JP2008074600A - Article control system and radio communication medium - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an article control system capable of detecting the position of an article in real time and a radio communication medium. <P>SOLUTION: In a position control server 40 for controlling the position of articles, when the passive radio communication part 14a of a USB-RFID tag 10 attached to an article is brought into the state of being communicable with an R/W 20 for passive tag, the position of the article is controlled by using the position information of the R/W 20 for passive tag. When the article is moved and the passive radio communication part 14a is brought into the state of being incommunicable with the R/W 20 for passive tag, the position of the article is calculated and controlled by using the position information of the R/W 20 for passive tag with which the passive radio communication part 14a of the USB-RFID tag 10 communicates and the acceleration information detected by the movement of the USB-RFID tag 10. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an article management system for managing the position of an article, and more particularly to a technique for managing the position of an article using a wireless communication medium.

  In recent years, with the progress of the information society, information has become an important asset along with people, money, and facilities in organizations such as companies. Such information is held in various forms, and is often stored in a hard disk such as a personal computer in order to achieve paperlessness.

  In personal computers where such information is stored, notebook computers with the same memory capacity as conventional large computers have been developed one after another due to the miniaturization of memory, which can be purchased at low cost and save space. Since it can be installed, such notebook personal computers are also used in organizations such as companies. In addition, since the notebook type personal computer can be carried as the name of the notebook type, it is useful when the work place changes, such as a meeting.

  However, since laptop computers can be carried in this way, it is easy to carry them out illegally. If important information is stored in the laptop computer, there is a possibility that the information will be leaked. In that case, it may end up causing a great loss to an organization such as a company. For this reason, in organizations such as general companies, taking out of a notebook personal computer is regulated by a security policy or the like, but it is not necessarily said that this policy is always observed.

  Therefore, an RFID tag that can read information in a non-contact state is attached to an article that requires strict management such as a notebook personal computer as described above, and information from this RFID is stored in an area where carry-out is managed. By installing an information reading device to read out and reading out information from the RFID tag attached to the article, whether or not the article exists in an area where take-out of the article is managed, and where in the area the article exists It is possible to manage this.

  In order to manage where an article exists in an area where the taking-out of articles is managed, a plurality of information reading devices as described above are installed in the area, and information from the RFID tag is selected in which information reading device. The position where the article is present can be recognized by detecting whether or not the item is read out. For this purpose, a plurality of information reading devices are installed so that the respective communicable ranges of the plurality of information reading devices and the RFID tag do not overlap as much as possible, and conversely, the communicable distance between the information reading device and the RFID tag. Need to be set so that information is not read from the same RFID tag by a plurality of information reading devices, for example, a room in which the area where the position of the article is managed is surrounded by a wall or ceiling, etc. In this case, the communicable distance between the information reading device and the RFID tag changes due to reflection or attenuation of radio waves by walls or ceilings, and there is a region where information cannot be read from the RFID tag by the information reading device, There is a possibility that information may be read from the same RFID tag by a plurality of information reading devices.

  In addition, in order to detect the taking-out of an article from an area where the taking-out of the article is managed, an information reading device is installed in the area, and the communicable distance between the information reading device and the RFID tag exists in the area. Even when the information reading device can read information from the RFID tag, the communicable distance between the information reading device and the RFID tag changes due to reflection or attenuation of radio waves by a wall, ceiling, or the like. There may be a region where information cannot be read from the RFID tag by the information reading device, or information may be read from the RFID tag that exists outside the area where the taking-out of articles is managed.

  Here, Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for detecting the position of a moving body using an RFID tag. In this technology, RFID tags are installed at multiple locations within the range in which the moving body moves. In addition, position information is acquired from the RFID tag in the moving body to be detected, and the speed and acceleration of the moving body are detected. The position detection device that detects the position of the moving body is mounted. In the position detection device, the position information is acquired from the RFID tag, and the speed and acceleration of the moving body are detected. The position of the mounted moving body is detected. The detected position of the moving body is stored in the storage unit in the position detection device, and then the movement of the moving body is recognized using the information stored in the storage unit.

