Reading system and reading method

Abstract

The present invention provides a reading system (S), which has a control device (6) mounted on a vehicle and a reading device (5) for reading a label of cargo arranged in a cargo hold of the vehicle, characterized in that the control device (6) has: a second determination unit (621) for determining that the door of the cargo hold is closed; and a displacement control unit (622) for displacing the cargo hold when the second determination unit (621) determines that the door of the cargo hold is closed; the reading device (5) has: a first determination unit (531) for determining that the door of the cargo hold is closed; and a label information acquisition unit (532) for acquiring identification information stored in the label through non-contact communication when the first determination unit (531) determines that the door of the cargo hold is closed.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a reading system and a reading method for reading information stored in a tag. Background Art

[0002] There is known a reader that reads information stored in a wireless IC tag attached to cargo through contactless communication and determines whether the cargo has been correctly loaded into a cargo hold of a vehicle based on the read information (for example, see Patent Document 1).

[0003] Prior art literature

[0004] Patent Literature

[0005] Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2005-320126 Summary of the Invention

[0006] Technical problem to be solved by the invention

[0007] The reading device described in Patent Document 1 may be unable to read information stored in a tag attached to an article if the orientation of the tag is inappropriate.

[0008] The present invention has been made in view of this point, and an object of the present invention is to provide a reading system or a reading method that can improve the reading accuracy of information stored in a tag.

[0009] Means used to solve problems

[0010] A first embodiment of a reading system of the present invention comprises a control device mounted on a vehicle and a reading device for reading a label of cargo arranged in a cargo hold of the vehicle, and is characterized in that the reading device comprises: a first determination unit for determining whether the door of the cargo hold is closed; and a label information acquisition unit for acquiring identification information stored in the label through contactless communication when the first determination unit determines that the door of the cargo hold is closed, and the control device comprises: a second determination unit for determining whether the door of the cargo hold is closed; and a displacement control unit for displacing the cargo hold according to the timing at which the label information acquisition unit acquires the identification information when the second determination unit determines that the door of the cargo hold is closed.

[0011] The displacement control unit may also cause the cargo hold to displace by tilting the cargo hold. The displacement control unit may also cause the cargo hold to displace by vibrating the cargo hold. The displacement control unit may also cause the cargo hold to displace by driving the vehicle's air suspension. The displacement control unit may also cause the cargo hold to displace by driving the vehicle's engine.

[0012] The control device may also include: an acquisition unit, which acquires indication information from a wireless terminal, wherein the indication information indicates that not all of the identification information contained in the list information has been acquired, and the list information indicates an overview of the identification information of the labels installed on multiple cargoes scheduled to be loaded in the cargo hold. The displacement control unit may also displace the cargo hold when the acquisition unit acquires the indication information.

[0013] A second embodiment of the reading system of the present invention comprises a control device mounted on a vehicle and a reading device for reading a label of cargo arranged in a cargo hold of the vehicle, and is characterized in that the control device comprises: a second determination unit for determining whether the door of the cargo hold is closed; and a displacement control unit for displacing the cargo hold when the second determination unit determines that the door of the cargo hold is closed, and the reading device comprises: a first determination unit for determining whether the door of the cargo hold is closed; and a label information acquisition unit for acquiring identification information stored in the label through contactless communication according to the timing of displacing the cargo hold by the displacement control unit when the first determination unit determines that the door of the cargo hold is closed.

[0014] The third-party reading method of the present invention is characterized in that it includes the following steps performed by a reading device for reading a tag of cargo arranged in a cargo hold of a vehicle: a step of determining that the door of the cargo hold is closed; and a step of obtaining identification information stored in the tag through non-contact communication when it is determined that the door of the cargo hold is closed, and also includes the following steps performed by a control device mounted on the vehicle: a step of determining that the door of the cargo hold is closed; and a step of displacing the cargo hold according to the timing of obtaining the identification information when it is determined that the door of the cargo hold is closed.

[0015] Effects of the Invention

[0016] According to the present invention, there is an effect of improving the reading accuracy of information stored in a tag. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0017] Figure 1 This is a diagram showing an overview of the reading system according to the first embodiment.

[0018] Figure 2 It is a diagram showing the internal structure of the reading system.

[0019] Figure 3 is a diagram showing the structure of a wireless terminal.

[0020] Figure 4 1 is a flowchart showing the tag reading process sequence executed by the reading system.

