KR20080053338A - Article management system and article management method - Google Patents

Abstract

An article management system has IC tags, IC readers for electronically detecting the IC tags, and a monitor and control section for sequentially detecting the positions of the IC tags by the IC tag readers in response to movement of the IC tags, determining whether the movement route indicated by sequentially detected positions is normal, and issuing an alarm when the result of the determination indicates a route that is not normal.

Description

Article management system, article management method and monitoring system {ARTICLE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM AND ARTICLE MANAGEMENT METHOD}

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention generally relates to an article management system and an article management method, and more particularly, to an article management system and an article management method for managing an article based on an added IC tag.

Background Art Conventionally, as a method for managing the quantity of articles and the like and for finding lost or stolen articles, a method of managing articles by creating a list of managed objects and collating the list and the articles sequentially is common. In recent years, a system using an IC tag has been used for the purpose of anti-theft. In a store or the like, an IC tag is attached to each product and a wireless tag detector is provided at the entrance and exit to detect unloaded goods.

An IC tag is a device having an IC chip as a recording medium for recording necessary information, and functions as an electronic tag (tag) that can read record information over the air.

There are two types of IC tags, an active type operating with an internal battery as a power source and a passive type operating with a magnetic field or an electric field supplied from the outside without a battery as a power source. The passive type is not suitable for long distance communication, but can be made as small and inexpensive as those without batteries.

Patent Document 1 discloses an example of an article management system using an IC tag. The article management system manages the information of the IC tag added to the article, and immediately outputs a warning for articles of high importance and a predetermined value for articles of high importance when the signal from the IC tag is cut off. A warning is output when no detection is made for over time. In addition, the moving / non-immovability of the article is recorded in advance, and an alarm is issued when a movement is detected for the non-movable article or when communication is lost.

Moreover, although the system does not use an IC tag, Patent Literature 2 discloses a system for managing an electronic device that can communicate. In this management system, all electronic devices constituting the device group are monitored, and when a predetermined time elapses after communication is lost, all the electronic devices are in an unusable state. As a result, the user input to each device is not allowed or prohibited, and the main system side can cope with starting a program at the time of communication loss.

In addition, Patent Document 3 discloses a location management system using an IC tag as an application to a logistics system. In this position management system, the route information formed by arranging the information about each position in the middle of the route to be moved in order is stored in the tag in advance, and the correct route information is displayed when the position of the tag deviates from this route. . In other words, the course to be moved in advance is inputted into the IC tag, and if the course is out of the course, the regular course is displayed.

By the article management system using an IC tag, it is considered to detect and prevent the loss and theft of articles along with the management of the quantity of articles at a company or the like. In this case, if the article to be managed is a movable article (an article for which movement is permitted), sufficient management cannot be achieved by simply paying attention to the position of the article. For example, if an article is permitted to move anywhere within the company's site, such as by moving illegally from one place on the site to another place on the site, even if the location of the article is monitored, the item may be lost or stolen. It does not lead to finding and preventing them.

In addition, different usage restrictions may be provided for articles used in companies and the like. For example, there are articles which cannot be carried out outside, and there are articles which can be taken outside. The article which cannot be carried out outside may be freely moved as long as it is in a predetermined compartment, but there are cases where it is impossible to carry out outside this compartment even inside the company. In addition, even if the goods can be taken out of the house, it will be difficult to get away from the management object and be stolen.

As described above, in order to detect and prevent the loss and theft of articles along with the management of the number of articles and the like by the article management system using the IC tag, detailed management according to different usage restrictions for each article is required.

[Patent Document 1] Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2002-163301

[Patent Document 2] Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2003-289307

[Patent Document 3] Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2004-302970

In view of the above, it is an object of the present invention to provide an article management system and a article management method capable of detecting and preventing the loss and theft of a movable article. It is also an object of the present invention to provide an article management system and a article management method capable of precise article management according to different usage restrictions for each article.

The article management system according to the present invention sequentially detects the position of the IC tag by the plurality of IC readers in response to movement of the IC tag, the plurality of IC readers that function to detect the IC tags electronically, and the IC tags. And a monitoring control section for determining whether or not the movement path indicated by the sequentially detected positions is a normal path and generating an alarm when the determination result indicates a path that is not normal.

