JP7417241B2 - Sorting systems and computer programs - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a sorting system for sorting articles.

In a logistics system, items are sorted according to their dimensions, destination, delivery company, etc.
In this regard, as a device for sorting articles, for example, the articles are elastically gripped by a gripping member during conveyance on a conveyor line, while at the sorting point, the grip is released by the article feeding action of the sorting mechanism and the articles are sorted. 2. Description of the Related Art Article sorting devices that send out articles toward a line are known. (See Patent Document 1).

Patent No. 5797501

Conventional product sorting systems use uniform control to sort the heaviest items, so there is a risk that light loads or items with unstable posture may fall over during the sorting process.

Therefore, one of the objects of the present invention is to perform stable sorting according to the articles.

In order to achieve the above object, the sorting system according to the present invention includes an article information acquisition means for acquiring article information of articles to be transported, a sorting means for sorting the articles, and a sorting means for sorting the articles based on the article information. It is characterized by having a determination processing means for determining control contents.

Note that the sorting system according to the present invention described above can also be configured as an invention of a conveyance line or a conveyance system having the sorting system. Further, the present invention may be configured as an invention of a method for executing processing executed by each means provided in the sorting system, or may be configured as an invention of a computer program that causes the sorting system or the like to execute the processing. In addition, when the invention is constituted as an invention related to a computer program, the computer program may be provided by being stored in various computer-readable recording media, or may be provided in a downloadable manner via a network such as the Internet. can.

1 is an external perspective view showing an overall image of a sorting system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a side view showing a measuring and measuring section of the sorting system according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing a measuring and measuring section of the sorting system according to the embodiment of the present invention. In the sorting system according to the embodiment of the present invention, it is an external perspective view showing a state in which articles have been conveyed onto a branching section. 1 is a diagram showing a functional configuration of a sorting system according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the sorting system according to the embodiment of the present invention, it is a diagram showing an example of data stored in the control type information storage unit, in which (a) the control type according to the height of the article, (b) the position of the article. (c) a control type according to the weight of the article; (d) a control type according to the length of the chute; (e) a control type according to the amount of articles retained in the chute; f) Control types according to the contents of the article are stored. In the sorting system according to an embodiment of the present invention, it is a diagram showing how articles are sorted, in which (a) the articles are being conveyed along an upstream conveyance path, and (b) the slide shoe is slidable. (c) a state in which the article has been conveyed onto the branch section; and (d) a state in which the article has been sent out to the chute section. In the sorting system according to the embodiment of the present invention, FIG. If it is located close to the chute, it is shown. In the sorting system according to the embodiment of the present invention, (a) a flow of processing until sorting is performed according to a predetermined control type, and (b) a specific flow of processing for sorting according to a predetermined control type. It is a processing flow diagram showing .

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A sorting system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
As shown in FIG. 1, the sorting system 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention is a system that includes a measuring and weighing section 1a that measures and weighs articles W, and a sorting section 1b that sorts the articles W. . As shown in FIGS. 1 to 5, this sorting system 1 includes a belt conveyor 10, a sensor group 20, chute sections 131, 141, and slide shoes 30, 40, and sorts articles W into predetermined chute sections 131, 141. do.

Note that the belt conveyor 10 is a general term for the belt conveyors 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 and the branch parts 130, 140, and the sensor group 20 includes article detection sensors 21a, 21b, 21c, 21d, 21e, 21f, 21g. , 21h, and the gate sensor 23.
Although FIG. 1 only shows two chute parts 131 and 141, a larger number of chute parts may be provided depending on appropriate specifications. For example, a discharge chute section for sorting out error articles may be provided at the tail end or the like. This point is the same for the branch parts 130, 140, etc., and a larger number of branch parts may be provided depending on appropriate specifications.
Moreover, the chute parts 131 and 141 are not necessarily configured to have the same length, but may be configured to have different lengths for convenience of sorting. The example in FIG. 1 also shows such an example, where the chute portion 141 is longer than the chute portion 131.
Although the chute parts 131 and 141 are provided on the right side of the branch parts 130 and 140 in the transport direction in FIG. 1, they may be provided on the left side of the transport direction, or It may be provided on the right side or on a side different from the left side. Moreover, in the branching parts 130 and 140, chute parts 131 and 141 may be provided on both the right and left sides in the conveyance direction.
4 and 7, while the slide shoe 30, rollers 1301, belt conveyors 13, 14, and chute section 131 are shown as the configuration around the branching section 130, the structure around the branching section 130 is shown in parentheses. The slide shoe 40, rollers 1401, belt conveyors 14 and 15, and chute section 141 are shown as the configuration around the branch section 140.

