JPS62285802A - Article sorting equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent unnecessary postprocess by starting the process by postprocessing means for article shortage, when article command information is outputted continuously for a set period of time from a command switch for indicating shortage of an article stored on a shelf. CONSTITUTION:When an article Xa is short, an operator who takes out articles actuates a reset switch and a command switch of an indicator H corresponding to the article Xa. Actuation of the reset switch permits continuation of taking- out operation of the article, while actuation of the command switch starts postprocess such as replenishment of the article. Postprocessing means is so designed as to start the process, when article shortage command information is outputted from the command switch continuously for a set period of time. Thus constructed, even when there is a malfunction of contacting the command switch in error, the postprocessing means will not start the process.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention 3. Detailed Description of the Invention [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to article sorting equipment used to sort multiple types of articles according to shipping destinations. , a shelf for storing a plurality of types of articles is provided on the side of a conveyance line for conveying containers for storing articles, and an instruction means is provided for instructing information on taking out articles from the shelf, and an instruction means is provided for instructing information for taking out articles from the shelf, and a shelf for storing a plurality of types of articles is provided. The article sorting equipment is provided with a command switch for commanding a shortage of articles, and a post-processing means for article shortages that performs post-processing for article shortages based on article shortage command information from the command switch.

[Prior Art] In such article sorting equipment, the articles taken out by a worker based on an article takeout instruction are stored in containers conveyed along a container conveyance line, so that the articles are stored in containers destined for the same shipping destination. It is designed to store multiple types of articles, and is equipped with a post-processing means that operates based on article shortage command information from a command switch that commands a shortage of articles, so that there is no shortage of articles stored on the shelves. This allows for appropriate post-processing in case of

Incidentally, the shelf is generally divided into a plurality of shelf parts along the transport direction of the container transport line, that is, along the width direction, and each partitioned shelf part is given a separate instruction to take out the goods. It will be given to you. In other words, a worker is assigned to each of the shelf sections, and while containers are being transported from the shelf section on the upper side of transport to the shelf section on the lower side of transport, each worker is assigned to the shelf section that each worker is in charge of. By taking out the articles from the container and storing them in the container, it becomes possible to store a wide variety of articles in the same shipping destination container while reducing the responsibilities of one worker.

In addition, the post-processing means includes a branch conveying means for separating a container in which an article is insufficient among the containers in which the article storage work has been completed from other containers and conveying it to an article replenishment point, and There are various means such as a notification means for notifying a replenishment worker that an item is available. The command switch may be provided one at a time for each of the shelf portions, or one command switch may be provided for each of the plurality of articles stored on the shelf, and Generally, an i-type switch is used as the command switch.

By the way, conventionally, when the article shortage command information is output from the command switch, the post-processing means is configured to start processing immediately.

In other words, in the case of the above-mentioned branch conveyance means, the process of checking which containers are lacking in goods among the containers in which the goods storage work has been completed is immediately started, and also the above-mentioned notification means starts immediately. In this case, notification processing is immediately started by lighting a lamp or the like.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

However, according to the above-mentioned conventional configuration, even if the command switch is erroneously operated, such as when a worker accidentally touches the command switch while taking out an article, the post-processing means immediately starts processing. There is a risk that the
As a result, unnecessary work is carried out in vain, such as replenishing containers that have been transported in a branch even though there is no shortage of goods, or replenishing shelves with goods that are not in short supply. This had the disadvantage of causing trouble.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and its purpose is to ensure that the processing of the post-processing means is accurately started only when necessary.

[Means for solving problems]

The characteristic configuration of the article sorting equipment according to the present invention is that the article shortage post-processing means that performs post-processing for article shortages continuously receives article shortage command information for a set time from a command switch that commands shortage of articles stored on the shelf. The processing is started when the output is output, and its functions and effects are as follows.

[For production]

That is, when the command switch continues to be operated for a set time or more and article command information is continuously output from the command switch for the set time, the processing of the post-processing means is started. In other words, even if the command switch is operated for only a moment, the post-processing means will not start processing.

〔Effect of the invention〕

Therefore, even if a worker makes an erroneous operation such as accidentally touching a command switch while performing the article retrieval operation, the post-processing means will not start processing. This avoids troubles caused by unnecessary processing, making it easier to use.

〔Example〕

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below based on the drawings.

