JPH045446Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] [Field of industrial application] The present invention is a method for efficiently and quickly taking out articles from a storage facility that stores the articles and storing the taken out articles in a storage box. This relates to equipment for handling articles that can be used.

[Conventional technology]

A prior art related to an article handling device that takes out articles from a storage facility for storing articles and stores the taken out articles in a storage box is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 118601/1983.
Publication No. 186803, Japanese Patent Publication No. 186803, Japanese Patent Publication No. 1868-
Those described in JP-A No. 217503 and JP-A-59-217506 are known.

To briefly explain the description in the above publication, JP-A-59
Publication No. 217503 discloses a first display device that divides the entire picking area into a plurality of zones and also displays a picking instruction and a quantity to be picked at each storage position for each type of shipping item. A second display is installed to indicate in which storage box the picking instruction indicated by the first display should be stored, and a plurality of storage boxes are arranged in each zone. When the picking operation is completed, the belt conveyor automatically moves the distance of one zone to advance the bins from each zone to the next zone, and the next picking operation is completed before the next bin arrives. It is stated that instructions can be given.

Also, JP-A-59-118601, JP-A-59-
Publication No. 186803 or Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 59-217506,
The entire picking area is divided into multiple zones, and a display is installed at each storage position for each type of shipping item to display the quantity to be picked, one storage box is placed in each zone, and each zone is The corresponding conveyance device (consisting of a conveyor that is constantly driven and a stopper provided corresponding to each zone, or a conveyor whose drive can be controlled for each zone) is stopped during the picking operation, and It is described that when the picking operation is completed, the stopped state can be canceled in order to advance the storage box to the next zone.

Furthermore, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 59-217506 discloses that before a desired storage box arrives, the number of items to be taken out next and stored in the next storage box is displayed on each display in the zone, and the number of items to be removed and stored in the next storage box is displayed. It is described that items are stored in temporary storage boxes based on the above, and after the desired storage box arrives, the items are stored in the storage box.

[Problem that the invention attempts to solve]

However, the conventional article handling apparatus as described above has the following problems.

That is, JP-A-59-118601, JP-A-59-
In the article handling apparatuses described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 186803 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 59-217503, it is not possible to take out (pick) the articles before the desired storage box arrives at each zone. In addition, Japanese Patent Publication No. 1983-
Publication No. 217503 includes a description of displaying a picking instruction in advance, but there is no description or suggestion of how to process the article based on the display.

In addition, in the article handling device described in JP-A-59-217506, a temporary storage box is provided and articles to be stored in the next storage box can be taken out in advance. Since there is no display device, the picker must check the number of the piece of paper that comes from the printer with the number of the storage box that is being transported, and then temporarily store the item, store it directly in the storage box, or temporarily store the item. In order to store the stored items in the storage box, the user must pay close attention to the number written on the slip of paper and the number on the storage box, which is an extremely burdensome task and often results in items being stored in the wrong storage box. It was hot.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to create a system that allows articles to be taken out even before the storage box arrives at each zone, if necessary, and that allows items taken out in advance to be stored in the desired storage box without fail. The purpose is to provide handling equipment.

[Means for solving problems]

The present invention provides an article storage facility in which an article retrieval surface is formed on one side of stored articles divided into multiple stages and rows, and the retrieval surface is divided into a plurality of zones; a take-out display device comprising a display for displaying the number of articles to be taken out and a completion button for clearing the display; and a take-out surface for transporting a storage box for storing the articles taken out from the take-out surface of the storage facility. and a conveyance device disposed along the zone, and a temporary storage section in at least one of the zones for temporarily storing articles taken out in advance before the storage box arrives at the zone. The device may include a pre-emption indicator that indicates that the article should be taken out from the temporary storage section in advance, and a loading indicator that indicates that the article that has been taken out in advance should be stored in the storage box. The above object has been achieved by providing an article handling device having the following characteristics.

〔Example〕

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the article handling apparatus of the present invention shown in the drawings will be described below.

