JP2009217629A - Article management system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an article management system for preventing loss or the like by managing the locations of a plurality of articles to be managed. <P>SOLUTION: The article management system 1A includes managing tags 3A to 3C attached to each of articles to be managed 2A to 2C. The managing tags 3A to 3C are provided with: a memory 13 for storing an own ID 13a and other's ID 13b; a transmitting part 11 for transmitting the own ID 13a; a receiving part 12 for receiving the own 13a transmitted from other managing tags 3A to 3C; an alarm part 14 for outputting alarm; and a control part 15 for determining whether all of the managing tags 3A to 3C to be managed exist in the receiving range of the own ID 13a on the basis of whether all of the other's IDs 13b stored in the memory 13 are received, and driving the alarm part 14 to output an alarm when no managing tag exists. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an article management system that manages a plurality of objects to be managed to prevent loss or theft.

  Conventionally, systems for preventing loss or theft of portable items such as bags, keys, and wallets have been proposed. In particular, highly functional mobile phones in recent years often store personal information such as phone book information, mail, photo data, or web browsing history, and such mobile phones are lost. If this happens, it can be a big problem in terms of protecting personal information.

  Conventionally, various systems have been proposed as a system for preventing such loss and theft of portable items. For example, Patent Document 1 includes a mobile phone, a reader / writer mounted on the mobile phone, and an IC tag attached to or attached to a portable item (such as a bag, notebook, key holder, or wallet). A security system is disclosed. In this system, when the reader / writer and the IC tag become unable to communicate, the position information is acquired using the GPS function of the mobile phone, and the acquired position information is displayed on the mobile phone. The user can easily grasp the position information where the forgotten item exists. According to the present invention, not only can a security system be easily constructed, but also the location (position information) of forgotten items and the like can be reliably notified to the user.

JP 2005-304002 A

  However, the security system of Patent Document 1 is a system for managing portable items centering on a reader / writer mounted on a mobile phone, and since it is necessary to always hold the mobile phone effectively, the battery of the mobile phone is required. There is a problem in that it is impossible to track the mobile phone if the mobile phone is disconnected or the mobile phone itself is left behind.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a problem, and can manage a plurality of portable items and can output an alarm when there is a possibility of loss of portable items. It is an issue to provide.

  In order to solve such a problem, the article management system according to claim 1 is an article management system provided with a management tag provided for each of a plurality of managed objects, wherein the management tag includes the management tag. Tag-side storage means for storing an ID for uniquely identifying a management tag and an ID for uniquely identifying the management tag to be managed in addition to the management tag; and the tag-side storage means Transmitting means for transmitting the ID of the management tag stored in, receiving means for receiving the ID transmitted from the management tag other than the management tag, alarm means for outputting an alarm, Based on whether or not all of the IDs of the management tags to be managed stored in the tag-side storage unit are received by the reception unit, the reception range of the IDs in the management tag The tube Control means for determining whether or not all of the management tags to be targeted exist, and to output an alarm by driving the alarm means when not all of the management tags to be managed It is characterized by providing.

  The article management system according to claim 2, wherein the article management system includes a management tag provided in each of a plurality of managed objects, and a manager that manages the plurality of managed objects. The management tag includes a tag side storage unit that stores an ID for uniquely identifying the management tag, and a transmission unit that transmits the ID stored in the tag side storage unit. Is a group ID for uniquely identifying a management unit of the plurality of managed objects for comprehensive management, and each ID of the plurality of managed objects managed by the manager, and Manager-side storage means for storing, in association with each other, judgment interval information for specifying a judgment interval for the presence of a management tag or alarm action information for specifying the action content of an alarm, and the ID transmitted from the transmission means Receiving hand to receive And, based on whether or not all of the IDs of the management tag to be managed stored in the manager-side storage means are received by the receiving means, alarm means for outputting an alarm, The determination interval associated with the received ID via the group ID, the means for determining whether or not all of the plurality of management tags are present in the reception range of the ID in the manager The determination is performed at a determination interval specified by information, or according to the operation content of the alarm specified by the alarm operation information associated with the received ID via the group ID. And control means for driving the alarm means.

