JPH07242304A - Order picking system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To deliver various types of small lot articles in a short time without requiring much labor. CONSTITUTION:An aligning block 22a is provided with a circulating device 70 which consists of a roller conveyer 78 and multiple liftable chain conveyers 79, 80, 88. Multiple pallets onto which corrugated cardboard boxes 14 are loaded are taken out from a storage rack 10 by a stacker crane 20 and are pre-aligned at pallet stopping positions A-G and a position 96 in a delivery conveyer by the delivery conveyer 86 and the circulating device 70. A picking forklift truck 110 conducts picking from the pallets at the positions A-D. The pallets already picked are replaced with pallets in the rear, and returned to the storage rack 10 by the stacker crane 20. New pallets from the storage rack 10 are arranged at the positions E, 96.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a picking system for taking out designated articles from various kinds of articles (stored articles) stored in storage shelves, and more particularly, for delivering ordered articles in container units. The present invention relates to an order picking system suitable for taking out small-sized articles of various kinds.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, at various stages of distribution, foods, machine parts, electronic parts, and other articles (commodities) are stored in predetermined amounts in cardboard boxes, which are then stored on pallets. Order picking, in which products are stored on shelves and collected and shipped in container units or single item units according to orders, is widely used. In recent years, the shipment of merchandise has tended to decrease in quantity and in many types.

The following methods are available as an order-picking method for collecting and shipping a plurality of articles. (1) A method in which a plurality of fixed racks or movable racks that can move along rails are installed in advance, and designated articles are directly taken out from the racks by a picking fork that moves between the racks and dispensed. (2) Pallet with cardboard boxes is stored in a pallet rotating rack consisting of multiple storage shelves that can be moved circularly, and the storage shelf with the pallet with specified items is rotated to the specified take-out position. , A method of picking up (picking) articles with a fixed picking position. (3) A method of constructing a three-dimensional automatic warehouse, providing shipping information, and picking articles to be delivered from a predetermined address of a multi-tiered storage rack by a stacker crane. (4) A method in which a corrugated cardboard containing articles is moved to the picking side by its own weight using a fluidized rack (flow rack) in which shelves having roller conveyors and the like are inclined. (5) For example, a payout conveyor is installed at the outlet of a fluidized rack, a gate of a prescribed fluidized rack is automatically opened / closed to push a cardboard box onto the conveyor, and the cardboard is conveyed to a shipping position by a conveyor. By the method.

[0004]

However, according to the above-mentioned method (1) of loading and unloading, the positions of the picked products are fixed, and the racks (storage shelves) must be run around by a forklift to be picked. Because it does not happen, it requires a lot of labor and time. Further, in the method (2), since the racks storing the pallets are moved circularly, the picking position can be made constant, but at the same time, the number of pallets that can be picked is limited, and it takes time to pick a variety of products. There is a drawback. Furthermore, in the case of the above-mentioned (3) three-dimensional automated warehouse, a stacker crane is used to output pallets one by one. Therefore, when picking a large number of products, a conveyor or an automated guided vehicle is required separately from the stacker crane. Need equipment such as. Further, the method (4) using the fluidized rack is not suitable for picking a large number of products, because the same lot of merchandise is stored in one row on the same shelf of the fluidized rack. Further, the method (5) using the fully automatic order picking system requires the most equipment cost.

The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-mentioned drawbacks of the prior art, and provides an order picking system capable of paying out a large amount of various kinds of articles in a short time without requiring a great labor. Is intended.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the order picking system according to the present invention is designated by a storage rack in which a large number of pallets each containing different articles are stored. In an order picking system that pays out a required number of a plurality of types of the articles, it is provided between the storage shelf and the picking area,
A plurality of the pallets taken out from the storage rack, an alignment shelf for arranging in a plurality of rows and a plurality of stages in the order of the delivery of the articles, and a circulation means provided in each stage of the alignment rack and moving the pallets in each stage in an annular shape. , Picking means arranged in the picking area to take out the required number of the articles from the pallet facing the picking area and the storage shelf and the alignment shelf are reciprocated, and the delivery of the articles on the alignment shelf is completed. While returning the pallet to the storage shelf,
It is characterized by further comprising: a transporting unit that takes out the pallet in which the articles to be paid out next to the articles arranged on the alignment shelf are stacked from the storage shelf and is carried into the alignment shelf.

A delivery conveyor may be provided between the storage shelf and the alignment shelf to mediate the delivery of the pallets. Then, the pallet carrying-in position on the alignment shelf by the delivery conveyor and the pallet receiving position by the delivery conveyor on the alignment shelf can be made different.

