JPH07111487A - Radio information medium - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To find out the cause to an error when the error takes place by detecting a transmission/reception level of a radio wave. CONSTITUTION:A reception antenna 10 used to detect a radio wave sent/7 received by a transmission reception antenna 2 is provided in an ID tag 1. A level detector 12 detects a transmission reception level of a radio wave detected by the reception antenna 10 and the transmission reception level information of the radio wave is stored in a memory 14 together with a flag representing whether the radio wave is an external radio wave or an internal radio wave. When an error takes place, the information stored in the memory 14 is read and the cause to the fault is elucidated.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a wireless information medium, and more particularly to a technique for detecting the transmission / reception level of radio waves.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a wireless information medium of this type, for example, when a variety of automobiles are mixed and produced on the same line, the production information of each automobile body is stored and mounted on the automobile body for use. There is something to do. When multiple types of automobiles are mixed and manufactured on the same line, it is necessary to change the work content at each work station every time the type of the automobile body, the color to be painted, etc. change. Therefore, in recent years, each vehicle body flowing through the line is equipped with an ID tag in which an electronic circuit which stores unique manufacturing information about the body and can wirelessly communicate with an external device is built in a case, and is stored in the ID tag. The manufacturing information is read by an external device installed in each work station, etc., and a command is issued to the work robot based on the read information, so that even if the type of car body changes, the work content is automatically adjusted according to the car body. It is supposed to be changed.

FIG. 4 shows a circuit diagram of a conventional ID tag 21 and a transmitting / receiving device. In FIG. 4, the transmitter / receiver 37 is
It is a device for reading / writing information of the D tag 21, and command information is output from the transmitting / receiving device 37. The command information is output to the signal detector 33 of the matching box 32 and transmitted from the transmitting / receiving antenna 31 by radio waves.

This radio wave is transmitted / received by the ID tag 21.
After being received at 22 and extracted at the data extractor 25,
The command information is decoded by the command decoder 27. When the command information has a content indicating the reading (reading) of the information of the ID tag 21, the information read from the RAM 28 in the ID tag 21 is transmitted via the transmission / reception antenna 22 to the transmission / reception device 37 via the transmission / reception antenna 31. Sent.

When the command information has a content indicating the writing (writing) of information to the ID tag 21, the transmitting / receiving device 37 transmits record information, and this information is transmitted / received by the transmitting / receiving antenna 22.
RA received based on the count by counter 29
Stored in M28.

[0006]

By the way, in the conventional wireless information medium, when a read error occurs, it is not possible to identify what caused the error. For example, as an abnormal factor that causes a reading error, when the radio wave input to the ID tag 21 is weak and information cannot be identified, the radio wave output from the ID tag 21 is weak and the transmission / reception antenna 31 cannot receive the radio wave. In this case, it is considered that there is a case where no electric wave is output from the ID tag 21, but it is not possible to identify which of the abnormal factors is causing the error.

Therefore, in order to clarify the cause of the error, it is necessary to detect the transmission / reception level of the radio wave of the transmission / reception antenna 22 and examine the information. The present invention has been made in view of such a conventional problem, and detects a transmission / reception level of a radio wave and accumulates the information, thereby making it possible to elucidate the cause when an error occurs. The purpose is to provide an information medium.

[0008]

Therefore, the present invention provides the first aspect of the present invention.
A wireless information medium including an antenna and a first memory for storing information transmitted and received by the first antenna, the second antenna detecting radio waves transmitted and received by the first antenna, and the second antenna. A level detector for detecting the transmission / reception level of the radio wave detected by the antenna, a second memory for storing the detected transmission / reception level information of the radio wave, and an output to the first antenna from the first memory side to the second memory side. And a switching means for outputting the transmission / reception level information of the radio wave stored in the second memory.

Further, while providing a flag setting means for setting a flag for determining whether the radio wave transmitted / received by the first antenna is a transmission radio wave or a reception radio wave, the flag set by the flag setting means is The configuration may be such that it is stored in the second memory together with the radio wave transmission / reception level information.

[0010]

According to the above construction, the radio wave transmitted / received by the first antenna is detected by the second antenna, and the transmission / reception level of the radio wave is detected by the level detector. The detected transmission / reception level information of the radio wave is stored in the second memory. If an error occurs in the transmission / reception of radio waves, the switching means switches the output to the first antenna from the first memory side to the second memory side. As a result, the radio wave transmission / reception level information stored in the second memory is output to the first antenna, and it is possible to determine whether or not the radio wave transmission / reception level was weak.

