JP2005082381A - Article control system using rfid tag - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an article control system enabling the first-in first-out of stored articles to be completely performed by users by controlling the articles with an expiration date by using RFID tags. <P>SOLUTION: This article control system comprises a writing means for writing article control information including the stored date and use limit of the articles, a storage means for storing the article control information correspondingly to the IDs of the RFID tags attached to the articles, a recognizing means generating a magnetic field in a storage space by exciting an antenna laid down in a garage and recognizing that the articles are retrieved by detecting a variation in transmission signals of the RFID tags according to the movement thereof in the space, a first-in first-out recognizing means recognizing whether the first-in first-out of the articles from the garage is observed or not by comparing stored dates read from the RFID tags which detect the variation of the transmission signals with the stored dates of article groups in the garage stored in the storage means, and a notifying means for notifying that the first-in first-out is not observed if it is recognized. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an article management system that manages an article whose expiration date is limited using an RFID tag.

  As a system for managing specific individuals by attaching non-contact ID tags such as RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) tags to articles or animals, for example, for the purpose of preventing theft of goods, automatic checkout in the cafeteria There are ones for the purpose and others for tracking the moving body. In addition to being used for such purposes, contactless ID tags have also been proposed for systems that manage baggage for airports and systems that manage laundry in the cleaning industry.

  In a system for managing baggage for airports, for example, identification data (month / day, flight name, departure place name, arrival place name, identification number, etc.) is recorded in an ID tag (transponder tag) at the departure airport. A passenger who has checked in the baggage with the ID tag attached carries an IC card in which similar identification data is recorded. At the arrival airport, a tag data reading device is arranged for each receiving area, the ID tag identification data is read when the baggage passes, and the computer determines where the baggage is located based on the identification data Then, the position information is displayed on the display unit of the IC card. As a result, the current position of the baggage on the baggage turntable can be confirmed. Further, by collating the identification data of the ID tag with the identification data of the IC card, it is possible to eliminate the problem that the passenger mistakes a bag or a paper bag similar to his / her baggage (for example, see Patent Document 1). .

In the cleaning business, the laundry management system uses ID tags and IC cards to check laundry sent to the cleaning factory or laundry received from the factory, and laundry when customers come to pick up. In addition, it reduces the time and effort required for manual operations, such as searching for products and sorting at the factory, to improve the efficiency and cost of the entire system. For example, in a store, an ID tag is attached to each laundry received from a customer, and the identification number is read by a tag reader and input to a computer and recorded on a storage medium (for example, an IC card). The customer receives a voucher created by the printer, and sends the laundry with the ID tag and the storage medium to the cleaning factory. In the factory, based on the data of the ID tag and the storage medium, the laundry received from each store is checked and checked, the laundry after washing is classified for each store, and checked at the time of shipment. At the store that has received the laundry and storage medium after washing, the identification number of the ID tag of the laundry 1 is read with a tag reader and checked against the data in the storage medium, and the laundry is organized and stored on a shelf or the like. When the customer comes to pick up the goods, the corresponding identification number is confirmed from the copy slip, and the tag reader searches for the laundry with the same identification number. Then, the ID tag is removed and the laundry is handed over to the customer (see, for example, Patent Document 2).
JP 7-228336 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-80200

  A conventional system using an ID tag attaches an ID tag to an article as described above, reads the identification data of the ID tag, detects the article based on the identification data, determines the location, By managing articles based on information recorded in correspondence with tag identification data, work that depends on human resources can be reduced.

  By the way, since most articles including foodstuffs, medicines, and electrical appliances deteriorate with the passage of time, the components of the substance change and deteriorate, so the expiration date (expiration date, expiry date, etc.) Etc.). For example, for foodstuffs, the expiration date and the expiration date are printed so that the user can recognize them. Moreover, although the expiration date can be recognized also in the chemical | medical agent and medical device which are used in a hospital, the expiration date of those articles | goods is confirming visually by the present condition. In addition, when a seller sells a product, for example, a new item with a deadline is stored on the back side of the shelf, and an old item is stored on the near side, so that the old item is taken out and sold. These operations are manual operations, and it is the present situation that confirmation operations such as whether there is an expired product are also performed manually. It is important to manage the expiration date of the goods. In particular, it is very important to prevent the occurrence of an accident and to ensure the security of the product for an article that becomes fatal if an expired product is used. In addition, if a new one is used even though an old one exists, a product that could originally be used but must be disposed after the expiration date has passed.

