KR101615483B1 - Picking facility - Google Patents

Abstract

[PROBLEMS] To provide a picking facility in which each collection container is located in a returning line, which makes it unnecessary to carry out tracking at all times after being input to the conveying means.
[MEANS FOR SOLVING PROBLEMS] An input indicator (26) for indicating that each of the collecting containers (10) is a collecting container to which an article taken out from a picking area (P) set for a predetermined number of intermittent portions in the flow rack (15) And an RFID (tag) for storing a unique order number corresponding to the order of the user assigned to the collection container 10 is provided in each input indicator 26, The RFID reader 42A for reading the order number stored in the RFID of the closing indicator 26 is provided at the upstream end of the closing zone Z and the RFID reader 42A in each closing zone Z The position of the collection container 10 carried in each of the input zones Z is specified by sequentially storing the detected orders and numbers.

Description

Picking Facility {PICKING FACILITY}

The present invention relates to a picking facility for picking an article.

Collection and classification of designated articles are carried out at distribution centers and warehouses of various articles in logistics. In this work, for example, in a shipping center, a so-called picking operation is carried out in which an article according to a customer's order is picked and stored in a container such as a collecting container.

A basic form of such a picking operation is such that a collecting container conveying means such as a belt conveyor is divided into a plurality of work areas along the moving direction of the conveying means and a different kind of work Arranging the storage shelves accommodated therein, arranging the workers at all speeds in the respective working areas, picking out the indicated articles from the storage shelves of the work areas of the respective workers arranged on the basis of the picking instruction, and being conveyed by the belt conveyor It is carried out to store it in the collection container.

However, in the basic picking operation as described above, there is a case where troubles such as the collector collecting container or the article are mistaken, or the collecting container is returned while the article is not stored. Therefore, various picking facilities have been proposed and used so far to solve defects such as storage errors of articles.

The picking facility disclosed in Patent Document 1 will be briefly described.

The picking equipment disclosed in Patent Document 1 is characterized in that two rows of order display devices having a plurality of guide lamps arranged at predetermined intervals along a belt conveyor are arranged in each area and the collection container to be picked The guide lamp is synchronized with the movement of the collecting container and is lighted in sequence to recognize the collection container as an object to be picked up by the operator and the operator of the downstream area A guide lamp is lit to recognize that the collecting container to be picked up is passing through an upstream region. In addition, in each area, a bay indicator is provided to notify the operator that picking is required in the area by the lighting of the bay indicator, and on each frontage of the storage shelf, an item indicator is provided, Or the like to the worker.

Further, a belt movement detector is installed on the belt conveyor, position information of each of the collection containers on the belt conveyor is obtained by the detection signal from the belt movement detector, the position of each collection container is always grasped, It is determined whether picking is to be performed.

The operation in this picking facility will be briefly described.

First, the bay indicator provided in each area is turned on to notify the operator disposed in the area that picking is necessary in this area, and at the same time, the item to be picked is indicated by lamp flashing of the item indicator installed for each article, The quantity is displayed.

On the other hand, when the collecting container to be picked is transported to its own area in the order display device of the first row, the number of pieces corresponding to the container length (length in the transporting direction) of the collecting container in the guide lamp is set as a unit, Following the movement of the container, it lights up sequentially and informs the operator. When the collecting container to be picked is transported in the downstream area to its own area, the order display unit of the second row is set to the number of pieces corresponding to the container length (length in the transporting direction) of the collecting container in the guide lamp as a unit , And also follows the movement of the collecting container and sequentially lights up to notify the worker in the downstream area.

The worker recognizes the collection container to be picked as the order display device of the first row, picks the articles from the storage shelves in the area according to the display of the item display device, and stores them in the collection container. If the order indicator on the first row is not displayed and the order indicator on the second row on the upstream side is displayed, the picked articles are picked and stored in the collecting container displayed by the second-order order display device in the self region. By adopting the lamp tracking type picking system in this manner, it is possible to prevent picking errors such as misidentification of the collection container, kind and quantity of the goods, and lead picking.

Japanese Patent No. 2799445

However, in the conventional picking equipment, since the position information of each collecting container on the belt conveyor is always obtained by the detection signal from the belt movement detector and the position of each collecting container must be grasped, , Once the positional information is lost, the position of the collection container can not be known at all, and there is a problem that it takes much time to recover. In addition, there is a problem in that a large burden is imposed on the controller in tracking where all the collection containers are located in the belt conveyor after they are inserted into the belt conveyor.

Further, in the conventional picking equipment, when the target collecting container is transported, the number of pieces corresponding to the container length (the length in the conveying direction) of the collecting container in the guide lamp is set as a unit, It is difficult to see because it is turned on, and there is a possibility that the collecting container into which the picked article is put may be mistaken.

The collecting container conveying means is constituted by a belt conveyor and stops the belt conveyor when the picking to the collecting container conveyed to the downstream end of the area is not completed and stops the conveyance of the collecting container as a whole Therefore, there is a fear that the delay of picking in one area leads to the entire stop, and the efficiency of picking is lowered.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, the object of the present invention is to provide a picking facility that makes it unnecessary to track every time when the collecting containers into which the picked-up articles are put are put into the conveying means.

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, a first invention of the present invention is characterized by comprising a picking lathe having a plurality of article storage portions for respectively storing articles, and, along the picking lathe, And a picking device for picking up an article picked up from the picked-up shelf in an article storage portion in accordance with the article demand information of the sorting destination into the collection container, A collection container for storing the product request information of the sorting destination or the sorting destination assigned to each of the collection containers, and for picking out the articles to be collected by the collection container for each predetermined number of the article storage units And a picking area for picking up a picked-up object from the picking area, wherein the picking-up area is formed in the picking-up area so as to correspond to the picking area, And the article demand information of the sorting destination or the sorting destination stored in the collecting container is read in the upstream part of each of the input areas and the read request is read from each input area, out) of the sorting destination or the sorting destination by storing the item demand information of the sorting destination or the sorting destination.

According to the above arrangement, the collection destination assigned to the collection container or the product request information of the collection destination is stored in each collection container, and the collection destination stored in the collection container or the collection destination By reading out and storing the request information, the collection containers carried in each of the input areas are specified. Therefore, it is not necessary to track which position of each collecting container is located in the conveying means at all times after being input to the conveying means.

Further, according to a second invention, in the first invention, a unique code is assigned to the article request information of the sorting destination or the sorting destination assigned to each of the collecting containers, and this unique code is stored in the collecting container And an input indicator that indicates that each of the collecting containers is a collecting container to be charged, into which the articles taken out from the article storage portion are to be charged, and wherein, in each of the charging indicators, A code reading means for reading the code stored in the storage means of the turn-on indicator is provided in the upstream portion of each of the above-mentioned put-in areas, And storing the read out code to specify a collection container carried in each of the input areas.

According to the above arrangement, the code reading means for storing the unique code assigned to the collecting container is stored in the storing means of the charging indicator, and the code reading means for detecting the code stored in the charging indicator is provided in the upstream portion of each charging region, By storing the codes read by the code reading means in the input area, the collection containers carried in each of the input areas are specified. Therefore, it is not necessary to track which position of each collecting container is located in the conveying means at all times after being input to the conveying means. Further, by providing the storage means, it is possible to rewrite the unique code corresponding to the article demand information of the sorting destination or the sorting destination.

The third invention is characterized in that, in the second invention, an operator is arranged for picking out the article from the article storage part forming the picking area for each picking area and performing a picking operation for putting the article into the collection container, Self-area display means for indicating that there is a picking operation for putting the article picked up from the article storage portion of the picking area into the collection container located in the corresponding insertion area corresponding to the picking area in which the operator is disposed; An upstream region indicating means for indicating that the picking operation is performed is provided to the collecting container located upstream of the corresponding input region and the picking operation is performed for the collecting container located in the corresponding input region, The code reading means provided in the corresponding input area reads from the storage means Wherein the picking operation is performed by checking whether or not the picking operation is carried out for the collection container located in the upstream charging area, The code reading means confirms by the code read from the storage means that the upstream region display means is displayed when there is the picking operation and the display of the self region display means and the upstream region display means of the put- Therefore, the picking operation can be carried out in the corresponding input area and the upstream input area.

