JP2014007655A - Rf tag - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain good communication characteristics for each communication frequency by forming a planar antenna corresponding to the communication frequency of an RF tag, and to allow for bulk reading of data even for a plurality of RF tags by avoiding and reducing the influence of moisture and metal effectively.SOLUTION: The RF tag includes an inlay 10 having an IC chip 11 and an antenna 12, a planar auxiliary antenna 20 being laminated on the inlay 10 in the insulated state, and a substrate 50 on which the inlay 10 and auxiliary antenna 20 are laminated. The auxiliary antenna 20 is formed in a rectangular shape having a long side which is substantially equal to 1/4 of the wavelength of radio wave frequency of the inlay 10. It has a notch 21 for dividing one long side into two sides substantially equal to 1/8 of the wavelength of radio wave frequency of the inlay 10. The notch 21 is formed in concave shape opening to the edge of one long side, and has predetermined width and depth for allowing the IC chip 11 of the inlay 10 to be placed therein.

Description

  The present invention relates to an RF tag that is used by being affixed to an arbitrary article such as a plastic bottle or glass bottle used for filling beverages or various liquids, or a metal container such as a can container or a pouch container.

In general, a so-called RF tag having a built-in IC chip in which predetermined information related to an article or object is stored in a readable / writable manner is widely used.
The RF tag is also called an RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) tag, an IC tag, a non-contact tag or the like, and is a so-called inlay in which an electronic circuit including an IC chip and a wireless antenna is sealed and coated with a substrate such as a resin film ( The inlet is an ultra-compact communication terminal formed in the form of a tag (tag). The reader / writer reads / writes / reads / writes predetermined information on the IC chip in the tag wirelessly. (Read-only, write-once, read / write) can be performed.
Then, by writing predetermined information on such an RF tag and attaching it to an arbitrary article, object, etc., the information recorded on the RF tag is picked up by a reader / writer, and the information recorded on the tag is taken into the article. It is possible to recognize, output, display, update, etc. as the predetermined information regarding.

Such an RF tag can record hundreds of bits to several kilobits of data in an IC chip memory, and can record a sufficient amount of information as information on articles, etc. Since communication can be performed in a non-contact manner, there is no concern about contact wear, scratches, dirt, and the like. Furthermore, since the tag itself can be made non-powered, it can be processed, miniaturized, and thinned according to the object.
By using such an RF tag, various information relating to the article to which the tag is attached, for example, various names such as the name and identification symbol of the article, contents, components, manager, user, use state, use state, etc. Information can be recorded, and a wide variety of information, which was impossible with characters and barcodes printed on the label surface, can be read and written accurately simply by attaching a compact and thin tag to the article. Is possible.

By the way, such an RF tag is easily affected by the contents (moisture) in the container when it is attached to, for example, a plastic bottle or glass bottle filled with a liquid or the like. When it is attached to such a metal container / article, it is affected by the conductivity of the metal, and there is a problem that the communication distance changes or accurate wireless communication cannot be performed. For this reason, when a general-purpose RF tag is directly attached to a beverage container or a metal article, the tag malfunctions or wireless communication with the reader / writer cannot be performed.
In particular, the radio frequency type RF tag using the high frequency band of the UHF band has a longer communication distance than the electromagnetic induction type using the 135 KHz and 13.56 MHz bands, but is absorbed by water and reflected by metal. There is a problem that the communication characteristics are likely to be greatly impaired by the above.

Here, as means for improving the communication characteristics of the RF tag, it has been proposed that the antenna provided in the RF tag is configured by a planar patch antenna (for example, see Patent Documents 1 and 2).
Since the communication characteristics of the RF tag depend on the gain due to the antenna size, the antenna provided in the RF tag is formed in a planar shape to increase the antenna size, thereby ensuring a large communication distance and improving the communication characteristics. It becomes possible.

