EP1934659A1

EP1934659A1 - System and method for tracking movable items in an industrial facility

Info

Publication number: EP1934659A1
Application number: EP06765341A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Bob Thomas
Original assignee: Avonwood Developments Ltd; Warren Point Communications Ltd
Current assignee: Avonwood Developments Ltd; Warren Point Communications Ltd
Priority date: 2005-09-05
Filing date: 2006-08-29
Publication date: 2008-06-25
Also published as: WO2007028956A1; GB0518020D0

Abstract

The invention provides a system for tracking items in an industrial facility. The system comprises transmitters, in use arranged at different positions, each transmitter configured to emit a signal identifying the transmitter. The system further comprises transmitter-receiver devices, each in use accompanying a respective item, to receive the signal from a transmitter, each transmitter-receiver device being configured to emit, upon receiving the signal, a further signal, the further signal identifying both the transmitter-receiver device and the transmitter which emitted the signal. The system further comprises receiving means, to receive the further signal from each transmitter-receiver device, processing means, operably linked to the receiving means, to determine the location of the item in the industrial facility based on the further signal, and output means operably linked to the processing means, to output, an indication of that location. The invention further provides a corresponding method for tracking items in an industrial facility.

Description

SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR TRACKING MOVABLE ITEMS IN AN INDUSTRIAL FACILITY

The present invention relates to a system and method for tracking items in an industrial facility. The invention has been devised particularly, though not necessarily solely, for application in the newspaper printing industry.

Most industrial processes involve movement of items between different positions in an industrial facility. The item may be, for example, an intermediate product on an assembly line or a final product in temporary storage. Alternatively, the item may be a piece of production equipment or a material from which a product of the process is to be manufactured.

In such industrial processes, there are usually benefits to be gained in being able to track a movable item so that its position at any given time can be established. Such benefits include, in general terms, optimisation of the process in question as a result of being able to locate and retrieve the correct or most suitable material or piece of equipment for a particular stage of the process, and thus maximise product quality and minimise production delays. Such benefits may be realised in particular in the newspaper printing industry. In a newspaper printing facility, newspapers are printed on paper which is typically wound on large reels known as newsreels.

In order to allow, among other things, compilation of various statistics relating to paper quality and cost, it is desirable to be able to monitor the location of a particular newsreel in a printing facility, as well as to establish which reel is being utilised during operation of a printing press.

According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a system for tracking movable items in an industrial facility, the system comprising: a plurality of transmitters, in use arranged at different positions in the facility, each transmitter being configured to emit a signal identifying the transmitter; a plurality of transmitter-receiver devices, each transmitter-receiver device, in use accompanying a respective item and being arranged to receive the signal from a transmitter upon becoming sufficiently close to that transmitter, each transmitter-receiver device being configured to emit, upon receiving the signal, a further signal, the further signal identifying both the transmitter-receiver device and the transmitter which emitted the signal; receiving means configured to receive the further signal from each transmitter- receiver device; processing means operably linked to the receiving means and configured to determine the location of the item in the industrial facility on the basis of the further signal; and output means operably linked to the processing means and configured to output an indication of that location.

According to a preferred feature of the invention, the transmitter-receiver device is configured to assume a passive state prior to receiving the signal and to assume an active state upon receiving the signal. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the transmitter- receiver device comprises an RF transponder which is configured to be "woken up" by the signal.

According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of tracking movable items in an industrial facility, the method comprising: emitting a signal from any of a plurality of different positions in the facility, the signal being indicative of the position from which it was emitted; receiving, at an item, the signal when the item becomes sufficiently close to the position from which the signal was emitted; emitting, from at each item, upon receipt of the signal, a further signal, the further signal being indicative of both the item and the position from which the signal was emitted; receiving the further signal; determining the location of the item in the industrial facility on the basis of the further signal; and outputting an indication of that location.

