JP6606588B2 - Sorting equipment and sorting method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a sorting equipment and a sorting method for sorting articles.

  Conventionally, products to be packaged are placed on a mount, the products and the mount are collectively covered with a heat-shrinkable vinyl film, and the vinyl film is heat-shrinked to fix the product to the mount. A packaging means is known (Patent Document 1 below).

  Since the product packaged by this packaging means is fixed on the mount, it is possible to prevent damage to the product without moving the product during transportation. For example, in the recent mail order business, A method is often used in which a shrink-wrapped product with a mount on which an ordered product is shrink-wrapped is stored and fixed in a storage container such as a cardboard box and shipped to a customer.

  There are various sizes of the mount used for the shrink package with the mount, and the height of the shrink package with the mount varies depending on the height of the product. Therefore, it is necessary to select a transport container (corrugated cardboard box) having an appropriate capacity.

  This is because if the cardboard box is smaller than the shrink packaged product with the mount, it becomes impossible to pack, and the cost of the cardboard box and the transportation cost can be reduced as the cardboard box is smaller. On the other hand, if the cardboard box is too large, unnecessary costs are generated.

  On the other hand, conventionally, there is known a sorting facility including a transport unit that transports an article and a sorting unit that receives the article from the transport unit and sorts the received article while transporting the received article (Patent Document 2 below). .

JP 7-251859 A JP-A-1-267212

  And from the above, there is a need for a sorting facility and a sorting method that can appropriately sort shrink-wrapped products with mounts in accordance with their sizes.

  This invention is made | formed in view of such a point, and it aims at providing the sorting equipment and the sorting method which can sort goods appropriately.

  The sorting facility according to claim 1 is a sorting facility that sorts an article composed of a mount and a commodity packaged and fixed on the mount, and accepts the article from the transporting means for transporting the article, Sorting means for sorting the received articles while conveying them, and a plurality of sorting destinations provided to receive the articles sorted by the sorting means and set with the mount size and height of the acceptable articles, Based on height information acquisition means for acquiring height information of the article, information acquisition means for acquiring information related to the mount size of the article, and at least the acquired height information and information of the mount size, And control means for controlling the sorting means so that the articles are sorted into the corresponding sorting destination.

  The sorting facility according to claim 2 is the sorting facility according to claim 1, wherein the sorting facility is provided separately from the height information acquisition unit, and the height measurement acquires more detailed article height information than the height information acquisition unit. Means are provided.

  The sorting equipment according to claim 3 is the sorting equipment according to claim 2, wherein the height information acquisition means is disposed at each position corresponding to the upper limit and the lower limit of the height of the article set for each destination. The height measuring means has a plurality of photoelectric sensors, and measures the height of the article within a predetermined height range including at least one of the photoelectric sensors located at the upper limit.

  The sorting facility according to claim 4 is the sorting facility according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the article is a shrink-wrapped product with a mount in which a product is fixed to the mount by shrink-wrapping.

  6. The sorting method according to claim 5, wherein an article composed of a mount and a product packaged and fixed on the mount is conveyed by a sorting means, and the mount size and height of the mount of the article that can be accepted for each sort are set. A method of sorting the articles with respect to each other, the step of acquiring the height information and the mount size of the articles, the step of supplying the articles acquired the height information and the mount size to the sorting means, and the sorting And controlling the means to sort the article into the sorting destination corresponding to the acquired height information and mount size of the article.

  The sorting method according to claim 6, wherein an article composed of a mount and a product packaged and fixed on the mount is conveyed by a sorting means, and the mount size and height of the article mountable for each supplier are set. Or a sorting method for sorting articles to a sorting destination that is set to accept articles that do not conform to any mount size or height, the step of obtaining the height information and the mount size of the articles, A step of supplying an article having acquired height information and mount size to the sorting means; and controlling the sorting means to sort the article to the sorting destination corresponding to the acquired height information and mount size. A process.

  The sorting method according to claim 7 is the sorting method according to claim 5 or 6, wherein, in the step of sorting the articles, if the sorting destination cannot accept the articles, the height of the article and the mount size can be accepted. It sorts by transferring to the other suppliers.

