JPS60112505A - Automatic commodity picking system in unattended store - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To improve the working efficiency while to save manpower and to prevent error by travelling a gondola on a route while arranging an automatic commodity carrying shelf, load pass station, etc. along said route and delivering required commodities during single circulation. CONSTITUTION:At the starting point, an empty commodity container 3 is mounted on a gondola 2 and travelled on a route 1 with constant pitch. An automatic commodity carrying shelf 4 mounting a load pass section 3 and terminal controller 5 is arranged along said route 1 for every commodity. Upon provision of commodity information such as reservation from host computer 7 through a signal 8 to central controller 6, it is processed together with informations from gondola travel position detecting sensor 10 to control a terminal controller 5 of specified commodity carrying shelf 4 thus to carry out the commodity to specific gondola 2. With such arrangement, commodities can be handled accurately with high efficiency resulting in saving of manpower.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] [Technical field to which the invention pertains]

This invention is also collectively known as direct marketing, and has recently been implemented by some companies to sell products in non-store stores that primarily sell daily necessities such as fresh foods, bread, and vegetables. Regarding automatic biwaking system.

[Prior art and its problems]

The above-mentioned non-store sales method is based on a membership system based on each household, in which pre-orders received by telephone from customers who are members of the association, or pre-orders received at visits by staff are entered into a host computer. Based on the product information, this host computer creates product purchasing, shipping plans, and order lists for each customer on a daily basis based on the product information. This is a sales method in which the products are sorted into five product storage boxes for each customer, stored in batches, and then delivered to each home.Furthermore, payment is collected by automatic withdrawal via the bank. This non-store sales method is attracting attention as a sales method that is compatible with the information society that has developed with the development of information network systems, and is expected to become even more popular in the future. By the way, in the current product pinking system that is currently in operation, most of the work for sorting products by customer based on product information is done manually. In other words, workers manually issue and collect products while viewing a customer-specific order list that is planned and created on a host computer based on pre-orders from customers. Put the product in a customer-specific product storage box,
I'm trying to transport it to a delivery vehicle. For this reason, the current situation is that the information processing function of the host computer is not fully utilized in the system, as the work efficiency is low even though it requires a large number of workers, and there are many mistakes made when inserting the wrong product.

[Purpose of the invention]

This invention was made in consideration of the above points, and its purpose is to make full use of the functions of the current system that manages product information using a host computer, and to further perform sorting, shipping, and collection of products in-house. The purpose is to provide a new and unprecedented automatic product pinking system for non-store stores that automates the transfer, thereby improving work efficiency, preventing mistakes in inserting products, and saving labor. .

[Key points of the invention]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention runs a large number of gondolas within a facility along a specified route from a starting point to a product transport shelf and a delivery point to a delivery vehicle, which will be described later, and back to the starting point. At the same time, along the travel route of this gondola, a large number of product transport shelves are placed side by side around the gondola, storing and waiting for each product type, and automatically transporting the products according to instructions. Then, based on the search for product information based on pre-orders from customers and information on the travel location of the gondola, the controller automatically transports specified products and selectively takes out products from the shelves in accordance with the timing of the gondola's operation. As a result, while the gondola goes around the premises, the products ordered by customers are dispatched, the gondola is collected,
And the transportation of the delivery vehicle to the delivery point can be carried out automatically with little or no human assistance.

[Embodiments of the invention]

Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described based on the drawings shown in FIGS. 1 to 11. First, FIG. 1 shows the layout of the entire system configured within a distribution center. In the figure, 1 is a gondola running rail laid along a predetermined route within the facility, and dozens of gondolas 2, each with a unique number registered, run on this rail at regular intervals. This is how the gondola running line is constructed. The gondola is driven to travel at a slow speed via a chain or tow rope (not shown). Further, at the departure point, each gondola is loaded with an empty product storage box 3. On the other hand, along the travel route of the gondola 20, there is a product transport shelf 4, which stores and waits products according to the type of products handled, and automatically transports the products in response to a delivery command. They are installed side by side on the floor of each floor. The detailed structure of this product transport tlI4 will be described later. Further, each product transport shelf 4 is equipped with a corresponding terminal controller 5, and is connected to a central controller 6 within the facility via a signal line. Furthermore, this central controller 6 connects a post computer 7 installed at another location and a signal line 8 to 3FB.
It is tied together. In the figure, 9 is a distribution board for the in-house power supply circuit, and 1o is a gondola travel position detection sensor installed at key points on the travel route. Detection number 1 δ is input to the central controller 6 to provide position information of each gondola. Also, 11 is used for storing spare product inventory or large products that cannot be handled on the above-mentioned product transport shelves. 12 is a delivery vehicle. Next, Fig. 2 shows a control system diagram of the entire system described above. In the figure, 68 belongs to the medium heat controller 6 and prints necessary information. Journal printer, 13 is CR
A T display, I4 a customer's telephone, 15 a portable data collection terminal carried by a salesperson, and 16 a line printer. Now, the host computer 7 is connected to the telephone 14.
．． It accepts pre-orders from customers manually entered from the data collection terminal 15, organizes product information on a daily basis, that is, plans the number of products to be purchased by item, creates order lists for each customer, etc. On the other hand, the central controller 6 as an object computer manages the product information received from the host computer 7, manages the travel position information of the gondola described in FIG. Under programming control of the host computer 7, it plays the role of giving control commands to the terminal controller 5 of a designated product transport shelf. In addition, the terminal controller 5 controls the operation of the product transport shelf 4 shown in FIG. gives commands to the shelves and performs operational control necessary for product replenishment work. Next, the terminal controller 5 described above will be described in more detail with reference to FIG. In the figure, 17 is a CPU,
18. 19 is a display section for displaying the product code representing the handling item of the product transport shelf given from the host computer through the central controller for each terminal controller and the number of pre-orders for shipping on the same day; 20 is a display section for displaying the product code to be shipped on the same day. This is an operation unit for inputting control commands from the terminal controller 5 to the corresponding product transport shelf when entering the warehouse, etc. It is equipped with various function switches so that if a product removal command is given, the product can be immediately removed from the shelf. A standby switch 20a gives a command to move the trays on the product transport shelf to the unloading standby position, and a cue switch 20b moves the trays on the shelf to a state where products can be sequentially supplied to the product transport shelf when the products are received. A forward switch 20c for forwarding the trays one pitch at a time, a reverse switch 20d for moving the trays on the shelf in the opposite direction, and a stop switch 20d for stopping and canceling the stop of the product transport shelf in the event of an emergency.
It is equipped with a release switch 20e, operation indicator lamps 20f for each function switch, and the like. The procedure for stocking products to the product transport shelf will be described later. Also, the signal input of the terminal controller 5. The output terminals include a drive motor 21 for a product transport shelf and a product removal detection sensor 22, which will be described later. Gondola position detection sensor 2
3. In addition, each detection sensor for standby, cue, and sequential feed of the product tray installed on the transport shelf side 24.25.
26 etc. are connected correspondingly. Note that 27 is an interface inserted in the signal line with the central controller 6 shown in FIG. Next, with reference to FIG. 4, a specific configuration of one embodiment of the above-mentioned product transport rack and the work of transferring products to the gondola will be explained. In the figure, the product conveyance shelf 4 includes an endless conveyor chain mechanism 28 stretched between left and right sprockets, and a large number of product trays 29 (471 to 4[ n)
It is made up of. This conveyor chain mechanism 28 is coupled to the drive motor 21, and the terminal controller 5
Operation is controlled by control commands. Further, a product delivery chute 30 is provided correspondingly to the delivery end side of the transport shelf 4, and the exit of the chute 30 is directed toward a product holder 31 installed on the floor beside the travel route of the gondola 2. It's open. FIG. 4 shows a standby state in which products 32 are stored in each tray 29, and when an unloading command is given to the terminal controller 5 in synchronization with the operation of the gondola 2, the chain mechanism 28 is activated in one pin. The first tray (#1) is tilted and the product 32 is dropped and carried out to the chute 30. The carried out goods are sent to the receiving stand 31, from which they are immediately taken out by the worker, and stored in the goods storage box 3 of the gondola 2 which has traveled in front of them at the same timing. In this case, it is possible to freely select whether the ε chute 30 corresponds one-to-one to one product transport shelf 4, or whether it corresponds to a plurality of shelves in common. In addition, even if the gondola 2 moves to the position of the product holder 31, the product will not be taken out unless a delivery command is given to that product transport shelf, and the gondola 2 will pass by and move to the product transport shelf at the next position. On the other hand, in the product transport shelf 4, in order to detect the position of the tray 29 and to obtain a signal for detecting the delivery of the product 3z, which is necessary for controlling the operation when carrying out the product and loading the product into the tray 29, The various sensors described in Fig. 3 are arranged as shown in Figs.
