JP2002037420A - Tracking control system for cargo transport - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a tracking control system for cargo transport securing both of preventing the transport time from increasing and improving the precision of temperature quality guarantee in the cargo transport industry. SOLUTION: Figure 1 is a label to be stuck to the cargo for warning the necessity of freezing. Barcodes 21, 22, and 23 in the label include the temperatures 4 displayed in parallel in the right end in the figure as data respectively. Figures 31, 32, and 33 are printed by temperature indicating paints having color change sensitivity to the temperatures displayed thereon in parallel. The figures change from a deep color to alight color, when reaching to the temperature or more displayed in parallel. Based on the color change, a worker can recognize the barcodes having the temperature of the cargo as the information and read by a barcode reader. This action can add the temperature information of each cargo to the conventional tracking control system or a tracking control method collecting the cargo information in each process of the transport such as transshipment by barcode, as a control item.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a technique for tracking and managing the entire transportation process from the collection of goods to the delivery to customers through intermediate transshipment in the transportation business for transporting packages requiring maintenance at a predetermined temperature.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In the transportation industry in recent years, direct delivery to personal homes, that is, so-called home delivery business, has been extremely prosperous, in addition to the form of delivering the same kind of articles such as shops and factories in a unit amount. In this home delivery business, the personal home which is the final delivery destination is a delivery destination only in principle at that time, and requires a high degree of know-how in selecting a transportation route and an intermediate collection / delivery base. These choices have been covered by the know-how of home delivery drivers and site managers, but due to the recent development of electronic devices, information recording devices using barcodes and mobile communication systems have been organically combined with computers for transportation. At the core of the company, a system that centrally manages all processes of package transportation (hereinafter referred to as a tracking management system) has been introduced into the transportation business.

The flow of the tracking management system will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of the entire tracking management system. In each process of shipping, reloading and arriving at the customer site, after finishing work such as reloading of the luggage 100, the basic information such as the name of the sender and the consignee is written to the individual luggage 100 with the barcode reader 201. Invoice 1 stuck
01 from the bar code 102 of the terminal device 200
Record. Thereafter, the call is transmitted to the central management device 401 in the head office 400 by the wireless communication means 300. The wireless communication means 300 includes a transmission / reception function in the terminal device 200, a terminal antenna 301, a transmission / reception function in the central management device 401, and a central management device antenna 302.
The central management device 401 grasps the transportation status of each package in a time series from the received package information, and determines whether an accident such as a wrong delivery or a late delivery has occurred. When it is determined that a process change or the like is necessary, the change is transmitted to the site worker via transmission to the terminal device 200.

[0004]

The transportation business of refrigerated cargo and frozen cargo requires transport equipment having a maintenance function at a predetermined temperature, and it is difficult for individuals to implement the transportation equipment. In particular, since fresh foods, blood, medicines, and other products are later taken into the human body, it is necessary to maintain strict temperature quality management throughout the entire transportation process from collection to intermediate transshipment and delivery to customers. However, at present, a management method in which a thermometer is provided in the transport room of the refrigerator car and the freezer car and only the thermometer is checked at the time of reloading is customary. This is presumed to be due to reasons such as prevention of long working hours and reduction of the amount of work in cold places. However, according to this method, it is possible to judge whether the freezing function of the freezing room is normal or abnormal, but it does not mean that the temperature of each package is strictly measured. For example, if the temperature rises once stacked outside during transshipment, or if there is a difference in the degree of freezing between the luggage due to the arrangement of the luggage in the refrigerator compartment,
As long as the normal condition of the freezing condition is judged based on the freezing room temperature, it does not surface. Even if a quality anomaly presumed to be caused by a rise in temperature due to such a situation, the whereabouts of responsibility will be unknown, and both customers and transporters will be confused.
In the tracking management system using the barcode and the central management device, the temperature information of each package is not a management item. This is because the current barcode reader does not have a temperature measurement function.

