JP2012127647A - Storage and refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a storage and a refrigerator capable of entirely covering the inside of a metallic housing as a wireless tag readable region, and improving the detection accuracy of the wireless tag.SOLUTION: The storage has a constitution to radiate an electric wave into a storage body from a plurality of antenna elements of an antenna, wirelessly communicate with the wireless tag to read wireless tag information stored in the wireless tag by a reader/writer 51, and process the wireless tag information read out from the wireless tag in the storage body by a control means 54, and the inside of the storage body is entirely covered as the wireless tag readable region by changing a condition of the electric wave in the storage body by an electric wave condition changing means 53. The electric wave condition changing means 53 has a plurality of waveguides connected to a feeder wire having a plurality of feeding points of the antenna, and the directionality of the antenna is changed by changing the feeding point by being switched to the waveguide connected to one of the plurality of feeding points among the plurality of waveguides.

Description

  The present invention relates to a storage and a refrigerator provided with a wireless tag reading function for reading information from a wireless tag attached to an article via an antenna.

  This type of storage is equipped with an antenna for reading a radio tag, generates electric power on the radio tag side by radio waves radiated from the antenna, and the radio tag side is stored in the memory using this electric power. Read information. The read information is transmitted from the wireless tag side to the antenna side to read the wireless tag. As a specific example of the storage, in the case of a refrigerator, information is read by an antenna from a wireless tag attached to each food, and article information such as food in the refrigerator is managed. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1).

JP 2005-164054 A

  In a refrigerator equipped with such a wireless tag reading function, it is desirable to accurately manage the article information of the entire interior. However, since the refrigerator casing is a metal-made closed space, it is radiated from an antenna. There has been a problem that multiple reflections of radio waves are caused, and a wireless tag unreadable region is formed by multipath. In addition, food containing a lot of moisture and metals such as canned food are stored in the refrigerator, but moisture absorbs radio waves, and metal reflects radio waves. There is also a problem that an unreadable wireless tag appears depending on the positional relationship.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and relates to a storage and a refrigerator that can cover the entire inside of a metal housing as a wireless tag readable area and can improve the detection accuracy of the wireless tag.

  The storage according to the present invention is a storage for storing articles to which a wireless tag is attached, is an array antenna having a plurality of antenna elements, radiates radio waves from the plurality of antenna elements into the storage body, An antenna that wirelessly communicates with the wireless tag, a wireless tag reader that reads wireless tag information stored in the wireless tag from the antenna, and a radio wave state in the storage body is changed so that the entire interior of the storage body is A radio wave state changing unit that covers the readable area; and a control unit that processes the radio tag information read from the radio tag in the storage body. The radio wave state changing unit is provided with a plurality of feeding points of the antenna. A plurality of waveguides coupled to a feeder line, and the plurality of waveguides are switched to a waveguide coupled to any of the plurality of feeder points to change the feeding point Are those wherein means for changing the directivity of the antenna by obtaining.

  According to the present invention, by changing the radio wave state in the storage body, the entire interior of the storage body can be covered as a wireless tag readable area by the wireless tag reader, and the detection accuracy of the wireless tag is improved. It becomes possible.

It is a front view of the refrigerator as an example of the storage of one embodiment of the present invention. It is a side surface longitudinal cross-sectional view of FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the electrical structure in the refrigerator of this invention. It is a permeation | transmission schematic perspective view of a refrigerator. It is a figure which shows the electromagnetic wave state change means of the specific example 1-A. It is the schematic of the electromagnetic wave state change means in the specific example 1-B. 3 is a perspective view showing a configuration of an electric damper device 60. FIG. It is the schematic of the electromagnetic wave state change means in the specific example 1-C. It is the schematic of the electromagnetic wave state change means in the specific example 1-D. It is a top view of the planar antenna which comprises the electromagnetic wave state change means in the specific example 1-E. It is a perspective view of the shelf 12 in which the planar antenna 90 is installed. It is composition explanatory drawing by the side of the refrigerator main body to which the planar antenna of FIG. 11 is connected. It is principal part sectional drawing for demonstrating the connection of the waveguide by the side of the shelf 12, and the waveguide by the side of the refrigerator main body. It is the schematic of the electromagnetic wave state change means in the specific example 1-F. It is a top view of the planar antenna 100 of FIG. It is a schematic perspective view of the electromagnetic wave state change means in specific example 2-A. It is a schematic longitudinal cross-sectional view of the freezer compartment 30 part containing the electromagnetic wave state change means in the specific example 2-B.

  Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In the embodiment described below, a refrigerator will be described as an example of a storage. The refrigerator of this example reads wireless tag information such as a wireless ID from a wireless tag attached to an article such as food contained therein, and manages the article in the refrigerator.

FIG. 1 is a front view of a refrigerator as an example of a storage case according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a side sectional view of FIG.
This refrigerator has a refrigerator compartment 10, a vegetable compartment 20, and a freezer compartment 30 in the refrigerator body 1. The refrigerator compartment 10 is opened and closed by an open / close door 11, and a plurality of shelves 12 for installing items such as food are provided therein. The vegetable compartment 20 and the freezer compartment 30 are of a drawer type and are opened and closed by drawer doors 21 and 31, respectively. Inside the vegetable compartment 20 and the freezer compartment 30, storage baskets 22 and 32 are provided, respectively, and slide back and forth with respect to the refrigerator main body 1 by pulling the drawer doors 21 and 31 forward. .

  In addition, on the back side of the refrigerator main body 1, there are a cooler 40, an electric fan 41 that forcibly circulates cold air into the refrigerator, a communication duct 42 that sends cold air to the refrigerator compartment 10, and a cold air supply amount to the communication duct 42. An electric damper device 60 to be controlled is provided.

Hereinafter, the electrical configuration of the refrigerator will be described.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of the refrigerator of the present invention.
A refrigerator board 50 on which various control circuits and the like are mounted is provided in the refrigerator body 1. The refrigerator board 50 is connected to the reader / writer 51 for reading the wireless tag information stored in the wireless tag 200 attached to the article, and the refrigerator main body 1 connected to the reader / writer 51 and serving as a wireless tag detection target space. An antenna 52 that radiates radio waves therein, a radio wave state changing means 53 that changes the radio wave state in the refrigerator main body 1 and covers the entire inside of the refrigerator main body 1 as a reading area by the reader / writer 51, Control means 54 for processing the wireless tag information read from the wireless tag 200 and controlling the entire refrigerator is provided.

  The reader / writer 51 includes an RF unit 51a including a microcomputer, a memory, an oscillator, an amplifier, a filter, and the like. Moreover, the control means 54 is comprised by the microprocessor (MPU), is provided with RAM54a and ROM54b inside, operates according to the program memorize | stored in RAM54a and ROM54b, and controls a refrigerator. FIG. 3 shows an example in which these are provided on the same substrate, but it is also possible to install the substrates separately for each function. For example, the reader / writer 51 and the antenna 52 are provided as separate components. It can also be provided.

  The antenna 52 can be appropriately selected such as a planar antenna shown in FIG. In addition, in the range within one wavelength from the antenna 52, the antenna 52 is not readable due to the detection principle of the antenna 52. Therefore, it is desirable to arrange the antenna 52 so that a distance of one wavelength or more can be taken from the antenna 52 to an article such as food. . Specifically, for example, when the antenna 52 is embedded in the side wall of the refrigerator body 1, the antenna 52 may be disposed at a position separated from the side wall 1 by one wavelength or more. In this case, no matter where in the refrigerator body 1 an article such as food is placed, the position can be one wavelength or more away from the antenna 52.

  Here, the refrigerator body 1 is made of metal, and in an environment surrounded by metal, as described above, there is no escape path of radio waves, and radio waves interfere with each other and cancel each other out by multipath. To do. Furthermore, for example, metal cans and articles containing moisture are scattered in the refrigerator main body 1. As described in the related art, depending on the positional relationship with the wireless tag, there are wireless tags that cannot be read. Come out.

  Therefore, in the present invention, the radio wave state in the refrigerator main body 1 is changed by the radio wave state changing means 53, the area that was unreadable before the radio wave state change is changed to a readable area, It covers so that it becomes a readable area. That is, the wireless tag reading operation is performed at least once before and after the change of the radio wave state, thereby enabling reading of all the wireless tags in the refrigerator main body 1.

