JP7403280B2 - Container, article management system, and communication method for the container - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a storage container, an article management system, and a communication method for storage containers.

When transporting goods such as medicines and foods, they may be transported while being kept cool in order to maintain a constant temperature during transport. A cold storage box has also been proposed that checks whether the article is being transported while maintaining it at an appropriate temperature during transportation (for example, Patent Document 1).

JP2019-031308A

However, when transporting articles to one destination, one cold box may be used, but a plurality of cold boxes may be used. In such a case, when a reader device reads an ID from an RFID tag attached to an article housed in a cold box, the reader device installed in a certain cold box reads the ID of the article in the cold box in which the reader device is installed. In addition, IDs of RFID tags of articles stored in other cold boxes may be read. In this case, if a reader device is provided for each cold box, the same RFID tag will be read by multiple reader devices, making it impossible to properly manage the articles.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and its purpose is to obtain information from the tags housed in a container and tags not housed in the container. The object of the present invention is to provide a storage container, an article management system, and a communication method for storage containers.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, one aspect of the present invention includes: a shielding part provided between the inside and the outside of the accommodating part to shield radio waves based on a first communication method; and a shielding part provided inside the accommodating part. , communicating with a tag attached to an article stored in the storage section using a first communication method to obtain a tag ID from the tag, and transmitting the obtained tag ID using a communication method different from the first communication method. a reader that transmits data to a terminal device outside the storage unit using a second communication method, and the radio waves based on the second communication method have a stronger radio wave intensity than the radio waves based on the first communication method. The shielding part is capable of passing radio waves based on the second communication method between the reader and the terminal device, and the shielding part is capable of passing radio waves based on the second communication method between the reader and the terminal device, and the shielding part is configured to allow radio waves to pass through the shielding part, and the shielding part is configured to allow radio waves to pass therethrough between the reader and the terminal device. A gap or an opening is provided so that communication based on the first communication method is not established with the tag .

Further, one aspect of the present invention is to provide a shielding portion for shielding radio waves based on the first communication method between the inside and outside of the housing portion, provide a reader inside the housing portion, and provide a reader inside the housing portion. communicating with a tag attached to an article using a first communication method to obtain a tag ID from the tag, and transmitting the obtained tag ID using a second communication method that is a different communication method from the first communication method; The communication method of the container transmits data to a terminal device outside the container , wherein the radio waves based on the second communication method have a stronger radio wave intensity than the radio waves based on the first communication method, and the shielding A radio wave based on the second communication method between the reader and the terminal device can pass through the part, and a tag existing in the housing part of a housing container other than the housing container concerned can pass therethrough. A gap or an opening is provided so that communication based on the first communication method is not established .

As explained above, according to the present invention, it is possible to obtain information from the tags accommodated in the container and the tags not accommodated in the container.

1 is a schematic system configuration diagram showing the configuration of an article management system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of a cold box 10. FIG. 2 is a schematic functional block diagram showing the functions of a terminal device 20. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a display screen displayed on a touch panel, which is one aspect of the output unit 23. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a display screen displayed on a touch panel, which is one aspect of the output unit 23. FIG. It is a figure showing an example of management data stored in a management data storage part. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the flow of operation of the article management system 1. FIG.

Hereinafter, a storage container and an article management system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a schematic system configuration diagram showing the configuration of an article management system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention.
The article management system 1 includes cold boxes 10a, 10b, and 10c (hereinafter simply referred to as cold boxes 10 unless otherwise identified), terminal devices 20a and 20b (hereinafter simply referred to as terminal device 20 unless otherwise identified). ), storages 30a and 30b (hereinafter simply referred to as storage 30 unless otherwise specified), a management server 40, a management data storage section 45, and a network 50.

One or more cold boxes 10 can be used. In this figure, a case is illustrated in which three cold boxes 10a, 10b, and 10c are used. The configurations of the cold boxes 10a, 10b, and 10c are generally the same.
The cold box 10a includes a management tag 11a, a reader 12a, a sensor 13a, and a storage section 103, and stores an article 15 attached with an RFID tag 16 and a cold pack. The cold box 10 maintains the stored articles 15 below a certain temperature. The cold box 10a can accommodate one or more articles 15.

The cold box 10a may be any storage container, such as a box or a bag-shaped container. Such a storage container may be one that can maintain a constant shape, such as a box, regardless of whether an object is contained therein or not. In addition, storage containers, such as bag-shaped containers, have elasticity and can flexibly change their shape depending on whether or not they are filled with items, and in response to external force applied to them. Good too.

The articles 15 are medicines, fresh foods, and the like. Article 15 is an article that is preferably maintained at a certain temperature or below. In this embodiment, a case is illustrated in which two articles 15a and 15b are housed in the cold box 10a.
Further, in this embodiment, a case will be described in which the article 15 is a medicine. Some medicines can be stored at room temperature, but others must be stored at a certain temperature range below room temperature.