Using this technology, if the position of an article that requires strict management, such as a laptop computer as described above, is managed, the position of the article can be managed without finely adjusting the communicable distance by the RFID tag. Will be able to.
JP-A-2005-249666

  However, when managing the position of an article by installing the position detection device as described above on an article that requires strict management such as a notebook computer, the position of the article must be collected unless the position detection apparatus mounted on the article is recovered. When the position cannot be recognized and the article is illegally taken out of a predetermined area or moved within the area, there is a problem in that it is not possible to detect illegal removal or movement at that time. is there. This is a very important issue from a security point of view, and it must be detected when an article is illegally taken out of a predetermined area or when an article moves within that area. For example, there is a possibility of suffering a large damage such as information leakage as described above.

  The present invention has been made in view of the problems of the conventional techniques as described above, and an object thereof is to provide an article management system and a wireless communication medium capable of detecting the position of an article in real time. To do.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides:
An article management system for managing the position of the article using a wireless communication medium attached to the article,
The wireless communication medium is
A first communication means capable of wireless communication within a first communication distance;
Movement detection means for detecting movement of the attached article;
Second communication that wirelessly transmits within a second communication distance that is longer than the first communication distance, and wirelessly transmits the movement information when movement of the article is detected by the movement detection means. Means,
A first information communication means installed at a predetermined position and communicating with the first communication means;
Second information communication means for communicating with the second communication means;
Only the positional information of the first information communication means connected to the first and second information communication means and communicating with the first communication means, or communicated with the first communication means Position information of the first information communication means and the movement wirelessly transmitted from the second communication means included in the wireless communication medium including the first communication means and received by the second information communication means Position management means for managing the position of the article to which the wireless communication medium provided with the first and second communication means is attached using the information.

  In the present invention configured as described above, the first communication means provided in the wireless communication medium attached to the article, and the first information installed at a predetermined position in the area where the position of the article is managed In a state in which communication with the communication means is possible, information capable of identifying the first information notification means and the wireless communication medium is transmitted from the first information communication means to the position management means. It is managed that the article exists within a distance where the first communication means can wirelessly communicate with the position where the information communication means is installed. Thereafter, when the article starts moving, the movement detection unit of the wireless communication medium attached to the article detects the movement of the article, and the detected movement information is transmitted from the second communication unit via the second information communication unit. It is transmitted to the location management means. In the position management means, when the first communication means of the wireless communication medium and the first information communication means are in a state incapable of communication, the first information communication which the first communication means has been communicating so far The position of the article to which the wireless communication medium is attached is calculated and managed using the position information of the means and the movement information transmitted from the second communication means via the second information communication means.

  Thus, in the position management means, when the wireless communication medium attached to the article can communicate with the first information communication means in which the position information is managed, the position information of the first information communication means is used. When the position of the article is managed and communication with the first information communication means becomes impossible, the wireless communication medium transmits the position information of the first information communication means with which the wireless communication medium has been communicated and the wireless communication medium. Since the position of the article is calculated and managed using the movement information thus obtained, the position of the article is detected in real time.

  Further, in the wireless communication medium control means, if the position of the article managed by the position management means is out of a predetermined range, the use of the article is restricted, so that the article is illegally moved from a predetermined area. When it is taken out, its use can be regulated.

  As described above, in the present invention, in the position management means, only the position information of the first information communication means communicating with the wireless communication medium attached to the article or the wireless communication medium has been communicated so far. Since the position of the article is managed using the position information of the first information communication means and the movement information transmitted from the wireless communication medium, the position of the article can be detected in real time. In addition, since the position of the article is managed using the position information and movement information obtained by one wireless communication medium, inconsistency does not easily occur between the position information and the movement information, and the position of the article is managed. Therefore, the instability of information can be eliminated.

  Further, in the case where the wireless communication medium is provided with control means for restricting the use of an article when the position of the article managed by the position management means is outside a predetermined range, the article If it is illegally taken out of the area, its use can be restricted.

