JPH10310207A - Picking device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To automatize replenishment of articles and to certainly picked them by summarizing the articles separately for orders by a summarizing conveyor by delivering them from a picking means corresponding to them at the time of ordering, conveying articles to be replenished by a replenishing conveyor at the time of replenishing the articles and automatically replenishing them to the picking means by receiving them by a replenishing means. SOLUTION: Articles are summarized separately for orders from a summarizing conveyor 1 and delivered to a tray 32 of an order assortment part 31 separately for the orders in the lump from the summarizing conveyor 1 even in the case when the articles for the orders are delivered from a plural number of ball pickers 2 and fast pickers 3 to the summarizing conveyor 1. Additionally, replenishment of the articles is automatized to receive the articles to be replenished which are conveyed by a replenishing conveyor to an automatic replenisher and to replenish them to the corresponding ball pickers 2, labour saving and reduction of replenishing time are attempted, erroneous replenishment of articles of different kinds is prevented, and the articles ordered for are certainly picked.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a picking apparatus for picking up articles by order.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a picking device of this kind is used, for example, in a distribution center or the like in which a plurality of types of articles such as commodities and parts are stored collectively and the ordered articles are delivered to the order destination. Has been adopted.

[0003] As a method of picking up articles by order, articles are stored by type on a product shelf or the like, and a worker walks and moves along with an order-specific case to a storage location of the article where the order is placed. There is a method of picking the articles that have been found one by one and collecting them in separate order cases. In this method, the worker must pick while walking and walking, so that much time is spent for the picking work for walking and the picking error may occur.

As a method of automatically picking up articles by order, articles are loaded into a plurality of picking means by type, and the articles are paid out from each picking means loaded with the ordered article. There is a method in which articles paid out by order are conveyed by a conveyor and collected in order-specific cases. With this method, the picking operation can be saved and the picking mistake can be prevented.

[0005] To replenish these picking means, the worker transports a replenishment article container (original bundling) such as a case containing the article to be replenished to the picking means, and refills the replenishment article container. Are taken out of the apparatus and loaded into the picking means.

[0006]

However, when replenishing articles to the picking means, a replenishment article container containing articles to be replenished must be transported to the picking means and loaded. Transport work is required, and much of the replenishment work is spent on the walking movement of the worker. Moreover, if the articles are replenished to different types of picking means, different types of articles may be paid out at the time of picking.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and has been made in consideration of the above circumstances. It is an object of the present invention to provide a picking device capable of reliably picking an ordered product.

[0008]

A picking device according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of picking means for paying out ordered goods, an aggregating conveyor for collecting the goods delivered from these picking means for each order, and said picking means. A replenishing conveyor for transporting replenished articles to the plurality of picking means, and a replenishing means for receiving replenished articles conveyed by the replenishing conveyor and refilling the corresponding picking means. Is what it is.

At the time of ordering, the ordered goods are paid out from the corresponding picking means, and the goods paid out from the picking means are collected for each order by the collecting conveyor.
When replenishing the articles, the replenishment conveyor conveys the replenished articles, receives the replenished articles by the replenishing means, and automatically replenishes the corresponding picking means. This makes it possible to automate the replenishment of articles to the picking means, save labor and shorten the replenishment time, prevent erroneous replenishment of different types of articles, and reliably pick the ordered articles at the time of ordering. .

