JPH101216A - Sorting device and picking system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To attain simplicity, and the size reduction and space sauing for a sorting device which sorts articles by orders. SOLUTION: A carrying-in conveyor 21 is provided for conveying an article by orders. A shuttle body 25 is parallel-provided with a plurality of storage parts 27, which are capable of receiving and storing articles to be carried in by unit and also discharging the stored articles of every unit selectively. A shuttle conveyor 26 is provided for reciprocating respective storage parts 27 of the shuttle body 25 between a receiving position A for articles to be carried in and a discharging position B adjacent to the receiving position A. A plurality of sorting parts 38 are provided for receiving respective articles, by unit, discharged from respective storage parts 27 of the shuttle body 25 which is moved to the discharging position B.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a sorting device and a picking system for sorting articles by one unit.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A picking system described in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 7-304509 is known.

In this picking system, a plurality of article storage / projection units are arranged in parallel along both sides of a belt conveyor to store articles to be picked by type and to allow the stored articles to be ejected onto the belt conveyor. It is arranged. Then, a required number of articles of the type corresponding to one order are ejected from each article storage and ejection unit to a set area of the belt surface on which the belt conveyor moves, and further, an area of the belt surface on which the belt conveyor moves, following the area. The required number of articles corresponding to the next order
Therefore, the articles discharged for each order on the moving belt surface of the belt conveyor are separated and transported for each order,
Articles are carried out by order from the end of the belt conveyor.

[0004] In this way, the articles picked by order are sorted by order, then inspected by an operator, and packed in a cardboard box for delivery or the like by order.

[0005] In such a picking system, it is difficult to pack articles of different orders sequentially conveyed from the belt conveyor at a high speed while inspecting the articles in accordance with the convey speed, so that the articles are conveyed from the belt conveyor. Goods once stored in containers (containers) by order,
The container is transported to a boxing work place by a transfer mechanism, and a worker performs an operation of taking out articles according to orders in each container and packing the cardboard boxes in a cardboard box while inspecting and inspecting the goods in the boxing work place.

[0006]

However, as in the prior art, it is necessary to temporarily store articles of different orders, which are sequentially carried out from a belt conveyor, in a container, and then to transport the containers to a boxing workshop, which requires a large number of containers. In addition, there is a problem that a large-scale transport mechanism for transporting the large number of containers is required, so that the system becomes expensive, and the layout and space of the transport mechanism are restricted.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and does not require a large number of containers and a transport mechanism for transporting the containers, and therefore, provides a sorting device and a picking system that can be simplified, downsized, and space-saving. The purpose is to provide.

[0008]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a sorting apparatus for sorting articles by unit, comprising: a carry-in conveyor for carrying articles by unit; and an article carried by the carry-in conveyor. A shuttle body in which a plurality of storage portions are arranged in parallel so that each of the storage units can be received and stored in each unit, and the stored articles in each unit can be selectively discharged. A shuttle conveyor for reciprocating between a receiving position of an article carried in by the carry-in conveyor and a discharging position adjacent to the receiving position; and a unit for each unit discharged from each storage unit of the shuttle body moved to the discharging position. And a plurality of sorting units for receiving the respective articles. Then, by reciprocating each of the storage sections of the shuttle body between the article receiving position and the discharge position adjacent to the receiving position, the articles stored in the respective storage sections at the receiving position are discharged at the discharge position. To be sorted into a plurality of sorting sections.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the sorting apparatus of the first aspect, a plurality of sorting blocks are provided with a plurality of sorting sections as one sorting block. It reciprocates with the sorting block. Then, by sequentially sorting the articles into the sorting sections of the plurality of sorting blocks, it becomes possible to cope with high-speed sorting processing.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the sorting apparatus of the second aspect, two sorting blocks are provided symmetrically in a reciprocating movement direction of the shuttle body with respect to the receiving position, and the shuttle conveyor is provided with the shuttle body. It reciprocates to two sorting blocks. By moving the shuttle body back and forth between the two sorting blocks, it is possible to cope with high-speed sorting of articles while being small.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the sorting apparatus according to the third aspect, wherein the sorting sections of each sorting block are arranged side by side so as to correspond to the parallel pitch of the plurality of storage sections of the shuttle body. The number of sorting sections of the sorting block is one less than the number of storage sections. Then, even if the shuttle body moves to any of the sorting blocks, one storage unit is located at the receiving position, and the discharge and the reception of the article can be performed simultaneously.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a picking system for picking up articles according to orders, and a sorting apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein articles picked by the picking apparatus are sorted out according to orders.
The sorting apparatus includes: an order-specific storage unit that stores the order-specific articles sorted into a plurality of sorting units in an order-specific container; and a transport device that transports the order-specific container from the order-specific storage unit. It is. And Claims 1 to 4
Providing any of the sorting devices described above makes it possible to cope with high-speed picking processing.

