JP2008037561A - Goods storage location management system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an article storage position management system capable of grasping an article storage position in detail and managing the position of the article in detail. <P>SOLUTION: An antenna for communicating with a radio tag and a light emitting light source are provided in each block of an article storage shelf divided into a plurality of blocks, and an antenna selector device communicates with a radio tag attached to an article of each block in order. The system is provided with a database to store the information related to the identification number properly assigned to the articles, the articles and storage of the articles, and a server to research the database, renew it and control to light/extinguish the light emitting light source. A radio tag reader/writer can be arranged in each block of the article storage shelf divided into a plurality of blocks. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a system for managing storage positions of articles.

  Conventionally, articles such as important documents are stored in a small box, and this box is numbered and stored on a shelf. When browsing the documents, the necessary documents were extracted from these boxes, and after browsing, the numbers on the boxes were referenced and returned to the original boxes. For this reason, there has been a problem that the wrong position may be returned to the wrong position by mistake.

  In this regard, attempts have been made to use wireless tags. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a system that detects where an article is located by attaching a wireless tag to the article and installing a wireless tag reader / writer in a place where the article may be brought in, such as a cabinet, a book shelf, or a desk. ing.

  Patent Document 2 includes a database in which a wireless tag is attached to a book, a wireless tag reader is provided on a bookshelf, and an identification number uniquely assigned to the book and a position where the book should be stored are stored in the library. A system is disclosed in which a wireless tag is read when an item is returned to the bookshelf, and the administrator is notified if it is different from the position stored in the database.

Further, in Patent Document 3, when a wireless tag is attached to a book, a wireless tag reader is provided on a bookshelf, and the wireless tag is read when the book is returned to the bookshelf, and the book is not returned to the position where the book should be. Discloses a system for issuing a warning to a user who has returned a book.
JP 2005-502939 A JP 2005-228146 A JP-A-11-79328

  However, the system described in Patent Document 1 has a problem in that it cannot be used for managing the storage position of important documents because it cannot grasp the detailed position information of a shelf where articles are stored. In addition, in the systems described in Patent Documents 2 and 3, rough position information in the bookshelf can be grasped, but detailed position information cannot be grasped, so that it cannot be used for managing the storage position of important documents. there were.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an article storage position management system that grasps in detail the storage position of an article and manages the position of the article in detail. .

  In order to achieve this object, the article storage position management system according to claim 1 is divided into a plurality of sections, and an article storage shelf including an antenna of a wireless tag reader / writer and a light emitting light source in each section, and affixed to the article. A reader / writer unit that communicates with a wireless tag via an antenna, an antenna switching device that switches an antenna connected to the wireless tag reader / writer, an identification number uniquely assigned to each article, and information on the storage location of the article are stored. The position management database and the position management database are updated and searched when a change occurs in the configuration of the articles stored in the article storage shelves, extracted from the article storage shelves, and then the article storage shelves again. And a storage position management server for controlling lighting of the light emitting light source at a position where the article to be stored should be stored.

  In addition, the article storage position management system according to claim 2 is divided into a plurality of sections, and each of the article storage shelves includes a wireless tag reader / writer that communicates with a wireless tag attached to the article and a light-emitting light source in the area of each section. A position management database for storing the identification number uniquely assigned to the information and information on the storage position of the article, and updating the position management database when a change occurs in the configuration of the article stored in the article storage shelf. A storage position management server that controls lighting of the light-emitting light source at a position where an article to be stored in the article storage shelf is stored again after being retrieved and extracted from the article storage shelf. To do.

  According to the present invention, the article storage shelves are partitioned into a plurality of sections, and each section is provided with a wireless tag reader / writer or its antenna and a light emitting light source, and the position of the articles is managed by the database. The user can be guided so that the article can be returned to the correct position when the article is re-loaded.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that in the present invention, the wireless tag reader / writer includes a device that reads information from a wireless tag, a device that writes information to the wireless tag, or a device that reads and writes information.

  The wireless tag means a storage medium capable of wireless communication, and usually includes an antenna and an IC chip. The wireless tag may further have a calculation function, and is desirably a portable size, but may be a minute one. The wireless tag is sometimes referred to as RFID (Radio Frequency Identification).