According to the above arrangement, the self-area display means and the upstream region display means are provided in the closing display, the picking operation can be performed in the corresponding input region by the display of the self-region display means, It is possible to carry out picking work in the upstream-side putting-in region in the upstream side adjacent to the corresponding putting-in region, and to perform the picking work in both the corresponding putting-in region and the upstream-putting region.

In a fourth aspect of the present invention according to the third aspect of the present invention, the work area allows the picking operation to be performed in the corresponding input area and the upstream input area by the operator so that the operator can perform the picking operation, And the input regions are arranged so as to be overlapped with each other successively offset.

According to the above configuration, the input area in which the operator can perform the picking operation is composed of the corresponding input area and the upstream input area located upstream and adjacent to the corresponding input area, so that each operator can perform the picking operation The input region is arranged such that neighboring input regions are successively offset and overlapped. Therefore, in each of the input areas, the picking operation is performed by at least two operators.

In the fifth invention, in any one of the second to fourth aspects of the present invention, the position of the code reading means is made movable, and by the movement of the code reading means, the correspondence on the carrying means corresponding to the picking area And the range of the input area is made variable.

According to the above configuration, the upstream end portions of the respective input regions are set by the position of the code reading means, whereby the range of the input region is varied by moving the code reading means. Therefore, it is possible to widen or narrow the input area in accordance with the capability of the operator.

The sixth invention is characterized in that, in any one of the first to fifth aspects of the present invention, the upstream start (start) position of each of the above-mentioned putting areas is offset from the corresponding picking area to the downstream side in the carrying direction of the collecting container .

With this arrangement, the upstream start position of the injection region is offset from the corresponding picking region to the downstream side, whereby the upstream injection region is offset to the downstream side, and the corresponding injection region is offset to the downstream side. Therefore, the worker can move the picking area around the arranged picking area in order to perform the picking operation, thereby making it possible to improve the working efficiency.

In a seventh aspect of the present invention, in any one of the first to sixth aspects of the present invention, the conveying means is constituted by a conveyor capable of accumulating and moving the collecting containers 1 individually and collecting the collecting containers without bumping against each other And a plurality of collecting containers can be stored and moved by being filled in the downstream side for each of the input areas.

According to the above arrangement, the collecting container is moved to the downstream side for each of the input areas, and the collecting container for which the picking operation is completed in the input area is moved to the downstream input area. Therefore, the collecting container is easily moved between the input areas without being influenced by other input areas, and the collecting container is efficiently moved to the collecting container, and the ability of the operator can be maximized.

According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in the seventh invention, the collecting container located at the most downstream (most downstream) of each of the input areas includes an article Stops the movement to the downstream input area adjacent to the downstream side until the closing of the inlet container is completed and the input area located downstream of the downstream input area and the downstream closing area continues to accumulate and move the plurality of collecting containers And the like.

According to the above configuration, the most downstream collecting container 10, which has not finished the picking operation, is prevented from moving from the closing area Z to the downstream closing area Z adjacent to the downstream, Is prevented. Further, at this time, the accumulation / movement of the plurality of collecting containers is carried out continuously in the charging area located downstream of the downstream charging area and the downstream charging area, so that the collecting container is efficiently moved, Can be maximized.

The picking facility of the present invention is characterized in that the collection destination assigned to the collection container or the product request information of the collection destination is stored in each collection container and the classification destination classified in the collection container or classified It is possible to specify the collection container carried in each of the input areas by storing the item demand information of the destination, and therefore, it is possible to determine the position of each collection container in the transportation means, So that it is possible to eliminate the need for the use of the apparatus.

1 is a configuration diagram of a picking facility in an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a perspective view of a main portion of a storage line of the picking facility of FIG.
Figure 3 is a side view of the storage line of the picking facility of Figure 1;
4 is a plan view of a main part of the storage line of the picking facility of Fig.
Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a collecting container equipped with an input indicator of the picking facility of Fig. 1; Fig.
Fig. 6 is a view of the closing indicator of the picking facility of Fig. 1, wherein (a) is a perspective view and (b) is a control block diagram.
Figure 7 is a perspective view of the sealing area and the repacking area of the picking facility of Figure 1;
8 is a control configuration diagram of a seal area of the picking facility of FIG.
Fig. 9 is a diagram showing the control structure of the repacking area in the picking facility of Fig. 1;
10 is an overall control configuration diagram of the picking facility of FIG.
Fig. 11 is a diagram showing a communication control configuration for the closing indicator of the picking facility of Fig. 1; Fig.
FIG. 12 is a view for switching the display of the closing indicator of the picking facility of FIG. 1, wherein FIG. 12 (a) is a control diagram and FIG. 12 (b) is an explanatory diagram specifically showing display switching.
13 is a diagram showing the overall picking data of the picking facility of Fig.
Fig. 14 is a control configuration diagram in each area of the picking facility of Fig. 1. Fig.
15 is a control block diagram of the area controller of the picking facility of Fig.
Fig. 16 is an explanatory view of movement of the collecting container in each area of the picking facility of Fig. 1;
Fig. 17 (a) is a view for explaining the working range of the operator of the storage line of the picking facility of Fig. 1, and Fig. 17 (b) is an explanatory diagram of the case where two containers are offset downstream from the collecting container.
FIG. 18 is a perspective view of a tray on which a collecting container of a picking facility is mounted according to another embodiment of the present invention, wherein (a) is a perspective view of the tray and (b) is a perspective view of an area on which the collecting container is mounted.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. This picking facility is a picking facility that collects items received orders (orders) from individually registered users (an example of sorting destinations) in a collecting container to which users' orders are assigned.

Fig. 1 shows a schematic configuration diagram of a picking facility in an embodiment of the present invention.

In the picking facility,

A storage line A for storing the storage box 12 (Fig. 2) in which the article 11 to be collected (Fig. 2)

A conveying line (B) for circulating and conveying the collecting container (10) storing the picked articles (11)

A seal area D for sealing the article 11 in the collection container 10 which has been picked up by the storage line A and conveyed by the conveyance line B,

(Finished goods 11) of the collecting container 10 that is disposed downstream of the sealed area D and conveyed by the carrying line B to the collecting box (shipping box) 13 , A repacking area (E) for repacking the same,

A bagging area 10 for carrying bagging to the collecting container 10 (the collecting container 10 which has been empty after the repacking of the product 11) carried by the conveying line B from the repacking area E, (F).

&Quot; Storage line (A) "; As shown in Figs. 2 to 4, the storage line A is constituted by a flow rack (an example of a picking rack) 15, and the flow rack 15 is constituted by one type (one item) A shelf 17 having a plurality of columns 16 (an example of an article storage unit) on which a storage box 12 in which the articles 11 are placed (accommodated) (accommodated) (In this embodiment, three stages, three stages or more are preferable), and the collecting container 10 (in this embodiment, three stages of shelves and the total of twenty- The picking area P for executing the picking operation of the article 11 to be collected is set (formed). One picker (picking worker) H for picking work is arranged for each picking area P, and an area controller 24 (Fig. 14) is provided. The storage line A (the flow rack 15) and the transfer line B (the first straight advancing conveyance line 21A described later) are arranged on the opposite sides with these workers H therebetween.

The front surface of each of the apertures 16 is provided at the front end of each shelf 17 of the flow rack 15 (the end of the operator H facing the conveying line B) A quantity indicator 19A for indicating the quantity of the article 11 to be taken out and a finish indicator switch 19B consisting of a complete push button switch 19B having a lamp section are provided, The display direction of the umbrella display device 19 provided on the tablets 16 of the shelf 17 is the direction of the front surface (the side of the operator H) The display direction of the display device 19 is the direction of the oblique front (on the conveying line B side), and the direction of display is different from each other. In addition, the color (lamp color) of the lamp portion of the completion push-button switch 19B is different for each picking region P (in the present embodiment, the odd-numbered area is red and the even-numbered area is green). Further, the storage box 12 is constituted by a box (box) whose upper surface (upper surface) is opened and the article 11 can be taken out from above.

The flow rack 15 is provided with an upstream end of the shelf 17 in which the tablets 16 accommodating the article 11 (the storage box 12) to be picked are present at the upstream position for each picking region P (Three in the present embodiment, three in the present embodiment) lamps 20A, each of which displays the number of stages (for example, three stages) in the vertical direction.

