Article management system
An article management system according to the present invention includes: a reader antenna ( 102 ) including an open-type transmission line terminated in an impedance matched state; an RF tag ( 104 ) that is placed at a location that is electromagnetically coupled to the reader antenna ( 102 ) and is visible from the reader antenna ( 102 ) in a state where a management target article ( 105 ) is placed in the vicinity of the RF tag; a management target article arrangement region in which the management target article ( 105 ) is placed, the management target article arrangement region being set in a location where the management target article ( 105 ) is electromagnetically coupled to a tag antenna of the RF tag ( 104 ); and an RFID reader ( 103 ) that sends a transmitted signal to the reader antenna ( 102 ) and receives a response signal output from the tag antenna via the reader antenna ( 102 ).
1. An article management system comprising:
a reader antenna that comprises an open-type transmission line and transmits and receives a radio signal, the open-type transmission line being terminated in an impedance matched state;
an RF tag that is placed at a location that is electromagnetically coupled to the reader antenna and is visible from the reader antenna in a state where a management target article is placed in the vicinity of the RF tag, the RF tag being placed in such a manner that a positional relationship between the RF tag and the reader antenna is fixed regardless of the presence or absence of the management target article;
a management target article arrangement region in which the management target article is placed, the management target article arrangement region being set in a location where the management target article is electromagnetically coupled to a tag antenna of the RF tag; and
an RFID reader that sends a transmitted signal to the reader antenna and receives a response signal output from the tag antenna via the reader antenna,
wherein the RFID reader detects the presence or absence of the management target article by detecting a change in operating characteristics of the tag antenna due to the presence of the management target article based on a change in intensity or phase of a reflected signal from the RF tag; and
a coupling coefficient k 1 between the reader antenna and the tag antenna is a value represented by 10^(−5)≦k 1 ≦10^(−2).
2. The article management system according to claim 1 , wherein
the management target article arrangement region is set in a location where a relationship of L 1 ≦λ is satisfied, wherein λ represents a wavelength of a signal used for communication between the RFID reader and the RF tag, and L 1 represents a first distance between the management target article and the tag antenna, and
the RF tag is placed at a location where a relationship of L 2 ≦λ is satisfied, wherein L 2 represents a second distance that is a line-of-sight distance between the reader antenna and the tag antenna.
3. The article management system according to claim 2 , wherein the first distance satisfies a relationship of L 1 ≦λ/2π, wherein π represents a circular constant.
4. The article management system according to claim 2 , wherein the second distance satisfies a relationship of L 2 ≦λ/2π, wherein π represents a circular constant.
5. The article management system according to claim 2 , wherein the first distance and the second distance satisfy a relationship of L 2 >L 1 .
6. The article management system according to claim 1 , wherein a coupling coefficient k 1 between the reader antenna and the tag antenna is smaller than a coupling coefficient k 2 between the management target article and the tag antenna.
7. The article management system according to claim 1 , wherein
the reader antenna includes:
a dielectric layer;
a strip conductor formed in a mesh-like manner on a front surface side of the dielectric layer; and
a ground conductor that is formed on a back surface side of the dielectric layer and is connected to the strip conductor via a matched termination resistor, and
an article management plate is provided in such a manner that the RF tag is arranged above the front surface side and the management target article arrangement region is set above the RF tag.
8. The article management system according to claim 1 , wherein
the reader antenna includes a dielectric layer, a strip conductor, and a ground conductor connected to the strip conductor via a matched termination resistor,
the strip conductor and the ground conductor are alternately arranged so as to be spaced apart from each other on a front surface side of the dielectric layer, and the ground conductor is arranged on a back surface side of the dielectric layer, and
an article management plate is provided in such a manner that the RF tag is arranged above the strip conductor and the management target article arrangement region is set above the RF tag.
9. The article management system according to claim 1 , wherein an article management shelf is provided in such a manner that the reader antenna is arranged on a lateral side of the RF tag; the RF tag is arranged on the front surface side; and the management target article arrangement region is set above the RF tag.
10. The article management system according to claim 1 , wherein the RFID reader communicates with the RF tag by using a radio signal in a UHF band or a microwave band.