JP2001122334A - Packaging member and conveying method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a packaging member which certainly reads an article information out of a recording medium attached to an article housed in the packaging member. SOLUTION: An IC tag 12 storing an article information is stuck to a specified position of an article 11. On the other hand, a positioning mark 13 for positioning a reader/writer and the IC tag 12 is printed on a specified position at the outside of a packaging case 10. As the article 11 is housed in an appropriate position in the packaging case 10, the recording medium 12 (the IC tag) of the housed article 11 is positioned behind the positioning mark 13 at the outside of the packaging case.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a technology for streamlining distribution.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In the handling of products, for example, in receiving products, it is necessary to obtain product information from individual products. Therefore, a recording medium on which product information is recorded is attached to each product. As such a recording medium, it is common to use a label (hereinafter, referred to as a barcode label) on which a barcode on which recorded information can be optically read by a scanner is printed.

A scanner for reading recorded information from a barcode label cannot read recorded information from the barcode label if there is an obstacle between itself and the barcode label. Therefore, if the product is stored in the packing box, the packing box becomes an obstacle, and thus the recorded information cannot be read from the barcode label attached to the product. For this reason, it is difficult to acquire product information from a product in a process in which the product is handled in a packaged state, for example, in a product transportation / delivery process.

[0004] In order to obtain product information even in a process in which a product is handled in a packaged state, usually, a barcode label on which the same recorded content is recorded on both the product and the packing box. Is pasted
(Hereinafter, referred to as a conventional labeling method). Some of the recording media attached to products allow contact information readers to read the recorded information.
If there is an obstacle between the contact-type reader and the barcode label, it will not be able to read the recorded information if there is an obstacle. It is generally attached.

[0005]

However, when the above-described conventional label attaching method is adopted, if a label is mistakenly attached to a packaging box or a packaging box is mistaken, etc., in a process of handling the packaged product, Correct product information cannot be obtained. In addition, even if the packaging box on which the correct label is attached is used for product packaging, if the packaging box label is contaminated during transportation, etc.,
It becomes difficult to read the product information recorded there.

[0006] In order to solve such a problem, a recording medium (for example, a non-contact IC card or the like) that transmits and receives data using a radio wave and the like to and from a reader may be used as a label for a product. . With such a recording medium, as shown in FIG. 16A, even if there is some obstacle 1603 between the product 1600 and the reader 1602, the recording medium 160 by the reader 1602 can be used.
Acquisition of the product information from 1 does not become impossible. Therefore, if this is affixed to the product as a label, the product information recorded on the label of the internal product can be obtained even from the outside of the packaging box,
There is no need to attach the same kind of label to the packing box.
Therefore, the above-described problem caused by attaching the label to the packing box is solved.

However, the antenna of a non-contact IC card or the like and the antenna of a reader that communicates with the antenna have unidirectionality. Therefore, FIG.
As shown in (b), if the reader 1602 is not properly positioned with respect to the non-contact IC card 1601,
The communication area 1605 of the reader 1602 is shifted from the communication area 1604 of the non-contact IC card 1601,
Communication between the non-contact IC card 1602 and the reader 1602 becomes difficult. For this reason, it is difficult to obtain accurate product information from the recording medium unless the position of the internal product to which the recording medium is attached is accurately grasped from the outside of the packaging box.

[0008] However, as shown in FIG.
As long as the readers 1602 are arranged in an array so as to surround the periphery of 600, it is possible to avoid a situation in which communication is impossible due to the directivity of radio waves. However, problems such as an increase in equipment cost, an increase in power consumption, a decrease in reading accuracy due to mutual interference of radio waves, and the like occur. It is desired to prevent reading errors of product information from a recording medium.

Accordingly, it is a first object of the present invention to provide a packaging material capable of reliably reading product information from a recording medium attached to an internal product. A second object is to provide a product suitable for packing with such a packing material. A third object of the present invention is to provide a transport system capable of efficiently transporting a product packed by such a packing material in a posture suitable for reading product information. And, by achieving these objectives, the efficiency of distribution is improved.

