JP6351500B2 - Assortment device using projector - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an assortment system for loading articles (commodities) in a merchandise distribution storage warehouse into sorting and shipping containers according to shipping destinations, and more particularly to assorting work assistance using projector projection images.

  In general, in a product storage warehouse, when a product is shipped, a large amount of products are efficiently received or stored, and then the products are sorted and sorted by cart destination or rack according to the shipping destination. This sorting method is the same as the picking method, in which the operator selects the products to be shipped from the product shelves where the products are received and stored in advance, puts them into the shipping rack, and flows them to the conveyor line. There is an assortment (seeding) method in which a load is placed on a movable carriage such as a carriage, and an operator moves in an assortment floor and puts it into a shipping container for each shipping destination. In other words, assorting means collecting articles (commodities) according to shipping destinations. In particular, various methods have been developed for a system that efficiently sorts a large number of products with various types and types according to shipping destinations.

  The assorting operation is an operation of reading an identification display such as a barcode attached to a product using a device such as a barcode reader and putting the product into its shipping container or case according to the displayed shipping destination information. The operation of assorting a wide variety of products by destination is often performed manually by an operator, and is a simple operation but a simple continuation operation. ) Is also likely to occur. In recent years, various technical developments for preventing assortment mistakes have been made, and various technical ideas have been proposed by the following references.

  For example, in Patent Document 1, a fluorescent tube is installed and lit so as to surround a shelf opening with a product input container, so that an operator can input a shelf for each product shipping destination without making a mistake. The technical idea is disclosed. All of the above products have their shipping destinations set by barcodes, etc., and are managed by the information management device. Therefore, only the fluorescent tube at the container opening of the shipping destination of the products can be turned on, and the operator can According to the above. Further, since the quantity display etc. is also lit on the front face of the opening, the number of products to be introduced may be in accordance with the quantity display.

  However, in the case of such a system, it is necessary to install facilities such as lights that turn on all the input containers and a number of indicators, and all of these facilities must be linked with the storage management system. It goes without saying that introducing such a system involves enormous capital investment in a merchandise shipping and distribution center that is required to accurately select a large number of types of merchandise and accurately put them into customer-specific delivery containers.

  For example, in Patent Document 2, as a method of assisting device assembly work, a work support device that indicates the position of a component that an operator should take out from a work component storage box in accordance with the work order via an image projected from a projector. The technical idea is disclosed. A work support method for designating parts by video and instructing work via video is effective for avoiding a simple mistake of an operator.

However, in Patent Document 2, the determination as to whether or not the work has been performed accurately is based on a mechanism in which only the light shielding caused by the movement of the operator's hand during component removal is detected by the sensor. There is no mention of its accuracy . In other words, the problem is limited to accurately taking out limited parts in the manufacturing process for assembling the apparatus, and does not support or pursue the accuracy of the assembly operation itself.

As described above, it can be said that differing in scope from the object of the present invention that support the adequacy of the choice of numerous types of articles in the product distribution centers and introduction into their distribution feed container (Assorted work).

As described above, in the assortment work at the distribution base for delivering a wide variety of products to the destination, which is a customer, select the required number of products accurately and use them as delivery containers in the assortment area. There is a demand for an assistive technology that allows an operator to work quickly and continuously without causing an assortment error, which is a simple mistake, for all work activities that are accurately input.

JP 2012-240765 A JP 2008-222386 A

  As described above, according to the conventional system or technical idea, the number of workers who can perform assorting work in a certain assortment area and the number of product types are limited, and at the same time, multi-product products can be sorted in the same area. could not. An assortment area where assortment shelves or assortment container racks provided for a large number of shipping destinations are arranged requires a very large space. Limiting the number of workers and the number of product types that can be sorted in a certain area of the space is not preferable from the viewpoint of effective use of warehouse space.

