JP2012093852A - Location detection system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a location detection system capable of appropriately detecting movement of a person passing a place comparatively being away from an antenna without interference with daily traffic in a facility in which many specific people come and go.SOLUTION: A location detection system X includes: an IC tag 5 that is attached to a detection object person H so as not to be removed for a predetermined period; gates 4 that have a pair of a right side antenna 41 and a left side antenna 42 installed on, for example, right and left walls of a passage way in a facility; and a server 7 that is capable of performing communication between respective antennas 41 and 42. The system further includes control means 43 for performing control at each gate 4 so that at least a first communication state, in which the right side antenna 41 is in an electric wave transmission state and the left side antenna 42 is in an electric wave reception state, and a second communication state, in which the left side antenna 42 is in an electric wave transmission state and the right side antenna 41 is in an electric wave reception state, coexist in a proper order.

Description

  The present invention relates to a location detection system that is preferably used for grasping individual trends and locations in a facility where a large number of specific people come and go.

  For example, there are many scenes where it is required to know the location of each individual in a facility where a specific large number of people go in and out for hospitalization, residence or work, such as a hospital, a nursing home, or a school. Especially in medical facilities and welfare facilities in hospitals and nursing homes, if a person with symptoms such as dementia goes out of the facility or falls asleep in a bed in a room different from their own, Until is confirmed, it will temporarily fall into a missing state. In each facility, facility workers and security guards regularly look around the facility so that such situations can be prevented in advance or the location of the person who is missing can be grasped at an early stage. Currently.

  However, periodic manual inspections may waste labor and time, and may interfere with the original work.

  In view of this, a technique for trying to grasp the location of an individual in a facility using an electronic information processing system has been considered. For example, in Patent Document 1, an antenna is installed on the floor surface of a passage in a facility, an IC tag capable of wireless communication with the antenna is provided on a passer's shoe, and a passerby wearing the shoe passes over the antenna. In such a case, a system is disclosed in which an IC tag communicates with an antenna so that a passer-by can pass through the antenna installation location.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-10228

  However, in the aspect described in Patent Document 1, since the antenna must be installed on the floor surface of the passage, a partial level difference may occur on the floor surface. Even if such a level difference is slight, not only passers-by but also stretchers, knurled skirts and the like can be hindered. In addition, high durability that does not cause communication failure due to daily traffic is also required. In addition, it is possible to embed the antenna below the floor so as not to cause a step on the floor. However, in that case, a large-scale construction is required, and it is difficult to introduce it in facilities other than the new construction. Furthermore, when a passer-by passes over the antenna without wearing shoes, it is impossible to detect the passage, and when moving on a wheelchair, an IC tag attached to the shoes Since the distance between the antenna and the antenna becomes longer, there is a possibility that communication between the antenna and the IC tag is not properly performed, and there is a possibility that reliable detection processing cannot be performed.

  The present invention has been made paying attention to such a problem, and its main purpose is to compare it from an antenna without disturbing daily traffic in a facility where a large number of specific people come and go. The object is to provide an in-facility location detection system capable of appropriately grasping the trends of people passing through remote places.

  That is, the present invention relates to a location detection system applied to detect the location of each detection target person in a facility where a large number of specific detection target persons pass. Here, the “facility” in the present invention can accommodate a specific large number of people for a certain purpose such as medical facilities, welfare facilities (nursing facilities), educational facilities, factories, power plants (particularly nuclear power plants). Means a facility.

  The location detection system according to the present invention is followed by an IC tag that is given a unique identification number and is attached to the body of the person to be detected for at least a predetermined period of time, and the left and right walls or passages of the passage in the facility. The right and left antennas can communicate with a gate having a right antenna and a left antenna that are provided in pairs on the left and right partition walls at the entrance and exit of the room and wirelessly communicate with the IC tag. Server.

  Here, the “predetermined period” is a period in which a certain detection target person can go and go inside the facility, and can include, for example, a hospitalization period, a tenant period, or a period until he leaves the office after leaving work. . In other words, it may be the period from entering the facility to leaving, or the period from entering the facility to exiting, from the time when a specific condition is met to the time when the condition is no longer met ( For example, it may be from when the hospitalization procedure is completed after hospital examination to when the discharge procedure is completed. Further, the gate may be any gate provided with at least a pair of left and right antennas (right antenna and left antenna). As the installation location of the gate, a passage or an entrance of a room following the passage can be mentioned, and a gate can be set in either. Further, in the location detection system of the present invention, it is a condition that the communication between the right antenna and the left antenna and the IC tag is performed wirelessly, while the communication between the right antenna and the left antenna and the server is wireless. Absent.