[0010]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention relates to a packing material for packing a product with a recording medium in which merchandise information is stored, wherein the packing material comprises the recording medium and the recording medium. A packaging material having one or more marks for alignment with a reader for reading the product information is provided.

According to the packing material of the present invention, the position of the internal product recording medium can be easily grasped from the sign provided on the outer surface. Therefore, by using the mark provided on the outer surface of the packing material for the alignment between the recording medium of the internal product and the reader, it is possible to position the reader in an appropriate posture with respect to the recording medium of the internal product. it can. Therefore, the product information can be reliably read from the recording medium of the internal product.

In order to obtain such an effect, it is necessary that the product with the recording medium is packed in a packing material in an appropriate posture.
Therefore, the present invention provides, as a product with a recording medium, which is packed with such a packing material, a sign for aligning the posture of the packing material with a sign at one or more positions determined according to the position of the recording medium. Provide a product characterized by having.

According to the product of the present invention, at the time of packaging,
Depending on the positional relationship between the product side sign and the packing material side sign,
Since the positional relationship between the sign on the packing material side and the product information on the product side can be grasped, the product can be packed in an appropriate posture with respect to the sign on the packing material.

Furthermore, the present invention provides a transport system capable of efficiently transporting a product with a recording medium packed with the packaging material according to the present invention in a posture suitable for reading product information from the recording medium. What is claimed is: 1. A transport system for transporting, on a transport path, a transported product obtained by packing a product with a recording medium with a packaging material according to the present invention, wherein the reading unit reads product information of the recording medium from the transported product on the transport route, and the reading unit. Upstream of the information reading position of the transport path, detects a sign of the packing material from the transported article on the transport path, and, based on the detection result, changes the attitude of the transported article according to the attitude of the reader. And a posture adjusting means for adjusting the posture of the transfer system.

According to the transport system of the present invention, prior to the reading of the product information by the reader, the position of the recording medium of the internal product is detected by detecting the sign of the packaging material having a predetermined positional relationship with the recording medium of the internal product. Therefore, the posture of the conveyed object can be adjusted to a posture corresponding to the posture of the reading device based on the grasp result. Thereby, the product with the recording medium packed by the packing material can be efficiently transported in a posture suitable for reading the product information by the reading device.

[0016]

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

First, prior to the description of the packing material according to the present embodiment, a product with a recording medium (home appliance, office equipment, OA equipment, etc.) to be packed by the packing material will be described (an imaginary line in FIG. 1). ).

In the product 11 stored in the packing box 10 according to the present embodiment, product information (for example, product name, product specification, serial number, manufacturing date, manufacturer name, A recording medium 12 on which various approval numbers are stored is attached.

Here, for simplicity of description, the recording medium 1
2 is pasted on the product 11 only one, but actually,
What is necessary is just to attach the required number of recording media 12 to the product 11. Also, in the actual product handling business,
A plurality of products or a plurality of parts may be stored in one packing box 10, but in such a case, it is not always necessary to attach a recording medium to each product or each part, and the storage medium may not be attached. Storage medium 1 in which merchandise information as a whole is recorded on any one of the products or parts
It is enough if 2 is pasted.

In the present embodiment, the recording medium 12 to be attached to a product to be packed is a recording medium that communicates with a reader / writer in a non-contact manner, specifically, an IC tag or an IC card that transmits product information. (Generally called RFID). If such a recording medium is attached to the internal product, the product information of the internal product can be obtained from the outside of the packaging material without having to attach the same type of recording medium to the packing material side. is there. Therefore,
As long as it is a recording medium that can transmit stored information to a reader / writer in a non-contact manner at a distance of about several tens of cm across the packing material, a medium other than an IC tag or IC card can be used as a recording medium for attaching a product. You may. Of course, it does not matter whether the information can be written by the reader / writer.

