JPH0741964B2 - Product picking / sorting device - Google Patents

Description

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a merchandise take-out / sorting device used in a wholesale store or the like that handles many kinds of merchandise, and more specifically, a merchandise shelf divided into a plurality of districts. The present invention relates to a merchandise take-out / sorting device that can take out ordered products for each store in order from the shelves in the first district, and also sort the merchandise to each shelf.

(Prior art) For example, in a wholesale store that handles many types of products, when collecting ordered products, the person in charge collects the corresponding products while looking at many order shelves while looking at the order receipt. It is the current situation.

For this reason, when collecting the ordered products from a large number of stores, a lot of manpower and labor are required, and labor saving and efficiency improvement in this respect have been strongly demanded. In addition, when collecting products while looking at the slips, the product name and the number of ordered items may be misread, so it has been inevitable to return or reship the product due to such mistakes.

For this reason, recently, as disclosed in JP-A-57-137203, a display section for displaying the number of taken-out products is provided at the front of a shelf divided for each product, and when taking out the products, Displays the ordered quantity of each product at each store on each display unit via a computer, collects the ordered quantity of products from the shelves, and collects ordered goods at each store. The developed device has been developed and put into practical use. Further, in such a device, it is absolutely necessary to avoid out-of-stock items on the shelves, so the inventory quantity of each shelf is constantly monitored by a computer or the like, and when the quantity becomes small, the items are appropriately replenished. There is.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) However, in such a conventional device, since the types of products stored in the shelves are extremely large, it takes a lot of time and experience to replenish each product. was there. That is, when replenishing products, it is necessary to avoid searching for the equipment location for each product, so the operator has the trouble of having to memorize the installation locations of all the products in advance. Since it has to be sorted into each shelf while being carried by a dolly or the like, there is a problem that work efficiency cannot be improved as in the original product picking work in the device.

Therefore, the present invention is intended to solve the problems of the prior art and to provide a product takeout / sorting device.

(Means for Solving the Problems) The present invention is an apparatus including a plurality of display units for each product provided on the front of a product shelf, and a product transportation conveyor arranged along the product shelf. In, a product is collected from the product shelf including display means for displaying order information of a plurality of stores for each product on each display section for each store, and conveyor control means for driving and stopping the conveyor according to the order information. Picking mode, input means for setting the product code of the product to be stored in the product shelf, means for detecting the address of the place where the product is to be stored based on the set product code, and the detected address The conveyor control means that conveys the product on the conveyor to the vicinity of the corresponding storage location and the display corresponding to the detected address are activated to notify the storage location of the product. And a sorting mode for storing a product in a product shelf including display control means for displaying the product, and a product taking-out / removing device having a switching means for switching the picking mode and the sorting mode.
By providing a sorting device, the above-mentioned problems of the prior art are solved.

Example An example of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

1 (a) and 1 (b) are an example of a plan layout view and a side layout view of an apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a shelf for goods and goods for use in the above apparatus. It is each partial perspective view with a conveyor.

In these drawings, the product shelves A are arranged in two vertical rows with the product outlets of the respective rows facing each other at a predetermined interval, and in the central space portions of the left and right product shelves. , The product-conveying conveyors B are arranged along these rack rows.

The product transporting conveyor B is composed of a belt conveyor or the like, and in the picking mode for picking up products from the shelf, the ordered products for each store taken out by the worker P from the shelves are placed on the container C such as a cardboard box and the direction of the arrow In the sorting mode in which the products are stored in the shelves, the products placed on the starting end of the conveyor B are also intermittently transferred in the arrow direction.

As the product shelf A, an inclined three-level shelf as shown in the figure is used in consideration of the ease of delivering the product to the product outlet and the ease of taking out the product in each stage. Addresses are allocated at a predetermined pitch to each address, and predetermined products (not shown) are placed on the respective addresses in a sorted state, and in front of the shelves of the sorted products. As shown in FIG. 2, a display unit D for displaying the number of taken out products is attached to each unit in association with each product.

