JP2008056433A - Trace method and trace system of commodity shipping destination - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To surely collect only a commodity group having the risk of a failure when inferior goods (for example, the deterioration of quality, the intrusion of a foreign matter or the tear of a packaging bag) are found after a packaging process and an extent of the failure is limited in commodities manufactured within a specific time before and after the date and time of manufacture, or to surely avoid shipping to the market. <P>SOLUTION: Loading start date and time information and loading end date and time information at each pallet are obtained, shipment results of each of the pallets are obtained, and the obtained loading start date and time information and the loading end date and time information are associated with the shipment results through corresponding pallet identification information, and stored in order to generate a database, and the database is retrieved while having the given pallet loading time and date as a retrieving key or the pallet loading date and time calculated from the given manufacture date and time in the consideration of a known delay time as the retrieving key, and the pallet where the commodity is loaded or the shipment destination to which the commodity is shipped is extracted. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a shipping destination tracing method and a tracing system suitable for, for example, a food manufacturer that ships a large amount of food to the market every day, and in particular, a product effective for specifying a transmission destination when a defective product occurs. The present invention relates to a shipping destination tracing method and a tracing system.

  In a food manufacturer that ships a large amount of food to the market every day, generally, operations from packaging of products (food) to shipment are performed through the flow shown in FIG.

  That is, in the first step, the product (food) 201 is accommodated in a package (for example, a packaging bag) 202, and the manufacturing date and time information 203 and the like required by the Food Sanitation Law are provided on the outer surface of each package 202 to the printer. To print (display) (see FIG. 18A).

  In the subsequent second step, a predetermined number of packaging bodies 202a containing products are accommodated in a shipping packaging box (for example, a cardboard box) 204, and the outer surface of each packaging box 204 is necessary for logistics management. A barcode (generally referred to as an ITF code) 205 corresponding to product type information is printed (displayed) by a printer (see FIG. 18B).

  In the third step, the packaging box 204a containing a predetermined number of packaging bodies 202a containing products is conveyed to a loading station on a forklift pallet 208 by a conveying means 206 such as a belt conveyor (see FIG. 18 (c)). In the figure, reference numeral 207 denotes a bar code reader for optically reading the ITF code in the loading station.

  In the fourth step, a predetermined number of product-containing packaging boxes 204a are stacked (palletized) on the pallet 208 by using a stacking robot (referred to as a robot palletizer) 209 in a loading station (see FIG. 18 (d)).

  Subsequently, in the fifth step, the pallet 208 on which a predetermined number of packaging boxes 204a containing products are loaded is transported to the shipping site using a transporting means 210 such as a forklift and is placed in a standby state (FIG. 18 (e)). )reference).

  In the subsequent sixth step, a necessary pallet is picked by the forklift 210 from the loaded pallets 208 in the standby state for shipment, and the designated shipping destination is included as a destination or a transit point. The vehicle 211 is loaded (see FIG. 18F).

  Product shipment management is performed using a business-use backbone system (for example, an SAP system). From the main system for business use, a picking list in which the shipping destination and the number of products shipped (number of packing boxes) are described is issued. The person in charge of shipment performs shipment with reference to this picking list. Shipment record data indicating how many boxes are shipped to which destination is stored, for example, in units of one day.

In such a product shipping system, product identification information is provided for each pallet, and the product identification information for each pallet and delivery instruction information are associated with each other and stored in a storage device at the time of shipment. 2. Description of the Related Art A shipping history information management system that can manage shipping history is conventionally known (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-126797

  However, such conventional management of shipping results stores information such as which boxes have shipped which products, or information on which pallet products have been shipped to which destinations. Since no consideration is given to the relationship between the date and time of manufacture of the product and the shipping destination of the product related to the date and time of manufacture, defective products (for example, deterioration in quality, contamination with foreign matter, broken packaging bags) Etc.) is discovered after the packaging process, the date and time of manufacture of the defective product will be apparent from the packaging display, and it will be understood that the range of defects is limited to a certain time before and after the date and time of manufacture. However, in order to reliably collect products that may be defective from the market or to avoid shipment to the market without fail, collect products from all destinations shipped on that day and add them. Te, must take into inspection or recover all of palletizing goods in the shipment standby state, as in the following (1) and (2), there is a problem to say that requires a great deal of time and effort.

  (1) It was necessary to stop distribution for all commodities on the corresponding manufacturing date. That is, in the conventional distribution system, since lot numbers are allocated every day, it is difficult to distinguish between safe products and defective products, so distribution is stopped for all products. There was a need.

  (2) Although the number of shipped products is said to have been assigned a lot number, the number of shipments is very large and the shipping destination cannot be specified. You really have to look around everything. In addition, a one-dimensional barcode in which product type data and product quantity information is stored is printed on the product packaging box, and this one-dimensional barcode includes product manufacturing date and time information. Not. Therefore, in order to check the production date and time, each product packaging box is opened and the production date and time printed on the product bag is checked to determine whether or not collection is necessary. Under these circumstances, it took more than one day to specify the shipping destination.

  On the other hand, as a solution to such a problem, which packing box contains each product specified by the date of manufacture, which packing box is loaded on which pallet, which pallet is shipped to which destination You can create a database that links all the information that the product was shipped, but for that purpose, you said a printer for displaying the contents information on the outer surface of the packing box, a reader for reading this, etc. There is a problem that it is not feasible because it requires major modifications to existing systems such as adding new hardware, controlling them, and adding software for database construction.

  The present invention has been made by paying attention to the above-mentioned problems, and its purpose is that once a defective product (for example, quality deterioration, contamination by foreign matter, packaging bag tears, etc.) is discovered after the packaging process, If the date and time of manufacture of the defective product becomes clear from the packaging label and the range of defective products is limited to products manufactured within a certain time before and after the date and time of manufacture, only the product group that may be defective That can be reliably recovered from the market or shipped to the market, and can be realized without significant modifications to the existing shipping system. It is to provide a method and a trace system.

