JP2007166554A - Reading device, reading system, and reading method - Google Patents

Abstract

Reading information for strictly managing a moving path and a moving timing of an object to be measured can be collected to the minimum necessary.
A reading device for grasping the position of an object to be measured to which a plurality of different grouped identifiers are attached, the information reading unit for reading identification information from the identifier, and the information reading unit Group attribute determination means for determining which group the identifier belongs to from the identification information, and the first and last read time information and affiliation of the corresponding group within an arbitrary time in the group determined by the group attribute determination means A passage information generating means for generating passage information relating to the object to be measured from group information, simplifying the configuration necessary for a reading system that strictly manages the movement path and movement timing of the object to be measured, and reducing the amount of information To be able to reduce.
[Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a reading device, a reading system, and a reading method, and more particularly to a technique for grasping and specifying the position of a moving object or a person. For example, in product assembly in a factory, a person moves a work in progress according to work progress. The present invention relates to a reading apparatus, a system, and a reading method for grasping the position of a carriage on which work-in-process items used in a cell production method for assembling while being delivered at high speed and surely and with a minimum amount of data at the time of acquisition.

  Conventionally, when specifying the position of a moving object or a person, an RF-ID tag is attached to a mobile object to be detected, and a plurality of fixed reading devices (wireless) whose positions are known relative or absolutely A method of reading ID information by a reader device) has been proposed.

  In the case of a system that employs such a technique, a tag having a unique ID is attached to a moving body, and a plurality of wireless reader devices are arranged along the traveling direction of the moving body. Electric power is supplied from the wireless reader device to the tag by an electromagnetic induction method, and ID information of the tag is transmitted. Recently, in addition to the method using the UHF wave band, a reading system using microwaves has been put into practical use.

  The tag converts the power supply signal received by the antenna into DC power and supplies it to each unit. In these reading systems, since the spatial range in which ID information can be read by one wireless reader device is limited, the position of the moving body can be specified depending on which reader device has read the ID information.

  In order to increase the accuracy of position specification, the range in which the moving body can be read is further narrowed, and a large number of wireless reader devices may be arranged without gaps. Furthermore, when the traveling direction of the moving body cannot be specified, a method of installing the wireless reader device in a two-dimensional space is also described (see, for example, Patent Document 1, Patent Document 2, and Patent Document 3). .

  In order to improve the accuracy of position identification, a configuration in which a large number of ID tags having a relatively small installation area are installed on the floor or the ground instead of the wireless reader device and the wireless reader device is attached to the moving body is proposed (for example, , See Patent Document 4). In the case of these methods, both methods are the same for the purpose of grasping and specifying the position of the moving body.

  When a plurality of ID tags are attached to a mobile body, or when a plurality of ID tags laid are read by a wireless reader device attached to the mobile body, a plurality of ID tags are It will respond at the same time.

  In general, reading of an RF-ID tag is based on the premise that a wireless reader and an ID tag communicate one-on-one, and therefore, an anti-collision technique is employed so that a plurality of ID tags do not respond simultaneously. A technique called anti-collision is used in order to prevent a plurality of ID tags from responding at the same time by determining the time and order of response from the ID information by utilizing the fact that unique ID information is assigned to the ID tag. Has been given.

  In order to improve the accuracy of position identification and increase the probability of detection, the antenna device directivity of the reader device, which is a detector, is increased, a plurality of ID tags are attached to the moving object, and the frequency of reading requests is then increased. It is effective to increase. As a result, it is possible to construct a system with few read-outs.

JP 2004-286668 A (FIG. 1, paragraph [0036]) Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2004-31289 (FIG. 1, paragraph [0025]) Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2002-058648 (FIG. 1, paragraph [0008]) JP 2001-183455 A (FIG. 1, paragraph [0013])

However, the above-described conventional technique has the following problems.
That is, inconvenience may occur if frequent read requests are executed in consideration of the assumption that the moving speed is increased and the recovery when the reading fails by chance. For example, when the moving body is not so fast or when it is stagnant on the detector, the ID tag identification information is read more than necessary. In particular, operations and speeds vary depending on the work and movement of a person, such as a cell production system in a factory assumed in the present invention.

