KR101440578B1 - Product Quality Monitering System using RFID tag and NFC tag - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a real-time article quality monitoring system, and more particularly, to an article quality monitoring system using an RFID tag and an NFC tag.
To this end, the article quality monitoring system of the present invention is characterized in that the article quality monitoring system of the present invention is attached to a first packaging container packaging an article and transmits atmospheric history information including at least one of the measured temperature, humidity or gas concentration and an identifier for the article distribution history An RFID tag, an NFC tag attached to the second packaging container or the article that packs the article, storing the identifier and the address information of the article quality prediction server, the waiting history information and the identifier transmitted from the RFID tag A product distribution history database (DB), a user terminal accessing the article quality prediction server stored in the tagged NFC tag and requesting the quality index of the article; And an article quality prediction server for calculating the quality index of the article from the waiting history information received from the article distribution history DB at the request of the user terminal.

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to a real-time article quality monitoring system using an RFID tag and an NFC tag,

The present invention relates to a real-time article quality monitoring system, and more particularly, to an article quality monitoring system using an RFID tag and an NFC tag.

RFID (Radio Frequency Identification), which is currently being studied in recent years, is a state-of-the-art technology for analyzing objects at a distance and reading several tens to several hundreds of information using a certain frequency band. Attach a sticker-type tag that contains a microchip to the item. Then, the tag information is recognized by using a reader body that can recognize the tag information on which the antenna is installed.

By understanding the product information through the electronic tag, the appearance of the cashier scanning the bar code printed on the product will disappear. Shoppers can save time because accurate calculations can be made simply by passing the checkout counter with the items to be purchased in the shopping cart.

As for the seller, it is possible to easily manage the expiration date of the goods and the inventory management by grasping the information of the goods in and out as well as the sales. It is possible to track the position of the goods after sale, thereby preventing the loss of goods during the distribution process and theft of goods in the transportation business. If there is a disadvantage that the existing barcodes and magnetic cards have a declining recognition rate over time, RFID does not have to worry about this.

* In most products, including food, the initial quality is constantly changing with time and temperature changes. The type of quality change varies according to the type, shape and environmental condition of the product, and all the goods change with their unique characteristic change pattern. The change in the quality of the current product can be measured by directly experimenting in the laboratory and quantitatively measuring the degree of change. Based on the information obtained from the experiment, the TTI (time temperature indicator) A sticker type product is used. However, all of these methods can only qualitatively show the degree of quality change only at the time of observation, and it is difficult to express the information about the temperature history in the distribution process dynamically, and furthermore, the degree of quality change is quantitatively There are limitations that can not be quantified. Therefore, in order to efficiently manage the goods, it is necessary to display the quality change quantitatively and to present the data to the consumers or distribution persons at any time and anywhere.

Prior Art Document 1: Korean Patent Publication No. 2009-0059616 (published on June 11, 2009)
Prior Art Document 2: Korean Patent Publication No. 2012-0076529 (published on July 9, 2012)
Prior Art Document 3: Korean Patent Publication No. 2012-0092366 (published on Aug. 21, 2012)

A problem to be solved by the present invention is to propose a method of collecting information on the atmosphere (temperature, humidity, gas, etc.) on a distribution route of an article in real time.

Another problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide an accurate quality index of the goods to the buyer or the goods manager using the collected waiting information.

Another problem to be solved by the present invention is to propose a method of confirming the quality index of the article to be purchased conveniently to the buyer or the commodity manager anytime and anywhere.

Another problem to be solved by the present invention is to propose a method of providing a quality index having differentiated items according to items to be purchased by a buyer or an article manager.

To this end, the article quality monitoring system of the present invention is characterized in that the article quality monitoring system of the present invention is attached to a first packaging container packaging an article and transmits atmospheric history information including at least one of the measured temperature, humidity or gas concentration and an identifier for the article distribution history An NFC tag attached to the RFID tag, the second packaging container or the article that packs the article, storing the identifier and the address information of the article quality prediction server, the waiting history information and the identifier transmitted from the RFID tag A product distribution history database (DB), a user terminal accessing the article quality prediction server stored in the tagged NFC tag and requesting the quality index of the article; And an article quality prediction server for calculating the quality index of the article from the waiting history information received from the article distribution history DB at the request of the user terminal.

To this end, the apparatus for monitoring the quality of articles of the present invention comprises a first packaging container for packaging an article, a first packaging container for packaging the article, and the atmospheric history information including at least one of the measured temperature and humidity and an identifier And an NFC tag attached to an RFID tag to be transmitted, a second packaging container for packaging the article or an article, and storing the identifier, link information of the article quality prediction server, and an identifier of the RFID tag.

