JP5974564B2 - Article management system and article management method - Google Patents

Description

The present case relates to an article management system and an article management method .

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in offices and warehouses, management target articles are often managed in a state of being stored on a shelf. As a measure to prevent the articles to be managed stored in such shelves from falling from the shelves due to the effects of earthquakes, etc., a structure with a fall prevention function such as a net or lid at the entrance of the shelf (fall prevention structure) It is conceivable to install.

  However, when such a fall prevention structure is provided, it is necessary for a person to be careful not to hit the fall prevention structure against the fall prevention structure when storing or taking out the management target parts from the shelf. It is necessary to remove the fall prevention structure by hand, which may reduce workability.

  Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-151561 discloses a technique aimed at preventing parts from falling. The technique of Patent Document 1 prevents the parts from falling without deteriorating workability by applying a slip prevention process to the shelf surface on which the parts are placed.

JP-A-11-208830

  However, in a shelf in which parts are stored and taken out manually, an operator does not always store the parts in a storage position determined. For example, it is practical to place a part in a nearby place where the part can be placed, or to place a part in consideration of space efficiency. In this case, there are many cases in which parts are stacked and placed in two or more stages on one shelf.

  In such a situation, even if the shelf with anti-slip processing as in Patent Document 1 is adopted, the effect of the anti-slip processing only affects the parts in contact with the shelf. There is a high possibility that it cannot be prevented. In order to prevent the stacked components from falling, it is effective to provide the above-described drop prevention structure on the shelf, but there is a problem in workability as described above.

Accordingly, the present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide an article management system and an article management method capable of preventing an article from falling on a shelf without reducing workability. To do.

The article management system described in the present specification is provided for each shelf in which a management target article can be received, and covers the shelf to prevent the management target article from falling from the shelf; A fall prevention unit that can be switched between the second state in which the first state is released, and the fall prevention unit that moves along the front surface of the shelf and that is over the fall prevention unit when the fall prevention unit is in the first state. from tags assigned to each of the plurality of managed article is received into the shelf, a reader capable of reading the identification information for identifying the managed article stored in the tag, the said identification information tag reader A storage unit that associates and stores position information of a management target article calculated based on the position at which the identification information is read, and management that is identified as a delivery target from the plurality of management target articles And a control unit for changing the fall prevention unit in association with identification information of the elephants article corresponding to the position information stored in the storage unit from the first state to the second state, the.

The article management system and the article management method described in the present specification have an effect that the fall of the article on the shelf can be prevented without reducing workability.

It is a perspective view which shows the state in the warehouse in which the article | item management system which concerns on one Embodiment was provided. FIG. 2A is an enlarged view of the storage shelf unit, and FIG. 2B is a view showing components. FIG. 3A is a schematic diagram showing a state of the first state of the fall prevention device viewed from the + Y direction, and FIG. 3B is a state of the first state of the fall prevention device seen from the −X direction. FIG. 3C is a diagram showing a fall prevention net. FIG. 4A is a schematic diagram illustrating a state where the second state of the fall prevention device is viewed from the + Y direction, and FIG. 4B is a state where the second state of the fall prevention device is viewed from the −X direction. FIG. It is a figure for demonstrating the function of a light source. It is a figure which shows the control system of an article | item management system. It is a hardware block diagram of a control apparatus. It is a figure which shows the specific example of the components request | requirement input from an input device. It is a figure which shows the specific example of stock DB. It is a figure which shows the specific example of a compatibility table. It is a figure which shows the specific example of incident DB. It is a figure which shows the specific example of the delivery instruction | indication slip which a printer outputs. It is a flowchart which shows a database creation process. It is a flowchart (the 1) which shows payout processing. It is a flowchart (the 2) which shows payout processing.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the article management system will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a part of a warehouse 200 in which a parts management system 100 as an article management system according to an embodiment is provided. The parts management system 100 has a plurality of storage shelf units 10, and the plurality of storage shelf units 10 are arranged in the warehouse 200 along the XY directions as shown in FIG. 1. In FIG. 1, the storage shelf units 10 that make a pair are in a state in which the back surfaces are aligned. Further, a portion other than the storage shelf unit 10 in the warehouse 200 is a passage through which an operator passes.

  In FIG. 2A, the storage shelf unit 10 is shown enlarged. As illustrated in FIG. 2A, the storage shelf unit 10 includes a storage shelf 12, a reading unit 30, and a driving device 20 that moves the reading unit 30 in the XZ two-dimensional direction on the front side (+ Y side) of the storage shelf 12. And a plurality of (two in FIG. 2A) light sources 50 and a plurality (five in FIG. 2A) of fall prevention devices 110 as fall prevention units.