Further, as shown in FIG. 1 (a), the product shelf A is divided into a plurality of districts (5 districts in each ward), and the order display data of the corresponding product is displayed on each display section D of each district. , And are transmitted via a relay unit described later.

The display unit D displays, based on the order data transmitted from the relay unit, the number of the relevant products taken out from the fluorescent display tube D-1 on the front side.
(See FIG. 3). Further, when displaying the number of taken-out products, the display unit D displays the number of taken-out products per case in the upper two digits of the five-digit display and displays the number of taken-out products in the lower two digits, as shown in FIG. It is configured to display the number of taken out in units of 1. When the number of taken out products is not displayed, the minus sign is displayed over all digits.

FIG. 3 shows an example in which 13 pieces in a case unit and 24 pieces in a case unit are displayed as the number of picked-up articles.

Further, the display section D is provided with a reset button D-2 as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, and when the button is operated in the picking mode, the displayed take-out number is erased and connected. A take-out completion signal of the product is transmitted to relay units R1 to R5 and L1 to L5 described later. Further, in the sorting mode, the product replenishment end signal is transmitted to the relay units R1 to R5 and L1 to L5 described later by the button operation described above.

FIG. 4 shows an example of a data communication line for order data in the apparatus of this embodiment.

In this figure, a data communication unit E is connected to a computer F via a transmission line, and is also connected to first and second relay units R1 to R5, L1 to L5 provided in each district via bus lines. Has been done. In addition, the first relay section R1 of each district
R5 is connected to the display section D of each area on the right side product shelf row shown in FIG. 1 (a) by a bus line, and the second relay sections L1 to L5 of each area are also shown in FIG. 1 (a). It is connected to the display section D of each district of the left side product shelf row shown in by a bus line. Further, the data communication section E is connected to the conveyor control section G and the input device H.

The computer F stores data on all the products on the product shelves A in each district in the order of stores, and if there is a data transmission request from the data communication unit E, the order data to be transmitted is read out and the data is transmitted to the data communication unit. It is configured to send to E. Further, the computer F is provided with a sorting function of rearranging the order data that is randomly input for each store in a predetermined store order and product number order.

In the picking mode, the data communication unit E uses the selecting method to receive the order data for each store transmitted from the computer F by the relay units R1 to R of the corresponding area.
5, L1 to L5 are transmitted respectively, and when this transmission is completed, this time, by a boring method, each relay section that has transmitted is invited to transmit a product take-out completion signal. Then, when the take-out completion signal of the product is transmitted from all the relay units that have transmitted the data, this time, the computer F is requested to transmit the next data.

On the other hand, in the sorting mode, the data communication unit E
Is the address of the shelf on which the product of the code is to be stored based on the product code set by the input device H, and the relay units R1 to R5, L1 to L of the area that controls the display unit D of the address.
5 and 5 are calculated from a predetermined conversion table, and then an operation command is transmitted to the conveyor control unit G to wait for a timing signal from the control unit G to inform the movement of the conveyor B between areas. Then, when the timing signal is received, it is counted, and when the count value matches the district number of the district that has been indexed, a blinking command to the display unit D of the indexed address is sent via the relay unit of the district that controls the display unit D. Then, if the count values do not match, the operation command is transmitted to the conveyor control unit G.

In the picking mode, the relay units R1 to R5 and L1 to L5 are configured to transmit the order data of the assigned area transmitted from the data communication unit E to the corresponding display units D by the selecting method, When this transmission is completed, this time, the boring method is used to solicit each of the display units D that has been transmitted to transmit a product take-out completion signal. Then, when the take-out completion signal of the product is transmitted from all the display sections D that have transmitted the data, the data transmission section E is requested to transmit the next data.

In the sorting mode, relay units R1 to R5, L
Based on the address information transmitted from the data communication unit E, 1 to L5 communicate with the display unit D of the address and transmit a blink command to the display unit D, and receive the command. The display unit D is configured to continue flushing until the above-mentioned reset button D-2 is operated.

In the picking mode, the conveyor control unit G operates the product conveying conveyor B based on the operation command from the data communication unit E, and a distance corresponding to one area of the conveyor B by a sensor or a timer (not shown). When the movement of 1 is detected, the conveyor B is stopped.