It will be appreciated that the expression "at each item" is intended to have a broad meaning which encompasses, but is not limited to, positions which may be on, in, under, over and beside the item, as is consistent with each transmitter-receiver device of the first aspect "accompanying" a respective item.

Two preferred embodiments of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a schematic plan view of the arrangement of a tracking system of the first embodiment in a newspaper printing facility; and

Figure 2 is a schematic plan view of an arrangement of a tracking system according to a second embodiment in a newspaper printing facility.

The system 10 of both the first and second embodiments is arranged in a newspaper printing facility 12 so as to enable tracking of each of a plurality of reelstands therein, the reelstands holding newsreels 14. Each newsreel 14 comprises a roll of paper onto which the newspapers are to be printed. In the drawings, for simplicity, each reelstand is represented as a single newsreel 14 though it will be appreciated that the reelstands may comprise a plurality of (e.g. two or three) arms, each arm holding a different newsreel, such that more than one newsreel is associated with a given reelstand.

Printing of the newspapers is carried out at a printing press 16 which is part of the facility 10.

A newsreel tracking system 10 according to the first embodiment is depicted schematically in Figure 1. As can be seen from Figure 1, the newsreels 14 may be distributed over a relatively wide area in the facility 10. The system 10 comprises a plurality of RF transmitters 18, which are placed in or near various key areas in the facility 10, including the printing press 16 (discussed in further detail later) as well as, for example, storage areas, despatch areas and areas where newly delivered newsreels are unloaded.

Each RF transmitter 18 is a stand-alone, powered unit configured to emit a short-range RF signal 20, the signal being modulated such that it provides the identity of that particular transmitter.

Fitted to each newsreel 14, so as to accompany that newsreel 14 as it is moved between positions in the facility 12, is an RF transponder 22 which is adapted to receive the signal 20 emitted from any transmitter 18 upon the newsreel becoming sufficiently close to that transmitter 18.

The transmitters 18 constantly emit the signals 20. However, in other embodiments, the transmitters 18 may operate according to different modes: in one mode, the transmitters 18 may transmit the signals 20 intermittently; in an alternative mode, the transmitters 18 may be activated by an operator to emit the signals 20 as and when required by the operator.

Each RF transponder 22 is an active transponder, in that it is provided with a battery, and assumes two alternative states: a passive state and an active state. In the absence of a signal 20, a given transponder 22 assumes its passive state, in which it uses only a very small amount of power from the battery, sufficient to enable the transponder 22 to receive a relevant signal 20. However, upon a signal 20 reaching the transponder 22, the transponder 22 assumes its active state, i.e. the transponder 22 is "woken up" by the transmitter 18 which emitted the signal, and utilises battery power.

A given transponder 22, upon receiving an appropriate signal 20 from a transmitter 18 and being woken up, emits a further signal 24, the further signal 24 being a long-range RF signal and identifying both that transponder 22 and the transmitter 18 from which the signal 20, received by that transponder 22, was emitted, i.e. the transmitter 18 which woke it up. Each battery provides sufficient power to enable generation of the further signal 24, though, advantageously, its life is conserved because the transponder 22 consumes very little power when in its passive state.

In an alternative embodiment, the transponders 22 may derive all of their required power from the signals 20, thus eliminating the need to provide batteries to the transponders 22.

A receiving means 26 is provided to receive the further signals 24 from the transponders 22, so that the location each newsreel 14 can be determined. The receiving means 26 will be discussed in further detail later. Each transponder 22 reverts to its passive state after emitting a further signal a predetermined number of times (as will be discussed further below). Each transponder 22 comprises an EPROM (electronically programmable read only memory) which is programmed with appropriate firmware to cause the transponder 22 to ignore subsequent signals 20 from a given transmitter 18 (when in range of that transmitter) when it has been awoken by that transmitter 18 and to continue to ignore those subsequent signals 20 until such time as the transponder 22 has been awoken by the signal 20 from another transmitter 18 or until a preset amount of time has passed since the transponder 22 was last awoken by that transmitter 18. In other words, each transponder 22 is configured to ignore the signals 20 which most recently woke it up, unless it has been out of range of the transmitter 18, from which those signals 20 are emitted, for a predetermined period of time.

