JP2023086277A - Labeling device and method - Google Patents

Abstract

To automatically attach a second label according to an article to which a first label is attached.SOLUTION: A labeling device 1 includes: a second label supply unit 20 that supplies a second label 12; an attaching unit that attaches the second label 12 supplied from the second label supply unit 20 to an article 50; an identification information sensor 70 for detecting identification information of the article 50; and a second label information storage unit 80 in which the identification information and second label information necessary for attaching the second label 12 are stored in association with each other, wherein the identification information of the article 50 is detected by the identification information sensor 70, and the second label information of the article 50 is acquired from the second label information storage unit 80 based on the detected identification information of the article 50, and based on the acquired second label information, the attaching unit attaches the second label 12 to the article 50 for which the identification information has been detected.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a label application device having an adhesive portion and a method therefor.

For goods management in stores, warehouses, distribution centers, etc., labels printed with management information and electronic tag labels ( (also called RF tag, IC tag, RF label, etc.) has been attached or directly printed. Examples of such management information include identification information such as product codes and manufacturing numbers (serial numbers), attribute information such as product names and manufacturers, storage information such as expiration dates and storage conditions, delivery sources and delivery destinations, etc. , warehouse-related information such as warehouse identification information and storage shelf information, store-related information such as store identification information, display shelf information, price information, and the like.

As is well known, management information may be updated or added. For example, this includes changes in sales prices and changes in storage racks and display racks. When such management information is changed, conventionally, the old label with the old management information is left attached or removed, and then the new label with the new management information is attached manually.

However, attaching a new label manually requires selection of target articles and confirmation of updated or additional information, and is troublesome regardless of the number of articles. Moreover, it is particularly troublesome to affix new labels containing different management information to articles of various types (size, packaging, etc.) and quantities (high-mix low-volume production).

In addition, when the label is an electronic tag (also called RFID tag, IC tag, RF label, etc.), it may be necessary to update or add the management information recorded on the RFID label in addition to attaching the additional label. At present, no apparatus for automatically performing such work has been provided (see Patent Documents 1 to 6, for example).

JP 2005-104521 A JP 2007-091246 A JP 2007-091298 A JP 2008-044661 A JP 2008-62965 A Japanese Patent No. 6484379

Therefore, a main object of the present invention is to provide a technique for automatically affixing the second label according to the article to which the first label is attached.

<First Aspect>
A device for attaching a second label different from the first label to an article having identification information and to which the first label is attached,
a second label supply unit that supplies the second label;
an affixing unit that affixes the second label supplied from the second label supply unit to the article;
an identification information sensor that detects identification information of the article;
a second label information storage unit in which the identification information and the second label information necessary for attaching the second label are stored in association with each other;
The identification information of the article is detected by the identification information sensor, the second label information of the article is acquired from the second label information storage unit based on the detected identification information of the article, and the acquired second label information is acquired. Based on the label information, the attaching unit attaches the second label to the article for which the identification information has been detected.
A labeling device characterized by:

(Effect)
In this labeling apparatus, the identification information of the article can be obtained in the apparatus only by associating the identification information with the second label information necessary for attaching the second label and pre-storing it in the second label information storage unit. second label information necessary for affixing the second label (new label) based on the detection result; can be applied automatically. Moreover, even if the second label is to be additionally affixed to a plurality of types of articles in random order, the second label information is acquired for each article and the second label is to be affixed. Also, the appropriate automatic attachment of the second label can be performed sequentially without being conscious of confirmation of update or additional information.

<Second Aspect>
The second label information includes print information required for printing on the second label,
The second label supply unit includes a printing unit that prints the print information on the second label,
Based on the printed information acquired from the second label information storage unit, the second label on which the printed information is printed by the printing unit is attached to the article for which the identification information has been detected, by the attaching unit.
A labeling device according to the first aspect.

(Effect)
By having the printing function of the second label as in this aspect, for example, when the sales price is changed, the location information (storage shelf or display shelf) is changed, the identification information is changed, etc., the target article is processed by this device, it is possible to manufacture a second label printed with a new selling price, a discount rate, new location information, and new identification information for the article, and automatically affix it.

<Third Aspect>
the second label information includes non-printing information;
Based on the non-printing information acquired from the second label information storage unit, the attaching unit attaches the second label that is not printed by the printing unit to the article for which the identification information has been detected.
A labeling device of the second aspect.

(Effect)
As described above, when the second label printing function is provided, depending on the article, it may be desired to affix the second label without printing. For example, although a price reduction label is attached to a specific item, there is a demand for a worker to handwrite price reduction information such as a price reduction amount and a price reduction rate. The device of this aspect can meet such demands.

<Fourth Aspect>
The attaching unit has a robot that receives the second label supplied from the second label supplying unit and attaches it to the article,
Having an imaging device for imaging the article,
When attaching the second label, the position of the first label is detected by image recognition based on the image information obtained by the imaging device, and the robot moves to the attachment position determined based on the detected position of the first label. affixes the second label;
A labeling device according to any one of the first to third aspects.

(Effect)
In this device, the position of the first label is detected, and the second label can be pasted at the pasting position determined based on that. A second label can be automatically affixed to a position where the label does not overlap at all, etc.). Note that the sticking position includes the direction of the label.

<Fifth Aspect>
The second label information includes pasting position information determined with reference to the position of the first label,
The pasting position information is a position where a part or the whole of the first label is covered with the second label or the whole of the first label is not covered,
When attaching the second label, the robot attaches the second label to the attachment position specified by the attachment position information included in the second label information acquired from the second label information storage unit.
A labeling device according to the fourth aspect.

(Effect)
As in this aspect, by including the pasting position information in the second label information, even when the second label is additionally pasted in random order on a plurality of types of goods, the second label can be placed at the pasting position specified for each article. Second Label A second label can be applied automatically.