  Other objects and operational effects of the present invention will be easily understood by those skilled in the art by referring to the following description of the specification.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, the following configuration may be employed as a method for tracing the merchandise shipment destination.

  This method is based on the following shipping process. This shipping process includes a first process for displaying manufacturing date and time information required in accordance with the Food Sanitation Law on the outer surface of each package, and a predetermined number of packages each containing the product are stored in a shipping packaging box. And a second step of displaying product type information of products necessary for physical distribution management on the outer surface of each packing box, and a loading station on a forklift pallet with a packing box containing a predetermined number of the packaged goods. A third step of transporting the product, a fourth step of loading a predetermined number of product-containing packaging boxes on the pallet in the loading station, and a predetermined number of the product-contained packaging boxes being loaded The fifth step of transporting the pallet to the shipping site and waiting for shipment, and picking the necessary pallet with a forklift according to the shipping instruction from the loaded pallets in the waiting state for shipment, Having a flow of a series of operations through a sixth step of loading the constant has been shipped destination transportation vehicles including as a destination or waypoint, in this order.

  This method is a method for tracing on which pallet a product having a specific production date and time is loaded, or to which shipping destination, on the premise of the above-described shipping process, which is the fourth process. In the first step of acquiring the loading start date and time information and the loading end date and time information for each pallet in the second step, the second step of acquiring the shipment results for each pallet in the sixth step, and the first step A third step of generating a database by associating and storing the acquired loading start date and time information and loading end date and time information and the shipment record acquired in the second step via corresponding pallet identification information; A pallet calculated using the given pallet loading date / time or loading date / time band as a search key, or considering a known delay time from the given manufacturing date / time or manufacturing date / time band. And a fourth step of extracting a pallet on which the product is loaded or a shipping destination to which the product has been shipped by searching the database using a loading date and time or a pallet loading date and time as a search key. It is characterized by doing.

  According to such a configuration, in addition to generating the database by linking and storing the loading start date / time information and the loading end date / time information and the shipment results via the corresponding pallet identification information, Since there is a certain correlation between the manufacturing date and time and the loading start and end date and time with acceptable accuracy, defective products (for example, quality deterioration, contamination by foreign matter, broken packaging bags, etc.) are once packed. If the date and time of manufacture of the defective product is found from the packaging label and is found after the process, and the scope of the defect is limited to products manufactured within a certain time before and after the manufacturing date and time, Alternatively, the pallet loading date and time or the pallet loading date and time calculated from the manufacturing date and time in consideration of the known delay time is used as a search key, or the given pallet loading date and time or loading By searching the database using the time zone as a search key, it is possible to extract the pallet on which the product has been loaded, or the shipping destination to which the product has been shipped. Can be reliably recovered from the market or can be reliably avoided from being shipped to the market.

  Moreover, in order to create a database including the loading start and end dates and times used in this method, a timing signal indicating the loading start timing and loading end timing is sent to the shipping management server that would have existed before. It is only necessary to provide a sending means (pulse generation source), and in order to obtain the shipment results for each pallet, it is only necessary to obtain the shipment results from the handy terminal. The desired purpose can be achieved without applying.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, the following configuration may be employed as a merchandise shipment destination tracing system. The premise of the shipping process is the same as described above.

  In other words, this system is located in a loading station on a forklift pallet, a product information reader that reads product type information from the outer surface of a packaged box that has been transported, and a loading station on a forklift pallet. Waiting for a predetermined loading start condition to be satisfied, starting the loading operation on the pallet of the product containing packaging boxes being conveyed, and waiting for the loading number to reach the predetermined number And a pallet label issuing machine that issues a pallet label that can be attached to the pallet at the loading station for the pallet for forklift trucks And pallet identification code from the pallet label attached to each pallet. And readable handy terminal in, said cultivar information reader, the loading robot, the pallet label printing machine, and the and a server device connected by communication with the handy terminal.

  While collaborating with the product type information reader and the loading robot, the server device assigns pallet identification information to each pallet, and the pallet identification information and product type information about the loaded product, loading start date / time information, and loading The palletizing processing means for issuing the pallet label displaying the pallet identification information assigned to each pallet from the pallet label issuing machine, and storing the palletizing information from the pallet label at the handy terminal. In cooperation with the operation of reading the pallet identification information, the picking time processing means for storing the specified shipping destination and the pallet identification information of the pallet picked for the shipping destination in association with each other, and the given pallet loading date and time Or use the loading date and time as a search key. The product was loaded by searching the database using the pallet loading date or time or the pallet loading date and time calculated from the given date and time or the manufacturing date and time as a search key. Database retrieval means for extracting a pallet or a shipping destination to which the product has been shipped.

  According to such a configuration, the function of associating the pallet identification information with the product information related to the loaded product, the loading start date / time information, and the loading end date / time information in the database is picked by the palletizing processing unit and the shipping destination. Since the function of associating and storing the pallet identification information of the pallet in the database is automatically realized by the picking processing means, the basic work performed by the worker is issued from the pallet label issuing machine. Only the work of attaching the pallet label to the pallet and the operation of reading the pallet label attached to the pallet by the handy terminal at the time of shipment, hardly increasing the burden on the operator, and for the existing shipping management system. Without any major modifications It is possible to achieve the fiscal objectives of.

  According to the present invention, once a defective product (for example, quality degradation, foreign matter contamination, packaging bag tearing, etc.) is discovered after the packaging process, the date and time of manufacture of the defective product becomes clear from the packaging display, When it is limited to products manufactured within a certain time before and after the manufacturing date and time, ensure that only the product group that may be defective is collected from the market or shipped to the market. It is possible to provide a tracing method and a tracing system for a merchandise shipping destination that can be avoided and that can be realized without making significant modifications to the existing shipping system.

