Wireless tag system
The wireless tag system addresses the challenge of determining information update success or failure by integrating communication and reading units, ensuring accurate updates without reducing the display area and enhancing convenience.
Patent Information
- Authority / Receiving Office
- JP · JP
- Patent Type
- Patents
- Current Assignee / Owner
- DENSO WAVE INC
- Filing Date
- 2022-05-23
- Publication Date
- 2026-05-20
Smart Images
Figure 0007862713000001 
Figure 0007862713000002 
Figure 0007862713000003
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] The present invention relates to a wireless tag system that targets a wireless tag having a display unit for wireless communication.
Background Art
[0002] Conventionally, an operation has been carried out to attach a wireless tag such as an RFID tag having a display unit to a management target and display predetermined information on the display unit, thereby improving the efficiency of the management work of the management target. As a technology related to the management work using such a wireless tag with a display unit, for example, an RFID tag system disclosed in Patent Document 1 below is known. In this RFID tag system, when the RFID tag performs a rewriting process for rewriting the display content of the display unit based on an external rewriting command, the detection pattern provided in the identification area of the display unit is read by an optical sensor, and the presence or absence of a failure of the display unit is detected according to the reading result. Thus, when the detection pattern of the identification area does not change during the rewriting process because the display unit is faulty, that state is read by the optical sensor and the failure of the display unit is detected, so that the reliability of the information displayed on the display unit of the RFID tag can be improved.
Prior Art Documents
Patent Documents
[0003]
Patent Document 1
Summary of the Invention
Problems to be Solved by the Invention
[0004] Incidentally, an operation is being considered to further streamline the management work of the managed items by recording management information in a read / write format on wireless tags with a display unit, and displaying information related to the recorded information on the display unit. In such an operation, it is not easy to visually confirm what information is recorded on the wireless tag at the time, so it is necessary to determine the success or failure of updating not only the displayed information but also the recorded information. In the RFID tag system described above, an identification area for displaying a detection pattern for determining the success or failure of updating the displayed information is secured in the display area of the display unit, and another identification area for displaying a detection pattern for determining the success or failure of updating the recorded information is further secured in the display area of the display unit, thereby enabling the determination of the success or failure of updating the recorded information.
[0005] However, if a detection area is provided in the display area of the display unit to display both the detection pattern for determining the success or failure of updating the display information and the detection pattern for determining the success or failure of updating the recorded information, there is a problem in that the information display area in that display area that can display the display information becomes narrower.
[0006] The present invention was made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and its objective is to provide a configuration that can determine the success or failure of updating recorded information and display information of a wireless tag without narrowing the information display area in the display area of the display unit provided on the wireless tag. [Means for solving the problem]
[0007] To achieve the above objective, the invention described in claim 1 of the claims is: A wireless tag (10) having a display unit (11), A wireless tag communication unit (20) reads and writes recorded information stored in the wireless tag, An information reading unit (30) captures and reads the display information displayed on the aforementioned display unit, A wireless tag system (1) comprising, The aforementioned wireless tag communication unit is A communication control unit (21) performs a record information update process to update the record information recorded in the wireless tag with the specified information, The aforementioned communication control After the recording information update process is performed by the unit, a display control unit (21) controls the wireless tag so that display information corresponding to the instructed information is displayed in the display area of the display unit, Equipped with, The system is characterized by determining the success or failure of the record information update process based on the reading results from the information reading unit. The symbols within the parentheses above indicate the correspondence with the specific means described in the embodiments described later. [Effects of the Invention]
[0008] In the invention of claim 1, after the wireless tag communication unit performs a recording information update process to update the recorded information stored in the wireless tag with the instructed information, the display control unit controls the wireless tag so that display information corresponding to the instructed information is displayed in the display area of the display unit. Then, the success or failure of the recording information update process is determined based on the reading result by the information reading unit, which captures and reads the display information displayed in the display unit.
[0009] As a result, the information reading unit can determine that the display information on the captured display unit has been updated if it matches the information instructed as described above. Furthermore, since the display information on the display unit is updated when the recorded information on the wireless tag is updated, the success or failure of updating not only the display information but also the recorded information can be determined based on the reading results by the information reading unit. Therefore, there is no need to provide a detection area in the display area of the display unit for displaying detection patterns for determining the success or failure of updating the recorded information. Thus, the success or failure of updating the recorded information and the display information on the wireless tag can be determined without narrowing the information display area on the display unit of the wireless tag.
[0010] In the invention of claim 2, the information reading unit acquires information regarding display information corresponding to the instructed information from the wireless tag communication unit. Therefore, the information reading unit can accurately and reliably acquire information to be compared with the information it has captured and read, thereby improving the accuracy of the determination regarding the success or failure of the update.
[0011] In the invention of claim 3, the displayed information includes an information code that records information related to the instructed information, and the success or failure of the recorded information update process is determined based on the reading result by the information reading unit, which takes into account the decoding result of this information code. As a result, the information reading unit can easily and reliably obtain information for determining the success or failure of the recorded information update process, thereby improving the accuracy of the determination regarding the success or failure of the update.
[0012] In the invention of claim 4, the information reading unit is provided with a print quality determination unit that determines whether the print quality of the information code is good or bad. The success or failure of the record information update process is determined based on the reading result by the information reading unit, which takes into account the decoding result of the information code, and the determination result by the print quality determination unit. By determining the success or failure of the record information update process while also considering the print quality of the information code in this way, the accuracy of the determination when the update is determined to be successful can be improved.
[0013] In the invention of claim 5, the wireless tag is configured as a passive wireless tag that obtains operating power from radio waves received from the wireless tag communication unit. The information reading unit issues a communication condition change instruction to the wireless tag communication unit when the print quality determination unit determines that the print quality of the information code is poor. When the wireless tag communication unit receives the communication condition change instruction from the information reading unit, it increases the radio wave output compared to when it does not receive the communication condition change instruction, and then performs the record information update process by the communication control unit again.
