WO2008029592A1 - Conveying system and conveying method - Google Patents

Abstract

An RFID reader (44) having a planar antenna (45) is installed under the conveyance surface of a picking conveyor (20) to prepare the ID list of the articles in a bucket (50). The change of the ID lists after the time when the bucket (50) arrives at the picking conveyor (20) is outputted in the form of the list of the articles to be picked. Since the antenna is not installed on the upper part of the bucket, the ID of the article can be read without obstructing the picking.

Description

 Specification

 Transport system and transport method

 Technical field

 TECHNICAL FIELD [0001] The present invention relates to a transport system, and more particularly to management of articles that are loaded and unloaded by picking or the like.

 Background art

 [0002] The inventors have proposed that RFID readers are provided at the receiving station and the outgoing station of an automatic warehouse to read IDs of incoming goods and outgoing goods (Patent Document WO2006 / 059675)). In this proposal, an RFID reader is installed at the top of the station to read the ID of the item in the bucket. However, in picking and assorting goods, and taking goods out, it is necessary to leave a space above the station for manpower and transfer equipment. If there is a reader above the station, it will be an obstacle when picking manually from the bucket, for example.

 Patent Document 1: WO2006 / 059675

 Disclosure of the invention

 Problems to be solved by the invention

[0003] An object of the present invention is to obtain the ID of an article to be picked up or taken out without hindering the taking in and out of the article from the container.

 An additional problem of the present invention is to prevent troubles when the picked or assorted goods, the incoming goods, the outgoing goods, etc. are different from the command.

 It is an additional object of the present invention to provide a specific configuration for collectively reading IDs of a plurality of articles in a container from below the conveyor transport surface.

 Means for solving the problem

[0004] According to the present invention, in a transport system for storing and transporting a plurality of articles in a container, the container transporter is provided at a station in the transport path of the container, and a lower part of the transport surface of the compressor is provided. In addition, an RFID reader is provided for collectively reading the IDs of the articles in the container from the RFID attached to the articles. Here of the station The competitor may be a power competitor or a free competitor.

[0005] Preferably, collation means for collating the ID of the article read by the RFID reader with a command from the controller, and prohibiting movement of the container from the station when the read ID does not match the command. And a means for doing so.

 Preferably, the antenna of the RFID reader is disposed in a planar shape below the conveyor transport surface.

 Preferably, the competitor is a roller competitor, and a plurality of RFID reader antennas are arranged in a gap between the rollers of the competitor.

 More preferably, the competitor is a roller competitor with a non-metallic roller. Preferably, when the read ID does not match the command, a terminal for displaying the content of the mismatch between the read ID and the command is provided in the vicinity of the station.

[0006] The present invention relates to a method for storing and transporting a plurality of articles in a container,

 A container transporter is provided at a station in the container transport path, and an RFID reader is provided below the transport surface of the competitor to read the ID of the article in the container from the RFID attached to the article. ,

 The RFID reader reads the IDs of the items in the container stopped on the competitor in a batch,

 The ID of the read article is checked against a command from the controller.

 Preferably, when the ID of the read article matches the command from the controller, the container is allowed to move from the station,

 If the ID of the read item does not match the command from the controller, the movement of the container from the station is prohibited and the content of the mismatch between the read ID and the command is displayed on the terminal near the station.

 The invention's effect

[0007] According to the present invention, since the antenna of the RFID reader does not occupy the position above the container, it must be a hindrance when articles are taken in and out of the container by hand. For this reason, articles can be taken in and out of the container without interference with the antenna, and there is no need to hold the article against the antenna. Furthermore, in this invention, since the IDs of the articles in the container are collectively read, Drive to move the container relative to the antenna, or move the antenna relative to the container

There is no need to scan. In this specification, RFID means an ID storage medium such as an RFID tag, and ID means an ID as data.

[0008] If the ID of the article read here is compared with the command from the controller and if the container does not move when it does not match, the article is moved from the container force station where the article was not put in and out as instructed. There is no. If there is a discrepancy, displaying the contents on the terminal makes it easier to deal with the discrepancy.

[0009] When the antenna of the RFID reader is arranged in a planar shape or a plurality below the conveyor transport surface, the RFID of the articles in the container can be easily read collectively. If the roller of the competitor is made of non-metal, RFID reading will be easier.

