JP2005289538A - Article classification facility - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an economical article classification facility equipped with an erroneous charge prevention device having a charging place to be easily found. <P>SOLUTION: The article classification facility is equipped with an article classification part (60) which is partitioned to a plurality of partitions (70) and is designed so as to charge the article (84) designated for each partition. The article classification facility is equipped with a tray (86) storing the designated article, an ID card (90) which is placed on the bottom of the tray and has the written information designating the partition for charging the article, an open/close door (72) provided in front of each partition, an air cylinder (80) opening/closing the open/close door, a tray placing plate (88) placing the tray, an ID card reader (98) which is fixed to the tray placing plate and reads the tray information, and a controller controlling the air cylinder opening/closing the open/close door for the partition designated by the tray information. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an article sorting facility that collects and sorts various commodities according to shipping destinations, and more particularly to an article sorting facility including an erroneous input prevention device that prevents erroneous sorting.

  First, the article sorting equipment will be described. As shown in FIG. 3, the article sorting equipment places the product loading unit 10 that loads the product to be sorted into the picking cart 40 and the container 1 into which the product is placed separately for each shipping destination. And a label sticking unit 30 for sticking a label for delivery to a shipping destination on the container 1 in which the product is full or the product to be thrown out is lost. ing.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the article sorting unit 20 includes an inclined product input container mounting table 21, a horizontal moving standby container mounting table 23, and an empty container 1 below the container mounting tables 21 and 23. An inclined empty container mounting table 28 is provided for mounting the.

  The product carried by the picking cart 40 is manually inserted into the container 1 placed in the shipping destination section 25 determined for each shipping destination of the product input container mounting table 21. The container 1 that has completed the input of the product waits to be transported to the label sticking unit 30 on the moving standby container mounting table 23.

  The article sorting equipment is provided with an erroneous input prevention device that prevents the product of the wrong shipping destination from being input into the container 1. As such an erroneous input preventing device, as described in Patent Document 1 below, an apparatus including a shutter 50 as an erroneous input preventing device in each shipping destination section 25 of the article sorting unit 20 is known. The shutter 50 is a displacement that can move between a product introduction prohibited state (A) at a position straddling the upper opening of the placed container 1 and a product introduction allowed state (B) that is out of the upper opening of the container 1. A bar 56 and a controller (not shown) for controlling the displacement of the displacement bar 56 are provided.

  The picking cart 40 is also equipped with a controller (not shown) for instructing the worker to perform work and controlling the shutter 50. Commands and data are transmitted / received between the controller of each shipping destination section 25 and the controller of the picking cart 40 by an infrared transmitter / receiver (not shown).

  The controller of the picking cart 40 stores the shipping destination code of the loaded product. Infrared light including a shipping destination code signal registered in advance is transmitted from the controller of each shipping destination section 25. When the picking cart 40 comes before the shipping destination section 25 of the designated shipping destination code, the controller of the picking cart 40 receives this shipping destination code signal and causes the shutter 50 of the shipping destination section 25 to be opened. A signal is returned to the controller on the shipping destination section 25 side.

  The controller of the shipping destination section 25 always puts the shutter 50 in the product entry prohibited state (A). However, when a command signal for opening the shutter 50 from the picking cart 40 is received, a motor (not shown) is started to move the displacement bar 56. Is shifted to the product entry permission state (B). While the picking cart 40 is in front of the designated shipping destination section 25, a command signal is periodically transmitted from the picking cart 40, and during that time, the shutter 50 maintains the product input permission state. Then, when the picking cart 40 moves and the command signal from the picking cart side is not received on the shipping destination section 25 side and the fixed time has passed, the shutter 50 is returned to the product input prohibition state (A). Thus, it is possible to prevent the wrong shipping destination product from being put into each container 1.

