Radio frequency identification antenna switcher

Abstract

The invention discloses a wireless radio frequency identification antenna switcher, which comprises an identification setting unit, a radio frequency input interface, a plurality of radio frequency output ports, a communication interface and a switching control unit, and is characterized in that the identification setting unit is used for distributing an antenna switcher identification for the antenna switcher; and the switching control unit receives a control command sent by external equipment through the communication interface, and connects the corresponding RFID antenna in the corresponding antenna switcher with the RFID reader-writer based on the corresponding radio frequency output port and the radio frequency input interface according to the antenna switcher identifier and the RFID antenna identifier in the control command. And the radio frequency output port is respectively connected with each RFID antenna. According to the invention, the switching control of the RFID antenna can be realized more flexibly and efficiently through the antenna switcher, the requirements in different application scenes can be met, and the expandability and management efficiency of the system can be improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to the technical field of industrial automation, and in particular to a wireless radio frequency identification antenna switch. Background Art

[0002] RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) technology, as a wireless identification and data transmission technology, has extremely wide applications in the field of industrial automation, such as industrial electrical cabinet intelligent sensing and other industrial fields. However, in some industrial scenarios, such as large manufacturing plants, warehousing and logistics centers, and transportation hubs, a single RFID antenna often cannot meet the needs of covering the entire scene and performing real-time monitoring due to its limited coverage and data reading efficiency. In this case, a large number of RFID antennas need to be deployed throughout the scene.

[0003] When a large number of RFID antennas are used to deploy an application scenario, the current implementation solutions include the following two:

[0004] (1) The first implementation is to use multiple readers to control the reading and writing process. Specifically, in this implementation, multiple readers are used to control antennas in different areas to achieve management and control of a large number of antennas. Since the implementation of this implementation requires the deployment of multiple reader controllers, the hardware cost and construction and deployment cost of the system are greatly increased; moreover, coordination and management are required between multiple readers, which further increases the difficulty of deployment and maintenance of the entire system. In addition, the corresponding multiple readers need to occupy more space, which also puts higher requirements on site layout and design.

[0005] (2) The second implementation scheme is to introduce a corresponding antenna switch. Specifically, multiple antennas are connected to a single reader through an antenna switch, and a large number of antennas can be managed. However, the existing antenna switches are not flexible enough in address allocation and cascading, and cannot meet the needs of flexible deployment and management; moreover, the functions and performance of some antenna switches are limited, and cannot meet the needs of high-end application scenarios; in addition, different antenna switches may also have compatibility issues, making system integration and upgrade more difficult.

[0006] In summary, existing technical solutions for managing and controlling a large number of antennas have problems such as high cost, poor flexibility, and limited functionality. Summary of the invention

[0007] The purpose of the present invention is to provide a wireless radio frequency identification antenna switcher, which can more flexibly and efficiently control the switching process of the RFID antenna to solve the problems existing in the prior art.

[0008] The objective of the present invention is achieved through the following technical solutions:

[0009] A wireless radio frequency identification antenna switch, comprising:

[0010] An identification setting unit, used to assign an antenna switch identification for the antenna switch that can uniquely identify the antenna switch in a wireless radio frequency identification RFID system;

[0011] Radio frequency input interface, used to connect with RFID reader;

[0012] Multiple radio frequency output ports, used to connect to each RFID antenna respectively;

[0013] A communication interface, used to connect to an external device and receive control commands sent by the external device;

[0014] A switching control unit is used to receive a control command through the communication interface, and according to the antenna switch identifier and the RFID antenna identifier in the control command, connect the corresponding RFID antenna in the corresponding antenna switch to the RFID reader based on the corresponding RF output port and the RF input interface.

[0015] The identification setting unit is an address setting unit, and the antenna switch identification is a network communication address.

[0016] The address setting unit is implemented by an address setting knob.

[0017] The communication interface communicates with external devices via a serial port and modBus-RTU protocol.

[0018] The processing process performed by the switching control unit includes:

[0019] The current antenna switch receives a control command sent by an external device, and obtains an antenna switch identifier and an RFID antenna identifier in the control command;

[0020] When it is determined that the antenna switch identifier in the control command is the antenna switch identifier of the current antenna switch itself, the RFID antenna corresponding to the RFID antenna identifier in the control command is connected to the RFID reader based on the RF output port and the RF input interface.