One RFID (Radio frequency identification) tag 16 is attached to each article 15. Each of the RFID tags 16 is individually assigned identification information (also referred to as tag ID). This identification information and information regarding the article 15 to be attached are stored in the management server 40 or the management data storage unit 45, so that the article 15 can be identified if the identification information can be grasped. .
The RFID tag 16 is attached to each article 15 by a person in charge of receiving goods when the article 15 is received. The RFID tag 16 may be attached to the article 15 as long as the RFID tag 16 can be attached to the article 15. For example, the RFID tag 16 may be attached to the outer surface of the article 15 with an adhesive material, an adhesive, etc. It may be connected to the article 15 at. Further, as an additional method, the RFID tag 16 may be attached to a bag and the article 15 may be placed in the bag.

The sensor 13a is provided on the inner peripheral side of the housing section 103 for each cold box 10, and is connected to the management tag 11a by wire. The sensor 13a measures the environment inside the cold box 10 and outputs the measurement result to the management tag 11a. Examples of the environment to be measured include temperature, humidity, acceleration, and current position. In this embodiment, a case will be described in which temperature is measured.

The management tag 11 is provided in each of the plurality of cold boxes 10a, 10b, and 10c.
The management tag 11a has a communication function for communicating with the terminal device 20 and a memory for storing data. The management tag 11 acquires the environment of the article stored in the cold box 10 with the sensor 13a, stores the measurement result obtained from the sensor 13a in the memory, and outputs it to the terminal device 20 using the communication function.

The management tag 11 has a function of communicating using BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) (Bluetooth is a registered trademark), communicates with the terminal device 20 by using this BLE, and receives information obtained from the reader 12a. etc. are transmitted to the terminal device 20.

The leader 12a is provided on the inner peripheral side of the housing section 103 for each cold box 10.
The reader 12a communicates with the RFID tag attached to the article 15 stored in the storage unit 103 by NFC (Near Field Communication), and acquires identification information (tag ID) from this RFID tag. The reader 12a transmits the tag ID acquired from the RFID tag to the terminal device 20 using BLE. Further, the reader 12a is assigned reader identification information (reader ID) that individually identifies the plurality of readers 12a, and when transmitting the tag ID to the terminal device 20, the reader ID is also transmitted.

The terminal device 20 is a computer such as a smartphone or a tablet. The terminal device 20 has a function of communicating with the management tag 11 and the reader 12a using BLE, a function of communicating with the management server 40 via the network 50, etc. be done.
Furthermore, the terminal device 20 has a calling function via the public line network. The person in charge of transportation carries the terminal device 20 and can also talk to the administrator of the management server 40 as needed during the transportation work.
In this figure, the terminal device 20a communicates with the management tag 11a and reader 12a of the cold box 10a, and the terminal device 20b communicates with the management tag and reader provided in the cold box 10b, and also communicates with the management tag 11a and reader 12a provided in the cold box 10c. Communicate with management tags and readers.
The terminal device 20 uses the reader ID transmitted from the reader 12a and the identification information (management tag ID) assigned to the management tag 11a provided in the same cold box 10 as the one in which this reader 12a is installed. By storing the correspondence, it is possible to specify the combination of the reader 12a and the management tag 11 provided in one cold box 10. Thereby, the combination of the temperature etc. measured by the sensor 13a and the article 15 housed in the cold box 10 can be specified.
Further, a box identification number (for example, a barcode label, etc.) may be attached to each cold box 10, and a correspondence relationship between the box identification number and the reader ID may be stored in the terminal device 20. Thereby, the person in charge of management can specify the cold box 10. Further, the terminal device 20 displays the tag ID and temperature for each box identification information. Thereby, the person in charge of management can check the relationship between the box identification number displayed on the terminal device 20 and the box identification number attached to the cold box 10 to be transported, and check which cold box 10 has the tag ID. It is possible to know whether the indicated item is stored and what temperature the inside of which cold box 10 is.

The storage 30 has a function of controlling the temperature inside the storage to maintain a set target temperature, and is, for example, a refrigerator or a freezer. Moreover, the storage 30 can accommodate a plurality of articles 15 therein. In this figure, the storage 30a contains an article 15c to which an RFID tag 16c is attached, and the storage 30b contains an article 15d to which an RFID tag 16d is attached.

The storage 30a and the storage 30b are installed within one hospital, for example. For example, the storage 30a is installed in the first ward of a certain hospital, and the storage 30b is installed in the second ward, which is a different ward from the first ward.
Here, in the hospital, when medicines are delivered from a pharmaceutical manufacturer, the medicines (goods 15) are stored in a specific storage 30 (for example, storage 30a), and a delivery request is made to remove the medicines from the inventory for use. If there is, the requested medicine is taken out from the storage 30a, placed in the cold box 10, transported to the storage 30 (for example, storage 30b) of the ward where it is scheduled to be used, and then removed from the cold box 10. It is taken out and stored in the storage 30b. When the time for actual use arrives, the medicine is taken out from the storage 30b and used.