●Measuring and measuring section 1a
The belt conveyor 10 constitutes a conveyance path for the articles W and is a conveyance means for conveying the articles W.
This belt conveyor 10 is provided between a plurality of belt conveyors 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 arranged in series and adjacent to each other in a straight line, between belt conveyors 13, 14, and between belt conveyors 14, 15, respectively. It is composed of branch parts 130 and 140.
Of these, the belt conveyors 11 and 12 constitute a part of the measuring and measuring section 1a, and the belt conveyors 11 and 12 are provided with a sensor group 20 that detects the passage of the article W to be conveyed.

The sensor group 20 constitutes article information acquisition means that acquires article information from the article W conveyed on the belt conveyor 10. In addition to the external dimensions of the article W, the article information includes information regarding the height of the article W on the conveyance surface and the position of the article W on the conveyance surface. Note that, in practice, the data acquired by the sensor group 20 is so-called raw data, and constitutes article information by performing appropriate calculations and editing.

As shown in FIG. 2, this sensor group 20 includes article detection sensors 21a, 21b, 21c, 21d, 21e, 21f, 21g, and 21h and a gate sensor 23.

Of the sensor group 20, the article detection sensors 21a to 21h are continuously provided at regular intervals along the conveyance direction of the belt conveyors 11 and 12, and detect the movement of the article W being conveyed. Each of the article detection sensors 21a to 21h is constituted by a photosensor consisting of a light emitting part and a light receiving part, which are provided opposite to each other in the width direction of the belt conveyors 11 and 12, and an optical path is formed between the light emitting part and the light receiving part. By detecting the blockage, movement of the article W at a predetermined position is detected.

As shown in FIG. 3, the gate sensor 23 is a sensor for detecting the dimensions and edges of the article W conveyed on the belt conveyors 11 and 12. is provided in between. This gate sensor 23 includes a gate-shaped frame 231 that straddles the conveyance surfaces of the belt conveyors 11 and 12, and a plurality of gate sensors provided on the frame 231 and arranged vertically opposite to each other across the conveyance surfaces of the belt conveyors 11 and 12. A photosensor includes a light emitting section 23a and a light receiving section 23b, and a photosensor includes a plurality of light emitting sections 23c and a light receiving section 23d, which are arranged to face each other in the width direction of the transport path. In the photosensor, the light receiving part 23b (23d) receives light from the light emitting part 23a (23c) and uses it as a signal. The article W can be detected by reading the change in the signal that occurs by blocking the optical path formed between 23b (23d). Furthermore, by sampling the signal and detecting large changes in successive sample values, it is possible to determine the edge of the article W (the leading edge or trailing edge along the conveyance direction). Moreover, since the light emitting part 23c and the light receiving part 23d are arranged on the conveyance surface at the lowest position and are arranged sequentially in the vertical direction, the end of the article W in the height direction can be detected.
The height and position of the article W on the conveyance surface can be determined from the information acquired by the sensor group 20 having such a configuration.

Note that, as described above, the light emitting section 23a and the light receiving section 23b that constitute the gate sensor 23 are arranged vertically facing each other across the conveyance surfaces of the belt conveyors 11 and 12, so that First, the movement of any shape can be detected.
Although not shown, the belt conveyors 11 and 12 are also equipped with a weighing section for measuring the weight of the transported article W as an article information acquisition means, as well as affixing or printing on the article W. Cameras and the like are installed as appropriate to read information such as barcodes.

