WO2001009815A1

WO2001009815A1 - Identifying system with electronic labels

Info

Publication number: WO2001009815A1
Application number: PCT/FR2000/002138
Authority: WO
Inventors: Pierre Pic; Bruno Majourel; Mathieu Pietri; Louis-Marc Muscat; Michel Ousset
Original assignee: Gemplus
Priority date: 1999-07-30
Filing date: 2000-07-26
Publication date: 2001-02-08
Also published as: FR2797124A1

Abstract

The invention concerns systems for identifying with electronic labels objects of various shapes comprising metal parts likely to disturb the propagation of the interrogating electromagnetic waves of the labels (102). It consists in providing a scanner (107) with a set of antennae (104) whereof the localisation and/or characteristics are different. Said antennae are connected to the scanner by a multiplexer (106). The latter successively activates each of the antennae by means of a brief interrogating signal. When the label (102) reacts to the interrogation of one of said antennae, the whole scanning process of said label by said antenna is launched. It enables to identify casks (101) moving past on a conveyor (103).

Description

ELECTRONIC LABEL IDENTIFICATION SYSTEM

The present invention relates to systems which allow all kinds of objects to be identified by placing electronic tags on them which are interrogated remotely by a device operating by wave transmission, generally radioelectric.

Label systems which can be interrogated remotely by radio means are now well known. With the multiplication of applications, the quantities increase and the prices fall, which increases the number of potential applications, to the point that we even plan to place such labels on everyday objects, in order for example to be able to pass ATMs in supermarkets.

We then see new problems arise that did not appear before. Thus, it is now necessary to be able to read such a label whatever its position on the object to be identified and whatever the position thereof relative to the antenna of the identifier, because it does not is no longer possible in many of these new apps. manually present the label in the correct place in relation to the antenna. In certain cases, in particular when the object is of large dimensions and the position of the label is not known, it is necessary to use a detection antenna itself of large dimensions. In other cases, especially when the object on which the label is placed includes a material, metal for example, which disturbs the detection field created by the antenna, we are led to use a detection antenna of small dimensions.

It can therefore be seen that, when these two constraints are present simultaneously, the dimensioning of the detection antenna is subject to contradictory requirements.

We will cite more particularly by way of example a case which presents these two constraints, the identification of metal barrels, beer barrels for example, in a production chain.

To overcome these difficulties, the invention proposes an identification system by electronic labels, in which an electronic label containing identification data is interrogated and secured to an object to be identified, using a reader provided with a transceiver. allowing communication with the label, mainly characterized in that the transceiver comprises several antennas connected by a multiplexer which makes it possible to successively transmit on each of the antennas a brief interrogation signal and to read the data with the 'antenna for which label responded to this brief interrogation signal. According to another characteristic, the communication between the reader and the label is distributed successively over several of the antennas due to the relative movement between these antennas and the object to be identified, and this reading of the data is done by successive blocks between the antennas successively active.

According to another characteristic, the communication between the label and the reader also includes a phase of writing data to the label. According to one embodiment, the antennas are fixed and the objects identified mobile.

To this end, the antennas are fixed on a support placed above a conveyor, and the system is adapted to identify objects circulating on the conveyor between the latter and the support of the antennas.

According to another embodiment, the objects to be identified are fixed and the antennas are mobile.

To this end, the reader / multiplexer / antenna assembly is portable and the system is suitable for identifying objects by simple passage of this assembly near said objects.

Other features and advantages of the invention will appear clearly in the following description, presented by way of nonlimiting example with reference to the appended figures which represent:

- Figure 1, a schematic view of an antenna system according to the invention placed above a conveyor transporting drums provided with an electronic label;

- Figure 2, a time diagram of the operation of this system; and

- Figure 3, a flow diagram of the operation of this system. Referring to FIG. 1, a metal barrel 101 provided with an electronic label 102 travels on a conveyor 103. In this embodiment, the label 102 is always placed on the upper face of the barrel, but the transverse position of this on the conveyor is arbitrary and the label can therefore be located at a very variable distance on one side or the other of the axis of the conveyor. As the barrel is metallic, it is necessary to use, as explained above, small detection antennas.

In order to be able to interrogate the label 102 without fail, a set of such antennas 104 of small dimensions is used, fixed on a flat support 105 situated above the passage of the upper face of the barrel 101, parallel to the plane of the conveyor. The antennas are distributed on this support so that, whatever the position of the label relative to the support, there is always at least one antenna which is capable of interrogating the label during the passage of the barrel under the support.

A trivial solution to the problem would be to use a separate interrogation system for each antenna and then perform sorting on the results of these different interrogations. This solution is of course not acceptable because of its high cost and size. In order to be able to use all of the antennas 104 and a single electronic interrogation device provided with a minimum of additional elements compared to a simple device, the invention proposes to connect the interrogator (or reader) system 107 to the antennas 104 by a multiplexer 106 switchable in time according to a logic making it possible to minimize the duration of the identification operations.

The reader 107, the multiplexer 106, and the sequencing logic, assumed here included in the reader, are represented very schematically in FIG. 1, the first because it is a known device, and the other two because they use banal means whose implementation is immediately deduced from the functional description which follows. One solution, also trivial, would be to use this multiplexer as a simple switch allowing each antenna to be used successively to carry out the entire authentication process, at least until it works properly for one antennas. In the general case, this solution does not work because it requires a much too long operating time which, unless excessively slowing the movement of the barrels, would entail the risk of seeing the electronic label 102 escape any detection in passing in its movement only under antennas which are not activated during this time there.