[0010] The picking means includes a storage section for storing the articles and a dispenser for dispensing the articles stored in the storage section, so that the articles can be dispensed one by one or collectively. The replenishing means includes various conveyors, robots, and the like, and enables articles to be transported to the corresponding picking means and loaded.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided the picking device according to the first aspect, wherein a plurality of picking means are arranged side by side, and an integrated conveyor for dispensing articles is arranged at one end of the picking means in the side by side direction. In addition, a replenishing conveyor for replenishing the articles is provided at the other end side, and can be configured in an installation layout that can efficiently pay out the articles to the picking means and replenish the articles.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the picking apparatus of the first or second aspect, a plurality of picking means are arranged in a plurality of rows, and an article is provided between the adjacent picking means for each picking means. Is provided, and the replenishing means can be shared by a plurality of picking means.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a picking device according to any one of the first to third aspects, wherein the picking means is arranged in a plurality of stages in a vertical direction, and the articles discharged from the plurality of stages of the picking means are arranged in one. It is equipped with a consolidation and dispensing means that collects and conveys to a consolidation conveyor at a location, enabling the type of articles or the storage amount of articles to be increased, and even if the number of picking means is increased, a plurality of Since only the tiers are provided, it is possible to efficiently replenish the articles by the replenishing means.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a picking device according to the fourth aspect, wherein the collective dispensing means includes a stage-by-stage conveyor provided for each stage for receiving and transporting articles delivered from each stage of the picking device. One having a continuous conveyor that connects vertically adjacent conveyors at the ends of these conveyors, and a dispensing conveyor that discharges articles collected on any one of the conveyors to the aggregate conveyor. Therefore, even if the picking means is arranged in a plurality of stages in the vertical direction, the articles paid out by
Consolidate the parts and pay them out to the consolidation conveyor.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the picking apparatus according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, further comprising a replenishment article loading section for receiving an article to be replenished from the replenishment conveyor and loading the article into the replenishing means. Of the articles conveyed by the replenishment conveyor, only the articles to be replenished are received by the replenishment article loading section and loaded into the replenishment means, thereby preventing the loading of articles other than the replenishment target into the replenishment means. In addition, it is not necessary to confirm whether or not the article is a replenishment target, and the article can be efficiently replenished.

[0016]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the picking device of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a picking device, and FIG.
Is a collective conveyor, on both sides of the collective conveyor 1, a plurality of (first) ball pickers 2 as picking means.
And a plurality of first pickers 3 as (second) picking means.

The consolidating conveyor 1 is constituted by a belt conveyor, and the articles paid out by order from each ball picker 2 and each first picker 3 are placed by order and conveyed in the direction of the arrow in the figure.

Each of the ball pickers 2 has a plurality of flow racks 11 arranged side by side in a direction orthogonal to the centralized conveyor 1, and these flow racks 11 are larger than the articles handled by the first picker 3. The plurality of articles are stored by type and are inclined downward in the dispensing direction so as to always bring the articles in the dispensing direction. The dispensing side of each flow rack 11 receives the electric dispensing signal and dispenses the articles one by one. A dispenser 12 is provided. The flow rack 11 and the dispenser 12 are arranged in a plurality of stages (for example, four stages) in the vertical direction.

As shown in FIG. 2, each of the ball pickers 2 is provided with an aggregate dispensing means 13 for consolidating articles according to orders, which are dispensed by the dispensers 12 from the flow racks 11 of each stage, into one place and dispensing them to the aggregation conveyor 1. Have. The integrated dispensing means 13 has stage-by-stage conveyors 14 provided for each stage that receives and conveys articles dispensed by the dispenser 12 from the flow rack 11 of each stage, and these stage-wise conveyors 14 vertically adjacent to each other. It is configured to convey articles in opposite directions. A continuous conveyor 15 such as a spiral curve belt conveyor that conveys articles continuously to the lower step conveyor 14 adjacent to the lower side is provided at an end of each step conveyor 14 in the conveying direction. At the end of the lowermost staged conveyor 14 in the transport direction, a payout conveyor 16 that pays out the articles collected by the lowermost staged conveyor 14 to the integrated conveyor 1 is provided.

Each of the first pickers 3 has a pay-out conveyor 21 arranged in a direction orthogonal to the centralized conveyor 1, and a plurality of first pickers 3 are arranged in parallel along both sides of the pay-out conveyor 21. ing. Each of the first pickers 3 has a storage section 22 for storing a plurality of small articles, which are smaller than the articles handled by the ball picker 2, in a substantially vertical direction for each type, and an electric payout signal is provided below each of the storage sections 22. A dispenser (not shown) for receiving and dispensing articles one by one to the dispensing conveyor 21 is provided. The delivery conveyor 21 places and transports articles by order and pays them out to the consolidating conveyor 1.

