JPH04354722A - Electronic tag - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide an electronic tag having high reliability at the time of inputting delivery data, and moreover capable of evading the limitation of the service duration of a tag and the dumping problem of the tag by recovering a battery after use, and computer-processing everything from delivery to shipment. CONSTITUTION:In a home delivery tag 1, a response circuit 4 and a power source 6 are electrically connected together at the time of commencing using the tag 1, allowing coded delivery data such as baggage destinations to be memorized in the response circuit 4 in a condition where stable electric power is supplied. The response circuit 4 is made a non-power condition because of the separation of the response circuit 4 and the power source 6 due to the destruction of a slip piece 5 with a perforation 8 after the delivery data are memorized in the response circuit 4.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to electronic luggage tags used in home delivery services, and more particularly to electronic luggage tags used for automatic sorting using radio waves.

0002

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in home delivery services, packages are collected and delivered based on the contents written on delivery slips. In other words, the person requesting the package writes the destination, sender, etc. on the delivery slip, the distributor converts the contents into a code, and the delivery slip containing this code is attached to the package. The packages collected from the distributors are then sent to a distribution center, where the contents of the delivery slips are entered into a computer using a keyboard or the like and processed.

[0003] In addition, in recent years, electronic tag systems using radio waves have been developed in which data such as delivery address is inputted into electronic tags using a dedicated writing device in advance, and the data stored in the electronic tags is then read at a delivery center. Techniques have been proposed for automatically reading and inputting information into a computer. Since this electronic tag does not have a battery inside, the power to drive the electronic tag is supplied by receiving radio waves from the outside with an antenna and generating an induced electromotive force with a coil etc. (Refer to Japanese Patent Publication No. 111821/1982).

0004

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, although the above-mentioned battery-free electronic tags are advantageous in that they can avoid the problem of the battery-based usage period and disposal of the tags, Another problem arises in that input of delivery data at distributors etc. becomes unstable.

[0005] In other words, when using electronic tags, there are various usage conditions when inputting delivery data at distributors, etc., so it is necessary to make the input reliability higher than that of normal systems. There is a problem with electronic tags that do not have a power source, which supplies power from outside, that the data cannot be entered stably.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and has high reliability when inputting delivery data, can avoid restrictions on the usage period of tags, and can easily collect batteries to solve the problem of disposal of tags. The purpose of the present invention is to provide an electronic tag that can avoid this problem and perform computer processing for everything from delivery to shipping.

[0007]

[Means for Solving the Problems] The present invention to achieve this object encodes and stores delivery data such as the delivery address of the package when the tag starts to be used, and transmits the delivery data to an external device using radio waves. An electronic tag that communicates data with a response circuit that stores the delivery data and performs data communication, a power supply that is connected to the response circuit and supplies power when storing the delivery data, and a power supply that uses the power from the power supply. The gist of the present invention is an electronic tag characterized by comprising a response circuit in which delivery data is stored and a separation section that separates the power supply from the response circuit.

[0008]

[Function] In the electronic tag of the present invention, when the tag starts to be used, encoded delivery data such as the delivery address is stored,
The content of the delivery data is also communicated with the outside world using radio waves, such as when sorting packages.

[0009] When attaching an electronic tag to a package, the power source and the response circuit are electrically connected, power is supplied from the power source to the response circuit, and the delivery is carried out while this stable power is being supplied. Store the data in the response circuit. after that,
The power supply is cut off by separating the response circuit in which the delivery data is stored from the power supply at the separation part, and the electronic tag is attached to the package in a state of no power supply.

0010

[Embodiment] A delivery slip will be described below as an embodiment of the electronic tag of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram schematically showing a home delivery slip. The home delivery slip of this embodiment is made up of a plurality of slip pieces such as a requester slip, a delivery slip, a destination slip, etc., which are tied together at their ends.

As shown in FIG. 1, this home delivery slip 1 is roughly divided into a slip piece 5 having a handwritten entry field 2 and a response circuit 4, and a power source section 7 having a battery (power source) 6. The slip piece 5 and the power supply section 7 can be separated by a perforation 8. A switch section 9 for electrically connecting and disconnecting the response circuit 4 and the power source 6 is provided near the perforation 8 on the slip piece 5 side.

