JPH0218206A - Article gathering facility - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To omit inspection work and make accuracy improvement, by carrying out readout work through distribution supply work on side of a moving carriage on which an article mark reading means, article storage information memory means, and distribution supply means are arranged, in the facility in the title which has the moving carriage provided with plural article storage units. CONSTITUTION:Work data made by a host computer are transmitted to a moving carriage A and are memorized in a control unit. And based on this information, moving carriage A moves and fetches articles. And the bar code of a taken out article is read out by a bar code reader 23 to detect and confirm the sort of the article. An audio annunciator works when a discord takes place. Articles are supplied to each of supply units K1, K2, based on a display content indicated on a quantity display unit 30 which is arranged corresponding to each of supply units K1, K2 at the upper and lower side of the moving carriage. By this constitution, article inspection after articles are gathered can be omitted and at the same time, accuracy can be improved.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention provides a shelf for storing a plurality of types of articles in different categories,
The present invention relates to an article collection facility that is provided along a travel path of a moving vehicle, and the moving vehicle includes a plurality of article storage units.

[Conventional technology]

In this type of item collection equipment, the work is carried out by a worker moving a mobile vehicle to the shelf where the items to be taken out are stored, and then storing the items taken out in the item storage section. .

By the way, in order to run a moving vehicle, the moving vehicle is equipped with a destination information indicating means for instructing destination information based on the information in the storage means, and the worker drives the vehicle based on the instructed destination information. There are a manual driving type and a so-called automatic driving type in which the mobile vehicle is equipped with a travel control means for automatically driving the mobile vehicle based on information in the storage means.

Further, in order to instruct the user to take out the article, the moving vehicle is often provided with an instruction means for instructing the removal information based on the information in the storage means.

Furthermore, in order to instruct the article storage information to each article storage section, the mobile vehicle is often equipped with storage information instruction means for instructing the storage information based on information in the storage means.

By the way, if the worker stores the article taken out into the moving vehicle in the article storage section to which it should be stored out of the plurality of article storage sections, even an experienced worker may make a work error.

For this reason, in the past, workers were required to perform inspection work after collecting the goods. (For example, see Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 59-7605.) [Problems to be Solved by the Invention] Conventionally, inspection work was performed after collecting goods, so the amount of work required by workers for the unit collection processing amount was large. In other words, it requires a large number of workers to collect a predetermined amount of goods, which has the disadvantage of increasing the operating cost of the equipment. Furthermore, since the inspection work is performed manually, there is a risk that mistakes may occur in the inspection work.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and its purpose is to enable highly accurate article collection work while omitting inspection work after article collection work.

[Means to solve the problem]

In the article collection equipment according to the present invention, a shelf for storing a plurality of types of articles in different categories is provided along a travel path of a moving vehicle,
The moving vehicle is equipped with a plurality of article storage sections, and its characteristic configuration is that each article stored in the shelf is provided with a mark indicating the type of article, and the moving vehicle is provided with a mark indicating the type of article. The mark reading means reads the mark of the article taken out to the moving vehicle, the storage means stores the type and quantity of the article stored in each of the article storage sections, and the mark reading means and the storage means respectively. There is provided a distributing and supplying means for distributing and supplying the articles taken out to the moving vehicle to each of the article storage sections based on the information.

[For production]

In other words, the type of the article taken out is determined by reading the mark on the article taken out to the moving vehicle using the mark reading means. Then, the storage unit in which the item should be stored is determined while also using the storage information of the storage means,
Based on the information, the distribution supply means automatically supplies the article to the article storage section to be stored.

〔Effect of the invention〕

Therefore, the articles taken out to the mobile vehicle can be automatically supplied to the article storage section where they are to be stored, so that the work of storing the articles in the article storage section can be performed accurately and without mistakes. This makes it possible to omit inspection work after collecting goods.
As a result, it has become possible to perform item collection work with high precision while reducing equipment operating costs by omitting inspection work.

〔Example〕

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below based on the drawings.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the article collection equipment includes a mobile vehicle (A) equipped with a storage frame (1) for storing articles, a vehicle (A) that stores multiple types of articles in different categories, and Mobile vehicle (A)
A shelf (B) is provided along the longitudinal direction of the running path.

Each of the columns (6) is divided into a plurality of sections along its longitudinal direction, and each partitioned shelf section (2) is provided with three upper and lower loading sections. Each can store three types of articles (X) in the horizontal direction.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the mobile vehicle (A) has a pair of left and right free wheels (3) disposed at each of the front and rear ends.
It is constructed in a so-called handcart style, with a pair of left and right handles (4) for operation, and near the handles (4) there is a setting panel that displays information on how to take out articles. A dual-purpose display panel (5) is provided.

