JP7339465B1 - cylinder storage - Google Patents

Abstract

An object of the present invention is to provide a cylinder storage and management warehouse that can stably store and manage gas cylinders within a metal casing using an RFID system. A cylinder storage management warehouse 1 according to the present invention can accommodate a plurality of metal gas cylinders 3, can store and manage them using an RFID system, and has an interior partitioned into a plurality of areas. A metal housing 5 that accommodates gas cylinders 3 in a row in each compartment, a cable-type antenna 7 arranged in each compartment so as to extend in the row direction of the gas cylinders 3, and a cable-type antenna 7 capable of wireless communication. The cable-type antenna 7 includes an RFID tag 9 and an annular RF tag holder 11 having an outer peripheral surface to which the RFID tag 9 can be attached and which can be hung on the neck of the gas cylinder 3. The tag holder 11 is characterized in that it is disposed at a position where it can face all the RFID tags 9 in the same section when the gas cylinder 3 hung around the neck is accommodated in the housing 5. [Selection diagram] Figure 1

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a cylinder storage and management cabinet for storing and managing a plurality of gas cylinders containing high-pressure gas such as argon.

2. Description of the Related Art As a cylinder storage and management cabinet for storing and managing gas cylinders filled with high-pressure gas such as argon, there is one using an RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) system as disclosed in Patent Document 1, for example.
An RFID system attaches an RFID tag to an object (article) to be managed and reads the ID information of the RFID tag by means of radio waves emitted from an antenna. It is a system that can

In the "cylinder storage" of Patent Document 1, the inside of the housing is divided into compartments, and gas cylinders with RFID tags are arranged in a line and stored in each compartment. By reading the information of the RFID tag with the antenna provided in each compartment, the information of the gas cylinder housed in each compartment can be confirmed on the PC screen.
As a result, it becomes possible to manage in which section in the storehouse each gas cylinder is stored, so that it is possible to save the trouble of searching for the target gas cylinder in the storehouse when taking it out, which is efficient.

In addition, Patent Document 2 discloses an "article management device" that manages articles by an RFID system using a cable-type antenna.

Japanese Patent No. 7000615 Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2022-032189

The radio waves of the RFID system have the property of being reflected when they hit a metal surface.
Since gas cylinders and housings that accommodate gas cylinders are generally made of metal, the inside of the housing of the cylinder storage is an environment where irregular reflection of RFID radio waves is likely to occur.

When these reflected waves interfere with the radio waves output from the antenna, they cancel each other out, generating a non-communicable area (hereinafter referred to as a "NULL point"). If many NULL points occur inside the housing, the RFID tag cannot be stably read. Therefore, it is required to suppress irregular reflection and reduce the NULL points.

In order to suppress diffused reflection, the radio wave output of the antenna should be weakened. However, when attaching a flat antenna to the ceiling surface as in Patent Document 1, the radio wave output needs to be set to a strength that enables reading of the RFID tag at the farthest position from the antenna, which weakens the radio wave output. There was a limit though.

Further, in the article management apparatus of Patent Document 2, a cable-type antenna is used instead of a flat-plate antenna, thereby making it possible to easily change the area in which wireless communication is possible.
However, as described above, if the object to be managed is a gas cylinder, the object itself is made of metal and must be managed in a space surrounded by metal, so it is a harsh environment for using an RFID system. .
Therefore, in Patent Document 2, which does not presuppose such an environment, it cannot be said that stable management can be performed by preventing irregular reflection of radio waves.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a cylinder storage and management cabinet that uses an RFID system to stably store and manage gas cylinders in a metal housing.

(1) The cylinder storage and management box according to the present invention can accommodate a plurality of metal gas cylinders, and can store and manage them using an RFID system,
a metal housing whose interior is partitioned into a plurality of areas and accommodates the gas cylinders in a row in each partition;
a cable-type antenna arranged to extend in the column direction of the gas cylinders in each compartment;
an RFID tag capable of wireless communication with the cable-type antenna;
An annular RF tag holder that has an outer peripheral surface to which the RFID tag can be attached and can be hung on the neck of the gas cylinder,
The cable-type antenna is disposed at a position where it can face all the RFID tags in the same section in a state in which the gas cylinder to which the RF tag holder attached with the RFID tag is hung around the neck is accommodated in the housing. It is characterized by

(2) Further, in the above (1), the cable-type antenna is arranged so as to face the RFID tag at a distance of 1 cm or more and 3 cm or less.

