JP2010052878A - Picking system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a picking system capable of efficiently combining and preparing a plurality of members with a small number of compositions. <P>SOLUTION: The picking system 1 for combining and retrieving a plurality of requested cargos is provided with a crane vehicle 9, a rack 5, a retrieving station 13 and a picking robot 31. The crane vehicle 9 travels on a track 7 as a predetermined course. The rack 5 is provided along the track 7 and a plurality of buckets containing the cargos are stored in them. The retrieving station 13 is provided along the track 7. The picking robot 31 is provided along the track 7 and is capable of transferring the cargo from a bucket containing the cargo to another bucket. The crane vehicle 9 takes out the bucket from the rack 5 and transfers it to the picking robot 31 and transfers the bucket containing the transferred cargo to the retrieving station 13. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a picking system, and more particularly to a picking system that prepares a plurality of requested members by transferring them.

A conventional parts supply system is configured by combining an automatic warehouse, an unmanned transfer system, and a picking station in order to supply parts to a cell production system, for example (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
The automatic warehouse has a loading / unloading station, a pair of racks, rails disposed between the racks, and a stacker crane disposed on the rails. A stacker crane travels on a rail, and loads and unloads articles between a predetermined shelf of the rack and a station, for example, in units of pallets. A plurality of buckets containing parts are arranged on one pallet. For example, a roller conveyor is disposed in the station.

An unmanned conveyance system conveys a bucket to a picking station from a roller conveyor in a delivery station using a tracked carriage.
At the picking station, the sorter unloads the buckets and then stacks them to create a set of parts.
JP 2003-137407 A

In general, in the above-described configuration in which the automatic warehouse and the picking station are separated, the efficiency may be poor depending on the shape and dimensions of the parts.
In addition, the efficiency is further deteriorated by human picking work at the picking station. However, even if the entire system is simply automated, problems such as an increase in the configuration are also assumed.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a picking system that can be prepared by combining a plurality of members efficiently with a small configuration.

  The picking system according to the present invention is for unloading a plurality of requested packages, and includes a transport vehicle, at least one shelf, a unloading port, and a transfer device. The transport vehicle travels along a predetermined route. The shelf is provided along the route and stores a plurality of containers containing luggage. The exit port is provided along the route. The transfer device is provided along a route, and can transfer a package from a container containing the package to another container. A conveyance vehicle takes out a container from a shelf, conveys it to a transfer apparatus, and conveys the container containing the transferred load to a delivery port.

  In this system, the transporter transports multiple containers with the necessary packages from the shelf to the transfer device, which then transfers the packages from the multiple containers to another container, and finally transports Carry the container with the transferred luggage to the exit. In this way, since necessary packages can be collected from a shelf by a single transport vehicle and delivered from a delivery port, automatic picking can be performed with a small configuration.

The picking system may further include a carriage that is detachably disposed at the exit port. The transport vehicle can directly transfer the container to the carriage.
In this system, the containers containing the packages transferred to the cart are directly loaded, so that packages by delivery destination can be delivered together.
The transport vehicle may be a stacker crane, and the shelf may be a rack.

  In this system, a picking system can be realized by using an automatic warehouse configuration comprising a combination of a stacker crane and a rack.

  The picking system according to the present invention can be prepared by combining a plurality of members efficiently with a small configuration.

1. Overall Configuration FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view of a picking system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The picking system 1 is a system that automatically prepares and issues a set of requested packages. The picking system 1 mainly includes an automatic warehouse 2 and a picking device 3. In the following description, the lower side of the drawing will be described as the front side of the picking system 1, the upper side of the drawing as the rear side of the picking system 1, and the left and right sides of the drawing will be described as the left and right sides of the picking system 1. Further, IC tags are attached to all buckets and packages used in the picking system 1.

2. Automatic warehouse The automatic warehouse 2 includes a rack 5, a track 7, a crane truck 9, a warehouse station 11, and a warehouse station 13. The rack 5 is a shelf arranged in a straight line. As shown in FIG. 2, the rack 5 has a large number of luggage storage shelves vertically and horizontally, and stores buckets in which a plurality of types of luggage are stored. In this embodiment, 25 types of luggage (1) to (25) are stored in the rack 5.

