WO2023157084A1

WO2023157084A1 - Mobile body information providing system and mobile body receiving device

Info

Publication number: WO2023157084A1
Application number: PCT/JP2022/005959
Authority: WO
Inventors: 嘉人遠藤; 明谷口
Original assignee: 三菱電機ビルソリューションズ株式会社
Priority date: 2022-02-15
Filing date: 2022-02-15
Publication date: 2023-08-24

Abstract

In the present invention, a radio tag (12) is disposed on a mobile body receiving device (1) and stores identification information of the mobile body receiving device (1). A radio tag reader (30) acquires the identification information from the radio tag (12) by means of radio communication with the radio tag (12). A radio-wave interrupting member (20) is configured to interrupt the radio communication when the mobile body (2) is absent in the mobile body receiving device (1) and to connect the radio communication when the mobile body (2) is present in the mobile body receiving device (1). The radio tag (12) transmits a signal containing the identification information to the radio tag reader (30) by means of radio communication. The radio tag reader (30) transmits information, which includes the time of signal reception and the identification information, to a server (40). The server (40) detects the presence/absence of the mobile body (2) in the mobile body receiving device (1) at the current time on the basis of the information from the radio tag reader (30) and reports the detection result to a terminal device.

Description

Mobile object information providing system and mobile object storage device

The present disclosure relates to a mobile body information providing system and a mobile body storage device.

Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2021-125967 (Patent Document 1) discloses a cart-type product registration device used by shoppers in stores. This cart-type product registration device includes a cart body, a product registration device, a secondary battery, a power receiving coil, and a power receiving circuit. An identification tag having identification information of the cart-type product registration device is attached to the cart body.

The power receiving coil is electromagnetically coupled with the power feeding coil when the cart body is housed on the power feeding base on which the power feeding coil is arranged. The power receiving circuit charges the secondary battery with power generated in the power receiving coil. The power supply base is provided with a detector for detecting the identification tag. The detection unit detects entry or removal of the cart-type product registration device from the power supply base.

JP 2021-125967 A

As shown in Patent Document 1, an identification tag is attached to a shopping cart used in a store, and identification information is read from the identification tag at a storage location of the shopping cart. return can be detected.

However, on the other hand, in facilities such as large-scale commercial facilities that have a large number of shopping carts, identification tags must be attached to all shopping carts in order to manage the shopping carts. There is concern that much time and effort will be required. Moreover, there is concern that not only the initial cost of introducing a large number of identification tags, but also the cost of maintaining and managing the large number of identification tags will increase.

The present disclosure has been made to solve such problems, and an object of the present disclosure is to provide a mobile body information providing system and a mobile body storage system capable of providing users with information on mobile bodies simply and at low cost. to provide the equipment.

A mobile object information providing system according to the present disclosure provides information indicating the presence or absence of a mobile object in a mobile object storage device. A mobile information providing system includes a wireless tag, a wireless tag reader, a server, and a radio wave blocking member for blocking wireless communication between the wireless tag and the wireless tag reader. The wireless tag is installed in the mobile storage device and stores identification information of the mobile storage device. The wireless tag reader acquires identification information from the wireless tag through wireless communication with the wireless tag. The server is communicatively connected to the wireless tag reader. The radio wave blocking member is configured to block wireless communication when there is no mobile object in the mobile storage device, and to connect wireless communication when there is a mobile object in the mobile storage device. The wireless tag transmits a signal including identification information to the wireless tag reader by wireless communication. The wireless tag reader transmits information including signal reception time and identification information to the server. The server can communicate with the terminal device, and based on the information from the wireless tag reader, detects the presence or absence of the mobile object in the mobile object storage device at the current time and notifies the terminal device.

A mobile object storage device according to the present disclosure is a mobile object storage device that accommodates a mobile object, and includes a wireless tag that stores identification information of the mobile object storage device, an external wireless tag reader, and a wireless tag for blocking wireless communication. and a radio wave blocking member. The radio wave blocking member has a box-like outer shape and is configured to block wireless communication by housing a wireless tag inside. The radio wave blocking member is arranged at a position with which the moving body housed in the moving body housing device abuts. The radio wave blocking member establishes wireless communication by exposing the wireless tag from the radio wave blocking member using the force received from the moving body entering the mobile body storage device.

According to the present disclosure, it is possible to provide a mobile body information providing system and a mobile body storage device capable of providing users with information on mobile bodies simply and at low cost.

1 is an overall configuration diagram of a mobile information providing system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG. FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view along line II-II of FIG. 1; FIG. 3 is a top view of the wireless communication device viewed from the direction of arrow A in FIG. 2; 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a wireless communication device; FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a wireless communication device; FIG. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example hardware configuration of a wireless communication device and a server; FIG. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of installation of multiple wireless communication devices in a commercial facility; FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining a cart storage database stored in a server; FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining reception log information; It is a figure for demonstrating an empty cart information database. It is a figure explaining the production|generation process of the screen data in a server. It is a figure explaining the production|generation process of the screen data in a server. It is a figure showing the example of the display screen of a terminal device. FIG. 4 is a sequence diagram for explaining the flow of processing executed by the mobile information providing system;

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. The same or corresponding parts in the drawings are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will not be repeated.

