Communication device

Abstract

This invention realizes a communication device capable of outputting notification information in some cases, even if a reception error occurs in communication with a slave unit. A communication device (10) comprises: a determination unit (70) that determines whether there is a reception error in frame data demodulated by a reception unit (40); and a control unit (60). If a determination result is obtained indicating that there is a reception error, the control unit (60) uses demodulated first additional information to examine whether there is an error in demodulated notification information, and outputs the demodulated notification information if an examination result is obtained indicating that there is no error.

Description

communication equipment

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a communication device.

[0002] In recent years, it has become known that contactless tags such as RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) tags receive power wirelessly from a reader / writer as a communication device and generate power for operation when communicating as a slave device with the reader / writer. The tag is configured to use the generated power to transmit a signal containing notification information, which is information to be notified, to the reader / writer (master device).

[0003] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2001-307052

[0004] However, in the case of a conventional communication device, when a reception error occurs in communication with a slave device, the device does not output notification information to the host device, but simply notifies the host device of the error.

[0005] The present disclosure has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned problems, and aims to realize a communication device that can output notification information in some cases even if a reception error occurs in communication with a sub-unit.

[0006] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present disclosure employs the following configuration.

[0007] A communication device according to one aspect of the present disclosure includes a receiving unit that receives a signal transmitted by a sub-unit on a frame-by-frame basis and demodulates data contained in the signal, a determining unit that determines whether or not there is a reception error in the data of the demodulated frame, and a control unit, wherein the frame includes at least notification information, first additional information following the notification information, and second additional information following the first additional information, and when the determination result indicates that there is a reception error, the control unit uses the demodulated first additional information to check whether or not there is an error in the demodulated notification information, and when the inspection result indicates that there is no error, outputs the demodulated notification information.

[0008] According to the above configuration, a communication device can be realized that can output notification information in some cases even if a reception error occurs in communication with a slave device.

[0009] When the determination result indicates that a reception error has occurred, the control unit may output information indicating a result of the inspection.

[0010] According to the above configuration, a host device of the communication device can obtain information about the reliability of the notification information output by the communication device, or the host device can use the information to obtain information about the status of communication between the communication device and the slave device.

[0011] The communication device may further include a display unit, and the control unit may cause the display unit to display a predetermined message when the determination result indicates that there is a reception error and the inspection result indicates that there is no error in the demodulated notification information.

[0012] According to the above configuration, the user of the communication device can immediately recognize whether or not a reception error has occurred even when the communication device is able to output notification information.

[0013] The determination unit may perform the determination by error detection using a second check character included in the demodulated second additional information.

[0014] According to the above configuration, the communication device can determine whether or not there is a reception error in the frame.

[0015] The control unit may perform the check by error detection using a first check character included in the demodulated first additional information.

[0016] According to the above configuration, the communication device can check whether or not there is an error in the demodulated notification information.

[0017] The communication device may further include a communication unit, and the control unit may control the communication unit to transmit the notification information to be output to an external device.

[0018] According to the above configuration, the external device can acquire the notification information.

[0019] The communication device may further include a transmitter that wirelessly transmits a command to the slave unit, and the signal may be a wireless response from the slave unit to the command.

[0020] According to the above configuration, in a communication system having a slave unit that responds to commands from a communication device, a communication device can be realized that can output notification information in some cases even if a reception error occurs in communication with the slave unit.

[0021] The communication device may be an RFID reader.

[0022] According to the above configuration, an RFID reader can be realized that can output notification information in some cases even if a reception error occurs in communication with an RFID tag.

[0023] According to the present disclosure, a communication device can be realized that can output notification information in some cases even if a reception error occurs in communication with a slave device.

[0024] 1 is a diagram illustrating an overview of a communication system to which a communication device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is applied; FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a data format of a response from a tag; FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an operation of the communication device; FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of an operation of data communication between the communication device and a tag, and is a diagram illustrating an effect of the communication device.

[0025] Hereinafter, an embodiment according to one aspect of the present disclosure (hereinafter also referred to as "the present embodiment") will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0026] 1 is an example of a communication device according to an application example of the present disclosure. The communication device 10 includes a receiving unit 40, a control unit 60, and a determination unit 70. The receiving unit 40 receives a signal from a tag 90 as a slave device and demodulates the received signal into frame-by-frame data.