[0005] In addition, the current invoice only describes basic transportation information such as the name, address and telephone number of the consignor or consignee, and refrigerated or frozen products require freezing or refrigeration. Is merely added to warn the transshipment operator or the like (the label that warns of the need for freezing in FIG. 1 corresponds). For the consignee, this is information for recognizing that only the condition of cooling at the time of receiving the package and the label thereof have been refrigerated or frozen and transported. Did this qualitative quality presentation properly control temperature? This is one of the causes of customer doubts.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to perform a simple operation of confirming the temperature of each package and to store the confirmed temperature information in a management item for tracking management. Accordingly, it is possible to achieve both the prevention of an increase in transportation time in the cargo transportation business and the improvement of the accuracy of temperature quality assurance.

[0007]

The gist of the present invention to achieve the above object lies in the following inventions.

[1] The entire process from the collection of goods to be transported which requires maintenance and management at a predetermined temperature to the delivery to a customer through intermediate transshipment is tracked and affixed to the package at a point or time when delivery confirmation is required. In a luggage transportation tracking management system in which predetermined information of a bar code constituting all or a part of the attached label is read by a bar code reader and recorded and held in a terminal device, the label is a current temperature of the package. And a temperature presenting means for presenting an expression corresponding to the determined temperature, wherein the predetermined information of the bar code includes the determined temperature.

[2] The tracking management system according to [1], wherein the terminal device transmits the predetermined information to a central management device by communication means, and the central management device centrally manages the transmitted information.

[3] The temperature presenting means is a temperature indicating ink drawn in a predetermined figure on the label, and the temperature indicating ink is data used when it is determined that a change or addition of the management process of the package is necessary. It has a characteristic of discoloring, coloring or erasing when the temperature is reached, the figure is configured in the label by a number corresponding to the control temperature number, and the barcode is corresponding to the control temperature. [1] or [2] wherein a code and a barcode corresponding to the control temperature are arranged in parallel in the label. ], A tracking management system for package transportation.

[4] The temperature presenting means comprises a temperature indicating ink drawn in a predetermined figure on the label, and the temperature indicating ink displays a part of the figure when the temperature reaches an arbitrary temperature within a predetermined temperature range. The temperature region having a characteristic of decoloring, the temperature region in which the figure is decolored is a temperature region including a plurality of management temperatures serving as data when it is determined that a change or addition of the package management process is necessary, and A plurality of codes are configured in the label for each of the plurality of management temperatures, the plurality of barcodes each have the corresponding management temperature as information, and the label includes the plurality of barcodes listed in advance. The graphic is overlaid on the plurality of barcodes so as to be concealed by the graphic, and when a part of the graphic reaches a predetermined management temperature, the color is erased and at the same time, the plurality of barcodes are erased. Tracking system luggage transportation according to [1] or [2] corresponds to the predetermined control temperature is characterized by having a structure that manifested from the de.

[5] The temperature information recorded and held at the point or time when the delivery confirmation is required is created as a quality control certificate for the addressee of the package, [1] to [4]. Tracking management system for package transportation.

[6] The cargo transportation according to [5], wherein the submission of the quality control certificate is performed by transferring the temperature information in a predetermined format by a transfer device coupled to the terminal device. Tracking management system.