[0013]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of a sorting apparatus and a picking system according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIGS. 1 and 2 show a first embodiment. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a picking system, and FIG. 2 is a side view of the picking system.

The picking system includes a picking device 1, a sorting device 2, and a transport device 3.

The picking device 1 has a belt conveyor 11, and a plurality of article storage and ejection units 12 are disposed on both sides of the belt conveyor 11. Each article storage and ejection unit 12 has a storage section 13 for vertically stacking and storing articles to be picked, and enables articles in the storage section 13 to be sequentially ejected one by one below the storage section 13. An ejection unit 14 is provided.

The picking device 1 projects articles of a kind corresponding to one order from each article storing and ejecting unit 12 to a required area on the belt surface on which the belt conveyor 11 moves, and further, to the area. The required number of articles corresponding to the next order are ejected to the area of the moving belt surface of the succeeding belt conveyor 11, so that the belt conveyor 11
The articles discharged for each order on the moving belt surface are separated and transported for each order, and the articles are carried out for each order from the terminal end of the belt conveyor 11.

The sorting apparatus 2 has a carry-in conveyor 21 for receiving and transporting articles carried out from the belt conveyor 11 of the picking apparatus 1. This loading conveyor 21
Is a belt conveyor having an endless belt 22;
On the surface of this belt 22, a bar 23 protruding with the same width as the belt width
Are provided at equal intervals along the longitudinal direction of the belt. The starting conveyor surface of the carry-in conveyor 21 is the belt conveyor 11
, The terminal-side transport surface is disposed above the conveyor 11, and a space between the start-side transport surface and the terminal-side transport surface is formed as a rising inclined transport surface.

At the end of the carry-in conveyor 21 in the article carrying direction a, a chute for guiding an article carried by the carry-in conveyor 21 to a receiving position A for receiving a shuttle body 25 described later.
24 are arranged.

A shuttle body 25 is disposed so as to be reciprocally movable by a shuttle conveyor 26 in a shuttle moving direction b orthogonal to the article conveying direction a of the carry-in conveyor 21 with reference to the receiving position A.

The shuttle body 25 has a plurality of (seven in this embodiment) sorting mechanisms 27 as storage portions, and the plurality of sorting mechanisms 27 are arranged side by side in the shuttle moving direction b. Each sorting mechanism 27 is a frame in which side plates 28 are erected from both sides in the shuttle movement direction b.
29, and the article transport direction a of both side plates 28 of the frame 29
A pair of rollers 30 and 31 are rotatably supported at both ends of the roller, respectively, and an endless belt 32 is stretched between the rollers 30 and 31. One roller 30 on the side of the carry-in conveyor 21 is arranged at an upper position and the other roller 31 is arranged at a lower position, and a belt 32 is stretched so as to be continuous with the chute 24 and inclined downward in the article conveying direction a. ing. Belt 32
A stopper 33 projecting at the same width as the belt 32 is provided at two symmetrical positions on the peripheral surface of the belt. Shuttle body
A plurality of wheels 34 are attached to the lower surface of 25. Each of the sorting mechanisms 27 includes a motor (not shown) that drives the belt 32 to rotate.

Then, as shown in FIG. 2, the articles carried in by the carry-in conveyor 21 are received and stored in the upper surface of the belt in a state where the stopper 33 is located at a position closer to the lower side of the upper surface of the belt. Rotate in the direction of rotation to stop
The articles carried by the carry-in conveyor 21 are stored in the belt upper surface while 33 is moving from the upper position to the lower position on the upper surface of the belt. Also, from the state shown in FIG. 2, the articles stored on the upper surface of the belt 32 are discharged in the article transport direction a by rotating the belt 32 in the counterclockwise direction in FIG.