The worker H specifies the number of stages of the shelf 17 in which the tablets 16 containing the article 11 (storage box 12) to be picked up are present by the display of the bay indicator 20, Picks the article 11 from the mouthpiece 16 (the storage box 12) according to the display of each stopper indicator 19 and puts it into the collection container 10.

&Quot; return line (B) "; 1, the conveying line B constitutes a circulating line circulating through the collecting container 10 and includes a first rectilinear conveyance line (not shown) for conveying the collecting container 10 along the flow rack 15 A second straight advancing conveying line 21B which is parallel to the first straight advancing conveying line 21A and which reverses the conveying direction and a second straight advancing conveying line 21B which is disposed between the downstream end A first curve conveying line 21C for connecting an upstream end of the conveying line 21B and an upstream end of the first rectilinear conveying line 21A and a downstream end of the second rectilinear conveying line 21B And a second curve conveyance line 21D.

The second straight advancing conveyance line 21B excluding the periphery of the first straight advancing conveyance line 21A and the bagging equipment 60 (to be described later) of the backing area F is disposed in the accumulation conveyor And an accumulator 22 capable of accumulating and sequentially moving the collecting container 10 for each collecting container 10. The collecting container 10 is provided with an accumulator 22, Each of the accumulation sections 22 has a function of transporting the collection container 10 forward when there is an accumulation section 22 in front of the accumulation section 22 (in the absence of the collection container 10) have.

The second curve conveying lines 21C and 21D and the second straight conveying line 21B around the backing device 60 of the backing area F are constituted by a driving roller conveyor.

1, 2 and 4, in the first straight advancing / conveying line 21A, the objects 11 taken out from the picking area P are aligned with the respective picking areas P, The accumulation section 22 is provided with a plurality of (six in the embodiments), and the accumulation section 22 is provided with a plurality of (six in the embodiment) That is, each of the closing zones Z is capable of accumulating and sequentially transporting a maximum of six pieces of collecting containers 10 (a plurality of collecting containers). Further, the tape switch 23 is provided for each of the input areas Z.

As described above, the accumulation section 22 has a function of transporting the collection container 10 forward, but the accumulation section 22 located at the most downstream of each of the introduction areas Z is provided with a front- And the front conveyance permission signal (detailed information) from the area controller 24 provided in the picking area P corresponding to the input area Z in which the blank accumulation part 22 is located, (Described later), the collecting container 10 is configured to be transported forward.

In the present embodiment, each of the picking areas P of the storage line A and each of the entering areas Z of the carrying line B are arranged so as to be located in the same section arranged in the carrying direction of the collecting container 10 And the picking area P and the putting area Z, which are disposed directly opposite to each other, are arranged without offset in the carrying direction. Basically, in each of the entry zones Z, with respect to each of the collection containers 10 transported by the transport line B, The article 11 stored in the picking area P of the storage line A is loaded and collected.

"Collection container (10)"; The collecting container 10 is constituted by a box-like container 25 and as shown in Fig. 5, on the side of the short axis direction of the container 25 and also on the side of the operator H of the storage line A Of the picking area P in the bagging area F is mounted on the side surface facing the picking area P so as to indicate the collection container 10 to be charged, 27 are transferred to the storage line A by the first linear transport line 21A. 4, each of the collection containers 10 is configured so that the long axis direction of the container 25 is the front direction in the transport direction by the first straight advancing conveyance line 21A, Are conveyed so as to be positioned on the worker H side so that a plurality of collection containers 10 can be stacked and sequentially transported in each of the feed zones Z as described above .

Quot; input indicator 26 "; As shown in Fig. 6, the closing indicator 26 includes a vertically long box-like display main body 30, a first lamp portion (upstream region display) 30 arranged in order on the surface of the display main body 30 in the long- 32), and a second lamp unit (an example of the self-area display unit) 33, which are made up of electronic paper, and a digital display unit A radio frequency identification (RF) tag 34 for recording and erasing data, a display controller 35, a radio (an example of a data receiver) 36 built in an antenna, and a battery 37, The digital indicator 32 is moved between the first ramp portion 31 and the second ramp portion 33 by the first advancing / returning line 21A in the conveyance direction of the collection container 10 (hereinafter abbreviated as the container conveyance direction) The digital indicator 32, and the second indicator 31 in this order from the downstream side in the container transport direction, (Container 25) so that the first and second lamp portions 33 are arranged. An order number (an example of a unique code) is recorded and stored in the RFID 34 (details will be described later). In addition, by providing the digital indicator 32 on the closing indicator 26, the order number or the like capable of specifying the collecting container 10 can be displayed and the collecting container 10 can be specified.

The first lamp unit 31 and the second lamp unit 33 are composed of a lamp 38 projecting from the surface of the display unit 30 and capable of lighting and flashing in two colors, The lamps 38 constituted by the covers 39A and 39B and the display means of the first and second lamp sections 31 and 33 use the same lamp (including the fittings of the lamp) And is structured so as to be interchangeable with each other. In this manner, by making the lamp 38 (including the mounting bracket of the lamp) the same structure, the number of parts of the closing indicator 26 can be reduced, and manufacturing at low cost is made possible. The cover 39A and the cover 39B are configured to be replaceable with each other.

The cover 39A is a cover in which only the container transport direction is opened so that the lighting state of the lamp 38 can be recognized from the downstream side in the container transport direction and can not be recognized from the front, On the other hand, is a cover whose front face is opened so that the lighting / blinking state of the lamp 38 can be recognized in the mouth, and can not be recognized from the downstream side in the container transportation direction.

The lamp 38 of the lamp units 31 and 33, the digital indicator 32, the RFID 34 and the radio unit 36 with an antenna are connected to a display controller 35, 35 are connected to the lamps 31, 33 of the lamps 31, 33 on the basis of the order number (described later) recorded in the RFID 34 and the command / data (details will be described later) The display of the digital display 32 is controlled by turning on / off the flash lamp 38 (without lighting). The digital display 32 is connected to the storage line A by the first linear advancing / returning line 21A in the closing indicator 26, that is, while the collecting container 10 is moving, Quot ;, or " END " by the data received by the wireless device 36 is displayed, and while the second straight line return line 21B is moving in the sealed area D and the repacking area E, Quot; total number of articles 11 " (inspection, inspection quantity) collected in the collection container 10 based on the data received by the reception device 36 (details will be described later).

The lamp 37 of the lamp units 31 and 33, the digital indicator 32, the radio 36 and the display controller 35 are fed by the battery 37. [

5, the closing indicator 26 is provided with a gap 41 between itself and the side surface of the container 25 so that the jig 40 can hook the container 27 to the container 25 And is attached to the container 25. The jig 40 is attached to the side surface of the container 25 in a U-shape and a part of the container 25 is viewed from the side. The closing indicator 26 is provided at the other end of the jig 40, A digital indicator 32 made of electronic paper, and a second ramp 33 are attached in such a manner as to be upward (or obliquely upward).

"RFID reader / writer"; An RFID reader (an example of a code reading means) 42A that reads the ID recorded in the RFID 34 built in the indicator controller 35 reads the ID of the input area Z along the first straight line return line 21A, And is provided at the upstream end of the returning area E along the second linear advancing / returning line 21B.

The RFID 34 writes an order number (to be described later) assigned to the collection container 10 or the RFID writer 42B that erases the recorded order number is stored in the second linear return line 21B Therefore, it is arranged on the upstream side of the recycling area E and on the upstream side of the bagging area F, and is provided on the second curve conveying line 21D from the downstream end of the second straight conveying line 21B .

On the other hand, as the RFID readers 42A and 42B, an RFID reader / writer capable of simultaneously recording (IN) and reading (OUT) the RFID is used.

The RFID 34 incorporated in the closing indicator 26 is supplied with the second curve conveyance line 21D by the RFID writer 42B provided at the corresponding position at the start of picking (before entering the storage line A) At this time, the order number recorded in the RFID 34 by the display controller 35 is displayed on the digital display 32. [0100] This order number is also erased by the RFID writer 42B provided on the upstream side of the bagging area F and on the downstream side of the repacking area E,

The order number recorded in the RFID 34 is read by each RFID reader 42A so that the position of the RFID 34 or the position of the putting indicator 26 in which the RFID 34 is assembled, The position of the collection container 10 on which the closing indicator 26 is mounted is specified.