<Sixth Aspect>
Having a conveyor for conveying the article,
The identification information sensor detects identification information of an article conveyed on the conveyor,
The attaching unit attaches the second label to the article conveyed on the conveyor,
When the identification information of the article is detected by the identification information sensor and the second label information of the article is read from the second label information storage unit based on the detected identification information of the article, the second label information is If not, the attaching unit does not attach the second label to the article for which the identification information has been detected.
A labeling device according to any one of the first to fifth aspects.

(Effect)
As in this aspect, by attaching the second label while the target article is conveyed by the conveyor, the worker can automatically attach the second label simply by placing the article one after another on the conveyor, which is preferable. In addition, by not attaching the second label when there is no second label information, even if the worker mistakenly supplies the conveyor with an article that is not subject to the attachment of the second label, the second label is not attached by mistake. Done. In addition, for example, when reducing the price of some of the same products (such as those whose expiry date is approaching), it is possible to add a price reduction label to some of the products by processing all of the same products with this device. becomes.

<Seventh Aspect>
The first label is an electronic tag,
The electronic tag stores first management information including the identification information,
The identification information sensor is a reader/writer that performs reading and recording on the electronic tag by wireless communication,
the second label information includes update information for updating part or all of the first management information;
The identification information of the article is detected by the reader/writer, the second label information of the article is acquired from the second label information storage unit based on the detected identification information of the article, and the acquired second label is obtained. When the information includes the update information, the information stored in the electronic tag of the article for which the identification information has been detected is updated by the reader/writer based on the update information, and the article for which the identification information has been detected is updated. the applying unit affixes the second label;
A labeling device according to any one of the first to sixth aspects.

(Effect)
As is well known, an electronic tag (also called an RFID tag, an IC tag, an RF label, etc.) consists of an IC chip and an antenna connected thereto for storing and reading information without contact by short-range wireless communication. It is also widely used as a label for product management (a label with an adhesive backing to be attached to a target product). RFID (Radio frequency identification) uses such electronic tags to write the identification information of the target object on the electronic tag and read the identification information of the target product stored in the electronic tag by wireless communication. System.

When the first label is such an electronic tag and stores first management information including identification information, part or all of the first management information is updated to the second label information as in this aspect. By including the update information for updating the information stored in the electronic tag and attaching the second label, it is possible to attach the second label and update the information stored in the electronic tag at the same time.

<Eighth Aspect>
providing a first label supply unit that supplies the first label;
The applying unit has a single robot that selects and receives a first label supplied from the first label supplying unit and a second label supplied from the second label supplying unit and attaches them to the article. ,
The article has identification information attached in advance to a portion other than the first label,
a first label attaching operation of detecting the identification information attached to the article by an identification information sensor, creating a first label having first management information including the detected identification information, and attaching the first label to the article;
The identification information of the first label or other part of the article is detected by an identification information sensor, the second label information of the article is acquired from the storage unit based on the detected identification information, and the acquired said Based on the second label information, selectively performing a second label attaching operation in which the robot attaches the second label to the article for which the identification information has been detected;
A labeling device according to any one of the first to seventh aspects.

(Effect)
In this device, a single robot can selectively apply the first label and the second label.

<Ninth Aspect>
A method for attaching a second label different from the first label to an article having identification information and to which the first label is attached, comprising:
a second label supply unit that supplies the second label;
an affixing unit that affixes the second label supplied from the second label supply unit to the article;
an identification information sensor that detects identification information of the article;
using a second label information storage unit in which the identification information and the second label information necessary for attaching the second label are stored in association with each other;
The identification information of the article is detected by the identification information sensor, the second label information of the article is acquired from the second label information storage unit based on the detected identification information of the article, and the acquired second label information is acquired. Based on the label information, the attaching unit attaches the second label to the article for which the identification information has been detected.
A labeling method characterized by:

(Effect)
The same effects as those of the first aspect are obtained.

ADVANTAGES OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, advantages such as automatic affixing of a new label according to the article to which the first label is attached are provided.

It is a front view which shows a label sticking apparatus roughly. It is a front view which shows a label sticking apparatus roughly. 1 is a schematic side view of a labeling device; FIG. 1(a) is a plan view, (b) is a side view, and (c) is a bottom view showing an example of an electronic tag. FIG. FIG. 10 is a front view showing an example of a second label supply section; It is a front view which shows a label sticking apparatus roughly. It is a front view which shows a label sticking apparatus roughly. It is a front view which shows a label sticking apparatus roughly. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing an example of sticking positions of a first label and a second label; FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing an example of sticking positions of a first label and a second label; FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing an example of sticking positions of a first label and a second label;

An example of the labeling apparatus 1 that affixes the second label 12 to the article 50 having identification information and to which the first label 11 is affixed will be described below. FIG. 1 shows an example of a labeling device 1 . This labeling apparatus 1 includes a second label supply section 20 that supplies a second label 12, an application section having a robot 40 that applies the second label 12 supplied from the second label supply section 20 to an article 50, an article and a second label information storage unit 80 in which the identification information and the second label information necessary for attaching the second label 12 are stored in association with each other. there is In addition, the labeling apparatus 1 detects the identification information of the article 50 by the identification information sensor 70, and based on the detected identification information of the article 50, stores the second label information of the article 50 from the second label information storage unit 80. A control unit 90 is provided, which acquires the second label information and affixes the second label 12 to the article 50 whose identification information has been detected by the affixing unit based on the acquired second label information.

Therefore, in the present labeling apparatus 1, the identification information and the second label information necessary for applying the second label 12 are associated with each other and stored in the second label information storage section 80 in advance. The identification information of the first label 11 (old label) is detected, the second label information necessary for attaching the second label 12 (new label) is acquired based on the detection result, and based on the second label information , the second label 12 can be automatically attached to the article 50 for which the identification information has been detected. Moreover, even when the second labels 12 are additionally attached to a plurality of types of articles 50 in random order, since the second label information is acquired for each article 50 and the second label 12 is attached, the operator does not need to Appropriate automatic attachment of the second labels 12 can be performed sequentially without being conscious of selection of the target article 50, confirmation of update or additional information, and the like. Hereinafter, configuration examples and operation examples of each unit will be described in order.