[0008]

In the present invention configured as described above, the pallets on which the articles to be paid out according to the order are stacked can be arranged in advance in a plurality of rows and in multiple stages. It will be possible to arrange the pallets in picking order the night before. And
When picking from the front row pallet facing the picking area and when the front row pallet has been picked, the front row pallet and the back row pallet are swapped, picked from the swapped pallet, and the picked pallet is stored. Put it back on the shelves, take out the new pallets from the storage shelves, and line them up behind the picking pallets. Further, while the front row and the rear row of the first pallet of the aligned shelves are being exchanged, picking from the pallets of the second, third, etc. shelves is performed. As a result, picking of articles from the pallet and replacement of the pallets can be carried out in parallel at the same time, and thus order picking of a large number of small-lot articles can be efficiently performed in a short time without much labor. Moreover, since the picking pallets are arranged in multiple stages, a space-saving and relatively low-cost system can be realized.

Further, if a delivery conveyor for delivering the pallets to the conveying means and the aligning shelves is provided, the pallets can be smoothly delivered between the conveying means and the aligning shelves, and the height of the aligning shelves can be kept low. It becomes possible. Then, if the position at which the pallet is loaded into the alignment shelf by the delivery conveyor is different from the position at which the delivery conveyor receives the pallet from the shelf, the pallet can be easily loaded and unloaded from the alignment shelf.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A preferred embodiment of the order picking system according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 2 is a plan view of a warehouse to which the order picking system according to the embodiment of the present invention is applied.

In FIG. 2, the plurality of storage shelves 10 are multistage,
It is formed in multiple rows, and is installed in, for example, a storage area 13 in the freezer warehouse 12, and is 1, 2, 3, ... The address is assigned. The storage shelf 10 stores stored items (articles) such as meat and fish in a cardboard box 14 which is a container, and stores the cardboard boxes 14 together with the pallets in a state of being stacked on a pallet (not shown). It has become. Then, only the corrugated cardboard boxes 14 storing the same kind of storage items are stacked on each pallet. In addition, the storage area 13
Is provided with a loading / unloading passage 16 for each appropriate row (four rows or eight rows in the embodiment) of the storage shelf 10, and a rail 18 is laid in the loading / unloading passage 16 to form a cardboard box. A stacker crane 20 for loading and unloading the pallets loaded with 14 is allowed to run. further,
In the storage area 13, an evacuation shelf 19 that does not normally store pallets is provided at an appropriate position.
The pallet on the aisle side shelf can be temporarily stored in the evacuation shelf 19 when the pallet is put in and out of the shelf located far from the pallet.

At the front of the storage rack 10, a multi-stage alignment rack 22 is provided.
Are arranged so that a plurality of pallets taken out from the storage rack 10 can be arranged in two rows in the picking order. The aligning shelf 22 is divided into a plurality of aligning blocks 22a, 22b, ... And, as will be described later in detail, the aligning blocks 22a, 22b ,. Each pallet can be moved in a circulating manner. That is, in the embodiment, the alignment shelf 22
4 pallets in the horizontal direction and 2 pallets in the depth direction are formed, and the front pallet facing the picking area 24 is circulated so as to move to the loading / unloading passage 16 side (for example, the pallet of the alignment block 22a is a clock). Direction, the pallet of the alignment block 22b can be circularly moved counterclockwise).

On the other hand, the stacker crane 20, as shown in FIG.
Is erected, and a pulley 34 is rotatably attached to the top of the guide post 32. A wire 40 having one end connected to the take-up pulley 36 and the other end connected to the elevating bracket 38 is hung on the pulley 34. The elevating bracket 38 has an elevating table 44 fixed to the lower part thereof and is externally fitted to the guide post 32 so as to be elevatable.
The take-up pulley 36 is fixed to the rotation shaft of the motor 42, and is rotated by the motor 42 to wind up or wind up the wire 40 to move the elevator base 44 up and down via the elevator bracket 38. A pair of rails 46 are provided on the upper surface of the lifting platform 44 orthogonally to the traveling direction of the stacker crane 20, and the traverse carrier 48 is located on the rails 46. The traverse carrier 48 is a pallet 50 in which the cardboard boxes 14 are stacked.
Is stored in a predetermined address of the storage shelf 10 or the pallet 50 is taken out from the specified address of the storage shelf 10.