The storage 30 also has a function of reading the tag ID of the RFID tag attached to the stored articles 15 and transmitting it to the management server 40 via the network 50 together with the storage ID assigned to the storage 30. , has a function of measuring the environment (for example, temperature and humidity) of the stored articles 15 and transmitting the measurement results to the management server 40 together with the storage ID. Here, the storage 30 has a function of also transmitting the current time at the time of transmission.
The storage 30 acquires the tag ID and temperature of the articles 15 stored in the storage at predetermined time intervals and transmits them to the management server 40 .
Although the article management system 1 is illustrated with a total of two storage units 30, there may be one storage unit or three or more storage units.

The management server 40 collects management data, which is information regarding the storage state of the articles 15, and stores it in the management data storage section 45. The management data is data representing the state of the article to be managed at each time, and includes at least one of time, temperature, location information, and tag ID.

Here, the location information may be any information that allows the location of the article 15 to be ascertained, such as the storage ID of the storage 30 in which it is stored, or the information that is in the possession of the person in charge of transporting the cold box 10. The location information of the terminal device 20 can be used. Since the storage 30 is an installation-type device, the management server 40 can specify location information from the storage ID by storing the storage ID and information indicating the installation location. ing.

Here, as a method for acquiring the location information of the terminal device 20, the management server 40 can also use access point identification information in addition to acquiring location information indicating the result of positioning in the terminal device 20. For example, when receiving various information from the terminal device 20, the management server 40 acquires the identification information of the access point when the terminal device 20 connects to the network 50 using wireless LAN, and uses the obtained access point The position of the terminal device 20 may be detected based on the point identification information. A plurality of access points are installed in the article management system 1 at different locations. The management server 40 associates and stores the installed location and the access point identification information, and when the access point identification information is obtained, the management server 40 identifies the location of the terminal device 20 using the access point. It is now possible to do so.

The management data storage unit 45 stores management data. Moreover, the management data storage unit 45 stores article information in addition to this management data. The article information stores the name, serial number, expiration date, and barcode information of each article in association with the tag ID of the attached RFID tag 16.
The management data storage unit 45 includes a storage medium such as a hard disk drive (HDD), a flash memory, an electrically erasable programmable read only memory (EEPROM), and a random access read/write memory (RAM). te Memory), ROM (Read Only Memory), or It is configured by any combination of these storage media.
This management data storage section 45 can use, for example, a nonvolatile memory.
The network 50 can be any one of the Internet, a LAN (local area network), a public line network, or a combination thereof.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing the configuration of the cold box 10.
The cold box 10 includes a main body 101 and a cover 102 that can be opened and closed. The material used for the main body part 101 and the lid part 102 may be any material that can insulate between the inside of the storage part 103 and the outside of the cold box 10, and for example, a heat insulating material is used. As the heat insulating material, for example, a synthetic resin material such as expanded polystyrene can be used.
The main body part 101 is a container in which a recessed part is formed as a housing part 103.
The lid part 102 can close the opening of the accommodating part 103 by being attached to the main body part 101. This lid part 102 may or may not be connected to the main body part 101 as long as it can close or open the opening of the accommodating part 103.
Moreover, the lid part 102 may be provided with a convex part formed so as to enter into the recessed part of the main body part 101 to a certain depth from the upper end thereof when the lid part 102 is attached to the main body part 101 . Thereby, by pushing the lid part 102 into the main body part 101, the airtightness and cold insulation function inside the housing part 103 can be maintained. Further, the lid portion 102 and the main body portion 101 may be connected using a fastener or the like.

The shielding part 101a and the shielding part 102a are provided between the inside and the outside of the housing part 103. More specifically, the shielding part 101a is provided along the inner peripheral surface of the accommodating part 103. The shielding portion 102a is attached to a portion (on the inner circumferential surface side of the cold box 10) that can close the opening of the accommodating portion 103 when the lid portion 102 is attached to the main body portion 101. Thereby, when the main body part 101 is closed by the lid part 102, the shielding part 101a and the shielding part 102a can surround the accommodating part 103. By surrounding the accommodating part 103 with the shielding part 101a and the shielding part 102a, radio waves based on the first communication method are shielded between the inner circumferential side and the outer circumferential side of the accommodating part 103. The first communication method is communication performed between the reader 12a and the RFID tag 16 here. In this embodiment, a case will be described in which the first communication method is NFC. Further, the second communication method is a communication method different from the first communication method, and is communication performed between the reader 12a and the terminal device 20, and communication performed between the management tag 11 and the terminal device 20. As the second communication method, for example, any one of BLE, Wi-Fi (registered trademark), and 4G (fourth generation mobile communication system) can be used. In this embodiment, a case will be described in which the second communication method is BLE. Further, the communication standards between the reader 12a and the terminal device 20 and between the management tag 11 and the terminal device 20 may be different as long as both are the second communication method. For example, BLE may be used between the reader 12a and the terminal device 20, and Wi-Fi (registered trademark) may be used between the management tag 11 and the terminal device 20.

