JP7001354B2 - Automatic logistics system - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an automated and labor-saving distribution system for a series of processes from temporarily storing goods in a distribution center to shipping them to a destination. In addition, in this specification, an article means not only an article itself but also a container containing an article or a bundle of individual articles, which is the smallest unit for handling in physical distribution.

The rationalization in logistics lags behind that in terms of production and sales, but not to mention the quantitative expansion of logistics, especially in the expansion of the home delivery business for individuals due to the spread of the Internet, we have the necessary goods when necessary. The qualitative expansion of wanting to do so has become stronger not only in industry but also in general consumers, and rapid logistics rationalization, that is, a logistics revolution, has been demanded and promoted.

Conventionally, containerization that transports goods of different shapes and sizes using standardization of packing styles on which goods are placed on pallets and mechanization of cargo handling by forklifts and standardized containers (containers). The most effective method for streamlining logistics is a unit load system that collects individual items into a single package, transports them to the final destination without breaking the package, and stores them. Although it has been pursued as being, it has become difficult to respond to the quantitative and qualitative expansion of logistics in recent years.

That is, in order for such a unit loading system to achieve logistics rationalization, the main functions of logistics, transportation, storage, cargo handling, and packaging, need to be organically linked to each other. Furthermore, considering the qualitative expansion of physical distribution, it is indispensable to rationalize the inside of the warehouse so that the goods that have been received can be sorted and delivered accurately and promptly according to the information associated with them.

Based on this point of view, in recent years, digital picking systems and various three-dimensional automated warehouse systems have been developed, and rationalization in warehouses has progressed rapidly. In particular, a three-dimensional automated warehouse in which various control systems can sort and store articles and the like based on a huge amount of article information collected by using a computer is attracting attention.

For example, in Patent Document 1, article storage containers are stacked without gaps in a space without shelves, which is composed of columns and beams assembled in a grid pattern, and can run vertically and horizontally on the uppermost beam in the vertical direction. A three-dimensional automated warehouse system in which goods are transferred in the horizontal and vertical directions by a trolley having a goods transfer function is disclosed. Further, in Patent Document 2, storage shelves arranged in a grid pattern are arranged in series or in parallel, and are provided in each stage between a pair of storage shelves arranged in parallel, and can run horizontally and are in the horizontal direction. A three-dimensional automated warehouse system is disclosed in which articles are transferred in a horizontal direction by a carriage having an article transfer function, and articles are transferred in a vertical direction by an elevator provided adjacent to a storage shelf.

However, in any of the above three-dimensional automated warehouse systems, although automation and labor saving related to storage and transfer of goods in the warehouse are progressing, it can be said that the sorting of goods in warehousing and warehousing is sufficiently rationalized. do not have. Certainly, as an automatic sorting mechanism for goods, there can be various sorters that can accurately sort goods according to types, destinations, etc. in a short time without human intervention, but basically. Since it is attached to the transport mechanism, it is suitable for sorting a large number of articles to be sequentially fed, but the types, quantities, sizes, and the number of sorting destinations of the articles that can be sorted are limited. In addition, because it is difficult to control the time from order to shipment, it is not possible to give sorting instructions based on orders that match the shipping status, and space is required for temporary storage of goods, which is automated and labor-saving. However, it cannot be said that it is a rational mechanism for the qualitative expansion of logistics.

In addition, the concept of individualizing goods, which sorts and stores goods individually in a three-dimensional automated warehouse, is not recognized. Therefore, in order to collect the goods from the goods stored in the conventional three-dimensional automated warehouse for each shipping destination according to the order, a lot of manpower is required, and the goods are separated and consolidated. Not fully automated.

In response to the problem of individualizing articles, Patent Document 3 proposes the following sorting system. First, a specific quantity of a specific article is individually sorted and stored in a specific transport container, that is, individualized into a transport container, from a large amount of unsorted articles that are sequentially sent from the storage according to an order. Then, the transport container containing the separated articles is automatically sent out by the transport mechanism and temporarily stored in the storage shelf. Then, it is shipped from the storage shelf according to the instruction of the order.