[0014] In passive wireless tags, the update of recorded information or displayed information may fail if the operating power obtained by the wireless tag during the update is insufficient due to the radio wave environment or other factors. Furthermore, depending on the degree of operating power deficiency, even if the update of recorded information or displayed information is successful, the display quality of the displayed information may be poor, resulting in the information code being judged as having poor print quality. Therefore, when the wireless tag communication unit receives the above-mentioned instruction to change communication conditions, that is, when it is determined that the print quality of the information code is poor, it can suppress failures of updating recorded information or displayed information due to insufficient operating power by increasing the radio wave output and performing the recorded information update process again.
[0015] In the invention of claim 6, the information reading unit obtains specific information for identifying the wireless tag from the wireless tag communication unit, and the information recorded in the information code includes the above-mentioned specific information. As a result, the information reading unit can determine whether the displayed information code matches the wireless tag from which the information was read and the wireless tag whose recorded information and displayed information have been updated by the wireless tag communication unit. Therefore, even in an environment where multiple wireless tags exist, it is easy to determine whether or not the wireless tag to be updated has been updated.
[0016] In the invention of claim 7, the information code is a partially private code having a public area where publicly available information is recorded and a private area where information encrypted in a way that can be decrypted using a decryption key is recorded, wherein information related to the indicated information is recorded in the public area, and specific information is recorded in the private area. This not only makes it easy to distinguish between information related to the indicated information and specific information, but also allows the user to freely use the public area with respect to the information recorded in the information code without being aware of the specific information, thereby improving the convenience of the system.
[0017] In the invention of claim 8, since the wireless tag communication unit and the information reading unit are configured as an integrated device, the user can smoothly perform the operation for the update process of the wireless tag communication unit for the wireless tag to be updated and the operation for the reading process of the information reading unit.
[0018] In the invention of claim 9, since the integrated device includes an update result notification unit that notifies the success or failure of the recorded information update process, the user can easily grasp the success or failure of the update of the recorded information and the like in the wireless tag to be updated.
[0019] In the invention of claim 10, the information reading unit determines the success or failure of the recorded information update process based on the comparison result between the decoding result of the information code imaged before the recorded information update process and the decoding result of the information code imaged after the recorded information update process. As a result, when the recorded information update process is successful, the two decoding results are different, and when the recorded information update process fails, the two decoding results match. Therefore, the success or failure of the recorded information update process can be determined more accurately and reliably.
[0020] In the invention of claim 11, the information code is a partially non-public code having a public area in which publicly available information is recorded and a non-public area in which information encrypted so as to be decodable using a decoding key is recorded, and the information related to the instructed information is recorded in the non-public area. Thereby, the user can freely use the public area with respect to the information recorded in the information code, so that the convenience of the present system can be enhanced.
[0021] In the invention of claim 12, the information code is a partially non-public code having a public area in which publicly available information is recorded and a non-public area in which information encrypted so as to be decodable using a decoding key is recorded, and the information related to the instructed information is recorded in the public area. Thereby, the user can record the information to be concealed using the non-public area in the information code, so that the convenience of the present system can be enhanced.
[0022] In the invention of claim 13, the display information includes an information code recording information related to the indicated information. And the information reading unit determines the success or failure of the recorded information update process based on the comparison result between the captured image data obtained by imaging the display area of the display unit after the recorded information update process is performed, and the generated image data generated based on the decoding result of the information code.
[0023] Thereby, image data displaying the display information including the information code can be generated as the generated image data based on the decoding result of the information code. When it is considered that the generated image data and the captured image data match, it can be determined that the recorded information update process has succeeded. On the other hand, when it is considered that the generated image data and the captured image data are different, it can be determined that the recorded information update process has failed because an update error regarding the display information has occurred in an area different from the area occupied by the information code in the display area of the display unit.
[0024] In the invention of claim 14, the display information includes a detection pattern of a predetermined shape, and the information reading unit includes an image correction unit capable of correcting the captured image data according to the shape of the detection pattern included in the captured image data. Thereby, even when distortion or the like occurs in the captured image data obtained by imaging the display area of the display unit, the captured image data can be corrected to image data without distortion or the like according to the shape of the detection pattern, so that the success or failure of the recorded information update process can be determined more accurately and reliably.
[0025] In the invention of claim 15, the detection pattern is the information code. Since the information code is generated to be easily recognized from the captured image for its purpose, the image data can be corrected more accurately, so that the determination accuracy regarding the success or failure of the recorded information update process can be further improved.
Brief Description of the Drawings
[0026] [Figure 1] It is a block diagram schematically showing a wireless tag system according to the first embodiment. [[ID=Q21]] [Figure 2]This is an explanatory diagram illustrating the display status of the display unit in a wireless tag. [Figure 3] This flowchart illustrates the flow of the tag information update process performed in the control unit of the wireless tag communication device in the first embodiment. [Figure 4] This flowchart illustrates the flow of the update success / failure determination process performed in the control unit of the information reading device in the first embodiment. [Figure 5] These diagrams illustrate the display state of display information that has deteriorated due to insufficient operating power. Figure 5(A) shows a state where the display information is displayed noisily on the screen, Figure 5(B) shows a state where the display information is displayed with insufficient contrast, and Figure 5(C) shows a state where the display information is displayed with black and white inversion. [Figure 6] This flowchart illustrates the flow of the update success / failure determination process performed in the control unit of the information reading device in the second embodiment. [Figure 7] This flowchart illustrates the flow of the update success / failure determination process performed in the control unit of the information reading device in the third embodiment. [Figure 8] Figure 8(A) is an explanatory diagram illustrating generated image data produced based on the decoding result of the information code; Figure 8(B) is an explanatory diagram illustrating captured image data after successful decoding of the information code; and Figure 8(C) is an explanatory diagram illustrating corrected image data obtained by correcting Figure 8(B) according to the shape of the information code. [Modes for carrying out the invention]
[0027] [First Embodiment] A first embodiment of the wireless tag system of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. The wireless tag system 1 according to this embodiment is a system that manages wireless tags 10 having a display unit 11 as the target of management. As shown in Figure 1, the wireless tag system 1 is configured to include a wireless tag communication device 20 that wirelessly communicates with the wireless tag 10 and an information reading device 30 that captures and reads the display information displayed on the display unit 11 of the wireless tag 10. In this embodiment, the tag information update process by the wireless tag communication device 20 updates the recorded information stored in the wireless tag 10 and also updates the display information on the display unit 11. Then, the success or failure of the update process of the wireless tag 10 is determined by the update success or failure determination process by the information reading device 30, based on the reading result of the display information displayed on the wireless tag 10. The wireless tag communication device 20 corresponds to an example of a "wireless tag communication unit," and the information reading device 30 may correspond to an example of an "information reading unit."