  The storage shelf 12 has a plurality of storage spaces (five levels in FIG. 2A), and various components 14 as articles to be managed are stored (stored) in each storage space (see FIG. 1). The component 14 is assumed to be stored in the outer box 19 as shown in FIG. It is assumed that a tag 16 on which the component specifications and the date of manufacture are visible is attached to the outer box 19. The outer box 19 is affixed with an IC tag 18 on which information of part specifications, version number, part management number, and date of manufacture is recorded. As an example, the IC tag 18 is an RFID (Radio Frequency IDentification) tag.

  As illustrated in FIG. 6, the reading unit 30 includes a camera 32 and a tag reader 34. The camera 32 images the outer box 19 of the component 14 stored in the storage shelf 12. The image taken by the camera 32 is used for exterior check (appearance check) in the control device 60 (see FIG. 6). The tag reader 34 is an RFID reader, and acquires information from the IC tag 18 provided in the outer box 19 of the component 14 located in the vicinity of the tag reader 34.

As shown in FIG. 2, the driving device 20 includes Z guides 22Z ₁ and 22Z ₂ extending in the Z-axis direction fixed to the + Y side surfaces of the left and right side plates of the storage shelf 12, and the Z guides 22Z ₁ and 22Z ₂ . Z moving parts 24Z ₁ and 24Z ₂ that move in the Z-axis direction along the Z-axis direction. The driving device 20 also has an X guide 26 that is fixed to the Z moving parts 24Z ₁ and 24Z ₂ and extends in the X axis direction, and an X movement that holds the reading unit 30 and moves along the X guide 26 in the X axis direction. Part 28. The Z moving units 24Z ₁ and 24Z ₂ move in the Z-axis direction (+ Z direction and −Z direction) in response to driving force from a stepping motor, a pulse motor, or the like. Further, the X moving unit 28 moves in the X axis direction (+ X direction and −X direction) in response to a driving force of a stepping motor, a pulse motor, or the like. Note that a stepping motor, a pulse motor, or the like can detect the movement amounts of the Z moving units 24Z ₁ and 24Z ₂ and the X moving unit 28. For this reason, a stepping motor, a pulse motor, etc. have the function of the position detection apparatus 40 (refer FIG. 6) which detects the position of the reading part 30 in the two-dimensional direction. As the position detection device 40, another device may be adopted. For example, as the position detection device 40, a laser interferometer, a linear encoder, or the like can be used.

  According to the drive device 20 configured as described above, the reading unit 30 can move in the XZ two-dimensional plane along the front surface of the storage shelf 12. Further, the position detection device 40 can detect a position where photographing by the camera 32 or information acquisition by the tag reader 34 is performed.

  The light source 50 is fixed to the side wall of the storage shelf 12 via the angle adjustment unit 52. The light source 50 includes a spotlight or a laser light source. The angle adjustment unit 52 changes the irradiation direction of the light source within a range of approximately 360 °. As illustrated in FIG. 5, the light source 50 illuminates one of the components 14 stored in the opposing storage unit 10. The light source 50 may be provided on the back surface (lower surface) of the shelf plate of the storage shelf 12.

  The fall prevention device 110 is a device that prevents the component 14 from falling from the storage space of each stage of the storage shelf 12. FIG. 3A is a schematic diagram illustrating a state in which the fall prevention device 110 is viewed from the + Y direction. FIG. 3B is a schematic diagram illustrating a state in which the fall prevention device 110 is viewed from the −X direction. As shown in FIG. 3A, the fall prevention device 110 includes a fall prevention net 120 and net winding mechanisms 112a and 112b.

  As shown in FIG. 3C, the fall prevention net 120 includes a net 122 and winding wires 124 a and 124 b provided at ± X end portions of the net 122. It is assumed that the net 122 is made of a material that does not prevent the reading unit 30 from reading information from the IC tag 18 even if it is interposed between the reading unit 30 and the IC tag 18. Further, the net 122 is set to such a degree of roughness that it does not interfere with the exterior check (appearance check) of the component 14 using the camera 32. The + Z side ends of the winding wires 124a and 124b are connected to the net winding mechanism 112a, and the −Z side ends of the winding wires 124a and 124b are connected to the net winding mechanism 112b. As shown in FIG. 3C, the net 122 is provided on the upper side (+ Z side) of the central portion in the longitudinal direction of the winding wires 124a and 124b.

  As shown in FIG. 3A, the net winding mechanism 112a has a winding shaft 114a to which the + Z side ends of the winding wires 124a and 124b are fixed. The winding shaft 114a can be wound around the winding wires 124a and 124b by being rotated by a motor (not shown).

