JP2001160162A - Parallel identification system - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [PROBLEMS] For a target such as a person or an object passing side by side at an entrance or the like, which reader passes through which lane is identified by one reader / writer substantially simultaneously in parallel. SOLUTION: A plurality of antennas 211a to 211d having different maximum communication distances are provided on an RFID 210 held by a person or an object.
Is provided. Each of the antennas 211a to 211d is an IC chip 212a storing unique ID number information.
To 212b. When a question wave is emitted from a reader / writer provided at one end of the entrance of a library or the like,
When the person carrying the RFID is passing through the entrance, a response wave including information of each ID number is returned from each of the antennas 211a to 211d. On the reader / writer side,
From the combination of the ID numbers of the antennas of the same RFID that can be received, it is determined in which distance range the RFID is located.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to a system for managing people and things using RFID.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, RF has been used for inventory management and entrance / exit management.
Many systems using ID (Radio Frequency Identification) have been developed. The RFID is a non-contact read type data carrier, and has a built-in IC chip for storage and an antenna for communication. The RFID is generally in the form of a plastic card, but has also been developed in the form of a flexible thin tag. An RFID with a small storage capacity is sometimes called a transponder. RF
The ID can be attached to the object to be managed or carried by a person to be managed, and the R /
Various management is realized by reading and writing various management information with respect to the FID. For example, when a reader / writer is installed at the entrance of a room and an RFID carried by the user is held over the reader / writer, the reader / writer reads the ID information inside the RFID and the ID information is transferred to the room. There is a commercially available entry management system that determines whether or not a person is authorized by accessing a database by referring to a database. If the person is a legitimate person, the door is opened, otherwise the door is not opened.

[0003] In general, an RFID is a close-contact type (battery-free, communication distance of about several millimeters), a proximity type (battery-free, communication distance of about 20 to 30 cm), or a proximity type (generally non-contact type) depending on its communication distance and frequency band used. Battery, communication distance 70-100c
m) and microwave type (with battery, communication distance of several meters).

The basic circuit of RFID is an LC resonance circuit (L is
C is a capacitor). And place it in a magnetic field
In this case, the voltage obtained from the antenna is V = μ₀
・ H ・ ω ・ N ・ S ・ Q (μ₀: Magnetic permeability of vacuum, H: R
Operating field with FID, ω: 2πf_c(F_cIs resonance
It is inversely proportional to √ (LC) in frequency. Where L is the inductance
C, conductance), N: number of turns of the antenna,
S: antenna area, Q: ωL / (r + R) (where r
Is the coil resistance, R is the IC excluding the coil and capacitor
The antenna power is P
= RI²= RV ²/ (R + r + ωL). Obedience
Therefore, the response strength from the RFID, especially the built-in RFID
The number of turns and area of the antenna coil to be
In this case, the power that can be supplied by the battery
Depending on the field (depending on the distance of the reader / writer from the antenna)
Change.

[0005] As an RFID-based system close to us, there is an automatic ticket gate system based on RFID that JR is currently experimenting and will be put into practical use in 2001. This is a combination of a current magnetic card and an IO card (a prepaid card for a fare), and further added functions such as electronic money. This system is a proximity type system using a short wave of 13.56 MHz, and does not use a battery for a card having a built-in RFID. The card has a commuter pass function, for example, and the ticket can be processed simply by lightly touching a specific place of the ticket gate with the card in the pass case. In a conventional magnetic card system, a ticket inspection process is performed within 0.7 seconds, but in this RFID system, it is said that this process can be completed within 0.5 seconds.

[0006] As a system using RFID, an automatic toll collection system on an expressway is known, and practical use is approaching.

Further, as another conventional system using RFID, there is known a book management system of a library as disclosed in JP-A-10-59507. In this system, a transponder (RFID)
, And interrogators (reader / writer) at various places in the library
Attach. Then, an interrogator emits an interrogation wave to receive a response wave from each book, thereby confirming a book existing in the area in charge of the interrogator.

[0008]

In the above automatic ticket gate system, one reader / writer is provided for a ticket gate that is wide enough to allow one person to pass through, and the reader / writer can use this reader / writer for an RFID card of a person who passes through the gate. Read and write ticket information. Further, the conventional automatic toll collection system is also provided with one reader / writer for one lane. As described above, in the conventional system, a reader / writer is provided for each lane through which a person or an object passes.
Equipment tended to be large and expensive.

[0009] The conventional book management system also has the same problem as the automatic ticket gate system in that one reader / writer must be installed for each area of the library.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and has a smaller number of readers / writers than before.
The writer allows multiple persons, vehicles and other objects to be identified in parallel,
Moreover, it is an object of the present invention to provide a system that can identify the passing position and the existing position while distinguishing the passing position and the existing position. Furthermore, the present invention
By using such a parallel simultaneous identification mechanism, a system is provided that provides convenient services such that multiple people can be simultaneously processed such as ticket gates without limiting the width of the entrance to one person. The purpose is to do.

[0011]

According to the present invention, there are provided two or more antennas attached to an object to be identified, each having unique identification information and having different communication distances. An RFID that emits a response wave including identification information, and a directional antenna that performs transmission and reception in an arrangement direction in which a plurality of identification targets can be arranged, emits an interrogation wave from the directional antenna, and the arrangement direction with respect to the interrogation wave Reading means for receiving a response wave from each antenna of each RFID to be identified present above and acquiring identification information of each antenna of each RFID from these response waves; and each antenna of each RFID read by the reading means Based on the identification information, a plurality of identification targets having the respective RFIDs are arranged in a plurality of distances defined by a difference in communication distance of each antenna in the array direction. Suggest parallel identification system having a presence range identifying means for identifying whether present in any of the circumference.

