JP2017048047A - Delivery sorting system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a delivery sorting system which can introduce commodities without the need for a large-scaled installation space, does not need to temporarily place the commodities while aligning them in advance according to delivery orders, can make a plurality of persons simultaneously perform a plurality of the delivery orders without causing the interference of work flow lines, and can quickly deliver the delivery orders in which the commodities are aligned.SOLUTION: A delivery sorting system has a management server 110 which manages the sorting information of commodities W, a plurality of work computers 121 which input and output the sorting information, and a sorting rack 130 which sorts and stores the commodities W. The sorting rack 130 has a plurality of storage places which are opened at both faces, and the management server 110 has a function for processing the information which is stored in storage means 115, outputting a command to the sorting rack 130 to store the commodities W, and outputting a command for inspecting and delivering delivery orders in the sorting rack 130 which are prepared in delivery.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention includes a management device that manages product sorting information, a plurality of terminals that communicate with the management device to input and output the sorting information, and a sorting shelf that sorts and temporarily stores the products. It relates to the shipping sorting system.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, various systems are well known as shipping sorting systems for efficiently performing operations for placing products according to orders into cases in warehouses that pick and deliver a large number of stored products.
For example, as a shipping sorting system that sorts a large number of products for each delivery destination in a distribution center, etc., a conveyor for transporting cases for storing products for each shipping order, and a conveyor placed along the conveyor, temporarily placing the products A shipping sorting system including a plurality of work zones for putting products into a case and a management device that transmits a product placement instruction to the case to an operator is known (see Patent Document 1).
The shipping sorting system of Patent Document 1 is configured such that when a case on a conveyor passes through each work zone, an operator inputs a product into the case according to an instruction transmitted from the management device. In addition, since the case can be transported while avoiding a work zone where there is no product to be thrown in, it is possible to suppress the stay of the case that has been thrown in on the conveyor.

Moreover, as a technology that can be used, a conveyor for transporting a case for storing products for each shipping order, a storage shelf opposed to both sides of the conveyor, temporary storage of the products, and a product from the storage shelf to the case 2. Description of the Related Art A shipping sorting system is known that includes a plurality of work zones for loading and a management device that transmits a product loading instruction to a case to an operator (see Patent Document 2).
The shipping sorting system of Patent Document 2 is configured such that when a case on a conveyor passes through each work zone, an operator puts a product into the case according to an instruction transmitted from the management device. In addition, since the products can be input simultaneously from the storage shelves arranged opposite to both sides of the conveyor, the working efficiency is improved as compared with the input of the products on only one side.

JP 2014-151990 A JP 2009-298555 A

However, these known shipping sorting systems are systems in which the temporarily placed product is put into an empty case transported to a conveyor, and a multi-order for shipping a plurality of various products to the same shipping destination. This is useful in many sorting operations, but in a sorting operation in which there are many single orders in which only single items are shipped, there is a possibility that the time for single-order items to stay on storage shelves or conveyors may become longer.
In addition, since a plurality of storage shelves and work spaces are arranged along the conveyor, there is a problem that a large installation space is required.
In addition, since it is necessary to sort and temporarily place the products in each work zone before starting the sorting work, it is necessary to separately arrange workers for temporary placement in addition to workers for placing products in the case. In addition, there is a risk that the work contents will be complicated and labor costs will increase.

In addition, as a shipping sorting system that handles sorting operations with a large number of single orders, sorting shelves with multiple storage locations are installed in the work zone so that workers can receive transported products and transport them as they are in a single order. It is possible to send to the downstream of the line, temporarily store it in the sorting shelf if it is multi-order, and send the products from the sorting shelf to the downstream side of the transport line when the multi-ordered products are ready.
However, in this method, when a plurality of workers use the same sorting shelf, work flow lines interfere with each other, and work efficiency may be reduced.
In addition, it is possible to install multiple sorting shelves and assign one worker to each sorting shelf, but the number of workers that can work on one shipping order is limited to one, so order The processing speed of the unit does not change, and there is a possibility that the work on the downstream side of the transport line may not be in time because of the instantaneous increase in the number of shipment orders in which goods are prepared at the same time.
In addition, unprocessed shipping orders are likely to accumulate on the sorting shelf, and the residence time of the shipping order on the sorting shelf may be increased.
Furthermore, when a conveyor is provided for each sorting shelf, there is a problem that a large installation space is required.

  The present invention solves the above-described problem, and can be introduced without a large installation space. A plurality of shipping orders can be provided without temporarily placing products according to the shipping order in advance in the work zone. It is an object of the present invention to provide a shipping sorting system in which a plurality of persons can work in parallel without interfering with the work flow line, and can quickly ship a shipping order in which goods are prepared.

