Picking system

Abstract

A picking system is provided that can shorten the time required to complete the picking of all goods. The picking system (1) of the present invention comprises: a storage device (300) for storing storage containers (A) containing inventory goods; a conveying device (20); a plurality of picking stations (10); and a controller (400) for managing the picking operation; the controller (400) comprises: a control unit (410) for controlling the source of the order, the requested goods, and the requested quantity of the goods; a comparison unit (430) for comparing the quantity of the source of the order for each type of goods with the number of storage containers; a stock split quantity determination unit (440) for determining the stock split quantity from the storage container (A) of the first type of goods to the storage container (A) of the second type of goods when the quantity of the source of the order for each type of goods is greater than the number of storage containers; and an instruction output unit (450) for outputting a stock split instruction to transfer the determined quantity of the first type of goods to the storage container (A) of the second type of goods.

Description

Sorting system The present invention relates to a sorting system, and more particularly to a sorting system having: a storage device for storing inventory containers containing inventory goods; a conveying device for conveying the inventory containers; a plurality of sorting stations; and a controller for managing the sorting operations at the sorting stations. Conventionally, a goods collection system has been known in which, at a sorting station, in accordance with an instruction from a transfer instruction unit indicating a necessary quantity to be transferred to a predetermined empty container, an operator transfers a necessary quantity of goods from the inventory goods taken out from the warehouse to the empty container (Patent Document 1). [Prior Art Documents] [Patent Documents] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2017-171469 [Problems to be Solved by the Invention] Here, at the sorting station, for example, an operation is performed in which goods are taken from an inventory container containing a certain product and transferred to a predetermined number of containers (for example, order containers for each customer) respectively. That is, the inventory containers in the warehouse are retrieved a plurality of times. At this time, when the number of inventory containers of a certain product is less than the number of retrieval times, for example, when the number of inventory containers of a certain product is 1 and the goods in the inventory container must be transferred to a plurality of containers (order containers) respectively, there will be a situation where operators compete with each other for the 1 inventory container at each sorting station. In such a situation, at each sorting station, the operators stagger the timing of the transfer, and thus the competition can be eliminated. However, when the time allocated to the sorting operation is long (for example, when the conveying distance from the storage rack in the warehouse to the sorting station is long), there will be a limit to the number of allocations performed within a certain time. For example, if it takes a total of 20 minutes to allocate an inventory container from the warehouse to the sorting operation and to retrieve the inventory container from the sorting operation, only 3 allocations can be performed in 1 hour. In such a case, it takes a huge amount of time to complete the sorting of all the goods in dozens to hundreds of orders called one batch, which causes a problem. On the other hand, when a large number of goods that must be retrieved a plurality of times are included in one order, it may be difficult to stagger the timing of the transfer. To solve such a problem, for example, the goods in 1 inventory container are transferred to another empty inventory container in advance, and a large number of inventory containers corresponding to the expected retrieval number are prepared. However, in this case, the larger the retrieval number, the larger the number of empty inventory containers to be prepared, and the efficiency is poor. Moreover, even if the goods are divided into empty inventory containers, there will be a problem that the original inventory container and the divided inventory containers must be conveyed separately, resulting in an increase in the number of conveyances. Furthermore, when the inventory containers increased by division are temporarily stored on the rack (warehouse), there will be a problem of pressing the inventory on the rack and requiring additional empty racks, so it is not realistic. Here, the present invention is completed to solve the aforementioned problems, and the object is to provide a picking system that can shorten the time required to pick all items. [Technical means for solving problems] To achieve the aforementioned object, the present invention is a picking system, which includes: a storage device for storing a plurality of inventory containers containing inventory items; a conveying device for conveying the inventory containers; a plurality of picking stations for performing a picking operation of picking inventory items from the inventory containers according to an order; and a controller for managing the picking operations at the plurality of picking stations. The picking system is characterized in that the controller includes: an order grasping means for grasping the source of the order request, the requested item, and the requested quantity of the item; a comparison means for comparing the quantity of the sources of the order requests for each item with the number of inventory containers of that item; an inventory division quantity determination means for determining, when the quantity of the sources of the order requests for each item is more than the number of inventory containers of that item, the quantity of inventory division of the inventory container of the first item, which is the requested item as the source of the order request, with respect to the inventory container of the second item, which is a different item; and a transfer instruction output means for outputting an inventory division instruction to transfer the determined quantity of the first item from the inventory container of the first item to the inventory container of the second item. According to the present invention configured as such, it is possible to transfer the inventory of an item (the "first item") with a smaller number of inventory containers relative to the quantity of the sources of the order requests to the inventory container of the second item, and virtually use the inventory container of the second item as the inventory container of the first item. Thereby, it is possible to perform the picking operations at different picking stations at overlapping times, and the overall operation time of the picking operations can be shortened. Moreover, the present invention is preferably such that the transfer instruction output means outputs an instruction, and the instruction is to transfer the same quantity as the requested quantity of the first item from a source of order requests different from a source of order requests of a certain order from the inventory container of the first item to the inventory container of the second item. According to the present invention configured as such, when the picking operation of the item with the requested quantity from a certain source of order requests is completed, the same quantity of the first item as the requested quantity from another source of order requests is transferred to another inventory container (the "inventory container of the second item"), and then, after completing the picking operation of the requested quantity of the first item mixed in the inventory container of the second item, it is possible to return to the state of the inventory container without mixed items. Therefore, even in the case of performing inventory division, it is possible to easily manage the inventory containers. Moreover, the present invention is preferably configured such that the transfer instruction output means outputs an instruction; the instruction is an instruction to transfer a quantity equal to the total quantity of the required quantity of the first product of a plurality of order requirement sources different from the requirement source of a certain order and of a predetermined order from the inventory container of the first product to one inventory container of the second product. According to the present invention configured in this way, when the picking operation of the product with the required quantity of the requirement source of a certain order is completed, a quantity of the product (the "first product") equal to the total quantity of the required quantity of a predetermined order of a plurality of other order requirement sources is transferred to one inventory container (the "inventory container of the second product"). After that, for a plurality of order requirement sources, for a predetermined order (for example, several orders among the remaining orders of a certain batch are selected as the transfer targets, and other orders are not selected as the transfer targets), the picking operations of the first product for their respective required quantities are respectively performed, and the state of the inventory container without mixed products can be restored. Therefore, even in the case of inventory splitting, the inventory container can be easily managed. Moreover, the present invention is preferably configured such that the inventory splitting quantity determination means determines the inventory splitting quantity to be 0 even when the number of requirement sources of the order for each product is 2 or when the number of requirement sources of the order for each product is more than the number of inventory containers. According to the present invention configured in this way, it is possible to prevent inventory splitting in a situation where inventory splitting is inefficient even when inventory splitting is performed, and it is possible to omit unnecessary inventory splitting calculations and reduce the load on the controller, thereby being able to more efficiently shorten the overall operation time of the picking operation. Here, in the case where the number of requirement sources of the order is 2, after the picking operation of the first product of the first order requirement source is first performed, the inventory container of the first product can be used as the inventory container for the product with the required quantity of the second order requirement source, so there is no need to perform inventory splitting. Moreover, the present invention is preferably configured such that the inventory container of the second product is selected from the inventory containers of the products that must be picked at any one of the plurality of picking stations. According to the present invention configured in this way, for example, within the same batch, it is possible to prevent the出库 of inventory containers that do not require picking operations. Moreover, the present invention is preferably configured such that the inventory container of the second product is selected from the inventory containers of the second product before and after the inventory container of the