JP2009007157A - Article movement management system and method of managing movement of article - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an article movement management system and a method of managing the movement of the articles with a high detection accuracy for detecting the moving direction of articles. <P>SOLUTION: These article movement management system and method of managing the movement of the articles detect the moving direction of the articles 40 by mutually comparing the number of times of the reading of the RFID tags 41 attached to the articles 40 in a predetermined detection time by the antennas 11, 12, 13, 14 disposed at least at two positions in series at predetermined intervals in the moving direction of the articles 40 without requiring delicate adjustment techniques. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an article movement management system and an article movement management method by comparing the number of times an RFID tag attached to an article is read.

  Conventionally, in places where there is only one doorway, such as a product warehouse at an apparel store, a sensor that detects that the product has passed through the doorway after attaching an RFID (Radio Frequency Identifier) tag to the product. Was installed to manage the goods in and out.

There is also known a method (for example, Patent Document 1) that manages human movements that cannot be tagged or the like at the doorway. In the invention described in Patent Document 1, two sets of internal and external sensors are installed in series at the entrance / exit of a convenience store, and the number of customers entering and leaving the store is managed according to the state transition order indicated by these sensors. .
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2004-133583 (paragraphs 0025 to 0027, FIGS. 2 and 3)

By the way, in the entrance / exit management system as described in Patent Document 1, entrance / exit is detected based on the reading order of the unidirectional antenna. And setting the antenna direction requires a delicate adjustment technique, and also requires specialized knowledge such as radio wave interference. That is, there is a problem that detection accuracy is lowered due to a slight misalignment or malfunction.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an article movement management system and an article movement management method with high detection accuracy that detect the movement direction of an article.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, an article movement management system and an article movement management method according to the present invention provide predetermined detection by installing antennas in at least two locations in series with a predetermined interval in the movement direction of an article. The moving direction is detected by comparing the number of times the RFID tag is read by each antenna in time.

  According to the present invention, there is provided an article movement management system and an article movement management method with high detection accuracy, which detect the movement direction of an article without requiring subtle adjustment techniques for antenna direction setting and expertise such as radio wave interference. It becomes possible to provide.

  Hereinafter, an article movement management system and an article movement management method according to the best mode for carrying out the present invention (hereinafter referred to as “this embodiment”) will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

The present embodiment will be described separately for the first embodiment and the second embodiment, depending on the selection of the processing procedure (flow chart).
In the first embodiment, the detection is performed once to detect any one of warehousing, leaving, and undetermined. In the second embodiment, in order to avoid undetermined determination, detection is repeated until either entry or exit is detected.
Instead of applying the flowchart of FIG. 10 in the first embodiment, the flowchart of FIG. 11 is applied in the second embodiment. The database of the first embodiment does not have the re-detection database 109, but the database of the second embodiment has the re-detection database 109. Moreover, although the program of 1st Embodiment and the program of 2nd Embodiment have the warehousing / shipping detection program 105, the content becomes the content according to the flowchart of FIG. 10, FIG. 11, respectively. Other than the above, both may be the same.

(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of an article movement management system and an article movement management method according to the present embodiment.
An RFID tag 41 in which tag IDs (identifiers unique to the tags) corresponding to the individual articles 40 are assigned to the articles 40 is attached to the articles 40. The tag can be read by RFID technology.
The article 40 goes out of a warehouse or the like (not shown) (the direction of the arrow in FIG. 1 is the direction of “departure”), or in a passage near the inside of the warehouse etc. The poles 1 and 2 are installed at far positions with the poles 3 and 4 across the passage. The antennas 11 and 12 are installed on the poles 1 and 2 so as to face each other, and the antennas 11 and 12 are connected to the receiver 21. The receiver 21 is connected to the receiver station 31. The antennas 11, 12, 13, and 14 are horizontal plane omnidirectional antennas.
Similarly, the antennas 13 and 14 are installed on the poles 3 and 4 so as to face each other, and the antennas 13 and 14 are connected to the receiver 22. The receiver 22 is connected to the receiver station 32. The receiver station 31 and the receiver station 32 are connected to the host device 33. The receiver station 31, the receiver station 32, and the host device 33 correspond to the computer described in the claims. The host device 33 also corresponds to the detection device described in the claims.
By the way, in the case of the RFID tag 41 in the UHF band, if the RFID tag 41 is generally within 5 m from the antennas 11, 12, 13, 14, the tag ID is read by the antennas 11, 12, 13, 14. . That is, 5 m is a readable distance (range). The distance is an example.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of the receiver stations 31 and 32 according to the present embodiment. The receiver stations 31 and 32 have a function of counting the number of times the receivers 21 and 22 read the RFID tag 41. The receiver station 31 and the receiver station 32 may have the same configuration.
The receiver station 31 (32) includes a CPU (control device) 51, a main storage device 52, an external storage device 53, a monitor 54, a keyboard 55, and a mouse 56. These are connected to each other via a bus. The main storage device 52 is loaded with a reading control program 100, a tag reading program 101, and a reading number counting program 102 and executed by the CPU 51. The external storage device 53 stores an RFID tag read count database 103.

FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of the host device 33 according to the present embodiment. The host device 33 has a function of comparing the RFID tag read count by the receiver station 31 with the RFID tag read count by the receiver station 32 to detect entry / exit.
The host device 33 includes a CPU (control device) 61, a main storage device 62, an external storage device 63, a monitor 64, a keyboard 65, and a mouse 66. These are connected to each other via a bus. A tag reading number comparison program 104 and a warehousing / exiting detection program 105 are loaded in the main storage device 62 and executed by the CPU 61. The external storage device 63 stores a warehousing / exiting status database 106, a first reading number comparison database 107, a second reading number comparison database 108, and a re-detection database 109.

FIG. 4A is an explanatory diagram for explaining the principle of this embodiment. FIG. 4B is a diagram showing the relationship between the position of the article 40 and the number of readings of the RFID tag 41 per unit time at that position.
As shown in FIG. 4A, antennas 11, 12, 13, and 14 are installed on both sides of the passage of the article 40 with the RFID tag 41 attached. Each antenna intermittently emits a radio wave for reading the RFID tag 41 at the same electric field intensity and the same number of times per unit time.
It is assumed that the article 40 moves at a substantially constant speed from the left to the right in the drawing.
When the article 40 advances to the point P1, the RFID tag 41 can be read by the antennas 11 and 12, and when the article 40 advances to the point P2, it can also be read by the antennas 13 and 14. Further, when the article 40 advances to the point P3, reading by the antennas 11 and 12 becomes impossible, and when the article 40 advances to the point P4, reading by the antennas 13 and 14 becomes impossible.

In general, as the electric field strength decreases, the read probability decreases.
Specifically, for a while after the article 40 passes the point P1, the communication state with the antennas 11 and 12 gradually increases in stability, so the number of readings by the antennas 11 and 12 increases. When the article 40 is sufficiently close to the antennas 11 and 12, the communication state is completely stabilized, and the number of readings is almost constant and stable. Eventually, when the article 40 approaches the point P3, the communication state starts to gradually lose stability, the number of readings decreases, and when the article 40 reaches the point P3, the number of readings becomes zero.

Similarly, for a while after the article 40 passes the point P2, the communication state with the antennas 13 and 14 gradually increases in stability, so the number of readings by the antennas 13 and 14 increases. When the article 40 is sufficiently close to the antennas 13 and 14, the communication state is completely stable, and the number of readings is almost constant and stable. Eventually, when the article 40 approaches the point P4, the communication state begins to gradually lose stability, the number of readings decreases, and when the article 40 reaches the point P4, the number of readings becomes zero.
Therefore, the graph of the number of readings per unit time by the antennas 11 and 12 and the graph of the number of readings by the antennas 13 and 14 are almost similar to each other, as shown in FIG. It becomes a shape close to a trapezoid. It is known that the graph of the number of readings per unit time by the antennas 13 and 14 shifts later (right side in the figure).