JP 2009-081689 A JP 2010-062941 A

However, the RF tag including a planar antenna proposed in the prior art as disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2 simply forms the antenna in a planar shape, and there is no consideration for the communication frequency characteristics of the RF tag. It wasn't done.
For this reason, there is a possibility that the communication characteristics may not be improved depending on the communication frequency of the RF tag only by forming the antenna in a planar shape.

For example, Patent Document 1 describes an RF tag that is bonded to the surface of a credit card. The area allocated to a tag including an antenna itself is small, and the size and shape of a planar antenna are described. It was practically impossible to design in relation to the communication frequency of the tag. In addition, the RF tag provided in the credit card has a very short distance for communication between the reader / writer and the reader / writer, and the tag and the reader / writer communicate in a one-to-one relationship. There is no particular need to design and adjust the size and shape of the planar antenna in relation to the tag communication frequency.
Similarly, Patent Document 2 only describes that a planar patch antenna is used as an antenna in order to reduce the influence of the metal surface, and the size and shape of the antenna are the same as the communication frequency of the tag. There was nothing to be considered in relation to

For this reason, in the RF tag disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2, even if the antenna is formed in a planar shape or a patch shape, good communication characteristics cannot be obtained depending on the communication frequency of the tag. Only a short distance could be secured.
Therefore, for example, it is difficult to effectively avoid the influence of the container contents (moisture) when mounted on a plastic bottle or glass bottle that is filled with liquid or the like, or the influence of the conductivity of the metal article. .
In addition, in the RF tag as described in Patent Documents 1 and 2 in which the communication distance is short and only one-to-one communication can be performed with the reader / writer, a plurality of RF tags are collectively collected by the reader / writer. For example, it is impossible to read data in a batch by attaching an RF tag to each of a plurality of articles.

  The present invention has been proposed in order to solve the problems of the conventional techniques as described above, and by forming a planar antenna corresponding to the communication frequency of the RF tag, it is possible to respond to each communication frequency. Good communication characteristics can be obtained, the influence of moisture and metal can be effectively avoided / reduced, and multiple RF tags can be read at once, filling liquids etc. An object of the present invention is to provide an RF tag suitable for plastic bottles and glass bottles.

  In order to achieve the above object, an RF tag according to the present invention includes an inlay having an IC chip and an antenna, a planar auxiliary antenna laminated in an insulated state with the inlay, and a base material on which the inlay and the auxiliary antenna are laminated. The auxiliary antenna is formed in a rectangular shape whose long side is approximately 1/4 of the wavelength of the radio frequency of the inlay, and one long side of the auxiliary antenna has a wavelength of the radio frequency of the inlay. A predetermined width and depth at which an inlay IC chip can be arranged, having a cutout portion that is divided into two parts of approximately 1/8 length, and the cutout portion opens at the edge of one long side. It is set as the structure formed in the concave shape which has.

According to the present invention, by forming the planar antenna corresponding to the communication frequency of the RF tag, it is possible to obtain good communication characteristics corresponding to each communication frequency.
As a result, the influence of moisture and metal can be effectively avoided / reduced, data can be read in batches for a plurality of RF tags, and a plurality of containers are packed and transported in a batch. It is possible to realize an RF tag suitable for a label tag to be affixed to plastic bottles and glass bottles used for filling, especially bottles for high-grade liquors such as whiskey, wine, and sake.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS It is a top view of RF tag which uses the label affixed on a container as a tag base material which shows the RF tag which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention, (a) is the state seen from the label back surface (applied surface) side , (B) shows a state viewed from the label surface side. It is the perspective view of the state which decomposed | disassembled the inlay of the RF tag shown in FIG. 1, an auxiliary antenna, and a base material, and has shown the state seen from the label back surface (sticking surface) side corresponding to Fig.1 (a). It is a top view which shows the inlay and auxiliary antenna of RF tag which concern on one Embodiment of this invention, (a) has shown the state which laminated | stacked the auxiliary antenna on the inlay, (b) is the dimension of the long side of an auxiliary antenna Showing the relationship. It is a perspective view of the state which decomposed | disassembled the inlay, the auxiliary antenna, and the base material which show the RF tag which formed the auxiliary antenna which concerns on other embodiment of this invention in mesh shape, and corresponds to FIG. The state seen from the (attachment surface) side is shown. It is an external view of the container which affixed the label which comprises the RF tag which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention on the surface (bottle back surface). It is explanatory drawing which shows the communication distance and communication range of RF tag which concern on one Embodiment of this invention, (a) is the RF tag which concerns on this invention, (b) is the case of the conventional RF tag. It is an external view of a state in which a plurality of (six) containers with a label constituting an RF tag according to an embodiment of the present invention are packed and packed at the same time.