[0021] The process of connecting the RFID antenna corresponding to the RFID antenna identifier to the RFID reader / writer based on the RF output port and the RF input interface includes:

[0022] The received information checksum C1 is calculated according to the received control command, and only when the received information checksum C1 is the same, the RFID antenna corresponding to the RFID antenna identifier is connected to the RFID reader based on the RF output port and the RF input interface.

[0023] Also includes:

[0024] After the RFID antenna corresponding to the RFID antenna identifier is connected to the RFID reader / writer based on the RF output port and the RF input interface, a success notification is sent to an external device;

[0025] When the received information checksum C1 is not the same, a failure notification is sent to the external device.

[0026] The processing process performed by the switching control unit also includes:

[0027] When it is determined that the antenna switch identifier in the control command is not the antenna switch identifier of the current antenna switch itself, the control command is ignored.

[0028] Compared with the prior art, the antenna switch implemented by the technical solution provided by the present invention has a stable and reliable hardware design and software logic, which can ensure the accuracy and stability of the switching operation; and by setting a unique address and controlling the frame check mechanism, it ensures the security of the system and the reliability of data transmission. Therefore, the present invention can more flexibly and efficiently realize the switching control of the RFID antenna through the antenna switch, and can meet the needs of different application scenarios, and improve the scalability and management efficiency of the system. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0029] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention, the accompanying drawings required for use in the description of the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the accompanying drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For ordinary technicians in this field, other accompanying drawings can be obtained based on these accompanying drawings without paying creative work.

[0030] Figure 1 A connection diagram of an antenna switch provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0031] Figure 2 A flow chart of a switching process of an antenna switch provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0032] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of the format of an interactive message used in a switching process provided in an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0033] The following is a clear and complete description of the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention in combination with the specific content of the present invention; it is obvious that the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of the embodiments, which does not constitute a limitation of the present invention. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work are within the protection scope of the present invention.

[0034] First, the terms that may be used in this article are explained as follows:

[0035] The term “and / or” means that either or both of them can be realized at the same time. For example, X and / or Y means both “X” or “Y” and “X and Y”.

[0036] The terms "include", "comprises", "contains", "has" or other descriptions with similar semantics should be interpreted as non-exclusive inclusion. For example, including certain technical feature elements (such as raw materials, components, ingredients, carriers, dosage forms, materials, dimensions, parts, components, mechanisms, devices, steps, procedures, methods, reaction conditions, processing conditions, parameters, algorithms, signals, data, products or products, etc.) should be interpreted as including not only certain technical feature elements explicitly listed, but also other technical feature elements known in the art that are not explicitly listed.

[0037] The term "consisting of..." means excluding any technical feature elements not explicitly listed. If this term is used in a claim, it will make the claim closed, so that it does not contain technical feature elements other than the technical feature elements explicitly listed, except for the conventional impurities related to them. If this term only appears in a clause of a claim, it only limits the elements explicitly listed in the clause, and the elements recorded in other clauses are not excluded from the overall claim.

[0038] Unless otherwise specified or limited, the terms "installed", "connected", "connected", "fixed" and the like should be understood in a broad sense, for example: it can be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; it can be a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; it can be a direct connection, or it can be an indirect connection through an intermediate medium, or it can be the internal communication of two components. For ordinary technicians in this field, the specific meanings of the above terms in this article can be understood according to specific circumstances.

[0039] When concentration, temperature, pressure, size or other parameters are expressed in the form of a numerical range, the numerical range should be understood to specifically disclose all ranges formed by the pairing of any upper limit, lower limit, and preferred value in the numerical range, regardless of whether the range is explicitly stated; for example, if a numerical range of "2 to 8" is stated, the numerical range should be interpreted as including ranges such as "2 to 7", "2 to 6", "5 to 7", "3 to 4 and 6 to 7", "3 to 5 and 7", "2 and 5 to 7", etc. Unless otherwise specified, the numerical ranges stated herein include both their end values ​​and all integers and fractions within the numerical range.

[0040] The orientation or position relationship indicated by terms such as "center", "longitudinal", "lateral", "length", "width", "thickness", "up", "down", "front", "back", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inside", "outside", "clockwise", "counterclockwise", etc. are based on the orientation or position relationship shown in the drawings and are only for the convenience and simplification of description, and do not explicitly or implicitly indicate that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore should not be understood as a limitation of this document.