FIG. 1 shows a schematic plan view of an embodiment of the article handling device of the present invention.
A is a storage facility with a frontage of multiple rows and multiple stages for storing items stored in containers G, and B is a transport device installed along the front (front) frontage of storage facility A, that is, the frontage on the exit side. , C is a conveyance unit forming conveyor that sets a plurality of storage boxes H for storing articles picked from storage equipment A into a group (conveyance unit) and carries out the storage boxes H for each conveyance unit to conveyance device B; is a cut-out conveyor that cuts out and conveys the storage box H to the conveyance unit forming conveyor C. In addition, E is equipped with a container storage device etc. to storage facility A.
The stacker crane is equipped with a container storage device, etc., and runs left and right along the frontage of the rear (rear side) of storage facility A, that is, the frontage on the storage side. The provided container carry-in conveyors F-1, F-2, F-3 are storage lines for containers G, G, . . . to the container carry-in conveyor F.

To explain in detail each part in the embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2 and FIG.
The main body is a storage section (so-called fluid shelf) 1 which has a frontage of multiple stages and multiple rows for storing.Roughly, for each frontage,
A free conveyor 11 is provided which slopes forward and downward so that the stored containers G can be moved forward by their own weight, and this free conveyor 1
A container receiving stand 12 is disposed at the end (front end) of the container. The free conveyor 11 at each frontage is composed of a pair of roller conveyors, and the container receiving stands 12 are horizontally continuous along the frontage surface of a plurality of rows, and have a large frontage surface. A plurality of corresponding stages are provided in the vertical direction. or,
At the front of the storage facility A, an article removal surface 13 is formed, which is divided into a plurality of zones, ie, three zones α, β, and γ in this embodiment.
In this embodiment, the zones α, β, and γ are divided so that they are each responsible for taking out articles from the containers G stored in 4 rows×4 stages=16 openings. In addition, wheels may be used in the structure of the free conveyor 11 instead of rollers.

In the storage facility A, a stopper 14 is provided between the free conveyor 11 and the container receiving stand 12, and the containers G stopped by the stopper 14 are taken out to the container receiving stand 12. A cutting device 9 is provided for the purpose, and the cutting device 9 is mounted on a lifting platform 92 that is raised and lowered by an air cylinder 91.
By projecting above the stopper 14, the containers G can be taken out one by one.
Further, 93 is a push button for a mechanical valve (not shown) for operating the air cylinder 91, and is provided near the take-out indicator 16, which will be described later.

In addition, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the storage facility A is provided with a take-out indicator 16 located at an easily visible position on the front side of each of the storage sections 1. The takeout indicator 16 indicates the items to be taken out for each of the zones α, β, and γ, more specifically for each frontage of the storage section 1, based on a picking command from a control device (not shown). It is equipped with a display 161 that displays the number of pieces and a completion button 162 that clears the display. In addition, each extraction indicator 1
6 is also equipped with a take-out indicator lamp 163, and when there is a picking command, that is, when it is necessary to take out the article in the container G from the take-out surface 13, this take-out indicator lamp 163 blinks. This is done so that the workers can be notified. In addition, the display 161 or completion button 162 indicates each zone α, β,
They may be integrated into one piece or one place for each γ.

Further, the conveyance device B is disposed along the take-out surface 13 of the storage facility A, and is used for picking and storing the articles stored in the containers G taken out from the take-out surface 13 of the storage facility A. It is designed to transport a storage box H. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 2, the conveyance device B carries the plurality of storage boxes H independently of each other so that it can convey or stop the plurality of storage boxes H corresponding to each of the zones α, β, and γ. Three possible belt conveyors 2a, 2b, 2c are connected in series. That is, the three belt conveyors 2a, 2b, 2c are located in zones α, 2c, respectively.
They are located corresponding to β, γ, and each zone α, β,
A plurality of storage boxes (three in the case of the embodiment) H that fit within the length of these belt conveyors 2a, 2b, and 2c provided corresponding to each γ are conveyed as a transport unit (group).
The transport unit is configured to be transported and stopped independently for each transport unit. And each belt conveyor 2
A detector 21 (the detector for the belt conveyor 2c is not shown) for detecting the head of the conveyance unit is attached to the discharge side of each of the belt conveyors 2a, 2b. ,2c is
When a picking command (command for storing articles in the storage box H) is received from the control device, when the detector 21 attached thereto detects the head of the conveyance unit on the belt conveyor. The conveyance unit is stopped, and if there is no picking command or picking is completed, the conveyance is continued or started and conveyed to the downstream conveyor, and all conveyance units are conveyed to the downstream conveyor. It stops after the detector 21 enters the light-receiving state, but if the next conveyance unit is being received from the upstream conveyor at the same time, when the leading part of the conveyor is detected by the detector 21 (however, This is when a picking command is given; if there is no picking command, the machine is controlled to stop after all transport units have been unloaded. For example, to summarize the control mode for the belt conveyor 2b, the conditions for starting or continuing conveyance are that the upstream belt conveyor 2a is in the starting state, or that the picking for the belt conveyor 2b is completed and the downstream side The condition for stopping is that the belt conveyor 2c is not in the process of picking, and the stopping condition is that a picking command is given to the belt conveyor 2b, or that the belt conveyor 2c on the downstream side is in the process of picking.

