JP7329978B2 - Goods sorting device - Google Patents

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to an article sorting apparatus used in article sorting for picking articles stored in article shelves by type and sorting them into necessary article sets.

In recent years, Internet shopping has prospered. Customers have changed from the conventional style of directly visiting retail stores (supermarkets and department stores) to purchase products and take them home with them, while ordering products on the Internet and making electronic payments. Even in such Internet shopping, it is necessary to deliver the ordered and settled merchandise to the purchaser.

In such Internet shopping, various kinds of goods are bought and sold. For this reason, it is necessary for the delivery facility of the delivery company to prepare an extremely large number of types of goods, and to compose a set of goods in which a plurality of types of goods are combined according to the order of the delivery destination. . For example, it may be necessary to deliver 3 items A, 2 items B, and 4 items C as an item set to delivery destination X.

In this case, it is necessary to prepare in advance many types of articles, including articles A to C, at the delivery facility. For example, these products are prepared (stocked) on the product shelf. A worker takes out (picks) the necessary types and number of articles from these article shelves and packs them into a delivery case. Three articles A, two articles B, and four articles C are packed in this delivery case as an article set. This delivery case is delivered to the delivery destination X as described above.

That is, in a delivery facility, it is necessary to sort a plurality of types and numbers of items into an item set, which is a combination required for a delivery destination.

The items sorted as the item set are packed in the delivery case as described above. The delivery case is ready for shipping to the delivery destination or shipping destination. At this time, the delivery case is linked according to the delivery destination or shipping destination. Therefore, an article set packed in a certain delivery case is delivered to the linked delivery destination. The shipping cases are transported on a shipping case line that is installed, for example, behind the picking operation. For this reason, the articles picked up from the article shelves are packed in delivery cases that are transported on the delivery case line, and flow for delivery.

In this way, in a delivery facility that supports Internet shopping and mail-order sales, there are goods shelves on which a large number of types and quantities of goods are prepared. It is

Alternatively, some manufacturers produce many types of articles. From this manufacturer, a combination of a plurality of types and a plurality of numbers of articles is delivered as a set of articles to an intermediary agency, a retail store, or the like. In other words, it is necessary to sort a plurality of types of articles into sets of articles that are combinations required for delivery destinations.

In this way, the manufacturer also needs a process of sorting a plurality of types and numbers of articles into article sets, which are combinations required for delivery destinations. Such sorting processing is required in various places and situations, not limited to the delivery facilities and manufacturers described above.

In this case as well, the process of picking the goods corresponding to the combination of the goods set from the goods shelf, the process of packing the picked goods into the delivery case, and the delivery case packed with the goods set are moved as the delivery state. and a step are performed.

Under such circumstances, an automated warehouse technology has been proposed that sorts articles using stacker cranes (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2009-46242 A

Patent Document 1 discloses a flow rack provided at a picking station in the middle of a main conveyor, a picking number indicator provided at each opening of the flow rack, and an automated warehouse for loading and unloading full containers after picking or sorted containers. , a storage conveyor for temporarily storing columns stacked with in-process containers, a return conveyor for returning the columns cut out from the storage conveyor to the main conveyor, a tier dismantling device for dismantling the columns, and a column bypass for returning the columns to the starting end of the storage conveyor. Conveyor, work-in-process container bypass conveyor for sending unstacked work-in-process containers to a stacking device, shipping stacking device for stacking full containers or sorted containers delivered from an automated warehouse for each store, and a management computer that controls each device A sorting facility is disclosed comprising:

However, in Internet shopping and mail-order sales in recent years, an extremely large number of types of goods have come to be bought and sold in accordance with the spread of the Internet society. For this reason, there are currently many types of articles that are required for sorting processing of articles in delivery facilities.

Similarly, the number of types of articles manufactured by manufacturers has also increased significantly. For example, the types of detergents manufactured by manufacturers that manufacture detergents are also increasing in number. For this reason, the current situation is that the number of types of articles shipped from manufacturers has increased significantly.

Here, in an article sorting process, an article shelf divided into a plurality of sections and picking of articles from the article shelf may be used. Different articles are stored in each of the plurality of compartments. For example, section A stores article A, section B stores article B, and section C stores article C. Here, goods A, goods B, and goods C represent types of goods.

A worker performs a picking operation in front of a section of an article shelf. For example, for delivery destination X, it is necessary to sort 3 items A, 2 items B, and 4 items C as an item set. A worker picks three articles A from section A, two articles B from section B, and four articles C from section C.

Furthermore, the worker packs these items into a delivery case corresponding to the delivery destination X as an item set. In this way, the product sorting process is completed.

However, as described above, the current situation is that the types of articles are increasing significantly. Moreover, in addition to the types, the number of articles to be sorted in a certain sorting work time zone is also increasing significantly. With such an increase, there is a problem that the burden on workers is increasing.

As the types and numbers of articles increase, the types and numbers of articles that must be accommodated on article shelves are also increasing. For this reason, problems such as an increase in the size of the article shelf and an increase in the number of compartments of the article shelf to correspond to the types have occurred. There is a problem that a picking device and a worker have to pick a large number of articles stored in such article shelves, and the burden is increasing.

In addition, as the types and numbers of items increase, each procedure becomes complicated, such as taking items out of a box in which multiple items of a certain type are packed and picking them as a set of items according to the delivery destination. there is a problem to Part of it involves human labor, such as a picker, and the problem with human labor is that mistakes can occur.

