JP2001018938A - Goods processing system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent generation of mistakes in setting and judging troublesome working conditions by operating the processing capacity of each processor for a goods designated by a designating means, and selecting the minimum processing capacity among the operated processing capacities as the processing capacity of the whole system. SOLUTION: A goods G stored in a tray is carried into a packaging device 1 by a carry-in conveyor 4, and packaged using a stretch film. The packaged goods G is led to a measuring conveyor 2, and the weight of the goods G is measured by a load cell 5 arranged below the belt. A label issued and supplied from a label printer 6 is held and stuck to the goods G under carriage by a label sticker 7 in a price tag sticker 3. The maximum packaging capacity of the packaging device 1, the maximum measuring capacity of the measuring conveyor 2 and the maximum price tag sticking capacity of the price tag sticker 3 are compared with each other, and the minimum processing capacity is selected as the processing capacity of the whole goods processing system to control the speed of a series of works.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a merchandise processing system for continuously performing predetermined processing on merchandise by a plurality of merchandise processing devices provided on a merchandise transport path.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, in a backyard of a supermarket, product information such as net weight, price, and product name is printed on products such as meat, fish, and prepared food packed in a stretch film while being stored in a tray. The processing device used for this operation is a packaging machine that packs goods, a weighing device that receives and weighs goods with a weighing pan, and goods such as price of goods. 2. Description of the Related Art There is known a pricing machine that prints information on a label and attaches the information to a product.

[0003] In recent years, as a device for improving the work efficiency by continuously performing various troublesome operations, a weighing device as disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 5-35813 has been proposed. A pricing device has been realized. The weighing device is a weighing device that weighs the weight of the product, and a label attached to the weighed product by issuing a label printed with a price corresponding to the weight obtained by the weighing device or a fixed price. It consists of a device.

[0004]

Incidentally, in actual use, not only when the weighing device and the valuation device are integrated in the weighing device but also when the weighing device and the valuation device are independent of each other. In some cases, an operating system may be employed, or a packaging machine may be connected upstream of the weighing device, or an additional transport device may be added. In such a so-called product processing system, conventionally, various processing devices constituting the system, such as a packaging device, a weighing device, and a pricing device, are grasped for their respective processing capabilities, and the system is comprehensively managed. Means to do
There was no means to harmonize and operate each processing unit. For this reason, the operating conditions of each processing apparatus are set only based on the experience and intuition of the operator, but the setting of the operation is very troublesome and often leads to erroneous judgment. Further, in this case, it is easy to set operating conditions in consideration of a margin more than necessary in consideration of safety, and therefore, the system is operated unnecessarily with a capacity less than its potential.

[0005] Here, in order to show the effectiveness of the system particularly at the time of switching the supply of goods, the troublesomeness of setting operating conditions in a conventional product processing system will be described.

As will be described later, when a weighing conveyor as a weighing device is used in a moving weighing type in which weighing is carried out while conveying goods, the weighing processing capability of the weighing conveyor and the valuing processing capability of the valuation device are different. , Depending on the length of the tray and the length of the label, respectively. That is, the longer the length of the tray placed on the limited length of the weighing conveyor, the lower the weighing processing capacity of the weighing conveyor, while, in the case of a pricing device, the label constituting the device The longer the length of the label printed by the printer, the longer the printing time, and the lower the price processing capability of the pricing device including the label printer. Further, in the packaging apparatus, its packaging capacity depends on the properties of the product to be packaged, the dimensions including the tray of the product, the method of folding the stretch film on the back surface of the product, and the like.

[0007] For example, if the goods supplied to the system are changed, the length of the tray is changed correspondingly, so that the weighing capacity of the weighing conveyor changes accordingly. On the other hand, if the product changes, the length of the label to be attached may also change. In addition, even if the product does not change, in the case of normal sales, in the case of special sales, or in the case of emphasizing the so-called eye catch property that has been devised so that the letters and numbers printed on the label are easily noticeable The label content changes accordingly, and the length of the label may change.

As described above, there is a possibility that the superiority of the weighing processing capacity of the weighing conveyor and the valuing processing capacity of the valuation device may be switched for each product or each label content. In such a case, if the setting or change of the operating conditions of the system is performed based on human experience or intuition, it is obvious that the work is troublesome and a judgment error is likely to occur.

[0009] The same problem as described above also occurs in a system in which a packaging device and a pricing device are combined.

Therefore, the present invention aims to maximize the potential of the system in a product processing system in which a plurality of processing devices such as a weighing device and a pricing device are integrated. It is an object of the present invention to construct a product processing system that eliminates troublesome operation condition setting work and judgment errors by eliminating the setting of operation conditions relying on intuition.