  In addition, the article management system according to claim 3 is the article management system according to claim 2, wherein the control unit is configured to perform the management based on the radio field intensity of the ID received by the reception unit. The distance from the management tag is measured, and the alarm means is driven with different operation contents according to the measured distance.

  Further, the article management system according to claim 4 is the article management system according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the manager is attached to the management tag provided in any one of the plurality of managed objects. It is provided as a unit.

  An article management system according to a fifth aspect is the article management system according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, wherein the management tag is configured as an RFID.

  Further, an article management system according to claim 6 is the article management system according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein at least one of the plurality of managed objects is short using a unique communication ID. A communication means for performing distance wireless communication is provided, and the unique communication ID of the communication means is the ID.

  According to the article management system according to claim 1, a plurality of managed objects perform mutual monitoring, and an alarm is automatically issued from the managed objects when they are separated from each other by a certain distance. If the owner is lost or stolen, the owner can recognize it and prevent the loss or theft. In addition, it automatically determines which of the managed objects are lost, and automatically switches the managed objects that issue an alarm according to the determination result. Alarms can be issued from managed objects, and loss and theft can be effectively prevented.

  According to the article management system according to claim 2, a plurality of managed objects can be monitored via the management device, and an alarm is automatically issued when a certain distance is exceeded from the management device. If the owner is lost or stolen, the owner can recognize it and prevent the loss or theft. In particular, since a determination interval and an alarm action can be set for each group, it is possible to perform monitoring and alarms with contents that match the managed object.

  According to the article management system according to claim 3, since an alarm can be performed according to the relative distance between the object and the management device, the alarm level is increased as the object moves away from the owner. Alerts that match the risk of losing or misplaced items can be made.

  According to the article management system according to claim 4, since the management tag is integrally provided in the management tag, the system configuration can be simplified and the management device does not need to be carried independently. It is hard to lose and can improve the reliability of the management system.

  According to the article management system of the fifth aspect, it is possible to easily and inexpensively construct a management system by using RFID that has been widely spread.

  According to the article management system of the sixth aspect, when a communication device having short-range wireless communication such as Bluetooth is a managed object, it is possible to omit attaching a management tag, and there is a possibility of overlapping IDs. There will be nothing.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of an article management system according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. First, [I] specific contents of each embodiment will be sequentially described, and finally [II] a modification of each embodiment will be described.

[I] Specific Contents of Each Embodiment Hereinafter, each embodiment according to the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[Embodiment 1]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram functionally conceptually showing the configuration of the article management system according to the first embodiment. This article management system is a system for managing the presence or absence of loss of a plurality of managed objects. In particular, the first embodiment is a form in which each managed object is managed by the management tags attached to the respective managed objects communicating with each other.

(System configuration)
This article management system 1A performs group management of a plurality of managed objects 2A to 2C (in this case, for example, wallets, keys, and mobile phones), and the management assigned to each of the managed objects 2A to 2C. It is configured to include tags 3A to 3C for use.

(System configuration-management tag)
Each of the management tags 3A to 3C includes an antenna 10, a transmission unit 11, a reception unit 12, a memory 13, an alarm unit 14, and a control unit 15. Specifically, RFID can be used as these management tags 3A and 3B, and an information terminal device such as a mobile phone is a managed object like the managed object 2C. When a Bluetooth unit (Bluetooth substrate) is provided in advance in this information terminal device, the alarm tag 14 and the control unit 15 are added to the Bluetooth unit, so that the management tag 3C can be configured. Good.

  The antenna 10, the transmission unit 11, and the reception unit 12 are communication means for performing communication between the management tags 3A to 3C. Specifically, the transmission unit 11 is configured to uniquely identify the management tags 3A to 3C provided with the transmission unit 11 (or the managed object 2A to which the management tags 3A to 3C are attached. The signal including ID for uniquely identifying ˜2C is modulated, and this signal is transmitted via the antenna 10. The receiving unit 12 demodulates signals from the other management tags 3A to 3C received via the antenna 10 and acquires IDs of the other management tags 3A to 3C. Here, it is assumed that communication is performed at a relatively short distance (for example, several meters) with low power consumption, and an antenna 10, a transmission unit 11, and a reception unit 12 having a configuration suitable for this communication distance are provided. .