  Furthermore, the same inconvenience arises from the viewpoint of eliminating the operator's assortment error. That is, in order to eliminate assortment mistakes and perform simple guidance to an operator by lighting a lamp or the like, it is necessary to turn on a large number of lamps at the same time. However, the specifications of lamps and the types of lamp colors are limited. The approximate lamp color is misleading by the operator. For this reason, it is not effective from the viewpoint of work efficiency that the worker cannot simultaneously sort the various products.

There is a need for an accurate support system that makes it easy for beginners to simply and continuously perform the assortment task of selecting the necessary products without mistakes and reliably putting them into the specified shipping container for each customer. . In addition, the work instruction must be part of a delivery management system for each customer based on the order shipment information in conjunction with the storage management system and warehouse storage management system in the commodity distribution center.

  In this way, in the assortment work by shipment destination when goods (goods) are shipped at the merchandise distribution storage warehouse, the assortment floor is effectively utilized to speed up the assortment work and minimize the operator's assortment mistakes. Development of an assortment system and an apparatus therefor has been desired. The present invention is intended to solve such a conventional technical problem, and it is possible to improve the work efficiency of assorting work and to improve the economic efficiency of floor utilization. The problem is to provide an assortment system.

In order to solve such problems, a projector-based assortment apparatus according to the present invention includes a projection device (projector) that projects an image on a shipping container into which an assortment object is placed, a moving unit that posts the assortment object, and the assortment A shipping container into which an object is placed, a shipping information processing apparatus for the assorted object, and a control device for the projection apparatus linked to the assorted object shipping information processing apparatus.

  The video of the projector-based assorting device of the present invention is transmitted from the shipping information processing device with the shipment of the assorted object, and is associated with the assorting object specified by the control device of the projection device. The projected image is projected onto a shipping container into which the assorted objects are placed and / or projected onto a rack shelf near the shipping container and / or near an assort floor entrance. .

  The video of the projector-based assorting device of the present invention is an image of the assorted object and / or an information video (identification mark, character, figure, symbol, color, photograph) for specifying the assorted object, and the quantity, The size, color, shading, and blinking are selected, and a plurality of the assorted objects are simultaneously projected onto the shipping container to be sorted and / or the vicinity thereof.

  In other words, according to the projector assorting apparatus of the present invention, in accordance with the shipping instruction for the specific product issued from the shipping information processing apparatus, the control device of the projection device selects the video of the specific product and the shipping container and rack of the specific product The image is transmitted to the projection device together with the shelf position information, and the image is projected onto the shipping container of the specific product on the rack shelf. Similarly, an image of the specific product is also projected near the entrance of the assort floor where the rack shelf on which the shipping container for the specific product is arranged. You may project in the vicinity of the upper part of a rack shelf for the induction | guidance | derivation to the rack shelf with a shipping container.

  Conventionally, lighting lamps or indications for an operator to search for shipping containers for assorting products must be installed on the assortment floor, rack shelf, and shipping containers, all of which are electrically connected to shipping management information. Therefore, it was necessary to make a huge capital investment. However, in the projector assortment apparatus according to the present invention, the entire equipment can be supported as long as the image can be projected by the projector apparatus, so that the capital investment can be greatly reduced. The number of projector devices may be increased as necessary and provided.

  According to the present invention, an assorter selects an assortment floor on which an image for specifying his / her assorted product is projected at the entrance, and similarly, the image is projected toward the rack shelf on which the image is projected near the upper portion. The assortment work is completed simply by putting in as many products as the video indicates in the shipping container. The video can set the shortest distance and time for the operator to move by sequentially showing the shipping containers to be loaded. The instruction by the image is very simple and easy to understand for the worker and is strongly impressed through the visual sense. Therefore, mistakes are drastically reduced, and continuous work for a long time becomes easy.

  The video of the product is video information created in advance for each product, and there is no limitation on the content of the video including the identification mark, characters, figures, photos, and the like. You can also specify the number of products to be sorted. In addition, since the accompanying information of the specific product to be transmitted to the worker can be included in the video, any information that can be visually recognized can be transmitted and instructed to the worker.

