KR102323610B1 - Reconfigurable modular approach based smart tag - Google Patents

Abstract

The reconfigurable modular smart tag of the present invention includes a communication unit for communication with a tag management server, a display unit for displaying information received from the tag management server through the communication unit, a control unit for controlling the communication unit and the display unit, and a battery A baseboard comprising a power supply unit for supplying power to the communication unit, the display unit, and the control unit and an interface unit for providing an interface to information and power is basically included, and is coupled to the baseboard in a detachable form through the interface unit. and a sensor module, which is a sensor meeting the purpose of using the smart tag, and an extension board on which a control module for controlling the sensor module is configured.

Description

Reconfigurable modular approach based smart tag

The present invention relates to a smart tag, and more particularly, to a reconfigurable modular method-based smart tag that can selectively add, change, and delete required types of sensor modules and energy collection modules according to the environment in which the smart tag is used. it's about

Conventional manufacturing and logistics movement information collection relies on simple manual tasks such as handwriting input and barcode scanning, or because of information recognition using paper tags and on-site monitors without fluctuation of information, difficulties in real-time logistics control of workers continue.

Currently, there is a one-way information collection method using RFID, but it is difficult not only to reduce the recognition rate according to the manufacturing environment, but also to provide timely or immediate information for each logistics worker. Therefore, it is difficult to apply to actual manufacturing sites. In addition, the use of information collection using various sensors to collect various information on manufacturing and moving animals is insufficient in the manufacturing industry. As a result, real-time dynamic information transfer between the operator and the manufacturing system is interrupted, data distortion, and delay occur, and the difficulty of data-based manufacturing site innovation continues.

Therefore, in order to actively respond to flexible and timely manufacturing, we not only collect various types of information according to the site/process/product of each manufacturing company, such as logistics, process, equipment, etc., but also timely respond to the rapidly changing corporate management environment such as multi-product customized production. For this, a device that enables real-time manufacturing logistics flow control (Process Flow Control) is required by intuitively and immediately recognizing / taking action by field workers.

Korean Patent Laid-Open Patent No. 10-2016-0046622 published on April 29, 2016 (Title: Wearable device and content transmission method)

An object of the present invention is to provide a smart tag based on a reconfigurable modular method capable of bidirectional information transfer and energy independence based on information display function, self-configurable sensor, rechargeable battery and energy harvest module. is in

A reconfigurable modular smart tag according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention for achieving the above object consists of a communication unit for communication with the tag management server, and E-Paper, and through the communication unit A display unit for displaying information received from the tag management server, a control unit for controlling the communication unit and the display unit, a power supply unit for supplying power to the communication unit, the display unit, and the control unit through a battery, information and power a baseboard configured with an interface unit for providing an interface to the user interface unit; a sensor module detachably coupled to the baseboard through the interface unit; It includes an expansion board on which a control module is configured to do so.

When the sensor module is connected to the expansion board, the control module recognizes the sensor module based on the sensor information of the sensor module stored in the descriptor of the control module, and receives the sensor information according to EIP (Equipment Interface Protocol) After generating a packet including characterized in that

When the sensor module collects sensor data through sensing, the control module generates a packet including the sensor data according to EIP (Equipment Interface Protocol), and transmits the generated packet to the control unit through the interface unit, When the control unit receives the packet, the control unit recognizes a sensor module that has transmitted sensor data based on sensor information of the received packet, extracts sensor data from the sensor data, and extracts the sensor data to the tag management server through the communication unit It is characterized in that the transmitted sensor data.

The expansion board is characterized in that it further comprises an energy collection module that collects energy from an energy source existing in the field environment, converts the collected energy into electric power, and provides the battery of the power supply unit to be charged.

A reconfigurable modular smart tag according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention for achieving the above object includes a communication unit for communication with the tag management server, a control unit for controlling the communication unit, and an interface for information and power. and a baseboard including an interface unit provided therein, and an extension board detachably coupled to the baseboard through the interface unit and including a control module.

Here, when a sensor module, which is a sensor for detecting sensor data according to the purpose of use of the smart tag, is connected to the expansion board, the control module is configured to use the sensor based on the sensor information of the sensor module stored in the descriptor of the control module. After recognizing a module and generating a packet including the sensor information according to EIP (Equipment Interface Protocol), the packet is transmitted to the control unit through the interface unit, and the control unit transmits the packet through the adapter of the control unit. It is characterized in that the sensor module is recognized by receiving sensor information of the received packet.