This system certainly solves the above problem when sorting a large number of articles to be sent in order using various sorters, and the concept of individualizing articles is to sort and store the articles individually in a three-dimensional automated warehouse. Although it is admitted, so-called human-mediated digital picking is performed in the shipping process. Therefore, even with this system, there is no complete automation in the consolidation of goods, and each system that is still required from warehousing to warehousing is integrated, and the goods that have been warehousing are sorted accurately and quickly. It cannot be said that the rationalization and automation in the warehouse that can be delivered is sufficiently achieved.

International Publication No. 1998/049075 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2011-178549 Special Table 2010-531796 Gazette

An object of the present invention is to provide a physical distribution system that is automated and labor-saving from the receipt of goods to the delivery of goods in response to the above-mentioned quantitative and qualitative expansion of physical distribution. In particular, the present invention has storage shelves arranged in a grid pattern arranged in series or in parallel, and is provided at each stage between a pair of storage shelves arranged in parallel, and has a horizontally movable and article transfer function. Utilizing a three-dimensional automated warehouse where goods are transferred horizontally by a trolley and goods are transferred vertically by an elevator installed adjacent to a storage shelf, the goods are automated and labor-saving from warehousing to warehousing. The purpose is to build a distribution system.

The present inventors stored the stored articles in a storage, and in response to an order, the articles taken out from the storage were individually sorted and put into a transport container for each item, and the articles were individualized. After that, the transport container is temporarily stored in the storage, and when a delivery instruction is issued, the transport container in which the goods for which the delivery instruction is issued are separated and stored is delivered, and at the same time, for each shipping destination. The present invention has been completed by finding that the distribution from warehousing to warehousing can be automated and labor-saving by transporting the shipping container for collecting the goods and automatically loading the goods from the transport container into the shipping container.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention automates a distribution system of individualizing articles and aggregating articles according to orders, in which articles are individually sorted and stored in a three-dimensional automated warehouse from in-stock articles. That is, the present invention includes an inventory storage mechanism for goods, a sorting mechanism for sorting and charging articles of the inventory storage mechanism into a transport container for each item, and a transport container storage mechanism for temporarily storing the transport container. It is a distribution system characterized by being equipped with an automatic article delivery mechanism for delivering transport containers. Here, the main purpose of storing goods in a transport container is to unify the distribution mechanism of the distribution system regardless of the quantity and shape of the articles, and to facilitate automation and labor saving.

Further, the present invention is a physical distribution system characterized in that the article automatic delivery mechanism can automatically load articles stored in a transport container into a shipping container. In this way, by transferring only the articles stored in the transport container to the shipping container, the empty transport container can be returned to the sorting mechanism, and the transport container and the shipping container can be used efficiently. become able to.

The goods inventory storage mechanism and the transport container storage mechanism that temporarily stores the transport containers in which the goods sorted by item are individually separated are such that storage shelves arranged in a grid pattern are arranged in series or in parallel. Horizontally traversable, horizontal, for example, a trolley with an article transfer mechanism, such as a telescopic arm, provided at each stage between a pair of side-by-side storage shelves performs horizontal article transfer. For example, it expands and contracts between a three-dimensional automatic warehouse where goods are transferred in the vertical direction by an elevator installed adjacent to the storage shelves, and a pair of storage shelves in which storage shelves arranged in a grid pattern are arranged in parallel. A three-dimensional automatic warehouse where horizontal and vertical article transfer is performed by a stacker crane having an article transfer mechanism such as an arm is used, but it is particularly limited as long as it is a three-dimensional automatic warehouse that can be connected to various conveyors. is not it.

The sorting mechanism for separating the articles into individual pieces in the transport container is not particularly limited, and can be performed by using an automatic sorting system using various sorters or robots, but can also be performed by using a manual sorting system.

The automatic article delivery mechanism for automatically delivering the transport container can be constructed by combining various sorters, various tilting / turning devices for tilting the conveyor bucket, a conveyor having a direction changing mechanism, a robot, and the like. Here, the conveyor having a direction changing mechanism is a device equipped with various mechanisms capable of exhibiting the functions of branching and merging articles, and has a function of causing the conveyor to change the direction of an elevating and / or rotary roller, belt, or the like. Includes all general equipment that can be branched and transported by a conveyor, such as equipment with parts, equipment with functional parts that rotate the conveyor itself, equipment with functional parts that change the direction of articles etc. on the side of the conveyor. In particular, a transfer device capable of branching at a right angle is preferable, and examples thereof include a conveyor equipped with an elevating roller and a belt direction changing function component.

