JP7569915B2 - Time acquisition device and time recording system - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a time acquisition device that acquires times such as arrival and departure times, and a time recording system that acquires and records times using the time acquisition device.

A time recorder is known as an example of a time acquisition device. A time recorder is a device that prints the arrival and departure times of employees working for a company, etc. on their time cards.

Furthermore, an example of a time recording system equipped with a time acquisition device and a management device is an attendance management system. An attendance management system is a system configured by connecting a time recorder and a computer via a computer network, and can manage employee attendance, such as tallying up the working hours of each employee and calculating payroll. In such attendance management systems, the time recorder has a function of printing the time on a time card, as well as a function of transmitting time information indicating the time to the computer so that the information can be stored in the computer's memory device.

For example, the following patent documents 1 and 2 describe systems similar to the attendance management system described above.

JP 2011-40097 A JP 2002-230606 A

When a time card is inserted into the card insertion section, the time recorder in the attendance management system usually reads the card ID from the time card and prints the time on the time card, then transmits the read card ID and time information indicating the time printed on the time card to the management device. Meanwhile, the management device in the attendance management system accumulates the time information transmitted from the time recorder for each employee. This accumulated time information for each employee is the basis for tallying up each employee's working hours and calculating wages.

In order to accumulate the time information transmitted from the time recorder for each employee, it is necessary to associate the time information transmitted from the time recorder with the employee ID of the employee. Therefore, the management device in the attendance management system has information indicating the association between the card ID of the time card and the employee ID. Here, this information is referred to as "card registration information." The management device stores the card ID of the time card and the time information transmitted simultaneously from the time recorder in association with each other, and recognizes the correspondence between the time information transmitted from the time recorder and the employee ID based on the stored association between the card ID of the time card and the time information and the association between the card ID of the time card and the employee ID indicated in the card registration information, and accumulates the time information transmitted from the time recorder for each employee.

The period during which a time card is used is usually one month, from the beginning to the end of the month. That is, after an employee has finished printing the time of arrival and departure times, etc., on their time card from the beginning to the end of the month, they switch to a new time card. Once a month, for example at the end of the month, the attendance management manager prepares new time cards with blank times, the number of which corresponds to the number of employees who are the subject of attendance management. The manager then inputs the card ID of the new time card into the management device, associates the entered card ID of the time card with the employee ID, and stores it in the management device. This work by the manager generates the card registration information in the management device. After completing this work, the manager issues the time card. That is, the manager hands the new time card with the above association formed to each employee, or stores it in a time card storage rack, etc., so that each employee can use the new time card.

The administrator must create an association between the card ID and employee ID for each new time card, the number of which corresponds to the number of employees who are the subject of attendance management. Therefore, if there are a large number of employees who are the subject of attendance management, the work takes a long time and places a heavy burden on the administrator.

In this regard, the above-mentioned Patent Document 1 (paragraph 0013) describes that in a time recorder network system, the time recorder transmits all time card number information to a Web client using a communication function when issuing cards at the beginning of the month, and the operator of the Web client links the time card number information read from the time recorder with already registered personal information while viewing the Web client screen. However, in the system described in Patent Document 1, when issuing a time card, the attendance management manager (or the Web client operator) must link the time card number information read from the time recorder with already registered personal information. Therefore, the workload of the manager remains large.

The above-mentioned Patent Document 2 also describes how, in a time card issuing system, the name of the employee to be written on the time card is printed using a time recorder. With this technology, when issuing a new time card, the manager can eliminate the need to write the name of the employee who will use the time card on each time card. However, even if this technology is used, it is not possible to reduce the work of associating the card ID of the new time card with the employee ID, and the manager's workload remains large.

On the other hand, in order to reduce the workload of the manager when issuing time cards, a method is considered in which the task of forming an association between the card ID of the time card and the employee ID is assigned to each employee. For example, the manager inputs the card ID of the time card into the management device and stores it, but does not form an association between the card ID and the employee ID. On the other hand, each employee accesses the management device using, for example, a personal computer that he or she uses for work, transmits his or her employee ID and the card ID of the time card that he or she uses to the management device, and forms an association between the card ID and the employee ID. This method reduces the workload of the manager when issuing time cards. Also, each employee only needs to form an association between the card ID and the employee ID for the one time card that he or she uses, so the burden on each employee is not that large.

However, it is conceivable that an employee may forget to associate the card ID with the employee ID. Even if they do not forget, there is a possibility that the employee may not associate the card ID with the employee ID even when it is near the end of the month. Although the time information sent from the time recorder is stored in the storage device of the management device in association with the card ID, it cannot be used for tallying up the employee's working hours or calculating payroll until the association between the card ID and the employee ID is formed. Therefore, if an employee forgets to associate the card ID with the employee ID or does not do so even when it is near the end of the month, it may cause problems in attendance management.

The present invention has been made in consideration of the problems described above, and the object of the present invention is to provide a time acquisition device and time recording system that prevents users from forgetting to perform the task of forming an association between the identification information of an identification medium (e.g., a card ID) and the identification information of the user of the identification medium (e.g., an employee ID), which has conventionally been performed by an administrator when issuing an identification medium (e.g., a time card), or that can allow users to perform the task early when a method is adopted in which the task is assigned to individual users.

In order to solve the above problem, the first time acquisition device of the present invention is characterized in that it includes a medium identification information reading unit that reads the medium identification information of the identification medium from the identification medium, a time acquisition unit that acquires the time when the medium identification information is read by the medium identification information reading unit, a time information transmission unit that transmits time information indicating the time acquired by the time acquisition unit together with the medium identification information read by the medium identification information reading unit to an external device, a display unit that displays or outputs light to a user who uses the identification medium to record time, and a control unit that determines whether or not an association is formed between the user identification information of the user and the medium identification information based on association status information indicating whether or not an association is formed between the user identification information of the user and the medium identification information, and changes the display or light output by the display unit according to the determination result. In the first time acquisition device of the present invention, the control unit may be configured to display the user identification information of the user on the display unit if an association is formed between the user identification information and the medium identification information as a result of the determination. In the first time acquisition device of the present invention, the control unit may be configured to display the medium identification information read by the medium identification information reading unit on the display unit when the determination result shows that the association between the user identification information and the medium identification information has not been formed. In the first time acquisition device of the present invention, the control unit may be configured to blink the display on the display unit when the determination result shows that the association between the user identification information and the medium identification information has not been formed. In the first time acquisition device of the present invention, the control unit may be configured to display a message on the display unit when the determination result shows that the association between the user identification information and the medium identification information has not been formed.

In order to solve the above problem, the second time acquisition device of the present invention is characterized in that it includes a medium identification information reading unit that reads the medium identification information of the identification medium from the identification medium, a time acquisition unit that acquires the time when the medium identification information is read by the medium identification information reading unit, a time information transmission unit that transmits time information indicating the time acquired by the time acquisition unit together with the medium identification information read by the medium identification information reading unit to an external device, a voice output unit that outputs voice to a user who uses the identification medium to record time, and a control unit that determines whether or not an association is formed between the user identification information of the user and the medium identification information based on association status information indicating whether or not an association is formed between the user identification information of the user and the medium identification information, and changes the voice output by the voice output unit according to the determination result. In the second time acquisition device of the present invention, the control unit may be configured to output an alarm via the voice output unit if, as a result of the determination, an association is not formed between the user identification information and the medium identification information. In addition, in the second time acquisition device of the present invention, the control unit may be configured to output a voice message via the voice output unit if the result of the determination is that an association has not been formed between the user identification information and the medium identification information.

In order to solve the above problem, the third time acquisition device of the present invention is characterized by comprising: a medium identification information reading unit that reads the medium identification information of an identification medium from the identification medium; a time acquisition unit that acquires the time when the medium identification information is read by the medium identification information reading unit; a time information transmission unit that transmits time information indicating the time acquired by the time acquisition unit together with the medium identification information read by the medium identification information reading unit to an external device; a vibration generation unit that generates vibrations and conveys a notification or alarm by vibration to a user who uses the identification medium to record time; and a control unit that determines whether an association is formed between the user identification information of the user and the medium identification information based on association status information indicating whether an association is formed between the user identification information of the user and the medium identification information, and changes the generation of vibrations by the vibration generation unit depending on the determination result.