The displacement bar 56 is movable when an operator hits the displacement bar with a product or hits the hand, so that the worker and the product are not damaged by an impact.
JP 2000-335713 A

  By the way, in the article sorting equipment described in the above-mentioned publication, the shutter 50 for preventing erroneous insertion is one thin displacement bar 56, so that it is easy to make an error in placing the product, and the product or hand may hit the displacement bar 56. There was a problem that there was. Further, the article sorting equipment requires an expensive picking cart 40 equipped with a controller for controlling the shutter 50, and a transceiver for communicating between the controller of each shipping destination section 25 and the controller of the picking cart 40. There is a problem that it is uneconomical as a small-sized article sorting apparatus.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an economical article sorting facility including an erroneous input prevention device in which an input position of an article is easily understood.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, in the invention according to claim 1, in the article sorting facility including an article sorting unit that is partitioned into a plurality of sections and that is configured to input articles specified in each section, the specified section is provided. A tray for storing articles, an ID card that is placed on the bottom of the tray and has tray information for designating a section into which the designated article is placed, and an open / close door provided on the front of each section; An actuator for opening and closing the door, a tray mounting table for placing the tray, an ID card reader fixed to the tray mounting table for reading the tray information, and the tray information read by the ID card reader. And a controller for controlling an actuator for opening and closing a door of a designated section.

  In the invention according to claim 2, in the invention according to claim 1, the controller turns on a closing lamp when opening the opening / closing door, and closes the opening / closing door by pressing a closing completion switch or a closing cancel switch. Features.

  In the invention according to claim 3, in the invention according to claim 2, the tray information includes a number to be input for each section into which the specified article is input, and the controller displays when opening the door. The number is displayed on the part.

  The invention according to claim 4 is the invention according to claim 1, 2, or 3, wherein the actuator is an air cylinder, and the controller controls air supplied to the air cylinder.

  In the invention which concerns on Claim 5, in the invention which concerns on Claim 1, 2, 3 or 4, the said opening-and-closing door sticks a transparent sheet | seat on the frame, It is characterized by the above-mentioned.

  According to the invention of claim 1, since the tray information written on the ID card placed on the bottom of the tray is read by the ID card reader and the opening / closing door of the designated section is opened, It is possible to reliably prevent the articles from being thrown in erroneously, and since the workers carry the articles from the tray to the designated section, it is possible to obtain a small-scale and economical article sorting facility.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, the controller lights the closing lamp when opening the opening / closing door, and closes the opening / closing door when the closing completion switch or closing cancellation switch is pressed. Since the articles can be sorted by simply putting the articles into the open compartment and pressing the loading completion switch after the articles are loaded, the operation is easy.

  According to the invention of claim 3, the tray information also includes number information for specifying the number to be inserted for each section into which the specified article is to be inserted, and the controller displays the number on the display unit when opening the door. Is displayed, so that a specified number of articles can be put into a specified section without error.

  According to the invention of claim 4, since the actuator is an air cylinder and the controller controls the air supplied to the air cylinder, the opening and closing speed of the door is fast and the structure is simple and reliable. Opening and closing doors for goods sorting equipment that are expensive and inexpensive are obtained.

  According to the invention of claim 5, since the open / close door has a transparent sheet pasted on the frame, even if the open / close door is closed, the progress of the sorting can be understood by looking at the articles already loaded. In addition to being encouraged, it is easy to notice articles that have been mistakenly inserted due to errors.

  Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the article sorting equipment of this embodiment. FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the article sorting equipment.

  In the article sorting facility of this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the article sorting unit 60 has an article placing table 64 attached to a support 62. The article mounting table 64 has an inclined article loading section 64a located on the front surface and a horizontal section 64b following the article loading section 64a. A fall prevention frame 66 is fixed around the article input portion 64a. A label 68 indicating a shipping destination and an article name is attached to the upper part of the article sorting unit 60. The article input part 64a is inclined more greatly toward the upper side in order to facilitate the input of the article, and the lower one protrudes forward than the upper one. The lowermost article mounting table 64 is provided with only the flat drop prevention frame 66a at the front end, omitting the inclined article input section 64a.

  Each article placing table 64 in the article sorting unit 60 is a section 70 determined by the shipping destination, the kind of the article, and the like. In the present embodiment, an opening / closing door 72 is provided on the front surface of each section 70 in order to prevent the article 84 from being put into the wrong section 70.

  The open / close door 72 has a rectangular frame 74 with a transparent sheet 76 such as vinyl reinforced with fibers or the like, and rotates around a hinge 78 provided at the lower front end of the article input portion 64a of the upper section 70. It is attached so that it can be opened and closed by an air cylinder 80. The open / close door 72 of the uppermost compartment 70 is rotatably attached around a hinge 78 provided at the lower portion of a cross member 82 that connects the upper ends of the front columns 62. An arm 74a is extended at one end of the frame 74 in a right angle direction, and the tip of the rod 80a of the air cylinder 80 is connected to the tip of the arm 74a. The air cylinder 80 is disposed so as to be substantially parallel to the open / close door 72 when the open / close door 72 is closed, and is disposed at a position where it does not interfere with the loading of the article 84.