<Application example of mobile information provision system>
A mobile body information providing system according to the present embodiment is a system for providing information on mobile bodies used in a facility to users of the facility. A commercial facility will be described below as an example of a facility to which the mobile information providing system according to the present embodiment is applied.

　In commercial facilities, shopping carts are used as mobile objects for transporting products purchased by shoppers who are users. A shopping cart is a so-called wheelbarrow, and is composed of a storage basket for loading products, wheels, a handle, and the like.

Unused shopping carts are usually collected in multiple cart storage areas set up within shopping facilities. The shopper can go to the cart place and use the shopping cart. However, if there is no shopping cart in the cart storage area, the shopper must visit several cart storage areas to find the shopping cart, which is time consuming and laborious. Alternatively, there is concern that the manager of the facility who receives the inquiry from the shopper will search for an unused shopping cart, increasing the administrative burden on the manager.

In this embodiment, the mobile information providing system is configured to provide shoppers with information indicating the presence or absence of a shopping cart at each cart location. This reduces the time and effort of shoppers, improves convenience for shoppers, and reduces the operational burden on facility managers.

<Configuration of mobile information providing system>
FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of a mobile information providing system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

As shown in FIG. 1, the mobile information providing system 100 includes a cart storage 1,

wireless communication devices

10 and 30, a server 40, and a terminal device 50.

(1) Cart Storage 1
The cart storage 1 is installed in a cart storage space provided in a commercial facility, and is configured to be able to store a plurality of shopping carts 2 . The cart storage 1 arranges a plurality of shopping carts 2 in series in a predetermined direction. The cart storage 1 corresponds to an example of a "moving object storage device".

(2) Wireless communication device 10
The wireless communication device 10 is installed in the cart storage area. As shown in FIG. 1, the wireless communication device 10 is arranged in the cart storage 1. As shown in FIG. Specifically, the wireless communication device 10 is arranged at a position where a portion of the first shopping cart 2 entering the cart storage 1 abuts. The cart storage 1 is provided with a stopper for stopping a shopping cart 2 entering in a predetermined direction (corresponding to the direction of arrow A1 in FIG. 1). The stopper stops the movement of the shopping cart 2 by contacting a portion of the shopping cart 2 (eg, wheels, storage basket, etc.).

The wireless communication device 10 is arranged at a position where a portion of the stopped shopping cart 2 abuts. In the example of FIG. 1, the wireless communication device 10 is arranged at a position where the tip portion of the storage basket 3 of the shopping cart 2 abuts. In addition, the arrangement position of the wireless communication device 10 is not limited to this, and may be a position where a part of the shopping cart 2 stored in the cart storage 1 abuts.

The wireless communication device 10 is configured to wirelessly communicate with the wireless communication device 30 using a short-range wireless communication method. For the near field communication method, for example, a communication method according to the NFC (Near Field Communication) standard can be used. The wireless communication device 10 includes an IC (Integrated Circuit) tag (not shown). An IC tag corresponds to an example of "wireless tag".

IC tags are generally classified into passive tags and active tags depending on whether or not they have a power supply. A passive tag is an IC tag that does not have a power source and operates using radio waves from an IC reader as an energy source. An active tag is an IC tag with a built-in power supply. In this embodiment, the wireless communication device 10 is configured including a passive tag. That is, the wireless communication device 10 operates by radio waves received from the wireless communication device 30 . The IC tag is, for example, an RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) tag or an NFC tag.

An IC tag consists of an antenna, a processing circuit and a memory. The memory stores identification information individually assigned to each cart location (hereinafter also referred to as “cart location ID”). This cart location ID is read from the memory based on instructions from the processing circuit.

Next, a configuration example of the wireless communication device 10 will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 to 5. FIG.
FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view along line II-II of FIG. FIG. 3 is a top view of the wireless communication device 10 viewed from the direction of arrow A in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 2, the wireless communication device 10 includes an IC tag 12, a radio wave blocking member 20, a support member 14, a weight member 15, a contact member 16, and an auxiliary member 18.

The IC tag 12 is a passive tag as described above. The radio wave blocking member 20 has a rectangular box shape and accommodates the IC tag 12 therein. The radio wave blocking member 20 is attached to the cart storage 1 . In the example of FIG. 1 , the radio wave blocking member 20 is arranged at a position where it abuts on the tip portion of the storage basket 3 of the shopping cart 2 stored in the cart storage 1 .