At the leading end of the consolidating conveyor 1 in the transport direction, an order-specific sorting section 31 is provided. The order-specific sorting section 31 has a plurality of trays 32 for collectively storing the articles grouped by order. These trays 32 are located between the position of the leading end of the consolidating conveyor 1 in the transport direction and the position of the article packing section 33. Are sequentially circulated. In the article stuffing unit 33, articles according to order are collectively transmitted from the tray 32, and the collectively transmitted articles according to order are packed into the shipping case 34 while inspecting them against a shipping slip or the like. As the shipping case 34, a foldable container or a cardboard box for distribution is used.

A shipping conveyor 35 is used for carrying the shipping case 34 into the article packing section 33 and unloading the shipping case 34 packed with articles. A case supply unit (not shown) for supplying the shipping case 34 is provided upstream of the shipping conveyor 35, and a number of shipping cases 34 are provided downstream of the case supply unit.
And a storage unit 36 capable of returning a predetermined number of shipping cases 34 to the shipping conveyor 35 at a predetermined time. Between the storage section 36 and the article packing section 33, an article loading section 37 for loading articles larger in size than articles handled by the ball picker 2 onto the shipping conveyor 35 is provided.

A replenishment conveyor 41 for transporting replenishment articles is provided for each ball picker 2 and each first picker 3. Upstream of the replenishment conveyor 41, it is connected to an automatic warehouse for storing articles in pallet units or case units and for automatically replenishing article containers (original bundling) such as pallets and cases. . The replenishment conveyor 41 has a supply conveyor section 42 connected to the exit of the automatic warehouse. The supply conveyor section 42 branches off to both sides of the consolidation conveyor 1 and the ball pickers 2 and the first pickers 3. A branch conveyor section 43 is provided along the end opposite to the centralized conveyor 1.

A replenishment article loading section (replenishment station) 44 is provided between rows of adjacent ball pickers 2. Each of the replenishment article loading units 44 is capable of receiving, from the replenishment conveyor 41, a replenishment article container containing an article to be refilled into the corresponding ball picker 2, and a replenishment article container containing an extra article. Can be returned to the replenishment conveyor 41.

An automatic replenishing machine 45 is provided between adjacent rows of the ball pickers 2 as replenishing means for replenishing replenishing articles to the corresponding ball pickers 2. The automatic replenishing machine 45 includes various conveyors and robots. When a replenishing article is loaded in the article loading section (loading station) 45a of the automatic replenishing machine 45 in the replenishing article loading section 44, the replenishing article is handled. The ball picker 2 is transported to the place where the ball is to be picked up and automatically loaded into the flow rack 11 of the ball picker 2.

For each row of the first picker 3,
A pull-in conveyor 46 for receiving a replenishment article container containing articles to be replenished from the replenishment conveyor 41 for the corresponding first picker 3 is provided. A receiving portion 47 for receiving a replenishment article container is installed adjacent to the pull-in conveyor 46 and in the vicinity of the corresponding first picker 3, and the replenishment product received by the receiving portion 47 is provided between the receiving portion 47 and the first picker 3. A plurality of replenishing shelves 48 for housing the containers are provided.

The downstream side of each branch conveyor section 43 of the replenishment conveyor 41 is connected to a return conveyor section 49. Downstream of the return conveyor unit 49, a storage conveyor that conveys to an entrance of an automatic warehouse or a container discharge conveyor that conveys an empty replenishment article container is connected.

At the downstream side of one branch conveyor section 43, corresponding to each article input section 37, a draw-in conveyor for transporting a replenishment article container containing articles to be refilled to the corresponding article input section 37. 50 are arranged. This retracting conveyor 50
A receiving section 51 for receiving a replenishment article container is provided adjacent to the corresponding article input section 37 adjacent to the receiving section 51, and the replenishment article container received by the receiving section 51 between the receiving section 51 and the article input section 37. Are stored.

