Position management device and position management method

Abstract

To manage the floor position of materials and equipment.SOLUTION: The position management device includes a position information management unit configured to, when identification information of an IC tag attached to a management target is acquired from a first information acquisition unit provided on a first floor of the floors and then the identification information is acquired from a second information acquisition unit provided on a second floor different from the first floor, write the identification information and position information indicating the second floor in a storage unit in association with each other.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a location management device and a location management method. [Background technology]

[0002] A large number of pieces of equipment are used at construction sites. Examples of the equipment used include aerial work platforms, submersible pumps, fans, batteries, floodlights, and the like. Construction companies and the like may own such equipment or rent it from rental or leasing companies and use it at construction sites to carry out work, etc. Management devices for managing such equipment and materials have also been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1). It is also conceivable to use IC tags as management devices for managing equipment and materials. That is, IC tags that associate identification information with management numbers are prepared, and the IC tags are attached to the equipment and materials, and the equipment and materials are managed by reading the IC tags with a handheld reader. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2007-058809 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] To manage materials and equipment using IC tags, the IC tags must be scanned manually with a handheld reader. Furthermore, the floor number on which the materials and equipment are used must be manually entered by the worker, raising concerns about input errors. While there is technology to attach beacons to materials and equipment and manage their precise locations with receivers installed on each floor, this requires the introduction of beacons and receivers, and also increases the effort required for installing the beacons and receivers and managing their batteries.

[0005] In view of the above-mentioned problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a location management device and a location management method that can manage the floor locations of materials and equipment. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, one aspect of the present invention is a location management device in which information acquisition units are provided on at least two different floors in a building, and which is communicatively connected to each of the information acquisition units, and the location management device has a location information management unit that acquires identification information of an IC tag attached to a managed object from a first information acquisition unit provided on a first floor of the floors, and then acquires the identification information from a second information acquisition unit provided on a second floor different from the first floor, and then associates the identification information with location information representing the second floor and writes the associated information into a memory unit.

[0007] Another aspect of the present invention is a location management method executed by a computer in which information acquisition units are provided on at least two different floors in a building and which is communicatively connected to each of the information acquisition units, the location management method including: acquiring identification information of an IC tag attached to a managed object from a first information acquisition unit provided on a first floor of the floors; acquiring the identification information from a second information acquisition unit provided on a second floor different from the first floor; and then correlating the identification information with location information representing the second floor and writing the associated information into a memory unit. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] According to the present invention, when managing materials and equipment using IC tags, floor locations can be managed without manual input. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram showing an overview of a construction machine management system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2]1 is an explanatory diagram of an information acquisition unit in a construction machine management system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 3] 1 is a block diagram showing functions of a materials and equipment management server in a construction machinery management system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of the operation of the construction machine management system according to the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 5] 1 is a diagram showing an example of a display of management information of materials and equipment in a construction machinery management system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. [Figure 6] 4 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a floor level acquisition process in the construction machine management system according to the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 7] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an overview of a construction machine management system according to a second embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0010] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. First Embodiment Fig. 1 is a diagram showing an overview of a construction machinery management system 1 according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The construction machinery management system 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention is used to manage materials and equipment at a construction site. Here, an example in which the system is applied to a construction site of a three-story building will be described.

[0011] In Figure 1, equipment 10 is an object to be managed in this embodiment. The equipment 10 is equipment owned by a construction company working at a construction site, or equipment rented from a rental company or leasing company. In this example, three aerial work vehicles are shown as the equipment 10. As long as the equipment 10 is an object whose location is to be managed, it may be borrowed, owned by the construction company, or owned by another person for which location management has been entrusted.

[0012] An IC tag 20 is attached to each equipment or material 10. The IC tag 20 stores identification information for uniquely identifying each equipment or material 10. This identification information is associated with the equipment or material's management number. Therefore, it is possible to identify the equipment or material to be managed (for example, the equipment or material) based on the identification information.