The radio wave blocking member 20 is configured to block transmission of radio waves from the wireless communication device 30 to the IC tag 12 . Specifically, the radio wave blocking member 20 includes

flat plate portions

21 , 22 , 23 ,

rotary shaft portions

24 , 25 , and

cushioning materials

26 , 27 . The

flat plate portions

21, 22, 23, the

rotary shaft portions

24, 25, and the

cushioning materials

26, 27 are made of, for example, iron, aluminum, or other materials that do not transmit radio waves (attenuate radio waves).

An opening is formed in the top and side surfaces of the radio wave blocking member 20 . An opening in the upper surface of radio wave blocking member 20 has a rectangular shape and is covered with

flat plate portions

21 and 22 . As shown in FIG. 3, each of the

flat plate portions

21 and 22 has a rectangular shape. The flat plate portion 21 and the flat plate portion 22 are arranged side by side in the horizontal direction so as to face the direction perpendicular to the cart entering direction indicated by the arrow A1 in the drawing and be adjacent to each other.

Cushioning

materials

26 and 27 are attached to the

flat plate portions

21 and 22, respectively. Cushioning

materials

26 and 27 are provided to block the gap between flat plate portion 21 and flat plate portion 22 and to avoid contact between flat plate portion 21 and flat plate portion 22 .

The side opening of the radio wave blocking member 20 is formed on the side facing the shopping cart 2 entering the cart storage 1 . The side opening has a rectangular shape and is covered with a flat plate portion 23 having a rectangular shape.

The upper end of the flat plate portion 23 is connected to the rotating shaft portion 25 . A lower end portion of the flat plate portion 23 is a free end. The flat plate portion 23 has a first surface 23 a forming the inner surface of the radio wave blocking member 20 and a second surface 23 b forming the outer surface of the radio wave blocking member 20 . A support member 14 and a weight member 15 are attached to the first surface 23a. A support member 14 supports the IC tag 12 . The support member 14 is made of a material that transmits radio waves (does not attenuate radio waves), such as plastic, wood, or paper. The weight member 15 is attached to the lower end of the first surface 23a.

The contact member 16 is attached to the second surface 23 b of the flat plate portion 23 . The abutment member 16 has an abutment portion 17 that abuts on the tip portion of the storage basket 3 of the shopping cart 2 . The contact portion 17 has a columnar shape extending in the horizontal direction.

The auxiliary member 18 has a circular tubular shape and is arranged so as to cover the contact portion 17 . The auxiliary member 18 is configured to rotate around the contact portion 17 while directly contacting the tip portion of the storage basket 3 of the shopping cart 2 . Thereby, friction between the contact portion 17 and the storage basket 3 can be avoided.

A rotating shaft portion 24 is connected to the end of the flat plate portion 21 on the cart storage 1 side. The rotating shaft portion 24 extends in a direction perpendicular to the cart entering direction A1. The flat plate portion 21 is rotatable around the rotating shaft portion 24 .

A rotating shaft portion 25 is connected to the end of the flat plate portion 22 opposite to the side facing the flat plate portion 21 . The rotating shaft portion 25 extends in a direction perpendicular to the cart entering direction A1. The flat plate portion 22 and the flat plate portion 23 are rotatable around the rotating shaft portion 25 .

When the shopping cart 2 is not stored in the cart storage 1, the radio wave blocking member 20 wraps around the IC tag 12 to block transmission of radio waves from the wireless communication device 30 to the IC tag 12. Therefore, the IC tag 12 does not operate, and wireless communication between the IC tag 12 and the wireless communication device 30 is not performed.

The radio wave blocking member 20 enables radio wave transmission from the wireless communication device 30 to the IC tag 12 when the shopping cart 2 is stored in the cart storage 1. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 4, when the shopping cart 2 is moved into the cart storage 1, the storage basket 3 of the shopping cart 2 moves in the cart entrance direction A1, and the leading end of the shopping cart 2 pushes the auxiliary member 18. It abuts against the abutting portion 17 of the abutting member 16 via the contact member 16 .

In this state, when the shopping cart 2 is further pushed forward in the cart approach direction A1, the abutment portion 17 abutting the tip portion of the storage basket 3 is pushed inside the radio wave blocking member 20 . As a result, the flat plate portion 23 connected to the contact member 16 rotates about the rotating shaft portion 25 in the direction indicated by the arrow A2 in the figure. Furthermore, due to the rotation of the rotating shaft portion 25, the flat plate portion 22 also rotates about the rotating shaft portion 25 in the direction of the arrow A2. As a result, the side and top openings of the radio wave blocking member 20 are opened.

When the flat plate portion 23 rotates, the support member 14 and the weight member 15 fixed to the first surface 23a of the flat plate portion 23 also rotate around the rotating shaft portion 25 in the direction of the arrow A2. At this time, the rotating supporting member 14 contacts the flat plate portion 21 . The flat plate portion 21 is pushed up by the support member 14 and rotates about the rotating shaft portion 24 in the direction indicated by the arrow A3 in the figure.