  Therefore, as a result of being configured so as to be able to cope with cases where reading is most dangerous as a reading system, a large amount of data processing is required in a normal state. In addition, data is frequently transmitted and received between the reader device and a server that stores and utilizes identification information read by a plurality of reader devices. For this reason, there is a problem that not only the amount of traffic on the network increases, but also the processing load on the server side increases.

  In order to solve these problems, when multiple identifiers are attached to the moving object, they are grouped, and if any identifier in the same group is detected, the identification information read is subsequently filtered. There was also a case where a method of processing and not raising it to the higher rank was taken.

  In this case, it can be used to determine whether or not a specific position has been passed, but when applied to the work time management of each process in the cell production system, as considered in the present invention, it is stagnant on the detector. It is also necessary to consider the time that is being used. That is, in order to strictly manage the work time of each process, it is very important at which timing the detector has entered and at which timing it has moved away from the detector. For this reason, there is a problem that the filtering method cannot satisfy these requirements.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a problem, and makes it possible to simplify the configuration necessary for a reading system that reads grouped identifiers and strictly manages the movement path and movement timing of the object to be measured. Another object of the present invention is to greatly reduce the information necessary for managing and utilizing the passing information of the object to be measured.

  The reading device of the present invention is a reading device for grasping the position of an object to be measured to which a plurality of different grouped identifiers are attached, the information reading unit for reading identification information from the identifier, and the information reading unit Group attribute determining means for determining which group the identifier belongs to from the identification information read by the step, and in the group determined by the group attribute determining means, the first and last read times of the corresponding group within an arbitrary time And passage information generating means for generating passage information related to the object to be measured from the information and the belonging group information.

  A reading system according to the present invention includes the reading device described above and a server terminal device that manages and utilizes passage information transmitted from the reading device.

  The reading method of the present invention is a reading method in a reading apparatus for grasping the position of an object to be measured to which a plurality of grouped different identifiers are attached, an information reading step of reading identification information from the identifier, A group attribute determining step for determining which group the identifier belongs to from the identification information read in the information reading step; and a group determined in the group attribute determining step, and the first and last of the corresponding group within an arbitrary time And a passage information generation step of generating passage information based on the reading time information and the belonging group information.

  The program of the present invention is a program for causing a computer to execute a reading method in a reading device for grasping the position of an object to be measured to which a plurality of grouped different identifiers are attached, and information for reading identification information from the identifiers Corresponding within an arbitrary time in a reading step, a group attribute determining step for determining which group an identifier belongs to from the identification information read in the information reading step, and a group determined in the group attribute determining step It is characterized by causing a computer to execute a passage information generation step of generating passage information based on first and last reading time information of a group and belonging group information.

According to the present invention, when reading the grouped identifiers attached to the mobile body, the identification information read first in the same group and its time, and the identification information read last and the time passed from that time. The amount of data required to determine when the detector was entered and when it was released from the detector because the information obtained by generating the information and reading the other identifiers was discarded. Can be greatly reduced.
Also, by having these functions in the reading device, it is possible to reduce the amount of network traffic when data is transferred to a server that utilizes data.
In addition, since each reading device performs the determination of passage itself, the load of traffic is reduced as compared with the case of determining passage by cooperation between a plurality of position detection devices, and it is necessary to have functions necessary for cooperation. Also disappear.
Furthermore, it is not necessary for the server side to determine the passage of individual positions and to extract and extract the entry / exit times from each process from a large amount of data. In addition, since these functions do not affect the reading itself, it can be realized by using a general-purpose RF-ID tag compliant with international standards such as ISO15693 and ISO18000 and incorporating the corresponding function in the wireless reader device. Is possible.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
(First embodiment)
A first embodiment for realizing the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of a functional configuration of a reader device according to the first embodiment for explaining features of the present invention.
In FIG. 1, reference numeral 101 denotes a wireless reader device that reads ID information of an identifier attached to a moving body. In the present embodiment, the wireless reader device 101 is configured by functional blocks 103 to 110 described below.

  Reference numeral 102 denotes an ID tag that is read by the wireless reader device 101. A unique identifier is stored in the ID tag 102, and identification information is returned in response to a request sent from the wireless reader device 101.

  Reference numeral 103 denotes a control unit that controls the overall operation of the wireless reader device 101. A reading unit 104 performs wireless communication with the ID tag 102. Here, a reading method based on an electromagnetic induction method is assumed. Although not shown, an antenna as a detector is connected.

