JPH01214501A - Article collecting equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To aim at working accuracy and efficiency by indicating ail positions of taken-out articles in a selection shelf when a selecting operation in the shelf portion at a moving vehicle side and indicating quantity of the taken-out articles every time the article is instructed one kind by one kind in it. CONSTITUTION:Working data are input to a working controller SC from a host controller HC and the position and article taking-out information at a shelf portion 2 is indicated on a monitor 18 via the indicating means 100 of a moving vehicle controller IC. The moving vehicle is thereby moved to a predetermined position. An article taken-out one by one from indicated articles is selected and instructed by operating a touch panel 19. The number of the taking-out articles is thereby indicated. Accordingly, an operator conducts a taking-out according to the indication. The number of taken-out articles is indicated and taken out in order. Thus, the article can be taken out freely from errors and efficiently.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention provides a shelf comprising a plurality of shelf portions for storing a plurality of types of articles in different categories on a travel path of a moving vehicle having an article storage section. storage means for storing article retrieval information consisting of positional information of a shelf section in which articles to be collected are stored and the type and quantity of articles to be retrieved from the shelf section; The present invention relates to an article collecting facility provided with display means for displaying position information of a shelf section in which articles to be collected are stored and information on taking out articles from the shelf section based on stored information in a storage means.

[Prior Art] This type of article collection equipment described above extracts and takes out articles based on article retrieval information while moving a moving vehicle over each of a plurality of shelves storing articles to be taken out. The work will be carried out in the steps of storing the stored items in the item storage section.

Then, article retrieval information consisting of positional information of a shelf section in which the article to be retrieved is stored, the type and quantity of the article to be retrieved from the shelf section is stored in advance in the storage means of the moving vehicle, and the information is based on the stored information. Then, the position information of the shelf portion and the article removal information are displayed using a display means.

By the way, conventionally, the display means for displaying the position information of the shelf section and the article takeout information is, for example, a plurality of lamps corresponding to each of the plurality of shelf sections, and a plurality of types of articles stored in each shelf section. Equipped with multiple lamps corresponding to each storage position and a numerical display to display the quantity taken out.
It was configured to light up the corresponding lamp and display the number of items taken out numerically.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

In the conventional configuration described above, the position information of the shelf section and the information for taking out items are displayed all at once in a limited space on the moving vehicle side, so the display of each information is small and difficult to understand, making it difficult to read the displayed contents. Not only is this troublesome, but there is a risk of misunderstanding.

The present invention was made in view of the circumstances described in -
The purpose of this is to enable accurate display of the position of the shelf portion from which the article retrieval operation is performed, as well as the type and quantity of articles to be taken out.

[Means to solve the problem]

The characteristic configuration of the article collection equipment according to the present invention is as follows.

The display means includes a monitor, a display state selection means for selecting a display state of the monitor, and a display control means for controlling the display of the monitor based on information of the display state selection means and information of the storage means. In a shelf position display state in which all the positions of shelf parts storing items to be collected are displayed, the display control means is configured to control when one shelf part is selected by the display state selection means. Accompanied by,
The positions of all the articles of the type to be taken out within the selected shelf section are displayed, and in the article display state, as one type of article is selected by the display state selection means, the selected article is displayed. It is configured to display the quantity taken out.

[For production]

In other words, a shelf position display state that uses a monitor to display all the positions of the shelf parts that store items to be collected, and a display state that displays all positions of the types of items to be taken out within the selected shelf part. and a quantity display state in which the quantity of the selected article to be taken out is displayed, and the switching is performed as the shelf section or article on which work is to be performed is selected in each display state.
The display state is changed to correspond to the next task.

〔Effect of the invention〕

Therefore, the monitor can be used to display only the content that corresponds to the work procedure in a large size, so the limited display space can be used effectively and the information required at each work stage can be displayed in an easy-to-understand manner. As a result, it is possible to quickly read the display contents at each work stage while preventing erroneous recognition, which is also advantageous for improving work efficiency.

〔Example〕 Embodiments of the present invention will be described below based on the drawings.

As shown in Figure 1, the article collection equipment includes a mobile vehicle (A
) and a plurality of shelves (B) for storing a plurality of types of articles in separate categories and arranged side by side along the longitudinal direction of the travel path of the moving vehicle (A).

