JP2020045194A - Conveying system - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a conveying system capable of inhibiting an installation space and a facility investment cost from being increased and leveling a work in accordance with sorting of articles in a case where order of the articles is repeated many times a day and where articles to be delivered arrive irregularly.SOLUTION: In a conveying system, a host computer 100 causes articles to be sorted based on identification number information, delivery destination information, alignment number information and position information of the articles for every delivery destination in a sorter 40, causes articles (hereinafter referred to as pre-sorted articles BG) sorted in the sorter 40 to be stored in an automated warehouse 20 by a feed line 50, and then, when articles (hereinafter referred to as post-sorted articles LG) delivered to the same destinations are sorted in the sorter 40, causes the pre-sorted articles BG stored in the automated warehouse 20 to be sent to a position corresponding to a position on the feed line 50 where the post-sorted articles LG of the sorter 40 are sorted.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

  The present invention relates to a transport system capable of sorting articles.

  As a conventional sorting facility (transport system), there is one described in Patent Document 1. According to this, in a sorting facility that sorts luggage (articles) discharged from an automatic warehouse for each delivery direction by vehicle using a sorter and sends it to a berth for loading vehicles, the sorter sorts the luggage between the sorter and the berth. There was a temporary storage warehouse for temporarily storing (articles) and discharging the goods to the berth in a predetermined order.

  With such a configuration, it is supposed that the space can be saved, and at the same time, the labor cost can be reduced and the loading operation to the carrier can be simplified.

JP 2002-104608 A

  In the above product sorting equipment (transportation system), if there are orders for luggage (articles) many times a day, or if luggage (articles) to be delivered arrive irregularly, they are stored in a temporary storage warehouse. It was possible. However, since the temporary storage warehouse is configured by installing two storage shelves in parallel on both sides of the stacker crane moving space and installing a stacker crane in the stacker crane moving space, the equipment becomes large-scale, The installation space and capital investment were to increase.

  In view of the above circumstances, the present invention suppresses an increase in installation space and capital investment, and in the case where there are orders for goods many times a day, or when goods to be shipped arrive irregularly. An object of the present invention is to provide a transport system capable of leveling work in response to the sorting of articles in such a case.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, an automatic warehouse capable of storing and arranging articles provided with identification information, a sorter capable of sorting the articles into predetermined positions, and a method of sorting the articles into the automatic warehouse and the sorter. A transport system including a feed line that can be moved between, and a control device that controls the sorting of the articles,
The identification information includes identification number information of the article, delivery destination information of the article, arrangement number information of the article, and position information of the article,
The control device includes:
Based on the identification number information, the delivery destination information, the sorting number information, and the position information,
The sorter sorts the articles for each delivery destination, and the articles sorted by the sorter (hereinafter, referred to as “presorted articles”) are stored in the automatic warehouse by the feed line,
Thereafter, when the sorter sorts the articles at the same delivery destination (hereinafter, referred to as “post-sorted articles”),
The pre-sorted articles stored in the automatic warehouse are sent to a position on the feed line corresponding to a position of the sorter where the post-sorted articles are sorted.

  According to this, the pre-sorted articles stored in the automatic warehouse are sent to a position corresponding to the position where the post-sorted articles are sorted on the feed line, thereby increasing the installation space and the capital investment. After the suppression, the work can be leveled in accordance with the sorting of the articles when the order of the articles is received many times in one day or when the articles to be delivered arrive irregularly.

In addition, a standby unit that waits for the article is disposed on the feed line,
The control means includes:
Based on the identification number information, the delivery destination information, the sorting number information, and the position information,
After the articles are made to stand by in the waiting section, the pre-sorted articles are sent to the sort line of the sort number information in the order of the sort number information, and the sorter is sent to the sorter in a position corresponding to the position where the sort articles are sorted. .

  According to this, after the articles are made to stand by in the standby unit, the pre-sorted articles are sent to the position corresponding to the position where the post-sorted articles of the sorter are sorted on the feed line in the order of the sort number of the sort number information. Thus, the articles can be efficiently sorted and sorted in order.

