JP6696413B2 - Picking equipment and article picking method - Google Patents

Description

  TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a picking facility and an article picking method for loading an article into a collection container to which a sorting destination is assigned.

  In a distribution center or a warehouse of various goods in physical distribution, goods are sorted. For example, at a distribution center, so-called picking work is performed in which articles according to a user (sorting destination) order are picked and sorted into a plurality of collection containers. In such a picking operation, for example, a plurality of work zones are defined along the moving direction of a belt conveyor that conveys a collection container, and a dedicated worker is arranged in each work zone. Based on the user's order assigned to each collection container, this worker picks the ordered quantity of goods from the storage shelves where the goods are stored, and collects the goods by the belt conveyor. Put the product into a collection container for users who have ordered the product.

In addition to the belt conveyor that conveys the collection container, the picking equipment that performs such picking work includes a high-frequency product picking area that puts high-frequency items that are frequently ordered by users into the collection container, and the user. There may be provided a low-frequency product picking area for loading low-frequency products whose order frequency is low in the collection container. In such a picking facility, the collection container is stopped in the low-frequency product picking area only when it is necessary to put low-frequency products into the collection container, and a worker performs a picking operation.
However, in the case of low-frequency products, it is unavoidable that the quantity of products ordered from users is uneven (dispersion) or the order time zone is uneven (dispersion), and the amount of work in the low-frequency product picking area is time-consuming. Therefore, if there is no picking work in the low-frequency product picking area and the worker waits, or conversely, the picking work in the low-frequency product picking area is concentrated and the worker cannot respond quickly. In some cases, there is a problem that the efficiency of the entire picking work is reduced.

Therefore, in order to equalize the amount of work in the low-frequency product picking area, a temporary stand as shown in Patent Document 1 is provided, and the temporary storage table is placed in the collection container in the low-frequency product picking area according to the user's order. A method of performing a preceding picking operation in which an item to be stored is placed in advance on a temporary placing table in advance is considered.
In the picking equipment shown in Patent Document 1, a plurality of temporary placing stands are provided, and each temporary placing stand is provided with a first display section for indicating that the article is a temporary placing stand on which an article should be temporarily placed, and an article loading target. And a second display unit for displaying that the article to be placed in the collection container is a temporary placement table on which the article is temporarily placed. By providing such a temporary placing table in the picking equipment, it is possible to improve the efficiency of the work of loading the article into the collection container and prevent the mistake of loading the article into the collection container.

JP, 2005-89162, A

  However, in the picking equipment shown in Patent Document 1, since the number, size, installation space, etc. of the temporary placing bases which can be installed are limited, the deviation (variation) of the order from the user or the articles from the temporary placing base. Due to the delay in the work progress of the worker who picks and puts the product into the collection container, the temporary placing table may become full, and it may not be possible to temporarily place more articles. Therefore, the worker who performs the preceding picking work has to wait for the temporary placing table to be vacant according to the progress of the inputting work, and the preceding picking work cannot be performed according to the user's order. There was a problem of inefficiency.

  Therefore, in the present invention, in the picking equipment for picking articles in which the work amount of the picking work varies due to the deviation (variation) of the requests from the sorting destinations, the work amount of the picking work is leveled to improve the efficiency of the picking work. An object of the present invention is to provide an improved picking equipment and an article picking method.

The problems to be solved by the present invention have been described above. Next, means for solving the problems will be described.
That is, the picking equipment of the present invention is a picking equipment that puts an article into a collection container to which a sorting destination is assigned, in which the article is stored and the article requested by the sorting destination is picked. An area, a loading area for loading an article to be picked in the picking area into the collection container, a container transporting unit for transporting the collection container, and an article storage unit capable of transporting and stopping the article An article transporting means for transporting an article loaded in an area , wherein the article transporting means forms a transport line for the article by arranging a plurality of the article storage parts in a transporting direction of the article, Articles conveyed by the article conveying means while sequentially conveying the articles to be introduced into the conveying means while being stopped on each article accumulating section, or conveying the articles without stopping on each article accumulating section Is put into the collection container carried by the container carrying means by a worker in the loading area.
In the above configuration, the picked articles in the picking area are transported to the loading area while being stored in the article storage unit of the article transporting means according to the request of the sorting destination, and are loaded into the collection container by the operator in the loading area.

In the picking equipment of the present invention, in the picking equipment, the loading area, the article transporting means, and the container transporting means are provided to an operator who loads the article to be picked in the picking area into the article transporting means. Are arranged on the same side.
In the above configuration, the articles conveyed by the article conveying means are put into the collection container conveyed by the container conveying means on the same side of the picking area as the worker.

The picking equipment of the present invention is the above-mentioned picking equipment, wherein the article conveying means sorts a large number of articles shipped from the equipment among the articles picked by the entire equipment in response to a request from the sorting destination. The article is conveyed at a low frequency that is less frequently requested by the sorting destination than the frequency requested by the destination .
In the above configuration, low-frequency articles picked in the picking area according to the request of the sorting destination are conveyed to the loading area while being accumulated in the article accumulating unit of the article conveying means.

The picking equipment of the present invention is, in the above-mentioned picking equipment, provided with an adjacent loading area which is adjacent to the loading area and which loads an article picked in an area on the upstream side of the picking area into the collection container. Is an article that is picked in the picking area and that is to be delivered in advance to the collection container in the adjacent loading area.
In the above-mentioned configuration, when the article to be loaded in advance in the collection container in the adjacent loading area is conveyed by the article transporting means, the article in the adjacent loading area is loaded prior to the loading of the article in the loading area. To do.