(3) In addition, in the apparatus described in (2) above, a conveying means for conveying the gas cylinders in the column direction is provided,
The cable-type antenna is arranged at a position higher than the RF tag holder and opposed to the RFID tag at a distance of 2 cm or more.

The cylinder storage and management box according to the present invention has an outer peripheral surface to which an RFID tag can be attached, an annular RF tag holder that can be hung on the neck of a gas cylinder, and a position that can face all the RFID tags in the same section. With the cable antenna installed, the gas cylinders can be stably stored and managed.

1 is a front view showing the internal structure of a cylinder storage and management cabinet according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. FIG. 2 is a side view showing the internal structure of the cylinder storage and management cabinet shown in FIG. 1; FIG. 2 is a top view of the cylinder storage management cabinet shown in FIG. 1; FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of a shielding plate installed in the cylinder storage and management cabinet shown in FIG. 1; FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of cylinder stockers provided in each section of the cylinder storage and management cabinet shown in FIG. 1; FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of an RF tag holder to which an RFID tag is attached; It is a figure explaining the positional relationship of a cable type antenna and an RF tag holder in the state where the gas cylinder was accommodated in the housing|casing (part 1). FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating the positional relationship between the cable antenna and the RF tag holder in a state where the gas cylinder is accommodated in the housing (No. 2); FIG. 3 is a top view of a gas cylinder with an RF tag holder hung around its neck.

The cylinder storage and management box 1 according to the present embodiment can accommodate a plurality of metal gas cylinders 3 and can be stored and managed using an RFID system. A housing 5 divided into a plurality of sections (sections A, B, and C), a cable antenna 7 installed for each section in the housing 5, and an RFID tag 9 capable of wireless communication with the cable antenna 7 ( 6) and an RF tag holder 11 for holding the RFID tag 9. FIG.

The present invention is characterized in that the RFID system can be stably used, so the RFID system will be described first.
The RFID system of the present embodiment sets the ID information of the RFID tag 9 attached to the gas cylinder 3 to be managed in the housing 5 in the same manner as the RFID system of Patent Document 1 (see FIG. 6 of Patent Document 1). By reading with the attached antenna (cable antenna 7 in this embodiment), the gas cylinder 3 in the housing 5 can be managed on a PC (not shown).

An RF tag holder 11 to which an RFID tag 9 is attached is hung on the neck of a gas cylinder 3 stored in the cylinder storage management cabinet 1, and the ID information of the RFID tag 9 is reflected by radio waves transmitted from the cable-type antenna 7. It is received by the cable type antenna 7 as a wave, and the received ID information is transmitted to the PC.

Information on the cylinder storage management box 1 to be managed and information on the gas cylinders 3 to be stored in each cylinder storage management box 1 are stored in the PC.
The information of the cylinder storage and management warehouse 1 includes division information such as what kind of division the inside of the storage is divided into, the number of gas cylinders 3 stored in each division, the type of gas of the gas cylinders 3 to be stored in each division, and the like. There is
The information on the gas cylinder 3 includes the type of gas, the date of filling, the date of manufacture, etc., and these are associated with the ID information of the RFID tag 9 attached to the gas cylinder 3 to be stored.

The PC compares the received ID information with the information stored in the PC, and displays the result on the PC screen.

Each configuration of the cylinder storage and management cabinet 1 that enables stable use of the RFID system as described above will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5. FIG.

<Case>
The housing 5 accommodates the gas cylinder 3, and is made of metal and has a rectangular parallelepiped appearance. The housing 5 has an internal space divided into three by a shielding plate 13, and a cylinder stocker 15 is installed in each of the divisions A, B, and C.
The gas cylinders 3 accommodated in the cylinder stocker 15 installed in one section are of the same type.