first product that is transported to and subjected to inventory splitting at the same picking station among the plurality of picking stations. According to the present invention configured in this way, it is possible to efficiently perform inventory splitting using the inventory containers used for picking operations before and after (for example, not only immediately before and after, but also including 2 before or 2 after, etc. corresponding to the number of inventory containers in the picking station). Moreover, the present invention preferably selects the inventory container for the second product from the inventory containers for the products requested from the same order request source as the order request source for one order of the first product. According to the present invention configured as such, for example, within the same batch or within the next batch to be executed, the picking operation for the products from the same order request source can be performed together. Moreover, the present invention preferably selects the inventory container for the second product from the inventory containers for the product when, as a result of comparison by the comparison means, the number of order request sources for each product is less than the number of inventory containers for that product. According to the present invention configured as such, it is possible to prevent the inventory container for the second product from further becoming an inventory container that must be subject to inventory splitting, and it is possible to more reliably shorten the overall operation time of the picking operation. Moreover, the present invention preferably outputs, as an inventory splitting instruction, an instruction to execute the splitting of the inventory container for the second product at the timing of the first picking operation for the first product by the transfer instruction output means. According to the present invention configured as such, it is possible to more reliably shorten the overall operation time of the picking operation. Moreover, since the inventory splitting is performed during the first picking operation, the efficiency of the overall picking operation can be improved. Moreover, the present invention preferably sets a threshold for the number of extraction times for the products from the order request sources in a predetermined batch by the controller, and when the number of order request sources for each product is more than the number of inventory containers for the product and exceeds the set threshold, the inventory splitting number determination means determines the number and quantity of the inventory splitting of the product from the order request source for each product of the first product for the inventory container of the second product. According to the present invention configured as such, it is possible to suppress the number of inventory splittings to a certain extent by setting the threshold, and the computational load on the controller can be reduced. [Effects of the Invention] According to the picking system of the present invention, the time required to complete the picking of all products can be shortened. Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings, a picking system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described. First, with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, the schematic configuration of the picking system according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a schematic configuration of a part of a picking station connected to a storage device in the picking system according to the embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the schematic configuration of the picking station shown in FIG. 1. First, as shown in FIG. 1, the picking system 1 is provided, for example, in a warehouse building where operations such as storage or classification of products (articles) are performed. The picking system 1 includes a plurality of picking stations 10. At the picking station 10, an operator P performs a classification operation (picking operation) of products from the inventory container A to the order container B. Also, the inventory container A and the order container B are containers with open upper portions. The so-called inventory container A is a container that houses goods. The inventory container A is transported from the storage equipment 300 (refer to FIG. 3) that accommodates the inventory container A to the picking station 10 by a predetermined transport device (such as a stacker crane or a shuttle trolley not shown in the figure, a transport conveyor 20, etc.) for classification / picking. The order container B is a container in which goods classified for the customer side are placed. And, the space where the operator P performs the classification operation is used as the work area R. Next, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the picking system 1 includes an inventory container transport conveyor 20 that transports the inventory container A and an order container transport conveyor 30 that transports the order container B. The inventory container transport conveyor 20 is configured to supply the inventory container A to each picking station 10 and receive the inventory container A carried out from each picking station 10. The order container transport conveyor 30 is configured to supply an empty order container B to each picking station 10 and receive the order container B carried out from each picking station 10. Next, the picking station 10 includes an upper transport unit 100, a lower transport unit 200, a control unit (not shown), a screen M, and a switch S. First, the upper transport unit 100 will be described. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the upper transport unit 100 receives the inventory container A from the inventory container transport conveyor 20 and transports it to the work area R, and after the classification operation, it is used to return the inventory container A to the inventory container transport conveyor 20. The upper transport unit 100 includes an upper supply conveyor 110, an upper work conveyor 120, an upper discharge conveyor 130, a first tilting mechanism (not shown), and a second tilting mechanism (not shown). One end of the upper supply conveyor 110 is connected to the inventory container transport conveyor 20. The upper supply conveyor 110 receives the inventory container A from the inventory container transport conveyor 20 and transports the received inventory container A from the inventory container transport conveyor 20 to the work area R. The upper supply conveyor 110 includes a plurality of transport rollers. The upper supply conveyor 110 rotates the transport rollers to thereby transport the inventory container A. The upper work conveyor 120 is provided near the work area R and faces the work area R. One end of the upper work conveyor 120 is connected to the other end of the upper supply conveyor 110. For the upper work conveyor 120, the inventory container A is carried in from the upper supply conveyor 110. The upper work conveyor 120 transports the carried-in inventory container A. The upper work conveyor 120 includes a plurality of transport rollers 121 (refer to FIG. 2). The upper work conveyor 120 rotates the transport rollers 121 to thereby transport the inventory container A. The upper-layer working conveyor 120 transports the inventory container A in a manner that spans in front of the operator P in the working area R. The upper-layer working conveyor 120 is inclined downward in the direction towards the working area R side. Thereby, the inventory container A is transported by the upper-layer working conveyor 120 in a state where it is inclined with the opening facing the working area R side. Also, at a predetermined position in the length direction of the upper-layer working conveyor 120, the stop position of the transported inventory container A is defined, and when the operator P performs the picking operation, the inventory container A stops at this stop position. And, at this time, in order to perform the picking operation or the inventory splitting operation, at least 3 inventory containers A can be stopped in front of the operator P. Also, on the upper-layer working conveyor 120, an auxiliary conveyor 125 that abuts against the side surface of the inventory container A and assists in transporting the inventory container A by the transport roller 121 can also be provided. One end of the upper-layer unloading conveyor 130 is connected to the other end of the upper-layer working conveyor 120. The other end of the upper-layer unloading conveyor 130 is connected to the inventory container transport conveyor 20. The upper-layer unloading conveyor 130 receives the inventory container A from the upper-layer working conveyor 120 and transports the received inventory container A from the upper-layer working conveyor 120 to the inventory container transport conveyor 20. Also, the upper-layer unloading conveyor 130 returns the inventory container A to the inventory container transport conveyor 20. The upper-layer unloading conveyor 130 is provided with a plurality of transport rollers in the same manner as the upper-layer supply conveyor 110. The upper-layer unloading conveyor 130 rotates the transport rollers to thereby transport the inventory container A. Next, with reference to FIG. 3, the schematic configuration of the picking system according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the schematic configuration of the picking system according to the embodiment of the present invention. First, as shown in FIG. 3, the picking system 1 includes a storage device 300, the aforementioned picking station 10, and a controller 400. First, in the present embodiment, the storage device 300 is configured with a group of automated warehouses of a plurality of automated warehouses. In each automated warehouse, a shelf (carrier) 310 that separately accommodates a plurality of inventory containers A is provided. Here, in the present embodiment, only one type of commodity is accommodated in the inventory container A (only the same commodity is accommodated in one inventory container A), and it is accommodated in the shelf 310. Also, as a modification, the storage device 300 may be a warehouse device in which movable carriers are installed on the ground. Also, in the present embodiment, in the automatic warehouse group that is the storage device 300, there are respectively provided conveying devices for conveying the inventory containers A stored in the shelves 310. As such conveying devices, there are shuttle cars or stacker cranes (not shown), conveyors (such as the aforementioned inventory container conveying conveyor 20), etc. Also, as a modified example, the conveying device may be an automated guided vehicle (AGV) that makes a conveying vehicle travel on a ground upper limb track (path), or various conveying systems such as a conveying system using a rail-guided vehicle (RGV). Next, as shown in FIG. 3, a picking station 10 is connected to the storage device 300. Although FIG. 3 shows one picking station 10 for illustrative purposes, in reality, all of the aforementioned plurality of picking stations 10 are connected. Here, the aforementioned work area R of the picking station 10 is a picking work area where the operator P sorts the goods from the inventory container A into the order container B. In the present embodiment, it is set as an inventory splitting work area for performing inventory splitting in which the inventory is transferred from the inventory container A storing a certain good to another inventory container A storing another good. Also, in the present embodiment, at each picking station 10, the operator performs the operation of picking and sorting a predetermined good from the inventory container A into the order container B according to the classification instruction content displayed on the screen M, or performs the operation of transferring the good from the inventory container A of a certain good to the inventory container A of another good according to the inventory splitting instruction content displayed on the screen M. Also, as a modified example, at each picking station 10, a picking robot (not shown) may be arranged to automatically perform each instruction content such as classification or inventory splitting as displayed on the screen M. Here,所谓 "库存分割",如下所述,在从某商品(设为商品a)的库存容器A(第1商品的库存容器)将商品a的一部分转移到另一个商品(设为商品b)的其他库存容器A(第2商品的库存容器),直到完成预定的拣选作业为止的期间,暂时将商品a和商品b混载,并将该混载的库存容器A虚拟地用作收容有2种商品的库存容器(参照图4、图5)。 