On the other hand, when mechanized automated work is introduced, there are problems such as an increase in cost due to mechanization and a loss of flexibility in line construction for the entire article sorting work. Furthermore, there are tasks that machines are not good at.

The work elements of the item sorting work are organized as follows: (1) supply of a packing box in which multiple items of a certain type are packed; (2) opening the packing box; and (3) making it easy to pick from the opened packing box. (4) picking the required type and number of items from the replaced container; (6) The work of setting the delivery case packed with the product set for shipping.

Due to the increase in the types and number of articles, the individual work elements involved in such article sorting work and the combination of individual work elements become more complicated. In the prior art, there were problems that it was difficult to deal with this appropriately and it was difficult to improve efficiency.

As described above, in the prior art, it is becoming increasingly difficult to pick a large number of types and numbers of articles and create an article set (a set of types and numbers) suited to a certain delivery destination. I had a problem that I couldn't handle.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the above problems, it is an object of the present invention to provide an article sorting apparatus that efficiently sorts articles by optimally combining manual work and mechanization in the sorting work of articles with increasing types and numbers. and

In view of the above problems, the article sorting device of the present invention
a packaging box supply means for supplying a plurality of types of cardboard boxes containing articles;
an opening means for opening the cardboard box;
a refilling means for repacking the articles housed in the cardboard box opened by the opening means into a dedicated box different from the cardboard box ;
a dedicated box transfer line provided on the same level as the packing box supply means for separating and transferring the dedicated boxes for each type of repacked article;
a picking means for picking a required type and number of articles (hereinafter referred to as an "article set") from a plurality of types of dedicated boxes transferred on a dedicated box transfer line;
packing means for packing the article set picked by the picking means into a delivery case;
At least, the unsealing means and the refilling means are performed manually by an unsealing operator,
The unsealing operator opens the cardboard box supplied by the packing box supply means, repacks the stored articles into the special box, puts it in a pickable state, and throws it into the special box transfer line,
The dedicated box transfer line is equipped with multiple transfer lines,
Dedicated boxes correspond to each type of goods,
The unsealing operator puts different special boxes after refilling according to the type of goods into different transfer lines among a plurality of transfer lines,
The picking means includes a picking device that picks the type and number of items required for the item set from the special box,
When the article set includes a plurality of types of articles, the picking device picks the corresponding articles from each of the different dedicated boxes corresponding to the different types,
further comprising a mounting table for temporarily mounting the article set picked by the picking means;
The stuffing means stuffs the article set placed on the placing table into the corresponding delivery case,
The stuffing means includes a manual stuffer .

The article sorting apparatus of the present invention can improve the efficiency of the article sorting work by appropriately dividing the work elements included in the article sorting work. In addition, by appropriately combining human-powered handling elements and mechanized handling elements among work elements, it is possible to promote efficiency in sorting work. In particular, it is possible to improve the accuracy of the article sorting work by appropriately grouping work elements that are good for human power and work elements that are good for machines.

In addition, by appropriately combining human power and mechanization, it becomes possible to sort a large number of types and numbers of articles. In addition, by increasing the efficiency and accuracy of manual work, the degree of concentration of the worker during the work period increases, and the work capacity increases. In addition, along with this, it is possible to extend the sorting work time, and mass processing becomes possible.

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram for explaining the problem that an article shelf becomes huge due to an increase in the types of articles; It is a schematic diagram explaining a sorting process provided with an article shelf and an arrangement area. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing a time lag between picking of articles by a picking operator and arrival of a delivery case; 1 is a block diagram of an article sorting device according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention; FIG. 3 is a block diagram around picking means in Embodiment 1 of the present invention. FIG. FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the surroundings of the mounting table according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention; 8 is a flow chart showing an article sorting method according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention.

The article sorting device according to the first invention of the present invention comprises:
a packaging box supplying means for supplying a plurality of types of article packaging boxes containing articles;
an unsealing means for unsealing the article packing box;
a refilling means for repacking the articles housed in the article packing box opened by the opening means into a dedicated box;
a dedicated box-dedicated box transfer line that separates and transports dedicated boxes for each type of repacked article;
a picking means for picking a required type and number of articles (hereinafter referred to as an "article set") from a plurality of types of special boxes transferred on a special box transfer line;
packing means for packing the article set picked by the picking means into a delivery case;
At least, the unsealing means and the refilling means are performed manually by an unsealing operator.

With this configuration, it is possible to efficiently and accurately sort the articles contained in the article packing box into a set of articles required for the delivery destination.

In the article sorting apparatus according to the second aspect of the present invention, in addition to the first aspect, the unsealing operator opens the article packing box supplied by the packing box supply means and removes the contained articles. By repacking into a special box, it is ready for picking and put into a special box transfer line.

With this configuration, the unsealing work by the unsealing operator improves the efficiency of unsealing.

In the article sorting apparatus according to the third aspect of the present invention, in addition to the second aspect, the dedicated box transfer line is provided with a plurality of transfer lines,
Dedicated boxes correspond to each type of goods,
An unsealing operator separately throws special boxes after refilling, which are different for each type of article, into different transfer lines among a plurality of transfer lines.

This configuration allows the picking means to pick different types of articles from article packing boxes transferred by different transfer lines. Therefore, it is difficult to make a mistake of mistaking the type.

An article sorting apparatus according to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in addition to any one of the first to third aspects, further includes a picking instruction section for instructing the picking means of the type and number of articles constituting the article set. is further provided.

