JPH08173915A - Routing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To automate an operation for rearranging a matter to be delivered which is conventionally carried out manually by rearranging the matter to be delivered in its delivery order based on a preliminarily set delivery route. CONSTITUTION: First, the address of a matter to be delivered 11 is optically read using an address reading part 16, then is converted to a machine code which corresponds to an addressed household exclusively based on information on an address DB 13, and the machine code is printed on the matter 11 using a machine code printing part 17 to store the matter 11 in a stacker part 18 temporarily. In addition, the matter 11 is rearranged in its delivery route order by a matter rearrangement part 19, in accordance with the machine code printed on the matter 11 stored in the stacker part 18, and the machine code and a numeral combination indicating a delivery order as a delivery route which are preliminarily determined by a delivery route determination part 14 and stored in a delivery route buffer 15.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a route assembly machine suitable for use in a delivery processing apparatus for efficiently delivering a delivery.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In the business of delivering deliveries, for example, postal items to each home, a delivery sorting machine that automatically reads the addresses of collected postal items and sorts them by delivery area is provided for the convenience of delivery. It has been used conventionally. This delivery sorting machine will be described with reference to FIG.

As is well known, postal items collected all over the country are classified by postal code and sent to the post office in the area where the postal items are delivered. This post office has a destination reading unit 102 and a delivery sorting unit 103 as shown in FIG.
A delivery sorting machine equipped with is installed.

Collected mail items 101 for delivery
20 is placed on the delivery sorting machine shown in FIG. 20, placed on a belt, and conveyed at high speed to the destination reading unit 102 side. The destination reading unit 102 optically captures an image from the conveyed postal matter 101, cuts out a destination region, and performs character recognition. Then, the destination reading unit 102 reads (identifies) the destination portion from the plurality of character candidates obtained by character recognition and the place name dictionary.

The area in charge is divided into a plurality of delivery areas in advance, and the delivery division unit 103 determines which delivery area the destination (address) read by the destination reading unit 102 is, and the corresponding delivery area. Transport to your pocket. Usually, when the town name and chome part in the destination address are correctly read, they are classified as the correct delivery area. If you misread the address, or if the address is incorrect, enter the reject pocket.

The mail items (101) sorted into the pockets of each delivery section of the delivery sorting unit 103 are taken out from the pockets, and the worker sorts the mail items in the order of delivery.
Since the sorting of mail items is done by the order of the houses to be delivered, not necessarily by the address, the work requires considerable time and labor.

When delivering the mail items sorted in the order of delivery as described above, the delivery staff carries a delivery map with arrows written along the delivery route and refers to it. The postal items are sequentially delivered according to the delivery route. However, in reality, the delivery work is almost every day, so the route is fixed, and the delivery staff remembers the delivery route and delivers without looking at the delivery map.

[0008]

As described above, in the mail delivery business, the process of reading the destination and sorting the mails by delivery area is automated by the delivery sorting machine as shown in FIG. Although it has been done, the process after that is not yet automated. That is, conventionally, the work of actually rearranging the mail items in the order of delivery has been performed manually, and there has been a problem that the labor cost is increased.

In the current postal system, the delivery area and delivery route are predetermined and may be reviewed in a certain period, but they are hardly changed. However, the delivery to each household varies from day to day, and if there is a household with no delivery, delivering by the same route as usual causes wasteful movement. However, conventionally, no consideration has been given to such a problem.

Further, the currently applied delivery area division is a division based on address information, and is not proportional to the number of households. In addition, when delivering a house, it is easier to give it to an apartment house, and the fact that divisions are made in proportion to the number of households does not mean that all deliverers are assigned jobs equally. In addition, when delivering by motorbike, etc., the amount of deliverables at one time is fixed, and some delivery personnel can not put the deliveries at one time and must make several round trips. It may disappear.
However, conventionally, no consideration has been given to such a problem.

Further, in order to find the next delivery destination, the delivery member makes delivery by looking at the delivery map in which the route is written on the paper map with arrows or the like. Skilled delivery staff can memorize the route without looking at the map and move, but before getting used to it, they have to find the next delivery destination with one hand of the delivery map, which is difficult to understand and delivery efficiency. Is also bad. In particular, when the route is changed every time, it is more difficult and it is necessary to find the delivery destination on the map. However, conventionally, no consideration has been given to such a problem.

The present invention has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to arrange the deliveries in the order of delivery based on a preset delivery route, which is a manual sorting operation of the deliveries. The objective is to provide a route assembly machine that can be automated by replacing it and can significantly reduce labor costs.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a route assembling machine which can reduce wasteful movements at the time of delivery by making the delivery route variable according to the quantity of the delivered product and efficiently determining the route. It is in.

Still another object of the present invention is to read all the destinations of deliveries in advance, grasp the total number of deliveries of each household, and then determine the delivery area according to the delivered amount, etc.
It is to provide a route assembling machine that can realize efficient delivery zone allocation for the delivery staff.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a route assembling machine capable of presenting a route to the next delivery destination or the like in an easy-to-understand manner by displaying the route only in a designated section of all delivery routes. is there.

[0016]

A route assembling machine according to a first aspect of the present invention comprises address and name information of members of each household in a delivery area and a machine code uniquely assigned to each household. Delivery destination storage means for storing delivery destination information including correspondence information, and delivery route information indicating a delivery route for each delivery zone in the delivery area, which is a machine code of each household on the corresponding delivery route. The delivery route storage means for storing delivery route information including the correspondence information of the delivery sequence number indicating the delivery order, the destination reading means for optically recognizing the destination of the delivery and recognizing the destination, and the destination reading means. A destination / machine code conversion means for searching the delivery destination storage means from the read destination and converting it to a machine code assigned to the destination household, and the destination / machine code conversion means Machine code printing means for printing the machine code on the corresponding delivery, stacker means for temporarily storing the delivery on which the machine code is printed by the machine code printing means, and deliverables stored on this stacker means The delivery items are arranged in the order of the delivery sequence number based on the machine code printed on the machine and the correspondence information between the machine code and the delivery sequence number included in the delivery route information stored in the delivery route storage means. It is characterized in that a delivery rearranging means for changing is provided.

In the route assembling machine according to the first aspect, for example, a plurality of deliveries targeted for delivery to a certain delivery area in the delivery area are conveyed one by one to the destination reading means, and the destinations are sequentially opticalized. Is read and characters are recognized. The destination of the delivery thus read is a machine assigned by the destination / machine code conversion means to the household corresponding to the destination based on the delivery destination information stored in the delivery destination storage means. After being converted into a code, the machine code is printed on the delivery by the machine code printing means. The deliveries on which this machine code is printed are temporarily stored in the stacker means.

The deliveries stored in the stacker means are sorted by the delivery sort means in the delivery order (delivery route order) based on the delivery route information preset in the delivery route storage means. Here, for sorting a huge amount of deliveries, for example, multi-way merge sort (reference:
A. V. Eiho et al./Yoshio Ohno Translation “Data Structure and Algorithm” Baifukan pp. 316 to 317) and the like can be applied, but it is necessary to divide the processing into stages. However, it is not efficient to read the address of the delivered item each time.

Therefore, in the route assembling machine according to the first aspect, when the destination of the delivery is optically read and recognized, the machine code assigned to the household to which the destination belongs in a one-to-one correspondence. By printing on the delivery,
When rearranging, instead of reading the destination, all that is required is to read the machine code. That is, the delivery stored in the stacker means is the machine code printed on the delivery, and the correspondence information between the machine code included in the delivery route information stored in the delivery route storage and the delivery sequence number. Efficiently sorted by delivery sequence number.

As described above, in the route assembling machine according to the first aspect, the delivery items can be automatically and efficiently sorted, and the person who is currently manually sorting the delivery items. However, the labor cost can be significantly reduced.

A route assembly machine according to a second aspect of the present invention is
In the configuration of the route assembling machine according to the first aspect, the destination / machine code conversion of the destination read by the reading unit is performed for each machine code of each household indicated by the delivery destination information stored in the delivery destination storing unit. Based on the information of the physical quantity storage means for storing the physical quantity of the delivery or the presence or absence of the delivery reflecting the conversion result to the machine code by the means, and at least the information of the delivery destination storage means and the quantity storage means, Delivery route information that determines the delivery route according to the quantity of deliveries of each household or the presence or absence of deliveries for each delivery district, and includes the correspondence information between the machine code of each household on the route and the delivery sequence number indicating the delivery order And a delivery route determining unit for generating the delivery route determining unit, and the delivery route information of the delivery route determined by the delivery route determining unit is stored in the delivery route storing unit. Based on the machine code printed on the delivered item and the correspondence information between the machine code and the delivery sequence number included in the delivery route information stored in the delivery route storage means, the delivery item is It is characterized in that it can be sorted in the order of delivery order numbers.

In the route assembling machine according to the second aspect, the physical quantity storing means is prepared for each machine code assigned to each household in the delivery area (initial value 0).
No.) physical quantity counter (area of physical quantity counter value). The physical quantity counter in the physical quantity storage means, every time the destination of the household to which the corresponding machine code is assigned is read by the destination reading means, and the destination is converted to the machine code by the destination / machine code conversion means. Incremented. Therefore, with all deliveries read and converted to machine code,
The physical quantity storage means stores the physical quantity of the delivered material for each household (machine code corresponding to the household) in the delivery area.