  The net winding mechanism 112b has a winding shaft 114b to which the −Z side ends of the winding wires 124a and 124b are fixed. A force in the direction of rotation in the direction of arrow R shown in FIG. 3B is constantly applied to the winding shaft 114b by a spring (not shown). Thereby, while electric power is not supplied to the motor that rotates the winding shaft 114a, the fall prevention device 110 covers each stage of the storage shelf 12 as shown in FIGS. 3 (a) and 3 (b). This is a state (a state in which the component 14 is prevented from dropping from the storage shelf 12 (first state)). On the other hand, when electric power is supplied to the motor that rotates the winding shaft 114a, the winding shaft 114a is rotated in the direction of the arrow R 'as shown in FIG. 4A, and the fall prevention net 120 is wound. In this case, as shown in FIG. 4B, since the fall prevention net 120 is housed in the net winding mechanism 112a, the fall prevention device 110 is in a state of preventing the component 14 from dropping from the storage shelf 12. The state is released (second state). Note that when the power supply to the motor is stopped, the state returns to the state of FIG.

  In addition, according to the fall prevention device 110 of the present embodiment, even when a plurality of parts 14 are stacked and stored in each stage of the storage shelf 12, the parts stored by stacking due to the action of the fall prevention net 120 are stored. 14 can be prevented from falling.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a control system of the component management system 100. As shown in FIG. 6, the component management system 100 includes an input device 42, a printer 44, and a control device 60 in addition to the devices shown in FIG.

  The input device 42 includes a keyboard, a mouse, a scanner, and the like, and is used by an operator or the like to input a component request as shown in FIG. An operator inputs information indicating that the work has been completed to the control device 60 via the input device 42 when the operation of entering or delivering a part to or from the warehouse is completed. The input device 42 includes a device (network interface) that can acquire a component request as shown in FIG. 8 from an external PC or the like. A person who needs a component makes a component request by appropriately inputting information from the external PC into the double-line frame portion of FIG.

  The printer 44 prints out a delivery instruction slip as shown in FIG. 12 based on an instruction from the control device 60.

  FIG. 7 shows a hardware configuration of the control device 60. As shown in FIG. 7, the control device 60 includes a CPU 90, a ROM 92, a RAM 94, a storage unit (here, HDD (Hard Disk Drive)) 96, a portable storage medium drive 99, and the like. Each component is connected to a bus 98. In the control device 60, the CPU 90 executes the program stored in the ROM 92 or the HDD 96 or the program read from the portable storage medium 91 by the portable storage medium drive 99, thereby realizing the functions of the respective units shown in FIG. Is done.

  Returning to FIG. 6, in the control device 60, the CPU 90 executes the program, whereby the control unit 62, the information receiving unit 64, the position coordinate calculating unit 66 as the calculating unit, the input receiving unit 68, and the selecting unit 70 as the specifying unit. The slip issuing unit 72, the light source control unit 74, and the fall prevention device control unit 130 as an output unit are realized. In FIG. 6, an inventory DB 82, a compatibility table 84, and an incident DB 86 as storage units stored in the HDD 96 and the like are also illustrated.

  The control unit 62 controls the drive device 20, the camera 32, and the tag reader 34, and controls the overall processing of the control device 60. The information receiving unit 64 receives information acquired from the IC tag 18 attached to the component 14 (outer box 19) by the tag reader 34 and stores it in the inventory DB 82. Further, the position coordinate calculation unit 66 acquires the position coordinates of the tag reader 34 when the tag reader 34 acquires information from the position detection device 40 and stores it in the inventory DB 82 in association with the information acquired by the tag reader 34.

  Here, the inventory DB 82 is a database as shown in FIG. The inventory DB 82 has fields of “part specification”, “version number”, “part management number”, “manufacturing date”, and “position information”. Among these, the position coordinate acquired by the position coordinate calculation unit 66 is input to the “position information” field. The information input in the “position information” field in FIG. 9 represents the shelf number, the number of steps, and coordinates. For example, the value “A11-03-0101” represents the X coordinate “1” and the Z coordinate “1” of the number “3” of the shelf number “A11”. On the other hand, information acquired by the information receiving unit 64 is input to the four fields other than “position information” in the inventory DB 82. The information input to these fields is all information stored in the IC tag 18. The “component specification” functions as identification information that identifies the type of component to be managed. Therefore, in the following, the component specification is also referred to as “identification information”.

  The input reception unit 68 receives information input from the input device 42 and transmits the information to the selection unit 70 and the control unit 62.

  The selection unit 70 uses the inventory DB 82, the compatibility table 84, and the incident DB 86 to select a part to be paid out (shipped) from the part request in FIG. And the selection part 70 changes a part request | requirement (FIG. 8) with the selected content (it may not change), and produces | generates the delivery instruction | indication slip shown in FIG. A specific method for selecting a part by the selection unit 70 will be described later.