 Brief Description of Drawings

 [0010] [Fig. 1] Plan view with partial cutout of the automatic warehouse of the embodiment

 [Fig. 2] Side view of the main part with a partial notch of the picking station of the embodiment

 [Fig. 3] Plan view of the planar antenna of the example

 [Fig.4] Side view with partial cutout showing the picking competitor and individual antenna in the modified example

 [Fig. 5] Plan view of the main part showing the layout of a modified example of the transport system

 [Fig. 6] Side view of the station competitor in the variation of Fig. 5

 FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a picking article list creation algorithm in the embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a subroutine for creating an ID list of articles in a bucket.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a subroutine for creating an ID list of picked items.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing an article ID list processing subroutine.

 Explanation of symbols

 [0011] 2 Automatic warehouse 4 Rack 6 Stacker crane 8 Traveling rail

 10 Picking station 12, 14 Entry / exit station

 16 Sub-combiner 18 Conversion conveyor 20 Picking conveyor

 22, 26 COMPER WITH ID READER 23 Entry / Exit Sub-Computer

24 Long distance compressor 30 Controller 31 Verification method 32 Troubleshooting method 33 Host controller 34, 35 Terminal

 40, 41 Reinforced plastic roller 42 Metal roller

 44 RFID reader 45 Planar antenna 46 RFID reader body

 48 Individual antenna 50 Bucket 51 Goods 52 RFID

 60 Picking competitor 62 Individual antenna 70 Transport system

 71, 76 Long-distance competitor 72 Diverter 73 Sub-compeller

 74, 77 Picking competition 75 Rubber beret

 BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

[0012] The following is an optimal example for carrying out the present invention.

 Example

 [0013] Figs. 1 to 10 show an embodiment and its modifications. 1 to 4, 2 is an automatic warehouse,

 For example, 4 is a pair of left and right racks, 6 is a stacker crane as an example of a conveying device, and 8 is a running firenole. Reference numeral 10 denotes a picking station for picking and assembling the goods from the container, or loading / unloading by container, and 12, 14 is a loading / unloading station for loading / unloading the goods by container. The picking station 10 is provided with sub-compellers 16 and 16, and the transfer conveyors 18 and 18 change the transport direction of containers such as the bucket 50 in FIG. Do. In the embodiment, when picking out an article from the packet 50 or the like is picking, and adding the article to the bucket 50 or the like that already stores the article is simply assorting, picking is included.

 [0014] A planar antenna 45 of the RFID reader is provided below the conveying surface of the picking competitor 20. Similarly, the planar antenna 45 is also provided in the conveyor 22 that carries containers into and out of the stacker crane 6 at the loading / unloading stations 12 and 14. Furthermore, a planar antenna 45 is also provided at the tip 26 of the other long-distance competitor 24 that transports the articles picked or packed at the picking station 10 in a separate container. The competitors 20, 22 and 26 are competitors that can be operated / stopped independently of other competitors, and are preferably power conveyors.

[0015] The controller 30 controls the entire automatic warehouse 2, and the verification means 31 is a competitor 20, 22, 26. The ID list of the article read by the RFID reader installed in is compared with the ID list of the article being commanded from the host controller 33. In collation, even if the product number is the same, if each product is considered to be a different product, compare the product IDs, and if the product is the same product if the product number and lot number are the same, Compare lot numbers. The trouble handling means 32 is used to alarm the operator at the terminals 34, 35, etc. provided at the stations 10, 12, 14 when the ID of the goods to be entered / exited, picked or assembled does not match the command of the host controller 33, etc. At the same time, the contents of the discrepancy are displayed and the operations of the competitors 20, 22, and 26 are prohibited. In the discrepancy display, a list of product IDs that do not match the command is displayed, and product names, product numbers, etc. are displayed within the range that can be identified from the IDs. In the case of the competitor 22, transfer to and from the stacker crane 6 is prohibited. In this way, containers containing unmatched items are prevented from being transported. In the embodiment, an RFID reader may be provided to read the ID of the article in the container S, and an RFID reader / writer may be provided to write the article in the container to the RFID.

 FIG. 2 shows the configuration of the picking competitor 20 in the picking station 10 and the RFID reader.