[0014]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a label for warning that freezing is required according to the first embodiment of the present invention. Equipped with double-sided tape on the back, attached to the package of the package and transported together with the package. The temperature of the luggage and the temperature of the label can be considered to be the same because of the integrated structure using the double-sided tape. The label consists of a precautionary note 1 that warns that refrigeration is required, an information sentence 11 such as a company name, a barcode 21, a barcode 22, and a barcode 23 having temperature information, and a white color that prevents misidentification of the barcode. , A figure 31, a figure 32, and a figure 33 printed with the temperature indicating ink (hereinafter, these figures are referred to as a temperature indicating figure 31, a temperature indicating figure 32, and a temperature indicating figure 33, respectively), each barcode and the temperature indicating temperature. Temperature display 4 corresponding to each figure
1, a temperature display 42 and a temperature display 43. The entire tracking management system is the same as the existing system of FIG. 6. The barcode reader 201 reads the temperature information from the label according to the present invention in addition to the operation of reading the basic information of the package from the barcode 102 of the invoice 101. be able to. The correspondence between each barcode and the temperature display will be described.
Each bar code described in parallel with each temperature display has its temperature as information. It is easy to judge that each bar code and each temperature display correspond to each column from the parallel description. In the label of FIG. 1, the barcode 21, barcode 22, and barcode 23 have temperature information indicating that the temperature of the package is -10C, -15C, and -20C, respectively. The correspondence between each temperature display figure and each temperature display will be described. The temperature indicating ink according to the present embodiment changes its color across a predetermined temperature boundary. The arrangement of each thermogram was arranged so as to show a low temperature to a high temperature as viewed from bottom to top like a normal thermometer. Temperature display 31 is -20 ° C
When it becomes above, it has discoloration sensitivity that changes from light color to dark color,
The temperature diagram 32 has a color change sensitivity that changes from a light color to a dark color at −15 ° C. or more, and the temperature diagram 33 has a color change sensitivity that changes from a light color to a dark color at −10 ° C. or more. As a result, the temperature-indicating figures of the present embodiment also increase in dark-colored figures from bottom to top so that the mercury column of the thermometer extends from bottom to top and indicates the temperature at the top, and the boundary between the dark and light-colored figures is the current temperature. Can be displayed as FIG. 1 shows that the label, ie the package, is at -15.degree. A method of determining and recording the temperature of the worker will be described. At the time of checking the temperature, the operator recognizes the temperature of the package 100 from the discolored state of the temperature indicating graphic. In FIG. 1, it is recognized that the load is at −15 ° C. since the color is dark up to −15 ° C. Based on this recognition, the operator selects the corresponding barcode 22, reads the barcode with the barcode reader 201, and stores the luggage 1 in the terminal device 200.
00 temperature information is recorded and stored. Barcode reader 2
The information transmission route from the reading process by the process No. 01 to the centralized management to the central management device 401 is the same as that of the conventional example shown in FIG.

This embodiment is based on the premise that the label having the temperature information and the invoice having the above-mentioned basic information of the package are separate. This is in consideration of facilitating the transition from the current tracking management system to the present embodiment by using the existing invoice as it is and adding the temperature information to the management items. However, in this embodiment, it is necessary to separately perform the basic information unique to the package and the temperature information for the reading operation by the barcode reader 201, and there is room for further shortening the time. That is, a derivative mode in which the label and the invoice according to the present embodiment are integrated and basic information is added to all of a plurality of barcodes having temperature information can be considered. With this derivative mode, the basic information and the temperature information can be recorded and held by a single reading operation, which can be said to be more convenient for those who operate a transportation business specialized in refrigerated transportation and the like.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
The configuration of the embodiment will be described. FIG. 2 shows a label for warning that freezing is required according to the second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 shows a state of the label manufacturing process according to the second embodiment. Precautionary statement 1 that has a double-sided tape on the back and is affixed to the package of the package and transported together with the package, and warns that labeling requires refrigeration or freezing.
Having the information sentence 11 such as the company name is the same as the label according to the first embodiment. The second embodiment is designed to make it easier for the operator to determine the temperature than the first embodiment. The arrangement of bar codes and reading figures will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3A shows a state of printing a label at the time of intermediate production, and FIG. 3B shows a state at the time of completion.
As a manufacturing procedure, printing of each bar code and each temperature display is performed in the first manufacturing process to obtain the state shown in FIG. 3A, and in the second manufacturing process, the graphic printed with the temperature indicating ink from above the bar code. 34 (hereinafter referred to as a reading figure 34),
The state shown in FIG. 3B where the barcode is hidden is set. In the first manufacturing process, the barcode includes a barcode 24, a barcode 25, and a barcode 26 having the temperature information of the temperature display 4, and a white background portion 2 for preventing the barcode from being erroneously recognized.
7, and a temperature display 44, a temperature display 45, and a temperature display 46 corresponding to each barcode are printed. The correspondence between each barcode and each temperature display is specified by printing the barcode and the temperature display which is the temperature included in the barcode as information in parallel, similarly to the label of the first embodiment. In the second manufacturing process, the temperature indicating graphic 34 for concealing all the barcodes employs a different temperature at which the color is erased depending on the location of the graphic. That is, the upper region of the temperature display 34 is -10 ° C,
The color disappears when the central region reaches -15 ° C and the lower region reaches -20 ° C.