[0041] The purpose of the present invention is to realize the function that a single RFID reader can control multiple RFID antennas through an innovative RFID antenna expansion multiplexing system and an antenna expansion switch. The implementation of the present invention can solve the limitations of the flexibility and cascading of existing antenna switches. In the embodiment of the present invention, flexible cascading of antenna switches can be achieved by assigning an address to each antenna switch and selecting different antenna switches by selecting addresses through software. Furthermore, the embodiment of the present invention can also use the software level to send commands to control the antenna switch, and the corresponding communication method can use the serial port modBus-RTU to realize the sending and feedback of commands. The flexibility and configurability of the embodiment of the present invention enable the RFID system to be more adaptable to different industrial scenarios and needs, thereby improving the flexibility and scalability of the RFID system.

[0042] In the embodiment of the present invention, the antenna is flexibly switched and managed by an antenna switch, so as to achieve the purpose of cascading the antenna switch by using the antenna switch address, and one antenna switch can expand multiple (such as 8) antennas. In the implementation process of the embodiment of the present invention, the implementation structure mainly includes: an antenna switch address setting knob, a radio frequency input interface, a radio frequency output interface, and a communication interface. The stability and security of the RFID system are guaranteed through the corresponding implementation structure and the reasonable control frame protocol format and the design of the antenna switch switching logic.

[0043] The specific implementation of the embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0044] The embodiment of the present invention provides a switch for implementing RFID antenna switching, that is, an RFID antenna switch, referred to as an antenna switch, such as Figure 1 As shown, its specific implementation structure may include: an address setting knob, a radio frequency receiving interface, multiple radio frequency output interfaces and a communication interface, wherein:

[0045] (1) Logo setting unit

[0046] The identification setting unit is used to assign an antenna switch identification to the RFID antenna switch that can uniquely identify the antenna switch in the RFID system;

[0047] The identification setting unit may be an address setting unit, and the antenna switch identification is a network communication address. In this case, the address setting unit may be implemented by an address setting knob;

[0048] That is, the antenna switch is equipped with an address setting knob, so that the user can set the network communication address of the antenna switch through the address setting knob, and the set network communication address must be unique in the entire network to uniquely identify the location of a certain antenna switch in the network.

[0049] (2) RF input interface (RFin)

[0050] Each antenna switch has a radio frequency input interface (RFin) for connecting to an RFID reader / writer so as to receive radio frequency signals from the RFID reader / writer or other devices, and read information of the RFID tag through the radio frequency input interface.

[0051] (3) Multiple (e.g., 8) RF output interfaces (RFout)

[0052] The antenna switch is equipped with multiple (8 for example) radio frequency output interfaces (RFout) for connecting 8 RFID antennas. Each RFID antenna is provided with an RFID antenna identifier to distinguish different RFID antennas on the antenna switch. Specifically, the RFID antenna number can be used as the RFID antenna identifier.

[0053] Each RF output interface can independently control the corresponding RFID antenna to connect to the corresponding reader / writer.

[0054] (4) Communication interface

[0055] The antenna switch can communicate with external devices through serial communication and modBus-RTU protocol (i.e., a serial communication protocol); for example, it can be connected to a small gateway or other control device through a communication interface so as to send a control command (or command frame or control frame) to the antenna switch through the communication interface to select the antenna switch and the RFID antenna connected to the antenna switch;

[0056] (5) Switching control unit

[0057] The switching control unit is used to receive a control command (i.e., a control frame or a command frame) through the communication interface, and according to the antenna switch identifier and the RFID antenna identifier in the control command, connect the corresponding RFID antenna in the corresponding antenna switch to the RFID reader based on the corresponding RF output port and the RF input interface.

[0058] Still refer to Figure 1 As shown, the corresponding reader is connected to the antenna switch, and one antenna switch can be connected to multiple (taking 8 as an example) RFID antennas. The small gateway and the antenna switch can communicate through the serial port RS485, so that the small gateway sends a command frame to the antenna switch. The command frame may include the address of the antenna switch and the selected antenna and other information. After each antenna switch receives the command frame, only the antenna switch with the corresponding address needs to respond to the command frame to switch the antenna that needs to be connected to the reader to the antenna selected in the command frame, and send a response frame to the small gateway according to the processing result. The response frame may include a success frame or a failure frame.