The picking equipment of the present invention is the above-mentioned picking equipment, wherein the article conveying means is composed of a plurality of conveyance lines, and each of a plurality of articles to be introduced into one of the collection containers is supplied to the plurality of conveyance lines. It is distributed and conveyed.
In the above configuration, the plurality of articles to be loaded into one of the collection containers are dispersed from the plurality of transport lines and transported to the loading area.

The picking equipment of the present invention is the picking equipment described above, wherein the article transporting means is constituted by a plurality of transport lines, and a plurality of articles loaded into one of the collection containers are continuously transported on the same transport line. It is not transported.
In the above configuration, a plurality of articles that are loaded into one of the collection containers are not continuously conveyed from the same conveyance line.

In the picking equipment of the present invention, in the above picking equipment, the article transporting means collects the plurality of articles into one when a plurality of articles is requested in one request from the sorting destination. It is to be transported.
In the above configuration, when a plurality of articles are requested in one request from the sorting destination, the plurality of articles are collected into one and conveyed to the loading area.

In the picking equipment of the present invention, in the picking equipment, the article transporting means is configured by a plurality of transport lines including the article accumulating section configured by a plurality of divided conveyors that are divided in the transport direction. A display unit for displaying information on the articles to be put into the collection container, the picking area, the article transporting means, and the container transporting means are transported by the article transporting means. It is arranged on the same side with respect to an operator who puts the article into the collection container transported by the container transporting means in the loading area.
In the above configuration, a plurality of article storage units are formed on the plurality of transport lines, and the articles are loaded into the collection container according to the display on the display unit provided at the downstream end of the plurality of transport lines. Further, articles are picked on the same side of the worker in the loading area, and the picked articles are loaded into the article transporting means and transported in a storable manner.

In the picking equipment of the present invention, in the above picking equipment, a storage shelf for storing the article is provided in the picking area, the storage shelf includes a plurality of frontages for storing the article, and a frontage for storing the article. Is configured to be changeable, and the article conveying means conveys the article associated with the frontage of the storage rack.
In the above configuration, the space between the front sides of the storage shelves is changed according to the size, quantity, etc. of the articles to be stored, and the articles are conveyed by the article conveying means in association with the stored front sides.

In the picking equipment of the present invention, in the picking equipment, the article transporting means transports an article picked by an operator who performs a picking operation of the article in the picking area according to a voice instruction.
In the above configuration, the worker picks up the article from the storage rack and puts it in the article transporting means in response to a voice instruction.

The article picking method of the present invention is a method for picking an article in a picking facility that puts an article into a collection container to which a sorting destination is assigned, wherein the picking facility stores the article and the sorting destination. From the picking area, a loading area for loading the article to be picked in the picking area into the collection container, a container carrying means for carrying the collection container, and a picking in the picking area An article transporting means for transporting an article to be transported, wherein the picking area, the article transporting means, and the container transporting means transport the article transported by the article transporting means in the loading area. Is arranged on the same side with respect to the operator who puts the article into the collection container conveyed by the feeding area, the article conveying means, and the container conveying means, and picks the article picked in the picking area. disposed on the same side of the operator to be introduced into the article transport means, said article conveying means, which comprises a conveying and stoppable article storage section an article to be inputted in advance the picking area, said article A plurality of accumulating units are arranged in the conveying direction of the article to form a conveying line for the article, and the articles to be introduced into the article conveying means are conveyed sequentially while being stopped on each article accumulating section. Or, the article is conveyed without stopping on each article accumulating section, the article stored in the picking area is picked according to the request of the sorting destination, and the article picked in the picking area. To the article conveying means, convey the article introduced to the article conveying means to the introduction area by the article conveying means, and convey the article conveyed to the inserting area by the container conveying means It is a method of charging into a container.
In the above method, articles picked in the picking area according to the request of the sorting destination are conveyed to the loading area while being accumulated in the article accumulating unit of the article conveying means.

  According to the picking facility and the article picking method of the present invention, the picked articles are transported to the loading area while being stored in the article storage unit of the article transporting means in accordance with the request of the sorting party. Accordingly, the number of articles conveyed to the loading area can be adjusted. Therefore, the work amount of the picking work can be equalized, and there is no delay in the picking work or waiting for the picking work due to bias (variation) of requests from sorting destinations. Therefore, the efficiency of the picking work can be improved.

It is a top view layout drawing of the picking equipment concerning the present invention. FIG. 3 is a plan layout view of a low-frequency product picking area of the picking equipment according to the present invention. It is a perspective view of the medium-volume shelf of the picking equipment which concerns on this invention. It is a block diagram showing the control composition of the picking equipment concerning the present invention.

The picking equipment 10 according to the present invention will be described. The present invention is not limited to the picking equipment 10 described below.
As shown in FIG. 1, the picking equipment 10 collects articles 90, which are ordered (requested) from individual pre-registered users (an example of “sorting destination”), in a collection container 91 assigned by the user. It is a facility for delivery. The picking equipment 10 includes a high-frequency product picking area 11 for loading high-frequency products 90 into a collection container 91 and a low-frequency product picking area 20 for loading low-frequency products 90 into the collection container 91. It Here, the high-frequency article 90 is an article 90 that is frequently ordered by the user out of the articles 90 that are picked by the entire picking equipment 10 according to an order from the user, and there are orders from many users. It refers to an article 90 that has a large number of pieces shipped each day. The low frequency item 90 is an item 90 that is rarely ordered by the user among the items 90 that are picked by the entire picking facility 10 according to the order from the user, and the number of items ordered by the user is small and the number of items shipped daily. An article 90 having a small number of items.
The high-frequency product picking area 11 and the low-frequency product picking area 20 are provided adjacent to each other, and the collection container 91 loaded with the article 90 in the high-frequency product picking area 11 is conveyed to the low-frequency product picking area 20. It

