JP2009126682A - Back face picking system for automated warehouse - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To achieve a back face picking system capable of improving safety during picking work by a picker and shortening a pitch of a shelf bay (vertical size). <P>SOLUTION: In the back face picking system for an automated warehouse, a stacker crane 200 vertically movable and capable of traveling in the extending direction of shelf groups is arranged between the shelf groups 100-1, 100-2 arranged in two lines leaving an interval. Each of the shelf groups 100-1, 100-2 is partitioned into a plurality of shelf bays in the vertical and extending direction. The shelf bays at a predetermined number of steps on the lower side serve as a face area FA where containers 400 for product picking are placed, and the remaining shelf bays serve as a storage area RA where containers for product replenishment are placed. In this case, the containers 400 placed on the shelf bays in the face area FA are drawer-type containers by slide rails, and therefore, products inside the containers 400 cannot be taken out when the containers 400 are not drawn out. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an automatic warehouse back picking system.

  As a picking system applied to distribution centers and distribution centers that ship goods such as products according to orders, a stacker crane is placed between two rows of shelves that store various goods, and the rear side of the shelves Has proposed a rear picking system for an automatic warehouse that picks a commodity designated by a picking operator (hereinafter referred to as a picker) (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  A first example of the back picking system will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is a view of a part of the commodity fixed automatic warehouse and the work area of the picker as viewed from the extending direction of the shelf group.

  A stacker crane 200 is provided between the two rows of shelf groups 100-1 and 100-2 for storing commodities, which can be moved up and down and in the extending direction of the shelf groups. The configurations of the shelf groups 100-1 and 100-2 are substantially the same, and speaking of the shelf group 100-1, each partition is divided into a plurality of sections in the vertical direction and the extending direction of the shelf group 100-1. It becomes a shelf front for storing goods. In the shelf group 100-1, an area where the shelf front (usually about three steps) up to a height position where the picker 300 can reach is defined as a face area (or picking area) FA, and a shelf above the shelf area 100-1 The area where the frontage exists is the storage area RA. In the work time zone, the picker 300 normally performs a product picking operation in the face area FA, and the stacker crane 200 performs a product replenishment operation from the storage area RA to the face area FA.

  The product fixed type is a type in which the stacker crane 200 mainly performs a product replenishment operation from the storage area RA to the face area FA, and also performs a product return operation from the face area FA to the storage area RA. This is distinguished from the commodity replacement type described later. Each shelf front of the face area FA is in a flow rack format. The flow rack type is a type in which the shelf on which the product is placed protrudes obliquely downward from the back of the shelf group, and the product replenished by the stacker crane 200 is easily slid down to the front end side of the shelf. is there. In addition, a plurality of commodities are normally stored in a state of being accommodated in a container, and the replenishment of commodities to each shelf front of the face area FA by the stacker crane 200 is also performed on a container basis.

  FIG. 6 shows a second example of the rear picking system, in which a part of an automatic warehouse called a commodity replacement type (FIG. 6a) and a work area of the picker, that is, a face area FA (FIG. 6b) are respectively extended shelf groups. It is the figure seen from the direction. Although FIG. 6 also shows two rows of shelf groups 100-1 and 100-2, the stacker crane arranged between them may be the same as that in FIG. The product replacement type is a type in which the stacker crane not only replenishes the product from the storage area RA to the face area FA but also returns the product from the face area FA to the storage area RA, as described above. (See, for example, Patent Document 2).

JP 2002-160801 A JP-A-6-156615

  In both cases of the first and second examples described above, the picker performs picking by placing a hand through the gap G between the containers (except for the container in the uppermost face area in the first example). Therefore, the step pitch of the shelf front in the face area needs to be a step pitch including a gap G for inserting a hand in addition to the container height. In particular, in the case of the second example, it is necessary to further increase the gap G in order to facilitate the picking operation with the waist bent at the bottom shelf opening. In this case, in a normal-sized container, only the three-tier shelf frontage can be secured in the face area according to the height of the picker, and the number of shelf frontage may be insufficient.

  Further, even if there is a gap G for putting a hand above the shelf front, it cannot be taken out when the product is large, and eventually the container is pulled out from the shelf front and supported as shown in FIG. In such a state, it is necessary to perform the picking operation of the product, which may increase the burden on the picker in terms of labor and work time.

  On the contrary, when the product is small, there is a gap G in which the hand is put above the shelf front, so that a person unrelated to the picking work can easily take out the product, which causes a security problem.