Also, for example, when there is no inventory container A (the inventory container of the second good) targeted for inventory splitting in the upper layer work conveyor 120 and it is transported later, etc., a temporary storage place or a temporary storage shelf (not shown) for temporarily storing goods is provided in the inventory splitting work area R2. Also, in the present embodiment, in the work area R, the picking work area and the inventory splitting work area are set as the same common area. That is, in these areas, it is set as an area where the operator usually performs the picking operation and performs inventory splitting in a predetermined situation. In addition, the screen M of the picking station 10 displays instructions for normal picking operations. In this embodiment, it is used as an inventory division instruction display device M (refer to FIG. 3) for displaying the division instructions of products to the operator. Next, as shown in FIG. 3, at each picking station 10, a controller 400 for managing the picking operation is connected. The controller 400 basically has a function of outputting and displaying "specific instructions for the classification operation" on the screen M at the timing of the scheduled operation that the operator should perform. In addition, in this embodiment, the controller 400 has a function of determining the products and quantities that are the objects of "inventory division", and outputting and displaying the instructions on the screen M at the timing when the operator should perform the inventory division. As shown in FIG. 3, the controller 400 is also connected to the storage device 300, and has, for example, a function of managing the quantity of the inventory containers A of the products stored in the storage device 300 as described later, or a function of instructing the storage device 300 to issue the transfer containers (the second inventory containers). In addition, the controller 400 includes: an order grasping unit (order grasping means) 410 that grasps the order source, the products required by the order source, and the required quantity of the products; an order source total calculation unit (order source total calculation means) 420 that calculates the total number of order sources for each product grasped by the order grasping unit; a comparison unit (comparison means) 430 that compares the quantity of the order sources of each product with the number of inventory containers of the product; an inventory division quantity determination unit (inventory division quantity determination means) 440 that, when the quantity of the order sources of each product is more than the number of inventory containers of the product, determines the "quantity of inventory division (quantity of the first product)" from the inventory container of the first product, which is the required product of the order source, to the inventory container of the second product, which is a different product; and a transfer instruction output unit (transfer instruction output means) 450 that outputs an inventory division instruction to transfer the determined quantity of the first product from the inventory container of the first product to the inventory container of the second product. Here, the order grasping unit 410, the order source total calculation unit 420, the order source quantity / inventory container number comparison unit 430, the inventory division quantity determination unit 440, and the transfer instruction output unit 450 are constituted by a processor such as a CPU that executes various processes, and the program executed by the processor is stored in a memory unit (not shown). Here, the so-called "order" means an order for a certain product from a certain requirement source (client). For example, "1 order" includes "1 requirement source", "1 or multiple products", and "the required quantity of each product". And the so-called "quantity of requirement sources for the order of each product" means, for example, the quantity like how many clients require product a. For example, in the case where 10 clients each require 1 product a, the quantity of requirement sources for the order of each product is 10. In this case, it is necessary to perform a picking operation of separately allocating 1 product a to each client. In the present embodiment, as will be described later, inventory segmentation is performed according to the quantity size of inventory container A corresponding to product a, and the time to complete all picking operations can be shortened. First, the order grasping unit 410 accesses a product order management device (not shown) or the like, and grasps (acquires data) the required products (required products) and the quantity of the products required (required quantity) for each requirement source (client) of the order. Here, in the present embodiment, the order grasping unit 410 grasps the requirement source, required product, and required quantity of the order from the data of all orders within a predetermined batch. Here, the so-called "batch" is the aggregation of the number of orders for which picking (sorting) is performed. For example, it is determined as "1 batch = 5000 lines / 1000 orders", etc. The order grasping unit 410 manages 1 client as 1 order. For example, in the case where a certain client orders 3 products, the data is managed as "1 order 3 lines", etc. Next, the order requirement source total calculation unit 420 calculates the "total of requirement sources for the order of each product" based on the data grasped by the order grasping unit 410. For example, for a certain product a, when there are 3 clients who require product a, the "total of requirement sources for the order of each product" is calculated as "3". Also, the "total of requirement sources for the order of each product" calculated by the order requirement source total calculation unit 420 has the same meaning as the "quantity of requirement sources for the order of each product". Next, the order requirement source number / inventory container number comparison unit 430 compares, for each product (for example, for product a), the quantity of requirement sources of the order with the number of inventory containers of product a accommodated in the storage device 300, for example. Here, the quantity of requirement sources for the order of each product is grasped by the order grasping unit 410, and the number of inventory containers of the product is managed by the controller 400. The comparison unit 430 performs a comparison operation on the magnitudes of the respective numerical values. Next, the inventory split quantity determination unit 440 calculates the quantity of the source of demand for orders for each product (real number, single user number) from all orders within one batch, reads the quantity of the inventory container A in which the product is stored in the storage device 300 for each product, and determines / compares the quantity of the source of demand for orders and the quantity of the inventory container A in which the inventory is stored for each product. More specifically, in the first step, the inventory split quantity determination unit 440 separately ascertains the required quantity of the product of the "source of demand for orders" of "each product" grasped by the order grasping unit 410, and the quantity of the inventory container A of the product accommodated in the storage device 300. For example, for a certain product a, if there are 3 clients demanding the product a and 1 inventory container A containing the product a, the "total quantity of the source of demand for orders for each product" is determined as "3", and the "quantity of inventory containers of the product" is determined as "1". Furthermore, in the second step, the inventory split quantity determination unit 440 determines whether the quantity of the source of demand for orders for each product is greater than the quantity of the inventory container A of the product. For example, in the aforementioned example, it is determined whether "3", which is the "total quantity of the source of demand for orders for each product", is greater than "1", which is the "quantity of inventory containers of the product". Moreover, in the third step, when the quantity of the source of demand for orders for each product is greater than the quantity of the inventory container A, the inventory split quantity determination unit 440 determines the inventory container A of the product requested from the source of the order demand, and the quantity of inventory split for the inventory container A of different products. For example, it determines the inventory container A of product a requested from the source of the order demand (the inventory container of the first product), and the quantity of inventory split (transfer quantity) for the inventory container A of product b, which is a different product (the inventory container of the second product). When making this determination, the inventory split quantity determination unit 440 determines the quantity of the inventory container A of the second product that is the target of inventory split, and the quantity of product a transferred to each inventory container. Also, in the fourth step, the inventory split quantity determination unit 440 has the function of selecting / determining the inventory container of the second product as described below. Next, the transfer instruction output unit 450 outputs an inventory split instruction to transfer the first product (e.g., product a) in the quantity determined by the inventory split quantity determination unit 440 from the inventory container A of the first product to the inventory container A of the second product (e.g., product b). The output result of the transfer instruction output unit 450 is displayed on the aforementioned screen M, and the operator P executes the inventory split operation in accordance with this instruction. Also, as described above, the inventory split operation can be automatically executed by the picking robot. Next, the concept of inventory division will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5. FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the concept of inventory division performed by the picking system according to the embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 5 is a diagram using an example different from FIG. 4 for