[High frequency picking area 11]
The high-frequency product picking area 11 collects the storage line 12 (an example of “an area on the upstream side of the picking area”) in which the high-frequency articles 90 to be picked are stored, and the picked-up articles 90 from the storage line 12. A collection line 13 (one example of “adjacent loading area”) for loading the container 91.
A plurality of zones 14 are set in the storage line 12 and the collection line 13. Each zone 14 is configured to perform an operation (picking operation) of picking the articles 90 stored in the storage line 12 and putting the articles 90 into the collection container 91. The operator H1 performing the picking operation (picking operator) ) Are placed one by one. The storage line 12 and the collection line 13 are arranged on the same side with respect to the worker H1 (as viewed from the worker H1).
The storage line 12 is composed of a flow rack 15. The flow rack 15 is configured by vertically arranging a plurality of shelves 17 having a plurality of rows of frontages 16 in which articles 90 are stored. The flow rack 15 is a frontage indicator 18 including a quantity indicator for displaying the quantity of the article 90 to be taken out and a completion push button switch having a lamp portion, which is at the front end of each shelf 17 and in front of each frontage 16. Is provided. The worker H1 picks the article 90 from the frontage 16 according to the display of each frontage indicator 18.
The collection line 13 is provided with a transport conveyor 95 which is capable of accumulating and moving the collection containers 91 one by one and configured by an accumulation conveyor designed to accumulate the collection containers 91 without colliding with each other. Has been. The transport conveyor 95 is arranged along the flow rack 15.
The collection container 91 transported by the transport conveyor 95 is transported while being placed on the tray 92. The tray 92 is an L-shaped tray in a side view, which includes a plate-shaped bottom surface portion on which the collection container 91 is placed and a plate-shaped side surface portion that stands upright from an end portion of the bottom surface portion. .. At the top of the side surface of the tray 92, a loading indicator 93 as loading target display means for displaying that the collection container 91 is a loading target for loading the article 90 is attached. The loading indicator 93 indicates a quantity display portion 93a (FIG. 4) that displays the quantity of the articles 90 to be loaded into the collection container 91, and a first notification that the collection container 91 is to perform a normal picking operation. It is composed of a ramp portion 93b (FIG. 4) and a second ramp portion 93c (FIG. 4) for notifying that it is a collection container 91 for performing the preceding picking work described later.
An operator H1 when the article 90 picked from the flow rack 15 is loaded into a predetermined collection container 91 on the upper surface of the side frame of the transport conveyor 95, which is the side frame opposite to the flow rack 15 side. A closing completion tape switch 19 that is pressed by is provided. When the worker H1 presses the loading completion tape switch 19, the loading of the article 90 into the predetermined collection container 91 is completed.

[Low Frequency Picking Area 20]
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the low-frequency product picking area 20 stores a low-frequency item 90 to be picked, and a picking area 21 in which the item 90 is picked according to an order from a user, and a picking area. A loading area 22 for loading the article 90 to be picked in 21 into the collection container 91, a transfer conveyor 95, and a buffer conveyor 40 (an example of “article transfer means”) for transferring the article 90 to be picked in the picking area 21. ,,.
In the picking area 21, a plurality of (two in FIG. 1) workers H2 who put the articles 90 to be picked in the picking area 21 into the buffer conveyor 40 are arranged. In the loading area 22, one worker H3 who loads the article 90 transported by the buffer conveyor 40 into the collection container 91 transported by the transport conveyor 95 is arranged.
The picking area 21, the buffer conveyor 40, and the transfer conveyor 95 are arranged so as to be on the same side (as viewed from the worker H3) with respect to the worker H3 in the loading area 22, and the loading area 22 and The buffer conveyor 40 and the transfer conveyor 95 are arranged on the same side (as viewed from the worker H2) with respect to the worker H2 in the picking area 21. Specifically, the picking area 21 is provided on the upstream side of the buffer conveyor 40, and the loading area 22 is provided on the downstream side of the buffer conveyor 40. The transport conveyor 95 is the loading area 22 and is provided on the downstream side of the buffer conveyor 40 so as to be orthogonal to the buffer conveyor 40.

[Picking area 21]
The picking area 21 includes a plurality of medium-volume shelves 23 (an example of “storage shelves”). As shown in FIG. 3, the medium-volume shelf 23 is a movable shelf having casters 24 on the bottom thereof. In the medium-volume shelf 23, a plurality of shelves 25 in which articles 90 are stored are vertically arranged. The medium-volume shelf 23 is provided with a plurality of movable partition plates 27 that form frontages 26 for storing articles 90 by partitioning the shelves 25 at predetermined intervals. That is, the medium-volume shelf 23 is configured so that the space between the front openings 26 can be changed to a predetermined space.
The movable partition plate 27 is provided so as to be slidable with respect to the shelves 25 in each stage, and by sliding in the width direction of the shelves 25, the front openings 26 are formed at predetermined intervals. That is, the medium-volume shelf 23 can be freely moved according to the size and quantity of the articles 90 to be stored in the shelves 25 by sliding the movable partition plate 27 according to the articles 90 to be stored in the shelves 25. The width of the frontage 26 can be adjusted. Therefore, it is not necessary to separately prepare the articles 90 for storing the medium-volume shelf 23 itself according to the size, quantity, and the like.
The movable partition plate 27 has a front face barcode 28 (front face identifier) attached to the front face thereof for identifying the location of the front face 26. The front-side barcode 28 includes, for example, a bar-code to which the location ID of the shelf 25 is assigned, a shelf number of the shelf 25, and a front-office 26 number (column number, column number).