Further, in the sorting mode, the conveyor control unit G operates the conveyor B based on the operation command transmitted from the data communication unit E, and just before the conveyor B moves for one district, the data communication unit E is activated. Then, when the conveyor B transfers between the areas, the conveyor B is temporarily stopped and the data communication section E waits for the next operation command. ing.

<Operation of Embodiment> Next, the operation of the above-described embodiment apparatus in the picking mode will be described with reference to FIG.

The numbers shown in FIG. 5 indicate the store numbers assigned to each store.

First, the input device H is operated to set the picking mode. Then, when the first ordered product is taken out, as shown in FIG. 5A, the order data in the first area of the first store is displayed on each display section D of the first area.
The ordered product related to the first store is taken out from the product shelf A in the first district. At this time, every time the removal of one product is completed, the reset button D-2 of the display section D of the product is pushed. As a result, the displayed take-out quantity becomes blank, and a flag indicating that the take-out of the merchandise is finished is set on the display section D.

In this way, when the take-out of the ordered product of the first store in the first district is completed, the taken-out product is stored in a container C such as a cardboard box and the conveyor B
It is transported a corresponding distance l between districts.

When the next ordered product is taken out, as shown in FIG. 5B, the ordered data in the second area of the first store is displayed on the respective display portions D of the second area and the second area.
The order data in the first district of the store is displayed on each display section D in the first district. And product shelf A in the 1st district
From, the ordered products related to the second store were taken out,
Further, the ordered product related to the first store is taken out from the product shelf A in the second district. At this time, the products taken out from the second area are stored in the container C such as the above cardboard box.

In this way, when the take-out of ordered products from the first and second areas is completed, the taken-out goods are stored in the containers C such as cardboard boxes, and the conveyor B corresponds to one area. It is transported a distance l.

In the same way, each time the product is taken out from each district displaying the order data, the order data of new stores are joined one after another as shown in FIG. 5 (c) to FIG. 5 (e). While doing so, the display areas of the stores that have already participated will be sequentially shifted. Of course, when there are no stores to participate in,
As shown in Fig. 5 (f) to Fig. 5 (n), the display area gradually decreases. In this way, if you look at each store, the ordered products will be collected in order from the shelves in the first district, and if you look at each store, the ordered products of 5 stores will be collected at the same time at the most. It will be collected in parallel.

FIG. 6 shows an example of the operation flow of each part for achieving such a procedure. (A) shows the main operation of the computer F, (b) shows the main operation of the data communication section E, and (c) shows the main operation. ) Indicates the main operation of each relay unit R1 to R5, L1 to L5.

Next, the operation of the apparatus of the above-described embodiment in the sorting mode will be described with reference to FIG.

First, the input device H is operated to switch the entire system to the sorting mode, the product K to be sorted next is placed on the starting end of the conveyor B, and the product code of the product K is set in the input device H. Press a start switch (not shown).

When the start switch is pressed, the product code is input to the data communication unit E from the input device H, where the address of the storage location of the product K and the relay unit of the district that controls the display unit of the address are predetermined. Is converted from the conversion table, and subsequently, the operation command is transmitted to the conveyor control unit G.

As a result, the product K placed on the starting end of the conveyor B
Is first transported to the first district. Then, a timing signal is transmitted from the conveyor control unit G to the data communication unit E slightly before moving in the area 1 (i.e., slightly before reaching the center of the first area). The data communication unit E counts the timing signal and compares the count value with the district number of the previously calculated district to check whether they match. Then, if they match, the flashing command is transmitted to the display section D at the place where the product is to be stored, via the relay sections R1 to R5 and L1 to L5 in the area. As a result, the display section D starts to flush the product to be stored, just before it reaches the center of the area.
Then, when the conveyor B moves between the areas 1, the conveyor control unit G stops it and waits for the next operation command from the data communication unit E. If the results of the check indicate that they do not match, an operation command is transmitted from the data communication section E to the conveyor control section G at the timing when the conveyor B moves in the area 1. In this way, the product K on the conveyor is transported to the destination.