The shielding part 101a and the shielding part 102a may be made of any conductive material, and for example, aluminum foil may be used. When aluminum foil is used, communication between the reader 12a housed in the cold box 10 and the RFID tag outside the cold box 10 can be restricted.
Although the shielding part 101a and the shielding part 102a are attached to the inner peripheral side of the housing part 103, they may be provided on the outer peripheral surface of the housing part 103. It may be provided between.

The management tag 11a is provided on either side of the outer peripheral surface of the main body portion 101. Here, a case will be described in which the management tag 11a is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the cold box 10, but the management tag 11a may be provided on the inner peripheral side of the storage section 103.

The sensor 13a is provided on the inner peripheral side of the housing portion 103. The sensor 13a and the management tag 11a are connected by a wired cable. This wired cable may be provided, for example, at a location along between the main body part 101 and the lid part 102, or a through hole may be provided in the main body part 101, and the wired cable may be provided to pass through the through hole. . In this embodiment, a case will be described in which the communication cable is provided along between the main body part 101 and the lid part 102.
When the communication cable is installed between the main body 101 and the lid 102, the portion of at least one of the main body 101 and the lid 102 that comes into contact with the communication cable has elasticity. Preferably. For example, when the lid 102 is closed, the part of the main body 101 or the lid 102 that comes into contact with the wired cable is elastically deformed, so that the wired cable is caught between the main body 101 and the lid 102. Even in such a case, the adhesion between the main body part 101 and the lid part 102 can be improved, and the cooling function can be prevented from deteriorating.

In this embodiment, a case will be described in which the reader 12a and the management tag 11a are each connected to the terminal device 20 using the second communication method, but the reader 12a is connected to the management tag 11a instead of the terminal device 20 by wireless It is also possible to do so. When connecting wirelessly, the reader 12a may be connected to the management tag 11a using the second communication method. In this case, information from the reader 12a will be transmitted to the terminal device 20 via the management tag 11a.

Further, when the reader 12a and the terminal device 20 communicate using BLE, the housing section 103 is surrounded by the shielding section 101a and the shielding section 102a, but there is a small gap between the shielding section 101a and the shielding section 102a. A gap will be created. Therefore, as long as there is a gap, the reader 12a can communicate with the RFID tag 16 accommodated in the accommodating section 103 in which it is provided; Since the RFID tags 16 housed in different housing units 103 are shielded by the shielding unit 101a and the shielding unit 102a, even if a gap occurs, the radio wave intensity is sufficient to establish communication. do not have. On the other hand, when the reader 12a communicates with the terminal device 20 using BLE, even if the reader 12a is shielded by the shielding part 101a and the shielding part 102a, there is a gap between the shielding part 101a and the shielding part 102a. As a result, a constant radio field strength can be obtained, and communication with the terminal device 20 can be performed through the gap. Here, there is a relationship in which the radio field intensity of the second communication method is stronger than that of the first communication method.
Here, a case has been described in which a gap occurs between the shielding part 101a and the shielding part 102a, but an opening is provided in a part of the shielding part 101a or the shielding part 102a, and the shape and size of the opening are changed depending on the BLE. The setting may be such that communication is possible with the terminal device 20, but communication is not established with the RFID tags 16 housed in other housing units 103.
Furthermore, the reader 12a is set to have an output that allows it to communicate with the terminal device 20 using BLE even if it is housed in the housing unit 103, and for communication with the RFID tag 16, it is housed in the same housing unit 103. The radio field strength may be set so that the output power is such that it can communicate with the RFID tag 16 stored in the RFID tag 103 but cannot communicate with the RFID tag 16 stored in a different storage unit 103.

Further, in this embodiment, a case has been described in which the management tag 11a is provided outside the housing section 103, but also when the management tag 11a is provided on the inner peripheral side of the housing section 103, the management tag 11a can communicate with the terminal device 20 using BLE.