  The memory 13 is tag-side storage means for storing information necessary for control of the management tags 3A to 3C in a non-volatile manner. At least the ID 13a and other items belonging to the same management group as the managed objects 2A to 2C are stored. The ID 13b of the managed object is stored. Hereinafter, the former ID is referred to as “self ID” 13a, and the latter ID is referred to as “other ID” 13b. However, when these do not need to be distinguished from each other, they are simply referred to as “ID” 13a and 13b. These 13a and 13b may be stored in the memory 13 at the time of manufacturing each of the management tags 3A to 3C, or may be stored in the memory 13 at an arbitrary timing by a user using a known setting device. . Further, when a Bluetooth substrate provided in a mobile phone or PDA is used as the management tag 3C, the Bluetooth ID set in the Bluetooth substrate can be used as the ID 13a. In addition, although the confirmation information mentioned later can be stored in the memory 13, illustration of this confirmation information is abbreviate | omitted.

  The alarm unit 14 is an alarm means for informing the possibility that the managed objects 2A to 2C are misplaced, and has, for example, at least one of a ringing function, a vibration function, and a display function.

  The control unit 15 is a control unit that controls each unit of the management tags 3A to 3C, and includes, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and a program that is interpreted and executed by the CPU.

(Processing content)
Next, processing contents of the managed object management processing will be described. Here, in the initial state, it is assumed that only the self IDs 13a of the managed objects 2A to 2C are stored in advance in the memories of the management tags 3A to 3C.

(Processing content-ID setting processing)
First, an ID setting process for setting another ID 13b to be managed by each of the management tags 3A to 3C is executed. FIG. 2 is a flowchart of the ID setting process. For example, in a state where all of the plurality of managed objects 2A to 2C that are to be comprehensively managed are arranged within a mutually communicable range, the user can send a control signal by a predetermined method (for example, using a setting device not shown). By transmission), setting instructions are given to the respective management tags 3A to 3C of the managed objects 2A to 2C (step SA-1, Yes).

  Then, the control unit 15 of each of the management tags 3A to 3C transmits the self ID 13a set in its own memory 13 through the transmission unit 11 and the antenna 10 (step SA-2), and other management purposes. The self ID 13a similarly transmitted from the tags 3A to 3C is received via the antenna 10 and the receiving unit 12, and the received self ID 13a is stored in the memory 13 as another ID 13b (step SA-3). This completes the ID setting process.

(Processing content-Monitoring processing)
Next, a monitoring process for mutually monitoring the managed objects 2A to 2C is executed. FIG. 3 is a flowchart of the monitoring process. This monitoring process is similarly performed by the control unit 15 of each of the management tags 3A to 3C. For clarity of explanation, a process performed by the control unit 15 of the management tag 3A will be described.

  First, the control unit 15 of the management tag 3A determines whether or not the self ID 13a and the other ID 13b are stored in the memory 13 of the management tag 3A (step SB-1), and the self ID 13a and the other ID 13b. 2 is not stored (No in step SB-1), it is considered that the ID setting process has not been executed. Therefore, the ID setting process of FIG. 2 is awaited, and the self ID 13a and the other ID 13b are stored. In the case (step SB-1, Yes), the process proceeds to the next step SB-2.

  In step SB-2, the control unit 15 of the management tag 3A receives the self ID 13a from the memory 13 of the management tag 3A every time a predetermined interval (for example, every minute) arrives (step SB-2, Yes). And the self ID 13a is transmitted via the transmitter 11 and the antenna 10 (step SB-3). However, in addition to such active transmission, the self ID 13a may be transmitted only when there is a transmission request from another management tag 3B, 3C.

