Non-contact IC medium communication device

• US 8,456,281 B2
• Filed: 12/03/2008
• Issued: 06/04/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 12/04/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Omron Corporation
• Original Assignee: Omron Corporation
• Inventors: Nogami, Hidekatsu
• Primary Examiner(s): Mehmood, Jennifer
• Assistant Examiner(s): GIRMA, FEKADESELASS
• Application Number:
  US12/675,371
• Publication Number:
  US 20100245047A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,644 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 340/10.1
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 3/14 Systems for determining direction or deviation from predetermined direction aerial arrangements for changing or varying the orientation or the shape of the directional pattern H01Q3/00; combinations of different interacting aerial units for giving a desired directional characteristic H01Q21/29; aerials or aerial systems providing at least two radiation patterns H01Q25/00

Abstract

The present invention provides a non-contact IC medium communication device (1) capable of detecting a non-contact IC medium (25) in a desired area with a simple configuration, by obtaining, from each of separate read areas, identification information of the non-contact IC medium that exists within the read area and a signal level of a reception signal received from the non-contact IC medium, the identification information and the signal level being associated with each other, performing difference operation or division with respect to respective signal levels of reception signals from the separate read areas, for each of the identification information, to obtain a composite signal level, and extracting the identification information whose composite signal level falls within a predetermined threshold range. The present invention further provides a method thereof, a program thereof, and a computer-readable storage medium storing the program.

Claims

1. A non-contact IC medium communication device comprising:

a single antenna for obtaining, from each of separate read areas, identification information of a non-contact IC medium that exists within the read area and a signal level of a reception signal received from the non-contact IC medium, the identification information and the signal level being associated with each other;

a control section for performing difference operation or division with respect to respective signal levels of reception signals from the separate read areas, for each of the identification information, to obtain a composite signal level, and for extracting the identification information whose composite signal level falls within a predetermined threshold range,

wherein one of the separate read areas extends to a first side of a target area and another of the separate read areas extends to a second side of the target area;

wherein the single antenna is configured to sense different ones of the separate read areas by shifting its directional orientation;

wherein the read area is further provided in a center area which has the target area at a center thereof, and

wherein the control section;

performs difference operation or division with respect to the signal level of the reception signal in one of the read areas on the both sides of the target area and the signal level of the reception signal in the center area to obtain a first composite signal level,

performs difference operation or division with respect to the signal level of the reception signal in the other of the read areas on the both sides of the target area and the signal level of the reception signal in the center area to obtain a second composite signal level, and

performs difference operation or division with respect to the first and second composite signal levels to obtain a composite signal level.

2. A method of non-contact IC medium communication, comprising the steps of:

using a single antenna to obtain, from each of separate read areas, identification information of a non-contact IC medium that exists within the read area and a signal level of a reception signal received from the non-contact IC medium, the identification information and the signal level being associated with each other, wherein one of the read areas is further provided in a center area which has the target area at a center thereof;

performing difference operation or division with respect to respective signal levels of reception signals from the separate read areas, for each of the identification information, to obtain a composite signal level;

extracting the identification information whose composite signal level falls within a predetermined threshold range;

performing a difference operation or division with respect to the signal level of the reception signal in one of the read areas on the both sides of the target area and the signal level of the reception signal in the center area to obtain a first composite signal level,

performing a difference operation or division with respect to the signal level of the reception signal in the other of the read areas on the both sides of the target area and the signal level of the reception signal in the center area to obtain a second composite signal level, and

performing a difference operation or division with respect to the first and second composite signal levels to obtain a composite signal level,

wherein one of the separate read areas extends to a first side of a target area and another of the separate read areas extends to a second side of the target area; and

wherein the single antenna senses different ones of the separate read areas by shifting its directional orientation.

3. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a non-contact IC medium communication program for causing a computer to perform:

a receiving process of using a single antenna to obtain, from each of separate read areas, identification information of a non-contact IC medium that exists within the read area and a signal level of a reception signal received from the non-contact IC medium, the identification information and the signal level being associated with each other, wherein one of the read areas is further provided in a center area which has the target area at a center thereof;

an operating process of performing difference operation or division with respect to respective signal levels of reception signals from the separate read areas, for each of the identification information, to obtain a composite signal level;

an extracting process of extracting the identification information whose composite signal level falls within a predetermined threshold range,

a difference operation or division operation with respect to the signal level of the reception signal in one of the read areas on the both sides of the target area and the signal level of the reception signal in the center area to obtain a first composite signal level,

a difference operation or division operation with respect to the signal level of the reception signal in the other of the read areas on the both sides of the target area and the signal level of the reception signal in the center area to obtain a second composite signal level, and

a difference operation or division operation with respect to the first and second composite signal levels to obtain a composite signal level,

wherein one of the separate read areas extends to a first side of a target area and another of the separate read areas extends to a second side of the target area; and

wherein the receiving process uses the single antenna to sense different ones of the separate read areas by shifting the directional orientation of the single antenna.