The time zone from the time when the article 40 reaches the point P1 to the time when the article 40 reaches the point P4 is divided in half, and the first half (which may be described as “first time” and later) and the second half (hereinafter referred to as “second time”). May be). Then, when the article 40 is moved (shipped) from the left to the right in the figure, the number of readings by the antennas 11 and 12 is larger than the number of readings by the antennas 13 and 14 in the first half, The number of readings by the antennas 13 and 14 is larger than the number of readings by the antennas 11 and 12.
The principle is applied to the detection of the movement (in / out) of the article 40 described below.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the RFID tag read count database 103 according to the present embodiment. The RFID tag reading times database 103 is stored in the external storage device 53 of the receiver station 31 (32) (see FIG. 2).
The tag ID of the read RFID tag 41 is stored in the RFID tag ID column 400. The number of readings is stored in the number-of-reads column 401 in association with the tag ID of the read RFID tag 41.
Incidentally, the data (record) in the first row of the RFID tag reading count database 103 includes the antennas 11 and 12 (13 and 14) within the predetermined time and the RFID tag 41 whose RFID tag ID is “10000”. It shows that the number of times of reading is 80 times.

FIG. 6A is a diagram showing an example of the first read count comparison database 107 according to the present embodiment. The first read count comparison database 107 is stored in the external storage device 63 of the host device 33 (see FIG. 3).
The tag ID of the read RFID tag 41 is stored in the RFID tag ID column 402. In association with the tag ID of the read RFID tag 41, the number of readings by the antennas 11 and 12 is stored in the receiver station 31 reading number column 403, and the number of readings by the antennas 13 and 14 is stored in the receiver station 32 reading number column 404. Yes.
Incidentally, the data (record) in the first row of the first read count comparison database 107 is the RFID tag 41 whose RFID tag ID is “10000” in the first read, the antennas 11 and 12 are 80 times, The antennas 13 and 14 indicate that they have been read 34 times.

FIG. 6B is a diagram showing an example of the second read count comparison database 108 according to the present embodiment. The second read count comparison database 108 is stored in the external storage device 63 of the host device 33 (see FIG. 3).
The tag ID of the read RFID tag 41 is stored in the RFID tag ID column 405. The number of readings by the antennas 11 and 12 is stored in the reading number column 406 of the receiver station 31 and the number of readings by the antennas 13 and 14 is stored in the reading number column 407 of the receiver station 32 in association with the tag ID of the read RFID tag 41. Yes.
Incidentally, the data (record) in the first row of the second read count comparison database 108 is the RFID tag 41 whose RFID tag ID is “10000” in the second read, the antennas 11 and 12 are 20 times, The antennas 13 and 14 indicate that they have been read 70 times.

FIG. 6C is a diagram showing an example of the redetection database 109 according to the present embodiment. The re-detection database 109 is stored in the external storage device 63 of the host device 33 (see FIG. 3).
Here, the first reading count and the second reading count are summed and stored. The tag ID of the read RFID tag 41 is stored in the RFID tag ID column 410. In association with the tag ID of the read RFID tag 41, the number of times the antennas 11 and 12 have read the first time and the second time is the number of times the antennas 13 and 14 have read the first time and the second time in the receiver station 31 total column 411. Is stored in the receiver station 32 total column 412.
Incidentally, the data (record) in the first row of the re-detection database 109 is the sum of the first time and the second time, the RFID tag 41 whose RFID tag ID is “10000”, and the antennas 11 and 12 are 100 times. The antennas 13 and 14 indicate that 104 readings have been made. That is, 411 value = 403 value + 406 value, 412 value = 404 value + 407 value.

FIG. 7A is a diagram showing a correspondence relationship between the comparison result and the status flag set corresponding thereto when the tag reading number comparison program 104 according to the present embodiment compares the first reading number. . The state flag that is set in correspondence with the first comparison result column 300 is defined in the first comparison result column 300 and the state flag column 301 defines the magnitude relationship between the number of readings by the antennas 11 and 12 and the number of readings by the antennas 13 and 14. .
Incidentally, the first row of FIG. 7A shows that the state flag “A” is set when the number of readings by the antennas 11 and 12 is larger than the number of readings by the antennas 13 and 14.