  In the present embodiment, the wireless reader device 101 performs reading control according to a predetermined protocol, and at the same time as grasping the obtained identifier, grasps the time when the ID is obtained by another means such as a timer or a clock, and combines them. Treat as identification information. In order to realize a high detection probability, it is assumed here that reading requests are frequently made.

  Reference numeral 105 denotes an ID reference unit that collates with which moving body the obtained ID information is an identifier. The ID reference unit 105 determines the group to which the ID belongs, that is, the identifier attached to which mobile body, from the identification information grouped for each mobile body, as compared with information in a reference table to be described later.

  A reference table 106 is used for comparison in the ID reference unit 105. Here, ID information that is expected to be read in advance is classified and grouped by moving body, and is stored as a table. Since the table itself does not need to be fixed, it can be added or updated as necessary.

  Reference numeral 107 denotes a passage information generation unit that generates passage information of the moving object from the ID information read continuously and the acquisition time. The passing information here is generated from the identification information read first and its time in the same group, and the identification information read last and its time. A specific generation processing procedure will be described later.

  Reference numeral 108 denotes a timer for determining whether the reading is the last. In the present embodiment, when the identification information of the same group cannot be read even after a predetermined time has elapsed, the latest reading time read before that time is regarded as the passage time.

  A buffer 109 stores information for generating passage information. Since it is not possible to determine whether the reading is the last in the middle of passing, candidate ID information is also stored. Reference numeral 110 denotes a network I / F that manages passage information and transmits it to a server that is used via the network 120. Here, a wired LAN control function is assumed.

  The passing information includes a time when reading is first performed in the same group, a group to which the reading belongs, that is, identification information of a moving body, and a time when reading is performed last. The information transmission to the server may be a form in which future information is collected or a form in which each information is divided. When the system is required to have real-time properties, it is good to separate the identification information of the moving object from the time when the reading was last performed. This takes into account the possibility that the moving body will stay on the detector for a long time.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a relationship among an antenna, a detection target, and a process.
FIG. 2A shows the relationship between the antenna installed in the factory and each process. 201a and 201b are antennas for reading the ID tag 102, and are laid at the boundary of each process.

  The antenna 201a is laid at the boundary between the (N-1) th process and the Nth process, and the antenna 201b is laid at the boundary between the Nth and N + 1th processes. When the ID tag 102 is detected by the antenna 201a, it means that the cart which is the detection target and is also a moving object is carried out from the process N-1 and carried into the next process N.

  Actually, a plurality of ID tags 102 are attached to a cart that is a moving body, and information of the plurality of ID tags 102 is read when passing through the antenna 201a. For this reason, the time when the ID tag 102 is first detected is regarded as the time when the process N-1 is completed, and the time when the ID tag 102 is detected last is regarded as the time when the process N is started. Since it cannot be determined at that time whether or not it has been detected last, it is determined that the ID tag 102 of the target mobile object has not been read when an arbitrary time has elapsed since the reading was performed. I am doing so.

  FIGS. 2B to 2E show the relationship between the movement of the detection target 202 (hereinafter referred to as the carriage 202) and the process. It is assumed that a plurality of ID tags 102 (not shown) are attached to the carriage 202. In FIG. 2 (b), the carriage 202 exists in the process N-1, and it is considered that the work is performed in the process.

  In FIG.2 (c), the trolley | bogie 202 has passed on the antenna 201a, and grasp | ascertains the time which identifies the work start of the process N which is the next process simultaneously with completion | finish of the process N-1 by the detection of the ID tag 102. Will do.

  FIG. 2D shows a state in which work is performed in the process N after passing through the antenna 201a. FIG. 2E shows that the antenna 201b has passed and the work of the process N + 1 that is the next process is started simultaneously with the completion of the work of the process N.

  Thus, by detecting the passage of the antenna provided between each process, it is possible to grasp the end of work in a certain process and the start of the next process from the detection time of the ID tag 102.

  FIG. 2F shows the relationship between the reading time at each antenna 201 and the working time in the process. t1 indicates the reading start time at the antenna 201a, and t2 indicates the reading end time. Similarly, t3 indicates the reading start time at the antenna 201b.

