Media processing device, printing device and control method of a media processing device

• US 9,984,259 B2
• Filed: 08/30/2013
• Issued: 05/29/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 08/30/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation (Seiko Group)
• Original Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation (Seiko Group)
• Inventors: Koike, Toshiaki
• Primary Examiner(s): Wang, Quan-Zhen
• Assistant Examiner(s): Foxx, Chico A
• Application Number:
  US14/015,056
• Publication Number:
  US 20140062674A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,733 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 15/021 Adaptations for printing on specific media
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10009 sensing by radiation using wavelengths larger than 0.1 mm, e.g. radio-waves or microwaves
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32138 in an electronic device attached to the sheet, e.g. in an RFID tag

Abstract

When writing information to the IC tag of a medium, the control unit 54 of a printer 1 determines if a specific area in the storage space of the IC tag is in an initialized state, and writes to the IC tag if the IC tag is in the specific state.

Claims

1. A media processing device configured to process media having an Integrated Circuit (IC) tag, comprising:

a data read/write unit configured to communicate with the IC tag by radio signal; and

a controller configured to read a storage space of the IC tag and to perform a writing process to write information to the storage space by controlling the data read/write unit;

wherein,

the controller reads a storage space, to which a predetermined data is written when the writing process is performed, and then determines whether the predetermined data have been written to a predetermined area in the storage space;

when the controller determines that the predetermined data have not been previously written to the predetermined area, the controller performs the writing process with writing the predetermined data to the predetermined area,

when the controller determines that the predetermined data have been previously written to the predetermined area, the controller does not perform the writing process, and

when the controller determines that the predetermined data can be written to a second area based on determining that the second area and the predetermined area are within a reading and writing range of the data read/write unit, the controller communicates with the predetermined area and the second area, gets memory data of each area, references a NSI (Numbering System Identifier) in the memory data of each area, and determines whether the NSI of the predetermined area and the second area are initialized, the controller performing the writing process to an area of either the predetermined area or the second area with writing to its NSI,

wherein if the predetermined area has its NSI initialized and the second area does not have its NSI initialized, the controller performs the writing process to the predetermined area, or if the predetermined area does not have its NSI initialized and the second area has its NSI initialized, the controller performs the writing process to the second area, and the controller does not perform the writing process and provides a warning notification if the predetermined area has its NSI initialized and if the second area has its NSI initialized.

2. The media processing device described in claim 1, wherein the controller prevents writing of information to the IC tag in an event the controller determines data have been at least once previously written to the predetermined area in the storage space of the IC tag.

3. The media processing device described in claim 1, wherein

the data read/write unit broadcasts a radio signal and detects an IC tag that can communicate;

and

the controller determines a number of detected IC tags when the data read/write unit detects an IC tag that can communicate.

4. The media processing device described in claim 3, wherein

when the number of detected IC tags is 2 or more, the controller determines whether data have been previously written to a predetermined area of each of the detected IC tags, and, if the number of IC tags in which data have not been previously written to its predetermined area is 1, writes to the IC tag which has not had data previously written to its predetermined area.

5. The media processing device described in claim 3, wherein

when the number of detected IC tags is 2 or more, the controller prevents writing of information to the detected IC tags.

6. The media processing device described in claim 1, wherein

the media includes a plurality of IC tags disposed with an interval therebetween;

a conveyance unit is configured to convey the media; and

the data read/write unit is configured to write to the IC tag conveyed to a data read/write position by the conveyance unit.

9. The media processing device described in claim 1, wherein the IC tag which has not had data previously written to its predetermined area, is referred to IC tag in which all bits in the predetermined area is 0.

7. A control method of a media processing device comprising a data read/write unit, the method comprising:

conveying an Integrated Circuit (IC) tag disposed to media to a data read/write position;

reading a storage space of the IC tag, then determining whether data have been previously written to a predetermined area in the storage space, after the IC tag is conveyed to the data read/write position corresponding to a location of the read/write unit;

detecting a number of IC tags, then determining the number of IC tags after the IC tag is conveyed to the data read/write position;

in an event data have been previously written to the predetermined area, or in an event the number of the IC tags having an NSI (Numbering System Identifier) in an initialized state is more than 1, providing a warning notification and preventing the data from being written to the predetermined area and to the IC tags; and

in an event data have not been previously written to the predetermined area and the number of IC tags is 1, writing information to the IC tag.

8. A media processing device configured to process media having an Integrated Circuit (IC) tag, comprising:

a data read/write unit configured to communicate with the IC tag by radio signal, and

a controller configured to read a storage space of the IC tag and to perform a writing process to write information to the storage space, by controlling the data read/write unit;

wherein,

the controller controls the data read/write unit to read a predetermined area in the storage space, to which predetermined data is written when the writing process is performed, determines whether the predetermined data have been written to the predetermined area, and controls the data read/write unit to identify a number of detected IC tags,

when the controller determines that the predetermined data have not been written to the predetermined area or the number of detected IC tags having an NSI (Numbering System Identifier) in an initialized state is more than 1, the controller provides a warning notification and does not perform the writing process, and

when the controller determines that the predetermined data have not been written to the predetermined area and the number of detected IC tags is 1, the controller performs the writing process.