When the shopping cart 2 is further advanced in the cart entering direction A1, as shown in FIG. It rotates around the part 25 . As a result, the support member 14 is exposed through the opening on the upper surface of the radio wave blocking member 20 . Since the support member 14 is made of a material that transmits radio waves, the radio communication device 30 can transmit radio waves to the IC tag 12 . As a result, the IC tag 12 operates by radio waves received from the wireless communication device 30 .

As described above, when there is no shopping cart 2 in the cart storage 1, the radio wave blocking member 20 blocks transmission of radio waves from the wireless communication device 30 to the

IC tag

12, 2, it is configured to enable transmission of radio waves from the wireless communication device 30 to the IC tag 12 . According to this, when there is no shopping cart 2 in the cart storage 1, the wireless communication device 30 cannot wirelessly communicate with the IC tag 12, and when the shopping cart 2 is stored in the cart storage 1, , the wireless communication device 30 can wirelessly communicate with the IC tag 12 .

Thus, the radio wave blocking member 20 is configured to switch between connection and disconnection of wireless communication between the wireless communication device 30 and the IC tag 12 depending on the presence or absence of the shopping cart 2 in the cart storage 1 . Therefore, by detecting the connection and disconnection of this wireless communication, the presence or absence of the shopping cart 2 in the cart storage 1 can be determined.

Although not shown, when the shopping cart 2 is withdrawn from the cart storage 1, the gravity of the weight member 15 is used as the storage basket 3 moves in the direction opposite to the cart entrance direction A1. , the

flat plate portions

22 and 23 rotate about the rotating shaft portion 25 in the direction opposite to the arrow A2. At this time, the flat plate portion 21 also rotates about the rotating shaft portion 24 in the direction opposite to the arrow A3. The upper and side openings of the radio wave blocking member 20 are covered with the

flat plate portions

21, 22 and 23, and the IC tag 12 is housed inside the radio wave blocking member 20 again. As a result, the transmission of radio waves from the wireless communication device 30 to the IC tag 12 is cut off.

In this way, switching between connection and disconnection of wireless communication between the wireless communication device 30 and the IC tag 12 is realized using the force that the radio wave blocking member 20 receives from the shopping cart 2 entering the cart storage 1 . Therefore, it is not necessary to install a dedicated circuit for detecting the entry and exit of the shopping cart 2 and switching the wireless communication. Therefore, wireless communication can be switched with a simple and low-cost configuration.

(3) Wireless communication device 30
The wireless communication device 30 is installed within a communication range of several meters from the wireless communication device 10 . In the example of FIG. 1 , the wireless communication device 30 is arranged in the cart storage 1 . The wireless communication device 30 operates by being supplied with power from a power source (not shown), and is configured to wirelessly communicate with the wireless communication device 10 using, for example, a communication method conforming to the NFC standard. As described above, the wireless communication device 10 includes the IC tag 12, which is a passive tag, and therefore operates by radio waves from the wireless communication device 30. FIG.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a hardware configuration example of the wireless communication device 30. As shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 6, the wireless communication device 30 has, as main components, a processor 31 that executes a program, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 32 that stores data in a non-volatile manner, and a A RAM (Random Access Memory) 33 for volatilely storing data received or data input via an input device (not shown), a HDD (Hard Disk Drive) 34 for nonvolatilely storing data, and a communication interface (Interface) 35 and an IC reader 36 . Each component is connected to each other by a data bus 37 .

The communication IF 35 is an interface for communicating with the server 40. The HDD 34 corresponds to an example of a "non-volatile storage device" for storing reception log information indicating reception history of response signals from the wireless communication device 10 (IC tag 12). Wireless communication device 30 may include other non-volatile storage devices in place of HDD 34 or in addition to HDD 34 .

The IC reader 36 acquires the cart location ID from the IC tag 12 of the wireless communication device 10 . The IC reader 36 corresponds to an embodiment of "wireless tag reader". Specifically, the IC reader 36 includes an antenna and a processing circuit. The IC reader 36 transmits a request signal to the surroundings at regular intervals through the antenna according to the NFC standard. The IC tag 12 of the wireless communication device 10 operates upon receiving a request signal issued from the IC reader 36 . The IC tag 12 generates a response signal containing the cart location ID stored in the memory, modulates it, and transmits it to the IC reader 36 . Upon receiving the response signal transmitted from the wireless communication device 10 in response to the request signal, the wireless communication device 30 demodulates the cart location ID included in the response signal and transmits it to the server 40 .

The exchange of signals between the IC reader 36 and the IC tag 12 is realized by the radio wave blocking member 20 described above when the shopping cart 2 is present in the cart storage 1. It will not be realized if there is none.

Returning to FIG. 1, the wireless communication device 30 is configured to be able to communicate with the server 40 and the terminal device 50 with each other. Communication between the wireless communication device 30 and the server 40 and communication between the server 40 and the terminal device 50 are performed wirelessly. Communication between the wireless communication device 30 and the server 40 may be wired or wireless. Communication between the server 40 and the terminal device 50 is performed via a communication network NW (typically, the Internet).

