JP2008100777A - Conveyance system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a conveyance system capable of loading a plurality of articles on a conveying body easily, facilitating an inspection of articles, and reloading the articles if disagreement occurs in the loaded articles to load the plurality of articles securely. <P>SOLUTION: This conveyance system is provided with a plurality of subreaders 8<SB>1</SB>, 8<SB>2</SB>, 8<SB>3</SB>reading the information in an RFID tag 3 stuck to the conveying body 2 and RFID tags 6a-6h stuck to articles and provided with storage parts 8<SB>1</SB>d, 8<SB>2</SB>d, 8<SB>3</SB>d having comparison parts 8<SB>1</SB>e, 8<SB>2</SB>e, 8<SB>3</SB>e for comparing each stored information with the information in the RFID tags 6a-6h stuck to the articles and loading units 9<SB>1</SB>, 9<SB>2</SB>, 9<SB>3</SB>provided in the vicinity of each subreader 8<SB>1</SB>, 8<SB>2</SB>, 8<SB>3</SB>, respectively. This conveyance system is also provided with a control part 11 for controlling the conveying body 2 to return the articles which do not agree with their ID information on a conveyance path 1 into the loading units 9<SB>1</SB>, 9<SB>2</SB>, 9<SB>3</SB>capable of loading them if disagreement between the article and its ID information is detected in the comparison parts 8<SB>1</SB>e, 8<SB>2</SB>e, 8<SB>3</SB>e of the subreaders 8<SB>1</SB>, 8<SB>2</SB>, 8<SB>3</SB>. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention is a transport system that can easily stack when a plurality of articles are loaded on a transport body such as a pallet, can easily inspect at the same time, and can return to a loading position when there is a mismatch in the loaded articles. About.

  Traditionally, when an order is placed in a warehouse, the order is sent from a computer or other source to an RF tag on the pallet, which communicates with the RF reader of the forklift and sends the order information to the forklift as a pick list. An order processing method has been proposed (see Patent Document 1). The pick list is displayed on the display for the forklift operator and provides information related to each item in the pick list. As a result, the worker moves to the location of the item on the pick list with the forklift.

  When the desired item is loaded on the pallet, the RF reader of the pallet identifies the item and records it in the inventory table of the pallet, the RF reader of the forklift reads the RF tag of the item, and the item in the pick list The pick list is updated so that the display device displays the one reflecting the current state of the item. If the item is not in the pick list, the worker can be warned.

  However, this conventional order processing method is executed by a man-machine system in which once an item is identified by an RF reader, the current state of the item is displayed on a display device of a forklift, and this is visually judged by an operator. It was a method. And in this order processing system, even if the loaded items become inconsistent for some reason after the identification with the RF tag and the display of the current state of the goods, it cannot be checked, and the problematic pallet cannot be reloaded automatically. It was.

  A sending method for checking such a mismatch of loaded articles has also been proposed (see Patent Document 2). When shipping a product in a packaging box in units of pallets, an IC card is used to prevent erroneous shipment of the product.

In other words, the label barcode attached to the packaging box loaded on the pallet for each shipping destination is read with a portable information terminal, and it is checked in advance whether packaging boxes with different shipping destinations are loaded on the pallet. Then, the IC card storing the read information is attached to the palette. If there is a packing mistake, an error is displayed on the display, an alarm buzzer sounds, and the operator removes it. The pallet is temporarily placed in the shipping yard until it is shipped, and when the pallet is shipped, the IC card of the pallet is read with a portable information terminal before being loaded on the transport vehicle. It checks the weight and prevents the product from being shipped accidentally.
JP 2005-104732 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-106010

  As described above, the technique of (Patent Document 1) is a method using a product moving device such as a forklift, and when the loaded article is identified by the RF reader, the current state of the loaded article is displayed on the display device of the product moving device. This is what humans judge. In this method, even if the loaded articles become inconsistent after this identification, rechecking is not possible. In addition, problematic pallets cannot be automatically reloaded or removed.

  Further, in the sending method of (Patent Document 2), if there is a packing mistake in the packing box, it is checked with a barcode, an error is displayed, an alarm buzzer is sounded, and the operator removes it. The information read by the bar code is stored in the IC card, and this IC card is re-checked before shipment to prevent erroneous shipment of the product.

  However, this sending method is also a man-machine system with an operator interposed, as in the technique of (Patent Document 1). In addition, various means such as a barcode reading portable terminal, means for storing the read barcode information in the IC card, an IC card reading portable terminal, an online terminal, and a host computer are necessary, leading to an increase in cost. Then, the problematic packing box is repeatedly checked and cannot be automatically reloaded or removed.

  In addition, forklifts are not used to load multiple items on the transfer path for assembly and logistics, so the inspection process is repeated and the loaded items can be checked reliably, allowing for low-cost loading. A more automated system is desired.

  Therefore, the present invention provides a transport system that can easily stack a plurality of articles on a transport body, can easily inspect, and can stack again if there is a mismatch in the stacked articles, and can stack a plurality of articles reliably. For the purpose.