[0027] The determining unit 70 determines whether or not there is a reception error in the data of the frame demodulated by the receiving unit 40. The demodulated frame has, for example, the data format shown in Fig. 2 (details will be described later).

[0028] The control unit 60 uses the first additional information, which is included in the frame and will be described later, to check whether or not there is an error in the notification information, which is included in the frame and will be described later. If the control unit 60 determines that there is no error in the notification information, it outputs the notification information.

[0029] Therefore, according to this embodiment, in the communication device 10, the control unit 60 uses the first additional information included in a frame for which it has been determined that a reception error has occurred to check whether or not there is an error in the notification information included in the frame. If the control unit 60 obtains a result of the inspection that indicates that there is no error in the notification information, it outputs the notification information. This makes it possible to realize a communication device that can output notification information in some cases even if a reception error occurs in communication with the tag (slave) 90.

[0030] §2 Configuration Example [One Embodiment] <Outline of Communication System> An embodiment of the present disclosure will be described in detail below. Fig. 1 is a diagram illustrating an outline of a communication system 1 to which a communication device 10 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is applied.

[0031] The communication system 1 is a passive RFID system that uses electromagnetic waves in the LF (Low Frequency) band. The communication system 1 includes a communication device 10 and a host device 100 connected to the communication device 10 via an appropriate communication network. The host device 100 is an external device such as a PLC (Programmable Logic Controller) or a PC (Personal Computer). The communication system 1 also includes a tag 90. An antenna 80 is connected to the communication device 10, enabling wireless communication between the communication device 10 and the tag 90.

[0032] The tag 90 is a known passive wireless device also called a wireless tag, RFID tag, transponder, etc. The communication device 10 is a wireless communication device that serves as a master device for the tag 90 and is also called an RFID reader, tag reader, reader / writer, etc. When the communication device 10 transmits a command via wireless communication using electromagnetic waves in the LF band, the tag 90 stores the energy transmitted by the electromagnetic waves as electrical energy and receives the command.

[0033] <Tag> The tag 90 includes a tag communication unit 91 and a power supply unit 92. The tag communication unit 91 is configured using, for example, an IC (Integrated Circuit) chip, and is configured to function as a controller that controls each unit of the tag 90. The tag communication unit 91 also functions as a memory that stores information data acquired by the tag 90. The power supply unit 92 includes, for example, a rectifier circuit. In the power supply unit 92, the rectifier circuit rectifies electromagnetic waves that carry commands from the communication device 10 to generate operating power (stored power) for the tag 90.

[0034] Thereafter, when the stored power in the power supply unit 92 reaches the operable power of the tag 90, the tag 90 starts up. Then, in the tag 90, the tag communication unit 91 reads out notification information corresponding to the command from the memory from the communication device 10. Furthermore, the tag communication unit 91 generates an FM (Frequency Modulation) signal corresponding to the frame-by-frame data including the read notification information, and sends it back to the antenna 80.

[0035] As described above, the tag 90 uses the stored power to transmit (reply) a response to a command from the communication device 10 to the communication device 10 .

[0036] <Communication Device> The communication device 10 includes a network communication unit 20, a transmission unit 30, a reception unit 40, a display unit 50, a control unit 60, and a determination unit 70. The network communication unit 20 is a communication interface that serves as a communication unit for the communication device 10 to communicate with the host device 100 via an appropriate communication network. In other words, the network communication unit 20 is a functional block that transmits notification information to the host device 100 under the control of the control unit 60.

[0037] The transmitter 30 is a functional block that transmits commands to the tag 90 using LF band electromagnetic waves as carrier waves via the antenna 80. The receiver 40 is a functional block that acquires information that the tag 90 transmitted to the communication device 10 from a signal received from the tag 90 via the antenna 80. In other words, the receiver 40 is a functional block that receives a signal transmitted by the tag 90 in frame units and demodulates the frame data included in the received signal.