<Embodiment 1>
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of a first embodiment of the article storage position management system of the present invention. The article storage position management system of the present embodiment includes a terminal 101 to which the wireless tag reader / writer 102 is connected, a position management database 104 (hereinafter referred to as DB) for storing article position information, and an antenna of the wireless tag reader / writer. The reader / writer unit 105, which is a part including the antenna switching device, is connected to the light emission source 109 provided in the article storage shelf 107, which will be described later, and the data input / output control of the position management DB 104 and the reader / writer unit are connected. Storage position management server 103 that performs data transmission / reception and control thereof and lighting control of light emitting light source 109, a plurality of article storage shelves 107 that store articles 110 to which wireless tags 111 are attached, and articles An antenna 108 of a wireless tag reader / writer disposed in each section of the storage shelf 107, and an antenna And an antenna switching unit 106 for switching the connection to the antenna 108. In this embodiment, the wireless tag reader / writer includes an antenna and a reader / writer unit.

  The storage position management server 103 updates and searches the position management DB 104 when a change occurs in the configuration of the articles stored in the article storage shelf, but the update or search is not limited thereto.

  The position management DB 104 indicates an identification number uniquely assigned to the article, a position where the article should be stored, a position where the article is actually stored, whether the article can be taken out, and whether the article is being taken out. Although the flag to represent, the date and time when the article was taken out, and the storage time limit are stored, the present invention is not limited thereto. The position where the article should be stored and the position where the article is actually stored may be a section number uniquely assigned to the section 202 described later. The wireless tag 111 stores an identification number uniquely assigned to the article. The information stored in the wireless tag is not limited to the identification number.

  Note that the antenna 108 and the light-emitting light source 108 are only required to be provided in the area of each partition, and may be provided in a partition wall or in a space in the area. Here, the inside of the region means the inside of the section partitioned by the partition wall, but the partition wall is also included. The partition wall includes vertical, horizontal, and rear partition walls.

  The material storage shelf 107 is preferably made of plastic such as FRP (Fiber Reinforced Plastics) or wood, but may be any material other than a material that changes the dielectric constant, such as metal or carbon fiber.

  FIG. 2A is a perspective view of the article storage shelf 107. The article storage shelf 107 has a plurality of sections 202 partitioned by a partition wall, and a light emitting light source 203 is provided on the partition wall of each section 202. The light emitting light source 203 may be any light source as long as it emits light. Above all, an LED (Light Emitting Diode) is preferable. The size of the section 202 is not limited, but the smaller the size, the easier the communication between the wireless tag attached to the article and the wireless tag reader / writer.

  FIG. 2B shows the antenna 205 of the wireless tag reader / writer installed on the horizontal partition wall 204 that forms the section 202. FIG. 2C shows the antenna 207 of the wireless tag reader / writer installed on the vertical partition wall 206 that forms the section 202. The dotted line represents the partition wall, and the solid line represents the antenna. In any case, the number of turns of the coil is appropriately selected. The antennas 205 and 207 may be provided on the surface of the partition wall or may be provided inside the partition wall.

  FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of the present embodiment. The wireless tag 301 attached to the article communicates with an antenna 303 installed for each section 302. On the partition wall of the partition 302, a light emission light source 304 is installed for each partition 302. The antenna 303 is connected to the antenna switching device 306 of the reader / writer unit 305 which is a part other than the antenna of the wireless tag reader / writer. The light emission source 304 is connected to a control unit 311 described later. The reader / writer unit 305 can be configured as one regardless of the number of the sections 302.

  The antenna switching device 306 is a device that sequentially switches the connection between the antenna 303 installed in each section 302 and the reader / writer module 307 that is a circuit of the wireless tag reader / writer at regular intervals. Connect to one antenna 303, stop radio wave transmission within 4 seconds from the start of radio wave emission, and then transmit the radio wave after the transmission pause time has passed 50 milliseconds It can also be configured to do.

  In addition to these, the reader / writer unit 305 includes a buzzer 308 that emits a warning sound, a memory 310 that stores data such as reading or writing of a wireless tag, and an interface 312 that mediates communication with a host device such as a personal computer. A control unit 311 that controls hardware and a power supply unit 309 that supplies power are provided.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart of processing performed by the storage position management server 103 when taking out an article from the article storage shelf 107. The reader / writer unit 305 sequentially switches the connected antennas 303 at regular intervals, reads all the wireless tags attached to the articles stored in each section 202, and sets the identification number of the currently stored article. It is stored in the memory 310 which is a storage device. When an article is extracted from the article storage shelf 107, the identification number of the extracted article is specified by comparing the identification number of the newly read article with the identification number of the article stored in the memory 310. can do. Instead of the memory 310, an external storage device such as a magnetic disk device may be used.

  In step S401, the storage location management server 103 loops and monitors whether the movement of the wireless tag attached to the article has been detected in the above procedure. If not detected, step S401 is executed. If detected, the process proceeds to step S402.

  In step S402, the storage position management server 103 searches the position management DB 104 based on the identification number of the moved article, and reads whether the article can be taken out. In step S403, the storage location management server 103 determines whether the article can be taken out. If it cannot be taken out, control is performed to turn on the light emitting light source in step S404, a buzzer is sounded, and the process proceeds to step S405. If it can be taken out, the process proceeds to step S405.