Since the stored information of an IC tag or the like cannot be visually checked by humans, when this is used as the recording medium 12 for attaching the product,
It is desirable that information for human confirmation of the contents of the stored information be displayed at an appropriate place. For example, a confirmation label printed with characters or the like representing the contents of the storage information of the IC tag or the like may be attached to the surface of the IC tag, the housing of the product, or the like. For example, if the IC tag is writable, rewriting of product information by a reader / writer can occur. For example, such a confirming label is a heat-sensitive label capable of writing / erasing character information or the like by heat. It is desirable to use a material (material for forming a rewritable card) or the like.

Next, the packing material according to the present embodiment will be described by taking as an example a packing box used for transporting a product with a recording medium.

The packing material according to the present embodiment is made of cardboard,
It is formed by molding a material, such as plastic, which is unlikely to hinder data reading from the recording medium 12 attached to the product 11 to be packed by this into an expanded shape of the box.

At a predetermined position of the packing material, a mark (hereinafter referred to as a packing material side mark) for adjusting the position and posture of the reader / writer with respect to the recording medium of the internal product is printed. When this packing material is assembled, a packing box as shown in FIG. 1 is completed, but the packing material side sign 13 is provided at a predetermined position on the outer surface of the packing box, specifically, the product 11 is stored inside. Where the reader / writer has high sensitivity to the recording medium 12 (in this embodiment, the internal product 1
(The front side of the opposing portion facing the first recording medium 12).

The form of the packaging material side marker 13 to be printed may be determined according to the detection method of a detector for detecting the type. For example, when pattern recognition is used to detect the packing material side marker 13, FIG.
(a) As shown in (b), a figure (for example, a character, a symbol, or the like) indicating a position at which information can be read from the recording medium 12 of the internal product 11 is used as a packing material side marker 13 on the packing material. Just print it. Further, in order to facilitate the mechanical reading of the recorded content from the packing material side marker 13, instead of the graphic, the recording medium 1 of the internal product 11 as shown in FIG.
A bar code (for example, a bar code, a two-dimensional code, or the like) in which information indicating that the information can be read from the position 2 may be printed on the packing material as the packing material side marker 13.

When the recorded content of the packing material side sign 13 printed on the packing material is read mechanically as in the case of carrying by a carrying system described later, the packing material side sign 13 printed on the packing material is used. Need not necessarily be perceived by the human naked eye in normal circumstances. Therefore, when the packed product is transported by such a transport system, as shown in FIG. 2D, the packaging material side marker 13 is made of a phosphor that absorbs light of a predetermined wavelength and emits light. It may be printed on the packing material with the contained fluorescent paint (for example, stealth barcode ink adopted with the introduction of a seven-digit postal code at a post office).

In the present embodiment, the packing material side marker 13 is printed directly on the packing material, but this is not always necessary. For example, a label or the like on which a symbol or the like to become the packing material side sign 13 is printed may be attached to a predetermined portion on the outer surface of the packing material (the front side of the portion facing the recording medium 12).

The packing material side mark 13 does not necessarily need to be a figure or the like printed on the packing material. For example, it may be a shape feature given to a part of the packing material. As a specific example, a through hole having an appropriate size is formed in a predetermined position of the packing box (a position opposite to the sticking position of the recording medium 12), and a predetermined position of the packing box (sticking of the recording medium 12). A plurality of through-holes formed in a regular array at locations (opposite locations) can be used as the packing material side marker 13. When such a through hole is used as the packing material side marker 13, it is desirable to cover the through hole with a transparent vinyl sheet or the like in order to protect the internal product.

If the above-mentioned product 11 is stored in such a packaging box 10 in an appropriate posture, the recording medium 12 on the product side should be positioned at an appropriate interval behind the packaging box side sign 13. Also, even from outside the packing box 10, the position of the recording medium 12 of the internal product 11 can be easily grasped based on the position of the packing material side mark 13. This is not limited to when a recording medium is attached to a product,
The same applies to a case where the recording medium is attached to a predetermined location on the inner side surface of the packaging box (on the back side of the location where the packaging material side mark 13 is attached).