The shuttle conveyor 26 has a base 36 erected by a plurality of legs 35 in the shuttle moving direction b. A pair of wheels 36 of the shuttle body 25 are rollably engaged on the base 36. Are arranged in parallel. The shuttle conveyor 26 has a drive mechanism (not shown), and the drive mechanism intermittently moves at every pitch of the sorting mechanism 27 so that each sorting mechanism 27 of the shuttle body 25 stops at the receiving position A. Shuttle body 25
Is reciprocated in the shuttle movement direction b.

At positions adjacent to both sides in the shuttle moving direction b with respect to the receiving position A, a plurality of discharging positions B are set in parallel corresponding to the juxtaposed pitch of the sorting mechanism 27. These discharge positions B are two discharge position blocks B symmetrically in the shuttle movement direction b with respect to the receiving position A.
1 and B2 are formed. Each discharge position block B1,
The number of discharge positions B of B2 is set to be smaller by one than the number of sorting mechanisms 27 of the shuttle body 25.

A plurality of sorting sections 38 which respectively receive the articles discharged from the respective sorting mechanisms 27 of the shuttle body 25, facing the respective discharge positions B of the respective discharge position blocks B1, B2.
Are arranged. These sorting sections 38 are formed into two sorting blocks 39a and 39b symmetrically in the shuttle movement direction b with respect to the receiving position A. Each sorting section 38 is a stand
Each of the chutes 41 is disposed on the lower side of the belt 32 of each sorting mechanism 27 located at the discharge position B so as to be continuously inclined downward. On both sides of the chute 41, partition plates 42 are erected,
At the lower end, a stop plate 43 is provided upright.

The conveying device 3 includes a roller conveyor disposed along the lower end of the chute 41 of each sorting section 38.
The roller conveyor 51 is driven by a drive mechanism (not shown), and is a cardboard box 52 as a separate container for order.
Can be transported. Then, positions corresponding to the respective sorting sections 38 on the roller conveyor 51 are configured as order-specific storage sections 53 for storing the articles sorted into the respective sorting sections 38 in the cardboard box 52. The downstream side of the roller conveyor 51 is conveyed to a packing step for packing a cardboard box 52 in which articles are stored.

Next, the operation of the first embodiment will be described.

As shown in FIG. 1, the shuttle body 25 has been moved to the left sorting block 39a side.
The description will be made assuming that the rightmost sorting mechanism 27 of the 25 is located at the receiving position A and the remaining sorting mechanisms 27 are located at the respective discharging positions B.

By the picking device 1, a required number of articles of a kind corresponding to one order are ejected from each article storing and ejecting unit 12 to a set area of the belt surface on which the belt conveyor 11 moves, and further to the area. Belt conveyor
The required number of articles corresponding to the next order are ejected to the area of the moving belt surface of the
The articles ejected for each order on the moving belt surface are separated and conveyed for each order.

Articles of different orders conveyed by the belt conveyor 11 are received by the carry-in conveyor 21 and are carried from the carry-in conveyor 21 through the chute 24 onto the sorting mechanism 27 located at the receiving position A for storage. That is, as shown in FIG. 2, the sorting mechanism 27 at the receiving position A receives the articles carried in by the carry-in conveyor 21 in the state where the stopper 33 is located at the lower side of the upper surface of the belt and stores the articles on the belt upper surface. As the stopper 32 rotates counterclockwise in FIG. 2 and the stopper 33 moves from a position closer to the upper side to a position closer to the lower side of the belt upper surface, articles carried by the carry-in conveyor 21 are received and stored in the belt upper surface.

After the goods of one order are carried in from the carry-in conveyor 21 onto the sorting mechanism 27 located at the receiving position A and stored therein, before the goods of the next order are carried in,
The shuttle body 25 is moved to the right by one pitch of the sorting mechanism 27, and the sorting mechanism 27 adjacent to the sorting mechanism 27 storing the articles is positioned at the receiving position A. An article of the next order is carried in from the carry-in conveyor 21 onto the sorting mechanism 27 moved to the receiving position A.