  Here, the compatibility table 84 is a table that defines the specifications of compatible components (compatible specifications) for a certain “component specification”. The compatibility table 84 in FIG. 10 also stores “version number” and “component management number” of compatible components. As shown in FIG. 11, the incident DB 86 is a database that records whether or not there has been a complaint from a customer for past payout processing (see the “claim” field in FIG. 11).

  The slip issuing unit 72 causes the printer 44 to output (print out) the exit instruction slip (FIG. 12) generated by the selection unit 70. The light source control unit 74 controls the light source 50 and the angle adjustment unit 52 based on the delivery instruction slip (FIG. 12), and irradiates the delivery parts described in the delivery instruction slip. Moreover, the fall prevention apparatus control part 130 makes the fall prevention apparatus 110 of the stage of the storage shelf 12 in which the outgoing parts described in the outgoing instruction slip exist from a 1st state (state which prevents the fall of the components 14). Control to change to the second state (a state in which the fall prevention of the component 14 is released) is performed.

  Next, based on FIGS. 13-15, the process of the control apparatus 60 is demonstrated in detail. FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing the creation process of the inventory DB 82 that is performed after the parts warehousing process is completed, and FIGS. 14 and 15 are flowcharts showing the dispensing process (shipping process) from the warehouse 200.

(Inventory DB 82 creation process)
First, the process of creating the inventory DB 82 by the control device 60 will be described with reference to FIG.

  In the process of FIG. 13, first, in step S <b> 10, the control unit 62 waits until the part warehousing operation is completed. In addition, as a premise, it is assumed that the part dispensing work (shipping work) is not performed while the parts are being loaded into the warehouse. Further, when entering the warehouse, the worker issues an instruction to the control unit 62 via the input device 42 to set all the fall prevention devices 110 to the second state (a state in which the fall prevention is released). In addition, the worker inputs information indicating that the warehousing has been completed from the input device 42 at the stage where the warehousing of the storage shelf unit 10 units or the warehousing into the warehouse is completed. When the control unit 62 receives the information indicating that the warehousing is completed from the input receiving unit 68, the control unit 62 sets all the fall prevention devices 110 to the first state (fall prevention state), and proceeds to step S12.

  If transfering it to step S12, the control part 62 will perform a scanning process (component arrangement information collection). This scanning process is a process executed in the storage shelf unit 10 unit or in all the storage shelf units 10 in the warehouse 200. In the following description, a case where the scanning process is executed in all the storage shelf units 10 in the warehouse 200 will be described.

In step S <b> 12, specifically, the control unit 62 controls the drive device 20 to scan the reading unit 30 (tag reader 34) along the X guide 26 in the X direction. The control unit 62 slightly shifts the X guide 26 in the Z direction along the Z guides 22Z ₁ and 22Z ₂ every time scanning in the X direction is performed once. By repeating such driving, the reading unit 30 is moved in the XZ two-dimensional direction along the front surface of the storage shelf 12. Further, during the movement, the control unit 62 controls the tag reader 34 to read information from the IC tag 18 that the tag reader 34 is closest to. The reading result of the tag reader 34 is transmitted to the information receiving unit 64. The position information of the tag reader 34 is transmitted from the position detection device 40 to the position coordinate calculation unit 66 at the timing when the tag reader 34 reads the information from the IC tag 18. The position coordinate calculation unit 66 calculates position coordinates based on the received position information. Through the above scanning process, it is possible to acquire information on each component 14 stored in the storage shelf 12 and the position coordinates of each component 14. In the scanning process, the fall prevention net 120 is interposed between the tag reader 34 and the IC tag 18. However, as described above, the fall prevention net 120 is made of a material that does not prevent the tag reader 34 from reading information. Since it is manufactured, no particular problem occurs.

  Next, in step S <b> 14, the information reception unit 64 and the position coordinate calculation unit 66 execute a data writing process to the inventory DB 82. Note that step S14 is a process executed when information of one component is acquired in step S12. As a result, information of one component 14 stored in the storage shelf 12 in the warehouse 200 is written in the inventory DB 82 of FIG.

  Next, in step S <b> 16, the control unit 62 determines whether all of the parts stored in all the storage shelves 12 in the warehouse 200 have been written in the inventory DB 82. That is, it is determined whether the scanning process for all the storage shelves 12 has been completed. If the determination is negative, the process returns to step S12, and the processes and determinations of steps S12 to S16 are repeated. On the other hand, if the determination in step S16 is affirmative, all the processes in FIG. 13 (the process for creating the inventory DB 82) are terminated.

  At the stage where all the processes in FIG. 13 are completed, the information of the parts 14 (including the position coordinates) stored in all the storage shelves 12 in the warehouse 200 after the warehousing process is written in the inventory DB 82. Yes.