As a specific embodiment, the article automatic delivery mechanism of the present invention may have at least an article automatic transfer device. However, for the following purposes, it is preferable to have an article identification and supply device, and even more preferably to have an article input device.

First, the automatic article transfer device, which is at least necessary for the automatic article delivery mechanism of the present invention, tilts or swivels the transport container so that the articles stored in the transport container can be automatically loaded into the shipping container. It consists of a tilting device or a swivel device that transfers only the article to the shipping container.

However, if the article is tilted or swiveled and directly transferred to the shipping container, there is a high possibility that a logistics problem of damaging the article will occur. It is preferable to attach a shooter mechanism for reducing the amount of.

Next, in the article automatic delivery mechanism of the present invention, the article is not put into an appropriate position of the shipping container, the type and quantity of the article stored in the shipping container are limited, and the transport stability of the shipping container is impaired. In order to solve the problem, it is preferable that an article identification and supply device is provided, and it is even more preferable that an article input device is provided.

The article identification and supply device is a transfer mechanism such as a conveyor placed in the vicinity of the article automatic transfer device, and is provided with a sensor capable of detecting the size and weight of the article. There is a guide mechanism that drives the pickup container back and forth and left and right so that it can be transferred to the proper position. Therefore, the individualized articles in the transport container are transferred to the article identification and supply device by the article automatic transfer device, and are directly charged into the shipping container via the shipping container or the article loading device.

However, it is more preferable to provide an article loading device because the article may be damaged by the direct loading of the article from the article identification and supply device into the shipping container. The article loading device is deployed after the article identification and supply device so that the article transferred from the article identification and supply device to the appropriate position of the article loading device is transferred to the shipping container without being damaged. An elevating bucket whose bottom can be opened and closed, an elevating arm of a lifter, handling like a robot, and the like can be used.

If the article loading device is provided, the article identification and supply device is not always required. Articles can be loaded into the shipping container from the article automatic transfer device via the article loading device.

As described above, the distribution system of the present invention includes an inventory storage mechanism, a sorting mechanism, a transport container storage mechanism, and an automatic article delivery mechanism, but these are used to automate and save labor in the transportation of articles. It is preferable that each of them is connected by a transport mechanism, a warehousing mechanism for received goods and an inventory storage mechanism are connected, and a shipping container warehousing mechanism is connected to an automatic goods delivery mechanism. In particular, it is more preferable that such a warehousing mechanism, a transporting mechanism, and a warehousing mechanism are various conveyors. As the transport mechanism, an existing transport mechanism such as a forklift or a traveling robot can also be used.

Then, in the distribution system composed of each of the above mechanisms, the goods flow as follows.

The items that can be ordered are stored in advance in the inventory storage mechanism as inventory, and according to the order, the items in the inventory storage mechanism are taken out and transferred to the sorting mechanism. In this sorting mechanism, the ordered goods are individually sorted and put into the transport container for each item in the required quantity.

The transport container is then transferred to the transport container storage mechanism and temporarily stored until a delivery instruction is given. However, this transport container storage mechanism has problems associated with sorting a large amount of articles to be sequentially fed, that is, the types, quantities, sizes of articles that can be sorted, the number of sorting destinations, etc. are limited, and Since it is difficult to control the time from order to shipment, it is not possible to give a sorting instruction based on an order adapted to the shipping situation, and it is an effective means for solving the need for a space for temporarily storing goods. In addition, it is possible to control the inspection work after delivery, the packing work, and the distribution according to the status of the shipping flight.

When the delivery instruction is issued, the transport container containing the ordered article is taken out from the transport container storage mechanism, and the transport container containing the ordered article by the article automatic delivery mechanism is sent to the delivery mechanism. As a preferred embodiment, when the article automatic delivery mechanism is composed of an article automatic transfer device, an article identification supply device, and an article loading device, the article automatic transfer device is passed through the article identification supply device and the article loading device. Only the articles stored in the transport container are loaded into the shipping container, and then the shipping container is sent to the delivery mechanism.