Embodiments of an RF tag according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a plan view of an RF tag 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention, in a form using a label affixed to a container as a base material 50 of the tag, and (a) is a label back surface (affixed surface). The state seen from the side, (b) shows the state seen from the label surface side.
2 is a perspective view of the RF tag 1 shown in FIG. 1 in which the inlay 10, the auxiliary antenna 20, and the base material 50 are disassembled, and corresponds to FIG. The state seen from.
As shown in these drawings, in the RF tag 1 according to the present embodiment, a planar auxiliary antenna 20 is laminated on an inlay 10 that constitutes an RF tag that performs wireless communication, and the inlay 10 and the auxiliary antenna 20 are based on the inlay 10. The RF tag 1 is configured by being laminated on the surface of the material 50.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 2, the RF tag 1 according to the present embodiment includes an inlay 10 including an IC chip 11 and an antenna 12, and a planar auxiliary antenna 20 stacked on the inlay 10 in an insulated state. And a base material 50 on which the inlay 10 and the auxiliary antenna 20 are laminated.
In the RF tag 1 according to the present embodiment, the auxiliary antenna 20 is formed in a predetermined shape and size corresponding to the communication frequency of the inlay 10, and the auxiliary antenna 20 is mounted on the base material 50. In FIG. 5, the inlay 10 is laminated at a predetermined position.
Hereinafter, each part will be described in detail.

[Inlay]
The inlay 10 constitutes an RF tag that reads, writes, and reads and writes predetermined information wirelessly with a reader / writer (reading / writing device) (not shown). For example, the inlay 10 is a read-only type or a write-once type. , Read / write type.
Specifically, the inlay 10 includes an IC chip 11 and an antenna 12 that is electrically connected to and connected to the IC chip 11, and the IC chip 11 and the antenna 12 serve as a base material such as PET resin. After being mounted and formed on one sealing film 13 formed in step 1, the other sealing film 13 is overlaid and sealed and protected in a state of being sandwiched between the two sealing films 13 Has been.
In this embodiment, a rectangular inlay 10 is used in which an IC chip 11 and an antenna 12 extending on both sides of the IC chip 11 are sandwiched and sealed with a rectangular sealing film 13.

The IC chip 11 is formed of a semiconductor chip such as a memory, and can record data of, for example, several hundred bits to several kilobits.
A loop-shaped circuit conductor is connected to the IC chip 11 so as to surround the periphery of the chip to form a loop portion 11a. The antenna 12 is connected to the left and right sides of the IC chip 11 via the loop portion 11a. Has been.
Data read / written (data call / registration / deletion / update, etc.) is performed by wireless communication with the reader / writer (not shown) via the antenna 12 and the auxiliary antenna 20 described later, and the data recorded in the IC chip 11 is recorded. Has come to be recognized.
As data recorded on the IC chip 11, for example, arbitrary data such as product identification code, name, weight, content, manufacturer / seller name, manufacturing location, date of manufacture, expiration date, etc. can be recorded. Yes, it can be rewritten.

The antenna 12 has a predetermined shape and size (length, length, etc.) by etching a metal thin film such as a conductive ink or a conductive aluminum vapor deposition film on the surface of one sealing film 13 serving as a base material. (Area).
The sealing film 13 is made of a flexible film material such as polyethylene, polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polypropylene, polyimide, and the like, and a transparent PET resin or the like in which the IC chip 11 and the antenna 12 to be sealed are visible from the outside. It is preferable that it is comprised. Moreover, the film surface of the single side | surface side of the sealing film 13 can be equipped with the adhesion layer and the contact bonding layer so that it can affix on a base material or an article | item.