<Conveyor>
It is preferable that the present labeling apparatus 1 has a conveyor 30 that conveys the target article 50, and is configured to detect the identification information while conveying the target article 50 by the conveyor 30 and attach the second label 12 thereto. . As a result, the worker can automatically apply the second label 12 by simply placing the articles 50 on the conveyor 30 one after another. Of course, without the conveyor 30, the detection of the identification information by the identification information sensor 70 and the attachment of the second label 12 can be performed in a state where the worker holds the article 50 by hand or the article 50 is placed on a table. may be configured to perform

Any known conveyor 30 can be used as the conveyor 30 as long as it can move the moving body in the conveying direction by the driving force of the driving source and convey the article 50 on the moving body. Conveyors, plate conveyors, etc. can be preferably used. Conveyor 30 preferably has a wider loading surface than articles 50 because, for example, a worker can place various types of articles 50 of different sizes without being aware of their positions and orientations. Of course, the conveyor 30 may be one in which the types and loading positions (including orientations) of the articles 50 are constant. Also, the loading of the articles 50 onto the conveyor 30 can be performed mechanically.

Only one conveyor 30 may be provided as shown in FIG. 1 and the like, or a plurality of conveyors 31 and 32 may be connected to each other as in the example shown in FIG. Further, if the free roller conveyor 33 is provided at the most downstream side of the conveyor 30, the articles 50 are pushed out onto the free roller conveyor 33 and stopped, thereby facilitating subsequent work.

Conveyor 30 is desirably conveyed continuously at a constant speed. can be intermittently driven.

<Identification information>
The identification information is information for distinguishing one article 50 from another article 50, and includes product codes, serial numbers, and the like. The identification information may be added to the first label 11, may be added to a portion other than the first label 11 of the article 50 itself, or may be stored in a storage medium such as an electronic tag attached to the article 50. may be provided or may be added to a plurality of these. In addition to identification information, identification information can be added to product storage information such as expiration date and storage conditions, delivery information such as delivery origin and delivery destination, warehouse-related information such as warehouse identification information and storage rack information, and store identification information. , display shelf information, store-related information such as price information, product name, manufacturer, seller, and attribute information representing the features and characteristics of the product 50 such as product and packaging color, product weight, etc. are added. good too. Information other than the identification information is information related to the article 50 , but is information that cannot identify the article 50 . As long as the identification information is readable by the sensor, it may be printed on the surface of the object to be added so as to be readable by an optical reading sensor, or stored in a storage medium so as to be readable by wireless communication. or both (the latter two are possible because the first label 11 is an electronic tag). When the identification information is printed on the addition target, the identification information may be printed on the surface of the addition target as a one-dimensional code or a two-dimensional code, or may be printed as a character string.

<First label>
The first label 11 is a sheet having an adhesive surface for the article 50, and preferably has identification information such as a product code and a manufacturing number (serial number). (e.g., markdown labels with markdown information printed on them). In addition, the first label 11 includes attribute information such as product name and manufacturer, storage information such as expiration date and storage conditions, delivery information such as delivery origin and delivery destination, warehouse related information such as warehouse identification information and storage rack information. , store identification information, display shelf information, and store-related information such as price information. The first label 11 "having information" means that information is printed on the printing surface of the first label 11, and that the first label 11 has a built-in storage device together with or instead of this. , including information stored in the storage device.

<Electronic tag>
An electronic tag can be used as a means for adding identification information to the first label, the second label, or the article 50 . The shape and structure of the electronic tag are not particularly limited, and known electronic tags can be used as appropriate. FIG. 4 shows an example of the electronic tag 10. As shown in FIG. The electronic tag 10 is generally rectangular with rounded corners, but is not limited to this. A typical example of the electronic tag 10 is a passive type electronic tag 10 having an IC chip 10i as inlets 10a and 10i and an antenna 10a connected thereto. do not have. Further, the electronic tag 10 may have a printed surface, and part or all of the written information (for example, identification information represented by a one-dimensional code or a two-dimensional code) may be printed on the printed surface. It can also be completely unprinted.

<Identification information sensor>
The identification information sensor 70 is not particularly limited as long as it can detect the identification information of the article 50 . For example, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, when the identification information is printed on the object to be added, the identification information sensor 70 may be a known optical reading sensor 73 such as a code reader or an optical character reader. can be done. The code reader and optical character reader are preferably implemented using an imaging sensor (image sensor) such as a CCD image sensor or a CMOS image sensor. A method using an imaging sensor not only enables detection over a wide range, but can also be used as a multi-purpose reader for detecting multiple types of detection targets. In other words, in this case, one sensor can detect both the one-dimensional code or the two-dimensional code and the characters without providing a sensor for each detection target, or even detect the position of the first label 11, which will be described later. It becomes possible to Of course, the identification information sensor 70 is not limited to one using an image sensor. For example, in the case of a code reader, various known sensors such as a laser scanning system can be used.

Identity sensor 70 is preferably capable of detecting all sides of article 50 . For this reason, when detecting by the identification information sensor 70 while conveying the article 50 by the conveyor 30, it is preferable to adopt the apparatus configuration shown in FIGS. That is, the labeling apparatus 1 includes a first conveyor 31 that conveys articles 50, and a second conveyer that is connected to the downstream side of the first conveyor 31 with a gap therebetween and receives and conveys the articles 50 sent from the first conveyor 31. and the conveyor 32, and the identification information sensor 70 includes a lower sensor 70L for detecting identification information of the article 50 from below the article 50 through the gap between the first conveyor 31 and the second conveyor 32, and an upper sensor 70U that detects the identification information of the article 50 from above the article 50 on the upstream side of the possible range.

