Product management system

• US 8,237,569 B2
• Filed: 04/06/2005
• Issued: 08/07/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 04/09/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.
• Inventors: Arai, Yasuyuki, Akiba, Mai, Tachimura, Yuko, Kanno, Yohei
• Primary Examiner(s): Bugg, George
• Assistant Examiner(s): WANG, JACK K
• Application Number:
  US10/594,308
• Publication Number:
  US 20080224831A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,680 Days
• Field of Search: 340/572.7, 340/539.3, 455/41.2, 257/72
• US Class Current: 340/572.7
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 17/00 Methods or arrangements for effecting co-operative working between equipments covered by two or more of main groups G06K1/00 - G06K15/00, e.g. automatic card files incorporating conveying and reading operations
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/07758 arrangements for adhering the record carrier to further objects or living beings, functioning as an identification tag
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10178 including auxiliary means for focusing, repeating or boosting the electromagnetic interrogation field comparable booster antennas integrated on the record carrier itself G06K19/07794
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 5/22 Capacitive coupling
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 5/26 using coils
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 5/77 for interrogation

Abstract

When a product attached with an ID tag is placed inside a package body, there is a risk that communication with an ID tag using a reader/writer is blocked. Then, it is difficult to manage products in a distribution process of products, which leads to lose convenience of ID tags. One feature of the present invention is a product management system that includes a package body for packing a product attached with an ID tag, and a reader/writer. The ID tag includes a thin film integrated circuit portion and an antenna, the package body includes a resonance circuit portion having an antenna coil and a capacitor, and the resonance circuit portion can communicate with the reader/writer and the ID tag. Accordingly, the stability of communication between an ID tag attached to a product and an R/W can be secured, and management of products can be conducted simply and efficiently, even if a product is packed by a package body.

Claims

1. A product management system comprising:

a first resonance circuit;

a second resonance circuit; and

a reader/writer for at least one of reading information stored in a semiconductor device and writing information in the semiconductor device,

wherein the first resonance circuit comprises a first antenna coil and a first capacitor,

wherein the second resonance circuit comprises a second antenna coil and a second capacitor,

wherein a first packing material for packing a product is provided with the first resonance circuit,

wherein a second packing material for packing the first packing material is provided with the second resonance circuit,

wherein the product is provided with the semiconductor device,

wherein the second resonance circuit can communicate with the reader/writer and the first resonance circuit, and

wherein the first resonance circuit can communicate with the second resonance circuit and the semiconductor device.

2. The product management system according to claim 1, wherein a communication method between the reader/writer and the first resonance circuit, a communication method between the first resonance circuit and the second resonance circuit, and a communication method between the second resonance circuit and the semiconductor device are identical to each other.

3. The product management system according to claim 2, wherein the communication method is an electromagnetic induction method.

4. The product management system according to claim 1, wherein a communication method between the reader/writer and the second resonance circuit is different from a communication method between the first resonance circuit and the semiconductor device.

5. The product management system according to claim 4, wherein the communication method between the reader/writer and the second resonance circuit is any one of an electromagnetic induction method and a microwave method.

8. The product management system according to claim 1 or 6, wherein the semiconductor device is selected from the group of an ID tag, an ID chip, an ID label, an ID seal and an ID sticker.

20. The product management system according to claim 1, wherein the second packing material is a transport vehicle.

23. The product management system according to claim 1,

wherein the first resonance circuit consists of the first antenna coil and the first capacitor, and

wherein the second resonance circuit consists of the second antenna coil and the second capacitor.

6. A product management system comprising:

a first resonance circuit;

a second resonance circuit; and

a reader/writer for at least one of reading information stored in a semiconductor device and writing information in the semiconductor device,

wherein the first resonance circuit comprises a first antenna coil and a first capacitor,

wherein the second resonance circuit comprises a second antenna coil and a second capacitor,

wherein a first packing material for packing a product is provided with the first resonance circuit,

wherein a second packing material for packing the first packing material is provided with the second resonance circuit,

wherein the product is provided with the semiconductor device,

wherein the second resonance circuit can communicate with the reader/writer and the first resonance circuit,

wherein the first resonance circuit can communicate with the second resonance circuit and the semiconductor device; and

wherein a communication range between the reader/writer and the second resonance circuit is longer than a communication range between the first resonance circuit and the semiconductor device.