As a communication frequency band used in the inlay 10, the RF tag 1 of the present embodiment targets the 860M to 960 MHz band belonging to the so-called UHF band.
As frequency bands generally used in RF tags, there are several types of frequency bands such as a band of 135 kHz or less, a 13.56 MHz band, an 860 M to 960 MHz band belonging to the UHF band, and a 2.45 GHz band. The communication distance that enables wireless communication varies depending on the frequency band used, and the optimum antenna length and the wiring pattern vary depending on the frequency band.
In this embodiment, the inlay 10 can be miniaturized, and the auxiliary antenna 20 described later is formed in a predetermined size, so that the UHF band whose wavelength is short and the antenna can be miniaturized is targeted, for example, 953 MHz. It is intended to obtain good communication characteristics in these frequency bands.
However, as long as there is no restriction on the size of the inlay 10 or the auxiliary antenna 20, the technical idea according to the present invention can be applied to frequency bands other than the UHF band.

[Auxiliary antenna]
The auxiliary antenna 20 functions as an extra antenna for improving / adjusting the communication characteristics of the inlay 10 described above, and as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the auxiliary antenna 20 is stacked on one side of the inlay 10. The inlay 10 is made of an electrically conductive member and is resin-sealed with the sealing film 13.
That is, the entire inlay 10 is resin-sealed by the sealing film 13 and is physically insulated from the auxiliary antenna 20 made of a conductive member. Then, such an auxiliary antenna 20 is directly laminated on the inlay 10 so that the auxiliary antenna 20 and the IC chip 11 of the inlay 10 are disposed to face each other via a sealing film 13, so-called capacitor coupling. As a result, electrical connection is made.
As a result, the auxiliary antenna 20 is stacked on the inlay 10 in the vertical direction (height direction), so that the antenna 12 and the auxiliary antenna 20 of the inlay 10 constitute a two-dimensional antenna, and the auxiliary antenna 20 is a booster for communication radio waves. As a result, the communication characteristics of the inlay 10 can be adjusted and improved.

The auxiliary antenna 20 has a predetermined shape and size (length, area) by etching a metal thin film such as a conductive ink or a conductive aluminum vapor-deposited film on the surface of a film serving as a base material such as PET resin. It can be formed by molding.
FIG. 3 shows a plan view of the auxiliary antenna according to the present embodiment. FIG. 3A shows a state in which the auxiliary antenna is stacked on the inlay, and FIG. 3B shows a dimensional relationship of the long side of the auxiliary antenna. Is shown.
As shown in the figure, in the present embodiment, the auxiliary antenna 20 is formed in a rectangular / planar shape having a short side longer than the short side of the inlay 10 and a long side slightly shorter than the long side of the inlay 10. It has become.
In particular, the long side of the rectangle is formed to have a length that is approximately ¼ of the wavelength of the radio frequency of the inlay 10.
Furthermore, a cutout portion 21 is formed on one long side of the rectangular long side to divide the long side into two parts each having a length of about 1/8 of the wavelength of the radio frequency of the inlay 10. .
The cutout portion 21 is formed in a concave shape having a predetermined width and depth that can be placed on the edge of one long side of the auxiliary antenna 20 and on which the IC chip 11 of the inlay 10 can be placed.

First, according to the principle of the patch antenna, matching can be achieved by setting the length of the long side of the auxiliary antenna 20 to 1/2, 1/4, and 1/8 of the wavelength of the communication radio wave. On the other hand, the overall size of the RF tag 1 is defined by the length of the auxiliary antenna 20. For example, when the wavelength is set to ½ wavelength, if the dimension is too long (too large), a reduction in size is required. This is not preferable because of the nature of the RF tag used.
Therefore, in the present embodiment, the length of the long side of the auxiliary antenna 20 is set to approximately ¼ of the wavelength of the radio frequency of the inlay 10.