  The feed line has a first feed line that sends the articles from the automatic warehouse to the sorter, and a second feed line that sends the articles from the sorter to the automatic warehouse.

  According to this, it is possible to separate the flow of the goods stored in the automatic warehouse from the goods discharged from the automatic warehouse, and congestion due to the reciprocation of the goods does not occur, thereby improving the sorting efficiency of the goods. it can.

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of a transport system according to an embodiment of the present invention in a plan view. It is a block diagram of the same embodiment. It is explanatory drawing in planar view of the sorter and feed line of the embodiment. FIG. 4 is a view taken in the direction of arrow IV in FIG. 3. It is operation | movement explanatory drawing in planar view at the time of abutting a presorted article and a backsorted article of the embodiment.

  An embodiment of a transport system according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  The transport system 10 includes an automatic warehouse 20, a picking line 30, a sorter 40, a feed line 50, and a host computer 100 as a control device, as shown in FIGS.

  Although not shown in detail, the automatic warehouse 20 is an existing one having a plurality of storage shelves for storing articles and a shuttle for taking in and out the articles, and as shown in FIG. It is connected to 50 and can store and retrieve articles.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the picking line 30 is configured by a plurality of existing roller conveyors, and is configured such that an article is picked by an operator and can be sent to the sorter 40.

  As shown in FIGS. 1, 3, and 4, the existing sorter having a plurality of chutes 41 is used as the sorter 40, and includes a branch unit (not shown) and a sensor capable of recognizing the position of an article. The goods can be sorted for each delivery destination.

  Each shoot 41 is assigned a shoot address SA (when distinguishing, the shoot address SA1 to the shoot address SA20), so that the host computer 100 can grasp in real time which shoot address SA the article is located at. Is configured.

  As shown in FIGS. 1, 2, and 3, the feed line 50 includes a plurality of existing roller conveyors, a branch unit (not shown) disposed at a corner, a three-way intersection, and a four-way intersection, and the like. I have.

  A plurality of sensors S, which are constituted by optical sensors and are capable of recognizing articles, are provided on the feed line 50, and position information of the articles on the feed line 50 is acquired. In the present embodiment, the sensor S is indicated by △ in FIG.

  Further, a plurality of barcode readers B capable of reading barcodes in which identification information of articles is recorded (when distinguishing, barcode readers B1 to B3 are provided on the feed line 50). I have. In the present embodiment, the barcode readers B are indicated by triangles in FIG. 3 and are capable of reading the identification number information of the article, and are disposed at three locations.

  The feed line 50 is provided with a line address RA (when distinguishing from each other, the line address RA1 to the line address RA27) is assigned to each area where the sensors S are arranged, and it is determined which line address RA the article is located at. It is configured so that the host computer 100 grasps it in real time. The feed line 50 can stop and move an article at each line address RA.

  In the present embodiment, only the important line addresses RA related to the functions and effects that are the main components of the transport system 10 will be illustrated and described.

  The barcode reader B1 can read a barcode upstream of the sorter 40, and B2 and B3 can read barcodes at line addresses RA1 and RA7 of the feed line 50, respectively.

  The feed line 50 includes a first feed line 60 that sends articles from the automatic warehouse 20 to the sorter 40, a second feed line 70 that sends articles from the sorter 40 to the automatic warehouse 20, and a branch from the second feed line 70. And a loading line 80 for sending articles to a loading area for the vehicle.

  The first feed line 60 has a loop section 61, a standby section 62, and a butting section 63.

  The loop portion 61 is formed in an annular shape, and when the barcode reader B2 reads the barcode arranged on the article, the article to be sorted is moved from the loop section 61 toward the standby section 62, and the sorting is performed. An article that is not a target is moved and waits in the loop section 61.

  The standby section 62 is disposed downstream of the loop section 61 of the first feed line 60 in the article feeding direction, and temporarily holds articles. In the present embodiment, the line addresses RA2 to RA6 of the first feed line 60 constitute the standby unit 62.