[0028] In this embodiment, the wireless tag 10 is configured as a passive RFID tag that obtains operating power from radio waves received from the wireless tag communication device 20. As shown in Figure 1, in addition to the display unit 11 described above, the wireless tag 10 is configured to include an antenna 12, a power supply circuit 13, a demodulation circuit 14, a control circuit 15, a memory 16, a modulation circuit 17, etc. The power supply circuit 13 rectifies and smooths the transmission signal (carrier signal) received from the wireless tag communication device 20 etc. via the antenna 12 to generate operating power, and is configured to supply this operating power to each component, including the control circuit 15. The demodulation circuit 14 is configured to demodulate the data superimposed on the transmission signal (carrier signal) and output it to the control circuit 15. The memory 16 is composed of various semiconductor memories such as ROM and EEPROM, and includes a UII (Unique Item Identifier) for storing the tag ID and a user area where the user can freely read and write data. The control circuit 15 functions to read from and write to a predetermined area of the memory 16 in response to the execution of a predetermined program stored in the memory 16, and when it reads information corresponding to the request from the memory 16, it outputs it to the modulation circuit 17 as transmission data. The modulation circuit 17 is configured to load-modulate the response signal (carrier signal) with the above transmission data and transmit it as a reflected wave from the antenna 12.
[0029] In this embodiment, the display unit 11 is an electrophoretic or electronic powder type electronic paper, and is configured to maintain its display state even after the power supply is cut off, and its display state is controlled by the control circuit 15.
[0030] In the wireless tag 10 configured in this way, the tag information update process by the wireless tag communication device 20 updates the recorded information stored in the memory 16 and the display information displayed in the display area of the display unit 11. The display information is updated by displaying the display image data received from the wireless tag communication device 20 along with the recorded information on the screen. The recorded information and the display information are associated with each other. For example, when the recorded information is updated to "ABCDE", the display information is updated so that the character information "ABCDE" and the information code C that records this character information are displayed in the display area of the display unit 11, as illustrated in Figure 2. In this embodiment, in addition to the character information, the information code C records a tag ID for identifying the wireless tag 10. The tag ID may be an example of "identifying information" for identifying the wireless tag 10. In this embodiment, a QR code (registered trademark) is used as the information code C that records the character information, but it is not limited to this, and other code types such as barcodes, data matrix codes, and maxicodes may be used.
[0031] The wireless tag communication device 20 is a so-called portable RFID tag reader / writer, and as shown in Figure 1, it comprises a control unit 21, a storage unit 22, a notification unit 23, an operation unit 24, a communication processing unit 25, and an external interface 26, etc. The control unit 21 is mainly composed of a microcontroller and has a CPU, a system bus, an input / output interface, etc., and together with the storage unit 22, which consists of semiconductor memory, etc., it constitutes an information processing device.
[0032] The notification unit 23 is for notifying the user of predetermined information and consists of a display, LEDs, buzzer, etc., controlled by the control unit 21. The operation unit 24 is equipped with a trigger switch, a numeric keypad, etc., and is configured to output operation signals to the control unit 21 in accordance with the operation of the operation. The control unit 21 receives these operation signals and performs actions according to the content of the operation signals.
[0033] The communication processing unit 25 includes a transmitting circuit and a receiving circuit, etc. The transmitting circuit is composed of, for example, a carrier oscillator, an encoding unit, a modulation unit, and an amplifier. The carrier oscillator outputs a carrier wave of a predetermined frequency, and the encoding unit is connected to the control unit 21, encoding the transmission data output from the control unit 21 and outputting it to the modulation unit. The modulation unit receives the carrier wave from the carrier oscillator and the transmission data from the encoding unit as input. It generates a modulated signal that is ASK (Amplitude Shift Keying) modulated by the encoded transmission code (modulation signal) output from the encoding unit when a command is transmitted to the communication target, and outputs it to the amplifier. The amplifier amplifies the input signal (the modulated signal modulated by the modulation unit) at a set amplification factor, and this amplified signal is output as a transmission signal to an antenna (not shown in the figure). The input terminal of the receiving circuit is connected to the antenna, and the radio wave signal (received signal) received by the antenna is input to the receiving circuit. The receiving circuit is composed of, for example, an amplifier, a demodulator, a binarization processing unit, a decoder, etc. The received signal received by the antenna is amplified by the amplifier, and the amplified signal is demodulated by the demodulator. Furthermore, the demodulated signal waveform is binarized by the binarization processing unit and decoded by the decoding unit, and the decoded signal is output to the control unit 21 as received data.
[0034] In particular, in this embodiment, the communication processing unit 25 is configured so that the radio wave output of the radio waves transmitted to the wireless tag 10 during the tag information update process can be controlled by the control unit 21. This control of radio wave output will be described later.
[0035] The external interface 26 is configured as an interface for data communication with external devices such as the information reading device 30, and is configured to perform communication processing in cooperation with the control unit 21.
[0036] In the wireless tag communication device 20 configured in this way, when an update instruction is given to a specific wireless tag 10 from a higher-level device via an external interface 26, the control unit 21 performs a tag information update process to update the recorded information and display information of the wireless tag 10. The update instruction includes at least a tag ID to identify the wireless tag 10 to be updated and update information, which is the information after the update (after rewriting). In the tag information update process, a recorded information update process is performed to update the recorded information of the wireless tag 10 with the update information, and a display information update process is performed to generate an information code C that records the update information, and then generate image data to display the information code C together with the update information and transmit it to the wireless tag 10.
[0037] The information reading device 30 is a so-called portable information code reader, and as shown in Figure 1, it comprises a control unit 31, a storage unit 32, a notification unit 33, an operation unit 34, an imaging unit 35, and an external interface 36, etc. The control unit 31 is mainly composed of a microcontroller and has a CPU, a system bus, an input / output interface, etc., and together with the storage unit 32, which consists of semiconductor memory, etc., it constitutes an information processing device.
