Wireless tag determination method, wireless tag determination system, reader control device, and storage medium

• US 7,812,727 B2
• Filed: 06/11/2008
• Issued: 10/12/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 07/31/2007
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Original Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Inventors: Fukui, Masayuki, Matsumoto, Tatsuro, Hara, Masahiro, Sasaki, Kazuo, Takahashi, Eiichi, Yano, Ai, Iwayama, Yutaka
• Primary Examiner(s): TWEEL JR, JOHN ALEXANDER
• Application Number:
  US12/137,168
• Publication Number:
  US 20090036060A1
• Time in Patent Office: 853 Days
• Field of Search: 340/572.1, 340/572.4, 340/572.8, 340/10.1, 340/5.61, 382/181
• US Class Current: 340/572.1
• 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 7/10435 the interrogation device being positioned close to a conveyor belt or the like on which moving record carriers are passing conveying in accordance with bodily destination marks, see B65G47/46, sorting of objects carrying identity markings, see B07C5/34

Abstract

A system and method for determining a failed wireless tag includes capturing images of articles having wireless tags, recognizing an image including wireless tags from among captured images calculating a number of wireless tags and distance information from the reader to each wireless tag based on the recognized image including wireless tags; changing a read range of the reader based on a location wireless tag having a predetermined distance information from the reader; and changing the read range of the reader when a number of wireless tags read by the reader and a number of wireless tags calculated do not match and determining a failed wireless tag based on the changed read range and distance information calculated.

Claims

1. A method of determining a failed wireless tag by a reader control device controlling a reader that transmits/receives information to/from wireless tags, comprising:

capturing images of articles having wireless tags by an imaging device;

performing a recognition of an image including wireless tags from among images captured and calculating a number of wireless tags and distance information from the reader to each wireless tag based on the recognized image including wireless tags;

changing a read range of the reader based on a location wireless tag having a predetermined distance information from the reader;

determining a failed wireless tag that is not read by the reader based on the changed read range and the distance information calculated, and

wherein said changing of the read range of the reader is executed when a number of wireless tags read by the reader and the number of wireless tags calculated do not match.

2. A system for determining a failed wireless tag, the determination system comprising:

a reader which reads wireless tags;

a reader control device which controls the reader; and

an imaging device which images wireless tags;

wherein the imaging device comprises;

an image capturing part capturing images of articles having wireless tags; and

an output part outputting the images captured by the image capturing part to the reader control device, and

wherein the reader control device comprises;

a calculation part recognizing an image including wireless tags from among images output from the imaging device and calculating a number of wireless tags and distance information from the reader to each wireless tag based on the recognized image including wireless tags;

a change part changing a read range of the reader based on a location wireless tag having a predetermined distance information from the reader; and

a determination part changing the read range of the reader by the change part when a number of wireless tags read by the reader and the number of wireless tags calculated by the calculation part do not match and determining a wireless tag that failed in a reading by the reader based on the changed read range and distance information calculated by the calculation part.

3. A reader control device for controlling a reader that transmits/receives information to/from wireless tags, the reader control device comprising:

an image capturing part capturing images of articles having wireless tags;

a calculation part recognizing an image including wireless tags from among images captured by the image capturing part and calculating a number of wireless tags and distance information from the reader to each wireless tag based on the recognized image including wireless tags;

a change part changing a read range of the reader based on a location wireless tag having a predetermined distance information from the reader; and

a determination part changing the read range of the reader by the change part when a number of wireless tags read by the reader and the number of wireless tags calculated by the calculation part do not match and determining a wireless tag that failed in a reading by the reader based on the changed read range and distance information calculated by the calculation part.

4. The reader control device according to claim 3,

wherein the determination part causes the change part to decrease or increase the read range of the reader when the number of wireless tags read by the reader and the number of wireless tags calculated by the calculation part do not match, and determines a wireless tag that failed in a reading by the reader by comparing a number of wireless tags belonging to the decreased or increased read range and distance information corresponding to the read range and the number of wireless tags calculated by the calculation part corresponding to the distance information.

5. The reader control device according to claim 3,

wherein the determination part causes the change part to decrease or increase the read range of the reader based on a divide and rule method when the number of wireless tags read by the reader and the number of wireless tags calculated by the calculation part do not match, and determines a wireless tag that failed in a reading by the reader by comparing a number of wireless tags belonging to the decreased or increased read range and distance information corresponding to the read range and the number of wireless tags calculated by the calculation part corresponding to the distance information.