In addition to the article detection sensors 21a to 21h, sensors are provided to measure the timing at which the articles W sent to the chutes 131 and 141 reach the branching sections 130 and 140. Such a sensor can be configured, for example, by a photosensor consisting of a light emitting part and a light receiving part, which are provided opposite to each other in the width direction of the belt conveyors 13 and 14. It is installed at the position of
●Sorting section 1b

The belt conveyors 13, 14, 15 and the branching parts 130, 140 constitute a part of the sorting part 1b, and the branching parts 130, 140 send out the articles W to the chutes 131, 141. Can be sorted.

As shown in FIG. 4, the branching sections 130 and 140 have slide shoes 30 and 40 as sorting means for sorting the articles W that have arrived at the branching sections 130 and 140 by sending them out to predetermined chutes 131 and 141. is provided.
In addition, in the following explanation regarding the branch parts 130 and 140, the branch part 130 will be explained as an example, but the branch part 140 is also similar to the branch part 130, and as shown in parentheses in the figure, the slide at the branch part 140 is similar to the branch part 130. The shoe 40, the roller 1401, the gap 140a, the chute part 141, the belt conveyor 14, and the belt conveyor 15 are the slide shoe 30, the roller 1301, the roller 1301, the gap 130a, the chute part 131, the belt conveyor 13, and the belt at the branch part 130, respectively. Corresponds to the conveyor 14.

The branching section 130 is composed of a plurality of rollers 1301 that are rotationally driven in the conveyance direction. Each roller 1301 has a length in a direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction, and is arranged along the conveyance direction. Further, a slight gap 130a is formed between adjacent rollers 1301 along the length direction of the rollers 1301, and the slide shoe 30 potentially protrudes from below the conveying surface from this gap 130a.

The slide shoe 30 constitutes a sending means for sending out the article W on the conveyance surface of the branching section 130 to the chute section 131. Although the shape of the slide shoe 30 is not limited to a particular shape, in this example it is formed of a rod-shaped member bent into a substantially U-shape with the bottom thereof facing upward. In addition, the slide shoe 30 is configured to have a thin width, so that it does not protrude onto the conveyance surface through the gap 130a slightly formed between the adjacent rollers 1301, or hide under the conveyance surface. can.

The slide shoe 30 is normally hidden below the conveyance surface, and protrudes onto the conveyance surface in response to a control requesting an operation to send out the article W to the chute section 131. When the article W reaches the conveying surface of the branching section 130, the slide shoe 30 slides toward the chute section 131 along the gap 130a between adjacent rollers 1301, and sends the article W to the chute section 131. When the operation of sending out the articles W to the chute section 131 is completed, the slide shoe 30 hides again below the conveying surface and waits so as to be able to receive control for sorting the next article W.
Note that more specific control of the slide shoe 30 when sending out the article W to the chute section 131 will be described in detail later.

The chute sections 131 and 141 are exits of the belt conveyor 10 for sending out the articles W according to sorting information, and a plurality of chutes are provided so that the articles W can be sorted to a plurality of shipping destinations or pallet warehouses.
In addition, in FIG. 1, the chute portion 141 is provided with sensors 1411, 1412, and 1413 for each predetermined length. These sensors 1411, 1412, and 1413 detect the articles W on the conveyance surface of the chute section 141, as will be described later regarding the control type, thereby making it possible to determine the retention state of the articles W in the chute section 141. There is.
Furthermore, in the industry, the chutes 131 and 141 refer to equipment for dropping (throwing) articles W sorted by sorter into a container and retaining or temporarily storing the articles W. A free roller conveyor, a driven conveyor, etc. are composed of various parts or are referred to as such.
Furthermore, in this embodiment, "sorting destination" may be used in the same meaning as "chute (chute section)." Generally, the term "sorting destination" means the delivery company when sorting by delivery company, but in this embodiment, it refers to the place where the goods W are transported after being sorted according to the sorting conditions, i.e. It is used synonymously with the chute sections 131 and 141, and when simply referred to as "sorting destination based on sorting conditions", the chute sections 131 and 141 are meant.