FIG. 3 is a schematic functional block diagram showing the functions of the terminal device 20. As shown in FIG.
The communication unit 21 includes a communication section 211 and a communication section 212, and communicates with external equipment.
The communication unit 211 communicates with the management tag 11a and the reader 12a using BLE, receives the reader ID and tag ID from the reader 12a, and transmits the measurement results measured by the sensor 13a and the information assigned to the management tag 11a from the management tag 11a. and received identification information.
The communication unit 212 communicates wirelessly with the management server 40 via the network 50. The communication unit 212 manages the reader ID and tag ID received from the reader 12a, the measurement results of the sensor 13a received from the management tag 11a, the identification information assigned to the management tag 11a, the position information measured by the terminal device 20, etc. Send to server 40.
In addition to the communication functions of the communication section 211 and the communication section 212, the communication unit 21 can also perform call processing via the public line network.

The input unit 22 inputs various information. For example, a touch panel, a keyboard, or the like is used as the input unit 22.
The output unit 23 outputs various information. The output unit 23 can be, for example, a touch panel screen, a liquid crystal display device, a speaker, or the like.
The storage unit 24 stores various information.
The positioning unit 25 measures the current position of the terminal device 20. The position can be measured, for example, using a GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) function.

The control section 26 controls each section within the terminal device 20.
The control unit 26 also has a tag reference function, which is a function to refer to the tag ID of the RFID tag 16 attached to the article stored in the cold box 10, and a function to refer to the measurement result measured by the sensor 13a. It also has a measurement result reference function.
In the tag reference function, the control unit 26 performs processing to display the tag ID acquired by the reader 12a on the display screen of the touch panel of the output unit 23, and whether or not to store the identification information of the tag ID acquired by the reader 12a in the storage unit 24. At least one of the processing of switching the reader 12a on and off, and the processing of switching the reader 12a on and off can be performed in response to an operation input from the input unit 22.
In addition, in the measurement result reference function, the control unit 26 performs a process of displaying the measurement result measured by the sensor 13a on the display screen of the touch panel of the output unit 23, and stores the measurement result measured by the sensor 13a in the storage unit 24. At least one of the processing of switching the management tag 11a on and off, and the processing of switching the management tag 11a on and off can be performed in response to an operation input from the input unit 22.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a display screen displayed on the output unit 23.
FIG. 4A is a diagram showing an example of a case where a list of tag IDs is displayed on the display screen of the output unit 23. The control unit 26 displays a list of tag IDs acquired by communicating with the reader 12a on the display screen of the touch panel (reference numeral 80). Furthermore, when a plurality of cold boxes 10 are managed by one terminal device 20, the control unit 26 can also display a box identification number. The user of the terminal device 20 (for example, the person in charge of transporting the goods) can grasp which goods are stored in the cold box 10 provided with the reader 12a by using the tag ID as a clue. Can be done. Further, when the box identification number is displayed, the user can grasp the correspondence between the box identification number and the box identification number attached to the cold box 10 that the user is transporting. Here, in addition to displaying the tag ID, the name, manufacturing number, expiration date, etc. of the article associated with the tag ID may also be displayed in association with the tag ID. The terminal device 20 transmits the tag ID to the management server 40. The management server 40 reads out the name, serial number, and expiration date of the article corresponding to the tag ID received from the terminal device 20 from the management data storage unit 45 and transmits the information to the terminal device 20 . Upon receiving this information from the management server 40, the terminal device 20 displays each piece of received information on the touch panel.

FIG. 4B is a diagram showing an example of a case where the measurement results of the sensor 13a are displayed on the display screen of the output unit 23.
The control unit 26 displays the measurement results obtained from the management tag 11a on the display screen of the output unit 23 (reference numeral 85). For example, the control unit 26 receives the temperature inside the cold box 10 detected by the sensor 13a from the management tag 11a, and displays the temperature on the display screen. Thereby, the user can check the temperature inside the cold box 10 by looking at the display screen of the terminal device 20, and can understand whether the temperature at the time of transporting the article is appropriate.
Note that the control unit 26 stores a temperature reference value in the storage unit 24 or the management data storage unit 45, and refers to this reference value to determine whether the value indicated by the measured temperature data is within the range of the reference value. It is also possible to determine whether or not the value is within the range, and display the determination result. This allows the user to easily understand whether the temperature at which the article is being transported is appropriate. Furthermore, if the determination result shows that the temperature data is not within the reference value, the control unit 26 may display a warning screen or output a warning sound from a speaker or the like.

Here, the reference value is, for example, a storage condition that defines the storage temperature at which the article is stored, and for example, at least one of the storage upper limit temperature that represents the upper limit of the storage temperature, and the storage minimum temperature that represents the lower limit temperature of the storage temperature. Use one or the other. For example, if 6°C is set as the upper limit storage temperature, the article must be stored in an environment of 6°C or lower. Furthermore, if the minimum storage temperature is set at 2°C, for example, it is necessary to store the article in an environment where the temperature does not drop below 2°C. In addition, if both the upper limit temperature for storage (e.g. 6°C) and the lower temperature limit for storage (2°C) are set, the product will be stored at a temperature between the upper limit temperature and the lower limit temperature (for example 2°C to 6°C). ) must be saved. In other words, for items for which a storage temperature is specified as a storage condition, while the item is being transported between wards (between storage areas), it is stored in a cold box to maintain a temperature that satisfies this storage condition. .

