Abstract:
The present invention relates to an NFC smart sign that can prevent damage to an NFC tag and allows an NFC tag to be easily replaced when the information in the NFC tag is required to be changed or supplemented.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0002]    The present invention relates to an NFC smart sign that can prevent damage to an NFC tag and allow an NFC tag to be easily replaced when the information in the NFC tag is required to be changed and supplemented. 
         [0003]    2. Description of the Related Art 
         [0004]    In general, there are various signs for providing useful information to users in various facilities such as an amusement park, an arboretum, a museum, and a public place. For example, a user may need information about rides in an amusement park, information about exhibits in a museum, and information such as the names, scientific names, species, and lifespans of trees in an arboretum, so those facilities provide the information simply on signs. 
         [0005]    In relation to this subject, for example, as shown in  FIG. 1  in Korean Patent No. 10-1309378, generally, the information about a tree is shown on a display side  10   a  of a sign and the sign is placed in front of or beside the tree. 
         [0006]    However, according to the way of showing the information about a tree disclosed in Korean Patent No. 10-1309378, simple letters or images are provided on the display side  10   a , so the amount of the information is limited and sufficient information cannot be provided for users. Further, users have to get close to the sign to read the information. 
         [0007]    Furthermore, it is required to replace the entire display side  10   a  in order to change the contents on the sign, so it is troublesome and expensive. 
         [0008]    The information disclosed in the Background of the Invention section is only for the enhancement of understanding of the background of the invention, and should not be taken as an acknowledgment or as any form of suggestion that this information forms a prior art that would already be known to a person skilled in the art. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0009]    Accordingly, the present invention has been made keeping in mind the above problems occurring in the related art, and the present invention is intended to allow a user to be actively provided with sufficient information kept in an NFC tag by recognizing an NFC tag in a hole of a wood panel of a sign, using his/her portable terminal, and to keep checking information remaining in the portable terminal even if he/she moves away from the sign. 
         [0010]    Further, the present invention is intended to propose an NFC smart sign that can prevent a damage to an NFC tag due to external factors such as rain and wind by shielding the NFC tag from exposure to the outside and that allows the NFC tag to be easily replaced when the information in the NFC tag needs to be changed or supplemented. 
         [0011]    In order to achieve the above object, according to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided an NFC smart sign that includes: a wood panel having a display part on a front side and a seat on a rear side; an NFC tag received in the seat and keeping information relating to the display part; and a cover closing the seat with the NFC tag in the seat of the wood panel. 
         [0012]    The NFC tag may be detachably attached to a bottom of the seat of the wood panel. 
         [0013]    The cover may be formed to correspond to the shape of the seat, received in the seat, and fixed to the wood panel. 
         [0014]    A ferrite sheet may be disposed on an inner side of the cover. 
         [0015]    The cover may be received in the seat and fixed to the wood panel by bolts or permanent magnets. 
         [0016]    A first side of the cover may be hinge-fixed to the rear side of the wood pane at a first side of the seat. 
         [0017]    Grooves may be formed at a second side of the bottom of the seat and projections inserted in the grooves may be formed at a second side of the cover. 
         [0018]    The thickness between the front side of the wood panel and the bottom of the seat may be 10 mm˜20 mm. 
         [0019]    According to the present invention, a user can be actively provided with sufficient information kept in an NFC tag by recognizing an NFC tag in a hole of a wooden panel of a sign, using his/her portable terminal, and can keep checking information remaining in the portable terminal even if he/she moves away from the sign. 
         [0020]    Further, it is possible to prevent damage to an NFC tag due to external factors such as rain and wind by shielding the NFC tag from exposure to the outside and to allow the NFC tag to be easily replaced when the information in the NFC tag needs to be changed or supplemented. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0021]    The above and other objects, features and other advantages of the present invention will be more clearly understood from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: 
           [0022]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view schematically showing an NFC smart sign according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0023]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view showing the rear side of the NFC smart sign shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0024]      FIG. 3  is an exploded perspective view of the NFC smart sign shown in  FIG. 2 ; 
           [0025]      FIG. 4  is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A of  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0026]      FIG. 5  is a perspective view schematically showing a ferrite sheet attached to the inner side of a cover; 
           [0027]      FIG. 6  is a cross-sectional view schematically showing a state when the cover with the ferrite sheet is fitted in a groove to which an NFC tag is attached; 
           [0028]      FIG. 7  is a cross-sectional view schematically showing projections in the groove on a wood panel and grooves on the inner side of the cover; 
           [0029]      FIG. 8  is a cross-sectional view showing the assembly of the parts shown in  FIG. 7 ; 
           [0030]      FIG. 9  is a perspective view schematically showing an NFC smart sign according to a second embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0031]      FIG. 10  is a cross-sectional view showing the rear side of the NFC smart sign shown in  FIG. 9 ; 
           [0032]      FIG. 11  is a perspective view schematically showing a cover that is open; and 
           [0033]      FIG. 12  is a cross-sectional view taken along line B-B of  FIG. 10 . 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0034]    Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention are described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The scope of the present invention is not limited to the following embodiments and the present invention may be modified in various ways by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the present invention. 