In the medium quantity shelf 23, the articles 90 are stored in each frontage 26 in the arrival area 97 (FIG. 4) for receiving the articles 90. In the medium-volume shelf 23, the frontage 26 for storing the article 90 is determined depending on the size, quantity, and the like of the article 90 that is received, and the type of the article 90 stored for each frontage 26 is different. That is, in the medium quantity shelf 23, the same article 90 is not always stored in the same frontage 26. Therefore, in the medium-volume shelf 23, when the articles 90 are stored in the respective openings 26 of the medium-volume shelf 23, the articles 90 and the front openings 26 to be stored are associated with each other. Specifically, when the article 90 is stored in each frontage 26 of the medium-volume shelf 23, the handy terminal 98 (FIG. 4) provides a barcode (article identifier) for identifying the article, which is attached to the article 90. The article 90 and the frontage 26 are associated with each other by reading the frontage barcode 28 attached to the movable partition plate 27 of the frontage 26 in which the article 90 is stored. When the article 90 does not have a bar code for identifying the article, only the front bar code 28 attached to the movable partition plate 27 is read by the handy terminal 98, and the article stored in the front 26. 90 types etc. are directly input to the handy terminal 98. In this way, by associating the article 90 with the frontage 26, the storage position of the article 90 on the medium-volume shelf 23 can be freely changed according to the size, quantity, etc. of the article 90.
As shown in FIG. 1, the medium-volume shelf 23 is provided with an auxiliary medium-volume shelf 29 for accommodating articles 90 that exceed the storage capacity of the medium-volume shelf 23. In the auxiliary medium-volume shelf 29, the article 90 is stored in the same frontage 26 as that of the medium-volume shelf 23.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the worker H2 in the picking area 21 wears the voice terminal 30. The voice terminal 30 gives an instruction regarding the picking work in the picking area 21 to the worker H2 by voice guidance. The voice terminal 30 mainly includes a headset worn by the worker H2 and a voice terminal main body that communicates with a low-frequency product area controller 62 described later. The worker H2 picks a predetermined article 90 from the medium-volume shelf 23 according to an instruction from the voice terminal 30 and puts the article 90 into a predetermined transport line 42 of the buffer conveyor 40. In this way, the worker H2 picks the article 90 from the medium-volume shelf 23 and puts it on the buffer conveyor 40 according to the instruction by the voice guidance from the voice terminal 30, so that the worker H2 instantly indicates the content of the picking work to be performed. Therefore, picking work can be performed efficiently.

[Buffer conveyor 40]
As shown in FIG. 2, the buffer conveyor 40 includes a plurality of (7 in FIG. 2) belt conveyors 41 (an example of an “article storage unit”) arranged in series in the conveyance direction of the articles 90 in a row. Transport lines 42 are formed, and a plurality of rows (four rows in FIG. 2) of the transport lines 42 are arranged in parallel in a direction orthogonal to the transport direction of the article 90. Each of the belt conveyors 41 constituting the transport line 42 is a belt in which a wide belt having a loop shape is hung on two parallel rollers provided at both ends of the article 90 in the transport direction.
In the buffer conveyor 40, the articles 90 picked from the medium-volume shelf 23 of the picking area 21 are placed on the belts of the belt conveyors 41 of the respective conveying lines 42, and the picking area 21 on the upstream side of the buffer conveyor 40. From the buffer conveyor 40 to the loading area 22 on the downstream side.
Each belt conveyor 41 of each conveyance line 42 is provided so that the articles 90 to be conveyed can be accumulated on the belt, and the articles 90 are sequentially fed according to the amount of the articles 90 loaded into the buffer conveyor 40. The article 90 is conveyed while being stopped upward, or the article 90 is conveyed from the most upstream belt conveyor 41 to the most downstream belt conveyor 41 without stopping.

  A bar code reader 43 for reading the bar code for identifying the article attached to the article 90 is provided at the most upstream portion of the buffer conveyor 40. The bar code reader 43 is configured to be able to read the bar code for identifying an article attached to the top surface, side surface, and bottom surface of the article 90 when the article 90 is placed on the placing section. That is, the barcode reader 43 includes a reading unit that can read a barcode for identifying an article from three directions of the top surface, the side surface, and the bottom surface of the article 90 placed on the barcode reader 43. If the article 90 is not provided with a bar code for identifying the article, the type of the article 90 or the like is directly input to the control panel 44 provided at the most upstream portion of the buffer conveyor 40.

At the uppermost stream of the buffer conveyor 40, an instruction lamp 45 for instructing the worker H2 about the transport line 42 into which the articles 90 picked from the medium-volume shelf 23 should be provided is provided for each transport line 42. The worker H2 puts the picked article 90 from the medium quantity shelf 23 into the transport line 42 in which the instruction lamp 45 is lit.
At the most upstream part of the buffer conveyor 40, there is provided a completion tape switch 46 which is pushed by the worker H2 when the article 90 picked from the medium quantity shelf 23 is put into a predetermined transfer line 42 of the buffer conveyor 40. When the worker H2 presses the completion tape switch 46, loading of the article 90 into the predetermined transport line 42 is completed.
An upstream load sensor 47 (FIG. 4) is provided on the side of the most upstream belt conveyor 41 of the buffer conveyor 40. In the picking equipment 10, it is determined whether or not the article 90 picked from the medium-volume shelf 23 has been loaded into the predetermined transport line 42 based on the detection signal of the upstream-side load sensor 47.
The belt conveyor 41 on the most upstream side of the buffer conveyor 40 is provided with a weight detector 48 (FIG. 4) that detects the weight of the article 90 placed on the belt of the belt conveyor 41.