  The location detection system according to the present invention includes an IC tag information storage means for storing information relating to a unique identification number of an IC tag and a person to be detected attached to the IC tag in association with each other, and an antenna The gate information storage means for storing the unique identification number and the installation point of the gate equipped with the antenna in association with each other, and the function as the communication time storage means for storing the time when the IC tag and the antenna communicated, At each gate, at least a first communication state in which the right antenna is in a radio wave transmission state and a left antenna is in a radio wave reception state, and a second communication state in which the left antenna is in a radio wave transmission state and the right antenna is in a radio wave reception state. It is characterized by having a control means for controlling to be mixed.

  Here, the control means may be provided in the server, or may be provided in each gate. In the present invention, “control to mix the first communication state and the second communication state” means “to repeat the first communication state and the second communication state alternately (regularly)”. "Control" or "control so that the first communication state and the second communication state are performed in random order (irregularly)". As the latter mode, for example, a mode in which the first communication state, the second communication state, the second communication state, and the first communication state are controlled in this order, the second communication state, the first communication state, the first A mode of controlling the communication state, the first communication state, and the second communication state in order, and the like can be given. Of course, an irregular order other than these two examples may be used. Further, in addition to the first communication state and the second communication state, the control means can communicate in a communication state other than the first communication state and the second communication state, for example, a communication state in which only the right antenna can transmit and receive alone, or only the left antenna. May be controlled so that a communication state in which the right and left antennas can both transmit and receive can be mixed. The communication area in the first communication state and the communication area in the second communication state need not be mentioned, but within the communicable area of a set of antennas (right antenna and left antenna) that constitute one gate. Included. In addition, the “information about the person to be detected” stored in the IC tag information storage means includes personal attributes that should be understood by the facility management side, such as name, address, age, gender, entrance time, etc. it can.

  The location detection system of the present invention having such a configuration is configured such that when a person to be detected with an IC tag that cannot be removed for a predetermined period passes through the installation point of the gate, the gate antenna (right antenna, left antenna) and the IC tag Performs wireless communication and transmits the communication signal from the antenna to the server, so that the server stores and manages the time when the IC tag and the antenna communicate with each other by the communication time management unit, and the IC tag information storage unit and Based on the information stored by the gate storage means, it becomes possible to identify the gate that communicated with the RFID and the person to be detected who is attached to the RFID. Therefore, with the location detection system of the present invention, it is possible to grasp who has passed through which gate at which time. In particular, in the location detection system of the present invention, since the IC tag is attached to the detection subject in a state where it cannot be removed for a predetermined period, the IC tag always passes through the gate whenever the detection subject passes the installation point of the gate. Therefore, it is possible to avoid the conventional problem, that is, the problem that the detection target cannot pass even if the person to be detected passes a predetermined detection point.

  Furthermore, in the location detection system of the present invention, since the antenna is attached to the side wall of the passage or the left and right partition walls of the entrance / exit of the room, it is not necessary to install the antenna on the floor surface of the passage and is unnecessary on the floor surface. Steps can be avoided and daily traffic can be carried out smoothly. In addition, the installation of this system does not require extensive construction of the floor.

  In addition, when the person to be detected passes through the gate near the side wall or partition wall where each antenna is installed, it is attached to the person by each antenna (right antenna, left antenna) that can be transmitted and received independently. IC tags can be detected. On the other hand, when the passage width and the opening width of the entrance / exit of the room are relatively large, a place that is relatively far from the installation location of each antenna (right antenna, left antenna) that can transmit and receive independently of each other in the gate. When the person to be detected passes, each antenna continues to give energy to the IC tag located far from itself, so that the output becomes large and the SN ratio is lowered, and the weak radio wave from the IC tag may not be received. There is.

  Therefore, in the location detection system of the present invention, the control means means the first communication state in which the right antenna is in the radio wave transmission state and the left antenna is in the radio wave reception state, and the right antenna is in the radio wave transmission state and the right antenna is in the radio wave reception state. Control is performed so that the second communication state in the state is mixed. In this way, by making one of the antennas function as a dedicated transmission device and the other antenna as a dedicated reception device, the other antenna (the left antenna in the first communication state and the second communication state) The communication efficiency can be improved by increasing the SN ratio of the right antenna. In this way, each antenna (right antenna, left antenna) alternately functions as a transmission-only device or a reception-only device, thereby enabling long-distance communication and when the passage width and the opening width of the entrance of the room are relatively large , It is possible to receive weak radio waves output from an IC tag attached to a person to be detected passing through a place far from the place where each antenna (right antenna, left antenna) is installed, and to pass the IC tag to the gate. It can be accurately detected.

  In the location detection system of the present invention, a self-standing (stand-type) antenna can be applied as the antenna constituting the gate, but there is a possibility that the passage width may be narrowed or traffic may be obstructed. Therefore, it is preferable that each antenna is directly attached to the left and right walls of the passage or the left and right partition walls of the entrance / exit of the room.