[0023] Therefore, based on the quantity of deliveries for each household stored in the quantity storage means and the delivery destination information stored in the delivery destination storage means, the deliverables of each household that can be delivered. By determining the delivery route by the delivery route determination means according to the quantity of
For example, compared to the current easy-to-use address-ordered distribution route, a distribution route with good delivery efficiency such as two-sided distribution that does not pass the same road twice as much as possible, or the route without delivery It becomes possible to decide. In order to determine the delivery route here, for example, a method of making an Euler graph so that it passes through all the roads with the delivery destination (reference: E.
L. Johnson: "Matching, Euler tours and the Chinese p
ostman ", Mathematical Programming 5, North-Holland P
ublishingCompany, pp.88-124,1973) etc. are applicable.

In order to determine the delivery routes which are not necessarily in the order of addresses, not only the delivery route information of the delivery destination storage means but also the map information including the position information of the intersections on the map in the delivery area and the adjacent intersection information ( May be used for storing the map map).

Further, when determining a route that does not need to go through a route without a delivery, the physical quantity storage means does not use the physical quantity of the delivery for each household (machine code corresponding to it) in the delivery area. Then, the presence or absence of the delivered item may be saved.

Furthermore, when a basic delivery route is set in advance and an ideal delivery route is determined in consideration of the quantity of deliverables or the presence / absence of deliveries, the delivery staff (operator) selects the ideal delivery route. The delivery route and the basic delivery route may be compared with each other so that either one of them can be selected and the selected route can be modified as necessary. In other words, the fixed delivery route has the merit that it is easier to remember the delivery route. Therefore, the fixed route that is set as the basic delivery route in advance and the variable route that is the ideal delivery route that is determined in consideration of the quantity of deliverables. By displaying, for example, on the screen and allowing the delivery staff to compare and select a fixed route and a variable route, a delivery route can be provided according to the level and preference of the delivery staff. At this time, for both the fixed route and the variable route, the evaluation value is calculated from the moving distance and the number of round trips to the delivery center of the delivery (or the post office if the delivery is a postal item), and the evaluation value is calculated. It is convenient to display on the screen to assist the delivery staff in making comparisons.

A route assembly machine according to a third aspect of the present invention is
In addition to the configuration of the route assembling machine according to the second aspect, a delivery area allocation determining means for dividing a delivery area into a plurality of delivery areas based on at least the information of the delivery destination storing means and the quantity storing means is added. Instead of the delivery route route means in the configuration of the route assembling machine according to the second aspect, the delivery route is determined based on at least the information in the delivery destination storing means for each delivery zone divided by the delivery zone allocation determining means. A delivery route determining means is provided for determining and determining delivery route information including the correspondence information between the machine code of each household on the route and the delivery sequence number indicating the delivery sequence.

In the route assembly machine according to the third aspect, the delivery destination information stored in the delivery destination storage means and the households in the delivery area stored in the quantity storage means (corresponding to Since the delivery area is divided into a plurality of delivery areas based on the delivery quantity of each machine code), for example, the total delivery quantity of each delivery area can be averaged.
Also, consider not only the quantity of deliveries of each household but also the number of delivery staff who can actually deliver, divide the delivery area into delivery areas for the number of delivery staff, and average the total delivery quantity of each delivery area. This makes it possible to respond flexibly, especially when the number of delivery personnel changes. When the delivery means of each delivery member is various such as bicycles, motorbikes, automobiles, etc., the delivery area is delivered by the number of delivery persons in consideration of the type of delivery means (maximum amount of delivered goods determined by). By dividing into delivery areas, it is possible to realize optimal delivery division allocation that can average the burden of delivery work for each delivery member. In particular, even in a delivery area that normally requires only one round trip, if there is a large amount of material and it is necessary to make multiple round trips exceeding the amount loaded in the delivery means, there is a margin in the amount loaded in the delivery means by the nearby delivery staff. In such cases, by changing the delivery area, it is possible to provide delivery area allocation with less waste.

Further, similarly to the handling of the delivery route in the route assembling machine according to the second aspect, the fixed delivery division has the merit that it is easier to remember. By displaying the variable parcel allocation, which is the ideal delivery route allocation determined in consideration of the quantity of deliveries, etc., on the screen and allowing the delivery staff to compare and select fixed parcel distribution, It is possible to provide delivery zone allocation according to the level and preference of. At this time, it is convenient to compare the physical quantity difference between the fixed section and the variable section and output the evaluation value on a display or the like to assist the delivery staff in making a comparative judgment.

A route assembly machine according to a fourth aspect of the present invention is
The map storage means for storing map information in the delivery area and the map storage means used separately from the main body of the route assembly machine in any one of the configurations of the route assembly machine according to the first to third aspects. The information of the delivery means and the delivery route storage means is read inside, the designation of two positions on the map of the delivery area is accepted, and the route from one position designated based on this read information to the other position is determined. It is characterized in that a processing device having a designated section route display means for extracting and displaying on a screen is added.

In the route assembling machine according to the fourth aspect, the delivery route information and the map information possessed by the main body side are read into a portable processing device, for example, a handy terminal, so that the delivery route information and the map information can be obtained. Use the map information on the handy terminal side. In this case, on the handy terminal side, a designated input of an arbitrary start point (for example, current position) and end point (for example, delivery destination) on the map indicated by the above map information is accepted from the delivery person carrying the handy terminal. Based on the map information and the delivery route information, a route (moving route) from the start point to the end point is extracted and displayed on the display of the handy terminal so as to be superimposed on the map.

As described above, when the delivery staff specifies the start point and the end point, not the entire route indicated by the delivery route information, the limited route between them is separated from the main body of the route assembly machine and is a portable processing device. (handy terminal)
By displaying it on the upper display, the delivery route can be easily seen, and it is possible to quickly move to the next delivery destination, and the delivery operation can be performed smoothly.

[0033]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. [First Embodiment] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a route assembly machine according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

The route assembling machine shown in FIG. 1 includes a map database (hereinafter referred to as a map DB) 12, a delivery destination database (hereinafter referred to as a delivery destination DB) 13, a delivery route determination unit 14, a delivery route buffer 15, and a destination. The reading unit 16, the machine code printing unit 17, the stacker unit 18, and the delivery item rearranging unit 19 are included. In this route assembly machine, a plurality of deliverables 11 targeted for a certain delivery area are individually addressed one by one by a transport mechanism (not shown) using a belt or the like, a machine code printing section 17, and a stacker section. The sheets are sequentially conveyed to the stacker 18, stored in the stacker unit 18, and sorted by the delivery sorter 19 in the order of delivery.

The map DB 12 stores position information of intersections (nodes) on the map, information of adjacent intersections, and the like. The delivery destination DB 13 stores in advance the address and name of the delivery destination, the corresponding machine code, and the coordinate data in the map DB 12.

The delivery route determination unit 14 determines the delivery route from the information in the map DB 12 and the delivery destination DB 13. The delivery route buffer 15 stores the delivery route determined by the delivery route determining unit 14.

The destination reading unit 16 optically reads and recognizes the destination of the delivery 11. The machine code printing unit 17 searches the delivery destination DB 13 from the destination information read by the destination reading unit 16 and converts it into a machine code,
The machine code is printed on the corresponding delivery 11. However, the delivery 11 on which the machine code is printed or affixed in advance is excluded from printing.

The stacker unit 18 is for temporarily storing the delivery 11 whose destination has been read by the destination reading unit 16 (machine code printed). The delivery item rearranging unit 19 rearranges the delivery items stored in the stacker unit 14 based on the delivery route information in the delivery route buffer 15.

Next, the operation of the configuration shown in FIG. 1 will be described by taking as an example a process of rearranging a plurality of deliveries 11 with destinations written in the order of delivery.
Description will be made with reference to the flowchart of FIG. First,
The map information in the delivery area including a plurality of delivery areas is stored in the map DB 12, and the map DB is stored in the delivery destination DB 13.
Information on the delivery destination of the delivery corresponding to the map information in 12 is stored.

When a plurality of deliverables 11 to be delivered to a certain delivery area in the delivery area are sorted by the route assembling machine of FIG. 1 in the order of delivery, the operator shows information indicating the delivery area to be delivered. Here, the delivery area number) is given to the delivery route determination unit 14. Then, the delivery route determination unit 14
Determines the delivery route in the designated delivery area based on the information in the delivery destination DB 13 and the map DB 12, and stores it in the delivery route buffer 15 (step S1).

Here, when there is a map as shown in FIG. 3, an example of the map DB 12 is shown in FIG. 4, and an example of the delivery destination DB 13 is shown in FIG. The map DB 12 shown in FIG. 4 includes a node information table 121 and an adjacent node buffer 122.

In the node information table 121, for each node (intersection) in the map, the node number of the node, the coordinates of the node, and the node number of the adjacent node are stored in the adjacent node buffer 122. Information (node information) consisting of a pointer pointing ahead is registered in advance. In this node information table 121, each node information is registered in an ascending order of node numbers, for example.

In the area of the adjacent node buffer 122 pointed to by the pointer in the node information in the node information table 121, the node numbers of all the nodes adjacent to the node indicated by the node information are registered in advance.