When the sensor module collects sensor data through sensing, the control module generates a packet including the sensor data according to EIP (Equipment Interface Protocol), and transmits the generated packet to the control unit through the interface unit, When the control unit receives the packet, the control unit recognizes a sensor module that has transmitted sensor data based on sensor information of the received packet, extracts sensor data from the sensor data, and extracts the sensor data to the tag management server through the communication unit It is characterized in that the transmitted sensor data.

The baseboard further includes a display unit made of E-Paper, and the control unit displays information through the display unit when receiving information from the tag management server through the communication unit.

The base board further includes a power supply unit for supplying power to the communication unit, the display unit, and the control unit through a battery, and the expansion board collects energy from an energy source existing in the field environment, and converts the collected energy into power After that, it characterized in that it further comprises an energy collection module that provides to charge the battery of the power supply.

According to the present invention, it is possible not only to utilize the smart tag semi-permanently without periodic battery replacement, but also to actively respond to the situation of the field by collecting various information on the field. Since the type of information required is different depending on the site situation and the energy source that can be collected is different, it can be flexibly applied to any site by configuring it in a modular form, and it can be expanded even when additional functions are required.

1 is a diagram for explaining the configuration of a smart tag operating system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a block diagram for explaining the configuration of a smart tag according to an embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a block diagram illustrating a detailed configuration of a power supply unit of a smart tag according to an embodiment of the present invention.
4 is a block diagram for explaining the configuration of a wireless charging receiver according to an embodiment of the present invention.
5 is a block diagram for explaining the configuration of an interface unit of a smart tag according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Prior to the detailed description of the present invention, the terms or words used in the present specification and claims described below should not be construed as being limited to their ordinary or dictionary meanings, and the inventors should develop their own inventions in the best way. For explanation, it should be interpreted as meaning and concept consistent with the technical idea of the present invention based on the principle that it can be appropriately defined as a concept of a term. Accordingly, the embodiments described in this specification and the configurations shown in the drawings are only the most preferred embodiments of the present invention, and do not represent all of the technical spirit of the present invention, so various equivalents that can be substituted for them at the time of the present application It should be understood that there may be water and variations.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In this case, it should be noted that the same components in the accompanying drawings are denoted by the same reference numerals as much as possible. In addition, detailed descriptions of well-known functions and configurations that may obscure the gist of the present invention will be omitted. For the same reason, some components are exaggerated, omitted, or schematically illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and the size of each component does not fully reflect the actual size.

First, a smart tag operating system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described. 1 is a view for explaining the configuration of a smart tag operating system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1 , the smart tag operating system includes a smart tag 10 , a gateway 20 , and a tag management server 30 .

The smart tag operating system in the manufacturing logistics environment is for timely response to the manufacturing site according to the rapidly changing corporate management environment such as multi-product customized production. Through the smart tag operating system, process information, inventory information, and work order can be visually braked to replace the existing handwritten input using paper. Accordingly, the smart tag 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention consists of various types of sensor modules and energy collection modules in an expanded form according to the environment in which the smart tag 10 is operated for manufacturing logistics and dynamic information collection for each site. can do. In addition, the smart tag 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention may communicate with the tag management server 30 through the gateway 20 to transmit information to each other.

That is, the reconfigurable modular smart tag 10 according to the implementation of the present invention collects information on various manufacturing or logistics sites for active response of flexible and timely manufacturing, and provides various information so that workers in the field can recognize it immediately. , support real-time manufacturing logistics flow management. Then, the configuration of the smart tag 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described in more detail. 2 is a block diagram for explaining the configuration of a smart tag according to an embodiment of the present invention. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a detailed configuration of a power supply unit of a smart tag according to an embodiment of the present invention. 4 is a block diagram for explaining the configuration of a wireless charging receiver according to an embodiment of the present invention. 5 is a block diagram for explaining the configuration of an interface unit of a smart tag according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 2 , the smart tag 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a baseboard 100 and an extension board 200 . The integrated baseboard 100 includes a communication unit 110 , a display unit 120 , a power supply unit 130 , an interface unit 140 , and a control unit 150 . In addition, the modular expansion board 200 includes an energy collection module 210 , a sensor module 220 , and a control module 230 . The energy collection module 210 and the sensor module 220 included in the modular expansion board 200 are modules that can be selectively added, deleted, and changed according to the situation and needs of the field. Accordingly, the smart tag 10 is reconfigurable to have a function required according to the environment.

