JP2022101839A - Temporary storage management system - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a configuration that is capable of easily searching for an article temporarily stored in a temporary storage space without attaching information codes, etc. to the temporary storage space.SOLUTION: A direction of movement of a mobile terminal 20 made while capturing an image of an information code 11 to be registered and an information code 11 already registered is detected by a movement detection unit 26. In the case where an article 10 to be registered is temporarily stored in a temporary storage space S, when identified unique information to be registered is stored in a storage unit 22, on the basis of arrangement order information associated with unique information already registered and a detection result of the movement detection unit 26, the arrangement order information associated with the unique information to be registered is generated and stored in the storage unit 22, and at least a part of the arrangement order information is updated. Moreover, in the case where a search article to be searched for is searched for, information on a relative location of the search article is displayed on a display 24 and is informed, when the relative location of the search article in reference to an arbitrary article is detected through identification of the unique information from an information code 11 of the arbitrary article when the unique information to be searched for is acquired.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

The present invention relates to a temporary storage management system that manages temporarily placed articles in a searchable manner.

Conventionally, after temporarily placing the received luggage in the space for temporary storage, there is a work of temporarily transporting the temporarily stored luggage to a subsequent process according to a predetermined transport instruction, and the temporary storage is performed in this way. It is necessary to manage multiple packages so that they can be searched. As a technique for managing such temporarily placed luggage and other articles, for example, a warehouse management system disclosed in Patent Document 1 below is known. In this warehouse management system, when a received product is placed on a shelf, management data is generated by reading the location code attached to the shelf and the product code of the product and transmitting it to the host. As a result, when searching for a product, the location code associated with the product code of the product to be searched is acquired from the host, and the shelf corresponding to the acquired location code, that is, the shelf on which the product to be searched is placed is placed. You can identify the location of.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 10-035830

However, in the above-mentioned warehouse management system, it is necessary to attach a location code to each shelf in order to specify the location of the shelf on which the product to be searched is placed. Then, even if it can be temporarily placed on the shelf with the location code, there is a problem that it cannot be temporarily placed in the place where the location code cannot be attached. Further, in order to attach a location code to each shelf, it is necessary to determine in advance the location of the shelves that can be temporarily placed, and there is a problem that the place that can be temporarily placed cannot be easily added or changed.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and an object thereof is to easily place an article temporarily placed in the temporary storage space without attaching an information code or the like to the temporary storage space. The purpose is to provide a searchable configuration.

In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1 of the claims shall be:
Temporary storage management system (1,1a) that manages a plurality of articles (10, 10a to 10e) temporarily placed in a predetermined temporary storage space (S) so as to be searchable by using a management device (20, 20a, 30). And
The article is provided with an identification mark (11) capable of identifying unique information for distinguishing the article from other articles.
The management device is
When the information regarding the arrangement order of the articles along the predetermined direction (F) is used as the arrangement order information, the unique information corresponding to the articles temporarily placed in the temporary storage space is associated with the arrangement order information. The storage unit (22, 32) to be stored and
A specific unit (21, 23) capable of identifying the unique information from the imaged identification display, and
When the unique information is specified as the unique information to be registered from the identification display of the article temporarily placed in the temporary storage space by the specific unit, the article is temporarily placed next to the article. Is the movement of the management device between the identification display of the registration target and the registered identification display by identifying the unique information as the registered unique information from the identification display of different articles. The movement direction detection unit (26) that detects the direction, and
When the specified unique information of the registration target is stored in the storage unit, the unique information is based on the sort order information associated with the registered unique information and the detection result of the movement direction detection unit. An additional update unit (21, 31) that generates and stores the sort order information associated with the information and updates at least a part of the sort order information stored in the storage unit.
When searching for a search article (10x) to be searched from a plurality of articles temporarily placed in the temporary storage space, the unique information specified from the identification display of the search article is used as the unique information to be searched. The acquisition unit (23, 25) to be acquired as
When the unique information of the search target is acquired by the acquisition unit, the specific information is specified by the specific unit from the identification display of an arbitrary article, based on the information stored in the storage unit. , A relative position detection unit (21, 31) that detects the relative position of the search article based on the arbitrary article, and
It is characterized by having.
The reference numerals in the parentheses indicate the correspondence with the specific means described in the embodiments described later.

In the first aspect of the present invention, the moving direction detecting unit detects the moving direction of the management device while the identification display of the registration target and the registered identification display are imaged. Then, when the article to be registered is temporarily placed in the temporary storage space, when the specified unique information of the registration target is stored in the storage unit, the sort order information and the movement direction associated with the registered unique information are stored. Based on the detection result of the detection unit, the sort order information associated with the unique information to be registered is generated and stored in the storage unit, and at least a part of the sort order information is updated. Further, when searching for a search article to be searched, when the acquisition unit acquires the unique information of the search target, the specific information is specified by the specific unit from the identification display of an arbitrary article, so that the relative position is detected. The unit detects the relative position of the search article with respect to any article.