  The video of the projector-based assorting device according to the present invention includes video information and / or individual product information for prompting an action to end the assembling target into the container.

  The video of the projector-based assortment device of the present invention is connected to the control device of the projection device and / or the control device of the projection device, with regard to information on the completion of the operation of putting the specific assortment object into the shipping container. After the image recognition device and / or the voice recognition device recognize, the projection of the specific video is terminated.

  In other words, the image of the product of the projector according to the present invention can include information on a method for the operator to take action when the work is finished. Through the projected image, the selection work of the product to be put into the shipping container, the number to be put in, the accompanying work on the specific product, the shipping container replacement work, etc., and the action that the worker should send back at the end of the work Workers can recognize. And an operator should just perform the action after completion | finish of work.

  Of course, the action method may be an electric switch operation, voice transmission via a sound collecting microphone, wireless transmission means, or body action. These actions only need to be recognized by the projector-based assortment device of the present invention and the end of the work can be recognized. A body action or the like can be machine-recognized by a well-known technique if the projector has an image recognition device (image capturing and recognition device).

  In addition, the projector-based assorting apparatus of the present invention can be applied to various assortment work sites that are restricted by the size of products to be handled, the number of assortment floors, the size of the shipping / delivery center, and the like. For example, if an assorter moves on a very long assortment floor, the number of projectors corresponding to the assortment worker may be added. Needless to say, all the instruction information of the present system is based on the connected shipping information processing apparatus, and the projector control apparatus may project the necessary image by the projector installed at the necessary position within the necessary range.

  In other words, according to the projector assorting apparatus of the present invention, the control device of the projection device selects the image of the specific product and the position of the shipping container of the specific product according to the shipping instruction of the specific product issued from the shipping information processing apparatus. This is an assortment work support system that transmits information to a projection device together with information and projects the image on the vicinity of the entrance of an assortment floor, a rack shelf, a product shipping container, or the like.

According to the present invention, in a peer sorting operation at a distribution base for delivering a variety of products and a variety of products to a customer's destination, an operator selects exactly the required number of designated products, It is possible to continue working quickly and continuously without causing a simple assortment error for all work actions to accurately put into the shipping containers set in the rack shelves.

  In addition, there is no need for capital investment such as installing individual lamp lighting equipment linked to the shipping management system at the shipping container, rack shelf, assort floor entrance, etc., while significantly improving safety and workability, A product shipping system capable of significantly improving the efficiency is realized.

It is the perspective conceptual diagram which showed the whole image of the projector utilization assortment apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is the conceptual diagram which showed the rack shelf part of the projector assortment apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is the conceptual diagram which showed the rack shelf part of the projector assortment apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is the conceptual diagram which showed the whole assortment floor of the projector utilization assortment apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a functional block diagram which comprises the projector utilization assortment apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention.

  Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following, the range necessary for the description for achieving the object of the present invention is schematically shown, and the range necessary for the description of the relevant part of the present invention will be mainly described. According to a known technique.

  FIG. 1 is a perspective conceptual view showing an overall image of a projector assortment apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, one assortment floor generally takes a one-way U-shape so as to reach the exit after the worker 15 enters and completes the assortment work. FIG. 1 shows a single floor of an assortment floor. Normally, a plurality of single assortment floors are arranged in parallel to constitute the entire assortment floor.

  In the assort floor 2, a rack shelf 16 in which a large number of shipping containers are arranged is installed in a U-shape, and a shipping conveyor 13 is provided behind the rack shelf 16. The shipping container in which all the products are charged is shipped from the truck yard via the shipping conveyor 13. The worker 15 performs assorting work while moving with the cart cart 18 on which the products 17 to be sorted are posted.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the projector control device 12 is installed at an arbitrary position on the assort floor 2, and the projector 11 is arranged on the upper portion of the assort floor via a support column 20. From the projector 11, a projection image 19 that can recognize the products to be sorted is projected onto the rack shelf 16 and / or the shipping container. In the vicinity of the entrance of the assort floor 2, a terminal device 21 of the projector assort system linked with the merchandise distribution center management system is installed together with the input device 22. Of course, the projector control device 12 and the terminal device 21 of the projector assortment device are connected. The projector 11 is controlled by the projector control device 12.

