JP2000344309A - Article managing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To manage physical distribution without using a managing server on a large scale. SOLUTION: An article managing device for use when a plurality of articles a1-an move simultaneously is composed of a reading means to read the data recorded on physical distribution cards C1-Cn affixed to the respective articles a1-an, an extracting means to extract a management card recording the identification data for physical distribution cards C1-Cn affixed to other articles other than the identification data for the physical distribution cards C1-Cn affixed to the applicable article out of the read data, a reference means to make reference of the data of the extracted management card and the read identification data, and a judging means to judge that the articles a1-an are flowing simultaneously when the reference results in coincidence and judge that no simultaneous flowing takes place when out of coincidence.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to an article management apparatus, and more particularly, to an article management apparatus suitable for moving a plurality of articles at the same time.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, when goods (baggage) are moved (transported) by transportation means such as an aircraft, a cart, or a truck, management information (data) such as a barcode or magnetic data is recorded on the goods. A distribution card, which is a so-called tag (the tag is used in the present invention in the same meaning as the distribution card of the present invention) is managed by being directly attached to the article or attached to the article with a hanging string. (In the present invention, attaching a tag with a hanging string or the like is also included in the attachment.)

FIG. 4 schematically shows the physical distribution state of a conventional article, in which a plurality of articles a1 to an arrive at a predetermined destination from a point A of a shipping point via a point B of a relay point. An example is shown in which transportation is performed to a point by a predetermined transportation means such as an aircraft.

[0004] At the point A of the shipping point, each of the articles a1 to an
, A tag T with identification data, a so-called ID,
1 to Tn are respectively attached, and the attached tags T1 to Tn are configured to be read by the reader 100A.

[0005] When the tags T1 to Tn consist of bar codes, the reader 100A is constituted by a bar code reader.
When the tags T1 to Tn are made of a magnetic card, they are constituted by a card reader, and when they are constituted by an IC card having an antenna, they are constituted by a non-contact reader.

[0006] Regardless of the type of T1 to Tn of the tag, A
The information of the tags T1 to Tn read at the point, that is, the information for specifying each of the articles a1 to an is transmitted to a management server H mainly composed of a host computer via a communication line, where it is collectively managed. It is configured to: That is, the management server H collects and manages information of each of the articles a1 to an sent from the point A.

When each of the articles a1 to an sent from the point A arrives at the relay point B, it is attached to the articles a1 to an by the reader B provided at the point B in the same manner as the point A. The read tags T1 to Tn are read, and the read data is sent to the management server H. Therefore, in the management server H, A
By comparing the data read at the point and the data read at the point B, it can be determined whether or not each of the articles a1 to an has safely arrived at the point B.

The above-described determination by the management server H is also performed at each relay point and each arrival point until each of the articles a1 to an reaches a predetermined arrival point.

[0009]

However, the above-mentioned conventional article management apparatus is based on a management server including a host computer which collects and manages information on article movement for each article. And there is a drawback that the equipment cost increases.

The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-mentioned drawbacks, and an object of the present invention is to provide an article management apparatus capable of efficiently managing article movement with a simple configuration. is there.

[0011]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an article management apparatus which is used when a plurality of articles move simultaneously to achieve the above object. The distribution card attached to the predetermined one article is provided with writing means for writing the identification data of the distribution card attached to the remaining other articles, and the written distribution card is used as the management card. It is characterized by:

[0012] An article management apparatus according to the present invention is an article management apparatus used when a plurality of articles move at the same time to achieve the above object, wherein a physical distribution card attached to each of the plurality of articles is provided. Reading means for reading recorded data, and identification data of a distribution card affixed to another article in addition to the identification data of the distribution card affixed to the own article from the read data. Extraction means for extracting the management card, collation means for collating the extracted data of the management card and the read identification data, and judging that the plurality of articles are distributed at the same time when a coincidence is obtained. A determination unit that determines that a plurality of articles are not distributed at the same time when the collation match is not obtained. Further, the physical distribution card is formed of a non-contact type IC card.

[0013]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a physical distribution state when the article management device according to one embodiment is applied.

In FIG. 1, as in FIG.
An example is shown in which a plurality of articles a1 to an move from a point A of a shipping point to an arrival point of a predetermined destination via a point B of a relay point.

At the point A of the shipping point, each article a1 to
Distribution cards C1 to Cn are attached to an respectively. These distribution cards C1 to Cn are constituted by non-contact type IC cards having a wireless communication function.
These distribution cards will be described as “contactless tags”.