  In order to solve such a problem, a transport system of the present invention includes a transport path for transporting a transport body for loading a plurality of articles, a main reader for reading an IC tag attached to the transport body, and a transport path. A plurality of sub-readers provided near the sub-reader for reading the IC tag information of the carrier and the tag information of the IC tag attached to the article, and the IC tag information provided near the sub-reader and read by the main reader The main reader has a transmission unit that transmits ID information of the carrier to be read by each sub-reader to each sub-reader from the IC tag information of the above-mentioned carrier, A storage unit for storing information transmitted from the transmission unit, each piece of information stored in the storage unit, and ID information of the IC tag information of the carrier that has been conveyed on the conveyance path; In the transport system having a comparison unit that compares the ID information of the article, if there is a mismatch in the ID information of the article in the comparison unit of the sub-reader, the transport body corresponding to the mismatch is loaded with the mismatched article on the transport path And a control unit that controls to return to a possible loading unit.

  According to the transport system of the present invention, a plurality of articles can be easily stacked on the transport body, inspection can be easily performed, and when there is a mismatch in the stacked articles, the stack can be stacked again, and the plurality of articles can be reliably stacked.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, a first invention of the present invention includes a transport path for transporting a transport body for loading a plurality of articles, a main reader for reading an IC tag attached to the transport body, and a transport path. A plurality of sub-readers for reading the IC tag information of the carrier and the tag information of the IC tag attached to the article, and the IC tag information provided in the vicinity of each sub-reader and read by the main reader The main reader has a transmission unit that transmits ID information of the carrier to be read by each sub-reader to each sub-reader from the IC tag information of the above-mentioned carrier, A storage unit for storing information transmitted from the transmission unit; each piece of information stored in the storage unit; ID information of IC tag information of the carrier that has been transported on the transport path; and the article In a transport system having a comparison unit that compares ID information, when there is a mismatch in the ID information of the article in the comparison unit of the sub-reader, the stack corresponding to the mismatch can be loaded with a mismatched article on the transport path A control unit that controls to return to the unit, and can easily stack a plurality of articles on a conveyance body, facilitate inspection, and if there is a mismatch in the loaded articles, It can be loaded and multiple items can be loaded reliably.

  A second invention of the present invention is an invention subordinate to the first invention, and has a load management unit that controls the loading of articles of the load unit, and the comparison results of the comparison units of the sub-readers are inconsistent. A transmission unit that transmits ID information of an article corresponding to the mismatch to the stacking management unit, and the stacking management unit can stack an article corresponding to the received ID information on the transport path. It is a transport system that controls to load on the transport body returned to the stack unit at the upstream position, and the stack management unit controls the stacking of articles on the stack unit, so that multiple articles can be transported. The body can be easily loaded, the inspection is easy, and when there is a mismatch in the loaded articles, the articles can be loaded again, and a plurality of articles can be loaded reliably.

  A third invention of the present invention is an invention subordinate to the first invention, and has a stacking management unit that controls the loading of articles of the stacking unit, and the comparison results of the comparison units of the sub-readers are inconsistent. In this case, the load management unit includes a transmission unit that transmits the ID information of the article corresponding to the mismatch to the stacking management unit, and the stacking management unit replenishes the stacking unit immediately preceding the transport path with the article corresponding to the received ID information. The conveyance system is characterized by having a replenishment unit. Since the load management unit replenishes each article by the article replenishment unit, a plurality of articles can be easily loaded on the conveyance body, and a plurality of articles can be reliably loaded.

  A fourth invention of the present invention is an invention dependent on the second invention, wherein the main reader loads and manages ID information of articles to be loaded on the carrier from an IC tag attached to the carrier. The article replenishing unit replenishes the loading unit with the article according to the ID information of the article, and the loading management unit replenishes each article with an IC tag attached to the carrier. Therefore, it is possible to easily load and replenish a plurality of articles with respect to the conveyance body, and to reliably load a plurality of articles.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a transport path for transporting a transport body for loading a plurality of articles, a main reader for reading an IC tag attached to the transport body, and a transport body provided in the vicinity of the transport path. A plurality of sub-readers that read the IC tag information and the tag information of the IC tag attached to the article, and a loading unit that is provided in the vicinity of each sub-reader and loads the article according to the IC tag information read by the main reader The main reader has a transmission unit that transmits the ID information of the carrier to be read by each sub-reader to each sub-reader from the IC tag information of the carrier, and the sub-reader receives the information transmitted from the transmission unit. Each of the information stored in the storage unit and the ID information of the IC tag information of the transporting body that has been transported on the transporting path and the ID information of the article are stored. In a transport system having a comparison unit to be compared, when there is a mismatch in the ID information of the article in the comparison unit of the sub-reader, the upstream position where the article in which the mismatch has occurred is to be stacked on the transport path for forwarding And a control unit that controls to return to the stacking unit, and can easily stack a plurality of articles on the transport body, easily inspect, and there is a mismatch in the loaded articles. Can be loaded again, and multiple items can be loaded reliably.

  A sixth invention of the present invention is an invention dependent on the fifth invention, and when there is a mismatch, the control unit determines an upstream stacking unit capable of stacking the mismatched article, and A conveyance system characterized in that a sub-leader provided in the vicinity of a unit notifies that a conveyance body in which there is a discrepancy is forwarded, and is loaded again by a loading unit after the forwarding. It can be easily performed, inspection is easy, and when there is a mismatch in the loaded articles, they can be loaded again, and a plurality of articles can be loaded reliably.

