Sheet, display medium unit, sheet attaching device, and sheet detaching device

• US 7,817,146 B2
• Filed: 08/18/2005
• Issued: 10/19/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 03/16/2005
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Fuji Xerox Company Limited (Xerox Holdings Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Fuji Xerox Company Limited (Xerox Holdings Corp.)
• Inventors: Hayashi, Naoki, Koshimizu, Minoru, Hotta, Hiroyuki, Ishii, Tsutomu, Watanabe, Masao, Saito, Yasunori, Mizutani, Ryota, Iida, Kiyoshi, Funo, Hiroyuki
• Primary Examiner(s): Awad; Amr
• Assistant Examiner(s): DAVIS, TONY O
• Application Number:
  US11/206,101
• Publication Number:
  US 20060209354A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,888 Days
• Field of Search: 358/406, 358/514, 345173-177, 345/163, 345/206, 345/107, 345/179
• US Class Current: 345/177
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/133305 Flexible substrates, e.g. plastics, organic film
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 2201/58 Arrangements comprising a monitoring photodetector
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/016 Input arrangements with force or tactile feedback as computer generated output to the user
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0346 with detection of the device orientation or free movement in a 3D space, e.g. 3D mice, 6-DOF [six degrees of freedom] pointers using gyroscopes, accelerometers or tilt-sensors

Abstract

The present invention provides a sheet with plural wireless measuring units, each of which, when a radio signal is sent, measures physical quantity surrounding itself by using the radio signal as an energy source, and generates and sends a radio signal having an attribute reflecting the measured physical quantity.

Claims

1. A sheet comprising:

a plurality of wireless measuring units, each of the plurality of wireless measuring units measuring at least one physical property of external environmental conditions surrounding the sheet, in response to receiving a first radio signal, wherein the plurality of wireless measuring units use the first radio signal as an energy source, and a frequency of the first radio signal is one of a plurality of frequencies, with each frequency activating the measurement of only one physical property of external environmental conditions surrounding the sheet, wherein the plurality of wireless measuring units generate and transmit a second radio signal comprising data indicating the at least one measured physical property, the sheet is used alongside an electronic paper, at least one physical property consists of at least one selected from the group consisting of temperature, pressure, light, and acceleration, the at least one physical property is measured by a propagation velocity of a surface acoustic wave, and the at least one physical property is displayed on said electronic paper.

12. A sheet according to claim 1, wherein the first radio signal is sent from an external transmitter, and the second radio signal is sent to an external receiver.

13. A sheet according to claim 1, further comprising a second sheet placed on the sheet, the second sheet having a plurality of measuring units that are a different type than a type of the measuring units of the sheet, the measuring units of the second sheet being positioned so as to not overlap with the measuring units of the sheet.

17. A sheet according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of wireless measuring units are arranged uniformly on the sheet.

2. A display medium unit comprising:

a sheet comprising a plurality of wireless measuring units, each of the plurality of wireless measuring units measuring at least one physical property of external environmental conditions surrounding the sheet, in response to receiving a first radio signal, and a sheet-like display medium which is laid on the sheet, wherein the plurality of wireless measuring units use the first radio signal as an energy source, and a frequency of the first radio signal is one of a plurality of frequencies, with each frequency activating the measurement of only one physical property of external environmental conditions surrounding the sheet, the sheet is used alongside an electronic paper, wherein the plurality of wireless measuring units generate and transmit a second radio signal comprising data indicating the at least one measured physical property, and the at least one physical property consists of at least one selected from the group consisting of temperature, pressure, light, and acceleration, the at least one physical property is measured by a propagation velocity of a surface acoustic wave, and the at least one physical property is displayed on said electronic paper.

3. A display medium unit comprising:

a sheet comprising a plurality of wireless measuring units, each of the plurality of wireless measuring units measuring at least one physical property of external environmental conditions surrounding the sheet, in response to receiving a first radio signal, and

a sheet-like display medium which is laid on the sheet,

wherein the plurality of wireless measuring units use the first radio signal as an energy source, and a frequency of the first radio signal can be one of a plurality of frequencies, with each frequency activating the measurement of one physical property of external environmental conditions surrounding the sheet,

the sheet is used alongside an electronic paper,

plurality of wireless measuring units generate and transmit a second radio signal comprising data indicating the at least one measured physical property,

the at least one physical property consists of at least one selected from the group consisting of temperature, pressure, light, and acceleration, and

the at least one physical property is measured by a propagation velocity of a surface acoustic wave.

4. A display medium unit according to claim 3, wherein the sheet is detachable from the display medium.

5. A display medium unit according to claim 3, wherein the display medium is an electronic paper.

14. A display medium unit of claim 3, further comprising a second sheet placed on the sheet, the second sheet having a plurality of measuring units that are a different type than a type of the measuring units of the sheet, the measuring units of the second sheet being positioned so as to not overlap with the measuring units of the sheet.

18. A display medium unit of claim 3, wherein the plurality of wireless measuring units are arranged uniformly on the sheet.