  Hereinafter, the radio wave state changing method by the radio wave state changing unit 53 will be described. There are roughly three methods for changing the radio wave state. By taking measures against the antenna 52, a method for changing the radiation direction of the radio wave radiated into the refrigerator (method 1), A method for changing the radio wave condition inside the refrigerator (method 2) by changing the position of the article, and a radiating section that radiates high frequency at a position different from the installation position of the antenna 52, and radiation from the radiating section There is a method (method 3) of changing the radio wave state inside the refrigerator by turning on / off the. Hereinafter, specific configuration examples of the respective methods will be described in order.

(Method 1)
(Specific Example 1-A)
FIG. 4 is a transparent schematic perspective view of the refrigerator, and is an explanatory view of an installation position in the refrigerator main body of the radio wave state changing means of Example 1-A. FIG. 5A is a plan view of the radio wave state changing unit of Specific Example 1-A, and FIG. 5B is a cross-sectional view of the radio wave state changing unit of Specific Example 1-A. In FIGS. 4 and 5 and the respective drawings to be described later, the same parts as those in FIGS.
As shown in FIG. 4, in this specific example 1-A, the antenna 52 is provided in the upper space of the refrigerator compartment 10. An interlocking shaft 11b that rotates in conjunction with the rotating shaft 11a is coaxially fixed to the rotating shaft 11a of the door 11. Further, a transmission belt 55 is provided between the interlocking shaft 11b and the rotating shaft 52a of the antenna 52, and the rotation of the open / close door 11 is transmitted to the rotating shaft 52a of the antenna 52 via the interlocking shaft 11b and the transmitting belt 55. Thus, the antenna 52 rotates. Here, the antenna 52 is rotated by the rotation of the door 11, but a motor shaft of a motor (not shown) is connected to the rotating shaft 52 a of the antenna 52 so as to be driven to rotate by the motor. Also good.

  As described above, in the specific example 1-A, the radiation direction of the radio wave radiated into the refrigerator main body 1 is changed by rotating the antenna 52. Further, the region where the antenna 52 is not readable by changing the radio wave state in the refrigerator without the need for electric power to rotate the antenna 52 by interlocking with the rotation of the manual movable part (here, the door 11). Can be made a readable area. In a conventional refrigerator, there is a type that opens and closes the door to a predetermined position when an open / close button provided on the front of the open / close door or drawer door is pressed, but it may be interlocked with these movable parts. .

(Specific Example 1-B)
Specific example 1-B shows another example in which the antenna 52 is rotated.
FIG. 6 is a schematic view of the radio wave state changing means in the specific example 1-B, and is a cross-sectional view cut along the electric damper device 60 in the refrigerator main body 1. FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the electric damper device 60.
The electric damper device 60 has a baffle 61 and a stepping motor 62 that opens and closes the baffle 61, and adjusts the amount of cold air supplied into the refrigerator compartment 10 by opening and closing the baffle 61. The electric damper device 60 is generally provided in a conventional refrigerator, and the radio wave state changing means 53 in the specific example 1-B is configured such that an antenna 52 is provided in the electric damper device 60. Thus, by providing in the existing movable part, the radio wave state in the refrigerator main body 1 is changed without newly providing a mechanism for driving the antenna 52, and the unreadable area is set as a readable area. It becomes possible. In addition, the code | symbol 13 is the heat insulating material provided in the refrigerator main body 1 in FIG.

In the specific examples 1-A and 1-B, the antenna 52 is moved in conjunction with the existing movable part in the refrigerator. However, in such a movable part, a radio wave absorber (not shown) is provided. May be provided. In other words, because the refrigerator is a metal casing that is easily affected by radio waves, providing a radio wave absorber inside can reduce unnecessary multipaths and change the position of the radio wave absorber. Thus, since the radio wave absorption position also changes, the radio wave state in the refrigerator body 1 can be changed intentionally.
In addition, it is possible to change an unreadable area | region into a readable area | region by setting it as the specification which can move the antenna 52 more than half wavelength.