  The sorting method according to claim 8 is the sorting method according to any one of claims 5 to 7, wherein the article is a shrink-wrapped product with a mount in which the commodity is fixed to the mount by shrink-wrapping.

  The sorting method according to claim 9, wherein the article is a shrink-wrapped product with a mount, which is fixed to the mount by shrink wrapping, is conveyed by the sorting means, and the mount size and height of the article that can be received for each destination. Is a sorting method for sorting articles to a supplier set to accept a shrinkage-defective article or a shrinkage-defective article, the process for obtaining the height information and mount size of the article, and a shrinkage failure Detecting the height information, the step of supplying the article having acquired the height information and the mount size to the sorting means, and controlling the sorting means to correspond to the acquired height information and the mount size of the article Sorting the article to a supplier, and sorting the article in which a shrink defect is detected to the supplier that accepts the shrink defective article. Is shall.

  According to the present invention, articles can be appropriately sorted.

It is a top view of the sorting equipment concerning one embodiment of the present invention. It is explanatory drawing of the sorting chute setting of a sorting equipment same as the above. It is a top view of the conveyance means (induction part) of a sorting equipment same as the above. It is explanatory drawing of the height information acquisition means of a conveyance means (induction part) same as the above. It is a side view of a conveyance means (induction part) same as the above. It is explanatory drawing etc. of the shrink wrapping product with a mount sorted by the same sort equipment. It is explanatory drawing etc. regarding the mount of shrink packaged goods with a mount same as the above. It is an operation | movement flowchart of a sorting equipment same as the above. It is an operation | movement flowchart of the sorting equipment which concerns on other embodiment of this invention.

  An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

  In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a sorting facility. The sorting facility 1 sorts, for example, articles A and packs them in a cardboard box (not shown) which is a storage box.

  The article A encloses the object to be packaged placed on the mount together with the mount with a transparent heat-shrinkable film (for example, vinyl film), and wraps the object to be packaged and the mount together with the heat shrinkage force. It is a shrink package with a mount.

  That is, as shown in FIG. 6 and FIG. 7, an article A which is a shrink-wrapped product with a mount as a sorting object is a rectangular plate-shaped mount a and a packaged item (commodity) placed on the mount a. ) B and a transparent heat-shrinkable film c encapsulating the mount a and the packaged object b so as to cover the whole.

  The film c is, for example, a vinyl film, and is normally in close contact with the mount a and the object to be packaged b due to heat shrinkage, but in rare cases, a part of the film c protrudes upward or laterally. There is a case where it is in a state (that is, a shrink defective product occurs).

  The mount a has a plurality of sizes, for example, four mount sizes of small, medium, large and extra large, and is selected according to the size of the packaged item b placed thereon.

  The upper limit of the height of the article A that can be placed on each mount a is, for example, 120 mm when the mount size is small, 185 mm when the mount size is medium, and 260 mm when the mount size is large. Yes, it is 260 mm when the mount size is extra large.

  As shown in FIG. 1 and the like, the sorting facility 1 receives a plurality of (for example, six) conveying means 2 for conveying the article A, and the article A from the conveying means 2, while conveying the accepted article A. Sorting means 3 for sorting, chute S that is a sorting destination as a plurality of (for example, 10) post-sorting conveying means for receiving the articles A sorted by the sorting means 3 and transporting the received articles A, Caser C, which is disposed on the downstream side of the chute S and packs the article A from the chute S into a cardboard box (not shown) which is a transport container having a size corresponding to the article A, and I have.

  In addition, the conveyance means 2, which is a pre-sorting conveyance means that conveys the articles A sequentially supplied from the shrink wrapping machine side (not shown) and passes them to the sorting means 3, is a first conveyance section that conveys the articles A from the shrink wrapping machine side. 2 a and a second transport unit 2 b that receives the article A from the first transport unit 2 a and passes the received article A to the sorting means 3.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the first transport unit 2a includes a bar code reader (BCR) 24, which is a code reader that reads a bar code label (identification code) attached to the article A upstream of the transport means 2. Is provided. As the identification code, a QR code (registered trademark), an IC tag, an RFID, or the like may be used.