  The track 7 extends in a straight line along the rack 5 before the rack 5. At both ends of the track 7, a receiving station 11 and a leaving station 13 are arranged. The structure of the warehousing station 11 will be described with reference to FIG. The structure of the exit station 13 is the same as that of the entrance station 11. The warehousing station 11 is a mechanism for storing the cart 16 loaded with buckets. The warehousing station 11 has a storage unit main body 17 whose front side is opened, and a pair of doors 19 with an interlock. A display 21 is provided on the upper surface of the storage unit main body 17. The indicator 21 can notify the operator W of the state of the station (for example, whether or not the cart is accommodated therein, whether or not the cart can be carried outside). Further, a pair of stoppers 23 are provided in the storage unit main body 17 on both sides of the bag. The stopper 23 is a mechanism for positioning the wheels of the car cart 16 in this state when the car cart 16 is stored in the storage unit main body 17. In addition, the warehousing station 11 has an entry / exit sensor 67 (FIG. 5) for detecting the entry / exit state of the cart 16 at the station.

The crane vehicle 9 includes a traveling carriage, a lifting platform that can be raised and lowered on a mast provided therein, and a load transfer device (for example, a slide fork that is slidable in the front-rear direction). Have.
The crane vehicle 9 can transfer a bucket to itself from the warehousing station 11, and can further transfer a bucket from itself to the warehousing station 13. Further, the crane vehicle 9 can transfer buckets to and from each shelf of the rack 5. As shown in the block diagram of FIG. 5, the crane vehicle 9 includes a traveling motor 64, a table lifting motor 65, and a fork drive motor 66.

3. Picking device The picking device 3 is a device for transferring a combination of loads from a plurality of buckets (each having a different load) to another bucket. The picking device 3 is arranged close to the front side near the center of the track 7. The picking device 3 includes a mixed loading line 27, a single loading line 29, and a picking robot 31.

  The mixed loading line 27 is a line for realizing a bucket in which a plurality of types of packages are mixedly loaded, and as shown in FIG. 7, a warehousing conveyor 35, a picking conveyor 37, a shipping conveyor 39, and a mixed line driving unit. 73 (FIG. 5). The entrance conveyor 35 and the exit conveyor 39 extend forward from the track 7. An RFID sensor 51 is disposed at the front end of the warehousing conveyor 35. The picking conveyor 37 extends in the lateral direction so as to connect the end portions of the warehousing conveyor 35 and the warehousing conveyor 39. As a result, the mixed loading line 27 has a U-shape. A laser rewritable 49 is disposed in front of the rear portion of the picking conveyor 37. The conveyors 35, 37, and 39 are movable by placing buckets on the upper upper surface. The picking conveyor 37 can carry buckets in both the left and right directions.

  The single mounting line 29 is a line for transporting a plurality of buckets each storing a single type of luggage, and includes a warehousing conveyor 43, a picking conveyor 45, a shipping conveyor 47, and a single mounting line driving unit 72 ( 5). The entrance conveyor 43 and the exit conveyor 47 extend forward from the track 7. An RFID sensor 53 is disposed at the front end of the warehousing conveyor 43. The picking conveyor 45 extends in the lateral direction so as to connect the end portions of the warehousing conveyor 43 and the warehousing conveyor 47. Thereby, the single mounting line 29 is U-shaped. The single mounting line 29 is arranged along the inner side (back side) of the mixed mounting line 27. Therefore, the picking conveyor 45 is arranged in parallel in the vicinity of the picking conveyor 37. Each of the conveyors 43, 45, and 47 can move by placing a bucket on the upper surface of the upper part.

  The picking robot 31 is a device for transferring a load from a bucket on the single loading line 29 to a bucket on the mixed loading line 27. The picking robot 31 has a parallel mechanism and a picking drive unit 71 (FIG. 5) for driving the parallel mechanism. The parallel mechanism of the picking robot 31 is arranged above the picking conveyor 45 and the picking conveyor 37.

4). Controller As shown in FIG. 5, the picking system 1 includes a main controller 61, a crane controller 62, and a picking controller 63. The main controller 61, the crane controller 62, and the picking controller 63 can communicate commands and data with each other. Each controller is realized by a microcomputer having a CPU, a RAM, a ROM, and the like.

The crane controller 62 can transmit a drive command to the travel motor 64, the platform elevating motor 65, and the fork drive motor 66. In addition, the crane controller 62 receives the entry or / and exit information from the entrance / exit sensor 67.
The picking controller 63 can transmit a drive command to the picking drive unit 71, the single mounting line driving unit 72, and the mixed mounting line driving unit 73. Note that detection signals from the RFID sensors 51 and 53 are transmitted to the picking controller 63.