  A preferred embodiment of a shipping destination tracing method and tracing system according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  FIG. 1 shows a system configuration diagram of the shipping destination trace system of the present invention. As shown in the figure, this system includes a server 10, a programmable controller (hereinafter referred to as "PLC") 11, a robot palletizer 12, a barcode reader 13, a handy terminal device 14, a label printer 15, , A hand loading station terminal 16 and a robot palletizer control controller 17.

  The server 10 is connected to the PLC 11, the label printer 15, and the hand loading station terminal 16 via a system bus or a LAN cable. The server 10 and the handy terminal device 14 are connected via a wireless communication medium such as a wireless LAN. Of course, it goes without saying that the connection method between the server 10 and the handy terminal device 14 may be a wired connection using a system bus or a LAN cable.

  The PLC 11 is a so-called control device, and is connected to the robot palletizer controller 17 and the barcode reader 13 via a serial communication line such as an RS422 / 232C cable. The PLC 11 also has a relay function for transmitting data and signals obtained by the robot palletizer controller 17 and the barcode reader 13 to the server 10.

  The robot palletizer 12 is a device for stacking a packing box (for example, made of cardboard) in which products are packed on a shipping pallet by a forklift, and receives an operation signal transmitted from the robot palletizer control controller 17. A series of operations (palletizing process described later) is started or ended. The robot palletizer 12 may be configured to be controlled by the PLC 11 instead of the robot palletizer control controller 17. However, hereinafter, a configuration example in which the robot palletizer 12 is controlled by the robot palletizer control controller 17. explain.

  The barcode reader 13 is a device for optically reading a one-dimensional barcode (ITF code necessary for physical distribution) printed on a product case. The bar code reader 13 is installed near the end of the belt conveyor that conveys the packing box to the automatic stacking station, and reads the one-dimensional code each time the packing box passes a code reading unit (not shown). The product data included in the read one-dimensional code information is transmitted to the PLC 11.

  The handy terminal device 14 is a so-called PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) terminal. The handy terminal device 14 is provided with an optical code reader. By reading the one-dimensional barcode printed on the shipment list and the two-dimensional code printed on the pallet label (see FIG. 9) with this code reading unit, the information described on each sheet is displayed on the screen. Can be made. The handy terminal device 14 is capable of data communication with the server 10.

  The label printer 15 is a printer device for printing the data (character string and two-dimensional code) output from the server 10 on a pallet label (hereinafter referred to as a pallet label).

  The hand-loading station terminal 16 is a terminal installed in an area (hereinafter referred to as a hand-loading station) in which a packing box that cannot be stacked by the robot palletizer 12 is manually stacked on a pallet. The hand loading station terminal 16 includes a handy bar code reader (not shown) and a programmable display (not shown) serving as an operation terminal, for example. Do. The hand loading station terminal 16 is connected to the server 10, and signals for starting and ending the pallet loading work and product type data are transmitted to the server 10.

  A block diagram showing the internal configuration of the server 10 is shown in FIG. As shown in the figure, the server 10 includes a control unit 101, a display unit 102, an input operation unit 103, a storage unit 104, and a communication control unit 105.

  The control unit 101 is a central processing unit (CPU) that supervises the operation of the server 10. By executing the database creation program and the database search program stored in the storage unit 104 by the control unit 101, the database creation function and the database search function are realized in software.

  As the display unit 102, a CRT or a liquid crystal is used, and image data processed by the control unit 101 is displayed.

  The input operation unit 103 is an input device such as a so-called keyboard or mouse. As will be described later, this input device is used for a database search operation.

  The storage unit 104 includes a storage device such as a so-called HDD. The storage area of the storage unit 104 stores a database creation program, a database search program, and a database that stores data, which will be described later.

  The communication control unit 105 is a part for realizing communication control for a so-called USB (Universal Serial Bus) or LAN (Local Area Network). By connecting communication cables to these communication control units, data communication is performed with each of the PLC 11, the handy terminal device 14, and the loading station terminal 16, and at the same time, data is output to the label printer 15. . Furthermore, since data communication with the handy terminal device 14 uses radio, the communication control unit 105 of this example is provided with a radio communication function.

  A block diagram showing the internal configuration of the handy terminal device 14 is shown in FIG. As shown in the figure, the handy terminal device 14 includes a control unit 141, a display unit 142, an input operation unit 143, a code reading unit 144, a storage unit 145, and a communication control unit 146. Is done.

  The control unit 141 is a central processing unit (CPU) that supervises the operation of the handy terminal device 14. The data input program stored in the storage unit 145 is executed by the control unit 141, whereby the data input / update function is realized by software.

  A small liquid crystal is used as the display unit 142, and the image data processed by the control unit 141 is displayed.

  The input operation unit 143 is an input device such as a so-called touch panel. The input signal generated by the input operation unit 143 is processed by the control unit 141.

  The code reading unit 144 is a so-called bar code reader. The code reading unit 144 can optically read one-dimensional barcodes and two-dimensional codes.

  The storage unit 145 is a storage device such as a so-called HDD. The storage area of the storage unit 145 stores a code reading program, a data transmission / reception program, and input data which will be described later.

  The communication control unit 146 is a part for realizing control for a so-called USB (Universal Serial Bus), a wireless LAN, or the like. Communication with the server 10 is enabled via USB or wireless LAN.

  Next, FIG. 4 shows a flowchart showing an outline of the operation program of the tracing system of the merchandise shipping destination of the present invention. As shown in the figure, the product shipment destination trace system includes processing on the server 10 side and processing on the handy terminal 14 side.

