JP7580187B2 - Item information reader - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an item information reader that reads the identification information of a large number of RF (Radio Frequency) tagged items placed on a delivery tray.

Devices and systems for simultaneously reading the identification information of RF tags attached to multiple items are known, for example, from the following patent documents 1 to 5:

JP 2015-229577 A JP 2016-76051 A JP 2001-31218 A JP 2019-67454 A Patent No. 6240283

However, it has long been known that when a large number of RF tagged items are randomly placed on a delivery tray, it is difficult to read the identification information of all the items at once without missing anything. However, the devices and systems in Patent Documents 1 to 5 do not fully solve these problems, or do not solve them easily.

The present invention aims to provide an article information reader that can easily and sufficiently solve the above problems.

The present invention relates to an article information reader that reads identification information registered in the RF tags of a large number of RF tagged articles placed on a delivery platform by irradiating radio waves from an antenna to the articles,
A rectangular parallelepiped reading chamber;
A number of the antennas are provided on the upper and lower walls, right and left walls of the reading chamber,
the antenna provided on the upper wall and the antenna provided on the lower wall include at least the antennas arranged in a positional relationship that is not opposed to each other vertically,
The antenna provided on the right side wall and the antenna provided on the left side wall include at least the antennas that are arranged in a positional relationship that does not face each other on the left and right.
It is characterized by the following.

According to the present invention, a wide range of radio wave irradiation from the antenna in the reading room can be ensured, so that the identification information of a large number of RF tagged items placed randomly on a delivery tray can be read all at once without missing any, improving the workability of item management.

1 is an external perspective view of an article information reader according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the internal structure of the reader. FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a reader. 1 is a front view showing a large number of RF tagged items placed on a wagon, which are to be read by a reader. FIG. 5 is a view taken along the arrow V in FIG. 4 . FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the open front wall. FIG. 7 is a perspective view taken along the line VII in FIG. FIG. 8 is a perspective view taken along the line VIII in FIG. 1 . FIG. 3 is an enlarged view taken along the line IX in FIG. 2 . XX cross-sectional view of FIG. 2. FIG. 1 is a perspective view taken along the line XI in FIG. FIG. 1 is a perspective view taken along the line XII in FIG. FIG. 1 is a perspective view taken along the line XIII in FIG. FIG. 1 is a perspective view taken along the line XIV in FIG.

Figure 1 is an external perspective view of an article information reader 10 of the present invention. Figure 2 is a perspective view showing the internal structure of the reader 10. Figure 3 is a block diagram of the reader 10. This reader 10 comprises a rectangular parallelepiped reading chamber 1, a number of antennas 2 arranged in the reading chamber 1, a controller unit 3 to which the antennas 2 are connected, and a control unit 4 to which the controller unit 3 is connected. The control unit 4 is provided, for example, in an external computer.

Figure 4 is a front view showing a number of RF tagged items placed on a wagon 6 (delivery platform) which are to be read by the reader 10. Figure 5 is a view seen from the V arrow in Figure 4. Here, the RF tagged items are mats 71 randomly stacked on the loading surface 61 of the wagon 6, and mops 73 randomly stored in multiple cases 72 placed on the mats 71. An RF tag (not shown) is attached to each of the mats 71 and the mops 73. Identification information for each of the mats 71 and the mops 73 is preregistered in the RF tags. Any known RF tags can be used.

The reading chamber 1 has an upper wall 11, a lower wall 12, a right side wall 13, a left side wall 14, a front wall 15, and a rear wall 16, and is rectangular in shape. The upper wall 11 is constructed by covering the upper frame body 1A with a sheet body, the lower wall 12 is constructed by laying a sheet body across the lower frame 101 of the right frame body 1B and the lower frame 102 of the left frame body 1C, the right side wall 13 is constructed by covering the right side frame body 1B with a sheet body, the left side wall 14 is constructed by covering the left side frame body 1C with a sheet body, the front wall 15 is constructed by providing a sheet body across the front frame 103 of the right side frame body 1B, the front frame 104 of the left side frame body 1C, and the front frame 105 of the upper frame body 1A, and the rear wall 16 is constructed by providing a sheet body across the rear frame 106 of the right side frame body 1B, the rear frame 107 of the left side frame body 1C, and the rear frame 108 of the upper frame body 1A.