Although only one cart storage area is shown in FIG. 1, the number of cart storage areas installed in the commercial facility is not limited to this. When a plurality of cart storage areas are provided in a commercial facility, a plurality of cart storages 1 are installed so as to correspond to the plurality of cart storage areas. A plurality of wireless communication devices 10 are installed so as to respectively correspond to the plurality of cart storages 1, and a plurality of wireless communication devices 30 are installed so as to respectively correspond to the plurality of wireless communication devices 10. .

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an installation example of multiple

wireless communication devices

10 and 30 in a commercial facility. FIG. 7 schematically shows a plan view of the interior of the commercial facility as seen from the ceiling.

As shown in FIG. 7, the commercial facility has multiple entrances (front entrance ENTa, east entrance ENTb, parking lot entrance ENTc, west entrance ENTd) for shoppers to enter and exit the facility. A cart storage area is provided near each entrance for collecting unused shopping carts 2 . A cart storage 1 is installed in each cart storage area.

A wireless communication device 10 is installed in each cart storage 1. In the example of FIG. 7, four cart storages 1a-1d are installed so as to correspond to four entrances ENTa-ENTd, respectively. Wireless communication devices 10a to 10d are installed in the cart storages 1a to 1d, respectively.

Each wireless communication device 10 is given unique identification information (cart location ID) for each cart location. For example, the wireless communication device 10a installed at the front entrance ENTa is assigned a cart storage ID of "a", and the wireless communication device 10b installed at the east entrance ENTb is assigned a cart storage ID of "b". The wireless communication device 10c installed at the parking lot entrance ENTc is given "c" as the cart place ID, and the wireless communication device 10d installed at the west doorway ENTd is given "d" as the cart place ID. .

The cart storage ID given to each wireless communication device 10 is stored in the server 40 in association with the installation location of the cart storage. FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining the cart storage database stored in the server 40. As shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 8, in the cart storage database, for each wireless communication device 10, a cart storage ID and an installation location are associated and registered.

The wireless communication device 30 is configured to wirelessly communicate with the wireless communication device 10 that exists within its communication range. A region RGN in the drawing schematically represents the communication range of the wireless communication device 30 . The communication range corresponds to the signal transmission range of the wireless communication device 30 and has a circular shape with a radius of several meters. In the example of FIG. 7, four wireless communication devices 30a-30d are installed so as to correspond to the four wireless communication devices 10a-10d, respectively.

Each wireless communication device 30 transmits a request signal at regular intervals. When each wireless communication device 30 receives the response signal transmitted from the corresponding wireless communication device 10, it associates the reception time of the response signal with the cart location ID included in the response signal and stores them in the HDD . The HDD 34 of each wireless communication device 30 generates reception log information indicating the reception history of response signals. FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining reception log information. FIG. 9 shows reception log information of the wireless communication device 30a as an example. The reception log information records the reception time of the response signal and the cart location ID assigned to the wireless communication device 10a that is the transmission source of the response signal.

The wireless communication device 30a samples the received signal at a predetermined sampling period (eg, 30 seconds). In the example of FIG. 9, the wireless communication device 30a samples the response signal transmitted from the wireless communication device 10a every 30 seconds. The reception log information of the wireless communication device 30a records the reception time of the response signal and the cart location ID "a" of the wireless communication device 10a.

Each wireless communication device 30 transmits the reception log information stored in the HDD 34 to the server 40 along with the communication device ID, which is the identification information of the device, at a predetermined cycle (for example, 3 minutes). At this time, by deleting part of the reception log information already accumulated in the HDD 34, the memory capacity of the HDD 34 used for storing the reception history can be reduced.

Note that each wireless communication device 30 is not limited to the configuration in which the reception log information is periodically transmitted to the server 40 in accordance with the predetermined cycle, and in response to a transmission request from the server 40, the latest predetermined time (for example, 3 minutes) ) may be configured to transmit the reception log information.

(4) Server 40
The server 40 has a function for managing the shopping carts 2 existing within the commercial facility. As an example, the server 40 is installed in a management company that manages commercial facilities. The server 40 can be used by a manager who has been entrusted with management of commercial facilities by an operating company.

FIG. 6 shows an example hardware configuration of the server 40 . As shown in FIG. 6, the server 40 includes, as main components, a processor 41 that executes a program, a ROM 42 that stores data in a non-volatile manner, data generated by the execution of the program by the processor 41, or data (not shown). It includes a RAM 43 that volatilely stores data input via an input device, an HDD 44 that nonvolatilely stores data, and a communication IF 45 . Each component is connected to each other by a data bus 46 . In addition, the communication IF 45 is an interface for performing communication between the wireless communication device 30 and the terminal device 50 . HDD 45 corresponds to an example of a "non-volatile storage device". Server 40 may include other non-volatile storage devices in place of HDD 45 or in addition to HDD 45 .