  In the processing on the server 10 side, palletizing processing (step 401), picking processing (step 402), and search processing (step 403) are performed. The palletizing process (step 401) acquires data from the robot palletizer 12 and the barcode reader 13 in cooperation with the PLC 11. Details of these will be described later.

  In the process on the handy terminal 14 side, a picking process (step 411) is performed. This is performed after the palletizing process on the server 10 side (step 401) is completed. The picking process (step 411) on the handy terminal device 14 side is performed in parallel with the picking process (step 402) on the server 10 side.

  Next, a flowchart showing details of the palletizing process (step 401) in the server 10 is shown in FIG. As shown in the figure, the server 10 obtains data from the robot palletizer control controller 17 and the barcode reader 13 in cooperation with the PLC 11. When the palletizing process (step 401) of the server 10 is started, the server 10 receives the product type information of the packing box read by the bar code reader 13 from the PLC 10, and acquires product type data (step 501). The acquired product type information is stored in the storage unit 104 (step 502). Thereafter, a reception check is performed until a palletizing work start signal is received from the PLC 11 (NO in steps 503 and 504).

  When the palletizing work start signal is received from the PLC 11 (step 504 YES), the server 10 obtains the time (server time) of the own built-in clock when the start signal is received (step 505). While the robot palletizer 12 is palletizing a pallet, the server 10 performs a reception check until a palletizing work end signal is received from the PLC 11 (NO in steps 506 and 507).

  When the palletizing work end signal is received from the PLC 11 (YES in step 507), the server 10 acquires the time (server time) of the own built-in clock when the end signal is received (step 508). When the end time is acquired (step 508), the character string constituting the palette label and the two-dimensional code are created (step 509). The character string and the two-dimensional code created in this way are output as data to the label printer 15, printed on the sticking label, and a pallet label is issued (step 510).

  FIG. 9 shows an explanatory diagram showing a configuration example of the pallet label. As shown in the figure, the pallet label 900 is attached to each pallet, and “product type”, “factory symbol”, “manufacturing date”, “palletizing start time”, “palletizing end time”, “manufacturing lot number” And character strings 901 to 907 corresponding to “pallet No.” and a two-dimensional code 908, respectively. The two-dimensional code 908 stores data corresponding to the character strings 901 to 907 and can be read by the code reading unit 144 of the handy terminal device 14. The label can be attached to an appropriate position on the pallet or an appropriate position on the packaging box by removing the release paper.

  Returning to FIG. 5, when printing is performed by the label printer 15 (step 510), data corresponding to the character strings 901 to 907 on the pallet label is stored in a database in the storage unit 104 (step 511).

  An explanatory diagram showing the internal structure of the database is shown in FIG. As shown in the figure, this database has one record for each shipment number 1001. Each record includes a record number 1002, a delivery destination code 1003, a delivery destination name 1004, a pallet code 1005, a palletizing start date and time 1006, a palletizing end date and time 1007, an ITF code 1008, a product name 1009, a palletizing quantity (the number of cargoes) 1010, and the actual number. 1011, factory symbol 1012, plant code 1013, plant name 1014, production date 1015, and production lot No. 1016 are stored in association with each other as attributes.

  Pallet code 1005, palletizing start date and time 1006, palletizing end date and time 1007, ITF code 1008, product name 1009, and palletizing quantity (number of cargoes) 1010, which are one of the attributes, are shown in steps 501 to 508 of FIG. Data received from the PLC in the process or data acquired by the server 10 itself. Further, the factory symbol 1012, the plant code 1013, the plant name 1014, the production date 1015, and the production lot No. 1016 which are attributes are data created based on data set in advance in the server 10 before starting work. This preset data is stored in a setting file (not shown) in the storage unit 104. These data (1005 to 1010 and 1012 to 1016) are stored in the database in the process of step 511 in FIG.

  Returning to FIG. 5, while the one-dimensional barcode is being read by the barcode reader 13, the processing in steps 501 to 511 is repeatedly executed (YES in step 512), and when reading by the barcode reader 13 is completed. (Step 512 NO), the palletizing process is terminated.

  Next, a flowchart showing details of the palletizing process in the robot palletizer control controller 17 is shown in FIG. As shown in the figure, when the robot palletizer controller 17 is powered on, initial processing is performed (step 601). In this initial processing, connection settings for the robot palletizer 12 and the barcode reader 13 are performed. When the initial processing is completed (step 601), the robot palletizer control controller 17 checks the sensor state until the sensor adjacent to the robot palletizer 12 detects the packaging box (NO in steps 602 and 603).

  When the sensor adjacent to the robot palletizer 12 detects the packaging box (YES in step 603), the robot palletizer control controller 17 transmits a work start instruction to the robot palletizer 12 (step 604). When the operation start instruction is transmitted (step 604), the robot palletizer 12 starts to stack the pallets into the pallet (palletizing). While the palletizing is being performed, the robot palletizer control controller 17 A reception check of the pallet discharge signal or the operation end signal is performed (step 605). This reception check is performed until a pallet discharge signal or an operation end signal is received (step 606 NO, step 607 NO).

  When an operation end signal is received from the robot palletizer 12 (for example, when the maximum load capacity of the pallet is reached and the pallet is switched to a new pallet) (step 607 YES), a process of transmitting a work start instruction to the robot palletizer 12 again. Performed (step 604). These processing steps 604 to 607 are repeatedly performed unless a pallet discharging operation is executed by the operator.

  Even if the maximum load capacity of the pallet is not reached, if the pallet eject button installed on the robot palletizer control panel is pressed by the operator, the pallet is transferred from the robot palletizer control panel to the robot palletizer control controller 17. A discharge signal is sent. When the pallet discharge signal is received (step 606 YES), the robot palletizer control controller 17 transmits a work end instruction to the robot palletizer 12 (step 608).

