Recording device

Abstract

This invention provides a recording device capable of communicating with RFID tags, regardless of whether or not they are metal-compatible. [Solution] A recording device comprising: a recording unit for recording an image on a recording medium; a feeding unit for housing a recording medium including an RFID tag and feeding it to the recording unit; an RFID communication antenna for wirelessly communicating with the RFID tag contained in the recording medium fed by the feeding unit; a metal member detachably provided at a position opposite the antenna via the recording medium fed by the feeding unit; and a notification means for prompting the removal of the metal member if the RFID tag contained in the recording medium housed in the feeding unit is not metal-compatible.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a recording apparatus that communicates with an RFID tag attached to a recording medium.

Background Art

[0002] [[ID=eleven]] Conventionally, technologies for non-contact information transmission and reception have been developed. For example, in a wireless communication technology called RFID (Radio Frequency Identification), information can be read and written by short-range wireless communication using an electromagnetic field or radio waves between an RFID tag equipped with an electronic circuit to hold information and a reader / writer that controls the RFID tag.

[0003] When an RFID tag is mounted on a recording medium such as a card or label and used, image recording on the surface of the recording medium and information reading and writing to the RFID tag are performed. And in order to perform these operations in a batch, a recording apparatus capable of performing both image recording on the surface of the recording medium and information reading and writing to the RFID tag may be used.

[0004] Patent Document 1 discloses a reader / writer device for an RFID tag in which a metal plate is disposed at a position facing an RFID antenna and the RFID tag can be transferred between the plate and the RFID antenna. In Patent Document 1, it is stated that the shielding effect of this metal plate can prevent the influence from various disturbances, and the reflection effect of the metal plate in the data transmission space can improve the reliability of data transmission.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0005]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

[0006] However, while the above configuration disclosed in Patent Document 1 is fine when reading metal-compatible RFID tags, when reading regular RFID tags that are not metal-compatible, the reflected waves from the metal plate and the transmitted waves from the RFID reader / writer may collide, weakening the radio waves. This could lead to unstable communication, potentially preventing information from being written to or read from the device.

[0007] This invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and aims to provide a recording device that can communicate with RFID tags regardless of whether or not they are metal-compatible. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] To achieve the above objective, the present invention provides a recording device comprising: a recording unit for recording an image on a recording medium; a feeding unit for housing a recording medium including an RFID tag and feeding it to the recording unit; an RFID communication antenna for wirelessly communicating with the RFID tag contained in the recording medium fed by the feeding unit; a metal member detachably provided at a position opposite the antenna via the recording medium fed by the feeding unit; and a notification means for prompting the removal of the metal member if the RFID tag contained in the recording medium housed in the feeding unit is not metal-compatible. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a recording device that can communicate with RFID tags regardless of whether or not they are metal-compatible. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0010] [Figure 1] This is a schematic front view of the recording device body showing the main parts of the recording device according to the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] This is a circuit block diagram of the recording device shown in Figure 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 3] This is a schematic diagram of the area around the metal plate holder of the recording device shown in Figure 1, according to the first embodiment of the present invention, as viewed from above. [Figure 4] This is a schematic diagram of the area around the metal plate holder of the recording device shown in Figure 1, according to the first embodiment of the present invention, as viewed from the right side. [Figure 5] This is a detailed schematic diagram of an RFID tag according to the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 6] Figure 2 is a flowchart of the MPU according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 7] This is a schematic diagram of the RFID tag setting screen according to the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 8] This graph shows experimental results of a metal-compatible RFID tag in the absence of a metal plate according to the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 9] This graph shows experimental results of a metal-compatible RFID tag with a metal plate according to the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 10] This table summarizes the experimental results shown in Figures 8 and 9 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 11] This graph shows experimental results of a standard RFID tag without a metal plate according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 12] This graph shows experimental results of a standard RFID tag with a metal plate according to the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 13] This table summarizes the experimental results shown in Figures 11 and 12 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 14] This is a flowchart of the MPU in Figure 2 according to the second embodiment of the present invention. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0011] Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Note that the components described in the following embodiments are merely examples, and various conditions such as the configuration, function, dimensions, material, shape, relative arrangement, etc. of the apparatus to which the present invention is applied can be appropriately modified or changed without departing from the spirit of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to the following embodiments.