According to an aspect of the present invention, the article management system further comprises: an information storage unit for allocating a selected one of a plurality of different movable areas to an IC tag, and storing movement level information indicating the selected movable area; The monitoring control unit may generate an alarm when it detects that the sequentially detected positions are outside the selected movable area indicated by the movement level information by referring to the movement level information stored in the information storage unit.

In addition, the article management method according to the present invention sequentially detects the position of the IC tag by the plurality of IC readers in response to the movement of the IC tag, and determines whether the movement path indicated by the sequentially detected position is a normal path. And each step of generating an alarm when the result of the determination indicates a path that is not normal.

Effect of the Invention

In the article management system according to at least one embodiment of the present invention, each article is managed according to the moving level (movable area) of the article with the IC tag, and whether or not an alarm is generated when each article is moved. To control. At this time, the monitoring controller generates an alarm when an IC tag is detected at a position to be determined to be abnormal, and generates an alarm when a movement through an abnormal path is detected even though the detection position itself is normal. Thus, by generating an alarm when the IC tag is moved along a path different from the usual one, more precise article management can be realized.

1 is a configuration diagram showing an example of the configuration of an IC tag.

2 is a configuration diagram showing an example of the configuration of a reader / writer for power supply to the IC tag and wireless communication.

3 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of an embodiment of a data management system according to the present invention.

4 illustrates an example of information stored in an information storage unit and information stored in an IC tag in detail.

5 is a view for explaining an article management operation by the article management system according to the present invention.

6 is a flowchart showing the article management operation performed by the article management system according to the present invention.

7 is a diagram for explaining a process of determining whether a path is normal.

8 is a flowchart showing the inventory research management operation of the goods management system according to the present invention.

9 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of a host computer.

<Description of the code>

10: IC tag 20: reader / writer

30: host computer 31: monitoring control unit

32: information storage unit 33: information input unit

34: information transmitter

EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION Below, the Example of this invention is described in detail using an accompanying drawing.

First, the structure and operation of the IC tag used in the embodiment of the present invention will be described. 1 is a configuration diagram showing an example of the configuration of an IC tag.

The IC tag 10 shown in FIG. 1 includes an antenna 11, a rectifier 12, a demodulator 13, a modulator 14, a memory 15, and a control unit 16. The antenna 11 is provided for power and signal reception by non-contact through wireless. The memory 15 stores various types of information corresponding to the use of the IC tag 10, and the control unit 16 executes various processes according to the use of the IC tag 10.

The signal received by the antenna 11 is supplied to the rectifier 12 and the demodulator 13. That is, the radio wave received by the antenna 11 is superimposed not only on the radio wave for the purpose of supplying power through the rectifier 12 but also on the AM modulated signal, the clock signal, or the like for information communication purposes. The power received by the antenna 11 is boosted by a resonance action by a capacitor (not shown) connected in parallel with the inductance L of the antenna itself, and is supplied to the rectifier 12 as an alternating voltage.

The rectifier 12 converts the AC voltage supplied from the antenna 11 into a DC voltage. The rectifier 12 includes a regulator for supplying a constant DC voltage to the load. The rectifier 12 supplies a constant DC voltage to the demodulator 13, the modulator 14, the memory 15, and the control unit 16.

The demodulator 13 demodulates the signal received through the antenna 11 and supplies it to the control unit 16. The modulator 14 modulates a signal supplied from the control unit 16 and wirelessly transmits it through the antenna 11.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram showing an example of the configuration of a reader / writer (IC reader) that performs power supply and wireless communication to the IC tag 10 shown in FIG. 1. The reader / writer (IC reader) 20 shown in FIG. 2 includes an antenna 21, a transmitter 22, a receiver 23, a control unit 24, and a memory 25.

The reader / writer 20 transmits radio waves from the transmitter 22 through the antenna 21. The IC tag 10 receives the radio wave from this reader / writer 20 by the antenna 11. As described above, electromotive force is generated by the resonance action between the inductance and the capacitance, and the DC voltage is generated by the rectifier 12 of the IC tag 10. Based on this DC voltage, a circuit (IC chip) inside the IC tag 10 operates, the control unit 16 reads out necessary information from the memory 15, and reads the read information from the modulator 14 to the antenna 11. Is transmitted as a wireless signal. The receiver 23 of the reader / writer 20 receives a signal from the IC tag 10 through the antenna 21, and supplies the received signal to the control unit 24. The control unit 24 transmits data included in the received signal to the outside (host device or the like) as necessary.