The communication unit 110 is basically for communicating with the tag management server 30 through the gateway (Gateway, 20). To this end, the communication unit 110 may include a ZigBee module for ultra-low power communication based on IEEE 802.15.4. In addition, the communication unit 110 may further include a Near Field Communication (NFC) module for transmitting information in a short distance and charging wirelessly. The communication unit 110 may receive information such as logistics information, process information, stock information, and work order from the tag management server 30 . Also, the communication unit 110 may transmit sensor data to the tag management server 30 .

The display unit 120 may be made of E-Paper. E-Paper is a technology that displays colors, letters, and pictures using fine nanoparticles that move along the anode or cathode when an electric current is applied. usage is significantly reduced. The display unit 120 displays information such as logistics information, process information, inventory information, and work order received from the tag management server 30 on a screen.

Meanwhile, referring to FIG. 3 , the power supply unit 130 includes a wireless charging receiver 131 , a contact charging unit 132 , an energy harvester 133 , a charging unit 134 , a battery 135 and a power supply unit 136 . include

The power supply unit 136 increases or decreases the power of the battery 135 according to a voltage range that the communication unit 110 and the display unit 120 can use. This power supply unit 136 may be a converter.

The battery 135 is rechargeable, solid, and has a thin film structure.

The charging unit 134 is configured as a circuit for charging the battery 135 .

The wireless charging receiving unit 131 is for charging the battery 135 by wirelessly receiving power, and the contact charging unit 132 is for charging the battery 135 by a charging method according to the contact. The contact charging unit 132 may be a charging terminal. The energy harvester 133 is a module for collecting energy and may collect energy in various ways. The wireless charging receiving unit 131 and the contact charging unit 132 are for rapidly charging the battery 135 , and the energy harvester 133 is for increasing the lifespan of the battery 135 .

Here, the wireless charging receiver 131 will be described in more detail with reference to FIG. 4 . The wireless charging receiver 131 includes a receiving antenna and a receiving circuit. When a power transmitter (PT: Power Transmitter) wirelessly transmits power through the transmitter circuit and the transmitting antenna, the wireless charging receiving unit 131 receives power through the receiving antenna, and provides it to the charging unit 134 through the receiving circuit. . Then, the charging unit 134 charges the battery 135 through the received power.

Meanwhile, referring to FIG. 5 , basically, the interface unit 140 provides an interface having a detachable structure to enable connection between the base board 100 and the expansion board 200 . In addition, the interface unit 140 provides an interface for exchanging power and signals between the base board 100 and the expansion board 200 . That is, the control unit 150 of the baseboard 100 controls the power supply unit 130 to provide power to the expansion board 200 through the interface unit 140 (internal power output) or energy of the expansion board 200 . The collection module 210 may receive power according to the collected energy (external power input).

The control unit 150 is for controlling the communication unit 110 , the display unit 120 , and the power unit 130 . Such a control unit 150 may be exemplified by a micro control unit (MCU), a digital signal processor (DSP), or the like. When the control unit 150 receives information from the tag management server 30 through the communication unit 110 , it displays it through the display unit 120 , and sends the sensor module 220 to the tag management server 30 through the communication unit 110 . The collected sensor data can be transmitted. In particular, the control unit 150 includes an adapter for recognizing the sensor module.

Meanwhile, as described above, the expansion board 200 may include an energy collection module 210 , a sensor module 220 , and a control module 230 . The expansion board 200 is detachably coupled to the base board 100 through the interface unit 140 . Here, the energy collection module 210 and the sensor module 220 may be added, replaced, or removed as having a necessary function according to the field situation.

The control module 230 is for controlling the energy collection module 210 and the sensor module 220 . The control module 230 may be a micro control unit (MCU), a digital signal processor (DSP), or the like. In particular, the control module 230 includes a descriptor for storing and providing sensor information of the sensor module 220 and an adapter for recognizing the sensor module 220 .

