Gate device

Abstract

This system provides an RFID gate that acquires information from passing RFID tags, determines the direction of passage through the gate and whether or not passage is permitted, and records only the information of RFID tags that have passed through the gate. [Solution] The gate device 1 is equipped with two or more reading means for acquiring information from RFID tags, and has two or more reading areas within the gate where only each reading means can read, and a gate device between each reading area that cannot be read by either reading means. Based on the acquired information, it determines the direction of passage through the gate and whether or not to pass through the gate.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a gate device that reads and manages information from target articles passing through a gate and has a misreading prevention function for a reading device.

Background Art

[0002] In recent years, various management systems using RFID (Radio Frequency IDentifier) that non-contact read and write information of IC tags passing through a gate using radio waves have been developed. For example, in Patent Document 1, an RFID tag attached to an article is read by a gate, and passage through the gate is determined from a change in the signal strength of the RFID tag.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Patent Document 2

Patent Document 3

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] However, since the signal strength of the RFID tag increases as the radio wave strength increases as it approaches the gate, even when the RFID tag moves closer to and then farther away from the gate without passing through the gate, a change in the signal strength that is detected and may be determined as having passed through the gate can occur.

[0005] Patent document 2 proposes a transport system that isolates the communication area from the outside. By installing a barrier wall, it is possible to prevent misreading of RFID tags outside the gate. However, since isolation by the barrier wall is essential when reading RFID tags, the operational advantage of being able to detect only passage through the gate is lost.

[0006] Patent Document 3 proposes a system that determines whether an item has passed through a gate by comparing a movement path identification unit, which identifies the movement path of an object within a predetermined area near a gate, with changes in the signal strength of an RFID tag. By combining changes in two signals, the movement path and the RFID tag signal strength, misreading can be prevented without isolation by a barrier wall. However, since the movement path identification unit only identifies the movement path and determines whether an item has passed by comparing it with changes in the signal strength of an RFID tag detected by the gate, if multiple movement paths occur simultaneously, the gate cannot determine which movement path corresponds to the changes in the signal strength of the RFID tag it reads, which may lead to misreading of the direction of passage through the gate or misjudging whether an item has passed.

[0007] Furthermore, there are challenges such as the need for additional work beyond gate installation, including the installation of traffic flow identification sections, setting measurement areas, and linking with information processing devices, making it difficult to easily change the installation location.

[0008] The primary objective of the present invention is to provide a gate device that can determine the direction of movement of RFID tags passing through the gate using only a reader, prevent misreading of RFID tags that have moved around the gate and RFID tags placed around the gate, and record only the RFID tags that have passed through the gate. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] In order to solve the above problems, the present invention has the following configuration. In other words, the gate device according to the present invention is characterized by comprising two or more reading means for reading information of an object passing through the gate, configuring two or more reading areas within the gate that can be read by only each reading means, and providing an area between each reading area as a gate device that cannot be read by either reading means.

[0010] The reading means provided within the gate device may consist of multiple reading devices.

[0011] The gate device may also include a function to determine the direction of passage through the gate and whether or not passage is permitted, based on the information of the read item and the information of the reading area.

[0012] RFID may be used as a means for the receiving device to read information about the items passing through the gate.

[0013] According to the present invention, two or more reading areas are configured within the gate by two or more reading means, and an area that cannot be read by either reading means is provided between each reading area as a gate device, so that each reading area is independent. As a result, the same item is not read simultaneously in multiple reading areas, and the direction of movement of the target item can be clearly determined. Therefore, the direction of movement can be determined by the reading means alone, and only items that can be read in all reading areas are determined to be items that have passed through the gate, thereby preventing misreading. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0014] [Figure 1] This figure shows an embodiment of the gate device according to the present invention. [Figure 2] Figure 1 shows a perspective view of the gate device. [Figure 3] This figure shows an example of the reading area and non-readable area inside the gate shown in Figure 1. [Figure 4] This figure shows an example of the reading area and non-readable area inside the gate shown in Figure 1. [Figure 5]It is a flowchart showing the procedure of passage record performed by the gate device. [Figure 6] It is a perspective view showing an example of a modification of the gate device according to the present invention. [Figure 7] It is a diagram showing an example of a reading area and a non-readable area inside the gate of FIG. 5.

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0015] Embodiments of the present invention will be specifically described with reference to the drawings. In FIG. 1, a perspective view showing one embodiment of the gate device 1 according to the present invention is shown. The gate device 1 has a structure in which a plurality of U-shaped gates 3 composed of side panels 31 and top panels 32 are connected, and reading means 2 is attached to the side panel 31. An article 5 having an RFID tag 4 enters from one gate 3A of the gate device 1 and exits outside the opposite gate 3C. Note that the gate passing direction of the article 5 is not limited, and it may enter from gate 3C and exit outside the opposite gate 3A.

