RU2732168C1 - System for forming sets of goods or components - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: package and storage.

SUBSTANCE: invention relates to systems for forming sets of goods or components, for example, mail, can be used for bundling goods in individual package and is aimed at creation of module for bundling goods in individual package, allowing to collect marked sets, exceeding in size the size of a cell, and to complete an unlimited number of destination addresses. Completing modular system comprises a multi-celled flooring rack, divided by partitions into open cells of an arbitrary shape to form sets, wherein each cell contains a module with a light tip and feedback buttons arranged above the cell. Each cell is assigned an address identifier for placement in its cavity of sets, and each light prompt module is connected to a microcontroller-based central control unit. Central unit includes a microcontroller board, a screen and a keyboard. Microcontroller program is a full-fledged file operating system with a database and input/output devices, and current configuration data are stored in microcontroller nonvolatile memory. Installed program of microcontroller can independently allocate addresses of cells and monitor their dynamic changes and well-timed commodity marking cell when changing address, and microcontroller board has built-in battery and stores data in non-volatile memory in case of power failure.

EFFECT: system of forming sets of goods or components is proposed.

1 cl, 3 dwg

Description

The invention relates to systems for the formation of sets of goods or components (for example, postal correspondence) and can be used to complete goods in individual packaging.

Known automated workstation mail sorter (US4254875, IPC B42F17 / 00, B61K1 / 00, publ. 03/10/1981). The place contains a rack with shelves, separated by partitions to form separate open in front of the cells for the layout of mail in accordance with its address delivery. Each cell has an identifier, and the mail is marked with the corresponding graphic code corresponding to the delivery address. This relationship allows the use of a software computer system that provides for each item of mail quickly finding its corresponding cell. Reduced time to arrange mail.

However, such an automated workstation of the sorter is a rack mounted along the wall in a semicircle of considerable size, in front of the cells of which an automated device for moving mail between cells is made. Such a structure is complex, has large dimensions, takes up a lot of space in the room and its performance strongly depends on the operating state of each of the structural elements-nodes of such a place. If any node breaks down, the automated workstation of the mail sorter stops functioning, since the algorithm of its functioning does not provide for the exclusion from the control level of those cells or those shelves that cannot be accessed due to a breakdown in this part of the workstation.

Known is the workstation of a sorter of piece products, containing a rack made of at least two sections with shelves, each of which is divided by partitions into open cells for stacking piece products, while the sections on the mating sides are pivotally interconnected to ensure folding by turning one section with the side with open cells in the direction of the open cells of the other section, and each cell is assigned an address identifier for placement in its cavity, with a matching identifier of piece products, as well as a computerized system that includes a monitor and means for reading the identifiers of piece pieces and displaying its location placement on the rack. The rack is made of floor-standing design with legs on one section and rollers or wheels on another section for rolling it when the section is folded, the computerized system includes a printer, a computer unit and electronic number indicators located above or below each cell and made with signal mute buttons on the electronic the index number of these cells after placing the corresponding piece products and turning on the signal about the end of stacking all piece products in these cells, and a scanner was used as a means of reading the identifiers of piece products, the output of which is connected to a computer unit based on a computer system unit, made with the function of activating an electronic number indicator each of the cells upon receipt of a signal from the scanner corresponding to the read identifier of piece products, printout of the packing list for each cell, for which the button for turning on the signal about the end of stacking all piece products into this cell is pressed (patent RU98 950, IPC B07C7 / 02, publ. 10.11.2010).

The disadvantages of the known system are as follows:

- lack of its own control unit, the function of which has been replaced by software emulation based on a personal computer with the Windows operating system; therefore, the known device is not capable of working independently, and the quality of its work depends on the quality of the personal computer, the quality of the windows operating system, the installed addin.dll program and the 1C program;

- binding to the 1C software product and the impossibility of working in other systems;

- a stationary workplace with a link to a personal computer located on it, which does not allow moving the system during operation and requires technically competent specialists;

- use of interface converters for RS485 emulation, the need to poll each cell personally along a complex signal chain;

- if the 1C database or the operating system freezes, the equipment stops working, and the speed of the equipment of a known system directly depends on the speed of the database;

- monolithic structure, which makes it difficult to replace failed electronics and paralyzes the operation of the system;

- less efficient controllers based on Atmel ATmega32 and the need to parse the design for updating the firmware, the need to update each of the 57 devices separately, there is no automatic update of all devices over the network;

- the maximum number of items to be sorted is limited to three symbols of the digital indicator;

- strict physical limitation on the number of cells, which does not allow increasing the number of objects to be sorted at the same time and increasing the productivity of employees.