The energy collection module 210 collects energy such as, for example, sunlight, solar heat, vibration, heat, light, electromagnetic waves, and electromagnetic waves from an energy source at the site where the smart tag 20 is operated, and converts the collected energy into electric power. to provide The energy collection module 210 provides power to the baseboard 100 through the interface unit 140 . This power is provided to the charging unit 134 through the energy harvester 133 . Then, the charging unit 134 charges the battery 135 through the received power. The energy collection module 210 may select various types of modules according to the type of energy source (solar light, solar heat, vibration, heat, light, electromagnetic wave, electromagnetic, etc.). The energy collection module 210 is preferably configured by selecting a module having a function of collecting an energy source suitable for the field environment. Therefore, the energy collection module 210 is a module that collects heat (solar heat, artificial heat generated in the environment) as energy, depending on the environment in which the smart tag 10 is operated, and light (solar light, artificial light generated in the environment) At least one of a plurality of modules, such as a module for collecting energy as energy, a module for collecting RF (electromagnetic waves, electromagnetic waves) as energy, and a module for collecting vibration as energy, may be selected and installed.

The sensor module 220 may be configured by selecting at least one of various types of sensors. As the sensor module 220 , a sensor having a required function (eg, sensing temperature, humidity, location, etc.) according to an environment (eg, a manufacturing site) in which the smart tag 10 is operated may be selected.

In particular, the sensor module 220 according to an embodiment of the present invention provides a self-configuration function of the sensor. The sensor module 220 for self-configuration can collect and control high-reliability data from a sensor device stably in a heterogeneous environment based on E.I.P. (Equipment Interface Protocol). It can perform self-setting and self-healing function (Reset). According to E.I.P. (Equipment Interface Protocol), sensor information and a packet structure for each of a plurality of sensors are defined according to a predetermined standard. For example, a packet structure including sensor information may be defined as a packet structure shown in Tables 1 and 2 below.

As described above, according to the agreed packet structure, the control unit 150 of the baseboard 100 may automatically recognize the sensor configured in the expansion board 200 through an E.I.P Adapter. Table 1 below shows the packet structure of E.I.P. (Equipment Interface Protocol).

Byte [0] [One] [2] [3] [4:21] [22] [23:24] Field SP Sensor Information Manufacturer Information Device Number Data Payload P/E CS

Each field of the packet structure is defined as shown in Table 2 below.

When the sensor module 220 is connected to the expansion board 200 , the control module 230 is a sensor based on the sensor information of the sensor module 220 stored in a descriptor of the control module 230 . After recognizing the module 220 and generating a packet including sensor information according to an Equipment Interface Protocol (EIP), the generated packet is transmitted to the controller 150 through the interface unit 140 . Accordingly, the control unit 150 may receive the packet. Then, the controller 150 may recognize the sensor module 220 based on the sensor information of the packet received through the adapter of the controller 150 .

In addition, when the sensor module 220 collects sensor data through sensing, the control module 230 generates a packet including the sensor data according to the Equipment Interface Protocol (EIP), and transmits the generated packet to the interface unit 140 . is transmitted to the control unit 150 through Accordingly, the control unit 150 may receive the packet. Then, the controller 150 may recognize the sensor module 220 that has transmitted the sensor data based on the sensor information of the received packet, and extract the sensor data from the received packet. Also, the control unit 150 may transmit the extracted sensor data to the tag management server 30 through the communication unit 110 .

According to the present invention, distribution information, process information, inventory information, work order, etc. are transmitted from the tag management server 30 to the smart tag 10 and displayed on the display unit. A display unit 120 made of E-paper to enable upward information transfer from (10) to the tag management server 30, a communication unit 110 for ultra-low power communication based on IEEE 802.15.4, In addition to the power supply unit 130 including a rechargeable battery, various types of sensor modules 220 and energy collection modules 210 required for field conditions can be selectively added, changed and deleted.