(Specific Example 1-C)
Specific Example 1-C is to change the length of the antenna 52. Specifically, the antenna 52 is configured by a pair of radiation-type leaky coaxial cables 70, and the position where each end is connected is changed. The antenna 52 length is changed to change the radiation direction of the radio wave radiated from the antenna 52.
FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of the radio wave state changing means in specific example 1-C.
As shown in FIG. 8, for example, a pair of radiation-type leaky coaxial cables having a high degree of deformation are wired in parallel, one end of each is connected to a reader / writer, and the other end is a plurality of (here, three) terminations. Connect to any of the units 71a to 71c. Each termination | terminus part 71a-71c is for changing the length of the radiation | emission type leaky coaxial cable 70, respectively, and cable length becomes long in order of 71c, 71a, 71b. In Specific Example 1-C, the length (effective length) of the radiation-type leaky coaxial cable is changed by switching the connection destination of the other end of the radiation-type leaky coaxial cable 70 to any one of the end portions 71a to 71c. The radio wave condition can be changed. Switching of the connection destination at the other end may be performed physically by a driving device (not shown) or may be performed by electrically moving a switch or the like. Further, as described above, the reader / writer 51 is arranged on the refrigerator board 50 on which various electronic components are mounted. However, the arrangement positions of the radial leakage coaxial cable 70 and the terminal portions 71a to 71c are arbitrary, and the refrigerator You may provide in the housing | casing of the main body 1. FIG. Further, the length may be changed in conjunction with a movable part such as the opening / closing door 11. As a result, the radio wave state changes, and the article-attached wireless tag 200 that cannot be read by multipath or the like can be read.

(Specific Example 1-D)
Specific example 1-D shows a modification of specific example 1-C.
FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of the radio wave state changing means in specific example 1-D. The same parts as those in FIG. 8 are denoted by the same reference numerals.
As shown in FIG. 9, for example, the free ends of a pair of radiating leaky coaxial cables 70 wired in parallel are connected by a metal slider 81, and the slider 81 is physically moved by a slider mechanism 80. Thus, the effective length of the radiation-type leaky coaxial cable 70 is changed. The specific configuration of the slider mechanism 80 can be arbitrarily configured.

(Specific Example 1-E)
FIG. 10 is a plan view of a planar antenna constituting radio wave state changing means in specific example 1-E.
As shown in FIG. 10, first, the antenna 52 is configured by a planar antenna. The planar antenna 90 of this example is an array antenna having a plurality of antenna elements 91 and feed lines 92, and the plurality of antenna elements 91 and feed lines 92 are arranged so as to be plane-symmetric with respect to the antenna center line 93. Yes. Also, here, two waveguides 93a and 93b are provided, and the switch 95 is used by switching to either one. The feed points 94 a and 94 b on the feed lines coupled to the respective waveguides 93 a and 93 b are provided at symmetrical positions around the antenna center line 93. In the planar antenna 90 configured as described above, power is supplied between the case where power is supplied to the waveguide 93a side and power is supplied from the feeding point 94a and the case where power is supplied to the waveguide 93b side and supplied from the power supply point 94b. Since the distance from the point to the antenna element group on the right side of the drawing and the antenna element group on the left side of the drawing is different, a phase shift occurs and the directivity of the radio wave can be changed. That is, by switching the waveguide, changing the length to the plurality of antenna elements 91 that receive radio waves from the switched waveguide, and adjusting the phase of the radio waves radiated from the plurality of antenna elements 91, the synthesis Control the direction of wave travel. That is, directivity can be given to the radio wave. As a result, the wireless tag 200 in different directions can be read by the single antenna 52.
When the two waveguides 93a and 93b are switched and selected by the switch 95 as described above, one oscillating unit can be used in common without providing an oscillating unit in each of the waveguides.