In this way, not only is the conveyor 30 divided into the first conveyor 31 and the second conveyor 32, but also the gap between the delivery portions can be used to detect the identification information of the article 50 from both above and below. A plurality of types of articles 50 having different positions of identification information on the articles 50 can be continuously processed without being conscious of their vertical orientation.

In particular, when an imaging sensor is used as the identification information sensor and detection is possible in a wide range, as shown in FIG. By providing an upper sensor 70U that performs detection from diagonally above the conveyor 30 and a lower sensor 70L that performs detection from directly below the conveyor 30, the three sensors detect the four surfaces (upper surface, side surface, and lower surface) of the article 50. It is preferable because it can The MD direction means the machine direction (conveyance direction), and the CD direction means the lateral direction orthogonal to the MD direction.

On the other hand, when the first label 11 is an electronic tag and first management information including identification information (for example, the identification information described above and other information) is stored in the first label 11, the example shown in FIG. As described above, as the identification information sensor 70, a reading device such as the reader/writer 71 that can read the information stored in the electronic tag can be used. A known method can be employed without particular limitation for reading the electronic tag.

The identification information sensor 70 is communicably connected to the control unit 90 for operation control such as transmission of detection information to the control unit 90 . The installation position of the identification information sensor 70 can be appropriately determined within a range where the identification information of the article 50 can be detected prior to the attachment of the second label 12 . For example, when the second label 12 is attached while the target article 50 is conveyed by the conveyor 30 as shown in the figure, from the loading position where the worker places the article 50 on the conveyor 30 in the conveying route by the conveyor 30 Although it is preferable to install the identification information sensor 70 on the downstream side of the second label 12 and on the upstream side of the pasting position of the second label 12, it is installed outside the conveyor 30 instead of on the conveyor 30, so that the operator can A system may be used in which the target article 50 is placed on the conveyor 30 after the identification information is detected by holding the article 50 over the identification information sensor 70 .

The identification information sensor 70 may be a fixed installation type device, or a handy type device that a worker holds up to the identification information.

Information other than the identification information may be detected by the identification information sensor 70, or a sensor for detecting information other than the identification information may be provided separately from the identification information sensor 70.

<Second label>
The second label 12 is a sheet having an adhesive surface for the article 50 and additionally attached to the outer surface of the article 50 . As the second label 12, a blank label before printing, a label on which part or all of the information is pre-printed, an entry label on which a part other than an optional entry part is pre-printed, or the like can be appropriately used. Also, the second label 12 may not be an electronic tag, but may be an electronic tag. In this case, the electronic tag may have a printed surface on the side opposite to the adhesive surface, or may have nothing printed on the printed surface. identification information, etc.) or the entirety may be printed.

<Second label supply unit>
The second label supply unit 20 can be used without particular limitation as long as it can supply the second labels 12 one by one to a predetermined supply position (ejection port) and transfer them to the affixing unit. The second label supply unit 20 preferably includes a printing unit that prints print information on the second label 12, but may not have a printing unit. Further, when the second label 12 is an electronic tag, the second label supplying section 20 may have a writing section for the electronic tag. As the second label supply unit 20, for example, as shown in FIG. 5, a second label supply unit 20 that is used with a label roll 23R attached thereto can be used. The label roll 23R is obtained by winding the continuous strip-shaped label sheet 15 into a roll. It has The label roll 23R is rotatably supported by a rotating shaft (not shown).

The second label supply unit 20 is designed for a case where the second label 12 is attached to the article by a robot 40, which will be described later. 2 It has a transfer section that peels off the label 12 and transfers it to the robot 40, and a winding shaft 23W that winds up the continuous belt-like peeling sheet 16 after peeling off the label. The delivery part includes a folding guide 23G (a plate-shaped one as shown in the figure, or a rotating shaft or a non-rotating shaft) that guides the peeling sheet 16 to be folded back to the side opposite to the side having the label. , and the release sheet 16 is peeled off by folding back the release sheet 16 . The winding shaft 23W is rotationally driven by a stepping motor (not shown), and each time the leading second label 12 is peeled off, the succeeding second label 12 is moved to the leading position at an appropriate control timing. Winding is performed so as to move (that is, one sheet at a time).

After being let out from the label roll 23R, the label sheet 15 is folded back at an acute angle by the folding guide 23G. Since the rigid second label 12 is naturally peeled from the release sheet 16 at the time of folding, it can be delivered to the robot 40 directly or indirectly via a belt conveyor or the like. The release sheet 16 remaining after the second label 12 is peeled off is taken up by the take-up shaft 23W. Reference numeral 23P denotes a printer for printing print information.

A commercially available device can also be used as the second label supply unit 20 . As a commercially available device, for example, a label printer "Scantronics CL4NX-JPlus Series" manufactured by Sato Holdings Co., Ltd., peels off only one label from the release sheet (mounting paper), and peels off the label from the front of the device. It is possible to suitably use one that protrudes in a predetermined direction such as the front and stands by. In addition, a known device such as a tag supply device in which the electronic tag of the tag supply device to be described later is replaced with a label can be used without particular limitation.

<Paste part>
The attaching unit is not particularly limited as long as it can attach the second label 12 supplied from the second label supplying unit 20 to the article 50, but the label supplied from the second label supplying unit 20 is supplied as shown in the illustrated example. It preferably has a robot 40 that receives the second label 12 and applies it to the article 50 . When the robot 40 attaches the electronic tag to the article 50, the robot 40 is not particularly limited as long as it receives the second label 12 supplied from the second label supply section 20 and attaches it to the article 50, but the illustrated example , the second label 12 is sucked by the suction part 41 and moved onto the article 50 to be affixed to the article 50. As shown in FIG. preferable. The suction part 41 in the illustrated example is a tubular body with a rubber cup attached to the tip, but it is not limited to this, and known structures and materials can be adopted.

In the case where the attaching position of the second label is constant, the attaching unit may be a labeler incorporating the second label supply unit 20 (not shown).