The sheets constituting the upper wall 11, the lower wall 12, the right side wall 13, and the left side wall 14 are made of a radio wave reflector, and the sheets constituting the front wall 15 and the rear wall 16 are made of a radio wave absorber. As the radio wave reflector, for example, a metal sheet, preferably an aluminum sheet, can be used. As the radio wave absorber, for example, a shield mesh can be used.

Furthermore, the front wall 15 and the rear wall 16 are configured to be openable and closable from the center to the left and right as shown in FIG. 6. The front wall 15 and the rear wall 16 are configured to open and close so that a wagon 6 carrying a large number of RF tagged articles can pass through. Thus, the reading chamber 1 is configured so that a wagon 6 carrying a large number of RF tagged articles can enter through the front wall 15 and exit through the rear wall 16.

As the antenna 2, a circularly polarized antenna is preferably used, but a linearly polarized antenna may also be used. Furthermore, as the frequency band of the radio waves transmitted from the antenna 2, the UHF band is preferably used, but the LF band, HF band, or microwave band may also be used.

A large number of antennas 2 are provided on an upper wall 11, a lower wall 12, a right side wall 13, and a left side wall 14. More specifically, they are as follows.
(a) In the upper wall 11, one antenna 2 is provided facing downward in the middle of the middle frame 109 extending forward and backward from the upper frame 1A, and in the lower wall 12, one antenna 2 is provided facing upward in approximately the center. However, as shown in Fig. 7, which is a perspective view taken along arrow VII in Fig. 1, the antenna 2 on the upper wall 11 and the antenna 2 on the lower wall 12 are arranged in a positional relationship in which they do not face each other vertically. Here, as shown in Fig. 7, the antenna 2 on the upper wall 11 and the antenna 2 on the lower wall 12 are arranged so as to be shifted from each other in the front-rear and left-right directions.

(b) On the right side wall 13, three antennas 2 are arranged vertically in a middle frame 110 extending vertically from the right side frame body 1B, and on the left side wall 14, three antennas 2 are arranged vertically in a middle frame 111 extending vertically from the left side frame body 1C. However, the antennas 2 on the right side wall 13 and the antennas 2 on the left side wall 14 are arranged in a positional relationship in which they do not face each other horizontally. Here, the antennas 2 on the right side wall 13 and the antennas 2 on the left side wall 14 are arranged with a mutual shift in the front-to-back direction as shown in FIG. 7, and are also arranged with a mutual shift in the vertical direction as shown in FIG. 8, which is a perspective view taken along the line VIII in FIG. 1.

The antenna 2 is provided so that its position can be adjusted. Specifically, this is as follows.
(1) The left/right and front/rear position of the antenna 2 is adjustable on the upper wall 11. Specifically, the middle frame 109 is slidable left/right relative to the front frame 105 and the rear frame 108 by the first slide structure A, which allows the left/right position of the antenna 2 to be adjusted, and further, the antenna 2 is slidable back/forth relative to the middle frame 109 by the second slide structure B, which allows the front/rear position of the antenna 2 to be adjusted.

(2) The antenna 2 is simply placed on the lower wall 12, so its left/right and front/back positions can be freely adjusted.

(3) On the right side wall 13, the antenna 2 is adjustable in its front-to-rear and up-to-down position. Specifically, the middle frame 110 is slidable back and forth relative to the upper frame 112 and the lower frame 101 by the first slide structure A, which allows the antenna 2 to be adjusted in its front-to-rear position, and the antenna 2 is slidable up and down relative to the middle frame 110 by the second slide structure B, which allows the antenna 2 to be adjusted in its up-to-down position.

(4) On the left side wall 14, as on the right side wall 13, the antenna 2 is adjustable in its front-to-rear and up-to-down position. Specifically, the middle frame 111 is able to slide front-to-rear relative to the upper frame 113 and the lower frame 102 by the first slide structure A, which allows the antenna 2 to be adjusted in its front-to-rear position, and further, the antenna 2 is able to slide up-to-down relative to the middle frame 111 by the second slide structure B, which allows the antenna 2 to be adjusted in its up-to-down position.

The first sliding structure A is composed of a T-shaped pipe and a fixing screw. In the first sliding structure A, for example, taking the right side wall 13 as an example, as shown in FIG. 9, which is an enlarged view of arrow IX in FIG. 2, the main pipe 811 of the T-shaped pipe 81 is slidably fitted onto the upper frame 112, the end of the middle frame 110 is fitted into the branch pipe 812 of the T-shaped pipe 81, and the main pipe 811 is fixed to the upper frame 112 by the fixing screw 82.