The control unit 24 also wirelessly transmits data received from the outside (host device or the like) from the antenna 21 via the transmitter 22. The IC tag 10 receives the radio signal transmitted from the reader / writer 20 by the antenna 11 and supplies the received data to the control unit 16 through the demodulator 13. The control unit 16 stores the received data in the memory 15 as necessary.

In this way, data can be transmitted in both directions between the reader / writer 20 and the IC tag 10. The memory 25 of the reader / writer 20 functions as a storage device for temporarily storing data to be transferred.

In the data management system according to the present invention, each article is managed using the IC tag 10 and the reader / writer 20 as described above. Hereinafter, the details of the data management system according to the present invention will be described.

3 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of an embodiment of a data management system according to the present invention. The data management system shown in FIG. 3 includes an IC tag 10, a reader / writer 20, and a host computer 30. For convenience of illustration, the IC tag 10 and the reader / writer 20 appear one by one, but in reality, a plurality of IC tags 10 and a plurality of reader / writers 20 are installed, and a plurality of the IC tags 10 and the reader / writer 20 are installed by the host computer 30. The article (plural IC tags 10) is managed at plural positions (plural reader / writers 20). In general, the communication between the IC tag 10 and the reader / writer 20 may be wireless, and the communication between the reader / writer 20 and the host computer 30 may be wired.

The host computer 30 includes a monitoring control unit 31, an information storage unit 32, an information input unit 33, and an information transmitter 34. The information storage unit 32 stores information managed for each IC tag 10 (IC tag list to be described later) in order to manage the article. The information input unit 33 is used to input this information to the information storage unit 32 from the outside of the host computer 30. The information transmitter 34 transmits (transmits) the information stored in the information storage unit 32 to the reader / writer 20 and receives data from the reader / writer 20. The monitoring control part 31 reads, records, and updates the information to the information storage part 32, and performs data communication with the reader / writer 20 via the information transmitting part 34, whereby the IC tag 10 Monitor your goods and manage them.

FIG. 4 is an example showing in detail the information stored in the information storage unit 32 and the information stored in the IC tag 10. In the data management system according to the present invention, the IC computer 10-1 to 10-4 attached to each article is managed by the host computer 30. Each of the IC tags 10-1 to 10-4 has the same configuration as the IC tag 10 shown in FIG. Although not shown in FIG. 3, the reader / writer 20 shown in FIG. 2 executes data transfer between the IC tags 10-1 to 10-4 and the host computer 30.

The host computer 30 includes an information storage unit 32 such as a hard disk, and the IC tag list 40 is stored in the information storage unit 32. In the IC tag list 40, the same information as that stored in the IC tags 10-1 to 10-4 is stored. The data items of the information to be stored include a product name, a department name, a department code, coordinates, an acquisition date, a current date, an acquisition amount, a book price, a moving level, and the like.

For example, the IC tag 10-1 is assigned a tag number 00102. The article name is a server, the department name is X development department, the department code is 0023, the coordinate is B, the acquisition date is 2003.10.1, the current date is 2005.2.10, the acquisition amount. Is 520000 yen, the book value is 100000 yen, and the moving level is A non-movable. These data contents are stored in the memory 15 (see FIG. 1) of the IC tag 10-1 attached to the article, and stored in the information storage unit 32 as an item of the IC tag list 40. .

In coordinate B in the above example, the reader / writer 20 (the reader / writer 20 that has read the contents of the IC tag 10-1) which has communicated with the IC tag 10-1 most recently is located at position B. Indicates that there is. In the article management system of the present invention, a plurality of reader / writers 20 are provided at predetermined positions, and when the IC tag 10 passes through the vicinity of a certain reader / writer 20, the reader / writer 20 is attached to the reader / writer 20. The data contents of the IC tag 10 are read. In the above example, the installation position (area number) of the reader / writer 20 which finally read the data contents of the IC tag 10-1 is B. In FIG.

5 is a view for explaining an article management operation by the article management system according to the present invention. 5 shows, for example, the company's site 50. A building is installed inside the company's site 50, and the building includes a first floor 51 and a second floor 52 of the building. In the company site 50, a plurality of reader / writers 20 are provided inside and outside the building. In FIG. 5, each reader / writer 20 identifies the position (coordinate) by the letters A-Y. Positions A through F correspond to six rooms on the first floor of the building 51, and positions G through L correspond to six rooms on the second floor of the building 52. What is necessary is just to provide the reader / writer 20 of each room near the entrance of each room, for example.