Further, by providing flag setting means and storing a flag for discriminating between transmission / reception of radio waves in the second memory together with transmission / reception level information of radio waves, when an error occurs, the transmission / reception level information of radio waves and the flag are stored. By checking and, it is determined whether or not the wireless information medium has the cause.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. The same elements as those in FIG. 4 are designated by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted. FIG. 1 shows a block circuit diagram of an ID tag 1 as a wireless information medium of this embodiment. The ID tag 1 is used, for example, in the case where many types of automobiles are mixed and manufactured on the same line. Each vehicle body flowing through the line is equipped with an ID tag 1 in which a case is stored with an electronic circuit that stores unique manufacturing information about the body and can wirelessly communicate with an external device, and is stored in the ID tag 1. If the information is read out by an external device provided in each work station or the like, the work suitable for the vehicle body can be performed.

In FIG. 1, the transmitting / receiving antenna 2 corresponds to the first antenna for transmitting / receiving radio waves. The transmitted / received radio wave has command information indicating read / write of information in the RAM 8, unique information of the ID tag 1 and the like. The amplifiers 3 and 4 are the transmitting / receiving antenna 2 respectively.
Of the transmitting / receiving antenna 2 via the changeover switch SW1.
Connected to.

The data extractor 5 is connected to the amplifier 3, extracts data from the output signal of the amplifier 3, and controls the switch SW2 as a switching means.
The RAM 8 as the first memory is connected to the data extractor 5 and stores the above-mentioned unique information, and the information in the RAM 8 is read or written each time it is counted by the counter 9.

The command decoder 7 is connected to the data extractor 5 and decodes the command information contained in the radio wave. Then, the processing of the information in the RAM 8 is determined based on the command information, and the RAM 8 is operated. The command decoder 7 also sets a flag stored in the memory 14. This flag is for determining whether the radio wave of the transmitting / receiving antenna 2 is a transmission radio wave or a reception radio wave. The command decoder 7 corresponds to flag setting means.

The clock extractor 6 is connected to the amplifier 3 and extracts a clock signal from the output signal of the amplifier 3 to control the counters 9 and 13 and the switch SW3. The reception antenna 10 is a reception-only antenna that detects radio waves transmitted and received by the transmission / reception antenna 2, and corresponds to a second antenna. The amplifier 11 is connected to the receiving antenna 10 and amplifies a signal received by the receiving antenna 10.

The level detector 12 is connected to the amplifier 11 via the switch SW3 and detects the transmission / reception level of the radio wave detected by the receiving antenna 10. The memory 14 as the second memory is connected to the level detector 12 and stores the detected transmission / reception level information of the radio waves and also stores the flag set by the command decoder 7 described above. Reading / writing of these pieces of information is performed for each count of the counter 13.

Next, the structure of the ID tag 1 shown in FIG. 2 will be described. The unit substrate 15 is a substrate on which circuits other than the transmission / reception antenna 2 and the reception antenna 10 are configured, and the transmission / reception antenna 2, the reception antenna 10 and the unit substrate 15 are covered with an envelope 16 and placed inside the envelope 16. Is filled with insulation. The transmitting / receiving antenna 2 is an ID plate antenna.

The receiving antenna 10 is a rod-shaped antenna in order to prevent interference with the transmitting / receiving antenna 2, and is arranged on the ID plate. The unit substrate 15 is arranged at a predetermined distance from the receiving antenna 10, and is connected to the transmitting / receiving antenna 2 and the receiving antenna 10 via a line 17. Next, the operation will be described.

When radio waves are transmitted and received between the ID tag 1 and the transmission / reception device 37, SW2 is set to the RAM8 side.
When receiving the radio wave from the transmitter / receiver 37, the switch SW1 is set to the amplifier 3 side. As a result, the received signal received by the receiving antenna 2 is the switch SW1,
The command information is input to the data extractor 5 via the amplifier 3 and the command information is decoded by the command decoder 7 from the extracted information.

The data extractor 5 extracts data,
The command decoder 7 decodes the command information. When the command information has a content indicating that the information of the ID tag 1 is read, the switch SW1 is connected to the amplifier 4 side. As a result, the information is read from the RAM 8, and the read information is output to the transmission / reception antenna 2 via the switch SW2, the amplifier 4, and the switch SW1, and a radio wave is transmitted from the transmission / reception antenna 2 to the transmission / reception antenna 31.

When the command information has a content indicating that information is written to the ID tag 1, the data extracted by the data extractor 5 is stored in the RAM 8. On the other hand, when the radio wave from the transmitting / receiving antenna 2 is detected by the receiving antenna 10,
Turn on the switch SW3 to turn on the amplifier 11 and the level detector 12
And are connected. As a result, the radio wave of the transmitting / receiving antenna 2 is detected by the receiving antenna 10, and this received signal is
It is input to the level detector 12 via the amplifier 11 and the switch SW3, and the transmission / reception level thereof is detected by the level detector 12.