"antenna"; An antenna 43 (FIG. 11) is provided above the first linear advancing / returning line 21A and the second linear advancing / returning line 21B for transmitting / receiving data to / from the radio 36 of the closing indicator 26, .

&Quot; Sealed Area (D) "; As shown in Figs. 1, 7, and 8, the sealed area D includes a sealed controller 49 connected to the RFID reader 42A provided at the downstream end of the storage line A, A label printer 50 for issuing a label specifying a user is provided on the basis of label data output from the seal controller 49. An RFID reader 42A is installed downstream of the label printer 50, A bar code reader 51 is provided downstream of the reader 42A. Two workers H are placed in the sealed area D along the second straight advance conveyance line 21B with the worker H arranged on the storage line A along the first straight advance conveyance line 21A , And is disposed on the opposite side.

The first worker H is disposed upstream of the installation position of the label printer 50 and the article 11 collected in the collection container 10 displayed on the digital display 32 of the turn- (Checked) whether or not the total number of the containers 11 (details will be described later) and the quantity of the articles 11 in the collection container 10 are identical to each other The bag 27 is folded, and the work for wrapping the finished article 11 is carried out. In the case of inspection failure, the bag 27 is opened without being folded, and is sent downstream.

The second worker H also performs a job of sticking the label, which is issued by the label printer 50, to the bag 27. When the inspection is good, the bag 27 is sealed with the label, and when the inspection is bad, the bag 27 is simply adhered.

8, the seal controller 49 is provided with an RFID reader 42A at the downstream end of the storage line A, a label printer 50, and an RFID reader 42A disposed downstream of the label printer 50, A bar code reader 42A, and a bar code reader 51 are connected.

The seal controller 49 is also provided with a function of previously assigning a user assigned (matched) to the order number recorded in the RFID 34 incorporated in the closing indicator 26 and a bar code And the seal controller 49 stores the label data in the input indicator 26 attached to the returned container 10 by the RFID reader 42A provided at the downstream end of the storage line A When the order number recorded in the built-in RFID 34 is read, the user matched with the order number is searched, the searched user searches for the label data set by the user, and the label data is sent to the label printer 50 And issues a bar code label.

The seal controller 49 also inputs the order number recorded in the RFID 34 from the RFID reader 42A disposed downstream of the label printer 50 and reads the barcode read by the barcode reader 51 Upon input, it is confirmed whether or not the order number and the user assigned to the bar code are identical, and it is confirmed whether or not the label is adhered to the bag 27 of the corresponding collection container 10 without error. If it is determined to be an error, error data including the order number is output to the following repacking controller 57. Also, when the inspection fails, the label is attached to the opened bag 27, and even when the barcode can not be read, the error data including the order number is similarly output to the repacking controller 57.

The first worker H is inspected to fold the bag 27 hooked to the collecting container 10 when the inspection is satisfactory and to wrap the collecting article 11 and to convey the second worker H, The label is adhered to the collecting container 10, which is successively conveyed by the second straight advancing conveyance line 21B. Also, it is confirmed whether or not the label is adhered to the bag 27 with no error when it is sealed by the label and transported downstream.

&Quot; Repacking Area (E) "; As shown in Figs. 1, 7 and 9, the re-packing area E is provided with a first pre-conveyor 53 in which empty empty boxes 13 are piled up, A second pre-conveyor 54 for delivering the box 13 repacked with the sealed finished article 11 (the finished article 11) of the article 10 and the article 11 in the collection container 10, A bar code reader 55 for reading the bar code of the label adhered to the inexpensive bag 27, a label printer 56 disposed at the downstream position of the second preconveyor 54 for issuing a shipping label, A packing controller 57 and a display (display screen) 58 for displaying data output from the repacking controller 57 are provided. In the repacking area E, two operators H are arranged.

The first worker H is disposed at an upstream position of the second preconveyor 54 and draws the empty box 13 from the first preconveyor 53 onto the second preconveyor 54, The finished article 11 (the finished article 11) of the collecting container 10 is repacked to the collecting box 13 and the finished article 11 to be repacked is packed in the packed bag 27 ) Is read by the bar code reader 55, and the bar code is pushed to the downstream side. The replacement of the collection box 13 for each shipping direction can be determined by the lighting and color of the lamp 38 of the second lamp unit 33 of the charging indicator 26 attached to the collection container 10 . In other words, the lamp 38 of the second lamp unit 33 turns green when it is at the front end (leading edge) of the delivery side and red when it is at the end of the delivery side, Described later), and can judge accordingly.

Further, the second worker H carries out the shipping work by attaching the shipping label issued from the label printer 56 to the box 13 which is pushed to the downstream side after the completion of the repacking. As the shipping work, for example, it is piled up on a cart for shipment.

9, a bar code reader 55, a label printer 56, and a display device (display screen) 58 are connected to the above-described repacking controller 57, and a bar code The bar code reader 55 reads out the bar code of the label, and retrieves the shipping label data set by the bar code, outputs the shipping label data to the label printer 56, And issues a label. When the wrong data including the order number is written from the seal controller 49, an alarm indicating occurrence of inspection inconvenience or labeling mistake including the order number is displayed on the display (display screen) 58, 13).

In this manner, the sealed article 11 is refilled in the box 13 in the re-packing area E and then shipped.

&Quot; BAGGING AREA (F) "; 1, the refill of the collecting container 10 (the refilling of the refuse 11), which has been carried by the return line B from the refilling area E, is completed, And the bag 27 is automatically hooked to the container 25 by the bagging machine 60. [ At this time, the gap (41) is formed between the side surface of the container (25) and the closing indicator (26), so that the bag (27) is caught by the container (25) without any problem.

The order number is erased from the RFID 34 by the RFID writer 42B provided upstream of the bagging machine 60 and the RFID writer 42B installed downstream of the bagging machine 60 , A new order number is recorded in the RFID 34.

The collecting container 10 is circulated by the conveying line B so that the collecting container 10 itself is not shipped and the empty collecting container 10 is not provided with the bagging area F, The bag 27 is hooked and a new order number is recorded in the RFID 34 and collection of the article 11 stored in the storage line A is carried out based on the order number, When the collection is finished, the inspection is carried out in the sealed area (D), the bag (27) is folded in a small size to be sealed, a label specifying the user is attached, and in the repacking area (F) Are refilled in the collection box 13 for each shipping direction, and then shipped. The bag 27 is caught in the bagging area F and the new order number is recorded in the RFID 34 and the collection is carried out in the collection container 10 in which the sealed finished article 11 is taken out and empty.

Thus, all the collection containers 10 are circulated, reused many times a day, and a new order number is assigned each time the circulation is performed. In this way, in order to circulate, there is a meaning that the RFID 34 is provided in the closing indicator 26, and the order number is automatically re-lit.

"Control Configuration"; Fig. 10 shows the control arrangement of the picking facility.

The lock controller 62, the communication controller 63, and the lock controller 63, in addition to the area controller 24, the seal controller 49, and the repacking controller 57 for each picking area P, And a display switching controller 64 are provided.

&Quot; Communication controller (63) " 11, the transmission / reception device 64 to which the antenna 43 is connected is connected to the communication controller 63, and the communication controller 63 is connected to the antenna 43 and the transmission / reception device 64 via the antenna 43 and the transmission / reception device 64 , And transmits / receives data to / from the radio device 36 of each turn-on indicator 26.

&Quot; Consolidated Controller (62) "; The area controller 24 for each picking area P, the seal controller 49, the repacking controller 57, the communication controller 63 and the display changeover controller 64 are connected to the general controller 62 The first straight conveying line 21A, the second straight conveying line 21B, the first curve conveying line 21C, the second curve conveying line 21D, the bagging machine 60, An RFID lighter 42B provided downstream of the bagging machine 60 (installed on the second curve conveying line 21D at the corresponding position), and an upstream side of the backing area E And the installed RFID writer 42B is connected.

Then, the following data is set in the collective controller 62 in advance.

· A unique barcode, assigned to each registered user by destination.

(Data of the request 16 of the picking area P corresponding to each article 11) of the request 16 of the picking area P in which the article 11 to be ordered is stored.

The general controller 62 has the following functions.

(A) Area controller 24 for each picking area P, sealing controller 49, resending controller 57, and communication controller 63 output a start command and an end command for work.

(B) The first straight conveying line 21A, the second straight conveying line 21B, the first curve conveying line 21C, the second curve conveying line 21D, And stops.