Figure 1 shows equipment for sorting items for freezing and refrigerating, and this equipment includes storage compartments (8) for storing items for freezing and refrigerating on both sides of a partition wall (1), and a work room (8) for sorting items. B), and a pair of replenishment conveyors (2) for conveying the articles in the article storage room (A) to the work room (B) for sorting the articles, is provided in the storage room (A).
, (B) It is deployed over a period of time.

In the article storage room (A), as shown in FIG.
A transport vehicle (3) that carries multiple types of boxed items (X) separated by type, and an unsealed item (Xa).
) is provided with a storage table (4) for storing the products sorted by type and stacked.

Therefore, the goods replenishment worker located in the goods storage room (A) unseals the goods (χ) on the transport vehicle (3) and
), the goods (Xa) stored in the storage table (4) are transported to the replenishment conveyor (2) based on the replenishment command described later.
), and when the transport vehicle (3) becomes empty, the work of replacing it with a new transport vehicle (3) will be performed.

In the article sorting process, multiple types of articles (X
a), and a pair of container transport conveyors (6) serving as a transport line for transporting the article storage containers (Z), each of the pair of shelves (5) , with its back side facing the replenishment conveyor (2) and its front side facing the container conveyor (6),
It is placed beside both conveyors (2) and (6).

The shelf (5) is formed in a so-called gravity rack type in which the cargo handling surface is inclined so that the front side is below the front side, and the items supplied to the back side are pushed to the front side by their own weight. It can be moved to the side.

The shelf (5) is divided into a plurality of sections along the conveyance direction of the container conveyor (6), as shown in FIG. Two stages of load placement sections (5a) are provided, and two types of articles (Xa) are stored in each load placement section (5a) in the lateral direction.

Therefore, a plurality of article retrieval workers are arranged on the front side of the shelf (5), with one worker assigned to each shelf (5A), and on the back side of the shelf (5), one person is assigned to each shelf (5A). , one or more replenishment workers are deployed, and
The article retrieval worker will store the retrieved articles in the container (Z) based on instructions from the article retrieval information described later, and the article replenishment worker will store the retrieved articles in the container (Z).
2), the work of replenishing the shelf (5) with the articles (Xa) that have been transported () will be performed.

In addition, the goods replenishment worker recognizes that if the goods are transported by the replenishment conveyor 2), it is necessary to replenish the goods to the shelf (5), and the quantity of goods decreases. They will search for locations where they have been used and replenish supplies there.

Next, an instruction means (D) for instructing information for taking out articles from the shelf (5), a remaining article management means (H) for managing the amount of articles remaining on the shelf (5) in accordance with the type of article; Based on the information of the remaining goods management means (E), there is a shortage of goods (Xa) stored in the shelf (5), a notification means (F) for goods replenishment command that instructs the replenishment of goods whose remaining quantity has decreased. In this case, the article shortage processing means (K) and the above-mentioned capacity 2W
Each of the container conveying means (G) that drives the II conveyor (6) to convey the containers (Z) will be explained.

First, to briefly explain based on FIGS. 4 and 7, when the contents of an order form (7) issued by a customer etc. are input to the host controller (8), Purchase order form (9) according to the contents of order form (7)
is created, and the goods are purchased according to the contents of the purchase order (9).

Further, the host controller (8) creates work data based on the contents of the order form (7) entered in advance, and uses a work data storage means (to store the work data in a storage medium such as a floppy disk). 10).

A work controller (11) including a work data reading means (IIA) and a tJ calculation processing unit (11B) is provided corresponding to each of the columns (5), and the work controller (11) is provided with the work data reading means (IIA) and a tJ calculation processing unit (11B). Work data is input using a storage medium. However, a management worker is provided to manage the work controller (11), and this management worker is responsible for inputting work data into the work controller (11) and filling the container JIG conveyor (6) with empty containers. 2W (Z
) will be carried out.

Work data is input to the work controller (11), and work 4! When the preparation is completed, the start light (12) (see Figure 1) is turned on, and based on this lighting, the management worker moves the empty container (Z) onto the container conveyor (Z) as described above.
6), the work controller (1
1) is each of the above-mentioned means (D).

Processes corresponding to (E), (F), (G), and (K) will be executed.

As shown in FIG. 1, the container conveying means (G) carries containers (
Container transport is controlled using electromagnetically operated entry/exit stoppers (13) that catch containers (Z), and are located on the downstream side of each stopper (13) to prevent containers (Z) from passing through. Photo ink ladle type container detection sensor (
The work controller (11) operates the stopper (13) to move in and out based on the information provided in the display (II) and the set switch (14), which will be described later.