  The sorting equipment 1 is provided separately from the height information acquisition unit 6 for acquiring the height information of the article A being conveyed by the first conveyance unit 2a, and the height information acquisition unit 6. A height measuring means (area sensor means) 7 for obtaining height information (detailed height information more detailed than height information obtained by the height information obtaining means 6) of the article A being conveyed by the section 2a; Yes.

  Further, the sorting equipment 1 includes a light irradiation means 8 for irradiating light from the lower side to the article A being transported by the first transport unit 2a, and an upper side (light Based on at least the height information and the image information, image information acquisition means 9 for acquiring image information related to the mount size of the article A (mounting size related image information) by photographing from the opposite side of the irradiation means side) Control for controlling the sorting means 3 so that the article is sorted into a sorting destination corresponding to its height and mount size, that is, for example, the article A is packed in a corrugated cardboard box of a corresponding size by the caser C. Means 10 are provided.

  The control means 10 is connected to a host computer (not shown) that manages information related to the article A, for example.

  The sorting means 3 has a plurality of carts 12 that move while being guided by a loop-shaped guide portion 11. A plurality of carts 12 adjacent to each other in the moving direction are connected to form a series.

  Each cart 12 has a sorting belt (not shown), which is an endless sorting unit that can sort articles A into chutes S. When the sorting belt arrives at the target chute S for sorting the article A placed on the upper surface, the sorting belt is rotated by the power from the driving means (not shown) controlled by the control means 10, thereby the article. Dispose A to the target chute S and sort it. Each cart 12 may be of a type in which the cart body is tilted and the article A is paid out to the chute S.

  Here, the number of chutes (article receiving means) S that are sorting destinations for the articles A is, for example, 10, and the chutes S having chute numbers 1 to 9 are disposed inside the loop-shaped guide portion 11. A chute S having a chute number 10 is disposed outside the loop-shaped guide portion 11. In addition, the caser C is not disposed on the downstream side of the chute S having the chute number 10.

  In addition, as shown in FIG. 2, for each chute S (each caser C), the mount size and height (upper limit and lower limit) of the acceptable article A are set. In the example shown in FIG. 2, for example, chute numbers 3 and 8 are preliminary chutes S prepared for future mount size change, increase in transported objects, etc., and chute number 10 is set to any chute S. This is an abnormal discharge chute S that accepts an article A that does not conform to the mount size and height and an article A in which a shrinkage defect is detected.

  The chute number 9 is a chute S that can be set to accept a plurality of mount sizes and article heights, and can be set to, for example, mount size: small / medium, height 0 to 120 mm. In this case, a cardboard box capable of packing an article A having a size within a set range is placed on the caser C provided downstream of the chute 9. Furthermore, it is possible to improve the sorting processing capability by setting the same mount size and height as the frequently used chute S.

  Each transport means 2 has a generally square shape in plan view and includes a first transport section 2a and a second transport section 2b, and is arranged in parallel with each other on the outside of the loop-shaped guide section 11.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the first transport unit 2a includes, for example, three conveyors (for example, belt conveyors) 13, 14, and 15 arranged in the transport direction. The second transport unit 2b has, for example, four conveyors (for example, belt conveyors) 16, 17, 18, and 19 arranged in the transport direction.

  Then, the article A is unloaded from the conveyor 15 of the first conveying section 2a to the conveyor 16 of the second conveying section 2b, and slips depending on the height difference of both the conveyors 15, 16 and the size / weight of the article A. Therefore, the article A is positioned on the front side of the conveyor 16 or in the depth direction.

  Thereafter, when the article A is carried out from the conveyor 16 to the next conveyor 17, the conveyance position detection sensor 21 detects the conveyance position of the article A, and the stop position of the article A on the conveyors 17 and 18 changes. . This stop position is a position where the distance to the cart 12 becomes the same.