Next, the delivery destination DB 13 shown in FIG. 5 includes a delivery destination table 131 and a destination / machine code conversion table 13.
And 2. In the delivery destination table 131, the node number (start node number, end node number) of two adjacent nodes in the map and all building numbers (building numbers) on the left and right between the two nodes are set. , And a machine code uniquely assigned to each household in the building, for example, is registered in advance based on the node number order (address order).

In the destination / machine code conversion table 132, for all households registered in the delivery destination table 131, information on the address and name of the member, the machine code assigned to the corresponding household, and the corresponding information. The delivery district number of the delivery district to which the household belongs is registered in advance for each household.
The conversion table 132 is used, for example, to convert address name information (destination) into a machine code.

Here, an example of the delivery route determination by the delivery route determination unit 14 will be described. In the present embodiment, in order to simplify the description, the position of the node indicated by the map image and the information of the map DB 12 (node number and coordinates of the node stored in the node information table 121 therein) is CR.
It is displayed on a display device (not shown) such as a T display or a liquid crystal display, and in this state, the operator sequentially designates the nodes with a mouse, a pen or the like to manually input the delivery route already determined in the desired delivery area. It shall be.

In this case, the delivery route determining section 14 maps the delivery area designated by the operator to the map DB 12
Based on (node information table 121 of), sequentially designated node numbers are extracted to generate a node number string (delivery route node number string) representing a delivery route. In addition, at the time of delivery, the attribute of whether to deliver the right side (R side) of the road, the left side (L side), or to pass as a moving route (-) without delivery is also input. As a result, the delivery route determination unit 14 stores the delivery route node number sequence and attributes in the delivery route buffer 15 as a delivery route node sequence table 151 as shown in FIG.

The delivery route determining section 14 refers to the node number sequence in the delivery route node sequence table 151 in order from the top node number, and based on the node number and the attribute, the delivery destination DB 1
All machine codes of the delivery destinations registered in the delivery destination table 131 in 3 are searched. And the delivery route determination unit 14
Assigns a delivery sequence number to the retrieved machine code in the order of retrieval. The delivery route determination unit 14 retrieves the machine code for all the node numbers in the delivery route node sequence table 151, assigns the delivery sequence number, sorts the delivery sequence numbers by the machine code, and then determines the delivery sequence number from the machine code. Machine code /
A delivery sequence number conversion table 152 is created. The delivery route determination unit 14 also stores this conversion table 152 in the delivery route buffer 15.

On the other hand, the plurality of deliveries 11 targeted for a certain delivery area are sequentially conveyed one by one to the destination reading section 16, and the reading section 16 optically recognizes the destination (step S2). At this time, the destination reading unit 16 uses the destination / machine code conversion table 132 in the delivery destination DB 13.
By converting the recognized address and name information of the destination into a machine code, and receiving this, the machine code printing unit 17
Prints the machine code on the corresponding delivery 11 (step S3). In this embodiment, the machine code may be printed (or pasted) on the delivery 11 in advance, and such delivery 11 is not subject to machine code printing by the machine code printing unit 17.

The delivery 11 on which the machine code corresponding to (the household of) the destination is printed by the machine code printing unit 17 (or the delivery 11 on which the machine code corresponding to the destination is printed in advance) is temporarily stored in the stacker unit. It is stored in 18 (step S4).

The series of processes described above, that is, the delivery 11
After the destination is read from (step S2), the machine code corresponding to the destination is obtained, printed on the delivery 11 (step S3), and stored in the stacker unit 18 (step S4). The process is repeated until the delivery 11 is exhausted (step S5).

Then, the series of processes described above (step S2) is performed for all deliveries 11 (for a certain delivery area).
~ S4) is performed, the delivery item rearranging unit 19 is activated.

The delivery sorting section 19 is a stacker section 18.
For all the deliveries 11 stored in the delivery, the machine codes printed (or attached) to the deliveries 11 are read, and the delivery order is based on the machine code / delivery sequence number conversion table 15b in the delivery route buffer 15. By converting the numbers into numbers, the deliverables 11 are rearranged in the order of the delivery sequence numbers (step S6). For this rearrangement, for example, a multi-way merge sort (for the name of a document, see the column of [Means and Actions for Solving Problems]) or the like can be applied.

As shown in FIG. 7, the delivery item rearranging section 19 carries out n (n is an integer of 2 or more) first stackers SA for the delivery item rearranging process by the multi-way merge sort.
-1 to SA-n and n second stackers SB-1 to SB-n
And n first delivery sequence number buffers BA-1 to BA-n
And n second delivery sequence number buffers BB-1 to BB-n
And have.

Stacker SA-1 to SA-n, SB-1 to SB-n
Is used for rearranging the deliveries (11) stored in the stacker unit 18, and the stacker S
Any stacker SB-m (m = 1 to n) from A-1 to SA-n
To stacker SB-1 to SB-n to stacker SA
It is possible to move from -1 to SA-n.

Delivery sequence number buffers BA-1 to BA-n, B
B-1 to BB-n are stackers SA-1 to SA-n, SB-1 to S
This is for holding the delivery sequence number given to the machine code of the delivery set on the top of B-n.

Next, details of the delivery item rearranging process (step S6) using the multi-way merge sort by the delivery item rearranging unit 19 having the configuration shown in FIG. 7 will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. To do.

First, the delivery rearrangement unit 19 (the control unit (not shown)) transfers the delivery in the stacker unit 14 to the n stackers SA-1 to SA-n of the delivery rearrangement unit 19. The values are set almost equally (step S11).

Next, the delivery rearranging section 19 determines the stacker S.
The pointer m indicating the next stacker position of B-1 to SB-n is set to 1, and the delivery sequence number buffer BB is set.
-1 to BB-n are all cleared to 0 (step S12).

Next, the delivery rearranging section 19 determines the stacker S.
The machine codes of the top deliveries A-1 to SA-n are read, and each machine code is determined based on the machine code / delivery sequence number conversion table 152 in the delivery route buffer 15 (assigned to the machine code). ) It is converted into a delivery order number and stored in the delivery order buffers BA-1 to BA-n (step S13).

Next, if there is a delivery in the stackers SA-1 to SA-n as in this example, the delivery sorting unit 19 has the smallest delivery order buffer BA-1 to BA-n. The buffer number of the buffer storing the delivery sequence number is set as k (k is one of 1 to n) (step S15). Then, the delivered item rearranging unit 19 determines the value of the delivery sequence number buffer BA-k (delivery sequence buffers BA-1 to BA-BA).
The smallest delivery sequence number in -n) is compared with the delivery sequence number buffer BB-m value (step S16). Since the initial value of the delivery sequence number buffer BB-m is "0", the value of the delivery sequence number buffer BA-k is larger here.

In this case, the delivery item rearranging unit 19 moves the top delivery item of the stacker SA-k to the stacker SB-m and sets the value of the delivery sequence number buffer BA-k to the delivery sequence number buffer BB-m. Move (step S17).

Next, the delivery rearranging section 19 determines the stacker S.
The machine code of the next delivery in A-k (machine code / delivery sequence number conversion table 152 in delivery route buffer 15)
It is converted into a delivery sequence number (based on the above) and stored in the delivery sequence buffer BA-k (step S18). This allows
The value of the delivery order buffer BA-k is updated to the delivery order number given to the machine code of the next delivery in the stacker SA-k, that is, the delivery that has become the new top.

Next, the delivered item rearranging section 19 carries out step S.
Returning to 14, at least one of the stackers SA-1 to SA-n
Check if one has a delivery. If there is a delivery, the delivery sorting unit 19 stores the delivery order buffers BA-1 to BA-n (corresponding to the stackers SA-1 to SA-n in which the delivery is present) as in the previous time. Of the delivery sequence number is set as k (step S15), and the value of the delivery sequence number buffer BA-k and the value of the delivery sequence number buffer B-m are compared (step S).
16).

If the value of the delivery sequence number buffer B-m (delivery sequence number) is larger, the delivery sorting unit 1
9 increments the value of m by 1 (step S1
9) Then, it is checked whether or not the value of m after the increment exceeds n (step S20). If m is greater than n, the delivery sorting section 19 returns m to 1 (step S21) and proceeds to step S17, where m is n.
If it does not exceed (skip step S21), the process directly proceeds to step S17.

The delivered item rearranging section 19 carries out step S17.
, The top delivery of the stacker SA-k is moved to the stacker SB-m, and the value of the delivery sequence number buffer BA-k is moved to the delivery sequence number buffer BB-m. Similarly to the previous time, the machine code of the next delivery in the stacker SA-k is converted into the delivery sequence number and stored in the delivery sequence buffer BA-k (step S18).

In this way, the delivery sorting section 19
Until there are no deliveries in the stackers SA-1 to SA-n (step S14), that is, until all deliveries move from the stackers SA-1 to SA-n to the stackers SB-1 to SB-n.
The above process is repeated.

As a result of repeating the above-mentioned processing, the delivered item rearranging section 19 finds that there are no delivered items in the stackers SA-1 to SA-n, and if all the delivered items have entered the stacker SB-1 ( In step S22), the rearrangement ends. On the other hand, when at least one of the other stackers SB-2 to SB-n has a delivery, the delivery rearrangement unit 19 directly handles the delivery of the stackers SB-1 to SB-n. After moving to the stackers SA-1 to SA-n (step S23),
Returning to step S12, the above process is repeated.