[0013] The elevator 30 is temporarily installed to transport construction materials. The elevator 30's car 31 has its ascent and descent controlled by an elevator control device 32 (a PLC (Programmable Logic Controller) panel). In this embodiment, the elevator 30's car 31 is equipped with an information acquisition unit 40 and an antenna 41. The antenna 41 is a high-gain antenna that transmits and receives radio waves to and from the IC tags 20 attached to the materials and equipment 10. The information acquisition unit 40 is set to read the interior of the car 31, and can acquire identification information from the IC tags 20 of the materials and equipment 10 inside the car 31. The information acquisition unit 40 can also acquire floor information indicating the floor on which the car 31 is located from the elevator control device 32. The information acquisition unit 40 can communicate with a materials and equipment management server 50 via a network 60.

[0014] Fig. 2 is an explanatory diagram of the information acquisition unit 40 in the construction machinery management system 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Fig. 2, the information acquisition unit 40 includes an RFID (Radio Frequency Identifier) ​​reader 42 (second acquisition unit), an information input unit 43 (first acquisition unit), a control unit (position management unit) 44, a storage unit 45, and a communication unit 46.

[0015] The RFID reader 42 reads the identification information of the IC tag 20 from the signal received by the antenna 41. The information input unit 43 inputs floor information from the elevator control device 32.

[0016] The control unit 44 is composed of, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and performs various processes based on programs. In this embodiment, the control unit 44 performs processing as a location management unit that associates and stores the identification information from the IC tag 20 acquired from the RFID reader 42 with the floor information acquired from the information input unit 43.

[0017] The storage unit 45 is realized by a combination of RAM (Random Access Memory), ROM (Read Only Memory), EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable ROM), SSD (Solid State Drive), etc. In this embodiment, the storage unit 45 stores identification information and floor information in association with each other.

[0018] The communication unit 46 transmits information to the equipment and materials management server 50 via the network 60. As the communication unit 46, various types of networks can be used, such as a wired LAN (Local Area Network), a wireless LAN, or a mobile communication network such as LTE (Long Term Evolution).

[0019] 1, a materials and equipment management server 50 manages the operating status of each of the materials and equipment 10 to be managed. The materials and equipment management server 50 is capable of communicating with an information acquisition unit 40 via a network 60.

[0020] 3 is a block diagram showing the functions of the equipment management server 50 in the construction machinery management system according to the first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 3, the equipment management server 50 includes a control unit 51, a storage unit 52, a display unit 53, an input unit 54, and a communication unit 55.

[0021] The control unit 51 is made up of a CPU and the like, and performs various processes based on programs. The memory unit 52 is realized by a combination of RAM, ROM, EEPROM, SSD, and the like. The memory unit 52 is provided with a lending / returning information area 56 and a location information area 57. The lending / returning information area 56 stores, in association with identification information, the name of the owning company (for example, the name of the company if the owner is the company itself, or the name of the rental company if the owner is a rental company), the machine name, the using company, the lending date, the expected return date, etc. The location information area 57 stores, in association with identification information, floor information for each equipment or material 10.

[0022] The display unit 53 is made up of a liquid crystal display or the like and displays management information for materials and equipment. The input unit 54 is made up of a mouse and keyboard and accepts input from the administrator. The communication unit 55 communicates with the information acquisition unit 40 via the network 60.

[0023] As described above, in the construction machinery management system 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention, the information acquisition unit 40 is attached to the car 31 of the elevator 30. The information acquisition unit 40 can acquire identification information from the IC tag 20 of the equipment or material 10 in the car 31 and floor information from the elevator control device 32. This makes it possible to manage the location of the floor on which each equipment or material 10 is being used.

[0024] 4 is an explanatory diagram of the operation of the construction machinery management system 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. Here, the processing in each process at each time is shown for an example in which equipment 10 on the first floor is transported to the third floor in the car 31 of the elevator 30 and the equipment 10 is used on the third floor.

[0025] In Figure 4, at time T1, the equipment 10 is on the first floor, and the car 31 of the elevator 30 is called to the first floor and arrives. The antenna 41 of the car 31 cannot receive a signal unless the IC tag 20 is within the range of the car 31. Therefore, before the equipment 10 is stored in the car 31, the antenna 41 cannot receive a signal from the IC tag 20.