With this configuration, the picking means can smoothly pick the required types and number of articles.

In the article sorting apparatus according to the fifth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the fourth aspect, the picking instruction section changes the instruction content when the delivery case corresponding to the article set is changed.

With this configuration, it is possible to improve the efficiency of the picking work by the picking means.

In the article sorting apparatus according to the sixth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the fifth aspect,
The picking means includes a picking device that picks the type and number of items required for the item set from the special box,
When an article set includes a plurality of types of articles, the picking device picks the corresponding articles from different dedicated boxes corresponding to different types.

With this configuration, the required type and number of articles can be picked reliably and efficiently.

An article sorting apparatus according to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in addition to any one of the first to sixth aspects, further includes a placing table for temporarily placing the set of articles picked by the picking means.

With this configuration, it is possible to absorb the time lag between picking and packing and prevent work from being stagnated.

In the article sorting apparatus according to the eighth aspect of the present invention, in addition to any one of the first to seventh aspects, the stuffing means places the article set placed on the placing table into the corresponding delivery case. cram,
The stuffing means includes a manual stuffer.

With this configuration, the stuffing process is efficiently performed.

The article sorting apparatus according to the ninth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the eighth aspect, further comprises a delivery case line for supplying delivery cases to the stuffing means.

With this configuration, the delivery cases to be stuffed are supplied one after another to the stuffing means, and the stuffing process is efficiently performed.

An article sorting apparatus according to a tenth invention of the present invention, in addition to any one of the first to ninth inventions, further comprises a return line for returning the empty dedicated boxes picked by the picking means. .

With this configuration, it is possible to prevent the empty article packing box from interfering with the next picking.

In the article sorting apparatus according to the eleventh invention of the present invention, in addition to any one of the first to tenth inventions,
further comprising a control unit that controls at least one of the packing box supply means, the opening means, the refilling means, the dedicated box transfer line, the picking means, the stuffing means and the picking instruction part,
The control unit performs control centering on an article set corresponding to a certain delivery case.

This configuration can increase the accuracy and efficiency of the overall item sorting.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

(Embodiment 1)

(Analysis by inventor)
The inventor analyzed the problem of picking and sorting items from compartments of an item shelf as follows.

(Unlimited enlargement of goods shelves)
As described in the prior art, the types of goods handled by delivery facilities and the types of goods produced by manufacturers are increasing due to the diversification of consumer tastes. As a result, many types of items must be handled in order to create an item set of combinations of items for shipping during shipment at a distribution facility or at a manufacturer.

In distribution facilities and manufacturers, multiple types of goods are stored on goods shelves. A supply crane or the like supplies articles one after another to this article shelf. It is necessary to pick the articles stored in this article shelf and create different article sets for each delivery destination. For example, for delivery destination X, it is necessary to create an article set that includes a combination of 3 items of product A, 2 items of product B, and 4 items of product C. However, the number of types of goods is increasing, and there is a state in which the number of types of goods is increasing, such as goods A to goods Z.

Here, the item set refers to a combination of items according to the type and number of items required for the delivery destination. In this way, an article set is created by picking the required types and number of articles from the article shelf. The product set is packed in a delivery case that matches the delivery destination X, for example. In this way, sorting of articles is performed with reference to the article shelves. The delivery case packed with the sorted product set is then actually shipped or delivered.

FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram for explaining the problem that an article shelf becomes huge due to an increase in the types of articles. The goods shelf 100 has a plurality of compartments 101 . Articles 200 of the same type are stored in each of the plurality of compartments 101 . For example, one compartment 101 contains type A goods 200 , another compartment 101 contains type B goods 200 , and another compartment contains type C goods 200 .

In order to create an article set to be sent to the delivery destination, it is necessary to pick the required type of article 200 from the article shelf 100 . However, if the types of articles 200 increase too much, the article shelf 100 becomes huge as shown in FIG. When the picking work is manually performed by an operator, it is difficult to pick the required type of article 200 from the article shelf 100 which has become huge. A similar problem arises when a picking device, which is a machine, performs the picking work.

Moreover, even when a plurality of workers and picking devices are arranged on the article shelf 100, it is possible that the required type of article 200 may not be nearby. In this case, the worker and the picking device need to move parallel to the article shelf 100, resulting in inefficient sorting.

In addition, among many types of articles 200, there are articles 200 that are frequently selected when creating an article set, and articles 200 that are only occasionally selected. Assume that frequently selected items 200 and infrequently selected items 200 are mixedly stored in the item shelf 100 of FIG. In this case, when a plurality of workers picks up the articles 200 from the article shelf 100, the worker who is in charge of the section 101 of the frequently selected articles 200 and the section 101 of the rarely selected articles 200 are assigned. There is a problem that the amount of work is unbalanced with the worker in charge.

(Problem due to separate placement of low-frequency items)
In order to deal with such a mixture of frequently selected items 200 and infrequently selected items 200, as shown in FIG. . FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a sorting process that includes article shelves and placement areas.

The article shelf 100 stores articles 200 that are frequently selected. On the other hand, in the arrangement area 150, articles 200 that are rarely selected are placed. A plurality of article shelves 100 are combined to form a sorting warehouse 300 as a whole.

A plurality of workers 400 are arranged in front of a plurality of article shelves 100 to perform picking work. In addition, a delivery case line 160 is provided behind the worker 400 (on the side opposite to the article shelf 100), and delivery cases 170 flow over it. The worker 400 picks up the types and number of articles 200 required for the article set, and packs the articles 200 into the delivery case 170 . Each of the delivery cases indicates a shipping destination and a delivery destination, and an item set (combination of required types and numbers of items 200) packed in a certain delivery case 170 corresponds to the shipping destination and shipping destination defined in the delivery case 170. Delivered to destination.