[0059] Based on the above-mentioned RFID antenna switch, an embodiment of the present invention also provides a processing process for the above-mentioned switching control unit to specifically implement RFID antenna switching, which can specifically realize flexible control and management of multiple RFID antennas through RF switch control technology, including receiving, processing and switching of RF signals, to ensure that the system can choose to connect different antennas according to needs; further, by assigning a unique address to each antenna switch, and selecting antenna switches with different addresses through control frames (or command frames), flexible cascading and control of multiple antennas can be realized; and by communicating with external devices through serial port communication and modBus-RTU protocol, the control logic of the antenna switch is realized, including controlling the address matching of the antenna switch and the execution of the antenna switching operation.

[0060] Specifically, Figure 2 and Figure 3 As shown, the corresponding RFID antenna switching process may include the following steps:

[0061] Step 21, the small gateway sends a command frame through the serial port;

[0062] The small gateway may also be other physical devices for controlling multiple antenna switches, and the corresponding command frame is used to control the antenna switch to select the antenna connected to the reader / writer, that is, the command frame needs to contain the address of the antenna switch that executes the command frame and the information of the antenna that needs to be connected to the reader / writer;

[0063] The format of the corresponding antenna switch custom interaction message is as follows Figure 3 As shown, specifically, the command frame (i.e., control frame) is a data packet sent to the antenna switcher via serial communication, and its format mainly includes two parts of information, namely:

[0064] Select address information, i.e., the address of the antenna switch, for specifying the address of the antenna switch to be controlled;

[0065] Select antenna information: that is, the information of the antenna that needs to be connected to the reader / writer, which is used to specify the number of the antenna to be connected to the reader / writer, such as number 1 to number 8.

[0066] Step 22, each antenna switch receives the command frame, and parses the command frame to obtain the address of the antenna switch and the information of the antenna that needs to be connected to the reader;

[0067] Step 23, the antenna switch reads the address of the antenna switch in the frame, and determines whether the address in the command frame is the same as the address of the antenna switch itself, and executes step 24 or step 29 respectively;

[0068] Specifically, after the antenna switch receives the corresponding control frame (i.e., command frame), it first needs to check whether the address information in the control frame matches its own address. If the address matches, step 24 is executed to connect the corresponding antenna to the RF input interface RFin according to the antenna selection information in the control frame, and return the switching success information to the sending device (i.e., small gateway) to confirm that the switching operation has been completed;

[0069] Step 24, if the address in the command frame is the same as the address of the own, then the received information checksum C1 is calculated in the antenna switch, and step 25 is executed;

[0070] Step 25, determine whether the calculated C1 is the same as the received checksum. If they are the same, it means that the serial port receives the information correctly, and then execute steps 26 and 27;

[0071] Step 26, select the antenna that needs to be connected to the reader / writer to the corresponding antenna in the command frame;

[0072] Step 27, the antenna switch sends a success frame (i.e., a success notification) to the small gateway to inform that the control operation is successfully completed;

[0073] Step 28, if the calculated C1 is different from the received checksum, it means that the serial port received information is incorrect, and the antenna switch needs to send a failure frame (i.e., a failure notification) to the small gateway;

[0074] The format of the success frame and failure frame sent in the above steps 27 and 28 can be Figure 3 The format shown is used to notify the small gateway of the execution status of the command frame through the success frame or failure frame;

[0075] Step 29: If the address in the command frame is different from the own address, no operation or response is required in the antenna switch, that is, the command frame can be ignored.

[0076] The antenna switch in the above embodiment of the present invention has a stable and reliable hardware design and software logic, so as to ensure the accuracy and stability of the switching operation. Moreover, the corresponding antenna switch is also provided with a unique address and a control frame check mechanism, so that it can ensure the security of the RFID system and the reliability of data transmission.

[0077] In summary, the embodiments of the present invention ensure that the entire RFID system can operate stably and reliably through improvements in the physical structure design of the corresponding antenna switch, the layout and connection of the RF switch, and the software control design and implementation of the control circuit.