To solve the above problem, the fourth time acquisition device of the present invention is characterized by comprising: a medium identification information reading unit that reads the medium identification information of an identification medium from the identification medium; a time acquisition unit that acquires the time when the medium identification information is read by the medium identification information reading unit; a time information transmission unit that transmits time information indicating the time acquired by the time acquisition unit together with the medium identification information read by the medium identification information reading unit to an external device; an imaging unit that images the face of a user who uses the identification medium to record time; and a control unit that determines whether an association is formed between the user identification information of the user and the medium identification information based on association status information indicating whether an association is formed between the user identification information and the medium identification information, and controls the imaging unit to image the face of the user if an association is not formed between the user identification information and the medium identification information.

In order to solve the above problem, the fifth time acquisition device of the present invention is characterized by comprising a card insertion unit for inserting a time card, a card transport unit for transporting the time card inserted in the card insertion unit, a time acquisition unit for acquiring the time to be printed on the time card inserted in the card insertion unit, a printing unit for printing the time acquired by the time acquisition unit on the time card inserted in the card insertion unit, a card ID reading unit for reading the card ID of the time card from the time card inserted in the card insertion unit, a time information transmission unit for transmitting time information indicating the time acquired by the time acquisition unit together with the card ID read by the card ID reading unit to an external device, and a control unit for determining whether or not an association is formed between the user identification information of the user using the time card and the card ID based on association status information indicating whether or not an association is formed between the user identification information and the card ID, and changing the speed at which the time card on which the time is printed by the printing unit is discharged from the card insertion unit according to the result of the determination.

In order to solve the above problem, the sixth time acquisition device of the present invention is characterized in that it comprises a medium identification information reading unit that reads the medium identification information of the identification medium from the identification medium, a time acquisition unit that acquires the time when the medium identification information is read by the medium identification information reading unit, a time information transmission unit that transmits time information indicating the time acquired by the time acquisition unit to an external device together with the medium identification information read by the medium identification information reading unit, and a notification unit that determines whether or not an association is formed between the user identification information of a user using the identification medium and the medium identification information based on association status information indicating whether or not an association is formed between the user identification information and the medium identification information, and if an association is not formed between the user identification information and the medium identification information, makes the user aware that an association formation operation for forming an association between the user identification information and the medium identification information has not been performed, or performs a notification operation to urge the user to perform the association formation operation. In the sixth time acquisition device of the present invention, the notification unit may be configured to output a voice, vibration, or light as the notification operation to make the user recognize that the association formation work has not been performed, or to prompt the user to perform the association formation work. In addition, in the sixth time acquisition device of the present invention, the notification unit may be configured to make the user recognize that the association formation work has not been performed, or to display a message to prompt the user to perform the association formation work. In addition, in the sixth time acquisition device of the present invention, the notification unit may be configured to recognize the issuance time of the identification medium based on issuance time information indicating the issuance time of the identification medium, and to determine whether or not to perform the notification operation when the association between the user identification information and the medium identification information has not been formed based on the elapsed time from the issuance time of the identification medium. In addition, in the sixth time acquisition device of the present invention, the notification unit may be configured to recognize the issuance time of the identification medium based on issuance time information indicating the issuance time of the identification medium, and to change the mode of the notification operation depending on the elapsed time from the issuance time of the identification medium. The sixth time acquisition device of the present invention may further include an operation button, and the notification unit may continue the notification operation after starting the notification operation until the operation button is pressed. The sixth time acquisition device of the present invention may further include an association status information receiving unit that receives the association status information transmitted from the external device. The sixth time acquisition device of the present invention may further include a card insertion unit that inserts a time card as the identification medium, and a printing unit that prints the time on the time card inserted in the card insertion unit, and the medium identification information reading unit may read the medium identification information printed on the time card inserted in the card insertion unit.

In order to solve the above problem, the first time recording system of the present invention is a time recording system comprising the first, second, third or fourth time acquisition device of the present invention and a management device, and recording the time acquired by the time acquisition device by the management device, the management device comprising a first storage control unit which associates the medium identification information and time information transmitted from the time information transmission unit with each other and stores them in a storage device provided in or connected to the management device, a second storage control unit which associates the medium identification information of an identification medium used by the user with the user identification information of the user and stores them in the storage device, and accumulates the time information transmitted from the time information transmission unit for each user based on the association between the medium identification information and time information stored by the first storage control unit and the association between the medium identification information and user identification information stored by the second storage control unit. The second storage control unit includes a time information accumulation unit that stores the medium identification information of the identification medium in the storage device based on the operation of the management device, and an association formation unit that associates the user identification information of the user with the medium identification information stored by the medium identification information registration unit and stores the user identification information of the user in the storage device based on the operation of an input/output device connected to the management device, and the association state information generation unit generates the association state information by determining whether or not any of the user identification information stored by the association formation unit is associated with each of the medium identification information stored by the medium identification information registration unit.

In order to solve the above problem, the second time recording system of the present invention is a time recording system that includes the fifth time acquisition device of the present invention and a management device, and records the time acquired by the time acquisition device using the management device. The management device includes a first storage control unit that associates the card ID and time information transmitted from the time information transmission unit with each other and stores them in a storage device provided in or connected to the management device, a second storage control unit that associates the card ID of the time card used by the user with the user identification information of the user and stores them in the storage device, and accumulates the time information transmitted from the time information transmission unit for each user based on the association between the card ID and time information stored by the first storage control unit and the association between the card ID and user identification information stored by the second storage control unit. The second storage control unit includes a time information accumulation unit that stores the card ID of the time card in the storage device based on the operation of the management device, and an association formation unit that associates the user identification information of the user with the card ID stored by the card registration unit and stores it in the storage device based on the operation of an input/output device connected to the management device, and the association status information generation unit generates the association status information by determining whether or not any of the user identification information stored by the association formation unit is associated with each card ID stored by the card registration unit.

In order to solve the above problem, the third time recording system of the present invention is a time recording system that includes the sixth time acquisition device of the present invention and a management device, and records the time acquired by the time acquisition device using the management device. The management device includes a first storage control unit that associates the medium identification information and time information transmitted from the time information transmission unit with each other and stores them in a storage device provided in or connected to the management device, a second storage control unit that associates the medium identification information of the identification medium used by the user with the user identification information of the user and stores them in the storage device, and a time information storage unit that accumulates the time information transmitted from the time information transmission unit for each user based on the association between the medium identification information and time information stored by the first storage control unit and the association between the medium identification information and user identification information stored by the second storage control unit. The time acquisition device includes an information storage unit, an association status information generation unit that generates the association status information, and an association status information transmission unit that transmits the association status information formed by the association status information generation unit to the time acquisition device. The second storage control unit includes a medium identification information registration unit that stores medium identification information of the identification medium in the storage device based on the operation of the management device, and an association formation unit that associates the user identification information of the user with the medium identification information stored by the medium identification information registration unit and stores it in the storage device based on the operation of an input/output device connected to the management device. The association status information generation unit generates the association status information by determining whether or not any of the user identification information stored by the association formation unit is associated with each of the medium identification information stored by the medium identification information registration unit.

According to the present invention, when a method is adopted in which the task of forming an association between the identification information of an identification medium and the identification information of the user of the identification medium, which was previously performed by an administrator when an identification medium was issued, is assigned to individual users, it is possible to prevent users from forgetting to perform the task or to allow users to perform the task at an early stage.

1 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration of an attendance management system which is an embodiment of a time recording system of the present invention; 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a management device in an attendance management system according to an embodiment of the present invention. 5 is a flowchart showing a time recording process in the management device of the attendance management system according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram showing a new card registration screen. 10 is a flowchart showing a time card application process in the management device of the attendance management system according to the embodiment of the present invention. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing a login screen and a time card use application screen. FIG. FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram showing a card ID input screen. FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram showing a card ID selection screen. 13 is an explanatory diagram showing the transition of the association between the card ID of the time card for the current month and the employee ID in the card registration information. FIG. FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing association state information. 1 is an external view showing a time recorder in an attendance management system according to an embodiment of the present invention; 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a time recorder in an attendance management system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a time card. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of a time recorder in the attendance management system according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a display on a display unit of a time recorder in the attendance management system according to the embodiment of the present invention. 5 is a flowchart showing a notification process in a time recorder of the attendance management system according to the embodiment of the present invention. 11 is a flowchart showing a first modified example of a notification process in a time recorder of the attendance management system according to an embodiment of the present invention. 13 is a flowchart showing a second modified example of the notification process in the time recorder of the attendance management system according to the embodiment of the present invention.