[0038] The display unit 50 is a display device that includes a flat display panel (not shown) and appropriately displays information under the control of the control unit 60. The determination unit 70 is a functional block that determines whether or not there is a reception error in the frame data demodulated by the receiving unit 40. The control unit 60 is an information processing device that controls the network communication unit 20, the transmitting unit 30, the receiving unit 40, the display unit 50, and the determination unit 70 to realize the functions of the communication device 10.

[0039] <Tag Response Signal> Next, a signal format and the like related to a response from the tag 90 (transponder) will be specifically described with reference to FIG. 2 . FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the data format of the response from the tag 90. This data format is the data format of a transponder manufactured by TI (Texas Instruments) (e.g., model: RI-TRP-DR2B) that complies with ISO (International Organization for Standardization) 11784 and ISO 11785, and includes at least notification information, first additional information following the notification information, and second additional information following the first additional information, as described in detail below. Note that, in addition to the above-mentioned frequency modulation FM signal, the response from the tag 90 may also use a signal using a digital modulation method such as FSK (Frequency Shift Keying) modulation, ASK (Amplitude Shift Keying) modulation, or PSK (Phase Shift Keying) modulation.

[0040] The response communication frame from the tag 90 consists of 128-bit fixed-length data, including 16 pre-bits as a preamble, followed by 8 start bits. The pre-bits have a fixed value of 0b0000000000000000, and the start bits have a fixed value of 0b01111110. Here, "0b" is a symbol indicating that the following sequence of numbers is a binary number.

[0041] The response also includes read data consisting of 64-bit identification data following the start bit and a 16-bit data block check character (DBCC), an 8-bit read address following the read data, and a 16-bit frame block check character (FBCC) following the read address.

[0042] In the response, the identification data in the read data is notification information that essentially serves as a response to the command from the communication device 10. In the read data, the data block check character is the first check character included in the first additional information following the notification information. This data block check character is a code for error detection that is generated for each piece of identification data. When the tag communication unit 91 creates identification data, the data block check character is generated according to the content of the identification data and is stored in the tag communication unit 91.

[0043] The read address is the storage location (memory address) of the identification data serving as the notification information in the memory of the tag 90. The frame block check character is a second check character included in the second additional information following the first additional information. This frame block check character is a code generated for each frame for error detection. The frame block check character is generated by the tag communication unit 91 in the tag 90 when a frame is created, depending on the data content of the frame.

[0044] The code for error detection may be, for example, a parity code, a checksum, or a cyclic redundancy code (CRC).

[0045] §3 Operational Example <Operational Example of Communication Device> Next, an operational example of the communication device 10 of this embodiment will be specifically described with reference to Fig. 3. Fig. 3 is a flowchart showing an operational example of the communication device 10. Note that the following description will mainly focus on the operation after the communication device 10 receives a request to read notification information stored in the tag 90 from the higher-level device 100 via the network communication unit 20.

[0046] 3, the control unit 60 creates a command corresponding to the received read request, and transmits the command to the tag 90 from the transmitter 30 via the antenna 80. In other words, in the communication device 10, the read request, which specifies desired information (desired data) from the information held in the memory of the tag 90 by an address in the memory, is transmitted from the host device 100. Then, the control unit 60 transmits the command corresponding to the read request transmitted sequentially via the transmitter 30 and the antenna 80 to the tag 90.

[0047] Next, in step S2, the receiving unit 40 receives a response from the tag 90 via the antenna 80. Specifically, the receiving unit 40 receives a signal transmitted by the tag 90 in frame units. Furthermore, the receiving unit 40 decodes the data contained in the received signal (step S3). Specifically, the receiving unit 40 demodulates the frame-by-frame signal from the tag 90 into frame data. The receiving unit 40 then outputs the demodulated frame data to the determining unit 70.

[0048] Next, in step S4, the determination unit 70 determines whether or not there is a reception error in the data of the demodulated frame from the receiving unit 40. Specifically, the determination unit 70 performs this determination by detecting errors using the frame block check character included in the second additional information of the demodulated frame. For example, if the cyclic redundancy code is used as the error detection code, the determination unit 70 divides the data excluding the second additional information from the frame by a predetermined generating polynomial, compares the remainder with the frame block check character, and determines that an error exists if they do not match. In this way, it is determined whether or not the frame was received and demodulated without error.