  In addition, such an article management system includes a first communication means capable of wireless communication within a first communication distance, a movement detection means for detecting movement of an attached article, and a first communication distance. Wireless communication is possible within a second communication distance longer than the second communication means, and when movement of the article is detected by the movement detection means, a second communication means for wirelessly transmitting the movement information to the information communication means; The same effect as described above can be obtained by using the wireless communication medium.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an embodiment of an article management system of the present invention.

  In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, a USB-RFID tag 10 that is a wireless communication medium attached to an article to be managed, and a passive tag that is a first information communication unit that performs wireless communication with the USB-RFID tag 10. Authentication server that performs authentication using the tag ID read from the USB-RFID tag 10 by the R / W 20 for active tag and the R / W 30 for active tag as the second information communication means, and the R / W 20 for passive tag 50 and a position management server 40 that manages the position of the article to which the USB-RFID tag 10 is attached using the information transmitted from the passive tag R / W 20 and the active tag R / W 30. In this embodiment, the USB-RFID tag 10 is connected to a notebook computer to manage the position of the notebook computer.

  The USB-RFID tag 10 includes a USB power source 11 for driving the USB-RFID tag 10, a passive wireless communication unit 14a and an antenna 12a, which are first communication means for communicating with the R / W 20 for passive tag, Active wireless communication unit 14b and antenna 12b, which are second communication means for communicating with tag R / W 30, memory 13a connected to passive wireless communication unit 14a, and memory 13b connected to active wireless communication unit 14b And an acceleration sensor 15 that is a movement detecting means for detecting the acceleration applied to the USB-RFID tag 10 and its direction, and the USB power source 11 to control the passive wireless communication unit 14a, the active wireless communication unit 14b, and the acceleration sensor 15. And control the operating state of the connected laptop And a control unit 16..

  The USB power supply 11 is connected to a USB bus in the connected notebook personal computer, and acquires the drive power of the USB-RFID tag 10 from the USB bus. In addition, the passive wireless communication unit 14a operates not by the USB power supply 11 but by a current flowing through the antenna 12a due to electromagnetic induction by the passive tag R / W 20 or radio wave resonance. On the other hand, the active wireless communication unit 14 b is operated by the USB power supply 11. Therefore, the first communication distance at which the passive radio communication unit 14a can communicate via the antenna 12a is shorter than the second communication distance at which the active radio communication unit 14b can communicate via the antenna 12b. In addition, if the thing of HF band is employ | adopted as the passive wireless communication part 14a, security can be ensured and the installation cost of R / W20 for passive tags can be suppressed, and wireless LAN or Bluetooth can be used as the active wireless communication part 14b. By adopting a weak 300 MHz band radio that does not interfere with the 2.4 GHz band radio, it is possible to stably operate a wireless LAN or Bluetooth system.

  The USB-RFID tag 10 configured as described above communicates with the passive tag R / W 20 by the passive wireless communication unit 14a, and communicates with the active tag R / W 30 by the active wireless communication unit 14b. At this time, a tag ID unique to the USB-RFID tag 10 is given to information transmitted to the passive tag R / W 20 or the active tag R / W 30.

  The position management server 40 includes an origin information recognition unit 41 that recognizes the origin position information of the notebook personal computer to which the USB-RFID tag 10 is connected from the R / W 20 for the passive tag, and the USB-RFID tag from the R / W 30 for the active tag. 10, an acceleration information acquisition unit 42 that acquires acceleration information as movement information of a notebook personal computer connected to the USB 10, a movement amount calculation unit 43 that calculates a movement amount of the laptop personal computer connected to the USB-RFID tag 10, A position calculation unit 44 that calculates the current position of the notebook personal computer to which the USB-RFID tag 10 is connected and whether the notebook personal computer to which the USB-RFID tag 10 is connected are present in a predetermined area. The area inside / outside judgment unit 45 to judge and the judgment result in the area inside / outside judgment unit 45 are actuated as area inside / outside information. And a area out information transmitting section 46 that transmits the tag R / W30.

  The origin information recognition unit 41 is based on the R / WID for identifying the passive tag R / W 20 sent from the passive tag R / W 20 and the tag ID of the USB-RFID tag 10. 10 recognizes the origin position information of the notebook personal computer to which 10 is connected.