[0012] 〔First Embodiment〕 FIG. 1 is a schematic front view of the main part of a recording apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention. In the present embodiment, as an example of the recording apparatus, a printer that records image information on a roll-shaped recording medium by an inkjet method will be described.

[0013] In FIG. 1, the recording apparatus 10 is composed of a feeding unit 28 and a conveying unit 29 as a feeding unit for feeding the recording medium 50. The recording medium 50 has a plurality of labels continuously attached on a release paper and is set in the feeding unit 28 in a rolled state. In the present embodiment, each of the labels attached to the release paper contains an RFID tag, which will be described later. The recording data to be recorded as an image on the label of the recording medium 50 is transmitted from the host computer 1 to the recording apparatus 10 via the communication cable 2. The recording apparatus 10 includes an operation panel 20 for notifying the operator of various settings and the state of the recording apparatus 10.

[0014] The recording apparatus 10 includes a recording head unit 60 as a four-color recording unit for black, cyan, magenta, and yellow, which arranges a plurality of ejection ports capable of ejecting ink over the entire width direction of the recording medium 50, and can record an image in full color on the recording medium 50. Further, the recording apparatus 10 includes a cap unit 27 for protecting the ejection ports of the recording head unit 60, a conveying unit 29 for conveying the recording medium 50, a four-color ink tank unit 30 for supplying ink to the recording head unit 60, and a recovery ink tank 22 for storing the ink recovered by the cap unit 27.

[0015] The recording medium 50 set in the feeding unit 28 is fed by driving a feeding roller (not shown) by the driving force of a feeding motor 18 described later shown in FIG. 2.

[0016] The recording medium 50 fed into the recording apparatus 10 is detected by an entrance sensor 31 and conveyed to the position of a recording head unit 60 by a conveying belt 33 that is rotationally driven by the driving force of a conveying motor 19 described later shown in FIG. 2. The conveying belt 33 is provided with suction holes, and the recording medium 50 is adsorbed onto the conveying belt 33 by being sucked by a suction fan (not shown) provided below the conveying belt 33.

[0017] Also, the conveying position of the recording medium 50 is controlled by an encoder (not shown) that rotates in synchronization with the rotation of the conveying belt 33.

[0018] The recording medium 50 on which recording has been performed by the recording head unit 60 is detected by an exit sensor 32, and conveyance is stopped when the rear end of the recording page reaches the cutting position of the cutter unit 40. Then, the rear end portion of the recording page is cut by the cutter unit 40 and discharged. Also, cutting by the cutter unit 40 can be selected as to whether to cut each page, cut each job in which a plurality of pages are grouped together, or not to cut, according to the settings of the recording apparatus 10.

[0019] Also, an RFID communication antenna 6 disposed upstream of the recording head unit 60 writes RFID tag writing data transmitted from the host computer 1 wirelessly to a target RFID tag on the recording medium 50 according to an instruction from an RFID communication circuit 5 which is an RFID controller described later shown in FIG. 2. The writing timing to the RFID tag is calculated according to the conveyance speed and the shape of the RFID tag, triggered by the fact that the target RFID tag has passed through the entrance sensor 31.

[0020] Furthermore, the metal plate 34, as a metal component, is configured to be installed opposite the RFID communication antenna 6, sandwiching the RFID tag, when the target RFID tag is a metal-compatible RFID tag. It is preferable that the metal plate 34 be larger than the inlay shape of the target RFID tag.

[0021] Figure 2 is a circuit block diagram of the recording device shown in Figure 1.

[0022] In Figure 2, the host computer 1 is used to create print data and RFID write data using the installed drawing application and RFID data management application, and to transmit that data to the recording device 10. The host interface 11 receives the print data and RFID write data from the host computer 1 and temporarily stores them in the print buffer 15 and RFID buffer memory 8, respectively, via the MPU (Micro-Processing Unit).

[0023] The MPU 12 starts up by executing the boot program stored in the ROM 13, and also decompresses the compressed control program stored in the ROM 13 into the system memory 14 and executes it. The MPU 12 also controls the entire recording device 10.