FIG. 7B is a diagram showing a correspondence relationship between the comparison result and the state flag set corresponding to the comparison result when the tag read number comparison program 104 according to the present embodiment compares the second read number. . A state flag set in correspondence with the second comparison result column 302 is defined in the second comparison result column 302 and the state flag column 303 defines the magnitude relationship between the number of readings by the antennas 11 and 12 and the number of readings by the antennas 13 and 14. .
Incidentally, the first row of FIG. 7B shows that the state flag “a” is set when the number of readings by the antennas 11 and 12 is larger than the number of readings by the antennas 13 and 14.

FIG. 7C is a diagram showing a correspondence relationship between the combination of the state flag and the determination when the warehousing / shipping detection program 105 according to the present embodiment determines warehousing / shipping / undecided. The status flag set corresponding to the first comparison result is the first status flag column 304, the status flag set corresponding to the second comparison result is the second status flag column 305, and the first flag column flag and the second flag. Incoming / outgoing / undecided judgment (“incoming”, “outgoing” or “indeterminate”) performed in accordance with the combination of the flags in the column is defined in the inbound / outgoing / undecided judgment column 306.
Incidentally, the second line in FIG. 7C shows that when the first state flag is “A” and the second state flag is “b”, the determination of warehousing / shipping / undecided is “shipping”. In the fourth line, when the first state flag is “B” and the second state flag is “a”, the determination of warehousing / shipping / undecided is “receipt”. It is a certain thing. In other cases, the determination of entry / exit / undecided is “undecided”. The probability of being determined as “undecided” is extremely small.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of the warehousing / exiting situation database 106 according to the present embodiment. The incoming / outgoing situation database 106 is stored in the external storage device 63 of the host device 33 (see FIG. 3).
The result of the warehousing / shipping detection program 105 determining warehousing / shipping / undecided is stored here. Specifically, the ID of the read RFID tag 41 is stored in the RFID tag ID column 408 and the status of entry / exit / undecided is stored in the status column 409 in association with the ID of the read RFID tag 41.
Incidentally, the first line of FIG. 8 indicates that the article 40 with the RFID tag 41 with the RFID tag ID “10000” has been “shipped”.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a procedure for counting the number of times the RFID tag 41 is read by the receiver station 31 (32).
In the following procedure (step S201 to step S207), it is assumed that the same processing is simultaneously performed in both the receiver station 31 and the receiver station 32. In the following, the processing of the receiver station 31 will be described as a representative.

  As a precondition before starting the processing of FIG. 9, the CPU 51 executes the reading control program 100 in the main storage device 52, and always instructs the antennas 11, 12, 13, and 14 to transmit reading radio waves. The receiver 21 and 22 are always instructed to receive read signals from the antennas 11, 12, 13, and 14 (see FIG. 4A).

  When the RFID tag 41 attached to the article 40 becomes readable by the antennas 11 and 12 (when the article 40 reaches the point P1 in FIG. 4A), the CPU 51 executes the tag reading program 101 in the main storage device 52. . The antennas 11 and 12 start reading the tag ID of the RFID tag 41 (step S201).

The CPU 51 starts counting the set detection time (step S202).
The detection time means a period having a certain length of time for counting the number of times the RFID tag 41 is read. In FIG. 4A, the detection time is the time required for the article 40 to reach the point P4 after reaching the point P1, the moving speed of the article 40, the electric field strength, and the antennas 11, 12 and the antenna 13 , 14 in consideration of the distance between them. For example, the detection time is set shorter as the moving speed of the article 40 is higher, and the detection time is set shorter as the distance between the antennas 11 and 12 and the antennas 13 and 14 is shorter.
In addition, although the detection time may be set dynamically according to the detected movement speed by detecting the movement speed of the article 40, in this embodiment, the detection time is the average movement speed of the article 40. It shall be fixed in

The CPU 51 executes the reading number counting program 102 in the main storage device 52, and counts the number of readings of the tag ID of the RFID tag 41 until half of the set detection time has elapsed (step S203).
The read count 401 is stored in association with the read RFID tag ID in the RFID tag read count database 103 of the external storage device 53 (FIG. 5).