  Next, when the cart 12 of the sorting means 3 arrives at a predetermined starting point, the article A is conveyed by the conveyors 17, 18, and 19 and placed on the upper surface of the sorting belt of the cart 12. Thereby, the transfer of the article A to the cart 12 can be stabilized.

  In addition, the 2nd conveyance part 2b detects the goods A on the conveyor 17 in order to determine the 1st loading sensor 22 which detects the presence or absence of the goods A on the conveyor 16, and the mounting position of the goods A more accurately. A second stock sensor 23 is provided.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the height information acquisition means (height sensor means) 6 is composed of a plurality (for example, 14) of photoelectric sensors 26 provided on the conveyor 14 of the first transport unit 2 a of the transport means 2. ing. The photoelectric sensor 26 for the height sensor has a predetermined interval in the conveying direction at each position corresponding to the upper limit and the lower limit of the height of the article A set for each chute S (each sorting destination). It is arranged.

  For example, since the chute S having chute number 1 is set to receive an article A having a height of 39 to 80 mm, the two photoelectric sensors 26 for chute number 1 are provided on the upper surface of the forward path portion of the conveyor belt of the conveyor 14. And a lower limit position having a height of 39 mm and an upper limit position having a height of 80 mm with respect to the transport surface 14a.

  Further, for example, the chute S with the chute number 2 is set so as to accept the article A having a height of 120 to 260 mm, so that the two photoelectric sensors 26 for the chute number 2 are more than those for the chute number 1. The positions are shifted to the downstream in the transport direction by a predetermined interval, and are respectively disposed at a lower limit position of 120 mm height and an upper limit position of 260 mm height with respect to the transport surface 14a of the conveyor 14. The remaining shoots S are similarly arranged.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the height measuring unit 7 is provided on the conveyor 14 of the first transport unit 2 a of the transport unit 2 so as to be located downstream of the height information acquisition unit 6 in the transport direction. That is, the height measuring means 7 is provided on the conveyance end side of the conveyor 14. The height measuring means 7 is composed of, for example, a plurality of photoelectric sensors (not shown) arranged in a row in the vertical direction close to each other over a predetermined height range.

  The height measuring means 7 measures the height of the article A in units of mm, for example, in a predetermined height range (for example, a measurement range of 15 to 43 mm) based on the transport surface 14a of the conveyor 14. For example, it is for medium size only. This is because, for example, a cardboard box for storing an article A having a medium size has a size of 0 to 39 mm and 39 to 80 mm, and the size of the packaging container (cardboard box) is the same. This is because the delivery fee may vary greatly and must be strictly checked.

  Further, above the height measuring means 7, a shrinkage defect detecting means for simultaneously detecting a shrinkage defect of the article A (for example, a state in which a part of the film c protrudes upward) at the time of measurement by the height measuring means 7. (Projecting film detecting means) 29 is disposed.

  For example, when the article A having a part of the film c protruding upward is conveyed on the conveying surface 14a of the conveyor 14, the photoelectric sensor as the shrink defect detecting means 29 is formed in the upward protruding shape of the article A. By detecting the film c for only a moment, it is determined that the article A is defective in shrinkage. Then, the article A determined to be a defective defective product is sorted into the chute S having the chute number 10 based on the control of the sorting means 3 by the control means 10.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the light irradiation means 8 is disposed below the conveyor 15 of the first transport portion 2 a of the transport means 2. The conveyor (LED conveyor) 15 has a light-transmissive conveyor belt 30, and the upper surface of the forward path portion of the conveyor belt 30 is a conveyor surface 15 a on which the article A is placed and conveyed. That is, the article A is transported in the transport direction with the lower surface of the mount a placed on the transport surface 15a (see FIG. 6). And this light irradiation means 8 is comprised by the light emitting diode (LED) which irradiates the white light from the downward side to the article | item A on the conveyance surface 15a via the conveyance belt 30, for example. The light irradiation means 8 may be provided between the carrier side and the return side of the conveyor belt.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the image information acquisition unit 9 is disposed above the conveyor 15 of the first conveyance unit 2 a of the conveyance unit 2 so as to face the light irradiation unit 8 through the conveyor 15. The image information acquisition unit 9 is configured by a camera that photographs the article A on the transport surface 15a from above when the light irradiation unit 8 below irradiates light.