When the planar auxiliary antenna 20 is stacked on the inlay 10 and the auxiliary antenna 20 is positioned so as to overlap the IC chip 11 of the inlay 10, the communication characteristics of the IC chip 11 are formed by the conductive member forming the auxiliary antenna 20. Is damaged.
That is, a loop circuit is formed in the vicinity of the IC chip 11 of the inlay 10 (the loop portion 11a). The loop portion 11a has a purpose of matching impedance and performs communication using a magnetic field component. It is necessary to prevent this magnetic field component from being obstructed by the conductor of the auxiliary antenna 20.
Therefore, when the auxiliary antenna 20 is stacked on the inlay 10, the cutout portion 21 is formed so that the conductive member of the auxiliary antenna 20 does not exist in the portion where the IC chip 11 is located.

Further, in forming the cutout portion 21, the length of the long side of the auxiliary antenna 20 is approximately 1/4 of the wavelength of the radio frequency of the inlay 10, which is approximately 1/8 of the wavelength of the frequency. The cutout portion 21 is formed at a position that divides the long side into two portions each having a length of about 1/8 of the wavelength of the radio frequency of the inlay 10 so that the length is long.
Note that the size (width and depth) of the cutout portion 21 may be at least large enough to overlap the IC chip 11 of the inlay 10 so that the auxiliary antenna 20 does not exist. By appropriately adjusting the depth, impedance matching can be achieved according to the radio frequency of the IC chip 11, the material of the casing 50 described later, the influence from the article to which the RF tag 1 is attached, and the like.
Accordingly, the cutout portion 21 has a size that allows at least the IC chip 11 to be disposed, and its width and depth can be adjusted and changed as appropriate within the range of the size of the auxiliary antenna 20. good.

More specifically, for example, when the communication frequency of the inlay 10 is 953 MHz, λ≈314.8 mm, λ / 4≈78.7 mm, and λ / 8≈39.4 mm.
Therefore, the auxiliary antenna 20 is formed so that the length of the long side is about 78.7 mm, and one long side in which the cutout portion 21 is formed is about 39.4 mm. It will be divided into two.
For example, when the communication frequency of the inlay 10 is 920 MHz, λ≈326.0 mm, λ / 4≈81.5 mm, and λ / 8≈40.8 mm.
Therefore, the auxiliary antenna 20 is formed so that the length of the long side is about 81.5 mm, and one long side in which the cutout portion 21 is formed is about 40.8 mm. It will be divided into two.

In general, the inlay is configured as two layers (UHF tag) of the PET layer serving as an antenna and a base material, or three layers as an impedance adjustment antenna under the PET layer.
For this reason, also in the inlay 10 according to the present embodiment, the structure of the PET layer sandwiched between the auxiliary antenna 20 as a conductor and the antenna 12 of the inlay 10 has a wavelength shortening effect, and this PET layer is used. The apparent wavelength will be shortened. The relative dielectric constant of PET is about “4”.
For this reason, the length of the long side of the auxiliary antenna 20 in the present embodiment is also an approximate value, and it is sufficient that the value is approximately λ / 4 and approximately λ / 8, and the case of the housing 50 of the RF tag 1 is sufficient. The length may change depending on the change in communication characteristics depending on the material, the usage environment of the tag, the usage mode, and the like.

The notch 21 formed in the auxiliary antenna 20 is set based on the dimensions of the inlay 10 to be used, and the conductive member of the auxiliary antenna 20 is formed on the IC chip 11 portion of the inlay 10. Are formed in such a width and depth that they do not overlap.
Specifically, first, the width of the notch portion 21 is based on the width of the loop portion 11a of the IC chip 11 of the inlay 10, and the conductor of the auxiliary antenna 20 overlaps the IC chip 11 and the loop portion 11a. Or a size that does not overlap the IC chip 11 but overlaps a part of the periphery of the loop portion 11a. For example, when the size of the width of the loop part 11a is about 15 to 18 mm, the width of the notch part 21 is set to a length in the range of about 10 to 20 mm.
The depth of the notch 21 is set based on the width of the inlay 10 (length in the short direction) and the position of the upper portion of the loop portion 11a, and at least the antenna conductor does not overlap the IC chip 11. Like that. For example, when the width of the inlay 10 is about 10 to 30 mm, the depth of the notch 21 is a length in the range of about 5 to 20 mm.

