JPH07309409A - Picking command method and device therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To surely guide a worker to a block, etc., as a picking object without giving a burden to the worker even when many working blocks as the picking object exist, and moreover realizing a picking command suitable for the worker' s eyes. CONSTITUTION:This device is provided with a spot light 5 for irradiating to goods 3 as a picking object or a working block 4, etc., with visible light 2, an indicator 8 mounted on shelves 7, etc., storing the goods 3 as the picking object to display the number and quantity, etc., of the goods 3 to be picked, and a control device 9 for controlling picking information to input/output a control signal concerning a working command in accordance with the progress of picking work to control the action of the spot light 5 or the indicator 8. The goods 3 as the picking object or the work block 4 is commanded to a picking operator 11 by irradiation of the spot light 5.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a picking instructing method for instructing a worker (picker) about a picking target article or a work section at the time of picking (sorting) at the time of loading and unloading articles in a distribution center or a warehouse. And the device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a distribution center or a warehouse, since the goods can be put in and taken out smoothly, the put-in goods can be stored in advance.
For example, based on the product name, type and quantity of the item, the person in charge, the empty data of the storage area such as a shelf that has been sorted in advance, or the data such as the name of the sorting destination of the item, the item is sorted and stored in a predetermined shelf or the like. However, at the time of leaving, the worker is instructed with necessary information such as a work section in which shelves are stored, the product name (article number) and the quantity of the goods to be delivered.

[0003] In order to facilitate the picking work at the time of such loading and unloading, various methods and devices have been proposed to guide the worker to the work section, or to instruct the worker about the article or quantity to be picked. Has been done.

[0004] Conventionally, various picking information such as an article to be picked and a work section in which a shelf for storing the article is present is input to a computer (a loading / unloading work controller) to output a designated article. In this case, a small lamp or a patrol light equipped on a shelf or a work compartment storing the designated article is turned on or blinked by a control signal from the loading / unloading work controller, and the small lamp or the patrol light is turned on or blinks. A system in which a worker is guided to a work section or the like (for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 63-66004) or all work sections in a warehouse are displayed and the section for picking work is displayed in front of them. A centralized compartment display panel that identifies and displays information based on the control information from the entry and exit work controller Such systems so as to deploy have been proposed.

[0005]

However, in the case of the system for guiding the worker to the work compartment or the like by lighting the small lamp as described above, when the worker is far from the equipped position of the small lamp, the visual recognition is performed. There is a problem that it becomes difficult and it takes time to reach the work area.

Further, in the case of a system for notifying a work section or the like by blinking a patrol light or a small lamp, there is a problem that a worker is tired and tired easily due to a rapid change in illuminance.

Further, in the case of a system for notifying the worker of the work section by the central section display panel, the worker memorizes or notes the work section to be picked which is identified and displayed on the central section display panel. If you have to go to the designated work area and you have specified multiple work areas to be picked, you cannot accurately remember all the work areas at one time. There is a problem in that the workability is reduced because it is necessary to go back to the partition display panel and check the remaining work areas again.

[0008] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems, and not only a worker can easily reach a designated work section or the like during picking work,
It is easy on the operator's eyes and can reduce the burden on the operator due to eye fatigue. Furthermore, even if there are many work areas to be picked, the burden of returning to the reconfirmation of the specified work area can be reduced. An object of the present invention is to provide a picking instruction method and device which can guide a worker to all the work sections or the like to be picked without fail, and improve the workability of the picking work.

[0009]

The above object of the present invention is to irradiate a picking target article or working section to a worker by irradiating the picking target article or working section with a spotlight that emits visible light. This is achieved by a picking instruction method characterized by giving an instruction.

Further, a spotlight for irradiating the picking target article or the work area with visible light, and a display for displaying the quantity of the article picked up and mounted on the shelf or the like storing the picking target article And a control device that manages picking information and inputs / outputs a control signal related to a work instruction according to the progress of picking work to control the operation of the spotlight or the display device. The above-mentioned object can also be achieved by a picking instructing device characterized by instructing a worker about an article to be picked, a work section or the like by irradiation.

It is preferable that the color of visible light emitted from the spotlight be different from the color of light emitted by other indoor lighting. In addition to this, it is preferable to change the color of visible light for each irradiation target such as an article to be picked or a work section.

Further, the display is equipped with a reset switch for notifying completion, which outputs a constant signal by a predetermined operation, and the control device detects the output signal of the reset switch to detect the spotlight. It is preferable to turn off the light.