  As the IC tag attached to the body at least for a predetermined period of time, it is preferable to mount the IC tag on a wrist band wound around the wrist of the person to be detected. In hospitals and nursing homes, for example, wristbands are often worn on the wrists of persons to be detected such as inpatients and residents so that individual attributes such as name and age can be easily grasped. Therefore, if an IC tag is attached to this wristband, it is not necessary to prepare a dedicated article for attaching the IC tag, and the costs for introducing and operating the system can be reduced. And the burden on the person who attaches the IC tag is extremely small. Here, as a mode of mounting the IC tag on the wristband, an IC tag is printed on the wristband, a seal type IC tag is pasted on the wristband, or an IC tag is embedded in the wristband. Can do.

  In addition, the use of high frequency radio waves may be restricted as a facility, and in order to enable the location detection system of the present invention to be introduced and operated in such a facility, each antenna and IC tag of the gate must A device that can transmit and receive radio waves in the HF band may be applied as a device that uses the HF band.

  Further, in the location detection system of the present invention, the display output means for displaying on the monitor the map in the facility, the installation location of the antenna in communication with the IC tag on the map, and the time at which the IC tag and the antenna communicated is displayed on the monitor. Can be provided. Here, the “map in the facility” may be any map such as a plan view of each floor or a 3D map as long as it is a map that can grasp the arrangement of passages and rooms in the facility. “Displaying antenna installation location” includes not only displaying the installation location of the antenna itself but also indirectly displaying the installation location of the antenna by displaying the installation location of the gate. It is. Furthermore, there may be a plurality of monitors, and each monitor can be distributed and installed in a plurality of rooms (for example, a room (management room) where a server is installed and a nurse station). If the location detection system is equipped with such a display output means, the location of the antenna that detected the IC tag and the detection time of the IC tag on the antenna are displayed on the map of the monitor, so Even if a missing person is found in the facility that can be intuitively and accurately grasped, it is possible to grasp the movement status of the ID tag attached to the missing person on the monitor, Early detection can be expected.

  According to the present invention, an IC tag attached to the body of a person to be detected so as not to be detached for a certain period of time, a gate including a pair of left and right antennas capable of communicating with the IC tag, and a server capable of communicating with the gate are provided. In the location detection system, a pair of left and right antennas are provided on the side wall of the passage or the partition wall of the entrance / exit of the room, so that there is no hindrance to daily traffic in a facility where a specific number of people come and go, The pair of left and right antennas function alternately as a radio wave reception dedicated device or a radio wave transmission dedicated device so that one antenna device capable of long-distance communication can be formed by the pair of antennas. It is possible to appropriately detect the movement of a person who passes through a relatively remote location.

The principle schematic diagram of the location detection system which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. The whole block schematic diagram of the location detection system concerning the embodiment. The plane schematic diagram of the hospital which introduced the location detection system which concerns on the embodiment. The transition schematic diagram of the communication state of the gate in the embodiment. The functional block diagram of RFID. The functional block diagram of a server. The figure which shows an example of the monitor screen in the embodiment. The figure which shows an example of the monitor screen in the embodiment. The figure which shows an example of the monitor screen in the embodiment.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  The location detection system X according to the present embodiment is used to detect the location of an individual in a facility where a specific number of people come and go. In the present embodiment, the location detection system X is introduced into the hospital 1 so that a person in the hospital 1, particularly an inpatient H, can be detected as a detection target and its trend and location can be detected.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the location detection system X according to the present embodiment sets a plurality of gates 4 as detection points in the passage 2 and the entrance / exit 3 of the room in the hospital 1, and RFID 5 (Radio)
(Frequency Identification: equivalent to the “IC tag” of the present invention) is detected by the detection target person H wearing the wristband 6 attached inseparably to the detection target person H in the hospital 1. It is structured so that the location can be grasped. As shown in FIG. 1, each gate 4 in the present embodiment includes a right antenna 41 and a left antenna 42 provided in pairs on left and right walls (side walls 21 and 22) along the traveling direction 2 </ b> A of the passage 2, or A right antenna 41 and a left antenna 42 provided in pairs on left and right partition walls at the entrance 3 of each room connected to the passage 2 are provided.

  This location detection system X is provided between such a plurality of gates 4 and the right antenna 41 and the left antenna 42 of each gate 4 that are attached to a person in the hospital 1, particularly the body of a patient H, in a non-detachable manner for a certain period of time. And the server 7 capable of communicating with the right antenna 41 and the left antenna 42 of each gate 4. As shown in FIG. 3, which is a schematic plan view of one floor of the hospital 1, the installation point (detection point) of the gate 4 is not only the passage 2 or the entrance / exit 3 of each room (patient room R) but also the entrance / exit of the toilet W, elevator Set at appropriate locations in Hospital 1 such as EL entrance / exit, stairs leading to other floors, washroom entrance / exit, handrails (handrails on walkways and handrails for walking assistance provided on stairs, etc.), entrances to the rooftop, etc. Can do.