An exhaust port 17 with a gas detector is provided at substantially the center of the upper surface of the housing 5 (see FIG. 3). A duct (not shown) is connected to the exhaust port 17, and the gas discharged from the exhaust port 17 is sent to a gas treatment device (not shown) through the duct and processed.
This is to prevent gas leakage from the gas cylinder 3 because the stored gas cylinder 3 may be filled with toxic gas.

A shutter device 19 for opening and closing the entrance side and the exit side of the housing 5 is provided on the upper surface of the housing 5 .

The shield plate 13 is made of a metal plate so that radio waves emitted from the cable-type antenna 7 do not pass between the sections.
As shown in FIG. 4, the lower end of the shielding plate 13 is provided with a predetermined gap S between adjacent compartments, and the upper portion of the shielding plate 13 is formed with a mesh portion 20 through which gas can pass. It is The reason why the mesh portion 20 is formed with such a gap S is as follows.

As described above, one exhaust port 17 is provided on the upper surface of the housing 5 , and even if there is a gas leak from the gas cylinder 3 stored in any compartment within the housing 5 , the gas will not flow through the exhaust port 17 . should be able to flow.
However, if the shielding plate 13 were to completely partition the passage of the gas, the exhaust port 17 would have to be provided for each section, but providing the exhaust port 17 for each section would increase the cost.
Therefore, in the present embodiment, the gap S is formed below the shielding plate 13 and the mesh portion 20 is provided above the shielding plate 13 to block radio waves and allow passage of gas.
This makes it possible to manage the gas cylinders 3 for each section while using only one exhaust port 17 .

As shown in FIG. 5, the cylinder stocker 15 includes a frame 21 that stores the gas cylinders 3 to be stored in a line, transport rollers 23 that form a transport path at the bottom of the frame 21, and a cylinder holder that holds the stored gas cylinders 3. It is provided with a piece 25 and a stopper member 27 for preventing the gas cylinder 3 conveyed at the innermost part of the conveying path from being detached from the conveying path.

By motor-driving the conveying roller 23 , the gas cylinder 3 is moved from the back side to the front side in the row direction of the gas cylinders 3 , and the first gas cylinder 3 is conveyed to the front side of the stopper member 27 . The transport roller 23 and the motor that drives the transport roller 23 correspond to the transport means of the present invention. Further, the cylinder holding piece 25 allows the gas cylinder 3 to move in the conveying direction, but restricts the movement in the opposite direction to hold the gas cylinder 3 .

In the present invention, it is not essential to provide the cylinder stocker 15 in the housing 5, and it is sufficient that the gas cylinder 3 is stored in each compartment so that it can be easily taken in and out.

<Cable type antenna>
The cable-type antennas 7 are held in a linearly extending state by a resin molding or the like, and are arranged one by one in each section so as to extend in the row direction of the gas cylinders 3 . By providing one cable-type antenna 7 in each section, it is possible to acquire and manage positional information indicating in which section the gas cylinder 3 is arranged.

A plurality of cable fittings 29 for attaching the cable antenna 7 are provided on the side wall of the housing 5 or the shielding plate 13 at predetermined intervals in the longitudinal direction of the cable antenna 7. A cable type antenna 7 is supported at the tip.
The installation height of the cable antenna 7 is about the same height as the neck of the gas cylinder 3, and when the gas cylinder 3 is accommodated in the housing 5, the outer peripheral surface of each RF tag holder 11 hung on the neck of the gas cylinder 3 The cable type antennas 7 are arranged to face each other.
In addition, the length of the cable antenna 7 is set from the gas cylinder 3 housed on the innermost side of the housing 5 to the outermost exit side so that the cable antenna 7 faces the outer peripheral surface of all the RF tag holders 11 in the compartment. The length is set so as to reach the gas cylinder 3 accommodated.