explaining the concept of inventory division performed by the picking system according to the embodiment of the present invention. Here, FIG. 4(A) is a diagram showing an example of three classification operations (Operations 1 to 3) for the necessary products a and b for a certain three orders, FIG. 4(B) is a diagram showing an example of the operation steps in the case where inventory division is performed for the classification operation of FIG. 4(A), and FIG. 4(C) is a diagram showing an example of the operation steps in the case where inventory division is not performed as a comparative example for the classification operation of FIG. 4(A). Also, FIG. 5(A) is a diagram showing an example of three classification operations (Operations 1 to 3) for the necessary products a and b for a certain three orders, FIG. 5(B) is a diagram showing an example of the operation steps in the case where inventory division is performed for the classification operation of FIG. 5(A), and FIG. 5(C) is a diagram showing an example of the operation steps in the case where inventory division is not performed as a comparative example for the classification operation of FIG. 5(A). First, as shown in FIG. 4(A), it is assumed that there are orders in which product a and product b are classified in Operation 1, product a is classified in Operation 2, and product a and product b are classified in Operation 3. Also, the symbols ○ and △ in the table respectively mean that products a and b that must be classified. Also, in the example of FIG. 4(A), the so-called "classification" means, for example, for Operations 1 and 3, the operation of classifying a predetermined quantity of product a and product b from the inventory container A of product a and the inventory container A of product b into one order container B respectively, and for Operation 2, the operation of classifying a predetermined quantity of product a from the inventory container A of product a into one order container B. In Operations 1 to 3, the order containers B are different order containers B. Hereinafter, "classification" means the same operation, and its description will be omitted. Also, as a prerequisite, when performing the picking operation for the order shown in FIG. 4(A), there is only one inventory container A for product a (only one is accommodated in the storage device 300), and there are two or more inventory containers A for product b. Next, as shown in FIG. 4(B), in the case where operation 1 is performed at station 1 (ST1), as a basic picking operation, operator P first sorts a predetermined quantity of product a (represented by ○) and product b (represented by △) from the inventory containers A of product a and product b, respectively, which are separately transported to this station 1, into one order container B. On the other hand, operator P, at the same time as or before and after this picking operation, in accordance with the inventory split instruction displayed on screen M, takes out a part of product a from the inventory container A of product a (the inventory container of the first product) and transfers it to the inventory container A of product b (the inventory container of the second product) (represented as "△ / ○ (implement inventory split)" in the figure). By such an inventory split operation, a part of product a is mixed in the inventory container A of product b (the inventory container of the second product). Here, as shown in FIG. 4(B), it is assumed that operation 1 takes 10 minutes. Next, after operation 1 ends, as shown in FIG. 4(B), the inventory container A of product a remains at station 1, while the inventory container A (the inventory container of the second product) that is mixed with product a and product b by inventory split is transported to station 2 (ST2). Next, operator P at station 1, as operation 2, sorts a predetermined quantity of product a (represented by ○) into one order container B. And, operator P at station 2 sorts a predetermined quantity of product a (represented by ○) and product b (represented by △) respectively from the inventory container A that is mixed with product a and product b (represented as "container (b) after inventory split" in the figure) and classifies them into one order container B. Also, in this example, all of product a in the container (b) after inventory split is taken out, and the inventory container A is restored to the original inventory container A that only houses product b. Here, operations 2 and 3 together take 10 minutes, and it takes a total of 20 minutes until the end of operations 1 to 3. In contrast, as shown in FIG. 4(C), in the case where the "inventory split" of the present invention is not performed, since there is only one inventory container A of product a, the picking operation performed by operator P must perform operations 1 to 3 in different steps, and it takes a total of 30 minutes. Therefore, the example of the present embodiment in FIG. 4(B) can shorten the time required for the picking operation compared to the case where no inventory split is performed (FIG. 4(C)). Next, the example of FIG. 5 will be described. First, as shown in FIG. 5(A), it is assumed that there is an order for sorting products a, b in operation 1 and sorting products a, b, c in operations 2 and 3. Also, the symbols ○, △, □ in the table respectively mean products a, b that must be sorted. And, as a prerequisite, in the example of FIG. 5(A), there is only one inventory container A for both product a and product b (only one is accommodated in the storage device 300), and there are two or more inventory containers A for product c. Next, as shown in FIG. 5(B), in the case of performing operation 1 at station 1 (ST1), as a basic picking operation, operator P first classifies a predetermined quantity of product a (represented by ○) and product b (represented by △) from the inventory containers A of product a and product b, respectively, which are separately transported to this station 1, into one order container B. On the other hand, operator P, at the same time as or before and after this picking operation, in accordance with the inventory splitting operation displayed on screen M, in the first step, transfers a part of product a from the inventory container A of product a (the inventory container of the first product) to the inventory container A of product b (the inventory container of the second product) (represented as "△ / ○ (perform inventory splitting)" in the figure), and, in the second step, transfers a part of product b from the inventory container A of product b (the inventory container of the first product) to the inventory container A of product a (the inventory container of the second product) (represented as "○ / △ (perform inventory splitting)" in the figure). By such an inventory splitting operation, a part of product a is mixed in the inventory container A of product b (the inventory container of the second product), and a part of product b is mixed in the inventory container A of product a (the inventory container of the second product). Here, as shown in FIG. 5(B), it is assumed that operation 1 takes 10 minutes. Next, after operation 1 ends, as shown in FIG. 5(B), the inventory container A (the inventory container of the second product) that is mixed with product a and product b by inventory splitting (represented as "○ / △, container (a) after inventory splitting" in the figure) is transported to station 2 (ST2), and the inventory container A (the inventory container of the second product) that is mixed with product a and product b by inventory splitting (represented as "△ / ○, container (b) after inventory splitting" in the figure) is transported to station 3 (ST3). Also, for stations 2 and 3, inventory containers A with two or more products c are respectively transported. Next, the operator P at station 2, as operation 2, classifies a predetermined quantity of product a (represented by ○) and product b (represented by △) from one "container (a) after inventory splitting" into one order container B, and classifies product c from the inventory container A of product c (represented by □) into the same order container B. On the other hand, the operator P at station 3, as operation 3, classifies a predetermined quantity of product a and product b from one "container (b) after inventory splitting" into one order container B, and classifies product c from the inventory container A of product c into the same order container B. Also, in this example, all of product b in the container (a) after inventory splitting is taken out, and all of product a in the container (b) after inventory splitting is taken out, so that each inventory container A returns to the original inventory container A that only contains products a and b. Here, the total time taken for operations 2 and 3 is 10 minutes, and the total time taken until the end of operations 1 to 3 is 20 minutes. In contrast, as shown in FIG. 5(C), in the case where the "inventory splitting" of the present invention is not performed, since there is only one inventory container A for each of product a and product b, the picking operation performed by the operator P must perform operations 1 to 3 in different steps, resulting in a total of 30 minutes. Therefore, the example of the present embodiment in FIG. 5(B) can shorten the time required for the picking operation compared to the case where inventory splitting is not performed (FIG. 5(C)). As described above, as can be understood from the examples of FIGS. 4 and 5, the concept of "inventory splitting" of the present invention is to transfer a part of product a from the inventory container A of a certain product a (the inventory container of the first product) to another inventory container A of another product b (the inventory container of the second product), thereby creating an inventory container A in which product a and product b are mixed, and virtually using the created one inventory container as "two inventory containers containing two products that are simultaneously transported". Also, a member such as a partition for separating product a and product b may be provided. And, the concept of "inventory splitting" of the present invention, as shown in the example of FIG. 5, also includes creating a plurality of inventory containers A in which product a and product b are mixed, and virtually using these inventory containers as "a plurality of inventory containers containing two products that are simultaneously transported". And, in the present invention, instead of preparing an empty inventory container for inventory splitting, products are mixed into an inventory container A that already contains another product to implement inventory splitting. Also, as a modification example, for example, an empty inventory container may be prepared for the next batch, and inventory splitting may be performed. Next, a method for selecting / determining the inventory container A (the inventory container A of the second product) as the inventory splitting target will be described. (First example) For example, in the example of the picking station 10 in FIGS. 1 and 2, when a plurality of inventory containers A of a plurality of products are transported by the upper operation conveyor 120 and a plurality of inventory containers A are arranged on the left and right for the operator P, for example, when the product in the inventory container A on the right side is to be split into a plurality of parts, as the inventory container A