  The present invention has been made in the circumstances as described above, and the object of the present invention is to manage articles whose expiration date is limited using RFID tags, and to ensure first-in-first-out of received articles. Another object of the present invention is to provide an article management system that can prevent accidents caused by misuse of articles whose use has expired.

  The present invention relates to an article management system that manages an article whose expiration date is limited using an RFID tag, and the object of the present invention is to provide an RFID tag attached to an article to be managed, and an RFID tag of the RFID tag. A reader / writer for reading and writing information, a hangar for storing and storing the article with a limited expiration date, and an article management apparatus for managing the article in the hangar based on information of the RFID tag And the article management apparatus corresponds to a writing means for writing article management information including a storage date and a use expiration date of the article into a storage unit of the RFID tag, and an ID of the RFID tag attached to the article Storage means for storing the article management information and a space for storing the article by exciting an antenna of the reader / writer laid in the storage An article removal recognizing means for generating a magnetic field and recognizing that an article has been removed from the hangar by detecting a change in intensity of a signal transmitted from the RFID tag as the RFID tag moves in the space; and First-in first-out of articles from the hangar is protected by comparing the warehousing date read from the RFID tag that has detected the fluctuation of the transmission signal with each warehousing date of the group of articles stored in the storage unit. This is achieved by including first-in first-out first-out recognizing means for recognizing whether or not the first-in first-out first is recognized and notifying means for notifying the take-out person of the fact.

  In addition, the article management apparatus compares the expiration date read from the RFID tag that has detected the change in the transmission signal with the date of the day, and recognizes whether the expiration date of the article taken out from the hangar has expired. An expiration date recognizing means, and a warning means for notifying and alerting the take-out person when the expiry date of the taken-out article has expired. Arranged in the hangar corresponding to the storage location of each article, the article management device communicates intermittently with the RFID tag of each article stored in the hangar and from each RFID tag to the article Each of the management information is read out, and the storage location and the date of receipt of each article are the oldest based on the read article management information and information indicating the storage location corresponding to each of the arranged antennas. It is achieved more effectively by further comprising article storage status recognition means for recognizing and displaying any one or more of the storage location of the goods and the storage location of the goods with the least remaining expiration date. .

  According to the present invention, an article whose expiration date is limited is managed using an RFID tag, and it is automatically recognized whether or not first-in first-out is protected when an article stored and stored in a hangar is taken out. However, since the user is notified when it is not the first-in first-out, the first-in first-out of the article can be made thorough to the user. As a result, since the first-in first-out is not performed, it is possible to reduce those that have been disposed of after the expiration date. In addition, by notifying the user when a product whose expiration date has expired is taken out, it is possible to prevent an accident from occurring due to erroneous use of an expired product.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the overall configuration of an article management system using an RFID tag. The article management system of the present invention includes an RFID tag 1 for attaching to an article to be managed and transmitting / receiving information about the article, and an article storage means for storing and storing the article 2 to which the RFID tag is attached ( (Hereinafter referred to as a hangar) 10, an RFID reader / writer (hereinafter referred to as a reader / writer) 20 for reading and writing information of the RFID tag, and an article stored in the hangar based on the information of the RFID tag. And a computer 30 for management. The article 2 to be managed in this system is an arbitrary article with a limited expiration date, and uses foods, beverages, medicines, articles with relatively quick changes over time, or members thereof (for example, made of rubber) These are various articles whose quality or performance is likely to deteriorate relatively quickly due to changes over time.

  In this system, the user takes out an article from a storage (a storage place including a simple structure such as a shelf) such as “first-in-first-out of an article” described later in a period from receipt of these articles to delivery. It has a function to monitor actions and notify them to pick them out in the optimal order, or notify them not to use expired items, and is suitable for medical institutions as well as merchandise stores Is done. The “first-in first-out” as used in the present invention means, in a narrow sense, “unload an article (warehouse) first received in the hangar 10” first, but in a broad sense “in the hangar 10. "Take out the oldest item first from the group of existing items." In addition, the oldest article refers to an article having the earliest receipt date or an article having the least remaining expiration date. In the best mode, taking out the article with the earliest receipt date first is recognized as “first-in first-out”.