[0026] Next, at time T2, it is assumed that the equipment 10 is stored in the basket 31. When the equipment 10 is stored in the basket 31, the antenna 41 becomes able to receive a signal from the IC tag 20, and the information acquisition unit 40 acquires the identification information of the equipment 10. The information acquisition unit 40 also acquires floor information indicating the "first floor" from the elevator control device 32. The information acquisition unit 40 associates the acquired identification information of the equipment 10 with the floor information of "first floor" acquired from the elevator control device 32 and stores them in the memory unit 45.

[0027] Next, at time T3, assume that the equipment 10 is loaded into the car 31 and transported to the destination floor, the third floor. When the car 31 reaches the destination floor, the elevator control device 32 outputs floor information indicating the "third floor," and the information acquisition unit 40 acquires the floor information for the "third floor." The floor information for the "first floor" that had been stored in the memory unit 45 until then is rewritten with the floor information for the "third floor" acquired this time from the elevator control device 32. The information acquisition unit then associates the identification information with the floor information for the "third floor," and transmits this to the equipment management server 50 via the network 60.

[0028] Next, assume that at time T4, the equipment 10 is unloaded from the basket 31 on the third floor. When the equipment 10 is unloaded from the basket 31, the antenna 41 is no longer able to receive the signal from the IC tag 20, and the information acquisition unit 40 is no longer able to acquire the identification information. In this case, the floor information and identification information are acquired and stored in the memory unit 45 when the basket 31 arrives at the third floor, so it is known that the equipment 10 has been carried into the "third floor." Furthermore, when the car 31 lands on the fourth floor at time T5 and processing is performed to obtain floor information and identification information, the floor information is obtained, but the identification information of the IC tag 20 is not obtained. Therefore, the state in which the floor to which the material or equipment 10 has been carried in is stored in the memory unit 45 as being the "third floor" can be maintained.

[0029] In this way, the information acquisition unit 40 acquires the identification information when it receives a signal from the IC tag 20, acquires floor information from the elevator control device 32 when it has been able to acquire information from the IC tag 20, stores the identification information and floor information in association with each other, and transmits the information to the equipment and materials management server 50. This makes it possible to manage the floor location of each equipment or material 10.

[0030] Fig. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the display of equipment management information in the construction machinery management system according to the first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Fig. 5, the display unit 53 of the equipment management server 50 displays the floor on which each equipment 10 is used. Here, each equipment 10 is indicated by its high-value vehicle license plate number. When the display of each equipment 10 is clicked on the screen of the display unit 53, information about each equipment 10 is displayed. This information can be generated by associating the lending / returning information area 56 with the location information area 57.

[0031] FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a floor level acquisition process in the construction machine management system 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

[0032] (Step S101) The information acquisition unit 40 determines, from the information of the elevator control device 32, whether or not the car 31 has stopped at the called floor.

[0033] (Step S102) The information acquisition unit 40 determines whether or not the antenna 41 can receive a signal from the IC tag 20 of the equipment or material 10. If the information acquisition unit 40 determines that the antenna 41 can receive a signal from the IC tag 20 of the equipment or material 10 (Step S102: Yes), the processing proceeds to Step S103.

[0034] (Step S103) The information acquiring unit 40 acquires floor information from the information of the elevator control device 32.

[0035] (Step S104) The information acquisition unit 40 acquires the identification information of the IC tag 20 from the signal received by the antenna 41.

[0036] (Step S105) The information acquisition unit 40 associates the identification information acquired in step S104 with the floor information acquired in step S103 and stores them. At this stage, the floor to which the equipment or material 10 has been carried in is stored in the storage unit 45.

[0037] (Step S106) The information acquisition unit 40 determines from the information of the elevator control device 32 whether the car 31 has stopped at the destination floor, and if the car 31 has stopped at the destination floor (Step S106: Yes), proceeds to step S107.

[0038] (Step S107) The information acquiring unit 40 acquires floor information from the information of the elevator control device 32.

[0039] (Step S108) The information acquisition unit 40 acquires the identification information of the IC tag 20 from the signal received by the antenna 41. (Step S109) The information acquiring unit 40 acquires from the elevator control device 32 information indicating that the door of the car 31 has opened and then closed.

[0040] (Step S110) The information acquiring unit 40 rewrites the identification information and floor information stored in step S105 with the identification information acquired in steps S107 and S108.