In FIG. 1, reference numerals 1A and 1B denote read management machines. Similar read management machines are also provided at relay points and arrival points (not shown). These read management machines 1
A and 1B have the same configuration, and each non-contact tag C1
Since Cn has the same configuration, the description will be made with reference to FIG.

To begin with, from the reading management machine 1A, the reading management machine 1A is provided with a controller 5, which is omitted in FIG.
The control unit 6 of the controller 5 is configured to perform predetermined arithmetic processing using the system program and working data stored in the memory 7. And
The control unit 6 is connected to an output device drive unit 8 for controlling a display screen and a printer (not shown) via an I / O unit (not shown) and an operation unit 9 including a keyboard and a mouse for inputting predetermined signals. Have been. That is, the reading management machine 1A can be constituted by a well-known personal computer (personal computer).

In FIG. 2, T is a transmitter to which an antenna t for communicating with the non-contact tag C1 is connected. The antenna t has an antenna t1 for exchanging data with the non-contact tag C1, and an antenna t2 for supplying power to the non-contact tag C1.

The non-contact tag C 1 includes an antenna 10, a communication control unit 11, a CPU 12, a memory 13, and a read management device 1, similarly to a normal IC card having a wireless communication function.
A has a power generation management unit 15 that receives the power from A through the antenna 14 and generates driving power for the contactless tag C1. The memory 13 stores the ID of the non-contact tag C1 in addition to the system program for the arithmetic processing of the CPU 12. The memory 13 has a sufficient capacity to store the IDs of other non-contact tags. The driving power may be stored in the form of a battery inside the non-contact tag C1.

Hereinafter, the control operation will be described with reference to the flow charts of FIGS. 3 (a) and 3 (b). First, FIG.
The control operation at the point A which is the shipping point will be described with reference to FIG.

At the point A, non-contact tags C1 to Cn are attached to the articles a1 to an, respectively. Here, it is assumed that the articles a1 to an move to a predetermined destination (arrival point) on the same flight.

The non-contact tags C1 to Cn affixed to the articles a1 to an are read by the read manager 1A (Yes at Step 100; hereinafter, the steps are referred to as "S"). This reading is performed by the non-contact tags T1 to Tn affixed to the articles a1 to an approaching the antenna t of the reading management machine 1A, respectively, while the articles a1 to an are being moved by a belt conveyor (not shown). Done. Of course, this reading is performed by an operator for each of the articles a1 to a1.
n may be held over the antenna t of the reading management device 1A. Also, the antenna t of the reading management machine 1A
Can be separated from the main body, and its antenna t
May be held over the non-contact tags C1 to Cn of the articles a1 to an.

The data stored in each of the read tags C1 to Cn is stored in the memory 7 of the read management device 1A. When the last tag Cn is read, each of the tags read and stored up to that time is read. The data of C1 to Cn-1 is stored in the memory 13 of the last tag Cn. That is, the last tag Tn serves as a management tag (management card) for managing the articles a1 to an that are moved together (S102, S104 affirmation, S106).

In the above example, the management tag is the non-contact tag Tn which was read last, but after reading all the articles a1 to an, any article, for example, the article a1 is read again and the The attached non-contact tag C1 may be used as the management tag.

The management tag may be a plurality of articles out of the articles a1 to an, for example, two non-contact tags C1 and Cn of the articles a1 and an. By doing so, the management accuracy can be further improved. Therefore, in the present invention, when "the distribution card (non-contact tag) attached to one predetermined article is used as the management card", the non-contact tag attached to a plurality of articles may be used as the management card. include.

FIG. 3B shows the confirmation control operation when the articles a1 to an whose data have been read at the point A arrive at the point B.

First, when the articles a1 to an arrive at the point B, the non-contact tags C1 to Cn affixed to the articles a1 to an are read by the reading controller 1B in the same manner as at the point A. The read data is stored in the read management machine 1
B is stored in the memory 7 (Yes at S200, S20
2).

Non-contact tags C1 to C1 of all articles a1 to an
When the reading of Cn is completed (Yes at S204), a non-contact tag in which the ID of the tag of another article is stored, that is, a management tag is extracted from one non-contact tag (S20).
6). This management tag is a non-contact tag Cn at the point A.
Is set as the management tag, in this example, the article a
The non-contact tag Cn attached to n is extracted as a management tag.