(Time Recording System)
FIG. 1 shows the configuration of an attendance management system 1, which is one embodiment of the time recording system of the present invention. The attendance management system 1 is a system that manages attendance of employees working in a company or the like. As shown in FIG. 1, the attendance management system 1 includes a plurality of time recorders 2, a management device 3, and a plurality of input/output devices 4. The time recorders 2, the management device 3, and the input/output devices 4 are connected to each other so as to be able to communicate with each other via a computer network 5 such as the Internet. The management device 3 is, for example, a server computer, but may also be a personal computer. In addition, as the input/output device 4, various information processing devices that can be connected to a computer network by wire or wirelessly, such as a personal computer, tablet, or smartphone, can be used. In addition, in the attendance management system 1, the number of time recorders 2 and the number of input/output devices 4 are not limited. The time recorder 2 is a specific example of a time acquisition device, and the management device 3 is a specific example of an external device.

Each time recorder 2 has a function of printing the employee's time, such as the time when he/she arrives at work, the time when he/she leaves work, the time when he/she returns, and the time when he/she leaves work, on the time card. The time card is a specific example of an identification medium. Each time recorder 2 also has a function of reading the card ID of the time card from the time card. Each time recorder 2 also has a function of transmitting the read card ID, time information indicating the time printed on the time card (the time when the card ID was read from the time card), type information indicating the type of time, and the recorder ID of the time recorder 2 to the management device 3. In each time recorder 2, the printing of the time on the time card and the reading of the card ID from the time card are performed substantially simultaneously. Therefore, the time printed on the time card and the time when the card ID was read from the time card are substantially the same. Furthermore, each time recorder 2 has a function of making the employee recognize that he/she has not applied to use the time card, which will be described later, or of performing a notification operation to urge the employee to apply to use the time card.

The management device 3 has a function to generate time stamp information in which the card ID, time information, type information, and recorder ID transmitted from each time recorder 2 are arranged in association with each other, and to store the information in the memory unit 12 of the management device 3. The management device 3 also has a function to generate card registration information in which the card ID, employee ID, etc. are arranged in association with each other, and to store the information in the memory unit 12. The management device 3 also has a function to store employee attendance information in which the time information transmitted from each time recorder 2 is accumulated for each employee in the memory unit 12.

As shown in FIG. 1, each input/output device 4 has an input unit 71 (e.g., a keyboard and mouse, or a touch panel, etc.) and a display unit 72 (e.g., a display). Each input/output device 4 has the function of accessing the management device 3 via the computer network 5 and displaying information transmitted from the management device 3 on the display unit 72, or transmitting information input by an employee operating the input unit 71 to the management device 3. In other words, each input/output device 4 functions as a terminal device through which an employee inputs and outputs information to the management device 3.

Here, the recorder ID is information for identifying the time recorder 2, and is, for example, a unique number that is different for each time recorder 2. The card ID is information for identifying the time card, and is, for example, a unique number that is different for each time card. The type information is information that indicates the type of time, such as clocking in, clocking out, returning, and clocking out. As described above, the time information is information that indicates the time printed on the time card (the time when the card ID is read from the time card). Specifically, the time information is a number that indicates the year, month, day, hour, minute, and second of when the employee clocked in, clocked out, returned, and clocked out. The employee ID is information for identifying the employee, and is, for example, a unique number that is different for each employee. The card ID is a specific example of medium identification information, and the employee ID is a specific example of user identification information.

(Management Device)
2 shows the configuration of the management device 3. As shown in FIG. 2, the management device 3 includes a communication circuit 11 that communicates with each time recorder 2 and each input/output device 4 via a computer network 5, and a storage unit 12 that stores information. The storage unit 12 includes, for example, a semiconductor memory and a hard disk device. The storage unit 12 stores time-stamp information, card registration information, and employee attendance information. The storage unit 12 is a specific example of a storage device. The management device 3 also includes an input unit 13 (for example, a keyboard and a mouse) for inputting information, and a display unit 14 (for example, a display) for displaying information. The management device 3 also includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 15. The CPU 15 controls the communication circuit 11, the storage unit 12, and the display unit 14.

The CPU 15 also functions as a time-stamp information generating unit 21, an employee attendance information generating unit 22, an additional card registration unit 23, a new card registration unit 24, a card use application unit 25, an association status information generating unit 26, and an association status information transmitting unit 27, for example, by reading and executing a computer program stored in the storage unit 12. The time-stamp information generating unit 21 generates time-stamp information in the time recording process described below. The employee attendance information generating unit 22 generates or updates employee attendance information in the time recording process and the time card use application process. The additional card registration unit 23 adds the card ID of the time card to the card registration information when the use of a time card that does not exist in the card registration information is recognized in the time recording process. The new card registration unit 24 performs a new card registration process described below. The card use application unit 25 performs a time card use application process described below. The association status information generating unit 26 generates association status information indicating whether or not an association is formed between the employee ID of the employee using the time card and the card ID in the time card use application process. The association status information transmission unit 27 transmits the association status information to each time recorder 2. The time-stamp information generation unit 21 is a specific example of the first storage control unit, and the employee attendance information generation unit 22 is a specific example of the time information accumulation unit. The new card registration unit 24 is a specific example of the medium identification information registration unit of the second storage control unit, and the card usage application unit 25 is a specific example of the association formation unit of the second storage control unit.

The management device 3 performs the following process.
(1) Time recording process (2) New card registration process (3) Time card use application process The contents of these processes will be explained below in order.

(Time Recording Process)
First, the time recording process will be described. The time recording process is a process of accumulating time information transmitted from the time recorder 2 for each employee each time a time card is punched, and generating or updating employee attendance information that is the basis for tallying up the working hours of each employee and calculating wages. Fig. 3 shows the time recording process. As shown in Fig. 3, in the time recording process, the CPU 15 of the management device 3 controls the communication circuit 11 and receives the recorder ID, card ID, time information, and type information transmitted from each time recorder 2. Next, the punch information generating unit 21 of the management device 3 generates punch information by associating the received recorder ID, card ID, time information, and type information with each other, and stores the generated punch information in the memory unit 12 of the management device 3 (step S1).

Next, the CPU 15 of the management device 3 searches the card registration information stored in the memory unit 12 of the management device 3 to determine whether or not there is a card ID in the card registration information that matches the card ID sent from the time recorder 2 (step S2).

If the search results in a card ID in the card registration information that matches the card ID sent from the time recorder 2 (step S3: YES), the employee attendance information generation unit 22 of the management device 3 checks the card registration information and determines whether an employee ID is associated with the card ID that matches the card ID sent from the time recorder 2 (step S4).

If an employee ID is associated with a card ID that matches the card ID sent from the time recorder 2 (step S4: YES), the employee attendance information generation unit 22 recognizes the correspondence between the employee ID of the employee who punched in using the time card and the time information sent from the time recorder 2 in response to the punching, based on the association between the card ID and time information in the punching information stored in the memory unit 12 and the association between the card ID and employee ID in the card registration information stored in the memory unit 12. The employee attendance information generation unit 22 then reads the time information and type information corresponding to the employee ID of the employee who punched in using the time card from the punching information stored in the memory unit 12, and updates the employee attendance information by adding the read time information and type information to the employee attendance information in association with the employee ID (step S5). The time recording process ends when the employee attendance information has been updated.

On the other hand, if an employee ID is not associated with a card ID that matches the card ID sent from the time recorder 2 (step S4: NO), the employee attendance information generation unit 22 does not update the employee attendance information. In this case, the time recording process ends without updating the employee attendance information.