  In the present embodiment, the standby unit 62 causes the grouped articles to stand by in any order and sends the articles to the downstream side in the feed direction in the order of the sorting numbers. A passage recognition sensor (not shown) that can recognize the passage of an article is provided downstream of the standby unit 62 in the feed direction, and is connected to the host computer 100.

  The butting portion 63 is disposed at a position corresponding to the article sorted by the shoot address SA of the sorter 40. As described later, the pre-sorted articles BG sent from the automatic warehouse 20 and the post-sorted articles LG sorted for each delivery destination can be arranged at corresponding positions.

  In the present embodiment, the first matching portion 64 in which the line addresses RA8 to RA17 are arranged corresponding to the shoot addresses SA1 to SA10, and the line addresses RA18 to line corresponding to the shoot addresses SA11 to SA20. A second matching section 65 on which the address RA27 is arranged.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the first butting portion 64 and the second butting portion 65 are arranged below the chute 41 and are arranged substantially parallel to the second feed line 70.

  The identification information allocated to the article includes identification number information of the article, information on the identity of the article, delivery destination information of the article, arrangement number information of the article, and position information of the article.

  The identification number information is provided one by one for each article. Delivery destination information is given for each customer to be delivered. The sorting number information is sequentially assigned to the same delivery destination.

  As the position information of the article, a recognition signal for recognizing the article by the sensor of the sorter 40, the sensor S disposed at the line address RA given to the first feed line 50 and the second feed line 60 constituting the feed line 50, and the like. And the position information of the article on the sorter 40 and the feed line 50, which is a combination of the shot address SA and the line address RA of the feed line 50.

  Information on the identification number information of one article is linked with information on what the article is, delivery destination information of the article, arrangement number information of the article, and position information of the article.

  Then, the identification number information of the article is recorded as a barcode, and the identification number information of the article is read by the barcode reader B.

  In this specification, "the identification information is provided" means that the identification information is printed or attached to the article, and the identification information is printed on a case, a tray, a folding container, or the like in which the article is stored. It shall also be included.

  The transport system 10 has a host computer 100 as shown in FIG. The host computer 100 is connected to the automatic warehouse 20, the picking line 30, the sorter 40, and the feed line 50.

  The host computer 100 includes an input unit, a calculation / control unit, a storage unit, a communication unit, and a display unit (not shown). The input unit includes a mouse, a keyboard, and the like. The arithmetic and control unit is configured by a CPU, a RAM, a ROM, and the like. The storage unit includes a semiconductor memory, a hard disk device, a compact disk device, and the like. The display unit includes a liquid crystal display and the like. The communication unit includes a communication interface, an input / output interface, and the like, is connected to a control panel (not shown), and controls the operation of the transport system 10 as a whole.

  The control panel (not shown) includes a communication interface, a control circuit, and an arithmetic processing circuit. The control panel is connected to the automatic warehouse 20, the picking line 30, the sorter 40, and the feed line 50, and receives signals from the sensor S and the bar code reader B at a higher level. Send to computer 100. The control panel (not shown) is connected to the host computer 100 and transmits control commands from the host computer 100 to the automatic warehouse 20, the picking line 30, the sorter 40, and the feed line 50.

  The function and operation of the present embodiment will be described. The outline of the flow of transporting the articles is as follows. The articles input to the picking line 30 are recognized by the sensor of the sorter 40 and the sensor S arranged on the feed line 50, and the barcode arranged on the articles is The code reader B can read the identification number information of the article.

  A signal for recognizing the article and identification number information of the article are sent from the sensor of the sorter 40, the sensor S of the feed line 50, and the barcode reader B to the host computer 100 via a control panel (not shown). Based on the sensor of the sorter 40, the sensor S of the feed line 50, the signal sent from the barcode reader B, and the identification number information of the item, the host computer 100 determines whether to stop the articles that have reached the sorter 40 and the feed line 50. It is instructed via a control panel (not shown) whether or not to move.