In this way, when articles are carried in and sorted by order into the sorting mechanism 27 moved to the receiving position A, the shuttle body 25 intermittently moves rightward by one pitch of the sorting mechanism 27. Then, articles of different orders are stored in order from the sorting mechanism 27 on the right side.

When the shuttle body 25 moves to the rightmost position, the leftmost sorting mechanism 27 is moved to the receiving position A, and each of the other sorting mechanisms 27 is moved to each discharging position B of the right sorting block 39b. You. In a state where the shuttle body 25 is moved to the rightmost position, the belt 32 of each sorting mechanism 27 located at each discharge position B is moved to the position shown in FIG.
Rotated in the counterclockwise direction, the articles stored on the belt upper surface are discharged onto the chutes 41 of each sorting section 38,
At the same time, the next order goods are carried in from the carry-in conveyor 21 onto the leftmost sorting mechanism 27 located at the receiving position A.

The articles discharged onto the chutes 41 of the respective sorting sections 38 of the right sorting block 39b slide down on the chutes 41 and move to the lower end side, that is, to the side of the worker who performs the packing operation in the order-specific storage section 53. Can be Then, in the order-specific storage section 53, the operator takes out the article on the chute 41 of each sorting section 38, inspects it against a slip or the like, and places the cardboard box on the roller conveyor 51 while inspecting the article.
Pack into 52. This boxing operation is performed by six sorting units 38.
May be carried out by one worker, or 6
Six workers may be individually in charge of each sorting section 38, and the number of workers may be appropriately determined according to the picking speed or the like.

Then, the cardboard box 52, which has been packed, is sent to a subsequent process by the roller conveyor 51.

After the shuttle body 25 moves to the rightmost side, the direction of movement of the shuttle body 25 is reversed and moved toward the left side, similarly to the case where the shuttle body 25 moves toward the right side. , Each sorting mechanism 27 of the shuttle body 25
Are sequentially stored.

When the shuttle body 25 moves to the leftmost position, the rightmost sorting mechanism 27 is moved to the receiving position A, and the other sorting mechanisms 27 are moved to the respective discharging positions B of the left sorting block 39a. You. In a state where the shuttle body 25 is moved to the leftmost position, the articles stored in the respective sorting mechanisms 27 located at the respective discharging positions B are discharged onto the chutes 41 of the sorting sections 38, and at the same time, the receiving positions A Is carried in from the carry-in conveyor 21 onto the leftmost sorting mechanism 27 located at the next position.

As described above, the sorting mechanisms 27 of the shuttle body 25 are reciprocated between the receiving position A for the articles and the discharging position B adjacent to the receiving position A, so that the sorting mechanisms 27 are received at the receiving position A. The articles stored for each order can be discharged at the discharge position B and sorted into a plurality of sorting sections 38, so that there is no need for a large number of containers or a transport mechanism for transporting these containers as in the related art, and simplification, miniaturization and Space can be saved.

Also, two sorting blocks 39a and 39b are provided symmetrically in the reciprocating movement direction of the shuttle body 25 with respect to the receiving position A, and the shuttle body 25 is provided with the two sorting blocks 39a and 39b.
By reciprocating to b, it is possible to handle high-speed sorting of articles while being small.

The sorting section of each sorting block 39a, 39b.
38 are juxtaposed in accordance with the juxtaposition pitch of the plurality of sorting mechanisms 27 of the shuttle body 25, and each sorting block 39
Since the number of sorting sections 38 of a and 39b is one less than the number of sorting mechanisms 27, even if the shuttle body 25 moves to any of the sorting blocks 39a and 39b, one sorting mechanism 27 is located at the receiving position. In addition, the article can be discharged and received at the same time, and it is possible to cope with high-speed sorting of articles.

The provision of such a sorting device 2 makes it possible to cope with high-speed picking processing.

FIG. 3 shows a second embodiment, and FIG. 3 is a plan view of a picking system.

