STORAGE SYSTEM AND STORED ARTICLE ID MANAGEMENT METHOD

• US 20090091453A1
• Filed: 10/20/2006
• Published: 04/09/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 11/18/2005
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Murata Machinery Limited (Muratec)
• Original Assignee: Murata Machinery Limited (Muratec)
• Inventors: Kobayashi, Kenichi, Ishida, Masato
• Application Number:
  US12/094,072
• Publication Number:
  US 20090091453A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/572.1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 2009/00777 by induction
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/00309 operated with bidirectional data transmission between data carrier and locks
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 11/60 the storage containers or supports being rectilinearly movable
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/0092 for assembling and dispensing of pharmaceutical articles medical dispensers for private use, A61J7/00
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 9/026 for alarm, monitoring and auditing in vending machines or means for indication, e.g. when empty
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 20/13 delivered from dispensers
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/20 for the management or administration of healthcare resources or facilities, e.g. managing hospital staff or surgery rooms

Abstract

A monitor camera (18) is arranged for monitoring an ID unit (42 of a medical staff. The ID of a staff who is opening a storage cabinet (12) is identified and authenticated by a management device (22). When the authentication is successful, a shelf (28) of the storage cabinet (12) is unlocked. An RFID reader (34) is arranged on the storage cabinet (12) so as to read an RF ID of an article in the shelf (28) when the shelf (28) is opened and closed and identify an article placed or removed according to the difference between the ID lists when the shelf is opened and closed. When a medical staff takes a medical product or medical instrument out of the storage cabinet, it is possible to automatically record who took out which medical product. Moreover, it is possible to prevent taking out of a medical product by an unauthorized person.

Claims

1. A storage system having at least a drawer for storing articles, the storage system comprising:

means for reading an ID of an operator who opens or closes the drawer;

an RFID reader operated synchronously with each of opening operation and closing operation of the drawer, for reading RFIDs of articles in a range where the drawer is opened or closed, when the articles in the range pass through a position adjacent to the RFID reader by opening or closing of the drawer; and

means for determining RFIDs of articles retrieved from, and stored in the drawer based on a list of RFIDs of articles read at a time of opening the drawer, and a list of RFIDs of articles read at a time of closing the drawer.

2. The storage system according to claim 1, the system being configured to read the RFIDs of the articles by the RFID reader when the articles pass under the RFID reader.

3. The storage system according to claim 2, the RFID reader having an antenna in a plate shape or a linear shape along an upper side of the drawer, the system being configured to read the RFIDs of the articles by the antenna when the articles pass under the antenna.

4. The storage system according to claim 1, further including a lock for locking the drawer, unlocking of the lock being performed based on the read ID of the operator.

5. The storage system according to claim 1, further including a collection station having means for reading RFIDs of collected articles;

and means for extracting RFIDs of uncollected articles by comparing the RFIDs of the collected articles and the RFIDs of the articles retrieved from, and stored in the drawer.

6. A method of managing IDs of articles stored in at least a drawer, the method comprising the steps of:

providing a first ID reader adjacent to the drawer for reading IDs of an operator, an RFID reader for reading RFIDs of articles in the drawer in a state where the drawer is opened;

determining the ID of the operator who opens and closes the drawer by the first ID reader;

synchronously with each of opening operation and closing operation of the drawer, reading RFIDs of articles in a range where the drawer is opened or closed by the RFID reader, when the articles in the range where the drawer is opened or closed pass through a position adjacent to the RFID reader by opening or closing of the drawer;

determining RFIDs of the articles retrieved from, and stored in the drawer based on a difference between a list of RFIDs of articles read at the time of opening the drawer, and a list of RFIDs of articles read at the time of closing the drawer.

7. The stored article ID management method according to claim 6, including the step of reading the RFIDs of the articles by the RFID reader when the articles pass under the RFID reader.

8. The stored article ID management method according to claim 7, the RFID reader having an antenna in a plate shape or a linear shape along an upper side of the drawer, reading of the RFID being performed using the antenna when the articles pass under the antenna.