  In step S405, the storage location management server 103 stores article movement information in the location management DB 104, and returns to step S401. Here, the movement information includes, but is not limited to, a flag indicating whether or not an article has been taken out and the date and time when the article was taken out.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart of processing performed by the storage position management server 103 when storing articles in the article storage shelf 107. As described above, the position management database 104 stores the identification number of an article and the position where the article is to be stored. The position where the article should be stored represents a position when the article is newly stored, or a position where the article should be returned to the article storage shelf 107 again when the article is extracted. When storing an article, the user first causes the wireless tag reader / writer 102 of the terminal 101 connected to the storage position management server 103 to read the wireless tag of the article.

  In step S501, the storage location management server 103 loops and monitors whether the wireless tag reader / writer 102 of the terminal 101 has detected a wireless tag. If not detected, step S501 is executed, and if detected, the process proceeds to step S502.

  In step S <b> 502, the wireless tag reader / writer 102 of the terminal 101 reads the wireless tag, and the terminal 101 transmits the article identification number of the read data to the storage location management server 103.

  In step S503, the storage location management server 103 searches the location management DB 104 based on the article identification number read in step S502. In step S504, the storage location management server 103 specifies the location where the article is to be stored from the retrieved data.

  In step S505, the storage position management server 103 performs control so that the light emitting light source at the position where the article is to be stored is turned on. In step S506, the storage position management server 103 transmits a position where the article is to be stored to the terminal 101, and the terminal 101 displays the received position on the display.

  In step S507, the storage position management server 103 determines whether the wireless tag of the article has been detected at the article storage position within a predetermined time. If the wireless tag of the article is not detected within a certain time, that is, if the article is not stored, the storage position management server 103 controls to turn off the light emission source 304 and returns to step S501. If it is detected within a certain time, that is, if the article is stored, the process proceeds to step S508. If the wireless tag of the article is detected at a position other than the position where the article is to be stored within a certain time, the storage position management server 103 controls to sound the buzzer 308 and displays the article on the terminal 101 display. Is displayed in the wrong location.

  In step S508, the storage position management server 103 registers the movement information of the article in the position management DB 104, controls to turn off the light emission source 304, and returns to step S501.

  Furthermore, in this embodiment, based on the storage deadline stored for each article in the position management DB 104, the list of articles whose storage deadline has passed is performed. Specifically, the storage location management server 103 searches the location management DB 104 based on the storage expiration date, detects the identification number of an article whose storage expiration date has passed, and prints it on a printer or displays it on a display for listing. To do. Further, when there is an instruction to turn on the light emitting light source from the terminal 101, the storage position management server 103 stores the identification number or storage listed for the storage position where the listed articles whose storage expiration date has passed are stored. The position management DB 104 is searched based on the time limit, and control is performed so that the light emission source 304 of the section 302 that is the searched storage position is turned on.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the article storage shelf 107 is divided into a plurality of sections, the antenna 302 of the wireless tag reader / writer is disposed on the partition wall, and the antenna 306 is sequentially connected at regular intervals by the antenna switching device 306. Is switched. Thereby, reading and writing of the wireless tag attached to the article to be stored can be easily and reliably performed, and the manufacturing cost of the system can be kept low.

  Further, whether or not the article can be taken out from the article storage shelf 107 is managed in a database, and if an article that cannot be taken out is extracted from the article storage shelf, a buzzer 308 will sound and warn the user. Can be prevented from being taken out.

  Furthermore, when storing an article in the article storage shelf 107, the storage position management server 103 searches the position management DB 104 based on the identification number read from the wireless tag attached to the article, and the article is stored. Control is performed so that the position to be displayed is displayed on the display of the terminal 101 and the light emission source 304 of the storage section 302 is turned on. This makes it possible for the user to easily and reliably understand the position where the article should be stored.

  In addition, a storage deadline is stored in the location management DB 104, and based on this storage deadline, the storage location management server 103 searches the location management DB 104 and lists articles whose storage deadline has passed. Further, the storage position management server 103 controls to turn on the light emitting light source 304 of the section 302 in which articles whose storage deadline has passed are stored. This facilitates the work of discarding articles whose storage deadline has passed.

<Embodiment 2>
FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of the second embodiment of the article storage position management system of the present invention. The wireless tag 601 attached to the article communicates with the wireless tag reader / writer 603 installed for each section 602. A light emission source 604 is installed for each partition 602 on the partition wall of the partition 602. The wireless tag reader / writer 603 and the light emitting light source 604 are connected to a control unit 609 described later of the reader / writer control unit 605. One reader / writer control unit can be configured regardless of the number of sections 602.