The storage frame (1) is provided with two shelves, upper and lower, and each shelf has an article storage container (as an article storage section).
6) are stored side by side in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle. Further, a distribution supply means (K) for distributing and supplying the articles taken out to the moving vehicle side to each of the containers (6) is provided in the storage frame (1).

Note that each container (6) corresponds to a respective shipping destination.

Then, as shown in FIG. 4, the worker loads the empty container (6) into the moving vehicle (A
) After loading the data into the storage frame (1), proceed to the data receiving point (F).
At this point, work data for article collection, including destination information, the article retrieval information, and the article storage information, is input into the mobile vehicle (A). Then, based on the destination information, the vehicle travels to the shelf section (2) where the article to be taken out is stored, and the article is taken out from the shelf section (2) to the mobile vehicle based on the article takeout information.

The articles taken out to the moving vehicle are supplied to each article storage container (6) by an article supply means (K).

Furthermore, when all the work is completed, the vehicle travels to the container unloading location (sniff) and supplies the containers (6) containing the articles to the collection conveyor (10).

Next, based on the block diagram shown in FIG. 6, the article collection work will be explained while describing the control configuration.

In other words, when the contents of an order form (11) issued by a customer etc. are manually entered into a host controller (HC), the host controller (HC) processes the order form (11) according to the contents of the order form (11). 12) is created and its purchase order (
Items are purchased according to the contents of 12), and
Warehousing data (13) of purchased items is also input manually to the host controller (HC).

The host controller (IIc) receives the order form (1
2) and the warehouse data (13), while managing the inventory of various goods based on the contents of the previously entered order form (13).
Based on the contents of item 11), work data for article collection is created and the work data is output to a work controller (SC). This item collection work data is necessary to create the destination information, the location information of the shelf part (2) where the items to be collected are stored, and the item removal information. information indicating the type and quantity of articles to be taken out from the shelf portion (2), and the type of articles to be stored in each article storage container (6), which is necessary to create the article storage information. and information indicating its quantity. Further, this work data is formed in a state that it can be classified by the amount of work performed by the - number of moving vehicles (A).

The work controller (SC) is configured to comprehensively manage the goods collection operation while exchanging various information such as work data with a mobile vehicle controller (IC) provided in the mobile vehicle (A). There is.

Information exchange between the work controller (SC) and the mobile vehicle controller (IC) is carried out through a read/write control controller (14A), a ROM (14B), and an RA.
This is carried out using an IC card (14) equipped with M (14C), and includes a card writer (15a) for writing work data into the IC card (14), and a card reader (1) for reading out various data written on the IC card (14).
5b) are attached to the work controller (SC), and a card reader (16a) for reading the stored information of the IC card (14) and a card writer (16b) for writing are attached to the mobile vehicle controller (SC). IC).

Incidentally, the IC card (14) corresponds to a storage means for storing work data for article collection on the moving vehicle side.

The display panel (5) includes a monitor (18) using a CRT display and a touch panel (19) installed on the front side of the monitor (18), and is configured in a so-called touch screen type.

Note that the touch panel (19) is connected to the monitor (18).
Various methods can be used, such as an optical method that projects multiple optical signals that cross the display surface vertically and horizontally, and reads the contact position based on the position of the area where light is blocked when the worker touches it. .

The mobile vehicle controller (IC) stores the above-mentioned work data for article collection, storage information of the articles stored in each shelf section (2), and information for sorting the articles into each shelf section (2). Based on the sorting information, destination information for driving the moving vehicle (A>), information on taking out articles from the shelf section (2) where the moving vehicle (A) has traveled, and a container (6) for storing the taken out articles. and the article storage information indicating the storage quantity.Then, the destination information and article retrieval information are output to the display panel (5) and the quantity display (7),
The article storage information is used as information for operating the article distribution and supply means (K).

In order to operate the article distribution and supply means (K), in addition to the above-mentioned article storage information, information on the type of article taken out to the moving vehicle is also required. For this reason, the above 111 (B
) Each article (X) stored in the container (
A manually operated barcode league (23) is provided as mark reading means for reading m).

Incidentally, the information read from the barcode reader 23) is also used as information for checking whether the item taken out is the item to be taken out. In other words, it is configured to automatically inspect the removed articles.

Note that the mobile vehicle controller (IC) is configured using a microcomputer, and is
20), and when the IC card (14) is set on the mobile vehicle side, the IC card dock 1
4) The work data for article collection stored in the memo I
J(20>).

That is, the mobile vehicle controller (IC) uses the monitor (18) to collect destination information and Control is performed to display each piece of article removal information, and selection of the display state is controlled based on information input through the touch panel (19).

