JP2001022842A - Management system of clothing for rental - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make manageable uniforms for rental to the end of their life, to make manageable to be simultaneously switched to new uniforms so that the end of the service life can be come at the timing for switching, and to manage clothing desired to be switched to new uniforms by a fixed number for every fixed period so that the end of the service life can be come by a fixed number for every fixed period. SOLUTION: Every time a uniform is lent, the number of times that uniform is used is stored while being advanced just by one by a managing device. The uniforms collected from the destinations of lending are cleaned and preserved in first to fourth storages 4 to 7 of a storehouse while being divided into use time bands. In the case of lending, concerning the uniforms to be simultaneously switched to new uniforms, a piece of the uniforms is taken out of the storage where the uniforms with a little number of times of using are preserved and lent. Concerning the uniforms to be switched to new uniforms every time for the fixed number or each fixed period, a piece of the uniforms is taken out of the storage having the greatest number of stock and lent and when the number of stock becomes equal for each storage, the uniforms in the storage where the uniforms with a number of times of using are preserved are lent.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a rental garment management system that manages lending in accordance with the number of uses of clothing in consideration of the life of the clothing.

[0002]

Among the goods rental businesses, there is a linen supply business that lends clothes, for example, uniforms worn by doctors and nurses in hospitals or uniforms worn by employees at hotels. The system rents out uniforms to lenders such as hospitals and hotels, collects and cleans them when they become dirty, and lends them again to lenders.

[0003] In general, in the rental business, it is preferable to respond to customer demand with as few commodities as possible for efficient sales. Also in the linen supply industry, it is preferable to use a small number of uniforms until just before the end of their service life while meeting customer demand. By the way, the life of a uniform is
It depends on the use conditions, the cleaning resistance, the number of times of cleaning, and the like. On the other hand, uniforms in restaurants and the like often change their designs regularly due to a change of image and switch to new uniforms all at once. It is necessary to add a new product to the uniform whose life has expired earlier with respect to the time of switching to the new uniform. In addition, when switching to a new uniform, those having a sufficiently long life are discarded to cause a loss. Therefore, it is most efficient to suppress variations in uniform life and switch to a new uniform all at once just before the end of the life.

On the other hand, uniforms such as restaurant cooks do not change their designs much. With regard to such uniforms, it is preferable to average out investment by replacing a certain number of uniforms with new ones at regular intervals rather than switching to new uniforms all at once.

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to manage clothes so that they can be used until the number of times of use is reached. It is possible to manage so that the number of durable uses can be reached at the switching time, and for clothing of a type that is switched to a new one by a certain number at a certain period, it can be managed such that a certain number of durable uses come at a certain period. An object of the present invention is to provide a rental clothing management system.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, a rental clothing management system according to the first aspect of the present invention relates to a clothing which repeats a use cycle of collecting, cleaning, and renting again from a lender. Attached, an identification medium in which the identification information of the garment is recorded, and provided in an execution unit of a predetermined process of the use cycle of the garment, identification information obtaining means for obtaining identification information from the identification medium, Each time the identification information acquiring means acquires the identification information,
It is provided with a number-of-uses measuring means for measuring the number of uses of the garment, and a managing means for performing loan management according to the number of uses detected by the number-of-uses measuring means.

According to this configuration, the number of times the garment has been used can be detected, so that the life can be predicted based on the number of times the garment is used. Then, by performing the lending management according to the number of times of use, it is possible to manage the time when the life of the clothing expires so as to match the time required for the clothing.