Therefore, in both the case where the recording medium is attached to the product and the case where the recording medium is attached to a predetermined position on the inner surface of the packaging box, the packaging material side mark 13 on the outer surface of the packaging box is displayed. If the reader / writer is used as a mark for alignment between the recording medium 12 of the internal product 11 and the reader / writer, the reader / writer can be positioned in an appropriate posture with respect to the recording medium 12 of the internal product 11. For this reason, reading error of the product information of the internal product is less likely to occur. Further, when the storage medium 12 of the internal product 11 is writable, a mistake in writing the stored information by the reader / writer is less likely to occur.

Now, in order to obtain such an effect when the recording medium is attached to the product side, the product 1 with the recording medium is required.
1 must be stored in the packing box 10 in an appropriate posture.
For that purpose, when storing the product 11 in the packing box 10,
It is necessary to adjust the attitude of the product 11 with respect to the packing box 10.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 3, of the flaps provided in the product insertion opening of the packing box 10, a flap 10A which is connected to the surface of the product 11 facing the recording medium 12 has an appropriate position (here Then, it is desirable to make a cut in the corner region 10a). In this way, when the product 11 is inserted into the packing box 10, the recording medium sticking surface of the product 11 faces the cut flap side (or the flap with character information) of the packing box 10.
By adjusting the posture of the product 11 with respect to the product 11, the product 11 can be stored in the packaging box 10 in an appropriate posture.
Here, a predetermined flap 10A is used as a mark for adjusting the attitude of the product 11 with respect to the packing box 10.
However, instead of the notch, for example, a character, a symbol, a graphic, or the like indicating a direction in which the recording medium attaching surface of the product 11 should be directed may be printed, or such a character or the like is printed. A label or the like may be attached (see FIG. 4).

Further, on the upper surface side of the product 11, a marker (hereinafter, referred to as a posture adjusting marker) indicating which side the recording medium is attached to, such as a seal or a characteristic shape, is provided. If inserted, the position of the recording medium on the product side and the position of the label on the packing material side can be grasped from one direction when the product 11 is inserted into the packing box 10, thereby preventing the posture adjustment error of the product 11 with respect to the packing box 10. It is also useful for automating product packaging. However, when the product 11 is wrapped with a cushioning material or the like before being inserted into the packing box 10, it is desirable to provide a posture adjusting marker on the cushioning material or the like covering the product 11 instead of the product.

For example, when the recording medium is stuck on the side surface of the product, the posture adjustment markers provided on the product side include (1) a predetermined flap 1 of the packing box 10.
A seal 50 indicating a product surface to be directed to the 0A side, specifically, a seal 50 affixed to a position near the recording medium affixing surface on the upper surface of the product 11, as shown in FIG.
(2) A sticker indicating a product surface that should not be directed to the predetermined flap 10A side of the packing box 10, specifically, affixed to a position close to each side surface other than the recording medium affixing surface in the upper surface of the product 11. The attached seal can be used.

Alternatively, regardless of such a method, the recording medium 1 may be located at a location symmetrical with respect to the center axis of the product 11.
Even if 2 is pasted, the above-mentioned effect can be obtained. If the recording medium is attached to such a plurality of positions, even if the product 11 is rotated by 180 ° around its central axis when the product 11 is inserted into the
This is because the recording medium 12 is to be positioned at an appropriate distance behind the 0 positioning mark 13.