As described later, the card ID of the time card is added to the card registration information by the new card registration work performed by the attendance management manager when a new time card is issued. On the other hand, the association between the card ID and the employee ID is formed by the time card use application performed by each employee after a new time card is issued and each employee starts using the new time card. The time card use application is the work of forming an association between the card ID of the time card used by the employee and the employee ID of the employee. Therefore, there may be a difference between the time when the card ID is added to the card registration information and the time when the association between the card ID and the employee ID is formed. Therefore, there may be a card ID that is not associated with the employee ID in the card registration information. For example, if an employee punches the time card using the time recorder 2 before applying for the time card use, there is no employee ID associated with the card ID that matches the card ID sent from the time recorder 2 in the card registration information, so the determination is NO in step S4, and the employee attendance information is not updated and the time recording process ends. In this case, the time stamp information generated by associating the recorder ID, card ID, time information, and type information transmitted from the time recorder 2 with each other is stored in the memory unit 12 of the management device 3.

On the other hand, if the search result of step S2 shows that a card ID matching the card ID sent from the time recorder 2 is not present in the card registration information (step S3: NO), the additional card registration unit 23 of the management device 3 adds the card ID sent from the time recorder 2 to the card registration information.

(New card registration process)
Next, a new card registration process will be described. The new card registration process is a process in which the card ID of a new time card is added to the card registration information in response to an operation of the management device 3 by the administrator.

The administrator issues new time cards every month. Issuing new time cards means, for example, handing a new time card to each employee or placing it in a time card storage rack, etc., so that each employee can use the new time card.

When issuing new time cards, the manager first prepares a number of new, blank time cards corresponding to the number of employees who are the subject of attendance management. Time cards are sold, for example, in sets of 100 cards. Each set of 100 time cards has consecutive card ID numbers printed on them. By purchasing a set of such time cards, the manager prepares a number of new time cards corresponding to the number of employees.

Next, the manager operates the management device 3 to cause the management device 3 to execute a new card registration process and register the card IDs of the new time cards prepared in the management device 3. That is, when the manager operates the input unit 13 of the management device 3 to input an instruction to start the new card registration process to the management device 3 in order to execute the new card registration process, the new card registration unit 24 of the management device 3 displays a new card registration screen, for example, as shown in FIG. 4, on the display unit 14 of the management device 3. The manager operates the input unit 13 of the management device 3 to input, for example, the first (smallest) card ID of the consecutive card IDs printed on each of the 100 time cards and the number of time cards to be registered, and clicks the registration button in the new card registration screen. In response to this, the new card registration unit 24 adds the 100 consecutive card IDs printed on each of the 100 time cards to the card registration information stored in the memory unit 12 of the management device 3.

After having the management device 3 execute the new card registration process in this way, the manager issues a new time card. Note that the manager does not perform the task of forming an association between the card ID of each time card and the employee ID when issuing a new time card. The task of forming an association between the card ID and the employee ID is performed by each employee who starts using the issued new time card, as described below.

(Time card application processing)
Next, the time card use application process will be described. In the time card use application process, after each employee starts using the issued new time card, the management device 3 associates the employee ID with the card ID and adds them to the card registration information in response to the operation of the input/output device 4 by each employee.

Figure 5 shows the time card application process. The time card application process is realized, for example, by a web application program for time card application stored in the storage unit 12 of the management device 3. As shown in Figure 5, when an employee operates the input unit 71 of the input/output device 4 to access the management device 3 to apply for a time card, the time card application process is executed based on the web application program for time card application. In the time card application process, first, the card application unit 25 of the management device 3 displays the login screen shown in Figure 6 (A) on the display unit 72 of the input/output device 4 (step S11). When the employee operates the input unit 71 of the input/output device 4, inputs the employee ID and password on the login screen, and clicks (or touches) the login button on the login screen, the employee ID and password entered by the employee are transmitted from the input/output device 4 to the management device 3.

Next, the card usage application unit 25 receives (acquires) the employee ID and password sent from the input/output device 4 (step S12), checks whether the employee ID and password are correct, and if they are correct, displays the time card usage application screen shown in FIG. 6 (B) on the display unit 72 of the input/output device 4 (step S13).

In the attendance management system 1, the following two methods are provided as methods by which an employee can apply to use a time card.
(1) A method in which an employee directly inputs the card ID of the time card they are using. (2) A method in which an employee selects the card ID of the time card they are using from multiple candidates of card IDs of time cards they may be using. On the time card usage application screen, an employee can select either method (1) or method (2) as the method for applying to use a time card.

When an employee selects "Enter card ID directly" and clicks the "Next" button on the time card usage application screen shown in FIG. 6 (B), a selection instruction to that effect is sent from the input/output device 4 to the management device 3. In response, the card usage application unit 25 displays the card ID input screen shown in FIG. 7 on the display unit 72 of the input/output device 4 (step S14: YES, step S15). Then, when the employee operates the input unit 71 of the input/output device 4 to input the card ID of the time card he or she is using on the card ID input screen and clicks (or touches) the OK button on the card ID input screen, the card ID entered by the employee is sent from the input/output device 4 to the management device 3.

Then, the card usage application unit 25 of the management device 3 receives (acquires) the card ID sent from the input/output device 4 (step S16). The card usage application unit 25 then searches the card registration information stored in the memory unit 12 of the management device 3 to identify a card ID that matches the card ID sent from the input/output device 4, and updates the card registration information by adding the employee ID entered by the employee when logging in (the employee ID acquired in step S12 in FIG. 5) to the card registration information in association with the identified card ID (step S17). The employee attendance information generation unit 22 of the management device 3 then updates the employee attendance information in the same manner as the employee attendance information in the time recording process (step S18).

On the other hand, when an employee selects "Select a card ID from candidates" and clicks the "Next" button on the time card usage application screen shown in FIG. 6 (B), a selection instruction to that effect is sent from the input/output device 4 to the management device 3. In response, the card usage application unit 25 generates the card ID selection screen shown in FIG. 8 and displays the generated card ID selection screen on the display unit 72 of the input/output device 4 (step S14: NO, step S19). The card ID selection screen displays multiple candidates for card IDs of time cards that the employee may be using, and the latest time-stamping information corresponding to the multiple candidate card IDs.

The card usage application unit 25 generates a card ID selection screen, for example, as follows. First, the card usage application unit 25 identifies a card ID that is not associated with any employee ID from the card registration information stored in the memory unit 12 of the management device 3. Next, the card usage application unit 25 identifies a card ID that matches the identified card ID from the time-stamp information stored in the memory unit 12 of the management device 3. Hereinafter, a card ID in the time-stamp information that matches a card ID that is not associated with any employee in the card registration information is referred to as an "unassociated card ID". Next, the card usage application unit 25 reads out the latest time information associated with the unassociated card ID and the corresponding type information from the time-stamp information. Next, the card usage application unit 25 generates a card ID selection screen in which the unassociated card ID, the time (latest time-stamped) indicated by the latest time information associated with the unassociated card ID, and the type indicated by the type information corresponding to the latest time information associated with the unassociated card ID are arranged. Note that the card ID selection screen may be arranged in order of the latest time-stamped time.

An employee applying to use a time card selects the card ID of the time card he or she is using from among the candidate card IDs based on the most recent punch time and other information displayed on the card ID selection screen. The employee then clicks (or touches) the selection button 29 on the card ID selection screen that corresponds to the selected card ID, and then clicks the OK button. This causes the card ID selected by the employee to be sent from the input/output device 4 to the management device 3.

Then, the card usage application unit 25 of the management device 3 receives (acquires) the card ID sent from the input/output device 4 (step S20). Next, the card usage application unit 25 identifies a card ID that matches the card ID sent from the input/output device 4 in the card registration information stored in the memory unit 12 of the management device 3. Next, the card usage application unit 25 updates the card registration information by adding the employee ID entered by the employee when logging in (the employee ID acquired in step S12 in FIG. 5) to the card registration information in association with the identified card ID (step S21). Next, the employee attendance information generation unit 22 of the management device 3 updates the employee attendance information in the same manner as the employee attendance information in the time recording process (step S22).