  The start time of the process is t2 when the carriage 202 has passed through the antenna, and the end time is t3 when reading with the next antenna is started. Therefore, the working time of the process N is a time between the times t3 and t2, and T in FIG. If the response by reading the ID tag 102 is made only once, t1 = t2, and the end time of the previous process and the start time of the next process are regarded as the same.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration of the entire reading system.
In FIG. 3, reference numeral 301 denotes an ID tag attached to the moving body. In the present embodiment, it is assumed that a plurality of ID tags 301 are attached to a cart (not shown) that is a moving body. Reference numeral 302 denotes an antenna for detecting the ID tag 301. A reader device 303 controls the antenna 302. Reference numeral 304 denotes a controller that controls a plurality of reader devices 303. A server 305 has a function for grasping the work time of each process from the detection information sent from the controller 304. In FIG. 3, there is one controller 304 connected to the server 305, but information from a plurality of controllers 304 can be stored in the server 305.

  In such a configuration, when the carriage to which the ID tag 301 is attached moves on the antenna 302, the reader device 303 issues a read request to the ID tag 301. When the ID information of the ID tag 301 is detected, the detection time is given by the reader device 303, and thereafter, it is grasped and used as a parameter for managing the work time.

  Since the time is assigned by the reader device 303 which is the terminal, it is necessary to make the time of each reader device 303 absolute or relatively coincident with the reference time. Here, for convenience, the apparatus is divided for each function, but the system may be configured by an apparatus that integrates a plurality of functions such as, for example, integration of the controller 304 and the reader apparatus 303.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of attaching an identifier having ID information.
In FIG. 4, 401 is a moving body which is a detection target. In this embodiment, a cell production process is assumed, and the moving body 401 is a product assembly cart.

  The worker who is performing the assembly work assembles the product on this cart, and moves to the next process by hand when the work process is completed. In FIG. 4, white arrows indicate the traveling direction of the moving body 401.

  Reference numeral 402 denotes an ID tag attached to the moving body 401. In the present embodiment, an RF-ID tag that performs non-contact communication using electromagnetic induction is assumed. In this example, four tags are attached to the mobile object 401, and the ID information used for assignment is selected so as not to overlap each other among the unique IDs.

  If they overlap, a collision occurs, and the number of tags that can be read within an arbitrary time is reduced. In this embodiment, either case may be used. It is assumed that the ID tag 402a has ID information “0”, 402b “1”, 402c “2”, and 402d “3”.

  Reference numeral 403 denotes an antenna that generates a magnetic field for reading the ID information of the ID tag 402 attached to the moving body 401. In order to specify the position of the moving body 401, the antenna 403 is laid on the floor and fixed. In this example, it is assumed that the width of the antenna 403 is smaller than that of the moving body 401 in consideration of the purpose of detecting the position of the assembly cart as the moving body 401 with high accuracy. However, a length sufficient to read the attached ID tags 402a to 402d is secured. Further, the length of the antenna 403 is made larger than that of the moving body 401 so that there is no failure in reading. Reference numeral 404 denotes a reader device connected to the antenna 403, which controls reading for position detection.

  As shown in FIG. 4, in this example, in order to prevent collision, an ID tag is selected for the mobile unit 401 so that some information of the unique ID used for time slot allocation does not overlap, It is attached. In this example, four ID tags are attached. However, the number of ID tags can be attached to one moving body 401 as many as possible without being overlapped by one reading.

  In ISO15693, a 16-slot mode is defined. In this case, 16 ID tags are selected so that a part of ID information does not overlap and attached to one mobile unit 401, so that a single read request can be made. All ID tags can respond with no collision.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an example of a process for generating passage information.
In step S501, a reading request is made to the ID tag. The timing of this request is irrelevant to the positions of the ID tags 402a to 402d and the antenna 403 serving as a detector, so that it is repeated immediately after waiting for a response as the next step.

  In step S502, the result of a response to the read request made in step S501 is determined. If there is a response as a result of this determination, the acquisition time is grasped, and the process proceeds to step S503. If there is no response, the process returns to step S501 again to make a read request.

  In step S503, identification information (ID information) of the ID tag that has responded is grasped. In step S504, it is determined whether the wireless reader device 404 is currently in the active mode or the standby mode.

  Here, each mode will be described. The active mode refers to a state from when the moving body 401 is first detected until the moving body 401 passes. In practice, since the determination of whether or not the vehicle has passed with some exceptions is made based on the passage of time by the timer, the time until the passage is determined is also included.