In addition, the position V corresponds to the vicinity of the hatch of the stairs of the first floor 51 of the building, and the position U corresponds to the vicinity of the hatch of the stairs of the second floor of the building 52. The position W corresponds to the vicinity of the entrance and exit of the first floor 51 of the building, and the positions X and Y correspond to the entrance and exit of the company site 50.

The article to which the IC tag 10-1 is attached lies in the room at position B. Similarly, articles with IC tags 10-2, 10-3, and 10-4 are placed in the rooms at positions D, F, and K, respectively. Here, the IC tags 10-1 to 10-4 record the data contents shown in FIG.

For example, the article of the IC tag 10-2 in the room of the position D (hereinafter called the room D) is detected by the reader / writer 20 in the room D at the time of bringing it into the room D. When the host computer 30 knows that the reader / writer 20 in Room D has detected the IC tag 10-2, the host computer 30 checks the IC tag 10-2 in the IC tag list 40 of the information storage unit 32. Rewrite the position information to position D. The host computer 30 also instructs the IC tag 10-2 via the reader / writer 20 to rewrite the positional information in the memory 15 of the IC tag 10-2 to the position D. FIG. The exchange of signals and rewriting (update) of data contents between the IC tag 10, the reader / writer 20, and the host computer 30 are executed only when the article with the IC tag 10 is moved. It does not manage coordinates by exchanging signals at all times. Therefore, with respect to the number of times of rewriting of the memory 15 of the IC tag 10 and the communication distance between the IC tag 10 and the reader / writer 20, it is not necessary to use very high-performance hardware.

As shown in FIG. 4, IC tag 10-1 of tag number 00102 in room B is an article set to the movement level A (non-movable). Therefore, when the article with IC tag 10-1 is carried out from room B, the host computer 30 needs to detect this as an abnormality. Therefore, when the IC tag 10-1 is detected by the reader / writer 20 other than the reader / writer 20 in room B, the host computer 30 detects this as an abnormality and generates an alarm.

IC tag 10-2 of tag number 00112 in the room D is an article set to the movement level B (movable). In this example, moving means moving indoors, but moving outside is not allowed. Therefore, even if the IC tag 10-2 is detected by any reader / writer 20 in the first floor 51 of the building and the second floor 52 of the building, the host computer 30 may display the IC tag list 40 and the IC tag. Only the positional information of the memory 15 in (10-2) is updated, and no alarm occurs. In contrast, when the IC tag 10-2 is detected by any one reader / writer 20 outside the building, the host computer 30 generates an alarm. Moreover, even if it is not detected by any of the reader / writers 20 outside the building, for example, the IC tag 10-2 registered as the current position D is not detected by the reader / writer 20 of the position V or U, and suddenly, Also, when detected by the reader / writer 20 at the position J, the host computer 30 may detect this as abnormal and generate an alarm. This corresponds to the case where the article with the IC tag 10-2 is carried out, for example, from the window of room D and brought into the room J.

IC tag 10-3 of tag number 00023 in the room F is an article set to the movement level C (outdoor possible). In this example, outdoor availability means moving freely indoors or outdoors. Therefore, even if the IC tag 10-3 is detected by any reader / writer 20 of the company site 50, the host computer 30 can store the IC tag list 40 and the memory (in the IC tag 10-3). Only the positional information of 15) is updated, and as a rule, no alarm occurs. However, in the case where the reader / writer 20 detects the IC tag 10-3, for example, at the position M near the wall of the site or the entrance and exit positions X and Y of the site, an alarm may be generated. In addition, for example, when the IC tag 10-3 registered as the current position F is not detected by the reader / writer 20 at the position W, but is suddenly detected by the reader / writer 20 at the position R, the host computer 30 may be used. May detect this as an error and generate an alarm. This corresponds to the case where the article with the IC tag 10-3 is carried out from, for example, a window of the F room and is conveyed toward the entrance and exit of the company site 50.

