RFID system and RFID tag

• US 8,274,367 B2
• Filed: 02/29/2008
• Issued: 09/25/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 03/08/2007
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Original Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Inventors: Maeda, Tomohiko, Sato, Kazuo, Muraoka, Yoshitaka, Fuchida, Hidehiko, Saito, Shuko
• Primary Examiner(s): Bugg, George
• Assistant Examiner(s): OBINIYI, PAULSON IDOWU
• Application Number:
  US12/074,057
• Publication Number:
  US 20080218349A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,670 Days
• Field of Search: 340 101- 106, 3405721-5729, 235375-385
• US Class Current: 340/10.1
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/4183 characterised by data acquisition, e.g. workpiece identification
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/31296 Identification, pallet object data and program code for station
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/31322 Work still to be done on workpiece
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 90/02 Total factory control, e.g. smart factories, flexible manufacturing systems [FMS] or integrated manufacturing systems [IMS]

Abstract

In an RFID system comprising a detection unit for detecting an RFID tag and a control unit for exercising the control concerning the RFID tag, a determination unit determines whether to access a second area of an RFID tag comprising storage area, comprising of a first area for storing ID information and the second area for storing command information. An extraction unit extracts command information from the second area when it is determined to access the second area. An execution unit performs a process corresponding to the command information extracted by the extraction unit.

Claims

1. An RFID system provided with a plurality of processes, the system comprising:

an antenna unit to detect a electro-magnetic wave transmitted by an RFID tag and read and write to a storage area of the RFID tag, the storage area including a first area to store ID information and a second area to store process identification information and command information corresponding to the process identification information; and

a control unit including,

a determination unit to determine whether or not the process identification information coincides with a number of its own process;

an extraction unit to extract the command information corresponding to the process identification information from the second area when the determination unit determines that the process identification information coincides with the number of its own process;

an execution unit to execute a process corresponding to the command information extracted by the extraction unit; and

a writing unit to write a return value obtained by executing the process corresponding to the command information into the storage area of the RFID tag,

wherein the writing unit writes the return value obtained by executing a process corresponding to a first command information extracted by the extraction unit in a first process of the plurality of processes into the storage area of the RFID tag, and

the return value is read from the storage area of the RFID tag by the antenna unit in a second process after the first process and is used as a parameter for a process corresponding to second command information extracted by the extraction unit in the second process.

2. The RFID system according to claim 1, wherein

the extraction unit refers to result information corresponded to the command information and the process identification information stored in the storage area and extracts command information corresponding to the process identification information indicating a process that is not performed yet.

3. The RFID system according to claim 2, wherein the command information is comprised of a command indicating a process concerning a manufacturing process and a test process of a first article on a production line and parameter data used when executing the command.

4. The RFID system according to claim 3, further comprising;

a database to store the first article and version number information of the first article for each group of the first article corresponding to position information indicating a place where the first article is classified and stored, wherein when an RFID tag attached to a second article classifying and storing the first article is detected, the control unit performs a process for reflecting the first article, the version number information and the position information of the first article stored in the RFID tag attached to the second article to the database, and

when the RFID tag attached to the first article is detected, the extraction unit extracts command information indicating a process of reading the version number information from the database and writing the version number information into said RFID tag from the storage area of the RFID tag attached to the first article.

5. The RFID system according to claim 3, wherein when the antenna unit detects the RFID tag, the control unit sequentially performs processes to be subsequently performed using return values previously obtained by executing a command, according to commands of a computation process for obtaining data for test, a test and an analysis process of a test result.

6. The RFID system according to claim 3, wherein when the antenna unit detects the RFID tag, the control unit performs a process for issuing a production instruction to a later process by a just-in-time system.

7. The RFID system according to claim 1, wherein the control unit refers to a flag held by the RFID system and determines whether to perform a process on the basis of command information described in the storage area of the RFID tag.

8. A control method in an RFID system provided with a plurality of processes, the method comprising

detecting an RFID tag, the RFID tag including a storage area, the storage area including a first area to store ID information and a second area to store process identification information and command information corresponding to the process identification information;

determining whether or not the process identification information coincides with a number of its own process;

extracting command information corresponding to the process identification information from the second area when the determining determines that the process identification information coincides with the number of its own process;

executing a process corresponding to the command information extracted by the extracting;

writing a return value obtained by the executing the process corresponding to the command information into the storage area of the RFID tag, wherein the writing writes the return value obtained by executing a process corresponding to a first command information extracted by the extraction unit in a first process of the plurality of processes into the storage area of the RFID tag; and

reading, from the storage area in a second process after the first process, the return value to be used as a parameter for a process corresponding to second command information extracted by the extraction unit in the second process.

9. An RFID tag used in an RFID system provided with a plurality of processes, the RFID tag comprising

a storage area including a first area to store ID information and a second area to store process identification information and command information corresponding to the process identification information, wherein

the RFID tag transmit a electro-magnetic wave which is detected by an antenna unit included in the RFID system, the antenna unit reading and writing the storage area of the RFID tag;

wherein

the process identification information is used to determine whether or not the process identification information coincides with a number of its own process by a determination unit included in the RFID system, wherein

a process corresponding to the command information is executed by an execution unit included in the RFID system when the determination indicates that the process identification information coincides with the number of its own process, and wherein

a return value obtained by executing a process corresponding to a first command information in a first process of the plurality of processes, the return value is written into the storage area of the RFID tag by a writing unit included in the RFID system, and

the return value is read from the storage area by the antenna unit in a second process after the first process and is used as a parameter for a process corresponding to second command information in the second process.