[0049] If the determination unit 70 determines that the frame has been demodulated without error using the frame block check character (YES in step S4), the determination unit 70 notifies the control unit 60 of the determination result that there is no reception error in the frame data from the tag 90. The control unit 60 then proceeds to step S5. Thereafter, the control unit 60 causes the display unit 50 to display information indicating that there is no reception error in the data communication with the tag 90 and that normal data communication has been performed with the tag 90 (step S5).

[0050] Next, in step S6, the control unit 60 transmits the notification information from the tag 90 to the host device 100 via the network communication unit 20. This allows the host device 100 to acquire the notification information.

[0051] In addition to the above description, before transmitting the notification information to the higher-level device 100, error detection may be performed using a data block check character as described below to determine whether the notification information has been demodulated without error.

[0052] On the other hand, if the determination unit 70 determines using the frame block check character that the frame could not be demodulated without error (NO in step S4), the determination unit 70 notifies the control unit 60 of the result of the determination that there is a reception error in the data of the frame from the tag 90. The control unit 60 then proceeds to step S7. Thereafter, the control unit 60 checks whether or not there is an error in the demodulated notification information (step S7).

[0053] Specifically, the control unit 60 performs the above-mentioned check by detecting errors using a data block check character included in the first additional information of the demodulated frame. Specifically, the control unit 60 determines whether or not the identification data (notification information) has been received without error and demodulated into the identification data of the notification information by making a determination using, for example, the above-mentioned cyclic redundancy check.

[0054] Then, if the control unit 60 determines that it is unable to demodulate the notification information data (identification data) (NO in step S7), the control unit 60 determines that the notification information data contains a defect such as missing data.

[0055] In other words, the control unit 60 determines that it was unable to acquire notification information from the tag 90 in response to the command from the higher-level device 100. Then, the control unit 60 causes the display unit 50 to display information indicating that a communication failure has occurred in data communication with the tag 90 (step S8).

[0056] Subsequently, in step S9, the control unit 60 outputs information indicating the results of the inspection to the host device 100 via the network communication unit 20. In other words, the control unit 60 notifies the host device 100 that data communication with the tag 90 has ended abnormally and that notification information corresponding to the command could not be obtained from the tag 90.

[0057] On the other hand, if the control unit 60 determines that it has been able to demodulate the notification information data (YES in step S7), the control unit 60 determines that the inspection result indicates that there is no error in the notification information data included in the demodulated frame from the tag 90. More specifically, the control unit 60 determines that there is a reception error in the data of the frame from the tag 90, and that the identification data included in the read data of the frame, i.e., the demodulated notification information data, does not contain any defects such as missing data.

[0058] Then, the control unit 60 causes the display unit 50 to display a predetermined message (step S10). Specifically, the control unit 60 causes the display unit 50 to display the demodulated notification information for the frame from the tag 90, along with information indicating that there is no abnormality in the demodulated notification information. Furthermore, the control unit 60 causes the display unit 50 to display information indicating that a reception error has occurred in data communication with the tag 90 and that communication with the tag 90 is unstable. This allows the user of the communication device 10 to immediately recognize whether or not a reception error has occurred, even in a situation where the communication device 10 is able to output notification information.

[0059] Next, in step S11, when the control unit 60 finishes data communication (communication) with the tag 90, it outputs the demodulated notification information from the tag 90 and information indicating the result of the inspection of the demodulated notification information to the host device 100. In other words, the control unit 60 notifies the host device 100 that an inspection of the notification information is being performed due to the occurrence of a reception error. This allows the host device 100 to know that the communication was unstable.

[0060] <Actions and Effects> As described above, in the communication device 10 of this embodiment, when the control unit 60 obtains a result of determining that there is a reception error, it uses the first additional information included in the frame in which the determination was made to check whether there is an error in the notification information included in the frame. Furthermore, when the control unit 60 obtains a result of the inspection that there is no error in the notification information, it outputs the notification information. This makes it possible to realize a communication device 10 that can output notification information in some cases even if a reception error occurs in communication with the tag 90.