In this configuration, the arrangement direction in which the identification targets can be arranged is, for example, a direction crossing the gate from one end to the other end when considering a gate through which a plurality of identification targets pass in parallel. However, the present invention is not limited to this. Even when the transmitting / receiving direction of the antenna is oriented in a direction slightly oblique to the gate crossing direction, if the moment when the identification targets are lined up in that direction is captured, the direction of the parallel identification targets will be Can be determined.

In this configuration, since the communication distance of each antenna provided in the RFID is different, depending on which identification information of a plurality of antennas of the same RFID can be obtained by the reading means, the identification target to which the RFID is attached is determined. Can be specified. As a result, it is possible to identify which identification target exists in which distance range in the arrangement direction substantially simultaneously in parallel.

According to the present invention, there is provided a radio communication system which generates a response wave including unique identification information upon receiving an interrogation wave.
In the arrangement direction in which the FID and a plurality of identification targets can be arranged, an interrogation wave is sequentially transmitted while changing the communication distance over a predetermined step, and each identification wave existing in the arrangement direction for each interrogation wave having a different communication distance is transmitted. Reading means for receiving response waves from the target RFID and acquiring identification information of the respective RFIDs from the response waves; and each RFID read by the reading means for each interrogation wave having a different communication distance.
The identification object having each of the RFIDs exists in any of a plurality of distance ranges defined by a difference in the communication distance of each of the interrogation waves in the arrangement direction based on the identification information of The present invention relates to a parallel identification system having range identification means.

In this configuration, the interrogation wave is transmitted while the communication distance (arrival distance) is sequentially changed by changing the transmission output of the interrogation wave by the reading means. If it is possible to receive a response wave from the RFID for an interrogation wave of a certain communication distance,
The FID can be determined to be within the communication distance from the viewpoint of the reading unit. By sequentially changing the communication distance of the interrogation wave and checking which RFID was detected at which communication distance,
The distance range where each RFID exists can be specified.

As a preferred embodiment of the present invention, by providing a partitioning means for dividing each distance range along the arrangement direction, it is possible to more accurately determine the existence distance range of the identification target.

Further, as a system to which the above-described parallel identification system is applied, a lending management system at an exit gate of a storage area where objects to be lent to a user such as a library are stored is proposed. If the user and the rental object try to pass through the same distance range at the exit gate at substantially the same time, by performing processing such as automatically registering that the object has been lent to the user, The conventional manual lending process can be omitted.

[0018]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of the present invention (hereinafter abbreviated as "embodiments") will be described with reference to the drawings.

[First Embodiment] FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining a system configuration of a lending management system for books and the like using a parallel identification system according to the present invention.

The system of the present embodiment utilizes a proximity type or microwave type RFID system. In order to obtain a sufficient communication distance, a RFID with a built-in battery is used. In addition, in the case of a relatively short distance such as a proximity type where the communication distance is limited to within 1.5 m, it is not necessary to use a built-in battery type (when applied to an entrance gate where about two people can pass in parallel). , Such a relatively short distance RFI
D system).

RFID 104 carried by user 105
And the RFID 106 added to the book 107,
It is of the same type and has a mechanism that allows the reader / writer to recognize the distance. This mechanism will be described later in detail.

The library 110 is a closed space, for example, having a plurality of bookshelves 111. The exit 110a (indicated by a broken line) has a width that allows several persons (about four persons in the illustrated example) to enter and exit at the same time. At one end of the exit 110a, a reader / writer including the antenna 100 and the controller 101 is installed. The antenna 100 has directivity, and is arranged so that the transmission / reception direction is toward the other end of the exit 110a. Therefore, when the user goes outside through the exit 110a, he or she will cross the transmission / reception direction almost vertically. Under the control of the controller 101, an interrogation wave is transmitted from the antenna 100 at certain fixed intervals (for example, about several tens to several hundreds of ms). If there is a response wave from the RFID of the user or the book to this question wave,
The antenna 100 receives it, the controller 101 demodulates the response wave to extract data, and sends the data to the management computer 102.

The reader / writer used in this embodiment is of the multi-read / write type. The multi-read / write system is a technology for simultaneously reading and writing a plurality (up to tens of thousands) of RFIDs, and has been established over the past year. The above-mentioned proximity type and microwave type are adopted as communication systems in this multi-read / write system. In the present embodiment, by using a reader / writer having a multi-read / write function, the RFID of a plurality of users 105 and the books 107 carried by the users 105 passing through the exit 110a almost simultaneously can be
Reading and writing can be performed simultaneously and in parallel. Here, an example is shown in which a reader / writer capable of reading and writing to RFID is used. However, in the most basic processing of this embodiment, a reader device capable of reading data contained in RFID is sufficient.

Using the data sent from the reader / writer, the management computer 102 refers to a database held in the storage device 103 and a database for managing users, and performs predetermined processing such as lending processing. Execute the process.

