KR20220105339A - Real-time volume identification method based on rfid system - Google Patents

Abstract

Provided are a real-time quantity identification method and an RFID system having the same applied thereto. According to the real-time quantity identification method of the present invention, when tag IDs recorded on RFID tags attached to products start to be read, a cycle for identifying the quantity using the tag IDs starts, when all the tag IDs are combined and the quantity is identified to be normal, the cycle is terminated, and when an event cycle is terminated due to abnormal quantity, information about the quantity is provided to a user. Cases in which the event cycle is terminated due to the abnormal quantity include a case in which tag IDs are no longer found, a case in which a reading pattern passes a peak and decreases, a case in which the number of read tag IDs decreases, and the like. Therefore, because extended RFID middleware for real-time quantity identification is used to terminate the event by finding IDs of all products using a data-driven processing method, an accurate result can be provided in a fast time in real time, thereby enabling accurate and faster real-time quantity identification by solving a time synchronization problem through time-based processing of existing middleware.

Description

RFID system-based real-time tracking method {REAL-TIME VOLUME IDENTIFICATION METHOD BASED ON RFID SYSTEM}

The present invention relates to an RFID system, and more particularly, to a method of identifying a quantity using an RFID system in a factory or a distribution center.

The RFID middleware established by EPCglobal collects and processes the tag information recorded in the RFID tag using the RFID reader. One of the main purposes of RFID middleware is to reduce the load that may occur in the process of transferring a large amount of data generated in the real environment, that is, hardware, to the user program.

Using the tag IDs read by the RFID reader, the RFID middleware grasps the quantity and provides the identification result to the user. This process proceeds according to a specific cycle. This is to read all tags during the cycle time by setting a time interval called cycle because multiple tags cannot be read at once due to the characteristics of RF.

This cycle is operated in a fixed manner, and when it is necessary to determine the quantity of the goods moving through the conveyor belt, an inaccurate quantity determination may be made due to this fixed cycle, which will be described in more detail with reference to FIG. 1 .

1 shows the RFID tag recognition of the RFID reader and the operation of the RFID middleware over time. In FIG. 1, repeatPeriod is a section in which tag IDs recognized for quantity identification are combined, and duration is a period in which the quantity identified in repeatPeriod is provided to the user.

In FIG. 1 , it can be seen that, due to the fixed cycle, the identification of the quantity was performed inaccurately because the combination of the tag IDs, which was recognized a little later in the third cycle, was not properly performed. That is, although 20 tags were recognized in the third cycle, a problem occurred in that only 5 tags were recognized.

The present invention has been devised to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to start a cycle for providing results when the first tags are read by a reader, and combine IDs of tags found while proceeding in real time through a conveyor When it is determined that all tag IDs have been found using

A real-time quantity identification method according to an embodiment of the present invention for achieving the above object includes the steps of detecting whether tag IDs included in RFID tags attached to articles are read through an RFID reader, and when the tag IDs start to be read , starting a cycle for identifying quantity using the tag IDs.

And, it is preferable that the real-time quantity identification method further includes the step of terminating the cycle when the quantity is recognized as normal.

In addition, when all the tag IDs are combined, it is preferable to determine the quantity as normal.

And, the real-time quantity identification method may further include the step of providing information on the quantity to the user.

And, the real-time quantity identification method may further include providing information on the quantity to the user when the cycle ends due to an abnormal quantity of quantity.

In addition, when the providing step is finished, it is preferable to re-perform from the detecting step.

Meanwhile, according to another embodiment of the present invention, the RFID system uses an RFID reader that reads tag IDs included in RFID tags attached to articles, and uses the tag IDs when the RFID reader starts reading the tag IDs. Includes RFID middleware that initiates the cycle for tracking quantities.

In addition, it is preferable that the RFID middleware end the cycle when the quantity is found to be normal.

In addition, the RFID middleware determines that the quantity is normal when all the tag IDs are combined.

As described above, according to the present invention, since the RFID middleware is classified when the ID of the item is found using the data-driven processing method, it is possible to provide accurate results in a short time in real time. Therefore, it is possible to accurately and quickly determine the quantity in real time, going beyond the time synchronization problem through the time-based processing of the existing middleware.

In addition, when all items are not included, a result that all items are not included may be provided to the user more accurately and quickly.

1 is a view provided to explain a situation in which the quantity of articles moving through a conveyor belt is incorrectly determined;
2 is a view showing an RFID system to which the present invention is applicable;
3 is a view showing a detailed configuration of the RFID middleware shown in FIG. 2;
4 is a flowchart provided for explaining a method for determining a real-time quantity according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and;
FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating the RFID tag recognition of the RFID reader and the operation of the RFID middleware over time.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the drawings.