[0038] The notification unit 33 is for notifying the user of predetermined information and consists of a display, LEDs, buzzer, etc., controlled by the control unit 31. The operation unit 34 is equipped with a trigger switch, a numeric keypad, etc., and is configured to output operation signals to the control unit 31 in accordance with the operation of the operation. The control unit 31 receives these operation signals and performs actions according to the content of the operation signals.
[0039] The imaging unit 35 is configured as a camera equipped with a light-receiving sensor (for example, a C-MOS area sensor, a CCD area sensor, etc.), and processing using its image data is performed by the control unit 31. In this embodiment, when an information code or the like is captured by the imaging unit 35 through a reading port (not shown) during the update success / failure determination process, the control unit 31 performs decoding processing to decode the information code from the image data.
[0040] The external interface 36 is configured as an interface for data communication with external devices such as the wireless tag communication device 20, and is configured to perform communication processing in cooperation with the control unit 31.
[0041] In the information reading device 30 configured in this way, an update success / failure determination process is performed to determine the success or failure of the record information update process by the wireless tag communication device 20, based on the decoding result of the information code C (display information) displayed in the display area of the display unit 11 of the wireless tag 10.
[0042] The tag information update process performed by the control unit 21 of the wireless tag communication device 20 upon receiving an update instruction for the wireless tag 10 from a higher-level device, and the update success / failure determination process performed by the control unit 31 of the information reading device 30 to determine the success or failure of this tag information update process, will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.
[0043] First, the tag information update process performed by the control unit 21 of the wireless tag communication device 20 will be described in detail with reference to the flowchart shown in Figure 3. When the control unit 21 of the wireless tag communication device 20 receives an update instruction from a higher-level device, including the tag ID and update information, and starts the tag information update process, the update information transmission process shown in step S101 of Figure 3 is performed. In this process, the tag ID and update information obtained from the higher-level device as described above are transmitted to the information reading device 30 via the external interface 26.
[0044] Next, the record information update process shown in step S103 is performed. In this process, the communication processing unit 25, controlled by the control unit 21, sends a transmission signal to the wireless tag 10 of the tag ID to be updated, to update the record information stored in the memory 16 with the updated information. Immediately after the start of the tag information update process, the radio wave output of the radio waves transmitted from the communication processing unit 25 is controlled by the control unit 21 to a predetermined initial output value. Furthermore, the control unit 21 that performs the record information update process may correspond to an example of a "communication control unit".
[0045] Next, the information code generation process shown in step S105 is performed, and an information code C recording the update information and tag ID is generated. Subsequently, the display information update process shown in step S107 is performed. In this process, first, display image data is generated for displaying the information code C and update information generated as described above in the display area of the display unit 11 of the wireless tag 10. Then, the communication processing unit 25, controlled by the control unit 21, transmits a transmission signal to the wireless tag 10 of the tag ID to be updated, for updating and displaying the display image data in the display area of the display unit 11. The control unit 21 that performs the above display information update process may correspond to an example of a "display control unit".
[0046] Then, in the determination process shown in step S109, it is determined whether or not a communication condition change instruction, as described later, has been received from the information reading device 30. If no communication condition change instruction has been received within a predetermined time period as described later (No in S109), the record information update process is considered successful and the record information update process ends.
[0047] If the record information update process has been completed in this manner, and the update information included in the update instruction is "ABCDE", then the record information recorded in a predetermined area of the memory 16 in the wireless tag 10 is updated (rewritten) to "ABCDE". After that, as illustrated in Figure 2, the display information is updated so that the character information "ABCDE" and the information code C that records this character information are displayed in the display area of the display unit 11.
[0048] On the other hand, when the information reading device 30 issues a communication condition change instruction (Yes in S109), the communication condition change process shown in step S111 is performed. In this process, the communication conditions are changed so that the radio wave output of the radio waves transmitted from the communication processing unit 25 is increased by one level from the current output value. If the communication condition change instruction is received for the first time after the start of the record information update process, the radio wave output is currently set to a predetermined initial output value, so the radio wave output is controlled to be increased by one level from this predetermined initial output value. After that, with the radio wave output increased by one level as described above, the record information update process shown in step S103 is performed again, and the process of increasing the radio wave output by one level in the communication processing unit 25 is repeated until the communication condition change instruction is no longer received.
[0049] Next, the update success / failure determination process performed by the control unit 31 of the information reading device 30 will be described in detail with reference to the flowchart shown in Figure 4. It should be assumed that, in accordance with the update information transmission process (S101) by the wireless tag communication device 20, the tag ID and update information related to the wireless tag 10 to be updated, received from the wireless tag communication device 20 via the external interface 36, are stored in the storage unit 32 before the start of the update success / failure determination process. Furthermore, at the start of the update success / failure determination process, the number of times the print quality is checked (hereinafter also simply referred to as the number of retries) N is set to 0.
[0050] When the user directs the reading port of the information reading device 30 towards the display area of the display unit 11 of the wireless tag 10 to be updated, and the control unit 31 starts the update success / failure determination process in response to a predetermined operation on the operation unit 34, the information code reading process shown in step S201 of Figure 4 is performed. This process involves decoding and reading the information code C captured by the imaging unit 35.
[0051] Next, in the determination process shown in step S203, it is determined whether or not the updated information code C has been successfully read. If the tag ID and update information read from information code C match the tag ID and update information stored in the storage unit 32 as described above, it is determined that the updated information code C has been successfully read (Yes in S203).
[0052] If it is determined that the updated information code C has been successfully read, the print quality confirmation process shown in step S205 is performed to confirm (check) the print quality of the captured information code C. In this embodiment, for example, the information code print quality evaluation standard defined in ISO / IEC 15415 is used to check the print quality of information code C, but other checking methods may be used as well.
[0053] Next, in the print quality determination process shown in step S207, it is determined whether the print quality of the information code C confirmed as described above is good or not. The control unit 31 that performs the above print quality determination process may correspond to an example of a "print quality determination unit".