<Robot>
The robot 40 should have two or more degrees of freedom for at least horizontal motion and vertical motion. Moreover, a robot 40 having four or more degrees of freedom is preferable so that it can move in the X-axis direction, the Y-axis direction, the Z-axis direction, and the rotation direction about the Z-axis. As a result, the electronic tag 10 can be attached to the upper surface of the article 50 in any direction. Moreover, if the robot 40 with six or more degrees of freedom is used, the electronic tag 10 can be attached not only to the upper surface of the article 50 but also to the side surface thereof. As the robot 40, not only a parallel link robot as shown in the figure, but also known industrial robots such as vertical articulated robots, horizontal articulated robots, and orthogonal robots can be used.

The position where the second label 12 is affixed by the robot 40 may be constant. It can also be changed according to the position of 11. As a device for detecting the type of the article 50 and the position of the first label 11, an imaging device 72 for imaging the article 50 is suitable. When sticking, it is preferable to provide the imaging device 72 on the upstream side of the sticking position of the second label 12 on the conveyor 30 . This imaging device 72 can also serve as the imaging device of the identification information sensor 70 as described above.

<Second label information storage unit>
The second label information storage unit 80 stores identification information and second label information necessary for attaching the second label 12 in association with each other. The second label information storage unit 80 is a storage device such as a hard disk or SSD built in or external to the control unit 90, or a network access storage, cloud storage, or other server connected via a local network or the Internet. It can be storage. Registration and updating of the second label information in the second label information storage unit 80 can be performed from a terminal device (not shown) connected via a network, and an input device 81 and a display device connected to the control unit 90 can be used. 82.

The second label information can be appropriately determined depending on how the second label 12 is attached. For example, if the second label supply unit 20 includes a printing unit that prints print information on the second label 12, the second label information may include print information required for printing on the second label 12. . A representative example of the printed information is various management information (identification information, attribute information, product storage information, delivery information, warehouse-related information, store-related information, etc.) related to the article 50 that has been partially or wholly updated or added. . Also in this case. The second label information may include non-printing information for not printing on the second label 12 .

The second label information may include pasting position information determined with reference to the position of the first label 11 . The sticking position information is, for example, the reference position of the second label 12 (for example, In the case of a rectangular label, it can be coordinate information or vector information of any one corner position or center position. Also, the pasting position information is shown in the figure? Positional information for covering a specific portion or the entirety of the first label 11 with the second label 12 as shown in , and positional information for attaching the second label 12 to the outside of the first label 11. good too.

When the first label 11 is an electronic tag storing first management information including identification information, the second label information can include update information for updating part or all of the first management information. As long as the update information is for updating part or all of the first management information, the update information may include only information to be updated, or may include both information to be updated and information not to be updated. You can The first management information is not particularly limited as long as it includes identification information, and may include, for example, the aforementioned attribute information, product storage information, delivery information, warehouse-related information, store-related information, etc., in addition to the identification information.

Part or all of the second label information can be information stored in the storage unit of the merchandise management system or the delivery management system. It can be the system's store itself or it can be synchronized with these system stores.

<Control section>
The control unit 90 can be configured by using a known industrial control device such as a sequencer (PLC) or a computer (PC, microcontroller) alone or by combining a plurality of them according to functions. For example, the basic control and interface of conveyors, sensors, robots, etc. can be realized by a sequencer, and information processing and commands to the sequencer based on it (mode setting, parameter setting, instruction to start operation, etc.) can be realized by a computer. .

<Operation example 1: Change location information>
For example, a first label 11 printed with shelf A (storage shelf information) is affixed to a large number of articles (for example, cardboard boxes containing products) 50 stored on shelf A in a warehouse, distribution center, or the like. In addition, identification information such as a barcode is printed on a portion of each article 50 other than the first label 11, and when moving some of the articles 50 on shelf A to shelf B and the rest to shelf C, Consider the case where the second label 12 printed with "shelf B" or "shelf C" is attached on the first label 11 printed with "shelf A" by the labeling apparatus 1 shown in FIG. First, the worker associates the identification information about the articles 50 on the shelf A with the second label information and stores them in the second label information storage unit 80 . The second label information in this case includes the printed information "shelf B" or "shelf C".

After that, the worker starts the labeling device 1 and places the articles 50 taken out from the shelf A of the conveyor 30 one after another onto the conveyor 30 being driven. It is preferable that the control section 90 moves the suction section 41 of the robot 40 to the supply position of the second label supply section 20 and stands by when the label application device 1 is activated. As shown in FIG. 6, the article 50 reaches a detectable position by the identification information sensor 70 while being transported by the conveyor 30 . Thereby, the identification information of the article 50 is detected by the identification information sensor 70 . The timing of detection by the identification information sensor 70 can be determined as appropriate, and periodic detection or polling may be continued at predetermined short time intervals during startup, or a weight sensor (not shown) provided on the conveyor 30, Detection may be initiated based on passing sensors.

When the identification information of the article 50 is detected by the identification information sensor 70, the control section 90 acquires the second label information related to the article 50 from the second label information storage section 80, and includes the information contained in the acquired second label information. Based on the printed information of "shelf B" or "shelf C", the second label supply unit 20 is instructed to supply the second label 12 printed with "shelf B" or "shelf C", and the second supply The robot 40 is instructed to affix the second label 12 supplied from the department to the article 50 whose identification information has been detected. According to the instruction from the control unit 90, the second label supply unit 20 supplies the second label 12 printed with "shelf B" or "shelf C" by the printing unit 23P as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 7, the adsorption unit 41 is moved to the supply position of the second label supply unit, the second label 12 printed with "shelf B" or "shelf C" is received from the second label supply unit 20, and As shown in FIG. 8, the second label 12 is moved to the article 50 on the conveyor 30 and has reached the range where the second label 12 can be attached. After affixing the second label 12, the robot 40 moves to receive the second label 12 if the next identification information is detected, and if the next identification information is not detected, moves to that position. Stay or return to the initial position and wait. After that, by performing the same processing on the articles 50 sequentially conveyed by the conveyor 30, the operator can selectively select "shelf B" or "shelf C" without being particularly aware of the selection of the target article 50. , the second label 12 printed on the second label 12 can be applied sequentially.