  For example, a portion E which is a predetermined region of the conveying surface 15a of the conveyor 15 shown in FIG. 3 is a portion irradiated with light by the light irradiation means 8 installed below the conveyor 15.

  Then, when the article A is photographed by the image information acquisition means (camera) 9 installed above the E part, the part of the article A (the part of the mount a) is shaded by the LED illumination from below and photographed black. The On the other hand, portions other than the article A are photographed in white without being shaded.

  For example, the image information acquired by the image information acquisition unit 9 composed of a camera with a resolution of 480,000 pixels has a maximum of 480,000 pixels, but the image information acquisition unit 9 determines the number of pixels determined to be black (predetermined predetermined) The number of pixels) is transmitted to the control means 10.

  It should be noted that in order to prevent erroneous detection in which the dirt or the like on the conveying surface 15a is determined as part of the black image information of the article A, the determination of black or white by the image information acquisition unit 9 determines that only continuous black is black. (Sequential quantities can be set arbitrarily).

  Then, the control means 10 determines whether or not the predetermined number of pixels (number of black pixels) received from the image information acquisition means 9 is within a set number of pixels set in advance for each mount size of the article A. By determining, the mount size (for example, small, medium, large, extra large) of the article A is confirmed (determined).

  For example, FIG. 7 shows a set pixel number range (threshold value) preset for each mount size. The set pixel number range (threshold value) is set in advance based on the reference pixel number (reference value) when the image information acquisition unit 9 captures the mount a before shrink wrapping. It can be changed.

  In other words, the operator obtains image information by placing all types (four types) of mounts a having different sizes, for example, used for shrink wrapping, on the transport surface 15a before the sorting operation by the sorting equipment 1 is started. Based on the reference pixel number acquired by photographing by means 9, a set pixel number range is set in advance for each mount size.

  For example, in consideration of individual differences of the mount a, pixels that can set an arbitrary width for the length (D) and width (W) of the mount a and can specify the mount size of each mount a accordingly. Find the threshold of the number. In addition to the length (D) and width (W) of the mount a, the width of the shrink wrap after considering the vinyl portion of the shrink wrap and the size of each mount that is not a defective shrink The threshold for the number of pixels may be determined in consideration of the actual results.

  Then, by setting the set pixel number range for each mount size, the control means 10 can change the mount size of the article A even if the mount a of the article A is bent or curved depending on the state of shrink wrapping. It can be confirmed accurately. Moreover, even if the film c protrudes or protrudes depending on the state of shrink wrapping, the control means 10 can accurately check the mount size of the article A.

  Next, the operation of the sorting equipment 1 will be described.

  Article A, which is a shrink-wrapped product with a mount on which a product is placed on a mount and shrink-wrapped using a shrink wrapping machine (not shown), is transported by each transport means 2 and sorted by means 3. Sequentially supplied on the cart 12.

  First, in the first transport section 2a of the transport means 2, the barcode reader 24 reads the barcode label of the article A, the height information acquisition means 6 and the height measurement means 7 acquire the height information of the article A, The image information acquisition unit 9 captures the image of the article A from the side opposite to the light irradiation unit 8 and acquires the image information.

  Next, the articles A are transported by the second transport section 2b of the transport means 2 so as to be appropriately transferred to the cart 12 of the sorting means 3.

  The articles A on the cart 12 of the sorting means 3 are sorted into chutes S based on the control by the control means 10.

  The sorting operation flow will be described below based on FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the control means 10 first confirms the mount size of the article A based on the image information from the image information acquisition means 9 (step 1).

  In other words, the control means 10 has the number of pixels (the number of black pixels) of the image information of the article A acquired by the image information acquisition means 9 within a set pixel number range set in advance for each of the four types of mount sizes. By determining whether or not the paper is in the area, the mount size of the article A is confirmed (determined).