(Payment processing)
Next, payout processing (shipping processing) by the control device 60 will be described with reference to FIGS.

  14 and 15, first, in step S <b> 20 of FIG. 14, the selection unit 70 waits until the input receiving unit 68 receives an input of a requested part (FIG. 8) (until a payout instruction is issued). It is assumed that the input of required parts is executed from the external PC or the like via the input device 42 as described above.

  When the requested part is input and the process proceeds to step S <b> 22, the selection unit 70 searches the inventory DB 82. Specifically, the selection unit 70 selects one of the specifications required in the component request of FIG. 8 and selects a component (compatible specification) compatible with the specification (required specification) in the compatibility table of FIG. 84. That is, the selection unit 70 extracts parts of the same type or similar to the parts for which a request for delivery has been issued. For example, when the selection unit 70 selects the required specification (CA06444-K013) in the item “2” in FIG. 8, “CA06444-K050 (version C0)” or “CA06444-K013-R” is used as the compatible specification. (Version number AA) "is extracted. Then, the selection unit 70 refers to the inventory DB 82 and determines the priority of dispensing in order from the oldest manufacturing date including the required specifications and compatible specifications. The selection unit 70 executes this process for all required specifications.

  Next, in step S24, the selection unit 70 executes a search process for the incident DB 86. Specifically, the selection unit 70 determines whether or not the name described in the item “user name” of the component request in FIG. 8 is a customer whose complaint is “present” in the incident DB 86 in FIG. 11. Search for.

  Next, in step S26, the selection unit 70 determines whether or not the customer has a complaint. If the determination here is affirmative, that is, if the customer has a complaint “Yes”, the process proceeds to step S28.

  When the process proceeds to step S28, the selection unit 70 extracts parts in descending order of priority determined in step S22 (in order of manufacture date) and acquires image information of the extracted parts. In this case, the selection unit 70 acquires the position of the extracted part from the position information in the inventory DB 82. Further, the selection unit 70 controls the driving of the driving device 20 via the control unit 62 and positions the camera 32 in the vicinity of the extracted component. Then, the selection unit 70 controls the camera 32 via the control unit 62 and acquires (photographs) image information of the extracted outer box of the parts. At the time of shooting, the fall prevention net 120 is interposed between the camera 32 and the component 14. However, as described above, the drop prevention net 120 (net 122) is rough enough not to disturb the shooting. Therefore, no particular problem occurs. Furthermore, the selection unit 70 performs an appearance check based on the acquired image information. In the appearance check, check whether the outer box 19 of the extracted part is damaged or not by comparing the image information with a template image prepared in advance or by detecting the deformation of the edge part of the outer box outer shape. To do.

  Next, in step S30, the selection unit 70 determines whether or not the appearance check result is OK. When judgment here is affirmed, it transfers to step S32. On the other hand, if the determination in step S30 is negative, that is, if the appearance check result is NG, the process returns to step S28. When the process returns to step S28, the selection unit 70 extracts a component having the next highest priority, and executes the processes of steps S28 and S30 for the extracted component.

  When the determination in step S30 is affirmed and the process proceeds to step S32, the selection unit 70 determines whether or not all the parts corresponding to the specifications described in the part request in FIG. If the determination is negative, the process returns to step S28, and the processes of steps S28 and S30 are executed for the next required part. On the other hand, if all required parts are available and the determination in step S32 is affirmative, the process proceeds to step S34. If the customer does not have a complaint “Yes” in step S26, the process proceeds directly to step S34 without performing steps S28 to S32 (that is, omitting the appearance check).

  In step S34, the voucher issuing unit 72 outputs a final vending part voucher (vending instruction voucher in FIG. 12) based on the payout priority order and / or the appearance check result. The delivery instruction slip shown in FIG. 12 is a part request (input) shown in FIG.

  Next, in step S36, the fall prevention device control unit 130 winds up the fall prevention net 120 of the fall prevention device 110 based on the slip contents, so that the fall prevention device 110 is moved from the first state (fall prevention state). Change to the second state (drop prevention release state). More specifically, the fall prevention device control unit 130 extracts the position information of the outgoing parts described in the outgoing instruction slip from the inventory DB, and drops on the shelves corresponding to the extracted positional information. The prevention device 110 is instructed to roll up the fall prevention net 120. In this case, the fall prevention device 110 supplies electric power to the motor to wind up the fall prevention net 120 as shown in FIG. Thereby, the fall prevention net 120 does not get in the way when parts are delivered. In Step S36, light source control part 74 performs irradiation from light source 50 based on the contents of a slip. In this case, since the worker has only to take out the parts irradiated by the light source 50, the payout process can be performed accurately even with little confirmation of the outgoing instruction slip.