When there is an article 50 whose destination is undetermined on the shelf A, the worker associates non-printing information, which means that printing is not performed, with the identification information and stores it in the second label information storage unit 80 as the second label information. be able to. Based on the non-printing information included in the second label information acquired from the second label information storage unit 80, the control unit 90 instructs the printing unit 23P to supply the second label 12 without printing. 2 instructs the label supply unit 20, and based on this, the second label supply unit 20 supplies the non-printed second label 12, so that the non-printed second label 12 is selectively attached to the article 50. , the worker can handwrite the shelf information after the fact. The same thing can be done by registering print information in which the variable information (in this case, shelf number) is blank as the print information included in the second label information in association with the identification information.

In this case, if the first label 11 remains after the second label 12 is attached, it may cause misidentification, which is not preferable. However, peeling off the first label 11 is not practical. Therefore, it is preferable to provide a device for detecting the position of the first label 11 so that the second label 12 is automatically attached to the first label 11 overlappingly. That is, as shown in the illustrated example, an imaging device 72 that captures an image of the article 50 conveyed on the conveyor 30 is provided upstream of the pastable range of the robot 40 as a position detection device for the first label 11 . Also, when attaching the second label 12, the worker associates the above-described attaching position information with the identification information as the second label information and stores the information in the second label information storage unit 80. FIG. In this case, as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, the pasting position information indicates the pasting position where the second label 12 can cover the entire storage bin of the first label 11. preferably. When the printed information of the first label 11 is concealed by the second label 12, it is preferable that the second label 12 is the same as or larger than the first label 11. However, if the concealment range of the first label 11 is small, It may be smaller than the first label 11 as shown at 10 .

When the identification information is detected by the identification information sensor 70 , the control section 90 acquires the second label information associated with the identification information from the second label information storage section 80 . In addition, the control unit 90 detects the position of the first label 11 on the conveyor 30 by performing image recognition processing on the information captured by the imaging device 72 . Here, among the position information of the first label 11 on the conveyor 30, the position coordinates in the MD direction can be calculated based on the imaging timing of the imaging device 72 and the conveying speed of the conveyor 30, and are orthogonal to the MD direction. The position coordinates of the direction and the orientation can be obtained by image recognition from image information obtained by the imaging device 72 . Further, the conveying speed of the conveyor 30 can be detected, for example, by attaching a rotary encoder (not shown) to the drive system (for example, belt) of the conveyor 30 . Therefore, the controller 90 determines whether the article 50 can be attached by the robot 40 when attaching the second label 12 based on the attachment position information included in the acquired second label information and the detected position of the first label 11 . At a timing within the range, the robot 40 of the sticking section is instructed to stick the second label 12 to the sticking position specified by the sticking position information. The robot 40 affixes the second label 12 on the designated affixing position, that is, on the first label 11, on the article 50 that has reached the affixable range of the second label 12 on the conveyor 30 according to the instruction of the control unit 90. . As a result, even when the second labels 12 are additionally attached to a plurality of types of articles 50 in random order, the second labels 12 can be automatically attached to the respective first labels 11 .

It is conceivable that the second label 12 cannot be stuck to the designated sticking position due to failure in detecting the position of the first label 11 or because sticking position information is not included in the second label information. The control unit 90 detects the occurrence of such an error, stops the supply of a new label by the second label supply unit 20 and the pasting operation by the robot 40, and the article 50 scheduled to be pasted with the second label 12 is It is preferable to leave the conveyor 30 without the second label 12 applied.

The above example relates to changing the storage shelf of the article 50. The location information of "shelf A", "shelf B", and "shelf C" is changed to "warehouse A", "warehouse B", "warehouse C", and so on. , "store A", "store B", "store C", etc., the same can be applied to other location information changes.

<Operation example 2: Change price information>
As another typical example, it is conceivable that the second label 12 printed with the new selling price is attached to a large number of articles 50 (merchandise) having the first label 11 printed with the old selling price. . First, the worker associates the identification information about the article 50 with the second label information and stores them in the second label information storage unit 80 . The second label information includes price change information such as new sales price and discount rate (which is also print information because it is used for printing). At present, almost all articles 50 themselves have a product code printed as a one-dimensional code or the like, or a label printed with a one-dimensional code representing the product code together with the selling price, or a label printed with the selling price. Since a label on which a one-dimensional code representing the product code is printed is attached separately, the product code can be used as the identification information. When identification information such as a product code related to the article 50 is registered in the database of the sales management system, a column for price change information may be provided in the database and the price change information for each article 50 may be registered in the column. , the information in the existing selling price column may be updated to the new selling price. In this case, the second label information storage unit 80 is configured by the storage device storing the database of the sales management system. Also, the second label information may or may not include the sticking position information described in the first operation example.

Thereafter, the operator activates the labeling apparatus 1 in the same manner as in Operation Example 1, and sequentially places articles 50 on the conveyor 30 being driven. As shown in FIG. 6, the article 50 reaches a detectable position by the identification information sensor 70 while being transported by the conveyor 30 . Thereby, the identification information of the article 50 is detected by the identification information sensor 70 .

When the identification information of the article 50 is detected by the identification information sensor 70, the control unit 90 acquires the second label information associated with the identification information from the second label information storage unit 80, and stores the acquired second label. Based on the price change information included in the information, the second label supply unit 20 is instructed to supply the second label 12 printed with the price change information, and the second label 12 supplied from the second supply unit is supplied with the identification information. is instructed to the affixing unit to affix the label to the article 50 for which the detection has been performed. According to the instruction from the control unit 90, the second label supply unit 20 supplies the second label 12 on which the price change information is printed by the printing unit 23P, and the robot 40 causes the second label supply unit 20 to print the price change information. The second label 12 is received and attached to the articles 50 that have reached the range where the second label 12 can be attached on the conveyor 30 . After that, by performing the same processing for the articles 50 sequentially conveyed by the conveyor 30, the worker can register according to the article 50 without being particularly aware of the selection of the target article 50 and the price change information. A second label 12 having the price change information printed thereon can be applied to the article 50 in sequence.

