Classifications

• • G—PHYSICS
  • G07—CHECKING-DEVICES
  • G07C—TIME OR ATTENDANCE REGISTERS; REGISTERING OR INDICATING THE WORKING OF MACHINES; GENERATING RANDOM NUMBERS; VOTING OR LOTTERY APPARATUS; ARRANGEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS FOR CHECKING NOT PROVIDED FOR ELSEWHERE
  • G07C1/00—Registering, indicating or recording the time of events or elapsed time, e.g. time-recorders for work people
  • G07C1/10—Registering, indicating or recording the time of events or elapsed time, e.g. time-recorders for work people together with the recording, indicating or registering of other data, e.g. of signs of identity
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G07—CHECKING-DEVICES
  • G07C—TIME OR ATTENDANCE REGISTERS; REGISTERING OR INDICATING THE WORKING OF MACHINES; GENERATING RANDOM NUMBERS; VOTING OR LOTTERY APPARATUS; ARRANGEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS FOR CHECKING NOT PROVIDED FOR ELSEWHERE
  • G07C11/00—Arrangements, systems or apparatus for checking, e.g. the occurrence of a condition, not provided for elsewhere
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04W—WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
  • H04W60/00—Affiliation to network, e.g. registration; Terminating affiliation with the network, e.g. de-registration
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04W—WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
  • H04W64/00—Locating users or terminals or network equipment for network management purposes, e.g. mobility management