  Next, the control means 10 determines whether or not the mount size of the article A is medium (step 2). When it is determined that the medium is in the middle, the control means 10 confirms the height of the article A having the medium size based on the height information from the height measuring means 7 (step 3). That is, it is confirmed how many mm the height of the article A is within a measurement range of, for example, 15 to 43 mm.

  Next, the control means 10 confirms the height of the article A based on the height information from the height information acquisition means 6 (step 4). That is, it is confirmed which pre-determined chute S has a height between the upper limit and the lower limit of the article A. If it is determined in step 2 that the mount size is not medium, the process proceeds to step 4.

  Next, the control means 10 determines whether or not there is a chute S corresponding (corresponding) to the confirmed height of the article A (step 5), and if it is determined that there is no corresponding chute S, the article A is a sorting means. 3 is sorted into the shoot S of shoot number 10 (step 6).

  When it is determined in step 5 that there is a chute S corresponding to the height of the article A, the control means 10 determines whether or not there is a chute S corresponding (corresponding) to the confirmed mount size of the article A. If it is determined that there is no corresponding chute S (step 7), the article A is sorted into the chute S of the chute number 10 by the sorting means 3 (step 8).

  If it is determined in step 7 that there is a chute S corresponding to the mount size of the article A, based on the control of the sorting means 3 by the control means 10, the article A is the corresponding chute, that is, the height of the article A and Sorting into shoots S having shoot numbers corresponding to both the mount sizes (step 9).

  For example, the control unit 10 may determine whether or not the corresponding chute S is full of the articles A. For example, when the corresponding chute S is full, transfer permission to another chute (for example, a chute that can store an article that is the same as the mount size of the corresponding chute and is higher than the upper limit value of the corresponding chute) 4 is permitted. At some time, the article A may be sorted into the other chute S.

  Further, for example, when the fullness of the corresponding chute S is not eliminated even after the fixed time has elapsed after the article A has been moved for a certain period of time until the fullness of the corresponding chute S is cleared, the shot is taken if the shot number 9 is acceptable. If the shoot number 9 is not acceptable, the transfer to the shoot number 10 may be executed.

  And according to such sorting equipment 1, height information (first height information) from the height information acquisition means 6, height information (second height information) from the height measurement means 7, and an image Based on the image information from the information acquisition means 9, the control means 10 controls the sorting means 3 to sort the articles A into chutes S corresponding to their height and mount size, so that the articles A which are shrink wrap products with mounts. Can be properly sorted, so that the articles A can be boxed in a cardboard box having an appropriate capacity.

  Further, the control means 10 determines whether or not the number of pixels of the image information of the article A acquired by the image information acquisition means 9 is within a preset pixel number range for each mount size. Since the mount size of the article A is confirmed, the mount size of the article A can be accurately confirmed regardless of deformation of the mount a, for example.

  In the sorting equipment 1, for example, the control unit 10 may control the sorting unit 3 using predetermined information from a host computer, that is, a WMS (Warehouse Management System), for example. By using information from WMS, the optimal mount size and height when the product is packaged, calculated by the computer, and the mount size and height of the article A actually packed by the operator are checked. Therefore, it is possible to measure the work accuracy of the worker.

  In this case, for example, as shown in FIG. 9, when the barcode reader 24 reads the barcode label of the article A, the control means 10 receives a shoot number that is the destination information associated with the article A from the WMS. (Step 1).

  Thereafter, the control means 10 confirms the height of the article A based on the height information from the height information acquisition means 6 (Step 2), and based on the height information from the height measurement means 7, the control means 10 The height is confirmed (step 3), and the mount size of the article A is confirmed based on the image information from the image information acquisition means 9 (step 4).

  These steps 1 to 4 are in the order of arrangement of the constituent members in the present embodiment, but in actuality, these steps may be reversed, and information from steps 1 to 4 is acquired before entering step 5. It only has to be done. Furthermore, since it is sufficient that the information of steps 1 to 4 can be acquired before entering step 5, the barcode reader 24, the image information acquisition unit 9, the height information acquisition unit (first height) in the second transport unit 2b. The arrangement of the height information acquisition means) 6 and the height measurement means (second height information acquisition means) 7 can be appropriately changed.