  A seventh invention of the present invention is an invention subordinate to the first to sixth inventions, wherein instead of returning an article inconsistent on the conveyance path to the stacking unit at the upstream position where the articles can be loaded, It is a transport system characterized by returning to the previous stacking unit, is easy to control, can be loaded again if there is a mismatch in the loaded articles, and multiple articles can be loaded reliably.

  The eighth invention of the present invention is an invention subordinate to the first to sixth inventions, and is inconsistent in the feeding path instead of returning the stacking unit at the upstream position where the article inconsistent in the conveying path can be loaded. This is a transport system characterized by returning the generated article to the upstream position where it can be loaded, and when there is a mismatch in the loaded article, it can be transported and loaded again in the shortest time and the shortest distance. Can be loaded reliably.

(Example 1)
A conveyance system in Embodiment 1 of the present invention will be described. FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a transport system in Embodiment 1 of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a block configuration diagram of an RFID tag used in the transport system in Embodiment 1 of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a transport system in Embodiment 1 of the present invention. 4A is a configuration diagram showing article information of the RFID tag, and FIG. 4B is a configuration diagram of IC tag information stored in the RFID tag of the carrier. .

  In FIG. 1, 1 is a conveyance path such as a conveyor for conveying a conveyance body 2 (to be described later) for loading a plurality of articles, and 1a is a transfer conveyance path. The conveyance path 1 may be connected to the conveyance path 1a for circulation and circulate in a track shape. However, as shown in FIG. 1, the conveyance path 1 is used to convey articles in the direction of the arrow, and the conveyance path 1 is reversed. For this purpose, two conveying paths 1a for forwarding may be provided side by side.

  Reference numeral 2 denotes a transport body such as a pallet, a packing box, or another container, and a plurality of articles can be loaded therein. The transport body 2 is not particularly limited as long as it can load articles. Reference numeral 3 denotes an RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) tag (IC tag of the present invention) affixed to the carrier 2, and several cm to several radio frequencies such as 13.56 MHz, 860 MHz to 960 MHz, 2.44 GHz to 2.455 GHz, etc. Communication is possible within a range of 10 m. The IC tag of the present invention is not limited to an RFID tag, and is a non-contact IC medium including a non-contact IC card.

Next, in FIG. 1, 4a, 4b, 4c, 4d, 4e, 4f, 4g, 4h (hereinafter, 4a to 4h) are articles A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H (hereinafter, This is an inventory unit for securing a predetermined amount of articles A to H). Loading is performed by loading units 9 ₁ , 9 ₂ , 9 ₃ (described later). In FIG. 1, inventory units 4a, 4b, and 4c are units that are provided at the most upstream loading positions and have inventory spaces for placing articles A, B, and C, respectively. 4f is provided at the next stacking position in the transport direction of the transport path 1 to load articles D, E, and F, and the inventory units 4g and 4h are provided at the most downstream side of the transport path 1 to stack articles G and H. A unit that has inventory space for.

1 shown in FIG. 1 is for replenishing the articles A to H when the articles A to H are loaded on the conveyance body 2 transported through the conveyance path 1 or so that a predetermined number can be secured as an inventory after loading. The replenishment paths 5 ₁ , 5 ₂ , and 5 ₃ are branch replenishment paths branched from the replenishment path 5. At the time of loading, when loading a larger loading amount than the inventory amount that currently exists in the inventory units 4a to 4h, the inventory units 4a to 4h are replenished before loading. Further, 6a, 6b, 6c, 6d, 6e, 6f, 6g, and 6h (hereinafter, 6a to 6h) are RFID tags attached to the articles A to H, respectively. The configuration of the RFID tag 3 and the RFID tags 6a to 6h and the memory configuration will be described in detail later. However, when the RFID tag 3 is used in a wireless communication system with a radio frequency such as 860 MHz to 960 MHz or 2.44 GHz to 2.455 GHz, the RFID tags 6a to 6h use 13.56 MHz with different bands. Is good. This can reduce malfunctions. Conversely, the RFID tag 3 may use a radio frequency such as 135 kHz, 13.56 MHz, and the RFID tags 6a to 6h may use radio frequencies such as 860 MHz to 960 MHz or 2.44 GHz to 2.455 GHz.

  Next, in FIG. 1, 7 is a main reader capable of wirelessly communicating with the RFID tag 3 attached to the carrier 2, and 7a is IC tag information of the RFID tag 3 (an ID number and the number to be loaded as will be described later). The reading unit 7b is a transmission unit that is provided in the main reader 7 and performs wired or wireless communication with a sub reader described later. The main reader 7 transmits an instruction command or a command composed of an instruction command and data by an RF signal (modulated wave) obtained by modulating a carrier wave, and can read data written in the RFID tag 3. Modulation schemes include ASK (amplitude shift keying), FSK (frequency shift keying), and PSK (phase shift keying). Although the main reader 7 will be described below as a reader that reads the RFID tag 3, it goes without saying that it may be a reader / writer that can write simultaneously.