That is, the traverse carrier 48 has wheels 54 attached to its lower portion so that it can run on its own.
As shown in FIG. 4, an elevating plate 60 that moves up and down by an actuator 58 such as a cylinder is provided on the upper portion of the main body 56, and a controller (not shown) for controlling traveling and elevating and a position sensor are provided. ing. Further, in the storage shelf 10, a pair of crank-shaped guide rails 64 are fixed to the girder material 62 of each shelf in a direction orthogonal to the loading / unloading passage 16. The guide rail 64 has a pallet receiving portion 66 at the upper end when the elevating plate 60 of the traverse carrier 48 is lowered onto the main body 56.
It is formed so as to be higher than the upper end of 8 so that the pallet 50 mounted on the transverse carrier 48 can be received.

The circulation device 70 arranged in each of the alignment blocks 22a, 22b, ... Is composed of a roller conveyor and a plurality of chain conveyors, as shown in the alignment block 22a in FIG. That is, the circulation device 70
Has a roller conveyor 78 provided at the pallet stop positions A to H for transferring the pallet 50 in the lateral direction (left and right direction in FIG. 1) as indicated by arrows 72, 74 and 76. Elevating chain conveyors 79 and 80 which can be moved up and down by jacks (not shown) are arranged at the pallet stop positions A and H and the pallet stop positions D and E on both sides, and the pallet is moved vertically (in the depth direction). It can be transported. Further, at the pallet stop position G, a chain conveyor 88 for sending the pallet 50 from the alignment block 22a to the delivery conveyor 86 provided on the storage shelf 10 side is provided so as to be able to move up and down, as indicated by an arrow 85.

The delivery conveyor 86 has a fixed chain conveyor 90 provided along the alignment block 22a orthogonal to the loading / unloading passage 16. Then, at the delivery position 92 provided on the loading / unloading passage 16 side of the delivery conveyor 86,
A guide rail (not shown) for traveling the traverse carrier 48 is provided inside the chain conveyor 90 so that the traverse carrier 48 can move between the stacker crane 20 and the delivery position 92 as shown by an arrow 94. There is. In addition, the pallet stop position E of the transfer conveyor 86,
The chain conveyor 8 is provided at the positions 96 and 98 corresponding to G.
Chain conveyor 10 that can move up and down corresponding to 0 and 88
0 and 102 are arranged orthogonally to the fixed chain conveyor 90 so that the pallet 50 can be transferred from the transfer conveyor 86 to the alignment block 22a as shown by an arrow 104, and as shown by an arrow 85. The pallet 50 can be received from the alignment block 22a.

The picking area 24 is a picking forklift 110 provided with appropriate picking means.
The forklift 110 can take out the cardboard boxes 14 stacked in the pallet 50 aligned facing the picking area 24. In addition, each alignment block 22
.. are provided in multiple stages as shown in FIG. 5, and a circulation device 70 and a delivery conveyor 86 similar to those shown in FIG. 1 are provided in each stage. And the alignment shelf 22
In this case, one emergency loading / unloading space 112 is provided corresponding to each stacker crane 20, and it is possible to easily carry out emergency delivery and receipt of articles. In addition, the reference numeral 114 shown in FIG. 5 indicates a second floor portion, and a similar alignment shelf 22 can be arranged on the second floor portion.

The order picking in the embodiment configured as described above is performed as follows. The pallets 50 on which the articles to be shipped the next day are stacked are arranged in the picking order on the arrangement shelf 22 in the picking order on the night before. For example,
Taking stacking in the alignment block 22a as an example, the stacker crane 20 is given a stage, a row, and an address of the storage shelf 10 storing the items to be picked first, and moves to a position corresponding to the address, The traverse carrier 48 takes out the pallet 50 from a predetermined shelf. After that, the stacker crane 20 has the traverse carrier 48 shown in FIG.
As described above, the transfer conveyor 86 is stopped at a position corresponding to the transfer position 92. And the rampant carrier 4
8 travels on the guide rail and carries the pallet 50 to the delivery position 92 as shown by the arrow 94, lowers the elevating plate 60, lowers the pallet 50 on the chain conveyor 90, and returns to the stacker crane 20.

The delivery conveyor 86 receives the pallet 5 received.
0 is transported by chain conveyor 90 to position 96. Next, the chain conveyor 100 and the chain conveyor 80 are lifted by a jack, and the pallet 50 on the chain conveyor 100 is transferred to the chain conveyor 80 as indicated by an arrow 104. The pallet 50 is further transferred by the chain conveyor 80 from the pallet stop position E to the pallet stop position D as indicated by an arrow 84, and the chain conveyor 80 descends to move to the stop position D.
On the roller conveyor 78. The roller conveyor 78 transfers the pallet 50 lowered to the pallet stop position D to the pallet stop position A as indicated by the arrow 72.