FIG. 2 shows the structure of the RFID used in this embodiment.
Shown in Generally, the communication distance of the RFID is determined by the power, and this power is mainly the RFI if the magnetic field is kept constant.
D is proportional to the number of turns and the square of the area of the antenna of D.
D can be made. In the present embodiment, a plurality of loop antennas whose communication distance is adjusted by changing the number of turns and the diameter are provided in the RFID. The example of FIG. 2 is an RFID 210 applied to the gate of the exit 110a through which four persons shown in FIG. 1 can pass in parallel, and has four antennas 211a and 21 having different communication distances.
1b, 211c, and 211d. Each of the antennas 211a to 211d has an IC chip 212
a, 212b, 212c, and 212d are connected. For example, the IC chip 212a includes a storage circuit that stores an ID number corresponding to the antenna 211a, and a control circuit that causes a response wave including the ID number to be radiated from the antenna 211a in response to an interrogation wave. Similarly, IC
Each of the chips 212b to 212d has an antenna 211
It has a circuit for storing ID numbers b to 211d and transmitting a response wave including the ID numbers. These IC chips 212a to 212d and antennas 211a to 211d
Operates by receiving power supply from a built-in battery (not shown) of the RFID 210. In addition, each of the antennas 211a to 211a
Each ID number corresponding to 1d is a unique number at least in the present system. In the system of the present embodiment, the management computer 102 that performs lending management determines which RFID (and therefore which user or book) the ID number (demodulated from the response wave) of each of the antennas 211a to 211d. Be able to identify. An example of the mechanism for this will be described later.

The maximum communication distance of each of the four antennas 211a to 211d included in the RFID 210 differs from one another by a passage width (for example, about 1 m) of one user. This is shown in FIG. In FIG. 3, the position 220 of the antenna of the reader / writer provided at the exit 110a is shown.
Four distance ranges 221, 222, 2
23 and 224 are formed. Each distance range 221 to
The width of 224 is set to the width of the passage of each person. RF
The four antennas 211a to 211d of the ID 210 are configured such that the maximum communication distance is substantially equal to the distance from the reader / writer antenna arrangement position 220 to the boundary of each of the distance ranges 221 to 224. Since the reader / writer antenna has directivity for transmission and reception,
An area (communicable area) that can effectively communicate with the FID antenna has, for example, an ellipsoidal shape (shown by a broken line in FIG. 3). One end of the long axis of the substantially elliptical communication area is the antenna arrangement position 220 of the reader / writer, and the other end is a boundary between the distance ranges 221 to 224. Note that the ellipse of the communicable area in this figure is somewhat exaggerated, and when microwaves are used for communication, the communicable area having higher directivity (ie, a narrower width) is used. can get.

For example, when a user carrying an RFID passes through the distance range 222, the reader / writer uses the R
Among the response waves from the four antennas of the FID, the response waves from the three antennas except the antenna having the shortest communication distance can be received. Similarly, when the user passes through the distance range 224 farthest from the reader / writer, the reader / writer can detect only the response wave from the antenna having the largest communication distance among the four antennas of the RFID. As described above, in the configuration of the present embodiment, how many of the response waves of the four antennas of the RFID of the user can be received depends on the distance range in which the user passes through the reader / writer antenna. Will change. By utilizing this fact, if it is known how many of the response waves from each antenna of the same RFID have been received, it is possible to determine in which distance range the RFID has passed (existed). Since each antenna of the RFID according to the present embodiment returns a response wave including information of a unique ID number, on the reader / writer side,
It is possible to identify which antenna of which RFID the received response wave is. On the reader / writer side, information of ID numbers is extracted from a plurality of response waves received substantially simultaneously by the multi-read function, and the ID numbers are extracted.
Numbers are grouped for each of the same RFIDs, and it is possible to determine which distance range the RFID has passed by determining how many ID numbers are included in the group for the same RFID.

The ID number of each antenna is, for example, RFI
It may be configured by a combination of a common number for each D (that is, the ID number of the RFID itself) and a different number for each antenna even in the same RFID. For example, the antenna ID number can be configured in such a manner that upper several digits are used as an RFID identification number and lower several digits are used as an antenna identification number. According to this method, on the receiving side of the response wave, it is possible to determine which RFID is the response wave from from the value of the upper predetermined digit of the extracted ID number, and to determine the RFID from the remaining lower predetermined digit value.
Which of the antennas is the response wave can be determined. R in FIG.
In the FID configuration example, since there are four antennas, the numbers for identifying the antennas may be set to, for example, 0, 1, 2, 3, etc. in the order of the largest communication distance. With this determination, the range over which the RFID has passed can be determined from the combination of the ID numbers of the antennas of the same RFID that the reader / writer has received substantially simultaneously. FIG. 4 shows the rules for the determination. For example, the same RFI
If all ID numbers (ie, the last digits 0 to 3) are detected for D, it can be determined that the RFID has passed the closest distance range 221 when viewed from the reader / writer arrangement position 220. Conversely, when only the ID number of the last digit 0 corresponding to the antenna having the largest communication distance can be detected, it is understood that the RFID has passed through the distance range 224 farthest from the position 220.

In the present embodiment, it is possible to determine which distance range 221 to 224 of the exit 110a the user has passed in this way. The received ID number is RFI
Since it also includes the identification information of D itself, after all, in this embodiment,
One reader / writer can constantly monitor which user has passed which distance range of the exit 110a. Since the reader / writer has a multi-read function, even if a plurality of users pass through the exit 110a at the same time, in the present embodiment, it is possible to determine in parallel who and which distance range each user has passed. Can be identified. This parallel identification is, of course, not only for the user, but also for the RF.
It can also be performed on books to which an ID is attached.

The present embodiment provides a mechanism for automatically performing a book lending process using the parallel identification function. That is, if the user and the book pass through the same distance range of the exit 110a at substantially the same time, it can be determined that the user has taken the book out of the library, and the book was lent to the user at that time. Registration to the effect.