Further, as shown in the third diagram, the conveyance device B is arranged with its conveyance surface inclined toward the take-out surface 13 side, and by inclining the conveyance surface in this way, the conveyance device B The transport device B facilitates the storage (insertion) of articles into the upper storage box H, and allows the stored items to lean against the inner wall of the storage box H.
This is to prevent the load from collapsing due to acceleration and deceleration associated with starting and stopping. Further, 22 is a drive motor for the belt conveyor constituting the conveying device B, and 23
is a guide wheel that guides the storage box H.
Note that the conveying device B does not consist of the three belt conveyors 2a, 2b, and 2c as described above, but instead has three belt conveyors 2a, 2b, and 2c.
It may be constructed with a single roller conveyor extending over β and γ, and a stopper may be provided for each zone α, β, and γ, and the stopper may be controlled on/off. or,
The conveying surface of the conveying device B may be made horizontal.

In addition, in Figures 2 and 3, 24, 2
4' is a storage display, which displays each zone α,
The plurality of storage boxes H that stop corresponding to β and γ
It displays which of the storage boxes H should store the article, and 3 are displayed near the stop position of each storage box H along the transport device B, corresponding to each zone α, β, and γ. They are arranged individually. More specifically, in this embodiment, the three storage indicators 24 in each zone α, β, and γ are configured as illuminated push buttons that also function as completion buttons. Further, the storage display 24' is an auxiliary display for making storage instructions clearer, and is composed of an illumination lamp.

Reference numeral 26 denotes a temporary storage section (temporary storage table) on which articles are temporarily placed, and before the storage box H arrives at each zone α, β, and γ, the container G is
Two locations are provided in each of the zones α, β, and γ along the transport device B to temporarily store the items when they are taken out in advance.

Reference numeral 25 denotes a temporary storage display, which in the case of the embodiment is provided corresponding to each temporary storage section 26. Each temporary storage display 25 indicates in advance that an article should be taken out, and also indicates which temporary storage section 26. It is equipped with a pre-emption indicator 251 that displays whether the article should be temporarily stored in the storage section 26, and a loading indicator 252 that displays that the article that has been taken out in advance and temporarily placed should be stored in the storage box H. The pre-order indicator 251 is made up of an illuminated push button that also functions as a completion button, and the input indicator 252 is made of an illuminated lamp.

Then, one of the storage indicators 24, 24' and the indicator 251 lights up in response to the blinking of the eject indicator lamp 163 of the eject indicator 16 in the corresponding zone, and from the eject surface 13. Displays whether the retrieved article will be stored or temporarily stored in one of the three storage boxes H or in one of the two temporary storage sections 26. At the same time, when all the articles have been picked for the corresponding storage box H or the corresponding temporary storage section 26 in the corresponding zone, the corresponding storage display 24
Or, by pressing the preemption display 251, the lighting will be cleared and the next storage box H in the corresponding zone will be displayed.
is designed to prepare for picking other temporarily stored articles 26, and even if it is pressed before all the articles in the corresponding zone have been picked by mistake (if any of the pick-up indicator lamps 163 in the corresponding zone flash) ), storage indicator 24
Alternatively, the preemption indicator 251 continues to be lit to continue displaying the storage box H in which the article is to be stored or the temporary storage section 26 in which the article is to be temporarily placed.
Note that the storage display 24 or the pre-emption display 251 may not be provided with such a completion button function, but may be provided with a separate completion button for clearing the display as in the case of the ejection display 16. In that case, the completion buttons may be integrated into one location for each zone. Further, the take-out indicator 16 does not need to include the take-out indicator lamp 163, and in that case, the display 161 may be blinked, or the pick-up indicator 161 may not be blinking and picking may be performed based on the presence or absence of the number display. You may do so.