In addition, 1 and (21) in FIG. 6 are audio output devices for outputting information corresponding to the display contents displayed on the monitor (18) by voice, and as described later, When it is determined that the type of article taken out to the side does not match the type of article instructed to be taken out, it also functions as a notification means for notifying the mismatch.

The display state on the monitor (18) will be explained as follows: 1. A shelf part position display state (in which all shelf parts (2) are simultaneously displayed in a state corresponding to the layout of the shelf (B), with only the part corresponding to the shelf part (2) in which the retrieved article is stored lit up); (See Figure 8 (a)), and in the shelf part position display state, only the loading area where the item to be taken out is located in one shelf part selected and instructed, that is, the part corresponding to the item to be taken out, lights up. An article display state (see Fig. 8 (0)) in which two shelf sections are graphically displayed, and a quantity display state (in which the type and quantity of one loading section, that is, the article to be taken out) selected for selection in that article display state (see Fig. 8 (0)). It is possible to switch between three states (see FIG. 8(c)).

In each display state, the position corresponding to the shelf part 2) or the loading part that is displayed in the lit state is selected based on the detected information of the contact position of the worker read by the touch panel (19). In response to the instruction, the display state is switched to the one corresponding to the next task.

To explain the article distribution and supply means (K), as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, there is an upper supply section (Kl) corresponding to the upper article storage container (6) and a lower supply section A lower supply section (K) corresponding to a container (6) for storing articles
2). Each of the supply sections (Kl) and (K2) includes a conveyor (24) with an inclined article conveyance surface, a receiver to prevent the conveyed articles from falling to the lower side of the inclination, and a container (6). The plate-shaped receivers, one of which is arranged corresponding to each of the members, are composed of a frame (25). Each receiver frame (25) is
It is pivoted to open and swing freely with the lower end side as a fulcrum, and each receiver is provided with a fluid pressure cylinder (26) that opens and closes the frame (25). An electric motor (27) is provided to drive the conveyor (24), and the conveyor (27)
An encoder (28) for detecting the amount of conveyance is provided (see FIG. 6). In order to determine the starting point of the article transport, a predecessor sensor (29) is provided to detect the passage of the article. In addition, each upper and lower supply section (Kl), (2)
A quantity display (30) is provided in correspondence with the quantity indicator (30).
It can be determined which side of K2) should be supplied.

I will explain the distribution supply in detail while explaining the operation below.
The worker has the mobile vehicle detect the type of article taken out using the barcode reader (23), and also sends the upper and lower supply units (Kl) based on the display contents of the quantity display (30).
), (K2).

However, if it is determined that the type of article detected by the barcode reader (23) is not an article to be stored in the container (6), this fact is notified by voice as described above.

Further, as the type of article is determined as described above, the conveyance distance required to convey the article to the desired container (6) is set. By the way, the distribution and supply of goods to each container (6) is carried out from the rearmost container (6) lined up in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body toward the front one, or from the most front container toward the rear container (6). The conveyance distance is set according to the supply order.

As mentioned above, the articles supplied to either the upper or lower supply section (Kl) or (K2) are conveyed by the conveyor (24). Along with its transportation, the previous generation sensor (29)
When detecting the passage of the article, the conveyance distance from that point is determined from the information from the encoder (28). When the detected conveyance distance reaches a set conveyance distance, the frame (25) of the receiver is opened and the article is dropped and supplied into the container (6).

Incidentally, the driving of the transport conveyor (24) is started when the barcode reader (23) first detects an article, and continues until all the articles sequentially supplied are completed.

Next, the operation of the mobile vehicle (A) will be explained while describing the control operation of the mobile vehicle controller (IC) based on the flowchart shown in FIG.

First, a work data reading process is executed to read the information of the set IC card (14).

After reading the information, a shelf part display process is executed to display all shelf parts graphically in a state corresponding to the layout of the shelf (B), with only the shelf part with work lit up, and the worker can perform the work. The moving vehicle (A) is driven to a certain shelf section and waits until the shelf section on which the work is to be performed is selected on the touch panel (19) (see FIG. 8(a)).

In other words, by the process of graphically displaying the entire shelf section (2) where the work is being done, the destination information of the mobile vehicle (A), that is, the position information of the shelf section (2) where the items to be collected are stored, can be indicated. Become.

As the shelf section where the work is to be performed is selected, only the loading section of the selected shelf section (2) where the item to be taken out is lit, and the display state changes to an article display state in which the entire shelf section is displayed. After switching, in the same way as the selection of the shelf section (2), wait until one of the displayed load placement sections is selected on the touch panel (19) (see FIG. 8(b)).