[0021] Figure 5It is a diagram showing the configuration of a control device according to a second embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0022] <First embodiment>

[0023] [Overview of the reading system]

[0024] Figure 1 This diagram schematically illustrates a reader system S according to a first embodiment. The reader system S includes a door 1, an opening / closing sensor 2, an air suspension 3, a communication element 4, a reader 5, and a control device 6. A vehicle 100 equipped with the reader system S is, for example, a truck having a cargo hold. The walls or ceiling of the cargo hold are constructed from metal plates.

[0025] The door 1 is used to carry cargo into the cargo compartment of the vehicle 100. Figure 1 In the figure, door 1 is indicated by a dotted line. An opening / closing sensor 2 detects whether door 1 is closed. Air suspension 3 is an air spring that adjusts the height of the cargo hold by adjusting the amount of air supplied from a compressor (not shown). Multiple air suspensions 3 are arranged at the rear of vehicle 100.

[0026] The communication element 4 is provided in the cargo hold of the vehicle 100. For example, the communication element 4 is provided at the side wall of the cargo hold. As an example, the communication element 4 is a coiled antenna. The communication element 4 reads a tag attached to the cargo in the cargo hold. The tag is, for example, an RFID (Radio Frequency IDentifier) tag that does not have a battery. Identification information for identifying the tag is stored in the tag. The identification information is, for example, a TID (Tag ID) or an EPC (Electronic Product Code). The communication element 4 supplies power for wireless communication to the tag through a non-contact power supply method such as an electric wave method, and receives identification information sent by the tag.

[0027] Multiple communication elements 4 are located in the cargo hold. By slightly staggering the timing of radio wave emission, these multiple communication elements 4 can suppress radio wave interference between the multiple communication elements 4 and enable tag reading to occur at approximately the same time. Furthermore, by slightly staggering the timing of communication with each of the multiple tags, the communication elements 4 can read multiple tags at approximately the same time.

[0028] Reading device 5 is, for example, an RFID reader. Reading device 5 reads tags attached to cargo placed in the cargo hold of vehicle 100 via communication element 4. Reading device 5 is connected to opening / closing sensor 2. Based on the detection result of opening / closing sensor 2, reading device 5 determines whether the cargo hold door is closed. If reading device 5 determines that the cargo hold door is closed, it reads the identification information stored in the tag via contactless communication.

[0029] The reader 5 is connected to an antenna element (not shown) provided outside the cargo hold. The reader 5 communicates with the wireless terminal 200 via the antenna element. For example, the reader 5 transmits identification information of the read tag to the wireless terminal 200.

[0030] The wireless terminal 200 is, for example, a smartphone. The wireless terminal 200 communicates with the reader 5. The wireless terminal 200 receives, from the reader 5, identification information of tags read by the reader 5. The wireless terminal 200 displays a list of the received identification information on the display unit.

[0031] The control device 6 is, for example, an ECU (Electronic Control Unit). The control device 6 is mounted on the vehicle 100. Like the reader 5, the control device 6 is connected to the opening / closing sensor 2. Based on the detection result of the opening / closing sensor 2, the control device 6 determines whether the cargo door is closed. If the control device 6 determines that the cargo door is closed, it displaces the cargo door of the vehicle 100 according to the timing of the tag reading by the reader 5. For example, the control device 6 displaces the cargo door of the vehicle 100 by driving the air suspension 3 or the like.

[0032] At this time, the direction of the radio wave emitted by the communication element 4 and the direction of the coil built into the tag change during the tag reading, and the coil temporarily becomes the direction suitable for receiving the radio wave. In this way, the control device 6 can improve the tag reading accuracy of the reader 5.

[0033] The reader 5 acquires identification information when the cargo hold door 1 is closed, thereby preventing the radio waves emitted by the communication element 4 from leaking outside the cargo hold. Consequently, the reader 5 can prevent the reader 5 from acquiring identification information from tags attached to cargo outside the cargo hold.

[0034] [Reading system structure]

[0035] Figure 2 is a diagram showing the internal structure of the reading system S. The reading system S includes an opening / closing sensor 2, an air suspension 3, a communication element 4, a reading device 5, and a control device 6. The reading device 5 includes a communication unit 51, a storage unit 52, and a control unit 53. The control device 6 includes a storage unit 61 and a control unit 62.

[0036] [Structure of Reading Device]

[0037] The communication unit 51 is a communication module for communicating with the wireless terminal 200 via the antenna element. The storage unit 52 is composed of, for example, ROM (Read Only Memory) and RAM (Random Access Memory). The storage unit 52 stores various programs and data used to enable the control unit 53 to function. The control unit 53 is, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit). The control unit 53 functions as the first determination unit 531, the tag information acquisition unit 532, and the communication control unit 533 by executing the programs stored in the storage unit 52.