  The higher-level computer 100 stores the identification number information of the article recorded in the bar code attached to the article and information associated with the article, information on the identity of the article, delivery destination information of the article, and sorting number information of the article. Are stored, and the position information of the article recognized by the sensor of the sorter 40 and the sensor S of the feed line 50, the identification number information of the article sent from the barcode reader B, and the article Based on the information on the existence, the delivery destination information of the article, and the arrangement number information of the article, the sorter sorts the article to the shoot address SA of which sorter 40, and sends the article in what course on the feed line 50. Or not, and instructs the sorter 40 and the feed line 50 via the control panel to operate the sorter 40 and the feed line 50.

  The flow of article transport will be described in detail. Hereinafter, a case will be described where an order for an article is received twice a day in the morning and in the afternoon, and then delivered to the delivery destination by vehicle after the order for the article in the afternoon.

  When an order for an article is received in the morning, the transport system 10 sends the article input to the picking line 30 to the sorter 40, reads the identification number information of the article by the barcode reader B1, and sends the article to the chute 41 of the predetermined chute address SA. send.

  The article sent to the chute 41 of the predetermined chute address SA is pushed into the second feed line 70 by the operator, and the article is sent to the automatic warehouse 20 by the second feed line 70 and stored in the automatic warehouse 20. . The articles sorted by the sorter 40 are referred to as pre-sorted articles BG.

  In the afternoon, when an order for an article is received and the sorter 40 sorts the articles at the same delivery destination (hereinafter, referred to as “post-sorted articles LG”) to be conveyed by a vehicle such as a truck, the transport system 10 uses the picking. The post-sorted articles LG input into the line 30 are sent to the sorter 40 in the same manner as the pre-sorted articles BG, the identification number information of the articles is read by the barcode reader B1, and sent to the chute 41 of the predetermined chute address SA.

  On the other hand, based on the identification number information, the transport system 10 unloads the pre-sorted articles BG stored in the automatic warehouse 20 at the same delivery destination and sends them to the sorter 40. The pre-sorted articles BG sent to the loop section 61 are read by the barcode reader B2 to read the identification number information, and the pre-sorted articles BG to be sorted are moved from the loop section 61 toward the standby section 62 to be sorted. The unsorted pre-sorted articles BG are moved and wait in the loop section 61.

  The transport system 10 performs control so that the pre-sorted articles BG that have not been sent to the standby unit 62 that has not been sorted can be sent to the standby unit 62 again.

  The transport system 10 sends the presorted articles BG sent to the standby unit 62 to the line address RA of the first feed line 60 corresponding to the postsorted articles LG of the same delivery destination based on the sorting number information.

  More specifically, the standby unit 62 causes the grouped articles to wait in any order, and sends the articles to the downstream side in the feed direction in the order of the sorting numbers. Then, when a passage recognition sensor (not shown) disposed downstream of the standby section 62 in the feed direction recognizes, for example, that the presorted article BG having the alignment number 1 has passed, the presorted article having the alignment number 2 has passed. The BG is sent to the downstream side in the feed direction.

  When the barcode reader B3 reads the identification number information of the presorted articles BG, the transport system 10 sends the postsorted articles LG to one of the first butting section 64 and the second butting section 65.

  In the present embodiment, the first feed line 60 from the standby unit 62 to the sorter 40 is one-way, and therefore, the transport system 10 transmits the pre-sorted product sent to the line address RA located downstream of the first feed line 60 in the feed direction. The data is grouped from BG and sent to the standby unit 62.

  The post-sorted articles LG sent to the chute 41 of the predetermined chute address SA and the pre-sorted articles BG sent to the line address RA of the first feed line 60 corresponding to the chute address SA of the post-sorted article LG are processed. Is packed into a cardboard box and pushed into the second feed line 70. The transported system 10 sends the pushed pre-sorted articles BG and post-sorted articles LG to the branch point near the automatic warehouse by the second feed line 70, and further sends them to the loading line 80, where loading on the vehicle is performed. Send to loading area.