  In the configuration of FIG. 5, since two light sources 50 are provided in one storage shelf unit 10, a maximum of two components stored in one storage shelf 12 can be irradiated simultaneously. Note that when the number of components simultaneously stored in one storage shelf 12 is large (assumed), the number of light sources 50 may be increased.

  Next, in step S40 in FIG. 15, the control unit 62 waits until the delivery of all the outgoing parts is completed. In this case, the determination in step S40 is affirmed when information indicating that the payout operation from the worker is completed is input to the input receiving unit 68 via the input device 42.

  Next, in step S42, the control unit 62 scans all the storage shelves 12 in the same manner as in step S12 in FIG. 13, and collects component arrangement information (referred to as scanning data). Next, in step S44, the control unit 62 collates the scanning data collected in step S42 with the slip contents. That is, by the scanning process, the parts that have been removed from the storage shelf 12 are collated with the parts described in the delivery instruction slip.

  Next, in step S46, the control unit 62 determines whether or not an appropriate part has been delivered. If the determination here is negative, in step S48, the control unit 62 notifies the operator of an erroneous shipment by an alarm. In this case, the control unit 62 may output information on erroneous delivery from the printer 44. Alternatively, a speaker and a screen may be provided in the warehouse 200, and these may be used to output information on erroneous delivery. Thereafter, the process returns to step S40. On the other hand, if the determination in step S46 is affirmative, that is, if an appropriate part has been delivered, the process proceeds to step S50, and the control unit 62 winds up in step S36 via the fall prevention device control unit 130. All the fall prevention nets 120 are rolled down (power supply to the motor is stopped), and all the light sources 50 are turned off via the light source control unit 74.

  In step S52, the control unit 62 updates the inventory DB 82 with the scanning data acquired in step S44. The payout process of FIGS. 14 and 15 is completed by the above process.

  As can be seen from the above description, in the present embodiment, the light source control unit 74, the light source 50, and the angle adjustment unit 52 implement a function as a notification unit that notifies the parts to be delivered.

  As described above in detail, according to the component management system 100 of the present embodiment, the tag reader 34 reads identification information (component specifications) for identifying a component from the IC tag 18 attached to each of the plurality of components 14. The inventory DB 82 stores the identification information and the position coordinates where the tag reader 34 reads the identification information in association with each other. In addition, the fall prevention device 110 can prevent the parts 14 from dropping from each stage of the storage shelf 12 and can release the state of preventing the fall. Then, the fall prevention device control unit 130 extracts the position information associated with the identification information of the part to be delivered (selected by the selection unit 70), and the shelf level corresponding to the extracted position information. An instruction to release the fall prevention state of the fall prevention device 110 provided in the is output. Thereby, in this embodiment, while being able to prevent the component 14 falling from the storage shelf 12, even if an operator randomly enters the storage shelf 12, the fall prevention device of the component which leaves Since the fall prevention state of 110 can be automatically released, a decrease in workability due to the provision of the fall prevention device 110 on the storage shelf 12 is suppressed. In addition, since the fall prevention state of the fall prevention device 110 is automatically released, it is possible to easily specify the stage of the storage shelf 12 where the parts to be delivered are present. Moreover, since the fall prevention net 120 of the fall prevention device 110 is provided so as to cover each stage of the storage shelf 12, even when the parts 14 are stored in a state where a plurality of stages are stacked on the storage shelf 12, the parts 14 are stored. Can be effectively prevented from falling off the storage shelf 12.

  In the present embodiment, the IC tag 18 stores date information including the manufacturing date and time of the component 14, the tag reader 34 reads the date information together with the identification information from the IC tag 18, and the inventory DB 82 stores the identification information, date Information and position information are stored in association with each other. Then, when the input receiving unit 68 receives the identification information of the part to be delivered, the selection unit 70 is of the same or similar type as the part to be delivered based on the identification information of the part to be delivered. A part is extracted, and the part with the oldest manufacturing date is selected as a part to be delivered out of the extracted parts. Thereby, in this embodiment, while being able to select a part suitable for delivery (part with the oldest manufacturing date) based on the date information read by the tag reader 34, the operator can select a part to be delivered. It is possible to easily identify and make it easy to take out parts to be delivered. In this case, it is possible to easily specify the parts to be delivered even if the worker randomly enters the storage shelf 12 without specifying the storage positions of a plurality of parts having the same specifications. The work efficiency can be expected and the dead space of the shelf can be reduced, so that efficient storage and management of parts can be achieved. In addition, by taking out old parts, it becomes possible to perform payout processing by accurate first-in / first-out of parts (particularly parts that deteriorate over time).