[0024] In this embodiment, the print data and RFID write data are transmitted from the host computer 1, but they can also be transferred directly to the recording device 10 from an SD card, USB memory, or the like.

[0025] The RFID communication circuit 5 connected to the MPU 12 can communicate wirelessly and non-contact to the RFID tag 7 by writing and reading data stored in the RFID buffer memory 8 via the RFID communication antenna 6.

[0026] The control panel 20 includes a display device for operating the main unit of the recording device 10 and for displaying the status of the recording device 10.

[0027] The feed motor 18 drives a feed roller (not shown) around which the recording medium 50 is wound. The transport motor 19 drives a transport belt 33 for transporting the recording medium 50 to the printing position where the recording head unit 60 is located. The cutter motor 41 drives the cutter unit 40.

[0028] The recording control unit 16 controls the motor driver unit 17 for controlling the feed motor 18, transport motor 19, and cutter motor 41, and also controls the ink ejection of the recording head unit 60. The recording head unit 60 consists of four color heads: a black head 100, a cyan head 200, a magenta head 300, and a yellow head 400.

[0029] Next, the configuration of the metal plate holder 36, which serves as a mounting part for detachably attaching the metal plate 34 shown in Figure 1, and the method for detecting the attachment and detachment of the metal plate 34 will be explained in detail with reference to Figures 3 and 4.

[0030] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of the area around the metal plate holder 36 when viewed vertically downwards. Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of the area around the metal plate holder 36 when viewed from the upstream side in the transport direction of the RFID tag 7. In Figures 3 and 4, the metal plate 34 is inserted into the metal plate holder 36 up to an unshown abutment portion.

[0031] The metal plate 34 is configured to be insertable so that it can be detachably mounted along a groove in a metal plate holder 36 attached to a frame (not shown) of the recording device 10. At the mounting position of the metal plate 34, a metal plate detection sensor 35 is provided as a detection means, which is an optical sensor including a light-emitting part and a light-receiving part, as shown in Figure 2. The metal plate detection sensor 35 detects that the metal plate 34 has been mounted in the metal plate holder 36 by detecting that the light from the light-emitting part is blocked, and notifies the MPU 12.

[0032] As shown in Figure 4, the metal plate 34 is mounted in a position facing the RFID communication antenna 6.

[0033] Figure 5 is a detailed schematic diagram of the RFID tag 7 attached to the recording medium 50 shown in Figure 1. Figure 5(A) shows the state in which the RFID tags 7 wound on a reel are continuously attached to the release paper 39. Figure 5(B) is a detailed configuration diagram of the RFID tag 7 that utilizes the UHF band. The RFID tag 7 consists of an IC chip 9 equipped with a non-volatile memory for storing electronic information and a tag antenna 4, which is the antenna part of the RFID tag 7 connected via an impedance matching section 70. The impedance matching section 70 is formed by controlling the area while considering the dielectric constant of the object to which it will be attached during pattern design. Furthermore, the metal-compatible RFID tag 7, designed with the premise of being attached to metal, takes into consideration that the tag antenna 4 inductively couples with the metal to which it will be attached, thereby electrically coupling with the metal surface and functioning as part of the antenna, and the impedance matching section 70 is also designed with this in mind. Figure 5(C) shows the layer configuration of the RFID tag 7. The structure consists of an adhesive 38 on top of a release paper 39 for forming a seal from below, an IC chip 9, a tag antenna 4, a protective film 3 made of PET film or the like to maintain strength, and then sandwiched between paper 37 by the adhesive 38 again.

[0034] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the RFID tag 7 is a so-called passive tag and can be used without requiring an internal power supply. Power is supplied to the RFID tag 7 from radio waves or electromagnetic waves generated by the RFID communication antenna 6 installed on the recording device 10. By using this power as the power source for the RFID tag 7, the RFID communication circuit 5 can communicate with the RFID tag 7 to read and write electronic information via the RFID communication antenna 6. Note that an active tag or a semi-passive tag with an internal power supply may also be used as the RFID tag 7.