) is further installed with a position detection piece 34 at a different position, and facing these position detection pieces 33 and 34, each tray position for standby, cueing, and sequential feed as a limit switch described in FIG. 3 is installed. Detection sensors 24, 25 and 26 are arranged as shown. Further, a product removal detection sensor 22 is installed on the product delivery end side to detect the product 32 dropped from the shelf. The detection signals from each of these detection sensors are manually input to the terminal controller as described in FIG. Here, the procedure for warehousing the product to the product transport s4 will be described. The stocking of products on the product transport shelf 4-. is performed as a preparatory work before the system starts operating.
Based on the product information from the host computer described in Figure 12, the third rI! Display sections 18 and 19 indicated by J display product information of the product items and quantities for the day to be stocked on the product transport shelf. While looking at this information, the worker first selects the operating section 20 shown in FIG.
When the cue switch is turned on, the product transport shelf 4 stops when the first tray (#1) in the tray row is located at the left end of the chain mechanism 28, as shown in FIG. Here, if you store the corresponding product 32 in the #1 tray 29 and then turn on the sequential feed switch, the tray row will move to the right one pift at a time. will be held. Then, when the specified quantity of products has been received, turn on the standby switch.
As shown in Figure 8, the first tray (#1) advances to the right end position and stops, completing preparations for delivery. This causes the terminal controller to switch to the automatic picking operation mode, and from then on, the operation of the product transport shelves is controlled so that picking is performed automatically according to commands from the central controller. It is also possible to simultaneously issue cueing and standby commands for all product transport shelves in the facility from the central controller at the same time. Taking all of the above into account, we will now describe the operation of the automatic pinking system using Figure 1. First, at the start of system operation, each gondola is associated with the location of each gondola along the rail 1 along the travel route. Traveling position information is stored in the central controller 6, and when the gondola 2 starts traveling from this state, the traveling position information of the gondola is rewritten every time each gondola 2 passes the gondola traveling position detection sensor 10. If the host computer performs predetermined programming control based on the gondola position information obtained in this way and the product information received from the host computer 7, each gondola will be assigned a registration number while it travels around the facility. When the gondola approaches in time with the operation of the gondola, the products corresponding to the designated customer's reservation order are selectively and sequentially carried out from the product transport shelf 4. Therefore, the worker simply takes out the products carried out from the transport shelf 4 via the chute from the cradle, adjusts the timing, and puts the products into the product storage box 2 of the gondola that has just moved in front of him. This means that you can pick the items correctly without making any mistakes. This allows the picking work to proceed accurately and efficiently.The gondola that has finished pinking the products further travels along the rails to the delivery point to the delivery vehicle 12, where it takes out the product storage box 3. After that, the empty gondola returns to the starting point again.In addition, a delivery slip for each customer is created separately on the host computer 7, and when a product storage box is removed from the gondola, the registration number of the gondola is checked and sent here. The above-mentioned delivery slip is put into the product storage box mounted on the product storage box.The above embodiment shows a method in which the product taken out from the product transport shelf 4 is manually transferred to the gondola by a worker.
It is also possible to directly feed the products from a designated transport rack into a running cylinder without the assistance of a worker, and this embodiment is shown in FIGS. 9 to 11 below. In the figure, the product conveyance shelf 4 is configured such that a conveyor chain mechanism 28 is vertically movable up and down, and products 32 are stored in a flamba type product tray 29 connected to this chain mechanism. Then, when the chain mechanism is driven by a command, the tray moves upward in a mechanical/heterical manner, and the products 32 are sequentially carried out from the top stage toward the carry-out chute 30. On the other hand, the exit of the chute 30 opens toward the product storage box 3 mounted on the gondola 2, and when the gondola approaches the front position of the product transport shelf 4 in synchronization with the gondola's operating number, the product is It is carried out from the shelf, passes through the chute 30, and is directly thrown into the storage box 3. According to this embodiment, since the shelves are vertical, there is an advantage that the occupied floor space is small, and furthermore, the pinking work can be carried out in an unmanned manner, resulting in a large labor-saving effect. Further, in each of the embodiments described above, an empty product storage box 3 is loaded at the departure point of the gondola 2, and products are collected by sequentially putting the products into the storage box at each pinking point along the way. As mentioned above, another method is to run gondolas without installing product storage boxes and load the products to be carried out from the shelves into the gondolas, and in the final process, each gondola takes out the products from the gondola and places them in the product storage boxes. They may be stored all at once.