  Next, a flowchart showing details of the palletizing process in the PLC 11 is shown in FIG. As shown in the figure, when the PLC 11 is powered on, initial processing is performed (step 701). In this initial process, connection settings for the server 10, the robot palletizer control controller 17, and the barcode reader 13 are performed. When the initial process is completed (step 701), the product information from the barcode reader 13 is transmitted to the server 10 (step 702). When the product type information from the barcode reader 13 is transmitted to the server 10 (step 702), the PLC 11 performs a reception check until a response signal notifying that the operation has started is received from the robot palletizer 12 (step 702). 703, 704 NO).

  When a response signal is received from the robot palletizer 12 (step 704 YES), a palletizing operation start signal is transmitted to the server 10 (step 705).

  When a palletizing operation start signal is transmitted to the server 10 (step 705), the PLC 11 performs a reception check until a response signal notifying that the operation has been completed is received from the robot palletizer control controller 17 (step 706). Step 707 NO). When a response signal is received from the robot palletizer controller 17 (YES in step 707), a palletizing operation end signal is transmitted to the server 10 (step 708). These processes (steps 702 to 708) are repeatedly executed while the PLC 11 is in operation.

  Next, a flowchart showing details of the palletizing process in the robot palletizer 12 is shown in FIG. The robot palletizer 12 performs palletizing processing based on a signal from the robot palletizer control controller 17, and therefore performs a reception check until a work start instruction is received from the robot palletizer control controller 17 (step 801). 802 NO).

  When an operation start instruction is received from the robot palletizer control controller 17 (YES in step 802), an empty pallet without a product case is introduced and installed at a predetermined position (step 803). At this point, the loading operation on the pallet becomes possible, and a signal indicating that the loading operation on the pallet has started (operation start signal) is transmitted to the PLC 11 (step 804), and under the control of the robot palletizer control controller 17 A loading operation is performed (step 805). At that time, the number of packing boxes loaded on the pallet is counted (step 806). These loading operations are performed until an operation end instruction is received from the robot palletizer control controller 17 (step 807 NO).

  During the loading operation, the robot palletizer 12 is determined on the pallet in step 806 by measuring the number of packing boxes loaded on the pallet using a loading number counter or a loading sensor (not shown). It is determined whether or not the maximum load number has been reached, and the loading operation is performed until the current load number reaches the maximum load number (NO in step 808). When the current number of loads reaches the maximum number of loads (step 808 YES), the loading operation is temporarily stopped and the loaded pallet is discharged (step 809). At the same time, an operation end signal is transmitted to the PLC 11 (step 810). When the operation end signal is transmitted (step 810), the loading operation is performed again.

  When a work end instruction is received from the robot palletizer control controller 17 (step 807 YES), the stacking work is finished, the loaded pallet is discharged (step 811), and an operation end signal is transmitted to the PLC 11. (Step 812).

  In this way, the robot palletizer 12 is operated by receiving the start / end signal from the robot palletizer controller 17. Further, a process of transmitting an operation start signal to the PLC 11 is performed when the product case is started to be loaded on the pallet, and a process of transmitting an operation end signal to the PLC 11 is performed when the loaded pallet is discharged. With the above processing, the product cases are stacked on the pallet by the robot palletizer 12.

  Further, product cases that cannot be stacked on the robot palletizer 12 are manually stacked on a pallet. At that time, the stacking operation is performed while operating the hand loading station terminal 16. That is, a programmable display (not shown) is installed in the hand-loading station terminal 16, and by reading a one-dimensional barcode on the outer surface of the packaging box using a handy barcode reader connected thereto, Variety data is acquired. Further, by pressing a stacking start / end button that is set and displayed on the programmable display, each signal of the start / end of the pallet stacking operation is transmitted to the server 10 together with the acquired product type data. Even when palletizing is performed at the hand loading station, the palletizing process of the server 10 is the same as the process of FIG.

  Next, the picking process will be described. In the picking process, a process (step 402) performed by the handy terminal device 14 and a process (step 403) performed by the server 10 are performed in cooperation with each other. The worker who performs the picking work carries the handy terminal device 14 and performs a predetermined operation with reference to a picking list (shipment slip) issued from a business backbone system (for example, SAP system). Note that the picking list is issued periodically (in the present embodiment, once a day) from the business backbone system.

  A flowchart showing details of the picking process (step 402) in the handy terminal device 14 is shown in FIG. As shown in the figure, the barcode for each delivery truck included in the picking list is read using the code reading unit 144 of the handy terminal device 14. By reading the barcode of the picking list, the shipment number (shipment slip number) corresponding to the picking list is acquired (step 1101).

  When the shipment number is acquired (step 1101), the acquired shipment number is transmitted to the server 10 (step 1102), and the corresponding picking data is returned from the server 10. When picking data is received, it is output to the display unit 142 (step 1103). Thereafter, the code reading unit 144 performs a reading check until the two-dimensional code 908 printed on the pallet label 900 attached to the pallet to be shipped is read (steps 1104, 1105 YES).

  When the two-dimensional code 908 of the pallet label 900 is read (step 1105 YES), the pallet information (product type, factory symbol, manufacturing date, palletizing start time, palletizing end time, manufacturing lot number, and Pallet No) is taken into the storage unit 145 of the handy terminal device 14 and output to the display unit 142 (step 1106).

  When the pallet information is acquired (step 1106), the shipment number and the pallet No. stored in the storage unit 145 of the handy terminal device 14 are transmitted to the server (step 1107). When the shipment number and the pallet No. are transmitted to the server 10 (step 1107), a picking instruction is transmitted from the server 10, and the picking operator confirms the content displayed on the display unit 142 and performs the picking operation. After the picking operation is completed, the picking record input by a predetermined operation is transmitted to the server 10 (step 1108). These picking processes (steps 1104 to 1108) are repeated until the picking operation is completed (step 1109 NO).