[0008] A rental clothing management system according to a second aspect is characterized in that clothing rental management is performed so as to increase the priority of clothing rental in inverse proportion to the frequency of use. According to this configuration, the less frequently used clothes are lent preferentially, so that all the clothes are managed so that the number of used clothes is the same. For this reason, it is a management suitable for a case where clothes used so far are replaced all at once with new ones.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a rental clothing management system, wherein the durable use number of the clothing is divided into a plurality of frequency bands. The lending priority is managed so that the number of clothes to enter is the same for each frequency band. According to this configuration, the plurality of garments have an average number of times of use from the new state to the one immediately before the durable use number, and a certain number of garments are replaced with new ones at regular intervals. Management can be performed in appropriate cases.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A first embodiment in which the present invention is applied to the linen supply industry will be described below with reference to FIGS. As shown in FIG. 9, an ID tag 2 as an identification medium is attached to a uniform 1 lent to a hospital or hotel by a linen supplier. The ID tag 2 is formed in a small and thin sheet shape, put in a bag, and sewn to the back side of the unobtrusive hem of the uniform 1.

The organization of the linen supplier includes a sales department, a pickup / delivery department, a factory department, and a warehouse department. The sales department receives delivery of uniforms from hospitals, hotels, and other lenders. The collection and delivery department collects uniforms from the lender and delivers the cleaned uniforms to the lender. The factory department cleans uniforms collected from lenders and repairs frays. Also,
The warehouse department stores new uniforms as spares, stores cleaned uniforms, and supplies uniforms to be delivered to lenders to the collection and delivery department.

FIG. 4 shows an automatic warehouse 3 constituting a warehouse section. The automatic warehouse 3 has first to fourth storages 4 to 7.
Before and after that, there are provided a storage unit 8 for receiving the uniform 1 cleaned in the factory section, and a storage section 9 for supplying the uniform 1 to the collection and delivery section. In automatic warehouse 3,
A transport mechanism 10 for transporting the uniform 1 is provided, and the transport mechanism 10 includes a storage unit 8, first to fourth storages 4 to 4.
7. It is configured to be able to move between the retrieval units 9.

The storage unit 8 has an ID of the uniform 1 that has been stored.
A first reader / writer 11 (identification information acquisition means) for acquiring ID information from the tag 2 is provided. Also,
The retrieval unit 9 is provided with a second reader / writer 12 (identification information acquisition means) for acquiring ID information from the ID tag 2 of the uniform 1 to be retrieved.

Here, the electrical configuration of the ID tag 2 and the first and second reader / writers 11 and 12 will be described. First, FIG.
3 shows an electrical configuration of the ID tag 2. As shown in FIG. 2, the ID tag 2 includes an antenna coil 13 for transmitting and receiving a radio signal, a resonance capacitor 14, and a control IC.
C15 and a smoothing section 16 are provided. Control IC 11
Reference numeral 5 denotes a one-chip semiconductor element constituting a rectifier 18, a modulator / demodulator 19, a memory unit 20 and the like in addition to an MPU (microprocessor unit) 17 as a control means. In this case, the memory unit 20 includes a ROM storing operation programmable, and an erasable non-volatile memory such as an EEPROM for temporary storage.
The memory unit 20 has an identification number, ID,
Men, women, uniforms, sizes,
Various data such as colors are stored. Also, the smoothing section 1
Reference numeral 6 includes a smoothing capacitor, a Zener diode, and the like (not shown).

The antenna coil 13 is connected in parallel with the resonance capacitor 14 to form a resonance circuit, and a predetermined high frequency power radio signal is transmitted from the reader / writers 11 and 12 as external devices. When it comes, it receives this and supplies it to the rectifier 18. The rectifying unit 18 constitutes an operation power supply circuit together with the smoothing unit 16, rectifies the power radio wave signal transmitted from the resonance circuit, and
6, and is supplied to the MPU 17 or the like as DC power (operating power) of a constant voltage.

Signals such as data transmitted from the reader / writers 11 and 12 are transmitted by being superimposed on electric power radio signals. The signals are demodulated by the modulation / demodulation unit 19 and supplied to the MPU 17. Can be MPU17
Operates according to an operation program stored in the ROM of the memory unit 20, executes processing according to a signal input from the modem unit 19, writes received data to an EEPROM or the like of the memory unit 20, Part 20
, And modulates the data by the modulation / demodulation unit 19, and transmits the data as a radio signal from the antenna coil 13.