  Next, the article alignment control will be described. In the following description, as shown in FIG. 5, delivery destinations as delivery destination information of articles are indicated by X and Y, and numbers X-1, X-2, It is assumed that Y-1, Y-2, Y-3, and Y-4 are the sorting numbers for each delivery destination as the sorting number information of the articles.

  In the present embodiment, the higher-level computer 100 determines that the delivery destinations from the automatic warehouse 20 are X-1 and X-2 sorted by the sorter 40, and the delivery destinations from the automatic warehouse 20 are Y-1 and Y-. Grouping is performed on the basis of the sorting number, such as Y-3, Y-4 sorted by the sorter 40 and the sorter 40.

  The transport system 10 reads the position information of the article with the sensor of the sorter 40 and the sensor S of the feed line 50, and the identification number information of the article with the barcode readers B1, 3 and identifies the article sent from the barcode readers B1, 3. The X-1 pre-sorting to the line address RA8 based on the number information and the information of what the article is associated with, the delivery destination information of the article, the arrangement number information of the article, and the position information of the article. An article BG is arranged, and a post-sorted article LG of X-2 is arranged at the shoot address SA1.

  Then, the transport system 10 arranges the pre-sorted articles BG of Y-1 at the line address RA9, arranges the post-sorted articles LG of Y-3 at the chute address SA2, and pre-sorts the Y-2 at the line address RA10. An article BG is arranged, and a post-sort article LG of Y-4 is arranged at the shoot address SA3.

  As described above, in the transport system 10, it is possible to automate the sorting, the temporary waiting, and the shipping waiting between the automatic warehouse 20 and the sorter 40. In addition, manual work can be reduced. Further, based on the ordering information, articles can be grouped and delivered separately. Therefore, when there are many orders for articles during a day, the work can be leveled in accordance with the sorting of the articles.

In the transport system according to the present embodiment, an automatic warehouse 20 capable of storing and delivering articles to which identification information is allocated, a sorter 40 capable of sorting the articles into predetermined positions, and A transport system that includes a feed line 50 that can move between articles and a host computer 100 as a control device that sorts and controls the articles;
The identification information includes the identification number information of the article, the delivery destination information of the article, the arrangement number information of the article, and the position information of the article,
The host computer 100
Based on the identification number information, delivery destination information, sorting number information, and location information,
The articles are sorted by the sorter 40 for each delivery destination, and the articles sorted by the sorter 40 (hereinafter, referred to as “presorted articles BG”) are stored in the automatic warehouse 20 by the feed line 50,
Thereafter, when the sorter 40 sorts the articles at the same delivery destination (hereinafter, referred to as “post-sorted articles LG”),
The pre-sorted articles BG stored in the automatic warehouse 20 are sent to the feed line 50 to a position corresponding to the position where the sorted articles LG of the sorter 40 are sorted.

  According to this, the pre-sorted articles BG stored in the automatic warehouse 20 are sent to the feed line 50 at a position corresponding to the position where the post-sorted articles LG of the sorter 40 are to be sorted. Control the increase in investment amount, and level the work in response to sorting of goods when goods are ordered many times a day or when goods to be shipped arrive irregularly. be able to.

In the feed line 50, a standby unit 62 for waiting for articles is provided.
The host computer 100
Based on the identification number information, the delivery destination information, the sorting number information, and the position information,
After waiting the articles in the standby section 62, the pre-sorted articles BG are sent to the position corresponding to the position where the rear-sorted articles LG of the sorter 40 are to be sorted on the feed line 50 in the order of the sort number of the sort number information.

  According to this, after the articles are made to stand by in the standby section 62, the pre-sorted articles BG are sorted in the order of the sort number of the sort number information, and the position corresponding to the position on the feed line 50 where the post-sorted articles LG of the sorter 40 are sorted. Can be efficiently sorted and sorted in order.