Such a distribution system is controlled and functions based on a central information system that aggregates a huge amount of goods information such as arrival, receipt, shipment, delivery, and inventory, which are aggregated by a computer using known technology. do. For example, the central information system is provided with a data management computer, a data control computer, and the like interlocked with each other, and the data management computer is provided with an inventory management unit, a warehousing management unit, a warehousing management unit, and the like, and manages these and data. The control computer includes a conveyor control unit, a warehousing control unit, a sorting control unit, a warehousing control unit, etc. Control the lines to work together functionally. For example, the conveyor control unit has a transport mechanism, an automatic loading mechanism, a transfer mechanism, etc., the warehousing control unit has a warehousing mechanism, an inventory storage mechanism, and the sorting control unit has an automatic sorting mechanism according to an order and a display mechanism for manual sorting. , The delivery control unit controls the delivery mechanism and the transport container storage mechanism.

According to the distribution system of the present invention, all functions such as transportation, transfer, storage, etc. related to warehousing of goods, storage of warehousing goods, sorting of stored goods, delivery of sorted goods, etc. Since the mechanism is centrally managed and can be automated and labor-saving, it is possible to respond to the quantitative and qualitative expansion of physical distribution.

It is a conceptual diagram which drew the whole flow of the article which concerns on one Embodiment of the distribution system of this invention. It is a conceptual diagram which shows the flow of the apparatus and article which constitutes the article automatic delivery mechanism which concerns on one Embodiment of the distribution system of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the inventory storage mechanism which concerns on one Embodiment of the distribution system of this invention. It is a top view which shows the transport container storage mechanism and the article automatic delivery mechanism after the transport container storage mechanism which concerns on one Embodiment of the distribution system of this invention. It is a conceptual diagram of the information system which concerns on one Embodiment of the distribution system of this invention.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to one embodiment, but the present invention is not limited thereto. There are many embodiments that can be realized based on the technical idea described in the claims of the present invention, and the present invention is limited only by this technical idea.

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram depicting the overall flow of goods according to an embodiment of the distribution system of the present invention. For example, it is assumed that this figure shows a goods distribution center entrusted by a product distributor. At the goods distribution center, various goods are received based on the goods information of the product distributor, transported to the inventory storage mechanism via the warehousing mechanism, and the goods are sorted and stored in a container as inventory. store. When an order is received from a customer, the container containing the ordered article is taken out from the inventory storage mechanism and transported to the sorting mechanism via the transport mechanism. Therefore, a specific quantity is sorted and put into a specific transport container for each specific item. The transport container into which the articles ordered in this way are loaded is transported to the transport container storage mechanism via the transport mechanism and temporarily stored.

When the delivery instruction is issued, the stored transport container is transported to the article automatic delivery mechanism via the transport mechanism, and as shown in FIG. 2, the ordered article stored in the transport container is an article. It is automatically loaded into the shipping container for delivery from the automatic transfer device through the article identification supply device and the article loading device. Then, this shipping container is shipped via the shipping mechanism. Although not shown in FIG. 2, the goods that have been delivered are inspected and packed and shipped to the customer.

In FIG. 3, various goods are received based on the goods information of the product distributor, transported to the inventory storage mechanism via the warehousing mechanism, and the goods are sorted and stored in a container as inventory. A three-dimensional automated warehouse, which is an inventory storage mechanism for storing, is shown. This is because the inventory storage shelves 1 arranged in a grid pattern are arranged in parallel, and are provided in each stage between the pair of storage shelves 1 arranged in parallel. An article transfer mechanism 2 having an article transfer mechanism such as an arm performs horizontal article transfer, and an elevator 3 provided with an article loading carrier 4 provided adjacent to the inventory storage shelf 1 performs a vertical article transfer. The goods are transferred, and the goods are transferred between the traveling trolley 2 and the goods loading and unloading table 4 by the temporary storage pedestal 5 that intervenes the free movement of the goods in the horizontal and vertical directions.

FIG. 4A shows an example of a distribution system after the transport container storage mechanism that can embody one embodiment of FIGS. 1 and 2.

The transport container storage mechanism has the same configuration as the three-dimensional automated warehouse shown in FIG. 3, and there is no essential difference except that the transport container is stored in the transport container storage shelf 10. A transport container 8 containing articles sorted by a sorting mechanism (not shown) according to an order is conveyed to the transport container storage shelf 10 by a transport container transport conveyor (1) 9 which is a transport mechanism. It is sorted and temporarily stored.