  The movement amount calculation unit 43 calculates the movement amount of the notebook computer to which the USB-RFID tag 10 is connected by performing time integration of the acceleration information acquired by the acceleration information acquisition unit 42 twice.

  The position calculation unit 44 uses the current position of the notebook computer based on the origin position of the notebook computer acquired by the origin information recognition unit 41 and the movement amount of the notebook computer calculated by the movement calculation unit 44. Calculate the position.

  The area inside / outside determination unit 45 determines whether or not the current position of the notebook computer calculated by the position calculation unit 44 is within a predetermined area.

  Hereinafter, processing when managing the position of an article in the article management system configured as described above will be described.

  2 is a diagram showing a state of the notebook computer when the notebook computer is managed by the article management system shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 2A is an external view of the USB-RFID tag 10, and FIG. It is a figure which shows the notebook type personal computer 60 to which the USB-RFID tag 10 shown to (a) was connected.

  The USB-RFID tag 10 shown in FIG. 1 has the form of a USB memory as shown in FIG. 2A, and as shown in FIG. It is connected by being inserted into the USB port.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an area in which take-out of the notebook computer 60 shown in FIG. 2 is managed by the article management system shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 3, in this embodiment, it is managed whether the notebook personal computer 60 is taken out from the office room 72 and where it is present in the office room 72. Six office desks 71-1 to 71-6 are arranged in the office room 72, and R / W 20-1 to 20-6 for passive tags are respectively provided to the office desks 71-1 to 71-6. It is placed. The passive tag R / Ws 20-1 to 20-6 have the same configuration as the passive tag R / W 20 shown in FIG. 1 and include office desks 71-1 to 71-6. Communication areas 21-1 to 21-6 are provided. Further, the active tag R / W 30 shown in FIG. 1 is attached to the center of the ceiling of the office 72, and the communicable area 31 is wider than the office 72.

  First, a process when the notebook personal computer 60 is activated while being placed on the office desk 71-1 will be described.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining processing at the time of activation of the notebook personal computer 60 in the article management system shown in FIGS.

  When using the notebook computer 60 in which the position information is managed, first, as shown in FIG. 2, the USB-RFID tag 10 is inserted into the USB port of the notebook computer 60, so that the notebook computer 60 and the USB are connected. -The RFID tag 10 is connected (step S1).

  Then, in the passive tag wireless communication unit 14a of the USB-RFID tag 10, the tag ID of the USB-RFID tag 10 is transmitted to the passive tag R / W 20-1 via the antenna 12a (step S2).

  The tag ID of the USB-RFID tag 10 transmitted from the passive tag wireless communication unit 14a of the USB-RFID tag 10 is received by the passive tag R / W 20-1 (step S3), and then the passive tag R / W The R / WID unique to W20-1 and the tag ID received from the passive tag wireless communication unit 14a are transmitted from the passive tag R / W 20-1 to the access authentication server 50 (step S4).

  In the access authentication server 50, when the R / WID and the tag ID transmitted from the passive tag R / W 20-1 are received (step S5), authentication using the received tag ID is performed first (step S5). Step S6). Here, in the access authentication server 50, a tag ID that permits the use of the notebook computer 60 is managed as an access right to the notebook computer 60, and the USB-RFID tag 10 having this tag ID is used as a notebook computer. Only when inserted into the personal computer 60, the use of the notebook personal computer 60 is permitted. Further, the USB-RFID tag 10 is associated with the notebook personal computer 60, whereby the notebook personal computer 60 can be specified by the tag ID.

  The R / WID and the tag ID received from the passive tag R / W 20-1 are transferred from the access authentication server 50 to the location management server 40 (step S7).