In the second embodiment, the transfer device 3
Then, the conveyors 62a and 62b that are branched into two from the upstream conveyor 61 and disposed in the respective sorting blocks 39a and 39b are used. Then, the empty cardboard box 52 conveyed by the conveyor 61 on the upstream side is divided and supplied to each of the conveyors 61a and 61b.

In the above-described embodiment, two sorting blocks 39a and 39b are provided. However, two or more sorting blocks are provided, and articles of different orders are sequentially sorted into sorting sections of the two or more sorting blocks. By doing so, it may be possible to support high-speed sorting processing.

[0045]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, each storage section of the shuttle body is reciprocated between the receiving position of the article and the discharge position adjacent to the receiving position, so that each storage section is received at the receiving position. The products stored in each unit can be discharged at the discharge position and sorted into a plurality of sorting sections, eliminating the need for a large number of containers and a transport mechanism for transporting these containers as in the past, simplifying and reducing the size. And space saving.

According to the sorting apparatus of the second aspect, in addition to the effect of the sorting apparatus of the first aspect, the shuttle body is reciprocated between the receiving position and each of the plurality of sorting blocks, so that a plurality of articles can be moved. By sorting sequentially into the sorting sections of each sorting block, high-speed sorting processing can be supported.

According to the sorting device of the third aspect, in addition to the effect of the sorting device of the second aspect, two sorting blocks are provided symmetrically in the reciprocating movement direction of the shuttle body with respect to the receiving position. By moving the body back and forth between the two sorting blocks, it is possible to cope with high-speed sorting of articles while being small.

According to the sorting apparatus of the fourth aspect, in addition to the effect of the sorting apparatus of the third aspect, the sorting section of each sorting block is arranged in parallel with the arrangement pitch of the plurality of storage sections of the shuttle body. And the number of sorting sections of each sorting block is provided one less than the number of storage sections, so that even when the shuttle body moves to any of the sorting blocks, one storage section is located at the receiving position, It is possible to discharge and receive articles at the same time, and to cope with high-speed sorting of articles.

According to the picking system of the fifth aspect, by providing the sorting apparatus of any one of the first to fourth aspects, it is possible to cope with high-speed picking processing.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a picking system according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the picking system according to the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of a picking system according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

[Description of Signs] 1 Picking device 2 Sorting device 3 Transport device 21 Carry-in conveyor 25 Shuttle body 26 Shuttle conveyor 27 Sorting mechanism as storage section 38 Sorting sections 39a, 39b Sorting block 52 Cardboard box as order-specific container 53 Order-specific storage Part A Receiving position B Discharging position

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A sorting apparatus for sorting articles in units of one unit, comprising: a carry-in conveyor for conveying the goods in units of one unit; and a unit for receiving and storing the goods carried in by the carry-in conveyor in units of one unit. A shuttle body in which a plurality of storage sections for selectively discharging the stored articles of each unit can be selectively arranged, and a receiving position of the articles to be carried in by the carry-in conveyor with each of the storage sections of the shuttle body. A shuttle conveyor for reciprocating movement to a discharge position adjacent to the receiving position, and a plurality of sorting units for receiving the articles of each unit discharged from each storage unit of the shuttle moved to the discharge position. A sorting device. 2. A sorting block comprising a plurality of sorting sections as one sorting block, wherein the shuttle conveyor reciprocates a shuttle body between a receiving position and each of the sorting blocks. Sorting equipment. 3. The shuttle conveyor according to claim 2, wherein two sorting blocks are provided symmetrically in the reciprocating movement direction of the shuttle body with respect to the receiving position, and the shuttle conveyor reciprocates the shuttle body into the two sorting blocks. A sorting device as described. 4. The sorting section of each sorting block is arranged side by side corresponding to the juxtaposed pitch of the plurality of storage sections of the shuttle body, and the number of sorting sections of each sorting block is one less than the number of storage sections. The sorting device according to claim 3, wherein the sorting device is provided. 5. A picking device for picking up articles by order, a sorting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the articles picked by said picking apparatus are sorted by order, and a plurality of sorting sections of said sorting apparatus. A picking system, comprising: an order-specific storage unit for storing sorted articles according to order in an order-specific container; and a transfer device configured to transfer the order-specific container from the order-specific storage unit.