[0016] A perspective view of the gate device 1 is shown in FIG. 2. Reading means 2 is attached to the side panels 31 of gates 3A and 3C, respectively. Note that the reading means 2 may be attached to the top panel 32.

[0017] In FIG. 3, the reading areas 6 (6A, 6B) that can be read by the reading means 2A and 2B of the gate device 1 are indicated by broken lines. Also, between the two reading areas 6A and 6B, there is a non-readable area 7 where neither of the reading means 2A and 2B can read the gate device 1. Each of the reading means 2A and 2B has two reading devices 21 each including an antenna 22 and an antenna bracket 23. The directivity of the radio waves emitted from each antenna 22 is controlled by the antenna bracket 23, making it possible to change the range of the reading area 6 (6A, 6B), and by controlling the radio waves with the antenna bracket 23 so that the confirmation RFID tag 4 cannot be read, it is possible to provide the non-readable area 7.

[0018] The number of the reading devices 21 that constitute the reading means 2 is not particularly limited, and it may be provided only on one of the side panels 31, or a plurality of reading devices 21 may be provided on the same side panel.

[0019] In the configuration of the unreadable area 7, it is not limited to an area where physical reading is impossible due to control of directivity by an antenna bracket 23 or the like. The gate device 1 may create an area that is systematically unreadable by filtering the information read by the reading means 2. FIG. 4 shows an example of a state where the reading areas 6 (6A, 6B) overlap. The area where the reading ranges of the reading means 2 (2A, 2B) overlap at the gate center part and can be read by either reading means is indicated by oblique lines. The gate device 1 can determine that the overlapping area is the unreadable area 7 by determining that the article 5 has not been read when the same article 5 is read by the reading means 2A and 2B within a predetermined time from the results read by the reading means 2. Here, the predetermined time means, for example, within the transmission time interval of the signal transmitted from the antenna 22, substantially simultaneously, or a relatively short time.

[0020] The side panel 31 is provided with a radio wave absorption part 33. Thereby, leakage of the radio wave emitted from the reading means 2 from the side of the gate is suppressed, and it is possible to prevent misreading of the article 5 having an RFID tag that moves outside the gate along the side.

[0021] The reading means 2 that constitutes the reading area 6 in the gate device 1 may be composed of a plurality of reading devices 21. For example, in FIG. 3, in order to constitute the reading area 6A, the reading means 2A is composed of the upper and lower reading devices 21A, 21A on the left side of the drawing, and in order to constitute the reading area 6B, the reading means 2B is composed of the upper and lower reading devices 21B, 21B on the right side of the drawing.

[0022] In this embodiment, reading areas 6A and 6B are configured on both sides of the unreadable area 7, and each reading area is composed of multiple reading devices 21. This allows for detection from two directions even if the item 5 passing through the gate device 1 contains factors that interfere with radio waves, such as metals, thus preventing misreading and missed detections. The number of reading devices 21 that constitute one reading means 2 is not particularly limited; one reading device 21 may be placed in each reading area 6, or reading devices 21 may also be placed on the top panel 4 to improve accuracy.

[0023] Due to the non-readable area 7, if a reading occurs in reading area 6A, it cannot be read simultaneously in reading area 6B. Therefore, even if the vehicle turns back in an area where it can be read in reading area 6B after being read in reading area 6A, a reading result of reading in reading area 6A again will be obtained. This makes it possible to determine the direction of travel and whether or not the vehicle has passed through the gate without using external movement detection devices.

[0024] Figure 5 is a flowchart showing the procedure for recording passage performed by the gate device 1. In cases where the passage direction of an item 5 having an RFID tag 4 is limited, as in the gate device 1 according to the invention, when the reading means 2 detects the RFID tag 4, it is possible to identify a passage judgment criterion area that serves as the basis for determining passage, based on the detected initial reading area information. Since the information of the RFID tag 4 does not change while passing through the gate, changes in the reading area 6 are recorded in association with the RFID tag 4 information. If the target RFID tag 4 is not detected for a certain period of time, or if there is no change in the reading area 6 for a certain period of time, the movement of the target RFID tag 4 is considered complete, and the direction of passage through the gate and whether or not passage is permitted are determined.