  In the location management server 40, when the R / WID and the tag ID transferred from the access authentication server 50 are received (step S8), the origin information recognition unit 41 receives the R / WID transferred from the access authentication server 50. Based on the WID and the tag ID, the origin position information of the notebook computer 60 to which the USB-RFID tag 10 is connected is recognized (step S9). Here, in the position management server 40, the R / WIDs given to the passive tag R / Ws 20-1 to 20-6 are the positions where the passive tag R / Ws 20-1 to 20-6 are installed. It is managed in association. Therefore, the position is recognized by the R / WID transferred from the access authentication server 50, and the USB-RFID tag 10 is inserted by the tag ID transferred from the access authentication server 50 together with the R / WID. The notebook computer 60 is recognized, whereby the origin position information of the notebook computer 60 is recognized. The recognized notebook computer 60 origin position information is managed by the origin information recognition unit 41 in association with the tag ID. Further, when the position management server 40 has already managed the position information based on the tag ID received in step S8, the position information is reset. As will be described later, since the position information of the notebook personal computer 60 is accumulated using the movement amount of the notebook personal computer 60, the USB- that can communicate with the passive tag R / W 20 in the initial state can be used. This is because the position information of the RFID tag 10 is managed as the origin position information.

  In the access authentication server 50, if the use of the notebook computer 60 is permitted as a result of the authentication in step S6, an activation command for starting the notebook computer 60 is transmitted (step S10).

  The startup command for the notebook personal computer 60 transmitted from the access authentication server 50 is transmitted to the USB-RFID tag 10 via the passive tag R / W 20 (steps S11 and S12).

  The activation command for the notebook personal computer 60 transmitted from the access authentication server 50 to the USB-RFID tag 10 via the passive tag R / W 20 is received by the passive wireless communication unit 14a of the USB-RFID tag 10 (step S13). Thereafter, under the control of the control unit 16 of the USB-RFID tag 10, the notebook personal computer 60 in which the USB-RFID tag 10 is inserted is started (step S14).

  Next, processing when the notebook computer 60 is carried from the office desk 71-1 and moved will be described.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart for explaining processing when the notebook computer 60 moves in the article management system shown in FIGS.

  In the USB-RFID tag 10 inserted in the notebook computer 60, the acceleration applied to the USB-RFID tag 10 is detected by the acceleration sensor 15 (step S21). In the state where the notebook personal computer 60 is placed on the office desk 71-1, the acceleration applied to the USB-RFID tag 10 is "0", and the acceleration is not detected.

  When the notebook personal computer 60 is carried from the office desk 71-1, acceleration is applied to the USB-RFID tag 10, and the acceleration is detected by the acceleration sensor 15 of the USB-RFID tag 10 (step S22), the detected result is detected. The acceleration information is transmitted from the active wireless communication unit 14b of the USB-RFID tag 10 via the antenna 12b (step S23). At this time, the tag ID of the USB-RFID tag 10 is also transmitted together with the acceleration information. This acceleration information includes the magnitude of acceleration applied to the USB-RFID tag 10 and its direction.

  The acceleration information transmitted from the active wireless communication unit 14b via the antenna 12b is received by the acceleration information acquisition unit 42 of the position management server 40 via the active R / W 30 (step S24).

  The acceleration information received by the acceleration information acquisition unit 42 is given to the movement amount calculation unit 43, and the USB-RFID tag 10 uses the acceleration information given from the acceleration information acquisition unit 42 in the movement amount calculation unit 43. The amount of movement of the inserted notebook computer 60 is calculated (step S25).

  Here, a method of calculating the movement amount of the notebook computer 60 in the movement amount calculation unit 43 will be described.

  The acceleration information detected by the acceleration sensor 15 of the USB-RFID tag 10 is transmitted to the position management server 40 via the active R / W 30 while the USB-RFID tag 10 is being accelerated. In the movement amount calculation unit 43, two time integrations are performed on the acceleration information acquired by the acceleration information acquisition unit 42 using the time during which the acceleration information is continuously transmitted from the acceleration sensor 15 of the USB-RFID tag 10. As a result, the amount of movement of the notebook computer 60 is calculated. At this time, the direction in which the acceleration included in the acceleration information is applied is also considered, and the moving direction of the notebook computer 60 is also recognized.