  The article 84 is accommodated in the tray 86 and is transported from the storage location to the tray mounting table 88 by an operator. On the bottom of the tray 86, an ID card 90 in which tray information such as a tray number, a section into which a designated article is to be placed, and the number of articles to be placed in each section is written is placed. A urethane cover 92 for protecting the ID card 90 is placed there. As the ID card 90, an IC card or a magnetic card is used.

  A tray mounting table 88 is placed on one end of the article sorting unit 60, and the tray mounting table 88 includes a control panel 96 for operating a controller 100 (see FIG. 2) that controls the air cylinder 80. Further, an ID card reader 98 for reading tray information written on the ID card 90 is fixed to the tray mounting table 88 on the lower surface of an area defined for mounting the tray 86. Inside the tray mounting table 88, a controller 100, an air tank 102 for storing air to be sent to an air cylinder 80 for opening and closing the open / close door 72, and a compressor 104 for sending air so as to keep the pressure of the air tank 102 constant are arranged. Is done.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the controller 100 includes an air supply valve 108 disposed in the middle of a tube 106 connecting the air tank 102 and each air cylinder 80, an exhaust valve 110 disposed in the same manner, and an ID card reader. The microcomputer 112 instructs opening / closing of the air supply valve 108 or the exhaust valve 110 corresponding to the air cylinder 80 of the section 70 instructed by the tray information sent from 96. The supply valve 108 and the exhaust valve 110 are normally closed and are opened in response to a command from the controller 100.

  The control panel 96 includes a display unit 114 of the controller 100, an opening changeover switch 116 for switching the opening / closing door 72 to open / close normally or to fully open, an air lamp 118 for informing that the air in the air tank 102 has a predetermined pressure, An input lamp 120 for instructing an operator to input an article, an input completion switch 122 for informing the controller 100 of the completion of article input, an input cancel switch 124 for informing the controller 100 of an article input cancellation, and a label switch 126 for instructing label issuance for the article 84 It is attached. The display unit 114, the switch, the lamp, the air supply valve 108, and the exhaust valve 110 are connected to the microcomputer 128. In addition, a printer 130 and a pressure gauge 132 that measures the pressure of the air tank 102 are connected to the microcomputer 128.

  Here, the opening degree changeover switch 116 has two positions of normal and fully open, and when fully opened, the opening / closing door is opened until the air supply valve 108 is opened longer than usual and the air cylinder 80 contacts a stopper (not shown). 72 is opened. The air lamp 118 is turned off when the air in the air tank 102 falls below a predetermined pressure, and notifies an abnormality in the air system. When the label switch 126 is pressed, the printer 130 prints a shipping destination, an article name, and the like designated in advance on a label.

Next, a sorting procedure performed by the article sorting apparatus of the present embodiment will be described.
(1) Each tray 86 is provided with an ID card 90 on which tray information such as a tray number, a section 70 into which a designated article is put, and the number of articles 84 to be put into each section 70 is written. A cover 92 is placed over which the designated article 84 is received. The tray information is written on the ID card 90 in advance.
(2) The worker carries the tray 86 containing the article 84 from the storage location to the tray mounting table 88 and places it on a predetermined area on the tray mounting table 88.
(3) The ID card reader 98 fixed to the tray mounting table 88 reads the tray information and transmits this tray information to the controller 100.
(4) The controller 100 opens the supply valve 108 for sending air to the air cylinder 80 in the section 70 specified by the tray information for a predetermined time, lights the input lamp 120, and supplies the article 70 to the display section 114. The number of 84 is displayed.
(5) When air is supplied to the air cylinder 80, the open / close door 72 of the designated section 70 opens.
(6) After confirming that the input lamp 120 is turned on, the worker inputs the article 84 into the section 70 in which the open / close door 72 is opened. At this time, since the tray mounting table 88 is located at one end of the article sorting unit 60, it is easy for an operator in front of the tray mounting table 88 to find the section 70 with the open / close door 72 open. Further, since the number of articles 84 to be thrown is displayed on the display unit 114 of the controller 100, the worker throws in the articles 84 by the displayed number. When there is only one article in the tray 86, the tray 86 may be put into the section 70.
(7) When the worker completes the loading of the article 84, the worker presses the loading completion button 122. If the wrong item 84 is in the tray 86 and the item 84 cannot be loaded, the loading cancel button 124 is pressed.
(8) When the closing completion button 122 or the closing cancel button 124 is pressed, the controller 100 opens the exhaust valve 110 for a predetermined time, releases the air in the air cylinder 80, and closes the open / close door 72.