Here, a specific installation structure of the planar antenna 90 in the refrigerator will be described.
FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the shelf 12 on which the planar antenna 90 is installed. FIG. 12 is a configuration explanatory view on the refrigerator main body side to which the planar antenna of FIG. 11 is connected, and shows a schematic perspective view of the refrigerator. FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view of the main part for explaining the connection between the shelf 12 side waveguide and the refrigerator body 1 side waveguide.
Here, the planar antenna 90 is embedded in the transparent resin of the shelf 12, for example. The waveguides 93 a and 93 b are similarly embedded in the shelf 12, and one end of each of the waveguides 93 a and 93 b is configured to open on the side surface of the shelf 12. Then, the waveguides 96a and 96b are also embedded in the refrigerator body 1, and one end of the waveguides 93a and 93b is guided on the refrigerator body side in a state where the shelf 12 is correctly set in the refrigerator compartment 10. It is configured to be coupled to the tubes 96a and 96b. With such a structure, a cable for energizing the antenna 52 is unnecessary, the structure is simplified, and the weight of the refrigerator main body can be reduced.

  The refrigerator main body 1 side has one waveguide, the shelf 12 is automatically moved back and forth, and one of the two waveguides 93a and 93b provided on the shelf 12 is guided to the refrigerator main body 1 side. You may comprise so that it may couple | bond with a wave tube. Further, the number of planar antennas 90 installed is arbitrary, and may be provided for each shelf 12, for example.

(Specific Example 1-F)
FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram of the radio wave state changing means in Example 1-F, and FIG. 15 is a plan view of the planar antenna 100 of FIG.
As shown in FIG. 14 and FIG. 15, first, the antenna 52 is configured by the planar antenna 100. The planar antenna 100 has a plurality of antenna elements 101 and a feeder line 102. And the dielectric material 110 which has the opening part 110a is arrange | positioned facing the planar antenna 100, and the dielectric material 110 is moved to the left-right direction of FIG. 14 with a moving mechanism (not shown). Since the electric lines of force from the planar antenna 100 in the portion covered with the dielectric 110 are reduced, the radio wave has directivity. As a result, the multipath can be suppressed to the minimum without unnecessary radio wave radiation, and the radio wave state can be changed by moving the dielectric. In addition, the code | symbol 103 in a figure is an antenna fixing hole for fixing the planar antenna 100 to the refrigerator main body 1. FIG.

(Method 2)
(Specific Example 2-A)
Specific Example 2-A automatically moves the shelf 12 in the vertical direction.
16A and 16B are schematic perspective views of a radio wave state changing unit in Example 2-A, in which FIG. 16A is a perspective view of a moving mechanism portion of a moving shelf constituting the radio wave state changing unit, and FIG. 16B is an arrow of FIG. It is an enlarged view of a part.
Specific Example 2-A changes the radio wave state in the refrigerator body 1 by automatically moving the shelf 12 in the vertical direction and moving the shelf automatically. As a specific configuration of the movable shelf, for example, the one described in JP-A-2003-262462 can be adopted. Here, in brief explanation with reference to FIG. 16, when the motor 121 rotates, the screw-shaped shaft 122a connected to the motor shaft rotates. The rotation of the screw shaft 122a is transmitted to the other three screw shafts 122b, 122c, and 122d by the timing belt 123. As a result, the shelf mounting frame 124 connected to the screw shaft moves up and down, and the movable shelf detachably mounted on the shelf mounting frame moves up and down. Thus, the radio wave state in the refrigerator compartment 10 can be changed by moving the movable shelf and changing the position of the article in the refrigerator compartment 10.

(Specific Example 2-B)
Specific Example 2-B automatically moves the storage basket 32 that stores articles.
FIG. 17 is a schematic view of the freezer compartment 30 portion including the radio wave state changing means in the specific example 2-B.
As shown in FIG. 17, in this specific example 2-B, the storage basket 32 is slid in the front-rear direction by the slide mechanism 130 in the freezer compartment 30 with the drawer door 31 of the freezer compartment 30 closed. Here, the slide mechanism 130 is a rotation gear 131 fixed to the refrigerator body 1 side, a motor (not shown) that drives the rotation gear 131, and a straight line that is provided above the storage basket 32 and meshes with the rotation gear 131. When the rotary gear 131 is rotated by the rotation of the motor, the storage basket 32 slides back and forth in the freezer compartment 30. In this way, by moving the storage basket 32 and changing the scattered state of the articles in the freezer compartment 30, the radio wave state in the freezer compartment 30 can be changed.