  Therefore, a main object of the present invention is to realize a back picking system capable of improving safety in picking work of a picker and reducing the pitch (size in the vertical direction) of a shelf front.

  Another object of the present invention is to realize a back picking system that can prevent picking by a picker and removal of a product by an outsider.

  According to the present invention, a stacker crane that can move up and down and travel in the extending direction of the shelf group is disposed between two rows of shelf groups that are arranged at intervals. The shelf opening is divided into a plurality of shelf openings with respect to the extending direction, and the lower shelf opening is a face area where containers for product picking are placed, and the remaining shelf openings are storage areas where containers for product replenishment are placed In the rear picking system of the automatic warehouse, the container placed at the shelf front in the face area is a pull-out type using a slide rail, and the product in the container cannot be taken out unless the container is pulled out.

  In the rear picking system, a control device having a function of controlling at least the stacker crane based on a picking plan prepared in advance and instructing the picker of the contents of picking work through a terminal device provided in the face area. It is desirable to provide a sensor for detecting the drawer of the container and notifying the controller of the drawer at each shelf opening in the face area.

  In the present back picking system, the control device performs the instruction of the picking work content by the terminal device for each shelf front in the face area, and also instructs the picking work content to the shelf front and the container in the shelf front. When the notification of container drawer is received from the sensor at the shelf front not instructing the picking work content, at least the terminal device among the terminal device and the system administrator is informed of that fact. Is desirable.

  Since there is no need to set up a space for placing a hand above the shelf opening in the face area, the step pitch (size in the vertical direction) of the shelf opening can be shortened. The number of shelves in the face area can be increased by height.

  By adopting a pull-out container, the picker performs the picking work away from the back side of the shelf group with respect to the container pulled out from the back side of the shelf group, and the picking work area by the picker is the working area of the stacker crane. It is possible to improve the safety of the picker by being further away from.

  FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of a back picking system according to the present invention, and shows a case where the present invention is applied to an automatic warehouse called a commodity replacement type. Similar to FIG. 6, FIG. 1 (a) is a view of a part of an automatic warehouse, that is, a two-row shelf group viewed from the extending direction, and FIG. 1 (b) is a part of a two-row shelf group. It is the figure which looked at the work area of a certain picker, ie, the face area FA, from the extending direction of the shelf group. Although FIG. 1 also shows two rows of shelf groups 100-1 and 100-2, the stacker crane arranged between them may be the same as that shown in FIG.

  Each shelf group in the present embodiment also has a lower several steps as a face area FA and a storage area RA above it, but the face area FA has four steps, which is one step higher than the previous examples. The reason will be described later. Each shelf front in the face area FA can be pulled out by a slide rail. In other words, the product in the container cannot be taken out unless the container is pulled out.

  Since the slide rail itself is well known, an example will be briefly described with reference to FIGS. For convenience, the same reference numerals in FIG. 1 to FIG. 3 denote the same parts as in FIG. The stacker crane is assumed to have a telescopic mounting plate.

  2 and 3, one shelf front 110 is defined by four frames (supports) 115 extending in the vertical direction. Support plates 10 extending in the vertical direction are provided between the two frames 115 of the pair in the shelf front 110 that are arranged in the loading / unloading direction of the product, that is, the container 400 indicated by a one-dot chain line in FIG. . The slide rail includes a main body side rail 20 and a drawer side rail 30. The main body side rail 20 is attached to the inner surface side of the support plate 10, that is, the side facing the shelf opening 110, and the drawer side rail 30 is attached to both side edges of the drawer 40. The slide of the drawer side rail 30 is guided by the main body side rail 20, and the drawer 40 is guided by the two main body side rails 20.

  The drawer 40 includes a front plate 41, a mounting portion 42 that is integrally attached to the front plate 41 for mounting the container 400, and a mounting portion that is slightly raised from the side edge of the mounting portion 41 for mounting the drawer-side rail 30. 43. The mounting portion 42 has a cut 42 a that is narrower than the width of the container 400 and larger than the width of the mounting plate 210 in order to allow the container 400 to be delivered by the telescopic mounting plate 210 in the stacker crane 200. It is supposed to be. The mounting portion 42 is desirably provided with a guide or the like for positioning the container 400 mounted thereon.