  Next, a flowchart showing details of the picking process (step 403) in the server 10 is shown in FIG. As shown in the figure, at the same time as the picking list is issued, the server 10 acquires picking data and stores it in the database (step 1201). The picking data includes a shipment number, a delivery destination, a shipment type, and a production lot.

  When the picking data is acquired (step 1201), the server 10 performs a reception check until receiving the shipment number transmitted from the handy terminal device 14 (NO in steps 1202 and 1203). When the shipment number is received, picking data corresponding to the received shipment number is transmitted to the handy terminal device 14 of the transmission source (step 1204).

  When the picking data is transmitted to the handy terminal device 14 (step 1204), the server 10 performs a reception check until receiving the pallet No. and the shipment number transmitted by the handy terminal device 14 (step 1205, 1206 NO). When the pallet No. and the shipment number are received (step 1206 YES), pallet information corresponding to the received pallet No. and picking data corresponding to the shipment number are respectively acquired from the database (step 1207), and the pallet information and picking data are obtained. (Step 1208).

  When the pallet information in the database is associated with the picking data (step 1208), the server 10 transmits a picking instruction to the handy terminal device 14 communicating in the processing of steps 1203 to 1206. The picking instruction is notified to the operator via the handy terminal device 14. After the picking operation is completed, the server 10 receives data such as the picking record input by the handy terminal device 14 (step 1209). The received picking record is registered in the database (step 1210). These picking processes (steps 1100 to 1210) are repeated until the picking work is completed (step 1211 NO).

  Here, a database in which pallet information, picking data, and picking results are stored will be described. As described above, FIG. 10 shows the internal structure of the database. Pallet information data (1005 to 1010 and 1012 to 1016) is stored in the database by palletizing processing. In the association processing in step 1208 in FIG. 12, picking data corresponding to the shipment number 1001, the delivery destination code 1003, and the delivery destination name 1004 are stored in the acquired pallet No. data. Further, in the picking record reception process in step 1209, a record value corresponding to the record number 1011 is stored.

  In this way, the corresponding pallet information can be acquired from the picking data, and further, the delivery destination of the product can be acquired from the pallet information.

  Next, a flowchart showing details of the search process (step 404) in the server is shown in FIG. The search process is performed using a database in which picking data and pallet information are associated in the picking process (step 403). When the search process is started, a search input screen (initial display) is displayed on the display unit 102 of the server 10 (step 1301).

  A display example of the search screen is shown in FIG. As shown in the figure, the search input screen 1400 includes a search condition input field 1410 and a data display field 1420. The search condition input field 1410 includes an ITF code input field 1411, a product name input field 1412, a palletizing date / time input field 1413, a destination code input field 1414, a destination name input field 1415, a manufacturing date / time input field 1416, a search A button 1417 and a clear button 1418 are provided. Further, the data display column 1420 includes a pallet label number display column 1421, an ITF code display column 1422, a product name display column 1423, a palletizing end date / time display column 1424, a manufacturing plant display column 1425, and a cargo number display column. 1426 and a remaining number display column 1427. When a search condition is input in the search condition input field 1410 and the search button 1417 is pressed, the database is searched, and data corresponding to the condition is displayed in a list in the data display field 1420. When the clear button 1418 is pressed, the search condition input in the search condition input field 1410 and the search result displayed in the data display field 1420 are cleared.

  Returning to FIG. 13, when the search input screen 1400 is displayed (step 1301), a button operation check is performed until the search button 1417 is pressed (NO in steps 1302 and 1303). When search button 1417 is pressed (YES in step 1303), the database is searched using the search condition input in search condition input field 1410 as a key (step 1304).

  If a search result exists (YES in step 1305), data corresponding to the search condition is output to the data display field 1420 of the search screen (step 1306). If there is no search result (NO in step 1305), error processing is executed (step 1307).

  A diagram showing a search example by the above search processing is shown in FIG. As shown in the figure, in this example, the search condition “May 8, 2006, 9:00” is input in the manufacturing date input field 1416 of the search condition input field 1410. When a search button 1417 is pressed under this search condition, a list of pallets on which a packaging box containing products corresponding to the manufacturing date “May 8, 2006, 9:00” is loaded is referred to the database. Searched and displayed. For example, this search process takes into account the standard time required for the product to be packed, transported, and pallet loaded from the print date of the manufacture date and time to the pallet loading date and time band from the “manufactured date and time” that is the given search key. This is performed by searching the database using this as an internal search key.

  In other words, the data of “manufacturing date” is stored in the database, but this value is created on the basis of data preset in the server 10 before the work starts, and is therefore printed on the product bag. It is difficult to specify the manufacturing time that is. The database does not store the date and time of product manufacture. This is because the manufacturing date and time is printed on the product bag, but the manufacturing date and time information of the product is not described in the packaging box in which the product is packed. Unless the packaging box printing device (not shown) is improved, the production date cannot be stored in the database.

  However, as the applicant has learned empirically, the time required from when the date of manufacture is printed on the product packaging bag to when the packaging box containing the product packaging bag is loaded on the pallet is Although there was an error of about a minute, it was found that it was almost constant. That is, the date of manufacture is printed on the outer surface of the packaging bag immediately after packing the product, and immediately after that, packing into a packing box by an automatic packing machine, transporting the packed packing box to an automatic loading station by a belt conveyor, Assuming a series of operations such as loading on a pallet, it was confirmed that the time required for these series of operations was almost constant (for example, about 10 minutes). In other words, the process from the production time of the product in the production process (that is, the time when the product is packaged in the bag) to the packing / palletizing operation is automatically performed by the belt conveyor or the work machine, so the required time is almost constant. It is. By paying attention to this, by adding the above required time from a given manufacturing date and time, it is possible to estimate the palletizing time or palletizing time zone with a practically acceptable accuracy, and this estimated palletizing By referring to the database using the time or time zone as an internal search key, the pallet on which the product is palletized or the shipping destination relating to the pallet can be searched.