(C) order from each individual user registered in advance (order: an example of article demand information from each sorting destination; (Single or plural pieces of data consisting of information specifying the article (for example, the article type, article name, article code, etc.) and the quantity (number) (An example of a unique code) is assigned to the user's order (or to the user, that is, the classification request destination, or the article request information of the classification destination) in the order of the user The number of orders (the number of pickings) is recorded in each request 16 to form picking data of the storage line A. [ At this time, when the picking in each user order is completed in the storage line (A), the area and number at which the picking ends are obtained and stored.

(D) The order number assigned to each user and the picking data (including the area and number at which the picking ends) of the formed storage line A are transmitted to the area controller 24 of each picking area P Output.

(E) The total number of articles 11 to be picked from the order data is obtained for each order number assigned to the user, and the total number of articles 11 of each order number is compared with the order number assigned to the user, And outputs it to the display switching controller 64 together with the data on the face.

(F) The order number and the bar code assigned to the user are output to the seal controller 49 and the repacking controller 57.

(G) When the RFID 34 is detected by the RFID writer 42B provided downstream of the bagging machine 60 (installed on the second curve conveying line 21D at the corresponding position), the order of previously registered users , The order number assigned to the order of the user is output to the RFID writer 42B and the order number is written to the RFID 34. [ Thereby, the order number is assigned to the collection container 10 on which the closing indicator 26 is mounted.

As described above, when the order controller (62) executes the start / stop of the lines (21A, 21B, 21C, 21D) and the bagging machine (60) Picking data (picking data for each picking area P) of the line A is formed, and data such as an order number is output to each controller.

&Quot; display switching controller (64) "; 12, the display changeover controller 64 is connected to the RFID reader 42A provided at the downstream end of the storage line A and the communication controller 63, The order number assigned to the user, and the data of the user's shipping direction are input from the general controller 62. [

The display change controller 64 inputs the order number recorded in the RFID 34 by the RFID reader 42A and obtains the user by the order number and obtains the total number of the articles 11, It is determined whether or not this user is at the front end (head) of the delivery direction or at the end.

Then, the following data is output to the communication controller 63, and the data is transmitted through the transceiver 65 and the antenna 43. On the other hand, in the sealed area D downstream of the storage line A, since the first operator H is located opposite to the operator H and the conveying line B of the storage line A, (Display reverse direction instruction) for displaying the display in the reverse direction so that the display of the digital device (display screen) 32 of the display device 26 is easy to see.

· When the user is in line with the ship ... Data indicating that the lamp 38 of the second lamp unit 33 with the cover 39B is lighted in "green" and the lamp 38 of the first lamp unit 31 is turned off together with the order number, And data (an example of a display reverse direction instruction) for displaying the total number of articles 11 in the reverse direction by the digital indicator 32. [

· When the shipping side is neither end nor end ... The second lamp unit 33 and the lamp 38 of the first lamp unit 31 are turned off with the order number and the data indicating the total number of the articles 11 in the reverse direction by the digital indicator 32 (An example of a display reverse command).

· When the end of the ... Data indicating that the lamp 38 of the second lamp unit 33 with the cover 39B is lighted in "red" and the lamp 38 of the first lamp unit 31 is turned off together with the order number, And data (an example of a display reverse direction instruction) for displaying the total number of articles 11 in the reverse direction by the digital indicator 32. [

When this data is received by the radio 36 of the input indicator 26, the display controller 35 checks whether or not the received data has been sent to it by the order number of the received data, and if it is confirmed , The second lamp unit 33 and the lamp 38 of the first lamp unit 31 are turned on / off according to the received data, and the digital indicator 32 displays the total number of the articles 11 in the reverse direction.

Since the order number of the received data is that of the closing indicator 26 that has passed through the downstream end of the storage line A, The lamp 38 of the first lamp unit 31 is turned off when the lamp 38 is at the front end (head), and the lamp 38 is turned off when it is at the end. In addition, in the digital display 32, the "total number" (the total number of the articles 11) is displayed in the reverse direction in place of the displayed "order number" (or "END").

12 (b), the clearance of the delivery surface is indicated by the color of the lamp 38 of the second lamp unit 33, and is gathered in the collection container 10 for inspection The first worker H of the seal area D in which the total number of the articles 11 having the transfer line B located on the other side is opposite to the worker H placed on the storage line A It is indicated by the digital indicator 32 in an easy direction.

&Quot; area controller 24 "; The area controller 24 is connected to the interrogation display device 19, the bay display device 20 and the self-picking area P of the picking area (hereinafter referred to as a self-picking area) A tape switch 23 of an input area (corresponding input area, hereinafter referred to as a self-tapping area) Z disposed so as to face each other (corresponding to each other), an upstream input area The tape switch 23 of the upstream zone Z and the downstream accumulation section 22 of the self-introduction zone Z and the RFID reader (reduced to the upstream zone RFID reader) provided at the upstream end of the upstream zone Z An RFID reader (reduced to a self-area RFID reader) 42A provided at the upstream end of the self-feeding zone Z and a downstream feeding zone Z adjacent to the self-feeding zone Z An RFID reader 42A (reduced to a downstream area RFID reader), and a general controller 62 are connected.

The area controller 24 is also provided with a number that specifies the self-picking area P and the self-insertion area Z in advance and the arrangement of the seekers 16 in the self-picking area P, The data (arrangement data) of the article 11 housed in the guide 16 is set and the order and number assigned to the user from the collective controller 62 and the self-picking area (Picking data) of the article 11 to be taken out from each request 16 of the book P is input.

&Quot; Control Configuration of Area Controller 24 "; The area controller 24 controls the picked up container 10 to take out the article 11 from the mouth 16 of the self-picking area P and to pick up the picked-up article 10 from the picked-up container 10 carried by the first straight- Control the operation. The control block diagram of the area controller 24 is shown in Fig.

The area controller 24 stores whether or not the arrangement data, the order number assigned to each user, the picking data (including the area and number at which the picking ends), and the picking operation by the picking data are completed The picking memory 71 and the recording area of the RFID 34 of the closing indicator 26 attached to each of up to six pieces of collecting containers 10 positioned upstream (moving) from upstream to downstream in the upstream closing area Z An area memory 72 in which the order numbers of the plurality of collecting containers 10 are stored in the self-entering area Z, and the same order numbers of the maximum six collecting containers 10 located upstream and downstream are stored in the self- A data processing section 74 for storing the order number and picking data assigned to each user input from the collective controller 62 into the picking memory 71 and an upstream region container detecting section 75, A self-region container detecting unit 76, Flow region is configured as a pre-display control section 77 and, with the self-region preceding the display control unit 78, the picking control unit (79), and a front transfer permission control unit 80.

"Upstream region container detecting section 75"; When the order number is input from the upstream region RFID reader 42A, the upstream region container detecting section 75 stores the order number in the upstream region memory 72 as the order number of the most upstream collecting container 10 And moves the previously stored order numbers to the downstream side in order. When the order number is input from the self-area RFID reader 42A, the order number is deleted from the upstream area memory 72, and the previously stored order number is sequentially moved to the downstream side.

Quot; self-region container detection unit 76 "; When the order number is input from the self-area RFID reader 42A, the self-region container detecting unit 76 stores the order number in the self-area memory 73 as the order number of the collecting container 10 at the most upstream position , And sequentially moves the order numbers stored previously to the downstream side. When the order number is input from the downstream area RFID reader 42A, the order number is deleted from the self-area memory 73, and the previously stored order number is sequentially moved to the downstream side.

Thus, the order number of the power collecting device 10 located in the upstream charging zone Z and the self-charging zone Z is set in the upstream region memory 72 and the self-region memory 73 from upstream to downstream Remembered, and updated. Since the order number of the collecting container 10 located in each input area Z is stored by inputting the order number from the RFID reader 42A, 17B, the attachment position of the RFID reader 42A can be shifted to the downstream side of the collecting container and a plurality of pieces (see Fig. 17B) The range of the input area Z corresponding to each picking area P can be offset (moved) to the downstream side. As described above, the upstream input zone Z is offset to the downstream side, and the self-feed zone Z is offset to the downstream side, so that the operator H performs the picking operation around the self- The moving distance is shortened, and the working efficiency can be improved.

