WO2014178481A1

WO2014178481A1 - Portable reader and method for reading tag information using same

Info

Publication number: WO2014178481A1
Application number: PCT/KR2013/005464
Authority: WO
Inventors: 정혜진
Original assignee: 주식회사지니
Priority date: 2013-05-03
Filing date: 2013-06-20
Publication date: 2014-11-06
Also published as: KR20140131106A

Abstract

The present invention relates to a reader. Particularly, the objective of the present invention is to provide: a portable reader which is formed in the shape of a pen, receives tag information transmitted from a frequency tag, and can transmit the received tag information to a portable communication terminal; and a method for reading tag information using the same. To this end, the portable reader, according to the present invention, comprises: a tag receiving unit for receiving tag information from the frequency tag; a transmitting unit for transmitting the tag information to the portable communication terminal; a storage unit including information required for the driving of the tag receiving unit and the transmitting unit; a control unit for controlling the functions of the tag receiving unit, the transmitting unit and the storage unit; a power supply unit for supplying power required for the tag receiving unit, the transmitting unit, the storage unit and the control unit; a pen-shaped body having the tag receiving unit, the transmitting unit, the storage unit and the control unit therein; and a touch unit provided on one end of the body.

Description

Handheld Reader and Tag Information Reading Method Using the Same

The present invention relates to a portable reader, and more particularly, to a portable reader and a method of reading tag information using the same, which receives tag information from a tag using a frequency scheme such as RFID or NFC.

With the development of science and technology, various near field communication methods are being developed.

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) (hereinafter, simply referred to as 'RFID'), which is most commonly used in short-range wireless communication technology, includes an RFID tag storing predetermined information, and It consists of an RFID reader that receives tag information stored in an RFID tag.

The RFID tag generally includes an antenna connected to a memory device such as an integrated circuit (IC), and receives power from a self-powered or read request signal from an RFID reader device to retrieve tag information corresponding to the read request. It transmits to the RFID reader.

Near Field Communication (NFC), which is widely used with the spread of portable terminals such as smartphones, is simply referred to as 'NFC' between two terminals equipped with an NFC chip and an NFC antenna. It refers to a communication technology capable of bidirectional communication of data in the 13.56 MHz band within a distance of about 10 cm. That is, the NFC should also be provided with a transmitting terminal (tag) for transmitting tag information and a reader for receiving and reading tag information stored in the tag.

Such NFC became known to the world as Bruno Charrat obtained the world's first NFC patent in 1999. Since 2002, NFC technology has begun to be developed in earnest by Sony and NXP.

On the other hand, in the distribution market in which a large number of goods are distributed, methods of performing communication using frequencies such as RFID and NFC as described above have been introduced and used for goods management.

However, since a reader that receives and reads the tag information from the tag has a complicated structure, it is inconvenient for a user to carry.

To solve this inconvenience, Korean Patent Laid-Open No. 10-2005-0099685 discloses a method of using a portable terminal as the RFID reader.

However, as various types of portable communication terminals such as smartphones and tablet PCs have been developed, the portable terminal performing the function of the RFID reader while the user always carries the portable communication terminals as described above. If you have to carry it again, the user may feel another inconvenience.

In addition, when the function of the RFID reader is mounted directly on the smartphone as described above, the manufacturing cost of the smartphone can be increased. In particular, a user who does not need the RFID function must purchase a smartphone equipped with unnecessary functions at a high price.

That is, a reader such as a conventional RFID reader or NFC reader is expensive to install and difficult to install.

In order to solve this problem, the reader may be manufactured in the form of a portable terminal, but in this case, the user may feel inconvenient to carry another portable terminal in addition to the portable communication terminals such as a smart phone.

In addition, when the reader is mounted on a portable communication terminal such as a smartphone, the cost of the portable communication terminal becomes high, and thus cannot be widely used.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and is formed in the form of a pen, receives tag information transmitted from a frequency tag, and can transmit the received tag information to a portable communication terminal, a portable reader and a tag using the same It is a technical problem to provide an information reading method.

A portable reader according to the present invention for achieving the above technical problem, the tag receiving unit for receiving the tag information from the frequency tag; A transmitter for transmitting the tag information to a portable communication terminal; A storage unit including information necessary for driving the tag receiver and the transmitter; A controller for controlling the functions of the tag receiver, transmitter, and storage; A power supply unit for supplying power to the tag receiver, the transmitter, the storage, and the controller; A pen-shaped body including the tag receiver, a transmitter, a storage, and a controller; And a touch unit mounted at one end of the body.