  In the above database, palletizing start date / time and palletizing end date / time are also prepared as search keys. Therefore, considering the above required time, palletizing start date / time and palletizing end date from the manufacturing date / time displayed on the product bag. Of course, even if the date is obtained by calculation and the value thus obtained is directly given to the database as a search key, the pallet on which the product is palletized or the shipping destination relating to the pallet can be searched.

  An explanatory diagram showing the time transition is shown in FIG. As shown in the figure, t11, t21, and t31 are palletizing start times, t12, t22, and t32 are palletizing end times, P1, P2, and P3 are palletizing work time zones, tx is a manufacturing date, and Td is a product. This is the time required from when the date of manufacture is printed on the packaging bag until the packaging box containing the product packaging bag is loaded on the pallet. If the manufacturing date printed on the product bag is tx, the value of tx + Td is the time when palletizing is performed. According to the figure, when the value of tx + Td is in the range of t11 to t12, the palletizing work time zone is P1, and when the value of tx + Td is in the range of t21 to t22, the palletizing work time zone is P2. When the value of tx + Td is in the range of t31 to t32, the palletizing work time zone is set to P3. In this way, it is possible to acquire the time or the time zone when palletizing is performed from the manufacturing date and time.

  Returning to FIG. 15, when the search process is started using the manufacturing date and time as a key, the server 10 calculates the palletizing end date and time from the manufacturing date and time according to the time transition of FIG. Then, the corresponding data in the database is extracted using the calculated palletizing end date and time. When the search process is completed, palettes corresponding to “manufacturing date and time: May 8, 2006 at 9:00” are displayed in a list in the data display column 1420. In the present embodiment, the manufacturing date and time is used as a search key. However, in addition to this, it is possible to perform a search using items in the search condition input field 1410.

  Details of the palette information displayed in the data display column 1420 are shown in FIG. As shown in the figure, details of the palette information are displayed in the result display field of the result list screen 1600. By pressing a record display button 1419 on the search input screen 1400, details of the selected palette information (result list 1610) are displayed. The result list 1610 can be switched in display for each state by a state display 1601 of pallet warehousing / unloading / loading / withdrawing. Furthermore, the result list 1610 includes a pallet processing time display field 1611, a status display field 1612, a warehousing destination display field 1613, a pallet label No. 1614, a shipment code display field 1615, a delivery destination display field 1616, and the number of results. A display field 1617 and a remaining number display field 1618 are included. This results list screen 1600 allows visual inspection of the shipping destination and the number of shipments of the product cases loaded on the pallet, or the remaining number, so even if a production line failure or product failure occurs, Since the shipping destination of the corresponding product can be easily identified, the range in which the distribution is stopped can be minimized.

  As described above, the product shipment destination tracing system can specify the corresponding shipping pallet from the production date and time when the product defect is found. Further, since the shipping destination and the number of shipments can be grasped from the shipping pallet information, it is possible to distribute normally without stopping the distribution other than the shipping destination.

  In addition, the shipping trace system can easily identify the shipping destination by simply specifying the product information of the shipped product, so it is possible to tell the shipping destination whether or not it is a safe product without examining the actual product. it can.

  In this search process, a search condition is input from the input operation unit 103 of the server 10 and the search result is output to the display unit 102. A terminal such as a personal computer connected to the server 10 via a network such as a LAN. May be used, and the data display column 1420 and the result list 1610 may be output using a printer or the like.

  Furthermore, the standard required time may be stored in advance in a database software setting file, and the change may be performed according to the actual system. Of course, if a dedicated screen for setting and changing is provided, the degree of freedom for changing the setting of the system is improved.

  According to the present invention, once a defective product (for example, quality degradation, foreign matter contamination, packaging bag tearing, etc.) is discovered after the packaging process, the date and time of manufacture of the defective product becomes clear from the packaging display, When it is limited to products manufactured within a certain time before and after the manufacturing date and time, ensure that only the product group that may be defective is collected from the market or shipped to the market. It is possible to provide a tracing method and a tracing system for a merchandise shipping destination that can be avoided and that can be realized without making significant modifications to the existing shipping system.

It is explanatory drawing which shows the system configuration | structure of the shipment trace system of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the internal structure of a server. It is a block diagram which shows the internal structure of a handy terminal device. It is a general flowchart which shows operation | movement of the shipment trace system of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the detail of the palletizing process in a server. It is a flowchart which shows the detail of the palletizing process in PLC. It is a flowchart which shows the detail of the palletizing process in the controller for robot palletizer control. It is a flowchart which shows the detail of the palletizing process in a robot palletizer. It is explanatory drawing which shows the structural example of a pallet label. It is explanatory drawing which shows the internal structure of a database. It is a flowchart which shows the detail of the picking process in a handy terminal device. It is a flowchart which shows the detail of the picking process in a server. It is a flowchart which shows the detail of the search process in a server. It is explanatory drawing (the 1) which shows the example of a display of a search screen. It is explanatory drawing (the 2) which shows the example of a display of a search screen. It is explanatory drawing (the 3) which shows the example of a display of a search screen. It is explanatory drawing which shows a time transition. It is explanatory drawing which shows the flow of the operation | work from bag packing of goods to shipment.