  The projector assortment apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes the terminal device 21, the projector control device 12, the projector 11, and the assortment use devices for the entire assortment floor.

  The worker 15 goes to the terminal device 21 of the projector assorting apparatus together with the cart carriage 18 on which the merchandise 17 is posted, and inputs the identification ID of the merchandise 17 and the cart carriage by the input device 22. Thereby, the projector assortment apparatus 1 links the shipping destination, the shipping container and its position, the shipping time, the number of shipments, and other accompanying information about the products to be sorted, and starts the assorting work support.

  The identification ID of the merchandise 17 and cart cart may be an identification ID reading method such as a barcode. The identification ID of the product 17 is collated with the shipping product ID information and the shipping container ID information, and the projection image 19 is projected by the projector 11 in the vicinity of the entrance of the assorted floor 2. The floor can be recognized immediately.

  Next, the projector 11 sequentially irradiates the rack shelf 16 and the shipping container 14 on which the products are to be sorted with the projected images. The worker 15 can find the rack shelf according to the video content and execute the assortment work.

FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram showing a rack shelf portion of the projector assortment apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, the rack shelf 16 has a shipping container 14 with a shipping destination determined and associated with a shipping product. Although the projector 11 is set near the upper part of the rack shelf 16, the present invention does not limit the position thereof. A plurality of projectors 11 may be operated in parallel specifications. These can be dealt with by conventional techniques. From the projector 11 linked to the shipment information, a projection image 19 specific to the product is irradiated sequentially or simultaneously toward the shipping container 14 to which the product is to be sorted, and the details of the assortment work of the worker 15 are indicated by the video.

  The shipping container 14 of the rack shelf 16 is determined according to its identification ID (for example, identifier information such as a bar code), and all of the front doors and layout positions (storage addresses) of the rack shelf 16 are determined. In addition, for the shipping merchandise 17, all the shipping destinations and shipping containers 14 to be assorted are determined in advance according to the identification ID (for example, identifier information such as a barcode).

  FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram showing a rack shelf portion of the projector assortment apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. The rack shelf 16 in FIG. 3 shows the positions where the shipping containers 14 are arranged by frontage. As shown in the figure, the projected image on the shipping container 14 may be a direct projection onto the shipping container 14 or a rack shelf opening 23 in the vicinity of the container. The projected image 19 projected on the shipping container 14 moves so as to track the next shipping container 14 as the worker 15 moves after the completion of one assorting operation. Each projected image is a different individual image (may be the same depending on conditions) for each individual work, and the operator does not mistake the work. Of course, the priority of work is also included in the video information. The priority is set in consideration of the end of the worker's earliest work.

  As will be described in detail later, the projector control device linked to the merchandise receipt / shipment management information system of the merchandise distribution center projects individual images onto the shipping container 14 of the rack rack 16 of the merchandise to be sorted by the worker 15. Sorts the items. The operator may put the product into the shipping container in accordance with the instruction shown in the projected video image. Since the video information is easy for the operator to visually recognize, easy to understand, and impressive and remains in consciousness, the work is very simple and easy to understand. The occurrence of assorted mistakes can be drastically reduced.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the projected image projected from the projector is drawn in the figure so that the image is projected only on the individual container. Projecting as a screen, only individual product parts are necessary images, and the other parts may be projections without images such as white, colorless, and black. These are problems in the selection of the prior art of the projector projection method, which are all included in the technical idea of the present application. In addition, a feature of the present application is that information video for transmitting product-specific information and other accompanying work instructions to the worker together with information necessary to clearly show the worker a video for instructing the position of the individual shipping container To project as.

  FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram illustrating the entire assortment floor of the projector assortment apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, the assorted floor 2 is formed by arranging a plurality of floors in parallel. The projector 11 of the projector assortment apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention can project the shipping containers 14 of the plurality of assortment floors 2 in parallel depending on the installation position and height. These may be set in consideration of the video reach distance of the projector 11.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the image projected from the projector 11 is in accordance with the identification ID of the individual product and the identification ID of the shipping container, the shipping container position and time of the product to be sorted, the projection image and work of the individual product to be projected. Since the operator 15 to be determined is determined, the projector control device 12 and the projector 11 project an image according to the instruction information. A plurality of projected images of a plurality of individual commodities can be projected onto a plurality of shipping containers in parallel to a plurality of workers.

  Moreover, it is also possible to project individual projection images of a plurality of individual products onto a plurality of shipping containers for the same worker. For the plurality of projection images, for example, the work order can be instructed to the operator by the color, shading, number display, etc. of the projection image. It is also possible to put a plurality of products into the same shipping container by using the number display on the projected image.

  As described above, according to the projector-based assorting apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention, not only the products to be sorted and the number of products to be sorted by the projected image, but also instructions for special work such as catalog placement, shipping container replacement, shipping label sticking, etc. Can be easily communicated to a person. Details of these instructions can be incorporated in the projected image. That is, various information and instructions can be transmitted to the operator by using the difference in characters, figures, symbols, image shapes, patterns, colors, shades, and the like of the projected video.

  The operator can perform the assortment work logically earliest by executing the simple work in accordance with the projection image instructions and the order of instructions so as not to make a mistake. That is, all work orders and work combinations can be logically set in advance so that the work loss time of the worker is minimized. Of course, since the work distribution among the workers can be set in advance according to the skills of the workers, the shortest work can be set logically in the same manner.

  FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram of the projector using assortment apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, the present system is linked to a merchandise delivery center management system 101 that comprehensively manages entry / exit management of merchandise delivery centers. The product shipping management information system 110 includes shipping product ID information 111, shipping container ID information 112, and rack shelf information 113. The shipping container ID information 112 is connected to the shipping container position information 150. In addition, it is also linked to systems such as the individual product projection video information 120, the assortment work program 160, the special work program 130, and the end information recognition system 140.

  In the projector assortment apparatus 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention, based on the product shipping information of the product shipping management information system 110, the specific shipping product ID in the shipping product ID information 111 and the shipping container ID information 112 The specific shipping container ID and the rack shelf information 113 (specific product position information) are linked. A specific product projection image is selected from the individual product projection video information 120 based on the specific shipment product ID. By the assortment work program 160 and the special work program 130, video information projected on the assortment work site is transmitted to the projector control device 12, and the projector 11 projects the instructed projection video.

  The end information recognition system 140 obtains end information of each work action of the assortment work, instructs the projector control device 12 to end the projection of the projection video related to each work, and ends the projection of the projection video. In the assortment work of commodities by the worker and the special work such as container replacement and labeling, when the work is finished, the worker transmits the work completion information to the projector assortment device.

  The method for transmitting the end information may be, for example, voice information input using a microphone worn by an operator, or switch input of a portable communication device similarly worn. Alternatively, it may be a button switch or a foot switch near the rack shelf. Alternatively, a method may be used in which a specific work action is recognized by an image recognition device provided in the projector 11.

  Obtaining such end information, a projection image for the next work instruction is projected from this system. Further, the merchandise distribution center management system 101 recognizes that the specific merchandise as instructed has been put into the specific shipping container, and the delivery procedure proceeds to shipment of the merchandise. All of these series of operations can be managed by the commodity distribution center management system 101.

  The image of the product of the projector according to the present invention can include information on a method for the operator to take action when the work is finished. The operator can recognize the action to be transmitted by the worker at the end of the work through the projected image. And an operator should just perform the action after completion | finish of work.

  The method for transmitting the end information may be, for example, voice information input using a microphone worn by an operator, or switch input of a portable communication device similarly worn. Alternatively, it may be a button switch or a foot switch near the rack shelf or the shipping container. Alternatively, a method may be used in which a specific work action is recognized by an image recognition device provided in the projector 11.