  Further, the feed line 50 has a first feed line 60 that sends articles from the automatic warehouse 20 to the sorter 40, and a second feed line 70 that sends articles from the sorter 40 to the automatic warehouse 20. .

  According to this, it is possible to separate the flow of the articles stored in the automatic warehouse 20 from the articles discharged from the automatic warehouse 20, and the congestion due to the reciprocation of the articles does not occur, thereby improving the sorting efficiency of the articles. be able to.

  The transport system of the present invention is not limited to the above configuration. That is, various design changes can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention.

  For example, the control device may be constituted only by the host computer 100 without using a control panel, or may be a device in which a plurality of computers are connected to function as one control device. Can be changed.

  In addition, although a roller conveyor is used as the conveyor forming the feed line 50, an existing conveyor can be appropriately changed according to an article to be conveyed such as a belt conveyor or a chain conveyor.

  Although an optical sensor is used as a means for acquiring position information of the article, existing sensors can be applied as long as the article can be recognized and the presence of the article at a predetermined position can be detected. .

  Although barcodes are used as article identification information to be read, OCR, RFID, QR codes (QR codes are registered trademarks), and the like can be used. The reading means can be changed accordingly.

  Further, in the above embodiment, the case where the order of the goods is received twice a day in the morning and the afternoon and the vehicle is delivered to the delivery destination by the vehicle after the order of the goods in the afternoon has been described. The present invention can be applied to other cases such as when the goods to be sent arrive irregularly.

  The automatic warehouse 20 has a plurality of storage shelves for storing articles and a shuttle for taking in and out of the articles. However, the automatic warehouse 20 has a stacker crane and a rotary rack as a configuration for taking in and out of the articles. Can be used.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the number of the pre-sorted articles BG and the number of the post-sorted articles LG are one has been described. Even in the case of, it can be applied. In this case, it is suitable even when identification information is attached to a case, a tray, a folding container, or the like in which a plurality of articles are stored.

  Further, the first butting portion 64 and the second butting portion 65 can be arranged below the chute 41 and connected to the second feed line 70 on the downstream side in the feeding direction.

  Further, it is also possible to connect the first butting portion 64 and the second butting portion 65 to the second feed line 70 on the downstream side in the feeding direction while maintaining the position in FIG.

Reference Signs List 10 transport system 20 automatic warehouse 40 sorter 50 feed line 60 first feed line 70 second feed line 100 host computer BG pre-sorted product LG post-sorted product

Claims (3)

An automatic warehouse capable of storing and distributing articles to which identification information is allocated, a sorter capable of sorting the articles into predetermined positions, and a feed line capable of moving the articles between the automatic warehouse and the sorter. And a control device for sorting and controlling the articles, comprising:
The identification information includes identification number information of the article, delivery destination information of the article, arrangement number information of the article, and position information of the article,
The control device includes:
Based on the identification number information, the delivery destination information, the sorting number information, and the position information,
The sorter sorts the articles for each delivery destination, and the articles sorted by the sorter (hereinafter, referred to as “presorted articles”) are stored in the automatic warehouse by the feed line,
Thereafter, when the sorter sorts the articles at the same delivery destination (hereinafter, referred to as “post-sorted articles”),
A transport system, wherein the pre-sorted articles stored in the automatic warehouse are sent to a position on the feed line corresponding to a position of the sorter where the post-sorted articles are sorted. In the feed line, a standby unit that waits for the article is disposed,
The control means includes:
Based on the identification number information, the delivery destination information, the sorting number information, and the position information,
After the articles are made to stand by in the waiting section, the pre-sorted articles are sent to the sort line of the sort number information in the order of the sort number information, and the sorter is sent to the sorter in a position corresponding to the position where the sort articles are sorted. The transport system according to claim 1, wherein: The feed line has a first feed line that sends the articles from the automatic warehouse toward the sorter, and a second feed line that sends the articles from the sorter toward the automatic warehouse. The transport system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein

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