As stated above, each short-range RF signal 20 is modulated such that it provides the identity of the particular transmitter 18 which emitted it. The signal 20 is further modulated to cause the receiving transponder 22 to emit the further signal 24 another four times, thus preventing collision of the further signals 24, so as to ensure that the further signal 24 from each transponder 22 will be received at the receiving means 26.

Advantageously, the transponders (or housings in which they are provided) are re-usable, thus reducing costs.

The transponders 22 are configured to wake up and/or emit a further signal 24 in response only to a suitable wake-up signal, i.e. a signal 22 which is appropriately coded or otherwise adapted, thus providing for improved security of response.

The field strength of the transmitters 18 may be adjusted so as to vary the range of the signals 20 emitted therefrom. Transmitters 18 set at a low field strength may be arranged close together so as to allow for greater precision in establishing the position of a given newsreel 14. This is important at the printing press 16, which comprises a press reel stand 17 having three arms, each arm supporting a respective newsreel 14A, 14B, 14C, the press reel stand having an arrangement of arms which is rotatable to position any one of the newsreels 14A, 14B₁ 14C for feeding into the printing device. Specifically, it is advantageous to be able to establish which newsreel is on which arm. To this end, each of transmitters 18A, 18B, 18C is positioned on or adjacent to a respective arm and is adjusted such that its field strength is sufficient only to allow transmission of its signal 20 to the transponder 22 of the newsreel on that arm. In this way, the transmitters 18A, 18B, 18C remain specific to newsreels 14A, 14B and 14C respectively.

Moreover, it is advantageous to be able to establish the position of a given arm of the press reel stand with respect to the printing device. To this end, a transmitter is positioned on or adjacent to the printing device and is adjusted such that its field strength is sufficient only to allow transmission of its signal 20 to the transponder 22 of the newsreel on the arm closest to the printing device.

As indicated above, the system 10 further comprises a receiving means 26 which is arranged to receive the further signals 24 emitted from the transponders 22. The receiving means 26, in this embodiment, is a single unit which is positioned in the facility 12 so as to be within range of each of the transponders 22, irrespective of the position of the newsreel 14 to which that transponder 22 is fitted.

The receiving means 26 is operably linked to a processing means (not shown), which is configured to determine the location of a given transponder 22, and thus the newsreel 14 to which that transponder 22 is fitted, on the basis of the further signal 24 emitted from that transponder 22 and received by the receiving means 26. It will be appreciated that the

"location" of that transponder 22 is in actual fact a zone in which that transponder 22 is positioned, the zone being the area within which the transponder 22 is in range of the particular transmitter 18 (to which that zone pertains).

The system 10 further comprises a storage means which contains data associating the identity of each transmitter 18, as communicated by the further signals 24 received by the receiving means 26, with a particular zone in the facility 12, e.g. a particular arm of the press reel 17, a given storage zone, loading zone etc., the zone being defined by the area within range of that transmitter 18. The storage means also contains data associating each transponder 22 with the particular newsreel 14 to which it is fitted. The processing means operates in association with the storage means to produce output data identifying the newsreels and the zone in which each of those newsreels is located.

The system further comprises an output means (not shown), the output means comprising a visual display unit on which the output data is displayed.

The second embodiment is a modification of the first embodiment and the same reference numerals will be used to denote the features in common with the first embodiment. The system 10 according to the second embodiment is the same as the system according to the first embodiment, comprising all of the features of the first embodiment, except it is adapted for use in a facility 12 which is larger than that depicted in connection with the first embodiment and, to this end, comprises a receiving means 26 which includes a plurality of receiving devices 26A distributed around the facility 12. The plurality of receiving devices 26A is provided because the facility 12 is too large for the RF transponders 22 to be in range, irrespective of their position, of the single unit in the receiving means 26 described in connection with the first embodiment.