  The control unit 15 of the management tag 3A receives the self ID 13a of the other management tags 3B and 3C (that is, the other ID 13b for the management tag 3A) via the antenna 10 and the reception unit 12 (step SB). -4, Yes), it is determined whether this other ID 13b matches any of the other IDs 13b stored in the memory 13 of the management tag 3A (step SB-5). (Step SB-5, No), since the other ID 13b is not considered to be from the monitored objects 2B, 2C (management tags 3B, 3C), the other ID 13b is ignored and step SB-4 is ignored. Return to. On the other hand, if they match (step SB-5, Yes), confirmation information (for example, a flag) that the reception of the other ID 13b has been confirmed is stored in the memory 13 in association with the other ID 13b (step SB- 6).

  While continuing such processing, the control unit 15 of the management tag 3A, at a predetermined interval (for example, an interval longer than the transmission interval of the self ID 13a, every 2 minutes) (step SB-7, Yes) By determining whether or not there is confirmation information stored in the memory 13 of the management tag 3A (step SB-8), other information transmitted from the monitored objects 2B and 2C (management tags 3B and 3C) Check the reception status of ID13b. If confirmation information is stored in association with all the other IDs 13b stored in the memory 13 (step SB-8, Yes), around the managed object 2A (within the transmission / reception range of the self ID 13a). Since other managed objects 2B and 2C exist and it is considered that these managed objects 2A to 2C are not lost or left behind, the process returns to step SB-2 without performing an alarm or the like. repeat. At this time, the next determination environment is prepared by clearing the confirmation information in the memory 13 (step SB-9).

  On the other hand, when the confirmation information is not stored in association with any one or more of the other IDs 13b stored in the memory 13 (step SB-8, No), there are other IDs around the managed object 2A. The managed objects 2B and 2C may not exist, and it is considered that either the managed object 2A or the other managed objects 2B or 2C may be lost or misplaced. It is determined whether the managed object lost or the like is the managed object 2A or the other managed objects 2B, 2C.

  Specifically, the number of pieces of confirmation information stored in the memory 13 of the management tag 3A is calculated (step SB-10), and the calculated number is a predetermined number (for example, the total number of other IDs 13b set in the setting process). 2), it is determined that the managed object 2A is lost (the managed object 2A is likely to be separated from the other managed objects 2B and 2C), and the When the calculated number exceeds the predetermined number, the other managed objects 2B, 2C are lost, etc. (all or a part of the other managed objects 2B, 2C may be separated from the managed object 2A) It is determined that the

  In the former case (step SB-11, Yes), even if an alarm is issued from the management tag 3A of the managed object 2A that has been lost or the like, there is a possibility that the owner may not recognize it, so an alarm is given. Without passing through step SB-9, it transfers to step SB-2. However, even in this case, by issuing an alarm through the alarm unit 14 of the management tag 3A, threatens the stealer of the managed object 2A or makes the owner recognize the location of the managed object 2A. You may do it.

  On the other hand, in the latter case (step SB-11, No), by performing an alarm for a predetermined time via the alarm unit 14 (step SB-12), other managed objects 2B, 2C were lost, etc. After making the owner recognize that, the process proceeds to step SB-2 through step SB-9. In this way, the process proceeds to Step SB-2 because the managed objects 2B and 2C are discrete, and it is determined that they are not lost when the same processing is performed after a lapse of time. Because there is a possibility.

  Note that the determination in step SB-11 is omitted, and if it is determined that the managed object 2A or other managed objects 2B, 2C are lost, an alarm is always issued via the alarm unit 14. It may be.

(Effect of Embodiment 1)
According to the first embodiment, the management tags 3A to 3C attached to the plurality of managed objects 2A to 2C perform mutual monitoring. When the management tags 3A to 3C are separated from each other by a certain distance, the management tags 3A to 3C Since an alarm is automatically issued, if the managed objects 2A to 2C are lost or stolen, the owner can recognize the fact and prevent the loss or theft.

  In addition, since it is automatically determined which of the managed objects 2A to 2C is lost, and the management tags 3A to 3C for performing alarms are automatically switched according to the determination result, the situation such as loss Accordingly, an alarm can be issued from the optimum management tags 3A to 3C, and loss or theft can be effectively prevented.