[0035] In this embodiment, the RFID tags 7, which serve as the recording medium 50, are arranged in a row on a continuous sheet of paper. However, cut sheets of paper can also be used as the recording medium 50. In this case, the RFID tags 7 may be embedded in the cut sheets of paper, or an RFID tag 7 may be attached to each individual sheet of paper as the recording medium 50. Alternatively, a card with embedded RFID tags 7 may be used as the recording medium 50.

[0036] Next, the operation of writing to the RFID tag in this embodiment will be explained following the flowchart shown in Figure 6. Figure 6 is a flowchart showing the control by the MPU12 shown in Figure 2.

[0037] In step S101, if a metal-compatible RFID tag is set in the supply unit 28 as RFID tag 7, the process proceeds to step S102. If a standard RFID tag that is not a metal-compatible RFID tag is set in the supply unit 28, the process proceeds to step S107. Whether a metal-compatible RFID tag 7 is set as RFID tag 7 is determined by checking whether a metal tag has been set by the user via the recording device driver of the host computer 1, which acts as an acquisition unit to acquire the type of RFID tag 7 stored in the supply unit 28, or via the RFID tag setting screen (Figure 7) on the operation panel 20 of the recording device 10.

[0038] If a metal-compatible RFID tag 7 is set in the recording device 10 as the RFID tag 7 in step S101 and the process proceeds to step S102, the detection result of the metal plate detection sensor 35 determines whether the metal plate 34 is attached to the metal plate holder 36. If the metal plate 34 is attached to the metal plate holder 36, as described above, the light emitted by the metal plate detection sensor 35 is blocked by the metal plate 34. Therefore, if the light from the metal plate detection sensor 35 is blocked, it is determined that the metal plate 34 is attached to the metal plate holder 36, and the process proceeds to step S103. On the other hand, if the metal plate 34 is not attached to the metal plate holder 36, the process proceeds to step S110.

[0039] If the metal plate 34 is not attached to the metal plate holder 36 in step S102, a notification prompting the user to attach the metal plate 34 to the metal plate holder 36 is displayed on the operation panel 20 or the display screen of the host computer 1 (S110). The system then waits until the metal plate detection sensor 35 detects that the metal plate 34 has been attached to the metal plate holder 36 (S111). Once the metal plate 34 is attached to the metal plate holder 36, the system proceeds to step S103. On the other hand, if the metal plate 34 is not attached to the metal plate holder 36, the system returns to step S110 and continues to display a notification prompting the user to insert the metal plate 34 into the metal plate holder 36 on the operation panel 20 or the display screen of the host computer 1 until it is detected that the metal plate 34 has been attached to the metal plate holder 36.

[0040] If the recording medium 50 set in the feeding unit 28 in S101 is a metal-compatible RFID-equipped label and the metal plate 34 is mounted in the metal plate holder 36, the process proceeds to step S103 to perform radio wave output calibration. In the calibration in S103, the RFID communication circuit 5 controls the power supplied to the RFID communication antenna 6, gradually increasing the power from the lowest level. A calibration operation is performed to determine the power required for writing and reading to the RFID tag 7, and the process proceeds to step S104 when communication is successful. On the other hand, if communication to the RFID tag 7 is unsuccessful even when the power reaches the maximum supply capacity, the process proceeds to step S112.

[0041] If the calibration operation in step S103 is successful, the system receives the print data and the data to be written to the RFID tag 7 from the host computer 1, temporarily stores the print data in the print buffer 15, and temporarily stores the RFID write data in the RFID buffer memory 8. (S104) In step S105, according to the print data, the recording control unit 16 controls each color head included in the recording head unit 60 to print on the RFID tag 7. Also, according to the RFID write data, the RFID communication circuit 5 controls the RFID communication antenna 6 to irradiate the RFID tag 7 with radio waves and write the data to the IC chip 9, and the process proceeds to step S106.

[0042] In step S106, it is determined whether the printing process based on the print data and the writing process to the RFID tag 7 based on the RFID writing data have been completed. If they have been completed, the series of operations is terminated. If they have not been completed, the printing process and the writing process to the RFID tag 7 in step S105 are continued.