The operation of the second embodiment will be described. At the time of completion, it is at room temperature, so all the barcodes are hidden and invisible as shown in FIG. 3 (b).
When brought into a -15 ° C. environment, as shown in FIG. 2, the central area of the temperature graphic 34 is erased, and only the barcode 24 of the concealed barcode is exposed. The erasing method is not limited to the method in which the color density changes continuously and disappears as shown in FIG. Another decoloring method will be described with reference to FIG. FIG.
FIG. 4A shows a completed state of the label at normal temperature, and FIG.
(B) represents a state where the temperature reached -15 ° C. Each bar code is concealed by a plurality of thermographic figures each having a decoloring sensitivity at each display temperature, and when each thermographic figure reaches the corresponding temperature, only the thermographic figure disappears. According to the above configuration, the operator performs the operation by looking at only one barcode, so that there is no possibility of misidentification of the barcode. Barcode reader 2
The information transmission route from the reading process by the process No. 01 to the centralized management to the central management device 401 is the same as that of the conventional example shown in FIG.

A third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 5 is a diagram schematically illustrating a package 100 and a terminal device 200 according to the third embodiment.
The package 100 has an invoice 103 and a label 104 for warning that freezing is required according to the present embodiment. The terminal device 200 includes a printer 202 that transfers and outputs temperature data in addition to the existing terminal device 200 of FIG. The temperature data and the temperature reading date and time recorded or held in the terminal device 200 or the temperature data and the temperature reading date and time transmitted from the central management device 401 are converted into a graph 5 and printed by the printer 202 below the label 104. The configuration of the graph 5 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of a label that warns of the need for freezing according to the third embodiment. The configuration except for the graph 5 is the same as the label (see FIG. 1) of the first embodiment. In the graph 5, the vertical axis represents the temperature of the package, and the horizontal axis represents the time of temperature confirmation and the process at the time of confirmation. In Fig. 5, after two transshipment processes from shipping,
The progress of the arrival at the consignee's home is shown, proving that the temperature of the package was kept at −15 ° C. in all four steps. The graph 5 is printed as a quality control certificate by the printer 202 at the time of arrival, and given to the consignee, quantitative temperature quality can be presented. The proof that the temperature management has been properly performed can be manually written on the label every time the operator checks the temperature without using the printer 202. However, when processing a large amount of luggage, it is desirable to perform the same simple operation in order to ensure the processing operation. In addition, when work is performed via a machine, the history of failures, omissions, and the like remains in the machine at the time of occurrence of an accident, so that it is easier to specify the cause than relying on human memory. From such a point, it can be said that printing of the temperature information by the printer 202 is far superior to handwritten proof because the trust of the customer is easily obtained and the tracking management in the operation of the carrier can be improved. In the present embodiment, the proof form is represented by a graph in consideration of a good visual understanding of the relationship between time and temperature. However, the table format may be easier to print due to the functions of the terminal device 200 and the printer 202, and it is considered that the format may be any format that can transmit the relationship between the temperature and the time.

[0019]

According to the present invention, as described above in detail with reference to the embodiments, the tracking management system for the transportation of the package combines the temperature detection technology using the temperature indicating ink and the information transmission technology using the bar code, and performs the individual transportation of the package. Temperature information can be centrally managed in a time series by a central management device.
As a result, the temperature quality of each piece of luggage, which has been impossible in the past, can be tracked and managed, and an unexpected situation related to a rise in the temperature of the luggage can be promptly dealt with. Since the tracking management of the temperature quality is automatically performed except for the reading operation by the bar code reader, it is possible to suppress an increase in the work amount and, in turn, an increase in the transportation time. In addition, even when a temperature accident occurs, it has quantitative temperature information, so that the cause can be easily specified, and in this respect, the reliability of quality assurance is improved. Further, by printing information proving that the temperature control has been performed quantitatively on the package, the reliability of the customer and the workability of the field worker can be improved.