  If the articles 84 to be thrown into the other compartments 70 remain, the controller 100 returns to the operation (4) until the articles 84 in the tray 86 run out (4)-(8). repeat. In this way, a large number of articles 84 are sorted.

  According to the present embodiment, the following effects can be obtained. (1) The tray information written on the ID card 90 placed on the bottom of the tray 86 is read by the ID card reader 98, and the opening / closing door 72 of the designated section 70 is opened. It is possible to reliably prevent an erroneous input. (2) Since the worker carries the article from the tray mounting table 88 to the designated section 70, the article sorting facility can be economically equipped with a post-loading prevention device on a small scale. (3) Since the article can be sorted by simply putting the article into the compartment 70 with the open / close door 72 open according to the lighting of the throwing lamp 120 and pushing the loading completion switch 122 after the article is loaded, the operation is simple. (4) The tray information also includes number information for designating the number of articles to be loaded for each section 70 into which the designated article 86 is to be loaded, and the number of articles to be inserted is displayed on the display unit 114. Can be input to the designated section 70. (5) Since the actuator is an air cylinder and the controller controls the air supplied to the air cylinder, the opening and closing speed of the door is fast, and the structure is simple, reliable and inexpensive. can get. (8) Since the open / close door has a transparent sheet on the frame, you can see the articles that have already been thrown in, so you can see the progress of sorting and encourage the workers. It is easy to notice the article.

  By the way, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made as follows, for example. For example, in the above embodiment, the air cylinder 80 is used to open and close the open / close door 72, but in addition, an actuator such as a motor or a hydraulic cylinder can be used as appropriate. In addition, since the opening of the open / close door 72 can instruct the input of the article, the input lamp may be omitted. Further, the loading completion switch 122 may be omitted, and instead an article loading sensor may be provided in each section 70, and the article loading completion may be detected by the sensor. If a predetermined section is determined for each tray in advance, the tray information may be only the tray number, and the display unit 114 can be omitted.

1 is a perspective view of an article sorting facility according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a block diagram of the said article sorting equipment. It is a top view of the whole said conventional article sorting equipment. It is a perspective view of the erroneous insertion prevention device with which the conventional article sorting equipment is provided.

Explanation of symbols

60 Article Sorting Unit 70 Section 72 Open / Close Door 74 Frame 76 Sheet 80 Air Cylinder (Actuator)
84 Article 86 Tray 88 Tray mounting table 90 ID card 98 ID card reader 100 Controller 114 Display unit 120 Input lamp 122 Input completion switch 124 Input cancel switch

Claims (5)

In an article sorting facility including an article sorting section that is divided into a plurality of sections and that is configured to input articles designated in each section.
A tray for storing the designated article, an ID card on which tray information for designating a section into which the designated article is to be placed while being placed on the bottom of the tray, and a front surface of each section are provided. Reading with the ID card reader, an opening and closing door, an actuator for opening and closing the opening and closing door, a tray mounting table on which the tray is placed, an ID card reader fixed to the tray mounting table and reading the tray information An article sorting facility comprising: a controller that controls an actuator that opens and closes an opening / closing door of a section designated by the tray information.   2. The article sorting equipment according to claim 1, wherein the controller lights a closing lamp when opening the opening / closing door and closes the opening / closing door when a closing completion switch or a closing cancel switch is pressed.   3. The tray information includes a number to be loaded for each section into which a specified article is to be loaded, and the controller displays the number on a display unit when the opening / closing door is opened. The article sorting equipment described.   4. The article sorting equipment according to claim 1, wherein the actuator is an air cylinder, and the controller controls air supplied to the air cylinder. 5. The article opening / closing facility according to claim 1, 2, 3, or 4, wherein the open / close door is a frame in which a transparent sheet is pasted.

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