[0043] On the other hand, if the calibration operation in step S103 fails and the system proceeds to step S112, the operation panel 20 or the display screen of the host computer 1 will notify the system that communication with the RFID tag 7 has failed, and the series of operations will be terminated.

[0044] Furthermore, in step S101, if a standard RFID tag, rather than a metal-compatible RFID tag, is set in the feeding unit 28 as the RFID tag 7 (S101Yes), the metal plate detection sensor 35 detects whether the metal plate 34 is mounted on the metal plate holder 36. If the metal plate 34 is mounted on the metal plate holder 36, the process proceeds to S108. On the other hand, if the metal plate 34 is not mounted on the metal plate holder 36, the process proceeds to step S103, and the calibration process described above is performed.

[0045] If the metal plate 34 is mounted on the metal plate holder 36 (S107Yes), a notification prompting the removal of the metal plate 34 from the metal plate holder 36 is displayed on the operation panel 20 or the display screen of the host computer 1 as a notification means, and the process proceeds to step S109. In step S109, it is determined whether the metal plate 34 has been removed from the metal plate holder 36 based on the detection result of the metal plate detection sensor 35. If it is detected that the metal plate 34 has been removed from the metal plate holder 36 (S109Yes), the process proceeds to step S103, and the calibration process described above is carried out. On the other hand, if it is not detected that the metal plate 34 has been removed from the metal plate holder 36, the process returns to step S108, and the notification prompting the removal of the metal plate 34 from the metal plate holder 36 continues on the operation panel 20 or the display screen of the host computer 1 until it is detected that the metal plate 34 has been removed from the metal plate holder 36.

[0046] As described above, the recording device 10, which is capable of reading and writing to RFID tags 7, can easily communicate accurately with metal-compatible RFID tags 7 using the minimum necessary power, while also solving problems such as communication failures caused by metal plates with standard RFID tags 7 that are not metal-compatible.

[0047] Figures 8 to 10 are graphs and tables showing the results of measuring the electric field strength of the subcarrier, which is the response wave from the RFID tag 7, using a spectrum analyzer, with and without the metal plate 34. In the following embodiment, the carrier wave output from the RFID communication antenna 6 is referred to as the main carrier, and the response wave output by the IC chip 9 of the RFID tag 7, which generates an electromotive force due to the carrier wave output from the RFID communication antenna 6, is referred to as the subcarrier. In this embodiment, the metal-compatible RFID tag 7 was measured using Silverline Brade II (ZEBRA Technologies).

[0048] Figure 8 is a graph showing the results without the metal plate 34, Figure 9 is a graph showing the results with the metal plate 34, and Figure 10 is a table summarizing these results, showing that the subcarriers M4 and M5 are increased by about 10 dBuV when the metal plate is present compared to when it is absent.

[0049] This indicates that the metal-compatible RFID tag 7 has an impedance matching section 70 designed for attachment to metal, and therefore the metal plate 34 functions as part of the antenna section of the RFID tag 7.

[0050] Figures 11-13 are graphs and tables showing the results of measuring the electric field strength of the subcarrier, which is the response wave from a standard RFID tag 7 that is not metal-compatible, using a spectrum analyzer, with and without the metal plate 34.

[0051] Figure 11 is a graph showing the results when the metal plate 34 is absent, Figure 12 is a graph showing the results when the metal plate 34 is present, and Figure 13 is a table summarizing these results. It can be seen that when the metal plate is present, subcarriers M4 and M5 are not generated, indicating that there is no response to the main carrier M1. The absence of subcarriers M4 and M5 in response to the main carrier M1 indicates that communication between the RFID communication antenna 6 and the RFID tag 7 is impossible.

[0052] Unlike the metal-compatible RFID tag 7, the standard RFID tag 7 is designed with impedance matching in mind for attachment to non-metallic surfaces. Therefore, the presence of the metal plate 34 causes impedance mismatch and reflections, resulting in insufficient power being supplied to the IC chip 9 of the standard RFID tag 7.