When half of the set detection time has elapsed, the CPU 51 reads from the RFID tag reading count database 103 the tag ID stored in the RFID tag ID column 400 and the reading count column 401 stored in association therewith. The number of times of reading is read and transferred to the host device 33 (step S204).
The transferred read count is stored in the first read count comparison database 107 of the external storage device 63 by the host device 33 (FIG. 6A).
The RFID tag ID column 400 in FIG. 5 corresponds to the RFID tag ID column 402 in FIG. The read count column 401 in FIG. 5 corresponds to the receiver station 31 read count column 403 in FIG. 6A (receiver station 32 read count column 404 when transferred from the receiver station 32).

The CPU 51 once resets the value in the read count column 401 of the RFID tag read count database 103 to “0” (step S205). Then, the CPU 51 again executes the reading number counting program 102 in the main storage device 52, and counts the number of readings of the RFID tag 41 until all the set detection times have elapsed (step S206).
The read count 401 is stored in association with the read RFID tag ID 400 in the RFID tag read count database 103 of the external storage device 53 (FIG. 5).

When all of the set detection times have elapsed, the CPU 51 reads the tag ID stored in the RFID tag ID column 400 and the read count column 401 stored in association with the tag ID from the RFID tag read count database 103. The number of times of reading is read and transferred to the host device 33 (step S207).
The transferred read count is stored in the second read count comparison database 108 of the external storage device 63 by the host device 33 (FIG. 6B).
The RFID tag ID column 400 in FIG. 5 corresponds to the RFID tag ID column 405 in FIG. The read count column 401 in FIG. 5 corresponds to the receiver station 31 read count column 406 in FIG. 6B (when transferred from the receiver station 32, the receiver station 32 read count column 407).
This completes the procedure for counting the number of times the RFID tag 41 has been read by the receiver station 31 (32), and the following is processing in the host device 33.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a warehousing / unloading / undecided detection procedure by the host device 33 according to the present embodiment (first embodiment).
The CPU 61 executes the tag reading number comparison program 104 of the main storage device 62 and reads the first reading number comparison database 107 (FIG. 6A) stored in the external storage device 63. Then, for each RFID tag ID 402, the value of the receiver station 31 read count 403 and the value of the receiver station 32 read count 404 stored in association with the RFID tag ID 402 are compared. That is, the tag ID read counts in the first half (first time) of the detection time are compared (step S208).

  As shown in the first comparison result 300 in FIG. 7A, the comparison result is read by the antennas 13 and 14 when the number of readings by the antennas 11 and 12 (that is, the value of the reading number 403 of the receiver station 31) is large. When the number of times (that is, the value of the number of readings 404 of the receiver station 32) is large, or when the number of readings is the same, there are three ways. Then, state flags 301 “A”, “B”, and “C” corresponding to the respective comparison results are defined. In accordance with the definition, the CPU 61 sets “A”, “B”, or “C” as the first status flag 301 in the main storage device 62 and stores it.

  Similarly, the CPU 61 executes the tag reading number comparison program 104 of the main storage device 62 and reads the second reading number comparison database 108 (FIG. 6B) stored in the external storage device 63. Then, for each RFID tag ID 405, the value of the receiver station 31 read count 406 and the value of the receiver station 32 read count 407 stored in association therewith are compared. That is, the tag ID read times in the second half of the detection time (second time) are compared (step S209).

  As shown in the second comparison result 302 of FIG. 7B, the comparison result is read by the antennas 13 and 14 when the number of readings by the antennas 11 and 12 (that is, the value of the reading number 406 of the receiver station 31) is large. When the number of times (that is, the value of the reading number 407 of the receiver station 32) is large, or when the number of times of reading is the same, there are three ways. Then, state flags 303 “a”, “b”, and “c” corresponding to the respective comparison results are defined. In accordance with the definition, the CPU 61 sets “a”, “b”, or “c” as the second status flag 303 in the main storage device 62 and stores it.

The CPU 61 executes the entry / exit detection program 105 of the main storage device 62, and reads the first status flag 301 and the second status flag 303 stored in the main storage device 62. Then, entry / exit / undecided detection is performed (step S210).
Incoming / outgoing / undecided detection is performed by giving one inbound / outgoing / undetermined determination to the combination of the first state flag 301 and the second state flag 303. This determination is made according to the definition of FIG. For example, in FIG. 7C, when the first state flag is “A” and the second state flag is “b”, the determination of warehousing / shipping / undecided 306 is “shipping” (2 rows) Eye). When the first state flag is “B” and the second state flag is “a”, the determination of warehousing / shipping / undecided 306 is “warehousing” (line 4). In the case of a combination other than those, the entry / exit / undetermined determination 306 is “undetermined”.