As a result, the worker who temporarily placed the article can take an image of the identification display of the article and the identification display of the article different from the article temporarily placed next to the article by the management device, thereby providing the unique information of the article. (Unique information to be registered) can be stored in the storage unit in association with the sort order information. The temporarily placed article and the temporarily placed article next to it are temporarily placed based on the movement direction of the management device while the identification display of the registration target detected by the movement direction detection unit and the registered identification display are imaged. This is because the order of arrangement with other articles in the predetermined direction can be grasped. Further, when storing the unique information to be registered and the sort order information, the sort order information associated with other unique information can also be updated. For example, the unique information of the article A is stored in association with the sort order information "001", the unique information of the article B is stored in association with the sort order information "002", and the unique information of the article C is stored in association with the sort order information "003". Is temporarily placed on the article B side of the article A. In this case, the unique information of the article D is additionally stored as the sort order information "002", the unique information of the article B is updated with the sort order information "003", and the unique information of the article C is updated with the sort order information "004". Then, at the time of searching for the search article, the acquisition unit acquires the unique information of the search article and images the identification display of the arbitrary article to detect the relative position of the search article with respect to the arbitrary article. Therefore, the search article can be searched based on any article whose identification display is imaged according to the detection result. Therefore, it is possible to realize a system in which an article temporarily placed in the temporary storage space can be easily searched without attaching an information code or the like to the temporary storage space.

In the invention of claim 2, when the additional update unit specifies two registered unique information when the specific information to be registered is specified by the specific unit, the article is placed between the two different articles. Generates the order information as if it is temporarily placed. As a result, when the temporarily placed article is temporarily placed between the already temporarily placed articles, the identification display attached to both of the temporarily placed articles is imaged by the management device to identify the temporarily placed article. The sort order information associated with the unique information to be registered is generated based on the sort order information associated with the two registered unique information. Therefore, the sort order information is erroneously generated as compared with the case where the sort order information associated with the unique information to be registered is generated based on the sort order information associated with one registered unique information. Can be effectively suppressed.

In the invention of claim 3, since the identification display is pre-printed on the article for a purpose different from the temporary storage management, the identification display is exclusively for the temporary storage management for each of the articles that may be temporarily placed. Since there is no need for work such as attaching a mark, the convenience of the system can be improved.

In the invention of claim 4, the management device includes a plurality of mobile terminals and an information management terminal capable of communicating with each of the plurality of mobile terminals. Each of the plurality of mobile terminals is configured to include a specific unit, a moving direction detecting unit, and an acquiring unit, and the moving direction detecting unit is configured to detect the moving direction of the mobile terminal. The information management terminal is configured to include a storage unit, an additional update unit, and a relative position detection unit.

As a result, even when the article is temporarily placed using each mobile terminal, the information can be collectively managed by the information management terminal, so that a plurality of workers can temporarily place the article at almost the same time. It is possible to improve the work efficiency of the placement work.

In the invention of claim 5, the identification display is an information code in which at least unique information is optically readable and recorded. For this reason, not only can the unique information be easily identified from the captured image obtained by capturing the information code, but also other information different from the unique information can be added to the information code and recorded, which enhances the convenience of the system. Can be done.

In the invention of claim 6, since the management device further includes a notification unit for notifying information about the relative position of the search article detected by the relative position detection unit, the search article can be easily searched by this notification. ..

In the invention of claim 7, the management device further deletes at least the unique information of the search target and the order information associated with the unique information of the search target from the storage unit at the time of notification by the notification unit, and also deletes the order information from the storage unit. It is provided with a deletion update unit that updates at least a part of the sort order information stored in. As a result, it is possible to save the trouble of managing the unique information and the sort order information stored in the storage unit.

In the invention of claim 8, the identification display is an information code in which at least unique information is optically readable, and the information code relates to an article to which the information code is attached in addition to the unique information. The length information is included, and the deletion update unit provides information on the empty space created by carrying out the search target based on the length information of the article read from the information code imaged by the specific unit after the notification by the notification unit. Generate and store in the storage unit.

As a result, when the search target is carried out in response to the notification by the notification unit, the information code attached to the search target is imaged by the management device, so that the space in consideration of the length (size) of the search target is taken into consideration. Information about the space can be stored in the storage unit. Therefore, when a new article is temporarily placed in a temporary storage space in which a large number of articles have already been temporarily stored, the empty space is searched for based on the information regarding the empty space stored in the storage unit. Even when a large number of articles are temporarily stored, it is possible to easily find a space where the temporary storage is possible.

In the invention of claim 9, the deletion update unit generates information about the empty space generated by carrying out the search target based on the length of the search target detected by the length detection unit after the notification by the notification unit. Store in the storage unit.

As a result, when the search target is carried out in response to the notification by the notification unit, the length of the search target along the predetermined direction is detected by the length detection unit, so that the length (size) of the search target is detected. ) Can be stored in the storage unit regarding the free space. Therefore, when a new article is temporarily placed in a temporary storage space in which a large number of articles have already been temporarily stored, the empty space is searched for based on the information regarding the empty space stored in the storage unit. Even when a large number of articles are temporarily stored, it is possible to easily find a space where the temporary storage is possible.

In the invention of claim 10, at least a part of the plurality of articles is composed of two or more single items, and the unique information includes information regarding the number of single items. As a result, even if the search article is composed of two or more single items and the identification mark is attached to the single item, the single item constituting the search article when the information regarding the relative position of the search article is notified. Since the number of items can be grasped, the number of items can also be notified. Therefore, since the search article becomes clearer, the search for the search target can be performed more easily.

In the invention of claim 11, at least a part of the plurality of articles is composed of two or more single items, and when the unique information is specified from the identification display imaged by the specific unit, the article with the identification display is attached. A quantity acquisition unit is provided to acquire the number of constituent single items as quantity information. Then, the number information acquired by the number acquisition unit is stored in the storage unit in association with the corresponding unique information and the sort order information. As a result, even if the search article is composed of two or more single items and the identification mark is attached to the single item, the single item constituting the search article when the information regarding the relative position of the search article is notified. Since the number of items can be grasped, the number of items can also be notified. Therefore, since the search article becomes clearer, the search for the search target can be performed more easily.