Tag information reading method according to the present invention for achieving the above-described technical problem, the portable reader receiving the tag information; Transmitting, by the portable reader, the tag information to the portable communication terminal; And reading the tag information by the portable communication terminal in which a reading application program capable of reading the tag information is driven.

According to the above solution, the present invention provides the following effects.

That is, since the portable reader according to the present invention is formed in the form of a pen, the user can easily carry the portable reader according to the present invention anytime and anywhere.

1 is a configuration diagram of an embodiment of a tag information reading system using a portable reader according to the present invention.

Figure 2 is an embodiment of the internal structure of a portable reader according to the present invention.

3 is a flowchart illustrating a method of reading tag information using a portable reader according to the present invention.

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings will be described in detail an embodiment of the present invention.

In the tag information reading system using the portable reader according to the present invention, as shown in FIG. 1, the portable reader 10 according to the present invention, the frequency tag 20 storing tag information, and the portable terminal from the frequency tag. And a portable communication terminal 30 for reading the frequency information received from the reader 10 and then transmitted from the portable reader 10.

First, the frequency tag 20 is mounted on various articles, and stores tag information for identifying the article.

In the following description, the frequency tag 20 may be an RFID tag applied to RFID, or may be an NFC tag applied to NFC.

The RFID tag 20 has an antenna connected to a memory device such as an integrated circuit (IC), and receives power from its own power or a read request signal received from the portable reader 10, and responds to the read request. The tag information is transmitted to the portable reader 10.

The NFC tag 20, like the RFID tag 20, includes an NFC chip and an NFC antenna. When the read request is received from the portable reader 10, the NFC tag 20 carries tag information corresponding to the read request. It transmits to the reader 10.

The RFID tag 20 or the NFC tag 20 (hereinafter, referred to collectively as the RFID tag and the NFC tag, referred to as the frequency tag 20) may be used for individual articles, boxes, or vehicles that carry the articles. Can be mounted and used.

Next, the portable communication terminal 30 may communicate with another terminal using a wireless communication network (Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, wireless Internet, etc.), such as a smartphone or a tablet PC that is generally used. It is a terminal.

That is, the portable communication terminal 30 is a terminal in which an app or other application program can be freely mounted and used by a user.

The smart phone refers to an intelligent terminal in which computer support functions such as internet communication and information retrieval are added to a mobile phone, and the user can install an application program (application) desired by the user. Application programs installed and used in the smartphone are particularly referred to as apps.

An application installed in the portable communication terminal 30 such as the tablet PC is not called an app. However, an application program installed in the portable communication terminal 30 such as the tablet PC also performs the same function as the app.

Therefore, the function of the portable communication terminal 30 described below can be applied to the terminal such as the tablet PC as well as the smartphone.

Meanwhile, the portable communication terminal 30 communicates with the portable reader 10 while the application program is executed, and receives the tag information from the portable reader 10.

The portable communication terminal 30 may read the tag information using the application program and output the contents of the tag information through a display of the portable communication terminal.

Finally, the portable reader 10 according to the present invention communicates with the frequency tag 20 to receive the tag information from the frequency tag 20. In addition, the portable reader 10 communicates with the portable communication terminal 30 to transmit the tag information to the portable communication terminal 30.

The configuration and function of the portable reader 10 will be described in detail below with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3.

Figure 2 is an internal configuration diagram of an embodiment of a portable reader according to the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 2, the portable reader 10 according to the present invention includes a tag receiver 11 for receiving tag information from a frequency tag, a transmitter 12 for transmitting the tag information to a portable communication terminal, and A storage unit 13 including information necessary for driving the tag receiver 11 and the transmitter 12, a controller 14 for controlling functions of the tag receiver, a transmitter, and a storage unit, and the tag receiver 11. , A power supply unit 15 for supplying power to the transmitter 12, the storage unit 13, and the controller 14, the tag receiver 11, the transmitter 12, the storage unit 13, and the controller 14. The pen includes a pen-shaped body 19 and a touch unit 16 mounted at one end of the body 19.

First, the tag receiver 11 performs wireless communication with the frequency tag 20 to receive the tag information from the frequency tag 20.

That is, the tag receiving unit 11 performs the function of receiving the tag information of the RFID tag or the NFC tag from the RFID tag or the NFC tag 20.

The tag receiver 11 may be configured in the form of an antenna.

