JP2018188236A - Picking system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a picking system capable of picking more articles and reducing stagnation of articles.SOLUTION: The present invention relates to a picking system 1 configured to take out a requested article among stock articles 400 and ship it, the picking system comprising: a plurality of zones 10A-10F each having a rack 50 for storing the stock articles 400, a conveying vehicle moving along the rack 50, a picking station 900 where the stock article 400 which is conveyed by the conveying vehicle is supplied and a necessary quantity of articles among the stock articles 400 are taken out; and a first conveying device 500 configured to convey articles among the plurality of zones 10A-10F.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a picking system for picking up a necessary quantity of articles from inventory articles stored in a rack.

  Patent Document 1 discloses a picking system in which a transport vehicle that travels along a travel route disposed along a rack transports a container to a picking unit.

International Publication No. 2016/031351

  By the way, it is required to pick an article in response to a large amount of demand from among a large amount of inventory. For this reason, for example, if the scale is increased by increasing the installation area of the picking system disclosed in Patent Document 1, a large amount of inventory items can be stored.

  However, if a necessary quantity is picked from a large number of inventory items in response to a large amount of demand, it is necessary to collect the necessary articles from inventory items distributed and stored in a wide space. For this reason, the distance which conveyance of articles | goods becomes long occurs, and there exists a subject that the time which conveyance requires becomes long. In addition, since the stock products stored at various positions come and go, it takes a long time for another stock product to wait until a necessary product is picked from the stock product. That is, there is a problem that stagnation occurs during the conveyance of the article.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a picking system capable of picking more articles and reducing the stagnation of articles in consideration of the above-described conventional problems.

  In order to solve the above-described conventional problems, a picking system according to an aspect of the present invention is a picking system for taking out a requested item from a stock item and shipping it, and a rack for storing the stock item, the rack A plurality of zones each having a transporting vehicle that moves along the picking station, and a picking station from which the stocked goods transported by the transporting vehicle are supplied and a necessary quantity of the stocked goods is taken out, and And a first transport device that transports articles between a plurality of zones.

  According to this, the article conveyed by the conveyance vehicle from the rack in each of the plurality of zones is picked. For this reason, the moving distance for the conveyance vehicle to convey articles in each zone can be shortened. In addition, since picking is performed in each zone, more articles can be picked.

  In addition, since the first transport vehicle transports articles between a plurality of zones, for example, when an article that is not in the inventory of the rack of one zone occurs, the first transport vehicle can be used to move the other zone. Can be ordered from the rack. Thus, the first transport vehicle can be used when necessary, and the stagnation of articles can be reduced.

  From these things, since the time which conveys articles | goods can be shortened and picking of more articles | goods can be performed in parallel for every zone, the residence of articles | goods can be reduced.

  The first transport device further includes, for each of the plurality of zones, the article picked up at the picking station included in the zone from the picking station to the shipping station. May be.

  According to this, since the 1st conveyance apparatus conveys the article picked in each of a some zone to a shipping station, the retention of articles | goods can be reduced. Further, since the first transport device transports articles between a plurality of zones and transports articles from each of the plurality of zones to the shipping station, space saving is possible.

  In addition, for each of the plurality of zones, a shipping station and a second transport device that transports an article taken out in the picking station included in the zone from the picking station to the shipping station. Good.

  According to this, since the 2nd conveyance apparatus conveys the article picked in each of a some zone to a shipping station, the retention of an article | item can be reduced.

  The first transport device may be an upper traveling vehicle that travels on a track disposed above a predetermined space, and the picking station may be disposed in a space below the space in which the upper traveling vehicle travels. Good.

  As described above, in a plan view, the space in which the first transport vehicle travels and the picking station can be arranged so as to save space.

  Further, the first inventory item including the first item whose request frequency is equal to or higher than the first threshold is distributed and stored in the racks of each of the first number of zones among the plurality of zones, and the request frequency A second inventory item including a second item less than a second threshold is a second number of zones less than the first number of the plurality of zones, the first number of Place in a respective rack of a second number of zones, including part of the zone, and direct a picking operation at a picking station in the second number of zones when requested to include the second item A controller may be provided.

  For this reason, picking work can be performed without the first transport device transporting the second article, and the stay of the article can be reduced. For example, even if there is a request including a first item with a high request frequency and a second item with a low request frequency, some zones may include a first inventory including the first item. Since the article and the second inventory article including the second article are stored, the picking operation can be performed in the part of the zone without the first conveying device conveying the second article. .