●Functional unit As shown in Figure 5(a), the sorting system 1 includes hardware resources such as arithmetic units such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) for executing information processing, RAM (Random Access Memory), and ROM. (Read Only Memory) and other storage devices. In addition, as a software resource, at least a sorting condition storage section 101, a control type information storage section 102, a sorting information generation section 103, a decision processing section 104, and a control section 105 are provided as software resources. .

The sorting condition storage unit 101 is a storage unit that stores sorting conditions.
The sorting conditions are conditions applied to the articles W when sorting them. Specifically, the sorting conditions are constituted by information such as the size and weight threshold of the article W, the delivery company, the freight rate for each size of the article W, delivery conditions, closing time, and the like. By applying the sorting conditions to the dimensions and weight of each article W and other information required when applying the sorting conditions, the sorting destination of the article W, that is, the chute sections 131 and 141 is determined.

The control type information storage unit 102 is a storage unit that stores a plurality of control contents of the slide shoes 30 and 40 classified into predetermined types (control types). The control details of the slide shoes 30 and 40 differ depending on the control type, and the determination processing unit 104 determines the control type according to the article W.
For example, as shown in FIG. 6, the control type information storage unit 102 stores control details for the slide shoes 30 and 40 that differ for each control type. In this embodiment, there are at least two control types, one according to the height of the article W on the conveyance surface, and the other according to the position of the article W on the conveyance surface. A control type according to the position of the article W and a control type according to the article position related to the position of the article W are determined. The control content based on the control type according to the height of the article W and the control type according to the position of the article W are mutually compatible controls and are applied together.

As shown in FIG. 6(a), the control type according to the height of the article W defines the delivery speed of the article W by the slide shoes 30 and 40, which differs depending on the height of the article W on the conveyance surface. As the height of the article W increases, the speed at which the article W is sent out to the chutes 131 and 141 (the delivery speed) becomes slower. As a result, even if the article W has a height and it is difficult to maintain a stable posture on the conveyance surface, the article is slowly sent to the chute sections 131, 141, thereby preventing the article W from falling sideways, etc., and ensuring that the article is properly chute. Articles W can be sorted into sections 131 and 141. On the other hand, when the articles W are not very tall and can easily maintain a stable posture on the conveyance surface, the articles W can be quickly sent to the chutes 131 and 141, and the articles W can be efficiently sorted.

As shown in FIG. 6(b), the control type depending on the position of the article W is the slide operation start position of the slide shoes 30, 40 that differs depending on the position on the conveyance surface of the article W, that is, the slide shoe 30 , 40 define the starting position of the sliding operation to send out the article W to the chute sections 131 and 141.
Here, as shown in FIG. 7(a), the slide shoes 30, 40 remain hidden below the conveying surface until the article W approaches the branching sections 130, 140. When it approaches, it protrudes above the transport surface from below the transport surface, as shown in FIG. 7(b). At this time, the positions at which the slide shoes 30 and 40 protrude onto the conveyance surface are determined according to the position of the article W. That is, it is determined according to the position of the article W in the direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction, that is, the width direction of the conveyance path.

More specifically, as shown in FIG. 4, among the ends of the branching parts 130 and 140, the ends in the direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction and opposite to the chute parts 131 and 141 that send out the articles W With the side end as a reference position, a position a predetermined length before reaching the end of the article W from the reference position is a position at which the slide shoes 30, 40 protrude onto the conveyance surface. In line with this positional relationship, the position of the article with the reference position as the starting point is defined as the article position, and the position of the slide shoes 30, 40 with the reference position as the starting point is defined as the sliding operation start position. Note that the position where the slide shoes 30, 40 protrude onto the conveying surface directly becomes the slide operation start position where the slide shoes 30, 40 start the slide operation.