[0013]

According to the above configuration of the present invention, during picking work, the spotlight illuminates the article or work area to be picked, and the visible light emitted by the spotlight and the light emitted by the surrounding illumination are emitted. The object or work area to be picked up is lifted due to the difference in illuminance or the difference in color and the worker is informed of the object or work area to be picked. Since it is possible to clearly indicate to the operator even the direction of the article or work section, etc., it becomes easy to confirm the article or work section to be picked from a distant position, and the worker can easily check the specified work section, etc. Can be reached

Further, unlike the conventional case of blinking a patrol light or a small lamp, a rapid change in illuminance does not occur, so that it is easy on the eyes of the operator and the burden on the operator due to eye fatigue can be reduced. .

Further, a method of directly irradiating the article to be picked or the work area with a spotlight,
Since it is possible to maintain the irradiation state until the worker completes the work, even if there are many work areas to be picked, it is not necessary for the worker to memorize or make a memo of those work areas. , It is possible to reliably guide the worker to all the work areas to be picked without burdening the operator with reconfirmation of the designated work area, and to improve the workability of the picking work. be able to.

Further, if the color of the visible light emitted from the spotlight is made different from the color of the light emitted from the other indoor lighting, the article to be picked or the work section can be more easily discriminated. It is possible to further improve the workability of the picking work.

Further, the indicator provided in the work area or the like to be picked is equipped with a reset switch for notifying completion, which outputs a constant signal by a predetermined operation, and the control device outputs the output of the reset switch. In the case of a configuration in which the signal is detected and the spotlight is turned off, when the picking work is completed, the worker operates the reset switch to irradiate the spotlight to the article or work section where the picking work is completed. This makes it possible to easily identify the remaining picking target, and at the same time, it is possible for the control device side to detect the progress of the picking work, so that the picking work can proceed more smoothly. It becomes possible to utilize it effectively.

[0018]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the picking instruction method and device according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. First, the configuration of a picking instruction device for carrying out the picking instruction method of the present invention will be explained. After that, the procedure of the picking instruction method according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described.
1 and 2 show a configuration of a picking instruction device 1 which is an embodiment of the present invention.

This picking instructing device 1 is for instructing a worker to pick an article to be picked or a work section at the time of picking and picking up an article in a distribution center or a warehouse, and is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. So visible light 2
A spotlight 5 for irradiating the article 3 to be picked or the work section (zone) 4 and the like, and an article 3 to be put out from the shelf 7 or the like storing the article to be picked
And a control device for managing picking information and inputting / outputting a control signal relating to a work instruction according to the progress of the picking work to control the operations of the spotlight 5 and the display 8. 9, the article 3 to be picked, the work section 4, or the like is irradiated by the spotlight 5 by the worker (picker) 1.
Instruct 1.

Here, as shown in FIG. 2, the working section 4 conveys the picked-up articles 3 to a conveying line (usually,
Container 2 on 12) (belt conveyor, roller conveyor, etc.)
1 or a work area to be transferred to a trolley, and is appropriately set according to conditions such as division of the shelves 7 and the transfer line 12. In the case of this example, the work section 4 is illuminated by illuminating the container 21.
Instruct. It suffices for the spotlight 5 to be such that the light emitted from the spotlight 5 can be distinguished from the light emitted from surrounding lighting fixtures in terms of illuminance, color, etc. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. A commercial power source 1
6 is selected, which emits light having a higher illuminance than the surrounding lighting fixtures and emitting a color different from that of the surrounding lighting fixtures.

As shown in FIG. 3, the display unit 8 includes a display unit 14 capable of displaying a numerical value or characters of a plurality of digits, and a reset switch 15 for notifying completion, which outputs a constant signal by a predetermined operation. It has a structure equipped with. Then, as described above, the shelves 7 divided for each article 3 to be picked
It is equipped on the front of the shelf board (see Fig. 2). The display unit 14 responds to a control signal from the control device 9 described later,
The item number of the item 3 to be picked, the number of items in and out, etc. are displayed. The reset switch 15 is a switch operated by the worker 11 to notify the picking of the article 3 on the shelf 7 illuminated by the spotlight 5 when the picking is completed. In the case of this embodiment, A push button type switch that outputs a constant signal when pressed is used.

In the case of this embodiment, the controller 9 controls the spotlight 5 as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3.
A switching device 18 for turning on / off the display, turning on / off the display on the display 8, and the like;
It is composed of a loading / unloading work controller 19 for controlling the operations of the spotlight 5 and the display 8 via the control unit 8. Here, the loading / unloading work controller 19 is a computer that controls the operations of the spotlight 5 and the display 8 by using the switching device 18 as an interface. Specifically, the loading / unloading work controller 19 manages picking information and advances the picking work. In response, a control signal related to the work instruction is input / output to / from the switching device 18. The picking information managed by the loading / unloading work controller 19 includes, for example, the product name (product number) of the article 3, the type and the quantity, the worker 11 in charge, and the data of each section of the shelf 7 which is the storage location of the article 3. , Or data such as the name of the sorting party of the article 3.