  The reader / writer control unit 605 includes a buzzer 606 that emits a warning sound, a memory 608 that stores data for reading or writing a wireless tag, an interface 610 that mediates communication with a host device such as a personal computer, and the hardware. A control unit 609 for controlling and a power supply unit 607 for supplying power are provided. Other configurations and operations are the same as those in the first embodiment.

  Note that the wireless tag reader / writer 603 and the light-emitting light source 604 may be provided in the area of each section, and may be provided in the partition wall or in the space in the area. Here, the inside of the region means the inside of the section partitioned by the partition wall, but the partition wall is also included. The partition walls include vertical, horizontal, and rear partition walls.

  As described above, in this embodiment, since the wireless tag reader / writer is arranged for each section 602, the wireless tag reader / writer has the same effect as that of the first embodiment, but is stored wirelessly attached to an article to be stored. The reading and writing of tags is much faster than in the first embodiment.

  Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment as it is, and can be embodied by modifying the constituent elements without departing from the scope of the invention in the implementation stage. In addition, various inventions can be formed by appropriately combining a plurality of components disclosed in the embodiment. For example, some components may be deleted from all the components shown in the embodiment. Furthermore, constituent elements over different embodiments may be appropriately combined.

1 is a diagram illustrating an overall configuration of Embodiment 1. FIG. It is a figure showing the storage shelf for articles | goods of Embodiment 1. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration of Embodiment 1. FIG. 3 is a flowchart of processing when taking out an article according to the first embodiment. 3 is a flowchart of processing during article storage according to the first embodiment. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration of a second embodiment. FIG.

Explanation of symbols

101: terminal,
102: Wireless tag reader / writer,
103: Storage location management server,
104: Location management DB
105: Reader / writer unit,
106: Antenna switching device,
107: Storage shelf for goods,
108: Antenna,
109: light emission source,
110: goods,
111: Wireless tag.

Claims (7)

An article storage shelf that is divided into a plurality of sections and includes an antenna of a wireless tag reader / writer and a light emission source in the area of each section;
A reader / writer unit that communicates with the wireless tag attached to the article via the antenna;
An antenna switching device for switching the antenna connected to the wireless tag reader / writer;
A position management database for storing an identification number uniquely assigned to each article and information on the storage position of the article;
The location management database is updated and searched when the configuration of articles stored in the article storage shelf changes, and after being extracted from the article storage shelf, stored again in the article storage shelf A storage position management server for controlling lighting of the light emitting light source at a position where an article to be stored is stored;
An article storage position management system comprising: A storage shelf for articles comprising a wireless tag reader / writer that communicates with a wireless tag that is partitioned into a plurality of parts and attached to the article, and a light-emitting light source in the area of each section;
A position management database for storing an identification number uniquely assigned to each article and information on the storage position of the article;
The location management database is updated and searched when the configuration of articles stored in the article storage shelf changes, and after being extracted from the article storage shelf, stored again in the article storage shelf A storage position management server for controlling lighting of the light emitting light source at a position where an article to be stored is stored;
An article storage position management system comprising:   The article storage position management system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the light emitting light source and the antenna of the wireless tag reader / writer or the wireless tag reader / writer are provided on a partition wall of each section.   The wireless tag reader / writer further includes a terminal connected to the storage position management server, the wireless tag reader / writer reads an identification number of an article from a wireless tag attached to the article, and the storage position management server reads the article The position management database is searched based on the identification number of the article, the storage position of the article is read, and the lighting light source of the storage shelf for the article corresponding to the storage position is controlled. 4. The article storage position management system according to any one of items 3.   The location management database further stores a storage deadline for each article, and the storage location management server searches the location management database for the identification number and storage location of the article for which the storage deadline has passed based on the designated storage deadline. The article storage position management system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the article storage position control system controls reading and lighting of a light emitting light source of the article storage shelf corresponding to the read storage position.   The location management database further stores whether or not each item can be taken out, and further includes a storage device that stores identification numbers of all items stored, and when the item is extracted from the item storage shelf, the wireless tag reader The identification number of the article is newly read from the wireless tag attached to the article being stored, and the storage location management server compares the stored identification number with the newly read identification number and is extracted. The identification number of the article is specified, and the location management database is searched based on the specified identification number to read whether the article can be taken out. If the article cannot be taken out, the storage position management server sounds a buzzer, or the article 6. The lighting control of the light emitting light source in the section of the article storage shelf from which is extracted is controlled. Article storage location management system according to.   The article storage position management system according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the article storage shelf is formed of a material that does not change a dielectric constant.

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