  Next, in the position calculation unit 44 of the position management server 40, the USB-RFID tag 10 is inserted using the tag ID transmitted from the USB-RFID tag 10 via the active R / W 30 together with the acceleration information. The origin position information of the notebook type personal computer 60 is retrieved (step S26). Since the origin position information of the notebook computer 60 is managed by the origin information recognition unit 41 in association with the tag ID of the USB-RFID tag 10 inserted into the notebook computer 60 as described above, the acceleration information Using the tag ID transmitted from the USB-RFID tag 10 together with the information, the origin position information of the notebook personal computer 60 in which the USB-RFID tag 10 is inserted can be searched.

  Next, in the position calculation unit 44, the position moved by the movement amount calculated by the movement amount calculation unit 43 in the movement direction recognized by the movement amount calculation unit 43 from the origin position based on the searched origin position information. Is calculated as the current position of the notebook computer 60 (step S27).

  Here, in the passive tag R / Ws 20-1 to 20-6, the tag ID is read from the USB-RFID tags 10 existing in the communicable areas 21-1 to 21-6. Therefore, in the position management server 40, the tag ID of the USB-RFID tag 10 inserted into the notebook personal computer 60 whose current position is calculated in step S 27 in the passive tag R / Ws 20-1 to 20-6. It is confirmed whether or not it has been read (step S28), and if the tag ID has been read, that is, the notebook personal computer 60 whose current position has been calculated in step S27 is the passive tag R / W 20- When it exists in the communicable areas 21-1 to 21-6 of 1 to 20-6, it is managed that the notebook type personal computer 60 exists in the communicable areas 21-1 to 21-6 (step S29). .

  On the other hand, when the tag ID of the USB-RFID tag 10 inserted in the notebook computer 60 whose current position has been calculated in step S27 has not been read, the notebook computer 60 is in the position calculated in step S27. Is managed as existing (step S30).

  The position of the notebook personal computer 60 managed in steps S29 and S30 is updated each time the processing is performed.

  Thus, the USB-RFID tag in which the notebook personal computer 60 is present in the communicable areas 21-1 to 21-6 of the passive tag R / Ws 20-1 to 20-6 and is inserted into the notebook personal computer 60. When the tag IDs of 10 are read by the passive tag R / Ws 20-1 to 20-6, it is managed that the notebook personal computer 60 exists in the communicable areas 21-1 to 21-6, Further, the notebook-type personal computer 60 does not exist in the communicable areas 21-1 to 21-6 of the passive tag R / Ws 20-1 to 20-6 and the USB-RFID tag 10 inserted into the laptop personal computer 60 is used. When the tag ID is not read by the passive tag R / W 20-1 to 20-6, the tag ID is calculated using the origin position information and acceleration information of the USB-RFID tag 10. By the over preparative PC 60 are managed as a present, even when the notebook computer 60 is moved, it is possible to manage the position in real time.

  Next, processing when the notebook computer 60 is taken out of the office 72 will be described.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining processing when the notebook computer 60 is taken out from the office 72 in the article management system shown in FIGS.

  In the location management server 40, the location managed by the area inside / outside determination unit 45 as the presence of the notebook computer 60 in the process of step S 30 shown in FIG. 5 is within a predetermined range. It is determined whether the internal or external (step S31). Here, in the area inside / outside determination unit 45, the position of the wall that partitions the inside and outside of the office room 72 is managed, and the position managed using the wall position as the presence of the notebook computer 60 is the office room. It is determined which of 72 is inside or outside.

  When it is determined that the location managed as the presence of the notebook computer 60 is within the office 72, the information in the area indicating that the notebook computer 60 is present in the office 72 is the area inside / outside information. Transmitted from the transmitter 46 (step S32).

  The area internal information transmitted from the area internal / external information transmitting unit 46 is received by the active wireless communication unit 14b of the USB-RFID tag 10 via the active tag R / W 30 (step S33), and controlled by the control unit 16 The notebook personal computer 60 continues to operate (step S34).