[Embodiment 2]
Next, a second embodiment will be described. This form is a form in which managed objects are managed using a manager, and a plurality of managed objects are managed in units of groups. The configuration of the second embodiment is substantially the same as the configuration of the first embodiment except where otherwise specified, and the configuration substantially the same as the configuration of the first embodiment is used in the first embodiment. The same name or symbol as that of is attached as necessary, and the description thereof is omitted.

(System configuration)
FIG. 4 is a block diagram functionally conceptually showing the configuration of the article management system according to the second embodiment. The article management system 1B includes management tags 3A and 3C attached to the managed objects 2A and 2C, and a manager 20 that manages the managed objects 2A and 2C in groups. .

(System configuration-management tag)
The management tags 3A and 3C are obtained by omitting the reception function and the alarm function from the management tags 3A and 3C of the first embodiment, and include the antenna 10, the transmission unit 11, the memory 13, and the control unit 15. Configured. The memory 13 stores only the self ID 13a.

(System configuration-Manager)
The management device 20 includes an antenna 21, a receiving unit 22, a memory 23, an alarm unit 24, and a control unit 25.

  The receiving unit 22 is a receiving unit that demodulates the radio wave including the group ID 23 a and the self ID 23 b received by the antenna 21 and sends it to the control unit 25.

  The memory 23 is a management-unit-side storage unit that stores information necessary for control of the management unit 20 in a nonvolatile manner, and stores the group ID 23a, the self ID 23b, the determination interval information 23c, and the alarm operation information 23d in association with each other. To do. The group ID 23a is identification information for uniquely identifying a management unit (group) for comprehensively managing the plurality of managed objects 2A and 2C. The self ID 23 b is identification information for uniquely identifying the manager 20. The determination interval information 23c is information for specifying an interval for receiving the self ID 23b from each of the management tags 3A and 3C. The alarm action information 23d is information defining the contents of the alarm action when it is determined that there is a possibility that the managed objects 2A and 2C are lost. In addition to this, confirmation information to be described later can be stored in the memory 23, but this confirmation information is not shown.

  The alarm unit 24 is an alarm means for informing the possibility that the managed objects 2A and 2C are misplaced, and can be configured in the same manner as the alarm unit 14 in the first embodiment.

(Processing content)
Next, processing contents of the managed object management processing will be described. Here, it is assumed that only the self ID 13a is previously stored in the memory 13 of each management tag 3A, 3C by an arbitrary method. Further, it is assumed that the control unit 15 of each of the management tags 3A and 3C transmits the self ID 13a stored in the memory 13 through the transmission unit 11 and the antenna 10 at a predetermined interval (for example, every minute).

(Processing content-ID setting processing)
First, an ID setting process for setting the group ID 23a and the self ID 23b to be managed by the manager 20 is executed. FIG. 5 is a flowchart of the ID setting process. For example, in a state where a plurality of managed objects 2A and 2C to be comprehensively managed are arranged in a range where they can communicate with each other, the user designates the group ID 23a to the manager 20 by a predetermined method, and instructs the ID setting I do.

  When receiving the ID setting instruction (step SC-1, Yes), the control unit 25 of the management device 20 thereafter has a predetermined interval (for example, an interval longer than the predetermined interval of ID transmission of the management tags 3A, 3C, for example, 2 (Every minute), the self ID 13a received via its own antenna 21 and receiving unit 22 is stored in the memory 23 as the self ID 23b (step SC-2). At this time, these self IDs 23b are stored in the memory 23 in association with the group ID 23a designated at the same time as the ID setting instruction. This completes the ID setting process.

  This ID setting process can be repeated by replacing the managed objects 2A and 2C, whereby a plurality of different group IDs 23a and one or more different self IDs 23b are associated with each other in the memory 23. Stored. As a result, a plurality of managed objects 2A and 2C belonging to a plurality of groups can be managed while being grouped using the common manager 20.