  With the slide rail and the drawer 40 as described above, the container 400 can be freely inserted and removed from the shelf opening 110. As a result, when the product is picked, the container 400 is pulled out from the shelf front 110 and the product is taken out. Therefore, even if the stacker crane placing plate 210 enters the shelf front just above the container 400, it touches a part of the picker body. There will be no problems such as Therefore, it is not necessary to secure a gap (indicated by G in FIG. 6b) for putting a hand near the ceiling portion of the shelf front 110. Since there are three spaces (in the case of FIG. 6) to be reduced in this way, it is possible to secure another shelf shelf in the face area FA using the space for these three steps. As shown in FIG. 1, the face area FA can be formed by a total of four shelves.

  Note that the container transfer mode using the stacker crane and the container loading / unloading mode using the slide rail are merely examples, and as illustrated in a simplified manner in FIG. Alternatively, the container 400 itself may be pulled out by hand through the slide rail and pushed into the front of the shelf without the front plate.

  FIG. 4 shows another example of a container transfer form using a stacker crane. When the interval between the frames 115 in the extending direction of the shelf group is sufficiently larger than the width of one shelf front, the shelf plate 15 is provided between the four frames 115. The upper space of the shelf board 15 is partitioned into a plurality of shelf fronts 110 by a plurality of support plates 10, and the drawer 40 by the slide rail as described in FIGS. 2 and 3 is provided in each shelf front 110. On the other hand, as a stacker crane, not a so-called scooping type using a mounting plate, but one having a holding mechanism with two holding plates 220 that can be inserted into and removed from the shelf front 110 and can be moved to and away from each other is used. Is done. The stacker crane transfers the container 400 to the mounting portion 42 of the drawer 40 that is stored in the shelf front 110 by this clamping mechanism.

  As described above, various types of container transfer modes using a stacker crane and containers loading / unloading modes using a slide rail are provided. The present invention relates to a container transfer mode using a stacker crane and a container using a slide rail. It is not restricted by the form of putting in and out.

  The back picking system includes a management computer (not shown) that functions as a control device for overall control of the entire system. The management computer controls the entire system based on a daily picking plan that has been created in advance, but before starting work, which products are stored in which shelf fronts and which shelf fronts are empty. I know. Briefly explaining a part of the control, the management computer causes a terminal device (not shown) installed in the face area FA to display the type and number of products to be picked on the display for each picker. When an indicator with an indicator light is provided at each shelf front, the indicator light at the shelf front with the product to be picked by the management computer is blinked in parallel with the display on the display. Yes. The management computer also controls the stacker crane 200 to replenish the goods from the storage area RA to the shelf front where the picker picks, and in some cases, transfers the goods between the shelf fronts. . When the picker finishes picking the content displayed on the display, it notifies the management computer of this through the terminal device, and the management computer that has received this instructs the picker to perform a new picking through the terminal device. As a result, the management computer can always grasp which product is present in which shelf front and controls the stacker crane 200 according to the grasped content.

  The picking instruction to the picker may be performed through a display device installed at each shelf front and this terminal device. In this case, the indicator has an indicator lamp, a number display section, a picking completion push button, and the like. The picker confirms the product to be picked and the number to be picked in the number display section of the indicator whose indicator light is blinking, and presses the picking completion push button when picking is finished.

  In any case, the management computer keeps track of all face areas of the automatic warehouse whether or not the designated product has been picked by the designated number.

  By the way, there is a case where a product for which a picker is not instructed is picked by mistake even though the above picking instruction is performed. Alternatively, there is a security problem that an outsider other than the picker takes out the product and takes it away. Such product removal by an outsider is particularly easily performed when the product can be taken out without pulling out the container or the container 400 from the shelf front as shown in FIGS.

  In order to solve such a problem, in the present back picking system, not only the container 400 at the shelf opening in the face area FA is a drawer type but also a slide detection sensor that detects the drawer 40 (or container 400) being pulled out. Is provided for each shelf opening in the face area FA. As shown in FIG. 1B, here, a slide detection sensor SD is provided on one of the pair of slide rails of the shelf front, and this is notified to the management computer when the drawer 40 is pulled out.

  In the management computer, a log (record) of notification from the slide detection sensor SD at each shelf front is taken so that the picking work can be traced. The management computer also links the picking instruction and the notification from the slide detection sensor SD so that when a product other than the instructed product is picked, that is, the drawer 40 is pulled out from the slide detection sensor SD at the shelf front where the picking instruction is not issued. When the notification of the drawer is received, an alarm is displayed on the terminal device of the corresponding face area FA or the display of the corresponding shelf front. In particular, when a drawer 40 containing a product other than the designated product is detected in a face area where picking work is not performed, that is, in a face area FA without a picker, the management computer is operated by an outsider other than the picker. It is possible to improve security by determining that the product has been extracted and notifying the system administrator to that effect. From a security standpoint, a lock mechanism that locks the drawers is provided on the slide rails of each shelf front so that the drawer is always locked, and when a product picking instruction is issued for a certain shelf front, the shelf front is locked. The mechanism may be released to enable picking.