In the same manner, the pallet 50 in the picking order or the picking frequency is aligned to the pallet stop positions B to D, the pallet is also arranged at the position E, and the chain conveyors 102 and 88 are used. The pallet 50 is also arranged at the pallet stop positions F and G.
The pallet 50 is also placed at the position 96 of the delivery conveyor 86.
Is placed. However, since the pallet stop position H moves the pallet 50 after picking in an annular manner,
Normally, the pallet 50 is not arranged. These operations are similarly performed in each stage of the alignment block 22a and each other alignment block.

Next morning, first, the pallet stop position A on the first stage
The specified number of cardboard boxes 14 are picked by the picking forklift 110 from the pallets 50 arranged in D to D. When picking from the pallets 50 at the first-stage positions A to D is completed, the pallets at positions corresponding to the second-stage and third-stage pallet stop positions A to D are picked in the same manner. The first stop positions A to D at which picking is completed
The pallet 50 in is replaced with the pallet 50 arranged in the rear row.

That is, first, the chain conveyor 79 is jacked up to transfer the pallet 50 at the position A to the position H as indicated by an arrow 82. Then, the pallet 50 at the positions B to D is moved rightward in FIG. 1 as indicated by an arrow 72, and the pallet at the position E is moved to the position D and the positions F and G are changed.
The pallet arranged at is moved leftward as indicated by arrow 76. Next, the pallet 50 moved from the position A to the position H
Is moved by the roller conveyor 78 to the pallet stop position G as indicated by arrow 74. Then, the chain conveyor 88
And the chain conveyor 102 are jacked up, and the pallet 50 carried to the position G as indicated by the arrow 85 is transferred to the position 98 of the delivery conveyor 86, and the chain conveyor 90
After being transferred to the delivery position 92 by the traverse carrier 48, it is stored in the stacker crane 20 by the traverse carrier 48, and the storage rack 1
Return to the predetermined position of 0. Similarly, the pallets 50 in the positions B to D are sequentially returned to the storage rack 10, the pallets 50 in the positions E to G are moved to the positions A to C, and the pallet 50 in the position 96 is moved to the position D. To move. Further, when the stacker crane 20 returns the picked pallets 50 to the storage rack 10, the stacker crane 20 returns the picked pallet 50 from the predetermined address of the storage rack 10 to the delivery conveyor 86 when returning to the delivery conveyor 86. Take it out and move it to the transfer conveyor 86 and move it to position E and position 9.
6 and make it stand by.

Thereafter, picking is performed from the pallet 50 moved to the positions A to D in the same manner as described above, and when the picking is completed, these pallets are stored in the storage rack 10.
At the same time, the new pallet 50 is taken out of the storage rack 10, moved from the position 96 of the transfer conveyor 86 to the position E of the alignment block 22a, and aligned in the positions A to D in the picking order as described above. These things are the second stage,
The same applies to the pallet 50 arranged in the third row.

The emptied pallet 50 is transported to a predetermined pallet storage space by the stacker crane 20 and the picking forklift 110. Further, among the pallets that have been picked once in the front row, the pallets to be picked further can be circulated as indicated by the arrow 76 and prepared for the next picking without returning to the storage rack 10.

As described above, in the embodiment, the plurality of pallets 50 are arranged in two rows in advance in the picking order, the front row pallet 50 after picking is replaced with the rear row pallet 50, and the picking is finished. Since the pallet 50 is returned to the storage rack 10 and a new pallet 50 is replenished, the picking position can be made substantially constant, and the picking labor and the picking time can be shortened. Moreover, pallet 50
It is possible to increase the number of pallets that can be picked even in a small space because it is arranged in multiple rows in each of multiple rows and circulates in each row, which is suitable not only for picking a wide variety of products but also for replenishing new pallets. Can be done quickly, and efficient picking work becomes possible. Further, unlike the three-dimensional automatic warehouse and the fully automatic picking system, a large equipment cost is not required, and a relatively low cost order picking system can be constructed.