FIG. 8 shows the electrical configuration of the reader / writers 11, 12. As shown in FIG.
Reference numeral 12 denotes an MPU 21 as a control means and a transmitting antenna 2
2, a receiving unit 25 having a receiving antenna 24, a memory unit 26, an operation unit 27, a display unit 28, and the like.

The MPU 21 of the reader / writer 11, 12
When communicating with the ID tag 2, first, the carrier signal is modulated by the transmission unit 23 and converted into a power radio signal by the transmission antenna 2.
2, and thereafter, the data to be transmitted is modulated by the transmission unit 23 so as to be superimposed on the power radio signal, and transmitted from the transmission antenna 22. The radio signal transmitted from the ID tag 2 is received by the receiving antenna 24,
The signal is demodulated by the receiving unit 25 and discriminated as data. And
The MPU 21 stores the data demodulated by the receiving unit 25 in the memory unit 26.

The first and second reader / writers 11
And 12 are connected to a management device 29 as management means, as shown in FIG. This management device 29
PU30, R storing a program or the like as a memory unit
The computer comprises an OM 31, a RAM 32 for temporarily storing data, and the like. This management device 29
Is provided with an operation unit 33 including a keyboard and a mouse for inputting data and the like, and a display unit 34 including a CRT and a liquid crystal display.

The RAM 32 of the management device 29 performs loan management according to the number of times the uniform 1 is used. A specific example of the loan management will be described below with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. Uniform 1 is divided into men's and women's, type, size,
Although the loan management is divided into a plurality of types according to colors and the like, the loan management is performed for each type of the uniform 1.

First, in the example of the loan management, a management is performed such that a certain number of uniforms 1 are exchanged for new ones at certain time intervals. In each of the uniforms 1, the number of times of use is stored in association with an identification number, and a use frequency table is stored for each type of uniform 1. This usage table,
As shown in FIG. 5, the number of times the uniform 1 is used is divided into a plurality of stages, for example, four stages, from 0 (new) to the maximum number of times the uniform 1 can withstand use (durable use). The number of uniforms 1 to which the user belongs is stored in a data table.

For example, if the number of useable times of the uniform 1 is 10
If it is 0 times, the number of uniforms of 0 to 25 times of use is stored in the first section, the number of uniforms of 26 to 50 times of use is stored in the second section, and the number of uses of 51 to 75 in the third section. The number of uniforms is stored, and the number of uses is 76 to 100 in the fourth category.
The number of school uniforms is stored.

The flowchart shown in FIG. 3 shows the control contents of the management device 29 when counting the number of times the uniform 1 is used. The counting of the number of times of use is performed based on the input of the identification number from the second reader / writer 12 installed in the retrieval unit 9. That is, the uniform 1 is supplied from the delivery unit 9 to the collection and distribution department for distribution to the lender. At this time, the second reader / writer 12 communicates with the ID tag 2 of the uniform 1 supplied to the collection and delivery department, reads the identification number stored in the memory unit 20 of the ID tag 2, and manages the identification number. Transmit to the device 29. Then, the management device 2
The MPU 30 of No. 9 determines “YES” in step S1 of determining whether or not an identification number has been input, and determines R in the next step S2.
By accessing the AM 32, the number of times n of using the uniform 1 with the identification number is read (step S2).

Next, the MPU 30 of the management device 29 performs an operation of adding 1 to the read use number n, and
The use count n stored in 32 is updated to (n + 1) (step S3; use count measuring means). Thereafter, the MPU 30 of the management device 29 changes the number of uniforms for each section of the use frequency table according to the updated number of times of use (step S4; number-of-times division updating means). Uniform 1 in this way
Each time the product is delivered for delivery to the lender, the number of times it is used is incremented by one and stored in the RAM 32, and the usage frequency table is updated (use category updating means). Of course, if the number of times a certain uniform 1 is used is, for example, 26 times and it is in the second section, even if the number of uses is advanced once, this does not involve a change in the section. The number of uniforms cannot be changed.