of the second product, the inventory container A on its left side can be selected and mixed. According to such a method, the inventory container A of the second product is selected from any of the inventory containers A of the products before and after the inventory container A of the first product that is transported to the picking station 10 where inventory splitting is performed among the plurality of picking stations 10. Therefore, the inventory container A that can be used for the picking operation before and after can efficiently perform inventory splitting. Such a transportation order of the inventory container A is determined by the controller 400 and is displayed on the screen M. In the present embodiment, the inventory splitting quantity determination unit 440 (refer to FIG. 3) of the controller 400, in addition to the aforementioned first to third functions, as the fourth function, has a function of selecting / determining the inventory container A of the second product as the inventory splitting target. (Second Example) Currently, it is also possible to select the inventory container A of the second product from the predetermined inventory containers A stored in the storage device 300. In such a case, the operator P follows the instructions displayed on the screen M to avoid the products to be inventory-split to the temporary storage area or the temporary storage rack in the aforementioned work area R. After that, when the inventory container A selected as the target of inventory splitting is transported, the products in the temporary storage area, etc. can be transferred to perform the inventory splitting operation. Such a situation is particularly carried out, for example, when the transportation order of the inventory container A is prioritized in order to shorten all the picking operations of one batch. (Third Example) The controller 400 can also grasp the filling rate of the products in each inventory container A stored in the storage device 300 and select the inventory container A of the second product to be inventory-split based on this filling rate. In this case, for example, if the inventory container A with a low filling rate is preferentially selected (for example, an inventory container in which several product b are stored in a container that can accommodate dozens of product b), and the inventory container A that must be picked within the same batch or the next batch is used as the "inventory container A of the second product", the inventory splitting can be carried out more reliably. (Fourth Example) The inventory container A of the second product can also be selected from the inventory containers A of the products that must be picked at any one of the plurality of picking stations 10. Also, the presence or absence of the picking operation for each product is grasped by the order grasping unit 410. And this fourth example is more effective when applied to the case where the picking operation must be carried out within the same batch. The selection of such an inventory container A is determined by the controller 400, for example, together with the selection / determination methods of the aforementioned examples (1) to (3). (Fifth Example) The inventory container A of the second product can also be selected from the inventory containers A of the second product classified according to the requirement source of the order that is the same as the requirement source of the order of the first product to be inventory-split in the remaining operations of the current batch or the next batch of the picking operation. In such a case, the picking operation can be carried out for the products from the same requirement source (the same client) of the same order. (Sixth Example) The inventory container A of the second product can also be selected from the inventory containers A of this product when the result of the comparison by the order requirement source number / inventory container number comparison unit 430 shows that the number of requirement sources of the second product is less than the number of inventory containers of the second product. In other words, when the number of inventory containers A of the second product is more than the number of requirement sources of the order and it is not necessary to perform inventory splitting for the second product, it can be selected from the inventory containers A of this product. That is, since the number of inventory containers A is more than the number of requirement sources of the order, it is possible to prevent the selected inventory container A of the second product from further becoming an inventory container of a product that must be inventory-split. Therefore, the picking operation of all orders can be made more efficient. Next, a representative example of a method for determining the transfer quantity of the first product to the inventory container A (the inventory container A of the second product) for the inventory division target will be described. (First example) For example, when there are three order request sources (at the customer end) and only one inventory container of the first product exists, first, at a certain picking station, a picking operation is performed on the first product, which is the requested product for the first order request source ( "a certain order request source"), and the entire quantity of the first product requested by the second order request source ( "another order request source") is transferred to the inventory container of the second product, which is another inventory container. After that, for the second order request source, a picking operation can be performed on the entire quantity of the first product requested from the "inventory container of the second product" after inventory division. In this case, the entire quantity of the first product after inventory division will ultimately be picked, so the state of the inventory container without mixed products can be restored. Also, in such a case, for the third order request source, a picking operation can be performed on the first product from the inventory container of the first product used for the first order request source. (Second example) On the other hand, for example, when there are three order request sources and only one inventory container of the first product exists, first, after the picking operation of the product ( "the first product") with the requested quantity for the first order request source ( "a certain order request source") is completed, from the inventory container of the first product after the picking is completed, the first product with the requested quantity for each of the second and third order request sources ( "a plurality of other order request sources") is transferred to two other inventory containers of the second product (for example, the inventory container A of product b and the inventory container A of product c), and during the picking operations for the second and third order request sources, picking operations can be performed separately from these two inventory containers of the second product. Or, the first product with the total of the requested quantities for each of the second and third order request sources ( "a plurality of other order request sources") is first transferred to one inventory container of the second product (for example, the inventory container A of product b), and then, from this inventory container A, it is transferred to another inventory container of the second product (for example, the inventory container A of product c), and appropriate picking operations can be performed. Thus, in the case of dividing the inventory of one product (for example, product a) into a plurality of inventory containers, it is also possible to transfer it to a plurality of inventory containers containing different products (for example, products b, c, d...). (Example 3) For example, when there are 10 order request sources and only 1 inventory container for the first product, first, after the picking operation for the quantity of the product (the "first product") from the first order request source (a certain one of the order request sources) is completed, from the inventory container of the first product where the picking is completed, transfer the first product in the total quantity requested from, for example, the 5th to 10th order request sources (a plurality of other order request sources) to 1 inventory container for the second product. After that, (a) during the picking operation for each order request source, perform the picking operation from the inventory container of the second product, or (b) during the picking operation for each order request source, based on the inventory container of the second product (specifically, product b), repeatedly perform inventory splitting operations on the inventory containers of other second products (specifically, products c, d,...) while performing the picking operation. (Example 4) On the other hand, for example, when there are 10 order request sources and only 1 inventory container for the first product, for example, first, after the picking operation for the quantity of the product (the "first product") from the first order request source (a certain one of the order request sources) is completed, from the inventory container of the first product where the picking is completed, transfer the first product in the total quantity requested from the 2nd to 4th order request sources, the total quantity requested from the 5th to 7th order request sources, and the total quantity requested from the 8th to 10th order request sources to a plurality of inventory containers for the second product (specifically, inventory containers for products b, c, d,...) in a distributed manner. After that, (a) during the picking operation for each order request source, perform the picking operation from each of the plurality of inventory containers for the second product, or (b) during the picking operation for each order request source, based on each of the plurality of inventory containers for the second product, repeatedly perform inventory splitting operations on the inventory containers of other second products while performing the picking operation. Also, in the aforementioned Examples 1 to 4, the controller 400 determines the quantity of the product for which inventory splitting is performed so as not to exceed the quantity of the product for which the picking operation must be performed within one batch (or in an adjacent time period) in such a way that the mixed loading state is解除 at the end of the batch (or after a certain time). It should be noted that the word "解除" in the original text seems to be incorrect or an incomplete expression. I translated it as "解除" according to the original text, but it may need to be adjusted according to the correct context.