  A shipping sorting system according to the present invention is a management device that manages product sorting information, a plurality of terminals that communicate with the management device to input and output the sorting information, and sorts and stores the products temporarily A shipping sorting system having a sorting shelf, wherein the sorting shelf has a plurality of storage locations open on both sides, and the management device communicates with the terminal to process information stored in the storage means An overall management function unit that performs output and editing, a distribution management function unit that manages a sorting status of the product, and a shipping management function unit that manages a shipping status of the product, and the distribution management function unit includes: A function of associating a predetermined storage location from a product code input from the terminal and outputting an instruction to temporarily store the product to the terminal that has input the product code; , By having the function of outputting an instruction to inspection and shipping the shipping orders shipped ready stored in serial sorting the shelves to a predetermined said terminal is intended to solve the above problems.

According to the shipping sorting system according to claim 1, since the sorting shelf has a plurality of storage locations that are open on both sides, the product can be put into the storage location from both sides of the shelf, so that the product can be sent only from one side. Compared to the case where a plurality of persons can work at the same time, even if a plurality of persons work at the same time, the work can be efficiently performed without interfering with each other's work place, and the work efficiency for the same shipping order can be improved.
In addition, since multiple terminals are arranged so as to be able to handle sorting work from each side of the sorting shelf, by preparing a terminal for each worker individually, work contents assigned to other workers Can be suppressed.
In addition, the operator inputs the product code into the terminal in the order in which the products are received, and puts the products into the storage location specified by the management device, so there is no need to sort the products by type in advance, and a large installation space is required. do not need.
Also, multiple terminals share each other's information, and the management device updates the shipping order to which the product is placed and the required number of the product at the moment when the operator inputs the product code of the product to the terminal. Therefore, even if multiple workers receive the same product almost simultaneously and enter the product code into the terminal, the terminal does not give the same work instruction to multiple workers, and can prevent double input of products etc. .
Furthermore, since the worker only needs to receive the products in order without having to confirm the number or type of the products, the burden on the worker can be reduced.

According to the configuration described in claim 2, since the distribution management function unit updates the shipment progress list after outputting an instruction to store the product in a predetermined storage location to the terminal that has input the product code of the product, There is no need for the operator to update the shipping progress list separately, and there is no possibility of erroneous input.
According to the configuration described in claim 3, when the product code of the product is input to the terminal, if there is a shipment order (single order) for which the preparation for shipment is completed only with the product, the distribution management function unit is placed in the sorting shelf. Since an instruction to ship the product without storing it is displayed on the terminal and notified to the operator, the usage rate of the sorting shelf can be reduced and the shipping operation can be advanced promptly.

According to the configuration described in claim 4, when there is a shipping order in which commodities necessary for shipping are available, the shipping management function unit outputs a shipping instruction to the terminal and updates the shipping result data. There is no need to update the shipping record data separately, and there is no possibility of erroneous input.
According to the configuration of the fifth aspect, after the completion of all shipping operations, the shipping management function unit outputs the shipping record data to the external storage device and deletes the sorting information. There is no need to delete the sorting information, and there is no possibility of erroneous operation such as deleting the sorting information before outputting the shipping record data. In addition, the burden on the operator can be reduced.

The hardware block diagram of one Embodiment of this invention. The conceptual diagram which shows the basic composition of one Embodiment of this invention. The figure which illustrates how to allocate the location number of the sorting shelf in one embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, a shipping sorting system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
As shown in FIG. 1, the shipping sorting system includes a management server 110 and a sorting shelf 130 having a plurality of storage locations opened on both sides, and can handle each side of the sorting shelf 130 opened. Computer 121, bar code reader 122, and labeler 123 for tags. Further, the work computer 121 is connected to the management server 110, the barcode reader 122, and the tag labeler 123 by a wired connection with a LAN cable.

The logical basic configuration of the shipping sorting system is shown in FIG.
The management server 110 is connected to a plurality of work computers 121 through a LAN cable so as to be communicable, and includes a USB port (not shown) capable of transmitting and receiving data to and from the USB memory 124 and stores sorting information. Storage means 115 for processing and outputting sorting information, and information processing means 111 for receiving and processing and storing input from the work computer 121.
The information processing unit 111 communicates with the work computer 121 and the USB memory 124 to perform processing, output, and editing of information stored in the storage unit 115, and distribution for managing the sorting status of the product W The management function unit 113 and a shipment management function unit 114 that manages the shipment status of the product W are provided.

The storage unit 115 includes a location number that individually identifies a plurality of storage locations in the sorting shelf 130, a product code that indicates the type of the product W, a shipping order that summarizes a list of product codes required for each shipping unit, A shipment progress list that summarizes the progress of shipment orders and shipment result data that summarizes shipment orders that have been shipped can be stored.
In addition, as shown in FIG. 3, the location number is assigned to each storage location in the sorting shelf 130. For each opened surface of the sorting shelf 130, “1 on surface A, 1 on surface B, The storage locations are distinguished and allocated such as “A-side 2, B-side 2,...”, And can be easily switched in the management server.