By the way, in the above, the internal product 11
Is provided only on the outer surface of the packing box 10 for adjusting the position and the posture of the reader / writer with respect to the recording medium 12 of the above, but a sign used for other purposes is provided on the outer surface of the packing box 10. You can also. For example, as shown in FIG. 6, a guide marker 60 indicating the position of the packing material side marker 13 is separately provided on a surface other than the surface on which the marker 13 used for positioning the recording medium with respect to the reader / writer is provided. If the attitude of the packing box 10 is changed according to the guide sign 60, the reader / writer can be positioned smoothly in front of the packing material side sign 13.

The form of the guide sign 60 to be printed or the like may be determined according to the means for detecting the form. For example, a human can visually check the guide sign 6
When grasping the content of 0, when using pattern recognition to detect the guide sign 60, etc., a figure (for example, a character, a symbol, etc.) indicating a relative positional relationship with the surface on which the positioning sign 13 is provided. ) May be printed on the packing material as a guide mark 60 (see FIGS. 7 and 8). FIG. 9 (six views of the packaging box 10) shows an example of a combination of figures to be printed as the guide signs 60 on each side of the packaging box 10. In this combination example, the left and right upper and lower surfaces (front view, back view, top view,
Arrow 90a in a direction from each of them to the surface on which the packing material side mark 13 is attached.
90d is printed as a guide sign 60, and on the side surface (the surface shown in the left side view) opposite to the surface on which the packing material side sign 13 is attached, there is a surface opposite to the packing material side sign 13. A figure 90e indicating that there is is printed as a guide sign 60. In this combination example, one guide sign is provided on each side of the packing box 10, but if the packing box has a relatively large capacity, a plurality of guide signs may be provided on each side thereof. .

Further, in order to facilitate the machine reading of the guide sign 60, a bar code (for example, a bar code, a two-dimensional code, etc.) may be printed on the packing material as the guide sign 60 instead of the figure (see FIG. 10). In this case, information indicating the relative positional relationship between the surface on which the barcode is attached and the surface on which the mark 13 is attached is recorded in the barcode.

It is to be noted that all of the guide signs 60 mentioned here need not necessarily be printed, as in the case of the packing material side sign 13.

Next, an automatic transport system capable of efficiently transporting the product 11 with the recording medium packed in the above-described packaging box 10 will be described.

FIG. 11 shows a schematic configuration of an automatic transport system for automatically transporting a product 11 packed in a packaging box 10 having a figure as shown in FIGS.
Shown in The automatic transport system includes a transport device (belt conveyor, roller conveyor, etc.) 100 for transporting packed products from a loading location to an unloading location by an appropriate transport path, and a rotary table 10 disposed on the transport path of the transport device 100.
4. A plurality (four in this case) of cameras 103a to 103 for photographing the packed product 11 being conveyed upstream from the rotary table 104 on the transfer path from different side surfaces.
d, an image processor (not shown) for recognizing the alignment mark 13 from the input image from each of the cameras 103a to 103d, from the recording medium 12 of the packaged product 11 being transported on the downstream side of the transport path from the rotary table 104. A non-contact reader / writer 102 for reading product information, an information processing apparatus 101 for controlling the entire system based on images captured by the cameras 103a to 103d, and the like are provided. Note that the reader / writer 102 is installed at a position where the distance between the antenna position and the product transfer surface is equal to the distance from the lower bottom of the packing box 10 to the packing material side sign 13.

As described above, since the packing material side marker 13 of the packing box 10 is a figure, the cameras 103a to 103d are arranged as detectors for detecting the figure. When the side marker 13 is other than a figure, a detector suitable for the detection may be provided. For example, when a bar code as shown in FIG. 2C is used as the packaging material side marker 13, a bar code reader may be provided instead of the camera. Further, as shown in FIG. 2D, when the packing material side marker 13 is printed on the packing material with a fluorescent paint containing a phosphor that absorbs and emits light of a predetermined wavelength, the predetermined wavelength is used. A detector for optically detecting the packing material side marker 13 of the packing box 10 by irradiating the light beam of the above may be installed.