In the embodiment described later, a worker picks up the required type and number of articles 200 (a combination of these items is an article set) from the article shelf 100 and packs them into the delivery case 170 flowing along the delivery case line 160. . This is the sorting work in the sorting device or sorting warehouse.

Here, in FIG. 2, articles 200 that are rarely selected are placed in the placement area 150 without being stored in the article shelf 100 . The types of articles 200 that are frequently selected are stored in the article shelf 100 in consideration of the work efficiency of the worker 400. , is placed in the placement area 150 .

Although the product shelf 100 can be prevented from becoming too large, depending on the product set, it may be necessary to go to the placement area 150 to pick up the product 200 . In this case, worker 400 needs to move from in front of article shelf 100 to placement area 150 . This movement creates a problem that reduces the efficiency of the sorting operation. Of course, even if it is a picking device of a machine instead of the worker 400, it is necessary to move the picking device or extend the picking mechanism to the placement area 150, which is an impractical problem.

(Problem of time lag between delivery case arrival and picking work)
FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing the time lag between the picking of articles by a picking operator and the arrival of a delivery case. The sorting warehouse 300 has a plurality of article shelves 100 as in FIG. Articles 200 are stored in article shelves 100 , and a worker 400 who performs a picking operation picks the necessary types and numbers of articles 200 from each article shelf 100 . Even if the work of picking the types and number of articles 200 required to pack a certain delivery case 170 is completed, the delivery case 170 to be transported on the delivery case line 160 may not arrive yet. FIG. 3 shows this state.

For this reason, it is conceivable to install a temporary placement table 500 behind the worker 400 . On the temporary placement table 500, the worker 400 can temporarily place the type and number of articles 200 for which the picking operation has been completed. However, there may be a problem that the space of the temporary placement table 500 is insufficient to place the necessary article 200 thereon.

Also, the picking work by the worker 400 needs to be performed one after another. For this reason, it is necessary to pick the kind and number of articles 200 that need to be packed in a different delivery case 170 rather than a certain delivery case 170 . Therefore, in addition to the articles 200 to be packed in the delivery case 170 on the temporary placement table 500, it is also necessary to place the next picked article 200 thereon. In this case, articles 200 to be packed in different delivery cases 170 are placed on the temporary placement table 500 in a mixed manner.

If this happens, the worker 400 may mistakenly put the article 200 placed on the temporary placement table 500 into another delivery case 170 . In addition, the worker 400 has to deal with various things such as picking, temporary placement table 500, and stuffing into the delivery case 170, but there is also the problem of causing confusion.

The inventor made the present invention through these analyses.

(overall overview)
FIG. 4 is a block diagram of the article sorting device according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. An overview of the article sorting apparatus according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

The article sorting apparatus 1 includes packing box supply means 4 , opening means 5 , refilling means 55 , exclusive box transfer line 6 , picking means 7 and stuffing means 8 . Further, an article shelf 2 for supplying a plurality of types of packaging boxes to the packaging box supplying means 4 may be further provided. A plurality of types of article packing boxes 50 (in FIG. 4, reference numerals such as article packing boxes 50A, 50B, etc. are used to indicate differences depending on the types). The box 50 indicates an article packing box regardless of the type of article packing box 50. When distinguishing the types of the article packing box 50, alphabetical additional symbols such as article packing boxes 50A, 50B, etc. are used as necessary. ) is supplied to the packaging box supplying means 4, the operation of the article sorting apparatus 1 is started. Of course, from a broader perspective, the supply of the article packing boxes 50 from the article shelf 2 and the placement of the article packing boxes 50 on the article shelf 2 can be regarded as one of the operations of the article sorting apparatus 1 .

The goods packing box 50 accommodates the goods 200 . Here, basically the same kind of articles 200 are accommodated. In FIG. 4, one type of article 200A is contained in the article packing box 50A, and another type of article 200B is contained in the article packing box 50B. The goods packing box 50 contains a certain type of goods 200 and a plurality of numbers of goods 200 . For this reason, the product packaging box 50 is named. When the article packing box 50 is opened, a plurality of articles 200 of a certain type can be taken out. For example, when the article packing box 50A is opened, the article 200A can be taken out. When the goods packing box 50B is opened, the goods 200B can be taken out. The same applies to the article packing box 50 containing other types of articles 200 .

The packaging box supply means 4 supplies the article packaging boxes 50 from the article shelf 2 to the unsealing means 5 . As shown in FIG. 4, the article packing box 50 is transferred and supplied toward the unsealing means 5 . For this transfer, for example, a belt conveyor mechanism or the like may be used. An article packing box 50 is supplied from the article shelf 2 to the unsealing means 5 by the packing box supply means 4 . At this time, as described above, the article packing box 50 may be regarded as a different type for each type of article to be accommodated. Therefore, an article packing box 50A containing an article 200A is supplied, or an article packing box 50B containing an article 200B is supplied.

The opening means 5 opens the supplied article packing box 50 . The article packing box 50 is in the form of a cardboard box, for example. For this reason, it is necessary to unseal the package in order to allow the article 200 inside to be taken out. For example, cardboard boxes require the closing tape to be removed or cut. By opening the package, the articles 200 stored inside can be taken out.