In the type of control that is defined based on such a positional relationship and that depends on the position of the article W, the slide shoes 30 and 40 are slightly closer to the reference position than the end of the article W, regardless of the position of the article W. The position is the slide operation start position. That is, as shown in FIG. 8(a), when the article W is located at a position relatively apart from the chute sections 131 and 141, as shown in FIG. , 141, the slide shoes 30, 40 take the slide operation start position at a position near the reference position by a predetermined slight length.
This can prevent the slide shoes 30, 40 from abutting the article W with excessive force when the slide shoes 30, 40 feed the article W to the chute sections 131, 141.

The control types include those depending on the height of the article W on the conveyance surface, those according to the position of the article W on the conveyance surface, the weight of the article W, and the lengths of the chute parts 131 and 141. , the amount of articles W retained in the chutes 131 and 141 and the contents of the articles W can be provided.
FIG. 6(c) shows control types depending on the weight of the article W. If momentum (feeding speed) is applied to a heavy article W, there is a high possibility that the article W will fly out of the chute sections 131, 141 or damage other articles W waiting in the chute sections 131, 141. Therefore, the heavier the article W is, the lower the delivery speed is. On the other hand, light articles W are less likely to fly out of the chute sections 131, 141 or damage the articles W waiting in the chute sections 131, 141 even if force is applied; Because of the small size, there is a possibility that the article W may stop midway through the chute portions 131, 141 depending on the inclination of the chute portions 131, 141. Therefore, the lighter the article W is, the higher the delivery speed is.

FIG. 6D shows control types depending on the lengths of the chute portions 131 and 141. When the articles W are sent out to chutes 131 and 141 having different lengths depending on the sorting destination, the longer the chutes 131 and 141 are, the more the articles W can be retained. That is, according to the example of FIG. 1, the chute section 141, which is relatively longer than the chute section 131, can retain more articles W, but when sending out to the longer chute section 141, the length The article W cannot be conveyed to the end of the chute section 141 unless the article W is sent out with a force corresponding to the amount. Therefore, in view of the difference in length between the chutes 131 and 141, the longer the chutes 131 and 141 that serve as sorting destinations are, the higher the delivery speed becomes.

FIG. 6(e) shows control types depending on the amount of articles W retained in the chute section. If it is possible to detect the amount of articles W retained (the amount deposited) in the chutes 131 and 141, the delivery speed of the articles W can be changed according to the amount of retained article W. That is, when it is determined that the amount of accumulation is small, it is necessary to feed the article to the ends of the chutes 131 and 141, so the delivery speed is increased, and when it is determined that the amount of accumulation is large, the article is The delivery speed is suppressed to prevent W from colliding with each other and further stagnation. In order to make such control possible, for example, as shown in FIG. The article W above is detected. Then, it is assumed that the closer the detected position of the article W is to the branching portion 140, the more the article W is retained.

FIG. 6(f) shows control types depending on the contents of the article W. Similarly to the sensor group 20, if a camera or scanner for acquiring information on the article W on the belt conveyors 11 and 12 is provided as one of the components constituting the article information acquisition means, it is possible to detect the label affixed to the article W. The contents of the item can be identified from the barcode printed on it. Depending on the content or type of the article W, if the article W needs to be handled carefully, it is preferable to reduce the delivery speed to suppress the influence on the contents. On the other hand, if there is no barcode printed on the item W, the application can be applied by detecting warning stickers such as "File", "Tenchi Muyo", and "Precision equipment" affixed to the top or side of the item W. The type of control that should be controlled can be determined.

Note that, regardless of other descriptions regarding this embodiment, any one of the different control types described with reference to FIGS. 6(a) to (f) may be applied alternatively. It is also possible to apply any number of types or all types in combination.
In addition, if multiple types of control types are applied and different delivery speeds conflict, one of the control types may be given priority, or either a relatively slow delivery speed or a relatively fast delivery speed may be selected. may be set to apply.

The sorting information generation unit 103 applies sorting conditions based on the dimensions and weight of the articles W and other information necessary for applying the sorting conditions, so that the sorting information generation unit 103 determines the sorting destination of the articles W, that is, one of the chute units. 131 and 141 are determined, and sorting information for sorting the articles W is generated.
This sorting information includes at least information regarding the sorting destination of the article W, that is, the chute sections 131 and 141 to which the article W should be sent, and also includes information about the article W itself, such as the dimensions and weight of the article W, as appropriate. be able to.