Depending on the item 50, it may be desired for the worker to handwrite the price change information. In such a case, as in the case of operation example 1, the operator associates non-printing information, which means that printing is not performed, with the identification information and stores the information in the second label information storage unit 80 as the second label information. Alternatively, as the print information included in the second label information, the print information of the fixed form portion other than the price change information may be associated with the identification information and registered.

Even in the case of this operation example 2, if the first label 11 remains after the second label 12 is pasted, it may cause misrecognition. The second label 12 may be configured to automatically overlap and be attached to the first label 11 . On the other hand, there are cases where the first label 11 needs to remain, such as the second label 12 that displays only the discount rate as price change information. In such a case, as pasting position information to be stored in the second label information storage unit 80, a position that does not overlap the entire first label 11, or a position that overlaps a part of the first label 11 but the old price information due to the overlap is used. By storing the position where the portion where the display is required to remain is not hidden, as shown in FIG. A label 12 can also be applied.

<Operation example 3>
If the first label 11 is an electronic tag that stores first management information including identification information, the identification information of the article 50 can be obtained by using a reading device that reads the electronic tag by wireless communication as the identification information sensor 70 . Detection can be performed. In addition, by using a writing device that performs recording on the electronic tag by wireless communication, information (for example, operation example 1 It is also possible to rewrite the location information described in 1. above, the price change information described in Operation Example 2, and the identification information. A case in which both of these are performed will be described below.

That is, in the apparatus shown in FIG. 1, the labeling apparatus 1 has, as the identification information sensor 70, a reader/writer 71 for reading and recording the first label 11 (electronic tag) by wireless communication. While it is necessary to read the identification information by the identification information sensor 70 before attaching the second label 12, rewriting of the stored information of the first label 11 can be performed immediately after reading the identification information. Therefore, in an apparatus that processes articles 50 while conveying them by the conveyor 30 as in the illustrated example, the reader/writer 71 can be installed on the upstream side of the pastable range of the second label 12 .

When additionally attaching the second label 12, first, the worker associates the second label information including update information for updating a part or all of the first management information with the identification information, and attaches the second label information storage unit 80 to the second label information storage unit 80. be memorized. The second label information in this case may or may not include the printing information and pasting position information described in the first and second operation examples. Further, when the identification information is registered in the database of the management system, the update information included in the second label information is registered in a column of update information such as price change information provided in the database. or update the information in the existing column to the new information. In this case, the second label information storage unit 80 is configured by the storage device storing the database of the management system.

Thereafter, the operator activates the labeling apparatus 1 and successively deposits articles 50 onto the moving conveyor 30 as shown in FIG. As in Operation Examples 1 and 2, when the article 50 is transported by the conveyor 30 and reaches a position detectable by the identification information sensor 70 , the identification information stored in the first label 11 is read by the reader/writer 71 as the identification information sensor 70 . is read by In order to avoid interference in the articles 50 conveyed one after another by the conveyor 30, the readable range of the reader/writer 71 is limited by known methods such as the use of directional antennas, the use of electromagnetic wave shielding hoods, and the adjustment of radio wave intensity. can do.

As shown in FIG. 6, when the identification information of the article 50 is read by the identification information sensor 70, the control unit 90 acquires the second label information associated with the identification information from the second label information storage unit 80, and obtains the second label information associated with the identification information. Based on the update information included in the obtained second label information, instruct the reader/writer 71 to rewrite a part or all of the information stored in the first label 11, and supply the second label 12 to supply the second label. The application unit 20 is instructed to apply the second label 12 supplied from the second supply unit to the article 50 for which the identification information has been detected. According to instructions from the control unit 90, the reader/writer 71 rewrites part or all of the information stored in the first label 11, the second label supply unit 20 supplies the second label 12, and the robot 40 of the application unit 2. The second label 12 printed with the price change information is received from the label supply unit 20 and attached to the articles 50 that have reached the range where the second label 12 can be attached on the conveyor 30 . When update information is included in the second label information, printing is performed on the second label 12 by the printing unit 23P of the second label supply unit 20 in the same manner as in operation examples 1 and 2, using the update information as print information. can be done. Further, when the second label information includes the pasting position information, the second label 12 is pasted to the designated pasting position in the same manner as in the operation examples 1 and 2. FIG. In this way, the attachment of the second label 12 and the update of the information stored in the electronic tag can be performed at once, and replacement of the electronic tag is not necessary.

The update information included in the second label information may be only post-update information (for example, location information and price information after change), and it may not be possible to determine whether update is necessary or not by itself. As an example of this, first management information including identification information is registered in the database of the management system, and after the information in the existing columns of the database is updated, the updated information is read out as the second label information. be. In such a case, the control unit 90 reads out the first management information other than the identification information of the article 50 together with the identification information of the article 50 by the identification information sensor 70, and updates the read first management information and the update information included in the second label information. are compared, and if there is different information, the information stored in the electronic tag can be rewritten including only that information or other information. In this case, rewriting need not be performed when there is no different information.

<Operation example 4>
As shown in FIG. 2, a first label supply section 60 for supplying the first label 11 is provided, and a single robot 40 supplies the first label 11 and the second label supplied from the first label supply section 60. It is also possible to select and receive the second label 12 supplied from the unit 20 and apply it to the article 50 . As with the second label supply unit 20, an appropriate device can be selected for the first label supply unit 60. FIG. The identification information sensor 70 may be the same as that used for attaching the second label 12, or may be provided separately. For example, the identification information sensor 70 used for attaching the first label 11 can be an optical reading sensor 73 , and the identification information sensor 70 used for attaching the second label 12 can be an electronic tag reader/writer 71 .