When the server 40 receives the reception log information from the wireless communication device 30, the server 40 receives the information in a database for managing unused shopping carts 2 (hereinafter also referred to as "empty cart information database") stored in the HDD 45. Register log information. When a plurality of wireless communication devices 30 are installed in the commercial facility, reception log information of each wireless communication device 30 is registered in the empty cart information database.

FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining the empty cart information database. FIG. 10 shows, as an example, the case of registering the reception log information of the four wireless communication devices 30a to 30d shown in FIG. 7 in the empty cart information database.

As shown in FIG. 10, each of the four wireless communication devices 30a to 30d transmits the reception log information along with its own communication device ID to the server 40 at predetermined intervals (for example, 3 minutes). The reception log information includes the reception time of the response signal from the wireless communication device 10 and the cart location ID included in the response signal, as described above.

When receiving the reception log information from each of the four wireless communication devices 30a to 30d, the server 40 registers the reception log information in the empty cart information database. Specifically, the server 40 arranges all reception log information of the four wireless communication devices 30a to 30d in the order of reception time of the response signal. The empty cart information database is composed of a table having a column for the reception time of the response signal and a column for the cart location ID.

Based on the contents registered in the empty cart information database, the server 40 determines when and from which cart storage 1 the shopping cart 2 was stored, and when and from which cart storage 1 the shopping cart 2 was cleared. can grasp. In addition, by arranging the reception log information in the order of reception time of the response signal, it is possible to easily grasp the presence or absence of the shopping cart 2 at each cart place at the latest time.

Based on the information registered in the empty cart information database, the server 40 generates information indicating the presence or absence of the shopping cart 2 at each cart location at the current time. For example, the server 40 generates screen data (typically, a WEB screen) indicating the presence/absence of the shopping cart 2 at each cart location. The screen data generation process in the server 40 will be described below with reference to FIGS. 11 and 12. FIG.

As shown in FIG. 11, the server 40 first uses the empty cart information database and cart storage database stored in the HDD 45 to generate display data used to generate screen data (web screen).

Specifically, the server 40 extracts the reception log information for the most recent predetermined time from the reception log information registered in the empty cart information database. The server 40 generates WEB screen display data by collecting the extracted reception log information for the most recent predetermined time by using the cart storage database for each cart storage location.

In the example of FIG. 11, while cart location IDs "a", "b" and "d" have been detected within the most recent predetermined time, cart location ID "c" has not been detected. Therefore, for each of the front doorway ENTa, the east doorway ENTb, and the west doorway ENTd, it can be determined that the shopping cart 2 is stored in the cart storage 1, that is, the shopping cart 2 is in the cart storage area. On the other hand, for the parking lot entrance ENTc, it can be determined that not even one shopping cart 2 is stored in the cart storage 1, that is, there is no shopping cart in the cart storage area.

The server 40 generates web screen display data so as to include information indicating the presence or absence of the shopping cart 2 at each cart location at the current time, based on the reception log information for the most recent predetermined time. Next, the server 40 generates a web screen using the generated web screen display data.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 12, the server 40 generates an image showing a plan view of the inside of the shopping mall, and places an object 70 indicating the presence or absence of the shopping cart 2 on the plan view. In the example of FIG. 12, an object 70 indicating the presence or absence of the shopping cart 2 is arranged for each of the four cart locations. An object 70 indicating the presence of the shopping cart 2 is arranged at the front entrance ENTa, the east entrance ENTb, and the west entrance ENTd, and an object 70 representing the absence of the shopping cart 2 is arranged at the parking lot entrance ENTc. Based on the request signal transmitted from the terminal device 50, the server 40 transmits the generated screen data to the terminal device 50 that is the transmission source.

(5) Terminal device 50
Returning to FIG. 1, the terminal device 50 is communicably connected to the server 40 via a communication network NW (typically, the Internet). Terminal device 50 is an information processing device having a communication function and a display function, and is typically a smart phone or a tablet. The terminal device 50 can be used by shoppers. Note that the terminal device 50 is not limited to a mobile terminal such as a smart phone or a tablet, and may be a PC (Personal Computer) installed in a commercial facility or the like.

The terminal device 50 typically has a web browser. The terminal device 50 accesses the server 40 and displays the screen data (WEB screen) on its own device. Note that the terminal device 50 needs to log in to the server 40 in order to display the screen data.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of the display screen of the terminal device 50. FIG. As shown in FIG. 13 , the terminal device 50 displays a WEB screen on the display by accessing the server 40 according to the user's operation on the terminal device 50 . As described with reference to FIG. 12, the WEB screen includes an image representing the presence or absence of the shopping cart 2 at the current time for each cart location. Thereby, the terminal device 50 can inform the shopper U in which cart place the shopping cart 2 is located.