(Processing content-Monitoring processing)
Next, a monitoring process for mutually monitoring the managed objects 2A and 2C is executed. FIG. 6 is a flowchart of the monitoring process. When the control unit 25 of the management device 20 receives the self ID 13a of each management tag 3A, 3C via the antenna 21 and the reception unit 22 (step SD-1, Yes), the self ID 13a is stored in the memory 23. It is determined whether or not it matches any of the self IDs 23b that are present (step SD-2). If they do not match (step SD-2, No), the self ID 13a is the monitored managed object 2A, 2C. Therefore, the self-ID 13a is ignored and the process returns to step SD-1. On the other hand, if they match (step SD-2, Yes), confirmation information (for example, a flag) indicating that the self ID 13a has been confirmed is stored in the memory 23 in association with the self ID 23b corresponding to the self ID 13a ( Step SD-3).

  Next, the control unit 25 of the management device 20 confirms the reception state of the self ID 23 b by determining whether or not there is confirmation information stored in the memory 23 for each group ID 23 a stored in the memory 23. For example, when “2 minutes” is associated as the determination interval information with respect to one group ID 23a, the association is made with respect to the group ID 23a every time the 2 minutes elapse (step SD-4, Yes). It is determined whether confirmation information is stored for all of the self IDs 23b (step SD-5). By performing reception confirmation at different intervals for each group in this way, for groups that include valuable managed objects 2A and 2C, frequent reception confirmation is performed to improve loss prevention performance, or management that is not very valuable. For a group including only the objects 2A and 2C and the managed objects 2A and 2C that are often used temporarily at a position away from the manager 20, the manager can be confirmed by performing reception confirmation for a relatively long period of time. 20 power consumption can be reduced and false alarms can be prevented.

  If the confirmation information is stored for all of the self IDs 23b (step SD-5, Yes), each managed object 2A, 2C around the management device 20 (within the transmission / reception range of the self ID 13a). Therefore, it is considered that there is no loss or misplacement of the managed objects 2A and 2C, so that the process proceeds to step SD-1 without warning or the like. At this time, the next determination environment is prepared by clearing the confirmation information in the memory 23 (step SD-6).

  On the other hand, when the confirmation information for any one or more of the self IDs 23b is not stored (step SD-5, No), each managed object 2A, around the manager 20 (within the transmission / reception range of the self ID 13a). One of 2C may not exist, and it is considered that each managed object 2A, 2C may be lost or misplaced. For this reason, the alarm action information associated with the group ID 23a is called from the memory 23, and an alarm that matches the alarm action information is given via the alarm unit 24 to indicate that the managed objects 2A and 2C are lost. After making the owner recognize (step SD-7), the process proceeds to step SD-1 via step SD-6. In this way, by performing an alarm based on different alarm operation information for each group, an alarm regarding a group including the precious managed objects 2A and 2C can be displayed by displaying an alarm in addition to a buzzer sound ( However, it is assumed that a display means is provided in the management device 20. The same applies to the following.) While the alarm effect is enhanced, alarms relating to the group including only the objects 2A and 2C that are not very valuable are displayed only. An alarm corresponding to the managed objects 2A and 2C can be performed, such as a relatively gentle alarm.

  In the system 1A, any one of the managed object 2A and the managed object 2C may be a system that also serves as the management device 20. At this time, the constituent elements of the manager 20 shown in FIG. 4 may be provided in the managed object 2A or the managed object 2C.

(Effect of Embodiment 2)
According to the second embodiment, a plurality of managed objects 2A and 2C can be monitored via the management device 20, and an alarm is automatically issued when the managed objects 2A and 2C are separated from the management device 20 by a certain distance or more. Therefore, if the managed objects 2A and 2C are lost or stolen, the owner can recognize the fact and prevent the loss or theft. In particular, since a determination interval and an alarm operation can be set for each group, monitoring and alarm can be performed with contents that match the managed objects 2A and 2C.

[Embodiment 3]
This form is a form in which managed objects are managed using a manager, and the alarm operation is changed according to the distance between the manager and each managed object. The configuration of the third embodiment is substantially the same as the configuration of the second embodiment except where otherwise specified, and the configuration substantially the same as the configuration of the second embodiment is used in the second embodiment. The same name or symbol as that of is attached as necessary, and the description thereof is omitted.