【Effect of the invention】

As described above, this invention arranges and deploys product transport shelves for each item along the travel route of the gondola that runs within the facility, and uses the controller to send a In accordance with the instructions of the gondola, the product is automatically carried out from the designated product transport shelf in time with the operation of the gondola, and the product is placed in the destination gondola, so that product pinking for each customer is automatically performed. Therefore, compared to the conventional method, it is possible to significantly reduce the number of personnel responsible for product pinking or to make it unmanned, and it also eliminates the possibility of mis-inserting products, and fully utilizes the information processing function of the host computer. It is possible to provide an automatic product picking system that improves work efficiency and saves manpower.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Each figure shows an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 1 is a configuration layout diagram of an automatic product pinking system in a non-store store, Figure 2 is a control system diagram of the entire system, and Figure 3 is a
Figure 4 is a functional block diagram of the terminal controller in the figure, Figure 4 is a configuration diagram of the product transport shelf shown together with the gondola, and Figures 5 and 6 are side views showing the arrangement of various detection U sensors attached to the product transport shelf. and plan views, Figures 7 and 8.
The diagrams show the cueing process when stocking products to the product transport shelf,
FIGS. 9 to 11 are a plan view, a front view, and a side view showing the arrangement of trays in a standby state, respectively, showing the structure of another embodiment different from the product conveyance shelf shown in FIG. 4. 1-Gondola traveling rail, 2-Gondola, 4゜Product transport shelf, 5-Terminal controller, 6-Central controller, 7
- host computer, 10 - gondola traveling position detection sensor, 1B, 19 - display unit, 2° - operation unit, 22 -.
・Product removal detection sensor, 24-standby detection sensor,
25- head first detection sensor, 26 forward feed detection sensor, 2
8-conveyor chain mechanism, 29-tray, 30-export chute, 31=-product holder, 32-product. Figure 2 18 ζ

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1) A non-stick store that collects products of various items specified by each customer from each product storage shelf by item based on product information from customers' pre-orders. An automatic product pinking system, comprising: a gondola running line for running a gondola for collecting products along a designated route within the facility;
A large number of product transport shelves arranged around the gondola running route store and wait products for each item, and automatically transport the products in response to a delivery command, and product information based on customer orders and the movement of the gondola. It consists of a controller that issues orders for the delivery of products to designated product transport shelves in time with the gondola's operation based on location information. An automatic product picking system for a non-store store characterized by selectively taking out products from a product transport shelf and sequentially collecting them in a designated gondola. 2. In the automatic picking system according to claim 1, does the controller receive commands from the center? J is a terminal controller corresponding to each product transport shelf that controls the operation of the product transport shelves, manages product information regarding customers, searches for travel position information of the gondola, and issues commands to the terminal controller based on this information. An automatic product pinking system for non-store stores, comprising a central controller that provides automatic product pinking for non-store stores. 3) In the automatic pinking system according to claim 2, the terminal controller displays a display section of product information regarding the product transport shelf corresponding to the terminal controller, which is provided from the central cone controller, and when storing the product on the product transport shelf. An automatic product pinking system for non-store stores characterized by having an operation unit for manually issuing control commands from a terminal controller to a product transport shelf. 4) The automatic binking system according to claim 2, characterized in that the central controller is connected online to a host computer that collects and manages information on pre-orders from customers, and is controlled by programming from the host computer. Automatic product picking system for non-store stores. 5) In the automatic pinking system as set forth in claim 1, the product conveyance shelf has a large number of product trays mounted in line on the circumference of an endless conveyor chain mechanism, and the end position of the product tray is adjusted by the feeding operation of the chain mechanism. An automatic product pinking system for a non-store store, characterized in that the product is sent out from a pick-up chute to a delivery chute. 6) In the automatic Pinokinke system as set forth in claim 5, the product conveyance shelf includes a position detection sensor for detecting the beginning, sequential feed, and standby of the tray rows arranged along the movement path of the trays, and An automatic product pinking system for non-store stores, characterized by being equipped with a product removal detection sensor placed on the removal path. 7) The automatic product picking system for a non-store store, as set forth in claim 5, wherein the product 1 general distribution shelf is of a transversely movable type. 8) An automatic product picking system for a non-store store, characterized in that the product transport shelf is movable up and down in the automatic picking system according to claim 5. 9) The automatic picking system according to claim 5, characterized in that the exit of the carry-out shake is open toward a product pedestal placed on the floor on the side of the gondola traveling route. Automatic product pinking system for non-store stores. 10) The automatic product pinking system for a non-store store according to claim 5, characterized in that the exit of the carry-out chute is open toward the gondola traveling along the travel route.