Next, the transmitter 12 communicates with the portable communication terminal 30 to transmit the tag information received from the frequency tag 20 to the portable communication terminal 30.

Next, the storage unit 13 stores information necessary for driving the transmitter 12 and the tag receiver 11. The tag information received from the frequency tag 20 may be temporarily stored in the storage unit 13. In addition, the storage unit 13 may store information necessary for driving the control unit 14.

Next, the controller 14 controls the functions of the tag receiver 11, the transmitter 12, and the storage 13.

When the tag receiver 12 communicates with the frequency tag 20, the controller 14 requests transmission of the tag information to the frequency tag 20, and the transmitter 12 transmits the tag information. When communicating with the portable communication terminal 30, the tag information is transmitted to the portable communication terminal 30 through the transmitter 12.

That is, the controller 14 may transmit a command to transmit the tag information to the frequency tag 20, and may transmit the received tag information to the portable communication terminal 30.

Next, the power supply unit 15 supplies power to the tag receiver 11, the transmitter 12, the storage 13, and the controller 14.

The power supply unit 15 may be formed of a battery, or may be a solar cell.

Next, the body 19 includes the tag receiver 11, the transmitter 12, the storage 13, and the controller 14, and may be configured in the form of a pen as shown in FIG. 1. . Since the body 19 is configured in the form of a pen, the user can easily carry the portable reader 10 according to the present invention.

Finally, the touch unit 16 may be used to touch the touch screen of the portable communication terminal 30.

That is, since the input / output unit of the portable communication terminal 30 is configured as a touch screen, when the portable communication terminal 30 is to execute the application program, the user may use the touch unit 16.

On the other hand, the portable reader 10 according to the present invention as described above, in addition to the above configuration, the notification unit 17 and the tag information to inform that the tag information has been received through the portable communication unit 12 via the transmission unit 12 It may further include an input unit 18 for receiving a control signal for transmitting to the terminal 30.

That is, when there is no notification unit 17 and the input unit 18, if the portable reader 10 is close to the frequency tag 20, the tag information is from the frequency tag 20 to the portable reader Via 10 is automatically transmitted to the portable communication terminal (30).

In this case, however, unnecessary transmission may occur when the portable communication terminal 30 is not ready to receive the tag information. In addition, it is difficult for the user to check whether the tag information is normally transmitted to the portable terminal 30.

To this end, the present invention may include the notification unit 17 and the input unit 18 as described above.

The notification unit 17 performs a function of notifying that the tag information is normally received from the frequency tag 20. That is, when the tag information is normally received from the frequency tag 20, the controller 14 may inform the user that the tag information is normally received through the notification unit 17.

To this end, the notification unit 17 may be configured as a lamp, or may be configured as a speaker. The lamp or speaker is mounted to the body 19.

The input unit 18 receives a control signal for transmitting the tag information to the portable communication terminal 30 through the transmitter 12.

That is, as described above, when the tag information is received from the frequency tag 20, but the portable communication terminal 30 is not ready to receive the tag information, the tag information is transmitted to the portable communication terminal. Sending to 30 is meaningless. If such unnecessary transmission is continued, the power charged in the power supply unit 15 is unnecessarily wasted.

Therefore, when the control signal is received through the input unit 18, the controller 14 transmits the tag information to the portable communication terminal 30 through the transmitter 12.

To this end, the control unit may store the tag information in the storage unit 13 until the control signal is input to the input unit 18.

Hereinafter, a method of reading tag information using a portable reader according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3.

First, the user brings the portable reader 10 closer to the frequency tag 20 so that the portable reader 10 receives the tag information (S302).

In this case, the portable reader 10 may transmit a request signal for transmitting tag information to the reader 10 to the frequency tag 20.

The frequency tag 20 may transmit the tag information to the portable reader 10 according to the request signal.

Next, the portable reader 10 transmits the tag information to the portable communication terminal (S304).

In this case, the portable reader 10 may transmit the tag information to the portable communication terminal 30 as soon as the tag information is received from the frequency tag 20, but the control signal may be input through the input unit 18. At this time, the tag information may be transmitted to the portable communication terminal 30.

To this end, the user executes an application program (hereinafter, simply referred to as a read application program) capable of reading the tag information in the portable communication terminal 30.

When the portable communication terminal 30 is a tablet PC, the reading application may be installed on the tablet PC and executed by using a general application program installation method.