FIG. 5 shows an example of a book lending process in the system of the present embodiment. The reader / writer is
An interrogation wave is transmitted from the antenna 100, and a response wave from the RFID is awaited (steps 301 and 302). If a response wave group from the RFID is received (step 302)
(Y), the controller 101 passes the ID number extracted from each response wave to the management computer 102. The management computer 102 executes the following steps 303 to 305 on the ID number group that can be recognized substantially simultaneously (that is, during one transmission / reception sequence).

In this processing, the ID numbers are assigned to the same R
Each FID is sorted (for example, ID number groups may be sorted and those having the same predetermined upper digits may be grouped), and for each of these RFIDs, each of the RFIDs that can be received using the relationship shown in FIG. From the combination of antenna ID numbers,
The range of the RFID passing (existing) is specified.
Thereby, for each distance range, the RFID present at that time can be specified.

Thereafter, in step 304, it is determined for each distance range whether both the user's RFID and the book's RFID exist in the distance range. If both are present, the management computer 102 registers that the book has been lent to the user in a database in the storage device 103 (step 305). In other cases (when only the user's RFID is detected, or when no RFID is detected), the book is not taken out of the library, so the process returns to step 303 without performing the lending process. In step 303, it is checked whether the processing has been completed for all the distance ranges set in the exit 110a (see FIG. 1). If not, one unprocessed distance range is selected and the processing of step 304 is executed. If processing for all distance ranges is completed, step 3
The process returns to 01 to transmit the interrogation wave, and proceeds to the process of the next transmission / reception sequence.

With this processing, the library exit 11
Even if a plurality of users pass through Oa at the same time, it is possible to automatically determine which person has borrowed a book and to perform a lending process to a plurality of users simultaneously and in parallel.

In the above procedure, the next interrogation wave is sent after processing all response waves received in one transmission / reception sequence, but this is only an example. Instead,
For example, the interrogation wave may be sent at regular intervals, and the processing of the response wave obtained in response thereto (steps 303, 304, 305) may be performed separately from the interrogation wave transmission processing. In this case, steps 301 and 302 constitute one process, and the information (ID number) of the received response wave may be buffered so as to always form a queue. This queue has a response wave I for the same interrogation wave.
By partitioning the partition information for each reception ID number of one interrogation wave so that the D number can be distinguished, even if a situation where the processing of the reception response wave does not end in one interrogation wave transmission cycle occurs, Can be processed.

In the above description, the RFID is provided with a plurality of antennas having different communication distances, so that the range in which the RFID exists can be identified. However, other methods are also conceivable. For example, a reader / writer that can change the transmission intensity of the interrogation wave by several steps can be used. In this case, the communication distance changes stepwise according to the transmission intensity. The RFID may be a conventional single antenna. In this case, RFI
Since D does not return a response wave unless it receives the interrogation wave, the distance range in which the RFID exists can be identified based on the intensity of the transmission of the interrogation wave at which the response wave from the RFID was received.

Further, as a simple alternative, a plurality of reader / writers having different communication distances are provided at one end of the exit 110a, and the existence range of the RFID is identified based on which reader / writer can receive the response wave. You can also.

However, in the method of performing reception while changing the transmission strength of the interrogation wave, the power consumption is large because the strength of the radio wave needs to be changed cyclically for each sequence. In addition, since multiple interrogation wave transmissions are required for one sequence, the number of RFIDs that can be simultaneously processed is reduced. Further, in a system in which a plurality of reader / writers having different communication distances are provided, the cost increases because a plurality of reader / writers are required. Considering this, the method of the above-described embodiment using the RFID having a plurality of built-in antennas is more advantageous in terms of cost, energy consumption, and processing speed.

Normally, a book borrowed by a user is not carried with his hand reaching sideways. Therefore, even if two or more users pass through the exit 110a at the same time, another person borrows the book by mistake. It is considered that the possibility of being processed as described above is very low.

In order to further reduce erroneous processing, a partition such as a sill or a handrail may be provided at a boundary position of each distance range of the exit 110a.

If a command to turn off the subsequent response to the RFID of the book is sent at the same time as the lending process is performed for a certain book, the user can use the exit 110
It is possible to prevent double or triple lending from being performed when entering or exiting a or walking zigzag to the exit.

As described above, according to this embodiment, the exit gate from the library is not limited to a size that can be passed by one person, and the book is held over a reader / writer installed at a specific place. The lending process to a plurality of users can be performed simultaneously and in parallel without requiring the user to perform an operation.

In the above embodiment, the outlet 110
An infrared detector or the like is provided immediately before (a side of the building), and only when the infrared detector detects a user heading for the exit 110a, the interrogator transmits a query wave from the reader / writer for a while, receives the response wave, and processes the response wave. You may do it.
In this way, the power consumption of the reader / writer can be reduced, and the processing load on the management computer 102 can be reduced.

