JP2001261119A - Control system for rental clothing - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily and surely conduct complete replacement by changing to a different set of rental clothing. SOLUTION: A uniform is attached with an ID tag, which stores the starting date and days of use as customer information. As a result, by reading clothing change information from the ID tag, it can be determined whether or not the uniform is good in its season. It is thus possible to automate removal or arrangement of the uniform.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a rental clothing management system for managing rental clothing using data tags.

[0002]

Among the goods rental businesses, there is a linen supply business that lends clothes, for example, uniforms worn by doctors and nurses in hospitals or uniforms worn by employees at hotels. The system rents out uniforms to lenders such as hospitals and hotels, collects and cleans them when they become dirty, and lends them again to lenders.

[0003] By the way, uniforms are set for summer and winter, and the uniforms are usually changed according to the season. For this reason, linen suppliers manually replace uniforms according to lenders, but if the number of uniforms to be managed is large, or if there are many lenders, the replacement work is extremely troublesome. In addition, there is a concern that replacement work mistakes and delivery mistakes may occur.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a rental clothing management system that can easily and reliably replace rental clothing by changing clothing.

[0005]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, when rental clothing is delivered from a manufacturer, the writing means writes usage period data to a data tag attached to the rental clothing. Put in. Then, when renting the rental clothing, the rental clothing is automatically transported by the transport means. At this time, if the usage period data stored in the data tag of the rental clothing carried by the carrying means includes today's date, the clothes are carried and shipped as it is.

On the other hand, if the use period data stored in the data tag of the rental clothing automatically transported by the transport means does not include the date of the present day, the exclusion means stores the rental clothing. Eliminate for. This can prevent, for example, accidentally shipping out-of-season rental clothing.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the number of washings increases every time the rental clothing is washed. When the number of times of washing the rental clothing exceeds the set number of times, the rental clothing can be regarded as having a lifetime, and in such a case, the exclusion means should be such that the rental clothing is seasonal. Even eliminate for disposal. This allows
It is possible to prevent the rental clothing whose life has expired from being stored needlessly.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the input means reads the use period data from the stored data tag attached to the garment for rental, and if the use period data includes today. Since the rental clothing is put into the transport means, the rental clothing suitable for the season can be appropriately shipped.

According to the invention of claim 4, the use period can be reliably managed based on the use start date and the number of use days.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment in which the present invention is applied to the linen supply industry will be described below with reference to the drawings. First, the concept of linen supply will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 2, a manufacturer sewes a uniform 1 to be lent to a hospital or a hotel upon receiving an order from a linen supplier. At this time, the uniform 1
As shown in FIG. 3, a small and thin ID as a data tag
The tag 2 is sewn to the back of the inconspicuous hem of the uniform 1 or the like.

In the linen supplier, the uniform 1 delivered from the manufacturer is lent to a lender such as a hospital or a hotel upon request, and if it becomes dirty, it is collected, washed, and lent to the lender again. In this case, ID tag 2
Stores the operation information such as the delivery date and the collection date as appropriate, and manages the uniform 1 based on the operation information.

The organization of the linen supplier includes a sales department, a collection and delivery department, a factory department, and a warehouse department. The sales department accepts lending of the uniform 1 from a lender of the uniform 1 such as a hospital or a hotel. The collection and delivery section collects the uniform 1 from the lender and delivers the washed uniform 1 to the lender. The factory department can wash the uniform 1 collected from the lender,
Repair the dust and so on. The warehouse department stores and stores the washed uniform 1 in a warehouse, stores a new uniform 1 as a spare, and supplies the uniform 1 to be delivered to the lender to the collection and delivery department.

FIG. 4 shows a linen supplier management system. The management system is built around a management device 3 composed of a computer as a management means. The management device 3 includes terminal devices 4 to 7 composed of computers installed in each of the above sections and a public communication line. 8 are connected. The person in charge of the collection and delivery section carries a hand-held reader / writer 9 as ID information acquisition means,
A PHS telephone 10 is carried as a transmitting means. Although not shown, the management device 3 and the terminal devices 4 to 7 are provided with input means such as a keyboard and a mouse, a display as a display means, a printer as a printing means, and the like.

The hand-held reader / writer 9 is for obtaining information such as the type and number of the uniforms 1 collected by the lender, and the information obtained by the hand-held reader / writer 9 is P
It is transmitted from the HS telephone 10 as a radio signal. The radio signal transmitted from the PHS telephone 10 is
It is received by the S base station 11 and given to the management device 3 via the public communication line 8.