The receiving devices 26A are positioned in the facility 12 such that the transponders 22 of all of the newsreels 14 are, regardless of their position, within range of at least one receiving device 26A.

The receiving devices 26A are interconnected over a network 26B using a TCP/IP. The receiving devices 26A comprise decoders which demodulate the further signals 24 received from the transponders 22. Each decoder generates an ASCII message corresponding to each further signal 24 received at the respective receiving device 26A, the

ASCII message identifying both the transponder 22 from which that further signal 24 was emitted and the transmitter 18 which emitted the signal 20 giving rise to that further signal 24. The ASCII messages are provided over the network 26B for receipt by the processing means. To this end, appropriate software is provided to enable the processing means to interrogate the IP address of each decoder so as to establish whether further signals 24 have been received at that decoder.

The receiving devices 26A of the receiving means 26 in this embodiment are configured to relay the further signals 24, via the network 26B₁ to the processing means, which is operably linked to the receiving means 26 and which determines the location of the newsreels 14 in the same manner as that described in connection with the first embodiment.

The output means and its operation are the same in this embodiment as in the first embodiment.

In the case where each reelstand comprises a plurality of newsreels, transmitters may be distributed around the frame of each reelstand so as to lie adjacent to the positions normally occupied by the arms of that reelstand, each transmitter being adjusted such that its field strength is sufficient oniy to allow transmission of its signal 20 to the transponder 22 of the newsreel on the arm closest thereto. As a result, the position of a given newsreel on a reelstand can, advantageously, be established. Alternatively or additionally, a transponder may located on each arm such that, for each operational position of the arms of the reelstand, each transponder is within range of only one transmitter. In this way, the position of any of the arms with respect to the reelstand frame may, advantageously, be established. The systems according to the preferred embodiments, offer numerous advantages in addition to those outlined above. In particular, the provision of transmitters 18 which emit a short-range wake-up signal in combination with transponders 22 which emit a long-range response signal, allows great flexibility of installation. Moreover, provision of a receiving means, comprising either a single receiving unit or a plurality of networked decoders, reduces the costs and complexity associated with systems in which the transmitters are instead responsible for receiving signals from the transponders.

Claims

1. A system for tracking movable items in an industrial facility, the system comprising: a plurality of transmitters, in use arranged at different positions in the facility, each transmitter being configured to emit a signal identifying the transmitter; a plurality of transmitter-receiver devices, each transmitter-receiver device, in use accompanying a respective item and being arranged to receive the signal from a transmitter upon becoming sufficiently close to that transmitter, each transmitter-receiver device being configured to emit, upon receiving the signal, a further signal, the further signal identifying both the transmitter-receiver device and the transmitter which emitted the signal; receiving means configured to receive the further signal from each transmitter-receiver device; processing means operably linked to the receiving means and configured to determine the location of the item in the industrial facility on the basis of the further signal; and output means operably linked to the processing means and configured to output an indication of that location.

2. A system according to claim 1, the system, in use, being incorporated in a newspaper printing facility wherein the items are newsreels.

3. A system according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the transmitters and transmitter-receiver devices are configured to emit the signals and the further signals as RF signals.

4. A system according to claim 3, wherein the transmitters are configured to emit the signals as short-range RF signals and the transmitter-receiver devices are configured to emit the further signals as long-range RF signals.

5. A system according to claim 3 or claim 4, wherein each transmitter-receiver device comprises an RF transponder.

6. A system according to any of the preceding claims, wherein each transmitter-receiver device is configured to assume a passive state prior to receiving the signal and to assume an active state upon receiving the signal, the transmitter-receiver device adapted to emit a further signal in its active state and to revert to its passive state after emitting the further signal.

7. A system according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the receiving means comprises a plurality of receiving devices, in use arranged at different positions in the facility, each of the receiving devices being configured to receive the further signal from a given transmitter-receiver device upon the transmitter-receiver device becoming sufficiently close to that receiving device.