  The rack includes a first shelf on a path side on which the transport vehicle moves and a second shelf on a side opposite to the path side of the first shelf, and the controller includes the first article. May be stored in the first shelf.

  For this reason, articles can be arranged with high density with respect to the rack, and the time required to transfer articles arranged with high density can be shortened.

  The controller is not stored in the first zone and stored in a second zone different from the first zone in picking in the first zone among the plurality of zones. In addition, when there is a request including the second article, an instruction to pick the second article in the quantity indicated by the request in the second zone, and the second after the picking is performed. May be output by the first transport device from the second zone to the first zone.

  For this reason, the quantity of the articles | goods conveyed between several zones can be reduced, and the residence of articles | goods can be reduced.

  According to the picking system of the present invention, more articles can be picked, and the stagnation of articles can be reduced.

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a configuration outline of a picking system according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a plan view illustrating a configuration outline of a zone of the picking system according to the embodiment. FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating a configuration outline of a rack according to the embodiment. FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating a configuration outline of the stacker crane according to the embodiment. FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the picking system according to the embodiment. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of rank information in which a request frequency and a rank are associated with each other. FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining a zone for storing each stock item determined for each rank. FIG. 8 is a plan view showing a schematic configuration of a picking system according to another embodiment. FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view showing a configuration in which a picking station of a zone according to another embodiment is viewed from the Y-axis direction.

  Hereinafter, a picking system according to an embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. The embodiment described below shows a specific example of the present invention. Therefore, numerical values, shapes, materials, components, arrangement positions and connection forms of components, contents and order of information processing, and the like shown in the following embodiments are merely examples and are not intended to limit the present invention. . Therefore, among the constituent elements according to the following embodiments, constituent elements that are not described in the independent claims showing the highest concept of the present invention are described as optional constituent elements.

  Each figure is a schematic diagram and is not necessarily shown strictly. Moreover, in each figure, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to substantially the same structure, and the overlapping description may be abbreviate | omitted or simplified.

  The outline of the configuration of the picking system 1 according to the embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a configuration outline of a picking system 1 according to an embodiment.

  The picking system 1 according to the present embodiment is a system for taking out a requested item from a stock item and shipping it. The picking system 1 includes a plurality (six in this embodiment) of zones 10A to 10F and a first transport device 500. The picking system 1 may further include a shipping station 600. The picking system 1 may further include a system control device 300.

  First, the outline of each of the zones 10A to 10F will be described.

  FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a configuration outline of the zone 10A of the picking system 1 according to the embodiment. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a configuration outline of the rack 50 according to the embodiment. Since the zone 10A and each of the other zones 10B to 10F have the same configuration, only the configuration of the zone 10A will be described below, and the description of the configurations of the zones 10B to 10F will be omitted.

  The zone 10A includes a rack 50, a stacker crane 100, and a picking station 900.

  The rack 50 stores inventory items. The rack 50 includes a first rack 51, a second rack 52, and a third rack 53, each for storing a plurality of inventory items. Note that the rack 50 is not limited to three racks, but may be one or more racks. Each of the first rack 51, the second rack 52, and the third rack 53 has a plurality of shelves 55. In each of the first rack 51, the second rack 52, and the third rack 53, a plurality of shelves 55 are arranged side by side in the height direction (Z-axis direction) as shown in FIG. . Each of the plurality of shelves 55 includes a first shelf 55a on the path side (near side) on which the stacker crane 100 moves and a second shelf 55b on the opposite side (the back side) from the path side of the first shelf 55a. You may do it. That is, in each of the plurality of shelves 55, the inventory items can be arranged in two rows, the front side and the back side.

  The stacker crane 100 is an example of a transport vehicle that moves along the rack 50. In the present embodiment, a plurality (for example, six) of stacker cranes 100 are arranged in the zone 10A. Note that one stacker crane 100 may be disposed in the zone 10A.

  Each of the plurality of stacker cranes 100 includes a controller 150 that controls the stacker crane 100. The controller 150 of each stacker crane 100 exchanges information with the system control device 300 via, for example, wireless communication. For example, the controller 150 that has received the instruction information including the movement destination from the system control device 300 determines a movement route based on the instruction information, and moves the stacker crane 100 having the controller 150 along the determined movement route. . Further, the completion report of the instructed work is made from the stacker crane 100 to the system control apparatus 300 via wireless communication.

  The system control device 300 is a controller that controls and manages the picking system 1. In other words, the system control device 300 is a host computer, and controls, for example, loading and unloading operations of inventory items with respect to the rack 50 by exchanging information with a plurality of stacker cranes 100.

