Dental Instrument Hanger RFID Tracking Accuracy
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional methods using wireless tags to track the usage time of dental instruments face identification failures due to short displacement times or sensor range issues, leading to inaccurate tracking of instrument usage.
Innovation Solution
A dental instrument hanger with a reading means, identification information storage, and usage information generator that reads and stores identification data from wireless tags, allowing for accurate tracking of instrument usage and reducing identification failures by ensuring sufficient reading time and distinguishing between driving and replacement instruments.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If a gate sensor is provided outside the hanger to detect instrument displacement, then the system can identify instrument usage, but identification failure occurs when the instrument moves too quickly or exits the sensing area
Solution Approach 1:
The reading means is moved inside the hanger unit to read the wireless tag identification information before the instrument is displaced from the hanger. This preliminary reading ensures that the identification data is captured in advance, eliminating the risk of identification failure due to quick movement or exit from the sensing area.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a reading history detector and identification information specifier that work as intermediaries between the reading means and the usage information generator. These components store and analyze reading histories to accurately determine which instrument was used, even when multiple instruments are present in the hanger.
2Loss of time
If the reading means is placed inside the hanger unit, then sufficient time is available to read the wireless tag, but the system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The reading means inside the hanger unit serves multiple functions: it reads wireless tags from all instruments in the hanger, stores reading histories, and provides data for usage tracking. This multi-functionality justifies the added complexity by consolidating several operations into a single integrated system.
Solution Approach 2:
The hanger unit with the reading means operates autonomously to read and store identification information from instruments as they are placed or removed. The system automatically manages reading histories and detects usage without requiring external intervention, reducing the need for additional external sensors and manual tracking.
3Device complexity
If the gate sensor is positioned outside the hanger, then the system structure remains simple, but identification accuracy decreases due to short displacement time in the sensing area
Solution Approach 1:
The reading means reads the wireless tag identification information before the instrument is removed from the hanger unit. This preliminary reading action ensures that the identification is captured with sufficient time, eliminating the accuracy problems associated with quick passage through an external gate sensor.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of detecting instrument usage at the exit point (external gate sensor), the system moves the detection function inside the hanger unit where instruments are stored. This dimensional change from external to internal detection allows for more controlled and accurate reading conditions.
Data Source
AI summary
A dental instrument hanger has the body of a reader/writer, or an antenna connected to the body, arranged in a hanger unit so as to read identification information from a wireless tag, in a state that an instrument having the wireless tag preliminarily attached thereto is placed in the hanger unit. The hanger includes: an identification information storage that stores the read identification information in a database; a reading history detector that, in response to a driving instruction having been inputted, detects the latest reading history and a reading history read before the instrument displaced from the hanger unit has been displaced with reference to said storage; an identification information specifier that determines a difference between the two reading histories to specify a wireless tag attached to the instrument which has been instructed to drive; and a usage information generator that generates usage information of the instrument.