As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, each type (B) is divided into a plurality of sections along its longitudinal direction, and each partitioned shelf section (2) has a pair of upper and lower two stages. A total of four stages of loading sections are provided, and each loading section can store three types of articles in the horizontal direction.

As shown in FIG. 2, the mobile vehicle (Δ) is equipped with a pair of left and right free wheels (3) disposed at each of the front and rear ends, and a pair of left and right handles (4) for steering. , which is constructed in the form of a so-called handcart, and is provided with a display panel (5) that also serves as a setting panel for displaying article removal information near the handle section (4).

The storage frame (1) is provided with four upper and lower shelf sections, and each shelf section can store three article storage containers (6) in the horizontal direction.

Note that each container (6) corresponds to a respective shipping destination.

In Fig. 2, (7) is a quantity indicator that displays the quantity of articles to be stored in each container (6), and (8) is a quantity indicator that indicates the completion of storing articles in each container (6). This is an illuminated storage completion button for inputting information for each container.

Then, as shown in FIG. 1, the worker loads the empty container (6) into the moving vehicle (A
) After loading the data into the storage frame (1), proceed to the data receiving point (F).
Then input the work data for collecting goods, which instructs each of the destination information, the article retrieval information, and the article storage information, into the moving vehicle (A) using the IC card (14), and 2), based on the article retrieval information, and then storing the retrieved article in a desired container (6) based on the article storage information.

When all the work is completed, the container unloading area (IE
), the work of supplying the container (6) containing the articles to the collection conveyor (10) is performed.

Next, based on the block diagram shown in FIG. 3, the article collection work will be explained while describing the control configuration.

That is, when the contents of the order form (11) issued by a customer etc. are input to the host controller (HC), the host controller (HC) processes the order form (11) according to the contents of the order form (11). 12) is created and its purchase order (
Items are purchased according to the contents of 12), and
Warehousing data (13) of purchased items is also input to the host controller (HC).

The host controller (IIC) receives the order form (1
2) and inventory data (13) above, while managing the inventory of various goods based on the contents of the above-mentioned inventory data (13).
Based on the contents of item 11), the item is made up of the position information of the shelf part (2) where the items to be collected are stored, and the item retrieval information consisting of the type and quantity of the item to be taken out from the shelf part (2). It is configured to create work data for collection and output the work data to a work controller (SC). However, the above-mentioned work data can be categorized by the amount of work performed by the - number of moving vehicles (^), and can also be divided into types and types of articles to be stored in each container (6) mounted on the moving vehicle (A). Each container (6) is formed in such a manner that the quantity can be determined for each container (6).

The work controller (SC) is configured to comprehensively manage the goods collection operation while exchanging various information such as work data with a mobile vehicle controller (IC) provided in the mobile vehicle (A). There is.

Information exchange between the work controller (SC) and the mobile vehicle controller (IC) is performed using a read/write control controller (L4A), ROM (14B), and R, A.
This is carried out while using an IC card (14) equipped with M (14G) as a storage means for storing work data as article retrieval information, and as shown in FIG. ) is attached to the work controller (SC), and a card writer (15a) for writing work data into the IC cart (15a) and a card league (15b) for reading out the written work data are attached to the work controller (SC). Cart reader to read (
16a) Card writer for writing (16b)
is attached to the niJ mobile vehicle controller (IC).

In other words, the IC card (14) contains the position information of the shelf section (2) where the items to be collected are stored, and the location information of the shelf section (2) where the items to be collected are stored.
) corresponds to a storage means for storing article retrieval information consisting of the type of article to be taken out and the quantity to be taken out.

In FIG. 3, (17) is a printer that creates article slips to be attached to each container (7) stored in the mobile vehicle (A), and is connected to the operation of the card writer (15). They will be operated in conjunction. The article slip is used for inspection after the article collection work, and when loading the empty container (6) into the storage frame (1),
They will be put into the container (6) in a predetermined order.

The display panel (5) includes a monitor (18) using a CRT display and a touch panel (19) installed on the front side of the monitor (18), and is configured in a so-called touch screen type.

Note that the touch panel (19) is connected to the monitor (18).
Various types of devices can be used, such as the previous model, which projects a plurality of optical signals across the display screen in all directions and reads the contact position based on the position of the area where light is blocked when the worker touches the screen.