IC tag 10-4 of tag number 00500 in room K is an article set to the movement level D (exportable). In this example, carrying out means that it can move regardless of indoors, outdoors, a site, and a site. Therefore, even if the IC tag 10-4 is detected by any reader / writer 20, the host computer 30 can provide the IC tag list 40 and the positional information of the memory 15 in the IC tag 10-4. As a rule, no alarm is generated. However, for example, the IC tag 10-4 registered as the current position K is not detected by the reader / writer 20 such as the positions U, V, and W, and suddenly, the reader / writer 20 of the positions S, R, and the like is detected. In the case of detection by the above, the host computer 30 may detect this as an error and generate an alarm. This corresponds to the case where the article with the IC tag 10-4 is carried out, for example, from the window of the room K and is conveyed toward the entrance and exit of the company site 50. In addition, for example, when the IC tag 10-4 registered as the current position K is not detected by the reader / writer 20 at the position V or U, and is detected by the reader / writer 20 at the position B, the host computer may also be used. 30 may detect this as an abnormality and generate an alarm.

As described above, in the article management system according to the present invention, each article is managed according to the moving level (movable area) of the article on which the IC tag 10 is attached, and whether or not an alarm is generated when each article moves. do. At this time, the host computer 30 generates an alarm when the IC tag 10 is detected at a position to be determined to be abnormal, and when the movement of the IC tag 10 through an abnormal path is detected even though the detection position itself is normal. Raise an alarm. Thus, by generating an alarm when the IC tag 10 moves along a path different from the usual one, more precise article management can be realized.

In addition, the host computer 30 may be accessed to change the moving level of the article. In this case, for example, by authenticating the user with a password or the like, it is preferable that only a person having authority to change the moving level of the article can change the moving level of the article.

6 is a flowchart showing the article management operation performed by the article management system according to the present invention. In step S1, a new item is received or purchased.

In step S2, information about the new article is input to the host computer 30. Specifically, by inputting the data of each item as shown in FIG. 4 regarding a new article from the information input part 33, such as a keyboard and a mouse, the data of each item is informed as a part of IC tag list 40. FIG. The storage unit 32 stores it.

In step S3, the information stored in step S2 is transferred from the host computer 30 to the reader / writer (IC reader) 20. Specifically, the monitoring control unit 31 reads the data relating to the new article of the IC tag list 40 from the information storage unit 32, and the read / write data is read from the reader / writer 20 via the information transmitting unit 34. Send to In the reader / writer 20, the control unit 24 stores data regarding the new article received from the host computer 30 in the memory 25.

In step S4, the information about the new article is recorded in the IC tag 10. Specifically, the control unit 24 of the reader / writer 20 transmits data about the new article stored in the memory 25 to the IC tag 10 via the transmitter 22. In the IC tag 10, the control unit 16 stores data about the new article received from the reader / writer 20 in the memory 15.

In step S5, it is checked whether the IC tag 10 has moved. When the IC tag 10 moves, the IC tag 10 is detected by radio waves transmitted from the reader / writer 20 in the moving path.

In step S6, the information about the detected IC tag 10 is transmitted to the host computer 30 via the reader / writer 20. This information includes at least information (tag number or the like) identifying the IC tag 10.

In step S7, the host computer 30 collects the information. Specifically, based on the information about the IC tag 10 transmitted from the reader / writer 20 by the monitoring control unit 31 of the host computer 30, by any reader / writer 20, the certain IC tag 10 may be used. Is detected. Furthermore, based on the information received by the monitoring control part 31, the IC tag list 40 of the information storage part 32 is updated. The data content to be recorded by the update may be a new address of the detected IC tag 10 (the position of the detected reader / writer 20), the time when the IC tag 10 is detected, or the like.

In step S8, it is determined whether or not a predetermined time or more has elapsed based on the movement time recording of the IC tag 10. If more than a predetermined time (for example, 5 minutes or more) has elapsed, it is determined that there is a risk of theft or failure in step S11, and an alarm is generated in step S12. For example, in Fig. 5, the IC tag 10-4 is detected at the positions K and U, but the state without being detected by the reader / writer 20 such as the positions V, I and L thereafter is, for example, 5 minutes. This case is the case where the above is continued. In addition, the monitoring control part 31 of the host computer 30 performs determination of whether it exceeded predetermined time. If there is no problem in the elapsed time, the process proceeds to step S9.

In step S9, the movement path is monitored. Specifically, the monitoring control part 31 of the host computer 30 records the position where the IC tag 10 was sequentially detected by movement to the information storage part 32 as a location history.