Quot; self-region preceding display control unit 78 "; The self-area preceding display control unit 78 checks the order number stored in the self-area memory 73 and searches the picking memory 71 by each order number to determine the presence or absence of picking data It is determined whether or not there is an article 11 to be put into the collection container 10 located in the self-feeding zone Z by picking up from the mouth 16 of the area P and if the picking operation is completed, .

If there is picking data in the order number (there is a picking operation), the order number is stored, and the order number (collecting container 10) at the most downstream position is stored as an order number (collecting container) Adds the number of the self-insertion area Z to the order number, and outputs it to the picking control unit 79. [ Further, the self-area lighting data added to the order number of the collecting container 10 to be picked, excluding the order number, plus the number of the self-charging area Z and the lighting signal, is outputted to the communication controller 63 do. Based on the self-zone lighting data, the lamp 38 of the second lamp unit 33 is turned on (to be described later).

If there is no picking data in the order number (no picking operation), the self-area light-off data added to the order number, the number of the self-putting area Z and the light-off signal are output to the communication controller 63 do. When there is no picking data at all, a no-picking-data-free signal is output to the upstream-region preceding-display control unit 77. The lamp 38 of the second lamp unit 33 is turned off (described later) on the basis of the self-area luminescent data.

"Upstream region preceding display control section 77"; The upstream region preceding display control section 77 checks the order number stored in the upstream region memory 72 and searches the picking memory 71 for each order number to determine whether there is picking data It is determined whether there is any article 11 to be put into the collecting container 10 located in the upstream charging area Z by picking up from the pit 16 of the area P. If the picking operation is completed, .

If there is picking data in the order number (if there is a picking operation), the order number is stored, and it is confirmed whether or not the picking data no-signal is inputted from the self-region preceding display control section 78 continuously. (Collecting container 10) is determined as the order number (collecting container) to be picked, and the order number of the upstream receiving area Z is set to the order number (Subtracts 1 from the number of the self-feeding zone Z) and outputs it to the picking control unit 79. [

Further, the upstream area lighting data added to the order number of the collecting container 10 to be picked, excluding the order number of the collecting container 10, plus the number of the upstream filling zone Z and the lighting signal is outputted to the communication controller 63 do. If there is no picking data in the order number (no picking operation), the upstream address extinction data added to the order number, the number of the upstream input area Z, and the extinction signal are output to the communication controller 63 do. The lamp 38 of the first lamp unit 31 is turned on and the lamp 38 of the first lamp unit 31 is turned off based on the upstream area turned-off data based on the upstream region lighting data (Described later).

A " picking control unit 79 " The picking control section 79 inputs the order number of the collection container 10 to be picked up from the self-zone preceding display control section 78 or the upstream area preceding display control section 77, The picking data of the memory 71 is retrieved. Further, the self-area blinking data or the upstream area blinking data added to the input order number plus the number of the self-charging area Z or the number of the upstream charging area Z and the flashing signal is output to the communication controller 63 do. The lamp 38 of the second lamp unit 33 is flickered based on the self-zone blinking data and the lamp 38 of the first lamp unit 31 is blinked based on the upstream area blinking data (Described later).

The number of tablets 16 to take out the articles 11 and the number of the articles 11 to be taken out are displayed by the seeker display device 19 in accordance with the picking data of the collection container 10 to be picked, The bay indicator 20 informs the number of stages of the shelf 17 having the prayer 16 for taking out the article 11. The removal of the article 11 from the mouthpiece 16 is confirmed by the operation of the completion push button switch 19B of the utterance indicator 19 and the tape switch 23 of the self- When the article 11 is put into the collecting container 10 of the charging zone Z or when the tape switch 23 of the collecting container 10 in the upstream charging zone Z (When the container 11 is inserted), the completion of the picking operation to the collection container 10 is confirmed. If it is confirmed, the picking operation of the picking memory 71 that has been executed is terminated, and the order number whose picking operation has been completed is output to the forward transfer permission control unit 80. Then, in the picking data, (P) is set in the picking end area.

In addition, when the self-picking area P is set in the picking end area, a command for displaying "END" (an example of the display of "end of item insertion") and an area ending off data To the communication controller (63).

"Forward transfer permission control section (80)"; The forward transfer permission control unit 80 searches the picking data of the picking memory 71 by the order number of the most downstream position in the self region memory 73 to confirm whether or not there is a picking operation, The front conveyance permission signal is outputted to the accumulation section 22 at the most downstream position. When the picking operation is carried out, the picking control unit 79 waits until the picking operation finished order number is input, and the collection container 10, from which the picking operation has not been completed, It is checked whether or not the order number is matched with the order number of the most downstream position in the self region memory 73. If the order number is matched with the order number, And outputs the forward conveyance permission signal to the downstream accumulation section 22. [

The communication controller 63 sets the order number of the self-application area Z to the order number, the self-area lighting data plus the number of the self-application area Z and the lighting signal, Quot; area number ", or " area number ", or " order number ", or " Z number of the upstream application area Z and the lighting signal "or" upstream area extra-lighting data added to the order number by the number of the upstream application area Z and the light-off signal "or" Blinking data plus the number of the upstream closing area Z and the blinking signal to the order number, "or" the self-area blinking data plus the number of the self-closing area Z and the flashing signal " The transmission / reception device 65 and the antenna (43).

When this data is received by the radio 36 of the input indicator 26, the display controller 35 confirms whether or not the received data has come from the order number of the received data, Quot; END "is displayed on the digital display 32 according to the received data, or when the area is OFF-OFF data," END " 33 and the lamp 38 of the first lamp unit 31 are turned on / off / off. On the other hand, it is assumed that red is turned on when the number of the input area Z is odd and green is turned on when it is even.

· Self-lighting data ... The lamp 38 of the second lamp unit 33 is turned on.

· Self-area off-light data or area end-off data ... The lamp 38 of the second lamp unit 33 is turned off.

· Self-flashing data ... The lamp 38 of the second lamp unit 33 is blinked.

· Upstream area lighting data ... The lamp 38 of the first lamp unit 31 is turned on.

· Upstream area light data ... The lamp 38 of the first lamp unit 31 is turned off.

· Upstream area blinking data ... The lamp 38 of the first lamp unit 31 is blinked.

As described above, the lamp 38 of the second lamp unit 33 of the turn-on indicator 26 attached to the collection container 10 located in the self-introduction area Z is turned on / blinked / It is displayed that the collecting container 10 to be subjected to the picking operation is displayed and blinking is displayed as the collecting container 10 to be subjected to the picking operation and the collecting container 10 which is not the subject of the picking operation And the collection container 10 located in the self-application zone Z, to which the application indicator 26 is attached, is displayed by the second lamp unit 33 in the self-picking area P Is a collection container to be charged.

The lamp 38 of the first lamp unit 31 of the closing indicator 26 attached to the collecting container 10 located in the upstream charging zone Z is turned on / blinked / It is displayed that the container 10 is the intended collection container 10 and that the collection container 10 which is the object of the picking operation is displayed by blinking and that the collection container 10 is not the object of the picking operation The collecting container 10 located in the upstream charging zone Z where the charging indicator 26 is attached by the first lamp unit 31 is located in the vicinity of the bottom of the article 11 taken out from the self- Whether or not the container is the object container to be charged is displayed.

On the other hand, the state (on / off / off state) of the lamp 38 of the second lamp unit 33 of the turn-on indicator 26 is controlled by the self-region preceding display control unit 78, The state of the lamp 38 of the lamp unit 31 is controlled by the upstream region preceding display control unit 77 so that the collecting container 10 is moved from the upstream input zone Z to the downstream downstream input zone Z The state of the lamps 38 of the first lamp unit 31 and the second lamp unit 33 of the closing indicator 26 is reviewed at the same time so that the first lamp unit 31 and the second lamp unit 33 The above state of both the lamps 38 of the lamp unit 33 is updated at the same time.

"Movement of the collection container 10 in the storage line A"; The movement of the collecting container 10 by the input area Z by the configuration of the first rectilinear conveyance line 21A and the configuration of the area controller 24 is as follows.

a. In the filling zone Z, if there is an empty accumulation part 22, it is pre-filled.

b. The movement to the input area Z is performed by the area controller 24 of the corresponding self-picking area P opposed to the self-application area Z unconditionally when the collection container 10 is not the object of picking work , And moves when the empty accumulation section 22 is generated in the upstream of the downstream closing region Z.

c. The movement to the input area Z is performed until the forward conveyance permission signal is output from the area controller 24 of the input area Z when the collection container 10A is the picking operation target, Even if the empty accumulation section 22 occurs upstream of the downstream introduction zone Z, the most downstream collection container 10 in which the picking operation is not completed is stopped without moving, Z), and is moved to the downstream input zone Z for the first time due to the output of the forward feed permission signal (the empty accumulator 22 is generated upstream of the downstream feed zone Z This condition).