(Example 5 / Example with Transfer Quantity = 0) As described above, the order requirement source total calculation unit 420 calculates the "total number of order requirement sources for each product" (the "quantity of order requirement sources for each product") grasped by the order grasping unit 410. In this embodiment, when the total number of order requirement sources for each product calculated is "2", the inventory division quantity determination unit 440 determines the inventory division quantity to be "0" even when the quantity of order requirement sources for each product is more than the quantity of inventory container A. That is, inventory division is not performed. For example, for a certain product a, when the number of order requirement sources (customers) for product a is 2 and the quantity of inventory container A for product a is 1, after performing the picking operation for the first product of the required quantity of the first order requirement source, the inventory container of the first product can be used as the inventory container for the product of the required quantity of the second order requirement source, so there is no need to perform inventory division. Next, the determination timing of the above various examples for the inventory container A of the second product will be described. In this embodiment, each process executed by the order grasping unit 410, the order requirement source total calculation unit 420, the order requirement source number / inventory container number comparison unit 430, the inventory division quantity determination unit 440, and the transfer instruction output unit 450 is executed at the time of the first picking operation of a predetermined batch. For example, the comparison performed by the order requirement source number / inventory container number comparison unit 430, or the selection of the inventory container A of the second product as described above, is executed before the first picking operation for all orders of a predetermined batch. And the transfer instruction output unit 450 outputs an instruction to perform the division of the inventory container of the second product at the timing of the first picking operation of the first product for which inventory division must be performed. Next, a modification example of the method for selecting / determining the inventory container A of the second product and setting the transfer quantity of the first product in the above-described embodiment will be described. First, in a modification example of this embodiment, the controller 400 and its inventory division quantity determination unit 440 set a threshold for the number of times of extracting the product of the order requirement source within a predetermined batch. The inventory division quantity determination means 440 determines the number of times of inventory division for the product of the order requirement source when the quantity of order requirement sources for each product is more than the quantity of inventory container A for the product and exceeds the set threshold. A further detailed description will be given for this modification example. For example, within a certain batch, when the remaining scheduled operation time becomes, for example, 1 hour, depending on the configuration of the storage device 300 or the picking station 10, it is possible to estimate the number of retrievals that can be performed within this 1 hour (the number of classifications from the inventory container A of a certain product to the order container B / the number of times of picking for each product) (for example, when the transportation distance carried out by the transportation device is long, the number of retrievals decreases). Here, for example, in a certain batch, in the case of performing 6 retrievals on only 1 inventory container A (when the number of order requirement sources is 6), in the case of not performing inventory splitting, it is necessary to perform 1 retrieval every 10 minutes. However, depending on the configuration of the aforementioned storage device 300, etc., it is conceivable that the picking operation cannot be completed within the remaining time. Therefore, in this modification example, within a certain batch, a "threshold value of the number of retrievals per unit time for each inventory container" is set. Such a threshold value is, for example, set so that the number of retrievals is within 1 time every 20 minutes (in this case, "threshold value = 3 times / time"). And for the products whose quantity of the order requirement sources (in this example, "6") exceeds this threshold value, the number of inventory splitting times is determined in such a way that the number of retrievals is within 1 time every 20 minutes. That is, in order to make the 6 retrieval times in the case of no inventory splitting fall within 3 times, the number of inventory splitting times is set to 4 times, for example. By setting the threshold value in such a modification example, it is possible to surely execute the picking operation within the remaining time (for example, the aforementioned 1 hour), or it is possible to suppress the number of inventory splitting times to a certain extent by setting the threshold value, and thus the operation load of the controller 400 can be reduced. Or, for the sake of simplifying the arithmetic processing, it may also be set only as "no inventory splitting is performed when the order requirement source is 10 or less". Next, the operation and effect of the selection system 1 of the embodiment of the present invention and its modification will be described. First, the selection system 1 of the present embodiment and its modification includes: a storage device 300 that stores a plurality of inventory containers A containing inventory goods; a transport device 20 that transports the inventory containers A; a plurality of picking stations 10 that perform a picking operation of picking inventory goods from the inventory containers A according to an order; and a controller 400 that manages the picking operations at the plurality of picking stations. The controller 400 includes: an order grasping unit 410 that grasps the order source, the required goods, and the required quantity of the goods; a comparison unit 430 that compares the number of order sources of each kind of goods with the number of inventory containers of that kind of goods; an inventory division quantity determination unit 440 that, when the number of order sources of each kind of goods is greater than the number of inventory containers of that kind of goods, determines the inventory division quantity of the inventory container A of the first goods, which is the required goods as the order source of the order, for the inventory container A of the second goods, which is a different kind of goods; and a transfer instruction output unit 450 that outputs an inventory division instruction to transfer the determined quantity of the first goods from the inventory container A of the first goods to the inventory container A of the second goods. According to such a configuration, it is possible to transfer the inventory of goods (the "first goods") with a smaller number of inventory containers A than the number of order sources of the order to the inventory container A of the second goods, and virtually use the inventory container A of the second goods as the inventory container A of the first goods. Thereby, it is possible to perform the picking operation at overlapping timings at different picking stations 10, and the overall operation time of the picking operation can be shortened. Moreover, in the present embodiment and its modification, the transfer instruction output unit 450 outputs an instruction; this instruction is an instruction to transfer the same quantity as the required quantity of the first goods of one order source different from the order source of a certain order from the inventory container A of the first goods to the inventory container A of the second goods. According to such a configuration, when the picking operation of the goods with the required quantity of one order source of a certain order is completed, the same quantity of the first goods as the required quantity of another order source is transferred to another inventory container A (the "inventory container of the second goods"). After that, when the picking operation of the required quantity of the first goods mixed in the inventory container A of the second goods is completed, it is possible to return to the state of the inventory container A without mixed goods. Therefore, even in the case of performing inventory division, it is possible to easily manage the inventory container A. Also, in the present embodiment and its variations, the transfer instruction output unit 450 outputs an instruction. This instruction is to transfer the same quantity, which is the total quantity of the required quantity of the first product of a plurality of order requirement sources different from the requirement source of a certain order and is a predetermined order, from the inventory container A of the first product to one inventory container A of the second product. According to such a configuration, when the picking operation of the product with the required quantity of the order requirement source is completed, the product (the "first product") with the same quantity as the total of the other plurality of order requirement sources is transferred to one or a plurality of other inventory containers A (the "inventory container of the second product"). After that, for the predetermined orders of the plurality of order requirement sources, the picking operations of the first product with their respective required quantities are performed respectively, and the state of the inventory container A without mixed products can be restored. Therefore, even in the case of inventory splitting, the inventory container A can be easily managed. Here, the so-called "predetermined order" means, in the case where there are a plurality of orders, a plurality of orders different from a certain order, and among these plurality of orders, several orders that can be appropriately selected. And the "predetermined order" can also be all the other plurality of orders. Also, in the above-described embodiment and variations, such a "predetermined order" can be appropriately selected. For example, as the "predetermined order", it is also possible to select several orders among the remaining orders of a certain batch as the transfer targets and not select other orders as the transfer targets. Also, in the present embodiment and its variations, when the number of order requirement sources for each product calculated by the order requirement source total calculation unit 420 is 2, the inventory splitting quantity determination unit 440 determines the inventory splitting quantity to be 0 even when the number of order requirement sources for each product is more than the number of inventory containers. According to such a configuration, it is possible to prevent inventory splitting in a situation where inventory splitting is inefficient even when inventory splitting is performed, and it is possible to omit unnecessary inventory splitting calculations and reduce the load on the controller, thereby being able to more efficiently shorten the overall operation time of the picking operation. Here, when the number of order requirement sources is 2, after the picking operation of the first product of the first order requirement source is first performed, the inventory container A of the first product can be used as the inventory container A of the product with the required quantity of the second order requirement source, so there is no need to perform inventory splitting. Also, in the present embodiment and its variations, the inventory container A of the second product is selected from the inventory containers A of the products that must be picked from any one of the plurality of picking stations 10 grasped by the order grasping unit 410. Therefore, even within the same batch, it is possible to prevent the inventory