2 is a diagram illustrating an RFID system to which the present invention is applicable. The illustrated RFID system is a system that accurately grasps the quantity in real time using RFID. The system can be used in manufacturing factories that ship manufactured goods in a certain amount in packaging materials such as boxes, or in logistics processing sites that process packaged goods.

As shown in FIG. 2, the RFID system performing such a function includes a user program 110, an RFID middleware 120, an RFID reader 130, RFID antennas 141 and 142, a conveyor belt 150, and a conveyor belt. A distributor 160 is provided.

The RFID reader 130 reads the tag data recorded in the RFID tags through the RFID antennas 141 and 142 . For example, the RFID reader 130 reads tag data recorded in the RFID tag of a box moving on the conveyor belt 150 . The box moves on the conveyor belt 150, and an RFID tag may be attached to each item contained in the box.

The RFID reader 130 transmits the read tag data to the RFID middleware 120 .

The RFID middleware 120 detects the quantity of items contained in the box in real time through the tag data transmitted from the RFID reader 130 . In real-time quantity detection, the RFID middleware 120 uses a data-driven processing scheme, and the real-time quantity identification by the data-driven processing method will be described later in detail.

The quantity information identified by the RFID middleware 120 is transmitted to the user through the user program 110 . The user program 110 displays the quantity information received from the RFID middleware 120 on the screen so that the user can recognize it. For example, the user program 110 may include a control program for managing the system or an application program for applying quantity information to other services.

In addition, the user program 110 controls box distribution by the conveyor belt distributor 160 based on the quantity information received from the RFID middleware 120 . Specifically, box distribution by the belt distributor 160 may be controlled (③) so that a box having a normal quantity moves along a "①" path, and a box with an abnormal quantity moves along a "②" path. The box distribution control may be automatically controlled through a method predefined by the user, or may be manually controlled by the user.

Hereinafter, real-time quantity identification by the above-described data driven processing scheme will be described in detail.

Real-time quantity identification by the data-driven processing method performed by the RFID middleware 120 is,

1) When the RFID tags attached to the items contained in the box start to be read by the RFID reader 130, an event cycle (EventCycle) for identifying/providing the quantity is started,

2) Check and combine the tag data contained in the RFID tags read by the RFID reader 130 to determine the quantity,

3) When the quantity is recognized as normal (all tag data are combined), the event cycle is terminated and the identified quantity information (normal) is provided to the user,

4) If the event cycle is terminated due to an abnormal quantity (eg, cycle ends without all tag IDs due to insufficient quantity), the process of notifying the user of the identified quantity information (abnormal) is followed.

Here, the case where the event cycle is terminated due to an abnormal quantity is a case where all items are not included and is as follows.

1) When tags are no longer found as seen in the reading pattern of tags. That is, the cycle ends according to the end of the read.

2) When it is found that the reading pattern decreases through the peak through the reading pattern of tags. That is, cycle end by simple reduction

3) In case of a decrease, not a simple decrease of “2)”, the number of read tags immediately preceding and the number of currently read tags are checked to end the cycle (cycle end by reduction rate). In this case, the reduction rate is included in the query through the user program.

3 shows a detailed configuration of the RFID middleware 120 for real-time tracking of the quantity through the data-driven processing method. However, FIG. 3 further shows the user program 110 , the RFID reader 130 , the RFID antennas 141 and 142 , and the conveyor belt distributor 160 in addition to the RFID middleware 120 for convenience of understanding.

As shown in FIG. 3 , the RFID middleware 120 includes a query receiving interface 121 , a user query analyzer 122 , a data driven processing processor 123 , a result providing interface 124 , and a tag data receiver 125 . do.

The query receiving interface 121 receives a query input from the user through the user program 110 from the user program 110 and transmits it to the user query analyzer 122 . For example, the received query may include a query for determining the quantity.

The user query analyzer 122 analyzes and registers a user query received from the query receiving interface 121 . On the other hand, user queries can be implemented by using the extended area of the existing query to put extended query variables for determining the quantity.

The tag data receiver 125 receives tag data from the RFID reader 130 and transmits it to the data driven processing processor 123 .

The data-driven processing processor 123 identifies normal/abnormality of the quantity by combining the tag data received from the tag data receiver 125 according to a registered user query to determine the quantity.

The result providing interface 124 transmits information on the quantity and/or normal/abnormality detected by the data-driven processing processor 123 to the user program 110 .