The usage form of the shipping sorting system which is one embodiment of the present invention configured as described above will be described below.
It is assumed that the location number, product code, and shipping order are stored in advance in the storage unit 115 in the management server 110 before work.
First, the worker S receives the product W that has been randomly transported to the work zone by the conveyor Ta · Tb, and the product code printed as a barcode on the product W is read by the barcode reader 122.
The read product code is input to the management server 110 via the work computer 121. In the information processing unit 111 in the management server, the storage unit 115 is accessed, and a shipping order including the product code is extracted.
At this time, if the extracted shipping order is a single order, the product code is transmitted for an instruction to send it to the next shipping process as being ready for shipping without storing the product W in the sorting shelf 130. An instruction to print a slip is output to the label labeler 123 displayed on the display of the computer 121 and connected to the work computer 121 which has transmitted the product code, and the shipping order in the shipping progress list is prepared for shipping. Is updated and the shipping order is registered in the shipping record list.

The worker S confirms the instruction displayed on the display of the work computer 121, pastes the shipping slip printed from the label labeler 123 on the product W, puts it into the transport case C, and completes preparation for shipping. The product P is placed on the conveyor Tc to be sent to the next shipping process.
When the shipping order extracted by the information processing means 111 is a multi-order, the location number of a predetermined storage location in the sorting shelf 130 is associated with the shipping order, and the product W is temporarily stored in the sorting shelf 130. Is output on the display of the work computer 121 that has transmitted the product code, and reflects that the product W has been put into the shipping order in the shipping progress list.
The worker S confirms the instruction displayed on the display of the work computer 121 and puts the product W into the corresponding storage location of the sorting shelf 130.

The worker S operates the work computer 121 to issue an instruction to confirm whether there is a shipping order ready for shipment in the sorting shelf 130 at an arbitrary timing. The information processing unit 111 in the management server 110 refers to the shipment progress list, extracts a shipment order ready for shipment stored in the sorting shelf, and sends an instruction to send the shipment order to the next shipment process. An instruction to print a slip is output to the label labeler 123 displayed on the display of the work computer 121 operated by the worker S and connected to the work computer 121 operated by the worker S, and the progress of shipment. The association between the shipping order in the list and the location number is canceled, and the shipping order is registered in the shipping record list.
The worker S confirms the instruction displayed on the display of the work computer 121, inspects the product W ready for shipment stored in the sorting shelf 130, and then carries the transport case for each shipment order. The product is put into C, the shipping slip printed from the label labeler 123 is packaged in the transport case C into which the product W is put, and placed on the conveyor Tc to be sent to the next shipping process as a product P ready for shipping.

  When all the sorting operations are completed, the worker S connects the USB memory 124 to the management server, and operates the work computer 121 to notify the management server 110 that all sorting operations are completed. The information processing unit 111 in the management server 110 automatically saves the shipment record list in the storage unit 115 in the USB memory 124, and then deletes the sorting information in the storage unit 115, so that all work in the work zone is performed. To complete. At this time, since the information processing means automatically executes the process from the storage of the shipping record data to the deletion of the sorting information, there is no fear of data loss due to the operator S's erroneous operation.

In a series of sorting operations, since the workers S are arranged one by one on both sides of the sorting shelf 130 having a storage place that is open on both sides, the work flow line does not move even if the operations related to the same shipping order are performed simultaneously. Sorting work can be performed by two people without interference, and the sorting processing speed can be improved in units of shipping orders.
Further, the sorting information in the storage unit 115 is shared by both sides of the work, and when the product code is read, or when an instruction for confirming the shipping order ready for shipping in the sorting shelf 130 is given to the management server. Since the contents of the sorting information are instantaneously updated, the workers S displayed on the display of the work computer 121 even when the two workers S sort the products W of the same type at substantially the same time. This does not cause an erroneous operation such as double loading of the product W.
In addition, the worker S may receive the products W that are randomly transported to the work zone in the order in which they are transported, and perform the sorting work in accordance with the instructions displayed on the screen of the work computer 121. The labor efficiency can be improved and labor costs can be reduced.