  As shown in FIG. 2, each gate 4 radiates (transmits) HF band radio waves and receives (receives) HF band radio waves transmitted in the air. Control means 43 for controlling the transmission / reception state of the antennas 41 and 42 is provided. Here, the reason for applying radio waves in the HF band is that, particularly in the case of a system applied to a hospital such as this embodiment, if the radio wave has a high frequency, it is an electrical appliance or electronic device in a facility such as a pacemaker. This is because there is a high possibility of causing malfunction due to interference.

  In the present embodiment, as the antennas 41 and 42, a loop coil twisted in a planar shape is applied, and the right antenna 41 is directly attached to one of the side walls 21 and 22 of the passage 2, and the left antenna 42 is passed through the passage. The other side walls 21 and 22 are directly attached at positions facing the right antenna 41. In such an attached state, the antennas 41 and 42 have a planar spread along the traveling direction 2A (see FIG. 1) of the passage 2, and in the following description, the antennas along the traveling direction 2A of the passage 2 are used. The arrangement area of 41 and 42 is called an “antenna area”. The antennas 41 and 42 attached to the left and right partition walls of the entrance 3 in each room have the same shape as the antennas 41 and 42 attached to the side walls 21 and 22 of the passage 2 according to the areas of the left and right partition walls. Alternatively, the antenna area may be smaller than the antennas 41 and 42 attached to the side walls 21 and 22 of the passage 2. In many cases, the partition wall of the entrance / exit 3 of the room following the passage 2 corresponds to the side walls 21 and 22 of the passage 2, and one side wall (the side wall 21 in FIG. 1) faces the entrance / exit 3 from one side in the opening width direction. The side wall (side wall 21 in FIG. 1) facing the entrance / exit 3 from the other side in the opening width direction is the other partition wall. The mounting position of the antennas 41 and 42 with respect to such a partition wall depends on the surface or the passage 3 facing the inside of the room, depending on the type of door (inner opening type, outer opening type, sliding door type, etc.). Any of the facing surfaces can be selected as appropriate. The upper ends of the antennas 41 and 42 attached to the side walls 21 and 22 of the passage 2 and the partition wall of the entrance 3 are sufficiently higher than the height of the person H to be inspected (for example, about 250 cm from the floor of the passage 2). Thus, the lower ends of the antennas 41 and 42 are set at positions close to the floor surface.

  In the location detection system X of the present embodiment, at each gate 4, the location detection system X includes at least a first communication state in which the right antenna 41 is in a radio wave transmission state and a left antenna 42 is in a radio wave reception state, and a left antenna. Control is performed so that the second communication state in which 42 is in the radio wave transmission state and the right antenna 41 is in the radio wave reception state is mixed in an appropriate order. In the first communication state and the second communication state, the pair of left and right antennas 41 and 42 (the right antenna 41 and the left antenna 42) cause a communication distance longer than the communication distance of each antenna (the right antenna 41 or the left antenna 42) alone. This constitutes one antenna device capable of ensuring the above. Details will be described later.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the location detection system X of this embodiment is provided with a controller terminal (control terminal 44) at each gate 4. In the gate 4, in addition to the first communication state and the second communication state described above, the right antenna 41 can be transmitted / received, while the left antenna 42 is in a transmission / reception disabled state (stopped state). In contrast to the right antenna transmission / reception enabled state, only the left antenna 42 is enabled for transmission / reception, and the right antenna 41 is disabled for transmission / reception (stopped). I have control. Specifically, in each gate 4, each antenna 41 is configured to alternately repeat the right antenna transmission / reception enabled state, the left antenna transmit / receive enabled state, the first communication state, and the second communication state in this order within a predetermined time. , 42 is controlled by the control means 43. That is, the first communication state and the second communication state are alternately repeated in such a manner that the right-side transmission / reception enabled state and the left-side transmission / reception enabled are sandwiched between the second communication state and the first communication state. Here, the “predetermined time” is at least a time shorter than the time during which the patient H passes the antenna region at the standard walking speed, and more preferably, the patient H in the wheelchair is at the standard driving speed. This is a shorter time than the time required to pass through the antenna area. Of course, it is also possible to set an extremely short time to the “predetermined time”.