  Further, the track 20 for guiding the movement of the stacker crane 100 includes a first track 21 disposed along the first rack 51, a second track 22 disposed along the second rack 52, and the first track 21. And a shortcut track connecting the second track 22. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the first track 21 and the second track 22 are connected by two shortcut tracks (25a, 25b).

  More specifically, the first track 21 is formed in a loop shape surrounding the first rack 51 in plan view (when viewed from the height direction (Z-axis direction)), and the second track 22 is viewed in plan view. Are formed in a loop shape surrounding the second rack 52. Further, the track 20 further includes a third track 23 arranged along the third rack 53, and the third track 23 is formed in a loop shape surrounding the third rack 53 in plan view. As shown in FIG. 1, the first track 21 and the third track 23 partially overlap, and the second track 22 and the third track 23 partially overlap. That is, the straight line portion located between the first rack 51 and the third rack 53 in the track 20 is a portion shared by the first track 21 and the third track 23. Further, a straight line portion between the second rack 52 and the third rack 53 in the track 20 is a portion shared by the second track 22 and the third track 23.

  Further, the track 20 can move only in the direction of the arrow shown in FIG. 1 (that is, one-way). Specifically, the first track 21 and the second track 22 are one-way counterclockwise, and the third track 23 is one-way clockwise.

  In the present embodiment, each of the plurality of stacker cranes 100 can move from one of the first track 21 and the second track 22 to the other via the third track 23. Each of the plurality of stacker cranes 100 can also move from one of the first track 21 and the second track 22 to the other through the shortcut track (25a, 25b).

  The track 20 in the present embodiment is, for example, a rail suspended from the ceiling or fixed to the ceiling, and the stacker crane 100 is a suspended type that moves along the track 20 while being suspended from the track 20. Is a stacker crane. Further, the stacker crane 100 can receive the inventory goods 400 from both the left and right sides when the moving direction is the front, and can send the cargo to the left and right sides. The structure of the stacker crane 100 will be described later with reference to FIG.

  The zone 10 </ b> A is further provided on both sides in the X-axis direction of the rack 50 for temporary inventory items 400 for receiving the inventory items 400 into the rack 50 and for issuing the inventory items 400 from the rack 50. Certain loading / unloading racks 61 and 62 are arranged.

  In the present embodiment, each of the loading / unloading racks 61 and 62 has a plurality of shelves 65 arranged in the Y-axis direction and the Z-axis direction. The inventory item 400 placed on the shelf 65 from the outside is taken up by the stacker crane 100 and placed on any shelf 55 of the rack 50. Further, the inventory item 400 placed on any shelf 55 of the rack 50 is taken up by the stacker crane 100 and placed on any shelf 65 of the loading / unloading rack 61 or 62.

  Further, the zone 10A has picking stations 900 for picking work on both outer sides in the X-axis direction of the loading / unloading racks 61 and 62. In the picking station 900, the inventory item 400 conveyed by the stacker crane 100 is supplied to the shelf 65. In the picking station 900, the inventory item 400 supplied to the shelf 65 is taken out by the operator to the outside of the rack, and a picking operation is performed in which a necessary quantity of items in the inventory item 400 is taken out.

  Specifically, for example, the worker A existing outside (the X-axis plus side) of the loading / unloading rack 61 in FIG. 1 takes out a plurality of inventory items 400 from the loading / unloading rack 61 while moving the cart 200. The cart 200 is loaded and moved to the sorting rack 90. The worker A transmits, for example, information indicating the position of the shelf 65 on which the inventory item 400 loaded on the cart 200 is placed to the system control apparatus 300 via the terminal device included in the cart 200. Thereby, the system control apparatus 300 can store information indicating one or more inventory items 400 collected by the worker A.

  In the present embodiment, the stock item 400 is, for example, a box (a cardboard box or a folding container) in which a plurality of items of the same product are accommodated. For example, the worker A places each of a plurality of articles taken out from the inventory article 400 on a shelf 95 included in the sorting rack 90 in accordance with an instruction displayed on a display device included in the cart 200. Each of the plurality of shelves 95 included in the sorting rack 90 is assigned a destination, and the destination is associated with one or more products to be sent to the destination. These destinations and various types of information such as correspondence between destinations and products are stored in, for example, the system control apparatus 300. The system control apparatus 300 communicates with the cart 200, thereby the cart 200 (worker A). In addition, which shelf 95 should be instructed which item should be placed.