  Obtaining such end information, a projection image for the next work instruction is projected from this system. Further, the merchandise distribution center management system 101 recognizes that the specific merchandise as instructed has been put into the specific shipping container, and the delivery procedure proceeds to shipment of the merchandise. All of these series of operations can be managed by the commodity distribution center management system 101.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be implemented with various modifications within the scope not departing from the gist of the present invention, and within the scope equivalent to the scope of claims. All changes are intended to be included. For example, when storing the received goods in the warehouse, the work such as storing the specific goods at a specific position in the warehouse is the same as the assorting work in the present invention, and all of them can be handled by this system. . All of these are part of this technical idea.

  Further, in the above description, the method of using a container for inputting a product has been described as an example. However, in this case, for example, a method of directly inputting to a shelf without using a container (including a method of positioning and inputting at a specific place on the shelf) It may be a method.

  Furthermore, it is considered that the assortment device using this projector belongs to the category of the same technical idea even if it is used not only for the assortment work but also for the picking system for picking up the goods placed on the rack shelves and putting them into the cart cart. Can do.

  As described above, according to the invention relating to the projector assortment apparatus, the worker's product assortment work at the product distribution center as an intermediate distribution base is remarkably quick and work mistakes are drastically reduced, so that the economic efficiency is remarkably improved. It is possible to make it.

  In addition, the present invention is not limited to the assortment work of commodities, and can be used / applied for assortment work or allotment work use of any article. Therefore, the present application brings great benefits to various industries such as the manufacturing industry and the service industry in addition to the commodity logistics industry, and the applicability of the industry is very large.

1 Assortment device using projector 2 Assortment floor 11 Projector (projection device)
12 projector control device 13 shipping conveyor 14 shipping container 15 worker 16 rack shelf (shipping container shelf)
17 Products 18 Cart cart
19 projection image 20 support 21 terminal device of projector assortment device 22 input device 23 rack shelf frontage

Claims (4)

An ID input unit for inputting an ID related to the article;
A control unit that acquires assortment information related to an article linked to the input ID, the assortment information including information relating to the assortment work instruction information of the article and a projection location where the assortment work instruction information is to be projected; ,
A projection unit that projects information related to assortment instructed by the control unit to at least one of a shipping container into which the article is to be placed , a rack shelf in the vicinity of the shipping container, and an entrance to the assort floor where the rack shelf is present. When,
An assortment work end signal receiving unit for receiving a signal indicating that the assortment work has been completed;
An assortment device using a projector, comprising:
The controller is
The first assortment information relating to the first article to be sorted and linked to the ID information input by the ID input device is acquired, and the first projection location is obtained with respect to the projection unit. Control to project 1 assortment work instruction information,
When the assortment work end information related to the first article is acquired from the assortment work end signal receiving unit, the second article associated with the ID information and the next assortment target of the first article Second assortment information is acquired, and the second assortment work instruction information is projected to the second projection location by tracking the projection from the projection onto the first projection location. If the second assortment information is not available, the series of assortment operations is terminated.
Assortment device using a projector characterized by the above . The video, the assorted object images and / or identification marks for identifying the assorted objects, characters, figures, symbols, colors, by at least one information image of the photograph, the quantity of the assorted objects, size The projector-based assorting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the assorting apparatus represents at least one of a color, a color, and a shading. The video projector available assorted apparatus of the present invention, a characterized in that it comprises video information and / or product-specific information for prompting the action end of the input operations to the shipping container material products is the assorted target The projector assortment apparatus according to claim 1 or 2 . The video projector available assorted apparatus of the present invention, the end of the information of the input operations to the shipment container particular the assorted any Thing article, the image recognition unit and continuously connected to the control unit and / or the control unit / or after the speech recognition unit has recognized, the projector use assorted apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3 projection of the specific of the image is characterized in that it is terminated.

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