Note that the current that flows through the auxiliary antenna 20 when data is read from and written to the inlay 10 flows only in the peripheral portion of the planar auxiliary antenna 20 (skin effect).
Therefore, if the auxiliary antenna 20 has the concave peripheral shape having the above-described notch portion 21, the planar portion can be formed in, for example, a mesh (mesh) shape, a lattice shape, or the like.
FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view showing a form in which the auxiliary antenna 20 is formed in a mesh (mesh) shape.
As shown in the figure, by forming the auxiliary antenna 20 in a mesh shape or the like, the function as an antenna is not impaired by the skin effect, and the area of the entire conductor portion of the auxiliary antenna 20 can be reduced. Conductive materials such as conductive ink forming the antenna 20 can be saved, and the cost of the RF tag 1 can be further reduced.

[Base material]
The base material 50 is a mount on which the above-described inlay 10 and the auxiliary antenna 20 are laminated, a sheet-like member serving as a base material, and a film-like member.
In this embodiment, as shown in FIG.1 and FIG.5, the base material 50 consists of a label sheet affixed on the surface of drink bottles, such as a bottle 100, a drink container, and the inlay 10 and the auxiliary antenna 20 are labels. The sheet is laminated on the side where the beverage bottle is applied.
FIG. 5 is an external view of the bottle 100 in which a label constituting the RF tag 1 according to the present embodiment is attached to the front surface (the back surface of the bottle).

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 5, the base material 50 has a rectangular shape that is slightly larger than the outer shape of the stacked inlay 10 and auxiliary antenna 20 so that the stacked inlay 10 and auxiliary antenna 20 can be completely covered. It is formed in the sheet | seat shape formed in this.
The inlay 10 and the auxiliary antenna 20 are provided on one surface side of the base material 50, specifically, on the side of the label sheet constituting the base material 50 that faces the surface of the bottle 100 (bottle application surface, label back surface). They are arranged in layers.
On the other hand, on the other surface (label surface) side of the base material 50, predetermined information (content name, type, place of production, ingredient, country name, price, barcode, etc.) regarding the content filled in the bottle 100 is stored. It is displayed by printing or the like (see FIG. 1B).
Here, the base material 50 can be formed of, for example, a flexible sheet material or film material made of resin such as paper, synthetic paper, polyethylene, polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polypropylene, or polyimide.

Then, such a base material 50 is attached to the surface of the bottle 100 so that the back side of the label on which the inlay 10 and the auxiliary antenna 20 are disposed is attached to the surface of the bottle 100 via an adhesive or the like and is not easily peeled off. Arranged and fixed.
As a result, the inlay 10 and the auxiliary antenna 20 disposed on the back surface of the label of the base material 50 are entirely covered by the base material 50 and are protected from external impacts, environmental changes, and the like. Be able to function.
Further, since the inlay 10 and the auxiliary antenna 20 are hidden by the base material 50, they are not exposed on the surface of the bottle 100, and the inlay 10 and the auxiliary antenna 20 are arranged from the outside, and the label constitutes the RF tag 1. I don't know what I'm doing.
Accordingly, the presence of the RF tag 1 is not known, and it is possible to effectively prevent the RF tag 1 from being peeled or broken.

[Communication characteristics]
The communication characteristics of the RF tag 1 according to the present embodiment configured as described above will be described below with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing the communication distance and communication range of the RF tag 1 according to the present embodiment, where (a) is an RF tag according to the present invention and (b) is a conventional RF tag.
In the figure, the range indicated by hatching indicates the readable distance and range (angle) when the data recorded on the RF tag attached to the surface of the container is read by a reader / writer. -The distance and range (angle) that can be read when the position where the writer faces the front of the label (RF tag) is 0 ° and the position where the reader / writer and the label (RF tag) face is rotated 360 °. ) Is schematically shown.
Here, the RF tag 1 shows a case where a tag having a communication frequency of 920 MHz and an output of 27 dBm is used.