  When a group of articles necessary for the destination assigned to the shelf 95 (for example, two articles a, one article b, three articles c, etc.) are arranged in a certain shelf 95, a sorting rack is provided. The worker B existing outside 90 packs the group of articles, and affixes a seal on which the destination is written to the box. The box to which the seal is attached is moved by a worker or the like to a shelf 96 disposed outside the zone 10A in the X-axis direction of the sorting rack 90. Then, the box is moved to the shipping station 600 by the first transfer device 500 and then transported to the destination.

  Further, in the zone 10A according to the present embodiment, a plurality of single-unit racks 70 are further arranged on the sides of the rack 50 in the Y-axis direction. Articles requested from other zones are placed on the single item rack 70 by the stacker crane 100. The first transport device 500 takes out an article requested from another zone and placed on the single-unit rack 70 and transports it to the other zone.

  Zone 10A concerning this embodiment is further provided with safety fence 170 arranged so that track 20 and rack 50 may be enclosed in plane view. That is, it is configured so that a person cannot pass through the region where the track 20 and the rack 50 of the zone 10A are arranged.

  The 1st conveying apparatus 500 conveys articles | goods between several zone 10A-10F. Moreover, the 1st conveying apparatus 500 conveys the article taken out in the picking station 900 which the said zone has about each of several zone 10A-10F from the said picking station 900 to the shipping station 600. FIG. Specifically, the picking station 900 is provided with a shelf 96 on which a box in which an article taken out in picking is placed is placed. The first transport device 500 takes out the article taken out in picking from the shelf 96 and transports the article to the shipping station 600.

  The first transport device 500 includes a plurality of transport vehicles 510. The plurality of transport vehicles 510 are, for example, overhead traveling vehicles that travel on rails that are suspended from the ceiling or fixed to the ceiling, and travel on a predetermined route 520 in a region between the plurality of zones 10A to 10F. . The predetermined path 520 is provided across the plurality of zones 10A to 10F in the region between the plurality of zones 10A to 10F. The predetermined path 520 further has a path extending from the region between the plurality of zones 10A to 10F to the shipping station 600. In addition, the 1st conveying apparatus 500 may be implement | achieved by the conveyor and may be implement | achieved by AGV (Automated Guided Vehicle).

  Next, the stacker crane 100 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of the stacker crane 100 according to the embodiment. In FIG. 4, the basic configuration of the stacker crane 100 is simply illustrated, and the track 20 is cut and illustrated in order to show the structure of the track 20.

  The stacker crane 100 moves up and down along the upper carriage 101, a pair of masts 110 extending downward from the upper carriage 101, a lower carriage 107 connected to the lower ends of the pair of masts 110, and the pair of masts 110. An elevator 120 and a controller 150 that controls the stacker crane 100 are provided.

  The upper carriage 101 is a carriage that drives the movement of the stacker crane 100, and includes a base portion 101a and two bogies that are pivotally supported around the Z axis with respect to the base portion 101a. Each of the two bogies 102 is a carriage whose movement is driven by a linear motor, and includes a plurality of rollers that roll on a running surface 20 a formed by the inner surface of the track 20. For example, an on-vehicle primary linear motor in which a magnet is fixed to the ceiling side (track 20) and an electromagnet is disposed on the bogie 102 is employed as a drive source for each of the two bogies 102. Each of the two bogies 102 travels on the traveling surface 20 a of the track 20, so that the upper bogie 101 having the two bogies 102, a pair of masts 110 whose upper ends are connected to the upper bogie 101, etc. Move. That is, the stacker crane 100 moves along the track 20. Each of the two bogies 102 has a branch roller that can perform a branch switching operation (switching the traveling track). As a result, each of the two bogies 102 can change tracks such as transfer from the second track 22 to the shortcut track 25a.

  The lower carriage 107 connected to the lower ends of the pair of masts 110 is a carriage that moves along the lower rail 30. For example, the lower carriage 107 is guided to the lower rail 30 in a state where one or more rollers (not shown) are in contact with the lower rail 30. Move while being. The lower rail 30 is, for example, a rail disposed on the floor surface at a position facing the track 20, and swings the suspended stacker crane 100 in the direction perpendicular to the track 20 with the track 20 as an axis. It has a role to suppress.

  The lifting platform 120 is arranged in a state of being suspended from the upper carriage 101 by a plurality of wires (not shown), for example, and the lifting platform 120 moves up and down along the pair of masts 110 by winding and feeding these wires.