[0012] In the handwritten entry column 2, information such as the delivery address and shipping source is entered by hand by the shipping requester, and the sorting code indicating the arrival store, charges, etc. are also entered by hand by the handling store. It is. The response circuit 4 basically includes an antenna 10 for exchanging data;
It is composed of an IC 11 that controls the circuit and stores delivery data. Inputting data to this IC11 is as follows:
For example, using the writing device 13 (FIG. 5), this is done by radio waves. The stored data includes a sorting code indicating the delivery area, a telephone number, etc., and is input when the package 14 (FIG. 5) is delivered.

As shown in the cross section of FIG. 2, the switch section 9 includes a slip piece 5a for the agent's copy, a slip piece 5c on which the response circuit 4 is formed, and a space between the two slip pieces 5a, 5c. A conductive pattern 6a for a power source connected to a power source 6 is provided on the back side of the slip piece 5a for agent copy.
is formed, and on the other hand, the slip piece 5c on which the response circuit 4 is formed.
An IC conductive pattern 11a connected to the IC 11 is formed on the surface of the IC. Therefore, when the insulating paper 5b is cut off at the distributor, the switch section 9 is turned on by connecting both the conductive patterns 6a and 11a, so that power is supplied to the response circuit 4 and delivery data can be input. It becomes possible.

Next, the electrical configuration of the response circuit 4 is shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 3, the response circuit 4 includes, in addition to the antenna 10, the modulator 24, and the rectifier 25, a response logic circuit 26 consisting of a CPU 27, a clock generator 28, and an E2PROM 29. The antenna 10 is used not only to transmit and receive data, but also to receive electric power from external radio waves. E2PROM29 is C
In addition to the programs executed by the PU 27, the received data is stored.

The response circuit 4 operates as follows. During sorting, the radio waves from the interrogator 30 (Figure 4) are sent to the antenna 1.
0, and the received power is converted into direct current by the rectifier 25 and provided to the response logic circuit 26. In this way, the CPU 27 and clock generator 28 are activated. C.P.
When U27 is activated, E2PRO is activated based on the clock.
Execute the program stored in M29.

Further, when an interrogation signal is extracted from the radio waves received by the antenna 10, and the received data is a request command for data such as a delivery address, the CPU 27 outputs the data from the E2PROM 29.
Execute the program stored in advance in the E2PR
The data stored in the OM 29 is read and a signal corresponding to the data is output to the modulator 24. The diode 24a of this modulator 24 is activated by the signal output from the CPU 27.
The conduction/non-conduction changes. Therefore, by changing the impedance in this way, data is transmitted from the antenna 10.

The electrical configuration of the interrogator 30 is shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 4, the interrogator 30 includes a carrier oscillation circuit 31 that generates a carrier wave for a transmitted electromagnetic wave, a modulator 32 that superimposes information on the carrier wave, a circulator 33 that separates the transmitted wave and the received wave, and an entrance and exit port for the electromagnetic wave. It consists of a transmitting/receiving antenna 34, a demodulator 35 that extracts information from received waves, and a signal processing section 36 that controls the modulator 32 and the demodulator 35 to process the information.

The signal processing unit 36 also includes a CPU 37 that performs information processing and communication with the outside, and a clock generator 38 that supplies an operating clock to the CPU. Note that the writing device 13 used for inputting data at the time of interrogation has the same configuration as the above-mentioned interrogator 30, so a description thereof will be omitted.

Next, the operation of the interrogator 30 having the circuit configuration described above will be explained. The transmission wave from the interrogator 30 is generated by modulating a carrier wave generated by a carrier oscillation circuit 31 by a modulator 32. In other words, the signal processing unit 36
The data sent from the source to the modulator 32 is superimposed.

The transmission wave created in this manner is sent to the circulator 33, from there to the transmitting/receiving antenna 34, and radiated into the air. Then, the response circuit 4 of the delivery slip 1
If a response signal is returned from the transmitter/receiver antenna 34, the transmitter/receiver antenna 34 receives it. The received wave is sent to the demodulator 35 via the circulator 33, where the information contained in the received wave is extracted and sent to the signal processing section 36 for processing.

Further, the signal processing unit 36 receives control signals and various information input from the external interface 39 and sends transmission data to the modulator 32. The signal processing unit 36 receives data such as identification information of the response circuit 4 from the demodulator 35 and outputs it to the external interface 39.