As described above, the delivery items stored in the stacker section 18 are sorted in the order of the delivery sequence numbers assigned to the machine codes of the delivery items in the delivery item sorting section 19. It is stored in the stacker SB-1.

Here, an example of using the route assembling machine shown in FIG. 1 will be described. Now, assuming that the delivery 11 is a postal item, the postal items placed in the post are collected at the nearest post office, sorted by zip code, and sent to the delivery station.
At the delivery station, the delivery sorting machine as shown in FIG.
Sort mail by delivery area. Usually, a delivery area is a fixed area where one delivery person is in charge of delivery. The mail items sent to the delivery sorting machine are sorted into each delivery section, and further sent to the route assembling machine having the configuration shown in FIG. The delivery staff carries out the delivery work by placing the sorted deliverables on a motorbike, a car, or the like.

In the embodiment described above, the deliveries can be automatically rearranged in the order of delivery based on the delivery route set in advance. However, the delivery to each household differs depending on the day, and if there is a household without delivery, if the same route is used for delivery, it will be a wasteful move. Therefore, a second embodiment will be described below in which such waste is eliminated. [Second Embodiment] FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a route assembly machine according to the second embodiment of the present invention. FIG.
The same parts as those in FIG.

The route assembling machine shown in FIG. 10 is different from the route assembling machine having the structure shown in FIG. 1 (the route assembling machine in the first embodiment), instead of the delivery route determining section 14, the delivery route determining section 24.
However, the destination reading unit 26 is provided instead of the destination reading unit 16, and the physical quantity storage buffer 2 is provided.
1, the destination correction unit 22 and the delivery route confirmation correction unit 23 are added.

The physical quantity storage buffer 21 is for storing the physical quantity of the delivered material for each machine code corresponding to (the household of) the destination read by the destination reading unit 26, and is for all households in the delivery area. It has a physical quantity counter (value area of each) for each machine code.

The address modification unit 22 is for manually modifying the address of the delivery 11 rejected by the address reading unit 26 to read the address. The delivery route confirmation / correction unit 23 displays the delivery route determined by the delivery route determination unit 24 on the screen for confirmation by the operator, and also accepts correction of the route by the operator.

The delivery route determining unit 24 determines the delivery route in each delivery area from the delivery destination DB 13 and the map DB 12 and the physical quantity of each destination stored in the physical quantity storage buffer 21.

Similarly to the destination reading unit 16 in FIG. 1, the destination reading unit 26 optically reads and recognizes the destination of the delivery 11, and when it cannot be recognized and is rejected, a message to that effect is displayed. It is displayed and the destination correction from the destination correction unit 22 manually input by the operator is accepted.

Next, the operation of the configuration of FIG.
If the item is a postal item, a delivery route is determined according to the amount of the postal item, and the delivery items are rearranged in the order of delivery, which will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

First, an initialization process is performed to clear the counter (value area of each machine code) in the physical quantity storage buffer 21 to 0 (step S31). Thereafter, a plurality of deliveries 11 (postal items) targeted for a certain delivery area are sequentially conveyed to the destination reading unit 16 one by one. The destination reading unit 16 optically recognizes the destination of the delivery 11 (postal matter) (step S32). That is, the destination reading unit 16
Optically captures the image of the delivery 11 (postal matter),
The destination area is detected from the image, and the character is cut off to recognize the character, and then the address and the name of the destination are output. At that time, handwritten continuation characters, faint characters, blurring, etc. may not be recognized and may be rejected. In this case, the destination reading unit 16 displays an image of the destination area of the rejected delivery 11 (postal matter) on the display (not shown) to notify that the delivery 11 (postal) has been rejected. Notify the operator. The operator determines the correct destination from the image of the destination area of the rejected delivery 11 (postal matter) displayed on the screen, and manually inputs the correct destination from the destination correction unit 22,
Correct the rejected destination.

When the destination reading unit 26 recognizes the destination, or in the case of reject, the delivery route confirmation correction unit 2
When the destination is corrected by the operator in 3, the delivery destination D
By referring to the destination / machine code conversion table 132 in B13, the recognized or corrected address / name information of the destination is converted into a machine code uniquely assigned to the corresponding household, and the machine code is received in response to this. Code printing section 1
7 prints the machine code on the corresponding mail piece (step S33).

Further, the destination reading unit 26 sets the value of (the value area of) the quantity counter in the quantity storage buffer 21 corresponding to the converted machine code (that is, corresponding to the recognized or corrected destination household). By incrementing the (physical quantity counter value) by 1, the physical quantity is stored (step S34).

The delivery 11 (postal matter) on which the machine code corresponding to the destination (household) is printed by the machine code printing unit 17 is temporarily stored in the stacker unit 18 (step S35).

The above series of processes (steps S32 to S35) are performed for all the deliverables 11 (postal items) to be delivered, and when there are no deliverables 11 (postal items) to be processed (step S36), The delivery route determination unit 24 is activated.

The delivery route determining unit 24 stores the value of the physical quantity counter for each machine code (uniquely assigned to each household) in the physical quantity storage buffer 21, the address DB 13 of the resident, and the like. And the map DB 12 to determine the delivery route in the delivery area corresponding to the delivery amount,
Similar to the first embodiment, it is stored in the delivery route buffer 15 in the format shown in FIG. 6 (step S37).
The point that the delivery route determination here is the most different from the delivery route determination in the first embodiment (by the delivery route determining unit 14 in FIG. 1) is that each machine code stored in the physical quantity storage buffer 21. This is to consider the delivery amount of each household in the delivery area (specifically, indicated by the value of the delivery counter), specifically the presence or absence of delivery.

Therefore, in this embodiment, the first
The delivery route is not determined in advance as in the embodiment of FIG. 1, but the delivery route is determined after the series of processes (steps S32 to S35) are performed for all the deliverables 11 (postal items) to be delivered. The delivery route is determined by the section 24. As a method of determining the delivery route here, for example, a method of making an Euler graph so as to pass through all the roads with the delivery destination is applicable (for the name of the document, [means and actions for solving problems]] See column).

The delivery destination D is used to determine the delivery route.
Of the delivery destinations registered in B13, not only households outside the intended delivery area, but also the quantity storage buffer 21 sets the quantity to 0.
Households marked with (machine code assigned) are also excluded. With this, when there is a household with no delivery, it is possible to determine an unusual delivery route that does not pass through the household and prevent the route without delivery. Furthermore, it is possible to reduce the burden on the delivery staff by deciding the delivery route so that the delivery is performed first from the place with a large delivery amount.

When the delivery route is determined according to whether or not the quantity is 0 (presence or absence of the delivery), that is, not to pass through the route without the delivery, rather than the quantity of the quantity. For the purpose, the physical quantity storage buffer 21 is composed of flags corresponding to each machine code, and a corresponding flag is set every time the destination is read by the destination reading unit 26 (or each time the destination is corrected by the destination correcting unit 22). All you have to do is set (turn on).

When the delivery route determining unit 24 determines the delivery route in consideration of the quantity of the target delivery area, the delivery route checking / correcting unit 23 confirms (further corrects) by the operator. According to the contents of the delivery route node sequence table 151 (ie, the node number sequence indicating the determined delivery route) and the information in the node information table 121 storing the determined delivery route, each map on the delivery route. The coordinates of the node are obtained, and the delivery route is displayed on the display by overlaying it on the map. At this time, the delivery route confirmation / correction unit 23 also determines, for example, a basic delivery route (which does not consider the physical quantity) which is predetermined in the same manner as in the first embodiment (which can be distinguished from the determined delivery route). Display on the display).

The operator compares the delivery route determined in consideration of the quantity displayed on the screen with the total route length of the basic delivery route and the like, and determines the delivery route which seems to be efficient in delivery by the delivery route confirmation and correction unit. Select through 23. That is, the operator, for example, sets the basic delivery route when there is no difference in the total route length of the two, and the delivery amount is not set when all households have delivery items and the route that considers the delivery amount is more effective. Select a route that takes into consideration. Further, the operator can correct a part of the selected delivery route through the delivery route confirmation / correction unit 23. It is also possible to display the evaluation value such as the above total path length (moving distance) as a numerical value or a graph. As the evaluation value, in addition to the total route length, the number of round trips of the delivery to the post office and the like can be applied.

The delivery route confirmed / selected (or corrected) by the delivery route confirmation / correction unit 23 is stored in the delivery route buffer 15 in the format shown in FIG. Then
The delivery sorting section 19 is activated. The delivered item rearranging unit 19 reads the machine code (printed on the delivered item 11 by the machine code printing unit 17) from all the delivered items 11 (postal items) stored in the stacker unit 18 and performs the delivery. Recognize the destination of the object 11 and its destination (machine code)
The delivery items 11 are rearranged based on the delivery route stored in the delivery route buffer 15 (step S38). The rearrangement of the delivered items is similar to the process described with reference to FIGS. 7 to 9 in the first embodiment.