In the automatic transport system configured as described above, the stepping motor for driving the rotary table 104 is arranged so that the packaged product 11 passing through the front of the reader / writer 102 faces its recording medium toward the reader / writer 102. Is controlled by the information processing apparatus 101. Hereinafter, a control process of the information processing apparatus 101 will be described with reference to FIG. 12 by taking as an example a case where a product 11 packed in a packaging box 10 without a guide sign is used as a conveyed product.

In the process of transferring the packed product 11 on the transfer path, each side surface of the packed product 11 is sequentially photographed by the four cameras 103a to 103d.
(S130). Each time, the image processor compares the input image from the camera with a predetermined reference image,
The degree of matching is evaluated (S131), and then the information processing apparatus 101 determines whether or not the input image from the camera matches the reference image based on the evaluation result (S132).

If the input image from any of the cameras matches the reference image, the information processing apparatus 101
Based on the orientation of the camera and the orientation of the reader / writer,
The rotation angle of the stepping motor for driving the turntable 104 is calculated (S133). For example, the reader / writer 102
If the input image from the camera 103b facing the front in the opposite direction matches the reference image, the rotation angle calculated here is 180 degrees.

The information processing apparatus 101 sends a control signal including the calculation result to the turntable 1 at the timing when the packaged product 11 reaches the turntable 104.
04 to the driving circuit of the driving stepping motor
(S134). Accordingly, the turntable 104 rotates in the horizontal plane by the rotation angle calculated by the information processing apparatus 101 while the packaged product 11 is placed thereon. If the packaged product 11 proceeds on the transfer path in this posture, the packaging material side marker 13 of the packaging box 10 just passes through the antenna of the reader / writer 102. That is, the recording medium 12 behind the packaging material side marker 13 just crosses the communication range of the reader / writer 102. Therefore, according to this automatic transport system, the reader / writer 102 can acquire the product information in a good reception state. Even if new information needs to be written to the recording medium 12 of the packed product 11, a good transmission state is ensured when the packed product 11 passes through the front of the reader / writer 102. Is less likely to cause information writing failure.

Here, the four cameras 103a to 103a
The input image from the camera 103a is sequentially processed by one image processing processor.
An image processor is provided for each of ~ 103b,
With these image processors, four cameras 103a-
The input image from 103b may be processed in parallel.

By the way, in the system configuration shown in FIG. 11, four cameras 103a to 103 are used to photograph the packed product 11 being transported from different side surfaces.
d is installed near the transfer path. For example, as shown in FIG.
If the camera 103 that shoots the image from the side is installed, it is not always necessary to install a plurality of cameras. In this way, the packaged product 11 is placed in front of one camera 103.
Can be rotated once, so that an image of each side surface of the packed product 11 can be obtained even when a plurality of cameras are not installed. The automatic transport system shown in FIG. 13 is also suitable for transporting products 11 packed in a packaging box 10 with a guide sign.

Hereinafter, the control process executed by the information processing apparatus 101 of the automatic transport system shown in FIG. 13 is described as (1) transporting the product 11 packed in the packaging box 10 without the guide sign,
(2) The case where the product 11 packed in the packing box 10 with the guide sign is transported will be described in two ways.

(1) Control processing when the product 11 packed in the packing box 10 without a guide sign is transported (see FIG. 14).

First, when the packaged product 11 reaches the turntable 104, the information processing apparatus 101 initializes a rotation angle parameter N of the turntable 104 (S15).
0). Then, at a timing described later, the rotation angle parameter N is incremented by a predetermined angle (90 degrees when the packing box is a rectangular parallelepiped) in increments of a value within a range not exceeding 360 degrees (S157). The rotary table 104 is rotated by a rotation angle corresponding to minutes (S158). And
Each time the rotation table 104 is rotated by a predetermined rotation angle, the image processor compares the input image from the camera 103 with the reference image, evaluates the degree of coincidence thereof, and compares the evaluation result with the information processing apparatus. Input to 101.