At the most downstream portion of the buffer conveyor 40, a display device 49 (“display device”, which includes a quantity display device for displaying the quantity of the articles 90 to be put in the collection container 91 and a completion push button switch having a lamp part, Is provided for each transport line 42. The worker H3 loads the article 90 into the collection container 91 based on the lighting of the lamp portion of the completion push button switch and the number of articles 90 displayed on the quantity display of the loading display 93. When the worker H3 presses the completion push button switch of the loading indicator 93, loading of the article 90 into the collection container 91 is completed.
A downstream load sensor 50 is provided on the side of the most downstream belt conveyor 41 of the buffer conveyor 40. In the picking equipment 10, it is determined whether or not the picked-up article 90 is conveyed from the medium-volume shelf 23 to the most downstream position of the predetermined conveyance line 42 based on the detection signal of the downstream-side load sensor 50 (FIG. 4). To do.

[Loading area 22, transport conveyor 95]
A transfer conveyor 95 is provided in the loading area 22 along the most downstream end of the buffer conveyor 40. The transport conveyor 95 transports the collection container 91 for which the picking operation has been completed in the high-frequency product picking area 11 to the loading area 22. That is, the loading area 22 (low-frequency product picking area 20) is provided on the downstream side of the high-frequency product picking area 11 (collection line 13). Then, the transport conveyor 95 transports the collection container 91 in the order of the high-frequency product picking area 11 and the low-frequency product picking area 20.
On the upper surface of the side frame of the transport conveyor 95, which is the side frame opposite to the side of the buffer conveyor 40, an operator when the article 90 transported by the buffer conveyor 40 is loaded into a predetermined collection container 91. A tape switch 51 that H3 pushes is provided. When the worker H3 presses the tape switch 51, the loading of the article 90 into the predetermined collection container 91 is completed.

Next, the control configuration of the picking equipment 10 will be described.
As shown in FIG. 4, as a control means of the picking equipment 10, a general controller 60, a high frequency product area controller 61 provided in the high frequency product picking area 11, and a low frequency product area provided in the low frequency product picking area 20. A controller 62 and a transfer conveyor controller 63 that controls the transfer conveyor 95 are provided. Further, in the receiving area 97 of the picking equipment 10, when the article 90 is stored in each of the frontages 26 of the medium quantity shelf 23, the worker has a handy terminal 98 for associating the article 90 with the frontage 26 to be stored. I carry it.

  A high frequency product area controller 61, a low frequency product area controller 62, and a conveyor conveyor controller 63 are connected to the general controller 60 via a hub 64. Further, the general controller 60 is configured to be able to communicate with the handy terminal 98 in the arrival area 97. Then, the general controller 60 starts and stops the transport conveyor 95, and when an order from each user is input, picking data of the storage line 12 and the medium quantity shelf 23 is formed to form the high frequency product area controller 61. And to the low-frequency product area controller 62, and assigns an order number to the collection container 91.

A frontage indicator 18 and a loading completion tape switch 19 are connected to the high-frequency product area controller 61. In the high frequency product area controller 61, the arrangement of the frontages 16 of the flow rack 15 and the data of the articles 90 housed in each frontage 16 are set. The general-purpose controller 60 inputs the order number assigned to the user and picking data specified by each order number to the high-frequency product area controller 61.
The low frequency product area controller 62 includes a buffer conveyor 40, a bar code reader 43, a control panel 44, an instruction lamp 45, a completion tape switch 46, an upstream inventory sensor 47, and a weight detector 48. The display 49, the downstream side inventory sensor 50, and the tape switch 51 are connected. The low-frequency product area controller 62 is configured to be able to communicate with the voice terminal 30. The general-purpose controller 60 inputs the order number assigned to the user and picking data specified by each order number to the low-frequency product area controller 62. The general controller controls data of the article 90 and the frontage 26 of the medium-volume shelf 23, which are read by the handy terminal 98 of the receiving area 97 and associated with each other, the order number assigned to the user, and the picking data specified by each order number. Input by 60.
A transport conveyor 95 is connected to the transport conveyor controller 63. Further, the transfer conveyor controller 63 is configured to be able to communicate with the loading display 93 provided on the collection container 91.