The hand-held reader / writer 9 includes an ID tag 2
Communication with the radio wave. Here, the electrical configuration of the ID tag 2 and the handheld reader / writer 9 will be described. First, FIG. 5 shows an electrical configuration of the ID tag 2. As shown in FIG. 5, the ID tag 2 includes an antenna coil 12 for transmitting and receiving a radio signal, a resonance capacitor 13, and a control IC.
14 and a smoothing portion 15. Control IC 14
The semiconductor device constituting the rectifying unit 17, the modulation / demodulation unit 18, the memory unit 19 and the like in addition to the MPU (microprocessor unit) 16 as a control means is integrated into one chip. In this case, the memory unit 19 has a ROM in which an operation program is stored, and an erasable non-volatile memory such as an EEPROM for temporary storage. Also,
Although not shown, the smoothing unit 15 has a smoothing capacitor, a Zener diode, and the like.

The antenna coil 12 is connected in parallel with the resonance capacitor 13 to form a resonance circuit, and a predetermined high-frequency power radio signal is transmitted from a hand-held reader / writer 9 which is an external device. When it comes, it receives this and supplies it to the rectifier 17. The rectification unit 17 includes the smoothing unit 1
5 together with the power supply circuit for operation, rectifies the electric wave signal for electric power transmitted from the resonance circuit, and
DC power at constant voltage (operating power)
And supply it to the MPU 16 and the like.

A signal such as data transmitted from the handheld reader / writer 9 is transmitted by being superimposed on a power radio signal, and the signal is demodulated by the modem 18 and given to the MPU 16. Can be MPU 16
It operates in accordance with the operation program stored in the ROM of the memory unit 19, executes processing according to a signal input from the modem unit 18, and stores received data in the memory unit 19
The data is written to an erasable non-volatile memory such as an EEPROM, or data is read from the memory unit 19, modulated by the modem unit 18, and transmitted as a radio signal from the antenna coil 12.

Here, as shown in FIG. 1, the memory unit 19 stores product specific information, product information, operation information, and customer information. The product name, color, and size are stored as product-specific information, the manufacturer, date of manufacture, and recycling information are stored as manufacturing information, and the first product input date, last delivery date, collection date, and laundry are stored as operation information. The number of times and repair history are stored, and as customer information, a user code, a user name, and clothing change information are stored. In this case, the use start date and the number of days of use are stored as the clothing change information. Therefore, the ID
By reading the clothing change information in the operation information of the tag 2, the usable period of the uniform 1 can be known.

The reason why the number of times of washing is stored in the ID tag is that the uniform 1 becomes difficult to remove dirt with ordinary washing when the number of washings increases, so that the normal washing is shifted to careful washing. It is to grasp the time.
Further, the recycling information indicates a part to be collected and recycled among buttons, fasteners, and the like attached to the uniform 1.

FIG. 6 shows an electrical configuration of the hand-held reader / writer 9. As shown in FIG. 1, the handheld reader / writer 9 includes an MPU 20 as a control unit, a transmitting unit 22 having a transmitting antenna 21, a receiving unit 24 having a receiving antenna 23, a memory unit 25, and a modem for communicating with the PHS telephone 10. 26, and a battery 27 as an operation power supply.

The MPU 20 of the handheld reader / writer 9 is
When communicating with the D tag 2, first, the carrier signal is modulated by the transmission unit 22 and converted into a power radio signal by the transmission antenna 21.
Then, the data to be transmitted is modulated by the transmitting unit 22 so as to be superimposed on the power radio signal, and transmitted from the transmitting antenna 21.

The radio signal transmitted from the ID tag 2 is received by the receiving antenna 23, demodulated by the receiving unit 24, and discriminated as data. And MPU20
Stores the data demodulated by the receiving unit 24 in the memory unit 25, and when the data transmission operation is performed, transmits the data stored in the memory unit 25 to the PHS telephone 10 via the modem 26. Reference numeral 28 denotes an operation unit composed of key switches, 2
Reference numeral 9 denotes a display unit composed of a liquid crystal display.

On the other hand, in FIG. 4, each of the terminal devices 4 to 7 of the collection and delivery department, the factory department, and the warehouse department, similarly to the hand-held reader / writer 9, has a reader for communicating with the ID tag 2 of the uniform 1 by radio waves. Writers 30 to 34 are connected. Note that the electrical configuration of these reader / writers 30 to 34 is almost the same as that of the above-described hand-held reader / writer 9, and differs in that the power supply for operation is obtained from a commercial AC power supply.