[Embodiment 2] This embodiment relates to claim 8. The communicable area in which the reader / writer can detect each antenna provided in the RFID has a shape that is expanded to an elliptical shape as shown by the broken line in FIG. 3 to some extent even if the directivity of the antenna of the reader / writer is enhanced. I have to be. This elliptical area is called a block here. FIG.
As shown in FIG. 3, since the small block is included in the large block, for example, when the user passes through the exit 110a along the route indicated by the arrow 225 in FIG. Before the operation, the blocks corresponding to the outer distance range 224 and the distance range 223
Will pass through the block corresponding to. Therefore, there is a possibility that the lending process is performed many times for each of these passing blocks. Of course, as described at the end of the first embodiment, by turning off the RFID response of the book lent when the lending processing is completed, such duplication of the lending processing can be prevented. However, in this case,
All lending processing will be performed in the outermost block corresponding to the distance range 224, and if a plurality of users pass through the exit almost simultaneously, it may not be possible to discriminate them ( Multiple users and multiple books are in the block at the same time). Also, for example, immediately before the user passes through the distance range 223, the lending process is performed when the user passes through the block area corresponding to the distance range 224 in front of the user, and the response of the RFID of the borrowed book is performed. There is also a possibility that the terminal may enter a block in the distance range 223 without being turned off.

The following problem can be prevented in order to prevent such a problem. First, the ID number of the recognized RFID is stored in a buffer.

The number of ID numbers received from the reader / writer from the RFID (ie, the number of response waves that can be received) increases as the block through which the RFID passes has a distance range closer to the reader / writer. As can be seen from the route 225 in FIG. 3, the time when the user passes through the exit 110a is usually the time when the user passes through the innermost block, and the ID number that can be detected from the RFID of the user at that time. (Of course, if the user walks diagonally after passing through the desired distance range, this is not the case, but such a case is rare).

Here, if the column of the reception ID numbers for the same RFID in the buffer is not erased until the lending process for the RFID is completed, the buffer stores the maximum number of ID numbers for the RFID in the passage route. Columns will accumulate. The lending process is either (1) after a certain period of time after the user's RFID is recognized, or (2)
There are two cases: immediately after the user's RFID is no longer recognized.

The lending process of this embodiment can be realized by slightly modifying the processing procedure of the first embodiment shown in FIG. That is, instead of immediately proceeding to step 303 when there is a response wave in steps 301 and 302, (1) after a certain period of time after the response wave of the first user, or (2) the response of the user Step 303 when it is gone
Move to. Before moving on to step 303,
Every time a new ID number is received, it may be stored in a buffer.

In the case of the above (2), in order to detect when the RFID of the user is no longer recognized, the ID number group received at that time is replaced with the ID number group received at the previous time every time each interrogation wave is transmitted. Compare with. In this comparison the user's ID
The timing of the above (2) is when the decrease of the number is detected.

According to this embodiment, the user can
When passing through the communication area of the writer, double lending processing can be prevented.

[Embodiment 3] This embodiment relates to a ticket gate system using the parallel identification system according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram schematically showing the system configuration of the present embodiment. This figure shows a ticket gate, and an antenna 401 of a reader / writer is provided at one end of the gate of the ticket gate.
Is installed. This antenna 401 is used in the first embodiment.
The direction of transmission and reception is arranged to face the other end of the ticket gate. Antenna 40
1 transmits an interrogation wave under the control of the controller 400 of the reader / writer, and transmits the RFID 403 carried by the user.
Receiving the response wave from the. The ticket gate is divided by a partition 405 into a plurality of lanes that are wide enough to allow one person to pass through. Each lane is provided with a door 406 for preventing unauthorized entry and exit.

The RFID 403 has a plurality of antennas having different communication distances similar to those used in the first embodiment, and a unique ID number is assigned to each antenna. The RFID 403 is realized as a multipurpose card including a commuter pass function, for example. Therefore, RFI
In D403, in addition to the ID number of each antenna, various information necessary for the ticket gate processing, such as the valid section of the commuter pass and the name of the boarding station, are stored, and such information is also carried by the response wave.
These various types of information are stored in a plurality of RFID antennas.
It is preferable to transmit from the antenna with the longest communication distance.

The controller 400 demodulates the response wave from the RFID, extracts the ID number and various information, and sends it to the management computer 402. The management computer 402
The received information is processed, and in the same manner as in the first embodiment,
Which lane each detected RFID is going to pass is identified in parallel. At the same time, the management computer 402 determines from the information on the regular boarding section extracted from the response wave whether or not the entry / exit of the owner of each RFID is legitimate, and operates the door 406 if the RFID is illegal. And performs automatic ticket gate processing such as preventing passage through the ticket gate.

There are several types of automatic ticket gate processing supported by the present system according to the type of ticket function of the RFID.

In the case of an RFID having a prepaid card function such as an orange card, the management computer 402
When detecting from the response wave that the RFID attempts to enter from the ticket gate, the reader / writer writes a code representing the current station (that is, the boarding station) from the reader / writer to the RFID. On the other hand, when the user having the RFID leaves the ticket gate, the management computer 402 receives the information of the boarding station and the prepaid balance from the response wave of the RFID,
The fare is calculated from the boarding station and the getting off station (current station), the fare is subtracted from the balance, a new balance is obtained, and this new balance is written to the RFID via the reader / writer. If the balance is less than the fare, processing such as activating the door 406 is performed.

In the case of an RFID having a commuter pass function, the RFI
D stores information on the boarding section and the expiration date, and this information is returned to the reader / writer as a response wave to the interrogation wave. Upon entry, the management computer 402
First, check the expiration date.
Is operated to block traffic so that the owner of the RFID is not put inside. Next, the boarding section is checked and it is checked whether the current boarding station is included in the section. If it is not included, it will be closed so that you can not enter (if it is not included, you can enter as an orange card and it is possible to clear it later). When the user tries to exit the ticket gate, the management computer 402 checks whether the own station is included in the boarding section received from the user's RFID. If it is not included, it means that the user has passed over, and in that case, processing such as closing the door 406 is performed. If the RFID also has a prepaid card function, it is also possible to calculate the overriding fare, subtract it from the balance, and write this into the RFID.