[0054] Here, if it is determined that the print quality of the information code C that was successfully decoded is good in accordance with the above information code print quality evaluation standard (Yes in S207), the success notification process shown in step S209 is performed. In this process, the user is notified that the update process of the recorded information of the wireless tag 10 by the wireless tag communication device 20 has been successful, using the display, LED, buzzer, etc. of the notification unit 33.
[0055] Upon receiving notification of a successful update as described above, the user recognizes that the update of the wireless tag 10 to which the reader is pointed has been completed. In such cases, the information reader 30 does not issue a communication condition change instruction to the wireless tag communication device 20.
[0056] On the other hand, if it is determined that the print quality of the information code C that was successfully decoded is not good (No in S207), and if the determination process in step S211 determines that the number of retries N is not equal to or greater than the specified number No (No in S211), the number of retries N is incremented (S213), and then the communication condition change instruction process shown in step S215 is performed. In this process, a communication condition change instruction to increase the radio wave output of the communication processing unit 25 by one level is sent to the wireless tag communication device 20 via the external interface 36.
[0057] This section explains why a communication condition change instruction is issued when the print quality of information code C, which was successfully decoded, is determined to be poor. In passive wireless tags 10, the update of recorded information or displayed information may fail due to insufficient operating power obtained by the wireless tag 10 during the update process, caused by factors such as the radio wave environment. Furthermore, depending on the degree of insufficient operating power, even if the update of recorded information or displayed information is successful, the print quality of information code C may be judged as poor due to poor display quality of the displayed information.
[0058] Examples of display issues resulting from insufficient operating power include, for instance, a noisy display of information code C and character information constituting the display information, as illustrated in Figure 5(A). Additionally, a display of information code C and character information constituting the display information with insufficient contrast, as illustrated in Figure 5(B), and a display of information code C and character information constituting the display information in a black-and-white inversion, as illustrated in Figure 5(C).
[0059] Therefore, if the print quality of the information code C that was successfully decoded is determined to be poor, it is assumed that the operating power supplied to the wireless tag 10 during the update is insufficient. By increasing the radio output and performing the record information update process again, it is possible to suppress failures in updating the record information or display information caused by insufficient operating power.
[0060] As described above, when the instruction to change communication conditions is transmitted to the wireless tag communication device 20, the radio wave output is increased by one level, and at the timing when the record information update process (S103) and display information update process (S107) are performed, the process from step S201 is performed again. Then, if it is determined that the print quality of the information code C that was successfully decoded is good due to the increase in radio wave output by one level (Yes in S207), the success notification process shown in step S209 is performed.
[0061] On the other hand, if the print quality of the information code C that was successfully decoded is determined to be poor even after increasing the radio wave output by one level (No in S207), and the number of retries N is not equal to or greater than the specified number No (No in S211), the instruction to change the communication conditions shown in step S215 is given again, and the radio wave output of the wireless tag communication device 20 is increased by another level to perform the record information update process (S103) and the display information update process (S107). If the print quality of the information code C is determined to be poor even after increasing the radio wave output in stages in this way, and the number of retries N is equal to or greater than the specified number No (Yes in S211), the failure notification process shown in step S217 is performed. In this process, the user is notified that the update process of the record information of the wireless tag 10 by the wireless tag communication device 20 has failed, using the display, LED, buzzer, etc. of the notification unit 33.
[0062] Furthermore, if the update of the display information fails due to insufficient operating power of the wireless tag 10, and the information code C before the update is being read, the tag ID and update information read from the information code C do not match the tag ID and update information stored in the storage unit 32 as described above, and it is determined that reading the updated information code C has failed (No in S203). In such cases, assuming that the number of retries N is not greater than or equal to the specified number No (No in S211), the communication condition change instruction shown in step S215 above is given. As a result, the radio wave output of the wireless tag communication device 20 is increased and the record information update process (S103) and display information update process (S107) are performed, thereby suppressing failures in updating the record information and display information due to insufficient operating power. The notification unit 33, which provides notification according to the success notification process (S209) and failure notification process (S217) described above, may correspond to an example of an "update result notification unit" that notifies whether the record information update process is successful or not.
[0063] As described above, in the wireless tag system 1 according to this embodiment, after the wireless tag communication device 20 performs a record information update process to update the recorded information stored in the wireless tag 10 with update information (instructed information), the wireless tag 10 is controlled so that display information corresponding to the update information is displayed in the display area of the display unit 11. Then, the success or failure of the record information update process is determined based on the reading result by the information reading device 30, which captures and reads the display information displayed in the display unit 11.
[0064] As a result, the information reading device 30 can determine that the display information on the display unit 11 has been updated if the displayed information on the imaged display unit 11 corresponds to the update information. Furthermore, since the display information on the display unit 11 is updated when the recorded information on the wireless tag 10 is updated, the success or failure of updating not only the display information but also the recorded information can be determined based on the reading results by the information reading device 30.Therefore, there is no need to provide a detection area in the display area of the display unit 11 for displaying detection patterns for determining the success or failure of updating the recorded information. Thus, the success or failure of updating the recorded information and the display information on the wireless tag 10 can be determined without narrowing the information display area on the display unit 11 on the wireless tag 10 that is capable of displaying the displayed information.
[0065] Furthermore, since the information reading device 30 acquires information regarding display information corresponding to the update information from the wireless tag communication device 20 (S101), it can accurately and reliably acquire information to be compared with the information captured and read by the information reading device 30, thereby improving the accuracy of the judgment regarding the success or failure of the update.
[0066] Furthermore, the displayed information includes an information code C that records information related to the update information (instructed information), and the success or failure of the recorded information update process is determined based on the reading result by the information reading device 30, which takes into account the decoding result of this information code C. As a result, the information reading device 30 can easily and reliably obtain the information necessary to determine the success or failure of the recorded information update process, thereby improving the accuracy of the determination regarding the success or failure of the update. In particular, the information reading device 30 can obtain the information necessary to determine the success or failure of the recorded information update process without receiving information from external devices other than the wireless tag communication device 20.
[0067] In particular, the information reading device 30 performs a print quality determination process (S207) to determine whether the print quality of the information code C that has been successfully decoded is good or bad. Based on the reading result, which takes into account the decoding result of information code C, and the determination result of the print quality determination process, the success or failure of the record information update process is determined. In this way, by determining the success or failure of the record information update process while also considering the print quality of information code C, the accuracy of the determination when the update is determined to be successful can be improved.