According to the present invention, not only can the smart tag 10 be used semi-permanently without periodic battery replacement, but also it is possible to actively respond to the situation of the field by collecting various information on the field. Since the type of information required is different depending on the field situation and the energy source that can be collected is also different, it can be said that flexibility and scalability are advantages by configuring it in a modular form. That is, the present invention first performs low-power ZigBee communication through the communication unit 110 in an industrial environment, and visually provides logistics information, process information, inventory information, work instructions, etc. through the display unit 120 made of e-paper. . Accordingly, it is possible to replace the existing handwriting input using paper. Second, the smart tag 10 of the present invention senses and collects field information and transmits it to the tag management server 30 through the communication unit 110, thereby monitoring field conditions. In addition, it is configured in a modular form to utilize various sensors, and provides a self-configuration function that automatically supports the interface protocol (E.I.P) between devices based on the information of the built-in descriptor. Third, the smart tag 10 of the present invention can be used semi-permanently by collecting energy from an energy source (solar light, vibration, TEG, RF, etc.) in the field and accumulating it in the battery of the power supply unit 130 . Fourth, according to the present invention, it is possible to improve manufacturing site management such as real-time logistics movement control, real-time automatic performance, and response to change of work orders through real-time bidirectional information sharing for collaboration between workers and the manufacturing system.

Meanwhile, the method according to the embodiment of the present invention described above may be implemented in the form of a program readable by various computer means and recorded in a computer readable recording medium. Here, the recording medium may include a program command, a data file, a data structure, etc. alone or in combination. The program instructions recorded on the recording medium may be specially designed and configured for the present invention, or may be known and available to those skilled in the art of computer software. For example, the recording medium includes magnetic media such as hard disks, floppy disks and magnetic tapes, optical recording media such as CD-ROMs and DVDs, and magneto-optical media such as floppy disks ( magneto-optical media) and hardware devices specially configured to store and execute program instructions such as ROM, RAM, flash memory, and the like. Such hardware devices may be configured to operate as one or more software modules to perform the operations of the present invention, and vice versa.

Although the present invention has been described above using several preferred embodiments, these examples are illustrative and not restrictive. As such, those of ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention pertains will understand that various changes and modifications can be made in accordance with the doctrine of equivalents without departing from the spirit of the present invention and the scope of rights set forth in the appended claims.

10: smart tag
20: gateway
30: tag management server
100: base board
110: communication department
120: display unit
130: power unit
131: wireless charging receiver
132: contact charging unit
133: energy harvester
134: charging part
135: battery
136: power supply unit
140: interface unit
150: control unit
200: expansion board
210: energy collection module
220: sensor module
230: control module

Claims (8)

In a reconfigurable modular smart tag comprising a base board and an expansion board,
A communication unit for communication with the tag management server, and an E-Paper, a display unit for displaying information received from the tag management server through the communication unit, and a control unit for controlling the communication unit and the display unit and a base board configured with a power supply unit for supplying power to the communication unit, the display unit, and the control unit through a rechargeable battery, and an interface unit supporting connection with the expansion board; and
An extension board which is detachably coupled to the baseboard through the interface unit and includes a sensor module that selectively configures a sensor for detecting sensor data according to the purpose of use of the smart tag, and a control module for controlling the sensor module including;
The power supply unit,
Energy for charging the battery with energy collected by using a wireless charging receiving unit that wirelessly charges the battery with power received wirelessly, a contact-type charging unit that charges the battery by a charging method according to contact, and a module that collects energy comprising a harvester, characterized in that the battery is charged using at least one of the wireless charging receiving unit, the contact-type charging unit, and the energy harvester
A reconfigurable modular smart tag. According to claim 1,
The control module is
When the sensor module is connected to the expansion board, the sensor module is recognized based on the sensor information of the sensor module stored in the descriptor of the control module, and a packet including the sensor information according to EIP (Equipment Interface Protocol) is transmitted. After generating, the packet is transmitted to the control unit through the interface unit,
When the controller receives the packet, the controller recognizes the sensor module based on sensor information of the packet received through the adapter of the controller.
A reconfigurable modular smart tag. 3. The method of claim 2,
The control module is
When the sensor module collects sensor data through sensing, it generates a packet including the sensor data according to EIP (Equipment Interface Protocol), and transmits the generated packet to the control unit through the interface unit,
the control unit
Upon receiving the packet, the sensor module that has transmitted the sensor data is recognized based on the sensor information of the received packet, the sensor data is extracted from the sensor data, and the extracted sensor data is transmitted to the tag management server through the communication unit. characterized by transmitting
A reconfigurable modular smart tag. According to claim 1,
The expansion board
Collecting energy from an energy source existing in the field environment, converting the collected energy into electric power, and further comprising an energy collection module configured to provide the battery of the power supply unit to be charged
A reconfigurable modular smart tag. delete delete delete delete

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