[0025] The situation of an item 5 with an RFID tag 4 after passing through the gate is assumed to be either located away from the gate device 1 and not detected by the reading means 2 of the gate device 1, or located around the gate and always detected by the reading means 2.

[0026] This section explains how to determine the case when the device is moved to a position where it cannot be detected by reading means 2. Since the reading means 2 cannot detect the RFID tag 4, assuming that the detected RFID tag 4 has not been detected for a certain period of time, the elapsed time is used as a trigger to determine whether the item 5 with the RFID tag 4 has passed through the gate device 1. Information on the last area passed through is obtained from the movement area information of the target item 5. If the last area passed through is the same as the passage determination criterion area, it is considered that the item has passed through the gate, and the information of the RFID tag 4 is recorded along with the information on the direction of passage. If the final reading position is the same as the initial reading area, it is considered that the item turned back midway without passing through the gate device 1, or that it temporarily passed around the gate device 1, and the information of the target RFID tag 4 is discarded. If any other area is the final reading area, it is assumed that the item may have fallen during passage, so an error is transmitted externally to prevent the RFID tag 4 from remaining inside the gate.

[0027] This section explains the determination in the case where the reading means 2 always detects the data. The situations in which the reading means 2 can always detect an item 5 with an RFID tag 4 placed around the gate device 1 without passing through the gate device 1, or an item 5 that has passed through the gate device 1 and is placed around the gate device 1. Therefore, the determination of whether or not to pass is made based on the trigger for starting the determination when there is no change in the reading area 6 for a certain period of time. The current reading area information of the RFID tag is obtained, and it is determined which position in the reading area 6 the detected item 5 corresponds to. If it is in the initial reading area, it is assumed that the item 5 is staying around the gate, so the information of the target RFID tag 4 is discarded as it has not passed through the gate device 1. If it is in the pass-through determination criterion area, it is assumed that the item has passed through the gate device 1 and is staying around the gate, and the information of the RFID tag 4 is recorded along with the information of the direction of passage. If any other area is the final reading area, it is assumed that the item 5 has fallen or otherwise remained inside the gate device 1 while being transported inside the gate device 1 by a cart, by human power, an automated guided vehicle, etc., so the RFID tag 4 remaining inside the gate device 1 can be removed by transmitting it to the outside as an error.

[0028] By using the above determination method, it is possible to record only the items 5 with RFID tags 4 that have passed through the gate device 1, and to remove information on non-passing RFID tags 4 that linger around the gate or pass through during measurement, thereby preventing misreading.

[0029] In this invention, the gate device 1 is constructed by linking three gates, but the number and shape of the gates that make up the device are not limited, and it may be constructed from two gates 3 as shown in Figure 6, as long as it can form an unreadable area 7.

[0030] Figure 6 shows a perspective view of a modified example of the gate device 1 according to the present invention, and Figure 7 shows the unreadable area 7. The gate device 1 is composed of two gates 3A and 3B, with a reading device 21 mounted on a side panel 31. An antenna bracket 23 forms an unreadable area 7 at the gate boundary. Because the unreadable area 7 forms two reading areas 6 (6A, 6B), it is possible to determine whether or not to pass through the gate, preventing misreading and leading to space savings for the gate.

[0031] In this embodiment, both configurations are provided with two reading areas 6 (6A, 6B) and form a single gate. However, the shape of the gate and the number of reading areas are not limited; three or more reading areas may be provided, multiple exits may be provided for a single entrance, and any shape is acceptable as long as a configuration that allows for non-readable areas between reading areas is possible.

[0032] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the object 5 to be read by the reading means 2 is an RFID tag, but it is not limited to RFID; any means that can acquire information from the object in a non-contact manner may be used. [Explanation of symbols]

[0033] 1 Gate device 2,2A,2B Reading means 21A, 21B Reader 22 Antennas 23 Antenna bracket Gate 3 31 Side Panel 32 Top panel 33 Radio wave absorbing section 4 RFID tags 5 Goods 6, 6A, 6B Readable Area 7 Unreadable Area

Claims

1. A gate device equipped with reading means for reading information of an object passing through the gate, wherein the gate device is equipped with two or more reading means, and comprises two or more reading areas within the gate that can be read by only each reading means, and between each reading area, the gate device is equipped with an area that cannot be read by either reading means.

2. The gate device according to claim 1, wherein the reading means is composed of a plurality of reading devices.

3. The gate device according to claim 1, characterized in that it determines the direction of passage through the gate and whether or not passage is permitted based on the information of the object to be read and the change in the reading area.

4. The gate device according to claim 1, characterized in that the reading means uses RFID as a means for reading information of an object passing through the gate.

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