In step S10, it is determined whether the moving path of the IC tag 10 is normal. Specifically, the monitoring control part 31 of the host computer 30 determines whether the movement path is normal with respect to the IC tag 10 in which the movement was detected this time, based on the past position history and the current detection position. Judge. In order to determine whether the path is normal, for example, all the segments of the normal path may be enumerated and input to the information storage unit 32 of the host computer 30 from the information input unit 33 in advance.

Fig. 7 is a view for explaining the process of determining whether the path is normal. In Fig. 7, the building 61 has six rooms 62 to 67, and the position A near the entrance and exit of each room. The reader / writer 20 is provided at, D, H, C, F, and J. FIG. In addition, the reader / writer 20 is provided in positions B, E, I, and K in the corridor of the building 61. The reader / writer 20 is also installed in the entrances and exit positions L and P of the building 61. In addition, the reader / writer 20 is provided in positions O, N, M, S, R, and Q in the site portions outside the windows of the rooms 62 to 67, respectively.

In the example of FIG. 7, the path segment indicated by the solid arrow is registered in the information storage unit 32 as the normal path segment constituting the normal path. The monitoring control part 31 determines whether the path | route which the IC tag 10 moved was the path comprised by the registered normal path segment. If the moving path is a path composed of normal path segments, it is determined that the path is a normal path, and if a segment other than the normal path segment is included, it may be determined to be an abnormal path.

For example, a path D → E → I → K → L → M → N is a path segment having both positions D and E at both ends, and a path segment having both positions E and I at both ends, and having a position I and K at both ends. Path segments, path segments with positions K and L at both ends, path segments with positions L and M at both ends, and path segments with positions M and N at both ends, all of which are route paths It is registered as a segment. Therefore, it can be determined that the path D → E → I → K → L → M → N is a normal path.

In addition, it is not determined that an abnormality is included when segments other than the normal segment are included, but an abnormal path segment may be registered, and may be determined to be abnormal when an abnormal path segment is included in the moving path. For example, in the example of FIG. 7, the path segment indicated by the dotted line arrow is registered in the information storage unit 32 as the abnormal path segment constituting the abnormal path.

The monitoring control part 31 determines whether the path | route which the IC tag 10 moved includes the registered abnormal path segment. In the case where the moving path is a path including an abnormal path segment, it is determined that it is an abnormal path. When the moving path does not include the abnormal path segment, it may be determined as a normal path. In addition, the path segment shown by the dotted line arrow in the example of FIG. 7 is corresponded to the path | route which moves an article through a window, and such a movement is normally considered to be impossible.

In addition, both the normal path segment and the abnormal path segment are registered, and when the moving path is a path composed only of the normal path segment, it is determined to be a normal path, and when the moving path is a path including the abnormal path segment, the abnormal path You may comprise so that it may be determined. In this case, for example, in the case where the moving path includes path segments other than the normal path segment but does not include the abnormal path segment, an action such as setting a hardness alarm is considered.

For example, when an abnormal path segment H-M is included in a moving path, the goods are moved through the window, and a moderate alarm is generated. In addition, when the movement path is H-> K-M, it is thought that the article is moving without being detected at the positions I and L, but any abnormality is generated, but for example, the defective IC tag 10 or the reader of the positions I and L There is also a possibility that the lighter 20 is defective or the like, and it is considered to be an alarm of hardness.

In the determination of whether the path is normal, the detection position itself of the IC tag 10 may also be the determination target. That is, as described above, each movement level (movement control condition or movable area) is set in each article, and it is impossible to move, only indoors can move, can move within the site, and can be taken out of the site. Level classification, and so on. In this case, when the article which can only move indoors is detected by the outdoor reader / writer 20 irrespective of a movement path, you may make it the structure which generate | occur | produces an alarm based on the determination that a detection position is abnormal.

Returning to Fig. 6, when the movement path is normal as a result of the determination in step S10, the process returns to step S5 and the subsequent processing is repeated. As a result of the determination in step S10, if the movement path is not normal, it is determined that there is a risk of theft in step S13, and an alarm is generated in step S14. This concludes the process.

The article management system according to the present invention can also perform inventory management by managing the article movement as described above. Hereinafter, inventory investigation management using the goods management system which concerns on this invention is demonstrated.