Next, a picking operation of the article 90 in the low-frequency article picking area 20 will be described.
When the picking operation of the article 90 is performed in the low-frequency article picking area 20, the article 90 is stored in the medium quantity shelf 23 and the auxiliary medium quantity shelf 29 in the receiving area 97 as a pre-process (preparation step). At this time, the barcode for identifying the article attached to the article 90 and the barcode for frontage 28 attached to the movable partition plate 27 of the frontage 26 are read by the handy terminal 98, whereby the article 90 and the frontage 26 are associated. The data of the article 90 and the frontage 26 read by the handy terminal 98 is sent to the general controller 60. The general controller 60 controls the picking operation of the article 90 in the picking area 21 based on the data of the article 90 and the frontage 26 and the order data from the user.
When the articles 90 are completely stored in the medium-volume shelf 23 and the auxiliary medium-volume shelf 29, the medium-volume shelf 23 and the auxiliary medium-volume shelf 29 are conveyed from the receiving area 97 to a predetermined position in the picking area 21. When the medium-volume shelf 23 and the auxiliary medium-volume shelf 29 are conveyed to the picking area 21, the operator of the picking area 21 issues an instruction to the worker H2 as voice guidance from the headset of the voice terminal 30. Here, examples of the voice guidance issued from the voice terminal 30 include the numbers (positions) of the medium-volume shelf 23 and the frontage 26 on which the article 90 should be picked, and the number of the article 90 to be picked. The voice terminal 30 identifies the words spoken by the worker H2 (for example, the response “OK” to the picking instruction of the voice terminal 30 and the response “completion” when the picking of the article 90 is completed), and identifies the identified information with low frequency. It is transmitted to the product area controller 62.
The worker H2 picks the article 90 from the medium quantity shelf 23 according to the voice guidance issued from the voice terminal 30. When the article 90 is picked from the medium quantity shelf 23, the worker H2 carries the picked article 90 to the barcode reader 43, and causes the barcode reader 43 to read the article identification barcode attached to the article 90. As a result, the low-frequency product area controller 62 determines whether the picked article 90 is the article 90 to be loaded into the buffer conveyor 40. When the low-frequency product area controller 62 determines that the picked article 90 is not the article 90 to be loaded into the buffer conveyor 40, a buzzer sound is emitted to notify the worker H2 of the incorrect loading.
When it is determined that the picked article 90 is the article 90 to be loaded into the buffer conveyor 40, the instruction lamp 45 provided in the transport line 42 to which the picked article 90 is to be loaded is turned on. The worker H2 puts the article 90 into the transport line 42 in which the instruction lamp 45 is lit. At this time, the low-frequency product area controller 62 determines that the article 90 has been loaded into the predetermined conveyance line 42 by the upstream-side load sensor 47 provided on the side portion of the belt conveyor 41 detecting the article 90. In addition, the weight detector 48 measures the weight of the loaded article 90. Then, the low-frequency product area controller 62 compares the weight of the article 90 measured by the weight detector 48 with the weight data of the article 90 stored in advance as data, so that the predetermined conveyance line 42 is provided with a predetermined weight. It is determined whether or not the article 90 is loaded. When the low-frequency product area controller 62 determines that the predetermined article 90 has not been input to the predetermined conveyance line 42 by the detection of the upstream side load sensor 47 and the measurement of the weight detector 48, a buzzer sounds. It is sounded to notify the worker H2 of an incorrect input.
When the worker H2 puts the article 90 into the conveyance line 42, the worker H2 presses the completion tape switch 46 to complete the putting of the article 90 into the predetermined conveyance line 42.

  The buffer conveyor 40 conveys the article 90 to the downstream side of the buffer conveyor 40 when the article 90 is loaded into the predetermined conveyance line 42. At this time, the low-frequency product area controller 62 determines whether or not the article 90 that has been previously loaded on the downstream side of the buffer conveyor 40 is waiting (accumulating) on the transport line 42. When the article 90 that has been previously loaded is waiting (accumulating) on the transport line 42, the buffer conveyor 40 uses the belt adjacent to the belt conveyor 41 on which the preceding article 90 is waiting (accumulating). The article 90 is conveyed to the conveyor 41. When the article 90 that was previously input is not on standby (accumulated) on the conveyance line 42, the buffer conveyor 40 conveys the article 90 to the belt conveyor 41 on the most downstream side. When the article 90 is conveyed to the belt conveyor 41 on the most downstream side, the downstream load sensor 50 provided on the side portion of the belt conveyor 41 on the most downstream side detects the article 90, and the article picked from the medium quantity shelf 23. The low-frequency product area controller 62 determines that 90 has been transported to the most downstream position of the predetermined transport line 42.

When the picked article 90 is transported from the medium-volume shelf 23 to the most downstream position of the predetermined transport line 42 and the collection container 91 into which the transported article 90 is to be loaded is transported to the loading area 22, the buffer conveyor. The lamp portion of the completion push button switch of the display 49 provided at the most downstream portion of 40 is turned on. The worker H3 picks the article 90 on the conveyance line 42 in which the indicator 49 for turning on the lamp portion of the completion push button switch is provided, and picks up the picked article 90 with the loading indicator 93 for which the first lamp portion 93b is turned on. It is put into the provided collection container 91. When the worker H3 puts the article 90 into the collection container 91, the operator presses the tape switch 51 to complete the putting of the article 90 into the predetermined collection container 91.
As described above, in the low-frequency product picking area 20, the picking operation of the article 90 is performed on the upstream side of the buffer conveyor 40. Then, the article 90 conveyed by the buffer conveyor 40 is loaded into the collection container 91 on the downstream side of the buffer conveyor 40. That is, in the low frequency product picking area 20, by adding the conveyance of the article 90 by the buffer conveyor 40 between the picking operation of the article 90 and the loading operation of the article 90 into the collection container 91, The amount of work for loading the article 90 into the container 91 is adjusted.