<Flow of mobile information provision processing>
FIG. 14 is a sequence diagram for explaining the flow of processing executed by the mobile body information providing system 100. As shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 14, in the wireless communication device 30 installed in the cart storage area, the IC reader 36 transmits a request signal to the surroundings at regular time intervals by processing P1.

In the wireless communication device 10 installed in the cart storage 1, the radio wave blocking member 20 prevents the transmission of radio waves from the wireless communication device 30 to the IC tag 12 when the shopping cart 2 is not stored in the cart storage 1. Cut off. In this state, when the shopping cart 2 is stored in the cart storage 1, the radio wave blocking member 20 enables transmission of radio waves from the wireless communication device 30 to the IC tag 12. FIG.

When the IC tag 12 receives a request signal from the IC reader 36 of the wireless communication device 30 by processing P2, it operates by the radio waves of this request signal by processing P3. The wireless communication device 10 generates a response signal including the cart location ID stored in the IC tag 12 by processing P4. The wireless communication device 10 modulates the generated response signal and transmits it to the IC reader 36 in process P5.

Upon receiving the response signal from the wireless communication device 10, the wireless communication device 30 generates reception log information in process P6. The wireless communication device 30 transmits the generated reception log information to the server 40 in process P7.

Prior to communication with the wireless communication device 30, the server 40 generates a cart storage database (FIG. 8) in process P8. In the cart storage database, the installation location of the cart storage (cart storage 1) installed in the commercial facility and the cart storage ID are registered in association with each other.

Upon receiving the reception log information transmitted in process P7, the server 40 generates an empty cart information database (Fig. 10) in process P9. In process P10, the server 40 generates screen data (web screen) based on the cart storage database generated in process P8 and the empty cart information database generated in process P10.

By processing P11, the terminal device 50 accesses the server 40 according to the user's operation on the terminal device 50 and transmits a screen data transmission request. When the server 40 receives the screen data transmission request from the terminal device 50, the server 40 transmits the screen data (web screen) generated in the process P10 to the terminal device 50 that has transmitted the transmission request in the process P12. In process P13, the terminal device 50 receives the screen data and displays a screen (web screen) based on the screen data on the display.

As described above, according to the mobile body information providing system according to the present embodiment, the radio communication device 10 is installed in the cart storage 1 in which the shopping cart 2 is stored, and the radio communication device 10 and the radio communication device 30 is switched according to the presence or absence of the shopping cart 2 in the cart storage 1, the presence or absence of the shopping cart 2 in the cart storage 1 can be determined based on the state of the wireless communication. can be detected. According to this, it is not necessary to mount a wireless communication device on each shopping cart as in the prior art, so it is possible to realize a simple and low-cost mobile information providing system.

In addition, in the mobile body information providing system according to the present embodiment, in the above configuration, the wireless communication device 10 is configured using the IC tag 12 and the radio wave blocking member 20, and the presence or absence of the shopping cart 2 in the cart storage 1 is determined. The radio wave blocking member 20 is configured to switch between transmission and blocking of radio waves from the wireless communication device 30 to the IC tag 12 according to the above, so that a passive tag can be adopted as the IC tag 12 . Therefore, it is possible to reduce the size and cost of the wireless communication device 10 .

Furthermore, in the above configuration, switching between connection and disconnection of wireless communication by the radio wave blocking member 20 is realized by utilizing the force received by the radio wave blocking member 20 from the shopping cart 2 entering the cart storage 1, so that the shopping cart There is no need to install a dedicated circuit for detecting the entry and exit of the terminal 2 and switching wireless communication. Therefore, wireless communication can be switched with a simple configuration.

<Other application examples of the mobile information provision system>
In the above-described embodiment, a configuration example in which a passive tag is used as the IC tag 12 included in the wireless communication device 10 has been described. can be realized. However, as described above, by using a passive tag for the IC tag 12, the size and cost of the wireless communication device 10 can be reduced. It is advantageous in terms of space saving and cost reduction.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the configuration of the system that provides shoppers in the commercial facility with information regarding the presence or absence of a shopping cart in the cart storage area has been exemplified. is not limited to this. For example, it is possible to apply the mobile body information providing system according to the present disclosure to a system for providing information regarding the presence or absence of a wheelchair in a wheelchair storage area to users of facilities such as medical facilities or nursing care facilities. In this case, when there is a wheelchair in the wheelchair storage area, the wireless communication device 10 installed in the wheelchair storage area transmits a signal. The wireless communication device 30 receives this signal and transmits the reception log information to the server 40, so that the server 40 can provide the user with information that the wheelchair is in the wheelchair storage area. Alternatively, the mobile body information providing system according to the present disclosure can also be applied to a system for providing users with information regarding the presence or absence of carts in cart storage areas in facilities such as golf courses and amusement parks.

The embodiments disclosed this time should be considered illustrative in all respects and not restrictive. The present disclosure is indicated by the scope of claims rather than the above description, and is intended to include all modifications within the meaning and scope of equivalents of the scope of claims.