5). Operation Example Next, the control operation by the various controllers 61, 62, and 63 of the picking system 1 will be described using the flowchart of FIG. The operation of each device is a result of commands from the controllers 61 to 63 to various drive devices, and these are represented by each step of the software application.

  In step S1, the picking system 1 is initialized. For example, the crane vehicle 9 is moved to a predetermined position. In this initial state, all necessary luggage is stored in the rack 5, the cart 16 is not set in the warehousing station 11, and further, the mixed loading line 27 and the single loading line 29 are not set. The bucket is not placed. Further, the controllers 61, 62, and 63 have information in advance on the number of empty buckets to be prepared, the number and type of necessary packages, and the number of packages loaded in each empty bucket. Alternatively, these pieces of information may be input by an operator for each operation. A cart 18 without a bucket is set in the delivery station 13 in advance.

  In step S <b> 2, it waits for the cart 16 to be received at the receiving station 11. Specifically, it waits for a signal from the entry / exit sensor 67 of the entry station 11. As an actual warehousing operation, the worker W carries the cart 16 into the storage unit body 17 of the warehousing station 11 and closes the door 19. Further, the operator W operates a switch (not shown) as the entry / exit sensor 67 to inform the crane controller 62 and the like that the cart 16 has been received at the entry station 11. At this time, the cart 16 is loaded with a plurality of empty buckets.

  In step S <b> 3, the crane controller 62 transmits an operation command to the crane 9. As a result, the crane vehicle 9 comes to the vicinity of the warehousing station 11 and loads the empty bucket directly from the cart 16. The crane 9 transports the empty bucket and further transfers the empty bucket to the receiving port of the warehousing conveyor 35 of the mixed loading line 27. Specifically, the crane 9 transports empty buckets one by one and transfers them to the receiving port of the warehousing conveyor 35. In this embodiment, four empty buckets (1) to (4) are arranged in a row on the warehousing conveyor 35. Note that the number of empty buckets means the order from the front to the back in the traveling direction.

  In step S <b> 4, the picking controller 63 transmits an operation command to the mixed line drive unit 73. As a result, the mixed line drive unit 73 drives the conveyors 35 and 37 to move the empty bucket to the position shown in FIG. That is, the buckets (1) to (4) are stopped in front of the picking robot 31 in this order. Note that the bucket (4) at the end is located at the end of the conveyor 37. During the operation up to the above position, each bucket (1) to (4) reads the tag information by the RFID sensor 51 and stops before the laser rewritable 49, where the label is rewritten by the laser rewritable 49. It is done.

  In step S <b> 5, the crane controller 62 transmits a drive command to the crane 9. As a result, the crane vehicle 9 conveys a plurality of (three) buckets (A) to (C) from the rack 5 to the single mounting line 29. As shown in FIG. 8, the crane 9 transfers the buckets (A) to (C) onto the receiving port of the warehousing conveyor 43. The sign of these buckets represents the type of luggage in the bucket.

  In step S <b> 6, the picking controller 63 transmits an operation command to the single line drive unit 72. As a result, the single mounting line driving unit 72 drives the conveyors 43, 45 and the like. As a result, during the following picking operation, the conveyors 43, 45, etc. continue to carry the actual buckets (A), (B), (C) at a low speed. In the state shown in FIG. 9, the buckets (A), (B), and (C) are arranged on the conveyor 45 in this order, and the leading bucket (A) is arranged directly below the picking robot 31. Note that the tag information of each bucket (A), (B), and (C) is read by the RFID sensor 53 during conveyance until this state is reached. When the first bucket (A) comes directly under the picking robot, the process proceeds to step S7.

In step S <b> 7, the picking controller 63 transmits an operation command to the picking drive unit 71. As a result, a piece picking operation by the picking robot 31 is performed.
Initially, as shown in FIG. 10, the picking controller 63 transmits an operation command to the mixed line 27. As a result, the picking conveyor 37 of the mixed loading line 27 is driven to rotate forward (driven to the right side in the figure), and the buckets (1), (2), (3), (4) move the picking robot 31 to the right side. Pass through. At the time of passing, the picking robot 31 puts the load A from the bucket (A) into the buckets (1), (2), (3), and (4) by the designated number. During this operation, the picking conveyor 45 is also driven slightly, and the bucket (A) also moves to the right within the operation range of the picking robot 31.

  Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 11, the picking controller 63 transmits an operation command to the mixed line 27. As a result, the picking conveyor 37 is reversely driven (driven to the left side in the figure) and passes below the picking robot 31 to the left side in the order of buckets (4), (3), (2), and (1). To go. During this passage, the picking robot 31 puts the load B from the bucket (B) into the buckets (4), (3), (2), and (1) by the designated number. During this operation, the picking conveyor 45 is also driven slightly, and the bucket (B) also moves to the right within the operation range of the picking robot 31.

  Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 12, the picking controller 63 transmits an operation command to the mixed line 27. As a result, the picking conveyor 37 is driven forward (driven to the right in the figure), and the buckets (1), (2), (3), (4) pass through the position of the picking robot 31 to the right. . At the time of this passage, the picking robot 31 puts the load C from the bucket (C) into the buckets (1), (2), (3), (4) by the designated number. During this operation, the picking conveyor 45 is also driven slightly, and the bucket (C) also moves to the right within the operation range of the picking robot 31. In addition, the movement continues as it is in the single mounting line 29, and finally the buckets (A), (B), and (C) are arranged on the delivery conveyor 47 as shown in FIG.

  As described above, the picking operation for different types of luggage is executed while the conveyance direction of the picking conveyor 37 is reversed every time the type of the luggage is switched. Therefore, no wasteful time is generated for the movement of the empty bucket, and the picking operation can be completed in a short time. In other words, in the picking control method for the picking robot described in this embodiment, the picking operation of one type of baggage is performed while the conveyor carrying the empty bucket moves in one direction, and the picking operation of the next type of baggage is performed. Sometimes it moves in the opposite direction. This eliminates wasted time for moving the empty bucket and shortens the picking time. Furthermore, since the conveyor carrying the actual bucket is also slowly moving in the direction of travel, the switching time when switching the type of package to be picked is greatly reduced. As a result, the entire picking time is shortened.

  In step S8, as shown in FIGS. 13 and 14, the buckets (1), (2), (3), (4) are conveyed by the conveyors 37, 39 of the mixed loading line 27. In this embodiment, the bucket (4) is conveyed to the eject line 41 side on the assumption that it contains defective goods. Whether the package is defective or not is determined by reading information from the IC tag of each package when the picking robot 31 picks up the package. As a result, as shown in FIG. 13, buckets (1), (2), (3) are arranged at the delivery port of the delivery conveyor 39 in this order.

  In step S9, the crane vehicle 9 has moved to the rear end of the delivery conveyor 39, and the buckets (1), (2), (3) are transferred. The crane vehicle 9 transfers the buckets (1), (2), and (3) to the car cart 18 disposed in the delivery station 13. Specifically, the crane 9 transfers the buckets one by one to the cart 18. When all the buckets are loaded on the cart 18, it is preferable to display an operation end on the display 21 or to notify the operator W that it can be carried out by a buzzer or a light.

  In step S <b> 10, it waits for the cart 18 to be taken out from the exit station 13. Specifically, it waits for a signal from the entrance / exit sensor 67 of the exit station 13. As an actual delivery work, the worker W opens the door 19 of the delivery station 13 and takes out the cart 18. At this time, the containers (1), (2), and (3) contain the requested number of packages of the requested type. Further, the operator W operates a switch (not shown) as the entry / exit sensor 67 to notify the crane controller 62 and the like that the cart 18 has been delivered from the delivery station 13.

At the unloading station 13, a rewritable sheet for the cart is issued, and the worker W attaches the sheet to the cart 18 and conveys the cart 18 to the receipt / shipment gate 15.
The picking system according to the present embodiment is employed in various factories and so-called distribution centers. When the picking system receives an order from a store or another intermediate distribution center, the picking system puts a product into the cart according to the order. At this time, the products are sorted by store or other delivery center, or sorted by category (for example, in the case of a plurality of carts at one store).

5). Features (1)
The picking system 1 is for unloading a plurality of requested packages, and includes a crane vehicle 9, a rack 5, a unloading station 13, and a picking robot 31. The crane vehicle 9 travels on the track 7 as a predetermined route. The rack 5 is provided along the track 7 and stores a plurality of buckets containing luggage. The exit station 13 is provided along the track 7. The picking robot 31 is provided along the track 7 and can transfer the load from the bucket containing the load to another bucket. The crane truck 9 takes out the bucket from the rack 5 and transports it to the picking robot 31, and transports the bucket containing the transferred luggage to the unloading station 13.