  The lifting platform 120 includes a transfer device 130 that transfers the stock items 400 and a placement surface 121 on which the stock items 400 are placed. In the present embodiment, the transfer device 130 has a pair of arms 131 that extend and contract in synchronization with each other. The transfer device 130 holds the pair of arms 131 in a state where the stock item 400 is sandwiched between the pair of arms 131 or a state where a claw (not shown) provided on the pair of arms 131 is hooked on the stock item 400. The stock article 400 is transferred by expanding and contracting.

  In response to an instruction from the controller 150, the transfer device 130 places the inventory article 400 placed on the shelf 55 by expanding and contracting the pair of arms 131 in front of one shelf 55 of the first rack 51. It can be pulled into the surface part 121. In addition, the transfer device 130 sends out the inventory article 400 placed on the placement surface portion 121 to the shelf 55 by, for example, expanding and contracting the pair of arms 131 in front of one shelf 55 of the first rack 51. be able to.

  There is no particular limitation on the type of transfer device 130 (a method for transferring the stock item 400). For example, a fork-type transfer device that transfers the stock item 400 by moving the fork out and up and down moves up and down. The stand 120 may be provided.

  The controller 150 according to the present embodiment has a function of controlling the driving of the two bogies 102, the raising and lowering of the lifting platform 120, the operation of the transfer device 130, and the like. Note that various types of information processing executed by the controller 150 are executed by a computer having a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a storage device such as a memory, an interface for inputting / outputting information, and the like to execute a predetermined program. It is realized by.

  FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the picking system 1 according to the embodiment.

  When storing a new inventory item in the rack 50 of each of the zones 10A to 10F, the system control apparatus 300 determines a zone in which the inventory item is stored according to the request frequency of the inventory item. Specifically, the system control apparatus 300 determines that a rank A article whose request frequency in a predetermined period is equal to or higher than a first threshold value, and a rank B article whose request frequency is equal to or higher than a second threshold value and lower than the first threshold value. And rank C articles whose request frequency is less than the second threshold. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 6, when the request frequency XXX1 of the article 401 is equal to or higher than the first threshold, the rank of the article 401 is determined to be rank A. If the request frequency XXX2 of the article 402 is less than the second threshold, the rank of the article 402 is determined as rank C. Further, when the request frequency XXX3 of the article 403 is greater than or equal to the second threshold and less than the first threshold, the rank of the article 403 is determined to be rank B. In the present embodiment, the first threshold value is larger than the second threshold value.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of rank information in which a request frequency and a rank are associated with each other.

  The system control apparatus 300 may store rank information as illustrated in FIG. 6 in a storage device included in the system control apparatus 300. The rank information may include a request frequency in a predetermined period for each type of inventory item. The system control device 300 acquires the request frequency of the newly received inventory item from the storage device, and refers to the information stored in the storage device by using the acquired request frequency, thereby The rank may be determined. The rank information may not include the request frequency. When determining the rank, the system control device 300 determines the request frequency in a predetermined period, the required quantity of each item included in the request, and You may calculate based on the date and time when the request was made.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining a zone for storing each stock item determined for each rank.

  The system controller 300 distributes and stores stock items composed of rank A items in the racks 50 of all the zones 10A to 10F. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 7, the system control device 300 stores the articles 401 in a distributed manner in the racks 50 of all the zones 10A to 10F.

  In addition, the system control device 300 stores the stock items composed of the rank B items in, for example, the racks 50 of any two zones among the zones 10A to 10F. For example, as shown in FIG. 7, the system control apparatus 300 stores the article 403 in the zones 10A and 10D in a distributed manner and stores the article 404 in the zones 10C and 10E in a distributed manner.

  In addition, the system control device 300 stores the stock items composed of the rank C items in the rack 50 of any one of the zones 10A to 10F. For example, as shown in FIG. 7, the system control apparatus 300 stores the article 402 in the zone 10B and stores the article 40N in the zone 10F.

  In other words, the system control device 300 stores the first inventory items including the first item whose request frequency is equal to or higher than the first threshold in the racks 50 of all the zones 10A to 10F. In addition, the system control device 300 stores the second inventory item including the second item having a request frequency less than the second threshold in the rack 50 of a part of the zones 10A to 10F.

  In FIG. 7, two types of articles, that is, rank A articles and other rank B or C articles are stored in each of the zones 10A to 10F. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, each of the zones 10A to 10F may store two or more types of rank A articles, or may store two or more types of rank B or rank C articles.