That is, with the container (Z) received by the stopper (13), an article retrieval worker performs the article storage operation into the container (Z), and upon completion of the article storage operation, the reset switch (14) is opened. ) is operated, the stopper (
I3) was retired and sent Yong WH (Z) to the lower transport side,
As the container detection sensor (S) once detects the presence of a container and then detects the absence of a container again, the stopper (13)
is projected to receive the following container (Z).

The container 2S transport conveyor (6) is constructed using a roller conveyor that is constantly driven, and the stopper (13) is moved in and out through a space between adjacent rollers. In addition, (13a) in the figure is an electromagnetic operation type egress/egress stopper that controls the conveyance of the container (Z) to the shelf side, that is, the work zone side, ) and the information from the photo ink club type container detection sensor (Sa) located on the downstream side of the conveyor, the work controller (11
) will perform entry/exit operations.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, the indicating means (D) includes a main indicator light (15) arranged at the top of each shelf section (58), and a main indicator light (15) arranged at the top of each shelf section (58). Loading section with upper and lower 2 stages (
A pair of upper and lower auxiliary indicator lights (1) are provided corresponding to 5a).
6), and an indicator () I) provided corresponding to each different type of article stored in each shelf section (5A), and when the main indicator light (15) is turned on, the shelf section (5A) is displayed. 5
8) indicates that there is an article to be taken out, and the auxiliary indicator light (16) lights up to indicate that there is an article to be taken out in the upper and lower loading areas (5a),
(5a) indicates that there is an article to be taken out on either side of the loading section (5a), and further displays the display (I (
) to indicate the article to be taken out and the amount to be taken out.

That is, the indicator (++) includes a lamp (17) indicating the article to be taken out, and a numerical display section (18) indicating the amount of the article to be taken out.
), and the above-mentioned reset switch (14). However, this display H (II) is also equipped with a command switch (20) and a confirmation lamp (21) to command the shortage of the article (Xa) stored in the shelf (1), as will be described in detail later. be.

In addition, the main and auxiliary indicator lights (15), (16),
Further, the display device ( ) 1) is operated by the work controller (11). In other words, the work controller (11) controls the main and auxiliary indicator lights (15 ), (
16) and the display (H) will be operated based on the work data.

In addition, the lamp (17) provided for each display 2"& (++)
is a reset switch (1) provided on the display (11).
4) will turn off the light, and the auxiliary indicator light (
16) will be turned off when all the articles have been taken out from the corresponding loading section (5a), and the main indicator light (15) will be turned off when all the articles have been taken out from the corresponding shelf section (5A). The light will be turned off as the process is completed.

The remaining article management means (E) calculates the difference between the amount of each article stored in the shelf (5) in advance and the amount of article taken out from the field (5) for each article. It is to be managed while doing so. In other words, the amount of articles to be stored on the shelf (5) is manually entered in advance for each article in the work controller (11), and the work controller (11)
However, the difference between the pre-input storage amount and the removal amount consumed during the work is calculated for each item.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the notification means (F) includes a main indicator light (19) provided on the partition wall (1) and a plurality of types of articles stored in the storage stand (4). As shown in FIG.
Similar to the display 2'& (tl) attached to the display 2'&(tl), it is equipped with a lamp (17) indicating the article to be taken out, a numerical display section (18) indicating the amount of article to be taken out, and a reset switch (14).

The main indicator light (19) is turned on to notify that there are articles to be replenished, and the indicator (Ha) is to notify the article and the amount to be replenished. In other words, as shown in FIG.
), while determining the remaining amount of articles based on the calculation result by the remaining article management means (E), if the remaining amount of articles is small, the main indicator light (19) and the indicator (lla) are activated. , and when it is determined that all replenishments have been completed based on the replenishment completion information from each indicator (Ila), the operation of the main indicator light (19) is stopped.

In addition, one container (Z) is required to activate the notification means (F).
The storage work for the set value is treated as one order, and the work is performed every time a set value of orders, for example, 100 orders, is completed.

The article shortage processing means (K) will be explained below.

In addition, to briefly explain the reason why this article shortage processing means (K) is necessary, the above-mentioned notification means (F) is used to periodically replenish the shelves (5) with articles. However, due to the replenishment worker making a mistake in the amount of replenishment,
There is a risk that there will be a shortage of goods. For this reason, it is necessary to standardize the process for dealing with shortages of goods.