[0078] Specifically, the embodiments of the present invention can produce at least the following beneficial effects during application:

[0079] (1) In the present invention, commands (i.e., command frames) are sent at the software level to control the working state of the antenna switch. The corresponding communication method uses serial port modBus-RTU to realize command sending and feedback, so as to control the antenna switch at the software level and achieve cascading of multiple antenna switches, thereby making the RFID system more adaptable to different industrial scenarios and needs, and improving the flexibility and scalability of the system.

[0080] (2) The embodiments of the present invention can realize a processing method in which a single antenna switch can be used to control multiple antennas, thereby greatly reducing the hardware cost of the RFID system. The better cost-effectiveness can make the application of RFID technology in the industrial field more economical and practical.

[0081] (3) The antenna switch in the embodiment of the present invention is provided with an address setting knob and flexible control logic, so that the user can easily set the address of each antenna switch and select different antenna connections through the control frame; this makes the embodiment of the present invention have good flexibility and scalability, thereby making the RFID system easier to adapt to different industrial scenarios and needs.

[0082] (4) The embodiments of the present invention also achieve flexible control and management of multiple antennas by introducing innovative RF switch technology and address selection technology, thereby improving the coverage and reading efficiency of the system, thereby making real-time monitoring and tracking of a large number of objects in industrial scenarios more efficient and rapid.

[0083] (5) The antenna switch in the embodiment of the present invention communicates with external devices through serial communication and modBus-RTU protocol. Users can easily control and manage the antenna switch remotely, thereby reducing the difficulty of system deployment and maintenance and improving the stability and reliability of the system.

[0084] The above is only a preferred specific embodiment of the present invention, but the protection scope of the present invention is not limited thereto. Any changes or substitutions that can be easily thought of by any technician familiar with the technical field within the technical scope disclosed in the present invention should be included in the protection scope of the present invention. Therefore, the protection scope of the present invention should be based on the protection scope of the claims. The information disclosed in the background technology section of this article is only intended to deepen the understanding of the overall background technology of the present invention, and should not be regarded as an admission or in any form that the information constitutes prior art known to those skilled in the art.

Claims

1. A wireless radio frequency identification antenna switch, characterized in that: include: An identification setting unit, used to assign an antenna switch identification for the antenna switch that can uniquely identify the antenna switch in a wireless radio frequency identification RFID system; Radio frequency input interface, used to connect with RFID reader; Multiple radio frequency output ports, used to connect to each RFID antenna respectively; A communication interface, used to connect to an external device and receive control commands sent by the external device; A switching control unit is used to receive a control command through the communication interface, and according to the antenna switch identifier and the RFID antenna identifier in the control command, connect the corresponding RFID antenna in the corresponding antenna switch to the RFID reader based on the corresponding RF output port and the RF input interface.

2. The antenna switch according to claim 1, characterized in that: The identification setting unit is an address setting unit, and the antenna switch identification is a network communication address.

3. The antenna switch according to claim 2, characterized in that: The address setting unit is implemented by an address setting knob.

4. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The communication interface communicates with external devices via a serial port and modBus-RTU protocol.

5. The antenna switch according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that: The processing process performed by the switching control unit includes: The current antenna switch receives a control command sent by an external device, and obtains an antenna switch identifier and an RFID antenna identifier in the control command; When it is determined that the antenna switch identifier in the control command is the antenna switch identifier of the current antenna switch itself, the RFID antenna corresponding to the RFID antenna identifier in the control command is connected to the RFID reader based on the RF output port and the RF input interface.

6. The antenna switch according to claim 5, characterized in that: The process of connecting the RFID antenna corresponding to the RFID antenna identifier to the RFID reader / writer based on the RF output port and the RF input interface includes: The received information checksum C1 is calculated according to the received control command, and only when the received information checksum C1 is the same, the RFID antenna corresponding to the RFID antenna identifier is connected to the RFID reader based on the RF output port and the RF input interface.

7. The antenna switch according to claim 6, characterized in that: Also includes: After the RFID antenna corresponding to the RFID antenna identifier is connected to the RFID reader / writer based on the RF output port and the RF input interface, a success notification is sent to an external device; When the received information checksum C1 is not the same, a failure notification is sent to the external device.

8. The antenna switch according to claim 5, characterized in that: The processing process performed by the switching control unit also includes: When it is determined that the antenna switch identifier in the control command is not the antenna switch identifier of the current antenna switch itself, the control command is ignored.

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