  After determining the zone in which the inventory item is stored as described above, the system control apparatus 300 gives an instruction to store the inventory item in the determined zone, for example. The system control device 300 may automatically store the stock item in the rack of the determined zone by giving the instruction to the first transport device 500 described later and the stacker crane 100 in the determined zone. In addition, when the system controller 300 is a transport vehicle that travels when the first transport device 500 described later is driven by an operator, the system controller 300 displays the instruction when the operator scans the barcode of the inventory item, The determination may be performed by displaying the determined zone, or may be performed by printing information indicating the determined zone.

  When there is a request including the rank C article, the system control apparatus 300 instructs the picking work in the picking station 900 in a part of the zones storing the rank C article. In other words, when there is a request including the rank C article 402 and the rank A article 401, the system control apparatus 300 performs the picking operation in the picking station 900 in the zone 10B in which the rank C article 402 is stored. Instruct.

  Thus, in order to instruct the picking work to be performed in the zone 10B in which the rank C article is stored, the first carrying device 500 does not carry the rank C article 402 to another zone. It can be carried out. For this reason, the usage frequency of the 1st conveying apparatus 500 can be reduced, and it can reduce that an article | item retains in the 1st conveying apparatus 500. FIG.

  Further, the system control apparatus 300 may store the article of rank A in the first shelf 55a among the shelves 55 of the rack 50 in each of the zones 10A to 10N. That is, the system control apparatus 300 may store the rank A item in the first shelf 55a with priority over the other rank items. Thereby, since the request frequency of the goods of rank A is larger than the goods of other ranks, by placing the goods of rank A in preference to the first shelf 55a that requires less time for transfer, It is possible to shorten the time required for transferring the articles arranged at high density.

  The system control device 300 is not stored in the first zone in the picking in the first zone among the plurality of zones 10A to 10F, and is stored in the second zone different from the first zone. If there is a request including the second article, the instruction to cause the second zone to be picked in the second zone in the quantity indicated by the request and the second article after the picking An instruction to convey from the second zone to the first zone by one conveying device 500 may be output. For example, when there is a request including the article 401, the article 402, and the article 404, the system control device 300 picks at the picking station 900 in the zone 10B storing the article 402 of rank C as described above. Direct the work. However, the article 404 included in the request is not stored in the zone 10B, and the article 404 is stored in the zones 10C and 10E. Therefore, the system control apparatus 300 outputs an instruction to perform picking of the quantity of articles 404 indicated by the request in the zone 10C or the zone 10E. Then, the system control device 300 outputs an instruction to transport the article 404 picked in a necessary quantity by picking performed in the zone 10C or the zone 10E from the zone 10C or the zone 10E to the zone 10B by the first transport device 500.

  The system control device 300 is realized by a computer including a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a storage device such as a memory, and an interface for inputting and outputting information.

  In this way, only when rank B articles or rank C articles stored in different zones are included in the same request, conveyance between the plurality of zones 10A to 10F is performed using the first conveyance device 500. Do. For this reason, the quantity of the articles | goods conveyed between several zone 10A-10F can be reduced, and the residence of articles | goods can be reduced.

  The picking system 1 according to the present embodiment includes a plurality of zones 10A to 10F and the first transport device 500 in a picking system for taking out a requested article from a stock article and shipping it. Each of the plurality of zones 10A to 10F includes a rack 50, a stacker crane 100, and a picking station 900. The rack 50 stores inventory items 400. The stacker crane 100 moves along the rack 50. In the picking station 900, the stock item 400 conveyed by the stacker crane 100 is supplied, and the required quantity of the stock item 400 is taken out. The 1st conveying apparatus 500 conveys articles | goods between several zone 10A-10F.

  According to this, the articles conveyed by the stacker crane 100 from the rack 50 are picked in each of the plurality of zones 10A to 10F. For this reason, the moving distance for the stacker crane 100 to convey the article in each of the zones 10A to 10F can be shortened. In addition, since picking is performed in each of the zones 10A to 10F, more articles can be picked.

  In addition, since the first transport device 500 transports articles between the plurality of zones 10A to 10F, for example, when an article that is not in stock in the rack 50 of one zone occurs, the first transport device 500 is changed. By using it, the article can be ordered from the rack 50 of another zone to one zone. In this way, the first transport device 500 can be used when necessary, and the stagnation of articles can be reduced.

  In this way, the time for transporting articles in each zone can be shortened, more articles can be picked in parallel for each zone, and if necessary, the first transport device 500 is used. Order goods from the zone. For this reason, retention of articles can be effectively reduced.