In the buffer conveyor 40, when the articles 90 are intensively transported to a specific transport line 42 of the four rows of transport lines 42, picking work is delayed or waiting for picking work occurs. In particular, when a plurality of articles 90 are loaded into one collection container 91, if all the articles 90 to be loaded into the collection vessel 91 are conveyed in the same one conveyance line 42, all the articles 90 It is not possible to complete the loading of the article 90 into the collection container 91 until the sheet is transported to the most downstream position of the transport line 42. Therefore, the collection container 91 cannot be transported from the loading area 22 until the loading of the article 90 is completed, and the subsequent collection container 91 may be stagnant in the loading area 22 or may not be transported to the loading area 22. However, there is a delay in picking work or waiting for picking work.
Therefore, in the low-frequency product picking area 20, at the time of picking the article 90 from the medium-volume shelf 23 in the picking area 21, the worker H2 picks the article 90 so that the article 90 can be distributed and transported in the four rows of the transport lines 42. Work is controlled. Specifically, the picking area 21 is divided into two areas so that the four rows of the transport lines 42 of the buffer conveyor 40 are divided into the two rows of the transport lines 42 from the center. When loading a plurality of articles 90 into one collection container 91, the low-frequency article area controller 62 distributes the articles 90 to be loaded from the medium-volume shelves 23 in each of the above two areas. Voice guidance is issued to the worker H2 so as to perform picking. Further, the low-frequency product area controller 62 issues voice guidance to the worker H2 so as to disperse the articles 90 picked by the worker H2 into the respective transport lines 42 in the two areas. That is, the articles 90 picked from the different medium quantity shelves 23 by the two workers H2 arranged in the picking area 21 are put into the transport lines 42 of the different buffer conveyors 40, and the transport lines 42 of the different buffer conveyors 40 are loaded. In the loading area 22, the worker H3 loads a plurality of articles 90 conveyed from the single collection container 91.
Further, when one worker H2 loads a plurality of articles 90 into the buffer conveyor 40, the low-frequency product area controller 62 causes the worker H2 to load a plurality of articles 90 into the two rows of the transfer lines 42. The voice guidance is issued to the worker H2 so that the articles 90 are sorted and loaded. That is, loading of the articles 90 into the transport line 42 is controlled so that a plurality of articles 90 are not continuously loaded into the same transport line 42. As a result, the plurality of articles 90 to be put into one collection container 91 will not be continuously conveyed to the same conveyance line 42.

Further, when a plurality of types of articles 90 are ordered in one order from the user (when a plurality of items are ordered in one order), the low-frequency article area controller 62 causes the plurality of belt conveyors 41 to have a plurality of items. The voice guidance is issued to the worker H2 so that the articles 90 of various types are put together into one. Specifically, when "meat" and "yogurt" are ordered in one order from the user, the worker H2 selects "meat" and "yogurt" from the medium-volume shelf 23. The picked “meat” and “yogurt” are collectively placed on the belt conveyor 41 on the most upstream side of the predetermined conveyance line 42.
In the picking facility 10, the worker H1 in the high-frequency product picking area 11 (the upstream picking area of the conveyor 95) cannot pick the article 90 from the medium-volume shelf 23 of the low-frequency product picking area 20. Therefore, in the picking equipment 10, a plurality of types of articles 90 are collected in one belt conveyor 41 and conveyed to the loading area 22, so that the plurality of types of articles 90 combined into one are collected in the high-frequency article picking area 11. The picked articles 90 and the picked-up articles 22 can be efficiently collected in a single area.
Note that one order from the user means not only an order in the low-frequency product picking area 20 but also an order from one user in the entire picking equipment 10 including the high-frequency product picking area 11.

Further, when there is no picking operation for the collection container 91 being conveyed in the input area 22, the preceding picking operation to the high-frequency product picking area 11 on the upstream side, that is, the conveyance in the high-frequency product picking area 11 is performed. The collection container 91 being conveyed on the conveyor 95 is designated as an object to be loaded with the article 90, and the picked article 90 is picked from the medium quantity shelf 23 of the picking area 21 to the designated collection vessel 91 in the high-frequency product picking area 11. A picking operation is performed to check the completion of the operation by operating the insertion completion tape switch 46 in the high-frequency product picking area 11.
Specifically, when the worker H3 placed in the loading area 22 is in the buffer when the second lamp portion 93c of the loading indicator 93 provided in the collection container 91 in the high-frequency product picking area 11 is on. Based on the lighting of the lamp part of the completion push button switch of the indicator 49 provided at the most downstream part of the conveyor 40, the second lamp part 93c of the loading indicator 93 located in the high frequency product picking area 11 on the upstream side is lit. The picked article 90 is loaded into the collecting container 91 that is being operated from the transport line 42 of the buffer conveyor 40 in which the lamp portion of the completion push button switch of the display 49 is lit. Then, when all the articles 90 have been loaded, the worker H3 presses the loading completion tape switch 46 in the high-frequency product picking area 11 to finish the picking operation for the loading target collection container 91.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the articles 90 picked according to the user's order are conveyed to the loading area 22 while being accumulated in the belt conveyor 41 of the buffer conveyor 40. Therefore, according to the user's order. It is possible to adjust the number of articles 90 conveyed to the input area 22. Therefore, the work amount of the picking work can be equalized, and there is no delay in the picking work or waiting for the picking work due to deviation (variation) of orders from the user. Therefore, the efficiency of the picking work can be improved.

In the present embodiment, the low-frequency product picking area 20 is arranged downstream of the high-frequency product picking area 11 in the transport direction of the transport conveyor 95, but the invention is not limited to this. The low-frequency product picking area 20 may be arranged upstream of the high-frequency product picking area 11.
In the present embodiment, the buffer conveyor 40 is used to convey low-frequency articles 90, but the present invention is not limited to this, and may be used to convey high-frequency articles 90.
In the present embodiment, the medium-weight shelf 23 is configured as a movable shelf, but the present invention is not limited to this, and if the article 90 can be stored, it is a stationary medium-weight shelf. I don't care. Further, the article 90 is not limited to being stored in the medium-volume shelf 23, and may be stored in, for example, a directly placed storage box, a flow rack, or the like. It doesn't matter.
Although a plurality of workers H2 in the picking area 21 are arranged in the present embodiment, the number of workers H2 is not limited to this and may be one. Similarly, the number of workers H3 in the input area 22 may not be one but may be plural.
In the present embodiment, the article 90 is put into the predetermined conveying line 42 based on the instruction lamp 45 provided at the most upstream portion of the buffer conveyor 40, but the present invention is not limited to this and the conveying line 42 is not limited thereto. It is also possible to adopt a configuration in which the article 90 is loaded into a predetermined transport line 42 based on a display including a quantity display for displaying the quantity of the article 90 to be loaded into the container and a completion push button switch having a lamp section. ..
In the present embodiment, the picking operation of the article 90 in the picking area 21 is performed by the voice guidance from the voice terminal 30, but the present invention is not limited to this, and, for example, a display provided on the medium quantity shelf 23 can be used. The picking operation of the article 90 may be performed by the display or the display of the control panel 44.
In the present embodiment, the collection container 91 into which the article 90 is loaded is conveyed by the conveyor 95 while being placed on the tray 92, but the present invention is not limited to this, and only the collection container 91 is conveyed. It may be transported.
In the present embodiment, the collection container 91 into which the article 90 is loaded is provided with the loading indicator 93, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the collection container 91 does not include the loading indicator 93. I don't care. Further, in the present embodiment, the tray 92 is provided with the loading display 93, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the loading container 93 may be directly provided with the loading display 93. Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the collection container 91 and the input indicator 93 are conveyed by the conveyance conveyor 95, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the conveyance conveyor 95 that conveys the collection container 91. It is also possible to arrange the collecting container 91 and the loading display device 93 by separate transporting means by arranging the above and the transporting means for transporting the loading display device 93 in parallel.
In the present embodiment, the transfer conveyor 95 is configured by an accumulation conveyor, but the present invention is not limited to this, and may be a conventionally known conveyor such as a roller conveyor or a belt conveyor.