Here, the unsealing means 5 performs the unsealing work regardless of the type of the article packing box 50 .

When the article packing box 50 is opened by the opening means 5, the refilling means 55 repacks the articles 200 contained in the article packing box 50 into the dedicated box 300.例文帳に追加The dedicated box 300 is a container prepared so that the picking means 7, which will be described later, can easily and reliably pick up. For example, a container box or the like is used as the dedicated box 300 .

The picking means 7 is often realized by a machine or the like. The article packing boxes 50 are like corrugated cardboard boxes, and often have different strengths and sizes, which often makes picking difficult for the picking means 7 realized by machines. Therefore, the repacking means 55 repacks the articles 200 from the opened article packaging box 200 into the dedicated box 300 . The dedicated box 300 can be easily and reliably picked by the picking means 7 implemented by a machine. Features such as uniform size and a large opening at the top make picking easy.

The repacking means 55 sends out the dedicated box 300 in which the articles 200 have been refilled to the dedicated box transfer line 6.例文帳に追加At this time, the dedicated box transfer line 6 separates and transports the dedicated boxes 300 corresponding to a plurality of types of articles 200 for each type of article 200 .

Here, it is also preferable that the opening means 5 and the refilling means 55 are performed by an unsealing operator 51 who is a human power. It is easier and more flexible to manually open the article packing box 50 such as a cardboard box and repack the articles 200 in the article packing box 50 after being opened into the dedicated box 300. This is because it can deal with

In FIG. 4, the dedicated box transfer line 6 comprises a plurality of lines. Since the plurality of lines correspond to each other, the dedicated boxes 300 are separated according to the types of the articles 200 and transferred. For example, the dedicated box 300 refilled with the article 200A is transferred on one line, and the dedicated box 300 refilled with the article 200B is transferred on another line.

In this way, the special boxes 300 arrive at the picking means 7 from different lines. Since the dedicated boxes 300 packed with different types of articles 200 are separated corresponding to different lines and arrive, the picking means 7 can grasp the types of the dedicated boxes 300 that have arrived according to the arrival position.

The picking means 7 picks the required type and number of articles 200 (hereinafter referred to as "article set") from the plurality of types of dedicated boxes 300 transferred by the dedicated box transfer line 6 . For example, three articles 200A are picked from a special box 300 containing articles 200A and two articles 200B are picked from a special box 300 containing articles 200B. A combination of these three items 200A and two items 200B is an item set to be delivered to a certain delivery destination. In FIG. 4, the article set of this combination is shown at the top of the mounting table 30. As shown in FIG.

Alternatively, a combination of two items 200A and three items 200B may be picked as an item set to another delivery destination. The second part of the mounting table 30 in FIG. 4 shows the article set of this combination.

The picking means 7 picks the articles 200 corresponding to each of the article sets from the special boxes 300 transferred by the article transfer line 6 . At this time, the special box 300 can be easily picked by the picking means 7 because the size and shape are uniform and the opening at the top is large as described above.

The picking means 7 includes, for example, a device having an air suction mechanism, a gripping mechanism, or the like. An article 200 in the dedicated box 300 is taken out by the device with such a mechanism and placed on the mounting table 30 . Alternatively, a mechanism utilizing magnetic force may be used. Moreover, as shown in FIG. 4, it is also preferable to provide a mounting table 30 on which the article set is temporarily mounted. This is because by placing each article set on the mounting table 30 , the stuffing means 8 , which will be described later, can pack the article set into the delivery case 170 .

As described above, the picking operation by the picking means 7 is efficiently performed by a mechanical or electronic device such as a suction mechanism, a gripping mechanism, or a magnetic force mechanism. For this reason, the picking means 7 is preferably a mechanical device. That is, it is preferable to use a robot or a device instead of a human-powered worker.

The stuffing means 8 packs the article set into the corresponding delivery case 170 . Shipping cases 170 are fed to the location of the stuffing means 8 by a shipping case transfer line 160 . The supplied delivery case 170 is identified for each delivery destination, and by packing the item set corresponding to this delivery destination, the type and number of items 200 required for the delivery destination will be delivered. .

When an article set is placed on the placing table 30 as in the example of FIG. As a result, the necessary articles 200 are packed in the delivery case 170 .

Moreover, it is preferable that the opening means 5 includes an unsealing operator 51 who manually performs the unsealing work in the unsealing means 5 by the unsealing operator 51 . Unlike the picking operation, opening the article packing box 50 and repacking it into the special box 300 is often faster and more accurate by human power than by machine. Therefore, it is preferable that the unsealing means 5 is performed by the unsealing operator 51 . As described above, similarly, the refilling means 55 is also preferably performed by the unsealing operator 51 who is human power.

For similar reasons, it is also preferred that the above-mentioned stuffing means 8 are also manually operated. This is because, although it is monotonous, manual work is more efficient in terms of flexibility in dealing with differences in the shape of boxes and differences in the number of boxes that can be reached. Moreover, it is because it is easy to respond to line changes and the like.

On the other hand, as mentioned above, the picking operation is efficiently performed by the picking means 7 of a mechanical device such as a machine or a robot. This is because machines are better at picking work while grasping the types and numbers.

As described above, the article sorting apparatus 1 separates the work elements necessary for sorting articles, and then creates means and configurations, and divides them into manual work and machine work, thereby improving efficiency. realizable.