In this way, by using the storage temperature as the reference value, it is possible to know in advance that the temperature in the cold box 10 may reach a temperature exceeding the storage temperature range. By recognizing this notification, the user can take necessary actions.

Further, the control unit 26 may switch which display screen is displayed between the screen indicated by reference numeral 80 in FIG. 4A and the display screen indicated by reference numeral 85 in FIG. 4B in response to an operation input from the user. In addition, here, a case has been described in which one of the screens shown in FIG. 4A reference numeral 80 and the screen shown in FIG. 4B reference numeral 85 is displayed on the display screen. It is also possible to display both the information such as the above information and the measurement results of the sensor 13a.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of management data stored in the management data storage section 45. As shown in FIG.
In the management data, the time represents the time when the position and environment of the article 15 were detected. This time may be measured by the terminal device 20 and may be transmitted from the terminal device 20 at the time when the measurement result by the sensor 13a or the position determined by the positioning unit 25 is transmitted.
The temperature is a measurement result measured by the sensor 13a. This temperature indicates the temperature inside the housing section 103 of the cold box 10. Here, a case will be described in which temperature is stored, but humidity, acceleration, etc. may also be stored as long as it is a result of measuring the environment by the sensor 13a.
The position information is information indicating the position of the article 15 when the tag ID is read. As the position information, the position information measured by the terminal device 20 at the time of transporting the article or the position of the storage where the article is stored can be used as the position of the article 15.

This position information is stored for each cold box 10 and storage 30. The position of the cold box 10 can be determined by using the reader ID of the reader 12a paired with the terminal device 20, since the management tag 11 provided on the cold box 10 and the reader 12a are paired when communicating. , the cold box 10 can be identified. If the reader 12a does not communicate directly with the terminal device 20 but communicates with the terminal device 20 via the management tag 11a, the reader ID may be sent to the terminal device 20 via the management tag 11a. Alternatively, the management tag ID of the management tag 11a may be used instead of the reader ID.
Further, as for the position information of the cold box 10, when the cold box 10 is being transported, the current position measured at the timing indicated by the time is sequentially stored. Since the storage 30 is an installed device, the location information usually does not change even if time passes.
The tag ID is a tag ID acquired from the RFID tag 16 by the reader 12a. When a plurality of articles are stored in one cold box 10 or one storage 30, a plurality of tag IDs are stored in association with the positional information of the stored cold box 10 or storage 30. .
By referring to the above-mentioned management data, it is possible to know which article 15 existed at which time and in which place, and what temperature it was stored at.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the flow of operations of the article management system 1.
A person in charge of managing the article 15 performs a warehousing procedure when the article 15, which is a medicine or the like, is received from a pharmaceutical manufacturer or the like. When carrying out the warehousing procedure, the person in charge of management attaches an RFID tag 16 to each article 15 to be managed. Then, the person in charge of management associates the barcode information of the attached article 15 with the tag ID of the RFID tag 16 and writes it into the management data storage section 45 using a computer. In this writing process, for example, a barcode reader connected to a computer used by a person in charge of management reads the barcode printed on the outside of the article, and an RFID tag reader device reads the tag ID of the attached RFID tag 16. A registration instruction is input by reading out the information and pressing a registration button using a keyboard, touch panel, mouse, etc. Thereby, the article 15 corresponding to the read barcode and the tag ID of the RFID tag 16 are stored in association with each other.

When the writing process is performed, the person in charge of management puts the article 15 to which the RFID tag 16 is attached into the storage 30a. The storage 30a reads the tag ID from the RFID tag 16 of the article 15 stored in the own storage 30a at regular intervals (for example, every minute), and reads the temperature data, the current time, and the storage of the storage 30a. It is sent each time to the management server 40 along with the ID. When the management server 40 receives the data transmitted from the storage 30a, the management server 40 stores the data in the management data storage section 45.

Next, when there is a request for delivery of the article 15, the management person takes out the requested article from the storage 30a and places it in the cold box 10a together with the ice pack (step S100). Here, when taking out a plurality of articles 15, the plurality of articles 15 are put into one cold box 10 as an article group 15G. The person in charge of management seals the article by closing the lid 102 of the cold box 10a (step S101).