During this time, the information processing apparatus 101 sequentially determines whether or not the rotation angle parameter N is less than 360 degrees each time the turntable 104 is rotated by a predetermined rotation angle.
(S151), the following processing is executed according to the determination result.

When the information processing apparatus 101 determines that the rotation angle parameter N exceeds 360 degrees, the information processing apparatus 101
It is determined that there is no packing material side marker 13 on any side of the above, the operation of the turntable 104 and the transfer device 100 is stopped, an alarm is sounded, and an error message is displayed on the display (S152). When it is determined that the angle parameter N is less than 360 degrees, the information processing apparatus 101 receives an input of an evaluation result from the image processor (S153), and based on the evaluation result, determines an input image from the camera 103 as a reference. It is determined whether or not it matches the image (S154).

At this time, if the input image from the camera 103 does not match the reference image, the information processing apparatus 101
Sets the rotation angle parameter N to a predetermined angle, as described above.
The rotation table 104 is rotated by a rotation angle corresponding to the increment (S157) while incrementing (90 degrees when the packing box is a rectangular parallelepiped) (S157).

On the other hand, if the input image from the camera 103 matches the reference image, the information processing apparatus 101
The rotation angle of the stepping motor for driving the rotary table 104 is calculated based on the orientation of the camera 103 and the orientation of the reader / writer 102 (S155). For example, the camera 10
If the front of 3 faces the same direction as the front of the reader / writer 102, the rotation angle calculated here is 0 degree. When the front of the camera 103 faces in the opposite direction to the reader / writer 102, the rotation angle calculated here is 180 degrees.

The information processing apparatus 101 sends a control signal including such a calculation result to the turntable 10 at the timing when the packaged product 11 reaches the turntable 104.
4 to the driving circuit of the driving stepping motor (S
156). Accordingly, the turntable 104 rotates by a rotation angle calculated by the information processing apparatus 101 while the packaged product 11 is placed thereon. If the packaged product 11 proceeds on the transfer path in this posture, the packaging material side marker 13 of the packaging box 10 just passes in front of the antenna of the reader / writer 102 as in the case of the above-described system. is there.

(2) Control processing when the product 11 packed in the packing box 10 with the guide sign is transported (see FIG. 15). However, here, the packing box 10 in which the graphic guide signs 60 are attached to the three side surfaces other than the surface to which the packing material side sign 13 is attached is used.

When the camera 103 takes an image of the packaged product 11 on the rotary table 104 and the image is input to the image processor (S140), the image processor
Recognize characters and the like included in the input image according to a recognition algorithm similar to that of OCR software or the like.
(S141). The information processing device 101 indicates, based on the recognition result, that the figure included in the input image from the camera 103 is one of left, right, and after the surface on which the packing material side mark 13 is attached. It is determined whether or not it corresponds to the package material side mark 13 (S142). Thereby, the rotary table 1
04 on the camera 10
3 can be determined as if it is facing the front.

If the figure included in the input image from the camera 103 does not represent either the left or right or the back, and is not the packaging material side marker 13, the information processing device 101 determines that there is no sign 13, 60 on either side of the packing box 10, stops the operation of the turntable 104 and the transfer device 100, sounds an alarm, and displays an error message on the display (S143). ). This prompts the worker to take some measure.

On the other hand, a figure included in an input image from the camera 103 indicates one of left, right and rear,
Or, if it is the packaging material side sign 13,
The information processing apparatus 101 calculates the rotation angle of the driving stepping motor of the turntable 104 based on the determination result, the orientation of the camera 103, and the reader / writer 102 (S144). For example, when the front of the reader / writer 102 and the front of the camera 103 face in the same direction, and the input image from the camera 103 includes the packaging material side marker 13, the rotation angle calculated here is It becomes 0 degrees.