  In FIG. 1, an RFID tag 1 is an electronic article monitoring tag capable of wireless communication using radio waves using external radio signals as operating power. Since the present invention uses a known RFID tag, description of the structure and function of the RFID tag is omitted. The storage unit of the RFID tag 1 is written with information (hereinafter referred to as “article management information”) such as the date of receipt, the expiration date, and the type of article at the stage of receipt of the article whose expiration date is limited. It is attached to (the article itself or its container). The RFID tag may be a seal-like tag having an attachment surface, or may be a tag of any shape having a detachable attachment means. The article 2 to which the RFID tag is attached is stored in a storage 10 that can store a plurality of articles. The hangar 10 that is a storage location for articles may be a hangar that can store a plurality of articles. The size and shape of the hangar 10 may be arbitrary, and may be a hangar that stores a mixture of different types of articles.

  The article 2 stored in the hangar 10 is subjected to “first-in first-out” unless the expiration date has expired, that is, the article that has been received first (the old article that has a short remaining usable period) first. It is desirable to take out and use.

  Therefore, in the present invention, when the article (entry goods) 2 stored in the hangar 10 is taken out, it is monitored by the article management device 30 whether it is first-in first-out, and the expiration date of the taken-out article has expired. If there is an old article of the same type and you try to take out a new article first, or if you try to take out an expired article, you will be notified Like to do.

  FIG. 2 shows an example of a hangar for storing and storing articles (warehouse). The hangar 10 includes, for example, a plurality of shelves, and the article 2 to which the RFID tag is attached is stored in an arbitrary place. In the hangar 10, an antenna 21 of a reader / writer is laid on, for example, the top and side surfaces of a shelf so that an electromagnetic field having a uniform strength can be generated throughout the storage location. In the present embodiment, the antenna 21 is arranged corresponding to each area that is the storage location of each article, and the storage location of the article is identified based on the arrangement information of the antenna 21 and the information of the RFID tag. It is configured as possible. The antenna 21 includes an excitation / reception coil that serves as both an excitation antenna and a reception antenna, and communication is performed between the reader / writer 20 and the RFID tag via the antenna 21. The reader / writer 20 is a reading circuit that reads information from the RFID tag, a writing circuit that writes information to the RFID tag, and control related to reading the RFID tag and control of data communication with the host computer (article management device 30). It is comprised from the control circuit which performs. The tag information is written through the other antennas of the reader / writer 20 at the warehousing stage (before being stored in the hangar), and the reader / writer 20 here operates as a reading device. Will be described. However, when the storage location is configured to be identifiable, the article management information may be written to the storage unit of the RFID tag via the antenna 21 corresponding to the location after the article is stored in the storage 10.

  The article management apparatus 30 shown in FIG. 1 has a monitoring function for a first-in first-out action for an article 2 stored in the hangar 10 as described above, a monitoring function for an action for taking out an expired article, and the like. Is realized by a computer program executed by the CPU. The article management apparatus uses a personal computer in this example, and the description of the hardware configuration is omitted. The configuration of software according to the present invention will be described below.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the main part of the software of the article management apparatus. The article management apparatus 30 stores information such as the warehousing date and expiration date of articles stored in the storage (hereinafter referred to as article management information). The article management information writing means 31 that instructs the reader / writer 20 to write to the corresponding RFID tag, and the article that stores the article management information in association with the ID of the RFID tag attached to the article The management information storage means 32 and the reader / writer antenna laid in the hangar are excited to generate an electromagnetic field in the space for storing articles, and the fluctuation of the signal transmitted from the RFID tag accompanying the movement in the space is detected. Thus, the article take-out recognition means 33 for recognizing that the article has been taken out from the hangar, and the RFID tag of the article whose take-out has been recognized by the article take-out recognition means 33 are read. The information indicating the received date (or expiration date) is compared with the information indicating each warehousing date (or expiration date) of the article group in the storage stored in the article management information storage unit 32, and the article from the storage is stored. First-in first-out recognition means 34 for recognizing whether or not first-in first-out is observed, and when it is recognized by first-in first-out first-out recognition means 34 that first-in first-out is not observed, this is notified to the extractor The first-in first-out violation notification means 35 is provided.