Further, the label with a bar code having a temperature discriminating function of the present invention can be applied to a supermarket, a convenience store, and other retailers dealing with fresh foods. This is because these sales businesses have a common problem with the transportation business in that they need to store goods at an appropriate temperature for a certain period of time.
It is also possible to manage the temperature of each item and add temperature information as a management item to a point-of-sale information management system (so-called POS).

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a label for warning that freezing is required according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic view of a label for warning that freezing is required according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a state of a label manufacturing process according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining another method of decoloring a temperature graphic in a label according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 shows a luggage 100 according to a third embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an outline of a terminal device 200.

FIG. 6 is a schematic view of a label for warning that freezing is required according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is an overall view of a conventional example of a tracking management system for transporting cargo.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 A cautionary warning that refrigeration is required 2 A white background 5 A graph 11 Informational information such as company name 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26 A bar code 27 A white background 31, 32 , 33, 34, 35, 36 ... temperature indicating figures 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46 ... temperature display 100 ... baggage 101 ... invoice 102 ... barcode 103, 104 ... label for warning of need for freezing 200 ... terminal device 201 ... Bar code reader 202 ... Printer 300 ... Communication means by wireless telephone 301 ... Terminal antenna 302 Antenna for central management device 400 ... Head office 401 ... Central management device

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) G06K 19/00 G06K 19/00 Q F term (Reference) 2F056 VA05 3F022 AA15 BB02 LL05 MM03 MM08 MM11 MM42 MM51 MM70 PP04 QQ13 5B035 AA00 BB01 BC00 5B049 BB33 CC02 CC21 CC27 DD00 DD02 EE23 FF02 FF03 FF04 GG03 GG04 GG07

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A process for tracking and managing the entire process from the collection of goods to be transported which requires maintenance at a predetermined temperature to the delivery to a customer through intermediate transshipment, and affixing the package to the package at a point or time when delivery confirmation is required. In a luggage transportation tracking management system in which predetermined information of a barcode constituting all or a part of the label is read by a barcode reader and recorded and stored in a terminal device, the label indicates a current temperature of the package. A tracking management system for baggage transportation, comprising a temperature presenting means for determining and displaying an expression corresponding to the determined temperature, wherein the predetermined information of the bar code includes the determined temperature. 2. The tracking management system according to claim 1, wherein the terminal device transmits the predetermined information to a central management device by communication means, and the central management device centrally manages the transmitted information. 3. The temperature presenting means is a temperature indicating ink drawn in a predetermined figure on the label, and the temperature indicating ink is a management temperature serving as data when it is determined that a change or addition of the management step of the package is necessary. Having the property of discoloring, developing or erasing color when the label reaches, the figure is configured in the label by a number corresponding to the control temperature number, and the barcode corresponds to the control temperature. The code | cord | chord comprised in a label and showing each corresponding control temperature, The figure and barcode corresponding to the said control temperature are arranged in parallel in the said label, The Claims 1 or 2 characterized by the above-mentioned. Luggage transportation tracking management system. 4. The temperature presenting means comprises a temperature indicating ink drawn on a predetermined figure on the label, and the temperature indicating ink erases a part of the figure when the temperature reaches an arbitrary temperature within a predetermined temperature range. The temperature region having a characteristic of coloring, wherein the temperature region where the figure is erased is a temperature region including a plurality of management temperatures serving as data when it is determined that a change or addition of the package management process is necessary, and Are arranged in the label for each of the plurality of management temperatures, the plurality of barcodes each have the corresponding management temperature therein as information, and the label is the plurality of barcodes listed in advance. The graphic is overlaid on the plurality of barcodes so as to be concealed by a graphic, and when a part of the graphic reaches a predetermined control temperature, the graphic is erased and at the same time, the plurality of barcodes are erased. Tracking system luggage transportation we are according to claim 1 or 2 which corresponds to the predetermined control temperature is characterized by having a structure that manifested among. 5. The package transportation method according to claim 1, wherein the temperature information recorded at the point or time when the delivery confirmation is required is created as a quality control certificate for the recipient of the package. Tracking management system. 6. The baggage transportation according to claim 5, wherein the submission of the quality control certificate is performed by transferring the temperature information in a predetermined format by a transfer device coupled to the terminal device. Tracking management system.