[0041] (Step S111) The information acquisition unit 40 associates the identification information with the floor information and transmits them to the equipment and materials management server 50 via the network 60. (Step S112) The information acquisition unit 40 determines whether there is a next destination floor based on the information obtained from the elevator control device 32, and if there is a next destination floor, proceeds to step S106, and if there is no next destination floor, proceeds to step S101.

[0042] In this way, the floor of the equipment 10 being transported by the elevator 30 is stored by storing the identification information read from the managed IC tag 20 contained in the car 31 when the car 31 stops at the floor to which it was called, and the floor information indicating the floor at which it stopped. As a result, when the equipment 10 is removed from the car 31, the last destination floor from which the identification information could be read is determined to be the floor to which the equipment 10 was transported, and this floor information can be stored. For example, if the destination floors are set to "2nd floor," "3rd floor," and "4th floor," and the equipment 10 is loaded into the car 31 located on the first floor, the car 31 will stop at the second floor. At this time, the identification information is read from the IC tag 20 of the equipment 10, and the floor information corresponding to this identification information is rewritten in the memory unit 45 to "2nd floor." When the basket 31 moves to the "third floor" with the equipment or material 10 inside, the identification information is read from the IC tag 20 of the equipment or material 10, and the floor information corresponding to this identification information is rewritten to "third floor" in the memory unit 45. When the equipment or material 10 is removed from the basket 31 on the "third floor," and the basket 31 moves to the "fourth floor," and the floor information acquisition process and the identification information acquisition process are performed, the floor information is obtained, but the identification information of the IC tag 20 is not. Therefore, the floor information corresponding to the identification information is rewritten to floor information corresponding to the last floor from which the identification information could be read in response to the basket 31 arriving at the destination floor (the third floor in this case). Therefore, the fact that the floor into which the equipment or material 10 was carried in is the "third floor" is stored in the memory unit 45.

[0043] <Second embodiment> Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. Fig. 7 is a diagram showing an overview of a construction machinery management system 101 according to the second embodiment of the present invention. In the first embodiment described above, the equipment 10 is an aerial work vehicle, and management of the equipment 10 transported by an elevator 30 is performed. In contrast, in this embodiment, it is possible to comprehensively manage various types of equipment and materials transported in various forms. In the second embodiment, the same parts as in the first embodiment are assigned the same reference numerals, and their description will be omitted.

[0044] 7, equipment 10a is an aerial work vehicle, and the equipment 10a is placed in a cage 31 of an elevator 30 and transported to each floor. An IC tag 20a is attached to the equipment 10a. As with the first embodiment, when the equipment 10a of these aerial work vehicles is stored in the cage 31 and a signal from the IC tag 20a of the equipment 10a can be received by the antenna 41a, the information acquisition unit 40a acquires the identification information of the IC tag 20a, and when the equipment 10a is taken out of the cage 31 and the signal from the IC tag 20a can no longer be received by the antenna 41a, the floor information is acquired and the identification information and floor information are stored in association with each other, thereby making it possible to manage the floor on which the equipment 10a is located.

[0045] In addition to aerial work vehicles, there are many other types of equipment and materials, such as submersible pumps, blowers, batteries, and floodlights, some of which can be transported by stairs. In this example, the equipment and material 10b is a lighting fixture, and this equipment and material 10b is transported by stairs 90 connecting each floor.

[0046] Stairs 90 connecting the floors are provided with one pair of information acquisition unit 40b and gate antenna 41b on each floor. For example, suppose that equipment 10b is transported from the first floor to the second floor using the stairs 90. In this case, when the equipment 10b enters the gate antenna 41b on the first floor (first floor), the signal from the IC tag 20b is received by the gate antenna 41b on the first floor, and the information acquisition unit 40b (first information acquisition unit) on the first floor acquires the identification information of the IC tag 20b of the equipment 10b. Then, when the equipment 10b passes through the gate antenna 41b on the first floor (first floor) and the signal from the IC tag 20b can no longer be received, the identification information and the floor information for the "first floor" are stored in association with each other.