In addition, a storage box H is provided on the transport unit forming conveyor C.
As shown in FIG.
The cutting detector 42 detects that there is a storage box H to be cut out, and the cutting stopper 41
By lowering the storage box H, the storage box H is accelerated and transported one by one to the carry-in end of the transport unit forming conveyor C.

The transport unit forming conveyor C, which transports the storage boxes H to the transport device B as a transport unit as described above, is mainly constituted by a roller conveyor, as shown in FIG. A direction changer 31, a storage box detector 32, and a storage box passage detector 33 are provided in between, and a conveyance unit that detects the tip of the formed conveyance unit is provided at the output end. A detector 34 and a cut-out stopper 35 for cutting out conveyance units into the conveyance device B are provided, and the cut-out stopper 35 is controlled as follows, and also controls the cut-out conveyor D.
That is, the storage box H cut out from the cutting conveyor D is transferred to the direction changer 31, and when the storage box detector 32 detects this, the direction changer 31 descends, and by this descent. The storage box H is conveyed to the unloading side by rollers, and when the storage box H passes the storage box passage detector 33, the direction changer 31 is raised to prepare for cutting out the next storage box H. The storage box passage detector 33 causes the cutting conveyor D to stop cutting out when three storage boxes H have passed. The three storage boxes H that have passed through the storage box passage detector 33 form a transport unit with the leading storage box H in contact with the cut-out stopper 35, and when there is a picking command and the transport device B When the belt conveyor 2a corresponding to the first zone α is activated, the conveyance unit is transported to the belt conveyor 2a. The cut-out stopper 35 is raised when the transport unit passes the transport unit detector 34, and prepares for forming the next transport unit.

In the case of the embodiment, the above transport unit is composed of three storage boxes H as described above, but the size of the zone, the size of the storage box H, and the size of the articles to be stored in the storage box H are different. Various selections can be made within the range of the number of storage boxes H that can fit into the zone, taking into consideration the size, number, etc. Also, multiple storage boxes H for one delivery destination.
When allocating, for example, the third
It is also possible to allocate the first storage box H and the first storage box H of the next transportation unit.

Further, the container carrying-in conveyor F provided at the rear of the storage facility A is located outside the running surface of the stacker crane E, and is arranged approximately horizontally at a height near the frontage of the center stage of the storage facility A. It has been set up. and,
The container carrying-in conveyor F is configured to be able to rotate forward and reverse as appropriate, and the storage line F
Containers G, G, . . . supplied from -1, F-2, F-3 through appropriate gates (not shown) can be carried into appropriate positions.

Next, a picking mode carried out using the article handling apparatus of the embodiment having the above-mentioned structure will be explained based on FIGS. 1 to 3.

On the free conveyor 11 of the storage facility A, the plurality of containers G that have been stored are placed in a state where the frontmost container G is in contact with the stopper 14 because the free conveyor 11 is disposed downward at the front. It is packed in the front.