As described above, when the collecting container 10 which is permitted to pass the input area Z (permitted) moves to the input area Z and the downstream input area Z is empty (empty accumulation (When there is no part 22), and moves to the state where the empty accumulation part 22 is generated in the upstream of the downstream input area Z.

A specific example will be described with reference to Fig.

Six accumulation units 22 are provided in each of the input zones Z and as shown in Fig. 16 (a), two collection containers 10 on the downstream side in the zone 2 are not subject to a picking operation (No collecting container 10) accumulation section 22 is provided upstream of the adjoining downstream zone 3, as shown in Fig. 16 (b), by the function of the accumulation conveyor, 2, the two collection containers 10 on the downstream side are transferred to the adjacent downstream region 3, and are pre-filled. At this time, the collection container 10A to be subjected to the picking operation in the area 2 is transported to the downstream end of the area, but until the picking operation is completed from the area controller 24 in the picking area P and the forward transport permission signal is output, It is not transferred to the area 3.

16 (a), if there is a bin (no collecting container 10) accumulation portion 22 in the region 1, as shown in Fig. 16 (b), the collecting container 10 upstream As shown in Fig. 16 (b), when the vacant accumulation section 22 is generated by the conveyance of the collecting container 10 in the area 2, it is not subjected to the picking operation at the downstream end of the area 1 The collection container 10 is transported to the area 2 and is prefilled. At this time, the collection container 10A, which is the object of picking operation in the area 1, is transported to the downstream end of the area, but until the picking operation is completed from the area controller 24 in the picking area P, It is not transferred to the area 2.

As described above, the collecting container 10 can be moved partially across the input area Z downstream so that the worker H can move the self-feeding area Z to the collecting container 10A to be picked, The picking operation can be performed in the upstream input zone Z, but the collection container 10A, which is the subject of the picking operation, can perform the picking operation in the self- (Z), the working efficiency can be improved.)

Also, in the entry zone Z, the collection container 10A in which the picking operation is performed can be prevented from being conveyed to the downstream entrance zone Z until the picking operation in the entry zone Z is completed , It is possible to prevent the occurrence of a shortage.

"Picking operation"; The operation by the configuration of the area controller 24 will be described together with the picking operation of the operator H arranged in the picking area P. FIG.

4, the lamp 38 of the second lamp unit 33 of the closing indicator 26 attached to the collecting container 10 located in the self-inflating zone Z is turned on, blinked or turned off , No picking operation is displayed due to the picking operation being performed by turning on and off the picking operation by turning on and off. At this time, the bay display device 20 of the self-picking area P and each interrogation display device 19 are displayed .

The operator H disposed in the self-picking area P can store the article 11 to be put into the collecting container 10 on the basis of the display of the bay display device 20 and the display of each interrogation display device 19. [ The user presses the completion pushbutton switch 19B of the interrogator display device 19 to confirm that the display of the interrogator display device 19 is turned off each time the device 11 is taken out from the box 12 and taken out, And is returned to the collection container 10 to which the closing indicator 26 is transported in the self-introduction zone Z and the lamp 38 of the second lamp unit 33 is flickered Execute the job). When the loading of all the articles 11 is completed, the tape switch 23 of the self-feeding zone Z is pressed to end the picking operation for the collecting container 10 of the object. As described above, the lamp 38 of the second ramp portion 33 is located only in the self-picking region P when the collecting container 10 to which the closing indicator 26 is attached is located in the self- And a self-area lamp which enables picking work is formed.

The lamp 38 of the first ramp 31 of the charging indicator 26 attached to the collection container 10 located in the upstream charging zone Z (which can be viewed only from the self-picking area P) , There is a picking operation by lighting, a picking operation by blinking, and no picking operation by turning off.

The operator H disposed in the self-picking area P can display the display of the bay indicator 20 of the self-picking area P and the display of the angle The collecting container 10 with the closing indicator 26 attached thereto, which is located in the adjacent upstream charging zone Z and in which the lamp 38 of the first lamp unit 31 is blinking, (The preceding picking operation in the upstream area is performed) with respect to the picking area P in the self-picking area P. When the charging of all the articles 11 is finished, the tape switch 23 in the upstream charging zone Z is depressed to end the picking operation of the object collecting container 10. As described above, the lamp 38 of the first lamp unit 31 is located only in the self-picking area P when the collecting container 10 to which the closing indicator 26 is attached is located in the upstream closing zone Z And forms a leading area ramp which enables the preceding picking operation.

As described above, the operator H inserts the article 11 taken out from the self-picking area P into the collecting container 10 carried in the self-charging area Z and the upstream charging area Z As shown in FIG. 4, a range in which the input operation can be performed over two consecutive input areas Z is formed for each operator H. 17 (a), except for the most downstream input area Z, the input area Z for performing the input operation from the most upstream input area Z to the collecting container 10 by two persons, (Z) continues, and only the most downstream input area Z becomes the input area Z in which the operator performs the input operation into the collection container 10 with one person. That is, the picking operation can be carried out by the operator H in the self-closing area Z and the upstream closing area Z, whereby the closing area Z in which the operator H can carry out the picking operation The picking operation is carried out by two operators in each of the input areas Z, except for the input area Z of the input area Z, in which adjacent input areas Z are successively offset and overlapped.

17 (b), in the same way as in the case of offsetting the input area Z to the downstream side with respect to the picking area P as described above, except for the most downstream input area Z, The input area Z for performing the input operation to the collecting container 10 is continued from the input area Z of the uppermost stream and only the input area Z of the most downstream is operated by the operator, As shown in FIG.

When the picking operation to the collection container 10 is completed by the completion of the picking operation, "END" is displayed on the digital display 32. [

The digital display screen 32 of the turn indicator 26 is also displayed on the lamp (self-area lamp) 38 of the second lamp unit 33 and the lamp (preceding area lamp) of the first lamp unit 31, Is most easily seen from a worker who is attached to the center of the collecting container 38 and puts the article 11 into the collecting container 10 to which the closing indicator 26 is attached.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the closing indicator 26 is conveyed together with the collecting container 10 by the conveying line B, and the collecting container 10 is conveyed to the article 11 The input indicator 26 is moved together with the collecting container 10 and the input indicator 26 indicates that the input object is the input object by the input indicator 26 The worker H arranged in each picking area P of the storage line A can intuitively recognize the collection container 10 to be charged without misunderstanding and can prevent the spillover.

In addition, an RFID (tag) 34 is installed in the closing indicator 26, and the order number of the user assigned to the collection container 10 is stored (recorded) in the RFID (tag) 34, The RFID reader 42A for detecting the order number stored in the RFID (tag) 34 is provided at the upstream end of each of the input zones Z, and the order detected by the RFID reader 42A in each of the input zones Z The collecting container 10 can be specified and the picking operation can be carried out so that the collecting container 10 can be transported to the returning line B, It is possible to eliminate the tracking which is always tracked after being input to the returning line B, and it is easy to recover even if the positional information of each collecting container 10 is once lost, The efficiency can be improved. In addition, by providing the RFID (tag) 34 in the closing indicator 26, it is possible to easily correct the unique order number according to the order of the user assigned to the collecting container 10.

According to the present embodiment, the second indicator portion 33 for indicating the self-zone and the first indicator portion 31 for displaying the upstream region are provided on the turn-on indicator 26, and the second indicator portion 33, It is possible to carry out a picking operation in the input area Z corresponding to the picking group of the own picking group and by the display of the first lamp unit 31 in the putting area Z corresponding to the own picking area The picking operation can be carried out in the upstream input zone Z located adjacent to the upstream side and the picking operation can be carried out in both the input zone Z and the upstream input zone Z of its own.