[0068] Furthermore, the wireless tag 10 is configured as a passive wireless tag that obtains operating power from radio waves received from the wireless tag communication device 20. When the information reading device 30 determines that the print quality of information code C is poor through the print quality judgment process, it issues a communication condition change instruction to the wireless tag communication device 20 (S215). When the wireless tag communication device 20 receives the above communication condition change instruction from the information reading device 30, it increases the radio wave output compared to when it does not receive the communication condition change instruction (S111) and performs the record information update process, etc.
[0069] In this way, when the wireless tag communication device 20 receives the above-mentioned instruction to change the communication conditions, that is, when it is determined that the print quality of information code C is poor, it can suppress failures in updating recorded information or display information caused by insufficient operating power by increasing the radio output and performing the record information update process again, assuming that the operating power supplied to the wireless tag 10 during the update is insufficient.
[0070] Furthermore, the information reading device 30 obtains the tag ID and other identifying information for identifying the wireless tag 10 from the wireless tag communication device 20, and the information recorded in the information code C includes the tag ID and other information. This allows the information reading device 30 to determine whether the displayed information code C matches the wireless tag 10 from which the information code C was read and the wireless tag 10 whose recorded information and displayed information have been updated by the wireless tag communication device 20. For this reason, even in an environment where multiple wireless tags 10 exist, it is easy to determine whether or not the wireless tag 10 to be updated has been updated.
[0071] As a first modification of this embodiment, the information code C generated in the wireless tag communication device 20 during the information code generation process to record the update information may be generated encrypted so that it can only be read by a reader having a predetermined decryption key. Furthermore, the information code C may be generated as a partially private code comprising a public area where information not requiring a decryption key is recorded and a private area where encrypted information requiring a decryption key is recorded. For example, the information code C can be generated such that information related to the update information (instructed information) is recorded in the public area and the tag ID is recorded in the private area. This not only makes it easy to distinguish between information related to the update information and the tag ID, but also allows the user to freely use the public area for information recorded in the information code C without being aware of the tag ID, thereby improving the convenience of this system. Alternatively, the information code C can be generated such that the tag ID is recorded in the public area and information related to the update information (instructed information) is recorded in the private area. Furthermore, as a method for generating the aforementioned partially confidential code and the specific configuration of the generated partially confidential code, technologies disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Publication No. 2009-9547 and Japanese Patent Publication No. 2008-299422 can be suitably used.
[0072] Furthermore, as a second modification of this embodiment, the wireless tag communication device 20 and the information reading device 30 may be configured as an integrated, portable device. This allows the user to smoothly perform the tag information update processing operation of the wireless tag communication device 20 and the reading processing (update success / failure determination processing) operation of the information reading device 30 for the wireless tag 10 to be updated. For example, the tag information update processing and the update success / failure determination processing can be performed in parallel in response to a single operation performed by the user with the reading port directed towards the display area of the display unit 11 of the wireless tag 10 to be updated. Also, even when the wireless tag communication device 20 and the information reading device 30 are configured as an integrated, stationary device, their installation conditions can be uniquely determined.
[0073] Furthermore, in the integrated device described above, the success or failure of the record information update process is notified by the notification unit 33, which functions as an update result notification unit (S209, S217), so the user can easily understand whether the update of the record information, etc., in the wireless tag 10 to be updated has been successful or not. In other words, in the configuration of Figure 1, where the wireless tag communication device 20 and the information reading device 30 are separate, the user receives notification of the success or failure of the record information update process when they operate the information reading device 30 after operating the wireless tag communication device 20, and there is a time lag between the operation of the wireless tag communication device 20 and the notification from the information reading device 30, so the integrated device makes it easier to understand whether the update of the record information, etc., has been successful or not.
[0074] [Second Embodiment] Next, a wireless tag system according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In this second embodiment, the main difference from the first embodiment is that the information reading device 30 determines the success or failure of the tag information update process in the wireless tag communication device 20 without acquiring information related to the update instruction. Therefore, components that are substantially the same as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and their descriptions are omitted.
[0075] In this embodiment, unlike the first embodiment, the information reading device 30 does not acquire information related to update instructions (tag ID and update information) from the wireless tag communication device 20, but instead uses the decoding results of two information codes C to determine the success or failure of the tag information update process in the wireless tag communication device 20. Because the information reading device 30 does not acquire information related to update instructions (tag ID and update information) from the wireless tag communication device 20, in this embodiment, the tag information update process performed by the wireless tag communication device 20 omits the update information transmission process of step S101 compared to the tag information update process in the first embodiment. The information code C is generated by the wireless tag communication device 20 so as to record the tag ID and update information, etc., as in the first embodiment.
[0076] Here, we will explain the problems that arise when the information reading device 30 determines that the tag information update process by the wireless tag communication device 20 has been successful simply because it has successfully read the information code C. For example, if the tag information update process by the wireless tag communication device 20 fails, the display unit 11 of the wireless tag 10, which is made of electronic paper, will continue to display the previous display information. Therefore, if the system determines that the tag information update process by the wireless tag communication device 20 has succeeded simply by successfully reading the information code C, it will incorrectly determine that the tag information update process has succeeded even if the system has succeeded in reading the information code C of the previous display information that was maintained because the tag information update process failed.
[0077] Therefore, in the update success / failure determination process performed by the information reading device 30 in this embodiment, the success or failure of the tag information update process is determined based on a comparison result between the decoding result of the information code C captured before the tag information update process by the wireless tag communication device 20 and the decoding result of the information code C captured after the tag information update process has been performed.
[0078] In this embodiment, the update success / failure determination process performed by the control unit 31 of the information reading device 30 will be described in detail below with reference to the flowchart shown in Figure 6. When the update success / failure determination process is started in the control unit 31, the pre-update information code reading process shown in step S221 of Figure 6 is performed. In this process, the information code C captured by the imaging unit 35 is decoded and read in response to a predetermined operation by the user to read the information code on the operation unit 34. Subsequently, the post-update information code reading process shown in step S223 is performed, in which the information code C newly captured by the imaging unit 35 in response to the predetermined operation by the user is decoded and read.