The sorting of the articles 200 starts with the supply of the article packing boxes 50 in which the articles 200 are packed by type. This is because the article 200 is manufactured in the manufacturing process, packed in the article packing box 50, and provided to a distribution center or the like.

At this time, the articles 200 manufactured in the manufacturing process (for example, a process manufactured by a manufacturer different from the distribution center or by the same manufacturer as the distribution center) are packaged according to type as described above. It is packed in a box 50. After a large number of article packing boxes 50 corresponding to each type have arrived, the sorting process is started.

The item sorting is to form an item set, which is a combination of the types and numbers of items 200 required for the delivery destination, and pack the set into the delivery case 170 corresponding to the delivery destination. This delivery case 170 enters the actual delivery (transportation) stage. Therefore, there are the following work elements in article sorting.

(1) Open the product packing box 50 . The goods 200 inside the goods packing box 50 can be taken out by opening.
(2) The goods 200 housed in the opened goods packing box 50 are repacked into the dedicated box 300 which is easy to pick.
(3) Picking the required type and number of articles 200 from the dedicated box 300 .
(4) In picking, the type and number of articles 200 required for the delivery destination are picked from special boxes 300 corresponding to different types of articles 200 (if necessary).
(5) Pack the picked item set into the delivery case 170 .
(6) Send the delivery case 170 packed with the product set to the actual delivery stage.

Here, (1) the opening of the article packing box 50 can be performed by a machine or a device, but the article packing box 50 may have various shapes, or the structure of the line for supplying it may change. . In addition, it may be difficult to open with a machine or device because it may be sealed with tape or the like and may be sealed in various ways. On the other hand, manual work can be handled easily and flexibly. For this reason, it is often better to handle the unsealing work of (1) manually than to handle it mechanically.

Similarly, the refilling of (2) is easier by human power. This is because it can proceed in parallel with the opening operation. In addition, even when the size of the article packing box 50 is various, it is possible to flexibly deal with it by human power.

On the other hand, the picking of the article 200 of (3) and (4) is good at machines and devices. For picking itself, it is necessary to grab and take out the article 200, and a machine equipped with a suction mechanism, a gripping mechanism, or the like is better suited. Human work is too heavy. In addition, it is easy for human error to pick and arrange the types and numbers of articles 200 that are required at the delivery destination. On the other hand, if it is a machine or device, the certainty is high. For this reason, picking operations are preferably carried out by machines or devices.

(5) Packing is a simple work of packing the prepared product set into the delivery case 170 . Therefore, this can be done either manually or by machine. Depending on the structure of the line in the article sorting apparatus 1, the number of personnel, and the like, it is possible to appropriately distinguish between manual work and machine work.

As for (6), the delivery case 170 packed with the article set may be transferred by the delivery case line 160 .

In this manner, the article sorting apparatus 1 of the present invention separates the work elements of article sorting and efficiently divides the manual work and the machine work. This makes it possible to sort articles with improved accuracy and efficiency.

(Additional explanation of each part)

Next, additional description of each part is given.

(Goods box supply means)
The article box supply means 4 supplies the article packing boxes 50 from the article shelf 2 to the unsealing means 5 . The article box supply means 4 has a mechanism such as a belt conveyor, and transfers and supplies the article packing boxes 50 by this mechanism.

The article box supply means 4 is connected to the article shelf 2 and transfers the article packing boxes 50 supplied from the article box 2 . At this time, the article shelf 2 is equipped with a transfer crane or the like, and the article packing boxes 50 can be supplied from the article shelf 2 to the article box supply means 4 by the transfer crane.

It is also preferable that the article box supply means 4 supplies the corresponding type of article packing box 50 to the opening means 5 in accordance with the type and number of articles 200 to be picked by the picking instruction unit, which will be described later.

(Opening means)
The opening means 5 opens the article packing box 50 . At this time, it is also preferable that the unsealing means 5 is realized by the unsealing operator 51 . This is because, as described above, manual work is often suitable.

Here, the unsealing operator 51 opens the article packing box 50 supplied by the packing box supply means 4 . For example, the article packing box 50 is sealed with tape or the like. An unsealing operator 51 uses a tool such as a cutter knife to cut the tape and unseal it. After unsealing, the articles 200 housed inside are brought into a pickable state. For example, the lid of the goods packing box 50 is opened cleanly so that the inside can be seen.

Since the unsealing operator 51 mainly opens the article packing box 50, there is no need to pay attention to the number and types of the articles 200 in sorting. Therefore, the unsealing operation can be continued without delay.

(Refilling means)
The repacking means 55 repacks the articles 200 inside the opened article packing box 50 into a dedicated box 300 that can be easily picked by the picking means 7 . At this time, it is also preferable to repack the special boxes 300 for each type of the article 200 . In addition, the repacking means 55 sends out the dedicated box 300 packed with the articles 200 to the dedicated box transfer line 6 . At this time, it is preferable to send out different types of articles 200 on different lines.

(Dedicated box transfer line)
The dedicated box transfer line 6 transfers the repacked dedicated box 300 to the picking means 7. - 特許庁Here, the dedicated box transfer line 6 has a plurality of transfer lines. In FIG. 4 an embodiment with three transfer lines is shown. Since this is an example, embodiments with other numbers of transfer lines are possible.

The dedicated box 300 corresponds to each type of article 200. - 特許庁For example, one special box 300 contains an item 200A and another special box 300 contains an item 200B. A plurality of transfer lines transfer dedicated boxes 300 corresponding to each type of article 200 . One transfer line transfers special boxes 300 filled with items 200A, and another transfer line transfers special boxes 300 filled with items 200B.