Further, 8 ₁ , 8 ₂ , and 8 ₃ shown in FIG. 1 are sub-readers that can wirelessly communicate with the RFID tags 3 and 6a to 6h. The sub readers 8 ₁ , 8 ₂ , and 8 ₃ will be described as readers that read out the RFID tags 6a to 6h in the same manner as the main reader 7 described above, but it may be a reader / writer that can simultaneously write. Not too long. The transmitter 7a of the main reader 7 sends the IC tag information of the carrier 2 to be read by the sub readers 8 ₁ , 8 ₂ , 8 ₃ from the RFID tag 3 of the carrier 2 to the sub readers 8 ₁ , 8 ₂ , 8 ₃ . Send. 8 ₁ a, 8 ₂ a, and 8 ₃ a are reading units that can read the IC tag information of the RFID tags _{3 and} 6a to 6h by wireless communication.

When the main reader 7 and the sub-readers 8 ₁ , 8 ₂ , and 8 ₃ communicate with the RFID tags 3 and 6a to 6h at the above-described radio frequency, two different communication methods are used. When the main reader 7 and the sub readers 8 ₁ , 8 ₂ , and 8 ₃ communicate with the RFID tags 3 and 6a to 6h at 13.56 MHz by radio, a magnetic field is generated in the coil of each reader, and this magnetic flux is generated by the RFID tag 3 A current is generated by electromagnetic induction by crossing coils of antennas 31 (described later) of 6a to 6h. The first communication method is a communication method in which data communication is performed using this current.

On the other hand, the main reader 7 and the sub-readers 8 ₁ , 8 ₂ , and 8 ₃ are wirelessly connected to the RFID tags 3 and 6a to 6h at radio frequencies such as 860 MHz to 960 MHz (UHF) or 2.44 GHz to 2.455 GHz (microwave). In the case of communication, a data communication method using weak radio waves is performed between the antenna of each reader and the antenna 31 of the RFID tags 3 and 6a to 6h. This is the second communication method. Needless to say, either method may be used.

_{8 1 b, 8 2 b,} 8 3 b shown in FIG. 1 is a transmission unit for notifying the loading managing unit 12 to be described later results actually loaded from sub-leader _{8 1, 8 2, 8 3} , 8 1 c , 8 ₂ c, 8 ₃ c are sub-readers 8 ₁ , 8 ₂ , 8 ₃ that receive the ID information of the RFID tag 3 attached to the carrier 2 by a predetermined protocol from the transmitter 7 a of the main reader 7. is there. 8 ₁ d, 8 ₂ d, and 8 ₃ d are storage units for storing the IC tag information of the carrier 2 transmitted from the transmission unit 7 a of the main reader 7, and 8 ₁ e, 8 ₂ e, and 8 ₃ e is the IC tag information of the RFID tags _{3 and} 6a to 6h read by the reading units 8 ₁ a, 8 ₂ a, and 8 ₃ a and the main reader 7 and is transmitted from the main reader 7 and stored in the storage units 8 ₁ d, 8 ₂ d, and 8 ₃ d. It is a comparison part which compares with the IC tag information of the conveyance body 2 memorize | stored in. The comparison units 8 ₁ e, 8 ₂ e, and 8 ₃ e include a counter (not shown) that accumulates the number of times counted when the RFID tags 6 a to 6 h have the same ID number (ID information of the present invention, which will be described later). . When the comparison units 8 ₁ e, 8 ₂ e, and 8 ₃ e determine that there is a difference between them, the comparison result (the above-described loading result) is loaded from the transmission units 8 ₁ b, 8 ₂ b, and 8 ₃ b. Notify unit 12.

Next, 9 ₁ , 9 ₂ , and 9 ₃ are provided in the inventory units 4a, 4b, and 4c, the inventory units 4d, 4e, and 4f, and the inventory units 4g and 4h, respectively, and the articles A to C and the articles D to F, a loading unit for loading articles G and H. The stacking units 9 ₁ , 9 ₂ , and 9 ₃ are stacking means for individually gripping the articles A to H with an arm or sucking them or pushing them out with an actuator. The stacking units 9 ₁ , 9 ₂ , and 9 ₃ stack the articles A to H on the carrier 2.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 10 denotes an article replenishing unit that replenishes the replenishment path 5 with articles A to H necessary for replenishment. Reference numeral 11 denotes a control unit that controls the transport system according to the first embodiment, and reference numeral 12 denotes a stacking management unit that manages stacking. The comparison units 8 ₁ e, 8 ₂ e, and sub-readers 8 ₁ , 8 ₂ , and 8 ₃ are compared. When a mismatch between the IC tag information of the articles A to H is detected at 8 ₃ e, the stacking unit 9 ₁ is located upstream where the transported body 2 in which the mismatch has occurred can be loaded with the missing articles by the forwarding transport path 1a. , 9 ₂ , 9 ₃ , and a loading management unit that comprehensively controls loading / replenishment management when the articles A to H are loaded. If a plurality of articles do not match and the stacking units 9 ₁ , 9 ₂ , and 9 ₃ are different among the articles, they are transported to the stacking units 9 ₁ , 9 ₂ , and 9 ₃ that are located at the most upstream among them.