As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was explained in full detail, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment, A various design change can be made without deviating from this invention described in the claim. Is possible.
In the above-described embodiment, it has been described that the work related to the same shipping order is performed from both sides in a storage place that is open on both sides, but the work method is not limited to this, for example, a partition that can be attached and detached in the middle of the storage place, etc. The storage area opened on both sides may be used for work related to different shipment orders for each side.
Further, in the above-described embodiment, it is described that the operation is performed using one sorting shelf. However, the number of sorting shelves is not limited to this, and a plurality of sorting shelves may be prepared.
Further, in the above-described embodiment, it has been described that one worker is arranged on each side of the sorting shelf, and a total of two workers are arranged, but the number of workers is not limited to this. Multiple people may be placed on the surface.

In the above-described embodiment, the management server is described as being provided separately from the work computer. However, the arrangement method of the management server is not limited to this. A work computer that is arranged on one side of the shelf and does not serve as a management server may be arranged on the other side of the sorting shelf so as to be communicable with the master unit.
In the above-described embodiment, the input / output of data to / from the management server before and after work has been described as using a USB memory. However, the input / output of data to / from the management server is not limited to this. An external storage device such as an external hard disk may be used, and it is possible to communicate directly with a computer etc. on a system different from the shipping sorting system without going through the external storage device, and directly input / output data May be.

In the above-described embodiment, the work computer, the management server, the barcode reader, and the label labeler are described as being connected by a LAN cable so that they can communicate with each other. For example, wireless communication such as Bluetooth, infrared, or wireless LAN may be used.
In the above-described embodiment, the barcode reader and the label for label have been described as using devices different from the work computer. However, the configuration of each device is not limited to this, and for example, for barcode reader and tag A portable terminal having a labeler function and capable of communicating with the management server may be used.

In the embodiment described above, the barcode indicating the product code is used for specifying the product type. However, the method for specifying the product type is not limited to this, and for example, data indicating the product code is used. A built-in microchip may be used, or an operator may manually input a product code written on the product into the work computer.
Further, in the above-described embodiment, it has been described that the management server confirms the shipping order in which the products stored in the sorting shelf are prepared by an operation at an arbitrary timing of the worker, but the confirmation timing of the management server is However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the management server may automatically confirm whether or not there is a shipping order with the products stored in the sorting shelf every time a predetermined time elapses.
In the above-described embodiment, the conveyance of the products before and after the work zone has been described as using a conveyor. However, the method for conveying the products is not limited to this, for example, a plurality of products are stacked on a pallet, a forklift, etc. You may convey by.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 110 ... Management server 111 ... Information processing means 112 ... Overall management function part 113 ... Distribution management function part 114 ... Shipping management function part 115 ... Storage means 121 ... Work computer 122 ・ ・ ・ Barcode reader 123 ・ ・ ・ Tag labeler 124 ・ ・ ・ USB memory 130 ・ ・ ・ Sorting shelf C ・ ・ ・ Transport case W ・ ・ ・ Product S ・ ・ ・ Worker P ・ ・ ・ Preparation for shipment Completed product Ta ・ Tb ・ Tc ・ ・ ・ Conveyor

Claims (5)

A shipping sorting system comprising: a management device that manages product sorting information; a plurality of terminals that communicate with the management device to input and output the sorting information; and a sorting shelf that sorts and stores the products temporarily There,
The sorting shelf has a plurality of storage locations open on both sides,
The plurality of terminals are arranged so as to be capable of handling sorting work from each side of the sorting shelf,
The sorting information includes a product code attached to each type of product, a shipping order that summarizes a list of the product codes required for each shipping unit, a shipping progress list that summarizes the progress of the shipping order, Shipping actual data that summarizes the shipping order that has been shipped;
The management device has storage means for storing the sorting information, and information processing means for processing and outputting the sorting information and receiving and processing and storing the input from the terminal,
The information processing means communicates with the terminal and processes, outputs, and edits information stored in the storage means, a distribution management function section that manages the sorting status of the products, and the products And a shipping management function unit for managing the shipping status of
The distribution management function unit has a function of associating a predetermined storage location with the product code input from the terminal and outputting an instruction to temporarily store the product to the terminal that has input the product code. And
The shipping management function unit has a function of referring to the shipping progress list and outputting an instruction to inspect and ship the shipping order stored in the sorting shelf ready for shipping to a predetermined terminal. A shipping sorting system characterized by   The distribution management function unit has a function of updating the shipping progress list when outputting an instruction to store the product in a predetermined storage location to the terminal that has input the product code. Item 2. The shipping sorting system according to item 1.   The distribution management function unit sends an instruction to ship the shipping order without storing the product on a sorting shelf to the terminal that has input the product code when the shipping order is completed with only the single product. The shipping sorting system according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising a function of outputting.   4. The shipment management function unit has a function of updating the shipment result data when outputting an instruction to ship the shipment order to a predetermined terminal. Shipment sorting system as described in.   The shipment management function unit has a function of outputting the shipment record data to an external storage device and deleting the sorting information after completion of all shipment operations. Shipment sorting system as described in.

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