  In step S <b> 211, the CPU 61 stores the warehousing / shipping / undecided determination 306 in the warehousing / shipping situation database 106 of the external storage device 63. FIG. 8 is an example of the warehousing / exiting situation database 106. The RFID tag ID column 408 stores the tag ID of the RFID tag 41 that has detected entry / exit / undecided in step S210, and the status column 409 stores the tag ID of the RFID tag 41 that has detected entry / exit / undecided. The determination of entry / exit / undecided 306 is stored in association with each other (step S211). This completes all procedures.

(Second Embodiment)
In the first embodiment, in step S210, the warehousing / shipping / undecided determination 306 is stored in the warehousing / leaving situation database 106 including the case of “undecided”.
In the following, in addition to the first embodiment, a second embodiment will be described in which the processing procedure is further continued to avoid “undecided” determination. In the second embodiment, the flowchart of FIG. 11 is applied instead of the flowchart of FIG.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure for detecting entry / exit by the host device 33 according to the present embodiment (second embodiment). The description of step S208 and step S209 is the same as that described in the first embodiment.
In step S220, as in step S210, warehousing / unloading / undecided detection is performed. However, in the second embodiment, subsequent processing differs depending on the detection result.

  In other words, if it is detected in step S220 that it is other than undetermined (step S220 “other than undetermined”), the process proceeds to step S225, the warehousing / shipping judgment 306 is stored in the warehousing / shipping situation database 106, and all procedures are completed. To do. When it is detected that it has not been determined (step S220 “undecided”), the process proceeds to step S221 and subsequent steps, and the detection is repeated until entry or removal can be detected.

In step S221, the sum of the number of readings already read is calculated for each of the receiver stations 31 and 32.
Specifically, the CPU 61 reads the receiver station 31 read count 403 and the receiver station 32 read count 404 from the first read count comparison database 107 of the external storage device 63. Further, the receiver station 31 read count 406 and the receiver station 32 read count 407 are read from the second read count comparison database 108.
For each corresponding RFID tag ID, the sum of the value of the receiver station 31 read count 403 and the value of the receiver station 31 read count 406, and the value of the receiver station 32 read count 404 and the receiver station 32 read count Calculate the sum with the value of 407. Then, the CPU 61 stores the calculation result in the re-detection database 109 of the external storage device 63. At this time, the re-detection database 109 stores the sum of the first read count and the second read count.

  FIG. 6C is an example of the re-detection database 109. In the receiver station 31 total column 411, the sum of the value of the receiver station 31 read count 403 and the value of the receiver station 31 read count 406 is associated with each RFID tag ID 410 in the receiver station 32 total column 412. Is stored in association with each RFID tag ID 410 and the sum of the value of the receiver station 32 read count 404 and the value of the receiver station 32 read count 407.

Next, the receiver station 31 and the receiver station 32 repeat the procedure from step S201 to step S207 (step S222).
Repeating the procedure from step S201 to step S207 means repeating the count of the number of readings for the third time and the fourth time for each of the antennas 11 and 12 and the antennas 13 and 14 following the first time and the second time. To do. The length of the third and fourth detection times is the same as the length of the first and second detection times.

  After the procedure from step S201 to step S207 is repeated, the first read count database 107 stores the third read count, and the second read count database 108 stores the fourth read count. It will be.

In step S223, for each receiver station 31, 32, the sum of the latest two readings is calculated.
Specifically, the CPU 61 reads the receiver station 31 read count 403 and the receiver station 32 read count 404 from the first read count comparison database 107 of the external storage device 63 (reading the third read count). . Further, the receiver station 31 read count 406 and the receiver station 32 read count 407 are read from the second read count comparison database 108 (the fourth read count is read).
For each corresponding RFID tag ID, the sum of the value of the receiver station 31 read count 403 and the value of the receiver station 31 read count 406 (hereinafter referred to as “sum 1”), and the receiver station 32 read count 404 of The sum of the value and the value of the receiver station 32 reading count 407 (hereinafter referred to as “sum 2”) is calculated (for each receiver station, the sum of the third reading count and the fourth reading count is calculated). Will be).