  In addition, when returning the conveyance body 2 in which the mismatch has occurred, if the number is insufficient, it is forwarded for reloading. However, when excessive loading is performed, the article may be removed and returned to the conveyance path 1 or the conveyance body 2 may be removed as it is. At this time, the article and the carrier 2 can be automatically removed by a loading / unloading unit (not shown) provided at this place, or can be removed manually.

The removal place may be the same place as the reloading place or another place. In addition, it is controlled not to transport the deficient articles up to the stacking units 9 ₁ , 9 ₂ , and 9 ₃ located upstream where they can be loaded, but to return to the stacking unit one before the transport path 1. Good. In this case, when there is a shortage of parts further upstream than this, the sub-readers 8 ₁ , 8 ₂ , 8 _{3 at} the returned positions detect this (inspection), and load management is performed so as to transport them further upstream. Controlled by the unit 12.

  Here, a detailed block configuration of the RFID tags 3, 6a to 6h will be described with reference to FIG. The RFID tags 3 and 6a to 6h cover a card containing an IC circuit with a resin film, and the resin film is provided with an antenna printed using a conductive material. In FIG. 2, 30 is an IC circuit of the RFID tags 3, 6 a to 6 h, 31 is an antenna of the RFID tags 3, 6 a to 6 h, and the antenna 31 is connected to the IC circuit 30.

  The IC circuit 30 has the following configuration. Reference numeral 32 denotes a rectifier circuit for generating a power supply voltage from the RF signal received by the antenna 31, and reference numeral 33 denotes a constant voltage circuit for stabilizing the output from the rectifier circuit 32. The RFID tags 3, 6a to 6h include a passive type that does not have a power supply and an active type that has a power supply. The one shown in FIG. 2 is a passive type, and is used for long-distance communication. An active type equipped with a power supply is preferred.

  Reference numeral 34 denotes a receiving unit that demodulates the RF signal to obtain received data, 35 denotes a detecting unit that generates a detection signal necessary for detecting a command from the received data, and 36 denotes a main control with the detecting unit 35 from the received data. This is a clock generation unit that generates a clock signal necessary for operating the unit 37 (described later). A main control unit 37 acquires a command from the detection signal of the detection unit 35 according to the clock signal generated by the clock generation unit 36 and executes the command. The command includes, for example, an instruction command such as ACK and Query (for example, codes such as “01” and “1000”), an instruction command such as Read and Write (for example, codes such as “11000010” and “11000011”), and data. There are two types of commands. This is read and executed by the main control unit 36. When an instruction command such as Lock (“11000101”) is received and executed, it cannot be rewritten or erased in units of blocks, and information in the nonvolatile memory 38 to be described later is protected.

  Reference numeral 38 denotes a non-volatile memory, for example, an EPROM (erasable and programmable read only memory), an EEPROM (electrically erasable and programmable only memory), a flash memory, or the like. Reference numeral 39 denotes a transmission unit that receives data read from the nonvolatile memory 38 from the main control unit 37, and transmits the data to the antenna 31 as an RF signal.

  Here, the memory configuration of the RFID tags 3 and 6a to 6h will be described. As shown in FIG. 3, the memory configuration of the RFID tags 3, 6a to 6h is roughly divided into a user area and a system area, and a plurality of blocks are provided, for example, 16 bytes per block. The area of block number 6 in the system area is a block (protocol control bit) storing a protocol, and the area of block number 5 in the system area contains 16-bit cyclic redundancy check (CRC) data.

  The area of block number 4 in the system area is a UID (Unique Identifier) consisting of a non-rewritable manufacturer code and an individual serial number. An ID number indicating a 16-bit article type is written in the area of block number 0 in the user area. Note that an ID number indicating the type of the carrier is written in the area of block number 0 of the RFID tag 3 of the carrier 2. Further, a manufacturer code and a product type such as a carrier type can be combined to form a manufacturer code for each product. Data reading and writing are executed in units of blocks by specifying addresses. Although not shown here, it is also possible to provide another memory area so that it can be referred to from the user area information as an index and the secondary information of this other memory area can be referred to in block units. it can.

  FIG. 4A shows ID numbers indicating the article types of the articles A to H. For example, the article A has the ID number “0001”, the article B has the ID number “0010”, the article C has the ID number “0011”, the article D has the ID number “0100”, the article E has the ID number “0101”, the article F is an ID number “0111”, an article G is an ID number “1000”, and an article H is an ID number “1001”. Accordingly, in the user area of the RFID tags 6a to 6h of the articles A to H, these article ID numbers “0001”, “0010”, “0011”, “0100”, “0101”, “ "0111", "1000", and "1001" are written, and if the RFID tags 6a to 6h are attached, the articles A to H are indicated. Further, for example, the manufacturer code “11000011000” and the product type “0001” such as the carrier type can be combined to form the manufacturer code “110000110000001” for each product, and the last four digits can be used as the ID number. In this case, the area of block number 0 may not be used in the user area.