It is explanatory drawing which shows the outline of the temporary storage management system which concerns on 1st Embodiment. FIG. 3 is a block diagram schematically illustrating an electrical configuration of the mobile terminal of FIG. 1. FIG. 3A is an explanatory diagram illustrating a state in which four articles are temporarily placed in the temporary storage space, and FIG. 3B is newly added to the temporary storage state of FIG. 3A. It is explanatory drawing explaining the state in which the article was temporarily placed, and FIG. 3C is the explanatory view explaining the state when the article is carried out from the temporary place state of FIG. 3C. 4A is an explanatory diagram showing the arrangement order information in the temporary placement state of FIG. 3A, and FIG. 4B is an explanation showing the arrangement order information in the temporary placement state of FIG. 3B. FIG. 4 (C) is an explanatory diagram showing the sort order information in a state where the unique information “1003” and the sort order information “004” are deleted from the temporary placement state of FIG. 3 (B). It is a flowchart which illustrates the flow of the temporary storage registration process in the mobile terminal in 1st Embodiment. It is a flowchart which illustrates the flow of the article search process in the mobile terminal in 1st Embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which shows the outline of the temporary storage management system which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. FIG. 3 is a block diagram schematically illustrating an electrical configuration of the server of FIG. 7. It is a flowchart which illustrates the flow of the temporary storage registration process in the mobile terminal in 2nd Embodiment. It is a flowchart which illustrates the flow of the article search process in the mobile terminal in 2nd Embodiment.

[First Embodiment]
Hereinafter, the first embodiment embodying the temporary storage management system of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
The temporary storage management system 1 according to the present embodiment manages a plurality of articles 10 temporarily placed in a predetermined direction (hereinafter, also referred to as a temporary storage direction F) with respect to a predetermined temporary storage space S so as to be searchable. It is a system to do. Each article 10 is, for example, a delivery item received from a supplier, which is temporarily stocked in a temporary storage space S before being carried to a post-process after acceptance, and is carried out in accordance with a predetermined work instruction. ..

An information code 11 that optically readablely records the unique information is attached to each article 10 as an identification display that can identify the unique information for distinguishing it from other articles, and the temporary storage management system 1 has a temporary storage management system 1. The mobile terminal 20 is provided as a management device for managing each temporarily placed article by reading the information code 11.

In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the temporary storage space S is provided so as to be long left and right in front of the wall surface W when viewed from the operator facing the wall surface W, and each article 10 is temporarily placed. Temporarily placed in a row along the wall surface W in the placing space S.

The information code 11 attached to each article 10 is, for example, a QR code (registered trademark), which is pre-printed for a purpose different from temporary storage management (for example, for manufacturing control), and is described above. In addition to the unique information, information about the article 10 (article name, type, size, etc.) is generated so as to be recorded.

The mobile terminal 20 is configured as a portable optical information reading device capable of optically reading an information code 11 or the like, and as shown in FIG. 2, a control unit 21 including a CPU or the like, a ROM, a RAM, or the like. A storage unit 22 composed of semiconductor memory and the like, an image pickup unit 23 configured as a camera, a touch panel type display unit 24 whose display contents are controlled by a control unit 21, and operation signals corresponding to touch operations and key operations on the touch panel are controlled. It includes an operation unit 25 that outputs to unit 21, a movement detection unit 26 that can detect the movement direction of the mobile terminal 20, a communication unit 27 for communicating with an external device, and the like.

In the storage unit 22, an application program for executing the temporary storage registration process described later (hereinafter, also referred to as a temporary storage application), an application program for executing the article search process (hereinafter, also referred to as an article search application), and the above-mentioned A predetermined database (hereinafter, also referred to as an article position management database) that is read / written in the temporary storage registration process and the article search process is stored in advance for use by the control unit 21.

In the present embodiment, the article position management database constructed in the storage unit 22 has information regarding the unique information of the articles 10 temporarily placed in the temporary storage space S and the order of arrangement of the articles 10 along the temporary storage direction F (hereinafter,). It is configured to be stored in association with (also referred to as sort order information). For example, as shown in FIG. 3A, when four articles 10a, 10b, 10c, and 10d are temporarily placed in the temporary storage space S, the unique information of the information code 11a attached to the article 10a is provided. Is "1001", the unique information of the information code 11b attached to the article 10b is "1002", the unique information of the information code 11c attached to the article 10c is "1003", and the unique information of the information code 11d attached to the article 10d is unique. When the information is "1004", as shown in FIG. 4A, the order information "001" is associated with the unique information "1001" and the information is arranged in the unique information "1002" with the temporary placement direction F as a reference. The order information "002" is associated, the unique information "1003" is associated with the order information "003", and the unique information "1004" is associated with the order information "004". In the present embodiment, the arrangement order information is set so as to increase by one from the article 10 on the left side to the article 10 on the right side when viewed from the worker facing the wall surface W.

By constructing the article position management database in this way, for example, the article (10b) with the information code in which the unique information "1002" is recorded has the sort order information "002" associated with the unique information "1002". , And the article (10a) with the information code in which the unique information "1001" associated with the adjacent sort order information "001" is recorded, and the unique information associated with another adjacent sort order information "003". It can be grasped that "1003" is temporarily placed between the article (10c) and the article (10c) to which the information code is recorded.

The movement detection unit 26 is an inertial measurement unit (IMU) such as a gyro sensor or an acceleration sensor, and is controlled by the control unit 21 to output information regarding the detected movement direction of the mobile terminal 20 to the control unit 21. It is configured in.