In the embodiment described above, the delivery route is changed according to the quantity of the delivered item, and when there is a household without the delivered item, a delivery route different from the normal route is set so as not to pass through the household. Therefore, efficient delivery without wasteful movement can be realized. However, since it is premised on a fixed distribution division, the burden on each delivery member varies depending on the amount of deliveries in each distribution division, which is not efficient.
In addition, it is difficult to deal with a vacancy in the delivery staff. Therefore, in the following, a third embodiment will be described in which the delivery division is changed according to the quantity of deliveries and the number of delivery persons, so that a plurality of delivery persons can equally perform delivery operations. [Third Embodiment] FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing the construction of a route assembly machine according to the third embodiment of the present invention. FIG.
The same parts as 0 are designated by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted.

The route assembling machine shown in FIG. 12 is functionally different from the route assembling machine having the configuration of FIG. 10 (the route assembling machine in the second embodiment) in that the route assembling machine of FIG. In contrast to the processing for the delivery items classified by ward, the route assembling machine in FIG. 12 also determines the delivery area allocation according to the quantity, and the delivery object to be delivered is the delivery area. It is not necessary to be divided for each.

The route assembling machine shown in FIG. 12 differs from the route assembling machine in FIG.
Instead of the delivery route determining unit 34, the delivery route determining unit 34
Instead, a delivery item rearranging section 39 is provided, and a delivery section allocation determining section 31, a delivery section allocation confirmation correcting section 32, and a delivery section classifying section 33 are added.

The delivery section allocation determination unit 31 determines the delivery quantity for each destination stored in the quantity storage buffer 21 and the delivery destination D.
From B13, the delivery area is divided into a plurality of delivery areas according to the quantity of deliveries and the number of delivery persons.

The delivery section allocation confirmation / correction section 32 displays each delivery section divided / determined by the delivery section allocation determining section 31 on the screen for confirmation by the operator, and also accepts correction of the delivery section allocation by the operator.

The delivery area classification unit 33 determines the delivery 1 of all the deliveries 11 stored in the stacker unit 18.
By reading the machine code printed on No. 1, the delivery area to which the corresponding household belongs is discriminated and classified for each delivery area.

The delivery route determining unit 34 determines the delivery route in each delivery zone determined by the delivery zone allocation determining unit 31 from the delivery destination DB 13 and the physical quantity for each destination stored in the physical quantity storage buffer 21. It is a thing.

The delivery sorting section 39 is a delivery zone classification section 3
The deliverables 11 for each delivery section classified by 3 are sorted into each delivery type based on the delivery route information in the delivery route buffer 15.

Next, the operation of the configuration of FIG.
If is a postal item, the delivery division is determined according to the quantity of postal items, and the delivery items are sorted in the order of delivery.
Description will be made with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. 13 to 16 as appropriate.

First, initialization processing is performed to clear the counter (value area of each machine code) in the physical quantity storage buffer 21 to 0 (step S41). After that, a plurality of deliverables 11 (postal items) targeting a certain delivery area (corresponding to the delivery area composed of a plurality of fixed delivery areas described in the first and second embodiments) are sequentially transferred one by one. Address reading unit 16
Be transported to. The address reading unit 16 determines that the delivery 11
Optically recognize the destination of (postal matter) (step S4
2). That is, the destination reading unit 16 optically captures the image of the delivery 11 (postal matter), detects the destination region from the image, further performs character inspection and character recognition, and then outputs the address and name of the destination. To do. At that time, handwritten continuation characters, faint characters, blurring, etc. may not be recognized and may be rejected. In this case, the destination reading unit 16
An image of the destination area of the rejected delivery 11 (postal item) is displayed on a display (not shown) to notify the operator that the delivery item 11 (postal item) has been rejected. The operator determines the correct destination from the image of the destination area of the rejected delivery 11 (postal matter) displayed on the screen, and manually inputs the correct destination from the destination correction unit 22 to reject it. Correct the address.

The destination reading unit 26 recognizes the destination, or in the case of reject, the delivery route confirmation / correction unit 2
When the destination is corrected by the operator in 3, the delivery destination D
By referring to the destination / machine code conversion table 132 in B13, the recognized or corrected address / name information of the destination is converted into a machine code uniquely assigned to the corresponding household, and the machine code is received in response to this. Code printing section 1
The printer 7 prints the machine code on the corresponding mail piece (step S43).

Further, the destination reading unit 26 sets the value of (the value area of) the physical quantity counter in the physical quantity storage buffer 21 corresponding to the converted machine code (that is, corresponding to the recognized or corrected destination household). By incrementing the (physical quantity counter value) by 1, the physical quantity is stored (step S44).

The delivery 11 (postal matter) on which the machine code corresponding to the destination (household) is printed by the machine code printing unit 17 is temporarily stored in the stacker unit 18 (step S45).

The above series of processes (steps S42 to S45) are performed for all the deliverables 11 (postal items) to be delivered, and when there is no delivery target 11 (postal items) to be processed (step S46). The delivery section allocation determination unit 31 is activated.

The delivery area allocation determination unit 31 stores the value of the physical quantity counter for each machine code (uniquely assigned to each household) in the physical quantity storage buffer 21 and the destination DB 13 in which the address and name information of the resident is stored. From the above, a process of dividing the delivery area into n (n is the number of delivery persons) delivery areas 1 to n according to the quantity of deliveries and the number of delivery persons, that is, delivery areas 1 to 1 within the delivery area
A process of determining n is performed (step S47). The number of delivery members needs to be given to the delivery section allocation determination unit 31 by an operator's input operation.

Details of the delivery section determination processing in step S47 by the delivery section determination unit 31 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. First, the delivery area allocation determination unit 31 sets the number of delivery members as the number of delivery areas n, and sets the number (delivery area number) Ku-no indicating the delivery area to the top value 1 and sets the delivery area number Ku-no of the delivery area. A variable S for indicating the quantity (delivery quantity) is set to an initial value 0 (step S6).
1).

The delivery section allocation determination unit 31 also sums up the values of the physical quantity counters stored in the physical quantity storage buffer 21 for all machine codes (that is, for all households in the delivery area) (that is, for the entire delivery area). The physical quantity) Wa is calculated (step S62).

The delivery section allocation determination unit 31 further receives the delivery destination D.
A pointer Ptr pointing to the machine code position in the destination / machine code conversion table 132 of B13 is initialized to the head position (step S63).

Next, the delivery section allocation determination unit 31 determines the pointer P.
By reading the physical quantity of the machine code (delivery product destined for the household of that) in the destination / machine code conversion table 132 indicated by tr from the physical quantity storage buffer 21 and adding it to S (the physical quantity) that has been obtained up to now, A new S is calculated (step S64).

Next, the delivery division determination unit 31 checks whether or not S up to the present exceeds Wa / n (the average amount of deliveries to be delivered by n delivery members) (step S).
65).

If S exceeds Wa / n, then
The delivery area allocation determination unit 31 determines that the delivery areas need to be switched, increments Ku-no by 1 and returns S to an initial value 0 (step S66), and then points Ku-no after +1 to Ptr. The delivery zone number of the delivery zone to which the machine code (household indicated by) in the destination / machine code conversion table 132 (in the delivery destination DB 13) belongs is set (step S67). In particular,
The delivery section number paired with the machine code in the destination / machine code conversion table 132 indicated by Ptr (in the initial state, the delivery section number indicating a fixed delivery section) is rewritten to Ku-no after +1.

On the other hand, if S does not exceed Wa / n, the delivery section allocation determination unit 31 determines that it is not necessary to switch the delivery section yet, and proceeds to step S67 as it is, and the Ku-in which the +1 operation has not been performed. Let no be the delivery section number of the delivery section to which the machine code in the destination / machine code conversion table 132 indicated by Ptr belongs.

The delivery section allocation decision unit 31 carries out the above step S.
When 67 is executed, the pointer Ptr is incremented by 1 to point to the next machine code position in the destination / machine code conversion table 132 (step S68). If the Ptr after +1 is not the Ptr end indicating the outside of the destination / machine code conversion table 132, the delivery section allocation determination unit 31 determines (step S6).
9) Then, the process returns to step S64 to execute the series of processes (steps S64 to S68).

That is, the delivery section allocation determination unit 31 repeats the above-described series of processes (steps S64 to S68) for all the machine codes in the destination / machine code conversion table 132.

As a result of this repetition, n delivery areas 1 to n
Is determined, and the deliveries in the delivery areas 1 to n are substantially equal. In addition to the number of deliverers and the amount of deliveries, it is also possible to determine the delivery area in consideration of factors of the amount of deliverables that can be mounted on the delivery means (bicycle, motorbike, automobile, etc.) used by each deliverer. .

When n delivery areas 1 to n are determined by the processing of step S47 according to the flowchart of FIG. 15 by the delivery area allocation determination unit 31 described above, the delivery areas 1 to n are determined for confirmation (further correction) by the operator. The delivery areas 1 to n are displayed on the display by the delivery area allocation confirmation / correction unit 32. This display shows each machine code registered in the destination / machine code conversion table 132 in the delivery destination DB 13,
After sorting by the same delivery zone number based on the delivery zone number paired with the code, the machine code of the same delivery zone number, that is, the machine code of the same delivery zone, is delivered to the delivery destination in the delivery destination DB 13. This is realized by searching the table 131 to obtain the corresponding node number on the map, and further searching the node information table 121 of the map DB 12 to obtain the coordinates of the node number.