FIG. 4B shows IC tag information of the RFID tag 3 of the carrier 2. In block number 0 of the user area, an ID number (ID information of the present invention) indicating the product type of the carrier 2 itself, for example, “11110000” is written. At this time, the articles A to H loaded on the transport body 2 are written with the respective numbers to be loaded together with the ID numbers (ID information of the present invention) in the block numbers 1 to 8 of the user area. For example, in the article C, 30 pieces of IC information are described in block number 3 together with “0011”. The main reader 7 reads the IC information about this article the RFID tag 3 of the carrier 2 by the transmission unit 7b, transmits the contents of the block numbers 1 to 3 sub-leader 8 _1, the sub-leader 8 ₂ block number 1-6 send the contents, and transmits the contents of the block numbers 1 to 8 in sub-leader 8 _3. The contents to be transmitted are not required individually, and the contents of the same block numbers 1 to 8 may be transmitted to the sub reader 8 ₁ and the sub reader 8 ₂ .

The receiving units 8 ₁ c, 8 ₂ c, 8 ₃ c of the sub readers 8 ₁ , 8 ₂ , 8 ₃ store the received contents in the storage units 8 ₁ d, 8 ₂ d, 8 ₃ d, respectively. In the storage unit 8 ₁ d of the sub-reader 8 ₁ , the IC tag information of the articles A to C, that is, the ID numbers “0001”, “0010”, “0011” shown in FIG. 30 pieces of IC tag information is stored, and the ID numbers “0001”, “0010”, “0011”, “0011”, “0011”, “ID” of the articles A to F are stored in the storage unit 8 ₂ d of the sub-reader 8 ₂ . “0111” and the number of IC tag information of 0, 10, 30, 0, 20, and 0 are stored, and the ID number of the articles A to F is stored in the storage unit 8 ₂ d of the sub reader 8 ₂ . That is, “0001”, “0010”, “0011”, “0100”, “0101”, “0111”, “1000”, “1001” and their numbers 0, 10, 30, 0, IC tag information of 20, 0, 0, 10 It is. The IC information of block numbers 1 to 8 may also be stored in the sub reader 8 ₁ and the sub reader 8 ₂ .

Here, articles are conveyed body 2 as shown in FIG. 1 being conveyed on the conveying path 1, and reaches the position of the loading unit 9 _1, by stacking management unit 12 stacked unit 9 ₁ notifies the loading unit 9 ₁ A is not loaded, but only 10 articles B and 30 articles C are loaded on the carrier 2. Sub-leader 8 ₁ of the reading unit ₈₁ a reads the RFID tag 6a, 6b, ID number from 6c of the article A through C, which integrates the loading amount embarked on each ID number in the counter. As a result, it can be determined how many articles A to C are actually loaded.

The comparison unit 8 ₁ e is the IC tag information (ID number and the counted number) of the read RFID tags 6 a, 6 b and 6 c and the IC tag of the carrier 2 transmitted from the main reader 7 and stored in the storage unit 8 ₁ d. The information (ID number and number) is compared. When the comparison unit 8 ₁ e determines that there is a difference between the IC tag information, the transmission unit 8 ₁ b notifies the stacking management unit 12 of this fact, and the article is sent to the transport body 2 via the forwarding transport path 1a. Transport to the upstream position where loading is possible, and reload the stack. The stacking management unit 12 determines the position to carry.

When comparing unit 8 ₁ e determines that there is no discrepancy between the IC tag information, the transfer thereof is notified to the stacking control section 12, to the position of the transport body 2 is stacked unit 9 ₂ being conveyed on the conveying path 1 as Is done. When the position of the loading unit 9 ₂ is reached, the loading management unit 12 notifies the loading unit 9 ₂ of the loading amount, and the loading unit 9 ₂ loads 20 articles E without loading the articles D. Do not load this.

After loading completion, the reading portion ₈₂ a provided in the sub-leader 8 ₂ reads the ID number from the RFID tag 6a~6f of the article to F, it counts for each ID number. The comparison unit 8 ₂ e reads the IC tag information (ID number and counted number) of the read RFID tags 6 a to 6 f and the IC tag information of the carrier ₂ transmitted from the main reader 7 and stored in the storage unit 8 ₂ d ( ID number and number) are compared. Thereby, with respect to the article D to F, to what was actually any number loaded respectively are known, becomes inspection process with respect to the article A through C, even loaded correctly in position of the loading unit 9 _1, then for some reason in either one of the article A~C it is lost, or there was a cumulative miss counter in stacking units 9 _1, either is found. The articles A to C are the second inspection.

When the comparison unit 8 ₂ e determines that there is a difference between the IC tag information of the articles A to C, the transmission unit 8 ₂ b notifies this to the stacking management unit 12, and the stacking management unit 12 moves the carrier 2. one conveys the previous loading unit 9 ₁ or more so far upstream position, re-loading. If there is a discrepancy between the IC tag information of the articles D to F, the stacking management unit 12 is notified to that effect, and the previous stacking unit 9 ₂ that is the upstream position where the mismatched article can be stacked. It is transferred to the position. It notified that forwards the transport body 2 a mismatch has occurred with respect to sub-leader 8 ₂ provided in the vicinity of the loading unit 9 ₂ loading managing unit 12 is located on the most upstream in the carrying unit 9 ₂ after forwarding Load again. The carrier 2 is again loading is carried out in the loading unit 9 _2.