The reader / writers 30 to 34 give the management device 3 the movement information of the uniform 1 in the collection / delivery department, the factory department, and the warehouse department. Specifically, when delivering the uniform 1 to the lender, the reader / writer 30 of the collection and delivery section acquires information on the uniform 1 to be delivered. The reader / writer 31 in the factory section acquires information on the uniform 1 received at the laundry factory, and the reader / writer 32 acquires information on the washed uniform 1.

The reader / writer 33 in the warehouse section obtains information on the uniform 1 that is washed in the laundry factory and stored in the warehouse or the uniform 1 that is newly purchased and stored in the warehouse. For this purpose, the information of the uniform 1 passed from the warehouse department to the collection and delivery department is acquired. By subtracting the information from the reader / writers 33 and 34, the type and number of the uniforms 1 stored in the current warehouse can be grasped.

FIG. 7 schematically shows the steps of the factory section and the warehouse section. In FIG. 7, in the factory section, the collected uniform 1 is washed and dried in a washing / drying process. At this time, by reading the number of washings in the operation information of the ID tag 2 attached to the uniform 1, the normal washing is shifted to the careful washing. Then, the uniform 1 sent out from the washing / drying step is automatically conveyed on a conveying line 35 as a conveying means while being suspended on a hanger, and conveyed to a delivery line 36.

In the warehouse section, an out-of-season merchandise elimination device 37 as an exclusion means is provided on the transport line 35, and the non-seasonal goods of the uniform 1 conveyed on the transport line 35 are automatically transferred from the transport line 35 to the warehouse 38. Storage line 3
9 is excluded. In addition, a seasonal product input device 40 is provided in the warehouse 38 as an input means, and seasonal ones of the uniforms 1 stored in the warehouse 38 are automatically input from the storage line 39 to the delivery line 36. .

FIG. 8 shows an out-of-season merchandise elimination device 37. In FIG. 8, the out-of-season merchandise elimination device 37 includes an I attached to the uniform 1 conveyed on the conveyance line 35.
By reading customer information from the D tag 2 and switching the transport line 35 based on the information, the uniform 1 is transported to the delivery line 36 or transported to the waste line 41,
Or to the rejection line 42. In this case, the exclusion line 42 is connected to the storage line 39 of the warehouse 38 (see FIG. 7),
The uniform 1 removed in 2 is stored in the storage line 39 in a suspended state.

The seasonal product introduction device 40 reads customer information from the ID tag 2 attached to the uniform 1 stored in the storage line 39 in response to a command from the management device 3, and stores the customer line information based on the information. 39 is the input line 43
Connect the uniform 1 to the delivery line 36 by connecting to
To be thrown in.

Next, the operation of the above configuration will be described. In the warehouse section, when a uniform 1 is received from a manufacturer, predetermined product-specific information, manufacturing information, and customer information are written in an ID tag 2 sewn on the uniform 1, and then the goods are carried into the warehouse. That is, the product name, color, and size are written as product-specific information, the manufacturer and the date of manufacture are written as manufacturing information, and the user code and user name are written as customer information.

When the sales department receives an order for lending the uniform 1 from the lender, the name of the lender, the scheduled lending date, the type, size, type, and the men's and women's Separately, rental request information such as color is input, and the rental request information is given from the terminal device 4 to the management device 3.

The warehouse section carries out the uniform 1 from the warehouse based on the rental request information. At this time,
The reader / writer 34 communicates with the ID tag 2 of the uniform 1 carried out of the warehouse to acquire ID information of the uniform 1, that is, information such as an ID number, a product name, a color, and a size, and transmits the information to the terminal of the warehouse department. Input to the device 6. Then, the terminal device 6 gives the information of the uniform 1 unloaded from the warehouse to the management device 3.

The person in charge of collection and delivery sorts the uniform 1 delivered from the warehouse section for each lender based on the customer information stored in the ID tag 2 and places it on the collection and delivery vehicle. At the time of sorting to the lender, the reader / writer 30 of the collection / delivery section communicates with the ID tag 2 of the uniform 1 and
Is acquired and input to the terminal device 7 of the collection / delivery section. At this time, the date of the current day (or the first product input date in the case of the first input date) is written into the ID tag 2 as operation information.

The person in charge of collection and delivery lends the new uniform 1 that has arrived at the lending destination and has been washed, and collects the dirty uniform 1. When collecting this uniform 1,
The person in charge of collection and delivery communicates with the ID tag 2 of the uniform 1 collected by holding the handheld reader / writer 9 and obtains the ID information of the uniform 1. The ID information acquired by the handheld reader / writer 9 is transmitted from the PHS telephone 10 and
Received by the base station 11. The ID information received by the PHS base station 11 is then sent to the management device 3 via the public communication line 8 and received by a modem (reception unit) (not shown) of the management device 3 and transmitted to the management device 3. It is captured. At this time, the collection date is written into the ID tag 2 as operation information.