Here, FIG. 9 shows the transition of association formation between the card ID of the current month's time card (time card whose usage period is the current month) and the employee ID in the card registration information. As shown in FIG. 9(A), immediately after the card ID of a new time card for the current month is added to the card registration information by the new card registration process, in a situation where the time card use application process has not yet been performed for any of the time cards for the current month, the employee ID is not associated with any of the card IDs of the time cards for the current month in the card registration information. Also, as shown in FIG. 9(B), after the use of the time cards for the current month has started and the time card use application process has been performed for some of these time cards, the employee ID is associated with some of the card IDs of the time cards for the current month in the card registration information for which the card use application process has been performed. Also, as shown in FIG. 9(C), after the time card use application process has been performed for all of the time cards for the current month in the card registration information, the employee ID is associated with all of the card IDs of the time cards for the current month in the card registration information.

Even if the card ID of the time card for that month has not been associated with the employee ID at the beginning of the month immediately after the administrator issues a new time card for that month, if all the associations between the card ID of the time card for that month and the employee ID are formed at the end of the month, the time information, etc. sent from the time recorder 2 to the management device 3 by each employee's clocking in during that month is associated with the employee ID and added to the employee attendance information by the employee attendance information update process (step S5 in FIG. 3, or step S18 or S22 in FIG. 5) executed in the time recording process or the time card use application process. Therefore, after the administrator issues a new time card for that month, if all employees who are the subject of attendance management apply to use their time cards within the usage period (one month) of those time cards, the time information, etc. for that month for all employees who are the subject of attendance management will be accumulated as employee attendance information for each employee at the end of the month at the latest.

Now, in the time card application process shown in FIG. 5, after updating of the employee attendance information is completed, the association status information generating unit 26 of the management device 3 generates association status information (step S23). The association status information is information indicating whether an association has been formed between the employee ID of the employee using the time card and the card ID. The association status information generating unit 26 generates association status information by determining whether an employee ID is associated with the card ID of each time card for the current month in the card registration information. Next, the association status information transmitting unit 27 of the management device 3 transmits the association status information generated by the association status information generating unit 26 to each time recorder 2 (step S24). This ends the time card application process.

Figure 10 shows the association status information generated by the association status information generation unit 26 when the state of the card registration information is the state shown in Figure 9 (B). As shown in Figure 10, the association status information is information in which the card ID of the time card for the current month, the employee ID that is already associated with the card ID of the time card for the current month at the time of generating the association status information, information indicating the usage period of the time card for the current month, information indicating the issue date of the time card for the current month, and a status flag are arranged in association with each other. The status flag is a flag that indicates whether or not the card ID and the employee ID are associated with each other, and is set to "1" (on) when the card ID and the employee ID are associated with each other, and is set to "0" (off) when the card ID and the employee ID are not associated with each other.

(Time Recorder)
Fig. 11 shows the appearance of the time recorder 2. Fig. 12 shows the configuration of the time recorder 2. As shown in Fig. 11, each time recorder 2 is equipped with a housing 31, a card insertion section 32 for inserting a time card, a type button 33 for selecting the type of time to be printed on the time card, a confirmation button 34 for inputting instructions to the time recorder 2, a display section 35 (e.g., a display) for displaying the time, etc., a speaker 36 for outputting sound, and an imaging section 37 (e.g., a CCD camera) for imaging the face of a person who punches in using the time recorder 2. The confirmation button 34 is a specific example of an operation button.

12, each time recorder 2 includes a clock unit 38 including a clock, a card detection unit 39 that detects whether a time card has been inserted into the card insertion unit 32 and whether a time card has been removed from the card insertion unit 32, a card transport unit 40 that transports the time card inserted into the card insertion unit 32, a printing unit 41 that prints the time in the printing area of the time card, a card code reading unit 42 that reads the card code printed on the time card, and a vibration generation unit 43 that generates vibrations. The card detection unit 39 and the card code reading unit 42 each have an optical sensor. The vibration generation unit 43 is provided to vibrate the housing 31 of the time recorder 2 and to communicate a notice or alarm to a person who is punching in using the time recorder 2 by vibration. Specifically, it is easy to use a vibration motor to generate vibrations, but other possible methods include using a print head (not shown) that constitutes the printing unit 41 to generate vibrations by driving it without printing on the time card, or using a stepping motor (not shown) that constitutes the card transport unit 40 to generate vibrations by driving it back and forth at high frequency.

Each time recorder 2 also has a communication circuit 44 that communicates with the management device 3 via the computer network 5, a memory unit 45 that stores information, and an external device connection unit 46 for connecting an external device to the time recorder 2. The memory unit 45 has, for example, a semiconductor memory. The memory unit 45 stores a recorder ID. The memory unit 45 also stores association status information received from the management device 3. The external device connection unit 46 has, for example, a USB (Universal Serial Bus) receptacle.

Each time recorder 2 also includes a CPU 47. The CPU 47 controls the clock unit 38, card detection unit 39, card transport unit 40, printing unit 41, card code reading unit 42, communication circuit 44, memory unit 45, display unit 35, imaging unit 37, vibration generation unit 43, etc. The CPU 47 also functions as a card ID reading control unit 51, time acquisition unit 52, printing control unit 53, transport control unit 54, communication control unit 55, notification control unit 56, and association status information receiving unit 57, for example, by reading and executing a program stored in the memory unit 45.

The card ID reading control unit 51 controls the card code reading unit 42 to read the card ID from the time card. The time acquisition unit 52 acquires the time to be printed on the time card from the clock unit 38. The printing control unit 53 controls the printing unit 41 to print the time on the time card. The transport control unit 54 moves the time card to the back side of the card insertion unit 32 when the time card is inserted into the card insertion unit 32, or moves the time card to the entrance side of the card insertion unit 32 after the time is printed on the time card. The communication control unit 55 controls the communication circuit 44 to transmit the recorder ID, card ID, type information, and time information to the management device 3. The notification control unit 56 controls the display unit 35, speaker 36, and vibration generation unit 43 to make the employee aware that he or she has not applied to use the time card, or to perform a notification operation to urge the employee to apply to use the time card. The association status information receiving unit 57 controls the communication circuit 44 and receives the association status information sent from the management device 3.

The card ID reading control unit 51 and the card code reading unit 42 are specific examples of a medium identification information reading unit. The communication control unit 55 and the communication circuit 44 are specific examples of a time information transmission unit. The notification control unit 56, the display unit 35, the speaker 36, and the vibration generation unit 43 are specific examples of a notification unit.

Figure 13 shows an example of a time card. In Figure 13, the time card 61 is made of, for example, cardboard, and on each of its front and back sides, a printing area 62 for printing the time, a card ID 63 for the time card 61, and a card code 64 that is a barcode version of the card ID 63 are pre-printed.

(Time recorder operation)
Fig. 14 shows the operation of the time recorder 2. Fig. 15 shows the display on the display unit 35 of the time recorder 2. In Fig. 14, when the power of the time recorder 2 is turned on, the CPU 47 of the time recorder 2 establishes communication with the management device 3, and then, as shown in Fig. 15 (A), the current time (month, day, hour, and minute) is displayed on the display unit 35 of the time recorder 2 (step S31).

Then, the association status information receiving unit 57 of the time recorder 2 determines whether or not it has received association status information from the management device 3, and if it has received association status information (step S32: YES), it stores the received association status information in the memory unit 45 of the time recorder 2 (step S33).

Next, the CPU 47 of the time recorder 2 determines whether a time card has been inserted into the card insertion section 32 based on the detection signal output from the card detection section 39 (step S34). At this time, the CPU 47 also detects the pressed state of the type button 33 and recognizes the type of time selected by the employee. If a time card is not inserted into the card insertion section 32 (step S34: NO), the CPU 47 returns the process to step S32. On the other hand, if a time card is inserted into the card insertion section 32 (step S34: YES), the transport control section 54 of the time recorder 2 controls the card transport section 40 to pull the time card inserted into the card insertion section 32 to the back of the card insertion section 32 (step S35). Next, the card ID reading control section 51 of the time recorder 2 controls the card code reading section 42 to read the card code printed on the time card pulled into the card insertion section 32. Next, the card ID reading control unit 51 decodes the read card code and obtains the card ID of the time card (step S36). Note that the time card is inserted and the card code is read at the same time.