The operator selects the delivery areas 1 to 1 displayed on the screen.
It is confirmed whether or not n is acceptable, and if necessary, it is corrected with the mouse, pen or the like through the delivery section allocation confirmation / correction unit 32. When the delivery areas 1 to n are modified, the content of the modification is the destination / machine code conversion table 132 in the delivery destination DB 13.
Reflected in.

Now, when the delivery zones 1 to n are confirmed (further corrected) through the delivery zone allocation confirmation / correction section 32, the delivery route determination section 34 is activated. Delivery route determination unit 34
Is a physical quantity storage buffer 2 for the delivery routes of the respective delivery areas 1 to n.
The delivery route in each of the delivery areas 1 to n is determined from the value of the physical quantity counter for each machine code in 1 and the delivery destination DB 13 in which the address and name information of the resident is stored (step S4).
8).

Details of the delivery route determination processing of step S48 by the delivery route determination unit 34 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. In this embodiment, in order to simplify the description, it is premised that the delivery route is determined in the order of addresses.

First, the delivery route determining section 34 determines the delivery district number K.
u-no is set to the first value 1 (step S71), and the delivery destination D
The pointer Ptr pointing to the machine code position in the destination / machine code conversion table 132 of B13 is initialized to the head position (step S72).

Next, the delivery route determination unit 34 determines that the current delivery zone number Ku-no is the delivery zone number of the delivery zone to which the machine code (the household indicated by) in the destination / machine code conversion table 132 pointed to by Ptr belongs. It is checked whether they match (step S73).

If they do not match, it is determined that the delivery route determination unit 34 needs to switch the delivery zone targeted for delivery route determination, and after Ku-no is incremented by 1 (step S74), Ptr of Ptr is set. By referring to the physical quantity storage buffer 21 from the machine code in the designated destination / machine code conversion table 132, it is checked whether the delivered quantity of the household indicated by the machine code is 0 (step S75).

On the other hand, if they coincide with each other, the delivery route determining section 34 determines that there is no need to switch the delivery zone targeted for delivery route determination and increments Ku-no by 1 (step S).
By skipping 74, the process proceeds to step S75, and it is checked whether or not the delivery quantity of the household indicated by the machine code in the destination / machine code conversion table 132 indicated by Ptr is 0.

If the delivery route determining unit 34 determines in step S75 that the delivery amount of the household indicated by the machine code in the destination / machine code conversion table 132 pointed to by Ptr is not 0, the delivery destination DB 13 is first determined. Ku- in
Delivery destination table 13 of the delivery area with the delivery area number indicated by no
The node numbers of the nodes A and B (start node and end node) at both ends of the road where the household building indicated by the machine code exists are searched from 1 (step S76). Next, the delivery section allocation determination unit 31 determines the movement route (node sequence) from the end point node (at that time) to the node A or the node B of the delivery route node sequence table 151 as shown in FIG. Delivery table 131
Then, the movement route and the search nodes A and B are added to the route node sequence (step S77).

In this embodiment, it is premised that the delivery route is determined in the order of address, but generally, the movement route from the end point node (at that point) of the delivery route node sequence table 151 to the node A or the node B is It is not always in the order of addresses, and may have discontinuous route portions.
In such a case, for the discontinuous path part,
It may be obtained by referring to the adjacent node information stored in the map DB 12.

The delivery route determination unit 34 performs the above step S7.
7 is executed, the pointer Ptr is pointed to the next machine code position in the destination / machine code conversion table 132+
1 (step S78). Also, the delivery route determination unit 34
When it is determined in step S75 that the delivery amount of the household indicated by the machine code in the destination / machine code conversion table 132 indicated by Ptr is 0, the household is excluded from the delivery route determination, and the delivery route is determined as it is. Step S78
Go to and increment Ptr by +1.

Then, the delivery route determination unit 34 determines that P after +1.
tr is Ptr pointing outside the destination / machine code conversion table 132
If it is not the end (step S79), step S7
3, the series of processes described above (steps S73 to S73
78) is executed.

That is, the delivery route determination unit 34 repeats the series of processes (steps S73 to S78) described above for all the machine codes in the destination / machine code conversion table 132.

As a result of this repetition, n delivery sections 1 to n
A delivery route is determined for each of the. When the delivery route determination unit 34 executes the above-described series of processes for all the machine codes in the destination / machine code conversion table 132, the delivery route node sequence table 151 of each of the delivery areas 1 to n corresponds to the corresponding machine. The code / delivery sequence number conversion table 152 is created (step S80).

That is, the delivery route determination section 34 refers to the node number sequence in the corresponding delivery route node sequence table 151 in order from the top node number for each delivery district, and from that node number, the delivery destination in the delivery destination DB 13 Table 131
Search for the machine code of the delivery destination registered in. Then, the delivery route determination unit 34 adds the retrieved machine code to
Delivery order numbers are assigned in the order of search. The delivery route determination unit 34 searches for machine codes for all the node numbers in the delivery route node sequence table 151, assigns a delivery sequence number, sorts the delivery sequence numbers by the machine code, and obtains the delivery sequence number from the machine code. A machine code / delivery sequence number conversion table 152 as shown in FIG.
Create The delivery route determination unit 34 repeats the above processing for the delivery route node sequence table 151 of the delivery regions 1 to n, thereby obtaining the machine code /
A delivery sequence number conversion table 152 is created.

The delivery route node string table 151 and the machine code / delivery sequence number conversion table 152 for each delivery district thus created are stored in the delivery route buffer 15 in association with the delivery district number.

When the delivery route determining section 34 determines the delivery route in consideration of the quantity of each delivery zone, the delivery route confirmation / correction section 23 makes this determination for confirmation (and further correction) by the operator. The displayed delivery route is displayed on the display.

The operator confirms whether or not the delivery route of each delivery section displayed on the screen is acceptable, and if necessary, corrects it with the mouse, pen or the like through the delivery route confirmation / correction unit 23. If the delivery route is modified, the content of the modification is
Delivery route node sequence table 1 in delivery route buffer 15
51 and machine code / delivery sequence number conversion table 152
Reflected in.

When the delivery route for each delivery district is confirmed (further corrected) through the delivery route confirmation / correction unit 23, the delivery district classification unit 33 is activated. The delivery zone classification unit 33 reads the machine code (printed on the delivery 11 by the machine code printing unit 17) for all the deliveries 11 (postal items) stored in the stacker unit 18, and the machine code By determining the delivery area from the machine code / delivery sequence number conversion table 152 stored in the delivery route buffer 15 for each delivery area, the delivery 11 (postal matter) is determined by the delivery area allocation determination unit 31. The delivery classification is classified (determined) (step S49). This delivery zone classification unit 33 is provided with pockets for different delivery, and the delivery 11 (postal matter) classified according to delivery is temporarily stored in the corresponding pocket in the delivery zone classification unit 33.

Then, the delivery rearranging section 39 is activated. The delivery item rearranging unit 39, for the delivery items 11 (postal items) classified into the pockets for each delivery unit by the delivery unit sorting unit 33, delivers each of the delivery items from the delivery unit 1 to the delivery unit n in order as described below. Sort to distinguish.

First, the delivered item rearranging section 39 sets the variable m indicating the delivery area to the initial value 1 (step S60). Next, the delivery sorting section 39 reads machine codes from all the deliverables 11 (postal items) targeted for the delivery zone m classified into the pocket for the delivery zone m by the delivery zone sorting section 33, Based on the machine code and the machine code / delivery sequence number conversion table 152 of the delivery zone m stored in the delivery route buffer 15, the deliveries 11 of these delivery zones m are rearranged (step S61). The rearrangement of the delivered items is similar to the process described with reference to FIGS. 7 to 9 in the first embodiment.

The delivery rearranging section 39 determines the current delivery area m.
When the rearrangement process (step S61) is completed, it is checked whether the value of m is less than n (step S62).

If the value of m is less than n, the value of m is incremented by 1 (step S63), assuming that there is a delivery section where the reordering of deliveries has not been performed, and this +1.
For the delivery 11 (postal matter) in the next delivery section m indicated by the subsequent value of m, the rearrangement process of step S62 is performed.

Then, the above rearrangement processing is performed in the delivery area 1
When the delivery 11 (postal matter) of ~ n is executed for each delivery distinction, the operation of the route assembling machine in FIG. 12 ends.
In the embodiment described above, after all the destinations of the deliveries are read in advance and the number of deliveries of each household is grasped, it is possible to perform efficient delivery division according to the delivery staff and the delivery volume. You can assign jobs equally to the courier. However, no consideration has been given to presenting the route to the delivery destination to the delivery staff in an easy-to-understand manner. This also applies to the first and second embodiments.
Therefore, a fourth embodiment will be described below in which the route to the delivery destination can be presented to the delivery person in an easy-to-understand manner, for example, based on the configuration of the route assembling machine shown in FIG. [Fourth Embodiment] FIG. 17 is a block diagram showing the arrangement of a route assembly machine according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention. FIG.
The same parts as those in FIG.