The real-time quantity identification process by the RFID system described so far will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 4 . 4 is a flowchart provided to explain a method for real-time quantity identification according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 4 , first, the RFID reader 130 detects whether the tag data recorded in the RFID tags attached to the articles is read ( S210 ). If the tag data is not read by the RFID reader 130 in step S210 (S210-N), the RFID system waits until the tag data is read.

When tag data starts to be read by the RFID reader 130 in step S210 (S210-Y), the RFID middleware 120 starts an event cycle for determining the quantity (S220).

5 is a diagram illustrating the RFID tag recognition of the RFID reader 130 and the operation of the RFID middleware 120 over time. The times indicated by “○” in FIG. 5 are the times when the tag IDs are read by the RFID reader 130, and the times when the event cycle for determining the quantity starts.

As the event cycle starts, the RFID middleware 120 checks the tag IDs included in the RFID tags read by the RFID reader 130 and combines them to determine the quantity (S230).

When all the tag data are combined and the quantity is recognized as normal (S240-Y), the RFID middleware 120 ends the event cycle (S250), and the user program 110 provides the quantity information ( normal) is provided to the user (S260).

The case where all the tag data is combined refers to a case where the tag data is read and collected in a predefined format. For example, a case in which all tag data is combined may include a case in which a predefined number of tag data is read and collected, or a case in which tag data corresponding to a predefined sequence is read and collected. For example, if the items in a box and the number of RFID tags attached to them are 20, the first tag data, the second tag data, the third tag data, ... and the 20th tag data are all collected. It refers to the case of combined or 20 tag data collected and combined in one box.

The times indicated by "◎" in FIG. 5 are times when all the tag IDs are combined and the quantity is recognized as normal, which is also the time when the event cycle ends and the quantity information identified as normal is provided to the user.

On the other hand, when the quantity is not recognized as normal because all tag data are not combined until the end of the predefined event cycle (S270-Y), the user program 110 detects abnormality detected in the RFID middleware 120 until the event cycle ends of the quantity information is provided to the user (S280).

For example, when it is determined that the quantity is insufficient because the tag data (or tag IDs) are not all combined, it may be determined as abnormal. If all tag data are not combined up to the time points indicated by "●" in FIG. 5, the quantity is determined to be abnormal.

In addition, although preferred embodiments of the present invention have been illustrated and described above, the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments described above, and the technical field to which the present invention belongs without departing from the gist of the present invention as claimed in the claims In addition, various modifications may be made by those of ordinary skill in the art, and these modifications should not be individually understood from the technical spirit or perspective of the present invention.

110: user program 120: RFID middleware
121: query receiving interface 122: user query analyzer
123: data driven processing processor 124: result providing interface
125: tag data receiver 130: RFID reader
141, 142: RFID antenna 150: conveyor belt
160: conveyor belt divider

Claims (4)

detecting whether tag IDs included in RFID tags attached to articles are read through an RFID reader;
starting a cycle for identifying quantity using the tag IDs when the tag IDs start to be read; and
Comprising the step of terminating the cycle when all the tag IDs are combined and the quantity is found to be normal,
When the event cycle ends due to an abnormal amount of the amount, the method further comprising the step of providing information about the amount to the user,
If the event cycle ends due to an abnormal amount,
At least one of a case in which the tag IDs are no longer found, a case in which a reading pattern decreases past a peak, and a case in which the number of read tag IDs decreases;
and when the RFID reader starts tag reading and it is determined that all tag IDs have been found through the combination of IDs of the tags found within the cycle for providing results, the cycle is terminated. The method of claim 1,
Real-time quantity identification method, characterized in that it further comprises the step of providing information on the quantity to the user. 3. The method of claim 1 or 2,
When the cycle ends, the real-time quantity identification method, characterized in that the step of detecting whether the tag IDs are read is performed again. an RFID reader for reading tag IDs included in RFID tags attached to articles; and
RFID middleware that starts a cycle for identifying quantity using the tag IDs when the tag IDs start to be read, and ends the cycle when all the tag IDs are combined and the quantity is recognized as normal,
When the event cycle is terminated due to an abnormal amount, the method further comprises a user program that provides information about the amount to the user,
Including at least one of a case in which the event cycle ends due to an abnormal amount of the quantity, when the tag IDs are no longer found, when a reading pattern decreases past a peak, and when the number of read tag IDs decreases ,
The RFID middleware is
and when the RFID reader starts tag reading, the cycle ends when it is determined that all tag IDs have been found through the combination of IDs of the tags found in the cycle for providing a result.

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