  Next, the control means 10 detects the shoot number (the received data) from the WMS corresponding to the height of the article A confirmed based on the height information (including the height information from the height measuring means 7). It is determined whether or not it coincides with (height confirmation data) (step 5).

  When it is determined that the chute numbers match, the control means 10 detects the chute number (mounting size confirmation) corresponding to the mounting size of the article A that the chute number (received data) from the WMS is confirmed based on the image information. Data) is determined (step 6).

  If it is determined that the two shoot numbers match, the article A is sorted into the shoots S of the shoot number (received data) from the WMS based on the control of the sorting means 3 by the control means 10 (step 7).

  If it is determined in step 5 that both chute numbers do not match, the control means 10 determines whether there is a chute S corresponding to the height of the article A confirmed based on the height information. (Step 8) If it is determined that there is no corresponding chute S, the article A is sorted into the chute S of chute number 10 by the sorting means 3 (step 9).

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step 8 that there is a chute S corresponding to the height of the article A, the control means 10 has the chute number (received data) from the WMS confirmed based on the image information. It is determined whether or not it matches the chute number (mounting size confirmation data) corresponding to the mounting size (step 10).

  And when it is judged that both chute numbers correspond, based on control of the sorting means 3 by the control means 10, the article A is based on the height confirmation data (actual value) and the mount size (received data) from the WMS. The shoot numbers are sorted into shoots S (step 11).

  If it is determined in step 10 that the chute numbers do not match, the control means 10 determines whether there is a chute S corresponding to the mount size of the article A confirmed based on the image information ( Step 12) If it is determined that there is no corresponding chute S, the article A is sorted into the chute S of chute number 10 by the sorting means 3 (step 9).

  On the other hand, when it is determined in step 12 that there is a chute S corresponding to the mount size of the article A, the article A is checked for height confirmation data (actual measurement value) based on the control of the sorting means 3 by the control means 10. Then, the shoot S is sorted into the shoot number S based on the mount size confirmation data (actual measurement value) (step 13).

  If it is determined in step 6 that the chute numbers do not match, the control means 10 determines whether there is a chute S corresponding to the mount size of the article A confirmed based on the image information ( Step 14) When it is determined that there is no corresponding chute S, the article A is sorted into the chute S of chute number 10 by the sorting means 3 (step 9).

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step 14 that there is a chute S corresponding to the mount size of the article A, the article A is set to the height from the WMS (reception data) based on the control of the sorting means 3 by the control means 10. ) And the chute S of the chute number based on the mount size confirmation data (actual measurement value) (step 15). Note that the barcode reader 24 may be provided on the most upstream side, and after obtaining the information in step 1, the information may be sequentially verified with the information in steps 2 to 4.

  In this way, the control means 10 receives the information on the sorting destination of the article A from the WMS, and also uses the information from the height information acquisition means 6, the height measurement means 7 and the image information acquisition means 9 to determine the height of the article A and After confirming the mount size, the chute S of the chute number to which the article A is to be sorted is determined.

  Even in such a sorting facility 1, the article A which is a shrink-wrapped product with a mount can be properly sorted, and thus the article A can be packed in a cardboard box having an appropriate capacity. The same effect as the form can be achieved.

  In any of the above-described embodiments, the case where both the height information acquisition unit 6 and the height measurement unit 7 are provided has been described. However, for example, the height measurement unit 7 is not necessarily required.

  Moreover, the height information acquisition means 6 is not limited to what consists of photoelectric sensors arrange | positioned at each position corresponding to the upper limit and the lower limit of the height for each chute S, for example, an area sensor located over a predetermined range The thing which consists of etc. may be sufficient.

  Furthermore, the photoelectric sensor used for the height information acquisition unit 6 and the height measurement unit 7 may be any of a transmission type, a regression reflection type, a diffuse reflection type, and the like.