When the portable communication terminal 30 is a smartphone, an app corresponding to the reading application program (hereinafter, simply referred to as a 'reading app') may be downloaded from an app store, installed in the smartphone, and then executed.

Here, the app store is a place where the reading app can be downloaded, and the app store stores various types of apps (App) including the reading app, and when a download request is received from the smartphone, the app is read. Perform the function of transmitting to the smartphone.

In other words, the App Store is the term used for the term 'Application Store', which is a mobile application (schedule, address book, alarm, calculator, game, video, internet access, music playback, navigation, word, etc.) It refers to an online 'mobile content (software) marketplace' that allows users to freely buy and sell content applications such as.

Finally, the portable communication terminal 30 on which the read application is executed receives the tag information and then reads the tag information using the read application (S306).

The portable reader and the tag information reading method using the same according to the present invention as described above have the following features.

First, since the portable reader 10 according to the present invention may be formed in the form of a pen, it is easy to carry by the user and includes the touch unit 16, and thus, the touch screen of the portable communication terminal 30 may be used. It can also be used for driving.

Secondly, the present invention is to recognize a marker of a frequency method such as RFID or NFC, and the present invention can perform communication without contact with the frequency tag 20 through frequency communication. This has the advantage that the processing value can be checked immediately.

Third, according to the present invention, the tag information received from the frequency tag 20 is transmitted to the portable communication terminal 30, so that the reading result of the tag information can be immediately confirmed through the portable communication terminal 30. In this case, the portable reader 10 may communicate with the portable communication terminal 30 using wireless communication such as a blue pitcher, Wi-Fi, or mobile communication.

Fourth, according to the present invention, since the portability and mobility of the portable reader using RFID, NFC and the like is easy, it can contribute to the expansion of the RFID market.

Fifth, since the portable reader 10 according to the present invention performs a function of transmitting the tag information to the portable communication terminal 30, it can be produced and sold at a low price.

On the other hand, the portable reader 10 according to the present invention, as described above, is used for receiving tag information from a tag using a frequency scheme such as RFID or NFC, and also receives barcode information from a QR code or a barcode. It may also be used for receiving purposes.

In this case, the portable reader 10 may be attached to the camera that can read the QR code or barcode. In addition, the input unit 18 may be used for inputting a control signal for driving the camera.

That is, when the portable reader 10 is basically used for receiving tag information from a tag using a frequency scheme such as RFID or NFC, the user who wants to read the QR code or a barcode is the input unit. A control signal for driving the camera can be input through 18.

When the camera is driven through the input unit 18, the camera is driven to recognize the QR code or barcode. The recognized QR code or barcode is transmitted to the portable communication terminal 30 in the same manner as the tag information is transmitted to the portable communication terminal 30, and then read by the portable communication terminal 30. Can be.

Those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains will understand that the present invention can be implemented in other specific forms without changing the technical spirit or essential features. Therefore, it is to be understood that the embodiments described above are exemplary in all respects and not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is shown by the following claims rather than the detailed description, and all changes or modifications derived from the meaning and scope of the claims and their equivalent concepts should be construed as being included in the scope of the present invention. do.

Claims

A tag receiver for receiving tag information from a frequency tag;

A transmitter for transmitting the tag information to a portable communication terminal;

A storage unit including information necessary for driving the tag receiver and the transmitter;

A controller for controlling the functions of the tag receiver, transmitter, and storage;

A power supply unit for supplying power to the tag receiver, the transmitter, the storage, and the controller;

A pen-shaped body including the tag receiver, a transmitter, a storage, and a controller; And

Handheld reader comprising a touch unit mounted to one end of the body.
The method of claim 1,

A notification unit for notifying that the tag information has been received; And

Further comprising an input unit for receiving a control signal for transmitting the tag information to the transmitter,

And the control unit transmits the tag information to the portable communication terminal through the transmitter, when the control signal is input.
The method of claim 2,

The control unit stores the tag information in the storage unit until the control signal is input.
The method of claim 2,

It further includes a camera that can read a QR code or a barcode,

The control unit drives the camera when the control signal for driving the camera is received through the input unit, and transmits the QR code or barcode recognized through the camera to the portable communication terminal through the transmitter. Portable reader, characterized in that.
Receiving the tag information by the portable reader according to any one of claims 1 to 4;

Transmitting, by the portable reader, the tag information to the portable communication terminal; And

And reading the tag information by the portable communication terminal on which a reading application program capable of reading the tag information is driven.