The information processing apparatus 101 transmits a control signal including the calculation result to the turntable 1 at the timing when the packaged product 11 reaches the turntable 104.
04 to the driving circuit of the driving stepping motor
(S134). Accordingly, the turntable 104 rotates by a rotation angle calculated by the information processing apparatus 101 while the packaged product 11 is placed thereon. If the packaged product 11 proceeds on the transfer path in this posture, the packaging box 10
Is just past the antenna of the reader / writer 102 as in the case described above.

In this case, the packing box 10 is used in which graphic guide signs 60 are respectively attached to three sides other than the side to which the packing material side signs 13 are attached. In the case of a product or the like, an actuator that turns the transported product upside down is added to the system, and as a packing material for packing the product, all the surfaces (upper surfaces) other than the surface on which the packing material side mark 13 is attached are provided. Information sign 6 on the bottom and side)
It is desirable to use a packing box marked with “0”.

[0063]

According to the packing material of the present invention, it is possible to prevent the reading of the product information from the recording medium attached to the internal product from being damaged. Further, according to the product of the present invention, it is possible to prevent such packaging errors due to the packaging material. Further, according to the transport system according to the present invention, the packed product can be transported efficiently in a posture suitable for reading the product information.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external view of a packing box according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an external view of a packing box according to one embodiment of the present invention,
And it is an enlarged view of the mark attached to the outer surface.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining a method of storing a product in a packaging box in a correct posture.

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining a method of storing a product in a correct posture in a packing box.

FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining a method of storing a product in a correct posture in a packing box.

FIG. 6 is an external view of a packing box according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is an external view of a packing box according to an embodiment of the present invention,
FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of a guide sign attached to an outer surface thereof.

FIG. 8 is an external view of a packing box according to one embodiment of the present invention,
And it is an enlarged view of the mark attached to the outer surface.

FIG. 9 is a 6-side view of the packing box according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is an external view of a packing box according to an embodiment of the present invention, and an enlarged view of a guide sign attached to an outer surface thereof.

FIG. 11 is a schematic configuration diagram of an automatic transport system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart of a control process executed by the information processing device in the automatic transport system of FIG. 11;

FIG. 13 is a schematic configuration diagram of an automatic transport system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart of a control process executed by the information processing apparatus in the automatic transport system of FIG.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart of a control process executed by the information processing device in the automatic transport system of FIG. 13;

FIG. 16 is a diagram for explaining a conventional problem in reading recorded information from a packaged product IC tag.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 ... Product 12 ... Recording medium 10 ... Packing box 10A ... Packing box flap 13 ... Packing material side sign 50 ... Seal 60 ... Posture alignment sign 100 ... Transfer device 101 ... Information processing device 102 ... Reader / writer 103 ... Camera 103a , 103b, 103c, 103d: Camera 104: Rotary table

Continued on front page F term (reference) 3E067 AA11 AB51 AB61 BA06A BB02A BB14A BC06A EE01 EE02 EE04 EE06 3F079 AD00 BA22 BA25 CA06 CB30 DA02 3F081 AA43 BC01 BD14 BE04 BF13 CA05 CC20 EA09 EA15

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A packing material for packing a product with a recording medium in which product information is stored, wherein a label for positioning the recording medium and a reader for reading the product information from the recording medium is provided. A packing material having at least one. 2. The packing material according to claim 1, further comprising at least one guide sign, wherein the guide sign indicates a relative positional relationship between the guide sign and the positioning sign. A packing material. 3. A product with a recording medium packed with the packing material according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the posture of the packing material with respect to the mark is set at one or more positions determined according to the position of the recording medium. A product characterized by having a sign for: 4. A transport system for transporting, on a transport path, a transported article packed with a packaging material according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a product with a recording medium storing product information is transferred from the transported article on the transport path. A reading unit that reads product information of a recording medium, and detects a sign of the packing material from a conveyed article on the conveyance path, on an upstream side of the conveyance path from an information reading position by the reading unit, based on the detection result, A transport system comprising: a posture adjusting unit configured to adjust a posture of the transported object to a posture corresponding to a posture of the reading device.