A component module is known, consisting of several shelves, for picking various goods intended for different recipients, and the component module is formed by two shelves located next to each other, divided into compartments - a shelf of cells and a shelf of goods, and the shelf of cells has a circular shape in plan and can rotate around its vertical central axis, and the cells of this shelf in each case have a radial arrangement next to each other around the central axis of the cell shelf (patent RU146676, IPC A47B49 / 00, publ. 20.10.2014).

Disadvantages of the known system:

- the presence of mechanical parts, the rotation of which requires additional time;

- the need to perform additional operations to fill the shelves of goods;

- limiting the number of items to be sorted equal to the number of product shelves.

The technical problem solved by the invention is the creation of a module for picking goods in individual packaging, which makes it possible to collect marked sets that exceed the size of the cell, and to complete an unlimited number of destination addresses.

The technical result is the collection of goods and the formation of packing lists for an unlimited number of delivery addresses with their arrangement along the delivery routes.

The problem is solved, and the technical result is achieved by a complementary modular system, including a multi-cell floor-standing rack, divided by partitions into open cells of arbitrary shape for the formation of sets, and each cell contains a module with a light prompt and feedback buttons, located above the cell, with each cell assigned address identifier for placement of sets in its cavity, and each light prompt module is associated with a central control unit based on a microcontroller, while the central unit includes a microcontroller board, a screen and a keyboard, and the microcontroller program is a full-fledged file operating system with a database and input devices / output, and the data of the current configuration is stored in the non-volatile memory of the microcontroller, while the installed microcontroller program has the ability to independently allocate cell addresses and control their dynamic changes and belt marking of cell goods when the address is changed, and the microcontroller board has a built-in battery and stores data in non-volatile memory in case of power failure.

According to the invention, the system includes a barcode scanner and a printer for printing packing lists associated with a central unit.

The essence of the invention is illustrated by drawings, which shows the claimed system:

Figure 1 is a general view of the completing modular system;

FIG. 2 shows connections between system modules;

Figure 3 is a block diagram of the microcontroller program.

The figures show:

1 - floor rack with cells

2 - module with a light prompt and feedback buttons

3 - central block

4 - barcode scanner (barcode)

5 - printer for printing packing lists

6 - personal computer (PC)

7 - board of light hint module 2

8 - feedback buttons of module 2

9 - screen of the central unit

10 - buttons of the central unit

USB - connector for tablet or PC connection

USB host - socket for connecting a flash drive, barcode scanner, scales

LAN - LAN connector for connecting a network printer and sharing with a PC

CAN - microcontroller board exchange network with light prompts

COM - connector for connecting a scanner, scales, printer

MicroSD - memory card slot for storing configuration data.

The claimed device operates as follows.

Picking tasks are loaded into the central unit (3) and, using the buttons (10), are started in the required sequence. The central unit (3) consists of a housing, a microcontroller, an LCD screen (9) and control buttons (10). Central unit 3 operates in three modes:

Mode 1: offline management of tasks received from a USB drive or files located on the network.

Mode 2: managing tasks coming from the PC (6) during operation and returning the result.

Mode 2 uses its own driver for Windows, Linux and Android operating systems to interact with accounting systems or databases. Block 3 is capable of receiving tasks and returning the result directly from a USB stick or other device to which it is connected. Block 3 can be connected to a scanner and a printer, if necessary, it can be connected to a PC, tablet or external flash drive. The control unit consists of a housing, a microcontroller board, an LCD screen and control buttons. On the front panel of the case there is a screen under the button screen. The assignment of button functions is dynamic, the button labels are displayed on the indicator. Connectors are located on the side:

Nutrition:

USB - connection of a tablet or PC;

USB host - connecting a flash drive, barcode scanner;

LAN - connection of a network printer, data exchange with a PC;

CAN - control of light prompts;

COM - connection of a scanner, scales, printer;

MicroSD - inserted memory card for data storage;

Firmware upgrade connector.

The task list is displayed on the LCD screen (9). The task is selected by buttons (10) on the control unit or by scanning a barcode on the scanner (4). When a task is selected, block (3) sends data to the boards of light prompts (7). Light prompts are powered from an external low-voltage power supply via a power cable located in the niches of a pipe or a bent profile. The system has the ability to receive tasks and return the results of their execution via USB and LAN interfaces, interacting with a USB flash drive or PC or tablet. Light prompts receive tasks from the block (3) and display information on the indicator, and when buttons (8) are pressed, return the result. The exchange takes place via an interface cable located in the niches of a pipe or a bent profile.