[0061] Here, the effects of this embodiment will be specifically described with reference to Fig. 4. Fig. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the operation of data communication between the communication device 10 and the tag 90, and is a diagram explaining the effects of the communication device 10. Note that 402 in Fig. 4 indicates the data content after demodulation of the signal in frame units transmitted from the tag 90 to the communication device 10.

[0062] In the communication device 10 of this embodiment, first, a predetermined carrier wave is sent from the transmitter 30 to the tag 90 via the antenna 80, thereby storing power in the power supply unit 92 of the tag 90. Then, as shown by the curve PH of 401 in Fig. 4, when the stored power in the power supply unit 92 exceeds the operable power PS, the tag 90 starts up and becomes able to receive commands from the communication device 10, and then the tag communication unit 91 receives the commands.

[0063] 4, the tag 90 finishes receiving the command from the communication device 10, and starts transmitting a modulated signal in frame units containing notification information for the command to the communication device 10 via the tag communication unit 91. Then, in the tag 90, the stored power of the power supply unit 92 decreases as the signals shown in 402 in FIG. 4 are transmitted sequentially from left to right.

[0064] In the tag 90, for example, at time T2, when the stored power of the power supply unit 92 falls below the operable power PS, the tag 90 becomes inoperable. Therefore, in the tag 90, during the period K from time T2 to time T3, the tag 90 terminates its operation without transmitting to the communication device 10 the data up to the end of the frame to be transmitted to the communication device 10 (i.e., the entire 128-bit frame data). However, in the communication device 10, the receiver 40 receives a signal from the tag 90 during the period from time T1 to time T2 and demodulates the signal into data.

[0065] 4, communication device 10 can only obtain from tag 90 about an 8-bit frame block check character out of the 16-bit frame block check character transmitted from tag 90. In other words, in communication device 10, receiver 40 cannot accurately demodulate the frame block check character out of the signal from tag 90. For this reason, as a result of error determination using the frame block check character, determiner 70 determines that there is an error in the demodulated frame, resulting in a reception error.

[0066] 4, in the communication device 10, the receiving unit 40 receives a portion of the signal from the tag 90 between time T1 and time T2 and demodulates the portion of the signal, as described above. As a result, the receiving unit 40 may correctly decode the data from the pre-bit to the read address in the response from the tag 90. Therefore, in the communication device 10, the control unit 60 can use the data block check character included in the read data to check whether or not there is an error in the notification information.

[0067] As described above, in the communication device 10 of this embodiment, the control unit 60 determines whether to output notification information using the data block check character, out of the frame block check character and the data block check character included in the response to the command. In other words, if the control unit 60 determines that the data block check character used to detect errors in the notification information does not have any defects such as missing data, it inspects the notification information by error detection using the data block check character. Furthermore, if the control unit 60 determines that the notification information is error-free, it outputs the notification information.

[0068] In the communication device 10, for example, the distance between the tag 90 and the communication device 10 is large, or the communication environment is poor, such as high noise, and the communication device 10 is unable to supply sufficient stored power to the power supply unit 92 of the tag 90. In this case, a reception error occurs in communication with the tag 90, as illustrated in Fig. 4. Even when such a reception error occurs, the communication device 10 of this embodiment can output the notification information obtained from the tag 90 to the host device 100, as shown in steps S7, S10, and S11 of Fig. 3.

[0069] Specifically, the communication device (parent device) of the comparative example terminated data communication with the tag only if neither of the two check characters included in the response contained any defects such as missing data.The communication device of the comparative example then output the information obtained from the child device to a higher-level device, etc.As a result, the communication device of the comparative example had to retry data communication with the tag unless the entire frame was received correctly.

[0070] In contrast, in the communication device 10 of this embodiment, when the control unit 60 determines that the notification information from the tag 90 is error-free, it can output the notification information to the host device 100. As a result, unlike the conventional example described above, the communication device 10 can output the notification information obtained from the tag 90 to the host device 100 without retrying communication with the tag 90. As a result, the user can quickly obtain the desired notification information in the host device 100. Furthermore, in the communication device 10 of this embodiment, the frequency of retrying communication with the tag 90 can be easily reduced, and the time required for the communication can also be easily reduced.