Therefore, when a picking command is issued for zone α, the belt conveyor 2 corresponding to zone α
At the same time as the belt conveyor 2a is started, a conveyance unit consisting of three storage boxes H is cut out from the conveyance unit forming conveyor C as described above, and when the detector 21 detects the leading end of the conveyance unit, the belt conveyor 2a is stopped. The transport unit stops corresponding to zone α. At this point in time, as described above, the display 161 of the take-out display 16 provided on each front side of the storage facility A displays the number of articles to be taken out from the corresponding front side based on a command from the control device. In addition, the extraction indicator lamp 163 on the corresponding frontage in zone α is blinking based on the command from the control device, and one of the three storage indicators 24 in zone α (the It is preferable to do it sequentially starting from the side storage box H)
lights up based on commands from the control device. Therefore,
The worker should check the ejection indicator lamp 16 which is blinking sequentially.
Take out the number of items corresponding to item 3 displayed on the display 161 from the take-out surface 13 of the storage facility A, press the take-out completion button 162, store them in the storage box H corresponding to the lit storage display 24, When all the picking for the storage box H is completed, by pressing the storage indicator (in the case of the embodiment, an illuminated push button) 24, the other storage indicators 24 in zone α light up, and the pick-up indicator 16 also lights up. Since the light is on, the operator only has to continue the picking operation as described above in accordance with the instructions on the takeout indicator 16 and the storage indicator 24.

The above-mentioned picking of the articles stored inside the container G is performed by taking out the container G at the forefront onto the container receiving stand 12. The container G is taken out to the container receiving stand 12 by a cutting device 9.

After all the picking in zone α is completed as described above, the belt conveyor 2a is activated by pressing the storage display 24, and at the same time, the belt conveyor 2b is also activated to convey the three storage boxes H. The unit is transported to zone β.
Further, by pressing the storage display 24, a display for the next picking is displayed on the takeout display 16 in the zone α.

If a picking command is also issued in zone β, a picking display for one of the temporary storage units 26 is displayed in zone β simultaneously with a picking display for storage box H in zone α.

That is, the display 161 of the take-out display 16 provided on each frontage surface of zone β displays the number of articles to be taken out from the corresponding frontage surface based on the command from the control device, and the number of articles to be taken out from the corresponding frontage surface in zone β The take-out display lamp 163 on the frontage side is blinking based on a command from the control device, and one of the two advance-take indicators 251 in zone β (from the one for the temporary storage stand 26 on the front side of the transport unit) (preferably sequentially) are turned on based on commands from the control device. Therefore, the worker takes out the number of items corresponding to the sequentially flashing removal indicator lamps 163 from the removal surface 13 of the storage facility A in the number displayed on the display 161, presses the completion button 162, and
The retrieved article is temporarily placed in the temporary storage section 26 corresponding to the preemption indicator 251 that is lit, and when all the picking for the temporary storage section 26 is completed, the preemption indicator (in the case of the embodiment, an illuminated push button) is displayed. By pressing 251, another pre-emption indicator 25 in zone β
1 lights up and the pick-up indicator 16 also lights up, so the operator only has to continue the picking work as described above in accordance with the instructions from the pick-up indicator 16 and the preemption indicator 251.

In the case of the embodiment, since the temporary storage portions 26 are provided at two locations for each zone α, β, and γ,
It is possible to pick up items in advance for up to two storage boxes H, but if a storage box H has arrived at the corresponding zone, the items are stored directly in the storage box H without being temporarily stored. controlled by a control device.

For example, if a transport unit including a storage box H in which the item is to be stored arrives at zone β while an item is being preemptively picked from the temporary storage section 26 at the front side of the transport unit, then By performing advance picking on the temporary storage section 26 on the side and pressing the advance picking indicator 251 when the advance picking is completed, the temporary storage section 2 on the leading side of the conveyance unit is
The input indicator 252 corresponding to No. 6 lights up, and the storage indicator 24 corresponding to the storage box H in which the pre-picked item is to be stored lights up, so the pre-picked item is placed in the corresponding storage box H. All you have to do is store it, and if you press the storage display 24 after storage, the other storage display 24 in zone β will light up and the takeout display 16 will also light up, so you can pick the next storage box H. The stored articles may be directly stored in the corresponding storage box H according to the instructions on the storage display 24 without temporarily storing them.

In addition, if the arrival of the storage box H is delayed and the pre-picking of the two temporary storage sections 26 is completed before the arrival of the storage box H, all temporarily stored items will be removed after the storage box H arrives. After the item is stored in each desired storage box H and the corresponding storage indicator 24 is pressed, the take-out indicator 16 lights up to indicate picking of the next storage box H.