[0053] As described above, it was found that a metal plate 34 is required when communicating with a metal-compatible RFID tag 7 via the RFID communication antenna 6, while a metal plate 34 is not required when communicating with a standard, non-metal-compatible RFID tag 7 via the RFID communication antenna 6. Therefore, in this embodiment, a metal plate holder 36 is provided to allow the metal plate 34 to be attached and detached, as described above. This allows the user to attach and detach the metal plate 34 according to the RFID tag they are using, providing a recording device that can communicate with RFID tags regardless of whether they are metal-compatible or not. Furthermore, by providing a metal plate detection sensor 35 and notifying the user, it is possible to prevent forgetting to attach the metal plate 34 or to discourage its removal.

[0054] [Second Embodiment] Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described.

[0055] In the first embodiment described above, if a metal-compatible RFID tag 7 was set, the user was prompted to attach the metal plate 34. However, in this embodiment, even if the metal plate 34 is not attached, if the radio wave output to the RFID communication antenna 6 is within the configurable range and communication with the metal-compatible RFID tag 7 is possible, an example of a case in which the user is not prompted to attach the metal plate will be described.

[0056] In this embodiment, the flowchart in Figure 6 of the first embodiment is changed to the flowchart in Figure 14, but otherwise this embodiment is the same as the first embodiment, so the explanation will be omitted as it will be based on those examples.

[0057] Figure 14 is a flowchart showing the control by the MPU 12 in the second embodiment. The operation of writing to the metal-compatible RFID tag in this embodiment will be described below in accordance with the flowchart in Figure 14.

[0058] In step S201, if a metal-compatible RFID tag is set in the recording device 10 as RFID tag 7, the process proceeds to step S202. If a standard RFID tag that is not a metal-compatible RFID tag is set in the recording device 10, the process proceeds to step S207. The method for determining whether a metal-compatible RFID tag 7 is set as RFID tag 7 is the same as in the first embodiment, so the explanation is omitted.

[0059] If a metal-compatible RFID tag 7 is set in the feeding unit 28 as the RFID tag 7 in step S201, calibration for radio wave output is performed (S202). In the calibration in S202, the RFID communication circuit 5 controls the power supplied to the RFID communication antenna 6, gradually increasing the power from the lowest level. A calibration operation is performed on the RFID tag 7 to determine the power required for writing and reading, and the process proceeds to step S204 when communication is successful. On the other hand, if communication with the RFID tag 7 is unsuccessful even when the power reaches the maximum supply capacity, the process proceeds to step S210.

[0060] If the calibration operation in step S202 is successful, the system receives the print data and the data to be written to the RFID tag 7 from the host computer 1, temporarily stores the print data in the print buffer 15, and temporarily stores the RFID write data in the RFID buffer memory 8 (S204).

[0061] In step S205, according to the print data, the recording control unit 16 controls each color head included in the recording head unit 60 to print on the RFID tag 7. Also, according to the RFID write data, the RFID communication circuit 5 controls the RFID communication antenna 6 to irradiate the RFID tag 7 with radio waves and write the data to the IC chip 9, and proceeds to the process in step S206.

[0062] In step S206, it is determined whether the printing process based on the print data and the writing process to the RFID tag 7 based on the RFID writing data have been completed. If they have been completed, the series of operations is terminated. If they have not been completed, the printing process and the writing process to the RFID tag 7 in step S205 are continued.

[0063] If communication fails during the calibration operation in step S202, the operation panel 20 or the display screen of the host computer 1 is notified to attach the metal plate 34 to the metal plate holder 36 (S210). Then, in step S211, it is determined whether the metal plate 34 is attached to the metal plate holder 36 based on the detection result of the metal plate detection sensor 35. If it is detected that the metal plate 34 is attached to the metal plate holder 36, the process proceeds to step S212. On the other hand, if it is not detected that the metal plate 34 is set in the metal plate holder 36, the process returns to step S210 and continues to notify the operation panel 20 or the display screen of the host computer 1 to insert the metal plate 34 into the metal plate holder 36 until it is detected that the metal plate 34 is attached to the metal plate holder 36.

[0064] If it is detected that the metal plate 34 is attached to the metal plate holder 36, calibration for radio wave output is performed (S212). Note that the calibration in S212 is the same as in S202, so the explanation is omitted. If, as a result of the calibration in S212, communication for writing and reading to the RFID tag 7 is not successful even when the power supply reaches the maximum capacity, the process proceeds to step S213.