10 Picking Equipment 21 Picking Area 22 Loading Area 40 Buffer Conveyor
41 Belt conveyor (article storage)
90 goods 91 collection container 95 transfer conveyor (container transfer means)
H2, H3 workers

Claims (11)

Picking equipment for loading articles into a collection container to which a sorting destination is assigned,
A picking area in which the articles are stored and the articles requested by the sorting destination are picked,
An input area for inputting articles to be picked in the picking area into the collection container,
Container transport means for transporting the collection container,
An article transporting means for transporting an article to be loaded in the picking area by an article storage section capable of transporting and stopping the article,
Equipped with
The article conveying means,
Forming a transport line for the article by arranging a plurality of the article storage units in the transport direction of the article,
Carrying the articles to be fed into the article transporting means while being stopped on each article storage section in a sequential manner, or carrying the articles without stopping on each article storage section,
Picking equipment, wherein the article conveyed by the article conveying means is put into a collection container conveyed by the container conveying means by an operator in the input area. The loading area, the article transporting means, and the container transporting means are arranged on the same side with respect to an operator who loads the article transporting means with an article to be picked in the picking area. The picking equipment according to claim 1. Among the articles picked by the entire equipment in response to a request from the sorting destination, the article transporting means compares the frequency with which a large number of articles shipped from the equipment are requested by the sorting destination. The picking equipment according to claim 2, which conveys an infrequent article that is less frequently requested from the customer. Adjacent to the loading area, an adjacent loading area for loading articles picked in the area upstream of the picking area into the collection container,
3. The article transporting means transports an article picked in the picking area, which article is loaded in advance in a collection container in the adjacent loading area. Picking equipment according to item 3. The article conveying means,
Consists of multiple transport lines,
The picking according to any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein each of the plurality of articles to be put into one of the collection containers is dispersed and conveyed to the plurality of conveyance lines. Facility. The article conveying means,
Consists of multiple transport lines,
The picking equipment according to any one of claims 2 to 5, wherein a plurality of articles to be put into one of the collection containers are not continuously conveyed on the same conveyance line. 3. The article transporting means transports the plurality of articles together into one when a plurality of articles are requested in one request from the sorting destination. Item 7. The picking equipment according to any one of items 6. The article conveying means is constituted by a plurality of conveying lines including the article accumulating section configured by a division conveyor divided into a plurality in the conveying direction,
At the downstream end of the transfer line, a display unit that displays information about the articles to be put into the collection container is provided.
The picking area, the article transporting means, and the container transporting means for an operator who loads the article transported by the article transporting means into the collection container transported by the container transporting means in the loading area. The picking equipment according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the picking equipment is disposed on the same side. A storage shelf for storing the article is provided in the picking area,
The storage shelf is
A plurality of frontages for storing the articles,
It is configured to be able to change the interval of the frontage for storing the article,
The picking equipment according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the article transporting means transports an article associated with a frontage of the storage rack. The picking article according to claim 1, wherein the article carrying means carries an article picked by an operator who performs a picking operation for the article in the picking area in response to a voice instruction. Facility. A picking method for articles in a picking facility for putting articles into a collection container to which a sorting destination is assigned,
The picking equipment is
A picking area in which the articles are stored and the articles requested by the sorting destination are picked,
An input area for inputting articles to be picked in the picking area into the collection container,
Container transport means for transporting the collection container,
An article conveying means for conveying an article picked in the picking area,
Equipped with
The picking area, the article transporting means, and the container transporting means for an operator who loads the article transported by the article transporting means into the collection container transported by the container transporting means in the loading area. On the same side,
The loading area, the article transporting means, and the container transporting means are disposed on the same side with respect to an operator who loads the article transporting means with an article to be picked in the picking area,
The article conveying means includes an article accumulating section capable of conveying and stopping an article to be put in the picking area, and conveying the article by arranging a plurality of the article accumulating sections in the article conveying direction. A line is formed, and the articles to be introduced into the article conveying means are conveyed sequentially while being stopped on each article storage section, or the articles are conveyed without stopping on each article storage section. Is something
Picking the articles stored in the picking area according to the request of the sorting destination,
Throwing the article picked in the picking area into the article conveying means,
The article that has been loaded into the article transport means is transported to the loading area by the article transport means,
An article picking method in a picking facility, characterized in that the article transported to the loading area is loaded into a collection container transported by the container transporting means.

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