  The antennas 41 and 42 of each gate 4 in the present embodiment are connected to the server 7 via an amplifier 45, a filter 46, and a demodulator 47 in a wired manner, and together with the server 7, a LAN in the hospital 1 is constructed (FIG. 2). reference). The wiring 48 connecting these devices and devices is routed through the side walls 21 and 22 and the ceiling wall of the passage 2 so as not to hinder traffic. In FIG. 2, a part of the antennas 41 and 42 of all the gates 4 is connected to the LAN cable except for locations (fire doors, etc.) that cannot be physically wired in the location detection system X of the present embodiment. It is connected to the server 7 through a wiring 48 such as.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the RFID 5 is attached to a wristband 6 attached to the wrist when the patient H is hospitalized. Examples of means for attaching the wristband 6 to the RFID 5 include printing processing such as silk screen printing and inkjet printing, adhesion processing, and embedding processing. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, a rectifier circuit 51, a demodulator circuit 52, a modulator circuit 53, a load switch transistor 54, a memory 55, a memory control circuit 56, and an antenna 57 (hereinafter referred to for convenience) And a known passive type RFID 5 having no power supply is applied. The memory 55 stores an ID number (corresponding to the “unique identification number” of the present invention) that is unique identification information.

  The rectifier circuit 51 functions to rectify radio waves received from the antennas 41 and 42 of the gate 4 and supply a DC power supply voltage to each circuit unit. The demodulation circuit 52 has a function of extracting a predetermined control signal (command) from radio waves transmitted from the antennas 41 and 42 of the gate 4. Further, the modulation circuit 53 modulates data including the ID number read from the memory 55 based on the control signal (command) by a predetermined modulation method, and drives the load switch transistor 54 on and off by the modulation output. It has a function of transmitting data to the antennas 41 and 42 of the gate 4 via the side antenna 57. The memory control circuit 56 controls processing for reading the ID number from the memory 55.

  A specific communication method and communication contents between the RFID 5 and the antennas 41 and 42 of the gate 4 will be described later.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the server 7 includes RFID information storage means 71 (corresponding to “IC tag information storage means” of the present invention), gate information storage means 72, communication time storage means 73, and display output means 74. And a general server computer device and appropriate software. The software may be installed on a server computer or may be cloud computing through the Internet. The database may be built in the server computer, may use an external storage device, or may use cloud computing as well as software.

  The RFID information storage means 71 stores the ID number of the RFID 5 and information related to the patient wearing the wristband 6 to which the RFID 5 is attached in a predetermined database 71a in association with each other. Examples of the “information about the patient” include name, age, hospitalization date, hospital room, and the like.

  The gate information storage means 72 associates the unique identification numbers of the antennas 41 and 42 constituting the gate 4 with the installation points of the gate 4 provided with the antennas 41 and 42 and stores them in a predetermined database 72a. Is.

  The communication time storage means 73 stores the time at which the RFID 5 and the antennas 41 and 42 of the gate 4 communicate with each other in at least a predetermined database 73a in association with the ID number of the RFID 5 and the unique identification numbers of the antennas 41 and 42 that communicated. is there.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the display output means 74 outputs and displays a map M in the hospital 1 displaying the installation point of the gate 4 on the monitor 8. Although FIG. 6 illustrates a single monitor 8, for example, it is also possible to install a plurality of monitors 8 in a room where the server 7 is installed, or to install a monitor 8 for each of a plurality of rooms and floors. . Then, the display output means 74 is adapted to the gate 4 through which the patient H accompanied by each RFID 5 has passed in real time or retroactively to the designated time zone according to the appropriate operation of the supervisor or administrator (operator), and the passage thereof. The map M in which the time is associated is output and displayed on the monitor 8. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the display output means 74 is configured to output and display the gate 4 through which the specific patient H selected by the operator has passed on the map M of the monitor 8 in time series. In the present embodiment, a floor unit floor plan is applied as the map M to be output and displayed on the monitor 8, but instead of the plan view or in addition to the plan view, a map or the like displaying the inside of the facility three-dimensionally Appropriate maps can be applied. In FIG. 7, the mounting locations of the pair of left and right antennas 41 and 42 are displayed on the map M of the monitor 8 (that is, two marks (antenna mounting positions) for one gate 4 on the map M). For example, if only one of the antennas is displayed on the map M of the monitor 8 or if the intermediate position between the pair of left and right antennas 41 and 42 is displayed on the map M of the monitor 8, the map On M, this can be dealt with by displaying only one mark for one gate 4.

  Next, the operation procedure and operation of the location detection system X according to the present embodiment will be described.

  When operating the location detection system X, the gate information storage means 72 (specifically, the database 72a) of the server 7 stores the unique identification numbers of the antennas 41 and 42 constituting the gate 4 and the antennas 41 and 42. Are stored in association with each other, and information related to the gate 4 is centrally managed on the server 7 side.

  Then, when the patient H is hospitalized, the wristband 6 integrally or integrally provided with the RFID 5 is worn on the wrist of the patient H. Before and after attaching the wristband 6 to the patient H, the ID number of the RFID 5 attached to the wristband 6 and the information on the patient wearing (wearing) the wristband 6 are associated with each other. The information is stored in the RFID information storage means 71 (specifically, the database 71a), and information related to the RFID 5 and information related to the patient wearing the wristband 6 with the RFID are centrally managed on the server 7 side.