According to the delivery instruction, the transport container 8 stored in the transport container storage shelf 1 is transported to the article automatic delivery mechanism 13 via the transport container transport conveyor (2) 11 and the branching / merging conveyor 12.

As shown in FIG. 4B, the article automatic delivery mechanism 13 is composed of an article automatic transfer device 13-1, an article identification supply device 13-2, and an article loading device 13-3, and is a shipping container. The article is loaded into the proper position of the shipping container 14 supplied from the delivery conveyor 15 without damaging it.

The shipping container 14 into which the article is loaded is delivered from the shipping container delivery conveyor 16 via the branching / merging conveyor 12. After that, although not shown, the ordered goods are transported to the customer through inspection work and packing work.

As shown in FIG. 5, the series of operations as described above is provided so that a data management computer, a data control computer, and the like are interlocked under the central information system. Then, the data management computer has an inventory management unit, a warehousing management unit, and a warehousing management unit, and manages them. On the other hand, the data control computer includes a conveyor control unit, a warehousing control unit, a sorting control unit, and a warehousing control unit, and these control systems have a transportation mechanism, a transfer mechanism, and a display mechanism by programming created by a known algorithm. Etc. are controlled so as to be functionally linked. The conveyor control unit has a transport mechanism, automatic loading mechanism, transfer mechanism, etc., the warehousing control unit has a warehousing mechanism, inventory storage mechanism, and the sorting control unit has an automatic sorting mechanism according to orders and a display mechanism for manual sorting. The control unit controls the delivery mechanism and the transport container storage mechanism.

The present invention integrates all functions and mechanisms of transportation, transfer, storage, etc. related to warehousing of goods, storage of warehousing goods, sorting of stored goods, delivery of sorted goods, etc. It can be managed, automated and labor-saving, so it can be applied to any logistics system.

1 Inventory storage shelf 2 Traveling trolley 3 Elevator 4 Article loading and unloading table 5 Elevator temporary storage and unloading conveyor 7 Inventory 8 Transport container 9 Transport container Transport conveyor (1)
10 Conveyor container storage shelf 11 Conveyor container Conveyor conveyor (2)
12 Branching / merging conveyor 13 Automatic article delivery mechanism 13-1 Automatic article transfer device 13-2 Article identification supply conveyor 13-3 Article loading device 14 Shipping container 15 Shipping container sending conveyor 16 Shipping container sending conveyor

Claims (4)

The first inventory storage mechanism for storing the goods that have been received, and
A sorting mechanism that sorts the articles in the inventory storage mechanism into transport containers for each item and puts them into individual containers.
A transport container storage mechanism for temporarily storing the transport container into which the individualized articles are loaded, and a transport container storage mechanism.
When a delivery instruction is issued, an article automatic delivery mechanism in which the transport container into which the article for which the delivery instruction has been issued is loaded is automatically aggregated in the shipping container based on the delivery instruction . An automatic logistics system characterized by being equipped with. The automatic distribution system according to claim 1, wherein only the articles stored in the transport container are transferred to the shipping container, so that the empty transport container is returned to the sorting mechanism. In the transport container storage mechanism, storage shelves arranged in a grid pattern are arranged in series or in parallel, and are provided in each stage between a pair of storage shelves arranged in parallel. A three-dimensional automatic warehouse in which articles are transferred in the horizontal direction by a carriage having a mounting mechanism, and articles are transferred in the vertical direction by an elevator provided adjacent to the storage shelves, or storage shelves arranged in a grid pattern. The invention according to claim 1 or 2, wherein is a three-dimensional automatic warehouse in which articles are transferred horizontally and vertically by a stacker crane having an article transfer mechanism between a pair of storage shelves arranged in parallel. Automatic distribution system. The warehousing mechanism for the received goods is connected to the inventory storage mechanism,
The inventory storage mechanism, the sorting mechanism, the transport container storage mechanism, and the article automatic delivery mechanism are each connected by a transport mechanism.
The distribution system according to claim 2 , wherein the delivery mechanism of the shipping container is connected to the automatic article delivery mechanism.

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