Information processing apparatus, control method of information processing apparatus, control program of information processing apparatus, and recording medium on which control program of information processing apparatus is recorded

• US 20060244601A1
• Filed: 04/13/2006
• Published: 11/02/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 04/15/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Omron Corporation
• Original Assignee: Omron Corporation
• Inventors: Nishimura, Takashi
• Granted Patent: US 7,339,479 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/572.400
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 2209/63 Comprising locating means for detecting the position of the data carrier, i.e. within the vehicle or within a certain distance from the vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/28 the pass enabling tracking or indicating presence
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/2462 Asset location systems combined with EAS inventory, tracking, logistic G06Q10/00; entrance control systems G07C9/00
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/0261 System arrangements wherein the object is to detect trespassing over a fixed physical boundary, e.g. the end of a garden

Abstract

A monitor device is equipped with an external communication section and an information extraction section, which receive position information from a reader/writer that calculates position information of a RFID tag that was disposed on each of plural articles or users, and a specifying section which specifies a combination of a user and an article which enter/leave in/from a safekeeping room concurrently, on the basis of the received position information, and therefore, it is possible to specify a combination of a user and an article which enter/leave in/from the safekeeping room with high precision.

Claims

1. An information processing apparatus which carries out processing for receiving information from a communication device that calculates position information of an identification device which is disposed for each of plural monitor targets in a communication area by communication with the identification device, the information processing apparatus comprising:

a reception section which receives the calculated position information from the communication device, and

a specifying section which specifies a combination of monitor targets which enter in and leave from a predetermined region concurrently, on the basis of position information received by the reception section.

2. The information processing apparatus as set forth in claim 1, further comprising:

an entering/leaving judgment section which judges presence or absence of entering-in/leaving-from the predetermined region of at least one monitor target, among the plural monitor targets, on the basis of the position information,

wherein in case that the entering/leaving judgment section judges that there is a monitor target which enters in and leaves from the predetermined region, the specifying section specifies another monitor target which enters in and leaves from the predetermined region, together with the monitor target, on the basis of the position information.

3. The information processing apparatus as set forth in claim 2, wherein,

in case that it is judged by the entering/leaving judgment section that plural monitor targets enter in and leave from the predetermined region nearly simultaneously, the specifying section specifies a combination of monitor targets which enter in and leave from the predetermined region concurrently, about each of the monitor targets, on the basis of position information of each of the monitor targets.

4. The information processing apparatus as set forth in claim 2, wherein,

in case that a monitor target for which it is judged by the entering/leaving judgment section that there is entering/leaving in/from the predetermined region is set as a first monitor target,

the specifying section specifies a second monitor target which exists in a predetermined distance range from the first monitor target, to be a monitor target which enters in and leave from the predetermined region together with the first monitor target.

5. The information processing apparatus as set forth in claim 2, further comprising:

a history recording device which records history information that is a history of position information received from the communication device by the reception section,

wherein the entering/leaving judgment section judges entering/leaving of the monitor target in/from the predetermined region, on the basis of the history information.

6. The information processing apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein the position information is information which shows a distance from the identification device up to the communication device.

7. The information processing apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein the position information is a two-dimensional coordinate or a three-dimensional coordinate of the identification device in the predetermined region.

8. The information processing apparatus as set forth in claim 1, further comprising:

a combination information storage device which stores combination information that shows advisability of a combination of monitor targets that enter in and leave from the predetermined region; and

an advisability judgment section which judges, in the combination of monitor targets which are specified by the specifying section, that both of them can be entered and left, concurrently, on the basis of the combination information.

9. The information processing apparatus as set forth in claim 8, further comprising:

an output section which outputs information that shows a judgment result by the advisability judgment section.

10. The information processing apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein the identification device is a RFID tag.

11. A monitor system comprising:

the information processing apparatus as set forth in claim 1, and a communication device having a position information calculation section which calculates position information of each of identification devices, on the basis of a signal which is transmitted from the identification device which is disposed for each of plural monitor targets, and a transmission section which transmits the calculated position information to the information processing apparatus.

12. A control method of an information processing apparatus of carrying out processing for receiving information from a communication device which calculates position information of an identification device, which is disposed for each of plural monitor targets, in a communication area, by communication with the identification device, the method comprising steps of:

receiving the calculated position information from the communication device, and

specifying a combination of monitor targets which enter in and leave from a predetermined region, on the basis of the received position information.

13. A program executable on a computer for operating an information processing apparatus of carrying out processing for receiving information from a communication device which calculates position information of an identification device, which is disposed for each of plural monitor targets, in a communication area, by communication with the identification device, said program comprising instructions having:

a first function of receiving the calculated position information from the communication device, and

a second function of specifying a combination of monitor targets which enter in and leave from a predetermined region, on the basis of the received position information.

14. A computer-readable medium including a program executable on a computer for operating an information processing apparatus of carrying out processing for receiving information from a communication device which calculates position information of an identification device, which is disposed for each of plural monitor targets, in a communication area, by communication with the identification device, said program comprising instructions having:

a first function of receiving the calculated position information from the communication device, and a second function of specifying a combination of monitor targets which enter in and leave from a predetermined region, on the basis of the received position information.