  On the other hand, the standby mode refers to a state other than that, and corresponds to the period from when a certain mobile unit 401 passes until the next mobile unit 401 is detected. If the ID is in the active mode, that is, if an ID in an existing group is acquired, the process proceeds to step S505.

  In step S505, it is determined whether or not the ID information obtained in step S503 belongs to the same group that is grasped when shifting to the active mode. As a result of the determination, if the groups are the same, the process proceeds to step S506, and if not, the process proceeds to step S507.

  In step S506, in response to the acquisition of the ID information belonging to the same group, the ID information acquisition time that was regarded as the last acquisition is updated with the newly acquired time. If it has just shifted to the active mode, only the first acquisition time may be stored. In that case, the information acquired first is substituted as it is.

  In step S507, ID information of another group is acquired, that is, in response to detection of another mobile unit 401, the acquisition time stored so far is determined as the passage time. This is exception handling. Usually, the determination is made based on the passage of time by a timer, but when another moving body 401 is detected in this way, it is regarded as an immediate passage time.

  In step S508, passage information is generated in response to the result of confirming the ID information acquired last in the same group in the previous step. Specifically, it is composed of the first acquired time, the last acquired time, the information generated by which reader device, and the identification information of the detected moving body 401.

  Thereafter, a new identification information generation process is entered in step S510. In step S509, upon receiving the ID information, the mode is shifted from the standby mode to the active mode.

  In step S510, the group to which the user belongs is determined from the ID information. The judgment of which group belongs depends on the result of matching with the reference table. Next, in step S511, the time when the ID information grasped when there is a response in step S502 is stored. This time is the first time detected in the same group.

  In step S512, a timer is started in order to determine whether or not ID acquisition of the same group is performed next in response to the result of each determination. The set time is arbitrary.

  In step S513, an ID tag reading request is made. Next, in step S514, the result of the response to the read request made in step S513 is determined. If it is determined that there is a response, the process proceeds to step S515, and if there is no response, the process proceeds to step S516.

  In step S515, the timer started in step S512 is stopped because of a response. Thereafter, the process returns to step S503, and thereafter the above-described processing is repeated.

  In step S516, it is determined whether the timer activated in step S512 has timed out. If the result of this determination is that a timeout has occurred, processing proceeds to step S517. If the set time has not elapsed, the process returns to step S513 to repeat the read request.

  In step S517, a time-out is received and passage information is generated. The time updated before the timer is started is determined as the last read time. Next, in step S518, it is considered that the reading operation for the same group has been completed, and a transition is made to the standby mode in preparation for the detection of the next mobile unit 401. The above is the flow of processing.

FIG. 6 is a time chart showing the passage information generation process.
FIG. 6A shows a reading pattern that can generally occur. As shown in FIG. 6, the ID information is read from the time t1 to the time t2 without leaving much time. Reading of a plurality of ID information at the same time indicates that a plurality of ID tags responded to a single read request.

  t1 indicates the first time when a certain moving body 401 is detected by a specific detector, and t2 indicates the time when it was last detected. This time (t2-t1) is T1. Although it can be seen later that the time t2 is the last, it cannot be determined at the time t2, so the timer is started as described so far, and it is determined whether or not it is the last as time elapses. The timer is started at time t2, and it is determined that t2 is the last time to pass at time t3 after time T2 has elapsed.

  FIG. 6B shows a case where ID information is read before t3 which is a timeout time. It is assumed that ID information is read at time t4 which is T3 (<T2) time elapses before T2 which is the timeout time elapses.

  If this ID information is the same group as before, the timer is restarted at this point, and if it is not read by t5, which is the time after T2 has elapsed, the timer is read at t4. It is determined that the ID information is the last. As a result of this determination, if the ID information is in a different group, t2 is immediately determined as the last time, and the time at t4 is set as the first reading time for detecting the new mobile unit 401.

  FIG. 6C shows a case where ID information of the same group is detected again after the timeout time. Since it is already determined to be the last at t2, t6 is newly taken as the first detection time. Data consistency due to the same mobile unit 401 being read twice in succession is determined by a server or the like positioned at the higher level, and is handled as another mobile unit 401 in the reader device.