[0038] The first determination unit 531 determines whether the cargo hold door 1 is closed based on the detection result of the opening and closing sensor 2. If the first determination unit 531 determines that the cargo hold door 1 is closed, the tag information acquisition unit 532 operates the communication element 4 during a predetermined reading period to acquire the identification information stored in the tag through non-contact communication via the communication element 4. If the first determination unit 531 determines that the cargo hold door 1 is not closed, the tag information acquisition unit 532 does not acquire the identification information stored in the tag. The communication control unit 533 communicates with the wireless terminal 200 via the communication unit 51. The communication control unit 533 transmits the identification information acquired by the tag information acquisition unit 532 to the wireless terminal 200. At this time, the communication control unit 533 transmits read start information indicating the start of reading at the beginning of the reading period, and sequentially transmits the multiple pieces of identification information acquired by the tag information acquisition unit 532 during the reading period.

[0039] [Structure of control device]

[0040] The storage unit 61 is composed of, for example, a ROM and a RAM. The storage unit 61 stores various programs and data for the control unit 62 to function. The control unit 62 functions as the second determination unit 621 and the displacement control unit 622 by executing the programs stored in the storage unit 61 .

[0041] Based on the detection result of the opening / closing sensor 2, the second determining unit 621 determines whether the cargo hold door 1 is closed. If the second determining unit 621 determines that the cargo hold door 1 is closed, the displacement control unit 622 displaces the cargo hold according to the timing of the tag reading by the communication element 4. For example, the displacement control unit 622 displaces the cargo hold by driving the air suspension 3 of the vehicle 100. More specifically, the displacement control unit 622 vibrates the cargo hold by increasing or decreasing the amount of air supplied to the air suspension 3. Alternatively, the cargo hold can be vibrated by driving the starter or engine (not shown) of the vehicle 100.

[0042] Furthermore, the displacement control unit 622 is not limited to the example of displacing the cargo hold by vibrating the cargo hold. The displacement control unit 622 may also displace the cargo hold by tilting the cargo hold. If the second determination unit 621 determines that the cargo hold door 1 is not closed, the displacement control unit 622 does not displace the cargo hold.

[0043] [Structure of wireless terminal]

[0044] Figure 3 2 is a diagram showing the configuration of the wireless terminal 200. The wireless terminal 200 includes a communication unit 21, a display unit 22, a storage unit 23, and a control unit 24.

[0045] The communication unit 21 is a communication module for communicating with the reading device 5 via wireless communication. The display unit 22 is a display for displaying various information. The storage unit 23 is composed of, for example, ROM and RAM. The storage unit 23 stores various programs and various data used to enable the control unit 24 to function.

[0046] The control unit 24 is, for example, a CPU. The control unit 24 executes various processes by executing programs stored in the storage unit 23. The control unit 24 communicates with the reader 5 via the communication unit 21. The control unit 24 receives, from the reader 5, identification information of multiple tags read by the reader 5 during a reading period. The control unit 24 displays a list of the received tag identification information on the display unit 22.

[0047] [Tag reading process sequence]

[0048] Figure 4 : is a flowchart showing the tag reading processing sequence performed by the reading system S. This processing sequence starts, for example, when the power is turned on to the reading device 5. First, the second determination unit 621 determines whether the door 1 of the cargo hold is closed based on the detection result of the opening and closing sensor 2 (S101). When the second determination unit 621 determines that the door 1 of the cargo hold is closed (Yes in S101), the displacement control unit 622 displaces the cargo hold (S102). The tag information acquisition unit 532 acquires the identification information stored in the tag through contactless communication (S103) and ends the processing. When the second determination unit 621 determines that the door 1 of the cargo hold is not closed in the judgment of S101 (No in S101), the displacement control unit 622 repeats the judgment of S101.

[0049] [Effects of the Reading System of the First Embodiment]

[0050] According to the first embodiment, the displacement control unit 622 displaces the cargo tag relative to the communication element 4 based on the timing at which the tag information acquisition unit 532 reads the tag. Therefore, the displacement control unit 622 can improve the tag reading accuracy of the tag information acquisition unit 532. Furthermore, the tag information acquisition unit 532 does not acquire identification information if the first determination unit 531 determines that the cargo hold door 1 is not closed. This can suppress the leakage of radio waves emitted by the communication element 4 to the outside of the cargo hold.

[0051] <Second embodiment>

[0052] In the second embodiment, an example will be described in which the displacement control unit displaces the cargo hold when the tag information acquisition unit 532 fails to acquire tag identification information as scheduled. The control unit 24 of the wireless terminal 200 communicates with the external device, the reader 5, and the control device 6 via the communication unit 21. The external device is, for example, a server owned by an administrator who manages the operation of the vehicle 100.