  The antennas 41 and 42 in each gate 4 can transmit and receive the right antenna and the left antenna can be transmitted and received by the control means 43 so that the RFID 5 can wirelessly communicate with the RFID 5 if the RFID 5 exists in the communication area of each antenna 41 and 42. The state, the first communication state, and the second communication state are alternately repeated in this order (see FIG. 4). In the present embodiment, it is set so that the gate 4 continuously repeats the above-described four patterns of communication states except during maintenance and inspection work.

  When the patient H wearing the wristband 6 with RFID passes through the magnetic field generation area in a state where the magnetic field is generated in the peripheral region of the antennas 41 and 42 of the gate 4, the magnetic field around the antennas 41 and 42 is generated. In response, a current is generated in the tag-side antenna 57 of the RFID 5, and the RFID 5 converts the current into a DC power supply voltage by the rectifier circuit 51 and supplies it to each circuit unit. At the same time, the RFID 5 takes out a predetermined control signal (command [continuous reading of RFID ID number]) included in the radio wave output from the antennas 41 and 42 of the gate 4 by the demodulation circuit 52. Subsequently, the RFID 5 reads out the ID number stored in the memory 55 by the memory control circuit 56, modulates the ID number by a predetermined modulation method by the modulation circuit 53, and turns on the load switch transistor 54 by the modulation output. Drive off and transmit wirelessly to the antennas 41 and 42 of the gate 4 via the tag side antenna 57.

  Next, when the antennas 41 and 42 of the gate 4 receive the signal including the ID number, the control terminal 44 of each gate 4 transmits the signal (RFID detection signal) via the amplifier 45, the filter 46, and the demodulator 47. The data is transmitted to the wired server 7. The server 7 that has received the RFID detection signal collates the ID number of the RFID 5 included in the signal with the data stored in the RFID information storage means 71, and specifies the patient H accompanying the RFID 5. The communication time storage unit 73 stores and manages the time at which the RFID detection signal is received in the database 73a in association with the ID numbers and unique identification numbers of the RFID 5 and the antennas 41 and 42 that have communicated with each other.

  By repeating the above steps every time the antennas 41 and 42 of the gate 4 perform wireless data communication with the RFID 5, the location detection system X of the present embodiment detects in the database 73 a of the communication time storage unit 73 of the server 7. The gate 4 through which the patient H who is the subject has passed and data indicating the passage time thereof, that is, the ID number of the RFID 5 and the unique identification numbers of the antennas 41 and 42 which performed wireless data communication, and the communication time (this embodiment) In this case, since the server 7 is always set to receive the RFID detection signal from the antennas 41 and 42, the time when the server 7 receives the RFID detection signal from the antennas 41 and 42 is regarded as the communication time). Data associated with each other can be stored and accumulated.

  In this way, the location detection system X of the present embodiment collects and stores the movement point of the RFID 5, that is, the movement point of the patient H wearing the RFID 5, in the communication time storage unit 73 of the server 7 based on the RFID detection signal. On the basis of the information, the display output means 74 clearly shows the antennas 41 and 42 wirelessly communicating with the RFID 5 and the communication time on the map M on the monitor 8 (lighted display, blinking display, or communication with the RFID 5). The monitor (operator) can grasp the trends of all the patients H wearing the wristband 6 with the RFID 5 by looking at the monitor 8. Further, in the location detection system X of the present embodiment, the display output means 74 displays on the monitor 8 the pass gate 4 (passed gate 4) that is closest to the patient H with respect to the patient H selected by the operator through an appropriate operation. As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the passing gate 4 in the designated time zone of the patient H can be traced over time and displayed (for example, the moving points of the RFID 5 are connected by a line in time series). it can. Therefore, the operator can grasp the trend (passage route) and location of a specific patient H in the facility by looking at the monitor 8. As a result, even if the patient H is missing, grasping the latest trends of the patient H leads to early detection, thereby preventing or suppressing the situation where the patient H is exposed to a dangerous place or state. .

  For example, if the monitor 8 shown in FIG. 8 is seen, after a specific patient H leaves the room R, the room R passes through a passage on the floor where the room R is located, and the subsequent location is unknown. This is easy to understand. In this case, if the map M displayed on the monitor 8 by the display output means 74 is switched to a floor map (not shown) leading to the stairs of the floor where the patient's own room R is, according to the appropriate operation of the operator, The operator can grasp the trend of the patient H on the floor by looking at the map on the monitor 8.

  Further, in the monitor M shown in FIG. 9, there is a location after a specific patient H leaves the room R and enters the toilet W, exits the toilet W, and then enters another room R without returning to the room R. Since it is unknown, it can be easily understood that the patient is in the room R. A patient who has symptoms such as dementia may accidentally enter a room other than his / her own room and fall asleep in the bed of the room, which may occur from time to time. Such a situation can be accurately grasped and is extremely practical.