In the mobile terminal 20 configured in this way, the information code is obtained by performing a known decoding process on the image captured by the information code 11 captured by the image pickup unit 23 by the reading process performed by the control unit 21. The unique information and the like recorded in 11 are read. The control unit 21 and the imaging unit 23 capable of specifying the unique information by reading the unique information from the information code 11 captured in this way can correspond to an example of the “specific unit”.

Then, in the mobile terminal 20, information about the article 10 to be temporarily placed is stored in the storage unit 22 by the temporary storage registration process executed in response to the activation of the temporary storage application when the article 10 is temporarily placed in the temporary storage space S. It is registered in the above-mentioned article position management database. Then, when searching for the search article 10x to be searched from the plurality of articles 10 temporarily placed in the temporary storage space S, the search article 10x is executed by the article search process executed in response to the activation of the article search application. The temporary storage location is notified to the worker.

Hereinafter, the temporary storage registration process executed on the mobile terminal 20 when the article 10 is temporarily placed, and the article search process executed on the mobile terminal 20 when searching for the search article 10x from a plurality of articles 10. And will be explained.
First, the temporary storage registration process executed when the article 10 is temporarily placed will be described. As shown in FIG. 3 (A), from the state in which the four articles 10a, 10b, 10c, and 10d are already temporarily placed in the temporary storage space S, as shown in FIG. 3 (B). A case where the article 10e is newly temporarily placed will be described as an example.

The operator who sees the temporary storage state as shown in FIG. 3A visually recognizes that there is a space that can be temporarily placed between the articles 10a and the article 10b, so that the article 10e to be newly temporarily placed is used. Is temporarily placed between the article 10a and the article 10b, for example, as shown in FIG. 3 (B). Then, the worker reads the information code 11e attached to the article 10e on the mobile terminal 20 that has activated the temporary placement application, and then the information attached to any of the articles 10 temporarily placed next to the article 10. By performing the work of reading the code 11, the temporary placement work by the worker is completed.

Here, the temporary placement registration process executed by the control unit 21 of the mobile terminal 20 during the temporary placement work by the operator as described above will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.
When the temporary placement registration process is started on the mobile terminal 20 that has activated the temporary placement application, the image pickup process using the image pickup unit 23 is performed (S101 in FIG. 5), and an information code is assigned to the captured image. A decoding process for decoding is performed (S103). When the imaged information code 11e is successfully decoded by reading the information code 11e attached to the article 10e as described above (Yes in S105), the unique information read from the information code 11e is released. It is recognized as unique information to be registered. Subsequently, the movement direction detection process shown in step S107 is performed, and the movement direction of the mobile terminal 20 can be detected based on the detection result of the movement detection unit 26.

In a state where the moving direction of the mobile terminal 20 can be detected, an imaging process using the imaging unit 23 is performed (S109), a decoding process is performed on the captured image (S111), and the decoding is successful. If not (No in S113), the state in which the moving direction of the mobile terminal 20 can be detected continues (S107).

Then, when the operator succeeds in decoding the imaged information code 11a by reading the information code 11a of the article 10a temporarily placed next to the article 10e (Yes in S113), the information code 11a The unique information read from is recognized as registered unique information. Subsequently, the relative position detection process shown in step S115 is performed, and the temporary placement direction of the article 10e and the article 10a is based on the detection result of the movement detection unit 26 from the reading of the information code 11e to the reading of the information code 11a. The relative position in F is detected. Specifically, in the example of FIG. 3B, the article 10e is detected to be located on the "right side" of the article 10a when viewed from the operator. When the information code 11b of the article 10b temporarily placed next to the article 10e is read, the unique information read from the information code 11b is recognized as the registered unique information, and the information code is used. Based on the detection result of the movement detection unit 26 from the reading of the article 11e to the reading of the information code 11b, the relative position of the article 10e and the article 10b in the temporary placement direction F is detected. The movement detection unit 26 detects the movement direction of the mobile terminal 20 while capturing the identification display (information code 11e) of the registration target and the registered identification display (information codes 11a and 11b). It can correspond to an example of "direction detection unit".

Next, the additional update process shown in step S117 is performed, and the unique information read from the information code 11e is associated with the generated sort order information and stored in the article position management database of the storage unit 22, and at least a part thereof. The sort order information is updated. As described above, when the article 10e is temporarily placed between the article 10a and the article 10b as shown in FIG. 3B with respect to the temporary placement state shown in FIG. 3A, the article position management database. Then, as shown in FIG. 4 (B), the unique information "2001" and the sort order information "002" of the information code 11e are added to the state shown in FIG. 4 (A), and the unique information "1002" is added. The associated sort order information is updated to "003", the sort order information associated with the unique information "1003" is updated to "004", and the sort order information associated with the unique information "1004" is updated to "005". To. Temporarily placed article 10e and next to it based on the movement direction of the mobile terminal 20 while imaging the registered information code 11e and the registered information code 11a detected by the movement detection unit 26. This is because it is possible to grasp the order of arrangement along the temporary placement direction F with the other articles 10a. The control unit 21 that performs the additional update process stores the unique information to be registered and the order information in the article position management database of the storage unit 22, and updates at least a part of the order information. It can correspond to an example of "part".

Next, the article search process executed when searching for the article 10 temporarily placed in the temporary storage space S will be described. As shown in FIG. 3B, the article 10c is searched as the search article 10x from the state where the five articles 10a, 10b, article 10c, article 10d, and article 10e are temporarily placed in the temporary storage space S. The case of carrying it out will be described as an example.