As the loading section with work is selected, the shelf section number and loading section No. to which the selected loading section belongs are displayed.
At the same time, the voice output device (21) is activated to output the article removal information displayed on the monitor (18) by voice. It also outputs (see Figure 8 (c)). In addition, a quantity display for distribution supply (
30) is also activated.

In other words, as the shelf section where the work is to be performed is selected, the shelf section is displayed graphically with only the loading section of the selected shelf section (2) where the item to be taken out is lit up; As the loading section where the work is to be performed is selected, the article retrieval information is indicated by the process of displaying the product number and name indicating the type of the article to be taken out, as well as the amount to be taken out.At the same time, the upper and lower supply sections ( kl).

The quantity of goods to be supplied to (K2) is also indicated.

The worker takes out the articles from the selected loading section to the mobile vehicle, detects the type of each article taken out using a barcode reader (23), and supplies the articles to the distribution supply means (k). Note that if the type of article to be taken out does not match the type of article that is currently instructed to be taken out, this will be notified by the voice output device (21) as described above, and the wrong article will be sent to the dispensing and supplying means (k). is avoided.

Next, as described above, the distribution and supply processing is performed to supply the articles supplied to the upper and lower supply sections (kl) and (K2) to each container (6).

Then, as the number of articles detected by the barcode reader (23) reaches the number of articles to be stored, it is determined that the article retrieval work in one loading section is completed, and the barcode reader (23) It is determined whether or not there is an article to be taken out.

If there are items to be removed on other loading areas, turn off the display of the loading area where the item removal work has been completed.
Transition to the article display state.

If all the items on the selected shelf have been taken out, it is checked whether there is any remaining work on other shelves, and if there is, the shelf where the work has been completed is displayed. With the light turned off, the process from the above-mentioned shelf position display state is repeated.

However, if work has been completed on all shelves,
This will complete all processing.

[Another example]

In the above embodiment, the 2nd display panel (5) is replaced with a CRT type monitor (1
8) is used to configure (17), and Tanosen panel (19
) is used to manually change the display state and provide various information. At the same time, a number of illuminated push buttons corresponding to the loading parts in one shelf section (2) are provided to indicate the article to be taken out, and a numerical display is used to indicate the quantity to be taken out. etc.
The specific configuration of the display panel (5) and the specific configurations of the destination information instruction and article retrieval information instruction can be changed in various ways.

Further, in the above embodiment, the moving vehicle (A) is constructed as a hand-cart type, but the specific construction can be modified in various ways, such as by being equipped with electric propulsion wheels.

Further, in the above embodiment, the articles are stored in the container (6), but the storage frame (1) may be partitioned to form an article storage section for storing the articles.

Further, in the above embodiment, the case where the instruction for article retrieval information is given only on the moving vehicle side is exemplified, but the instruction may also be made on the shelf side.

In addition, when transmitting work data for collecting goods to the moving vehicle,
Instead of using the IC card (14), various changes can be made, such as transmitting information through communication between the work controller (SC) and the mobile vehicle controller (IC).

Furthermore, the specific configuration of the article distribution and supply means (K) can be changed in various ways according to various conditions such as the target article and the article storage section (6).

In addition, various changes can be made to the specific configuration of each part necessary for carrying out the present invention.

Incidentally, although reference numerals are written in the claims section for convenient comparison with the drawings, the present invention is not limited to the structure shown in the accompanying drawings.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawings show an embodiment of the article collection equipment according to the present invention, and the first
The figure is a side view of the moving vehicle, FIG. 2 is a plan view thereof, FIG. 3 is a front view thereof, FIG. 4 is a schematic plan view of the article collection equipment, and FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the schematic configuration of the shelves and the moving vehicle. 6 is a block diagram showing the control configuration, FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing control operation, and FIGS. 8(a) to 8(d) are explanatory diagrams of display states. (A)...Moving vehicle, (B)...Shelf, (
m)...Mark, (K)...Distribution supply means, (X)...Goods, (6)...Goods storage section, (14)・・・・・・Memory means, (23)・
...Mark reading means.

Claims (1)

[Claims] A shelf (B) for storing a plurality of types of articles in a divided state is provided along the travel path of the moving vehicle (A), and
is an article collection equipment equipped with a plurality of article storage sections (6), and each article (X) stored on the shelf (B) has a mark (m) indicating the type of article. The mobile vehicle (A) is provided with a mark reading means (23) for reading the mark (m) of the article taken out to the mobile vehicle side;
A storage means (14) for storing the types and quantities of articles to be stored in each article storage section (1), and information from the mark reading means (23) and the storage means (14), the moving vehicle The article collection equipment is provided with a distribution supply means (K) for distributing and supplying the articles taken out to the side to each of the article storage sections (1).