[0011]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is characterized in that the above-mentioned object is attained as follows.

That is, the invention according to claim 1 of the present application (hereinafter, referred to as the first invention) continuously performs a predetermined process on a product by a plurality of product processing devices arranged along the transport route of the product. A product processing system configured to perform the processing, a processing product specification unit that specifies a product to be processed, and a processing capability calculation unit that calculates the processing capability of each of the processing devices for the product specified by the specification unit; A processing capability selecting unit for selecting a minimum processing capability among the processing capabilities of the respective processing devices calculated by the calculating unit as a processing capability of the entire system.

[0013] Next, the invention according to claim 2 (hereinafter referred to as the second invention) is the invention according to the above-mentioned claim 1, wherein the commodity data relating to the processing capability of each processing device is stored for each commodity. Data storage means, and
The processing capacity calculating means reads out product data on the product specified by the processing product specifying means from the storage means, and calculates the processing capacity of each processing device based on the data.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a weighing conveyor for weighing a product while transporting the product as a plurality of product processing apparatuses. And a pricing device that prints product information such as price on a label and attaches the product to the product. The product data storage means includes a length of a tray for storing the product and a length of the label to be affixed to the product. And the processing capacity calculation means calculates the processing capacity of the weighing conveyor from the length of the tray read from the product data storage means, and calculates the processing capacity of the pricing device from the length of the label. The operation is performed.

The invention according to claim 4 (hereinafter referred to as a fourth invention) is characterized in that, in the invention according to claim 2, a packaging device for packaging products is provided as a plurality of product processing devices;
A pricing device that prints product information such as price on a label and affixes it to the product is provided, and the product data storage unit has a processing capability of the packaging device set according to the product,
Memorize the length of the label attached to the product for each product,
Further, the processing capacity calculation means calculates the processing capacity of the pricing device from the length of the label read from the product data storage means.

The invention according to claim 5 (hereinafter referred to as the fifth invention)
The invention according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising an operation control means for operating each processing apparatus with the processing capacity of the entire system selected by the processing capacity selection means. Features.

According to the above configuration, the following operation can be obtained.

First, according to the first invention, the product processing capability of each processing device constituting the system is calculated for each product to be processed, and which processing device is rate-limiting in the system is selected. The processing capacity of the entire system is selected based on the processing capacity of the processing apparatus. For example, in the case of this product, which processing apparatus is dominant in determining the operating conditions of the system Can be grasped quickly.

According to the second invention, in addition to the configuration of the first invention, when calculating the processing capacity of each processing device for each product, for example, the length of the tray for storing the product and the label attached to the product The product data such as length is stored for each product and can be read as needed, so there is no need to input new data every time a product is changed, and therefore, input errors are less likely to occur At the same time, work efficiency can be improved.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, as a processing apparatus constituting a product processing system, a transport weighing type conveyer and a pricing apparatus in which a label printer and a sticking apparatus are integrated are combined. Since the processing capabilities of these processing devices are calculated based on the stored data, the operating conditions of the system can be changed promptly when the supply of goods is switched.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, as a processing apparatus constituting a product processing system, a packaging apparatus, a labeling apparatus in which a label printer and a label attaching apparatus are integrated, are combined, and Since the processing capability of the apparatus is stored or the processing capability is calculated based on the stored data, the operating conditions of the system should be changed promptly when the supply of goods is switched, as in the operation of the third invention. Will be able to

According to the fifth invention, in addition to any one of the first to fourth inventions, an operation for operating each processing device with the processing capacity of the entire system selected by the processing capacity selection means. Since the control means is provided, there is no need for manual setting of operating conditions by hand and labor can be saved. If the set operating conditions are displayed, the current product processing capacity of the system can be understood at a glance, which is useful for work management.

[0023]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows an overall configuration of a product processing system according to the present embodiment, in particular, a configuration in which products are continuously transported on a transport route. A weighing conveyor 2 and a pricing device 3 are provided.

First, the merchandise G stored in the tray is carried into the packaging device 1 by the carry-in conveyor 4, and is wrapped by the packaging device 1 with a stretch film. In the packaging device 1, generally, the product G is supplied into the main body by the carry-in conveyor 4, and is pushed up to an upper packaging portion (not shown) by a lifting device (not shown). After being wrapped by a stretch film supplied to the main body and sealed by a seal conveyor (not shown), it is discharged to the outside of the main body. At this time, the maximum packaging processing capacity P1 of the packaging device 1 (times / mi)
n) is determined by the properties of the product G, dimensions including the tray of the product G, how to fold the stretch film on the back surface of the product G, and the like.