  Further, the picking station 900 according to the present embodiment further includes a shipping station 600. The first transport device 500 further transports, for each of the plurality of zones 10 </ b> A to 10 </ b> F, the article taken out at the picking station 900 included in the zone from the picking station 900 to the shipping station 600.

  According to this, since the 1st conveying apparatus 500 conveys the goods picked in each of several zone 10A-10F to the shipping station 600, the retention of articles | goods can be reduced. Further, since the first transport device 500 transports articles between the plurality of zones 10A to 10F and transports articles from each of the plurality of zones 10A to 10F to the shipping station 600, space saving is possible. It is.

(Other embodiments)
The tracked vehicle system of the present invention has been described above based on the embodiments. However, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. Unless it deviates from the gist of the present invention, various modifications conceived by those skilled in the art have been made in the present embodiment, or forms constructed by combining a plurality of the above-described constituent elements are within the scope of the present invention. include.

  According to the above-described embodiment, the first transport device 500 transports articles between the plurality of zones 10A to 10F and delivers the articles from the picking stations 900 to the shipping stations 600 of the plurality of zones 10A to 10F. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the first transport device 500 may not transport the article from the picking station 900 to the shipping station 600 in each of the zones 10A to 10F. Instead, as shown in FIG. 8, a second transport device 700 different from the first transport device 500 may transport the article from the picking station 900 to the shipping station 600 in each of the zones 10 </ b> A to 10 </ b> F. That is, you may employ | adopt the picking system 1A provided with several zone 10A-10F, the 1st conveying apparatus 500, and the 2nd conveying apparatus 700. FIG. The 2nd conveying apparatus 700 is a conveyor, for example. The second transport device 700 may be realized by a transport vehicle such as AGV.

  According to this, since the 2nd conveyance apparatus 700 conveys the goods picked in each of several zone 10A-10F to the shipping station 600, the retention of articles | goods can be reduced.

  Moreover, according to the said embodiment, although the path | route 520 of the 1st conveying apparatus 500 was arrange | positioned outside each zone 10A-10F in the X-axis direction of the picking station 900, it is not restricted to this. For example, as shown in FIG. 9, the first transport device 500 </ b> A may be an upward traveling vehicle (so-called overhead traveling vehicle) traveling on a track 20 </ b> A disposed above a predetermined space. In this case, the picking station 900A is disposed in a space below the space 530 in which the upper traveling vehicle travels.

  In such a picking station 900A, stock items included in the request are transported by the stacker crane 100 and supplied to the shelf 65a below the loading / unloading rack 61A. Then, picking a necessary quantity of articles from the supplied inventory articles, and a box packed with a group of articles having the necessary quantity aligned is placed on a shelf 65b that is different from the shelf 65a below the loading / unloading rack 61A. Placed on. When it is recognized that a box is placed on the shelf 65b, the box is moved by the stacker crane 100 to the delivery shelf 65c with the first transport device 500A. Then, the first transport device 500A takes out the box moved to the shelf 65c and transports it to the shipping station 600. The boxes with the required quantity are equipped with RFID tags or bar codes for acquiring information indicating the type and quantity of articles, and can be read by a sensor provided on the shelf 65a. It may be recognized which articles are included in the box placed on the shelf 65a. The fact that the box is placed on the shelf 65a may be recognized by the system control device 300 by an operator pressing a switch provided on the shelf 65a, or for object detection provided on the shelf 65a. The system control device 300 may be recognized by a sensor.

  In addition, although the shelf 65a and the shelf 65b are arrange | positioned in the position which is different in the up-down direction, you may arrange | position in the position which is not restricted to this, and is different in a horizontal direction.

  Moreover, according to the said embodiment, the system control apparatus 300 carries out the 1st stock goods containing the 1st goods whose request frequency is more than a 1st threshold value to each rack of all the some zones 10A-10F. However, the present invention is not limited to this. The system controller 300 distributes and stores the first stock items in the racks of the first number of zones of the plurality of zones 10A to 10F, and stores the second stock items in the first zones of the zones 10A to 10F. A second number of zones that is less than the number of zones, and each of the racks of the second number of zones including a portion of the first number of zones. That is, the system controller 300 distributes and stores the first inventory items in a greater number of zones than the number of zones storing the second inventory items, and the predetermined zone is the first inventory item and The second inventory item may be stored, and the first inventory item may not be distributed and stored in all zones.