  As described above, according to the back surface picking system according to the present embodiment, the container or the drawer on which the container is placed can be taken in and out of the shelf by the slide rail, and the container or the drawer can be detected. The following effects can be obtained.

  Since there is no need to set up a space for placing a hand above the shelf opening in the face area, the step pitch (size in the vertical direction) of the shelf opening can be shortened. The number of shelves in the face area can be increased by height.

  By adopting a pull-out container, the picker performs the picking work away from the back side of the shelf group with respect to the container pulled out from the back side of the shelf group, and the picking work area by the picker is the working area of the stacker crane. It is possible to improve the safety of the picker by being further away from.

  Since the container is not lifted from the placing part on which the container is placed at the shelf front, the container position when returning the container is constant, and it is difficult for a misalignment error to occur when the container is transported by the stacker crane.

  By linking the picking instruction for each shelf front from the management computer to the shelf front and the detection of the slide detection sensor provided for each shelf front, it is possible to detect erroneous picking and notify the picker via the terminal. Picking accuracy can be improved. Further, by taking a log of the container drawer using the detection signal of the slide detection sensor, the picking work can be traced later. Furthermore, if the container is not pulled out from the shelf front, the product cannot be taken out, and if a container pull-out notification is received from the slide detection sensor at the shelf front where no picking instruction has been issued, the product will be pulled out by an outsider It is possible to improve the security in the face area by determining that it has been performed and notifying the system administrator to that effect.

  The present invention has the same effect as the product replacement type by attaching a pull-out method using a slide rail and a sensor for detecting the drawer not only in a product replacement-type automatic warehouse having a picking face but also in a product fixed type rack. Obtainable.

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of an automatic warehouse of a back picking system according to the present invention, and FIG. 1 (a) is a view of a shelf group that is a part of the automatic warehouse as viewed from its extending direction. ) Is a view of the work area of the picker that is a part of the shelf group, that is, the face area, viewed from the extending direction of the shelf group. FIG. 2 is a side view for explaining the basic configuration of the drawer by the slide rail. FIG. 3 is a view of the basic structure of FIG. 2 as viewed from above. FIG. 4 is a plan view for explaining another example of the container transfer mode by the stacker crane. FIG. 5 is a view of a part of a conventional automatic warehouse with a fixed product and a work area of a picker as seen from the extending direction of a shelf group. FIG. 6 is a view of a part (FIG. 6a) and a picker work area, that is, a face area (FIG. 6b) of a conventional automatic warehouse of merchandise replacement type, as viewed from the extending direction of the shelf group.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Support plate 20 Main body side rail 30 Drawer side rail 40 Drawer 41 Front plate 42 Mounting part 100-1, 100-2 Shelf group 110 Shelf front 115 Frame (support)
200 Stacker crane 210 Mounting plate 400 Container FA Face area RA Storage area

Claims (3)

A stacker crane that can move up and down and travel in the extending direction of the shelf group is arranged between the two rows of shelf groups arranged at intervals, and each shelf group is related to the upper and lower and its extending direction. Automatic, which is divided into a plurality of shelf fronts and the lower shelf front is a face area where containers for product picking are placed, and the remaining shelf fronts are storage areas where containers for product replenishment are placed In the warehouse back picking system,
A back picking system for an automatic warehouse, wherein a container placed in a shelf front in the face area is a pull-out type using a slide rail, and a product in the container cannot be taken out unless the container is pulled out. The back picking system of claim 1,
A control device having a function of controlling at least the stacker crane based on a picking plan created in advance and having a function of instructing picker work contents to the picker through a terminal device provided in the face area,
A back picking system for an automatic warehouse, wherein a sensor for detecting the drawer of the container and notifying the controller of the drawer is provided at each shelf opening in the face area. The back picking system according to claim 2,
The control device performs the instruction of the picking work content by the terminal device for each shelf front of the face area, and interlocks the instruction of the picking work content for the shelf front and the detection of the drawer of the container at the shelf front,
An automatic warehouse characterized by notifying at least the terminal device among the terminal device and the system manager when a container drawer notification is received from the sensor at the shelf front not instructing picking work content Back picking system.

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