The determination processing unit 104 refers to the control type information storage unit 102 based on the article information acquired by the sensor group 20 and determines a predetermined control type as the control content of the slide shoes 30 and 40 according to the article information. . In this embodiment, as described above, two types of control types that are compatible with each other are determined: a control type depending on the height of the article W on the conveyance surface and a control type according to the position of the article W on the conveyance surface. . Regardless of this, if the other control types described with reference to FIG. 6 are made selectable, an appropriate control type can be determined from the various control types including these.

The control unit 105 outputs a control signal based on the sorting information and the control type determined by the determination processing unit 104 to the slide shoes 30 and 40 that send out the articles W to the predetermined chutes 131 and 141. Instructs execution of sorting work.
The slide shoes 30 and 40 send out each article W to a predetermined chute section 131 and 141 based on a control signal input from the control section 105.

●Processing Flow Next, a series of processing flows when sorting articles W is performed regarding the sorting system 1 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 9.
First, FIG. 9(a) shows the overall flow of sorting processing of articles W.
In the measuring and measuring section 1a, article information of the article W is acquired by the sensor group 20 (S101). Based on this article information, the position of the article W on the conveyance surface, the height of the article W on the conveyance surface, etc. are grasped.

The sorting information generation unit 103 refers to the article information and sorting condition storage unit 101 and applies sorting conditions based on the dimensions and weight of the article W and other information necessary for applying the sorting conditions. A predetermined chute section 131, 141 is determined as the sorting destination of the article W, and sorting information including information regarding the sorting destination is generated (S102).

Based on the position and height of the article W on the transport surface, the determination processing unit 104 refers to the control type information storage unit 102 and determines the control type of the slide shoes 30 and 40 according to the position and height of the article W. Determine (S103).
As mentioned above, the types of control that can be determined include those based on the position and height of the article W, as well as the weight and contents of the article W, the length and retention amount of the chutes 131 and 141. It is also possible to apply one of them selectively, or to apply a plurality of arbitrary types or all types in combination.

The generated sorting information and a control signal according to the determined control type are output to the slide shoes 30, 40, and the slide shoes 30, 40 perform the sorting work of the articles W in response to this (S104).

Next, FIG. 9(b) shows the process of S104, that is, the flow of specific control of the slide shoes 30 and 40.
As shown in FIG. 7A, in the belt conveyors 13 and 14 upstream of the branching sections 130 and 140 where the articles W are sorted, the sorting system 1 uses a predetermined sensor at the branching section 130 where the articles W are sorted. , 140 is detected (S201). Note that although FIG. 7A shows a state in which the articles W are on the belt conveyors 13 and 14 on the upstream side adjacent to the branching sections 130 and 140, the approach of the articles W is detected at the branching section where sorting is performed. As long as the belt conveyor 10 is located upstream of the belt conveyors 130 and 140, it does not necessarily have to be the adjacent belt conveyors 13 and 14.

As shown in FIG. 7B, the control unit 105 causes the slide shoes 30 and 40 to wait at the predetermined slide operation start position determined by the determination processing unit 104 (S202). More specifically, first, the slide shoes 30 and 40 are slid in a direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction to a predetermined sliding operation start position while the slide shoes 30 and 40 remain hidden below the conveyance surface. Then, when the slide shoes 30 and 40 are projected onto the conveyance surface at the predetermined slide operation start position, the slide shoes 30 and 40 are made to stand by so as to be able to receive a control signal for sending out the article W to the chute sections 131 and 141. .
Note that, regardless of this example, it is also possible to make the slide shoes 30, 40 protrude above the conveyance surface and then slide the slide shoes 30, 40 to a predetermined slide operation start position in a direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction. By sliding the articles while hidden below the conveyance surface, it is possible to prevent problems such as the slide shoes 30, 40 colliding with other articles W on the conveyance surface due to the sliding movement.