The invention therefore proposes to operate the assembly according to a sequence, the logic of which is shown in FIG. 2.

Each antenna is activated for a short time, just the time necessary for the electronic tag, if it is in the field of the antenna thus activated, to be able to respond and for this response to be detected by said antenna.

If there is no response, we go to the next antenna, and so on UNTIL that .rue é ^t iq ett responds. When the label responds, the sequential interrogation system stops and the entire process of reading the label takes place on the antenna which has thus been selected.

At the end of the acquisition of the label data by the selected antenna, the sequence resumes with the following antennas, to start again, when the cycle is finished, with the first antenna.

An alternative embodiment, used according to the circumstances, and in particular according to the spacing and the speed of the barrels on the conveyor consists, when the reading is finished, in starting the sequential process directly from the number one antenna.

Thus, in FIG. 2, we see a series of ineffective scans of duration Tl to the antenna N. During the scanning, over a duration Tl, of the antenna N + 1, the interrogator system detects the response of the electronic label. It then triggers the process of acquiring the data of this label from the N + 1 antenna. This process lasts a time T2, clearly greater than T1, in order to be able to transfer all the data from the label to the reader. When the acquisition process is finished, the scanning takes place again on the antenna N + 2 for a time T1, of course ineffective here, then on the antenna N + 3 etc.

An example of operation of this system can be represented by a flowchart such as that of FIG. 3. The start is made at 101, which initializes at 102 the reader of electronic labels.

This leads in 103 to the initialization of the multiplexer, which then signals the reader to the first active antenna! . This action then leads in 104 to the initialization of the number of attempts to detect the label to be made.

A test is then carried out in 105 to determine whether there is a detection of a pause between two responses of a label. If the answer is negative, a loop 106 returns to the input of the test 105.

If the response is positive, a timer T1 is initialized at 107 to search for a possible start of the label frame. The number of label detection attempts to be made is then decremented at 108, then the label is read at 109.

The success of this reading is tested in 110. If the answer is negative, another test is performed in 111 on the time elapsed since the initialization of the timer in 107. If the duration Tl is not reached, we test in more in 112 if the number of detection attempts is reached. If this number is not reached, a loop 113 then brings back to the entry of the test 105.

If the test 110 is positive, the data of the label which have been read are transmitted at 114 to the operating system, called "host", then at 115 the next antenna is activated.

This activation of the next antenna is also triggered by a positive response to test 111, as well as by a positive response to test 112.

A test is then carried out in 116 to find out whether all the antennas have been activated. If the answer is negative, a loop 117 leads back to 104 towards the initialization of the number of attempts to derect the e 'which is to be carried out. i The response is positive, the multiplexer is initialized in ilδ again on the first antenna to be activated.

After this initialization, a loop 119 brings, like loop 117, at 104 towards the initialization of the number of attempts to detect the label to be carried out.

In another exemplary embodiment, a portable electronic label reader has been manufactured provided with a set of antennas distributed on a support and multiplexed in the same manner as that described above. above, to allow detection and reading of an electronic label placed on a gas cylinder at any point thereof. This action is done by simple approach and manual passage of the support near the gas cylinder. In the same way as seen above, the program embedded in the reader actuates successively and briefly the antennas carried by the support, and when it receives a response, it proceeds to a complete reading of the data contained in the electronic label.

As a variant, an addition has also been implemented in the program of this portable reader making it possible, after reading the label, to write information therein. Indeed, the management of gas cylinders sometimes requires writing a certain amount of information in the label, for example the number of times it has been filled and / or checked, in order to be able to carry out regulatory tests. when this number has been crossed. Finally, an extension of the search and read algorithm consists in breaking up the transaction while looking for the right antenna allowing the operation. In this way, when the movement of the reader during the transition results in a cessation of communications between the antenna used to start the transaction and a resumption of this communication with another antenna, the entire transaction can be carried out using several antennas different. For example, the writing of eight consecutive blocks, broken up into writing block by block, could be carried out as follows:

- writing of block 1 with antenna number two, - writing blocks 2 to 4 with antenna number one,

- writing of blocks 5 to with antenna number two active again.

From the application point of view, this sequence of sequences represents only one transaction.

The invention has been described in the context of radio transmission, but it extends to any mode of transmission, for example ultrasonic acoustic signals.

Claims

1. Identification system by electronic labels, in which an electronic label (102) containing identification data and connected to an object to be identified (101) is interrogated, using a reader (107) provided with a transmitter receiver to communicate with the label

(102), characterized in that the transceiver comprises several antennas (104) connected by a multiplexer (106) which makes it possible to successively transmit on each of the antennas (104) a brief interrogation signal and to carry out the reading data with the antenna for which the label responded to this brief interrogation signal.

2. System according to claim 1, characterized in that the communication between the reader (107) and the label (102) is distributed successively over several of the antennas (104) due to the relative movement between these antennas and i '' b and to identify (101), and in that this reading of the data is done in successive blocks between the successively active antennas.

3. System according to any one of claims 1 and 2, characterized in that the communication between the label (102) and the reader

(107) also includes a phase for writing data to the label (102).

4. System according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the antennas (104) are fixed and the objects identified mobile.

5. System according to claim 4, characterized in that the antennas (104) are fixed to a support

(105) placed above a conveyor (103), and in that said system is adapted to identify objects (101) circulating on the conveyor between the latter and the support of the antennas.

6. System according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the objects to be identified are fixed and the antennas are mobile.

7. System according to claim 6, characterized in that the reader (107) / multiplexer assembly

(106) / antennas (104) is portable and in that it is suitable for identifying objects by simply passing this assembly close to said objects.