On the other hand, when the uniform 1 cleaned in the factory section is stored in the automatic warehouse 3, the management device 29
A storage unit corresponding to the number of times the uniform 1 is used is selected and stored from the fourth storages 4 to 7. The control content for selecting this storage and storing the uniform 1 is shown in the flowchart of FIG.

That is, when the cleaned uniform 1 is stored, the first reader / writer 11 installed in the storage unit 8 communicates with the ID tag 2 of the uniform 1 and stores it in the memory unit 20 of the ID tag 2. The stored identification number is read, and the identification number is transmitted to the management device 29. Then
The MPU 30 of the management device 29 determines “YES” in step SA1 of determining whether or not an identification number has been input, and accesses the RAM 32 in the next step SA2 to read the number of times n of use of the uniform 1 with the identification number. Next, the management device 29
The MPU 30 searches the usage frequency table stored in the RAM 32 for a usage frequency category from the usage frequency table to which the uniform with the identification number belongs (frequency classification searching means).

Then, the MPU 30 of the management device 29 determines that the number of times the uniform 1 has been used
It determines which of the categories 3 belongs to, and outputs a transport command to the transport mechanism 10 according to the content of the determination. For example, if it is assumed that the number of times of using the uniform 1 belongs to the category 1, the MPU 30 determines “YES” in step SA4 and outputs a transport command to the transport mechanism 10 to store the uniform 1 in the first storage 4. (Step SA7).

If the number of times the uniform 1 is used belongs to the category 2, the MPU 30 turns to "NO" in step SA4 and shifts to step SA5 for judging whether or not to belong to the category 2, and here, "YES" Then, in step SA8, a transport command is output to the transport mechanism 10 to store the uniform 1 in the second storage 5. Similarly, when the uniform 1 belongs to the category 3, the MPU 30 determines “N” in step SA4.
O "," NO "in step SA5," YES "in step SA6, and a transport command is output to the transport mechanism 10 so that the uniform 1 is stored in the third storage 6 in step SA9. 4 and MP
U30 returns "NO" in step SA4, and step SA5
"NO" in step SA6, "NO" in step SA6, and the uniform 1 is stored in the transport mechanism 10 in the fourth storage 7 in step SA10.
A transfer command is output so as to be stored in the. Then, the transport mechanism 10 stores the uniform 1 in the storage unit designated as described above.
Transport and store.

When there is a delivery request from the collection / delivery section, the management device 29 stores the uniforms 1 in the number requested by the delivery from the first to the fourth.
It is taken out from any of the storages 4 to 7 and is delivered to the collection and delivery department. The control contents of the management device 29 at this time are shown in FIG. That is, when there is a delivery request (“YES” in step SB1), the MPU 30 of the management device 29
In step SB2, it is determined whether or not the stock quantity of the uniform 1 in the first storage 4 is the highest. If it is the highest, "YES" is determined in step SB2, and the process proceeds to step SB3. A command to take out the uniform 1 from the first storage 4 and transport it to the retrieval unit 9 is issued.

If the stock quantity in the first storage 4 is not the highest, the MPU 30 determines “NO” in step SB2 and proceeds to step SB4, where the second storage 5
Is determined to be the highest, and if it is the highest, "YES" is determined and the process proceeds to Step SB5 where the uniform 1 is taken out from the second storage 4 to the transport mechanism 10 and the delivery unit 9 is taken out. Command to transport to. If the stock quantity in the second storage 5 is not the highest, the MPU 30 determines “NO” in step SB4, and proceeds to step SB6 to determine whether the stock quantity in the third storage 6 is the highest.