  Further, the arrangement of the height information acquisition unit 6, the height measurement unit 7 and the image information acquisition unit 9 may be reversed, for example, upstream or downstream. Further, for example, the height information acquisition unit 6 or the height measurement unit 7 is used as the sorting unit 3. It may be provided.

  Furthermore, since the transfer means 2 has the second transfer section 2b, the transfer of the article A to the cart 12 of the sorting means 3 is stabilized, but due to the equipment layout, the second transfer section 2b is not provided. The first transport unit 2a may be directly coupled to the sorting means 3.

1 Sorting equipment 2 Transport means
2a First transport section
2b 2nd conveyance part 3 Sorting means 6 Height information acquisition means 7 Height measurement means 8 Light irradiation means 9 Image information acquisition means
10 Control means
26 Photoelectric sensor A Article (Shrink-wrapped product with mount)
a Mount S Shooter that is the destination

Claims (9)

A sorting facility that sorts articles consisting of a mount and products packaged and fixed on the mount,
Conveying means for conveying the article;
A sorting means for receiving the articles from the transport means and sorting the received articles while transporting;
A plurality of sorting partners which are provided to receive the articles sorted by the sorting means and in which the mount size and height of the acceptable articles are set;
Height information acquisition means for acquiring height information of the article;
Information acquisition means for acquiring information related to the mount size of the article;
A sorting facility comprising: control means for controlling the sorting means so that the articles are sorted into the corresponding sorting destinations based on at least the height information and the mount size information acquired. The sorting equipment according to claim 1, further comprising a height measurement unit that is provided separately from the height information acquisition unit and acquires more detailed article height information than the height information acquisition unit. The height information acquisition means has a plurality of photoelectric sensors arranged at each position corresponding to the upper limit and the lower limit of the height of the article set for each supplier,
The sorting equipment according to claim 2, wherein the height measuring means measures the height of the article within a predetermined height range including at least one of the photoelectric sensors located at an upper limit. The sorting equipment according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the article is a shrink-wrapped product with a mount in which the product is fixed to the mount by shrink-wrapping. A sorting method in which an article consisting of a mount and a product packaged and fixed on the mount is conveyed by a sorting means, and the article is sorted to a sorter for which the mount size and height of the article that can be accepted for each sortee are set. There,
Obtaining height information and mount size of the article;
Supplying the article that has acquired the height information and the mount size to the sorting means;
A step of controlling the sorting means to sort the articles to the sorting destination corresponding to the acquired height information and mount size of the articles. An article consisting of the mount and the product packaged and fixed on this mount is transported by sorting means, and the destination is set to the mount size and height of the article that can be accepted for each destination, or any mount size or height A sorting method for sorting articles to a vendor that is set to accept articles that do not conform to
Obtaining height information and mount size of the article;
Supplying the article that has acquired the height information and the mount size to the sorting means;
A step of controlling the sorting means to sort the articles to the sorting destination corresponding to the acquired height information and mount size of the articles. 7. The sorting according to claim 5 or 6, wherein, in the step of sorting the articles, if the sorting party cannot accept the articles, sorting is performed by transferring the height and mount size of the article to another sorting destination capable of receiving the sorting. Method. The sorting method according to any one of claims 5 to 7, wherein the article is a shrink-wrapped product with a mount in which the product is fixed to the mount by shrink-wrapping. A supplier whose shrinkage is a shrink-wrapped product with a mount that is fixed to the mount by shrink wrapping using a sorting means, and a supplier whose size and height of the mount of the article that can be accepted for each supplier is set, or shrink A sorting method for sorting articles to a vendor set to accept defective articles,
Obtaining height information and mount size of the article;
A process for detecting shrinkage defects;
Supplying the article that has acquired the height information and the mount size to the sorting means;
The sorting means is controlled to sort the article into the sorting destination corresponding to the acquired height information and mount size of the article, and the article in which the shrinkage defect is detected is sent to the sorting destination that receives the shrinkage-defective article. And a sorting process.

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