the position information acquisition function receives electric wave intensity with two or more base stations and acquires the position information based on said received electric wave intensity with two or more base stations.

5. The communication system according to claim 2, wherein the position information acquisition function communicates with a GPS Satellite via base stations for acquiring the position information.

6. The communication system according to claim 1, wherein said system further comprises a communication line and a management server, and wherein said communication line connects said mobile information terminal with said management server and provides the function for transmitting the first alarm and the position information acquired by the position information acquisition function to the management server.

7. The communication system according to claim 6, wherein the management server provides information program about the communications system using the IC tag and offers information about a lost article in the information program for a terminal device accessible via the communication line.

8. A communication program applied to a communication system including an IC tag attached to an object, a reader/writer provided with a function for communicating with the IC tag for a predetermined time, and a mobile information terminal for carrying the reader/writer;

wherein the mobile information terminal comprises the following processes;

a first alarm emission process for emitting a first alarm when communication with the reader/writer and the IC tag becomes impossible;

a second alarm emission process for emitting a second alarm when communication with the reader/writer and the IC tag becomes possible;

a position information acquisition process for acquiring a position information of the mobile information terminal when communication with the reader/writer and the IC tag becomes impossible; and

a display process for displaying the position information acquired by the position information acquisition process,

wherein said first alarm and said second alarm are different and are selected from the group of alarms consisting of sound, luminescence, vibration and screen information, or its combination, and wherein the setting change is arbitrarily possible from the mobile information terminal.

9. The communication program according to claim 8 and further including a management server and a communication line, wherein said communication line connects said mobile information terminal with said management server and provides a process for transmitting the first alarm and the position information acquired by the position information acquisition process to the management server.

10. The communication program according to claim 8, wherein the mobile information terminal provides a process for restricting functions of the mobile information terminal when the mobile information terminal is in a missing condition.

11. The communication program according to claim 8, wherein the position information acquisition process changes the acquisition timing of the position information according to an electric wave environment.

12. A communication system comprising:

an IC tag attached to an object;

a reader/writer provided with a function for communicating with the IC tag for a predetermined time; and

a mobile information terminal for carrying the reader/writer;

wherein the mobile information terminal emits a first alarm when communication with the reader/writer and the IC tag becomes impossible, emits a second alarm when communication with the reader/writer and the IC tag becomes possible; and

wherein the first alarm and the second alarm are different and are selected from the group of alarms consisting of sound, luminescence, vibration and screen information, or its combination, and wherein the setting change is arbitrarily possible from the mobile information terminal.

13. The communication system according to claim 12, wherein the mobile information terminal detects and temporarily memorizes the position information of the mobile information terminal when communication with the reader/writer and the IC tag is possible, and displays the temporarily memorized position information when communication with the reader/writer and the IC tag becomes impossible.

14. A communication system comprising:

an IC tag attached to an object;

a reader/writer provided with a function for communicating with the IC tag for a predetermined time; and

a mobile information terminal for carrying the reader/writer having a position information;

wherein the mobile information terminal detects and temporarily memorizes the position information of the mobile information terminal when communication with the reader/writer and the IC tag is possible, comprises a first alarm emission function for emitting a first alarm when communication with the reader/writer and the IC tag becomes impossible, and displays the temporarily memorized position information, and comprises a second alarm emission function for emitting a second alarm when communication with the reader/writer and the IC tag becomes possible, said first alarm and said second alarm being different and are an alarm selected from the group consisting of sound, luminescence, vibration and screen information, or its combination, and wherein setting change being arbitrarily possible from the mobile information terminal.

15. The communication system according to claim 14, wherein the IC tag provides a unique identification number and arbitrarily sets change of correlation data with the object via the reader/writer from the mobile information terminal.

16. The communication system according to claim 14, and further comprises two or more base stations and wherein the mobile information terminal detects and temporarily memorizes the position information of the mobile information terminal using said two or more base stations when communication with the reader/writer and the IC tag is possible, and displays the temporarily memorized position information when communication with the reader/writer and the IC tag becomes impossible.

17. The communication system according to claim 14, wherein the mobile information terminal includes a GPS function comprising a GPS satellite and base stations, and detects and temporarily memorizes the position information of the mobile information terminal by communicating with said GPS satellite via said base stations, and displays the temporarily memorized position information when communication with the reader/writer and the IC tag becomes impossible.

18. The communication system according to claim 17, wherein the mobile information terminal acquires the position information of the mobile information terminal by communicating with the GPS Satellite and the base stations whenever communication with the reader/writer and the IC tag is performed, overwrites and updates the acquired position information on the temporarily memorized position information.

19. A communication program applied to a communication system including an IC tag attached to an object, a reader/writer provided with a function for communicating with the IC tag for a predetermined time, and a mobile information terminal for carrying the reader/writer;

wherein the mobile information terminal comprises the processes of;

a communication control process for controlling communication with the reader/writer and the IC tag; and

a position information detection/memory process for detecting the position information of the mobile information terminal and temporarily memorizes the detected position information when communication with the reader/writer and the IC tag is possible,

wherein the mobile information terminal detects and temporarily memorizes the position information of the mobile information terminal when communication with the reader/writer and the IC tag is possible, comprises a first alarm emission function for emitting a first alarm when communication with the reader/writer and the IC tag becomes impossible, and displays the temporarily memorized position information, and comprises a second alarm emission function for emitting a second alarm when communication with the reader/writer and the IC tag becomes possible, said first alarm and said second alarm are different and are an alarm selected from the group consisting of sound, luminescence, vibration and screen information, or its combination, and wherein setting change being arbitrarily possible from the mobile information terminal.