  When confirming the trend of a specific patient H on the monitor 8, the operator inputs “patient information” stored in the RFID information storage means 71 of the server 7 such as the name of the patient H. Alternatively, when the ID number of the RFID 5 attached to the specific patient H is known, the ID number may be input. In the former case, the server 7 specifies the “RFID ID number” stored in association with the “patient information” in the RFID information storage unit 71 based on the “patient information” input by the operator. be able to. In the latter case, based on the “RFID ID number” input by the operator, the server 7 stores “information about the patient” stored in the RFID information storage means 71 in association with the “RFID ID number”. And the display output means 74 displays the name of the patient H wearing the RFID 5 that has passed through the gate 4 so that the operator can intuitively grasp the trend of the specific patient H. Yes.

  In particular, in the present embodiment, since the location detection system X is introduced in the hospital 1 where the use of radio waves with high radio field strength (electric field strength) is restricted, the communication distances of the antennas 41 and 42 constituting the gate 4 are as follows. The thing of about 1m HF band is applied. When the communication state of the gate 4 is the right antenna transmission / reception enabled state described above, the place where the patient H (specifically, the RFID 5 attached to the patient H) is close to the installation place of the right antenna 41 (for example, the right antenna) If the right antenna 41 wirelessly communicates with the RFID 5 and transmits an RFID detection signal to the server 7, the patient H The fact that it has passed through the gate 4 (detection point) can be stored and managed on the server 7 side. When the communication state of the gate 4 is the above-described left antenna transmission / reception enabled state, the place where the patient H (specifically, the RFID 5 attached to the patient H) is close to the place where the left antenna 42 is installed (the left antenna 42). The left antenna 42 wirelessly communicates with the RFID 5 and transmits an RFID detection signal to the server 7 so that the patient H has its gate. 4 (detection point) can be stored and managed on the server 7 side.

  By the way, in such a communication state in which any one of the antennas can be transmitted / received (right antenna transmission / reception enabled state, left antenna transmission / reception enabled state), the antenna (hereinafter referred to as “right antenna 41”) and the RFID 5 As the distance from the antenna increases, the radio wave transmitted from the antenna (the right antenna 41) continues to give energy to the RFID 5 and becomes a large output, and the weak radio wave from the RFID 5 buried in the high output radio wave is appropriately received. There is a risk that it cannot be done. Such a deterioration in communication efficiency due to a decrease in the SN ratio can be a limit of the communication distance.

  Therefore, in the location detection system X of the present embodiment, the control unit 43 causes the gate 4 to perform the above-described first communication state (communication state in which the right antenna 41 is in a radio wave transmission state and the left antenna 42 is in a radio wave reception state) and The second communication state (communication state in which the left antenna 42 is in a radio wave transmission state and the right antenna 41 is in a radio wave reception state) is set to repeat alternately. In the first communication state, the RFID 5 is excited by the radio wave transmitted from the right antenna 41, and the weak radio wave from the RFID 5 can be appropriately received by the left antenna 42 functioning as a reception-only antenna without outputting the radio wave. Similarly, in the second communication state, the RFID 5 is excited by the radio wave transmitted from the left antenna 42, and the weak radio wave from the RFID 5 is appropriately received by the right antenna 41 functioning as a reception-only antenna without outputting the radio wave. Can do.

  In this way, by making one of the paired right antenna 41 and left antenna 42 a reception-only device that does not output radio wave energy by itself, the signal-to-noise ratio of this reception-only device increases, and the radio wave from the other antenna Communication efficiency is improved until the weak output of the excited RFID 5 can be received. In the location detection system X of the present embodiment, such a pair of left and right antennas 41 and 42 are used to communicate with one antenna device capable of long-distance communication than the individual antennas 41 and 42 (first communication). State, second communication state) is set so that the patient H attached with the RFID 5 alternately repeats within a predetermined time passing through the gate 4 (antenna region). Even in the case of passing through the passage 2 in the width direction of the passage 2 or the opening width direction of the entrance / exit 3, for example, when passing near the center in the width direction of the passage 2 or near the center in the width direction of the entrance / exit 3, The RFID 5 can be detected by any one of the antennas 41 and 42 in the two communication states, and the movement of the patient H passing through the gate 4 can be reliably grasped.

  Further, in the location detection system X according to the present embodiment, the antennas 41 and 42 of the gate 4 are directly attached to the side walls 21 and 22 of the passage 2 and the partition wall between the room and the passage 2, so that the antenna is mounted on the floor surface. Compared to the provided mode, there is an advantage in that it does not hinder daily walks and passage of stretchers and the like, and the passage width and the opening width dimension of the entrance of the room are not inadvertently narrowed.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to embodiment mentioned above. For example, the location detection system of the present invention can be introduced into facilities other than hospitals, such as nursing homes, various schools, factories, and the like.