Next, the wrapped product G is placed on the weighing conveyor 2.
It is led to. In general, the weighing conveyor 2 has a mechanism for winding a belt between a pair of rollers and driving one of the rollers. The conveying of the product G is performed by a load cell 5 disposed below the belt while conveying the product G. It is a mechanism that can measure weight.

In this case, the maximum weighing processing capacity P2 (times / min) of the weighing conveyor 2 is determined by the speed V2 of the weighing conveyor 2
(m / min) and the length L21 (mm) of the weighing conveyor 2
Is calculated by the following equation (1).

[0028]

(Equation 1)

On the other hand, the speed V2 of the weighing conveyor 2 is determined by the length L21 (mm) of the weighing conveyor 2 and the product G to be placed.
The length of the tray L22 (mm) and the weighing stabilization time T2 (msec) necessary for performing stable weighing are calculated by the following Expression 2.

[0030]

(Equation 2)

Here, if the type of the weighing conveyor 2 to be used is determined, the length L21 of the weighing conveyor 2 and the weighing stability time T2 are values specific to the weighing conveyor 2. For example, it can be seen that the longer the tray length L22, the lower the speed V2 of the weighing conveyor 2 must be, and therefore the lower the maximum weighing capacity P2 of the weighing conveyor 2 becomes.

The length L22 of the tray means the length of the tray in the transport direction, not the direction perpendicular to the transport direction.

Then, the weighed product G is transported to the pricing device 3 further downstream. The pricing device 3 includes a label printer 6 and a label sticking device 7.
The label sticking device 7 is generally configured to hold a label issued and supplied from the label printer 6, and to stick the label to a product G being transported.

The maximum price processing capacity P3 of the pricing device 3
(Times / min) is the label issuing time T31 (mse
Based on c) and the label sticking time T32 (msec), it is given by the following Equation 3.

[0035]

(Equation 3)

Here, if the type of the pricing device 3 to be used is determined, the label sticking time T32 is a value unique to the pricing device 3. Accordingly, the maximum pricing processing capacity P of the pricing device 3
3 depends on the label issuing time T31, that is, the label printing time, in other words, the label length.

The length of the label means the length of the label printer 6 in the direction in which the label is sent out, and is not the length in the direction perpendicular to the direction in which the label is sent out.

The maximum processing capacity P1 of the packaging apparatus 1 obtained based on the above, the maximum processing capacity P2 of the weighing conveyor 2 and the maximum processing capacity P3 of the pricing apparatus 3 are compared, and the minimum processing capacity is obtained. Is a processing device that controls a series of operations in the system. By controlling the operating conditions of the other processing units that make up the system based on the maximum processing capacity of the processing unit that is selected to have the minimum processing capacity, troubles such as stagnation of goods on the transport path and empty space Without any conditions, the process from packaging to pricing will proceed smoothly and with capabilities close to the potential of the system.

Next, a control system in the product processing system will be described.

The control unit 8 as a means for controlling the system will be described with reference to FIG.

As shown in FIG. 2, the control unit 8 includes an operation section 9 for an operator to input settings for each operation of the packaging apparatus 1, the weighing conveyor 2, the pricing apparatus 3, and the like. A signal is input and the packaging device 1
It outputs various control signals to the weighing conveyor 2, the pricing device 3, and the display unit 10.

Further, in the memory 11 of the control unit 8, various data such as data necessary for label printing such as product name, unit price, expiration date, and tare of the tray for each product G, as well as dimensions of the tray and the label, are stored. Information is stored.

On the other hand, the operation unit 1 of the control unit 8
2 calculates a net weight and a price from the weighed value, the tare of the tray, the unit price, etc., selects necessary label printing information called from the product master together with these data, and selects a pricing device 3
To the label printer 6. Alternatively, the calculation unit 12 calculates the maximum processing capacity of each processing apparatus for each product G, and selects a processing apparatus having the minimum processing capacity.

Next, an operation example of this system will be described with reference to FIGS.
This will be described according to the flowchart shown in FIG.

First, according to FIG. 3, when the operator operates the operation unit 9 of the control unit 8 and inputs the product code of the product G to be operated, the control unit 8
In response to this, a product master stored in the memory 11 is searched, and various types of product information corresponding to the input code number are called from the stored contents of the master. Here, the length of the tray and the length of the label required to calculate the maximum processing capacity of each processing device are read (steps S1 and S2).