  In the present embodiment, in the payout process, the selection unit 70 refers to the compatibility table 84 that stores the compatible parts in association with each other, extracts the compatible specification parts, and manufactures the required specification part year. The part to be paid out is selected based on the date and the date of manufacture of the compatible specification part. As a result, it is possible to select an appropriate outgoing part based on the date of manufacture, including compatible parts.

  In the present embodiment, the winding shaft 114b is constantly applied with a force in the direction of rotation in the direction of arrow R shown in FIG. As a result, when the fall prevention device 110 is in the second state (fall prevention release state) (see FIGS. 4A and 4B), even if a power failure occurs due to an earthquake or the like (power supply to the motor) 3) automatically returns to the first state shown in FIG. 3 (a) and FIG. 3 (b). Thereby, the fall of the components from the shelf by an earthquake can be prevented effectively.

  In the present embodiment, the plurality of components 14 are arranged along the two-dimensional direction (XZ direction) on the storage shelf 12, and the driving device 20 moves the tag reader 34 along the two-dimensional direction (XZ direction). Drive. The position detection device 40 detects the position where the tag reader 34 reads information from the IC tag 18. Thereby, it becomes possible to associate the information and position of the components arranged along the two-dimensional direction on the storage shelf 12.

  Further, in the present embodiment, in the case of delivery (payout) to a customer who has made a complaint in the past, an appearance check is performed based on a captured image of the camera 32, and a part for which the appearance check is OK is delivered. It is said. As a result, it is possible to issue an appropriate part according to the customer.

  In the above embodiment, the case where the fall prevention device 110 includes the fall prevention net 120 has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the fall prevention device 110 may include a door (lid) that can be automatically opened and closed. Further, the fall prevention device 110 may be an electric shutter device that can be wound up or stored in the storage space of the storage shelf 14.

  In the above embodiment, the component 14 stored in the storage shelf 12 is illuminated using the light source 50, but the present invention is not limited to this. That is, since the approximate position of the part 14 to be delivered can be specified only by releasing the fall prevention state of the fall prevention device 110, the notification of the part to be delivered using the light source 50 is not performed. Also good. Further, a notification method other than the notification method using the light source 50 (for example, a notification method using a display or the like) may be employed.

  In the above embodiment, a case where a part having the oldest manufacturing date out of parts of the same type or similar to the part to be delivered is delivered (a payout process by first-in / first-out) is described. However, it is not limited to this. Of the parts of the same type as the parts to be delivered, the parts with the oldest manufacturing date may be delivered, or the first-out / first-out payout process may not be performed.

  In the embodiment described above, the case where the appearance check of the component 14 is performed (step S28 in FIG. 14) has been described.

  In the above embodiment, the case where the IC tag 18 is used as a tag has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this. It is sufficient that it can hold at least part information, and for example, a bar code, a two-dimensional code, a three-dimensional code, or other tags may be used. However, in this case, it is preferable to adopt the configuration, material, and the like of the fall prevention device 110 so that a bar code or the like can be read.

  In the above embodiment, the case where the article management system of the present invention is adopted for managing parts in the warehouse 200 has been described. However, the invention is not limited to this, and the article management system is adopted in various situations such as in an office. It is possible.

  The above-described embodiment is an example of a preferred embodiment of the present invention. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

In addition, the following additional notes are disclosed regarding the above description.
(Supplementary Note 1) A first state that is provided for each shelf in which a management target article can be received, and that prevents the management target article from falling from the shelf, and a second state in which the state that prevents the fall is released, A fall prevention unit that can be switched,
A tag reader that reads identification information for identifying a management target article stored in the tag from tags provided for each of the plurality of management target articles stored in the shelf;
A calculation unit that calculates position information of the article to be managed based on a position at which the tag reader reads the identification information;
A storage unit that stores the identification information and the position information in association with each other;
A specifying unit for specifying a management target article to be issued from among the plurality of management target articles;
In the storage unit, the position information associated with the identification information of the management target article specified by the specifying unit is extracted, and the fall prevention unit provided on the shelf corresponding to the extracted position information is An article management system comprising: an output unit that outputs a change instruction from the first state to the second state.
(Supplementary Note 2) Date information including the date and time of manufacture of the managed article is stored in the tag, and the tag reader reads the date information together with the identification information from the tag,
The storage unit stores the identification information, the date information, and the position information in association with each other,
The identifying unit extracts an article of the same type or similar to the article for which the exit instruction has been issued, and based on date information stored in the storage unit corresponding to the identification information of the extracted article. The article management system according to appendix 1, wherein an article having the oldest manufacturing date and time among the extracted articles is specified as a management target article to be delivered.
(Additional remark 3) It is further provided with the compatibility table which links | relates and memorize | stores compatible management object articles among said several management object articles,
The specific part is:
When receiving the identification information of the article for which the exit instruction has been issued, refer to the compatibility table to obtain the identification information of the article that is compatible with the article for which the exit instruction has been issued,
3. The article of the same type or similar to the article for which the exit instruction has been issued is extracted based on the identification information of the article for which the exit instruction has been issued and the compatible article. The article management system described.
(Additional remark 4) The article management system in any one of additional remarks 1-3 further provided with the notification part which notifies the management object goods which the said specific part specified based on the said positional information memorize | stored in the said memory | storage part.