Then, the person in charge of management attaches a slip or the like indicating the destination to the cold box 10. Further, the person in charge of management operates the terminal device 20 and turns on the reader 12a and the management tag 11a of the cold box 10 to be transported.
Furthermore, here, when a plurality of articles 15 are to be delivered, the plurality of articles 15 may be placed separately in different cold boxes 10 even if the destination is the same. For example, when the quantity of articles 15 is large, it cannot be stored in one cold box 10 and they are divided into multiple cold boxes 10, or when the articles 15 have different storage conditions and are divided into different cold boxes 10 for each storage condition. There is. In such a case, the terminal device 20 turns on the reader 12a and the management tag 11 for each cold box 10. In addition, when there are multiple cold boxes 10, when turning on the reader 12a and the management tag 11a, the person in charge of management sends the box identification number attached to the box containing the reader 12a to be turned on to the terminal device 20. The information is read with a camera or input from the input unit 11. Thereby, the terminal device 20 stores the reader ID of the reader 12a, the management tag ID of the management tag 11a, and the box identification number in the storage unit 24 in association with each other.

When the reader 12a and the management tag 11 are each turned on, the terminal device 20 acquires the tag ID read by the reader 12a and the temperature measured by the sensor 13a (step S102), and displays the acquired data on the touch panel. is displayed on the display screen (step S103).
Here, even if a plurality of cold boxes 10 are placed adjacent to each other, the radio waves when the reader 12a communicates with the RFID tag 16 inside the housing section 103 propagate to the outside of the housing section 103; Further, the shielding section 101a and the shielding section 102a can prevent the radio waves coming from the RFID tag 16 housed in the housing section 103 different from the housing section 103 in which the reader 12a is provided from propagating to the reader 12a. can.
Thereby, the reader 12a can read the tag ID of the RFID tag 16 housed in the storage section 103 of the cold box 10 in which the reader 12a is installed, and the reader 12a can read out the tag ID of the RFID tag 16 housed in the storage section 103 of the cold box 10 in which the reader 12a is installed. Regarding the tag ID of the housed RFID tag 16, radio waves are blocked by the shielding section 101a and the shielding section 102a, and the tag ID cannot be read. Therefore, the reader 12a can perform communication by narrowing down the target to the RFID tag 16 in the housing section 103 in which the reader 12a is provided.
Furthermore, since communication between the reader 12a and the terminal device 20 is performed using the second communication method (BLE as an example here), even if there are the shielding section 101a and the shielding section 102b, the terminal device 20 , and can receive various data transmitted from the reader 12a.

As a result, it is possible to read the tag ID of the stored article in each cold box 10, so it is possible to identify in which cold box 10 the article 15 is stored by using the reader ID of the reader 12a. be able to. Furthermore, even if a plurality of cold boxes 10 are placed adjacent to each other, by preventing the tag IDs of items stored in other cold boxes 10 from being read, each cold box 10 stored in The tag ID can be acquired, and it can be identified in which cold box 10 the article is stored.

Furthermore, when transporting a plurality of cold boxes 10 together, the person in charge of management can connect one terminal device 20 and a plurality of readers by pairing each reader 12a of the plurality of cold boxes 10. 12a. As a result, it is possible to acquire a tag ID for each cold box 10 and obtain temperature data for each cold box 10, so even if multiple cold boxes 10 are transported together, which items It is possible to correctly grasp the combinations that have been saved.
Moreover, here, by turning on the management tag 11 and the reader 12a after enclosing the goods in the cold box 10, it is possible to prevent the tag ID of one RFID tag 16 from being read by different readers 12a at the same time. be able to.

The person in charge of management transports the cold box 10 to be transported to the transport destination written on the slip (step S200). The destination is, for example, a different ward within the same hospital. Even during this transportation, the management tag 11 measures the temperature with the sensor 13a at regular intervals and transmits the measurement results to the terminal device 20. The reader 12a transmits the tag ID that it has acquired to the terminal device 20. The terminal device 20 transmits the measurement result received from the management tag 11a, the tag ID received from the reader 12a, the position information measured by the terminal device 20 itself, and the current time to the management server 40 at regular intervals. (Step S201). This makes it possible to know where the item is in the hospital and what the temperature is even when the item is in transit. Furthermore, since the temperature can be determined even during movement, it is possible to determine whether the storage conditions for the article 15 are satisfied even during movement. Note that the terminal device 20 may also transmit the box identification number and management tag ID in step S201.

Upon arrival at the destination, the person in charge of management operates the terminal device 20, turns off the reader 12a and the management tag 11 (step S300), and opens the cold box 10a. Then, the person in charge of management takes out the article group 15G from the cold box 10 (step S301, step S302) and puts it into the storage 30b installed at the destination (step S303).
When the article 15 is stored in the storage 30b, the storage 30b acquires the tag ID attached to the stored article and transmits it to the management server 40.

The articles 15 stored in the storage 30b are stored until the day they are actually used, and when the day of use arrives, they are taken out from the storage 30b and used.

In the embodiment described above, a case has been described in which the cold box 10 is used to transport the article 15 within a hospital, but it may also be used outside the hospital. For example, it may be used when transporting from a pharmaceutical manufacturer to a hospital, or when delivering from a business office of a shipping company to a delivery destination.