  Notification to the device that manages and uses the passing information, such as a server that is an upper layer, is a total of two times: the timing when the first reading time of T1 is grasped, and the timing when t2 of T3 is determined as the last reading. Or at one timing of t3. In the present embodiment, a communication standard with the ID tag is not particularly defined. Further, the presence or absence of the occurrence of collision is not limited. There is no particular restriction on the number of ID tags attached.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, when reading the grouped ID tags attached to the mobile body 401, the identification information read first in the same group, its time, and finally read. The passage information is generated from the identification information and the time. Then, by discarding information obtained by reading other ID tags, significant data reduction can be realized.

  By having these functions in the reader device 404, it is possible to reduce the amount of traffic during data transfer to a server that utilizes data. In addition, since each reader device 404 is configured to determine the passage itself, the traffic load is reduced as compared with the case where the passage is determined by cooperation between a plurality of position detection devices, and functions necessary for the cooperation are also reduced. There is no need to prepare.

  Furthermore, it is not necessary for the server side to make an individual position passage determination or to extract and extract the entry / exit times from each process from a large amount of data. Since these do not affect the reading itself, it can be realized by incorporating a general-purpose RF-ID tag conforming to international standards such as ISO15693 and ISO18000 and a function corresponding to a wireless reader device.

(Second Embodiment)
Other embodiments for realizing the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
The feature of the reading system that realizes the present embodiment is that, in the first embodiment, the first and last ID information acquired is discarded and other information is discarded. The point is to filter the acquired information in the request. Hereinafter, the contents will be described focusing on this point.

  FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a filtering process in the second embodiment for explaining the features of the present invention. The processing in steps S501 and 502 and steps S513 and S514 in the flowchart of FIG. 5 in the first embodiment is replaced.

  In step S701, a read request is made to the ID tag. Next, in step S702, the result of a response to the read request made in step S701 is determined. If there is a response as a result of this determination, the acquisition time is grasped, and the process proceeds to step S703. If there is no response as a result of the determination in step S702, the process returns to step S701 again to make a read request.

  In step S703, it is determined whether there is a response from a plurality of ID tags in response to a single read request. Depending on the configuration, when using the 16-slot mode described later, responses from up to 16 tags are returned. As a result of the determination in step S703, if there is a response from a plurality of tags, the process proceeds to step S704, and if there is one response from the ID tag, the process proceeds to step S705.

  In step S704, the acquired data is filtered. Specifically, even when there are responses from a plurality of IDs in response to a single read request, only one ID information is validated and the remaining information is discarded. There are several possible ways of selection, but the case where the first detection is adopted, the case where the last detection is adopted, the case where the order of adoption is changed depending on in which mode the detection is made, and the like can be considered.

  For example, it is desirable to employ the first detected ID information in the standby mode and the last detected ID information in the active mode. FIG. 7B is a flowchart showing the processing flow.

  In step S706, it is determined whether or not the standby mode is set. As a result of the determination, the process proceeds to step S707 in the standby mode and to step S708 in the active mode.

  In step S707, for the first ID reading from the standby mode, only the first detected ID information is adopted and the remaining ID information is deleted. Next, in step S708, since it is in the active mode, the last ID information is adopted and the other ID information is deleted. In step S705, the ID information after filtering processing in step S704 or only one acquired ID information is stored.

  As shown in the flowchart of FIG. 7, the difference from the first embodiment is that the amount of data used in the subsequent determination process is reduced to some extent by adding a low-level filtering process. In this way, since at least one ID information can be detected, the overall data volume reduction cannot be expected, but there is no loss of information that affects the generation of passing information. It is valid.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the concept of the 16 slot mode.
The 16-slot mode is a mode for reading a plurality of ID tags defined in ISO 15693, and is one of anti-collision techniques for avoiding collisions by assigning time slots.

  As illustrated in FIG. 8, the reader device 801 transmits a command for obtaining a unique ID called an Inventory command to the ID tag 802. In this command, a flag for selecting a 1-slot mode for reading only one tag that does not consider anti-collision or a 16-slot mode is prepared.

  The ID tag 802, which has received the request command with the 16-slot mode flag set, sees some information used for time slot allocation in the 16-slot mode among the unique IDs that are unique ID information of the ID tag. , It is determined at which timing it should respond.