The mobile vehicle controller (IC) is based on the above-mentioned work data, storage information of the articles stored on the shelf (B), and classification information for classifying each shelf part (2). , destination information for driving the moving vehicle (A), information on taking out articles from the shelf portion (2) where the moving vehicle (A) has traveled, and the container (6) in which the taken out articles are stored and the quantity to be taken out. It is configured to determine each piece of storage information that specifies the information and output the information to the display panel (5) and the quantity display (7).

In other words, using the mobile vehicle controller (IC),
Article storage information instruction means for controlling the operation of the quantity display (7), display control means (1, 02) for controlling the display of various information on the monitor (18), and detection of the touch panel (19). Based on the information, the monitor (1
8) Display state selection means (101) for selecting the display state of
The monitor (18),
The display state selection means (101) and the display control means (102) constitute a display means (100).

The mobile vehicle controller (IC) is configured using a microcomputer, and has a memory (2
0), and when the IC card (14) is set in the moving vehicle, the IC card (14)
The work data stored in will be transferred to the memory (2o).

That is, the mobile vehicle controller (IC) transfers the shelf portion (2) to the monitor (18) based on the stored information of the IC card (14) transferred to the memory (20).
The position of the touch panel 19) and the article removal information are controlled to be displayed, and selection of the display state thereof is controlled based on input information from the touch panel 19).

In FIG. 3, (21) is an audio output device for outputting information corresponding to the display content displayed on the monitor (18) in audio form.

To explain the display state on the monitor (18), only the part corresponding to the shelf part (2) where the taken out article is stored is lit, and the entire shelf part is lit in a state corresponding to the layout of the shelf (B). (2) is displayed at the same time (see Figure 5 (a)) and the loading area where there is an item to be taken out within one shelf part selected and instructed in that shelf position display state; An article display state in which one shelf section is graphically displayed with only the part corresponding to the article lit (see Figure 5 (b)), and one loading section, that is, a take-out section selected in that article display state. Quantity display state that displays the type and quantity of goods (
It is possible to switch between three states (see FIG. 5(c)).

Note that each display state is determined by the touch panel (1) as described below.
Based on the detection information of the worker's contact position read in step 9), the position corresponding to the shelf section (2) or the loading section that is displayed in a lit state is selected and instructed, and the next work is performed. The display state will be switched to the corresponding one.

Next, based on the flowchart shown in FIG. 4, the operation of the mobile vehicle (A) will be explained while describing the control operation of the mobile vehicle controller (IC).

First, a work data reading process is executed to read the information of the sent IC card (14).

After reading the information, a shelf part display process is executed to display all shelf parts graphically in a state corresponding to the layout of the shelf (B), with only the shelf part with work lit up, and the worker can perform the work. The moving vehicle (Δ) is driven to a certain shelf section and waits until the shelf section on which the work is to be performed is selected on the touch panel (19) (see FIG. 5(a)).

In other words, the destination information of the moving vehicle (A) is instructed in the process of graphically displaying the entire shelf section (2) where the work is performed.

As the shelf section where the work is to be performed is selected, only the loading section of the selected shelf section (2) where the item to be taken out is lit, and the display state changes to an article display state in which the entire shelf section is displayed. After switching, in the same way as the selection of the shelf section (2), the system waits until one of the displayed load placement sections is selected on the touch panel (19) (see FIG. 5(0)).

Incidentally, if the entire shelf portion (2) cannot be displayed, for example, the four upper and lower loading sections may be displayed divided into two upper and lower stages.

As the loading section with work is selected, the shelf section number and loading section No. to which the selected loading section belongs are displayed.
Switching to a quantity display state that displays the product number and name indicating the type of article to be picked up, the quantity to be picked up, and a pick completion manual frame (22) indicating the contact position for inputting an instruction to complete picking up the article, and outputting the voice. Attire! (21
) to output the article retrieval information displayed on the monitor (18) also by voice (Fig. 5 (c)).
reference).

However, although not shown, the storage quantity for each of the containers (6) is displayed on a quantity indicator (7) installed corresponding to each shelf part of the storage frame (1). Using the storage completion button (8), the completion of storing the articles in each container (6) is input. Therefore, the input of pick completion using the pick completion input frame (22) is performed after the distribution and storage of the pick-up items to all of the containers (6) is completed.