Explanation of symbols

10 Server 11 Programmable controller (PLC)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 12 Robot palletizing 13 Bar code reader 14 Handy terminal 15 Label printing 16 Hand loading station terminal 17 Controller for robot palletizer control 101 Control unit 102 Display unit 103 Input operation unit 104 Storage unit 105 Communication control unit 141 Control unit 142 Display unit 143 Input Operation unit 144 Code reading unit 145 Storage unit 146 Communication control unit 900 Pallet label 901 Product type 902 Factory symbol 903 Date of manufacture 904 Palletizing start time 905 Palletizing 906 Manufacturing lot number
907 Pallet No.
908 Two-dimensional code 1001 Shipment number 1002 Record number 1003 Delivery destination code 1004 Delivery destination name 1005 Pallet code 1006 Palletizing start date and time 1007 Palletizing end date and time 1008 ITF code 1009 Product name 1010 Palletizing quantity (number of cargoes)
1011 Number of achievements 1012 Factory symbol 1013 Plant code 1014 Plant name 1015 Date of manufacture 1016 Production lot No.
1400 Search input screen 1410 Search condition input field 1411 ITF code input field 1412 Product name input field 1413 Palletizing date / time input field 1414 Delivery destination code input field 1415 Delivery destination name 1416 Production date / time 1417 Search button 1418 Clear button 1419 Result display button 1420 Data display field 1421 Pallet label number display field 1422 ITF code display field 1423 Product name display field 1424 Palletizing end date / time display field 1425 Production plant display field 1426 Load number display field 1427 Remaining number display field 1600 Result list screen 1601 Status display 1610 Result list 1611 Pallet Processing time display column 1612 Status display column 1613 Warehousing destination display column 1614 Pallet label No display column 1615 Shipment code display column 1616 Delivery destination Display field 1617 Actual number display field 1618 Remaining number display field t11, t21, t31 Palletizing start time t12, t22, t32 Palletizing end time P1, P2, P3 Palletizing work time zone tx Manufacturing date / time Td Production date / time Td Packaging, transportation, loading Standard time to reach

Claims (2)

A first step of storing the product in a package and displaying production date and time information required under the Food Sanitation Law on the outer surface of each package;
A second step of storing a predetermined number of packages containing the products in a transport packaging box and displaying product type information necessary for physical distribution management on the outer surface of each packaging box;
A third step of transporting a packing box containing a predetermined number of the packaged goods to a loading station on a forklift pallet;
In the loading station, a fourth step of loading a predetermined number of product-containing packaging boxes on a pallet;
A fifth step of transporting a pallet on which a predetermined number of the packaging boxes containing the goods are loaded to a shipping place and waiting for shipment;
A sixth step of picking a necessary pallet from a loaded pallet in the shipment standby state with a forklift according to a shipping instruction and loading the pallet into a transportation vehicle including a designated shipping destination as a destination or a transit point; ,
A method for tracing which pallet is loaded with a product of a specific date and time, or to which shipping destination, on the premise of a series of work flow through
A first step of acquiring loading start date and time information and loading end date and time information for each pallet in the fourth step;
A second step of obtaining a shipment record for each pallet in the sixth step;
The database is generated by associating and storing the loading start date / time information and loading end date / time information acquired in the first step and the shipment result acquired in the second step via corresponding pallet identification information. A third step;
Using the given pallet loading date / time or loading date / time band as a search key, or using the pallet loading date / time or pallet loading date / time band calculated in consideration of a known delay time from the given manufacturing date / time or manufacturing date / time band as the search key, A fourth step of extracting a pallet on which the product is loaded or a shipping destination to which the product has been shipped by searching the database;
A method for tracing a merchandise shipment destination. A first step of storing the product in a package and displaying production date and time information required under the Food Sanitation Law on the outer surface of each package;
A second step of storing a predetermined number of packages containing the products in a transport packaging box and displaying product type information necessary for physical distribution management on the outer surface of each packaging box;
A third step of transporting a packing box containing a predetermined number of the packaged goods to a loading station on a forklift pallet;
In the loading station, a fourth step of loading a predetermined number of product-containing packaging boxes on a pallet;
A fifth step of transporting a pallet on which a predetermined number of the packaging boxes containing the goods are loaded to a shipping place and waiting for shipment;
A sixth step of picking a necessary pallet from a loaded pallet in the shipment standby state with a forklift according to a shipping instruction and loading the pallet into a transportation vehicle including a designated shipping destination as a destination or a transit point; ,
A system for tracing on which pallet a product with a specific production date is loaded, or to which shipping destination, on the premise of a series of work flow through
A product information reader for reading product product information from the outer surface of the product-containing packaging box that is in the loading station on the forklift pallet;
At the loading station on the pallet for forklift, after waiting for a predetermined loading start condition to be satisfied, the loading operation on the pallet of the packaged container that has been transported is started, and the loading number is set to the predetermined number. A robot for loading that repeats a series of operations such as ending the loading operation and discharging the loaded pallet,
A pallet label issuing machine for issuing a pallet label that can be attached to a pallet in a loading station for forklift pallets;
A handy terminal that can be used to optically read a pallet identification code from a pallet label attached to each pallet;
The product information reader, the loading robot, the pallet label issuing machine, and a server device connected by communication with the handy terminal,
In the server device,
In cooperation with the product information reader and the loading robot, pallet identification information is assigned to each pallet, and the pallet identification information is associated with product information about the loaded product, loading start date / time information, and loading end date / time information. Palletizing processing means for causing the pallet label issuing machine to issue a pallet label displaying the pallet identification information assigned to each pallet;
In cooperation with the operation of reading the pallet identification information from the pallet label at the handy terminal, the picking time processing means for associating the specified shipping destination with the pallet identification information of the pallet picked with respect to the shipping destination and storing it in the database ,
Using the given pallet loading date / time or loading date / time band as a search key, or using the pallet loading date / time or pallet loading date / time band calculated in consideration of a known delay time from the given manufacturing date / time or manufacturing date / time band as the search key, A database search means for extracting a pallet on which the product is loaded or a shipping destination to which the product is shipped by searching the database;
A tracing system for shipping products.

Images