If the stock quantity in the third storage 6 is the highest, the MPU 30 determines “YES” in step SB6.
Then, the process proceeds to Step SB7, and a command to take out the uniform 1 from the third storage 6 and transport the uniform 1 to the delivery unit 9 is issued to the transport mechanism 10. When the stock quantity in the third storage 6 is not the highest, the MPU 30 determines “N” in step SB6.
"O", the process proceeds to step SB8, where it is determined whether or not the fourth storage 7 has a stock. If there is a stock in the fourth storage 7, the MPU 30 proceeds to step SB8.
Is determined as "YES", the process proceeds to step SB9, and a command to take out the uniform 1 from the fourth storage 7 to the transport mechanism 10 and transport it to the retrieval unit 9 is issued.

Then, the MPU 30 of the management device 29 issues a command for unloading the uniform 1 from any of the first to fourth storages 4 to 7 to the transport mechanism 10, and then stores the inventory of each storage stored in the RAM 32. The number is reduced by one (step SB10).

When the stock numbers of the first to fourth storages 4 to 7 become the same due to such a delivery control, the management device 2
The 9 MPU 30 controls the transport mechanism 10 so that subsequent deliveries are delivered from the fourth storage 7 in ascending order of use. As a result, the uniform 1 (25% of the total) stored in the fourth storage 7 reaches the end of life almost at the same time.

Since the number of rents of the uniform 1 per month is almost constant unless there is a large change in the borrower, by performing the above-mentioned loan management, a substantially constant number of rents can be obtained at substantially constant intervals. Uniform 1 reaches the end of its useful life. Then, the same number of uniforms 1 are newly purchased and put into the lending cycle when the service life limit is reached. Therefore, by investing a substantially fixed amount at regular intervals, a large amount of investment is not made at one time. I can do it.

If there is no stock in the fourth storage 7, the MPU 30 determines "NO" in step SB8 and shifts to step SB11 to execute the stock shortage processing, that is, to replace the new uniform 1 with another new one. At the same time as the storage is taken out of the storage, the fact is displayed on the display 34. In other words, when there is no stock in the fourth storage 7, this means that all of the uniforms 1 to be stored in the fourth storage 7 have reached the end of their service life and have been discarded because they have reached the end of their life. Is to be input.

FIG. 10 shows a second embodiment of the present invention. The difference from the first embodiment is that the uniform 1 is replaced with a new one at a time in order to renew the design. In order to cope with the case, it is intended to manage all the uniforms 1 of a certain kind so that their lifespan will come at the same time.

When there is a delivery request from the collection and delivery section ("YES" in step SC1), the management device 29 first determines whether the uniform 1 requested to be delivered is stored in the first storage 4. (Step SC2). When the uniform 1 is stored in the first storage 4, the management device 2
In step SC2, "YES" is determined in step SC2 and step S2 is performed.
The process proceeds to C3, and a command is issued to the transport mechanism 10 to take out the uniform 1 from the first storage 4 and transport the uniform 1 to the retrieval unit 9.

If the uniform 1 is not stored in the first storage 4, the management device 29 determines "N" in step SC2.
O ”, the process proceeds to Step SC4, and the uniform 1
It is determined whether or not it is stored in the storage 5. If the uniform 1 is stored in the second storage 5,
The management device 29 determines “YES” in step SC4,
The process proceeds to step SC5, and a command is issued to the transport mechanism 10 to take out the uniform 1 from the second storage 5 and transport it to the retrieval unit 9.

When the uniform 1 is not stored in the second storage 5, the management device 29 determines "N" in step SC4.
O ”, the process proceeds to Step SC6, and the uniform 1
It is determined whether or not it is stored in the storage 6. When the uniform 1 is stored in the third storage 6,
The management device 29 determines “YES” in step SC6,
The process proceeds to Step SC7, and a command is issued to the transport mechanism 10 to take out the uniform 1 from the third storage 6 and transport it to the retrieval unit 9.