  In the picking system 1, the crane 9 transports a plurality of buckets containing necessary luggage from the rack 5 to the picking robot 31, and then the picking robot 31 transfers the luggage from the plurality of buckets to another bucket. Finally, the bucket in which the crane car 9 has been transferred is transferred to the exit station 13. In this way, since the necessary cargo can be collected from the rack 5 and delivered from the delivery station 13 with one crane vehicle 9, automatic picking can be performed with a small configuration.

(2)
The picking system 1 further includes a car cart 18 that is detachably disposed at the delivery station 13. The crane vehicle 9 can transfer the bucket directly to the cart 18. In the picking system 1, since the containers storing the transferred packages are loaded directly onto the cart 18, the packages for each delivery destination can be delivered together.

6). Other Embodiments Although one embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention.
(1)
In the said embodiment, although the empty bucket was conveyed from the cart trolley | bogie 16 in the warehousing station 11 to the mixed loading line 27, this invention is not limited to this. For example, an empty bucket on the rack 5 may be transported to the mixed line 27.
(2)
In the embodiment, the cart 16 supplies the empty bucket to the warehousing station 11, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the car cart 16 may supply an actual bucket containing luggage to the warehousing station 11. In this case, the crane 9 transports these actual buckets to the rack of the rack 5 or the receiving port of the single mounting line 29.

(3)
In the embodiment described above, three types of luggage are transferred to four empty buckets, but the present invention is not limited to this. The number of empty buckets and the number of types of luggage can be changed as necessary.
(4)
In the said embodiment, although the manual trolley | bogie was used as a cart trolley | bogie, this invention is not limited to this. A cart that automatically travels may be used.

  The present invention is useful as a picking system that requires automatic picking.

1 is a schematic plan view of a picking system according to an embodiment of the present invention. II-II sectional drawing of FIG. III-III sectional drawing of FIG. The perspective view which shows the structure of a warehousing station. The block diagram which shows the control structure of a picking system. The flowchart which shows 1 operation | movement of a picking system. The top view of the picking robot for showing picking operation | movement. The top view of the picking robot for showing picking operation | movement. The top view of the picking robot for showing picking operation | movement. The top view of the picking robot for showing picking operation | movement. The top view of the picking robot for showing picking operation | movement. The top view of the picking robot for showing picking operation | movement. The top view of the picking robot for showing picking operation | movement. The top view of the picking robot for showing picking operation | movement. The top view of the picking robot for showing picking operation | movement.

Explanation of symbols

1 Picking system 2 Automatic warehouse 3 Picking device 5 Rack (shelf)
7 Track 9 Crane truck (conveyor)
11 Warehousing station 13 Dispatching station (shipping exit)
15 Receipt / shipment gate 16 Basket cart (manual cart)
17 Storage Unit 18 Basket Cart 19 Door 21 Display 23 Stopper 27 Mixed Line 29 Single Line 31 Picking Robot (Transfer Device)
35 Incoming conveyor 37 Picking conveyor 39 Outlet conveyor 41 Ejecting line 43 Incoming conveyor 45 Picking conveyor 47 Outlet conveyor 49 Laser rewritable 51 RFID sensor 53 RFID sensor 61 Main controller 62 Crane controller 63 Picking controller 64 Traveling motor 65 Motor 66 Fork drive motor 67 Input / output sensor 71 Picking drive unit 72 Single line drive unit 73 Mixed line drive unit

Claims (3)

A picking system for unloading a combination of requested packages,
A transport vehicle traveling along a predetermined route;
At least one shelf provided along the path and storing a plurality of containers containing luggage;
A shipping outlet provided along the route,
A transfer device provided along the path and capable of transferring the load from the container containing the load to another container;
The transport vehicle takes out the container from the shelf and transports it to the transfer device, and transports the container containing the transferred luggage to the exit port.
Picking system. It further comprises a carriage that is detachably disposed at the exit.
The picking system according to claim 1, wherein the transport vehicle can directly transfer the container to the carriage.   The picking system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the transport vehicle is a stacker crane, and the shelf is a rack.

Images