<RFID tag>
ID information and the like are written in the RFID tag 9 (see FIG. 6), and attached to the neck of the gas cylinder 3 via the RF tag holder 11 . The ID information of the RFID tag 9 is read by the cable-type antenna 7, and by comparing the ID information read by the cable-type antenna 7 with the information of the gas cylinder 3 linked to the ID information stored in the PC, The gas cylinder 3 to which the RFID tag 9 is attached can be specified.

<RF tag holder>
The RF tag holder 11 is an annular body as shown in FIG. 6, and a tag inserting portion 11a into which the RFID tag 9 can be inserted is formed on its outer peripheral surface. Three tag insertion portions 11a are formed at equal intervals in the circumferential direction of the RF tag holder 11 (only one is shown in FIG. 6), and three RFID tags 9 can be attached to one RF tag holder 11. By arranging a plurality of RFID tags 9 evenly on the outer peripheral surface of the RF tag holder 11 in the circumferential direction, even if the gas cylinder 3 or the RF tag holder 11 rotates, the surface portion of one of the RFID tags 9 (the antenna of the RFID tag 9 ) faces the cable antenna 7 .

By arranging the cable antenna 7 and the RFID tag 9 in the above arrangement relationship, stable communication with the RFID tag 9 is possible even if the radio wave output of the cable antenna 7 is weak. Specifically, the ID information of the RFID tag 9 can be stably read if the radio wave output of the cable-type antenna 7 is 20 dBm or more.
As described above, in order to reduce irregular reflection of radio waves, it is desirable to communicate with a radio wave output that is as small as possible. is more preferred.

Moreover, attaching the RFID tag 9 to the outer peripheral surface of the RF tag holder 11 has the following advantages.
The RFID tag 9 is generally rectangular, but if it were to be mounted on the upper surface of the RF tag holder 11, only a short tag with a small surface area could be mounted because a long mounting surface for the tag could not be secured. If the surface area of the RFID tag 9 is small, it becomes difficult to read the ID information. However, if the radio wave output of the cable-type antenna 7 is increased, diffused reflection occurs within the metal housing 5 and the aforementioned NULL points occur frequently, which is not preferable.

In this regard, since the RF tag holder 11 of the present embodiment has the tag insertion portion 11a on the outer peripheral surface of the RF tag holder 11, the elongated RFID tag 9 can be attached. As a result, the surface area of the RFID tag 9 can be increased, and the ID information of the RFID tag 9 can be easily read. Therefore, the ID information can be read even with weak radio waves, and the reflection of radio waves generated inside the housing 5 can be reduced.

Further, the RF tag holder 11 is made of resin having elasticity and can be elastically deformed so as to open a cut portion formed in one place of the annular body. The RF tag holder 11 can be attached to the neck of the gas cylinder 3 by inserting the neck of the gas cylinder 3 into this portion. The inner diameter of the RF tag holder 11 may be set according to the outer diameter of the neck of the gas cylinder 3 . However, since the outer diameter of the neck varies depending on the manufacturer, it is preferable to set the inner diameter of the RF tag holder 11 according to the manufacturer's gas cylinder 3 having the largest neck outer diameter so that it can be used with any manufacturer's gas cylinder 3 .

The shape and material of the RF tag holder 11 are not limited to those described above. For example, the RF tag holder 11 may be a continuous annular body. In that case, the RF tag holder 11 can be attached to the gas cylinder 3 so as to hang from the top of the gas cylinder 3 .
In that case, the inner diameter of the RF tag holder 11 needs to be larger than the outer diameter of the head of the gas cylinder 3, but the head of the gas cylinder 3 generally has a larger outer diameter than the neck, so the RF tag holder 11 becomes larger. . In this regard, since the RF tag holder 11 of the present embodiment can be directly attached to the neck, the RF tag holder 11 can be miniaturized and can be used even in the limited space inside the housing 5 without any problem.