Then, the collection and delivery vehicle that has collected the uniform 1 by sequentially stopping at the lending destination hands over the collected uniform 1 to the factory department. In the factory section, the ID of the uniform 1 in which the reader / writer 31 was carried into the laundry factory
It communicates with the tag 2 to acquire the ID information of the uniform 1 and gives this to the management device 3 via the terminal device 5. The uniform 1 in which the reader / writer 32 has finished washing
The ID information of the uniform 1 is obtained by communicating with the ID tag 2 of the PC 1 and is given to the management device 3 via the terminal device 5. At this time, the reader / writer 31 adds 1 to the number of washings in the operation information of the ID tag 2. Therefore, the number of washings indicates the number of washings of the uniform so far.

Then, the uniform 1 washed in the factory section is transported to the warehouse 38. At this time, the reader / writer 33 in the warehouse section communicates with the ID tag 2 of the uniform 1 carried into the warehouse to acquire the ID information of the uniform 1 and gives the acquired ID information to the management device 3.

As described above, the management device 3 performs the washing schedule, based on the ID information of the uniform 1 given from the terminal devices 4 to 7 of each department and the PHS telephone 10.
Create collection schedule, shortage order schedule, inventory management, etc. That is, based on the rental request information given by the sales department and the stock information of the washed uniform 1 given by the warehouse department, the management device 3 plans to lend tomorrow without using a new uniform 1 In order to arrange the uniforms 1 in the warehouse by the end of the day, a laundry schedule is calculated, which uniforms should be worn and at what time they should be put into the washing machine by today.

On the other hand, the management device 3 calculates, based on the washing schedule information given by the factory, the washed uniform information indicating by what time of the day what uniforms 1 will be washed and stored in the warehouse. On the other hand, based on the uniform collection information of the handheld reader / writer 9, it calculates which uniform 1 and how many have been collected from each lender.

Then, from the rental request information, the washing schedule information and the washed uniform information, the number of insufficient uniforms, that is, which uniforms 1 and which lacks clothes, is calculated. When the missing uniform 1 exists, it is calculated from the collected information by the PHS telephone 10 whether or not the missing uniform 1 exists in the collected uniforms 1. As a result, the missing uniform 1 is obtained.
If there is a collection and delivery person who has collected the uniforms, the management device 3 displays the person on a display (not shown), changes the washing device schedule, and returns the collection and delivery vehicle that has collected the shortage of the uniform 1. The collected uniform 1 from the pickup and delivery vehicle is ready to be put into the washing machine.

Then, the operator of the management device 3 calls the PHS telephone 10 of the person in charge of collection and delivery displayed on the display and instructs by what time to return to the factory. As a result, the uniform 1 to be lent tomorrow can be washed and stored in the warehouse by the end of today.

Further, from the above-mentioned washing schedule information and the washed uniform information, the number of lacking uniforms, that is, which uniforms 1 are insufficient, is calculated. A collection schedule is created based on the rental request information indicating whether or not the uniform has been lent to the company, so that the missing uniform can be preferentially collected. If the person in charge of collection and delivery patrols the lender according to the collection schedule, the probability of collecting the shortaged uniform 1 increases, depending on the degree of contamination on the lender side. Then, if the uniform 1 is collected, it is transferred to the management device 3 in real time.
, The uniform 1 can be made to arrive at the factory earlier so that shortage of the uniform can be resolved.

If there is still a shortage in the uniform 1 to be lent even after performing the above processing, a new uniform stored in the warehouse is lent. The rental request information for this new uniform 1
The data is input from the reader / writer 33 in the warehouse section to the management device 3 via the terminal device 7.

In the factory section, when the washing / drying process of the collected uniform 1 is completed, the uniform 1 is automatically conveyed on the conveying line 35 and sent to the warehouse section. In the warehouse department, transport line 3
The uniform 1 conveyed at 5 is automatically sorted by the out-of-season merchandise elimination device 37.

FIG. 9 shows the sorting operation of the out-of-season merchandise elimination device 37. In FIG. 9, the non-seasonal product elimination device 37 reads tag data from the ID tag 2 attached to the uniform 1 (S101), and based on the number of washings in the operation information, the number of washings is large and the uniform 1 has a life. When it is determined that the uniform 1 is sent to the disposal line 41 by switching the transport line 35 (S1).
05).