  In this case, for example, when the system control device 300 stores the inventory items configured by rank B or rank C items in two or less zones, the system control device 300 stores the inventory items configured by rank A items in three or more zones. Are distributed and stored in each rack. Then, the system control device 300 stores the rank B or rank C article and the rank A article in any of the zones.

  Further, for example, the transport vehicle provided in the picking system 1, 1 </ b> A may be a different type of transport vehicle from the stacker crane 100. For example, an article is delivered by moving up and down a tracked carriage that runs on rails arranged on the floor surface, or a rail that is arranged on the ceiling, and moves up and down a chuck mechanism that holds the articles. An overhead traveling vehicle may be provided in the picking system 1 or 1A as a transport vehicle.

  Further, the controller 150 may not be provided in the stacker crane 100. For example, a computer arranged outside the stacker crane 100 may be arranged as a controller that controls the stacker crane 100.

  In the above embodiment, the inventory item 400 is a box (such as a cardboard box or a folding container) in which a plurality of identical products are accommodated. However, the aspect of the inventory item 400 is not particularly limited. For example, an object that is not accommodated in a box, a box that is not unpacked until it is delivered to a destination, a pallet on which a plurality of boxes are placed, and the like may be handled as articles conveyed in the picking systems 1 and 1A. .

  In the above embodiment, the first threshold value is larger than the second threshold value, but may be the same value as the second threshold value. That is, in the above-described embodiment, the rank is a rank of three levels of ranks A to C. However, the rank may be a two-level rank that is determined by one value, or may be determined by three or more different threshold values. It is good also as a rank of four or more steps.

  The picking system according to the present invention is a picking system for picking up a requested item from a stock item and shipping it, and can pick more items and can reduce the stagnation of the items. It is. Therefore, it is useful as a picking system for conveying articles in factories and distribution warehouses.

1, 1A Picking system 10A to 10F Zone 20, 20A Track 20a Running surface 21 First track 22 Second track 23 Third track 25a, 25b Short-cut track 30 Lower rail 50 Rack 51 First rack 52 Second rack 53 Third rack 55 shelves 55a first shelves 55b second shelves 61, 61A loading / unloading racks 65, 65a to 65c shelves 70 single racks 90 sorting racks 95 shelves 100 stacker cranes 101 upper carts 101a base unit 102 bogie carts 107 lower carts 110 masts 120 Lifting table 121 Mounting surface unit 130 Transfer device 131 Arm 150 Controller 170 Safety fence 200 Cart 300 System control device 400 Inventory item 401 to 40N Item 500, 500A First transfer device 510 Transfer vehicle 520 Path 530 Space 600 Shipping station 700 Second transfer device 900, 900A Picking station

Claims (7)

A picking system for removing requested goods from inventory and shipping them,
A rack for storing the stock items, a transport vehicle moving along the rack, and a picking station to which the stock items transported by the transport vehicle are supplied and a required quantity of the stock items is taken out; A plurality of zones each having
A picking system comprising: a first transport device that transports an article between the plurality of zones. further,
With a shipping station,
The picking system according to claim 1, wherein the first transport device further transports, for each of the plurality of zones, an article taken out at the picking station included in the zone from the picking station to the shipping station. further,
A shipping station;
2. The picking system according to claim 1, further comprising: a second transport device that transports, for each of the plurality of zones, an article taken out at the picking station included in the zone from the picking station to the shipping station. The first transport device is an upward traveling vehicle that travels on a track disposed above a predetermined space,
The picking system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the picking station is disposed in a space below a space in which the upper traveling vehicle travels. further,
A first inventory item including a first item having a request frequency equal to or greater than a first threshold is distributed and stored in each rack of a first number of zones of the plurality of zones;
A second inventory item comprising a second item having a request frequency less than a second threshold is a second number of zones less than the first number of the plurality of zones, wherein the first number Store in each rack of a second number of zones, including part of the number of zones,
The picking system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising a controller that instructs a picking operation at the picking stations in the second number of zones when there is a request including the second article. The rack has a first shelf on the path side on which the transport vehicle moves, and a second shelf on the opposite side of the first shelf from the path side,
The picking system according to claim 5, wherein the controller stores the first article in the first shelf. The controller is
Among the plurality of zones, in the picking in the first zone, the second zone which is not stored in the first zone and is stored in a second zone different from the first zone. When there is a request including an article, an instruction to pick the second article in the quantity indicated by the request in the second zone, and the second article after the picking The picking system according to claim 5 or 6, wherein an instruction for transporting from the second zone to the first zone is output by a transport device.

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