If there are many kinds of products to be sorted next, these product codes are first sequentially set and registered in the input device H, and only one kind of product is always placed on the starting end of the conveyor B. Every time B moves between districts, products are placed on conveyor B in the registration order and the start switch is pressed. As a result, in the data communication unit E, the sorting operation for one type of product described above is repeated for each product. That is, for example, suppose that the product a having the sorting value is registered first in the third area, and the product b having the sorting value is registered second in the first area. Then, first, a timing signal is transmitted from the conveyor control unit G at the timing when the product a is conveyed to the central portion of the first district,
Based on this, the data communication unit E sets the count value for the product a to 1 and compares the value with the district number of the sorting district of the product a. As a result, since the two values do not match, the data communication unit E waits for the start switch to be operated, and then transmits the operation command to the conveyor control unit G. Then, at the timing when the product a is conveyed to the central part of the second district and the subsequent product b is conveyed to the central part of the first district, a timing signal is similarly transmitted from the conveyor control unit G, and based on this, , The data communication unit E is a product a
The count value is set to 2 and the count value is set to 1 for the product b, and the comparison with the district number of each sorting area is performed. As a result, since the two values of the product b match, a blinking command is transmitted to the display unit D of the storage location of the product b via the relay section in the first area. As a result, the display section D starts flushing at the timing when the product b is conveyed to the central portion of the first district. Then, the commodity b arrives at the central part of the first district,
When the conveyor B is stopped, the worker stores the product b on the shelf and operates the reset button D-2. Then, the flushing of the display unit D is stopped and the end signal is transmitted to the data communication unit E via the relay unit. When the data communication unit E receives the end signal, the data communication unit E sends an operation command to the conveyor control unit G to further convey the products on the conveyor to the next district. As described above, the arrival of the product a in the third area is the same as the case of sorting one type of product.

Although one embodiment has been described above, the present invention is not limited to this, and various other modes can be adopted. For example, it is possible to adopt a mode in which each product in a vertical row on the product shelf is assigned to one area and the products are sorted, and further, the functions of each relay unit are integrated in the data communication unit to enable each relay unit to operate. It is also possible to adopt a mode of omission.

In addition, the product shelves can be in one row or in multiple rows.

(Effects of the Invention) As described above, according to the present invention, the collection of ordered products for each store and the replenishment of many kinds of products stored in the shelves can be performed by one device. This has the effect of streamlining the work fields that had to rely on. Moreover, leaving the existing hardware as is,
Since it can be easily configured only by changing the software, there is also an effect that the conventional practically used device can be utilized without wasting it.

[Brief description of drawings]

Each drawing is an explanatory view of an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a plan layout view and a side layout view of the device of the embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a product shelf and a product which are main parts of the device. Partial perspective view of the conveyor for conveyance, FIG. 3 is a plan view of the display unit, and FIG. 4 is
FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a communication circuit of the above device, FIG. 5 is an explanatory view conceptually showing the order of taking out products for each store, and FIG. 6 is an example of main operations of a computer, a data communication unit, and a relay unit. FIG. 7 is a flow chart showing the above, and FIG. 7 is an explanatory view for explaining the supplementary sorting for each product stored in the product shelf. A ... Merchandise shelf, B ... Merchandise conveyor, D ... Display section, H ... Input device (means), G ... Conveyor control section (means).

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An apparatus provided with a plurality of display units for each product provided on the front of a product shelf and a product transporting conveyor arranged along the product shelf, for receiving orders from a plurality of stores for each product. Picking mode for collecting products from the product shelf, which includes display means for displaying information on each display section for each store and conveyor control means for driving and stopping the conveyor according to the order information, and storing in the product shelf The input means for setting the product code of the product to be used, the means for detecting the address of the place where the product should be stored based on the set product code, and the vicinity of the storage place corresponding to the detected address on the conveyor. Conveyor control means for transporting the product, and display control means for activating the display unit corresponding to the detected address to notify the storage location of the product. ; And a sorting mode for accommodating the goods to goods shelves, product extraction and sorting apparatus characterized by comprising a switching means for switching said picking mode and the sorting mode.