In other words, in the process of switching to the above-mentioned article display state and quantity display state, the article retrieval information is instructed, and in conjunction with the switching to the quantity display state, each of the containers (6) In the process of displaying the storage quantity for each container, the article storage information is specified.

Thereafter, when it is detected that the worker has touched the position corresponding to the pink completion manual frame (22), it is determined that the work to take out the article in one loading section is completed, and the other loading section is It is determined whether there is an article to be taken out in the section.

If there are items to be removed on other loading areas, turn off the display of the loading area where the item removal work has been completed.
Transition to the article display state.

If all the items on the selected shelf have been taken out, it is checked whether there is any remaining work on other shelves, and if there is, the shelf where the work has been completed is displayed. With the light turned off, the process from the above-mentioned shelf position display state is repeated (see FIG. 5(d)).

If the work on all shelves has been completed, the entire process is finished.

Therefore, the work progresses while sequentially selecting the display state so that only the instruction information required at each work stage is displayed on a single monitor (18) using the touch panel (19), thereby suppressing erroneous operations. However, the article retrieval information can be displayed in an easy-to-understand format and in detail in a limited display space.

[Another example]

In the above embodiment, a CRT was used as the monitor, but it may also be configured as a so-called flat display using a liquid crystal or the like.
, the specific configuration can be changed in various ways.

Further, in the above embodiment, the mobile vehicle (A) is configured as a hand-cart type vehicle, but the specific configuration may be modified in various ways, such as being equipped with electric propulsion wheels.

In the above embodiment, the container (6) is used for collection, but the container (6) is used for collection, but the container (6) is used to collect the waste directly.

It is also possible to have them collect.

Further, in the above embodiment, the case where the instruction for article retrieval information is given only on the moving vehicle side is exemplified, but the instruction may also be made on the shelf side.

In addition, when transmitting work data for collecting goods to the moving vehicle,
Instead of using the IC car 1" (14), various changes can be made, such as transmitting the information by communication between the work controller (SC) and the moving vehicle controller (IC). Furthermore, display form B selection means (101 ) is the touch panel (19
), it may also be configured using a light pen, keyboard, etc.

In addition, various changes can be made to the specific configuration of each part necessary for carrying out the present invention.

Note that although reference numerals are written in the claims section for convenient comparison with the drawings, the present invention is not limited to the structure shown in the accompanying drawings as a result of the numbers.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawings show an embodiment of the article collection equipment according to the present invention, and the first
Figure 2 is a schematic plan view of the article collection equipment, Figure 2 is a perspective view showing the schematic configuration of the shelves and moving vehicle, Figure 3 is a block diagram showing the control configuration, Figure 4 is a flow chart showing the control operation, Figure 5
Figures (a) to (d) are explanatory diagrams of display states. (A)...Moving vehicle, (B)...Shelf, (
1)... Goods storage section, (2)... Shelf section, (5)... Display means, (14)...
・Storage means, (18)...Monitor, (19)・
...Touch panel, (100) ...Display means, (101) ...Display state selection means, (
102)...Display control means.

Claims (1)

[Claims] Multiple shelves that store multiple types of items in a separated state (
2) is provided along the travel path of the moving vehicle (A) including the article storage section (1), and
) includes a storage means (14) for storing article retrieval information consisting of positional information of the shelf section (2) in which the articles to be collected are stored and the type and quantity of articles to be retrieved from the shelf section (2); , a display means (100) for displaying positional information of the shelf section (2) in which the articles to be collected are stored and information on taking out articles from the shelf section (2) based on the stored information of the storage means (14); , the display means (100) is equipped with a monitor (100).
8), display state selection means (101) for selecting the display state of the monitor (18), and display state selection means (101) for selecting the display state of the monitor (18);
01) and information in the storage means (14), the display control means (102) controls the display of the monitor (18), and the display control means (102) In the shelf part position display state in which all positions of the shelf part (2) storing the items are displayed, as one shelf part is selected by the display state selection means (101), the selected shelf All the positions of the types of articles to be taken out in the part (2) are displayed, and in the article display state, when one type of article is selected by the display state selection means (101), the selected article is displayed. Article collection equipment configured to display the quantity of articles taken out.