Smart Storage Cabinet with RFID Expiration Control
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing storage cabinets do not effectively prevent misuse by users when goods expire before retrieval, as they lack mechanisms to manage and restrict access to expired items.
Innovation Solution
A storage cabinet equipped with RF tags for item information, including expiration dates, and user identification, which restricts access and retrieval modes based on the presence of expired items, ensuring that only unexpired items are retrieved when possible, and allowing user selection of retrieval modes when expired items are present.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the storage cabinet allows free retrieval of items, then ease of operation is improved, but reliability deteriorates due to potential misuse and retrieval of expired items
Solution Approach 1:
The storage cabinet dynamically changes its operational mode based on the presence of expired items. When expired items are detected, the system switches to a restricted mode where only expired items can be retrieved. When no expired items are present, it operates in normal mode allowing standard retrieval operations. This dynamic adaptation resolves the contradiction by adjusting system behavior to current conditions.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the retrieval permission parameter based on the expiration status of items in storage. The controller monitors item expiration dates and modifies the retrieval control parameter: in normal mode, any item can be retrieved; in restricted mode, only expired items are retrievable. This parameter change ensures reliability by preventing unauthorized retrieval while maintaining operational flexibility.
2Reliability
If the storage cabinet restricts retrieval to prevent misuse, then reliability is improved, but ease of operation deteriorates due to limited access
Solution Approach 1:
The storage cabinet dynamically changes its operational mode based on the presence of expired items. When expired items are detected, the system switches to a restricted mode where only expired items can be retrieved. When no expired items are present, it operates in normal mode allowing standard retrieval operations. This dynamic adaptation resolves the contradiction by adjusting system behavior to current conditions.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary detection of expired items before allowing retrieval operations. The reader continuously monitors item expiration dates, and the controller pre-determines the appropriate retrieval mode based on this detection. This preliminary action ensures that reliability measures are in place before retrieval begins, preventing misuse while maintaining ease of operation when safe.
3Reliability
If the storage cabinet monitors all items for expiration, then reliability is improved, but device complexity increases due to additional readers and controllers
Solution Approach 1:
The reader in the storage cabinet serves multiple functions: it reads RFID tags on items for identification, detects expiration dates by reading item information, and provides this data to the controller for decision-making. This multi-functionality reduces device complexity by consolidating what could be separate components into a single versatile reader unit.
Solution Approach 2:
The system merges the detection and control functions into an integrated architecture where the reader and controller work as a unified system. The reader detects item information including expiration dates, and the controller immediately processes this information to determine retrieval mode restrictions. This merging eliminates the need for separate detection and control systems, reducing overall complexity while maintaining reliability.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The storage cabinet effectively prevents misuse by ensuring that only unexpired items are retrieved when available, and allows users to prioritize the removal of expired items, thereby maintaining inventory integrity and reducing waste.
Implementation Method 1
each item including a first tag attached thereto, the first tag being an RF tag for recording item information
Implementation Method 2
a first reader configured to read item information recorded in the first tag of all items stored in the housing
Data Source
AI summary
A storage cabinet according to an embodiment stores a plurality of items includes a first reader configured to read item information recorded in a first tag of all items stored in a housing, when a door is in a closed state, and judges whether an item exists in the housing that is past a reference date on a basis of an expiration date of the item, based on a reading result of the first reader. If it is judged that an item exists in the housing that is past the reference date, a first mode or a second mode is selected based on an operation of a user. The first mode is a mode in which retrieval of an item other than an item having a period of time to an expiration date which is the shortest among items of the identical item code, is restricted. The second mode is a mode in which retrieval of an item other than an expired item is restricted.