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

Each order from a plurality of customers is collectively managed by a host computer, and the host computer controls picking of articles for each order. Each order includes one or more order types, and includes one or more orders.

In the ball picker 2, the dispenser 12 of the ball picker 2 for storing the ordered articles is operated, and the articles are dispensed onto the step-by-step conveyor 14 and conveyed. At this time, the articles in the same order are sequentially paid out to an area defined for each order of the step conveyor 14. For example, when articles are dispensed from the uppermost stage and the lower stage, respectively, when the articles dispensed to the lower stage conveyor 14 at the uppermost stage are conveyed to the lower stage conveyor 14, the items discharged at the uppermost stage are removed. The goods from the lower stage are paid out to the vicinity area. Therefore, even when a plurality of articles are dispensed from the ball picker 2, the articles are collected by order until they are conveyed from the lowermost conveyor 14 to the payout conveyor 16, and the goods are delivered from the payout conveyor 16 to the consolidation conveyor 1. Are paid out collectively for each order.

In the first picker 3, the dispenser of the storage section 22 for storing the ordered target articles is operated, and the articles are delivered to the delivery conveyor 21 and conveyed. At this time, articles in the same order are sequentially paid out to an area defined for each order of the payout conveyor 21.
For example, when articles are paid out from the upstream side of the payout conveyor 21 and the downstream side thereof, respectively,
When the articles paid out to the downstream side are conveyed to the article discharging position on the downstream side, the articles from the downstream side are paid out to a region near the articles paid out on the upstream side. Therefore, even when a plurality of articles are dispensed from the first picker 3, the articles are collected by order before being conveyed to the downstream side of the payout conveyor 21, and the goods are collectively collected by order from the payout conveyor 21 to the consolidated conveyor 1. Paid out.

Then, as shown in FIG. 3, for each order,
The articles from the ball picker 2 and the first picker 3 are paid out to the collecting conveyor 1. At this time, as shown in FIG. 4, articles in the same order are sequentially paid out to the order area partitioned by order of the consolidating conveyor 1. For example, when articles are dispensed from the plurality of ball pickers 2 and the first picker 3, when the articles dispensed to the collecting conveyor 1 on the upstream side are transported to the article dispensing position on the downstream side, the articles are dispensed on the upstream side. The articles from the downstream side are paid out to the area near the articles.

Further, in the order area, relatively large articles dispensed from the ball picker 2 are collected on the downstream side, and relatively small articles dispensed from the first picker 3 are collected on the upstream side. Therefore, when articles are paid out to the tray 32 of the sorting unit 31 described later, a relatively large and heavy article is placed on the lower side of the tray 32 and a relatively small and light article is placed thereon. An article is placed on the article, and the relatively small and light article can be prevented from being damaged.

In addition, an order gap is defined on the upstream side of the order area so as to partition the order area from another order area. The order area and the order gap form one order pitch for each order. A plurality of order pitches for each order are continuously formed.

Therefore, even if articles are sorted by order from the plurality of ball pickers 2 and the first picker 3 to the gathering conveyor 1, the articles are gathered by order before being conveyed to the downstream side of the gathering conveyor 1. Then, the articles are collectively paid out by order from the aggregation conveyor 1 to the tray 32 of the order-specific sorting section 31.

The order-specific articles placed on each tray 32 of the order-specific sorting section 31 are sent to an article packing section 33, where the order-specific articles are checked against a shipping slip or the like. The product is packed in the shipping case while inspecting the product, and the shipping case filled with the articles is carried out to the shipping area by the shipping conveyor. A shipping case 34 has been loaded into the article packing section 33 in advance.

In the case where there is an order for an article larger than the article handled by the ball picker 2, the article is taken out of the replenishing shelf 52 in the article input section 37 and is shipped.
Introduced to 35.

Next, replenishment of articles will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

The storage state of the articles in each ball picker 2 and each first picker 3 is always managed by the host computer, and the kinds of articles reduced by payout are replenished.