The positional relationship between the cable antenna 7 and the RFID tag 9 with the gas cylinder 3 accommodated will be described in more detail with reference to FIGS. 7 to 9. FIG.
7A and 7B are schematic diagrams showing the positional relationship between the cable antenna 7 and the RF tag holder 11 in one section of the housing 5. FIG. 7A is a front view, and FIG. 7B is a side view. .
FIG. 8 is an enlarged view of the gas cylinder 3, the cable antenna 7 and the RF tag holder 11 in FIG. 7(a).
FIG. 9 is a top view of the gas cylinder 3 with the RF tag holder 11 hung around its neck.

As described above, in order to read the ID information with weak radio wave output, the cable antenna 7 and the RFID tag 9 need to face each other at a short distance, for example, 3 cm or less. Also, in order to reduce the reflection of radio waves, it is desirable that the cable-type antenna 7 is at least 1 cm away from the metal surface.
Therefore, the cable antenna 7 is attached to the housing by the cable fixture 29 so that the distance from the side wall of the housing 5 (or the shield plate 13) is 1 cm or more and the distance from the outer peripheral surface of the RF tag holder 11 is 3 cm or less. It is attached to the side wall of body 5 (or shield plate 13).

From the viewpoint of keeping the cable antenna 7 away from metal, it is preferable to use a material other than metal for the cable fixture 29, but the cable fixture 29 may be made of metal. The positions where the cable fixture 29 and the cable antenna 7 come into contact do not extend over the entire length of the cable antenna 7, but only at several locations at predetermined intervals in the longitudinal direction of the cable antenna 7. Even if the cable fixture 29 made by the manufacturer is used, the reflection of radio waves does not occur much.

In addition, although it has been explained that the cable-type antenna 7 is installed at the same height as the neck of the gas cylinder 3, more specifically, the RF tag holder 11 attached to the gas cylinder 3 as shown in FIGS. It should be placed slightly higher than the
Since the shape of the gas cylinder 3 differs depending on the manufacturer, there are cases in which the shoulder portion has a gentle shape as indicated by the solid line in FIG. There is also If the shoulder is stretched, the distance between the shoulder of the metal gas cylinder 3 and the cable-type antenna 7 becomes short. preferable.

Moreover, setting the installation height of the cable type antenna 7 higher than the RF tag holder 11 attached to the gas cylinder 3 has the following advantages.
As described above, the cylinder storage and management cabinet 1 of the present embodiment can transport the gas cylinders 3 in the row direction by motor-driving the transport rollers 23 of the cylinder stocker 15 .
During transportation, the gas cylinder 3 moves up and down by several millimeters due to vibration. It is easy to hit the type antenna 7. Therefore, by placing the cable antenna 7 at a position higher than the RF tag holder 11, this can be prevented.

Further, as described above, the inner diameter of the RF tag holder 11 is set according to the manufacturer's gas cylinder 3 having the largest neck outer diameter so as to be compatible with different manufacturers' gas cylinders 3 . Therefore, when the RF tag holder 11 is attached to the gas cylinder 3 manufactured by a manufacturer whose neck has a small outer diameter, a gap is generated between the outer peripheral surface of the neck of the gas cylinder 3 and the inner peripheral surface of the RF tag holder 11 . Therefore, as shown in FIG. 9, the RF tag holder 11 may be biased in one direction, and the central axis of the gas cylinder 3 and the central axis of the RF tag holder 11 may deviate by about 1 cm.

If the distance between the cable antenna 7 and the RF tag holder 11 is too close, the RF tag holder 11 may collide with the cable antenna 7 when the RF tag holder 11 is biased toward the cable antenna 7 .

Furthermore, in this embodiment, when the transport roller 23 is driven to transport the gas cylinder 3, it is conceivable that the gas cylinder 3 swings left and right by a maximum width of about 1 cm due to the vibration. Therefore, the RF tag holder 11 and the cable antenna 7 are more likely to collide when the gas cylinder 3 is transported.