The route assembling machine shown in FIG. 17 is different from the route assembling machine having the structure of FIG. 1 (the route assembling machine in the first embodiment) in that the map DB 12 and the delivery are stored in a portable storage medium such as a memory card 40. A delivery information writing unit 41 for writing information in the route buffer 15 and a designation for displaying a delivery route in a section designated by an operator (delivery member) on the display by using the information written in the memory card 40. This means that a portable information processing device, such as a handy terminal 43, having the intra-section route display unit 42 built therein has been added. This handy terminal 43
Has a flat panel display (not shown) whose position can be specified with a pen or the like. Handy terminal 43
Is portable by the courier and is separate from the body of the route assembly machine. The route assembly machine body and the handy terminal 43 are provided with card connector portions (not shown) into which the memory card 40 is inserted.

Next, the operation of the configuration of FIG. 17 will be described. First, a process of rearranging a plurality of deliveries 11 having destinations written therein in the order of delivery will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

First, when a plurality of deliverables 11 to be delivered to a certain delivery area in the delivery area are arranged in the order of delivery by the route assembling machine of FIG. 17, the operator stores the memory in the card connector section of the route assembling machine. The delivery route determination unit 14 is activated by inserting the card 40 and giving the delivery route number of the target delivery region to the delivery route determination unit 14. As a result, the delivery route determination unit 14 determines the delivery route within the designated delivery area based on the information in the delivery destination DB 13 and the map DB 12, and performs the delivery, as in step S1 of the first embodiment. The data is stored in the route buffer 15 (step S81). Here, it is assumed that routes for delivering all the homes are determined in the order of addresses, for example, without considering the amount of deliveries.

Next, the delivery information writing unit 41 is activated. The delivery information writing unit 41 uses the delivery route buffer 15
Information (information of delivery route node sequence table 151 and machine code / delivery sequence number conversion table 152) and map D
The information of B12 is written in the memory card 40 inserted in the card connector section of the route assembly machine (step S8).
2).

On the other hand, the plurality of deliveries 11 targeted for a certain delivery area are sequentially conveyed one by one to the destination reading section 16, and the reading section 16 optically recognizes the destination (step S83). At this time, the destination reading unit 16
Destination / machine code conversion table 13 in the delivery destination DB 13
By referring to 2, the recognized address and name information of the destination is converted into a machine code, and in response to this, the machine code printing unit 1
7 prints the machine code on the corresponding delivery 11 (step S84). The delivery 11 on which the machine code is printed (or affixed) has a machine code printing unit 17
It is not subject to machine code printing in.

The delivery 11 on which the machine code corresponding to (the household of) the destination is printed by the machine code printing unit 17 (or the delivery 11 on which the machine code corresponding to the destination is printed in advance) is once stored in the stacker unit. It is stored in 18 (step S85).

Then, the series of processes (step S8) are performed for all deliveries 11 (for a certain delivery area).
When steps 3 to S85 are repeated (step S86), the delivered item rearranging section 19 is activated.

The delivery rearranging unit 19 is the stacker unit 18.
For all the deliveries 11 stored in the delivery, the machine codes printed (or attached) to the deliveries 11 are read, and the delivery order based on the machine code / delivery sequence number conversion table 152 in the delivery route buffer 15 is read. By converting the numbers into numbers, the deliverables 11 are rearranged in the order of delivery numbers (step S87). The rearrangement of the delivered items is similar to the process described with reference to FIGS. 7 to 9 in the first embodiment.

Next, when the delivery person puts the deliverables 11 sorted by the delivery item rearranging section 19 in the order of the delivery order numbers on a motorbike, a car or the like, and performs a delivery operation, the delivery destination designated by the delivery person. The process of displaying the route to the display of the handy terminal 43 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

First, the deliveryman extracts the memory card 40 inserted in the card connector section of the route assembly machine of FIG. 17 and inserts it in the card connector section of the handy terminal 43.

In this state, the delivery person activates the handy terminal 43. Then, Handy Terminal 43
The designated section route display unit 42 reads the information in the map DB 12 written in the memory card 40 and displays the map in the delivery area indicated by the information on, for example, a flat panel display (not shown) (step S91). ).

When the route display section 42 within the designated section displays the map on the display, it displays the route to the delivery destination,
Whether the starting position (for example, the current position) is designated from the map or the address is accepted (step S92).

If it is requested to specify the current position on the map, the designated section route display unit 42 accepts the specification of the current position on the map by the delivery staff, for example, with a pen (step S93). This location on the map is convenient when the delivery staff can identify the current location on the map.

On the other hand, if the current position designation by the address is requested, the designated section route display portion 42 displays, for example, a hierarchical menu for hierarchically inputting the address, and the delivery person designation from the menu is displayed. The address (address of the present location) is accepted (step S94). The hierarchical menu here is
For example, a menu of the first layer (top layer) for selecting a town name such as A town in A town B chome C, and A town B chome C in the case where a town name is selected from the top menu A menu for the second layer to select a chome such as B-chome, and for selecting a block such as C in A-Chome B-Chome when Chome is selected from this second-layer menu It shall consist of the third layer (bottom layer) menu. The location designation by the address is convenient when the delivery staff is unfamiliar and it is difficult to identify the current location on the map.

Upon receiving the designation of the current position (starting point position), the designated section route display portion 42 accepts whether the destination (end point position) is designated on the map or from the address (step S95). ).

If the position designation on the map is requested, the designated section route display unit 42 accepts the position designation of the destination on the map by the pen from the delivery member (step S96).

On the other hand, if the destination designation by the address is requested, the intra-designated-route display unit 42 inputs the address hierarchically (similarly to the time of accepting the current position designation by the previous address). A hierarchical menu is displayed, and the address (address of the destination) designated by the deliveryman from the menu is accepted (step S97).

When the designated input of the current position and the destination is received by the delivery member, the designated section route display portion 42 displays the designated current position and destination, and the route (moving route) from the current position to the destination. It is displayed on the display so as to be superimposed on the map (step S98). Here, the designated section route display unit 42 obtains the route from the current position to the destination as follows.

First, the designated section route display unit 42 specifies the designated current position and the node number of the destination based on the information of the map DB 12 written in the memory card 40. Next, the designated section route display unit 42 determines the current position, the node number of the destination, and the contents of the delivery route node string table 151 in the information of the delivery route buffer 15 written in the memory card 40. Obtain the node number string of the travel route from the position to the destination. Then, the designated section route display unit 42, from the node number string and the information of the map DB 12 written in the memory card 40,
Obtain the coordinate sequence on the map of the node sequence of the corresponding travel route,
The moving path indicated by the coordinate sequence is displayed on the display.

As described above, by displaying only the routes in the section designated by the delivery staff, it is possible to display the routes which are easier for the delivery staff to understand than all the routes. Therefore, when the handy terminal 43 is used as a delivery support device when it is desired to check the movement route to the next delivery destination during the delivery work, the delivery work can be smoothly performed.

In the above embodiment, the information in the map DB 12 and the delivery route buffer 15 is temporarily stored in the memory card 40.
After writing in the memory card 40, set the memory card 40 in the handy terminal 43 and put it in the handy terminal 4.
Although it is described that the designated section is received and the route of the designated section is displayed according to the information of the map DB 12 and the delivery route buffer 15 by using the third section, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, both the route assembly machine main body side and the handy terminal are provided with a transmission / reception function by a wireless or public line, and this transmission / reception function allows the handy terminal side to store the map DB 12 and the delivery route buffer 15 from the route assembly machine body side. It is also possible to read the information into the internal memory and use it.

[0160]

As described above in detail, according to the present invention, after the destination information of a delivery is read, the machine code uniquely corresponding to the destination household is identified based on the information in the delivery destination database. It is printed on the delivery and temporarily stored in the stacker section. The machine code of the delivery stored in this stacker section and the machine code and delivery sequence number included in the preset delivery route information Based on the correspondence information,
By configuring the delivery items to be sorted in the order of delivery routes, it is possible to significantly reduce the labor cost of the person who is currently manually sorting the delivery items.

Further, according to the present invention, the machine code in which the quantity of the delivered product or the presence / absence of the delivered product, which reflects the result of conversion from the delivered product to the machine code of the destination, is assigned to each household in the delivery area. By storing separately, the delivery route is determined according to the amount of deliveries or the presence or absence of deliveries for each household (machine code assigned to),
Efficient route determination can be performed, and unnecessary movement during delivery can be reduced.

Further, according to the present invention, the quantity of the delivered product, which reflects the result of conversion into the machine code of the destination read from the delivered product, is stored for each machine code assigned to each household in the delivery area. By adopting a configuration in which the delivery section allocation is determined from the delivered amount of each household (machine code assigned to each household), etc., efficient delivery section allocation with little waste can be provided.

Further, according to the present invention, a basic delivery route is determined in advance, and an ideal delivery route (variable route) obtained from the basic delivery route (fixed route) and the quantity of the delivered product.
Normally, by outputting and on the display, etc., the actual delivery staff will compare and select, and accept the operation to make corrections as necessary to determine the final delivery route. Effective route determination that suits the level of the delivery staff, such as selecting the basic delivery route that does not depend on the quantity, and selecting the delivery route according to the quantity when the quantity of the delivered product changes significantly be able to.