A replenishment article container containing articles to be replenished is discharged from the automatic warehouse in units of pallets or cases (steps 1, 2, and 3). The replenishment article container discharged from this automatic warehouse is supplied to the supply conveyor section of the replenishment conveyor 41.
Through 42, it is sent to the branch conveyor section 43 on the side corresponding to the ball picker 2 and the first picker 3 to be refilled.

The replenishment article container to be refilled into the ball picker 2 is a refill article loading section of the ball picker 2 to be refilled.
The process branches to 44 from above the branch conveyor section 43 (step 4).

In the replenishment article loading section 44, an operator takes out a required number of articles from the replenishment article container and loads the articles into the article loading section 45a of the automatic replenishing machine 45 (step 5,
6). In the replenishment article loading section 44, an instruction is displayed on the type of replenishment article and the number of replenishments, and the worker performs replenishment work according to the instruction display.

The automatic replenishing machine 45 transports the articles loaded in the article loading section 45a to the corresponding ball picker 2 and reloads them by loading them on the free rack 11 (step 7).

The replenishment article container from which the articles have been taken out is returned from the replenishment article loading section 44 onto the branch conveyor section 43 and sent to the return conveyor section 49. If there are any remaining articles in the replenishment article container (step 8), they are re-entered into the automatic warehouse (step 9), and if the replenishment article container becomes empty (step 10), the return conveyor is used. It is sent from the unit 49 to the container carrying-out conveyor (step 11).

On the other hand, the replenishment article container to be replenished to the first picker 3 is branched from the branch conveyor section 43 to the pull-in conveyor 46 of the first picker 3 to be replenished (step 12), and the corresponding first picker 3 and replenishment shelf are provided. It is received by the receiving part 47 near 48 (step 13).

The operator transfers the replenishment article container of the receiving section 47 to the corresponding replenishment shelf 48 and replenishes it (step 1).
Four). Then, the articles are taken out from the replenishment article container placed on the replenishment shelf 48 and replenished to the corresponding storage section of the first picker 3.

As described above, in order to receive the replenished articles conveyed by the replenishment conveyor 41 into the automatic replenishing machine 45 and replenish them to the corresponding ball pickers 2, the replenishment of the articles to the ball pickers 2 is automated, and labor saving and It is possible to shorten the replenishment time, prevent erroneous replenishment of different types of articles, and reliably pick the ordered articles.

Further, the ball pickers 2 are arranged in a plurality of stages in the vertical direction, and articles to be paid out from the ball pickers 2 in a plurality of levels are collected into one place by the collecting and discharging means 13 and discharged to the collecting conveyor 1. In this case, the automatic replenishing machine 45 can efficiently replenish the articles because the number of the ball pickers 2 can be increased even if the number of the ball pickers 2 is increased.

The collective dispensing means 13 receives the articles dispensed from the ball pickers 2 of each step on the step-by-step conveyors 14 and conveys the articles. In order to collect the goods on another conveyor 14 and pay out the collected goods to the collecting conveyor 1 by the payout conveyor 16, even if the ball pickers 2 are arranged in multiple stages in the vertical direction, the goods to be paid by order are collected in one place. Can be paid out to the consolidating conveyor 1.

Further, among the articles conveyed by the replenishment conveyor 41, only the articles to be replenished can be received by the replenishment article loading section 44 and loaded into the automatic replenishment machine 45. Loading can be prevented, and it is not necessary to confirm whether or not the article is a replenishment target, and the article can be efficiently replenished.

[0053]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the replenishment conveyed by the replenishment conveyor is received by the replenishment means and replenished to the corresponding picking means, so that the replenishment of the articles to the picking means is automated. It is possible to save labor and shorten the replenishment time, and it is possible to prevent erroneous replenishment of different types of articles and to reliably pick the ordered articles.

According to the picking device of the second aspect,
In addition to the effect of the picking device according to claim 1, a plurality of picking means are juxtaposed, and an aggregation conveyor for paying out articles at one end in the juxtaposition direction of these picking means is arranged, and at the other end, articles are arranged. Since the replenishing conveyor for replenishing the articles is provided, the layout can be configured so that the articles can be paid out to the picking means and the articles can be replenished efficiently.