In the case of the RF tag 1 according to this embodiment shown in FIG. 6A, data can be read by a reader / writer in all directions of 360 ° rotation direction with the front of the label (RF tag 1) being 0 °. It turns out that it is.
Further, the communication distance at which data can be read by the reader / writer is 100 cm or more in the range of 315 ° to 45 ° in front of the label (RF tag 1), and the label (RF tag 1) It can be seen that there is a communication distance of 50 cm or more even at positions of 90 ° and 270 ° in the lateral direction and 180 ° in the rearward direction.
Furthermore, there is a communication distance of about 10 cm even at a position 135 ° diagonally behind the label (RF tag 1) that has the shortest communication distance, and it can be read by a reader / writer in the entire 360 ° direction of the container. I understand.

On the other hand, the conventional RF tag shown in FIG. 6B does not include the auxiliary antenna 20 according to the present embodiment, and in this case, the angle between 0 ° and 45 ° in front of the front of the label (RF tag 1). It can be seen that data can be read by the reader / writer in the range, but data cannot be read in the range of 45 ° to 315 ° excluding the range.
In addition, the communication distance is only about 10 cm in the range of 0 ° to 45 ° in front of the label (RF tag 1) readable by the reader / writer. It turns out that data cannot be read.

Next, in order to compare the RF tag 1 of the present embodiment and the conventional RF tag as described above, the bottle 100 attached with the RF tag is packed and stored in a six-packed box. Reading with a writer.
FIG. 7 is an external view of a state in which a plurality of (six) bottles 100 to which labels constituting the RF tag 1 (or conventional RF tag) according to this embodiment are attached are boxed and packed at the same time.

When the reader / writer reads the boxed state of the bottle 100 as shown in the figure, the boxed bottle with the RF tag 1 according to this embodiment shown in FIG. The reading rate by the writer was 99.3% when the communication distance was 50 cm. When the direction of the bottle 100 was changed in the box a plurality of times, the reading rate was 100%.
Therefore, in the RF tag 1 according to the present embodiment, even when a plurality of (six) bottles 100 are packed, the data of each RF tag 1 is read by the reader / writer and is effectively used as the RF tag. I know it works.

On the other hand, with the boxed bottle with the conventional RF tag shown in FIG. 6B, the reading rate by the reader / writer is 35% at the upper limit, and the reading distance can be read only within the range of about 3 cm. It was.
From this, it can be seen that the conventional RF tag cannot function as an RF tag in a state where a plurality of (six) bottles 100 are packed.
Therefore, for example, even when a plurality of, large, and many types of containers are managed and shipping processing is performed, by using the RF tag 1 of this embodiment, product management mistakes can be greatly reduced, and delivery Product management at the time becomes extremely easy, and the working time can be shortened and the value of the product (brand) can be improved.

  As described above, according to the RF tag 1 of the present embodiment, the auxiliary antenna 20 that is laminated and disposed on the inlay 10 in an insulating state is formed in a rectangular plane shape, and the outer shape of the planar auxiliary antenna 20 is formed. The size is set to a predetermined size corresponding to the communication frequency band of the inlay 10. That is, the length of the long side of the rectangular surface constituting the auxiliary antenna 20 is set to be approximately 1/4 of the wavelength of the radio frequency of the inlay 10 and one long side of the rectangular long side is set. Is formed with a notch 21 that divides the long side into two portions each having a length of about 1/8 of the wavelength of the radio frequency of the inlay 10, and the IC chip 11 of the inlay 10 is disposed in the notch 21. It is formed in a concave shape having a predetermined width and depth so as to be possible.