 44 arrangements are shown. 50 is the above-mentioned bucket, in which a large number of articles 51 are accommodated, and respective RFID readers are attached. RFID 52 is the bucket 50 ID. The electromagnetic wave between the planar antenna 45 and the RFID of the article 51 is likely to be scenered if there is a metal in the middle. Therefore, each roller of the picking compressor 20 is composed of a reinforced plastic roller 40. Instead of the reinforced plastic, a ceramic roller or a roller in which a metal peripheral surface is covered with a magnetic material such as a metal oxide as a magnetic shield may be used. Similarly, the roller of the competitor 26 is composed of a reinforced plastic roller 41. On the other hand, in other competitors such as the converter 18, the roller is composed of a metal roller 42. As a result, communication failure between the RFID and the planar antenna 45 due to the metal of the roller such as the converter 20 can be prevented.

As shown in FIG. 3, the planar antenna 45 has a plurality of individual antennas 48 arranged in a planar shape. The individual antenna 48 is driven by, for example, time division by the RFID reader body 46, and each individual antenna 48 is driven. Read the ID of the item directly above. If the same ID is read by multiple individual antennas 48, the duplicate ID is deleted and the ID of one article is output only once. FIG. 4 shows a picking competitor 60 according to a modification. A metal roller 42 is used as a power roller, and a plurality of individual antennas 62 are arranged in a gap between the metal rollers 42 and 42 and are driven by the RFID reader body 46, for example, in a time-sharing manner. In this way, the influence of the metal roller 42 can be made relatively small, and the RFID of the article can be read. In addition, the picking combiner may be composed of a rubber belt competitor, and a planar antenna or a comb-like antenna may be disposed between the upper and lower rubber belts, for example. Alternatively, the picking competitor may be composed of a roller made of reinforced plastic to incorporate a small antenna, or the roller itself may be used as an antenna by rolling the planar antenna.

 In the embodiment, picking and assorting in the automatic warehouse 2 and RFID reading at the loading and unloading are shown, but the present invention can be similarly applied to a transport system other than the automatic warehouse. Such modifications are shown in Figs. The same reference numerals as those in FIGS. 1 to 4 represent the same components, and are the same as those in the embodiment of FIGS. 5 and 6, 70 is a transport system, 71 is a long-distance competitor, 72 is a diverter, and a container branched from the long-distance competitor 71 is stopped by a picking competitor 74 via a sub-compeller 73. Then, the container after picking and filling is returned from the picking competitor 74 to the long-distance competitor 71, and the container is transported to another picking competitor or the like. 76 is another long-range competitor, and there is another picking competitor 77 at its tip.

 [0020] An operator (not shown) picks and packs articles between the picking competitors 74 and 77. The picking competitors 74 and 77 are provided with RFID readers that can be used with the planar antenna 45 and the RFID reader main body 46, and picking and assembling work instructions are displayed on the terminal 34. Whether the picking and assembling results match the command from the controller 30 is checked by the checking means 31. If they do not match, the trouble handling means 32 prohibits the compressors 7 and 77 from being driven and an alarm is given at the terminal 34. .

 FIG. 6 shows the configuration of the picking competitor 74. The picking compressor 77 has the same structure, 75 is a rubber belt, a planar antenna 45 is disposed between the upper and lower rubber belts 75, 75, and the planar antenna 45 is driven by the RF ID reader body 46.

FIG. 7 to FIG. 10 show ID processing at the time of picking and assortment in the embodiment. Loading and unloading The processing at this time is the same. As shown in Figure 7, the process

 • Read the IDs of the items in the bucket at once, create an ID list,

 • Create a list of picked or assorted items from the difference between the ID list when the bucket arrives on the picking competitor and the subsequent ID list;

• and verifying the list of articles created with the commands from the controller,

 It consists of three subroutines!

 [0023] As shown in FIG. 8, in creating the ID list in the bucket, individual antennas such as planar antennas are driven in a time-sharing manner, and the RFID of the article is read or read. Next, the RFIDs read redundantly with multiple individual antennas are organized to eliminate duplication. The ID list of the articles in the packet is created as described above. For example, this operation is repeated at a predetermined time interval such as one second while the bucket is on the picking competitor.

 [0024] As shown in Fig. 9, when creating a picking article list, an ID list (initial list) of articles when the knot arrives at the picking competitor is stored, and then, for example, an ID created every second The ID list of picked items and assorted items is created from the difference from the list.