Thereafter, when the comparison unit 8 ₂ e determines that there is no mismatch between the IC tag information of the articles A to F, the stacking management unit 12 is notified to that effect, and the transport body 2 is transported through the transport path 1 and loaded into the stack unit 9. Transferred to position ₃ . When the position of the stacking unit 9 ₃ is reached, the stacking management unit 12 stacks 10 articles H by the stacking unit 9 ₃ . Article G is not loaded. At this time, the reading unit 8 ₃ a of sub-leader 8 ₃ reads the ID number from the RFID tag 6a~6h of the article A to H, and counts for each ID number.

The comparison unit 8 ₃ e reads the IC tag information (ID number and counted number) of the read RFID tags 6 a to 6 h and the IC tag information (ID number and counted number) of the carrier 2 transmitted from the main reader 7 and stored in the storage unit 8 ₁ d ( ID number and number) are compared. Thus, with respect to the article G, H, to whether they are actually any number stacked respectively here seen, becomes inspection process with respect to the article to F, even are loaded correctly at the position of the loading unit 9 ₂ , then you have lost one of the article A~F for some reason, or if there is a cumulative error due to the counter in the stacking unit 9 _2, is found. The articles A to C are the third inspection, and the articles D to F are the second inspection.

When the comparison unit 8 ₃ e determines that there is a difference between the IC tag information of the articles A to F, the transmission unit 8 ₁ b notifies the stacking management unit 12 of this, and the stacking management unit 12 removes the carrier 2. The loading units 9 ₁ and 9 ₂ for placing the missing articles A to F or the mismatched articles are transported to an upstream position where they can be stacked, and loading is performed again.

Also, if there is a mismatch between the IC tag information stored article G, the IC tag information of the H, the fact is notified to the stacking control section 12, it is transferred to the position of the previous loading unit 9 ₃ The The carrier 2 will be re-stacked in the stacking unit 9 _3.

  Subsequently, processing performed in the transport system according to the first embodiment will be described based on a flowchart. FIG. 5 is a flowchart of processing performed by the main leader of the transport system according to the first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 6 is a flowchart of processing performed by the sub-leader of the transport system according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 5, the main reader 7 reads the IC tag information of the RFID tag 3 of the transport unit 2 stored in advance (step 1), and transmits this IC tag information to the stacking management unit 12 (step 2). The load management unit 12 compares the stock status of the stock units 4a to 4h with each other, and determines whether or not the stock has a predetermined number and the load units 9 ₁ , 9 ₂ , and 9 ₃ satisfy the required number (step 3). ).

In step 3, if there is no stock, the stock is replenished (step 4), and if there is stock, the main reader 7 transmits IC tag information consisting of the ID number and the number to each sub-reader 8 ₁ , 8 ₂ , 8 ₃ (step 5). . Each sub-reader 8 ₁ , 8 ₂ , 8 ₃ stores this IC tag information in the storage units 8 ₁ d, 8 ₂ d, 8 ₃ d (step 6).

Next, in FIG. 6, the stacking units 9 ₁ , 9 ₂ , and 9 ₃ load articles on the transport body 2 according to the IC tag information (step 7). Thereafter, the sub-readers 8 ₁ , 8 ₂ , and 8 ₃ read the RFID tags 6a to 6h of the articles loaded on the transport body 2 (step 8), and accumulate the loaded amounts using a counter. This result is compared with the received information received from the main reader 7 (step 9), and it is determined whether or not it matches the read information of each article (step 10).

In step 10, if the received information matches the information of each article, the sub-readers 8 ₁ , 8 ₂ , 8 ₃ notify the loading units 9 ₁ , 9 ₂ , 9 ₃ to that effect and end (step 11). If the received information does not match the information of each article at step ₁₀ , the sub-readers 8 ₁ , 8 ₂ , and 8 ₃ notify the loading units 9 ₁ , 9 ₂ , and 9 ₃ to that effect (step 12).

Thereafter, the stacking management unit 12 returns the transporting body 2 inconsistent by the transport path 1a for forwarding to the position where the article is stacked (step 13), and the stacking units 9 ₁ , 9 ₂ and 9 ₃ transport the transporting body. The article is loaded on 2 (step 14). Although it is extremely rare that the stacking is excessive, in this case, the transport body 2 is taken out via the forwarding transport path 1a.

  Further, the stack management unit 12 determines whether or not there is a predetermined number of stocks after checking the stock status after step 12 (step 15). If there is a stock, the process is terminated as it is, and if there is no stock, the stock unit is replenished (step 16) and the process is terminated.

  As described above, the transport system according to the first embodiment of the present invention reads the RFID tag and notifies each stacking unit that performs stacking, so that a plurality of articles can be easily stacked on the transport body. In addition, since inspection is performed by the sub-reader after loading, inspection is easy, and when there is a mismatch in the loaded articles, they can be forwarded and loaded again. Since inspection is sequentially performed by each sub-leader, even if a plurality of articles are loaded, it is possible to repeatedly inspect, prevent a loading error, and reliably load a predetermined number of articles on the carrier.

  The present invention can be applied to a transport system such as assembly or physical distribution in which a plurality of articles are loaded on a transport body.