7. The product management system according to claim 6, wherein a communication method between the reader/writer and the second resonance circuit is any one of an electromagnetic induction method and a microwave method.

21. The product management system according to claim 6, wherein the second packing material is a transport vehicle.

24. The product management system according to claim 6,

wherein the first resonance circuit consists of the first antenna coil and the first capacitor, and

wherein the second resonance circuit consists of the second antenna coil and the second capacitor.

9. A method comprising:

sending a first signal comprising first information, and a first electric power from a reader/writer to a resonance circuit, wherein the resonance circuit comprises an antenna coil and a capacitor;

sending a second signal comprising the first information, and a second electric power from the resonance circuit to a semiconductor device in response to a receipt of the first signal and the first electric power, wherein said semiconductor device comprises a thin film transistor, and an antenna;

sending a third signal comprising second information from said semiconductor device to the resonance circuit in response to a receipt of the second signal and the second electric power by the semiconductor device,

sending a fourth signal comprising said second information from the resonance circuit to the reader/writer,

wherein the semiconductor device is attached to a product, the product is contained in a packing material, the resonance circuit is attached to the packing material and the reader/writer is disposed outside of the packing material.

18. The method according to claim 9, wherein the resonance circuit further comprises any one of a battery, a CPU and a memory.

25. The method according to claim 9,

wherein the resonance circuit consists of the antenna coil and the capacitor.

10. A method comprising:

sending a first signal comprising first information, and a first electric power from a reader/writer to a first resonance circuit, wherein the first resonance circuit comprises a first antenna coil and a first capacitor;

sending a second signal comprising the first information, and a second electric power from the first resonance circuit to a second resonance circuit in response to a receipt of the first signal and the first electric power, wherein the second resonance circuit comprises a second antenna coil and a second capacitor;

sending a third signal comprising the first information, and a third electric power from the second resonance circuit to a semiconductor device in response to a receipt of the second signal and the second electric power, wherein said semiconductor device comprises a thin film transistor, and an antenna;

sending a fourth signal comprising second information from said semiconductor device to the second resonance circuit in response to a receipt of the third signal and the third electric power by the semiconductor device,

sending a fifth signal comprising said second information from the second resonance circuit to the first resonance circuit,

sending a sixth signal comprising said second information from the first resonance circuit to the reader/writer,

wherein the semiconductor device is attached to a product, the product is contained in a second packing material, the second resonance circuit is attached to the second packing material, the second packing material is contained in a first packing material, the first resonance circuit is attached to the first packing material, and the reader/writer is disposed outside of the first packing material.

11. The method according to claim 9 or 10, wherein the semiconductor device is selected from the group of an ID tag, an ID chip, an ID label, an ID seal and an ID sticker.

12. The method according to claim 10, wherein the first packing material is selected from the group of a suitcase, a corrugated fiberboard, a container and a transporting vehicle.

22. The method according to claim 10, wherein the first packing material is a transport vehicle.

26. The method according to claim 10,

wherein the first resonance circuit consists of the first antenna coil and the first capacitor, and

wherein the second resonance circuit consists of the second antenna coil and the second capacitor.

13. A product management system comprising:

a semiconductor device;

a resonance circuit; and

a reader/writer for at least one of reading information stored in the semiconductor device and writing information in the semiconductor device,

wherein the resonance circuit comprises an antenna coil and a capacitor,

wherein a packing material for packing a product is provided with the resonance circuit,

wherein the product is provided with the semiconductor device,

wherein the semiconductor device comprises a thin film transistor, and an antenna, and

wherein the resonance circuit can communicate with the reader/writer and the semiconductor device.

14. The product management system according to claim 13, wherein a communication method between the reader/writer and the resonance circuit is identical to a communication method between the resonance circuit and the semiconductor device.

15. The product management system according to claim 14, wherein the communication method is an electromagnetic induction method.

16. The product management system according to claim 13, wherein a communication method between the reader/writer and the resonance circuit is different from a communication method between the resonance circuit and the semiconductor device.

17. The product management system according to claim 16, wherein the communication method between the reader/writer and the resonance circuit is any one of an electromagnetic induction method and a microwave method.

19. The product management system according to claim 13, wherein the resonance circuit further comprises any one of a battery, a CPU and a memory.

27. The product management system according to claim 13,

wherein the resonance circuit consists of the antenna coil and the capacitor.