The functions of the terminal device 20 or the management server 40 in the embodiments described above may be realized by a computer. In that case, a program for realizing this function may be recorded on a computer-readable recording medium, and the program recorded on the recording medium may be read into a computer system and executed. Note that the "computer system" herein includes hardware such as an OS and peripheral devices. Furthermore, the term "computer-readable recording medium" refers to portable media such as flexible disks, magneto-optical disks, ROMs, and CD-ROMs, and storage devices such as hard disks built into computer systems. Furthermore, a "computer-readable recording medium" refers to a storage medium that dynamically stores a program for a short period of time, such as a communication line when transmitting a program via a network such as the Internet or a communication line such as a telephone line. It may also include a device that retains a program for a certain period of time, such as a volatile memory inside a computer system that is a server or client in that case. Further, the above-mentioned program may be one for realizing a part of the above-mentioned functions, or may be one that can realize the above-mentioned functions in combination with a program already recorded in the computer system. It may be realized using a programmable logic device such as an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array).

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above in detail with reference to the drawings, the specific configuration is not limited to these embodiments, and includes designs within the scope of the gist of the present invention.

1... Article management system, 10, 10a, 10b, 10c... Cold box, 11, 11a... Management tag, 12, 12a... Reader, 13, 13a... Sensor, 15, 15a, 15b, 15c, 15d... Article, 15G... Article group, 16, 16a, 16b, 16c, 16d... RFID tag, 20, 20a, 20b... terminal device, 21... communication unit, 22... input section, 23... output section, 24... storage section, 25... positioning section, 26... Control unit, 30, 30a, 30b... Storage, 40... Management server, 45... Management data storage unit, 50... Network, 101... Main unit, 101a... Shielding part, 102... Lid part, 102a... Shielding part, 102a...shielding part, 103...accommodating part, 211...communication part, 212...communication part

Claims (6)

a shielding part that is provided between the inside and the outside of the housing part and shields radio waves based on the first communication method;
A first communication method is used to communicate with a tag provided inside the storage section and attached to an article stored in the storage section to obtain a tag ID from the tag, and the obtained tag ID is transmitted to the first communication method. a reader that transmits data to a terminal device outside the storage unit using a second communication method that is different from the first communication method ;
Equipped with
The radio waves based on the second communication method have a stronger radio wave intensity than the radio waves based on the first communication method,
The shielding part is capable of passing radio waves based on the second communication method between the reader and the terminal device, and is capable of transmitting radio waves between the reader and the tags present in the housing parts of other housing containers than the housing container. A gap or opening is provided to prevent communication based on the first communication method between the
Container. a temperature sensor that measures the temperature inside the housing section;
a management tag that transmits temperature data obtained by the temperature sensor to the terminal device using a second communication method;
further equipped with
The storage container according to claim 1. The container according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the reader is assigned identification information for identifying itself, and transmits the identification information together with the tag ID to the terminal device. The storage unit is capable of accommodating the article taken out from the first storage and transported to a second storage, which is a storage different from the first storage,
The storage container according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the storage container is transportable. An article management system including a storage container, a terminal device, and a management server,
The storage container is
a shielding part that is provided between the inside and the outside of the housing part and shields radio waves based on the first communication method;
A first communication method is used to communicate with a tag provided inside the storage section and attached to an article stored in the storage section to obtain a tag ID from the tag, and the obtained tag ID is transmitted to the first communication method. a reader that transmits data to a terminal device outside the storage unit using a second communication method that is different from the first communication method;
receiving a tag ID transmitted from the reader and transmitting it to the management server;
The management server receives the tag ID transmitted from the communication unit of the terminal device ,
The radio waves based on the second communication method have a stronger radio wave intensity than the radio waves based on the first communication method,
The shielding part is capable of passing radio waves based on the second communication method between the reader and the terminal device, and is capable of transmitting radio waves between the reader and the tags present in the housing parts of other housing containers than the housing container. A gap or opening is provided to prevent communication based on the first communication method between the
Goods management system. A shielding part for shielding radio waves based on the first communication method is provided between the inside and the outside of the housing part,
A reader is provided inside the storage unit, communicates with a tag attached to an article stored in the storage unit using a first communication method, acquires a tag ID from the tag, and transmits the acquired tag ID to the first communication method. 1. A communication method of the storage container that transmits data to a terminal device outside the storage section using a second communication method that is a different communication method from the first communication method,
The radio waves based on the second communication method have a stronger radio wave intensity than the radio waves based on the first communication method,
The shielding part is capable of passing radio waves based on the second communication method between the reader and the terminal device, and is capable of transmitting radio waves between the reader and the tags present in the housing parts of other housing containers than the housing container. A gap or opening is provided to prevent communication based on the first communication method between the
Container communication method.

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