Radio waves from the transmitting / receiving antenna 2 are transmitted / received by the transmitting / receiving antenna 2.
When the received radio wave is the external radio wave received from 31, a flag indicating the external radio wave is input from the command decoder 7, added to the transmission / reception level information, and stored in the memory 14. This flag determines that the transmitting / receiving antenna 2 of the body of the ID tag 1 is not in the transmitting state. Next, when the radio wave of the transmitting / receiving antenna 2 is an internal radio wave that is a transmission radio wave transmitted from the body of the ID tag 1, a flag indicating the internal radio wave is input from the command decoder 7 and added to the transmission / reception level information. It is stored in the memory 14.

Thus, every time a radio wave is transmitted / received by the transmission / reception antenna 2, transmission / reception level information and a flag are stored in the memory.
Accumulated in 14. If an error occurs in the ID tag 1, the ID tag 1 is collected, the switch SW1 is switched from the amplifier 3 side to the amplifier 4 side, and the switch SW2 is RA.
The switch SW3 is turned off by switching from the M8 side to the memory 14 side. As a result, the transmission / reception level information of radio waves and the flag stored in the memory 14 are output to the transmission / reception antenna 2. Then, the cause of the abnormality is clarified according to the flowchart of FIG.

Next, the analysis process of the cause of abnormality will be described based on this flowchart. In step (denoted as “S” in the figure, the same applies hereinafter) 1, the memory is
The transmission / reception level information of radio waves and the flag accumulated in 14 are read. If the flag read from the memory 14 indicates that the radio wave is an internal radio wave, the process proceeds to step 3 to determine whether the radio wave level is normal.

If the radio wave level is normal, step 3 →
4, the ID tag 1 is determined to be normal, and if abnormal, the process proceeds to steps 3 → 5 and it is determined that the radio wave output of the ID tag 1 is reduced. Memory 14 in step 2
If the flag read from indicates that the radio wave is an external radio wave, the process proceeds to step 6 to determine whether the radio wave level is normal.

If the radio wave level is normal, step 6 →
7, the ID tag 1 is determined to be out of order, and if abnormal, the process proceeds to steps 6 → 8 and it is determined that the electric wave from the outside is weak. According to this configuration, the receiving antenna 10 for detecting the radio waves of the transmission / reception antenna 2 is provided, and the transmission / reception level of the radio waves is stored in the memory 14 together with the flag indicating whether the radio waves are external radio waves or internal radio waves. , It is possible to immediately understand the cause of the abnormality when the error occurs.

In this embodiment, in addition to the RAM 8, a memory
Although 14 is provided, the present invention is not limited to this, and only the RAM 8 may be used as the memory to store the radio wave transmission / reception level information and the flag in the RAM 8.

[0029]

As described above, according to the present invention, the second antenna for detecting the radio wave of the first antenna is provided, and the first antenna is provided.
When an error occurs by detecting the transmission / reception level of the radio wave of the antenna and storing the information in the second memory,
It is possible to determine whether or not the cause of the error is due to a decrease in the transmission / reception level of radio waves.

By setting a flag for discriminating the transmission / reception of the radio wave of the first antenna and storing this flag in the second memory together with the transmission / reception level information of the radio wave, an error occurs due to the reduction of the transmission / reception level of the radio wave. In this case, by checking the transmission / reception level of radio waves and the flag stored in the second memory, it is possible to determine whether or not the cause of the error is in the wireless information medium.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block circuit diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a structural diagram of the ID tag of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart for clarifying the cause of abnormality.

FIG. 4 is a block circuit diagram of a conventional ID tag.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 ID tag 2 Transmission / reception antenna 7 Command decoder 8 RAM 10 Reception antenna 12 Level detector 14 Memory SW 1-3 switch

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A wireless information medium comprising a first antenna and a first memory for storing information transmitted and received by the first antenna, wherein the radio information medium detects radio waves transmitted and received by the first antenna. 2 antennas, a level detector for detecting the transmission / reception level of the radio waves detected by the second antenna, a second memory for storing the transmission / reception level information of the detected radio waves, and an output to the first antenna A wireless information medium, comprising: a switching unit that switches from the memory side to the second memory side and outputs the transmission / reception level information of the radio wave stored in the second memory. 2. A flag setting means for setting a flag for discriminating whether the radio wave transmitted / received by the first antenna is a transmission radio wave or a reception radio wave, while the flag set by the flag setting means is set, The wireless information medium according to claim 1, wherein the wireless information medium is configured to be stored in a second memory together with the transmission / reception level information of the radio wave.