  On the other hand, if the area inside / outside determination unit 45 determines that the position managed as the presence of the notebook computer 60 is outside the office 72, it indicates that the notebook computer 60 has been taken out of the office 72. The out-of-area information shown is transmitted from the out-of-area information transmitter 46 (step S35).

  The out-of-area information transmitted from the inside / outside area information transmission unit 46 is received by the active wireless communication unit 14b of the USB-RFID tag 10 via the active tag R / W 30 (step S36), and is controlled by the control unit 16 The notebook computer 60 shifts to the sleep mode (step S37).

  Thereafter, when a restart operation is performed on the notebook personal computer 60 (step S38), the passive tag R / W 20-1 is used in the passive tag wireless communication unit 14a of the USB-RFID tag 10 as in step S2. In response, the tag ID of the USB-RFID tag 10 is transmitted via the antenna 12a (step S39). At this time, when the notebook computer 60 is taken out of the office 72, the USB-RFID tag 10 inserted into the notebook computer 60 can communicate with any of the R / W 20-1 to 20-6 for passive tags. Since it is not included in the areas 21-1 to 21-6, the tag ID of the USB-RFID tag 10 is not acquired in the passive tag R / Ws 20-1 to 20-6. It does not start. On the other hand, the notebook-type personal computer 60 returns to the office room 72, and the USB-RFID tag 10 has entered any of the communicable areas 21-1 to 21-6 of the passive tag R / Ws 20-1 to 20-6. In this case, the tag ID of the USB-RFID tag 10 is acquired in the passive tag R / Ws 20-1 to 20-6, and the process shown in FIG. 4 is performed.

  As described above, when the notebook computer 60 is taken out from the office 72, which is an area where take-out of the notebook computer 60 is managed, the notebook computer 60 is set in the sleep mode. And the USB-RFID tag 10 cannot be restarted unless it enters any of the communicable areas 21-1 to 21-6 of the passive tag R / Ws 20-1 to 20-6. It is possible to prohibit the use of the notebook personal computer 60 in the state where it is taken out from the room 72, and it is possible to reduce the possibility that information stored in the notebook personal computer 60 is leaked.

  In the present embodiment, the position management server 40 determines whether the position where the notebook computer 60 exists is inside or outside the office room 72. It is also possible to do. In this case, the origin position information is managed by the notebook personal computer 60, and thereafter, the acceleration information detected by the acceleration sensor 15 is integrated with the notebook personal computer 60 twice for the current time. The position will be calculated.

  In this embodiment, the acceleration applied to the notebook personal computer 60 is detected by using the acceleration sensor 15 as the movement detection means for detecting the movement of the notebook personal computer 60. In addition, for example, a speed sensor is used. A configuration in which the moving speed of the notebook computer 60 is detected is also conceivable. However, since the speed sensor requires a rotating shaft that rotates with movement, it is preferable to use the acceleration sensor 15 as in this embodiment.

  Further, in this embodiment, passive tag R / Ws 20-1 to 20-6 are used as the first information communication means placed on the office desks 71-1 to 71-6 on which the notebook personal computer 60 is placed. At the same time, the passive wireless communication unit 14a is used as the first communication means for communicating with these in the USB-RFID tag 10, and is installed in the center of the ceiling of the office 72 where the take-out of the notebook computer 60 is managed. The active R / W 30 is used as the second information communication means and the active wireless communication unit 14b is used as the second communication means for communicating with the USB-RFID tag 10 in order to The communicable distance between the communication unit and the first information communication unit is shorter than the communicable distance between the second communication unit and the second information communication unit. If the communicable distance between the communication means and the first information communication means is shorter than the communicable distance between the second communication means and the second information communication means, a configuration using an active type and a passive type However, the active type or the passive type having different communication distances may be used.

  In this embodiment, the USB-RFID tag 10 having the form of a USB memory is used as a wireless communication medium to be attached to the notebook computer 60 to be managed, and the USB-RFID tag 10 is connected to the USB port of the notebook computer 60. The USB-RFID tag 10 and the notebook personal computer 60 communicate with each other by being inserted into the passive wireless communication unit 14a capable of communicating with the passive tag R / W 20 and the active tag R / W 30. As long as it has the active wireless communication unit 14b and can communicate with the notebook computer 60, the tag form may be simply attached to the notebook computer 60.