Then, the notification control unit 56 of the time recorder 2 judges whether or not an association is formed between the card ID of the time card pulled into the card insertion unit 32 and the employee ID in the card registration information (step S37). Specifically, the notification control unit 56 searches the association status information received from the management device 3 and stored in the storage unit 45, identifies a card ID in the association status information that matches the card ID of the time card pulled into the card insertion unit 32, and judges whether or not the status flag associated with the identified card ID is "1". If an association is formed between the card ID and the employee ID in the card registration information, the status flag associated with that card ID in the association status information is set to "1". Therefore, the fact that the status flag associated with the card ID that matches the card ID of the time card pulled into the card insertion unit 32 in the association status information is "1" means that an association is formed between the card ID of the time card pulled into the card insertion unit 32 and the employee ID.

If the result of the judgment in step S37 is that an association has been formed between the card ID of the time card pulled into the card insertion unit 32 and the employee ID in the card registration information (step S37: YES), the CPU 47 of the time recorder 2 reads the employee ID associated with the card ID of the time card pulled into the card insertion unit 32 from the association status information, and displays the read employee ID on the display unit 35 of the time recorder 2, as shown in FIG. 15 (B) (step S38).

Next, the time acquisition unit 52 of the time recorder 2 acquires the current time from the clock unit 38, and the printing control unit 53 of the time recorder 2 prints the acquired current time in the printing area of the time card inserted in the card insertion unit 32 (step S39). Next, the transport control unit 54 moves the time card inserted in the card insertion unit 32 to the entrance side of the card insertion unit 32 to eject the time card from the card insertion unit 32 (step S40). Next, the CPU 47 of the time recorder 2 determines whether the time card has been removed from the card insertion unit 32 based on the detection signal from the card detection unit 39, and if the time card has been removed from the card insertion unit 32 (step S41: YES), returns the display of the display unit 35 of the time recorder 2 to the current time (step S42). Next, the CPU 47 stores in the memory unit 45 of the time recorder 2 the card ID acquired from the time card by the card ID reading control unit 51, the time information indicating the time acquired from the clock unit 38 by the time acquisition unit 52 (the time printed on the time card by the printing control unit), and the type information indicating the type of time selected by the employee (step S43). Next, the communication control unit 55 of the time recorder 2 transmits the card ID, the time information, and the type information, as well as the recorder ID stored in the memory unit 45, to the management device 3 (step S44).

On the other hand, if the result of the determination in step S37 is that the card registration information does not include an association between the card ID of the time card inserted into the card insertion unit 32 and the employee ID (step S37: NO), the notification control unit of the time recorder 2 executes notification processing (step S45). In this case, after the notification processing is executed, the processes from step S39 to step S44 are performed, that is, printing the time on the time card, ejecting the time card from the card insertion unit 32, switching the display of the display unit 35, storing the card ID and time information, and transmitting the card ID and time information to the management device 3.

(Notification process)
Fig. 16 shows the contents of the notification process executed by the time recorder 2 in step 45 in Fig. 15. The notification process is a process for making an employee realize that he/she has not applied to use a time card, or for performing a notification operation to urge the employee to apply to use a time card. In the notification process shown in Fig. 16, the notification control unit 56 of the time recorder 2 first outputs an alarm (e.g., an electronic sound, a beep, or a buzzer sound) via the speaker 36 (step S51). Next, the notification control unit 56 displays the card ID read from the time card inserted into the card insertion unit 32 on the display unit 35 of the time recorder 2, as shown in Fig. 15(C) (step S52).

The notification control unit 56 maintains this state for a predetermined first waiting time (for example, about 1 second) (step S53). After the first waiting time has elapsed, the notification control unit 56 displays a message on the display unit 35 of the time recorder 2 (step S54). The message displayed at this time is preferably a message urging the employee to apply for a time card, as shown in FIG. 15 (D). At almost the same time, the notification control unit 56 outputs, for example, a voice message having the same content as the message displayed on the display unit 35 in step S54 via the speaker 36 (step S55). Note that these messages may be messages such as "Please apply for a time card." Also, vibrations may be generated by the vibration generation unit 43 at the same time as the display and voice output of these messages. Also, the backlight of the display of the display unit 35 may be blinked while the message is being displayed.

The notification control unit 56 maintains this state for a predetermined second waiting time (e.g., about 2 seconds) (step S56). After the second waiting time has elapsed, the notification control unit 56 stops outputting the voice message (step S57). If vibration is being generated by the vibration generating unit 43, the vibration is stopped, and if the backlight of the display is blinking, the blinking is stopped. This is the end of the notification process.

As described above, when an employee inserts a time card into the card insertion unit 32, the time recorder 2 in the time recording system according to the embodiment of the present invention determines whether an employee ID is associated with the card ID of the time card. If an employee ID is not associated with the card ID of the time card, the time recorder 2 notifies the employee that he or she has not applied to use the time card, or performs a notification operation to urge the employee to apply to use the time card. This notification operation makes the employee aware that he or she has not applied to use the time card, or makes the employee aware that he or she needs to apply to use the time card. This makes it possible to prevent employees from forgetting to apply to use the time card, and also makes it possible for each employee to apply to use the time card early. This makes it possible to prevent a situation in which some employees who are the subject of attendance management do not apply to use the time card within the time card usage period of the month, causing problems in attendance management.

In addition, for each time card inserted into the card insertion unit 32, it is determined whether an association has been formed between the card ID and the employee ID, and a notification operation is performed only if an association has not been formed between the card ID and the employee ID, so no notification operation is performed for employees who have already applied to use their time cards. Therefore, employees who have already applied to use their time cards can smoothly clock in and out, etc.

In addition, the notification operation of the time recorder 2 first outputs an alarm, and after the first waiting time has elapsed, a message is displayed on the display unit 35 and a voice message is output, thereby reliably informing an employee who has inserted a time card into the card insertion unit 32 but has not yet applied to use their time card that they have not applied to use their time card, or that they should apply to use their time card.

In addition, by ensuring that each employee applies to use their time card within the time card usage period, the attendance management system of this embodiment can smoothly operate the method adopted by the manager when issuing a time card to add the card ID of the new time card to the card registration information, and each employee associates their employee ID with the card ID of the time card they are using and adds it to the card registration information. As a result, the manager does not need to associate the card ID of the time card with the employee ID for all employees who are the subject of attendance management when issuing a time card, which reduces the manager's workload when issuing a time card.

(First Modification of Notification Processing)
Fig. 17 shows a first modified example of the notification process of the time recorder 2 in the attendance management system 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention. In the first modified example of the notification process shown in Fig. 17, the processes from step S61 to step S65, i.e., the processes of outputting an alarm through the speaker 36, displaying the card ID of the time card on the display unit 35, maintaining this state for a first waiting time, displaying a message on the display unit 35 urging the employee to apply for the time card, and outputting a voice message having the same content as this message through the speaker 36 at almost the same time, are the same as the processes from step S51 to step S55 in the notification process shown in Fig. 16. However, in the first modified example of the notification process shown in Fig. 17, unlike the notification process shown in Fig. 16, after displaying the message on the display unit 35 in step S64 and outputting the voice message in step S65, the display of the message and the output of the voice message are continued until the employee presses the confirmation button 34 provided on the time recorder 2.

According to this first modified example, an employee who has not yet applied to use a time card is forced to insert a time card into the card insertion section 32 and then press the confirmation button 34 to stop the voice message output from the time recorder 2. This makes it clear to the employee that he or she is responsible for applying to use a time card.

In addition, in step S65 in FIG. 17, instead of the prompt message as shown in FIG. 15(D), a guidance indicating that the audio output of the message can be stopped by pressing the confirmation button 34 as shown in FIG. 15(E) may be displayed on the display unit 35.

