KR100625472B1 - A goods management system and method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a system and method for managing goods, and an object of the present invention is to install an antenna capable of searching for an RFID tag on the exterior of the refrigerator as well as the inside of the refrigerator. An object of the present invention is to provide an article management system and a method for eliminating the trouble of having to remember which user tag is attached to which article.

To this end, the present invention is characterized by retrieving an article with a tag recorded with its own identification information with an antenna located outside the storage space, and inputting information about the article in correspondence with the identification information of the tag and storing it. It is done.

Description

A goods management system and method

1 is a structural diagram illustrating a refrigerator in which a conventional RFID antenna is embedded.

2 is a block diagram showing an RFID article management system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

3A to 3C are structural diagrams showing the mounting form of the RFID antenna shown in FIG.

4 is a flowchart illustrating a method for registering article information in the RFID article management system shown in FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a goods management situation displayed on the display unit shown in FIG. 2.

Explanation of symbols on the main parts of the drawings

10: RFID Tag

12: RFID antenna

14: RFID reader

20: control unit

22: input unit

24: display unit

26: memory

The present invention relates to an article management system and method, and more particularly to an article management system and method that can efficiently manage information of articles stored in a refrigerator using RFID technology.

In general, RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) technology integrates the use of electromagnetic or electrostatic coupling within the radio frequencies of the electromagnetic spectrum to identify an object, animal or person, and can identify information without the need for direct contact. It is a radio frequency identification technology that is increasingly being used as an alternative to barcodes due to the fact that it can insert information or insert information.

The RFID includes an RFID tag capable of storing information, an antenna for inputting information into the RFID tag and transmitting a signal for reading the input information, and a reader for reading the information of the RFID tag and transmitting the information to a server. have.

On the other hand, such RFID recognition technology is used to manage the product information of the refrigerator by incorporating it into the refrigerator. The refrigerator has a storage space for storing food and articles, and stores food and articles at a low temperature for long-term storage by cooling cycles that circulate refrigerant to exchange heat. Also, after a certain period of time, food and articles cannot be prevented from being decayed, and thus, a user needs to check the condition, shelf life, etc. of food and articles stored in the refrigerator from time to time. As such, the necessity to manage the food and goods stored in the refrigerator has emerged, a method of managing goods using RFID technology has emerged.

In order to manage an article using RFID technology, an RFID tag (TAG) in which the article information is recorded must be attached to each food. However, depending on the article, there may be an article without an RFID tag attached. In this case, a tag (hereinafter referred to as a user tag) that allows a user to input information must be attached to the article, and information about the article must be directly input.

In order to input information about a product tagged with a user tag, the user needs to specify the item information according to the tag after putting the article tagged with the user into a refrigerator. This is because since the RFID antenna 2 capable of recognizing a user tag is located inside the refrigerator 1, as shown in FIG. 1, only the RIFD tag of the article in the refrigerator 1 can be recognized by the reader. to be.

However, in the conventional product information management using the RFID recognition technology, when storing a plurality of items tagged with a user tag in the refrigerator at a time, all the user tags attached to the items to be stored are stored in the article information on the user tag. When inputting the name, it is necessary to enter the item to which the user tag is attached. In this process, when the user confuses the goods, there is a possibility that wrong information may be input, and there is a problem in that the user needs to input the item information after opening the door of the refrigerator and checking the corresponding item and the user tag.

The present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems, an object of the present invention is to mount the antenna that can search the RFID tag to the outside of the refrigerator as well as the inside of the refrigerator as the RFID tag can be searched from the outside of the refrigerator as well An object of the present invention is to provide an article management system and a method for eliminating the trouble of having to remember which user tag is attached to which article.

In addition, by providing an external antenna in the form of a shelf to provide an article management system and method that can put the article on the shelf one by one, even if the volume of the article is large and input the information of the article.

The present invention for achieving the above object is a tag attached to the article and stores its identification information and identification information of the article, an antenna for searching the tag, and read the identification information of the tag retrieved from the antenna The reader includes a reader and a control unit which manages the article according to the identification information read by the reader.

In addition, the antenna is located inside and outside the storage space of the article, the antenna located outside is mounted in the form of a shelf on the outer peripheral surface of the storage space, it characterized in that the folding.

In addition, when the tag is attached to the article separately, characterized in that it further comprises an input unit for recording the identification information about the article.

In addition, it is characterized in that to search for an article with a tag recorded with its own identification information by using an antenna located outside the storage space, and input the information about the article corresponding to the identification information of the tag and to store it.

