Patent ID: 8272569

Claim:
An apparatus for communicating with a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag comprising: a housing constituting an outer shell of an apparatus main body; a feeding device configured to feed a tag medium, provided in said housing; an antenna for label production that can transmit or receive information to a RFID circuit element for label production provided at said tag medium, provided with an IC circuit part storing information and a tag antenna for information transmission or reception; an antenna for information acquisition that can transmit or receive information to a RFID circuit element for information acquisition located outside said housing, provided with an IC circuit part storing information and a tag antenna for information transmission/reception; an antenna switching control portion configured to switch so as to selectively transmit an inquiry signal to said RFID circuit element for label production through said antenna for label production or said RFID circuit element for information acquisition through said antenna for information acquisition; and a mode processing portion configured to carry out processing corresponding to a communication processing mode with said RFID circuit element for label production or an information acquisition processing mode for information acquisition processing of said RFID circuit element for information acquisition, in response to receiving of a response signal to said inquiry signal from said RFID circuit element for label production through said antenna for label production or from said RFID circuit element for information acquisition through said antenna for information acquisition; wherein said antenna switching control portion continues to execute said switching between the transmission of the inquiry signal to said RFID circuit element for label production and the transmission of the inquiry signal to said RFID circuit element for information acquisition, in turn repeatedly for each predetermined cycle, while the response signal from said RFID circuit element for label production nor the response signal from said RFID circuit element for information acquisition is not received.