container A that does not require a picking operation from being shipped out. Moreover, in the present embodiment and its modifications, the inventory container A of the second product is selected from the inventory containers A of the second product that are transported before and after the inventory container A of the first product that is transported to the picking station 10 for performing inventory splitting among a plurality of picking stations 10. Therefore, the inventory container A that can be used for picking operations before and after can efficiently perform inventory splitting. Here, the phrase "before and after the inventory container A of the first product" not only refers to immediately before and after the inventory container A but also includes two before or two after. Also, the number of inventory containers A included in such "before and after" can be set according to the number of inventory containers A that can be stopped / operated in the upper-level operation conveyor 120. Moreover, in the present embodiment and its modifications, the inventory container A of the second product is selected from the inventory containers A of the products requested by the same order source as the order source that requests the first product. Therefore, for example, within the same batch or within the next batch to be executed, picking operations for the products of the same order source can be performed together. Moreover, in the present embodiment and its modifications, when the result of comparison by the comparison unit 430 shows that the number of order sources for each product is less than the number of inventory containers of that product, the inventory container A of the second product is selected from the inventory containers A of that product. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the inventory container A of the second product from further becoming an inventory container A that must undergo inventory splitting, and it is possible to more surely shorten the overall operation time of the picking operation. Moreover, in the present embodiment and its modifications, the transfer instruction output unit 450 outputs an instruction to perform splitting of the inventory container A of the second product at the timing of the first picking operation of the first product as an inventory splitting instruction. Therefore, it is possible to more surely shorten the overall operation time of the picking operation. Also, since inventory splitting is performed during the first picking operation, the efficiency of the overall picking operation can be improved. Moreover, in a modification of the embodiment, a threshold is set for the number of extraction times of the products of the order source within a predetermined batch. The inventory splitting quantity determination unit 440 determines the number and quantity of inventory splitting of the inventory container A of the second product by the first product for the required quantity of the products of the order source for each product when the number of order sources for each product is more than the number of inventory containers of the product and exceeds the set threshold. Therefore, by setting the threshold, the number of inventory splitting times can be suppressed to a certain extent, and the computational load on the controller can be reduced. Also, in such a case, the number of inventory splitting times can be suppressed to a certain extent, and it is also possible to transfer one product (for example, product a) to a plurality of inventory containers containing different products (for example, products b, c, d,...). The foregoing exemplary embodiments and modifications include each of the embodiments described below.[Embodiment Item 1] A picking system includes: a storage device for storing a plurality of inventory containers containing inventory items; a conveying device for conveying the aforementioned inventory containers; a plurality of picking stations for performing a picking operation of picking the aforementioned inventory items from the aforementioned inventory containers according to an order; and a controller for managing the picking operations at the aforementioned plurality of picking stations. The picking system is characterized in that the aforementioned controller includes: an order grasping means for grasping the order source, the required item, and the required quantity of the item of the order; a comparison means for comparing the quantity of the order sources of each item with the number of inventory containers of that item; an inventory division quantity determination means for determining, when the quantity of the order sources of each item of the order is greater than the number of inventory containers of that item, the quantity of inventory division of the inventory container of the first item, which is the required item of the order source of the order, with respect to the inventory container of the second item, which is a different item; and a transfer instruction output means for outputting an inventory division instruction to transfer the quantity of the first item determined above from the inventory container of the first item to the inventory container of the second item. [Embodiment Item 2] The picking system according to Embodiment Item 1, wherein the aforementioned transfer instruction output means outputs an instruction, which is an instruction to transfer the same quantity as the required quantity of the first item of an order source different from the order source of a certain order from the inventory container of the first item to the inventory container of the second item. [Embodiment Item 3] The picking system according to Embodiment Item 1 or Embodiment Item 2, wherein the aforementioned transfer instruction output means outputs an instruction, which is an instruction to transfer the same quantity as the total quantity of the required quantities of the first items of a plurality of order sources different from the order source of a certain order and of a predetermined order from the inventory container of the first item to one inventory container of the second item. [Embodiment Item 4] The picking system according to any one of Embodiment Items 1 to 3, wherein the aforementioned inventory division quantity determination means determines the quantity of the inventory division to be 0 even when the quantity of the order sources of each item of the order is greater than the number of inventory containers, in the case where the quantity of the order sources of each item of the order is 2. [Embodiment Item 5] The picking system according to any one of Embodiment Items 1 to 4, wherein the inventory container of the second item is selected from the inventory containers of the items that must be picked at any one of the aforementioned plurality of picking stations. [Embodiment Item 6] The picking system according to any one of Embodiment Items 1 to 5, wherein the inventory container of the second item is selected from the inventory containers of the second item before and after the inventory container of the first item that is conveyed to the picking station where the aforementioned inventory division is performed among the aforementioned plurality of picking stations.[Embodiment Item 7] The picking system described in any one of Embodiment Items 1 to 6, wherein the inventory container of the second product is selected from the inventory containers of the products required by the same order source as the order source of one order of the first product. [Embodiment Item 8] The picking system described in any one of Embodiment Items 1 to 7, wherein the inventory container of the second product is selected from the inventory containers of the product when the number of order sources of each product is less than the number of inventory containers of the product as a result of comparison by the comparison means. [Embodiment Item 9] The picking system described in any one of Embodiment Items 1 to 8, wherein the transfer instruction output means outputs an instruction to perform splitting of the inventory container of the second product at the timing of the first picking operation of the first product as the inventory splitting instruction. [Embodiment Item 10] The picking system described in any one of Embodiment Items 1 to 9, wherein a threshold is set for the number of times of extraction of the product from the order source of the order within a predetermined batch, and the inventory splitting quantity determination means determines the number of times and quantity of inventory splitting of the inventory container of the second product by the first product for the required quantity of the product from the order source of each product order when the number of order sources of each product order is more than the number of inventory containers of the product and exceeds the set threshold. 1: Picking system 10: Picking station 20: Inventory container handling conveyor (handling device) 30: Order container handling conveyor 100: Upper layer handling unit (for inventory container) 110: Upper layer supply conveyor (for inventory container) 120: Upper layer operation conveyor (for inventory container) 300: Storage equipment 310: Storage rack for inventory container (rack) 400: Controller 410: Order grasping unit (order grasping means) 420: Order source total number calculation unit (order source total number calculation means) 430: Order source number / inventory container number comparison unit (comparison means) 440: Inventory splitting quantity determination unit (inventory splitting quantity determination means) 450: Transfer instruction output unit (transfer instruction output means) A: Inventory container (inventory container of the first product, inventory container of the second product) B: Order container P: Operator R: Working area (picking operation area, inventory splitting operation area) M: Screen (inventory splitting instruction display device) [FIG. 1] is a top view showing a schematic configuration of a part of a picking station connected to a storage device in a picking system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [FIG. 2] is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of the picking station shown in FIG. 1. [FIG. 3] is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a picking system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [FIG. 4] is a diagram for explaining the concept of inventory division performed by the picking system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [FIG. 5] is a diagram for explaining the concept of inventory division performed by the picking system according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1: Picking system 10: Picking station 20: Inventory container conveyor (transport device) 30: Order container conveyor 300: Storage device 310: Storage shelf for inventory containers (carrier) 400: Controller 410: Order grasping unit (order grasping means) 420: Order requirement source total count calculation unit (order requirement source total count calculation means) 430: Order requirement source number / inventory container number comparison unit (comparison means) 440: Inventory division quantity determination unit (inventory division quantity determination means) 450: Transfer instruction output unit (transfer instruction output means) R: Working area (picking working area, inventory division working area) M: Screen (inventory division instruction display device)