The worker who receives the work instruction to carry out the article 10c according to the predetermined work instruction sheet performs the work of acquiring the unique information corresponding to the article 10c by using the mobile terminal 20 that has activated the article search application. After that, as shown in FIG. 3C, the worker can use the information code 11 of any article which is one of the five temporarily placed articles 10a, 10b, 10c, 10d, and 10e. Is imaged by the mobile terminal 20. As a result, information regarding the relative position of the article 10c (10x) with respect to the arbitrary article with the imaged information code 11 is displayed on the screen of the display unit 24 of the mobile terminal 20 and notified. The worker who received this notification can easily find the article 10c to be searched from among the five articles 10a to 10e, and the information code 11c attached to the article 10c is imaged by the mobile terminal 20. Work to carry out the article 10c from.

Here, the article search process executed by the control unit 21 of the mobile terminal 20 during the carry-out work by the operator as described above will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.
When the article search process is started on the mobile terminal 20 that has activated the article search application, the unique information acquisition process shown in step S201 of FIG. 6 is performed. In this process, the QR code or the like displayed on the predetermined work instruction sheet is imaged and read by the image pickup unit 23, so that the unique information corresponding to the article 10c to be searched is acquired. It should be noted that the acquisition of the above-mentioned unique information is not limited to being carried out by capturing and reading the QR code or the like displayed on the predetermined work instruction sheet by the image pickup unit 23, and for example, the work on the operation unit 25. It may be carried out by a person's input operation. The image pickup unit 23 or the operation unit 25 may correspond to an example of an "acquisition unit" that acquires unique information.

When the unique information "1003" corresponding to the article 10c to be searched is acquired, an image pickup process is performed using the image pickup unit 23 (S203), and a decoding process for decoding the information code for the captured image is performed. Is done (S205).

By performing the work of reading the information code 11 attached to an arbitrary article as described above, when the imaged information code 11 is successfully decoded and the unique information different from the unique information to be searched is read (in S207). Yes), the relative position detection process shown in step S209 is performed. In this process, the relative position of the article 10c in the temporary placement direction F with respect to an arbitrary article is detected by using the information stored in the article position management database.

For example, as shown in FIG. 3C, when the information code 11a of the article 10a is read, in the article position management database, the unique information "1001" read from the information code 11a is the sort order information. "001" is associated with it, and the sort order information "004" is associated with the unique information "1003" to be searched. Therefore, the relative position of the article 10c to be searched is detected as the "third right side" with respect to the article 10a that has read the information code 11a. The control unit 21 that performs the relative position detection process may correspond to an example of the “relative position detection unit”.

When the relative position of the search target is detected as described above, the relative position notification process shown in step S211 is performed, and the information regarding the relative position of the search target is displayed on the screen and notified. When the relative position of the search target is detected as the "third position on the right side" as described above, the information is displayed on the screen of the display unit 24 and notified (see FIG. 3C). The display unit 24 may correspond to an example of a "notification unit" that notifies information regarding the relative position of the search article 10x.

Subsequently, an image pickup process using the image pickup unit 23 is performed (S213), and a decoding process for decoding the information code for the captured image is performed (S215). Then, in the determination process of step S217, it is determined whether or not the unique information read by the decoding process is the unique information of the search target acquired by the unique information acquisition process. Here, if the unique information different from the unique information of the search target is read by the decoding process or the decoding process fails (No in S217), the process of decoding the captured information code is continued (No). S213, S215).

On the other hand, when the worker who finds the article 10 to be searched by the above notification performs the work of reading the information code 11 attached to the article 10 and the unique information of the search target is read (Yes in S217), Information indicating that the information code 11 attached to the search target has been imaged is displayed on the screen and notified (S219). The operator who receives this notification can easily confirm that the article 10 in which the information code 11 is imaged is the search target.

Then, the deletion update process shown in step S221 is performed, the unique information of the search target and the arrangement order information carried out are deleted from the article position management database of the storage unit 22, and at least a part of the arrangement order information is updated. .. As described above, when the article 10c is carried out in the temporary storage state shown in FIG. 3 (B), the article position management database shows the state shown in FIG. 4 (B) as shown in FIG. 4 (C). On the other hand, the unique information "1003" and the sort order information "004" of the information code 11c are deleted, and the sort order information associated with the unique information "1004" is updated to "004". The control unit 21 that performs the deletion update process deletes the unique information and the order information of the search target from the article position management database of the storage unit 22, and updates at least a part of the order information. It can correspond to an example of "part".

As described above, in the temporary storage management system 1 according to the present embodiment, the movement direction of the mobile terminal 20 while the movement detection unit 26 captures the information code 11 to be registered and the registered information code 11. Is detected. Then, when the article 10 to be registered is temporarily stored in the temporary storage space S, the order information associated with the registered unique information when the specified unique information of the registration target is stored in the storage unit 22 is stored. Based on the detection result of the movement detection unit 26 and the detection result, the sort order information associated with the unique information to be registered is generated and stored in the storage unit 22, and at least a part of the sort order information is updated. Further, when searching for the search article 10x to be searched, when the unique information of the search target is acquired, the unique information is specified from the information code 11 of the arbitrary article, so that the arbitrary article is used as a reference. When the relative position of the search article 10x to be searched is detected, the information regarding the relative position of the search article 10x is displayed on the display unit 24 and notified.

As a result, the worker who temporarily places the article 10 in the temporary storage space S takes an image of the information code 11 of the article 10 and the information code 11 of another article 10 temporarily placed next to the article 10 on the mobile terminal 20. As a result, the unique information of the article 10 (unique information to be registered) can be stored in the storage unit 22 in association with the sort order information. Further, when storing the unique information to be registered and the sort order information, the sort order information associated with other unique information can also be updated. Then, at the time of searching for the search article 10x, by acquiring the unique information of the search article 10x and imaging the information code 11 of the arbitrary article, the relative position of the search article 10x with respect to the arbitrary article is detected. Will be notified. As a result, the search article 10x can be searched based on any article in which the information code 11 is imaged. Therefore, it is possible to realize a system that can easily search for the article 10 temporarily placed in the temporary storage space S without attaching an information code or the like to the temporary storage space S.