Note that in the case of the ticket gate system, the frequency of user passage is higher than in the case of the book lending management of the first embodiment, and therefore, the processing at the time of individual passing requires a high speed. If necessary, data read and other command delays can be prevented by processing the read RFID data in parallel. If microwaves are used as the communication medium, the amount of data and the transfer rate can be increased to a sufficient level.

In the ticket gate system (TRAMET) of JR started in 2001, reader / writers for the number of people who pass the ticket gate at the same time are required. On the other hand, in the present embodiment, a single reader / writer can perform ticket inspection processing for a plurality of persons in parallel. Since the reader / writer costs an order of magnitude or two orders of magnitude higher than the RFID, better cost performance can be obtained by this method.

In the above example, the partitions 405 are provided in each lane of the ticket gate, but such partitions are not essential. Also, in the above example, each R detected at the same time
The system recognizes which lane (corresponding to the distance range of the first embodiment) the FID is passing through, and operates the corresponding door 406 in the case of unauthorized entry / exit based on the recognition result. However, if such management is not necessary, RFID
Is not always necessary.

[Fourth Embodiment] Checking a ticket at an entrance of a music concert or the boarding gate of an aircraft generally checks two things. One is whether you have a ticket and the other is whether the ticket is valid for the current time today. In general, the rate otherwise is relatively low, and it is not cost effective to allocate a large number of staff at the entrance. Therefore, the present embodiment proposes a system that improves the efficiency of such a ticket confirmation process by using the parallel identification system according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining a schematic configuration of such an entrance check system. This example is a system configuration example applied to an entrance through which a user passes in two rows.

In the system of the present embodiment, the ticket possessed by the user has an RFID function. This ticket is
Like the RFID of the first embodiment, a plurality of antennas having different communication distances and each being assigned a unique ID number are built in. On the reader / writer side, as in the case of the first embodiment, the ID extracted from the response wave group received substantially simultaneously.
Depending on the combination of numbers, the user holding the ticket
From the writer, it is possible to identify the distance range. Since this example is an example of application to an entrance that enters in two rows, it suffices if it is possible to identify in which of the two rows. Therefore, the ticket may be provided with two antennas.

In this system, a reader / writer antenna 501 is installed beside the entrance 510. The antenna 501 has directivity for transmission and reception, and the transmission and reception direction is toward the other end of the entrance 510. Antenna 5
01 transmits an interrogation wave under the control of the controller 500 and receives a response wave from the ticket (RFID) in response to the interrogation wave. The user carries the ticket 504 having the above-described RFID function. Here, in the present embodiment, two people
Since it is only necessary to be able to identify which of the columns, the RFID system with a relatively short communication distance is sufficient. The proximity type is sufficient, and there is no need to incorporate a battery in the RFID (ticket). The ticket includes a thin loop antenna and a storage circuit in which application information such as concert information (date and time, seat number) and air ticket information (flight number, date and time, seat number, etc.) are written or attached. Of course, a unique ID number is stored in correspondence with each of the two antennas of the ticket, and each antenna responds to each ID wave with respect to the interrogation wave from the reader / writer.
A response wave including the number and the application information is returned.

The controller 500 of the reader / writer is connected to the management computer 502, extracts information from the RFID response wave, and outputs it to the management computer 502.
Send to The management computer 502 is connected to a storage device 503 that converts ticket information into a database. The management computer 502 is connected to an electronic bulletin board 506 provided slightly behind the entrance 510.

Under the control of the controller 500, the reader
Interrogation waves are transmitted from the writer antenna 501 at regular intervals. When a customer having an RFID (ticket) 504 tries to enter from the entrance 510 and passes through the transmission / reception range of the antenna 501, the RFID 504 receives the interrogation wave and returns a response wave including the built-in information. The controller 500 that has received the response wave extracts the information and sends it to the management computer 502. Management computer 5
02, the received information is checked against the database of the storage device 503, and if it is determined that the ticket is valid, the route of the user is displayed on the electronic bulletin board 506 or the like based on the information (such as a seat number) in the ticket. indicate. If it is determined that the ticket is not valid, the attendant is informed of the fact by displaying the electronic bulletin board 506 or the like, or the customer is urged to ask for the instruction of the attendant (for example, the message " Please let me know. "

In the present system, the validity / invalidity of the ticket can be determined in parallel while distinguishing the two people from each other.
Subsequent processing can be individually performed for each row according to the determination result.

Now, in this system, if it is considered that an object without a ticket passes, the entrance 5
It is preferable to provide an infrared detector 507 at the top of each of the ten rows to detect the passage of a person. This infrared detector 50
7 detects that a person has tried to pass through the monitored line, and notifies the management computer 502 of the detection. The management computer 502 determines that there is no ticket if the reader / writer does not detect the ticket information in the column even though the infrared detector 507 detects a person,
Encourage them to ask for instructions from staff in an electronic bulletin board.

According to the system of the present embodiment, a plurality of tickets can be automatically checked at the same time, and the number of people who check the tickets can be reduced.

[Embodiment 5] Each of the embodiments described above relates to an inspection when a person passes through a gate, such as an entrance or an exit. The parallel identification method according to the present invention can be naturally applied to not only inspection of such a person but also inspection of an object passing through a gate. Such application fields include, for example, production (assembly) lines and distribution lines.