Claims

1. A picking system comprising: storage equipment for storing a plurality of storage containers containing inventory goods; a handling device for handling the storage containers; a plurality of picking stations for performing picking operations of the inventory goods from the storage containers according to orders; and a controller for managing the picking operations at the plurality of picking stations; the picking system being characterized in that: the controller comprises: order control means for controlling the source of the order, the requested goods, and the requested quantity of the goods; and a comparison means for comparing the quantity of the source of the order for each type of goods with the number of storage containers for that type of goods; The inventory partitioning quantity determination method determines the inventory partitioning quantity from the inventory container of the first product, which is the source of the order for each of the aforementioned products, to the inventory container of the second product, which is a different product, when the quantity of the requested source of each of the aforementioned products is greater than the number of inventory containers of the aforementioned products; and the transfer instruction output method outputs an inventory partitioning instruction to transfer the aforementioned determined quantity of the first product from the inventory container of the first product to the inventory container of the second product.

2. The picking system as described in claim 1, wherein, The aforementioned transfer instruction output means is an output instruction; the instruction is an instruction to transfer the same quantity of the first commodity from the inventory container of the aforementioned first commodity to the inventory container of the aforementioned second commodity, from the inventory container of the first commodity, to the inventory container of the second commodity, from the inventory container of the first commodity, which is from a different source than the first order.

3. The picking system as described in claim 1, wherein, The aforementioned transfer instruction output means is an output instruction; the instruction is an instruction to transfer a quantity equal to the sum of the required quantities of the first item in a plurality of other orders with different required sources than a certain order, and which are predetermined orders, from the aforementioned first item's inventory container to a aforementioned second item's inventory container.

4. The picking system as described in claim 1, wherein, The aforementioned method for determining the quantity of inventory division is based on the case where the required source quantity for each order of the aforementioned product is 2. Even if the required source quantity for each order of the aforementioned product is more than the number of the aforementioned inventory containers, the quantity of the aforementioned inventory division will be determined to be 0.

5. The picking system as described in claim 1, wherein, The inventory container for the second item mentioned above is the selection of the inventory container for the item that must be picked from any of the aforementioned picking stations.

6. The picking system as described in claim 5, wherein, The aforementioned inventory container for the second product is selected from the same picking station among the aforementioned plurality of picking stations, before and after the first product's inventory container is moved to the aforementioned inventory splitting.

7. The picking system as described in claim 5, wherein, The inventory container for the aforementioned second product is selected from the inventory container required by the order that has the same source of requirements as the order for the aforementioned first product.

8. The picking system as described in claim 1, wherein, When the quantity of the required source of the order for each product is less than the number of inventory containers for that product, the inventory container for the second product mentioned above is selected from the inventory containers for that product.

9. The picking system as described in claim 1, wherein, The aforementioned transfer instruction output means, as the aforementioned inventory splitting instruction, outputs an instruction to perform the splitting of the inventory container of the aforementioned second product during the first picking operation of the aforementioned first product.

10. The picking system as described in claim 1, wherein, Within a predetermined batch, a threshold is set for the number of times the goods requested from the aforementioned order are to be retrieved. The aforementioned inventory splitting quantity determination method is based on the situation where the quantity requested from the order of each aforementioned product is greater than the number of inventory containers of the aforementioned product and exceeds the aforementioned set threshold. For the quantity requested from the order of each aforementioned product, the number of times and the quantity of inventory splitting of the aforementioned first product into the inventory containers of the aforementioned second product are determined.

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