[0065] In step S213, the operation panel 20 or the display screen of the host computer 1 is notified that communication with the RFID tag 7 has failed, and the series of operations is terminated.

[0066] Furthermore, in step S201, if a standard RFID tag is set in the recording device 10 (S201No), it is determined whether the metal plate 34 is mounted on the metal plate holder 36 based on the detection result of the metal plate detection sensor 35.

[0067] If the standard RFID tag is set in the feeding unit 28 and the metal plate 34 is mounted in the metal plate holder 36 (S207Yes), a notification prompting the removal of the metal plate 34 from the metal plate holder 36 is displayed on the operation panel 20 or the display screen of the host computer 1 as a notification means (S208). When it is detected that the metal plate 34 has been removed from the metal plate holder 36 (S209No), the process proceeds to step S212 and the calibration process described above is carried out. On the other hand, if it is not detected that the metal plate 34 has been removed from the metal plate holder 36 (S209Yes), the process returns to step S208 and the notification prompting the removal of the metal plate 34 from the metal plate holder 36 continues on the operation panel 20 or the display screen of the host computer 1 until it is detected that the metal plate 34 has been removed from the metal plate holder 36.

[0068] As described above, according to this embodiment, in a recording device 10 capable of reading and writing to RFID tags 7, when a metal-compatible RFID tag 7 is set, even if the metal plate 34 is not attached, the recording device attempts to write to the RFID tag 7 to the extent possible, thereby reducing user operation. Furthermore, since the metal plate 34 can be easily removed from standard RFID tags 7 that are not metal-compatible, a recording device capable of communicating with RFID tags regardless of whether they are metal-compatible or not can be provided.

[0069] In each of the embodiments described above, an optical sensor, the metal plate detection sensor 35, is used, but it goes without saying that similar control is possible with a mechanical sensor using a mechanical switch.

[0070] Furthermore, in each of the above embodiments, the RFID communication antenna 6 and the metal plate holder 36 are installed upstream of the recording head unit 60 of the recording device 10, but it goes without saying that similar control is possible even if they are installed downstream.

[0071] Furthermore, it goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and can be modified in various ways without departing from its essence. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0072] 1…Host computer 3… Protective film 4…Tag antenna 5…RFID communication circuit 6…RFID communication antenna 7…RFID tags 9…IC chip 10…Recording device 12…MPU 20... Control Panel 28... Supply Unit 34… Metal plate 35…Metal plate detection sensor 36… Metal plate holder 37... Paper 38…Adhesive 39…Release paper 60…Recording head unit 70... Impedance matching section

Claims

1. A recording unit that records images onto a recording medium, A feeding unit that houses a recording medium including an RFID tag and feeds it to the recording unit, An RFID communication antenna for wirelessly communicating with the RFID tag contained in the recording medium supplied by the feeding unit, A metal member is detachably provided at a position facing the antenna via a recording medium supplied by the feeding unit, A notification means that prompts the removal of the metal component if the RFID tag contained in the recording medium housed in the feeding unit is not metal-compatible, A recording device characterized by having the following features.

2. The recording device according to claim 1, wherein the metal member is electrically coupled by inductive coupling with the antenna portion of the RFID when the RFID is a metal-compatible RFID, and functions as part of the antenna portion of the RFID.

3. An acquisition unit that acquires the type of RFID stored in the feeding unit, The system further includes a detection means for detecting whether the aforementioned metal member is attached, The recording apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the notification means provides notification prompting the removal of the metal member when a recording medium including a non-metal compatible RFID tag is housed in the feeding unit and the metal member is attached, based on the acquisition result by the acquisition unit and the detection result by the detection means.

4. The recording device according to claim 3, characterized in that the detection means is an optical sensor.

5. The system further includes an RFID controller that communicates with RFID tags via the aforementioned RFID communication antenna. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the RFID controller performs calibration to determine the power to be supplied to the RFID communication antenna when a recording medium including a metal-compatible RFID tag is housed in the feeding unit.

Images