  Further, the article management device 30 compares the expiration date read from the RFID tag of the article whose removal has been recognized by the article removal recognition means 33 with the computer date (date of the day), and the expiration date of the article taken out from the hangar. The expiration date recognizing means 36 for recognizing whether or not the expiry date has expired, and when the expiry date of the taken-out article is recognized by the expiration date recognizing means 36, the fact is notified to the take-out person. The expiration date warning means 37 for warning is provided.

  The article management information storage means 32, for example, stores article management information (a warehousing date, an expiration date, etc.) input by an input means such as a keyboard at the stage when an article is received. The identifier is stored in the storage medium 32a in correspondence with the identifier. The article management information writing unit 31 instructs the reader / writer 20 to write the article management information into the storage unit of the RFID tag.

  Which article is taken out from which place is determined by laying the antenna 21 in correspondence with each area where each article is stored as shown in FIG. This is recognized by reading the data of the RFID tag in which the electromagnetic field 21 is excited to generate an electromagnetic field in the space for storing the article and the fluctuation of the radio signal is detected. However, data can be read from the RFID tag by electromagnetic induction caused by movement of the RFID tag. For this reason, it is only necessary that the antenna 21 be laid so as to generate an electromagnetic field of equal strength throughout the storage location, and the antenna 21 does not have to be laid in correspondence with the area where the article is stored. In a form in which a plurality of types of articles are mixed and stored in the hangar, the type of the article is stored in the storage unit of the RFID tag, or the article management apparatus side corresponds to the ID of the RFID tag. The type is stored, and the first-in first-out recognition means 34 determines, for each type, whether or not an article with an entry date older than the removed article exists in the hangar.

  First-in first-out violation notifying means 35, when first-in first-out recognizing means 34 recognizes that the first-in first-out first-out of the article from the hangar is not observed, notifies that fact by sound, light, screen display or the like. The expiration date warning means 37 warns that the expiration date is recognized by sound, light, screen display, etc. different from the above notification when the expiration date recognition means 36 recognizes that the expiration date of the taken-out article has expired. .

  An operation example of the article management system according to the present invention having the above-described configuration will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. Note that the order of processing is not limited to the flow of the flowchart of FIG. 4, and a form in which some processing is performed in parallel is also included in the present invention.

  First, at the article warehousing stage, the article management apparatus stores the article management information such as the input warehousing date and the expiration date in a predetermined storage medium in association with the ID of the RFID tag (step S1), and the reader / writer. And the article management information is written in the storage unit of the RFID tag (step S2). The article to which the RFID tag is attached is stored in an arbitrary location in the hangar (step S3). The article take-out recognition means of the article management apparatus recognizes that the article has been taken out from the hangar by detecting the fluctuation in the intensity of the radio signal of the RFID tag input via the antenna arranged in the hangar. That is, since the distance between the reader / writer antenna and the RFID tag varies due to the movement of the RFID tag by taking out the article, the EAS (electronic article monitoring) level before the movement (in this example, the intensity of the radio wave signal of the RFID tag) To recognize that the article has been taken out (step S4). When the removal of the article is detected, the article management information stored in the RFID tag is read to recognize which article has been removed (step S5).

  Subsequently, the date indicating the expiration date included in the item management information read from the RFID tag is compared with the computer date to determine whether or not the expiration date of the extracted item has expired (step S6). If it is determined that the time limit has expired, a notice to that effect is given and a warning is given (step S7). Furthermore, the receipt date included in the article management information read from the RFID tag is compared with the receipt date of each article stored in the article management device, and whether there is a receipt date older than the removed article. That is, it is determined whether or not first-in first-out is observed (step S8). If it is determined that first-in first-out is not observed, a notification to that effect is given (step S9). Then, the article management information (article management information stored in the storage medium of the article management apparatus) of the article taken out from the storage is deleted, the process returns to step S4, and the operations after step S4 are repeated.