8 is a flowchart showing the inventory research management operation of the goods management system according to the present invention. The flowchart shown in FIG. 8 may be configured to be executed after step S10 of the flowchart of FIG. 6, for example. In the case of inventory management, data related to the article name, initial batch address, acquisition date, purchase price, manager, book value, etc. are previously obtained from the information input unit 33 of the host computer 30 as the IC tag list 40. It is assumed that it is input. These data may be transferred to and stored in the memory 15 of the IC tag 10.

In step S21, it is determined whether today is the inventory investigation date. Specifically, the monitoring control unit 31 of the host computer 30 determines whether or not the current date indicated by the date information coincides with the date designated as the inventory inspection date in advance. If it is not the inventory check date, the flow returns to, for example, step S5 in FIG. 6, and the operation of the article management system described above is continued. If it is the inventory check day, the flow proceeds to step S22.

In step S22, the article list for each room is transmitted from the host computer 30 to the reader / writer 20. The reader / writer 20 is, for example, a portable device (handy IC reader) capable of wirelessly communicating with the host computer 30. Specifically, in the example of FIG. 4, the article list of room B includes the article with IC tag 10-1, and the article list of room D includes the article with IC tag 10-2. The article list of room F includes an article with IC tag 10-3 attached thereto, and the article list of room K includes an article with IC tag 10-4 attached thereto. By displaying the article list for each room on the display unit of the reader / writer 20 (handy IC reader), for example, the user can know the room that needs to be inspected. In addition to the example shown in FIG. 4, many articles may be placed in each room.

In step S23, the reader / writer 20 (handy IC reader) is traversed to each room to be inspected. By this circulation operation, the IC tag 10 is read by the reader / writer 20 of all the management object articles | goods (item to which the IC tag 10 was added) which exist in the room examined sequentially.

In step S24, product information, a date, and the like are acquired from the IC tag 10. Specifically, the reader / writer 20 receives necessary information from the memory 15 of the IC tag 10 and stores it in the memory 25. The control unit 24 of the reader / writer 20 reads out the information from the memory 25 and transmits the information to the host computer 30. The monitoring control unit 31 of the host computer 30 stores the received information in the information storage unit 32.

In step S25, the host computer 30 calculates a book price. Specifically, the monitoring control part 31 of the host computer 30 calculates a book value by depreciation based on the purchase date, the present date, and the acquisition amount of an article. The calculated book price may update the corresponding data in the IC tag list 40 of the information storage unit 32 and update the corresponding data in the memory 15 of the IC tag 10.

In step S26, it is determined whether the number of articles detected by each room of the inspection subject coincides with the number of articles on the management data. If there is a match, the inventory inspection management is terminated, and the operation of the article management system described above is continued. If no, the process proceeds to step S27.

In step S27, it is determined whether all rooms including the rooms other than the inspection target have been examined. If all rooms have already been inspected, it is determined in step S30 that the article is missing or the IC tag 10 is broken, and an alarm is generated in step S31.

If a room that has not yet been inspected remains, in step S28, it is determined by another reader / writer 20 (handy IC reader) whether or not the item under search (item not detected) has been found. Since the handy IC reader is not limited to one, another person may be searching in another room. If the article under search is found, the inventory inspection management is terminated, and the operation of the article management system described above is continued.

If the item being searched by the other reader / writer 20 has not been found yet, another room is searched for. That is, the room which has not yet been examined is examined by the reader / writer 20 (handy IC reader). The procedure then returns to step S27 to repeat the subsequent processing.

9 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of the host computer 30 shown in FIG. 3. The article management method according to the present invention is executed by the host computer 30 having such a hardware configuration.

As shown in Fig. 9, the host computer 30 executing the article management method according to the present invention includes a computer 510, a display device 520, a communication device 523 connected to the computer 510, And an input device. The input device includes, for example, a keyboard 521 and a mouse 522. The computer 510 includes a CPU 511, a RAM 512, a ROM 513, a secondary storage device 514 such as a hard disk, a removable media storage device 515, and an interface 516. do. For example, the secondary storage device 514 corresponds to the information storage unit 32, and the keyboard 521 and the mouse 522 correspond to the information input unit 33. The interface 516 also corresponds to the information transmitter 34. The function of the monitoring control part 31 is mainly implemented by the CPU 511.