(Second Modification of Notification Processing)
18 shows a second modified example of the notification process of the time recorder 2 in the attendance management system 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention described above. This modified example is characterized in that the notification control unit 56 recognizes the issue date of the time card based on the information indicating the issue date of the time card contained in the association status information, and changes the mode of the notification operation according to the elapsed time from the issue date. Note that the information indicating the issue date of the time card contained in the association status information is a specific example of issue time information.

This will be described in detail. If the result of the determination in step S37 in FIG. 14 indicates that the card ID of the time card pulled into the card insertion unit 32 is not associated with the employee ID in the card registration information (step S37: NO), the notification control unit 56 executes the process shown in FIG. 18 instead of the notification process in step S45. In the process shown in FIG. 18, the notification control unit 56 first refers to the association status information received from the management device 3 and stored in the storage unit 45 of the time recorder 2, and recognizes the issue date of the time card pulled into the card insertion unit 32 (step S71). That is, as shown in FIG. 10, the association status information includes information indicating the issue date of the time card (hereinafter, this is referred to as "issue date information"). The notification control unit 56 recognizes the issue date of the time card pulled into the card insertion unit 32 by reading the issue date information associated with the card ID that matches the card ID of the time card pulled into the card insertion unit 32 in the association status information.

Then, the notification control unit 56 calculates the time that has elapsed since the date of issue of the time card that was pulled into the card insertion unit 32, for example, the number of days from the date of issue of the time card to the current day (step S72). Then, it is determined whether the calculated number of days is within a predetermined reference number of days (step S73). The predetermined reference number of days is set to a number of days that is less than the number of days in the usage period of the time card. For example, it is preferable to set the predetermined reference number of days to about half the number of days in the usage period of the time card.

If the number of days from the issue date of the time card pulled into the card insertion unit 32 to the current day is less than or equal to the reference number of days (step S73: YES), the notification control unit 56 executes the first notification process (step S74). On the other hand, if the number of days from the issue date of the time card pulled into the card insertion unit 32 to the current day exceeds the reference number of days (step S73: NO), the notification control unit 56 executes the second notification process (step S75).

For example, the notification control unit 56 executes the notification process shown in FIG. 16 as the first notification process, and executes the notification process shown in FIG. 17 as the second notification process. In this case, if the number of days from the issue date of the time card pulled into the card insertion unit 32 to the current day is within the above-mentioned reference number of days, the display of the message and the output of the voice message urging the employee to apply for the time card are automatically stopped after the second waiting time (e.g., about 2 seconds) has elapsed. On the other hand, if the number of days from the issue date of the time card pulled into the card insertion unit 32 to the current day exceeds the above-mentioned reference number of days, the display of the message and the output of the voice message urging the employee to apply for the time card are continued until the employee presses the confirmation button 34 of the time recorder 2. As a result, when the number of days from the issue date of the time card used by the employee to the current day exceeds the above-mentioned reference number of days, the degree of urging the employee to apply for the time card is stronger than when the number of days is within the above-mentioned reference number of days.

According to this second variation of the notification process, if the number of days between the issue date of the time card used by the employee and the current date exceeds the above-mentioned reference number of days, the employee is urged to apply for a time card, so that the employee feels that he or she wants to apply for a time card before the number of days between the issue date of the time card used by the employee and the current date exceeds the above-mentioned reference number of days. Therefore, it is possible to encourage the employee to apply for a time card early.

In addition, in the second modified example of the notification process, various methods can be considered for changing the degree of urging to apply for time card use between the first notification process and the second notification process. For example, in the second notification process, the alarm sound may be made louder or the backlight of the display may be made to blink faster than in the first notification process. In addition, in the second notification process, the volume of the voice message may be made louder or the time for which the voice message is output may be made longer than in the first notification process. In addition, in the first notification process, the vibration generating unit 43 may not generate vibrations, but in the second notification process, the vibration generating unit 43 may generate vibrations. In addition, in the second notification process, the ejection speed of the time card after the time is printed may be slower than in the first notification process.

In addition, in the second variant of the notification process, the notification behavior changes in two stages, but it may also be possible to change the notification behavior in three or more stages, gradually increasing the degree of urging by the notification behavior every time a short number of days (e.g., seven days) pass.

In another embodiment, only when an association between the card ID and the employee ID has not been formed, the image capturing unit 37 may capture an image of the face of the person who is punching in, store the image, and notify the person of this fact. For example, a shutter sound may be output as a notification action.

On the other hand, if the number of days from the date of issue of the time card inserted into the card insertion section 32 to the current day is within the above-mentioned reference number of days, notification processing may not be performed, and notification processing may be performed if the number of days exceeds the above-mentioned reference number of days.

In the above embodiment, the association status information includes information indicating the issue date of the time card (issue date information), as shown in FIG. 10. However, the issue date information may not be included in the association status information, and may be sent from the management device 3 to each time recorder 2 separately from the association status information. In addition, if the issue date is the same for all time cards issued in the current month, for example, the administrator may manually input the common issue date into the time recorder 2 at the beginning of the month and store it in the memory unit 45 of the time recorder 2. In this case, the information indicating the issue date that was manually input and stored in the memory unit 45 corresponds to issue date information (issue time information).

In the above embodiment, the association status information includes the card ID, employee ID (only those already associated when the association status information is generated), usage period, issue date, and status flag for all time cards of the current month. However, the configuration of the association status information is not limited to this. For example, the association status information may not include the employee ID. The association status information may also include only the card ID of the current month that has already been associated with the employee ID, or may include only the card ID of the current month that has not yet been associated with the employee ID. In the case where the association status information does not include the employee ID, the process of displaying the employee ID on the display unit 35 of the time recorder 2 (step S38 in FIG. 14) after recognizing that the employee ID is associated with the card ID read from the time card inserted in the card insertion unit 32 of the time recorder 2, is omitted.

In addition, in the time card application process of the management device 3 in the above embodiment, a card ID (unassociated card ID) that matches a card ID that is not associated with any employee in the card registration information is identified in the punch information, and the card IDs are displayed on the display unit 72 of the input/output device 4 as multiple candidates for the card ID of the time card used by the employee who is applying to use the time card. However, in the time card application process, the card ID of the time card used by the employee who is applying to use the time card may be inferred based on the similarity between the time information associated with the unassociated card ID and the employee's past time information accumulated in the employee attendance information, and the multiple inferred card IDs may be displayed on the display unit 72 as candidates for the card ID of the time card used by the employee. This makes it possible to narrow down the card ID candidates and reduce the number of card ID candidates displayed on the display unit 72. Therefore, it becomes easier for the employee who is applying to use the time card to select the card ID of the time card he or she is using.

In addition, in the above embodiment, the employee attendance information is updated each time during the time recording process and the time card application process. However, the timing of updating the employee attendance information is not limited to these. For example, the time-stamping information may be stored in the memory unit 12 during the time card usage period, and the employee attendance information may be updated immediately after the time card usage period expires.

In addition, in the above embodiment, the usage period of the time card is one month, but for example, when the attendance management system 1 is used in a foreign country, the usage period of the time card may be a period other than one month depending on the customs of that country.

In the above embodiment, the employee ID is a unique number that is different for each employee, but the employee's biometric information, such as fingerprint information, can also be used as the employee ID.

In the above embodiment, the time recording system of the present invention is applied to an attendance management system that uses time cards, but the time recording system of the present invention can also be applied to attendance management systems that use IC cards, for example. Furthermore, the time recording system of the present invention is not limited to attendance management systems, but can be applied to various systems, such as entrance and exit management systems, that obtain the ID of an identification medium used by an individual from the identification medium, obtain time information indicating the time when the ID of the identification medium was read, and know the time when an individual performed a specific action based on the obtained ID of the identification medium and time information.

In the above embodiment, the manager issues a new time card after having the management device execute the new card registration process. However, in the time recording system of the present invention, the manager may not register the new card, and the employee may instead register the new card. Furthermore, if the card ID of the time card has a number of digits that will not overlap even over a reasonable period of time, or if the card ID of the new time card is managed in advance so that it will not overlap, neither the manager nor the employee may register the new card, and the employee may randomly start using the new time card.

The present invention may be modified as appropriate without going against the gist or concept of the invention as can be read from the claims and the entire specification, and time acquisition devices or time recording systems that involve such modifications are also included in the technical concept of the present invention.