  In the present embodiment, the passive wireless communication unit 14a and the antenna 12a serving as the first communication means are provided on the USB-RFID tag 10 and attached to the notebook computer 60. The passive wireless communication unit 14a and the antenna 12a The passive tag R / W 20 serving as the first information communication means for communication is placed on the office desks 71-1 to 71-6, but the passive tag R / W 20 is provided in the USB-RFID tag 10. The passive wireless communication unit 14a and the antenna 12a may be mounted on the office desks 71-1 to 71-6. In this case, the tag ID read from the passive wireless communication unit 14a and the antenna 12a in the passive tag R / W 20 may be transmitted from the notebook personal computer 60 or the like to the location management server 40.

  The article whose position is managed is not limited to the notebook personal computer 60. In that case, if it is not limited to the one that restricts use when it is taken out from a predetermined area, it may not be able to communicate with the attached wireless communication medium.

It is a figure which shows one Embodiment of the article | item management system of this invention. It is a figure which shows the state of a notebook type personal computer in the case of managing a notebook type personal computer with the article | item management system shown in FIG. 1, (a) is an external view of a USB-RFID tag, (b) is shown to (a). It is a figure which shows the notebook personal computer to which the USB-RFID tag was connected. It is a figure which shows the area where taking-out of the notebook-type personal computer shown in FIG. 2 is managed by the article management system shown in FIG. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the process at the time of starting of the notebook type personal computer in the article | item management system shown in FIGS. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the process at the time of the movement of the notebook type personal computer in the article | item management system shown in FIGS. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the process at the time of the notebook type personal computer being taken out from the office in the article | item management system shown in FIGS.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 USB-RFID tag 11 USB power supply 12a, 12b Antenna 13a, 13b Memory 14a Passive wireless communication part 14b Active wireless communication part 15 Acceleration sensor 16 Control part 20, 20-1-20-6 R / W for passive tags
21-1 to 21-6, 31 Communication area 30 Active tag R / W
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 40 Position management server 41 Origin information recognition part 42 Acceleration information acquisition part 43 Movement amount calculation part 44 Position calculation part 45 Area inside / outside judgment part 46 Area inside / outside information transmission part 50 Access authentication server 60 Notebook computer 71-1 to 71-6 Office machine 72 Office

Claims (4)

An article management system for managing the position of the article using a wireless communication medium attached to the article,
The wireless communication medium is
A first communication means capable of wireless communication within a first communication distance;
Movement detection means for detecting movement of the attached article;
Second communication that wirelessly transmits within a second communication distance that is longer than the first communication distance, and wirelessly transmits the movement information when movement of the article is detected by the movement detection means. Means,
A first information communication means installed at a predetermined position and communicating with the first communication means;
Second information communication means for communicating with the second communication means;
Only the positional information of the first information communication means connected to the first and second information communication means and communicating with the first communication means, or communicated with the first communication means Position information of the first information communication means and the movement wirelessly transmitted from the second communication means included in the wireless communication medium including the first communication means and received by the second information communication means An article management system comprising position management means for managing the position of an article to which the wireless communication medium including the first and second communication means is attached using information. In the article management system according to claim 1,
The wireless communication medium includes an article management system having control means for restricting use of the article when the position of the article managed by the position management means is outside a predetermined range. . A wireless communication medium for managing the position of an attached article by transmitting information via the information communication means to a position management means attached to the article and managing the position of the article,
A first communication means capable of wireless communication within a first communication distance;
Movement detection means for detecting movement of the attached article;
Wireless communication is possible within a second communication distance longer than the first communication distance, and the movement information is wirelessly transmitted to the information communication means when the movement detection means detects the movement of the article. And a second communication means. The wireless communication medium according to claim 3,
The position of the article calculated using position information of the information communication means capable of communicating with the first communication means and movement information detected by the movement detection means is outside a predetermined range. In this case, a wireless communication medium having a control means for restricting use of the article.

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