The second sliding structure B is configured by a clamping section provided on the back side of the antenna 2. In the second sliding structure B, for example, taking the right side wall 13 as an example, as shown in FIG. 10, which is the X-X cross-sectional view of FIG. 2, a clamping section 84 consisting of a fixed plate 841, a movable plate 842, and a connecting rod 843 is provided on the back side of the antenna 2, and the movable plate 842 is fixed to the fixed plate 841 by tightening the connecting rod 843 with the middle frame 110 sandwiched between the movable plate 842 and the fixed plate 841.

The operation of the article information reader 10 having the above configuration will now be described.
First, the wagon 6 carrying a large number of RF tagged mats 71 and RF tagged mops 73 is opened, and carried into the reading chamber 1, and the front wall 15 is closed. Next, when a start button (not shown) is pressed, the control unit 4 is operated, and the controller unit 3 causes the antenna 2 to transmit radio waves. That is, radio waves are emitted from the antenna 2. Next, the RF tags of the mats 71 and the mops 73 carried on the wagon 6 receive the radio waves from the antenna 2 and transmit signals of the registered identification information. Next, the antenna 2 receives the transmitted signals of the identification information. Then, the received signals of the identification information are processed in the control unit 4 via the controller unit 3. Examples of the processing in the control unit 4 include acquisition processing of individual numbers, product codes, etc. of the mats 71 and the mops 73.

The article information reader 10 having the above-described configuration can provide the following effects.
(1) The antenna 2 on the upper wall 11 and the antenna 2 on the lower wall 12 are arranged in a positional relationship such that they are not opposed to each other vertically, and the antenna 2 on the right side wall 13 and the antenna 2 on the left side wall 14 are arranged in a positional relationship such that they are not opposed to each other horizontally, so that a wide range of radio wave irradiation from the antenna 2 in the reading room 1 can be secured. Therefore, it becomes possible to read the identification information of the RF tags of the numerous mats 71 and mops 73 randomly placed on the wagon 6 without omission, i.e., all of them at once, thereby improving the operability of item management.

For example, Fig. 11, which is a perspective view of the XI arrow in Fig. 1, and Fig. 12, which is a perspective view of the XII arrow in Fig. 1, show the radio wave irradiation range W1 by the antenna 2 on the upper wall 11 and the radio wave irradiation range W2 by the antenna 2 on the lower wall 12, and Fig. 13, which is a perspective view of the XIII arrow in Fig. 1, and Fig. 14, which is a perspective view of the XIV arrow in Fig. 1, show the radio wave irradiation range W3 by the antenna 2 on the right side wall 13 and the radio wave irradiation range W4 by the antenna 2 on the left side wall 14. In this way, according to the article information reader 10 of the above configuration, the overlapping area of the radio wave irradiation ranges from each antenna 2 can be reduced. Therefore, the total of the radio wave irradiation ranges W1 and W2 can be maximized in the front-rear and left-right directions, and the total of the radio wave irradiation ranges W3 and W4 can be maximized in the front-rear and up-down directions, that is, the radio wave irradiation range from the antenna 2 can be maximized. This makes it possible to read the identification information of the RF tags of the numerous mats 71 and mops 73 that are randomly placed on the wagon 6 more reliably and simultaneously. Note that in Figures 11 to 14, the area S where the items, i.e., the mats 71 and mops 73, are placed is surrounded by a two-dot chain line.

(2) The sheets constituting the upper wall 11, the lower wall 12, the right side wall 13, and the left side wall 14 are made of radio wave reflectors, so that the radio waves emitted from the antenna 2 can be reflected by these walls. This also makes it possible to expand the radio wave irradiation range.

(3) The sheet body constituting the front wall 15 and the rear wall 16 is made of a radio wave absorber, so that it is possible to prevent radio waves emitted from the antenna 2 from leaking from the front wall 15 and the rear wall 16. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the RF tags of mats and mops placed outside the reading room 1 from being read erroneously.

(4) A wagon 6 loaded with a large number of RF tagged mats 71 and mops 73 can enter through the front wall 15 and exit through the rear wall 16, improving the ease of reading and therefore the ease of managing items.

(5) The antenna 2 is provided on the upper wall 11, the lower wall 12, the right side wall 13, and the left side wall 14 in such a way that its position can be adjusted, so that the range of radio wave irradiation from the antenna 2 can be easily maximized.