In this way, different transfer lines transfer different types of articles 200, so that the picking means 7 can easily and accurately pick the required types and numbers of articles 200. FIG.

In FIG. 4, a dedicated box 300 filled with items 200A is being transferred on the top transfer line, and a dedicated box 300 filled with items 200B is transferred on the second transfer line.

(Picking instruction part)
FIG. 5 is a block diagram around picking means according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. In FIG. 5, a picking instruction unit 71 is further provided.

The picking instruction unit 71 instructs the picking means 7 about the type and number of articles 200 that constitute the article set. Based on this instruction, the picking means 7 can grasp the required type and number of article sets. Based on this understanding, the necessary articles 200 are picked from each dedicated box 300 that has arrived. After picking, the articles are placed as a set on the placing table 30 as required.

The picking instruction unit 71 instructs the type and number of articles 200 corresponding to the article set. For example, as shown in FIG. 4, three items 200A and two items 200B corresponding to a certain delivery destination are indicated as an item set. The picking means 7 picks three articles 200A and two articles 200B based on this instruction.

A shipping destination is associated with a shipping case 170 .

Therefore, when the delivery case 170 corresponding to the delivery destination changes, the picking instruction unit 71 changes the instruction content. For example, two items 200A and three items 200B are specified as the next item set described above. Based on the new instruction, the picking means 7 picks the type and number of articles 200 corresponding to the next set of articles.

Here, in FIG. 5, a control unit 10 is further provided. The control unit 10 controls at least one of the packing box supply unit 4 , the opening unit 5 , the refill unit 55 , the goods transfer line 6 , the picking unit 7 , the stuffing unit 8 and the picking instruction unit 71 .

The control unit 10 has a processor and software programs, and can manage and control the entire processing. For example, an article set corresponding to a certain delivery destination is grasped, and based on this, the operation of the article sorting apparatus 1 as a whole can be controlled. The control unit 10 grasps the article set to be sorted to a certain delivery destination (that is, a certain delivery case 170). Based on this understanding, the control unit 10 notifies the picking instruction unit 71 of the article set. With this notification, the picking instruction unit 71 can instruct the type and number of articles to be picked by the picking means 7 .

(picking means)
The picking means 7 includes a picking device that picks the articles 200 from the dedicated box 300 repacked with the articles 200 . That is, a mechanical picking device may perform picking as the picking means 7 . The picking device picks the article 200 from the article packing box 50 by various mechanisms such as an adsorption mechanism, a magnetic force mechanism, and a grasping mechanism.

Here, dedicated boxes 300 corresponding to a plurality of types of articles 200 are transferred by the dedicated box transfer line 6 . The picking means 7 can face these multiple dedicated boxes 300 . Here, the picking means 7 needs to pick the kind and number of articles 200 required for the article set. At this time, it may be necessary to pick multiple types of articles 200 . In this case, the picking means 7 picks the required type of article 200 from each of the different dedicated boxes 300 corresponding to different types.

For example, an article 200A is picked from one special box 300, and an article 200B is picked from another special box 300. In this way, the picking means 7 can pick up the necessary types and number of articles 200 .

(Putting table)
FIG. 6 is a block diagram around the mounting table according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. The article sorting apparatus 1 is also preferably equipped with a mounting table 30 . The mounting table 30 mounts the article set picked by the picking means 7 . The placing table 30 can temporarily place an article set to facilitate packing into the delivery case 170 by the packing means 8 .

The mounting table 30 may be positioned between the picking means 7 and the stuffing means 8 in order to meet such a purpose.

The mounting table 30 can be separated into a plurality of sections by the separation member 31 . An item set corresponding to a different delivery case 170 may be placed in each of these compartments. In FIG. 6, a set of items is placed in the top compartment and another set of items is placed in the second compartment. Corresponding to this placement, the stuffing means 8 packs the article set of the upper compartment into the corresponding delivery case 170 and packs the article set of the next compartment into the corresponding delivery case 170 .

By providing the mounting table 30, the time difference between the picking by the picking means 7 and the filling by the stuffing means 8 can be absorbed.

(stuffing means)

The stuffing means 8 stuffs the article set placed on the placing table 30 into the corresponding delivery case 170 . Shipping cases 170 are carried by shipping case lines 160 . When reaching the place where the stuffing means 8 is located, the stuffing means 8 packs the product set into the delivery case 170 that has arrived. Since the kind and number of articles 200 to be packed in the delivery case 170 have already been picked as an article set, the stuffing means 8 can easily and reliably pack the article set into the delivery case 170.例文帳に追加

Here, the stuffing means 8 includes a manual stuffing operator. That is, the stuffing operation by the stuffing means 8 may be carried out manually by the stuffing operator. The article set has already been prepared by the picking means 7 . So the stuffer just has to do this. For this reason, accuracy is rarely reduced even in manual work. Therefore, the stuffing means 8 may be manually operated by a stuffing operator.

A shipping case line 160 brings the shipping case 170 to the location of the stuffing means 8 . The stuffing means 8 stuffs the product set corresponding to the delivery case 170 that has arrived. When the delivery case 170 does not arrive, the mounting table 30 can buffer the time lag.

The control unit 10 also controls the movement of the delivery case 170 along the delivery case line 160 . That is, the delivery case 170 associated with a certain delivery destination is moved, and the picking instruction section 71 is controlled to notify the item set to be packed in this delivery case 170 . Of course, in the previous stage, the unsealing means 5 is controlled to supply the article packing box 50 containing the articles 200 required for this article set.