Based on the length of the tray and the length of the label read in this way, the maximum processing capacity of each processing device when the product G is supplied to the system is calculated by the arithmetic unit 12 using the above formulas (1) to (4). 3 (step S
3).

The operation data is already stored in the memory 11
In this case, the maximum processing capacity of each processing device that satisfies the above condition may be read from the data stored in the memory 11.

In this way, by comparing the maximum processing capacities obtained by calculation for each processing unit, it is determined which processing unit has the minimum processing capacity and is rate-limiting in the system ( Step S4).

In actual operation, operating conditions of each processing apparatus are set based on the maximum processing capacity of the processing apparatus selected to have the minimum processing capacity (step S5).

The set operating conditions are displayed on the display unit 10 of the control unit 8 (step S).
6).

As described above, the conditions for a series of packaging, weighing, and pricing operations are set, and the system is operated upon receipt of the conditions (step S7).

Here, the contents of step S7 will be described with reference to FIG.

That is, the merchandise G is first supplied to the packaging device 1 and wrapped with a stretch film (step S7).
1, S72).

When the packaging is completed, the downstream weighing conveyor 2
And is weighed while being transported (step S7).
3).

When the weighing is completed, the weighed value data is transmitted to the control unit 8, while the weighed product G is conveyed to the pricing device 3 (step S74).

The control unit 8 receives the weighed value data, calculates the net weight and price from the weighed value data and the tare and unit price of the tray read from the memory 11 by the calculation unit 12 and, together with these data, the product master. The necessary label print information called from the printer is selected and transmitted to the label printer 6 of the pricing device 3 (step S75).

The label on which necessary items are printed by the label printer 6 is attached to the commodity G by the label attaching device 7 (steps S76 and S77).

Thereafter, the commodity G is discharged from the pricing device 3 (step S78).

Here, the control unit 8 determines whether or not all the merchandise processing has been completed, and if not completed, returns to step S71 to continue the work, while if completed, stops the work ( Step S79).

It should be noted that a product processing apparatus other than the one described in the embodiment of the present invention, for example, a foreign matter detector for detecting foreign matter mixed in a product may be incorporated. In this case, the maximum processing capacity is required based on the reaction speed of the detection device in the foreign object detector. Then, the capacity is compared with the maximum processing capacity of other commodity processing devices,
The operating conditions of the entire system are determined.

[0061]

As described above in detail with reference to the specific examples, according to the present invention, when setting the operating conditions of the product processing system, the troublesome work relying on human experience and intuition is eliminated. Therefore, it is possible to quickly set the operating conditions, and it is possible to eliminate an erroneous determination by the operator in the setting.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overall configuration of a product processing system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a control system diagram of the system.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a main operation showing an operation example of the system.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of the same main operation.

[Description of Signs] 1 Packaging device 2 Weighing conveyor 3 Pricing device 8 Control unit 11 Memory 12 Operation unit G Product

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A product processing system configured to continuously perform a predetermined process on a product by a plurality of product processing devices arranged along a transport route of the product, wherein the product to be processed is designated. Processing product specifying means, processing capacity calculating means for calculating the processing capacity of each of the processing devices for the product specified by the specifying means, and at least one of the processing capacities of the processing devices calculated by the calculating means. A processing capability selecting means for selecting a processing capability as a processing capability of the entire system. 2. A product data storage means for storing product data relating to the processing capacity of each processing device for each product, and a processing capability calculating means for processing the product specified by the processing product designating means. 2. The product processing system according to claim 1, wherein the product data is read from the storage unit, and the processing capability of each processing device is calculated based on the data. 3. A plurality of merchandise processing apparatuses are provided with a weighing conveyor that measures the weight of the merchandise while conveying the merchandise, and a pricing device that prints merchandise information such as price on a label and affixes it to the merchandise. At the same time, the product data storage means stores, for each product, the length of the tray accommodating the product, and the length of the label attached to the product, and the processing capacity calculation means stores the length of the tray read from the product data storage means. 3. The product processing system according to claim 2, wherein the processing capacity of the weighing conveyor is calculated from the length, and the processing capacity of the pricing apparatus is calculated from the length of the label. 4. A plurality of product processing devices, including a packaging device for packaging the product, and a pricing device for printing product information such as price on a label and attaching the product information to the product,
The product data storage means stores the processing capacity of the packaging device set according to the product and the length of the label attached to the product for each product, and the processing capability calculation means reads out the product data storage means from the product data storage means. 3. The product processing system according to claim 2, wherein the processing capability of the pricing device is calculated from the length of the label. 5. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising operation control means for operating each processing device with the processing capacity of the entire system selected by the processing capacity selection means. Product processing system.