Further, it is determined whether the uniform 1 is suitable for the current season based on the clothing change information in the customer information among the uniforms 1 determined to have a small number of washings (S103). That is, whether the uniform 1 is suitable for the current season is determined based on the use start date and the number of days indicated by the clothing change information, and if the uniform 1 is suitable for the current season, the uniform 1 is sent to the delivery line 36 as it is. (S104). When it is determined that the uniform 1 is out of the current season, the uniform 1 is transported to the exclusion line 42 by switching the transport line 35. Accordingly, out of the uniform 1 collected from the lender and washed, the out-of-season uniform 1 is removed from the transport line 35 and automatically stored in the storage line 39 of the warehouse 38.

On the other hand, the uniforms 1 stored in the warehouse 38 are automatically sorted by the seasonal product introduction device 40. FIG. 10 shows a seasonal product input device 40.
The operation of FIG. In FIG. 10, the seasonal product introduction device 40 operates the warehouse 38 in response to a command from the management device 3.
Tag 2 attached to uniform 1 stored in
When the tag data is read from (S201), it is determined whether the uniform 1 is suitable for the current season based on the clothing change information in the customer information (S202), and when it is determined that the uniform 1 is suitable for the season, The storage line 39 is connected to the delivery line 36, and the uniform 1 is supplied. Therefore, among the uniforms 1 stored in the warehouse 38,
The uniform 1 suitable for the season is automatically supplied from the storage line 39 to the delivery line 36.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the clothing change information indicating the period in which the uniform 1 can be used is stored in the ID tag 2, and the uniform 1 to be shipped to the customer is out of season based on the clothing change information. In some cases, the clothes are automatically stored in the warehouse 38, and when the uniforms 1 stored in the warehouse 38 are seasonal, they are automatically loaded into the delivery line 36 as needed. Unlike the conventional example described above, the uniform 1 can be easily replaced by changing clothes, and the occurrence of a replacement work mistake and a delivery mistake can be prevented.

In the out-of-season goods exclusion device 37,
Based on the number of washings read from the ID tag 2 attached to the uniform 1, the uniform 1 determined to have reached the end of its life is sorted into the disposal line 41, so that the end of the uniform 1 that has reached the end of its life is wastefully stored in the warehouse 38. Can be prevented.

The present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above and shown in the drawings, but can be extended or modified as follows. Only one of the non-seasonal product elimination device 37 and the seasonal product introduction device 40 may be provided. As the data indicating the use period of the uniform 1, a use start date and a use end date may be stored.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing storage contents of a memory of an ID tag according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the concept of linen supply

FIG. 3 shows a uniform.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing the overall configuration.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of the ID tag.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing an electric configuration of a handheld reader / writer.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram for explaining switching of a transport line.

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram showing a non-seasonal product exclusion device.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the operation of the off-season product elimination device.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the operation of the seasonal product introduction device.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 is a uniform (rental clothing), 2 is an ID tag (data tag), 3 is a management device, 30 to 34 are reader / writers, 35 is a transport line (transportation means), and 37 is a non-seasonal product exclusion device (exclusion means). , 39 are seasonal goods input devices (input means).

──────────────────────────────────────────────────の Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) G06K 19/00 G06K 19/00 H // G07F 17/20 Q F term (Reference) 3E048 AA10 3F022 MM08 MM28 MM30 MM35 MM42 NN38 PP01 PP04 5B035 BB09 BC00 CA23 5B049 AA06 BB58 CC00 CC31 DD02 EE05 EE21 5B058 CA17 KA02 KA04 YA01

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A data tag attached to rental clothing and capable of reading and writing data, writing means for writing usage period data to the data tag, and a transport for automatically transporting the rental clothing for shipment Means for reading the usage period data from the data tag during the transportation of the rental clothing by the transportation means, and storing the rental clothing when the usage period data does not include today's date. A garment management system for rental, comprising: an exclusion unit for eliminating. 2. The writing means writes the number of washings of the rental clothing to the data tag, and the elimination means removes the rental clothing when the number of washings exceeds a set number of times. The rental clothing management system according to claim 1, wherein the rental clothing management system is excluded. 3. A data tag attached to the rental clothing and capable of reading and writing data, writing means for writing usage period data to the data tag, and transport for automatically transporting the rental clothing for shipment. Means for reading the use period data from the data tag attached to the stored rental clothes, and if the use period data includes today's date, the rental clothes are transported as necessary. And a charging means for charging the clothing. 4. The rental clothing management system according to claim 1, wherein the use period data includes a use start date and a number of use days.