(return line)
A return line 9 is shown in FIG. A return line 9 returns the empty dedicated box 300 picked by the picking means 7. - 特許庁Exclusive boxes 300 are successively transferred to the exclusive box transfer line 6. - 特許庁Picking is performed in accordance with this transfer, but it is not preferable that the empty dedicated box 300 remains.

The return line 9 removes such an empty dedicated box 300 from the dedicated box transfer line 6 to allow the next article 200 to be picked.

The return line 9 is preferably connected to a collection stage for collecting the empty dedicated boxes 300 . This is because the empty dedicated box 300 can be recovered and not disturbed.

As described above, the article sorting apparatus 1 according to Embodiment 1 can improve the efficiency of article sorting as a whole. In particular, it is possible to optimize the overall efficiency and cost by appropriately combining manual work and machine work. As a result, sorting of a large number of articles 200 can be processed.

(Embodiment 2)

The article sorting apparatus 1 described in Embodiment 1 can also be regarded as an article sorting method.

FIG. 7 is a flow chart showing an article sorting method according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. The flowchart of FIG. 7 shows an article sorting method using the article sorting apparatus 1 described in the first embodiment. The item sorting method includes steps that are a plurality of procedures.

The article sorting method includes a packing box supply step ST1, an opening step ST2, a refilling step ST3, a packing box transfer step ST4, a picking step ST5, and a packing step ST6.

The packing box supply step ST1 supplies a plurality of types of article packing boxes 50 to the unsealing means. The article packing box 50 accommodates articles 200 of the corresponding type. Therefore, the type of article packing box 50 differs depending on the type of articles 200 to be accommodated. The packing box supply step ST1 supplies a plurality of types of article packing boxes 50 as described above.

In the unsealing step ST2, the supplied article packing box 50 is unsealed. The article packing box 50 is sealed when it is supplied. An article 200 is contained within the seal. In the unsealing step ST2, an unsealing operator may unseal the package.
In the repacking step ST3, the articles 200 are repacked from the opened article packing box 50 to the dedicated box 300. FIG. By repacking into the special box 300, picking in the picking step becomes easy and reliable. In addition, in the refilling step ST3, the unsealing operator may refill.

In the packing box transfer step ST4, the dedicated box 300 refilled with the articles 200 is transferred. At this time, they are transported separately for each type.

The picking step ST5 picks from the dedicated box 300 the articles 200 corresponding to the article set, which is a combination of the types and numbers of articles 200 required for the delivery destination. The article 200A is picked from the special box 300 containing the article 200A, and the article 200B is picked from the special box 300 containing the article 200B. The picking work is the same as described in the first embodiment.

The packing step ST6 packs the picked and prepared article set into the corresponding delivery case 170 . A stuffer may also perform the stuffing step. Shipping cases 170 are supplied by shipping case line 160 . The delivery case 170 packed with the product set shifts to the delivery stage.

As with the article sorting apparatus 1 described in the first embodiment, the article sorting method can also enable optimum article sorting.

The article sorting apparatus described in the first and second embodiments is merely an example for explaining the gist of the present invention, and includes modifications and alterations within the scope of the gist of the present invention.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 article sorting device 2 article shelf 4 packing box supply means 5 opening means 6 dedicated box transfer line 7 picking means 71 picking instruction section 8 stuffing means 9 return line 10 control section 50 article packing box 160 delivery case line 170 delivery case 200 article 300 exclusive box

Claims (5)

a packaging box supply means for supplying a plurality of types of cardboard boxes containing articles;
an opening means for opening the cardboard box;
refilling means for repacking the articles housed in the cardboard box opened by the opening means into a dedicated box different from the cardboard box ;
a dedicated box transfer line provided on the same floor as the packing box supply means for separating and transferring the dedicated boxes by type of repacked article;
a picking means for picking a required type and number of articles (hereinafter referred to as an "article set") from a plurality of types of special boxes transferred on the special box transfer line;
packing means for packing the article set picked by the picking means into a delivery case;
At least, the unsealing means and the refilling means are manually performed by an unsealing operator,
The unsealing operator opens the corrugated cardboard box supplied by the packing box supplying means, repacks the stored articles into the special box, and puts the goods into the special box transfer line in a state ready for picking. death,
The dedicated box transfer line comprises a plurality of transfer lines,
The special box corresponds to each type of article,
The unsealing operator separately throws the special boxes after refilling, which are different for each type of the article, into different transfer lines among the plurality of transfer lines,
The picking means includes a picking device that picks the type and number of items required for the item set from the special box,
When the article set includes a plurality of types of articles, the picking device picks the corresponding articles from each of the different dedicated boxes corresponding to different types,
further comprising a mounting table for temporarily mounting the article set picked by the picking means;
The stuffing means stuffs the article set placed on the placing table into the corresponding delivery case,
An apparatus for sorting articles, wherein the stuffing means includes a manual stuffer . 2. The article sorting apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising a picking instruction section for instructing the picking means to specify the type and number of articles constituting the article set. 3. The article sorting apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein said picking instruction section changes the content of the instruction when said delivery case corresponding to said article set is changed. 4. The article sorting apparatus according to claim 3 , further comprising a delivery case line for supplying said delivery cases to said stuffing means. 5. The article sorting apparatus according to claim 4 , further comprising a return line for returning the empty special box picked by the picking means.