  Further, IC tags other than RFDI can be applied, and the shape is not limited to a sheet shape, a card shape, and a tag shape, and various shapes can be applied. Further, the IC tag may be attached to something other than the wristband, and the IC tag attached object may be attached to the body of the detection target person so as not to be detached for a predetermined period.

  Further, the person to be detected who attaches the IC tag can be set as appropriate according to the facility usage status and the system operation method. For example, in the above-described embodiment, an example in which an IC tag is attached to a patient is illustrated. However, in addition to a patient, a person such as a doctor, a nurse, or an office worker can be a detection target person.

  The installation location of the gate can be set as appropriate in addition to the passage or the entrance / exit of the room connected to the passage.

  In the above-described embodiment, an example in which each antenna of the gate is connected to the server by individual wiring is illustrated. However, for example, a common control terminal (control means) that controls the operation of each antenna is connected to the server by wiring. It may be configured to connect and transmit an RFID detection signal from the control terminal (control unit) to the server when at least one of the antennas communicates with the RFID. In this case, the number of wires connected to the server can be reduced to half.

  Further, the control means for controlling the communication state of the antenna in the gate may be provided in the server without being provided in each gate, and the communication state in each gate may be controlled by the server. Further, in the above-described embodiment, as the control means, at each gate, at least the first communication state in which the right antenna is in the radio wave transmission state and the left antenna is in the radio wave reception state, and the left antenna is in the radio wave transmission state and the right antenna However, as a control unit, at least the first communication state and the second communication state are controlled to be irregularly repeated. Things can also be applied. Here, specific examples of “repetitively repeating the first communication state and the second communication state” include the first communication state, the second communication state, the second communication state, the second communication state, and the first communication state. The first communication state, the second communication state, the second communication state, the first communication state, the second communication state, the first communication state, the second communication state are repeated so that The aspect which repeats each communication state so that it may become the order of a communication state, a 2nd communication state, and a 2nd communication state can be mentioned. Further, in addition to the first communication state and the second communication state, the control means can transmit / receive the right antenna, the left antenna can transmit / receive, the both antennas can transmit / receive both the right antenna and the left antenna, You may control the communication state of the antenna which comprises a gate so that at least 1 may mix suitably. As a matter of course, the communication area in the first communication state and the communication area in the second communication state are included in the communicable area of the pair of left and right antennas (communication area when both antennas can be transmitted / received). ing.

  In addition, as long as the traffic is not hindered, a self-supporting antenna may be applied as each antenna of the gate. The shape of the antenna can also be changed as appropriate.

  Furthermore, it is also possible to apply an antenna or an IC tag that can transmit and receive radio waves other than those in the HF band depending on the situation of the facility where the present system is introduced.

  In addition, the specific configuration of each part is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

1 ... Facility (hospital)
2 ... passage 21, 22 ... side wall 3 ... entrance / exit 4 ... gate 41 ... right antenna 42 ... left antenna 43 ... control means 5 ... IC tag (RFID)
6 ... Wristband 7 ... Server 71 ... IC tag information storage means (RFID information storage means)
72 ... Gate information storage means 73 ... Communication time storage means 74 ... Display output means 8 ... Monitor H ... Person to detect (patient)
X ... Location detection system

Claims (5)

A location detection system applied to detect the location of each detection target in a facility where a specific number of detection targets pass.
An IC tag that is given a unique identification number and that is attached to the body of the person to be detected at least for a predetermined period of time,
A gate having a right antenna and a left antenna that are provided in pairs on the left and right walls of the passage in the facility or on the left and right partition walls of the entrance of the room following the passage, and capable of wireless communication with the IC tag,
A server capable of communicating between the right antenna and the left antenna,
The server is
IC tag information storage means for storing information relating to a unique identification number of the IC tag and a detection target person attached to the IC tag in association with each other;
Gate information storage means for storing the unique identification number of the antenna and the installation point of the gate configured by the antenna in association with each other;
Communication time storage means for storing the time when the IC tag and the antenna communicated,
In each of the gates, at least,
A first communication state in which the right antenna is in a radio wave transmission state and the left antenna is in a radio wave reception state;
A location detection system comprising: a control unit that controls to mix a second communication state in which the left antenna is in a radio wave transmission state and the right antenna is in a radio wave reception state. The location detection system according to claim 1, wherein the antennas are directly attached to left and right walls of the passage or left and right partition walls of the entrance / exit of the room. The location detection system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the IC tag is mounted on a wristband wound around a wrist of a person to be detected. The location detection system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein each antenna of the gate and the IC tag are capable of transmitting and receiving HF band radio waves. The server includes display output means for displaying on a monitor a map of the facility, a place where the antenna communicated with the IC tag on the map, and a time when the antenna communicated with the IC tag. The location detection system according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

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