  The CPU 61 compares the sum 1 with the value of the receiver station 31 total 411 in the re-detection database 109 (hereinafter referred to as “re-comparison 1”). Further, the sum 2 is compared with the value of the receiver station 32 total 412 in the re-detection database 109 (hereinafter referred to as “re-comparison 2”). For each receiver station, the sum of the first read count and the second read count is compared with the sum of the third read count and the fourth read count.

In step S224, the CPU 61 performs re-detection of entry / exit as follows according to the combination of the results of re-comparison 1 and re-comparison 2.
Specifically, when the value of the receiver station 31 total 411 is larger than the sum 1 in the recomparison 1 and the value of the receiver station 32 total 412 is smaller than the sum 2 in the recomparison 2 ( As time passes, the number of readings by the antennas 11 and 12 decreases and the number of readings by the antennas 13 and 14 increases).
In the recomparison 1, the value of the receiver station 31 total 411 is smaller than the sum 1, and in the recomparison 2, the value of the receiver station 32 total 412 is larger than the sum 2 (as time passes, The number of times of reading by the antennas 11 and 12 increases and the number of times of reading by the antennas 13 and 14 decreases).
In cases other than the above, “undecided”.

If it is determined in step S224 that it is other than “undecided”, the process proceeds to step S225 (step S224 “undecided”).
In step S224, the probability of being determined as “undecided” is extremely small. However, if it is determined as “indeterminate”, the process returns to step S221 (step S224 “indeterminate”), and the procedure from step S221 to step S224 is repeated again. Steps S221 to S224 are repeated until the determination of “shipping” or “warehousing” is made.

If the process proceeds to step S221 after “not yet determined” in step S224, the sum of the number of readings already read is calculated for each of the receiver stations 31 and 32.
In this case, “the sum of the number of readings already read” means the number of readings of the first time, the second time, the third time, and the fourth time.
In other words, if “undecided” is detected in step S224 even after the third and fourth readings, the sum of the first, second, third and fourth readings is calculated. Further, if “undecided” is detected in step S224 even after the fifth and sixth readings, the sum of the first, second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth readings is calculated. .

  Thereafter, as long as “undecided” is detected, the sum of the number of readings from the first time to the last N times compared in the previous detection of re-entry / exit (step S224) is calculated (re-detection database 109). And the sum calculated in the immediately preceding step S223 to perform the previous re-detection (step S224), and the total value (cumulative value up to the Nth time) is used for re-detection. It is overwritten and stored in the database 109).

  In step S <b> 225, the CPU 61 stores the entry / exit detection results in the entry / exit situation database 106 of the external storage device 63. Then, all procedures are completed.

In the present embodiment, the receiver station 31, the receiver station 32, and the host device 33 are configured as separate hardware. However, in other embodiments of the present invention, all or a part of them are the same. It may be configured on the hardware.
Further, in the present embodiment, two antennas belong to one set with the antennas facing each other. However, the number of antennas belonging to one set is not limited to 2, and may be 1 or 3 (for example, installed on the left and right with respect to the moving direction of the article) or 4 (For example, it is installed on the left, right, top, and bottom with respect to the moving direction of the article), or any other number.
In addition, although the antennas 11, 12, 13, and 14 are arranged in series in the passing direction of the article 40, when this arrangement allows a peak corresponding to the antenna position (two places) to be read per unit time, The detection time may be set based on the time between peaks (corresponding to the distance between antennas) (see FIG. 4). By the way, the time between peaks becomes shorter when the moving speed of the article 40 becomes faster, and the time between peaks becomes longer when the moving speed of the article 40 becomes slower. Based on this, the detection time may be changed dynamically. Similarly, when a rising point and a falling point corresponding to the antenna position are possible, the detection time may be set based on the time between them.