If the uniform 1 is not stored in the third storage 6, the management device 29 determines "N" in step SC6.
O ”, the process proceeds to Step SC8, and the uniform 1
It is determined whether or not it is stored in the storage 7. When the uniform 1 is stored in the fourth storage 7,
The management device 29 determines “YES” in step SC8 and moves to step SC9, and issues a command to the transport mechanism 10 to take out the uniform 1 from the fourth storage 7 and transport it to the retrieval unit 9.

Then, the MPU 30 of the management device 29 issues a command to unload the uniform 1 from any of the first to fourth storages 4 to 7 to the transport mechanism 10, and then stores the inventory of each storage stored in the RAM 32. Decrease the number by one.

If the uniform 1 is not stored in the fourth storage 7, the management device 29 determines "NO" in step SC8 and shifts to step SC10 to execute a process of running out of stock, for example, a new uniform. 1 is taken out of the storage for another new article, and a display to that effect is displayed on the display 34.

When the above-described loan management is performed, all the uniforms 1 are collected in the fourth storage 7. After this,
By managing the uniform 1 in the fourth storage 7 so as to preferentially lend the uniform 1 which has been used less frequently, it is possible to manage the uniform 1 such that the total number of uniforms 1 has a life almost at the same time.
Therefore, when the design update is expected, the number of uniforms 1 to be input is determined in consideration of the number of loans per month, etc., so that the life of all the uniforms 1 can be almost simultaneously expired at the design update time. Management and efficient loan management.

The present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above and shown in the drawings, but can be extended or modified as follows. The number-of-uses storage means for storing the number of uses of the uniform 1 is not limited to the RAM 32 of the management device 29,
The memory unit 20 of the ID tag 2 may be used. The installation department of the reader / writer 12 that communicates with the ID tag 2 in order to measure the number of times the uniform 1 is used is not limited to the warehouse department, but the uniform 1 circulating through the use cycle for lending, such as the factory department or the collection and delivery department, passes. Any department is acceptable. The identification medium for recording the identification information of the uniform 1 may be a barcode.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment of the present invention, and is a flowchart showing control contents for selecting a rental uniform when leaving a warehouse section.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing control contents for controlling uniform entrance when entering a warehouse section.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing control contents for counting the number of times a uniform is used.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a configuration of a warehouse;

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing storage contents of a management device.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of the management device.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of the ID tag.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of a reader / writer;

FIG. 9 is a front view of a uniform.

FIG. 10 is a view corresponding to FIG. 1, showing a second embodiment of the present invention;

[Explanation of symbols]

In the figure, 1 is a uniform, 2 is an ID tag (identification medium), 3 is an automatic warehouse, 10 is a transport mechanism, 12 is a reader / writer (identification information acquisition means), and 27 is a management device (use frequency measurement means, management means) It is.

Claims (3)

[Claims] An identification medium attached to clothing that repeats a use cycle of collecting, cleaning, and renting again from a lender, an identification medium on which identification information of the clothing is recorded, and a predetermined one of the use cycles of the clothing. Provided in the execution unit of the process, identification information acquisition means for acquiring identification information from the identification medium, each time the identification information acquisition means acquires the identification information, use number measurement means for measuring the number of uses of the clothing, A rental clothing management system, comprising: management means for performing loan management in accordance with the number of uses detected by the use number measurement means. 2. The rental clothing management system according to claim 1, wherein said management means is configured to increase the priority of clothing lending in inverse proportion to the number of times of use. 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the managing unit classifies the durable use number of the garment into a plurality of frequency bands, and when the plurality of garments are divided into the plurality of frequency bands according to the number of times of use, the number of garments included in the plurality of frequency bands. 2. The rental clothing management system according to claim 1, wherein the rental priority management system is configured to manage the lending priority so that the number of lending times is equal for each frequency band.