The sorting system 1 determines whether the articles W arrive at the branching sections 130, 140 where the sorting is performed based on the transport speed and distance from the timing when a predetermined sensor detects the approach of the articles W to the branching sections 130, 140 where the sorting is performed. Calculate the time until Then, as shown in FIGS. 7(c) and 7(d), when the articles W arrive at the branching sections 130 and 140 where they are sorted, the control section 105 controls the slide shoes 30 and 40 to The article W is delivered to the chutes 131 and 141 at a delivery speed of (S203).

According to the sorting system 1 according to the present embodiment described above, stable sorting can be performed according to the articles W.
Specifically, the slide operation start position and delivery speed of the slide shoes 30 and 40 for sorting the articles W are determined according to the height and position of the articles W on the conveyance surface, and control is performed according to the determined content. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the article W from falling sideways when sending the article W to the chutes 131 and 141.

In the sorting system 1 according to the present embodiment described above, the determination processing unit 104 refers to the control type information storage unit 102 to determine the control type of the slide shoes 30 and 40, and the control unit 105 determines the control type of the slide shoes 30 and 40. The slide shoes 30 and 40 were controlled according to the control type. On the other hand, in another embodiment, the determination processing unit 104 determines the delivery speed and slide operation start position of the slide shoes 30 and 40 in accordance with a predetermined calculation formula based on information regarding the height and position of the article. , the content of control of the slide shoes 30 and 40 can also be determined.

In addition, between the measuring and weighing section 1a and the sorting section 1b, there is a label issuing device that prints the article information of the article W, an invoice, etc. as print information on label paper and issues a label, and a label issuing device that issues a label by pasting the label on the article W. A labeling device or the like may also be provided.
Furthermore, by arranging a label issuing device in each chute section 131, 141, for example, when sorting by carrier is selected as a sorting condition, the corresponding carrier is placed in the chute sections 131, 141 (sorting destination, sorting destination carrier) label can be issued. Since the format and printed content of the slip differs depending on the carrier, systemization and line production can be achieved by including the printed information in the output sorting information. In addition, if the slips can be unified, it is not necessary to arrange the label issuing device in each chute section 131, 141, and the label issuing device can be arranged between the measuring section 1a and the sorting section 1b.

In addition, as a function to make the sorting work of articles smooth, for example, when articles W are conveyed continuously, there is a function to change the conveyance speed according to the weight of articles W, and a function to change the conveyance speed depending on the weight of articles W, and to move articles W to each chute. A function may be provided as appropriate to adjust the delivery speed and amount of pressure sent to the sections 131 and 141.
By doing so, it is possible to avoid damage or overturning of items that must be handled with care or items that are high or vertical, thereby eliminating damage caused by such damage or overturning, and reducing the time required to report such items and instruct additional work. It is possible to prevent unnecessary man-hours from occurring.

Furthermore, the above-mentioned software resources can be distributed or aggregated into any hardware resource by appropriate design, and the hardware resources can also be configured as a physically integrated device or a separate device. . As a result, for example, some or all of the software resources can be configured to reside in a centralized higher-level device or controller, or can be configured to reside in an external server connected via a predetermined network.

●Summary of Embodiments The present invention relates to a sorting system for sorting articles.

In a logistics system, items are sorted according to their dimensions, destination, delivery company, etc.
In this regard, devices for sorting articles include, for example, a conveyance line in which a large number of conveyance units on which articles are placed are lined up and conveyed, and a conveyor line that intersects the conveyance direction of the conveyance line from a sorting point in the conveyance line. and a sorting line branching in the sorting direction, and each of the conveyance units includes a sorting mechanism that sends out the articles toward the sorting line when the articles reach the sorting location, and a sorting mechanism that sends out the articles toward the sorting line when they reach the sorting location, and It has a gripping member that elastically grips the article and releases the grip at the sorting location by the article feeding action of the sorting mechanism, and the gripping member is made of an elastic material and has an approximately C-shape in plan view. It is formed in a shape, is deformable so as to push out the opening side of the tip by the article feeding action of the sorting mechanism, and is further configured to close the opening side of the tip by an elastic restoring force after the article is sent out. and the gripping member is configured to be rotatable on the transport unit using a base end side opposite to the front end opening side as a rotation fulcrum so that the front end opening side approaches and separates from the sorting line. Sorting devices are known. (Patent No. 5797501).