In addition, the antenna is characterized in that the folding or unfolding in the form of a shelf.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

RFID article management system according to an embodiment of the present invention inputs information to the RFID tag (Tag) (10) attached to the article with its own identification information, as shown in Figure 2, the RFID tag 10 And an antenna 12 for transmitting a signal for reading the inputted information, a reader 14 for reading the information of the RFID tag 10, and an RFID tag 10 according to a search result of the reader 14; Control unit 20 which analyzes and manages various data regarding the article to which the tag is attached, an input unit 22 which records the identification information of the article on the RFID tag 10 in which the information about the article is not recorded, and stored in the refrigerator And a display unit 24 for displaying the management state of the article and various kinds of information, and a memory unit 26 for storing information on the article received from the reader 14.

The RFID tag 10 is classified into an active tag with a built-in battery and a passive tag which obtains an energy source within the propagation range of the reader 14. An IC chip and an external antenna are embedded in the RFID tag 10, and a memory device in the IC chip receives a signal for operating the RFID tag 10 from the reader 14 and a seat for storing the authentication number and other data. Is divided into several zones for receiving and sending data in the RFID tag 10.

In addition, the RFID tag 10 stores a variety of information related to the article, such as the unique number of the article, article name, date of manufacture, expiration date, manufacturer, it may be recorded. That is, in the case of the article not attached to the RFID tag 10, an RFID tag (hereinafter referred to as a user tag) 10 capable of recording the information of the article is attached to the article, and the user arbitrarily needs the input unit 22. Only item information can be recorded.

The reader 14 supplies RF energy to the passive tag 10 to activate and receives information from the tag 10. For this function, the reader 14 includes a part for transmitting, receiving, and decoding data of an RF signal, and performs communication with the control unit 20 such as serial communication, USB, and Ethernet.

The antenna 12 is a device used to read and write data to the RFID tag 10 by using radio frequency. Depending on the system, the antenna 12 and the reader 14 may be used separately or in one reader 14. It is divided into the case where (12) is built together. The antenna 12 is made of various sizes and shapes, the inductance value of the antenna 12 is determined according to the thickness or winding of the copper wire, the diameter of the antenna 12, in general, the longer the search range, the size of the antenna 12 Will also be large.

The antenna 12 is installed not only inside the refrigerator but also outside of the refrigerator, and various mounting forms of the external antenna are illustrated in FIGS. 3A to 3C. The external antenna 12 may be located at the outside of the refrigerator door 18 and may be located at the front or side of the refrigerator, and a plurality of antennas may be attached according to the purpose and convenience of use, and may be attached at various heights. . When the external antenna 12 is unfolded, it has a shelf shape that forms an angle of 90 degrees with the refrigerator door 18. When the external antenna 12 is not used, the external antenna 12 is configured to be folded or pushed into the door 18.

In the case of FIG. 3A, a home pad 28 having a function of a display unit 24 and an input unit 22 is located at one door 18 of the refrigerator, and a door of the refrigerator is located at the other door 18. 18) In the refrigerator in which the dispenser 16 is discharged, the Home Bar, which allows the extraction of water or beverages, etc. without opening it, an external antenna 12 is mounted on the door of the dispenser 16. The form is shown. Of course, the external antenna may be mounted on the home bar, which is not shown in the drawing. 3B illustrates that the external antenna 12 is fixed to one door 18 of the refrigerator in the form of a shelf in the refrigerator without the home bar 16. FIG. 3C is a form in which an external antenna 12 is embedded inside the door of the home bar 16, and is configured to open the door of the home bar 16 and place an article thereon to recognize the RFID tag 10. .

The external antenna 12 is always waiting for the search of the tag 10, the method is activated only when the user receives the input, the method of activation using the sensing of the article, the external antenna 12 When the shelf is fixed, the tag 10 is searched in various ways such as being activated in a search state. In the case of sensing an article, a method of activating after determining the presence or absence of an object using infrared rays, a method of sensing and activating a weight when the article is placed on the external antenna 12 is used.

First, when a user wants to store and store the article with the RFID tag 10 in the refrigerator, the user inserts the article into the refrigerator as it is, and searches the RFID tag 10 from the antenna 12 located in the refrigerator. The information of the tag itself and information about the article recorded in (10) are read by the reader 14, and the control unit 20 receives these information, stores it in the memory unit 26, and then the information about the article is stored. It is displayed through the display unit 24.