[0079] Therefore, in the pre-update information code reading process, the information code C displayed on the display unit 11 before the tag information update process by the wireless tag communication device 20 is read, and then in the post-update information code reading process, the information code C displayed on the display unit 11 after the tag information update process by the wireless tag communication device 20 is read, thereby obtaining two decoding results.
[0080] If the decoding of each information code C is successful (Yes in S225), the determination process shown in step S227 determines whether the two decoding results are different. If the two decoding results match (No in S227), the tag information update process is considered to have failed because the display information on the display unit 11 has not changed even though the tag information update process has been performed, and the processing from the determination process in step S211 onwards is carried out. Similarly, if the decoding of either information code C fails (No in S225), the tag information update process is considered to have failed, and the processing from the determination process in step S211 onwards is carried out.
[0081] On the other hand, if the two decoding results are different (Yes in S227), the information code C before the tag information update process succeeds and the information code C after the tag information update process succeeds are compared, so the process from step S205 onwards is performed, assuming that the tag information update process was successful.
[0082] As described above, in the wireless tag system 1 according to this embodiment, the information reading device 30 determines the success or failure of the record information update process based on a comparison between the decoding result of the information code C captured before the record information update process is performed and the decoding result of the information code C captured after the record information update process is performed. As a result, if the record information update process is successful, the two decoding results will be different, and if the record information update process fails, the two decoding results will be the same, so the success or failure of the record information update process can be determined more accurately and reliably.
[0083] As a variation of this embodiment, information code C may be generated as the partially confidential code described above, in which case the tag ID and update information (information related to the instructed information) may be recorded in the confidential area. In this case, the user can freely use the public area for information to be recorded in the information code, thereby increasing the convenience of this system. On the other hand, the tag ID and update information (information related to the instructed information) may be recorded in the public area. In this case, the user can use the confidential area to record information that should be kept secret in the information code, thereby increasing the convenience of this system.
[0084] [Third Embodiment] Next, a wireless tag system according to a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In this third embodiment, the main difference from the first embodiment is that the success or failure of the tag information update process in the wireless tag communication device 20 is determined using the generated image data generated based on the decoding result of information code C. Therefore, components that are substantially the same as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and their descriptions are omitted.
[0085] If update errors are concentrated in an area of the display area of the display unit 11 that is different from the area of information code C due to a burst error during the display information update process as shown in step S107 above, it is possible that these update errors cannot be detected by determining whether information code C can be decoded or by determining the print quality.
[0086] Therefore, in the update success / failure determination process performed by the information reading device 30 in this embodiment, the success or failure of the tag information update process in the wireless tag communication device 20 is determined based on a comparison result between the captured image data, which is captured of the display area of the display unit 11 after the record information update process has been performed, and the generated image data, which is generated based on the decoding result of the information code C. For this reason, in this embodiment, the information code C is generated by the wireless tag communication device 20 so as to record arrangement information such as the size and positional relationship when the update information and the information code C are displayed in the display area of the display unit 11 of the wireless tag 10, in addition to the update information and the tag ID. In particular, in this embodiment, the accuracy of the determination regarding the success or failure of the record information update process is improved by correcting the captured image data to image data that is free from distortion, etc., according to the shape of the information code C contained in the captured image data (such as the external shape and the position of the position detection pattern).
[0087] In this embodiment, the update success / failure determination process performed by the control unit 31 of the information reading device 30 will be described in detail below with reference to the flowchart shown in Figure 7. When the update success / failure determination process is started in the control unit 31, the information code reading process shown in step S201 of Figure 7 is performed, and the information code C captured by the imaging unit 35 is decoded and read.
[0088] If the decoding of information code C is successful (Yes in S231), the image data generation process shown in step S233 is performed. In this process, generated image data is generated such that the updated information decoded from information code C and that information code C are displayed in predetermined positions in the display area of the display unit 11, based on the arrangement information. For example, generated image data is generated as illustrated in Figure 8(A).
[0089] Next, the image data correction process shown in step S235 is performed. In this process, the captured image data captured in step S201, in which the information code C has been successfully decoded, is corrected to image data that is free from distortion according to the shape of the information code C. For example, if the captured image data in which the information code C has been successfully decoded is acquired as exemplified in Figure 8(B), the captured image data is corrected so that the information code C is rectangular, as exemplified in Figure 8(C). Note that the information code C included in the display information corresponds to an example of a "detection pattern of a predetermined shape," and the control unit 31 that performs the image data correction process may correspond to an example of an "image correction unit."
[0090] As described above, once the captured image data is corrected, the determination process in step S237 determines whether or not there is a loss of information beyond a predetermined range in the display area of the display unit 11 of the captured wireless tag 10. Here, if the generated image data and the corrected captured image data are compared and the range in which the display information differs is less than the predetermined range, and therefore the two are considered to match, it is determined that there is no loss in the display information and the display information update is successful (No in S237), and the processing from step S205 onwards is carried out.
[0091] On the other hand, if the range of difference in display information between the generated image data and the corrected captured image data exceeds the predetermined range, and therefore the two are deemed not to match, it is determined that there is a loss in the display information and the display information update has failed (Yes in S237), and the processing from step S211 onwards is carried out. For example, in the captured image data corrected as exemplified in Figure 8(C) because display information with a loss has been captured, the range of difference in display information with respect to the generated image data produced as exemplified in Figure 8(A) exceeds the predetermined range. Therefore, the two are deemed not to match, and it is determined that there is a loss in the display information and the display information update has failed (Yes in S237).
[0092] As described above, in the wireless tag system 1 according to this embodiment, the display information includes an information code C which records information related to the instructed information. The information reading device 30 then determines the success or failure of the record information update process based on a comparison result between the captured image data, which is taken by capturing the display area of the display unit 11 after the record information update process has been performed, and the generated image data, which is generated based on the decoding result of the information code C.
[0093] As a result, based on the decoding result of information code C, image data displaying the display information containing information code C can be generated as generated image data. If this generated image data is deemed to match the captured image data (No in S237), it can be determined that the recording information update process has been successful. On the other hand, if the generated image data and the captured image data are deemed to be different (Yes in S237), it can be determined that the recording information update process has failed because an update error related to the display information has occurred in an area of the display area of the display unit 11 that is different from the area occupied by information code C.
