Tag reading device
AssigneeToshiba Tec Kabushiki Kaisha
InventorShigeaki Suzuki
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A tag reading device includes an external interface, an RFID interface, a buffer memory, and a processor. The external interface communicates with a higher-level device. The RFID interface reads tag information from an RFID tag. The buffer memory sequentially records the tag information read from the RFID tag using the RFID interface. The processor transmits the tag information recorded in order in the buffer memory to the higher-level device via the external interface, and updates a transmission start pointer indicating untransmitted tag information in the buffer memory.
Claims15
A tag reading device comprising:
- an external interface communicatively coupled to a higher-level device;
- a radio frequency identification (RFID) interface configured to read tag information from an RFID tag;
- a buffer memory configured to sequentially record the tag information read from the RFID tag via the RFID interface, the buffer memory storing a transmission start pointer indicating tag information for starting transmission and a write pointer indicating a record area in which tag information is written;
- and
- a processor configured to:
- transmit the tag information sequentially recorded in the buffer memory to the higher-level device via the external interface;
- update the transmission start pointer indicating untransmitted tag information in the buffer memory;
- notify the higher-level device of a buffer full error when the buffer memory becomes full;
- and
- stop the reading of the RFID tags when the buffer full error is detected.
A point of sale (POS) system comprising:
- a POS main body configured to:
- receive tag information from a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag from a buffer memory;
- and
- identify a commodity based on the tag information;
- and
- a tag reading device comprising:
- an external interface communicatively coupled to the POS main body;
- an RFID interface configured to read the tag information from an RFID tag;
- and
- the buffer memory configured to sequentially record the tag information read from the RFID tag via the RFID interface, the buffer memory storing a transmission start pointer indicating tag information for starting transmission and a write pointer indicating a record area in which tag information is written, the tag reading device being configured to:
- communicate the transmission start pointer indicating untransmitted tag information in the buffer memory;
- update the transmission start pointer indicating untransmitted tag information in the buffer memory;
- notify the POS main body of a buffer full error when the buffer memory becomes full;
- and
- stop the reading of the RFID tags when the buffer full error is detected.
A method of operating a tag reading device comprising:
- transmitting a signal indicating a read command from a point of sale (POS) main body;
- in response to receiving the read command, transmitting, by a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag, transmitting a response signal comprising tag information;
- in response to receiving the response signal, determining whether the tag information is duplicate tag information;
- in response to determining the tag information is not duplicate tag information, storing the tag information in a buffer memory, the buffer memory storing a transmission start pointer indicating tag information for starting transmission and a write pointer indicating a record area in which tag information is written;
- transmitting the tag information accumulated in the buffer memory to the POS main body in response to a request from the POS main body;
- updating the transmission start pointer indicating untransmitted tag information in the buffer memory;
- notifying the POS main body of a buffer full error when the buffer memory becomes full;
- and
- stopping the reading of the RFID tags when the buffer full error is detected.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.