6. A sheet attaching device comprising:

a sheet housing unit which houses a plurality of sheets, each of the plurality of sheets comprising a plurality of wireless measuring units, each of the plurality of wireless measuring units measuring at least one physical property of external environmental conditions surrounding the sheet, in response to receiving a first radio signal;

a sheet feeder which feeds a sheet-like display medium; and

a sheet attaching unit which takes one or a plurality of sheets out of the sheet housing unit, and attaches the one or a plurality of sheets to a sheet-like display medium fed by the sheet feeder, wherein the plurality of wireless measuring units use the first radio signal as an energy source, the sheet is used alongside an electronic paper, the plurality of wireless measuring units generate and transmit a second radio signal comprising data indicating the at least one measured physical property, the at least one physical property consists of at least one selected from the group consisting of temperature, pressure, light, and acceleration, and the at least one physical property is measured by a propagation velocity of a surface acoustic wave, and the at least one physical property is displayed on said electronic paper.

7. A sheet attaching device comprising:

a sheet housing unit which houses a plurality of sheets, each of the plurality of sheets comprising a plurality of wireless measuring units, each of the plurality of wireless measuring units measuring at least one physical property of external environmental conditions surrounding the sheet, in response to receiving a first radio signal;

a sheet feeder which feeds a sheet-like display medium; and

a sheet attaching unit which takes one or a plurality of sheets out of the sheet housing unit, and attaches the one or a plurality of sheets to a sheet-like display medium fed by the sheet feeder,

wherein the plurality of wireless measuring units use the first radio signal as an energy source,

the sheet is used alongside an electronic paper,

the plurality of wireless measuring units generate and transmit a second radio signal comprising data indicating the at least one measured physical property,

the at least one physical property consists of at least one selected from the group consisting of temperature, pressure, light, and acceleration, and

the at least one physical property is measured by a propagation velocity of a surface acoustic wave.

8. A sheet attaching device according to claim 7, further comprising

a selector which selects a type of a sheet to be taken out of the sheet housing unit, and

wherein:

the sheet housing unit houses a plurality of types of sheets; and

the sheet attaching unit takes a sheet of a type selected by the selector out of the sheet housing unit, and attaches the sheet to a sheet-like display medium fed by the sheet feeder.

9. A sheet attaching device according to claim 7, further comprising:

a receiver which receives a radio signal sent from a wireless measuring unit attached to a sheet;

a sheet ID identifying unit which identifies a sheet ID of a sheet on the basis of a radio signal received by the receiver;

a display medium ID reader which reads an ID of a display medium; and

a transmitter which transmits a display medium ID read by the display medium ID reader and a sheet ID identified by the sheet ID identifying unit to a predetermined communication apparatus in association with each other.

15. A sheet attaching device of claim 7, further comprising a second sheet placed on the sheet, the second sheet having a plurality of measuring units that are a different type than a type of the measuring units of the sheet, the measuring units of the second sheet being positioned so as to not overlap with the measuring units of the sheet.

19. A sheet attaching device of claim 7, wherein the plurality of wireless measuring units are arranged uniformly on the sheet.

10. A sheet detaching device comprising:

a sheet detaching unit which detaches a sheet from a sheet-like display medium to which the sheet is attached, wherein the sheet comprises a plurality of wireless measuring units, each of the plurality of wireless measuring units measuring at least one physical property of external environmental conditions surrounding the sheet, in response to receiving a first radio signal, the sheet is used alongside an electronic paper, wherein the plurality of wireless measuring units use the first radio signal as an energy source, the plurality of wireless measuring units generate and transmit a second radio signal comprising data indicating the at least one measured physical property, and at least one physical property consists of at least one selected from the group consisting of temperature, pressure, light, and acceleration, and the at least one physical property is measured by a propagation velocity of a surface acoustic wave, and the at least one physical property is displayed on said electronic paper.

11. A sheet detaching device comprising:

a sheet detaching unit which detaches a sheet from a sheet-like display medium to which the sheet is attached,

wherein the sheet comprises a plurality of wireless measuring units, each of the plurality of wireless measuring units measuring at least one physical property of external environmental conditions surrounding the sheet, in response to receiving a first radio signal,

the sheet is used alongside an electronic paper,

plurality of wireless measuring units use the first radio signal as an energy source,

the plurality of wireless measuring units generate and transmit a second radio signal comprising data indicating the at least one measured physical property, and

the at least one physical property consists of at least one selected from the group consisting of temperature, pressure, light, and acceleration, and

the at least one physical property is measured by a propagation velocity of a surface acoustic wave.

16. A sheet detaching device of claim 11, further comprising a second sheet placed on the sheet, the second sheet having a plurality of measuring units that are a different type than a type of the measuring units of the sheet, the measuring units of the second sheet being positioned so as to not overlap with the measuring units of the sheet.

20. A sheet detaching device of claim 11, wherein the plurality of wireless measuring units are arranged uniformly on the sheet.