As described above, the distance between the RF tag holder 11 and the cable-type antenna 7 is 1 cm due to the clearance between the neck of the gas cylinder 3 and the RF tag holder 11, and 1 cm due to vibrations during transport. fluctuate.
Therefore, in order to prevent the RF tag holder 11 from colliding with the cable type antenna 7, the cable type antenna 7 has a distance of 2 cm or more from the outer peripheral surface of the RF tag holder 11 in a state where the central axis is aligned with the gas cylinder 3. It is preferable to arrange Further, as described above, in order to read the ID information with a weak radio wave output, it is desirable that the distance between the cable antenna 7 and the RFID tag 9 is within 3 cm. A suitable distance between the antenna 7 and the RFID tag 9 is 2 cm or more and 3 cm or less.

Therefore, in this embodiment, with respect to the RF tag holder 11 hung on the neck of the gas cylinder 3, the range is about 45 degrees upward from the horizontal direction, and on the arc that is 2 cm or more and 3 cm or less from the outer peripheral surface of the RF tag holder 11 It is optimal to arrange the cable type antenna 7 at the position (see FIG. 8).

Note that if there is no transport means for transporting the gas cylinder 3 within the housing 5, there is no need to consider lateral shaking due to vibration during transportation, so the distance between the cable-type antenna 7 and the RFID tag 9 is It should be set within the range of 1 cm or more and 3 cm or less.

As described above, according to the cylinder storage and management cabinet 1 of the present embodiment, when the gas cylinder 3 is accommodated in the housing 5, the RFID tag 9 attached to the gas cylinder 3 and the cable antenna 7 are positioned close to each other. Since they face each other, the ID information of the RFID tag 9 can be read with a weak radio wave output. As a result, irregular reflection of radio waves in the metal housing 5 is reduced, null points are less likely to occur between the cable-type antenna 7 and the RFID tag 9, and reading accuracy of ID information is improved.

As an effect of improving the reading accuracy, the following effect can be expected, for example.
In the conventional example using a plate-shaped antenna, the number of gas cylinders 3 whose ID information could be correctly read was about 80% of the total. In the conventional example, the reasons why the ID information cannot be read correctly include poor communication due to frequent occurrence of NULL points, and erroneous reading of the RFID tag 9 in the adjacent section due to leakage of radio waves from the gap S of the shielding plate 13 to the adjacent section. All of these are caused by irregular reflection of radio waves.
On the other hand, if the cylinder storage and management cabinet 1 of the present embodiment is used, the irregular reflection of radio waves in the housing 5 is reduced, so it can be expected that about 95% of the ID information of the gas cylinders 3 can be correctly recognized. .
As described above, the present invention enables stable storage management of gas cylinders by the RFID system.

Reference Signs List 1 cylinder storage and management cabinet 3 gas cylinder 5 housing 7 cable antenna 9 RFID tag 11 RF tag holder 11a tag insertion part 13 shielding plate 15 cylinder stocker 17 exhaust port 19 shutter device 20 mesh part 21 frame 23 conveying roller 25 cylinder holding piece 27 stopper Member 29 Cable fixture Section A, B, C S Gap

Claims (3)

A cylinder storage and management cabinet that can store a plurality of metal gas cylinders and can be stored and managed using an RFID system,
a metal housing whose interior is partitioned into a plurality of areas and accommodates the gas cylinders in a row in each partition;
a cable-type antenna arranged to extend in the column direction of the gas cylinders in each compartment;
an RFID tag capable of wireless communication with the cable-type antenna;
An annular RF tag holder that has an outer peripheral surface to which the RFID tag can be attached and can be hung on the neck of the gas cylinder,
The cable-type antenna is disposed at a position where it can face all the RFID tags in the same section in a state in which the gas cylinder to which the RF tag holder attached with the RFID tag is hung around the neck is accommodated in the housing. A cylinder storage and management warehouse characterized by 2. The cylinder storage and management cabinet according to claim 1, wherein said cable-type antenna is disposed so as to face said RFID tag at a distance of 1 cm or more and 3 cm or less. A transport means for transporting the gas cylinders in the column direction,
3. The cylinder storage and management cabinet according to claim 2, wherein the cable-type antenna is disposed at a position higher than the RF tag holder and opposed to the RFID tag at a distance of 2 cm or more.

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