Further, in the embodiment, since the transfer conveyor 86 is used to mediate the transfer of the pallet 50 between the alignment shelf 22 and the stacker crane, the pallet 50 can be carried in and out by the traverse carrier 48. It can be performed smoothly and the alignment shelf 22 can be lowered. Then, from the delivery conveyor 86 to the alignment shelf 2
Since the position where the pallet 50 is moved to 2 and the position where the pallet is moved from the alignment shelf 22 to the delivery conveyor 86 are different, the pallet 50 can be smoothly moved by the circulation device 70.

In the above embodiment, the transfer conveyor 8
The case where the pallet 50 is loaded from the position 96 of 6 to the position E of the alignment block 22a and the pallet 50 is returned from the position G of the alignment block 22a to the delivery conveyor 86 has been described, but from the position 98 of the delivery conveyor 86 to the alignment block 22a. The pallet 50 is loaded into the position G, and the pallet 5 is transferred from the position H of the alignment block 22a to the delivery conveyor 86.
You may make it return 0. Further, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the alignment blocks 22a, 22b, ... Are constructed in units of spaces where eight pallets can be arranged has been described, but the size of the alignment block is different from that of the stacker crane 20. It is not limited to the embodiment. Further, although the order picking system for the frozen warehouse has been described in the above embodiment, it goes without saying that it can be applied to a normal warehouse. Further, in the above embodiment, the case where the transfer means is the stacker crane has been described, but the transfer means may be a forklift or an overhead crane. Further, in the above embodiment, the case where the delivery conveyor is constituted by the chain conveyor has been described, but it may be constituted by a loading arm, a roller conveyor or the like.

[0028]

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to arrange the pallets in which the articles to be paid out according to the order are stacked in advance in a plurality of rows and a plurality of stages. It becomes possible to arrange the pallets of the articles to be picked the next day in the picking order on the night before. Then, when the front row pallet facing the picking area is picked and the front row pallet is picked, the front row pallet and the rear row pallet are swapped, and the picked pallet is picked and the picked pallet is finished. Back to the storage shelves, take out the new pallets from the storage shelves, line them up behind the picking pallet, and
While the front row and rear row of the pallet in the second row are being swapped, picking from the pallet on the second and third tier shelves can be performed, so that picking of articles from the pallet and pallet exchange can be performed at the same time. By proceeding in parallel, it is possible to efficiently perform order picking of a wide variety of small quantities of goods in a short time and without much labor. Moreover, since the picking pallets are arranged in a plurality of stages, it is possible to realize a relatively low-cost system without taking up space.

Further, since the delivery conveyor is provided to mediate the delivery of the pallets between the conveying means and the alignment shelves,
It is possible to smoothly transfer the pallets between the transporting means and the alignment shelves, and to lower the alignment shelves. Then, by making the position at which the pallet is loaded into the alignment shelf by the delivery conveyor different from the position at which the delivery conveyor receives the pallet from the shelf, the pallet can be smoothly moved in an annular shape on the alignment shelf.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a main part of an order picking system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of a warehouse to which an embodiment of the present invention is applied.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of a stacker crane according to an embodiment.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of a traverse carrier mounted on the stacker crane according to the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a partial elevational view of the alignment shelf according to the embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 Storage Shelf 14 Cardboard Box 20 Conveying Means (Stacker Crane) 22 Alignment Shelf 22a, 22b Alignment Block 24 Picking Area 48 Traverse Carrier 50 Pallet 70 Circulation Device 78 Roller Conveyor 79, 80, 88, 100, 102 Chain Conveyor 86 Delivery Conveyor 90 Fixed chain conveyor

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An order picking system for dispensing a required number of a plurality of specified types of articles from a storage shelf that stores a large number of pallets in which different articles are stacked. A plurality of the pallets taken out from the storage shelf, arranged in a plurality of rows and a plurality of tiers in the order of the delivery of the articles, and an arranging shelf provided on each tier of the arranging shelves. Circulating means for moving in an annular shape, picking means arranged in the picking area, and picking out a required number of the articles from the pallet facing the picking area,
It reciprocates between the storage shelf and the alignment shelf, returns the pallet that has finished delivering the articles on the alignment shelf to the storage shelf, and stacks the articles to be delivered next to the articles arranged on the alignment shelf. An order picking system comprising: a transfer unit that takes out the pallet from the storage rack and carries the pallet into an alignment rack. 2. The delivery conveyor according to claim 1, further comprising a delivery conveyor provided between the storage shelves and the alignment shelves, which mediates delivery of pallets between the transport means and the storage shelves. Order picking system. 3. The order picking system according to claim 2, wherein a loading position of the pallet to the alignment shelf by the delivery conveyor and a receiving position of the pallet from the alignment shelf are different.