The real-time article quality monitoring system according to the present invention collects the waiting information including the temperature and the humidity on the distribution path of the article and provides the quality index of the article to the purchaser based on the collected waiting information. That is, the purchaser can read the NFC tag attached to the article by using a device capable of reading a smart phone or other NFC tag, and can confirm the quality index of the article to be purchased conveniently anytime and anywhere. By providing a quality index with differentiated items, optimal quality information can be provided for each item.

In other words, the distribution history of foods (such as agricultural, water, livestock products, processed foods, etc.) to the consumers during the distribution process (especially when consumers buy food at the store) Consumers and sellers can find out information automatically when they touch NFC tags on handhelds and kiosks such as smartphones, PDAs, etc., such as distribution temperature history, quality index, freshness, remaining shelf life, Is a new ubiquitous technology.

 In the case of the producer, the NFC tag is attached for each food object, the sensor tag which can be recycled is attached to the packing box, the food information immediately after the production is inputted, and the Internet is connected to the Internet from time to time. You can check in real time, and you can increase your sales by increasing consumer confidence by providing you with quality information and distribution information in advance. Especially, fresh food can be applied more efficiently.

 In the case of large retailers, the inspectors of the retailers can use them for inspection first. In addition, if the consumers put the food on the kiosk for the food they want to purchase or read the NFC tag on their smartphone, the freshness degree, Residual shelf life, and quality index information (eg, sugar content, bacterial count, etc.). In addition, according to the freshness index, product price discount sales can be automatically connected, and inventory, sales, quality control, as well as quality information about food in store shelves can be checked at any time on the network. Of course, if an NFC reader is installed in a commercial or household refrigerator, it can be effectively utilized for managing the freshness by checking the quality of the input / output and the quality index.

 At the distribution stage, it can be used as follows. When a food arrives at a distribution center or a foodservice center in a production area, the inspector can read the temperature history information and the freshness state of the food stored by reading the NFC tag. In this case, when the distribution temperature history is seen, it is possible to apply the delivery rejection or the discount of the delivery price when it is exposed to the temperature exceeding the proper temperature or when the freshness index is less than a certain value. In this way, it is possible to check all the distribution history information of the food on the receiving side, so that the supplier side can observe the distribution temperature standard or the quality standard, and the quality control is thoroughly ensured so that the reliability of the delivery and delivery process can be secured. . Of course, if the NFC tag is read at the inspection stage, the information of the inspection point is automatically transferred to the manager server and can be managed efficiently.

It can be used at home delivery stage as follows. Until now, high-end Hanwoo gift sets and fish gift sets have not been able to identify the quality of the gifts to those who send them. It was difficult for the recipient to talk to the sender even if the delivery was made with freshness. With this technology, however, it is possible to transmit the freshness status at the point of time when the person receiving the gift is received and the temperature history information during the delivery process to the sender or check it on the Internet. Therefore, in the case of high-priced gifts with an emphasis on freshness, such courier service will increase the reliability, and important gifts will be sent through this courier company. This technology is also applicable to foreign food import and export.

1 illustrates a real-time article quality monitoring system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 2 illustrates a method for providing a quality index for a particular article using an article quality monitoring system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 illustrates an example of a quality index displayed on a user terminal according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 4 shows another screen displayed when the detailed view of the distribution history of the refrigerated milk is selected according to an embodiment of the present invention.
5 is a diagram illustrating a process of reading an NFC tag using a user terminal including a reader according to an embodiment of the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The foregoing and further aspects of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of preferred embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Reference will now be made in detail to the embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

Near field communication (NFC) is a non-contact communication technology using a frequency band of 13.56 MHz, and is one of wireless RFID (radio frequency identification) technologies. You can use a separate handheld reader or use a smartphone with built-in NFC reader to send and receive information. In addition to payment, it can be used in various fields such as supermarket or general store for goods information, information transmission, traffic access control lock do.

1 illustrates a real-time article quality monitoring system according to an embodiment of the present invention. Hereinafter, a real-time article quality monitoring system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

1, an article quality monitoring system includes an article distribution history DB, a user terminal, an article quality prediction server, an RFID tag attached to a first packaging container for packaging a plurality of articles, a second article And an NFC tag attached to the packaging container. It goes without saying that other configurations other than the above-described configuration may be further included.

The RFID tag 130 measures and stores atmospheric (climatic) state information including temperature, humidity, and illumination at predetermined time intervals. The information collected from the RFID tag 130 is transmitted to the article distribution history DB 100 on a predetermined time basis or from the article distribution history DB 100 together with the identifier of the RFID tag. For communication with the article distribution history DB 100, the RFID tag 130 may include a communication unit or may use another device including a communication unit.

The NFC tag 140 provides the web page address of the article quality prediction server 110. That is, the user terminal 120 can access the web page of the server using the NFC tag 140. In addition, the NFC tag 140 stores the identifier of the RFID tag 130.