[0071] Furthermore, in the communication device 10 of this embodiment, as shown in steps S9 and S11, when the control unit 60 determines that there is a reception error, it outputs information indicating the result of the inspection of the demodulated notification information together with the demodulated notification information for the frame. In this way, in this embodiment, the communication device 10 outputs information indicating the result of the inspection to the host device 100, so that the user of the host device 100 can immediately determine whether or not there is an error in the notification information from the communication device 10.

[0072] In other words, in this embodiment, the higher-level device 100 of the communication device 10 or the like can obtain information regarding the reliability of the notification information output by the communication device 10. Alternatively, the higher-level device 100 or the like can use this information to obtain information regarding the state of communication between the communication device 10 and the tag 90.

[0073] Furthermore, in the communication device 10 of this embodiment, the control unit 60 can add predetermined first additional information to the information indicating the result of the inspection of the demodulated notification information when outputting the information, as shown in step S9. Specifically, the control unit 60 can add a first flag or a first communication code indicating that there is a defect such as missing data in both the frame block check character and the data block check character to the information, and output the information to the higher-level device 100.

[0074] Furthermore, in the communication device 10 of this embodiment, the control unit 60 can add predetermined second additional information to the information when outputting information indicating the result of the inspection of the demodulated notification information, as shown in step S11. Specifically, the control unit 60 can add a second flag or a second communication code to the information, indicating that there was a defect such as missing data in the frame block check character, that is, that there was a reception error between the tag 90 and the information, and output the information to the higher-level device 100.

[0075] Furthermore, in the communication device 10 of this embodiment, when the first additional information or the second additional information is added to the information to the higher-level device 100, the unique identifier of the tag 90 may be further added to the information. In this case, the unique identifier of the tag 90 and the communication state between the tag 90 and the communication device 10 are linked, and the higher-level device 100 can determine the progress of deterioration of the tag 90.

[0076] Furthermore, the communication device 10 of this embodiment can notify the host device 100 that a reception error has occurred between the communication device 10 and the tag 90. Therefore, the communication device 10 can also notify the host device 100 about the communication environment between the communication device 10 and the tag 90, allowing the user to determine the communication environment. Specifically, the user can determine whether the distance between the communication device 10 and the tag 90 is too far and inappropriate, or whether noise is present. Furthermore, the user can take immediate measures based on the determination, making it possible to easily improve the communication conditions of data communication between the communication device 10 and the tag 90.

[0077] Specifically, when the communication device 10 of this embodiment determines that a reception error has occurred between the tag 90 and the control unit 60, for example, in response to an instruction from the host device 100, increases the length of communication time from the transmitter 30 to the tag 90 via the antenna 80 so as to lengthen the time for which power is supplied to the tag 90. As a result, the stored power of the power supply unit 92 in the tag 90 increases, enabling stable communication with the communication device 10.

[0078] In the communication device 10 of this embodiment, as shown in step S4, the determination unit 70 performs the above determination by error detection using the frame block check character included in the demodulated second additional information, thereby enabling the communication device 10 to determine whether or not there is a reception error in the frame.

[0079] In the communication device 10 of this embodiment, as shown in step S7, the control unit 60 performs the above-mentioned inspection by detecting errors using the data block check character included in the demodulated first additional information, thereby enabling the communication device 10 to inspect whether or not there is an error in the demodulated notification information.

[0080] [Summary] A communication device according to aspect 1 of the present disclosure includes a receiving unit that receives a signal transmitted by a slave unit on a frame-by-frame basis and demodulates data contained in the signal, a determining unit that determines whether or not there is a reception error in the data of the demodulated frame, and a control unit, wherein the frame includes at least notification information, first additional information following the notification information, and second additional information following the first additional information, and when the determination result indicates that there is a reception error, the control unit uses the demodulated first additional information to check whether or not there is an error in the demodulated notification information, and when the inspection result indicates that there is no error, outputs the demodulated notification information.

[0081] In a communication device according to aspect 2 of the present disclosure, in the above-mentioned aspect 1, the control unit outputs information indicating the result of the inspection when the determination result indicates that there is a reception error.