Definitions

• the present invention relates to a system for locating a per- son working at a number of remote work sites by turns and for supervising remote work, said system comprising
• a server fitted to communicate with each mobile station via a telecommunication connection and to maintain a register of persons and a database of remote work place identifiers
• an operating system for reading the bar codes and sending them by means of a mobile station to the server comprising an application in the mobile station and an application on the server.
• US patent specification 5,610,596 presents a system in which an industrial installation is supervised and monitored by using an arrangement in which each operator has telecommunication equipment and a reader for reading an electronic identifier which are used to confirm various things at the work sites. Instead of a bar code which can be photocopied, an electronic identifier is used, thus adding to the complexity of the system.
• An electronic identifier generally requires the use of a battery as a power source, which leads to an increased susceptibility to system failures.
• the object of the invention is to achieve a simpler system for locating an employee or similar and for supervising work using a bar code technique and generally available equipment.
• the invention aims at eliminating the reliability problems associated with bar codes.
• the short message system (SMS) and preferably the GSM system are used.
• the bar code reader may be a commercial device which is connected to a known mobile telephone device having a data processing ca- pability (e.g. Nokia Communicator).
• Fig. 1 presents an overall view of a system according to the invention.
• Fig. 2 presents a bar code table as used in the system of
• Fig. 1 Fig. 1.
• Fig. 3a and 3b illustrate routines used at the beginning and end of a spell of work.
• each person working in this manner has a mobile sta- tion 12 with a bar code reader 13 as a peripheral.
• these are interconnected via a connecting cable, but the connection can be easily implemented using a wireless link.
• the person starts a supervision application in his/her mo- bile station 12 and confirms the completion of different tasks by reading a corresponding bar code from a table 11 in a manner to be described hereinafter.
• the employee's times of starting and finishing work as well as the tasks performed and other possible work information are recorded in the mobile station 12, which sends the information via a telephone network 14 to a server 15.
• the movements of and tasks performed by different employees can be easily monitored.
• information can also be passed in the other direc- tion, i.e. from the server 15 to the person's mobile station 12.
• Different work sites are provided with bar code tables as presented in Fig. 2, each table containing at least two changeable bar codes.
• both the client code 111 and the finish code 119 are replaceable codes in the form of stickers, but the other codes may be fixed codes printed on the table. There is generally no need to replace the sticker corresponding to the client code 111 after the table has been installed at the work site 10, but a client code 111 identifying the work site is attached to the table to be taken to each work site.
• the sticker containing the finish code 119 is replaced at certain intervals, corresponding information being stored at the same time on the server 15, thus ensuring that any attempt at using a copy will be detected.
• the intelligent mobile station 12 of the invention is so programmed that the act of reading a bar code will trigger certain programmed actions.
• the bar code reader is e.g. model TR14 manufactured by the Japanese Demson.
• the serial port of this device can be connected to the serial port of a mobile station (TTL-level RS232) .
• a wireless connection between the bar code reader and the mobile station can be implemented e.g. using an infrared interface.
• the Bluetooth system will also be a natural alternative.
• the tasks completed are registered using a supervision application as follows.
• the person W first reads the client code 111, whereupon a new work record is opened and the start time is recorded in memory. After this, the person may turn off the mobile station to execute the appropriate tasks and sales work.
• the execution of normal work and service are confirmed with separate codes, group 112, and washing service with code 114 and group 115 codes.
• the execution of other tasks is confirmed with separate codes, group 113 and the target is specified using the codes in group 116.
• the person Having performed the maintenance operations or confirmed the execution of sales actions, the person reads the finish code 119 and can then send the information to the server 15 by reading a send code, which will automatically activate a short message transmission (SMS) via the mobile station 12.
• SMS short message transmission
• the application used in this example is implemented in the Nokia Communicator model 9110.
• This device uses the GEOS operating system by Geoworks Inc (USA) , and the application has been created on a PC using the "GEOS SDK for Nokia 9110 Communicator" program.
• the application forms a user interface, takes care of I/O traffic with the bar code reader, generates the short messages to be transmitted and finally gives the mobile station a send command for the transmission of each short message.
• the operator receives the short messages in a short message service center.
• IP Internet Protocol
• This IP address is the aforesaid server, in which the short messages received are further distributed into a database by using a specific application.
• a service is provided e.g. by the Finnish operator SONERA under the designation "Content Gateway”.
• This includes a software assembly to be installed on a server, comprising programs which communicate with a short message service center and, via an API interface, with a selected database (e.g. ORACLE) .
• a bar code reader 13 is connected to the port of a mobile station 12 (Nokia 9110 Communicator) .
• the hours of work (“WORKING HOURS") are read after the Client code 111 by means of group 112.
• the Normal Work code is read, whereupon the screen will display "N” in the "WORKING HOURS” field.
• the Service code is read, whereupon the screen will display "I”.
• the screen displays: "TASKS : P0102030405" .
• the employee will first read the Repair Service code, whereupon the screen will display "V", and then the "Failure” code in ques- 10 tion, e.g. "Beer 41".
• the screen displays: "TASKS : PO102030405V41" .
• the number of kilometers driven by the employee is input 15 in the "KILOMETERS" field by using the number keys of the keyboard. (If no driving was involved, then the employee will key in the number "0") .
• the employee will read 20 the Finish code 119 from the bar code chart, Fig. 3b. After this, the employee can either send the information or make a correction if any data has been incorrectly read. If the employee chooses Correct 118, then all the data will have to be input again starting from "WORKING HOURS".
• the mobile station 112 will transmit the information further in the form of a short message.
• the program (user interface) will automatically display instructions in an information field to guide the employee.
• the table 35 111 and the corresponding Finish code 119 are printed on readily replaceable stickers, allowing possible malpractice to be detected on the basis of an incorrect finish code.
• the table may be made of a rigid plastic material with all the other codes permanently printed on it. Such a table is fixedly mounted on a wall, so that it will be difficult to copy while still permitting easy reading of the bar codes.
• a qualifier to be added to the finish code is calculated using a selected formula, in which case the data contained in the bar code will not be transmitted directly as such.
• a formula like this is based on taking the two last digits of the client number, in this case "59”, and generating from this together with a selected fixed number, e.g. "9” a XOR function (by a binary method), which yields as a result a check value, in this case "50”, which is required to be the same as the finish code (or its beginning) in the table or only in server memory.
• the Finish code to be sent would be e.g. "L501", where the last digit indicates e.g. the software version.
• the application can also give an "Incorrect Finish code" notice to the person using the device.
• This arrangement ensures that the confirmation of execution of a task always has to be given at the same work place where the client code was read.
• the check code in this case the finish code, is not associated with a plain description of its content as the other codes in the table are.
• the content of a changed finish code sticker is updated on the server, so the application running on the server can detect any attempt at using an old finish code.
• the appli- cation can naturally be implemented in a mobile station of some other type or in a mobile station provided with a new operating system (e.g. Symbian) .
• a new operating system e.g. Symbian
• SMS short messages
• Such services include present DATA calls and WAP services. In the future, corresponding data services will be provided over UMTS networks.

Priority Applications (2)

Applications Claiming Priority (4)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=26160981

Family Applications (1)

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Cited By (4)

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Citations (2)

• 2000
  • 2000-10-13 FI FI20002257A patent/FI113304B/fi not_active IP Right Cessation
• 2001
  • 2001-03-23 AU AU50436/01A patent/AU5043601A/en not_active Abandoned
  • 2001-03-23 WO PCT/FI2001/000289 patent/WO2001074101A1/en not_active Application Discontinuation
  • 2001-03-23 EP EP01923741A patent/EP1273192A1/en not_active Withdrawn

Patent Citations (2)

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