The article distribution history DB 100 stores the waiting information transmitted from the RFID tag 130 together with the container information. That is, the waiting information and the product information are stored for each container. Table 1 below shows an example of information stored in the product distribution history DB 100. Of course, it is obvious that other information other than the above-mentioned information can be stored in the article distribution history DB 100. [ That is, the article circulation history DB 100 can store information on the circulation route of the articles.

Identification of packaging containers Time Temperature Humidity AAA


2011.01.01. 1 am 4 ° C 70% 2011.0101. 1:30 am 5 ° C 72% 2011.01.01. 2 am 5 ° C 71% 2011.01.01. 2:30 am 4 ° C 68%

Table 1 shows the temperature and humidity according to the measurement time transmitted from the RFID tag 130. According to Table 1, the RFID tag 130 measures the temperature or the humidity in units of 30 minutes, but is not limited thereto. That is, the RFID tag 130 can measure temperature or humidity in units of 30 minutes or more and less than 30 minutes. In addition, the RFID tag 130 can set the measurement period longer if there is no change in the measured temperature or humidity. That is, the tag may have a different measurement period depending on the measured temperature or the amount of change in humidity.

The article quality prediction server 110 predicts the quality of the requested article from the user terminal and provides the predicted result to the user terminal 120. [ To this end, the article quality prediction server 110 provides an identifier of the RFID tag 130 provided from the user terminal 120 to the article distribution history DB 100, and records the ID of the RFID tag 130 from the article distribution history DB 100, And the like. In other words, the article distribution history DB 100 provides the waiting information described in Table 1 to the article quality prediction server 110. The article quality prediction server 110 calculates quality information on the article using the received waiting information and the stored article quality prediction algorithm. The article quality prediction server 110 provides the calculated quality information to the user terminal 120.

The user terminal 120 includes a smart phone, a handheld, a kiosk, and the like. The user terminal 120 tags the NFC tag 140 attached to the article. By tagging the NFC tag, the user terminal 120 is automatically connected to the article quality prediction server 110 and provides the identifier of the RFID tag 130 to the connected article quality prediction server 110. The user terminal 120 is provided with a quality index for the article to which the NFC tag is attached from the article quality prediction server 110. [ The quality index for the article can be provided in various forms. This will be described later.

In addition to the configurations described above, the article quality monitoring system may include an administrator terminal 150 that manages the article quality prediction server 110. The administrator terminal 150 may update the quality prediction algorithm to be operated on the article quality prediction server 110 or may request a quality index for a specific article if necessary. In addition, the administrator terminal 150 may add, modify, or change the form of the quality index provided by the article quality prediction server 110. [

Figure 2 illustrates a method for providing a quality index for a particular article using an article quality monitoring system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. Hereinafter, a method of providing a quality index of a specific article using the article quality monitoring system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

For example, FIG. 2 illustrates a method for providing a quality index for melons.

According to Fig. 2, the distribution channel of melon is connected to farm, distribution center, delivery, sales, and consumer. The manager of the farm grows and harvests melons. The manager of the farm manages the production history of melons. In other words, the manager of the farm manages the production history including the production area of melon, the producer, and the harvest date. The manager of the farm transmits information on the production history to the article quality prediction server or the article distribution history DB.

The melon harvested on the farm is transferred to the distribution center. The distribution center selects the melons that have been delivered according to the sugar content analysis and size. If necessary, the label containing the production information is attached to the melon, and then the first packaging container containing the second packaging container is used for packaging. As described above, the second packaging container can be omitted if necessary, in which case the NFC cord is attached directly to the melon. The first packaging container is attached with an RFID tag, and the RFID tag measures the atmospheric information around the melon and transmits it to the DB.

The distribution center transmits information about the melons collected at the distribution center to the article quality prediction server or the article distribution history DB. The information collected at the distribution center includes the date of classification, the date of packing, and the sugar content.

At the delivery stage and the sales stage, the manager transmits the melon's distribution history to the article quality prediction server or the article distribution history DB. Also, the RFID tag transmits the wait information measured in the set time unit to the article distribution history DB.

The consumer purchasing the melon requests the quality index for the melon by the article quality prediction server by tagging the NFC tag attached to the melon or the packing container which is wrapping the melon using the user terminal.

The consumer decides whether to purchase using the melon quality index provided from the article quality prediction server.

Although FIG. 2 describes melon, it can be applied to other agricultural and marine products and processed products in the same way. That is, the same applies to meat products including dairy products and beef. Of course, in this case, the information transferred from the distribution center to the product quality prediction server or the product distribution history DB may vary. In other words, the distribution center that manages the milk transmits the number of bacteria, the production information, and the package information, and the distribution center (processing factory) that manages the meat transmits information about the slaughter day, meat grade, .