Then, in the present embodiment, as an identification display for identifying the unique information of each article 10, at least the information code 11 in which the unique information is optically readable is adopted. Therefore, not only can the unique information be easily specified from the captured image obtained by capturing the information code 11, but also other information different from the unique information can be added to the information code 11 and recorded, which improves the convenience of the system. Can be enhanced. The information code 11 described above is not limited to the above-mentioned information code 11 as the identification display for specifying the unique information of each article 10, and for example, character information capable of directly specifying the unique information may be adopted. Other identification displays such as markers that can identify unique information from captured images may be adopted.

In particular, since the information code 11 attached to each article 10 as an identification display is pre-printed on the article 10 for a purpose different from the temporary storage management, it is attached to each of the articles 10 that may be temporarily stored. On the other hand, since it is not necessary to attach an identification display such as an information code 11 exclusively for temporary storage management, the convenience of the system can be enhanced. For the purpose of making it easy for the operator to grasp the information code 11 to be read, the information code 11 dedicated to temporary storage management may be generated and attached to each article 10.

As a first modification of the present embodiment, in the temporary storage registration process, the moving direction of the mobile terminal 20 detected when reading the information code 11 of one article 10 located next to the article 10 to be temporarily placed. The order information is not limited to being generated based on the above, but is based on the moving direction of the mobile terminal 20 detected when reading the information codes 11 of the two articles 10 located on both sides of the article 10 to be temporarily placed. Sort order information may be generated. That is, in the above-mentioned additional update process, when the two registered unique information is read and specified when the unique information to be registered is read and specified, the temporarily placed article 10 is two different other articles. The order information is generated assuming that it is temporarily placed between 10. As a result, when the temporarily placed article 10 is temporarily placed between the already temporarily placed articles 10, the information code 11 attached to each of the temporarily placed articles 10 is imaged by the mobile terminal 20. In, the sort order information associated with the unique information to be registered is generated based on the sort order information associated with the two specified unique information. Therefore, the sort order information is erroneously generated as compared with the case where the sort order information associated with the unique information to be registered is generated based on the sort order information associated with one registered unique information. Can be effectively suppressed.

Further, as a second modification of the present embodiment, when one article 10 is composed of two or more single items, the specific information may include information on the number of the single items. As a result, even if the search article 10x is composed of two or more single items and the information code 11 is attached to the single item, the search article 10x is used to notify the information regarding the relative position of the search article 10x. Since the number of individual items constituting the above can be grasped, the number can also be notified. Therefore, since the search article 10x becomes clearer, the search for the search target can be performed more easily.

Further, as a third modification of the present embodiment, when one article 10 is composed of two or more single items, when the unique information is read and specified from the imaged information code 11 (S103), the said article. By acquiring the number of individual items constituting the article 10 with the information code 11 as quantity information, the acquired quantity information is stored in the article position management database in association with the corresponding unique information and the order information. May be good. Even in this way, similarly to the second modification, when the information regarding the relative position of the search article 10x is notified, the number of single items constituting the search article 10x can also be notified, and the search target can be notified. The search can be carried out more easily. As the number acquisition unit for acquiring the number of single items constituting the article 10 as the number information, for example, an image analysis process by the control unit 21 for the captured image captured by the image pickup unit 23 may be adopted. can.

[Second Embodiment]
Next, the temporary storage management system will be described in the second embodiment with reference to the drawings.
The second embodiment is mainly different from the first embodiment in that the article position management database is built on the server 30 which functions as an information management terminal different from the mobile terminal 20. Therefore, the same components as those of the first embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted.

As shown in FIG. 7, the temporary storage management system 1a according to the present embodiment is configured to include a plurality of mobile terminals 20a and a server 30 capable of communicating with each of the mobile terminals 20a. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the "management device" that manages each article 10 temporarily placed by reading the information code 11 is configured to include each mobile terminal 20a and a server 30. Note that FIG. 7 illustrates two of the plurality of mobile terminals 20a for convenience.

In the present embodiment, as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 9, each mobile terminal 20a has the unique information to be registered and the registered unique information in place of the additional update process (S117) in the temporary storage registration process. It is configured to perform an additional update information transmission process (S117a) for transmitting the detection result of the relative position detection process (S115) to the server 30. Further, as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 10, each mobile terminal 20a uses the server 30 for the unique information of the search target and the unique information of any article instead of the relative position detection process (S209) in the article search process. It is configured to perform the relative position information reception process (S209a) for receiving information about the relative position of the search target from the server 30 by transmitting to. Therefore, in the relative position notification process (S211), the information regarding the relative position of the search target received from the server 30 is displayed on the screen and notified. Further, in the article search process, each mobile terminal 20a performs a deletion update information transmission process (S211a) for transmitting the carried-out unique information of the search target to the server 30 instead of the deletion update process (S221). It is configured in.

As shown in FIG. 8, the server 30 mainly includes a control unit 31, a storage unit 32, a communication unit 33, and the like that collectively control the entire server 30. The control unit 31 is mainly composed of a microcomputer, has a CPU, a system bus, an input / output interface, and the like, and functions as an information processing device together with the storage unit 32. The storage unit 32 is composed of a ROM, a RAM, an HDD, etc., and an application program for executing processing using information received from each mobile terminal 20a, the article position management database, and the like can be used in advance by the control unit 31. It is stored. The communication unit 33 is controlled by the control unit 31 and is configured to have a function as a communication means for communicating with other external devices such as each mobile terminal 20 via a predetermined network N such as the Internet. There is.