Next, a method of using the home delivery slip 1 of this embodiment will be explained. FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing how to use the home delivery slip 1. As shown in FIG. 5, a response circuit 4 and a power supply 6 are incorporated into the delivery slip 1 during manufacturing, but at this time,
Since the insulating paper 5b is placed between the IC conductive pattern 11a and the power supply conductive pattern 6a, power is not supplied to the response circuit 4.

[0023] On the delivery slip 1, the delivery address, shipping source, etc. are first written by the requester, and then the sorting code, charge, etc. are written in by the agent. Next, when the insulation slip 5b is cut out at the distributor, power is supplied to the response circuit 4 and the CPU 27 is activated. Therefore, CPU27
While activated, the sorting code and the like are input to the response circuit 4 using a dedicated writer 13.

After inputting the data, the power supply unit 7 equipped with the battery 6 is separated from the slip piece 5 at the perforation 8, and the slip piece of the delivery slip 1 equipped with the response circuit 4 is attached to the package 14. , give a copy of the slip to the client, and remove the necessary slips and store them at the agency. The delivery company is responsible for the package 1
4 and transport it to the distribution center. At the distribution center, an interrogator 30 driven by a computer 42
By transmitting an inquiry signal from the package 14, a response signal is received from the response circuit 4 attached to the package 14, and delivery data such as a sorting code is read based on the signal.

[0025] The packages 14 carried by the belt conveyor 40 are then classified by an automatic sorter 41 based on the read delivery data. This differentiated baggage 1
4 is sent to the delivery base in each district, and from there it is delivered to the destination. As described above, in this embodiment, the power source 6 and the response circuit 4 of the delivery slip 1 are formed in a state in which the circuit connecting them is cut off, and the power source 6 and the response circuit 4 of the delivery slip 1 are formed in a state where the circuit connecting them is cut off, and the power source 6 and the response circuit 4 are connected for the first time when inputting the delivery data at the agency. and a response circuit 4 are connected to input a sorting code and the like. Therefore, the delivery slip 1 is
No matter what condition the device is used at a distributor or the like, delivery data can be input reliably under the stable power supply 6.

[0026] Furthermore, after the delivery data is input, the power supply 6 is separated at the perforation 8 and discarded, so that it can be used as a conventional electronic tag without a power supply. In other words, since the power source 6 is only used for inputting data at the time of starting use, there is an advantage that the minimum amount of power source 6 is required.

Furthermore, since the power supply 6 remains at the distributor, the power supply (
The battery 6 can also be easily collected, and the problem of dust can be avoided. Although the embodiments have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments in any way, and it goes without saying that it can be implemented in various forms without departing from the spirit of the invention.

For example, the home delivery slip of the above embodiment may be a single slip or a divisible continuous slip that can be filled in continuously using a line printer or the like. Further, as means for starting the supply of power from the power source, a high-level voltage may be supplied to the sleep terminal by utilizing the sleep mode of the CPU and cutting off the grounded conductive pattern. Further, as the writing method using the writer, in addition to the method using radio waves, a method using electromagnetic induction, a method using electromagnetic coupling, a method using binary coding of data, etc. can be adopted.

[0029]

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, according to the present invention, when starting to use an electronic tag, power is supplied from the power supply to the response circuit,
Since the response circuit is then separated, there is no need to consume power until the electronic tag starts to be used, and the electronic tag can be stored for a long period of time. Furthermore, when the electronic tag is first used, stable power can be supplied from the power source to the response circuit, so there is a significant advantage that delivery data can be input reliably. Furthermore, after input, the power supply can be separated and only the response circuit part attached to the package, so the power supply can be compact and only functions during the initial input, and batteries can be easily recovered. It has the advantage of being able to avoid waste problems.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram of a delivery slip according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a cross section of a switch part of a delivery slip.

FIG. 3 is a circuit diagram of the electrical configuration of the response circuit.

FIG. 4 is a circuit diagram showing the electrical configuration of the interrogator.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing how to use a delivery slip.

[Explanation of symbols]

Claims (1)

[Claims] Claim 1: An electronic tag that encodes and stores delivery data such as the delivery address of the parcel when the tag is first used, and that communicates the delivery data with the outside using radio waves, wherein the storage of the delivery data and the data A response circuit that performs communication, a power supply that is connected to the response circuit and supplies power when storing the delivery data, and a response circuit in which the delivery data is stored using power from the power supply are separated from the power supply. An electronic luggage tag characterized by comprising: a separating section for separating the tags;