The keyboard 521 and the mouse 522 provide an interface with a user, and various commands for operating the computer 510, a user response to requested data, and the like are input. The display device 520 displays a result processed by the computer 510 and the like, and performs various data display to enable a conversation with a user when operating the computer 510. The communication device 523 is for communicating with a remote site, and is composed of, for example, a modem or a network interface.

The article management method according to the present invention is provided as a computer program executable by the computer 510. The computer program is stored in a storage medium M that can be mounted in the switchable medium storage device 515, and the RAM 512 or the secondary storage device 514 from the storage medium M through the switchable medium storage device 515. Is loaded). Alternatively, this computer program is stored in a storage medium (not shown) located at a remote location, and the RAM 512 or the secondary storage device 514 from the storage medium through the communication device 523 and the interface 516. Is loaded.

If there is a program execution instruction from the user via the keyboard 521 and / or the mouse 522, the CPU 511 may program the RAM 512 from the storage medium M, the remote storage medium, or the secondary storage device 514. Load in The CPU 511 uses the empty storage space of the RAM 512 as a work area, executes a program loaded in the RAM 512, and proceeds the processing appropriately while talking to the user. The ROM 513 also stores a control program for controlling the basic operation of the computer 510.

By executing the computer program, the computer executes each article management operation of the embodiment of the article management system described above. In other words, the article management method according to the present invention is executed.

As mentioned above, although this invention was demonstrated based on the Example, this invention is not limited to the said Example, A various deformation | transformation is possible within the range of a claim.

For example, in the description of the above embodiment, although the configuration (for example, positional information) of the memory 15 of the IC tag 10 is rewritten and updated at any time, the IC tag 10 which cannot be rewritten may be used. Basically, the IC tag 10 should just be comprised so that identification information (for example, a tag number) can be stored so that it may be distinguishable from another IC tag 10, and data, such as position information, an article name, an acquisition date, a movement level, is a host computer. It may be recorded and managed only in the IC tag list 40 of (30).

Claims (8)

IC tag, A plurality of IC readers that function to detect the IC tag electronically; In response to the movement of the IC tag, the plurality of IC readers sequentially detect the position of the IC tag, determine whether the movement path indicated by the sequentially detected position is a normal path, Surveillance control unit that generates an alarm if the result indicates a path that is not normal Article management system comprising a. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising an information storage unit that registers at least one of a normal path and an abnormal path in advance with respect to movement between a plurality of locations corresponding to the plurality of IC readers. And the monitoring control unit determines whether the moving path indicated by the sequentially detected position is a normal path based on at least one of the normal path and the abnormal path registered in the information storage unit. Management system. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising: an information storage unit configured to allocate a selected one of a plurality of different movable regions to the IC tag, and to store movement level information indicating the selected movable region, The monitoring control unit generates an alarm by referring to the movement level information stored in the information storage unit and detecting that the sequentially detected position is outside the selected movable area indicated by the movement level information. Goods management system. In response to the movement of the IC tag, the position of the IC tag is sequentially detected by a plurality of IC readers, It is determined whether the movement path indicated by the sequentially detected position is a normal path, Generating an alarm if the result of the determination indicates a path that is not normal An article management method comprising each step. 5. The movement according to claim 4, further comprising: registering at least one of a normal path or an abnormal path in advance with respect to movement between a plurality of positions corresponding to the plurality of IC readers, wherein the sequentially detected positions are represented. The determining of whether the path is a normal path may include determining whether the moving path represented by the sequentially detected position is a normal path, based on at least one of the registered normal path or an abnormal path. Article management method. In the monitoring system for monitoring the movement path of the IC tag, Monitoring which monitors the normality of the movement path of the said IC tag by the said IC tag detection information of the IC reader which is arrange | positioned in a several position, and the arrangement position information of the IC reader which detected the IC tag. Way Surveillance system comprising a. An IC reader disposed at a plurality of positions and detecting an IC tag; Monitoring means for monitoring the normality of the movement path of the IC tag based on IC tag detection information detected by the IC reader and arrangement position information of the IC tag Surveillance system comprising a. IC tag, An IC reader disposed at a plurality of positions and detecting an IC tag; Monitoring means for monitoring the normality of the movement path of the IC tag based on IC tag detection information detected by the IC reader and arrangement position information of the IC tag Surveillance system comprising a.

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