For example, a plurality of line belt conveyors are provided in parallel, and a reader / writer is installed at a check point. The antenna of the reader / writer is provided with directivity as in the case of the first embodiment, so that the transmitting and receiving directions intersect with the transport directions of the parallel conveyor groups. An RFID provided with a plurality of antennas similar to that of the first embodiment is attached to the machinery conveyed by the conveyor. leader·
On the writer side, the machinery on each conveyer can be identified in parallel by the same method as in the first embodiment from the combination of the response waves from each antenna of each RFID received at the same time. The line management computer can instruct individual processing on the machinery on each conveyor according to the parallel identification result.

In a distribution line or the like, a similar method is used.
Articles flowing in parallel with a plurality of lines can be identified simultaneously in parallel, and processing such as sorting can be individually performed for each article on each line based on the identification result.

In such a conveyor line system, since the line through which the object to be identified passes is determined, the line in which the individual object exists can be identified in comparison with the above-described embodiments for identifying a person. Easy.

[Embodiment 6] This embodiment is based on Claim 1
2-14. Here, a document management system to which the parallel identification mechanism according to the present invention is applied will be described.

In the following, it is assumed that documents are classified and arranged in advance using a file box having a width of about several cm.
The system of the present embodiment provides a guidance function that allows a user to easily find a desired file box from, for example, a bookcase.

FIG. 8 shows an example of a system configuration according to this embodiment. In this configuration, individual file boxes 605
, An RFID 606 having a plurality of antennas having different communication distances similar to those shown in the first embodiment and the like is mounted. That is, the RFID 606 includes a plurality of antennas and a plurality of memory circuits connected to each antenna. This RFID 606 is stored in the file box 6
When attached to the side surface of the electronic device 05, it is easy to receive radio waves from the reader / writer and communication is facilitated.

Each file box 605 has a fixed width, and a plurality of these boxes are arranged on the bookshelf 604. An antenna 601 of a reader / writer is installed on the side of the bookshelf 604, and the antenna 601 has directivity for transmission and reception.
The width direction of the bookshelf 604, that is, the file box 605
The direction in which the groups are arranged. The transmission output of the antenna 601 is sufficient to cover the entire bookshelf 604,
In the case where a plurality of bookshelves 4 are provided, the transmission output is determined so that the interrogation wave from the antenna 601 of each bookshelf (and the response wave from the RFID) does not affect the reception of the antenna of the other bookshelf. The antenna 601 is connected to the controller 600
And transmits a response wave to the response wave from each antenna of the RFID 606 in the file box 605 in the bookcase 604. Controller 60
0 analyzes the response wave received from the antenna 601 to extract the carrier information and sends it to the management computer 602. The management computer 602 is connected to a storage device 603 in which management information on documents and file boxes to be managed is registered.
To access.

The memory circuit corresponding to each antenna of the RFID 606 stores a unique ID number of each antenna. If the ID number is assigned in accordance with the method exemplified in the first embodiment, it is easy to determine which RFID corresponds to each response wave. Information for managing the file box 605 (for example, the title of the entire box, the document name of each content document, a keyword, etc.) is stored in RFID6
06 is stored in a memory circuit corresponding to the antenna having the longest communication distance.
As long as 5 is on the bookshelf 604, its management information can be acquired by the reader / writer.

The controller 600 transmits an interrogation wave from the antenna 601 and receives a response wave from the antenna of each RFID 606 in response thereto, and extracts an ID number and management information therefrom. R obtained in one transmission / reception sequence
Information on the ID number of each antenna of the FID is sent to the management computer 602 together with the management information. The management computer 602 sorts the received antenna ID number group for each same RFID as in the first embodiment, and based on how many (or which) antenna ID numbers could be received for each RFID, each RFID Is determined on the bookshelf 604 in which distance range from the antenna 601 of the reader / writer. Then, based on the result of this determination, map information indicating in which area of the bookcase 604 each file box 605 is located is generated and stored. When the user inputs a document search instruction to the management computer 602, the management computer 602 refers to the map information to determine in which area on the bookshelf 604 the document related to the search instruction is located. The area information is displayed on a screen, for example.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the interrogation wave is emitted from the reader / writer, and the response wave group in response to the interrogation wave is analyzed, whereby the arrangement relation of each file box on the bookshelf 604 can be specified.

The transmission of the interrogation wave is performed by the management computer 602.
Alternatively, the request may be made when a guidance request (or search request) for the location of the file box or document is input from the user. The processing procedure in this case is shown in FIG.
It becomes as shown in.

First, the management computer 602 waits for a request input from a user (step 701). When a request is input, the management computer 602 sends the request to the controller 60.
A reading instruction is issued to 0, and in response to this, the controller 600 causes the antenna 601 to transmit an interrogation wave (step 702). Then, the controller 600 receives response waves from the respective antennas of the RFIDs in response to the interrogation wave, demodulates them, extracts the ID number and management information, and sends them to the management computer 602 (step 70).
3). The management computer 602 analyzes the received ID number information to determine in which distance range of the RFID (ie, the corresponding file box) is arranged in the bookcase 604, and arranges the file boxes on the bookcase 604. Generate Map (Step 70)
4). Then, the management computer 602 displays the information of the sequence map on the screen (step 705). In the screen display, an icon including the title (name) of each file box is displayed at the position of the box on the bookshelf 604 so that the user can easily understand the file box. Then, the management computer 602
Further, a file box or a document corresponding to the search condition specified by the user is searched, and a file box or a document corresponding to the search condition is determined (step 70).
6) On the screen display of the sequence map, the corresponding file box is displayed in a distinguished form such as highlighting. With this display, the user can know the location of the desired file box or document on the bookshelf 604, and can quickly obtain the desired document.