In the server 40 configured in this way, the information received from the mobile terminal 20a (unique information to be registered and registered unique information and the detection result of the relative position detection process) by the additional update process performed by the control unit 31. Etc.), the unique information to be registered is stored in the article position management database of the storage unit 32 together with the generated sort order information, and at least a part of the sort order information is updated. The control unit 31 that performs the additional update process may correspond to an example of the “additional update unit”.

Further, in the server, when the unique information of the search target and the unique information of an arbitrary article are received from the mobile terminal 20a by the relative position transmission process performed by the control unit 31, they are stored in the article position management database of the storage unit 32. The relative position of the search article 10x in the temporary placement direction F with respect to the arbitrary article is detected by using the information to be searched, and information about the relative position of the search target is transmitted to the mobile terminal 20a. The control unit 31 that performs the process of detecting the relative position of the search article 10x in the temporary placement direction F with respect to the arbitrary article can correspond to an example of the “relative position detection unit”.

Further, in the server, when the unique information of the search target carried out from the mobile terminal 20a is received by the deletion update process performed by the control unit 31, the received unique information and the associated sort order information are stored in the storage unit 32. It is deleted from the article position management database of, and at least a part of the order information is updated. The control unit 31 that performs the deletion / update process may correspond to an example of the “deletion / update unit”.

As described above, the temporary storage management system 1a (management device) in the present embodiment includes a plurality of mobile terminals 20a and a server 30 capable of communicating with each of the plurality of mobile terminals 20a. Each mobile terminal 20a performs the temporary storage registration process on the mobile terminal 20 as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 9, and performs the article search process as shown in the flowchart of FIG. The server 30 is configured to include a storage unit 32 in which the article position management database is constructed, and a control unit 31 that performs the above-mentioned additional update processing, relative position transmission processing, and deletion update processing.

As a result, even when the article 10 is temporarily placed using each mobile terminal 20a, the information can be collectively managed by the server 30, so that a plurality of workers can temporarily place the article 10 at almost the same time. , Work efficiency can be improved for temporary placement work.

[Third Embodiment]
Next, the temporary storage management system will be described in the third embodiment with reference to the drawings.
The third embodiment is mainly different from the first embodiment in that an empty space can be registered in the article position management database. Therefore, the same components as those of the first embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted.

In the present embodiment, the information code 11 is generated so that the length information about the article 10 to which the information code 11 is attached is recorded in addition to the unique information. Therefore, during the additional update process (S117) in the temporary storage registration process, the length information read from the information code 11, the unique information, and the order information can be stored in the article position management database.

In this way, since the length information is registered in the article position management database, it is based on the length information associated with the unique information of the search target to be deleted during the deletion update process (S221) in the article search process. , It is possible to generate vacant space information regarding the vacant space generated by carrying out the search target and store it in the above-mentioned article position management database.

That is, when the information code 11 attached to the search target is imaged by the mobile terminal 20 when the search target is carried out in response to the notification regarding the relative position of the search target, the length (size) of the search target is captured. ) Can be stored in the above-mentioned article position management database together with the position of the empty space information.

Specifically, for example, when the article 10c is carried out from the five articles 10a to 10e temporarily placed as shown in FIG. 3C, the length information "50 cm" is added to the information code 11c of the article 10c. If it is recorded, it is located between the article 10b (arrangement order information "003") and the article 10d (arrangement order information "004") after the arrangement order information is updated as shown in FIG. 4 (C). The empty space information having a length of "50 cm" is stored in the article position management database.

Therefore, when the article 10 is newly temporarily placed in the temporary storage space S in which a large number of articles 10 are already temporarily placed, the empty space is created based on the empty space information stored in the article position management database. By searching, even when a large number of articles 10 are temporarily placed, a space that can be temporarily placed can be easily found.

For example, reading the information code 11 of an arbitrary article while the empty space information having a length of "50 cm" located between the articles 10b and the article 10d is stored in the article position management database as described above. Therefore, the position of the empty space based on the position of an arbitrary article can be displayed on the display unit 24 on the screen to notify the position. Specifically, when the information code 11a of the article 10a is read, regarding the empty space located between the article 10b and the article 10d, "there is an empty space between the second and third items on the right side". Information can be displayed on the display unit 24 on a screen to notify the user.

As a modification of the present embodiment, a length detection unit capable of detecting the length of the article 10 to be searched in the temporary placement direction F without recording the length information in the information code 11 is provided. , The length information generated according to the detected length may be stored in the article position management database. As the length detecting unit, for example, a unit that detects the length of the article 10 in the temporary placement direction F from an captured image of the article 10 can be adopted. Even in this way, it is possible to easily find a space that can be temporarily placed based on the empty space information stored in the article position management database.

As the length detecting unit for detecting the length of the article 10 in the temporary placement direction F, the image analysis process in the control unit 21 that uses the captured image of the article 10 is not limited to being adopted. For example, even if processing by the control unit 21 that uses the calculation result of triangulation that projects a marker or processing by the control unit 21 that uses the calculation result of the movement vector (optical flow) between images is adopted. good. Further, the length detecting unit is not limited to detecting the length of the article 10 to be searched for to be carried out in the temporary placement direction F, and has a space between two articles located on both sides of the article 10 to be searched. It may be detected as the length of the space.