  In the present embodiment, the first-in first-out and the expiration date recognition method have been described without performing one-to-one communication with the RFID tag attached to each item, but each item storing each item is stored. Communication may be performed on a one-to-one basis with the RFID tags in each area via an antenna 21 arranged corresponding to each area (storage location). In that case, based on the read article management information and information indicating the storage location corresponding to the antenna, the article management information of each RFID tag is read by intermittently communicating with each RFID tag via each antenna 21. Storage status recognition means for recognizing information indicating the storage status of articles in the hangar, such as the storage location of each article, the storage location of the article with the earliest receipt date, and the storage location of the article with the least remaining expiration date 38, the information indicating the storage status is displayed on the screen or printed out as a list, so that the user can be provided with information on the date of use and the expiration date of the articles existing in the storage. good. At that time, it is preferable that communication with the RFID tag via the individual antennas 21 is performed simultaneously using different frequencies.

  In this embodiment, the article management information is stored in both the RFID tag storage unit and the storage unit of the article management apparatus. However, the article management information is stored only on the RFID tag side and stored in the storage premises. All of the article management information may be read from the RFID tag, and the article management information may be compared with the article management information of the extracted article to determine first-in first-out, or only on the article management apparatus side. It is also possible to read out only ID information from the RFID tag and determine first-in first-out based on the article management information stored corresponding to each ID on the article management apparatus side. Further, the first-in first-out recognition has been described as an example on the date of warehousing, but may be performed on the expiration date instead of the date of warehousing.

It is a block diagram which shows an example of the whole structure of the article | item management system concerning this invention. It is a schematic diagram which shows an example of a structure of the article | item storage warehouse concerning this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the software structure of the article management apparatus concerning this invention. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the operation example of the article | item management system concerning this invention.

Explanation of symbols

1 RFID tag 2 Goods (goods received)
10 Goods storage means (hangar)
20 RFID reader / writer 21 Antenna 30 Article management device 31 Article management information writing means 32 Article management information storage means 33 Article take-out recognition means 34 First-in first-out first-out recognition means 35 First-in first-out violation notification means 36 Expiration expiration recognition means 37 Expiration expiration warning Means 38 Storage status recognition means

Claims (3)

An RFID tag attached to an article to be managed, a reader / writer for reading and writing information of the RFID tag, a hangar for storing and storing the article with a limited expiration date, and the RFID tag An article management device that manages articles in the hangar based on the information of
The article management apparatus includes a writing unit that writes article management information including a storage date and an expiration date of the article into the storage unit of the RFID tag, and the article corresponding to an ID of the RFID tag attached to the article. Storage means for storing management information, an electromagnetic field is generated in a space for storing the article by exciting an antenna of the reader / writer laid in the storage, and the RFID tag is moved along with the movement of the RFID tag in the space. Article removal recognition means for recognizing that an article has been removed from the hangar by detecting fluctuations in the intensity of the transmission signal of the RFID tag, warehousing date read from the RFID tag that has detected fluctuations in the transmission signal, and the storage A first-in first-out method for comparing whether the first-in first-out of an article from the hangar is observed by comparing each warehousing date of the group of articles in the hangar stored in the means The article management system using the RFID tag and having a leaving recognition means, and notification means for notifying the fact to the take-out person if the first-in, first first-out is recognized as not being followed.   The article management device compares the expiration date read from the RFID tag that has detected the variation of the transmission signal with the date of the day, and recognizes whether or not the expiration date of the article taken out from the hangar has expired 2. The article using the RFID tag according to claim 1, further comprising expiration recognizing means and warning means for notifying the take-out person and giving a warning when the expiration date of the taken-out article has expired. Management system.   The antenna of the reader / writer is disposed in the hangar corresponding to the storage location of each article, and the article management device communicates intermittently with the RFID tag of each article stored in the hangar. Then, the article management information is read from each RFID tag, and the storage location and date of receipt of each article are determined based on the read article management information and information indicating the storage location corresponding to each of the arranged antennas. The article storage status recognition means for recognizing and displaying any one or more of the storage location of the oldest article and the storage location of the article with the least remaining expiration date. An article management system using an RFID tag.

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