6. The reader control device according to claim 3, comprising:

an output part outputting information for identifying the wireless tag determined by the determination part.

7. The reader control device according to claim 6,

wherein the output part outputs image information for identifying the wireless tag with a pixel area corresponding to distance information calculated by the calculation part and related to the wireless tag determined by the determination part.

8. The reader control device according to claim 6, comprising:

an irradiation control part controlling an irradiation position of an irradiation part that irradiates a position according to distance information from the reader with light, and

wherein the output part outputs distance information calculated by the calculation part and related to the wireless tag determined by the determination part to the irradiation control part, and

wherein the irradiation control part controls the irradiation part to the irradiation position corresponding to the output distance information.

9. The reader control device according to claim 3, comprising:

a storage part storing distance information from the reader for each location wireless tag.

10. A reader control device for controlling a plurality of readers that transmit/receive information to/from wireless tags, the reader control device comprising:

an image capturing part capturing images of articles having wireless tags;

a calculation part recognizing an image including wireless tags from among images captured by the image capturing part and calculating a number of wireless tags and distance information from a first reader to each wireless tag based on the recognized image including wireless tags;

a change part changing a read range of the readers based on a location wireless tag having a predetermined distance information from the readers;

a reading part reading an identifier assigned uniquely to each wireless tag by said first reader and a second reader after the read range is changed by the change part; and

a determination part determining a failed wireless tag when an identical identifier cannot be read by the reading part from said first reader and said second reader.

11. The reader control device according to claim 10, wherein the determination part causes the change part to increase a read range of the reader by a predetermined range when an identical identifier cannot be read from said first reader and said second reader, and determines a wireless tag is a failed wireless tag when an identical identifier cannot be read by the reading part from said first reader and said second reader.

12. The reader control device according to claim 10, wherein the calculation part calculates the number of wireless tags and distance information of each wireless tag from the reader, by recognizing an image of each wireless tag or an image of a label including each wireless tag captured by the image capturing part.

13. The reader control device according to claim 10, wherein the image capturing part captures images of a plurality of aligned articles having wireless tags and

wherein the change part changes the read range of the reader based on a plurality of aligned location wireless tags having a predetermined distance information from the readers.

14. The reader control device according to claim 10, wherein the image capturing part captures images of a plurality of articles having wireless tags, the articles which are dispersed on a plane, and

wherein the change part changes the read range of the reader based on a plurality of location wireless tags dispersed on a plane and having a predetermined distance information from the readers.

15. A reader control device for controlling a plurality of readers that transmit/receive information to/from wireless tags, the reader control device comprising:

an image capturing part capturing images of articles having wireless tags and images of the plurality of readers;

a calculation part recognizing an image including a wireless tag and the plurality of readers from among images captured by the image capturing part and calculating an angle formed by the wireless tag, a first reader, and a second reader and an angle formed by the wireless tag, the first reader, and the second reader;

a change part changing reading angles of said first reader and said second reader based on the angles calculated by the calculation part;

a reading part reading an identifier assigned uniquely to each wireless tag by said first reader and said second reader after the reading angles are changed by the change part; and

a determination part determining the wireless tag to be a failed wireless tag when an identical identifier cannot be read by the reading part from said first reader and said second reader.

16. The reader control device according to claim 15, comprising:

a reader control part controlling an emission angle of a beam of the readers.

17. A computer-readable storage medium storing a program for determining a failed wireless tag by a reader control device for controlling a reader that transmits/receives information to/from wireless tags, the program causing the reader control device to execute operations comprising,

capturing images of articles having wireless tags;

recognizing an image including wireless tags by a controller of the reader control device from among images captured and calculating a number of wireless tags and distance information from the reader to each wireless tag based on the recognized image including wireless tags;

changing a read range of the reader by the controller based on a location wireless tag for identification having a predetermined distance information from the reader, and

wherein said changing of the read range of the reader is executed when a number of wireless tags read by the reader and the number of wireless tags calculated do not match and a wireless tag that failed in a reading by the reader is determined based on the read range after said changing by the controller and distance information calculated.