According to the picking device of the third aspect,
In addition to the effect of the picking device according to claim 1 or 2, a replenishing means is provided in which a plurality of picking means are arranged in a plurality of rows and articles can be replenished to each picking means between these adjacent picking means. Because of the arrangement, the replenishing means can be shared by a plurality of picking means.

According to the picking device of the fourth aspect,
In addition to the effects of the picking device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, a plurality of picking means are vertically arranged,
Since the articles paid out from the plurality of stages of picking means are collected at one place by the collecting and paying means and paid out to the collecting conveyor, the type of the goods or the storage amount of the goods can be increased, and the number of picking means is increased. Are also arranged in a plurality of stages in the vertical direction, so that the replenishing means can efficiently replenish the articles.

According to the picking device of the fifth aspect,
In addition to the effect of the picking device according to claim 4, the collecting and dispensing means receives the articles discharged from the picking means of each stage on a stage-by-stage conveyor, and conveys the articles through the continuous conveyor at the end of the stage-by-stage conveyor. Or 1
In order to consolidate the goods on two separate conveyors and pay out the collected goods to the consolidation conveyor by the payout conveyor, the goods to be paid out by order are collected in one place even if the picking means is arranged in multiple stages vertically. Can be paid out to an aggregation conveyor.

According to the picking device of the sixth aspect,
In addition to the effect of the picking device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, among the articles conveyed by the replenishment conveyor, only the articles to be replenished can be received by the replenishment article loading section and loaded into the replenishment means. It is possible to prevent the replenishing means from being loaded with articles other than the above, and it is not necessary to confirm whether the article is a replenishment target, and the article can be efficiently replenished.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a picking device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2A and 2B show the same-size payout means, FIG. 2A is a plan view of the same-size payout means, and FIG. 2B is a front view of the same-size payout means.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram illustrating aggregation of articles by order by the aggregation conveyor.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the aggregation of articles for each order on the aggregation conveyor.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of an article replenishment process according to the embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Consolidation Conveyor 2 Ball Picker as Picking Means 13 Consolidation Dispensing Means 14 Conveyor Separately 15 Continuous Conveyor 16 Dispensing Conveyor 41 Replenishment Conveyor 44 Replenishment Article Loading Unit 45 Automatic Refilling Machine as Replenishment Means

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A plurality of picking means for paying out ordered goods, an aggregating conveyor for aggregating the goods paid out from these picking means on an order basis, a replenishing conveyor for transporting replenished goods to the picking means, And a replenishing means for receiving replenished articles conveyed by the replenishing conveyor and refilling the corresponding picking means. 2. A plurality of picking means are juxtaposed, a consolidating conveyor for paying out articles is arranged at one end of the picking means in the juxtaposition direction, and a replenishing conveyor for replenishing articles is arranged at the other end. The picking device according to claim 1, wherein the picking device is provided. 3. A plurality of picking means are arranged side by side in a plurality of rows, and a replenishing means capable of replenishing an article to each picking means is provided between the adjacent picking means. The picking device according to claim 1. 4. A picking means comprising a plurality of vertically arranged picking means, and a collective payout means for collecting articles paid out from the plurality of picking means into one place and paying out the goods to a collecting conveyor. The picking device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein 5. An integrated dispensing means comprising: a stage-by-stage conveyor provided for each stage for receiving and transporting an article to be expelled from each stage of picking unit; and a stage-by-stage conveyor vertically adjacent at an end of the stage-by-stage conveyor. The picking device according to claim 4, further comprising: a continuous conveyor that continuously feeds the sheets, and a discharge conveyor that discharges the articles collected on any one of the step-by-step conveyors to the consolidated conveyor. 6. The picking apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a replenishment article loading section for receiving an article to be refilled from the replenishment conveyor and loading the article into the replenishing means.