Since the management tag (Cn) contains data (information) of all the articles a1 to an at the point A, the data contained therein and the data read at the point B are included. If they match, it is determined that the articles a1 to an at the point A and the articles a1 to an at the point B are the same, and it is determined that they have been moved normally (Yes at S208, S210, S2).
12).

However, when the data included in the management tag (Cn), that is, the data of the non-contact tags (C1 to Cn) do not match the data of the non-contact tags read by the reading management device 1B, for example, If the non-contact tag C2 is missing from the read non-contact tags, it is determined that the article a2 related to the non-contact tag C2 has not arrived at the point B (S210: YES). Therefore, the attendant can know that the article a2 has not arrived at the point B, and can immediately take appropriate measures as to whether or not unloading has occurred at the point A. .

The above determination at the point B is performed at another stopover point and also at the arrival point. In the above-described example, the case where there is a relay point such as point B between the dispatch point (point A) and the arrival point has been described, but the relay point does not pass through the dispatch point (point A) to the arrival point. Needless to say, it is also possible to move directly to the destination.

In the above example, a non-contact tag is described as an article card. However, a contact tag for processing by connecting an IC card to a reading management machine can be used. There is a feature that makes it easier. further,
Although the article card can be a magnetic card, an IC card is more convenient because of its larger storage capacity.

In the above-described example, the article is a luggage to be transported by an aircraft or the like. However, it is needless to say that the article can be applied to an article such as a part moving in a factory.

[0034]

The article management apparatus according to the present invention is an article management apparatus used when a plurality of articles move at the same time, and is a logistics apparatus which is attached to a predetermined one of the plurality of articles. The card is provided with a writing means for writing the identification data of the distribution card to be attached to the remaining other articles, and the written distribution card is used as a management card, so that a simple management server is not required. With this configuration, a distribution system can be realized at low cost.

An article management apparatus according to the present invention is used when a plurality of articles move at the same time, and reads data recorded on a distribution card attached to each of the plurality of articles. Means for extracting, from the read data, a management card in which the identification data of the distribution card affixed to another article other than the identification data of the distribution card affixed to the own article is recorded. A collating means for collating the extracted management card data and the read identification data, and when a collation match is obtained, it is determined that the plurality of articles are distributed at the same time, and the collation match is not obtained Sometimes, a plurality of articles are determined not to be circulated at the same time.
A logistics system can be realized at low cost with a simple configuration without the need for a management server. When the distribution card is a non-contact type IC card, the storage capacity is large and it can be easily implemented.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing a moving state of an article to which an article management apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention has been applied.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an electrical configuration of a reading management device and a non-contact tag.

3A is a flowchart illustrating a control operation at a shipping point, and FIG. 3B is a flowchart illustrating a control operation at a relay point or an arrival point.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory view showing a moving state of a conventional article.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1A, 1B reading management machine C1-Cn Distribution card (contactless tag)

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[Procedure amendment]

[Submission date] June 2, 1999 (1999.6.2)

[Procedure amendment 1]

[Document name to be amended] Drawing

[Correction target item name] All figures

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

FIG.

FIG. 2

FIG. 3

FIG. 4

Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat II (reference) H04B 5/02 G06K 19/00 Q F term (reference) 3F022 LL32 MM08 MM11 MM42 NN39 5B035 AA00 BB09 BC00 CA23 5B049 BB31 CC21 CC40 DD04 EE01 EE21 FF07 GG03 GG04 GG09 5B058 CA15 KA13 YA01 5K012 AB12 AC07 AC08 AC10 AE13 BA02 BA07

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An article management device used when a plurality of articles move at the same time, wherein a distribution card attached to a predetermined one of the plurality of articles, An article management apparatus, comprising: a writing unit for writing identification data of a physical distribution card to be attached; and using the written physical distribution card as a management card. 2. An article management apparatus used when a plurality of articles move at the same time, comprising: reading means for reading data recorded on a physical distribution card attached to each of the plurality of articles; Extracting means for extracting a management card in which the identification data of the logistics card affixed to another article is recorded in addition to the identification data of the logistics card affixed to the own article; Collating means for collating the data and the read identification data; determining that the plurality of articles are distributed at the same time when a collation match is obtained; An article management apparatus comprising: a determination unit that determines that the article is not distributed. 3. The article management device according to claim 1, wherein the physical distribution card is a contactless IC card.