(Example)
When reading was performed with the following specifications, the identification information of all mats 71 and mops 73 could be obtained all at once.
・Reading Room 1
Height 200cm, width 210cm, depth 180cm
・Antenna 2 type:
Manufactured by Maspro Denko Co., Ltd. Product number: RAF2031
Name: RFID planar antenna ・Arrangement of antenna 2 (relative to antenna center point)
Upper wall 11: Front-rear position; 98 cm from the front, 82 cm from the rear
Left/right position: 73cm from left, 57cm from right
Lower wall 12: Front-to-rear position; 82 cm from the front, 98 cm from the rear
Left and right position: 57cm from left, 73cm from right
Right side wall 13: Front-rear position; 75 cm from the front, 105 cm from the rear
Vertical position: 40cm, 83cm, 125cm from the bottom
Left side wall 14: Front-rear position; 105 cm from the front, 75 cm from the rear
Vertical position: 50cm, 93cm, 135cm from the bottom
Control unit 4
・Irradiation conditions for antenna 2: 916.8MHz to 920.4MHz
・Item placement range ・Height: 25cm to 170cm
Width: Within 40 cm from the center to the left and right Depth: Within 55 cm from the center to the front and back Items on Wagon 6 Mat 71: Dimensions 75 cm x 90 cm, 150 pieces Mop 73: 350 pieces

(Modification)
The article information reader of the present invention may optionally employ one or more of the following modified configurations.
(a) The upper wall 11 and the lower wall 12 may be provided with antennas 2 arranged in an opposing relationship in addition to the antennas 2 arranged in a non-opposing relationship above and below.

(b) The right side wall 13 and the left side wall 14 may be provided with antennas 2 arranged in opposing positions in addition to antennas 2 arranged in a non-opposing positional relationship on the left and right.

(c) The sheet material constituting the front wall 15 and/or rear wall 16 may be made of a radio wave reflector or simply cloth.

(d) RF tagged items are not limited to mats and mops, but may also include cloths, water purifier cartridges, etc.

(e) The number of antennas 2 provided on the upper wall 11 and the lower wall 12 is not limited to one, but may be two or more.

(f) The number of antennas 2 provided on the right side wall 13 and the left side wall 14 is not limited to three, but may be one, two, or four or more.

The article information reader of the present invention is of great industrial value because it can easily read the identification information of all RF tagged articles that are randomly placed on a delivery tray, all at once and without missing anything.

1 Reading room 2 Antenna 6 Wagon (delivery stand)
10 Article information reader 11 Upper wall 12 Lower wall 13 Right side wall 14 Left side wall 15 Front wall 16 Rear wall 71 Mat (article)
73 Mop (item)

Claims (4)

An article information reader that irradiates radio waves from an antenna onto a number of RF tagged articles placed on a delivery platform to read identification information registered in the RF tags of the articles,
A rectangular parallelepiped reading chamber;
The reading chamber includes one or more antennas provided on an upper wall and a lower wall, and one or more antennas provided on a right side wall and a left side wall,
the antenna provided on the upper wall and the antenna provided on the lower wall include at least the antennas arranged in a positional relationship that is not opposed to each other vertically,
the antenna provided on the right side wall and the antenna provided on the left side wall include at least the antennas that are arranged in a positional relationship that is not opposed to each other in the left-right direction ,
the upper wall, the lower wall, the right side wall, and the left side wall of the reading chamber are made of radio wave reflectors;
The front wall and the rear wall of the reading chamber are made of a radio wave absorber,
The front wall and the rear wall of the reading chamber are openable and closable so that the delivery table carrying the article can pass through,
The reading chamber is configured so that the delivery table enters from the front wall and exits from the rear wall.
An article information reader characterized by the above. the antennas are provided on the upper wall and the lower wall and are arranged so as not to face each other vertically, and are arranged so that the total of the radio wave irradiation ranges of the antennas is maximized in the front-rear direction and the left-right direction;
The antennas are provided on the right side wall and the left side wall and are arranged so as not to face each other in the left-right direction, and are arranged so that the total of the radio wave irradiation ranges of the antennas is maximized in the front-rear direction and the up-down direction.
2. The article information reader according to claim 1 . The antennas provided on the upper wall and the lower wall are provided so that their front-rear and left-right positions can be adjusted,
The antennas provided on the right side wall and the left side wall are provided so that their front-rear and up-down positions can be adjusted.
3. An article information reader according to claim 1 or 2 . The front wall and the rear wall of the reading chamber are made of a sheet body.
2. The article information reader according to claim 1.

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