RF tag reader and writer

• US 8,576,052 B2
• Filed: 09/08/2010
• Issued: 11/05/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 09/15/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toshiba Tec Corporation (Toshiba Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toshiba Tec Corporation (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: Sano, Kouichi
• Primary Examiner(s): Lee, Benjamin C
• Assistant Examiner(s): Foxx, Chico A
• Application Number:
  US12/877,255
• Publication Number:
  US 20110063092A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,154 Days
• Field of Search: 340/10.1, 340/572.8, 340/572.1, 340/10.52, 340/572.3, 340/5.92, 340/10.2, 340/10.34, 340/10.51, 235/385, 235/375, 235/435
• US Class Current: 340/10.51
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10346 the antenna being of the far field type, e.g. HF types or dipoles

Abstract

The present invention relates to an RF tag reader and writer including: a communication unit which communicates with an RF tag as a target from which information is obtained and obtains the information held in the RF tag; and a communication stability determination unit which determines that stable communication with a specific RF tag is being established when the same information is obtained over a predetermined plural number of times from the RF tag communicating with the communication unit.

Claims

1. A radio frequency (RF) tag reader and writer comprising:

a communication unit configured to communicate with an RF tag as a target from which first information is obtained and obtain the first information held in the RF tag wherein the communication unit comprises a response requesting unit configured to send a response request command to the RF tag over a plural number of times;

a response obtaining unit configured to obtain a response sent from the RF tag in response to the response request command;

a tag information requesting unit configured to send a tag information request command, which requests a sending of the first information held in the RF tag, to the RF tag in response to the response obtaining unit obtaining the response within a predetermined time after the response requesting unit sends the response request command; and

a tag information obtaining unit configured to obtain the first information, which is sent by the RF tag in response to the tag information request command;

a communication stability determination unit configured to determine that stable communication with the RF tag is being established in response to a determination that a same set of first information is obtained over a predetermined plural number of times from the RF tag communicating with the communication unit;

a tag writing unit configured to write data to the RF tag in response to a determination by the communication stability determination unit that stable communication with the RF tag is being established; and

an output adjusting unit configured to set a transmission output of radio waves for a data writing to the RF tag by the tag writing unit to be greater than a transmission output of radio waves for the response request command by the response requesting unit with respect to the RF tag.

2. The RF tag reader and writer according to claim 1,

wherein the RF tag reader and writer is further configured to communicate with the RF tag in a slot ALOHA method, and

wherein the RF tag reader and writer further comprises a slot number setting unit capable of changing a setting of a slot number in the slot ALOHA method based on an operation input.

3. The RF tag reader and writer according to claim 1, further comprising:

an output changing unit configured to change a transmission output of radio waves based on output information, which is set in advance, regarding the transmission output of radio waves for communication between the communication unit and the RF tag,

wherein the communication stability determination unit determines whether stable communication with the RF tag is being established in response to the output changing unit changing the transmission output of the radio waves for communication between the communication unit and the RF tag.

4. The RF tag reader and writer according to claim 1,

wherein the communication unit is further configured to communicate with a writing-completed RF tag, to which data was written, in accordance with the data writing by the tag writing unit and obtain second information held in the writing-completed RF tag, and

wherein the RF tag reader and writer further comprises a successful writing determination unit configured to determine that a writing process to the writing-completed RF tag has completed in response to the communication unit obtaining the second information held in the writing-completed RF tag over a predetermined plural number of times.

9. The RF tag reader and writer according to claim 1,

wherein the communication unit is further configured to communicate with a writing-completed RF tag, to which data was written, in accordance with the data writing by the tag writing unit and obtain second information held in the writing-completed RF tag, and

wherein the RF tag reader and writer further comprises a successful writing determination unit configured to determine that a writing process to the writing-completed RF tag has completed in response to a determination that the communication unit has obtained the second information over a predetermined plural number of times.

5. A radio frequency (RF) tag reader and writer comprising:

a communication unit comprising a response requesting unit configured to send a response request command to the RF tag, a response obtaining unit configured to obtain a response sent from the RF tag in response to receiving the response request command, a tag information requesting unit configured to send a tag information request command, which requests a sending of information held in the RF tag, to the RF tag in response to the response requesting unit receiving the response within a predetermined time after the response requesting unit sent the response request command, and a tag information obtaining unit configured to obtain the information, which is sent from the RF tag, wherein the communication unit communicates with the RF tag in a slot ALOHA method;

a communication stability determination unit configured to determine that stable communication with the RF tag is being established when in response to the tag information obtaining unit obtaining the information held in the RF tag;

a tag writing unit configured to perform a data writing on the RF tag, in response to the communication stability determination unit determining that stable communication with the RF tag is being established; and

an output adjusting unit configured to change a transmission output of radio waves for the data writing to be greater than a transmission output of radio waves for the response request command by the response requesting unit with respect to the RF tag.

6. An RF tag communication stability determination method comprising:

communicating with an RF tag as a target from which information is obtained and obtaining the information held in the RF tag by sending a response request command to the RF tag over a plural number of times;

obtaining a response sent from the RF tag in accordance with the response request command;

sending a tag information request command, which requests a sending of the information held in the RF tag, to the RF tag in response to the response being obtained within a predetermined time after the sending of the response request command;

obtaining the information which is sent from the RF tag, wherein the RF tag sends the response in accordance with obtaining of the tag information request command;

determining that stable communication with the RF tag is being established in response to identical information being obtained from the RF tag over a predetermined plural number of times;

setting a first transmission output of radio waves for a data writing with respect to the RF tag to be greater than a second transmission output of radio waves for the response request command with respect to the RF tag; and

performing the data writing to the RF tag in response to a determination that that stable communication with the RF tag is being established.

7. The method according to claim 6,

wherein the communication with the RF tag is performed in a slot ALOHA method, and

wherein a setting of a number of slots in the slot ALOHA method is changed based on an operation input.

8. The method according to claim 6, further comprising:

changing a transmission output of radio waves based on output information, which is set in advance, regarding the transmission output of the radio waves for communication with the RF tag; and

determining whether stable communication with the RF tag is being established in response to the transmission output of the radio waves for the communication with the RF tag being changed.