         [0035]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view schematically showing an NFC smart sign according to an embodiment of the present invention,  FIG. 2  is a perspective view showing the rear side of the NFC smart sign shown in  FIG. 1 , and  FIG. 3  is an exploded perspective view of the NFC smart sign shown in  FIG. 2 . 
         [0036]    AN NFC smart sign according to an embodiment of the present invention is made of wood, can be used for various purposes, such as an information sign, a guide sign, and a directional sign, and includes a wood panel  10 , an NFC tag  20 , and a cover  30 , as shown in  FIGS. 1 to 3 . 
         [0037]    First, as shown in  FIGS. 1 to 3 , a display part  110  providing information about an object is provided on the front side of the wood panel  10  and a seat  120  where the NFC tag  20  is disposed is formed on the rear side of the wood panel  10 . 
         [0038]    The cover  30  for opening/closing the seat  120  is fastened to the rear side of the wood panel  10 . 
         [0039]    An NFC indicator  112  that shows that the NFC tag  20  is in the wood pane  10  may be disposed on the front side of the display  110 . 
         [0040]    As shown in  FIG. 3 , the NFC tag  20  having information such as identification, explanation, and an URL of an object that is described on the display part  110  is disposed in the seat  120  on the rear side of the wood panel  10 . 
         [0041]    The NFC tag  20  can be detachably attached to the bottom of the seat  120  by tape or Velcro having an adhesive layer on the rear side. 
         [0042]    In detail, when a user tags the NFC guide  112  on the front side of the display part  110  with a portable terminal, the portable terminal can recognize the identification, explanation, and URL of the object stored in the NFC tag  20  in the seat  120  of the wood panel  10 . 
         [0043]    Accordingly, the user can actively obtain sufficient information about the object, using the portable terminal, without getting close to the display part  110  and reading the contents provided on the sign. 
         [0044]    The portable terminal may be a terminal having an exclusive application and a communication function, including a smartphone, a smart pad, and a PDA. 
         [0045]      FIG. 4  is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A of  FIG. 1 . 
         [0046]    Further, as shown in  FIGS. 2 to 4 , the cover  30  may be formed in a shape corresponding to the seat  120  to open/close the seat  120  with the NFC tag  20  therein. 
         [0047]    The cover  30  can be fixed to the wood panel  10  by bolts  310  or permanent magnets, with the inner side in contact with the bottom of the seat  120  receiving the NFC tag  20 . 
         [0048]    In detail, as shown in  FIG. 3 , when the cover  30  is fixed to the wood panel  10  by the bolts  310 , bolt holes  320  for fixing the bolts  310  are formed at upper, lower, left, and right sides of the cover  30 . Threaded holes  122  in which the bolts  310  are inserted are formed at upper, lower, left, and right sides in the seat  120  to correspond to the bolt holes  320  of the cover  30 . 
         [0049]    Further, though not shown in the figures, when the cover  30  is fixed to the wood panel  10  by permanent magnets, permanent magnets may be disposed at upper, lower, left, and right sides in the cover  30 . Magnetic bodies such as a magnet or metal having a polarity opposite to the permanent magnets may be disposed at upper, lower, left, and right sides of the bottom of the seat  120  to correspond to the permanent magnets in the cover  30 . 
         [0050]    As described above, since the cover  30  is fixed to the wood panel  10  by the bolts  310  or permanent magnets, a manager can easily open/close the cover  30  to replace the NFC tag  20 . Further, when it is required to change the information about the object described on the display part  110 , it is possible to easily replace the NFC tag  20  in the seat  120  after opening the cover  30 . 
         [0051]    Further, as shown in  FIGS. 3 and 4 , since the seat  120  is closed by the cover  30  with the NFC tag  20  therein, the NFC tag  20  is not exposed outside the wood panel  10 , so it is possible to prevent the NFC tag  20  from being damaged by external factors such as rain and wind. 
         [0052]    In particular, in order to smoothly perform the communication function of the NFC tag  20  in the seat  120  and prevent the wood panel  10  from being damaged, the thickness (T in  FIG. 4 ) between the front side of the wood panel  10  and the bottom of the seat  120  may be 10 mm˜20 mm. 
         [0053]    When the thickness between the front side of the wood panel  10  and the bottom of the seat  120  exceeds 20 mm, the portion between the front side of the wood panel  10  and the bottom of the seat  120  is too thick, so a communication malfunction may be generated while the portable terminal of a user recognizes the NFC tag  20 , and an interrogation rate may decrease, so smooth communication cannot be made. 