[0053] The control unit 24 obtains from an external device list information indicating a list of identification information of tags attached to a plurality of cargo items scheduled to be loaded in the cargo hold of the vehicle 100. For example, the control unit 24 obtains the list information from the external device when an application for displaying tag identification information is activated.

[0054] The control unit 24 acquires the tag identification information acquired by the tag information acquisition unit 532 from the reader 5. The control unit 24 sequentially receives the identification information of multiple tags from the reader 5 until the reading period that starts when the reading start signal is received from the reader 5 ends.

[0055] The control unit 24 determines whether the tag information acquisition unit 532 has fully acquired the identification information of the tags included in the list information acquired from the external device. If the control unit 24 determines that the tag information acquisition unit 532 has not yet completed acquiring the identification information of all the tags included in the list information, the control unit 24 transmits an indication to the reader 5 and the control unit 6 indicating that the tag information acquisition unit 532 has not yet completed acquiring all the identification information included in the list information. The control unit 24 displays a list of whether the tag information acquisition unit 532 has acquired the identification information included in the list information on the display unit 22. For example, the control unit 24 displays a list of which identification information of the plurality of identification information included in the list information the tag information acquisition unit 532 has acquired.

[0056] The tag information acquisition unit 532 of the reader 5 acquires instruction information from the wireless terminal 200. Upon acquiring the instruction information, the tag information acquisition unit 532 acquires the tag identification information again during the second reading period. The communication control unit 533 of the reader 5 transmits read start information to the wireless terminal 200, indicating that reading has begun at the start of the second reading period. The communication control unit 533 sequentially transmits the plurality of pieces of identification information acquired by the tag information acquisition unit 532 during the second reading period to the wireless terminal 200. As described above, the control unit 24 of the wireless terminal 200 displays a list on the display unit 22 indicating whether the tag information acquisition unit 532 has acquired the identification information included in the list information. The control unit 24 adds the tag identification information received during the second reading period, among the tag identification information not received during the first reading period, to the identification information acquired by the tag information acquisition unit 532 in the displayed list.

[0057] Figure 5 7 is a diagram showing the structure of the control device 6 of the second embodiment. The control device 6 includes a communication unit 701, a storage unit 61, and a control unit 62. The control unit 62 functions as a second determination unit 621, an acquisition unit 702, and a displacement control unit 703. Figure 2 The same functional blocks as those in the control device 6 are denoted by the same reference numerals and their descriptions are omitted.

[0058] Communication unit 701 is a communication module for communicating with wireless terminal 200. Acquisition unit 702 communicates with wireless terminal 200 via communication unit 701. Acquisition unit 702 acquires instruction information from wireless terminal 200, indicating that tag information acquisition unit 532 did not acquire identification information for all tags included in the list information during the first reading period. Acquisition unit 702 outputs the acquired instruction information to displacement control unit 703.

[0059] When the acquisition unit 702 acquires instruction information, the displacement control unit 703 displaces the cargo hold according to the timing when the tag information acquisition unit 532 acquires identification information again. On the other hand, when the acquisition unit 702 does not acquire instruction information, the displacement control unit 703 does not displace the cargo hold.

[0060] [Effects of the Reading System of the Second Embodiment]

[0061] According to the second embodiment, if the tag information acquisition unit 532 has not yet acquired all the tag identification information included in the list information, it reacquires the tag identification information during the second reading period. The displacement control unit 703 can improve the tag reading accuracy by displacing the cargo hold during the re-reading.

[0062] In the first and second embodiments, the tag information acquisition unit 532 acquires tag identification information immediately after the first determination unit 531 determines that the cargo hold door 1 is closed. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the tag information acquisition unit 532 may acquire tag identification information when the first determination unit 531 determines that the cargo hold door 1 is closed and the communication control unit 533 receives tag reading operation information from the wireless terminal 200. In this case, the displacement control unit 622 may also displace the cargo hold based on the timing at which the tag information acquisition unit 532 acquires the identification information.

[0063] [Modification]

[0064] According to the first embodiment, an example of a case where the displacement control unit 622 displaces the cargo tag relative to the communication element 4 based on the timing at which the tag information acquisition unit 532 reads the tag has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the displacement control unit 622 displaces the cargo hold when the second determination unit 621 determines that the cargo hold door is closed. Alternatively, when the first determination unit 531 detects that the cargo hold door 1 is closed, the tag information acquisition unit 532 reads the identification information stored in the tag through contactless communication based on the timing at which the displacement control unit 622 displaces the cargo tag relative to the communication element 4. In this way, the tag information acquisition unit 532 can improve the reading accuracy of the tag.