8. A system according to claim 7 wherein the receiving devices are networked using a TCP/IP.

9. A system according to any of the preceding claims, wherein each transmitter-receiver device is configured to emit a given further signal a preset number of times.

10. A system according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the transmitters are adjustable to allow varying of the range of the signals.

11. A system according to any of the preceding claims, wherein each transmitter-receiver device is configured to emit a further signal, upon receiving a signal, only if the signal identifies a transmitter which is different from the transmitter identified in the further signal last emitted by the transmitter-receiver device.

12. A system according to any of claims 1 to 10, wherein each transmitter-receiver device is configured not to emit a further signal upon receiving a signal identifying a transmitter which is that identified in the further signal last emitted by the transmitter-receiver device, unless a predetermined period of time has elapsed since emission of the further signal last emitted by the transmitter-receiver device.

13. A system according to any of claims 3 to 12 as appended to claim 2, wherein the newsreels are supported on reelstands, each reelstand comprising a frame and an arrangement of arms which is rotatable with respect to the frame, each arm arranged to support a respective newsreel, and wherein transmitters are distributed around the frame so as to lie adjacent to positions normally occupied by the arms, each transmitter having a field strength which is sufficient only to allow transmission of its signal to the transmitter-receiver device accompanying the newsreel supported by the arm closest thereto.

14. A method of tracking movable items in an industrial facility, the method comprising: emitting a signal from any of a plurality of different positions in the facility, the signal being indicative of the position from which it was emitted; receiving, at an item, the signal when the item becomes sufficiently close to the position from which the signal was emitted; emitting, from at each item, upon receipt of the signal, a further signal, the further signal being indicative of both the item and the position from which the signal was emitted; receiving the further signal; determining the location of the item in the industrial facility on the basis of the further signal; and outputting an indication of that location.

15. A method according to claim 14, the method being used in a newspaper printing facility wherein the items are newsreels.

16. A method according to claim 14 or claim 15, comprising emitting the signals and further signals as RF signals.

17. A method according to claim 16, comprising emitting the signals as short-range RF signals and emitting the further signals as long-range RF signals.

18. A method according to any of claims 14 to 17, wherein the receiving of the signal at an item comprises receiving the signal at a transmitter-receiver device and the emitting of the further signal from at that item comprises emitting the further signal from the transmitter-receiver device, the transmitter-receiver device assuming a passive state prior to receiving the signal and assuming an active state upon receiving the signal, the transmitter- receiver device adapted to emit a further signal in its active state and to revert to its passive state after emitting the further signal.

19. A method according to any of claims 14 to 18, wherein the receiving of the further signals comprises receiving the further signals at a plurality of different positions in the facility.

20. A method according to claim 19, further comprising networking the plurality of different positions using a TCP/IP.

21. A method according to any of claims 14 to 20, wherein the emitting of the further signals comprises emitting each further signal a preset number of times.

22. A method according to any of claims 14 to 21, further comprising varying the range of the signals.

23. A method according to any of claims 14 to 22, comprising emitting a further signal from at an item, upon receipt of a signal, only if the position of which the signal is indicative is different from the position of which the further signal last emitted from at the item is indicative.

24. A method according to any of claims 14 to 22, comprising not emitting a further signal from at an item upon receiving a signal indicative of a position which is that identified in the further signal last emitted from at the item, unless a predetermined period of time has elapsed since emission of the further signal last emitted from at the item.

25. A method according to any of claims 16 to 24 as appended to claim 15, wherein the newsreels are supported on reelstands, each reelstand comprising a frame and an arrangement of arms which is rotatable with respect to the frame, each arm arranged to support a respective newsreel, the method further comprising emitting signals from a plurality of positions around each frame, the positions lying adjacent to respective positions normally occupied by the arms, each signal having a strength which is sufficient to allow it to be received only at the newsreel supported by the arm closest to the position from which the signal is emitted.