According to the present embodiment, the upstream end of each input zone Z is set depending on the position of the RFID reader 42A, so that the range of the input zone Z can be made variable, Therefore, the region width can be made variable (the input region Z can be widened or narrowed). The input area Z can be offset with respect to the position of the picking area P (the aperture 16 of the flow rack 15) in accordance with the change of the area width of the input area Z . Further, by offsetting the input area Z to the downstream side of the corresponding picking area P, the upstream input area Z is offset to the downstream side and the self-input area Z is offset to the downstream side, The distance traveled for carrying out the picking operation is shortened around the area P, and the working efficiency can be improved.

According to the present embodiment, the collecting container 10 is moved to the downstream side and filled in by the accumulating unit 22 for each of the entering areas Z, The container 10 is moved to the downstream introduction zone Z so that it is easy to move between the introduction zones Z without being influenced by the other introduction zone Z and the movement of the collection container 10 is performed efficiently , The operator's ability can be maximized.

According to this embodiment, the collecting container 10 (the collecting container 10 at the most downstream of the self-feeding area Z) from which the picking operation has not been completed can be discharged from the self- The occurrence of the collection container 10 in which the ordered article 11 is insufficient can be prevented. At this time, the accumulation and movement of the plurality of collecting containers 10 are carried out continuously in the submerged charging zone Z and in the charging zone Z located downstream of the downstream charging zone Z, The movement of the container 10 is performed efficiently, and the ability of the operator can be maximized.

18, the closing indicator 26 is attached to the tray 85 on which the collecting container 10 is placed, as shown in Fig. 18, although the closing indicator 26 is attached to the collecting container 10 in the above- And the charging indicator 26 may be installed in the collecting container 10 through the tray 85. [ It is also possible to arrange such a configuration that a plurality of such trays 85 with the closing indicator 26 are circulated by the conveying line B and the collecting container 10 is automatically inserted into the circulating tray 85, .

In the present embodiment, a sequential order number is assigned to the user's order (or user), and the RFID 34 is caused to record the order number. Thus, in the collection container 10 equipped with the closing indicator 26 It is possible to directly record the order information of the user or the user, that is, the classification destination, or the article request information of the sorting destination, to the RFID 34, whereby the collection container 26, It is also possible to assign the article demand information of the classification destination or the classification destination to the article 10.

In this embodiment, a container is used as the collecting container 10, but the collecting container 10 can be attached by the jig 40, and the product 11 can be temporarily stored Any container may be used, for example, corrugated cardboard or the like can be used.

In the present embodiment, numerals (order numbers) are used as independent codes for specifying orders of users, but characters such as bar codes, alphabets, and the like may also be used. At this time, the bar code, the character and the pictogram are set in order, the order is assigned to the user in that order, and the RFID 34 writes to the RFID 34 by the RFID writer 42B.

In the present embodiment, one operator H is arranged in each picking region P, but a plurality of (for example, two) operators H are arranged in each picking region P Or the like. Thereby, even in a situation where the collection container 10 to be picked is brought into the insertion area Z continuously without interruption, the operation speed in the insertion area Z is improved. Therefore, the collection container 10 is placed in each of the insertion areas Z, So that the efficiency of the picking operation can be improved. The worker H in the picking area P puts the picked article 11 directly into the collection container 10 (manually inserted) It is also possible to arrange an automatic injection device for automatically inputting the article 11 into the collection container 10 on the recording medium 21A so that the article 11 is automatically inserted.

In this embodiment, the color of the lamp (the lamp of the completion pushbutton switch 19B of the utterance display unit 19 and the first lamp of the turn-on indicator 26), which is turned on for each of the picking area P and the closing area Z, The color of the lamps 38 of the first lamp unit 31 and the second lamp unit 33 is changed so that the worker H can collect the articles 11 taken out of the self- However, any method may be used insofar as the worker H does not misjudge the collection container 10, and for example, a method of changing the intensity of the light of the lamp may be employed. Further, although the color of the lamp is two colors (red and green), the color is further increased to three colors, and the colors are designated for the three picking areas (P) and the input areas (Z) You may.

In the present embodiment, the conveying line B is composed of the accumulation conveyor and the driving roller conveyor, but it is also possible to constitute the conveying line B by a preconveyor.

In the present embodiment, the worker H is placed between the flow rack 15 and the first straight conveyance line 21A on the opposite side. However, The rack 15 and the conveyance line B (first straight conveyance line 21A) may be arranged on the same side. Thereby, the article 11 taken out from the mouthpiece 16 is introduced (picked) into the collection container 10 which has been transported as it is from the trajectory of the picked up (picked) And the workability can be improved.

Although the flow rack 15 is disposed along the first straight conveyance line 21A in the present embodiment, it is sufficient if the interceptor (article receiving portion) 16 is disposed for each picking region P, P in the direction orthogonal to the first straight advancing conveyance line 21A.

In this embodiment, the conveying line B is constituted by one circulating line. However, the conveying line B may be constituted by a plurality of, for example, two circulating lines, It is also possible to change the height of the conveying surface of the sheet.

Further, in the present embodiment, the flow rack 15 is used as the picking rack, but a general shelf that does not move the article 11 or the storage box may be used.

Although the article 11 placed on each shelf 17 of the flow rack 15 is accommodated in the storage box 12 in the present embodiment, .

Further, in the present embodiment, each shelf 17 of the flow rack 15 is fixed, but it may be configured so as to be movable and adjusted arbitrarily in the forward and backward directions (in the direction of the first rectilinear conveyance line 21A).

In the present embodiment, the tape switch 23 is used as the input means for completing the article 11 to the collection container 10, but may be a switch for simply inputting completion, or may be a simple push button switch.

In this embodiment, the sorting destination is not limited to the user, but may be classified according to each shop, product category, or category, region, or return track.

A: Storage line
B: Return line
P: Picking area
H: Worker
Z: Input area
10: Collection container
11: Goods
15: Flow rack
16: prayer
21A: first straight line return line
22: Accumulation unit
26: throw indicator
31: First ramp part
32: Digital indicator
33: Second ramp part
34: RFID
36: Radio
42A: RFID reader
42B: RFID lighter
43: Antenna
65: Transceiver
85: Tray

Claims (3)

And a picking shelf having a plurality of article storage portions for respectively storing articles,
And conveying means for conveying a plurality of collecting containers to which the item demand information of the sorting destination or sorting destination is assigned, respectively, along the picking shelf,
A picking facility for loading an article taken out of the article storage portion of the picking lathe into the collection container in accordance with the article demand information of the sorting destination,
Storing the article request information of the sorting destination or the sorting destination assigned to each of the collection containers in the collection container,
The picking lathe is provided with a picking area for picking out articles to be collected by the collection container for each of a predetermined number of article storage parts,
The feeding means is provided with a feeding area for sorting the collecting container to be fed into the picking area corresponding to the picking area,
The article request information of the sorting destination or the sorting destination stored in the collecting container is read from the upstream portion of each of the input regions and the article demand information of the sorting destination or the sorting destination read from each input region And the item demand information of the sorting destination or the sorting destination stored in each of the input areas is moved to the downstream side of the same area so as to specify the collection containers carried in each of the input areas,
The conveying means is constituted by a conveyor capable of accumulating and moving the collecting containers 1 individually and collecting the collecting containers so as not to bump against each other and filling a plurality of collecting containers on the downstream side for each input area, If possible,
Wherein the collecting container located at the most downstream of each of the above-mentioned input areas is a part of the collecting container which is located downstream from the picking area corresponding to the input area until the end of the input of the article in accordance with the article request information of the sorting destination Wherein the stopping of the movement of the plurality of collecting containers is stopped and the putting area located downstream of the downstream putting area and the downstream putting area successively accumulates and moves the plurality of collecting containers. The method according to claim 1,
A unique code is assigned to the item request information of the classifying destination or the classifying destination allocated to each of the collecting containers, the unique code is stored in the collecting container,
Each of the collecting containers is provided with an input indicator for indicating that the collecting container is an object to be charged, into which the article taken out from the article storage portion is to be charged,
Each loading indicator is provided with storage means for storing the unique code allocated to the collecting container provided with the loading indicator,
And code reading means for reading the code stored in the storage means of the closing indicator is provided in the upstream portion of each of the above-
Wherein a position of said code reading means is made movable and a range of a corresponding input area on said conveying means corresponding to said picking area is variable by movement of said code reading means. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the upstream starting position of each of the input areas is offset from the corresponding picking area to the downstream side in the carrying direction of the collection container.

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