On the other hand, if the user wants to store and store the article without the RFID tag 10 attached to the refrigerator, as shown in FIG. 4, by opening the external antenna panel 12 located outside the refrigerator door 18 It is made in the form of a shelf forming a 90 degrees with (S100) And, the article to be stored in the refrigerator is placed on the external antenna panel 12. (S110) It is determined whether the RFID tag 10 is attached to the article. Then, if there is no tag 10 (S120) attaches the tag 10 to the article to be attached to the article in the form of stickers or tongs. (S130)

The RFID reader 14 transmits an effective frequency signal through the external antenna 12 to read information about the RFID tag 10. When the RIFD tag 10 attached to the article approaches the effective frequency range transmitted by the reader 14, the corresponding frequency signal is detected to display the identification information (UID) of the tag stored in the RFID tag 10 in the air. The antenna 12 detects the RFID tag 10 and transmits it to the reader 14 (S140). When the reader 14 recognizes the RFID tag 10 and receives identification information about the tag itself, This is transmitted to the control unit 20, and the control unit 20 receives the identification information received from the reader 14, stores it in the memory unit 26 and displays it on the display unit 24 (S150).

In addition, the controller 20 determines whether there is information on the article in addition to the information on the tag itself among the information on the RFID tag 10 received from the reader 14 (S160) If the information on the article does not exist Then, the display unit 24 transmits a command to the user to input information about the corresponding item.

The user inputs a signal to store information about an item placed on the external antenna 12, for example, a product name, a date of manufacture, an expiration date, a quantity, a storage location, and the like through the input unit 22, and stores the signal (S170). The controller 20 matches the information on the currently recognized RFID tag 10 and the information on the article input by the user and stores it in the memory unit 26 (S180).

When the recognition of the information on the article is completed, the article is stored in the refrigerator. (S190) If the identification information of the article is contained in the RFID tag 10 in step 160, it may be stored immediately (S190). Information regarding the article stored in the refrigerator is stored in the memory unit 26 and can be recognized through the RFID system input unit 22 to check the information about the article stored in the refrigerator as shown in FIG. If selected in the), the information on the stored article is confirmed through the display unit 24, and accordingly the management of the article can be made (S200).

Thus, before putting the article in the refrigerator using the external antenna located outside the refrigerator recognizes the article to be stored, the user can directly enter the information on the article while looking at the article.

As described in detail above, in the article management using the RFID technology, by installing an antenna on the outside of the refrigerator, the user can enter information about the article while viewing the article, which can be confused with other articles. There is no concern, and there is an effect that the user does not have to memorize information about the item to input.

In addition, since it is an external antenna, various items can be easily recognized alternately without opening a refrigerator door, and since the antenna is shaped like a base, there is no inconvenience of having to carry items separately.

Claims (7)

A tag attached to the article and storing its identification information and the identification information of the article, A plurality of antennas located inside and outside the storage space of the article for searching the tag; A reader for reading identification information of the tag retrieved from the antenna; A control unit managing an article according to the identification information read from the reader; In the article management system comprising a display unit for displaying the identification information of the article in accordance with the signal of the controller, An input unit for inputting identification information of the article, The controller determines whether the identification information of the article exists in the information of the tag received from the reader when the user puts the article on the antenna located outside, If there is no identification information of the article in the tag and outputs a message to input the identification information of the article through the display unit, Article identification system, characterized in that for storing the identification information of the corresponding article from the input unit in the tag. The method of claim 1, The externally located antenna is mounted in the form of a shelf on the outer peripheral surface of the storage space of the article, the article management system, characterized in that it is foldable or can be pushed into the outer peripheral surface of the storage space. delete Attach a tag having its identification information recorded on the article, place the article with the tag on an antenna located outside the storage space of the article in the form of a shelf, search for the tag, and identify the article on the tag. It is determined whether there is information, and if the identification information of the article is found, the article is immediately stored in the storage space. If there is no identification information of the article, the article corresponds to the identification information of the tag. After inputting information about the goods management method, characterized in that stored in the storage space. delete       The method of claim 1,       The plurality of antennas are always in a search state of the tag, or activated by a user input in a search state of the tag, or when an article is sensed, activated by a search state of the tag, or an antenna located outside the shelf The article management system, characterized in that activated in the search state of the tag when fixed in the form.       The method of claim 6,       Sensing of the article is an article management system, characterized in that by using an infrared sensor, or by sensing the weight of the article placed on the antenna located outside.

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