1, 1a to 1d cart storage, 2 shopping cart, 3 storage basket, 10, 10a to 10d, 30, 30a to 30d wireless communication device, 12 IC tag, 14 support member, 15 weight member, 16 contact member, 17 Contact portion 18 Auxiliary member 20 Radio

wave blocking member

21, 22, 23

Flat plate portion

24, 25

Rotating shaft portion

26, 27

Cushioning material

31, 41

Processor

32, 42

ROM

33, 43 RAM, 34 , 44 HDD, 35, 45 communication IF, 36 IC reader, 37, 46 data bus, 40 server, 50 terminal device, 100 mobile information providing system, NW communication network.

Claims

A mobile body information providing system for providing information indicating the presence or absence of a mobile body in a mobile body storage device,
a wireless tag installed in the mobile storage device and storing identification information of the mobile storage device;
a wireless tag reader that acquires the identification information from the wireless tag by wireless communication with the wireless tag;
a server connected for communication with the wireless tag reader;
A radio wave blocking member for blocking the wireless communication between the wireless tag and the wireless tag reader,
The radio wave blocking member blocks the wireless communication when there is no mobile object in the mobile storage device, and connects the wireless communication when the mobile storage device includes the mobile object. configured to
the wireless tag transmits a signal including the identification information to the wireless tag reader through the wireless communication;
The wireless tag reader transmits information including the reception time of the signal and the identification information to the server,
The server is capable of communicating with a terminal device, and based on the information from the wireless tag reader, detects the presence or absence of the mobile object in the mobile object storage device at the current time, and notifies the terminal device of the presence or absence of the mobile object. Mobile information provision system.
The wireless tag is a passive tag that operates with radio waves from the wireless reader,
2. The mobile body information according to claim 1, wherein said radio wave blocking member is configured to block transmission of radio waves from said wireless reader to said wireless tag when said mobile body is not in said mobile body storage device. offer system.
the server includes a non-volatile storage device that stores a first database that associates the installation location of the mobile storage device with the identification information;
3. The mobile body information according to claim 1, wherein said server uses said first database to detect the presence or absence of said mobile body in said mobile body storage device based on said information from said wireless tag reader. offer system.
The server generates a second database in which the information from the wireless tag reader is arranged in the order of reception time of the signal and stores it in the nonvolatile storage device, and when a request from the terminal device is received, 4. Detecting the presence or absence of the moving object in the moving object storage device at the current time based on the information stored in the second database at the most recent predetermined time, and notifying the terminal device of the presence or absence of the moving object at the current time. The mobile information providing system described in .
The radio wave blocking member has a box-like outer shape and is configured to block the wireless communication by housing the wireless tag inside,
The radio wave shielding member is disposed at a position where the moving object accommodated in the moving object accommodation device abuts, and the radio wave blocking member uses a force received from the moving object entering the moving object accommodation device to detach the wireless tag. 5. The mobile information providing system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the wireless communication is connected by exposing from the radio wave blocking member.
An opening for exposing the wireless tag is formed in the radio wave blocking member,
The radio wave blocking member is
a flat plate for covering the opening;
a contact member that contacts the moving body;
and a rotating shaft portion connected to the flat plate portion,
6. The moving body information providing system according to claim 5, wherein said rotating shaft section opens said opening by rotating said flat plate section using a force that said contact member receives from said moving body.
The mobile body information providing system according to claim 6, wherein the radio wave blocking member further includes an auxiliary member that covers a portion of the contact member that contacts the mobile body.
A moving body storage device for storing a moving body,
a wireless tag that stores identification information of the mobile storage device;
Equipped with an external wireless tag reader and a radio wave blocking member for blocking wireless communication with the wireless tag,
The radio wave blocking member has a box-like outer shape and is configured to block the wireless communication by housing the wireless tag inside,
The radio wave shielding member is disposed at a position where the moving object accommodated in the moving object accommodation device abuts, and the radio wave blocking member uses a force received from the moving object entering the moving object accommodation device to detach the wireless tag. A mobile storage device that connects the wireless communication by exposing from the radio wave blocking member.
An opening for exposing the wireless tag is formed in the radio wave blocking member,
The radio wave blocking member is
a flat plate for covering the opening;
a contact member that contacts the moving body;
and a rotating shaft portion connected to the flat plate portion,
9. The moving object storage device according to claim 8, wherein said rotary shaft rotates said flat plate portion using a force that said contact member receives from said moving object, thereby opening said opening.
The moving body storage device according to claim 9, wherein the radio wave blocking member further includes an auxiliary member that covers a portion of the contact member that contacts the moving body.
The wireless tag is a passive tag operated by radio waves from the wireless tag reader,
11. The radio wave blocking member according to any one of claims 8 to 10, wherein said radio wave blocking member is configured to block transmission of radio waves from said wireless tag reader to said wireless tag when said mobile body is not in said mobile body storage device. 10. A moving object storage device according to the above item.