In the course of the task execution, block 3 receives information about pressing the button (8) in the light hint module. The information is processed and updated information about the task is sent to the light cue boards (7). If the address picking is completed in a specific cell, then block 3 sends information about the need for packing to a light prompt and blocks further picking of this cell in the program before printing the packing list. When the information about pressing the button (8) comes to the block (3), the block sends a task to the printer (5) to print the packing list of the kit. Then the set is packed, block (3) unlocks the cells for further packaging and assigns a new dynamic address to this cell, which may coincide with the old one. The blocking of cells and the current state of the assembly are stored in the non-volatile memory of the unit (3) and are saved in case of power failures, and when the power is restored, the unit (3) continues to work from the last state, which ensures the correct operation of the dynamic addressing of points.

Light prompts with buttons can be placed in two versions.

Option 1: A module consisting of buttons (8) and a light prompt board (7). It is located in the technological holes of a square pipe. Bolt-on or snap-on, easy to remove for replacement or maintenance.

Option 2: Electronics kit for retrofitting existing shelving or other structures. Consists of separately located boards of light prompts (7) and buttons (8), connected by wires. They are located in a square tube or bent profile.

Advantages of the complementary modular system:

1. The system allows you to build systems of various capacities and scale them, in case of failure of elements to perform their hot replacement. The system allows you to distribute the load by redistributing the volumes of the picking between similar nodes, by transferring tasks from unit (3) to a similar unit (3) over the LAN.

2. Each device works autonomously according to the tasks loaded into it, the picking speed does not depend on the picking speed of similar network devices and does not depend on the speed of the PC or Tablet, which are used only to download tasks and get the result.

3. The microprocessor program is a full-fledged file operating system with a database, non-volatile memory and input / output devices, which allows the device to be used autonomously without personal computers and other auxiliary computers.

4. Consolidation of the full cycle of software and electronic control devices in the central board allows increasing the reliability of the device due to the absence of external software packages for managing the equipment and external PCs on which they are located, and external communications through which control takes place.

5. The system has the ability to receive tasks and return the results of their execution via USB and LAN interfaces, interacting with a USB flash drive or PC or tablet.

6. A feature of the solution is a removable module (on the connector) with a light prompt and feedback buttons, made in the form of a single universal module, not critical to the quality of the supplied power and the number of devices in the network. This allows you to build racks of different sizes and different numbers of light cues.

7. Due to the use of the central board and the storage of the current sorting data inside the device in the nonvolatile memory in the database, the system excludes the binding of addressees in one cell. The central processor independently allocates addresses and dynamically changes them, blocking cells for mandatory packing and printing a packing list, this allows you to sort an unlimited number of addresses on a limited number of cells. The microprocessor board has a built-in battery and stores data in the event of a power failure, and when power is restored, it continues the suspended operation from the point of stop.

8. The addressee is not tied to a cell, can be on any of them and several at the same time with different packing lists. On the same cell within the same task, at different times there may be different addressees due to blocking of the cell and the obligatory printing of a packing list when the address changes. This allows the assembly of kits in multiple packages, where the size of the entire kit exceeds the size of the cell, and also allows the assembly of an unlimited number of destination addresses.

9. Fixation of the performed sorting action occurs by pressing a button and the action is reflected in the database, which is stored in non-volatile memory. Upon completion of cell sorting, based on the data, a packing list is formed with information about the composition of the package and its delivery route.

10. The goods are immediately placed on the shelf of the bins.

Claims (2)

1. Completing modular system, including a multi-cell floor-standing rack, divided by partitions into open cells of arbitrary shape for the formation of sets, and each cell contains a module with a light prompt and feedback buttons located above the cell, and each cell is assigned an address identifier for placement in its cavity sets, and each light prompt module is connected to a central control unit based on a microcontroller, while the central unit includes a microcontroller board, a screen and a keyboard, and the microcontroller program is a full-fledged file operating system with a database and input / output devices, and the data of the current configurations are stored in the non-volatile memory of the microcontroller, while the installed microcontroller program has the ability to independently distribute cell addresses and control their dynamic changes and timely labeling of cell goods when the address changes, and the microcontroller board has a built-in battery and stores data in non-volatile memory during a power failure. 2. Completing modular system according to claim 1, characterized in that which includes a barcode scanner and a packing list printer connected to the central unit.

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