 FIG. 10 shows the processing of the ID list of the article. The ID list of picked items and assorted items is checked against picking and assortment commands from the host controller. The picking conveyor is configured to automatically operate when the operator touches a button (not shown) or the arrival time of the packet, and a predetermined time elapses. When it arrives, it compares with the command from the host controller, and if there is no problem in the collation result, it operates the competitor and starts the packet. In the case of loading / unloading stations 12 and 14 in Fig. 1, the bucket is allowed to start by allowing transfer to and from the stacker crane 6. Then, a list of IDs of picked or assorted items is determined and output to the controller 30 or the like.

[0026] When the start time of the packet arrives and the collation result is bad, an alarm is given at the terminal 34 in Fig. 1 and Fig. 5 and the content of the mismatch is displayed. If the operator force S is not reset, picking and assortment are continued, and if reset, the ID list of the picked and assorted items at that time and the list of IDs of the items that do not match the command from the host controller And make And finishes the process. In this case, it is recovered separately by hand.

[0027] In the embodiment, the force S indicates picking and assortment processing, the loading / unloading station in FIG.

 The same applies when entering and leaving at 12 and 14. Further, picking and assortment are performed manually, but may be automatically performed by a transfer device (not shown). The same applies to picking in the transport system in Fig. 5.

 [0028] In the embodiment, since the RFID reader does not exist at the top of the picking competitor, the RFID reader does not get in the way when picking from the container manually or assembling the container. Unlike the case where an ID is read with an RFID reader by moving a container that has been picked or assorted from one picker to the next, and reading the ID with an RFID reader, the RFID can be read in real time during picking, saving space. If the ID list of the picked or packed item does not match the command from the controller, the container can be prevented from entering / exiting or being transported as it is.

 [0029] The capability of the RFID reader is limited, and the ID of some articles may not be read. Therefore, in the case of warehousing, if all the IDs of goods commanded by the controller can be read as warehousing goods, the verification result is normal. In the case of delivery, the verification result will be normal if it can be confirmed that all the articles commanded by the controller have been delivered. The same applies to picking and assortment. The possibility that goods not in the order from the controller will be in or out or picked is not a problem! /.

 [0030] In the embodiment, since the antennas of the plurality of RFID readers are arranged in a planar shape or spaced apart from the conveyance surface of the picking competitor, the IDs of the plurality of articles in the container are collectively read. That power S. Here, by using a non-metallic roller such as a reinforced plastic roller or a ceramic roller or a non-metallic belt such as a rubber belt as the competitor roller, shielding of electromagnetic waves by the metallic roller can be prevented. Even if the antenna is placed in the gap between the metal rollers, the influence of the metal roller on the communication with the RFID reader can be reduced. As described above, the goods to be loaded / unloaded, picked or assembled can be read without obstructing the manufacturer.

Claims

The scope of the claims  [1] In a system for storing and transporting a plurality of articles in a container,  In addition to providing a container transporter at a station in the container transport path, the IDs of the articles in the container are collectively read from the RFID attached to the article below the conveyor transport surface. A transport system characterized by the provision of an RFID reader. [2] Verification means for verifying the ID of the article read by the RFID reader with the command from the controller, and for prohibiting the movement of the container from the station when the read ID does not match the command. The conveyance system according to claim 1, further comprising means.  [3] The transport system according to claim 1, wherein the antenna of the RFID reader is arranged in a planar shape below the transport surface of the competitor. 4. The transport system according to claim 1, wherein the competitor is a roller competitor, and a plurality of antennas of the RFID reader are arranged in a gap between the rollers of the competitor. 5. The transport system according to claim 1, wherein the competitor is a roller competitor including a non-metallic roller.  6. The terminal according to claim 2, wherein a terminal is provided in the vicinity of the station for displaying the content of mismatch between the read ID and the command when the read ID does not match the command. Conveying system. [7] A method of storing and transporting multiple items in a container! /  A container transporter is provided at a station in the container transport path, and an RFID reader is provided below the transport surface of the competitor to read the ID of the article in the container from the RFID attached to the article. ,  The RFID reader reads the IDs of the items in the container stopped on the competitor in a batch,  A conveyance method characterized in that the ID of a read article is checked against a command from a controller. [8] When the ID of the read article matches the command from the controller, the container is allowed to move from the station. If the ID of the read item does not match the command from the controller, the container is prohibited from moving from the station, and the content of the mismatch between the read ID and the command is displayed on the terminal near the station. The transfer method according to claim 7.