(System configuration)
FIG. 7 is a functional block diagram showing the article management system according to the third embodiment. The article management system 1C includes management tags 3A and 3C attached to the managed objects 2A and 2C, and a manager 30 that manages the managed objects 2A and 2C in groups. .

(System configuration-management tag)
The management tags 3 </ b> A and 3 </ b> C include an antenna 10, a transmission unit 11, a memory 13, and a control unit 15. Since these parts can be configured in the same manner as in the second embodiment, description thereof is omitted.

(System configuration-Manager)
The management device 30 includes an antenna 21, a receiving unit 22, a memory 23, an alarm unit 31, and a control unit 32. The antenna 21, the receiving unit 22, and the memory 23 can be configured in the same manner as in the second embodiment. In addition to the function of the alarm unit 24 of the second embodiment, the alarm unit 31 has a function of performing at least a plurality of types or levels of alarms. For example, the alarm unit 31 includes a vibration function and a ringing function, It has a function to output a buzzer sound. In addition to the function of the control unit 25 of the second embodiment, the control unit 32 includes a distance determination unit 32a in terms of function. The distance determination unit 32a measures the mutual distance between the management device 30 and each of the management tags 3A and 3C based on the radio field intensity of the self ID 13a received by the reception unit 22.

(Processing content)
Next, processing contents of the managed object management processing will be described. First, an ID setting process for setting the group ID 23a and the self ID 23b to be managed by the manager 30 is executed. Since this ID setting process can be performed in the same manner as in the second embodiment, a detailed description will be given. Omitted.

(Processing content-Monitoring processing)
Next, a monitoring process for mutually monitoring each managed object is executed. FIG. 8 is a flowchart of the monitoring process. In this process, steps SE-1, SE-2, SE-4 to SE-6, SE-11, and SE-12 are respectively performed as steps SD-1, SD-2, SD-3 to SD- in FIG. 5, since it is the same as SD-6 and SD-7, detailed description is omitted.

  The distance determination unit 32a of the control unit 32 of the manager 30 receives the self ID 13a from each of the management tags 3A and 3C via the antenna 21 and the reception unit 22, and then measures the radio wave intensity of the received radio wave. The mutual distance between each of the management tags 3A, 3C and the manager 30 is specified using the property that the intensity is attenuated in inverse proportion to the distance (distance attenuation) (step SE-3). The radio field intensity in an actual environment may fluctuate due to the influence of obstacles, multipath fading, and the like. Therefore, in order to compensate for this influence, before the monitoring process, the management unit 30 and each management tag 3A and 3C are arranged at a predetermined distance from each other, and the radio wave intensity at that time is stored in the memory 23 of the manager 30 as an initial intensity. In the monitoring process, the manager 30 is based on the relative intensity with respect to the initial intensity. And the mutual distance between the management tags 3A and 3C.

  Even if it is determined that there is confirmation information for all the self IDs 23b (step SE-6, Yes), the mutual distance between the manager 30 and each of the management tags 3A and 3C is a predetermined first distance. If the distance is greater than or equal to (for example, 2 m or more) and greater than or equal to a predetermined second distance (a distance greater than the first distance, for example, 4 m) (step SE-7, Yes), When the first alarm is issued (step SE-8) and the mutual distance between the manager 30 and each of the management tags 3A and 3C is equal to or greater than the predetermined second distance (step SE-9, Yes), A predetermined second alarm is issued via the alarm unit 31 (step SE-10). Here, the second alarm is higher than the first alarm so that the alarm level increases as the distance increases. For example, the first alarm is only displayed, A buzzer sounds as an alarm for 2. Alternatively, a buzzer sound is generated at a low volume as the first alarm, and a buzzer sound is generated at a high volume as the second alarm.

(Effect of Embodiment 3)
According to the third embodiment, in addition to the same effects as those of the second embodiment, an alarm corresponding to the relative distance between the managed objects 2A and 2C and the management device 30 can be given. It is possible to call attention that matches the risk of loss or misplacement of the managed objects 2A, 2C, such as raising the alarm level as the managed objects 2A, 2C leave.