The present invention is not limited to each of the above embodiments, and may be embodied as follows, for example.
(1) The temporary storage space S is not limited to being provided so as to be long left and right in front of the wall surface W when viewed from the operator facing the wall surface W, for example, in one direction included in the temporary storage area. It may be provided by utilizing a long space.

(2) The article 10 to be searched is not limited to the delivered item received from the supplier, for example, a part temporarily stocked in the temporary storage space S during transportation in the factory. There may be. Further, the article 10 to be searched may be composed of one or more single items placed on a pallet or the like, and in such a case, an identification display such as an information code 11 may be displayed on the pallet or the like. Can be attached.

(3) The movement detection unit 26 is not limited to being configured to detect the movement direction of the mobile terminal 20 by an inertial measurement unit (IMU) such as a gyro sensor or an acceleration sensor, and for example, image analysis for continuously captured images. It may be configured to detect the moving direction of the mobile terminal 20 by processing, or it may be configured to detect the moving direction of the mobile terminal 20 based on the measurement result of a position measuring device such as the Global Positioning System (GPS). You may.

1,1a ... Temporary storage management system 10,10a-10e ... Article 10x ... Search article 11,11a-11e ... Information code 20,20a ... Mobile terminal (management device)
21 ... Control unit (specific unit, additional update unit, relative position detection unit, deletion update unit, number acquisition unit)
22 ... Storage unit 23 ... Imaging unit (specific unit, acquisition unit, number acquisition unit)
24 ... Display unit (notification unit)
25 ... Operation unit (acquisition unit)
26 ... Movement detection unit (movement direction detection unit)
30 ... Server (information management terminal, management device)
31 ... Control unit (additional update unit, relative position detection unit, deletion update unit)
32 ... Storage unit F ... Temporary storage direction S ... Temporary storage space W ... Wall surface

Claims (11)

It is a temporary storage management system that manages a plurality of articles temporarily placed in a predetermined temporary storage space so as to be searchable by using a management device.
The article is provided with an identification label that can identify unique information to distinguish it from other articles.
The management device is
When the information regarding the arrangement order of the articles along a predetermined direction is used as the arrangement order information, the unique information corresponding to the articles temporarily placed in the temporary storage space is stored in association with the arrangement order information. Memory and
A specific part that can identify the unique information from the imaged identification display, and
When the unique information is specified as the unique information to be registered from the identification display of the article temporarily placed in the temporary storage space by the specific unit, the article is temporarily placed next to the article. Is the movement of the management device between the identification display of the registration target and the registered identification display by identifying the unique information as the registered unique information from the identification display of different articles. A movement direction detector that detects the direction, and a movement direction detector
When the specified unique information of the registration target is stored in the storage unit, the unique information is based on the sort order information associated with the registered unique information and the detection result of the movement direction detection unit. An additional update unit that generates and stores the sort order information associated with the information and updates at least a part of the sort order information stored in the storage unit.
When searching for a search article to be searched from a plurality of articles temporarily placed in the temporary storage space, the unique information specified from the identification display of the search article is acquired as the unique information of the search target. Acquisition department and
When the unique information of the search target is acquired by the acquisition unit, the specific information is specified by the specific unit from the identification display of an arbitrary article, based on the information stored in the storage unit. , A relative position detection unit that detects the relative position of the search article based on the arbitrary article,
Temporary storage management system characterized by being equipped with. When the two registered unique information is specified when the specific information to be registered is specified by the specific unit, the additional update unit temporarily places the article between the two different articles. The temporary storage management system according to claim 1, wherein the sort order information is generated. The temporary storage management system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the identification display is pre-printed on the article for a purpose different from that of the temporary storage management. The management device includes a plurality of mobile terminals and an information management terminal capable of communicating with each of the plurality of mobile terminals.
The plurality of mobile terminals are configured to include the specific unit, the movement direction detection unit, and the acquisition unit, respectively.
The movement direction detection unit is configured to detect the movement direction of the mobile terminal.
The temporary storage management system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the information management terminal is configured to include the storage unit, the additional update unit, and the relative position detection unit. The temporary storage management system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the identification display is at least an information code in which the unique information is optically readable. The provisional provision according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the management device further includes a notification unit for notifying information regarding the relative position of the search article detected by the relative position detection unit. Placement management system. The management device further deletes at least the unique information of the search target and the sort order information associated with the unique information of the search target from the storage unit at the time of notification by the notification unit, and also deletes the order information from the storage unit to the storage unit. The temporary storage management system according to claim 6, further comprising a deletion update unit that updates at least a part of the stored order information. The identification display is an information code in which at least the unique information is optically readable, and the information code includes, in addition to the unique information, length information about the article to which the information code is attached. Is included,
The deletion update unit generates information on the empty space generated by carrying out the search target based on the length information of the article read from the information code imaged by the specific unit after the notification by the notification unit. The temporary storage management system according to claim 7, wherein the information is stored in the storage unit. A length detecting unit capable of detecting a length along the predetermined direction of the search target is provided.
The deletion update unit generates information about the empty space generated by carrying out the search target based on the length of the search target detected by the length detection unit after the notification by the notification unit, and stores the information. The temporary storage management system according to claim 7, characterized in that it is stored in a unit. At least a part of the plurality of articles is composed of two or more single items.
The temporary storage management system according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the unique information includes information regarding the number of single items. At least a part of the plurality of articles is composed of two or more single items.
It is provided with a number acquisition unit that acquires the number of the single item constituting the article with the identification display as quantity information when the unique information is specified from the identification display imaged by the identification unit.
One of claims 1 to 9, wherein the number information acquired by the number acquisition unit is stored in the storage unit in association with the corresponding unique information and the sort order information. Temporary storage management system described in.

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