1 is an overall configuration diagram of an article movement management system and an article movement management method according to the present embodiment. It is a block diagram of the receiver station which concerns on this embodiment. It is a block diagram of the high-order apparatus which concerns on this embodiment. (A) is explanatory drawing explaining the principle of this embodiment. (B) is the figure which showed the relationship between the position of articles | goods, and the frequency | count of reading of the RFID tag per unit time in the position. It is a figure which shows an example of the RFID tag reading frequency database which concerns on this embodiment. (A) is a figure which shows an example of the 1st reading frequency comparison database which concerns on this embodiment. (B) is a figure which shows an example of the 2nd reading frequency comparison database which concerns on this embodiment. (C) is a figure which shows an example of the database for redetection which concerns on this embodiment. (A) is the figure which showed the correspondence of the comparison result and the state flag set up correspondingly, when the tag reading number comparison program which concerns on this embodiment compares the 1st reading frequency. (B) is a diagram showing a correspondence relationship between a comparison result and a state flag set corresponding thereto when the tag reading number comparison program according to the present embodiment compares the second reading number. (C) is the figure which showed the correspondence of the combination of a status flag, and the said judgment when the warehousing / shipping detection program which concerns on embodiment determines warehousing / shipping / undecided. It is a figure which shows an example of the warehousing / exiting situation database which concerns on this embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the count procedure of the frequency | count of reading of the RFID tag by the receiver station which concerns on this embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the detection procedure of warehousing / shipping / undecided by the high-order apparatus which concerns on this embodiment (1st Embodiment). It is a flowchart which shows the detection procedure of the warehousing / unloading by the high-order apparatus which concerns on this embodiment (2nd Embodiment).

Explanation of symbols

1, 2, 3, 4 Pole 11, 12, 13, 14 Antenna 21, 22 Receiver 31, 32 Receiver station 33 Host device 40 Article 41 RFID tag 100 Reading control program 101 Tag reading program 102 Reading count program 103 RFID Tag reading count database 104 Tag reading count comparison program 105 Warehousing / shipping detection program 106 Warehousing / shipping status database 107 First reading count comparison database 108 Second reading count comparison database 109 Redetection database

Claims (4)

An article movement management system for detecting a moving direction of the article by reading information of an RFID tag attached to the article via an antenna,
The antenna installed in at least two places in series at a predetermined interval with respect to the moving direction of the article;
A receiver station that counts the number of readings by each antenna within a predetermined detection time considering at least one of the interval and the moving speed of the article in association with the tag ID of the read RFID tag;
A detection device that receives the number of readings for each antenna within the detection time from the receiver station and detects the moving direction of the article based on the number of readings for each antenna;
The detection device compares the number of readings by the antenna in the first half of the detection time between the antennas, compares the number of readings by the antenna in the second half of the detection time between the antennas, and corresponds to a combination of the comparison results of both. Detect the direction of movement of the article,
An article movement management system. In the detection of the movement direction of the article, when it is detected that the movement direction is undetermined, the detection device further includes:
The cumulative number of readings in the past cumulative detection time by the antenna and the number of readings by the antenna in the time whose length is equal to the detection time following the latest past detection time are compared for each antenna, and the comparison result between the two Depending on the combination, the detection is repeated until the moving direction of the article other than undetermined is detected,
The article movement management system according to claim 1. An article movement management method in which a computer detects the moving direction of the article by reading information of an RFID tag attached to the article via an antenna,
The computer
Read information of the RFID tag through antennas installed in at least two places in series at a predetermined interval with respect to the moving direction of the article,
The number of readings by each antenna within a predetermined detection time considering at least one of the interval and the moving speed of the article is counted for each antenna in association with the tag ID of the read RFID tag,
Compare the number of readings by the antenna in the first half of the detection time between the antennas, compare the number of readings by the antenna in the second half of the detection time between the antennas, and move the article corresponding to the combination of the comparison results of both Detect direction,
The article movement management method characterized by the above-mentioned. When it is detected that the moving direction is undetermined, the computer
The cumulative number of readings in the past cumulative detection time by the antenna and the number of readings by the antenna in the time whose length is equal to the detection time following the latest past detection time are compared for each antenna, and the comparison result between the two Depending on the combination of, until the movement direction of the article other than undetermined is detected,
The article movement management method according to claim 3.

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