  Each allocation is called a slot, and 16 slots from Slot 0 to 15 are prepared. When the ID tag responds itself with Slot 0, a response is returned to the reader device 801 within a specified time. Even when there is no ID tag response in the corresponding slot or when a plurality of ID tags 802 respond at the same time and cannot be discriminated, the reader device 801 ends the end of a frame called EOF after a specified time has elapsed. Sends the meaning packet and prompts the transition to the next slot.

  In the following, if there is a tag to be responded in each slot in order, the response is made respectively. If there is no tag or if a collision occurs, the process proceeds to the next slot after a specified time. Finally, when the 16th slot 15 ends, an EOF is transmitted and this mode ends.

  If all ID tags 802 need to be read, the ID information used for time slot allocation is changed so that collision does not occur, and a read request command is transmitted again. If it is assumed that the reading is completed with a single reading request, the information is not changed.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the concept of the filtering process.
FIG. 9 assumes the use of the 16 slot mode. A reading request is issued from the control unit 901 in the reader apparatus 900 to the reading unit 902. The reading unit 902 transmits an Inventory command corresponding to the 16 slot mode. Thereafter, ID information is acquired according to the attachment status of the ID tag 910.

  When there is a response in each slot, a total of 16 pieces of ID information are obtained. The reading unit 902 does not pass all obtained ID information to the next process, but performs the filtering process described in this embodiment to select the ID information. As a result, the amount of data can be reduced without losing effective information.

  As described above, by performing a filtering process on a single read request, the entire process can be reduced and passage information can be generated. Further, in the first embodiment, the processing for data reduction is completed in one apparatus not via a network. However, even when only this embodiment is used or used together, Since a certain amount of data can be reduced, the system can be constructed with a free configuration without imposing a heavy load on the network or processing system.

(Other embodiments according to the present invention)
Each means constituting the reading apparatus and the reading system and each step of the reading method in the embodiment of the present invention described above can be realized by operating a program stored in a RAM or ROM of a computer. This program and a computer-readable recording medium recording the program are included in the present invention.

  Further, the present invention can be embodied as a system, apparatus, method, program, storage medium, or the like. Specifically, the present invention may be applied to a system composed of a plurality of devices, or may be applied to an apparatus composed of a single device.

  In the present invention, a software program (in the embodiment, a program corresponding to the flowcharts shown in FIGS. 5 and 7) for realizing the functions of the above-described embodiments may be directly applied to the system or apparatus. Alternatively, it may be achieved by supplying from a remote location and the computer of the system or apparatus reads and executes the supplied program code.

  Accordingly, since the functions of the present invention are implemented by computer, the program code installed in the computer also implements the present invention. In other words, the present invention includes a computer program itself for realizing the functional processing of the present invention.

  In that case, as long as it has the function of a program, it may be in the form of object code, a program executed by an interpreter, script data supplied to the OS, and the like.

  Examples of the recording medium for supplying the program include a floppy (registered trademark) disk, hard disk, optical disk, magneto-optical disk, MO, CD-ROM, CD-R, and CD-RW. Moreover, a magnetic tape, a non-volatile memory card, ROM, DVD (DVD-ROM, DVD-R), etc. are also included.

  As another program supply method, the program can be supplied by connecting to a homepage on the Internet using a browser of a client computer and downloading the computer program of the present invention from the homepage. Alternatively, it can be supplied by downloading a compressed file including an automatic installation function to a recording medium such as a hard disk.

  It can also be realized by dividing the program code constituting the program of the present invention into a plurality of files and downloading each file from a different homepage. That is, a WWW server that allows a plurality of users to download a program file for realizing the functional processing of the present invention on a computer is also included in the present invention.

  In addition, the program of the present invention is encrypted, stored in a storage medium such as a CD-ROM, distributed to users, and key information for decryption is downloaded from a homepage via the Internet to users who have cleared predetermined conditions. Let It is also possible to execute the encrypted program by using the key information and install the program on a computer.

  Further, the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the computer executing the read program. In addition, based on the instructions of the program, the OS or the like running on the computer performs part or all of the actual processing, and the functions of the above-described embodiments can be realized by the processing.

  Further, the program read from the recording medium is written in a memory provided in a function expansion board inserted into the computer or a function expansion unit connected to the computer. Then, based on the instructions of the program, the CPU or the like provided in the function expansion board or function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing, and the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the processing.