Note that the same applies when a picking command is issued for zone γ. Also, in different zones,
It goes without saying that articles of the same type may be stored in different storage boxes H.

Furthermore, if there is no picking command for zone α, no picking is performed in zone α as described above, and the transport unit is transported past zone α to zone β. If there is no picking command in zone β, the transport unit is carried out to zone γ, and if there is no picking command in zone γ, the transport unit is carried out to the next process.

Furthermore, if transport units are assigned to each zone α, β, γ and picking is performed in each zone α, β, γ, even if the transport unit of the zone has not been completely delivered to the downstream side. When the transport unit in the downstream zone starts to move, the transport unit that has finished picking in the upstream zone is transported to the downstream zone. Furthermore, if the picking work in the downstream zone is not completed, the efficiency of the picking work as a whole will decrease.
Preferably, workers in the upstream zone assist in picking operations in the downstream zone. In addition, if the efficiency of picking in the downstream zone is good, the conveyance unit that has completed picking is carried out and there is no conveyance unit to be picked in the downstream zone, and in this case as well, the efficiency of the entire picking operation is poor. Therefore, it is preferable that the workers in the downstream zone go to help with the picking work in the upstream zone.

Although the embodiments of the article handling device of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited thereto, and may be, for example, as follows.

- The temporary storage section 26 may be provided at one location or three or more locations for each zone α, β, and γ.

- It is not necessary to provide the pre-emption indicator 251, the input indicator 252, and the temporary storage section 26 in the zone α.

- The preemption display 251 and the input display 252 are
Various methods are suitable, but when using indicator lamps, it is preferable to differentiate the colors of the lamps or display them with arrows to prevent erroneous operation.

[Effect of idea]

According to the article handling device of the present invention, articles can be taken out even before the storage box arrives at each zone, if necessary, and the items taken out in advance can be stored in the desired storage box without fail. Therefore, the picking chance can be greatly increased, and the entire device can be picked quickly and efficiently. Moreover, there is a practical effect in that when storing the pre-picked items in the storage box, there is no need to read the number written on the piece of paper or the like and the number on the storage box.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a plan view schematically showing an embodiment of the article handling device of the present invention, and Figs. 2 and 3 are enlarged plan views and enlarged right side views of the exit side of each shelf and the surrounding equipment. It is a front view. α, β, γ...Zone, A...Storage equipment, B...
... Conveyance device, 1 ... Storage section, 13 ... Article take-out surface, 16 ... Take-out indicator. 161...Indicator, 1
62...Completion button, 251...Preemption indicator, 252
... Loading indicator, 26 ... Temporary storage section.

Claims (1)

[Claims for Utility Model Registration] (1) Article storage equipment in which an article take-out surface is formed on one side of a storage part divided into multiple stages and rows for storing articles, and the take-out surface is divided into a plurality of zones. and a take-out display that includes a display that displays the number of articles to be taken out for each zone and a completion button that clears the display, and a storage box that stores the goods taken out from the take-out surface of the storage facility. at least one of the zones, and a temporary storage section for temporarily storing the items taken out in advance before the storage box arrives at the zone. In the article handling device prepared for this purpose, there is a pre-emption indicator that indicates that the article should be taken out from the temporary storage section in advance, and a loading display that indicates that the article that has been taken out in advance should be stored in the storage box. An article handling device characterized by comprising a container. (2) The transport device is configured to transport or stop a plurality of storage boxes corresponding to each zone, and which of the plurality of storage boxes is stopped corresponding to each zone. The article according to claim (1) of the utility model registration claim, wherein a storage indicator indicating whether the article should be stored in the storage box is disposed near the stop position of each of the storage boxes along the conveyance device. handling equipment. (3) For the article described in paragraph (1) or (2) of the claims for utility model registration, in which a take-out indicator is provided for each take-out port of a storage section divided into multiple stages and rows. Handling equipment. (4) Utility model registration claim No. 1 in which the storage display device is equipped with a completion button to clear the display.
An article handling device according to any one of paragraphs (1) to (3). (5) Any one of claims (1) to (4) of the claims for utility model registration, where the storage equipment is configured so that the stored items can be moved by their own weight toward the extraction surface. Equipment for handling items described in .