  According to the specific examples 2-A and 2-B, the radio wave state in the refrigerator main body 1 is changed by changing the position of the article, that is, by changing the position of the article that absorbs or reflects radio waves. Can do. Another advantage of moving the article is that the article itself can be moved from the unreadable area to the readable area. By this movement, the wireless tag 200 attached to the article moves to a position where the radio tag 200 can receive radio waves, so that the IC of the wireless tag 200 can be powered and information in the IC can be returned to the reader / writer 51. it can.

(Method 3)
In the method 3, as described above, a radiating portion that radiates high frequency is provided at a position different from the installation position of the antenna 52, and the radio wave state in the refrigerator main body 1 is changed by ON / OFF of radiation from the radiating portion. It is. Although not specifically shown, a high frequency generator is provided in the refrigerator main body, and a high frequency output from the high frequency generator is energized to a metal portion in the refrigerator main body 1 and radiated from the metal portion. And the electromagnetic wave state in the refrigerator main body 1 can be changed by turning ON / OFF the drive of the high frequency generator. In addition, the metal part in the refrigerator main body 1 corresponds to, for example, a metal part provided on a shelf (for example, a frame of a shelf, a support part of the shelf), a heat exchanger, or the like. Moreover, you may generate a high frequency from the board | substrates in store | warehouse | chambers, such as a store installation board | substrate for interior lighting.

Now that the configuration of the radio wave state changing means 53 has been clarified, the wireless tag reading operation in the refrigerator of the present embodiment will be described next.
Specifically, the wireless tag reading operation is performed, for example, when there is a change in the accommodation state of the articles in the refrigerator. Here, the open / close door 11 and the drawer doors 21 and 31 are each provided with an open / close detection sensor (not shown), and the open / close detection sensor detects the open / close of each door. Then, after the opening of the door is detected and an article is taken in and out of the refrigerator, when the door is detected as being closed, the reader / writer 51 performs the reading process of the wireless tag 200. Then, after the radio wave state in the cabinet is changed by the radio wave state changing unit 53, the wireless tag 200 is read again. This series of operations is repeated at least one cycle, preferably a plurality of times, and all the RFID tag information in the refrigerator body 1 is read. Then, the read RFID tag information is processed to grasp the number of articles in the refrigerator main body 1 and the article information.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the radio wave state in the refrigerator main body 1 is changed by the radio wave state changing unit 53 and the wireless tag 200 is read again. It can be changed to a readable area. For this reason, it is possible to read a wireless tag that has been placed in a non-readable region at the time of previous reading and could not be read, and it is possible to accurately grasp the wireless tag information in the entire refrigerator body 1.

  By the way, when there is a wireless tag 200 that has been put in and out and cannot be read, it is unclear whether the wireless tag 200 attached due to radio interference has become unreadable or has been taken out and cannot be read. Therefore, a separate camera is attached to the refrigerator, and the camera's movement direction, number of movements, size, etc. are judged by the camera, and it is matched with the information of the RFID tag of the read article to grasp accurate loading / unloading and reading errors. You may do it. Specifically, for example, the distance of the moving direction of the object is grasped by a camera or a compound eye camera. Then, the camera recognizes the hand and recognizes other moving parts as food. It is preferable to install the camera so as to photograph the lower part from the upper part in the refrigerator main body from the viewpoint of easy grasp of the food shape and the like. And the presence or absence of food is judged with a camera, and it is judged whether the article was put out or put. There is also a method in which the shelf 12 itself is sensed by a camera and is judged from the presence or absence of food on the shelf 12. Even in that case, it is possible to determine whether the food is taken in or out by grasping information on the food itself such as size and color and the moving direction in real time. In addition, in the sensor, a pyroelectric sensor may be provided in parallel in front of and behind the inlet in the refrigerator so as to grasp the moving direction of the hand. At the same time, it is also possible to record the change in the number of readings of the wireless tag and determine whether the article is taken in or out.