The signal output from the warehousing / moving work controller 19 is an indicator 8 mounted on the shelf 7 in which the article 3 to be picked is (or will be) stored.
And a control signal for displaying the product number, quantity, etc. of the articles 3 to be put in and out, and a control signal for activating the spotlight 5 for illuminating the articles 3 to be picked or the work section 4. Also, this loading / unloading work controller 19
When the reset switch 15 of the display unit 8 is pressed, a signal output by pressing the reset switch 15 is detected through the switching device 18, and the completion of the instructed picking work is detected and the picking operation is performed. Irradiation of the spotlight 5 to the work section 4 etc. where the work is completed is terminated (turned off).

In the picking instructing device 1 of this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the spotlight 5, the display 8 and the switching device 18 are individually provided for each work section 4. Further, as shown as a third section in FIG. 1, even in one work section 4, when various kinds of articles 3 requiring classification are stored in the corresponding shelves 7, the articles 3 to be stored are stored. You may make it equip each with the display 8 for every classification.

FIG. 4 shows an outline of the picking procedure. That is, in the picking instructing device 1 of this one embodiment, the picking-in / out work controller 19 outputs predetermined picking information or control signal to the corresponding switching device 18, and the switching device 18 outputs the picking information or control signal.
The spotlight 5 that illuminates the picking target article 3 and the work section 4 is turned on, and the spotlight 5 is also turned on.
Predetermined picking information such as the number of delivered goods is displayed on the display unit 14 of the display 8 installed at the irradiation position of (step 101).

Next, the worker 11 confirms the operations of the spotlight 5 and the display 8 and performs a picking work (step 102). Then, when all the picking work in the one work section 4 of the picking target designated is completed, the worker 11 presses the reset switch 15 of the display unit 8. When the reset switch 15 is pressed, the display 8 sends a work completion signal to the loading / unloading work controller 19 via the switching device 18.

The loading / unloading work controller 19 judges the completion of the picking work depending on the presence / absence of the work completion signal from the display device 8. When the work completion signal is received,
A response signal is output to turn off the spotlight 5 via the switching device 18, and at the same time, the display on the display unit 14 of the display 8 is reset, and the picking work for one work section 4 is completed. (Step 103).

In the case where the picking work is continued by patrol of a plurality of work compartments 4, one work compartment 4 is prepared as shown in FIG.
Repeat the series of operations shown in. The reset switch 15 may directly reset the display on the display unit 14.

In the picking instruction device 1 as described above,
Due to the difference in illuminance between the visible light 2 emitted from the spotlight 5 and the light emitted from the illumination around the spotlight 5 and the difference in color, the article 3 to be picked and the work section 4 are lifted, and the worker 11 is made to pick up the picking target. This is for notifying the article 3 and the work section 4, and it is possible to clearly indicate to the worker 11 even the direction of the article 3 to be picked or the work section 4 by the optical path of the light emitted from the spotlight 5 or the like, so that it is a distant position. Also, the article 3 to be picked or the work section 4 can be easily confirmed, and the worker 11 can easily reach the designated work section 4 or the like.

Further, unlike the conventional case of blinking a patrol light or a small lamp, since the illuminance does not change rapidly, it is easy for the worker 11 and the burden on the worker 11 due to eye fatigue is reduced. You can also

Further, the article 3 to be picked
Alternatively, since the work area 4 is directly illuminated by the spotlight 5 and the irradiation state can be maintained until the worker 11 completes the work, even when there are many work areas 4 to be picked. It is not necessary for the worker 11 to memorize or make a memo of all of the work sections 4, and the operator 1 has to bear the burden of returning to reconfirmation of the designated work section 4.
It is possible to reliably guide the worker 11 to all of the work areas 4 to be picked, without increasing the number 1, and to improve the workability of the picking work.

Further, since the color of the visible light 2 emitted from the spotlight 5 is different from the color of the light emitted from other indoor lighting, the article 3 to be picked or the work area can be picked up from a far point. 4 can be more easily discriminated, and the workability of the picking work can be further improved.

Further, the indicator 8 provided in the work area 4 or the like to be picked is equipped with a reset switch 15 for outputting a signal indicating the completion of the picking work when pressed, and when the picking work is completed. Worker 1
1 presses the reset switch 15 so that the irradiation of the spotlight 5 to the article 3 or the work section 4 for which the picking work has been completed can be ended, whereby the remaining picking target area or the like can be discriminated. At the same time, the control device 9 can detect the progress of the picking work at the same time, and it can be effectively used as a help to proceed the picking work more smoothly.