It is a functional block diagram of the reader apparatus in a 1st embodiment. It is the schematic diagram which showed the relationship between the antenna in 1st Embodiment, a to-be-detected object, and a process. It is a figure showing composition of the whole system in a 1st embodiment. It is the figure which showed the example of attachment of the identifier with ID information in 1st Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the passage information generation process in 1st Embodiment. It is a time chart which shows the passage information generation process in a 1st embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the filtering process in 2nd Embodiment. It is the figure which showed the concept of 16 slot mode in 2nd Embodiment. It is the figure which showed the concept of the filtering process in 2nd Embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

101 Wireless reader device 102 Identifier (ID tag)
103 Control Unit 104 Reading Unit 105 ID Reference Unit 106 Reference Table 107 Passing Information Generation Unit 108 Timer 109 Buffer 110 Network I / F
120 network

Claims (15)

A reading device for grasping the position of a measurement object to which a plurality of grouped different identifiers are attached,
Information reading means for reading identification information from the identifier;
Group attribute determining means for determining which group the identifier belongs to from the identification information read by the information reading means;
In the group determined by the group attribute determining means, passage information generating means for generating passage information relating to the object to be measured from the first and last reading time information and the belonging group information of the corresponding group within an arbitrary time; A reading apparatus comprising:   The reading apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an operation control unit that controls an operation mode for the identifier to be either a standby mode or an active mode according to a reading state of the information reading unit. The operation control means controls the operation mode so as to shift to the active mode when the ID information is acquired from the identifier belonging to an arbitrary group in the standby mode in which there is no response to regular reading. ,
The said passage information production | generation means makes the time read by the said information reading means the first time as the first reading time which is one of the components of the said passage information. Reading device. The operation control means shifts the operation mode to the standby mode when the reading is not performed even after the elapse of an arbitrary time in the active mode in which continuous reading is performed,
The said passage information generation means makes the time when the last reading of the said active mode was made into the last reading time which is one of the components of the said passage information, The Claim 2 or 3 characterized by the above-mentioned. Reading device.   The reading apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising a time measuring unit that measures the passage of the arbitrary time.   One of the object to be measured or the information reading means is fixed, and has a position specifying means for determining the position of the object to be measured by grasping the position when read at the fixed position. The reading device according to claim 1, wherein   The reading apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the position specifying unit specifies the position of the object to be measured by recognizing one of the plurality of different identifiers.   The reading device according to claim 5, wherein the time when the information reading unit performs reading is acquired from the time measuring unit.   An information reading means for reading identification information from the identifier is arranged at a position that serves as both an entrance and an exit for each process in a cell production system in which a person performs assembly while delivering work-in-progress as work progresses, and the information reading means The reading apparatus according to any one of claims 5 to 8, wherein the passage information generating means calculates a work time of each step from the information read by the above.   The information reading means reads the identifier using a time slot, and the reading request is repeatedly performed at the time when one reading opportunity is completed regardless of the presence or absence of the identifier. The reading device according to claim 1, wherein   The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a filtering unit that performs a filtering process that employs at least one piece of information when there is a response from a plurality of identifiers to a single read request made by the information reading unit. The reading device according to any one of 10.   The reading apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a data transmission unit that transmits to the server terminal device that manages and utilizes the passage information obtained by the passage information generation unit.   13. A reading system comprising: the reading device according to claim 12; and a server terminal device that manages and utilizes passage information transmitted from the reading device. A reading method in a reading device for grasping the position of an object to be measured to which a plurality of different grouped identifiers are attached,
An information reading step of reading identification information from the identifier;
A group attribute determination step for determining which group the identifier belongs to from the identification information read in the information reading step;
The group determined in the group attribute determination step includes a passage information generation step of generating passage information based on the first and last reading time information and the belonging group information of the corresponding group within an arbitrary time. Characteristic reading method. A program for causing a computer to execute a reading method in a reading device for grasping the position of an object to be measured to which a plurality of grouped different identifiers are attached,
An information reading step of reading identification information from the identifier;
A group attribute determination step for determining which group the identifier belongs to from the identification information read in the information reading step;
In the group determined in the group attribute determination step, the computer executes a passage information generation step of generating passage information based on the first and last reading time information and the belonging group information of the corresponding group within an arbitrary time. Program to make.

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