In particular, when the article 50 has identification information attached in advance to a portion other than the first label 11, the identification information attached to the article 50 is detected by the identification information sensor 70, and the detected identification information and the detected identification information are detected. If the first label 11 having the first management information including at least one of the information acquired based on the first label 11 is created and attached to the article 50, the first label 11 can be automatically created and attached. For example, as in the device described in Patent Document 6, the electronic tag is used as the first label 11, and after detecting the product code added as a one-dimensional code to the product 50 in advance by printing or the like with a code reader, the detected product code is detected. is stored by a writing device such as the reader/writer 71 to create an electronic tag, which can be attached to the article 50 as the first label 11 . Also, regardless of whether the first label 11 is an electronic tag or not, if the first label supply unit 60 has a printing unit, the first label 11 printed with first management information including identification information is created. It can also be attached to the article 50 by

Although it is preferable that all of the operation examples 1 to 4 can be realized by the same labeling apparatus, only some of the operation examples may be realized.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention can be used for a device that automatically affixes a second label to an article to which a first label has been attached for management purposes.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 Label application device 11 First label 12 Second label 20 Second label supply unit 30 Conveyor 31 First conveyor 32 Second conveyor 33 Free roller conveyor 40 Robot 41 Adsorption unit 50 Article 60 First label supply unit 70 Identification information sensor 70L Lower sensor 70U Upper sensor 71 Reader/writer 72 Imaging device 73 Optical reading Sensor, 80...Second label information storage unit, 81...Input device, 82...Display device, 90...Control unit.

Claims (9)

A device for attaching a second label different from the first label to an article having identification information and to which the first label is attached,
a second label supply unit that supplies the second label;
an affixing unit that affixes the second label supplied from the second label supply unit to the article;
an identification information sensor that detects identification information of the article;
a second label information storage unit in which the identification information and the second label information necessary for attaching the second label are stored in association with each other;
The identification information of the article is detected by the identification information sensor, the second label information of the article is acquired from the second label information storage unit based on the detected identification information of the article, and the acquired second label information is acquired. Based on the label information, the attaching unit attaches the second label to the article for which the identification information has been detected.
A labeling device characterized by: The second label information includes print information required for printing on the second label,
The second label supply unit includes a printing unit that prints the print information on the second label,
Based on the printed information acquired from the second label information storage unit, the second label on which the printed information is printed by the printing unit is attached to the article for which the identification information has been detected, by the attaching unit.
2. A labeling device according to claim 1. the second label information includes non-printing information;
Based on the non-printing information acquired from the second label information storage unit, the attaching unit attaches the second label that is not printed by the printing unit to the article for which the identification information has been detected.
3. A labeling device according to claim 2. The attaching unit has a robot that receives the second label supplied from the second label supplying unit and attaches it to the article,
Having an imaging device for imaging the article,
When attaching the second label, the position of the first label is detected by image recognition based on the image information obtained by the imaging device, and the robot moves to the attachment position determined based on the detected position of the first label. affixes the second label;
A labeling device according to any one of claims 1-3. The second label information includes pasting position information determined with reference to the position of the first label,
The pasting position information is a position where a part or the whole of the first label is covered with the second label or the whole of the first label is not covered,
When attaching the second label, the robot attaches the second label to the attachment position specified by the attachment position information included in the second label information acquired from the second label information storage unit.
5. A labeling device according to claim 4. Having a conveyor for conveying the article,
The identification information sensor detects identification information of an article conveyed on the conveyor,
The attaching unit attaches the second label to the article conveyed on the conveyor,
When the identification information of the article is detected by the identification information sensor and the second label information of the article is read from the second label information storage unit based on the detected identification information of the article, the second label information is If not, the attaching unit does not attach the second label to the article for which the identification information has been detected.
A labeling device according to any one of claims 1-5. The first label is an electronic tag,
The electronic tag stores first management information including the identification information,
The identification information sensor is a reader/writer that performs reading and recording on the electronic tag by wireless communication,
the second label information includes update information for updating part or all of the first management information;
The identification information of the article is detected by the reader/writer, the second label information of the article is acquired from the second label information storage unit based on the detected identification information of the article, and the acquired second label is obtained. When the information includes the update information, the information stored in the electronic tag of the article for which the identification information has been detected is updated by the reader/writer based on the update information, and the article for which the identification information has been detected is updated. the applying unit affixes the second label;
A labeling device according to any one of claims 1-6. providing a first label supply unit that supplies the first label;
The applying unit has a single robot that selects and receives a first label supplied from the first label supplying unit and a second label supplied from the second label supplying unit and attaches them to the article. ,
The article has identification information attached in advance to a portion other than the first label,
detecting the identification information attached to the article by an identification information sensor, and creating a first label having first management information including at least one of the detected identification information and information acquired based thereon; a first labeling action to apply to the item;
The identification information of the first label or other part of the article is detected by an identification information sensor, the second label information of the article is acquired from the storage unit based on the detected identification information, and the acquired said Based on the second label information, selectively performing a second label attaching operation in which the robot attaches the second label to the article for which the identification information has been detected;
A labeling device according to any one of claims 1-7. A method for attaching a second label different from the first label to an article having identification information and to which the first label is attached, comprising:
a second label supply unit that supplies the second label;
an affixing unit that affixes the second label supplied from the second label supply unit to the article;
an identification information sensor that detects identification information of the article;
using a second label information storage unit in which the identification information and the second label information necessary for attaching the second label are stored in association with each other;
The identification information of the article is detected by the identification information sensor, the second label information of the article is acquired from the second label information storage unit based on the detected identification information of the article, and the acquired second label information is acquired. Based on the label information, the attaching unit attaches the second label to the article for which the identification information has been detected.
A labeling method characterized by:

Images