METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR MANAGING VIRTUAL SPACE

• US 20110006883A1
• Filed: 02/27/2009
• Published: 01/13/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 02/29/2008
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Seung Woon Chang
• Original Assignee: Seung Woon Chang
• Inventors: Kim, Jin Chul, Choi, Myung Ryul, Chang, Seung Woon
• Application Number:
  US12/920,318
• Publication Number:
  US 20110006883A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/10.1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/08 Logistics, e.g. warehousing, loading or distribution; Inventory or stock management

Abstract

The present invention sets up a virtual space for an actual work space in which plural goods are loaded and unloaded. The disclosed system may manage the work space by recognizing automatically whether a movable apparatus moving in the virtual space or goods loaded thereon moves into or from the virtual space. Therefore, the work space is efficiently managed

Claims

1. A method of managing a virtual space that sets a virtual line dividing a virtual work space region in an actual work space where goods are taken in/out, for taking-in/out of the goods, on the floor of the work space, embeds one or more recognizing sensors at predetermined intervals at both sides of the virtual line, and provides a movable apparatus that moves into/out of the work space with one or more sensor recognition readers that read the recognizing sensors, the method comprising:

consistently storing first sensor information in the recognizing sensors embedded inside the virtual work space from the virtual line and second sensor information in the recognizing sensors embedded in the outside of the virtual work space, in order to recognize whether the movable apparatus passes the virtual line; and

determining that the movable apparatus does not move out from the virtual work space, when the sensor recognition reader reads first sensor information and then reads the same kind of first sensor information, and determining that the movable apparatus has moved out from the virtual work space, when the sensor recognition reader reads first sensor information and then reads a different kind of second sensor information.

2. The method of managing a virtual space according to claim 1, further comprising:

ascertaining whether on or more goods are loaded on the movable apparatus, when determining that the movable apparatus has moved out from the virtual work space in the determining; and

when ascertaining that one or more goods are loaded on the movable apparatus, deciding that the ascertained goods have been taken out from the virtual work space.

3. The method of managing a virtual space according to claim 1, further comprising:

determining that the movable apparatus does not move in the virtual work space, when the sensor recognition reader reads second sensor information and then reads the same kind of sensor information, and

determining that the movable apparatus has moved in the virtual work space, when the sensor recognition reader reads second sensor information and then reads a different kind of first sensor information.

4. The method of managing a virtual space according to claim 3, further comprising:

ascertaining whether one or more goods are loaded on the movable apparatus, when determining that the movable apparatus has moved in the virtual work space in the determining; and

when ascertaining that one or more goods are loaded on the movable apparatus, deciding that the ascertained goods have been taken in the virtual work space.

5. The method of managing a virtual space according to claim 1, wherein when the first sensor information includes odd-numbered information, the second sensor information includes even-numbered information, or

when the first sensor information includes even-numbered information, the second sensor information includes odd-numbered information, or

when the first sensor information includes information outputted at ‘

0’

by bit calculation with the information included in the sensor recognition reader, the second sensor information includes ‘

1’

or information outputted as ‘

1’

by bit calculation with the information included in the sensor recognition reader, or

when the first sensor information includes ‘

1’

or information outputted as ‘

1’

by bit calculation with the information included in the sensor recognition reader, the second sensor information includes ‘

0’

or information outputted as ‘

0’

by bit calculation with the information included in the sensor recognition reader, or

when the first sensor information includes ‘

TRUE’

or information recognized as ‘

TRUE’

, the second sensor information includes ‘

FALSE’

or information recognized as ‘

FALSE’

, or

when the first sensor information includes ‘

FALSE’

or information recognized as ‘

FALSE’

, the second information sensor includes ‘

TRUE’

or information recognized as ‘

TRUE’

.

6. A recording medium that is recorded with a program executing the method according to claim 1, and can be read by a computer.

14. A recording medium that is recorded with a program executing the method according to claim 2, and can be read by a computer.

15. A recording medium that is recorded with a program executing the method according to claim 3, and can be read by a computer.

16. A recording medium that is recorded with a program executing the method according to claim 4, and can be read by a computer.

17. A recording medium that is recorded with a program executing the method according to claim 5, and can be read by a computer.

7. A movable apparatus that moves into/out of a space in which a virtual line dividing a virtual work space region in an actual work space where goods are taken in/out, for taking-in/out of the goods, on the floor of the work space, one or more recognizing sensors are embedded at predetermined intervals at both sides of the virtual line, first sensor information is stored in one or more recognizing sensors embedded inside the virtual work space and second sensor information is stored in one or more recognizing sensors embedded outside the virtual work space, the movable apparatus comprising:

a sensor recognition reader that sequentially reads one or more recognition sensor informations from the recognizing sensors;

an RFID reader that reads one or more RFD informations from RFID tags attached the goods; and

a communication module that transmits at least one of the recognition sensor informations, taking-in information of the goods and taking-out information of the goods which are ascertained by reading the recognition sensor information, and the RFID code information, to a server, by using a communication network.

8. The movable apparatus according to claim 7, further comprising:

a processing module that determines that the movable apparatus does not move out from the virtual work space, when first sensor information of the recognition sensor informations is read and then the same kind of first sensor information is sequentially read from the recognizing sensors, and determines that the movable apparatus has moved out from the virtual work space, when first sensor information of the recognition sensor informations is read and then a different kind of second sensor information is sequentially read from the recognition sensor.

9. The movable apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the processing module ascertains the one or more RFID code informations and decides that the goods corresponding to the ascertained REID code informations have been taken out from the virtual work space, when it is determined that the movable apparatus has moved out from the virtual work space.

10. The movable apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the processing module determines that the movable apparatus does not move in the virtual work space, when second sensor information of the recognition sensor informations is read and then the same kind of second sensor information is sequentially read from the recognizing sensors, and determines that the movable apparatus has moved in the virtual work space, when second sensor information of the recognition sensor informations is read and then a different kind of first sensor information is sequentially read from the recognizing sensors.

11. The movable apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the processing module ascertains the one or more RFID code informations and decides that the goods corresponding to the ascertained RFID code informations have been taken in the virtual work space, when it is determined that the movable apparatus has moved in the virtual work space.

12. The movable apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the sensor recognition reader includes one or more directional antennas facing the floor of the work space.

13. A system for managing a virtual work space that sets a virtual line dividing a virtual work space region in an actual work space where goods are taken in/out, for taking-in/out of the goods, on the floor of the work space, embeds one or more recognizing sensors at predetermined intervals at both sides of the virtual line, and constantly stores first sensor information in one or more recognizing sensors embedded inside the virtual work space and second sensor information in one or more recognizing sensors embedded outside the virtual work space such that a movable apparatus moving into/out of the work space reads one or more recognition sensor information from the recognizing sensors, the system comprising:

an information receiving unit that sequentially receives one or more recognition sensor informations that are received from the movable apparatus;

a moving-out ascertaining unit that determines that the movable apparatus does not move out from the virtual work space, when first sensor information of the recognition sensor informations is received and then the same kind of first sensor information is sequentially received, and determines that the movable apparatus has moved out from the virtual work space, when first sensor information of the recognition sensor informations is received and then a different kind of second sensor information is sequentially received; and

a moving in ascertaining unit that determines that the movable apparatus has moved in the virtual work space, when second sensor information of the recognition sensor informations is received and the same kind of second sensor information is received, and determines that the movable apparatus has moved in the virtual work space, when second sensor information of the recognition sensor informations is received and then first sensor information is sequentially received.