Further, according to the present invention, the basic delivery section allocation is determined in advance, and the basic delivery section allocation and the ideal delivery section allocation determined by the quantity of the delivered product are output to a display or the like, and the actual delivery is performed. By making a configuration in which the final delivery section allocation is determined by the staff members making comparisons and selections, and further accepting operations to make corrections as necessary, the basic delivery section allocation that does not normally depend on physical quantity is delivered. When there is a large change in the quantity of goods, the distribution division according to the quantity is selected, so that the effective distribution division can be determined according to the level of the delivery staff.

Further, according to the present invention, the delivery route information and the map information possessed by the route assembly machine main body side are read into a portable processing device such as a handy terminal in order to indicate the next delivery destination of the delivery member. When a designation input of an arbitrary start point and end point on the map indicated by this map information is accepted from the delivery person (operator), the start point to the end point are reached based on the map information and the delivery route information. By extracting the route, that is, the delivery route (moving route) limited to the section designated by the delivery staff and displaying it on the screen, it becomes easier to see the route than displaying the entire delivery route, and the next It can be moved to the delivery destination and the delivery operation can be performed smoothly.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a route assembling machine according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the configuration of FIG. 1 by exemplifying a process of rearranging a plurality of deliveries in which destinations are written in the order of delivery.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a map of a delivery area.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of a map DB 12.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a data structure example of a delivery destination DB 13.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a data structure of a delivery route buffer 15.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a delivery sorter 19;

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a part of a flowchart for explaining the details of the process of step S6 in FIG. 2 (delivery item sorting process by delivery item sorting section 19);

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the rest of the flowchart for explaining the details of the process of step S6 in FIG. 2 (delivery item sorting process by the delivery item sorting section 19);

FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a route assembling machine according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

11 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the configuration of FIG. 10 by exemplifying a process of rearranging a plurality of deliveries in which destinations are written in the order of delivery.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a route assembling machine according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a part of a flowchart for explaining the operation of the configuration of FIG. 12 by exemplifying a process of rearranging a plurality of deliveries in which destinations are written in the order of delivery.

FIG. 14 is a view showing the rest of the flowchart for explaining the operation of the configuration of FIG. 12 by exemplifying a process of rearranging a plurality of deliveries in which destinations are written in the order of delivery.

15 is a flowchart for explaining the details of the processing of step S47 in FIG. 14 (delivery area determination processing by delivery area allocation determining unit 31).

16 is a flowchart for explaining the details of the process of step S48 in FIG. 14 (delivery route determination process by the delivery route determination unit 34).

FIG. 17 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a route assembling machine according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 18 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the configuration of FIG. 17 by exemplifying a process of rearranging a plurality of deliveries in which destinations are written in the order of delivery.

FIG. 19 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the configuration of FIG. 17 by exemplifying a process of displaying the route to the delivery destination designated by the deliveryman on the display of the handy terminal 43.

FIG. 20 is a diagram showing a configuration of a delivery sorting machine that has been conventionally applied.

[Explanation of symbols]

11 ... Delivery goods, 12 ... Map DB (map database, map storage means), 13 ... Delivery destination DB (delivery destination database, delivery destination storage means), 14, 24, 34 ... Delivery route determination unit, 15 ... Delivery route buffer (Delivery route storage means),
16, 26 ... Destination reading unit (destination / machine code conversion means), 17 ... Machine code printing unit, 18 ... Stacker unit, 1
9, 39 ... Delivery item rearranging section, 21 ... Quantity storage buffer (quantity storage means), 22 ... Destination correction section, 23 ... Delivery route confirmation correction section, 31 ... Delivery section allocation determination section, 32 ... Delivery section allocation confirmation correction section, 33 ... Delivery area classification unit, 40 ... Memory card, 41 ... Delivery information writing unit, 42 ... Designated section route display unit, 43 ... Handy terminal (processing device), 1
21 ... Node information table, 122 ... Adjacent node buffer, 131 ... Delivery destination table, 132 ... Destination / machine code conversion table, 151 ... Delivery route node sequence table,
152 ... Machine code / delivery sequence number conversion table, SA
-1 to SA-n, SB-1 to SB-n ... Stacker, BA-1 to BA
-n, BB-1 to BB-n ... Delivery sequence number buffer.

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A delivery destination storing means for storing delivery destination information including correspondence information between address and name information of members of each household in a delivery area and a machine code uniquely assigned to each household, and the delivery. It stores the delivery route information indicating the delivery route for each delivery zone in the area, including the correspondence information between the machine code of each household on the corresponding delivery route and the delivery sequence number indicating the delivery order. The delivery route storing means, the destination reading means for optically reading the destination of the delivery and recognizing the destination, and the destination read means for searching the inside of the delivery destination storing means to find the destination household. A destination / machine code conversion means for converting the assigned machine code, and a machine code printing hand for printing the machine code converted by the destination / machine code conversion means on the corresponding delivery. A stacker means for temporarily storing the deliveries on which the machine code is printed by the machine code printing means, the machine code printed on the deliveries stored on the stacker means, and the delivery route storing means. And a delivery item sorting means for sorting the delivery items in the order of the delivery sequence numbers based on the correspondence information between the machine code and the delivery sequence number contained in the delivery route information stored in. A direction assembling machine. 2. A delivery destination storing means for storing delivery destination information including correspondence information between address name information of members of each household in the delivery area and a machine code uniquely assigned to each household, and a delivery. Destination reading means for optically reading and recognizing the destination of the destination, and a destination for searching the delivery destination storing means from the destination read by the destination reading means and converting the destination into a machine code assigned to the household of the destination. / Machine code converting means, machine code printing means for printing the machine code converted by the destination / machine code converting means on the corresponding delivery, and a delivery having the machine code printed by the machine code printing means The stacker means for temporarily storing and the reading means for each machine code of each household indicated by the delivery destination information stored in the delivery destination storage means. A quantity storage means for storing the quantity of the delivered material or the presence or absence of the delivered material, which reflects the conversion result of the read destination to the machine code by the destination / machine code converting means, and at least the delivery destination storing means and the physical quantity Based on the information of the storage means, determine the delivery route according to the quantity of deliveries or the presence of deliveries of each household that can be delivered, and the machine code of each household on the route and the delivery sequence number indicating the delivery order. Delivery route determining means for generating delivery route information including correspondence information of the delivery route, delivery route storing means for storing delivery route information of the delivery route determined by the delivery route determining means, and storage means stored in the stacker means. Correspondence between the machine code printed on the delivery and the machine code included in the delivery route information stored in the delivery route storage means and the delivery sequence number Based on the distribution, route sequencing device, characterized by comprising the deliveries rearranging means for rearranging the deliveries the delivery sequence number order. 3. A delivery route determined by the delivery route determining means and a predetermined reference delivery route are displayed on a screen, and an external operation for selecting any one of the delivery routes and a selection are made. A delivery route confirmation / correction means for receiving an external operation for correcting the delivery route; and information on the delivery route selected or modified by the delivery route confirmation / correction means is stored in the delivery route storage means. The route assembly machine according to claim 2. 4. A delivery destination storing means for storing delivery destination information including correspondence information between address name information of members of each household in the delivery area and a machine code uniquely assigned to each household, and a delivery. Destination reading means for optically reading and recognizing the destination of the destination, and a destination for searching the delivery destination storing means from the destination read by the destination reading means and converting the destination into a machine code assigned to the household of the destination. / Machine code converting means, machine code printing means for printing the machine code converted by the destination / machine code converting means on the corresponding delivery, and a delivery having the machine code printed by the machine code printing means The stacker means for temporarily storing and the reading means for each machine code of each household indicated by the delivery destination information stored in the delivery destination storage means. A quantity storage means for storing the quantity of the delivered material or the presence or absence of the delivered material, which reflects the conversion result of the read destination to the machine code by the destination / machine code converting means, and at least the delivery destination storing means and the physical quantity Based on the information of the storing means, the delivery area allocation determining means for dividing the delivery area into a plurality of delivery areas, and at least the information of the delivery destination storing means for each delivery area divided by the delivery area allocation determining means. And a delivery route determining means for generating delivery route information including correspondence information between the machine code of each household on the route and the delivery sequence number indicating the delivery order, and the delivery route determining means. Delivery route storing means for storing delivery route information of the delivered delivery route, a machine code printed on the delivery stored in the stacker means, and the delivery route And a delivery item sorting means for sorting the delivery items in order of delivery sequence number according to each delivery based on the correspondence information between the machine code and the delivery sequence number contained in the delivery route information stored in the delivery device. A route assembling machine, comprising: 5. A delivery area determined by the delivery area allocation determining means and a predetermined delivery area that is a predetermined standard are displayed on a screen, and an external operation for selecting any one of the delivery areas and a selection are made. The delivery route allocation confirmation unit further includes a delivery unit allocation confirmation / correction unit that receives an external operation for modifying the delivery unit, and the delivery route determination unit determines the delivery route for each delivery unit selected or modified by the delivery unit allocation confirmation / correction unit. The route assembly machine according to claim 4, wherein 6. A map storage unit for storing map information in the delivery area and a main unit of the route assembling machine, which is used separately and reads the information in the map storage unit and the delivery route storage unit inside for delivery. It has a designated section route display means for receiving designation of two positions on the map of the area, extracting a route from one designated position to the other designated position based on the read information, and displaying the extracted route on the screen. The route assembly machine according to any one of claims 1 to 5, further comprising a processing device.