14 Parts (managed items)
18 IC tag (tag)
34 tag reader 66 position coordinate calculation unit (calculation unit)
82 Inventory DB (storage unit)
84 Compatible table 70 Selection part (specific part)
74 Light source control unit (part of the notification unit)
50 Light source (part of the notification unit)
52 Angle adjustment unit (part of the notification unit)
100 Parts management system (article management system)
110 Fall prevention device (fall prevention unit)
130 Fall prevention device controller (output unit)

Claims (6)

A first state that is provided for each shelf in which the managed object can be stored, and that covers the shelf to prevent the managed object from falling from the shelf; and a second state in which the first state is released; A fall prevention unit that can be switched,
When moving along the front surface of the shelf, and when the fall prevention unit is in the first state, over the fall prevention unit, from the tags attached to each of the plurality of management target articles stored in the shelf, A tag reader capable of reading identification information for identifying the management target article stored in the tag;
A storage unit that stores the identification information in association with the position information of the article to be managed calculated based on the position at which the tag reader reads the identification information;
The fall prevention unit corresponding to the position information stored in the storage unit in association with the identification information of the management target article identified as a delivery target among the plurality of management target articles from the first state to the second state An article management system comprising: Date information including the date and time of manufacture of the management target article is stored in the tag, the tag reader reads the date information together with the identification information from the tag,
The storage unit stores the identification information, the date information, and the position information in association with each other,
The control unit extracts an article of the same type or similar to the article for which a delivery instruction has been issued, and based on date information stored in the storage unit corresponding to the identification information of the extracted article. 2. The article management system according to claim 1, wherein among the extracted articles, an article having the oldest manufacturing date and time is specified as a management target article to be delivered. A first state that is provided for each shelf in which the managed object can be stored, and that covers the shelf to prevent the managed object from falling from the shelf; and a second state in which the first state is released; A fall prevention unit that can be switched,
When the fall prevention unit is in the first state, reading identification information for identifying the management target article stored in the tag from each tag assigned to each of the plurality of management target articles stored in the shelf A tag reader capable of
A storage unit that stores the identification information in association with the position information of the article to be managed calculated based on the position at which the tag reader reads the identification information;
When the user requesting the managed object is a customer who has made a complaint in the past, it is possible to check the appearance of the managed object when the fall prevention unit is in the first state. A check section ;
Based on the check result of the appearance, to identify the managed article to be issuing from the plurality of article to be managed, the identification of the managed article identified as unloading from among the plurality of article to be managed An article management system comprising: a control unit configured to change the fall prevention unit corresponding to the positional information stored in the storage unit in association with information from the first state to the second state .   The said fall prevention unit is a net | network which prevents the fall of the said management target article from the said shelf by covering the said shelf in the said 1st state, It is any one of Claim 1 to 3 characterized by the above-mentioned. Goods management system. When the fall prevention unit provided for each shelf that can receive the management target article is in the first state in which the fall of the management target article from the shelf is prevented by covering the shelf, From the tag attached to each of the plurality of management target articles, identification information for identifying the management target article stored in the tag is acquired through the fall prevention unit using a reading unit that moves along the front surface of the shelf. And
Storing the identification information in association with the position information of the article to be managed calculated based on the position at which the reading unit reads the identification information in a storage unit;
The first state is canceled for the fall prevention unit corresponding to the position information stored in the storage unit in association with the identification information of the management target article identified as a delivery target among the plurality of management target articles. Do control,
An article management method, wherein a computer executes processing.   When the fall prevention unit provided for each shelf that can receive the management target article is in the first state in which the fall of the management target article from the shelf is prevented by covering the shelf, From the tag attached to each of the plurality of managed articles, identification information for identifying the managed article stored in the tag is acquired using a reading unit,
  Storing the identification information in association with the position information of the article to be managed calculated based on the position at which the reading unit reads the identification information in a storage unit;
  If the user requesting the managed article is a customer who has made a complaint in the past, when the fall prevention unit is in the first state, check the appearance of the managed article,
  Based on the result of the appearance check, the management target article to be issued is identified from among the plurality of management target articles,
  The first state is canceled for the fall prevention unit corresponding to the position information stored in the storage unit in association with the identification information of the management target article identified as a delivery target among the plurality of management target articles. Do control,
An article management method, wherein a computer executes processing.

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