In addition to or instead of the screen display of the file box array map, for each range of the bookshelf 604, a lamp or the like which can be turned on / off to indicate the corresponding / non-corresponding is provided. Is provided, and a flag display 607 corresponding to the search result is provided.
Is turned on in response to an instruction from the management computer 602, the location of the file box can be presented more easily to the user.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining a schematic configuration of a system according to a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of an RFID used in the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a plurality of distance ranges of an exit gate defined by a plurality of antennas having different communication distances built in an RFID.

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining an example of a method of identifying an existing range of an RFID based on response wave information.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a processing procedure of the system according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a system according to a third embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a system according to a fourth embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a system according to a sixth embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of a processing procedure of a system according to a sixth embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

100 antenna (reader / writer), 101 controller (reader / writer), 102 management computer, 104, 106 RFID, 110 library, 11
0a exit, 210 RFID, 211a to 211d
Antennas, 212a to 212d IC chips.

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) // G07B 15/00 501 G06K 19/00 H

Claims (14)

[Claims] 1. An apparatus comprising two or more antennas attached to an object to be identified and having different communication distances each having unique identification information. Upon receiving an interrogation wave, each antenna emits a response wave including the identification information. RFID and a directional antenna that transmits and receives in an array direction in which a plurality of identification targets can be arranged, emits an interrogation wave from the directional antenna, and transmits each interrogation target existing in the arrangement direction to the interrogation wave. Reading means for receiving response waves from the respective antennas of the RFID, and acquiring identification information of the respective antennas of the respective RFIDs from the response waves, based on the identification information of the respective antennas of the respective RFIDs read by the reading means, An identification target having an RFID exists in any of a plurality of distance ranges defined by a difference in communication distance of each antenna in the array direction. Parallel identification system having a presence range identifying means for identifying whether. 2. An RFID which emits a response wave including unique identification information when an interrogation wave is received, and a communication distance is changed over a predetermined stage in an array direction in which a plurality of identification targets can be arranged. While transmitting the question wave sequentially,
A reading unit that receives a response wave from each identification target RFID existing in the array direction with respect to each of these interrogation waves having different communication distances, and acquires identification information of each of the RFIDs from these response waves; Based on the identification information of each RFID read for each interrogation wave having a different communication distance, each R
An existence range identification means for identifying in which one of a plurality of distance ranges defined by a difference in communication distance of each interrogation wave in the arrangement direction, the identification target having the FID. Identification system. 3. The parallel identification system according to claim 1, wherein each distance range defined by the difference in the communication distance is determined according to the size of the identification target. 4. A partitioning means for partitioning the distance ranges so as to restrict the identification object from straddling the adjacent distance ranges along the arrangement direction. Or the parallel identification system according to claim 2. 5. The method according to claim 1, wherein said at least one of said plurality of identification objects having passed through said gate is applied to a gate through which said identification object passes, and said plurality of identification objects pass substantially simultaneously through said gate. The parallel identification system according to claim 1, wherein the identification system determines which one has passed. 6. A means for detecting that the identification object is going to pass through the gate, and operating the reading means only when the means detects the identification object going to pass through the gate. The parallel identification system according to claim 5, wherein: 7. The parallel identification system according to claim 1, wherein the parallel identification system is applied to an exit gate of a storage area where an object lent to a user is stored. User RFI
D, and an object RFID attached to the object to be lent to the user, wherein the user and the object are substantially at the same time based on the identification result of the existence range identification means, and the exit gate A lending management means for performing lending processing by recognizing that the object has been borrowed by the user when recognizing that the object has passed the same distance range. 8. The lending management means performs a lending process based on read information at a time when the same user and object pair pass through a distance range closest to the reading means when passing through the gate. The parallel identification system according to claim 7, wherein: 9. A predetermined process for each of the identification objects existing in each of the distance ranges based on the identification result of the existence range identification means indicating which identification object exists in each of the distance ranges in the arrangement direction. 3. The parallel identification system according to claim 1, further comprising: an identification result use processing unit that executes: 10. The parallel identification system according to claim 1, which is applied to an entrance / exit gate of a control area, wherein the identification unit reads the RFID to be identified passing through the gate. Means for determining whether or not the object to be identified is allowed to pass through the gate, based on the information; Means for identifying a distance range in which the identification target exists based on the identification result, and performing processing for preventing the identification target from passing through the gate using information on the identified distance range. 11. The parallel identification system according to claim 1, which is applied to an entrance / exit gate of a controlled area, wherein: a means for detecting an object passing through the gate; Means for performing a process for preventing the object from passing through the gate when the reading means fails to detect the RFID despite detecting an object trying to pass through the gate; Identification system. 12. A storage unit in which a plurality of the identification targets are stored in the arrangement direction, and each of the identification targets stored in the storage unit based on an identification result of the existence range identification unit, 3. The parallel identification system according to claim 1, further comprising: a storage location management unit that manages a location in the storage unit. 4. 13. The storage location management unit includes a display unit that receives a search command from a user and obtains and displays the location of the identification target corresponding to the search command in the storage unit. 13. The parallel identification system according to claim 12, wherein: 14. The plurality of flag means provided on the storage means along the arrangement direction, wherein the display means comprises:
14. The parallel identification system according to claim 13, wherein the location of the identified object is displayed by turning on a flag means corresponding to the searched location of the identified object.