[0094] In particular, the display information includes an information code C as a detection pattern of a predetermined shape, and the information reading device 30 corrects the captured image data according to the shape of the information code C included in the captured image data through image data correction processing (S235). As a result, even if distortion occurs in the captured image data that captures the display area of the display unit 11, the captured image data can be corrected to image data without distortion according to the shape of the information code C, so that the success or failure of the recording information update process can be determined more accurately and reliably. Since the information code C is generated in a way that makes it easy to recognize from the captured image for its purpose, the image data can be corrected more accurately, and the accuracy of the determination regarding the success or failure of the recording information update process can be further improved.
[0095] Furthermore, the image data correction process described above is not limited to correcting the captured image data according to the shape of information code C, but may also be corrected according to the shape of other predetermined shape detection patterns included in the display information.
[0096] The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and may be further embodied as follows, for example. (1) In the update success / failure determination process performed by the information reading device 30 in the first embodiment described above, the processes in steps S205 and S207 related to print quality may be omitted, and if the updated information code C is successfully read (Yes in S203), the success notification process shown in step S209 may be performed. Also, in the communication condition change instruction process in step S215, it is not limited to sending an instruction to increase the radio wave output by one level as a communication condition change instruction, but for example, an instruction to change the polarization of the radio waves output from the communication processing unit 25 (for example, an instruction to change circular polarization to linear polarization) may be sent as a communication condition change instruction. In addition, in order to improve the reliability of transmitted and received data, an instruction to lower the communication speed during the update process by the communication processing unit 25 to a predetermined initial speed may be sent as a communication condition change instruction. The same applies to other embodiments.
[0097] (2) The display unit 11 of the wireless tag 10 is not limited to being configured as electronic paper, but may also be configured as other display devices, such as a liquid crystal display.
[0098] (3) The wireless tag 10 is not limited to being configured as a passive RFID tag with a display unit, but may also be configured as another type of wireless tag with a display unit, for example, an RFID tag with a display unit that has a battery.
[0099] 1… Wireless tag system 10… Wireless tags 11...Display section 20…Wireless tag communication device (wireless tag communication unit) 21...Control Unit (Communication Control Unit, Display Control Unit) 25...Communication Processing Unit 30…Information reading device (information reading unit) 31...Control Unit (Print Quality Determination Unit, Image Correction Unit) 33… News Department (Update results from News Department) 35…Imaging Unit C... Information Code
Claims
1. A wireless tag having a display unit, A wireless tag communication unit that reads and writes recorded information to the aforementioned wireless tag, An information reading unit that captures and reads the display information displayed on the display unit, A wireless tag system comprising, The aforementioned wireless tag communication unit is A communication control unit performs a record information update process to update the recorded information stored in the wireless tag with the specified information, After the communication control unit performs the record information update process, a display control unit controls the wireless tag so that display information corresponding to the instructed information is displayed in the display area of the display unit, Equipped with, A wireless tag system characterized by determining the success or failure of the record information update process based on the reading result by the information reading unit.
2. The wireless tag system according to claim 1, characterized in that the information reading unit obtains information relating to display information corresponding to the instructed information from the wireless tag communication unit.
3. The display information includes an information code that records information related to the instructed information. The wireless tag system according to claim 1, characterized in that the success or failure of the record information update process is determined based on the reading result by the information reading unit, taking into account the decoding result of the information code.
4. The wireless tag system according to claim 3, wherein the information reading unit includes a print quality determination unit that determines whether the print quality of the information code is good or bad, and determines whether the record information update process is successful or not based on the reading result by the information reading unit, which takes into account the decoding result of the information code, and the determination result by the print quality determination unit.
5. The aforementioned wireless tag is configured as a passive wireless tag that obtains operating power from radio waves received from the wireless tag communication unit. The information reading unit issues a communication condition change instruction to the wireless tag communication unit when the print quality determination unit determines that the print quality of the information code is poor. The wireless tag system according to claim 4, characterized in that when the wireless tag communication unit receives a communication condition change instruction from the information reading unit, it increases the radio wave output compared to when it does not receive the communication condition change instruction, and then performs the record information update process again by the communication control unit.
6. The information reading unit obtains identification information for identifying the wireless tag from the wireless tag communication unit, The wireless tag system according to claim 3, characterized in that the information recorded in the information code includes the specific information.
7. The wireless tag system according to claim 6, wherein the information code is a partially private code having a public area on which publicly available information is recorded and a private area on which information encrypted in a way that can be decrypted using a decryption key is recorded, and information related to the indicated information is recorded in the public area and the specific information is recorded in the private area.
8. The wireless tag system according to claim 1, characterized in that the wireless tag communication unit and the information reading unit are configured as an integrated device.
9. The wireless tag system according to claim 8, characterized in that the integrated device includes an update result notification unit that notifies whether the record information update process is successful or not.
10. The wireless tag system according to claim 3, characterized in that the information reading unit determines the success or failure of the record information update process based on a comparison result between the decoding result of the information code captured before the record information update process is performed and the decoding result of the information code captured after the record information update process is performed.
11. The wireless tag system according to claim 10, wherein the information code is a partially private code having a public area on which publicly available information is recorded and a private area on which information encrypted in a way that can be decrypted using a decryption key is recorded, and the information related to the indicated information is recorded in the private area.
12. The wireless tag system according to claim 10, wherein the information code is a partially private code having a public area on which publicly available information is recorded and a private area on which information encrypted in a way that can be decrypted using a decryption key is recorded, and the information related to the indicated information is recorded in the public area.
13. The display information includes an information code that records information related to the instructed information. The wireless tag system according to claim 1, characterized in that the information reading unit determines the success or failure of the record information update process based on a comparison result between captured image data obtained by capturing the display area of the display unit after the record information update process has been performed and generated image data generated based on the decoding result of the information code.
14. The aforementioned display information includes a detection pattern of a predetermined shape. The wireless tag system according to claim 13, characterized in that the information reading unit includes an image correction unit capable of correcting the captured image data according to the shape of the detection pattern contained in the captured image data.
15. The wireless tag system according to claim 14, characterized in that the detection pattern is the information code.