         [0054]    When the thickness between the front side of the wood panel  10  and the bottom of the seat  120  is less than 10 mm, the portion between the front side of the wood panel  10  and the bottom of the seat  120  is too thin, so the wood panel  10  may be easily broken. 
         [0055]      FIG. 5  is a perspective view schematically showing a ferrite sheet attached to the inner side of a cover and  FIG. 6  is a cross-sectional view schematically showing a state when the cover with the ferrite sheet is fitted in a groove to which an NFC tag is attached. 
         [0056]    Since the NFC technology is for local communication, when there is an obstacle, it means the available communication range decreases. 
         [0057]    In order to remove this problem, as shown in  FIGS. 5 and 6 , a ferrite sheet  40  may be attached to the inner side of the cover  30 . 
         [0058]    By the ferrite sheet  40 , it is possible to increase the available communication range by maintaining electron bonding between the NFC tag  20  and the portable terminal of a user, so it is possible to increase reliability and stability of NFC. 
         [0059]    As shown in  FIG. 6 , when the cover  30  with the ferrite sheet  40  is fixed to the seat  120 , the NFC tag  20  on the bottom of the seat  120  and the ferrite sheet  40  can be bonded and fixed. Accordingly, the ferrite sheet  40  supplements the communication range of the NFC tag  20 , so NFC can be amplified. 
         [0060]    In particular, when it is required to replace the NFC tag  20  in order to correct or supplement the information in the NFC tag  20 , it is possible to replace only the NFC tag  20  without replacing both of the NFC tag  20  and the ferrite sheet, so replacement is easy and the replacement cost is reduced. 
         [0061]      FIG. 7  is a cross-sectional view schematically showing projections in the groove on a wood panel and grooves on the inner side of the cover and  FIG. 8  is a cross-sectional view showing the assembly of the parts shown in  FIG. 7 . 
         [0062]    Next, as shown in  FIGS. 7 and 8 , projections  130  may be formed on the bottom of the seat  120  and grooves  330  in which the projections  130  are inserted may be formed on the inner side of the cover  30 . 
         [0063]    In detail, as shown in  FIG. 7 , the projections  130  may protrude at a predetermined distance away from the seat  120  from the bottom of the seat  120  in a rectangular shape, with the NFC tag  20  on the bottom of the seat  120 . 
         [0064]    The grooves  330  may be formed at a predetermined depth in the inner side of the cover  30  in a shape corresponding to the shape made by the projections  130 . 
         [0065]    In particular, as shown in  FIG. 8 , the projections  130  in the seat  120  may be inserted in the grooves  330  of the cover  30 . 
         [0066]    Accordingly, it is possible to prevent water from flowing into the gap, which is formed when the cover  30  is fixed to the seat  120 , so it is possible to prevent the NFC tag  20  and the ferrite sheet  40  from being damaged by water and the cover  30  can be more firmly fixed to the seat  120 . 
         [0067]      FIG. 9  is a perspective view schematically showing an NFC smart sign according to a second embodiment of the present invention and  FIG. 10  is a cross-sectional view showing the rear side of the NFC smart sign shown in  FIG. 9 . 
         [0068]    An NFC smart signal according to a second embodiment of the present invention is the same as that of the previous embodiment, but in which, as shown in  FIG. 9 , the NFC guide  112  is formed at a lower portion on the front side of the display part  110 , and as shown in  FIG. 10 , the cover  30  is disposed at a side on the rear side of the wood panel  10 . 
         [0069]      FIG. 11  is a perspective view schematically showing a cover that is open and  FIG. 12  is a cross-sectional view taken along line B-B of  FIG. 10 . 
         [0070]    As shown in  FIGS. 10 to 12 , a first side of the cover  30  may be hinge-fixed to the rear side of the wood panel  10  at a first side of the seat  120  and a second side of the cover  30  may be fixed to a side of the wood panel  10  by bolts. 
         [0071]    A manager can open the cover  30  by holding the second side of the cover  30  and turning the cover  30  away from the wood panel  10 . 
         [0072]    In detail, as shown in  FIG. 11 , a plurality of bolt holes  310  for fixing bolts may be formed at the second side of the cover  30  and threaded holes  122  for receiving the bolts  310  may be formed at the side of the wood panel  10  to correspond to the bolt holes  310 . 
         [0073]    Further, as shown in  FIGS. 11 and 12 , grooves  330  may be formed at a second side of the seat  120  and projections  130  that protrude toward the grooves  330  and are inserted in the grooves  330  may be formed at the second side of the cover  30 . 
         [0074]    Although the exemplary embodiments of the present invention have been described for illustrative purposes, a person skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications, additions and substitutions are possible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention as disclosed in the accompanying claims.