In the above embodiment, the article 3 on the shelf 7 to be picked and the work section 4 adjacent to the shelf 7 are picked up.
The case of irradiating with the spotlight 5 was shown.
The irradiation position of the spotlight 5 is not limited to that of the embodiment. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, the spotlight 5 is used to irradiate the container 21 with the spotlight 5 and to simultaneously irradiate the workplace as the work compartment 4 for transferring or replenishing the picked articles 3. The irradiation direction may be set.

Further, in the above embodiment, both the article 3 on the shelf 7 to be picked and the work section 4 are illuminated by the spotlight 5, but the article 3 to be picked or the work is performed. Even if only one of the compartments 4 is irradiated, the worker 1
The purpose of inducing 1 can be achieved. Further, in the above-described embodiment, the spotlight 5 for illuminating the article 3 on the shelf 7 to be picked or the work section 4 is used.
Is individually provided for each work section 4, but one or an appropriate number of spotlights 5 are provided so as to be movable along the arrangement of the shelves 7 and the work sections 4, so that a plurality of work sections 4 can be fixed. The number of spotlights 5 may be shared.

[0036]

According to the picking instruction method and device of the present invention, during picking work, the spotlight illuminates the article or work area to be picked, and the visible light emitted by the spotlight and the surrounding light. The object or work area to be picked up is lifted due to the difference in illuminance with the light emitted from the device or the difference in color to notify the operator of the object or work area to be picked. Etc., it is possible to clearly indicate to the operator the direction of the picking target article or work area, etc., making it easy to confirm the picking target article or work area even from a distant position, and the operator can specify the work specified. It is possible to easily reach a section or the like.

Moreover, unlike the conventional case of blinking a patrol light or a small lamp, since the illuminance does not change rapidly, it is easy for the operator's eyes and the burden on the operator due to eye fatigue can be reduced. . And, further, in the method of directly irradiating the article or work section to be picked with a spotlight, it is possible to maintain the irradiation state until the worker completes the work,
Even if there are a large number of work areas to be picked, it is not necessary for the worker to memorize or make a memo of those work areas, and the work to be picked can be done without burdening the operator to reconfirm the designated work area. It is possible to reliably guide the worker to all work areas and the like, and it is possible to improve the workability of the picking work. If the color of the visible light emitted by the spotlight is made different from the color of the light emitted by other indoor lighting, it is possible to more easily identify the article or work area to be picked. ,
It becomes possible to further improve the workability of the picking work.

Further, the indicator equipped in the work area to be picked is equipped with a reset switch for notifying completion, which outputs a constant signal by a predetermined operation, and the control device outputs the reset switch. In the case of a configuration in which the signal is detected and the spotlight is turned off, when the picking work is completed, the worker operates the reset switch to irradiate the spotlight to the article or work section where the picking work is completed. This makes it possible to easily identify the remaining picking target, and at the same time, it is possible for the control device side to detect the progress of the picking work, so that the picking work can proceed more smoothly. It becomes possible to utilize it effectively.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration explanatory diagram of an embodiment of a picking instruction device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an operation explanatory diagram of an embodiment of a picking instruction device according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of a main part of an embodiment of a picking instruction device according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing a procedure of a picking operation by an embodiment of the picking instruction device according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram in the case of irradiating a container to be transferred, which is another embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Picking Indication Device 2 Visible Light 3 Article 4 Work Area 5 Spotlight 7 Shelf 8 Display 9 Control Device 14 Display 15 Reset Switch 16 Commercial Power Supply 18 Switching Device 19 Entry / Exit Work Controller 21 Container

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A picking instructing method comprising instructing a worker to pick up an article, a work section, or the like to be picked by irradiating the article or work section to be picked with a spotlight that emits visible light. 2. A spotlight (5) for radiating visible light (2) to an article (3) to be picked, a work area (4), etc., and a shelf storing the article (3) to be picked. An indicator (8) for displaying the number of articles (3) that is mounted on (7) etc. and picked, and manages picking information, and inputs and outputs control signals related to work instructions according to the progress of picking work. The picking instructing device (1) further comprises a control device (9) for controlling the operations of the spotlight (5) and the display device (8). 3. The picking instruction according to claim 2, wherein the color of the visible light (2) emitted by the spotlight (5) is different from the color of the light emitted by another indoor illumination. apparatus. 4. A reset switch (1) for notifying completion, which outputs a constant signal by a predetermined operation, on the display (8).
5), the controller (9) includes the reset switch (15).
4. The picking instructing device according to claim 2, wherein the spotlight (5) is turned off by detecting an output signal from the picking instruction device.