Reader/writer and data communication method

• US 7,940,161 B2
• Filed: 10/31/2006
• Issued: 05/10/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 06/30/2006
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Original Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Inventors: Tanaka, Yoshinori
• Primary Examiner(s): Lee; Benjamin C
• Assistant Examiner(s): EUSTAQUIO, CAL J
• Application Number:
  US11/589,935
• Publication Number:
  US 20080001721A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,652 Days
• Field of Search: 340/10.1, 340/10.31
• US Class Current: 340/10.2
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/0008 General problems related to the reading of electronic memory record carriers, independent of its reading method, e.g. power transfer
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10039 interrogator driven, i.e. synchronous

Abstract

A reader/writer transmitting and receiving data, through wireless communications, to and from a passive type wireless tag having a nonvolatile storage unit, includes a tag selection unit selecting a target wireless tag performing the wireless communications with the reader/writer, a data transmitting/receiving unit executing data transmission/reception between the selected target wireless tag and the reader/writer, and a time information writing unit writing, when completing the data transmission/reception by the data transmitting/receiving unit, the time information on completion time of the data transmission/reception to the nonvolatile storage unit, wherein the tag selection unit selects the target wireless tag from within one or the plurality of wireless tags on the basis of the time information already written by the time information writing unit through the previous data communications with the reader/writer.

Claims

1. A reader and writer configured to transmit and receive data, by wireless communications, to and from a wireless tag having a storage unit, said reader and writer comprising:

a control unit configured;

to execute data transmission or data reception between said reader and writer and a wireless tag;

to transmit completion time information indicating completion time of said data transmission or said data reception to said wireless tag, said completion time information being stored in said storage unit; and

to transmit a tag selection command including time information that is used by said wireless tag to judge whether said wireless tag is selected or not by comparing said stored time information and said completion time information.

2. A reader and writer according to claim 1, wherein the wireless tag further includes a temporary storage unit enabled to temporarily store the data by its being supplied with electric power from the reader and writer, and

the control unit is adapted to transmit, when completing data transmission/reception by the reader and writer, a completion flag representing completion of the data transmission/reception to the temporary storage unit provided in the target wireless tag.

3. A reader and writer according to claim 2, wherein the reader and writer is adapted to estimate time required for the data transmission/reception in accordance with the content of the data transmission/reception executed by a data transmitting/receiving unit of the reader and writer, so as to select the target wireless tag on the basis of the completion time information written when the estimated time is equal to or longer than a predetermined period of time, and so as to select the target wireless tag on the basis of the completion flag written when the estimated time is less than the predetermined period of time.

4. A reader and writer according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the selection of the target wireless tag, the data transmission/reception and the writing of the completion time information in the wireless tag are sequentially conducted for every single wireless tag.

5. A reader and writer according to claim 1, wherein the wireless tag comprises a time information writing unit adapted to write, to the storage unit, the completion time information on the data transmission/reception in the data communications a plurality of times, and

the reader and writer comprises a tag selection unit adapted to select the target wireless tag from within one or the plurality of wireless tags on the basis of a history of plural pieces of completion time information written by the time information writing unit.

6. A data communication method for radio communications between a reader and writer and a wireless tag having a storage unit, said data communication method comprising:

executing data transmission or data reception between said reader and writer and a wireless tag;

transmitting completion time information indicating completion time of said data transmission or said data reception from said reader and writer to said wireless tag, said completion time information being stored in said storage unit; and

transmitting, from said reader and writer to said wireless tag, a tag selection command including time information that is used by said wireless tag to judge whether said wireless tag is selected or not by comparing said stored time information and said completion time information.

7. A data communication method according to claim 6, wherein the wireless tag further includes a temporary storage unit enabled to temporarily store the data by its being supplied with electric power from the reader and writer,

the data communication method further comprises a completion flag writing step of writing, when completing the data transmission/reception in the data transmitting/receiving step, a completion flag representing completion of the data transmission/reception to the temporary storage unit provided in the target wireless tag.

8. A data communication method according to claim 7, wherein the tag selection step includes estimating time required for the data transmission/reception in accordance with the content of the data transmission/reception executed in the data transmitting/receiving step, selects the target wireless tag on the basis of the completion time information written when the estimated time is equal to or longer than a predetermined period of time, and selects the target wireless tag on the basis of the completion flag written when the estimated time is less than the predetermined period of time.

9. A data communication method according to claim 6 or 7, wherein the selection of the target wireless tag, the data transmission/reception and the writing of the completion time information are sequentially conducted for every single wireless tag.

10. A data communication method according to claim 6 or 7, further comprising a time information writing step includes writing, to the storage unit, the completion time information on the data transmission/reception in the data communications a plurality of times with the reader and writer, and

the tag selection step includes selecting the target wireless tag from within one or the plurality of wireless tags on the basis of a history of plural pieces of completion time information written in the time information writing step.