[0082] A communication device according to aspect 3 of the present disclosure is in the above-mentioned aspect 1 or aspect 2, and further includes a display unit, and when the control unit obtains a result of the determination that there is a reception error and a result of the inspection that there is no error in the demodulated notification information, the control unit causes the display unit to display a predetermined message.

[0083] A communication device according to aspect 4 of the present disclosure is any one of aspects 1 to 3 above, wherein the determination unit performs the determination by error detection using a second check character included in the demodulated second additional information.

[0084] In addition, in a communication device according to aspect 5 of the present disclosure, in any one of aspects 1 to 4 above, the control unit performs the inspection by error detection using a first check character included in the demodulated first additional information.

[0085] A communication device according to aspect 6 of the present disclosure is any one of aspects 1 to 5 above, further comprising a communication unit, wherein the control unit controls the communication unit to transmit the output notification information to an external device.

[0086] A communication device according to aspect 7 of the present disclosure is any one of aspects 1 to 6 above, further comprising a transmitting unit that wirelessly transmits a command to a sub-unit, and the signal is a wireless response from the sub-unit to the command.

[0087] A communication device according to an eighth aspect of the present disclosure is an RFID reader in the seventh aspect.

[0088] [Example of implementation using software] The functions of a communication device (hereinafter referred to as "device") can be realized by a program that causes a computer to function as the device, and a program that causes a computer to function as each control block of the device (particularly each part included in the control unit 60).

[0089] In this case, the device includes a computer having at least one control device (e.g., a processor) and at least one storage device (e.g., a memory) as hardware for executing the program. The functions described in each of the above embodiments are realized by executing the program using the control device and storage device.

[0090] The program may be non-transitory and may be recorded on one or more computer-readable recording media. The recording media may or may not be included in the device. In the latter case, the program may be supplied to the device via any wired or wireless transmission medium.

[0091] Furthermore, some or all of the functions of the control blocks can be realized by logic circuits. For example, an integrated circuit in which a logic circuit that functions as each of the control blocks is formed is also included in the scope of the present invention. In addition, the functions of the control blocks can also be realized by, for example, a quantum computer.

[0092] Furthermore, each process described in each of the above embodiments may be executed by AI (Artificial Intelligence). In this case, the AI ​​may run on the control device or on another device (for example, an edge computer or a cloud server).

[0093] The present disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications are possible within the scope of the claims. Embodiments obtained by appropriately combining the technical means disclosed in the embodiments are also included in the technical scope of the present disclosure.

[0094] 10 Communication device 20 Network communication unit (communication unit) 30 Transmission unit 40 Reception unit 50 Display unit 60 Control unit 70 Determination unit 90 Tag (slave unit) 100 Upper device (external device)

Claims

1. A communications device comprising: a receiving unit that receives a signal transmitted by a slave unit on a frame-by-frame basis and demodulates the data contained in the signal; a determining unit that determines whether or not there is a reception error in the demodulated frame data; and a control unit, wherein the frame includes at least notification information, first additional information following the notification information, and second additional information following the first additional information, and when the determination result indicates that there is a reception error, the control unit uses the demodulated first additional information to check whether or not there is an error in the demodulated notification information, and when the inspection result indicates that there is no error, outputs the demodulated notification information.

2. The communication device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit outputs information indicating the result of the inspection when the determination result indicates that a reception error has occurred.

3. A communication device as described in claim 1, further comprising a display unit, wherein the control unit causes the display unit to display a predetermined message when the determination result indicates that there is a reception error and the inspection result indicates that there is no error in the demodulated notification information.

4. The communication device according to claim 1, wherein the determination unit performs the determination by error detection using a second check character included in the demodulated second additional information.

5. A communication device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the control unit performs the inspection by error detection using a first check character contained in the demodulated first additional information.

6. The communication device according to claim 1, further comprising a communication unit, wherein the control unit controls the communication unit to transmit the notification information to be output to an external device.

7. The communication device according to claim 1, further comprising a transmitting section that wirelessly transmits a command to the slave unit, and the signal is a wireless response from the slave unit to the command.

8. The communication device of claim 7, which is an RFID reader.

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