[0065] While the present invention has been described above using embodiments, the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the scope described in the above embodiments, and various modifications and alterations can be made within the scope of its main purpose. For example, all or part of the device can be functionally or physically distributed / integrated in arbitrary units. In addition, new embodiments generated by any combination of multiple embodiments are also included in the embodiments of the present invention. The effects of the new embodiments generated by the combination have the effects of the original embodiments.

[0066] Description of Reference Numerals

[0067] 1 door

[0068] 2 Open / Close Sensors

[0069] 3 Air suspension

[0070] 4 Communication components

[0071] 5 Reading device

[0072] 6 Control device

[0073] 21 Ministry of Communications

[0074] 22 Display unit

[0075] 23 Storage

[0076] 24 Control Department

[0077] 51 Ministry of Communications

[0078] 52 Storage

[0079] 53 Control Department

[0080] 61 Storage

[0081] 62 Control Department

[0082] 100 vehicles

[0083] 200 Wireless Terminal

[0084] 531 First Determination Department

[0085] 532 Tag Information Acquisition Department

[0086] 533 Communication Control Department

[0087] 621 Second Determination Department

[0088] 622 Displacement Control Unit

[0089] 701 Ministry of Communications

[0090] 702 Acquisition Department

[0091] 703 Displacement Control Unit.

Claims

1. A reading system comprising a control device mounted on a vehicle and a reading device for reading a tag of cargo placed in a cargo hold of the vehicle, characterized in that: The reading device comprises: A first determining unit, configured to determine whether the door of the cargo hold is closed; and a tag information acquiring unit that acquires identification information stored in the tag through contactless communication via a communication element provided in the cargo hold when the first determining unit determines that the cargo hold door is closed; The control device has: a second determining unit, determining whether the door of the cargo hold is closed; as well as The displacement control unit changes the position of the cargo hold relative to the main body of the vehicle according to the timing of the tag information acquisition unit acquiring the identification information when the second determination unit determines that the door of the cargo hold is closed, so that the relationship between the position of the communication element and the position of the tag changes.

2. The reading system according to claim 1, wherein: The displacement control unit displaces the cargo hold by tilting the cargo hold.

3. The reading system according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that The displacement control unit displaces the cargo hold by vibrating the cargo hold.

4. The reading system according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that The displacement control unit displaces the cargo space by driving an air suspension of the vehicle.

5. The reading system according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The displacement control unit displaces the cargo hold by driving an engine of the vehicle.

6. The reading system according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that The control device further includes an acquisition unit configured to acquire, from a wireless terminal, indication information indicating that not all of the identification information included in the list information has been acquired, the list information being a list of identification information attached to a plurality of cargoes scheduled to be loaded in the cargo hold; The displacement control unit displaces the cargo hold when the acquisition unit acquires the instruction information.

7. A reading system comprising a control device mounted on a vehicle and a reading device for reading a tag of cargo placed in a cargo hold of the vehicle, characterized in that: The control device has: a second determining unit, determining whether the door of the cargo hold is closed; and a displacement control unit that displaces the cargo hold when the second determination unit determines that the door of the cargo hold is closed, The reading device comprises: a first determining unit, determining whether the door of the cargo hold is closed; as well as a tag information acquisition unit that, when the first determination unit determines that the door of the cargo hold is closed, acquires the identification information stored in the tag through non-contact communication using a communication element provided in the cargo hold and according to the timing of the displacement control unit causing the cargo hold to be displaced; When the second determination unit determines that the door of the cargo hold is closed, the displacement control unit changes the position of the cargo hold relative to the main body of the vehicle according to the timing of the tag information acquisition unit acquiring the identification information, so that the relationship between the position of the communication element and the position of the tag changes.

8. A reading method, characterized in that: The method comprises the following steps performed by a reading device for reading a tag of cargo arranged in a cargo compartment of a vehicle: the step of determining that the door of the cargo hold is closed; and When it is determined that the door of the cargo hold is closed, the communication element provided in the cargo hold acquires the identification information stored in the tag through contactless communication, Furthermore, the method further includes the following steps executed by a control device mounted on the vehicle: the step of determining that the door of the cargo hold is closed; and The step of changing the position of the cargo hold according to the timing of acquiring the identification information when it is determined that the door of the cargo hold is closed, so as to change the relationship between the position of the communication element and the position of the tag.

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