By designing the auxiliary antenna 20 in this way, the communication characteristics of the inlay 10 can be adjusted in accordance with the communication frequency of the inlay 10 on which the auxiliary antenna 20 is laminated, and the communication characteristics of the inlay 10 are matched to the frequency band. Can be set and adjusted to the optimum state.
Therefore, for example, by setting the outer shape and area of the auxiliary antenna 20 according to the type and communication characteristics of the inlay 10, it is possible to obtain the optimal communication characteristics for the inlay 10 and the communication distance to the reader / writer. Can be lengthened. Further, it becomes possible to cope with different communication frequencies only by exchanging the auxiliary antenna 20, and the versatility and expandability as an RF tag can be improved.

Thereby, even if the inlay 10 used for the RF tag 1 is changed, good communication characteristics corresponding to each communication frequency can be obtained, a sufficient communication distance can be secured, and the influence of moisture and metal can be effectively avoided. -It can be reduced. In addition, since a long communication distance can be secured, even when the RF tag 1 is attached to each of a plurality of articles, data can be read collectively for the plurality of RF tags 1.
Therefore, for example, even when a plurality of containers are packed and transported in a lump, it is possible to read the RF tags 1 attached to the individual containers, and the products in shipping and importing / exporting contents-containing containers. An RF tag suitable for management or the like can be realized.

In addition, by setting the auxiliary antenna 20 according to the communication frequency of the inlay 10, the RF tag 1 suitable for each region can be attached to the auxiliary antenna 20, for example, in the United States and other countries using a frequency different from that of Japan. It becomes possible to respond by setting and changing.
Accordingly, when the communication frequency is different due to different IC chips 11 and antennas 12 constituting the inlay 10, or inlays 10 having the same IC chip 11 and antenna 12 configuration, for example, in countries where the usable communication frequency bands are different. Even when used in a region, it can be dealt with by changing / adjusting the dielectric constant adjusting plate 30, and the versatility and expandability as an RF tag can be remarkably improved.

As mentioned above, although preferred embodiment was shown and demonstrated about the RF tag and metal container of this invention, RF tag which concerns on this invention is not limited only to embodiment mentioned above, Various in the range of this invention It goes without saying that changes can be made.
For example, in the above-described embodiment, the beverage container is described as an example of the article using the RF tag according to the present invention. However, the article and the object that can use the RF tag of the present invention include whiskey, wine, and sake. It is not limited to bottles and beverage containers for premium liquor.
That is, the RF tag according to the present invention is applied to any article / object as long as it is an article / object in which an RF tag is used and predetermined information / data is read / written via a reader / writer. can do.

  The present invention is used by being attached to an arbitrary article or object such as a beverage container, a can container, or a metal container. It can be suitably used as an RF tag that is used by being laminated on the back surface of a label attached to the surface of the container.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 RF tag 10 Inlay 11 IC chip 12 Antenna 13 Sealing film 20 Auxiliary antenna 21 Notch part 22 Mesh part 50 Base material

Claims (4)

An inlay with an IC chip and an antenna;
A planar auxiliary antenna laminated in an insulated state with the inlay;
A substrate on which the inlay and the auxiliary antenna are laminated,
The auxiliary antenna is
While the long side is formed in a rectangular shape having a length of about 1/4 of the wavelength of the radio frequency of the inlay,
One long side has a notch that bisects into a length of approximately 1/8 of the wavelength of the radio frequency of the inlay,
The notch is
An RF tag, which is formed in a concave shape having a predetermined width and depth at which an inlay IC chip can be disposed, which is open at an edge of the one long side. The inlay is entirely resin-sealed by a sealing film,
The RF tag according to claim 1, wherein the auxiliary antenna and the inlay are electrically connected to each other by capacitor coupling by directly laminating the auxiliary antenna on the surface of the inlay.   The RF tag according to claim 1, wherein the auxiliary antenna has a concave peripheral outer shape having the cutout portion, and a planar portion inside the peripheral is formed in a mesh shape. The substrate is
It consists of a label sheet affixed to the surface of a beverage bottle,
The RF tag according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the inlay and the auxiliary antenna are stacked on a side of the label sheet on which the beverage bottle is attached.

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