Conventional product sorting systems use uniform control to sort the heaviest items, so there is a risk that light loads or items with unstable posture may fall over during the sorting process.

Therefore, one of the objects of the present invention is to perform stable sorting according to the articles.

In order to achieve the above object, the sorting system according to the present invention includes an article information acquisition means for acquiring article information of articles to be transported, a sorting means for sorting the articles, and a sorting means for sorting the articles based on the article information. It is characterized by having a determination processing means for determining control contents.

The determination processing means may refer to the article information and determine a delivery speed at which the sorting means sends out the articles to a sorting line based on the height of the articles.

The determination processing means may refer to the article information and determine the starting position of the sorting operation of the sorting means based on the position of the article on the conveyance surface.

The article information acquisition means may measure the dimensions or weight of the article to be transported.

A computer program according to another aspect of the present invention performs an article information acquisition process on a computer to acquire article information of articles to be transported, and determines control details of a sorting means for sorting the articles based on the article information. A decision process is executed.

According to the present invention, stable sorting can be performed depending on the article.

1 Sorting system 101 Sorting condition storage unit 102 Control type information storage unit 103 Sorting information generation unit 104 Decision processing unit 105 Control unit 1a Measuring and weighing unit 1b Sorting unit 10 (11, 12, 13, 14, 15) Belt conveyor 130, 140 Branch part 130a, 140a Gap 1301, 1401 Roller 131, 141 Chute part 20 Sensor group 21a, 21b, 21c, 21d, 21e, 21f, 21g, 21h, 22 Article detection sensor 23 Gate sensor 30, 40 Slide shoe W Article

Claims (5)

article information acquisition means for acquiring article information of articles to be transported;
sorting means for sorting the articles;
determination processing means for determining control details of the sorting means based on the article information;
a first conveyance means for conveying articles from a position where the article information acquisition means is provided to the sorting means;
The sorting means includes a plurality of slide shoes and a second conveying means that conveys the articles in the same direction as the conveying direction of the first conveying means,
Each of the plurality of slide shoes moves from a sorting operation start position on one end side to the other end side in a direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction of the second conveyance means to sort the articles, and 2. Moves to the starting position of the sorting operation in a latent state under the conveying surface of the conveying means and protrudes above the conveying surface at the starting position of the sorting operation,
The starting position of the sorting operation is determined based on the position of the article on the conveyance surface ascertained from the article information.
A sorting system characterized by Each of the plurality of slide shoes moves the same distance from a sorting operation start position on one end side to the other end side to sort the articles.
The sorting system according to claim 1. The plurality of slide shoes can move from the one end side to the other end side, and from the other end side to the one end side.
The sorting system according to claim 1 or 2. The article information acquisition means measures the dimensions or weight of the article to be transported.
The sorting system according to any one of claims 1 to 3. to the computer,
an article information acquisition process that acquires article information of the article to be transported;
a sorting process in which the articles are sorted by a plurality of slide shoes ;
a determination process for determining control details of a sorting means for sorting the articles based on the article information;
performing a first conveyance process of conveying the article from a position where the article information acquisition process is executed to a position where the sorting process is executed;
In the sorting process, a second conveyance process is performed in which the articles are conveyed in the same direction as the conveyance direction of the first conveyance process,
Each of the plurality of slide shoes moves from a sorting operation start position on one end side to the other end side in a direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction of the second conveyance process to sort the articles, and 2. Moves to the start position of the sorting operation in a latent state under the conveyance surface where the conveyance process is performed, and protrudes above the conveyance surface at the start position of the sorting operation,
The starting position of the sorting operation is determined based on the position of the article on the conveyance surface ascertained from the article information.
computer program.

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