FIG. 3 illustrates an example of a quality index displayed on a user terminal according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. Hereinafter, a quality index displayed on a user terminal according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

The user terminal displays the figure shown on the left side of FIG. 3 when tagging the NFC tag. The figure on the left side of FIG. 3 shows the item name, identification number, area, freshness, distribution history, producer, processor, production date, processing date, and expiration date.

When the user selects the distribution history view on the screen shown on the left side of FIG. 3, the user terminal displays the image shown on the right side. Detailed history of distribution shows freshness, temperature and humidity history during distribution process.

FIG. 4 shows another screen displayed when the detailed view of distribution history of refrigerated milk is selected according to an embodiment of the present invention. In Figure 4, the quality index is shown as a donut shape. Of course, the display method can be expressed in various forms other than donut, and the shape and quality grade of color can be changed variously. An arrow in red indicates that the quality index is low, and an arrow in green indicates a high quality index. In addition, details of the distribution history show the temperature history and the history of the number of bacteria. The number of bacteria can be predicted based on the temperature history, and the quality index can be calculated according to the predicted number of bacteria. That is, the number of bacteria increased according to the temperature history is predicted based on the initial number of bacteria, and the quality index is calculated according to the estimated number of bacteria. Table 2 shows an example of freshness according to the number of bacteria.

Number of bacteria (n / n ₀ ) Freshness 1? 100 2? 90 3? 80 4? 70 5? 60 5> BAD

When the distribution history view is selected in this way, information provided for each item can be set differently.

FIG. 5 illustrates a process of reading an NFC tag attached to a food according to an embodiment of the present invention using a user terminal including a reader.

As shown in FIG. 5, the reader includes a user terminal, a kiosk, a smart phone, and the like, and reads an NFC tag using a reader. The reader reads the address of the article quality prediction server stored in the leading NFC tag, and accesses the article quality prediction server.

The user terminal receives the quality of the article to which the NFC tag is attached from the connected article quality prediction server and displays it on the screen. As described above, according to the present invention, the quality of the article can be provided from the article quality prediction server simply and quickly using the NFC tag attached to the article.

In addition, the article quality prediction server calculates a time point having the highest quality based on the current quality index, and provides the calculated information to the user terminal. That is, the article quality prediction server predicts not only the current quality index but also the future quality index, and provides it to the user terminal. In this case, the article quality prediction server predicts a future quality index using the average temperature and humidity information within a set period based on the current point, and provides the predicted quality index to the user terminal. The set period may vary depending on the item. In other words, items with shorter circulation periods than those with longer circulation periods shorten the set period.

The present invention can be applied to articles, such as foods, blood, cosmetics, etc., which cause changes in quality depending on atmospheric conditions including temperature and humidity.

According to the above description, a method of monitoring quality using an NFC tag is disclosed, but the present invention is not limited thereto. That is, quality can be monitored using color code and smart code which can be confirmed from a long distance. Also, quality can be monitored using QR code.

In addition, the present invention can provide the user terminal with nutrients, residual shelf life, and quality indices in addition to the distribution history and freshness.

While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the scope of the present invention .

100: article distribution history DB 110: article quality prediction server
120: user terminal 130: RFID tag
140: NFC tag 150: administrator terminal

Claims (9)

An RFID tag attached to a first packaging container for packaging a plurality of articles, the RFID tag transmitting at least one of measured temperature, humidity, and gas concentration and an identifier for the article distribution history;
An NFC tag attached to each of the second packaging container or each of the articles, the NFC tag storing the identifier and the address information of the article quality prediction server;
A goods distribution history DB storing the waiting history information transmitted from the RFID tag and the identifier;
A user terminal accessing the article quality prediction server corresponding to the address information stored in the NFC tag of the article tagged among the articles and requesting the quality index of the tagged article;
The quality index of the tagged article is calculated from the waiting history information received from the article distribution history DB based on the identifier transmitted from the NFC tag through the user terminal at the request of the user terminal, And an article quality prediction server for transmitting the article quality prediction server to the terminal,
And differentiates the information included in the quality index transmitted to the user terminal according to the article.
The article quality prediction system according to claim 1,
And calculates the quality index for a specific time point of the tagged article from the waiting history information received from the article distribution history DB.
The article quality prediction system according to claim 1,
And the quality index of the tagged article is calculated from the waiting history information using a quality prediction algorithm.
delete The method according to claim 1,
And an administrator terminal for managing the article quality prediction server,
Wherein the manager terminal sets the quality index to be differentiated according to the article to be transmitted to the user terminal.
6. The method of claim 5,
Wherein the quality index includes at least one of a distribution history including a temperature history and a humidity history, freshness, a nutrient, a remaining shelf life, and a quality index.
delete delete The method according to claim 1,
Further comprising a QR code attached to each of the second packaging container or the articles and storing the identifier, the address information of the article quality prediction server, and the identifier of the RFID tag. system.

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