The present invention can be used in attendance management systems that manage the attendance of employees working at companies, etc., and entrance/exit management systems that manage the entry and exit of rooms within a building, etc.

1. Attendance management system (time recording system)
2. Time recorder (time acquisition device)
3 Management device 4 Input/output device 12 Storage unit (storage device)
15 CPU
21: Stamp information generating unit (first memory control unit)
22 Employee attendance information generation unit (time information storage unit)
24 New card registration unit (second storage control unit, medium identification information registration unit)
25 Card usage application unit (second memory control unit, association forming unit)
26 Association status information generating unit 27 Association status information transmitting unit 32 Card insertion unit 34 Confirmation button (operation button)
35 Display unit 36 Speaker (audio output unit)
37 Imaging unit 38 Clock unit (time acquisition unit)
40 Card transport unit 41 Printing unit 42 Card code reading unit (medium information reading unit, card ID reading unit)
43 Vibration generating unit 44 Communication circuit (time information transmitting unit)
45 Memory unit 47 CPU (control unit)
51 Card ID reading control unit (medium information reading unit)
52 Time acquisition unit 55 Communication control unit (time information transmission unit)
56 Notification control unit 57 Association status information receiving unit

Claims (13)

a medium identification information reading unit that reads medium identification information of the identification medium from the identification medium;
a time acquisition unit that acquires a time when the medium identification information reading unit reads the medium identification information;
a time information transmission unit that transmits time information indicating the time acquired by the time acquisition unit to an external device together with the medium identification information read by the medium identification information reading unit;
a display unit that displays or outputs light to a user who uses the identification medium to record time;
A time acquisition device characterized by having a control unit that determines whether or not an association has been formed between the user identification information of the user and the medium identification information based on association status information indicating whether or not an association has been formed between the user identification information of the user and the medium identification information, and changes the display or light output by the display unit depending on the judgment result. The time acquisition device according to claim 1, characterized in that, if the result of the determination is that an association has been formed between the user identification information and the medium identification information, the control unit displays the user identification information of the user on the display unit. The time acquisition device according to claim 1, characterized in that, if the result of the determination is that an association between the user identification information and the medium identification information has not been formed, the control unit displays the medium identification information read by the medium identification information reading unit on the display unit. The time acquisition device according to claim 1, characterized in that the control unit blinks the display on the display unit when the result of the determination is that an association has not been formed between the user identification information and the medium identification information. The time acquisition device according to claim 1, characterized in that, if the result of the determination is that an association has not been formed between the user identification information and the medium identification information, the control unit displays a message on the display unit. a medium identification information reading unit that reads medium identification information of the identification medium from the identification medium;
a time acquisition unit that acquires a time when the medium identification information reading unit reads the medium identification information;
a time information transmission unit that transmits time information indicating the time acquired by the time acquisition unit to an external device together with the medium identification information read by the medium identification information reading unit;
a voice output unit that outputs a voice to a user who uses the identification medium to record the time;
A time acquisition device characterized by having a control unit that determines whether or not an association has been formed between the user identification information of the user and the medium identification information based on association status information indicating whether or not an association has been formed between the user identification information of the user and the medium identification information, and changes the audio output by the audio output unit in accordance with the determination result. The time acquisition device according to claim 6, characterized in that the control unit outputs an alarm via the audio output unit if the result of the determination is that an association between the user identification information and the medium identification information has not been formed. The time acquisition device according to claim 6, characterized in that, if the result of the determination is that an association between the user identification information and the medium identification information has not been formed, the control unit outputs a voice message via the voice output unit. a medium identification information reading unit that reads medium identification information of the identification medium from the identification medium;
a time acquisition unit that acquires a time when the medium identification information reading unit reads the medium identification information;
a time information transmission unit that transmits time information indicating the time acquired by the time acquisition unit to an external device together with the medium identification information read by the medium identification information reading unit;
a vibration generating unit that generates a vibration and notifies or warns a user who uses the identification medium to record time;
A time acquisition device characterized by having a control unit that determines whether or not an association has been formed between the user identification information of the user and the medium identification information based on association status information indicating whether or not an association has been formed between the user identification information of the user and the medium identification information, and changes the generation of vibration by the vibration generating unit in accordance with the determination result. a medium identification information reading unit that reads medium identification information of the identification medium from the identification medium;
a time acquisition unit that acquires a time when the medium identification information reading unit reads the medium identification information;
a time information transmission unit that transmits time information indicating the time acquired by the time acquisition unit to an external device together with the medium identification information read by the medium identification information reading unit;
an imaging unit that images a face of a user who uses the identification medium to record time;
A time acquisition device characterized by having a control unit that determines whether or not an association has been formed between the user identification information of the user and the medium identification information based on association status information indicating whether or not an association has been formed between the user identification information of the user and the medium identification information, and if an association has not been formed between the user identification information and the medium identification information, captures an image of the user's face by controlling the imaging unit. a card insertion section for inserting a time card;
a card transport unit that transports the time card inserted into the card insertion unit;
a time acquisition unit that acquires a time to be printed on the time card inserted into the card insertion unit;
a printing unit that prints the time acquired by the time acquisition unit on a time card inserted into the card insertion unit;
a card ID reading unit that reads a card ID of a time card from the time card inserted into the card insertion unit;
a time information transmission unit that transmits time information indicating the time acquired by the time acquisition unit to an external device together with the card ID read by the card ID reading unit;
A time acquisition device characterized by comprising a control unit that determines whether or not an association has been formed between the user identification information of the user using the time card and the card ID based on association status information indicating whether or not an association has been formed between the user identification information of the user using the time card and the card ID, and that changes the speed at which the time card on which the printing unit has printed the time is discharged from the card insertion unit depending on the result of the determination. 11. A time recording system comprising the time acquisition device according to claim 1 and a management device, the time acquired by the time acquisition device being recorded by the management device,
The management device includes:
a first storage control unit that associates the medium identification information and the time information transmitted from the time information transmission unit with each other and stores the association in a storage device provided in or connected to the management device;
a second storage control unit that associates medium identification information of an identification medium used by the user with user identification information of the user and stores the associated information in the storage device;
a time information storage unit that stores the time information transmitted from the time information transmission unit for each user based on the association between the medium identification information and the time information stored by the first storage control unit and the association between the medium identification information and the user identification information stored by the second storage control unit;
an association state information generating unit for generating the association state information;
an association state information transmission unit that transmits the association state information formed by the association state information generation unit to the time acquisition device;
The second storage control unit
a medium identification information registration unit that stores medium identification information of the identification medium in the storage device based on an operation of the management device;
an association forming unit that associates user identification information of the user with the medium identification information stored by the medium identification information registration unit based on an operation of an input/output device connected to the management device, and stores the user identification information of the user in the storage device;
A time recording system characterized in that the association status information generation unit generates the association status information by determining whether or not any of the user identification information stored by the association formation unit is associated with each medium identification information stored by the medium identification information registration unit. A time recording system comprising the time acquisition device according to claim 11 and a management device, the time acquired by the time acquisition device being recorded by the management device,
The management device includes:
a first storage control unit that associates the card ID and the time information transmitted from the time information transmission unit with each other and stores the associated card ID and the time information in a storage device provided in or connected to the management device;
a second storage control unit that associates a card ID of the time card used by the user with user identification information of the user and stores the associated card ID in the storage device;
a time information storage unit that stores the time information transmitted from the time information transmission unit for each user based on the association between the card ID and the time information stored by the first storage control unit and the association between the card ID and the user identification information stored by the second storage control unit;
an association state information generating unit for generating the association state information;
an association state information transmission unit that transmits the association state information formed by the association state information generation unit to the time acquisition device;
The second storage control unit
a card registration unit that stores a card ID of the time card in the storage device based on an operation of the management device;
an association forming unit that associates user identification information of the user with a card ID stored by the card registration unit based on an operation of an input/output device connected to the management device, and stores the associated user identification information in the storage device;
A time recording system characterized in that the association status information generation unit generates the association status information by determining whether or not any of the user identification information stored by the association formation unit is associated with each card ID stored by the card registration unit.

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