[II] Modifications of Embodiments While the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the specific configuration and means of the present invention are within the scope of the technical idea of each invention described in the claims. It can be arbitrarily modified and improved within. Hereinafter, such a modification will be described.

(About problems to be solved and effects of the invention)
First, the problems to be solved by the invention and the effects of the invention are not limited to the above-described contents, and the present invention solves the problems not described above or has the effects not described above. There are also cases where only some of the described problems are solved or only some of the described effects are achieved.

(About transmission control)
In each of the first to third embodiments, transmission from the management tags 3A to 3C can be performed simultaneously, but the management tags 3A to 3C are transmitted so that transmission from each of the management tags 3A to 3C is performed with a time difference. In the 3C control unit 15, the transmission timing may be determined randomly using, for example, a random number.

1 is a block diagram functionally conceptually illustrating the configuration of an article management system according to Embodiment 1. FIG. 4 is a flowchart of ID setting processing according to the first embodiment. 3 is a flowchart of monitoring processing according to the first embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the article | item management system which concerns on Embodiment 2 functionally conceptually. 10 is a flowchart of ID setting processing according to the second embodiment. 10 is a flowchart of monitoring processing according to the second embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the article management system which concerns on Embodiment 3 functionally conceptually. 10 is a flowchart of monitoring processing according to the third embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

1A, 1B, 1C Item management system 2A-2C Managed object 3A-3C Management tag 10, 21 Antenna 11 Transmitter 12, 22 Receiver 13, 23 Memory 14, 24, 31 Alarm 15, 25, 32 Control 20, 30 Manager 32a Distance determination unit

Claims (6)

In an article management system provided with a management tag provided for each of a plurality of managed objects,
The management tag is
Tag-side storage means for storing an ID for uniquely identifying the management tag and an ID for uniquely identifying the management tag to be managed in addition to the management tag;
Transmitting means for transmitting the ID of the management tag stored in the tag storage means;
Receiving means for receiving the ID transmitted from the management tag other than the management tag;
An alarm means for outputting an alarm;
Based on whether or not all of the IDs of the management tags to be managed stored in the tag-side storage unit are received by the reception unit, the reception range of the IDs in the management tag It is determined whether or not all of the management tags that are to be managed are present, and if all of the management tags that are to be managed are not present, the alarm means is driven to output an alarm. A control means,
An article management system characterized by In an article management system comprising a management tag provided for each of a plurality of managed objects, and a manager for managing the plurality of managed objects,
The management tag is
Tag-side storage means for storing an ID for uniquely identifying the management tag;
Transmission means for transmitting the ID stored in the tag side storage means,
The manager is
With respect to a group ID for uniquely identifying a management unit of the plurality of managed objects for comprehensive management, each ID of the plurality of managed objects managed by the manager and the management Manager-side storage means for storing the determination interval information for specifying the determination interval of the presence of the tag or the alarm operation information for specifying the operation content of the alarm in association with each other;
Receiving means for receiving the ID transmitted from the transmitting means;
An alarm means for outputting an alarm;
Based on whether or not all of the IDs of the management tags to be managed stored in the management-unit-side storage means have been received by the reception means, the reception range of the ID in the management device A means for determining whether or not all of the plurality of management tags are present, wherein the determination interval specified by the determination interval information associated with the received ID via the group ID A control unit that performs the determination or drives the alarm unit according to the operation content of the alarm specified by the alarm operation information associated with the received ID via the group ID. ,
An article management system characterized by The control unit measures the mutual distance between the management device and the management tag based on the radio field intensity of the ID received by the reception unit, and the operation contents differ depending on the measured distance Driving the alarm means at
The article management system according to claim 2. The management device is provided integrally with the management tag provided on any one of the plurality of managed objects,
The article management system according to claim 2 or 3, characterized by the above. Configuring the management tag as an RFID,
The article management system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein: At least one of the plurality of managed objects is provided with communication means for performing short-range wireless communication using a unique communication ID,
The unique communication ID of the communication means is the ID.
The article management system according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

Images