Configuration diagram of a transport system in Embodiment 1 of the present invention FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an RFID tag used in the transport system in Embodiment 1 of the present invention. Memory configuration diagram of an RFID tag used in the transport system according to the first embodiment of the invention (A) Configuration diagram showing article information of RFID tag, (b) Configuration diagram of IC tag information stored in RFID tag of carrier The flowchart of the process performed with the main reader | leader of the conveyance system in Example 1 of this invention. The flowchart of the process performed by the sub leader of the conveyance system in Example 1 of the present invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Conveyance path 1a Forwarding conveyance path 2 Conveyance body 3, 6a, 6b, 6c, 6d, 6e, 6f, 6g, 6h RFID tag 4a, 4b, 4c, 4d, 4e, 4f, 4g, 4h Inventory unit 5 Replenishment path 5 ₁ , 5 ₂ , 5 ₃ branch replenishment path 7 main reader 7 a reading unit 7 b transmitting unit 8 ₁ , 8 ₂ , 8 ₃ sub reader 8 ₁ a, 8 ₂ a, 8 ₃ a reading unit 8 ₁ b, 8 ₂ b, 8 ₃ b transmitting unit 8 ₁ c, 8 ₂ c, 8 ₃ c receiving unit 8 ₁ d, 8 ₂ d, 8 ₃ d storing unit 8 ₁ e, 8 ₂ e, 8 ₃ e comparing units 9 ₁ , 9 ₂ , DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 9 ₃ Loading unit 10 Article replenishment part 11 Control part 12 Loading management part 30 IC circuit 31 Antenna 32 Rectifier circuit 33 Constant voltage circuit 34 Reception part 35 Detection part 36 Clock generation part 37 Main control part 38 Non-volatile memory

Claims (8)

A transport path for transporting a transport body for loading a plurality of articles;
A main reader for reading the IC tag attached to the carrier;
A plurality of sub-readers provided in the vicinity of the transport path for reading the IC tag information of the transport body and the tag information of the IC tag attached to the article;
A loading unit that is provided in the vicinity of each of the sub-readers and loads articles according to the IC tag information read by the main reader,
The main reader has a transmission unit for transmitting ID information of the carrier to be read by each sub-reader to each sub-reader from the IC tag information of the carrier,
The sub-reader has a storage unit that stores information transmitted from the transmission unit,
In the transport system having a comparison unit that compares each information stored in the storage unit with the ID information of the IC tag information of the transport body that has been transported on the transport path and the ID information of the article,
When there is a mismatch in the ID information of the article in the comparison unit of the sub-reader, control is performed so that the transport body corresponding to the mismatch is returned to the stacking unit at the upstream position where the article having the mismatch on the transport path can be stacked. And a control unit. The conveyance system according to claim 1, further comprising: a loading management unit that controls loading of articles of the stacking unit, wherein each of the sub-readers has a mismatch between the comparison results of the comparison unit and the article corresponding to the mismatch. A transmission unit configured to transmit ID information to the stacking management unit, the stacking management unit stacking articles corresponding to the received ID information on a transport body returned to a stacking unit capable of stacking on the transport path; Conveyance system characterized by controlling to. The conveyance system according to claim 1, further comprising: a loading management unit that controls loading of articles of the stacking unit, wherein each of the sub-readers has a mismatch between the comparison results of the comparison unit and the article corresponding to the mismatch. A transport unit that transmits ID information to the stacking management unit, and the stacking management unit includes an article replenishing unit that replenishes the stacking unit on the transporting path with articles corresponding to the received ID information. system. 3. The transport system according to claim 2, wherein the main reader transmits ID information of an article to be stacked on the transport body from an IC tag attached to the transport body to the stack management unit, and ID information of the article. The article replenishing unit replenishes the loading unit with articles according to the above. A transport path for transporting a transport body for loading a plurality of articles;
A main reader for reading the IC tag attached to the carrier;
A plurality of sub-readers provided in the vicinity of the transport path for reading the IC tag information of the transport body and the tag information of the IC tag attached to the article;
A loading unit that is provided in the vicinity of each of the sub-readers and loads articles according to the IC tag information read by the main reader,
The main reader has a transmission unit for transmitting ID information of the carrier to be read by each sub-reader to each sub-reader from the IC tag information of the carrier,
The sub-reader has a storage unit that stores information transmitted from the transmission unit,
In the transport system having a comparison unit that compares the ID information of the IC tag information of the transport body that has been transported on the transport path and the ID information of the article with each information stored in the storage unit.
When there is a mismatch in the ID information of the article in the comparison unit of the sub-reader, the transport body in which the mismatch has occurred is returned to the stacking unit at the upstream position where the mismatched article can be stacked on the transport path for forwarding. And a control unit that controls the transfer system. 6. The transport system according to claim 5, wherein when there is a mismatch, the control unit determines a stack unit at an upstream position where the mismatched article can be stacked, and a sub-reader provided in the vicinity of the stack unit A transport system which notifies that a transport body in which inconsistency has occurred is forwarded, and is loaded again by the stacking unit after the transport. 7. The transport system according to claim 1, wherein instead of returning an article having a mismatch in the transport path to an upstream stacking unit capable of stacking, the article is returned to the previous stack unit on the transport path. Transport system. 7. The transport system according to claim 1, wherein, instead of returning an article having a mismatch in the transport path to an upstream loading unit capable of stacking, the article having a mismatch in the transport path is set to an upstream position where the article can be stacked. A transport system characterized by returning.

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