[0047] Thereafter, suppose that the equipment 10b is transported using the stairs 90 and enters the gate antenna 41b on the second floor (second floor). When the equipment 10b enters the gate antenna 41b on the second floor (second floor), the signal from the IC tag 20b is received by the gate antenna 41b on the second floor, and the information acquisition unit 40b (second information acquisition unit) on the second floor acquires the identification information of the IC tag 20b of the equipment 10b. Then, when the equipment 10b passes through the gate antenna 41b on the second floor (second floor) and the signal from the IC tag 20b can no longer be received, the previous floor information of "first floor" is rewritten to floor information of "second floor."

[0048] When the equipment 10b is transported using the stairs 90, the floor information for the identification information is updated as described above each time the equipment 10b passes through the gate antenna 41b on each floor.

[0049] In this way, the equipment 10b transported using the stairs 90 acquires the identification information of the IC tag 20 attached to the managed object from the first information acquisition unit 40b provided on the first floor of the floors, and then acquires the identification information from the second information acquisition unit 40b provided on the second floor, which is a different floor from the first floor.The identification information and location information representing the second floor are associated and written into the memory unit, thereby enabling management of the floor location.

[0050] Furthermore, for the worker 11, the floor can be managed by receiving information from the IC tag 20c of the worker 11 by the information acquisition unit 40a and antenna 41a of the car 31, and the information acquisition unit 40b and gate antenna 41b of the staircase 90. In this way, in this embodiment, floors can be managed for various materials and equipment and workers.

[0051] Furthermore, the equipment 10d is transported to the work site on a truck 91. An information acquisition unit 40d and a gate antenna 41d are provided at the entrance / exit of the work site. When the truck 91 carrying the equipment 10d passes the gate antenna 41d, the gate antenna 41d receives a signal from the IC tag 20d and reads the information on the IC tag 20d. In this way, the gate antenna 41d, through which the truck 91 transporting the equipment 10d passes, receives the signal from the IC tag 20d, thereby enabling registration of the loading and unloading of the equipment. In this embodiment, the registration of the loading and unloading of the equipment can also be performed simply by the equipment passing through the gate antenna 41d, reducing the amount of manual work required.

[0052] All or part of the construction machinery management system 1 in the above-described embodiment may be implemented by a computer. In this case, a program for implementing this function may be recorded on a computer-readable recording medium, and the program may be loaded into a computer system and executed. Note that the term "computer system" as used herein includes hardware such as an OS and peripheral devices. Furthermore, the term "computer-readable recording medium" refers to portable media such as flexible disks, optical magnetic disks, ROMs, and CD-ROMs, as well as storage devices such as hard disks built into a computer system. Furthermore, the term "computer-readable recording medium" may also include devices that dynamically store programs for a short period of time, such as communication lines used when transmitting programs via networks such as the Internet or telephone lines, or devices that store programs for a fixed period of time, such as volatile memory within a computer system that serves as a server or client. The program may be designed to implement some of the above-described functions, or may be capable of implementing the above-described functions in combination with a program already stored in the computer system, or may be implemented using a programmable logic device such as an FPGA.

[0053] Although an embodiment of the present invention has been described above in detail with reference to the drawings, the specific configuration is not limited to this embodiment, and includes designs within the scope of the gist of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0054] 10...equipment, 20...IC tag, 30...elevator, 31...car, 32...elevator control device, 40...information acquisition unit, 41...antenna, 42...RFID reader, 50...equipment management server

Claims

1. A location management device in which information acquisition units are provided on at least two different floors in a building, and the information acquisition units are communicatively connected to each other, a location information management unit that acquires identification information of an IC tag attached to a management target from a first information acquisition unit provided on a first floor among the floors, and then acquires the identification information from a second information acquisition unit provided on a second floor different from the first floor, and then writes the identification information and location information representing the second floor in association with each other in a storage unit; A location management device having the above.

2. 1. A location management method executed by a computer, the computer comprising: information acquisition units provided on at least two different floors in a building; and the information acquisition units communicably connected to the information acquisition units, the method comprising: After acquiring identification information of an IC tag attached to a management target from a first information acquisition unit provided on a first floor among the floors, the identification information is acquired from a second information acquisition unit provided on a second floor different from the first floor, and the identification information and location information representing the second floor are written in a storage unit in association with each other. A location management method comprising:

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