  The function of the refrigerator of the present invention as described above is a system in which a similar radio wave condition (multipath, etc.) occurs, specifically, a system that reads a wireless tag housed inside a metal casing such as a safe or a factory / warehouse. It can be applied to other household appliances, and in this case, the same effect as in the case of a refrigerator can be obtained. When a device having the above function is connected to a network, the wireless tag recognition rate can be improved by interlocking with another device. For example, in a refrigerator, a reader / writer 51 is provided on the outside of the refrigerator door, or on a food shelf, sink, trash can, etc. of the linked kitchen, and the reading result of each reader / writer 51 after opening and closing each door of the refrigerator is changed. It is possible to communicate with the refrigerator to leave evidence such as which food has moved to where and how much has been used, and even if a reader / writer 51 cannot recognize it, Being able to be recognized by the writer 51 makes it possible to grasp the presence of the article.

  In addition, various types of information can be obtained as long as various sensors such as a weight sensor are mounted, sensing while power is supplied, and returning a recognition result. For example, in the case of an article having a pressure sensor mounted on the bottom of the container, the weight of each can be grasped, so that the total weight of each shelf 12 can be calculated. In addition, if a temperature sensor and humidity sensor are installed, the storage status of the food is periodically grasped based on the detection results of these sensors, and the data is written to the wireless tag, the food is sent to the next supplier along with the wireless tag. By passing it, it is also possible to notify the following merchants of food freshness evidence.

  As described above, the timing of reading the wireless tag 200 is performed when a button (not shown) provided on the refrigerator main body 1 is pressed in addition to when an article is put in and out. The wireless tag can be read with a single button operation. Such an article management mechanism in the refrigerator main body 1 by reading the wireless tag 200 makes it possible to check the contents in the refrigerator main body 1 without opening and closing the door, which can contribute to energy saving. . The specific method of using the information read from the wireless tag 200 is not particularly limited and is arbitrary. For example, the wireless tag 200 stores food information related to the contents of the food to which the wireless tag is attached. In addition, the food information read from the wireless tag 200 may be reflected in the operation control of the refrigerator. Specifically, in order to maintain the freshness of the food, it can be reflected in setting values such as a quick freezing period and a storage period.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Refrigerator main body, 10 refrigerator compartment, 11 door, 12 shelves, 51 reader / writer (wireless tag reader), 52 antenna, 52a rotating shaft, 53 radio wave state changing means, 54 control means, 60 electric damper device, 70 radiation type leak Coaxial cable, 81 slider, 90 planar antenna, 91 antenna element, 93a, 93b waveguide, 95 switch, 96a, 96b waveguide, 100 planar antenna, 101 antenna element, 110 dielectric, 200 wireless tag.

Claims (5)

A storage for storing articles with a wireless tag attached thereto,
An array antenna having a plurality of antenna elements, radiating radio waves from the plurality of antenna elements into a storage body, and wirelessly communicating with the wireless tag;
A wireless tag reader for reading wireless tag information stored in the wireless tag from the antenna;
Radio wave state changing means for covering the entire inside of the storage body as a readable area of the wireless tag by changing the radio wave state in the storage body.
Control means for processing wireless tag information read from the wireless tag in the storage body,
The radio wave state changing means has a plurality of waveguides coupled to a feeding line provided with a plurality of feeding points of the antenna, and one of the plurality of feeding points among the plurality of waveguides. A storage which is means for changing the directivity of the antenna by switching to a waveguide coupled to the antenna and changing a feeding point. The inside of the storage is in an environment where radio waves radiated from the antenna are reflected multiple times,
When changing the directivity of the antenna, the radio wave state changing means changes the directivity of the antenna so as to change a region that cannot be read due to the influence of multiple reflection before the change of directivity into a readable region. The storage according to claim 1, wherein the entire interior of the storage body is covered as a readable area of the wireless tag by changing the storage area.   The shelf body is detachably mounted and has a shelf for storing articles, the shelf is provided with the array antenna, and one of the plurality of waveguides divided into two is the shelf. The one end embedded in the shelf is configured to open to the side of the shelf, and the one end is on the refrigerator body side in a state where the shelf is set in the storage body. The storage according to claim 1, wherein the storage is configured to be coupled to the other end of the embedded, and a switch for switching to one of the plurality of waveguides is provided in the storage body. Warehouse.   It has a detection means for detecting the moving direction of the article, and the control means processes the wireless tag information in the storage body based on the detection result of the detection means and the wireless tag information. The storage as described in any one of Claims 1 thru | or 3.   The refrigerator provided with the storage as described in any one of Claims 1 thru | or 4.

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