The article shortage processing means (K) includes the work controller (1).
1), the post-processing for the shortage of goods is performed based on the goods shortage command information from the above-mentioned command switch (20). 1 Post-processing means (M,) and container 3 (Z) in which the article storage work has been completed are in short supply! It is provided with a second post-processing means (6) for separating the container WS (Z) from other containers WS (Z) and branchingly transporting the container WS (Z) to an article replenishment point.

Therefore, when the article (Xa) is in short supply, the article retrieval worker operates the indicator (11) glue set switch (old or command switch (20)) for the article (Xa), and Recent Sui.

By operating the switch (14), the article retrieval work can be continued, and by turning the command switch (20) on, the above-mentioned post-processing can be started.

However, the post-rain treatment means (M,
For example, when the command switch (20) outputs the article shortage command information continuously for a set period of time, the process is started.
The above-mentioned confirmation lamp (21) is configured to be lit only for a set time (for example, 3 seconds). Therefore, the worker who takes out the goods must wait until the confirmation lamp (21) lights up.
The command switch (20) will continue to be operated.

To explain the operation of the work controller (11) in detail, as shown in FIG. 9, first, it is checked whether post-processing is in progress, and if post-processing is in progress,
While checking the necessity of processing by the first post-processing means (-) and the second post-processing means (M2), if necessary, each means (M, ).

Execute the process (M2). In addition, each means (L), (Mz
) is not necessary when the execution of the process is completed.

If post-processing is not in progress, the operating state of the command switch (20) is checked; if it is not operated, the counter (N) is reset to zero; if it is operated,
Addition processing is performed on the counter (N).

As a result of repeatedly sampling the operation state of the command switch (20) at a predetermined period, if the command switch (20) continues to be operated for the set time, the counter (N) will change to the set value (
α), and accordingly, the confirmation lamp (21) is turned on and post-processing is started.

As shown in FIG. 1O, the first post-processing means (M,) uses the main indicator light (19) and the indicator (Ha) in the notification means (F) to By lighting up and operating the indicator (Ha), an instruction is given to replenish supplies. In addition, in the case of this article replenishment, since the article (Xa) on the shelf (5) is empty, the maximum amount of articles that can be stored on the shelf (5) may be displayed on the display (Ha).

The second post-processing means (?b), as shown in FIG.
The container pusher (22) supplies the container (Z) lacking the article (Xa) to the branch conveyance line (23), and the photo ink ladle type container detection sensor (2
4) While detecting the number of containers passing, the corresponding container (Z
), the container pusher (22) will be activated. In other words, the work controller (11) manages the position of the container (Z) in which the product is missing depending on the branching point, and the container pusher is operated based on the information from the container detection sensor (24). (22) is to be activated.

In addition, although the above description has representatively described processing for one command switch (20), processing for other command switches (20) has been described as a representative example.
0) will be processed in the same way.

[Another Embodiment] In the above embodiment, the article is sorted by replenishing the article from the article storage room (B) which is provided separately from the work room (B). Platform (4) and transport vehicle (3)
It may be implemented by deploying.

Specific configuration of the instruction means (D), capacity 2 resistant conveyance means (G)
The specific configuration can be changed in various ways depending on the purpose of use.

The post-processing means can be modified in various ways, such as by providing an article replenishing means that replenishes the shelves (5) fully automatically.

Further, as the command switch (20), various types of switches can be used, such as a switching type switch equipped with a knob that can be switched between two positions.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

The drawings show an embodiment of the article sorting equipment according to the present invention, FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view showing the entire article sorting equipment, FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the storage state of replenishment items, and FIG. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the control configuration, FIGS. 5 and 6 are perspective views of the display, and FIGS. 7 to 10 are flowcharts showing the control operation. (5)...Shelf, (6)...Transportation line, (20)...Command switch, (D)...
. . . Instructing means, (Ml, M2) . . . Post-processing means, (Z) . . . Container.

Claims (1)

[Claims] A shelf (5) for storing a plurality of types of articles is provided beside a conveyance line (6) for conveying containers (Z) for storing articles,
An instruction means (D) for instructing information on taking out articles from the shelf (5) is provided, and a command switch (20) for instructing a shortage of articles stored in the shelf (5) is provided. post-processing means for goods shortages that performs post-processing for goods shortages based on goods shortage command information from )
M_1, M_2) are installed in the article sorting equipment, and the post-processing means (M_1, M_2) performs processing when article shortage command information is continuously output from the command switch (20) for a set time. Article sorting equipment configured to start.