Manual sorting and manipulator combined flexible annular sorting system and sorting method

Abstract

The invention particularly relates to a manual sorting and manipulator combined flexible annular sorting system and sorting method, and aims to solve the problems of low sorting efficiency, high error rate and difficulty in unified management due to the fact that an existing logistics material management mode mainly depends on manual operation. When the automatic sorting system works, the manipulator sorting port and the manual sorting port sort materials to the material supply belt according to sorting information issued by the control system, the material supply belt conveys the materials to enter the annular sorting line for circulation, the annular sorting line conveys the materials to pass through the five-face code scanning instrument, and material information obtained through code scanning is fed back to the control system; and the control system specifies a bag falling opening where the materials slide out according to feedback information and calculates the full-load condition of a turnover box at the goods outlet end of the bag falling opening, the turnover box is transferred to a goods outlet conveying line after being fully loaded and sent out to a goods outlet, and therefore goods and materials are sorted and delivered out of a warehouse.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to a material sorting system, and in particular to a flexible annular sorting system and a sorting method combining manual sorting with a robot. Background Art

[0002] Due to the large-scale and customized characteristics of logistics materials, strict batch management is required during the sorting process. This process not only requires strengthening the control of key parts and key processes, but also requires continuous improvement of quality records to ensure the traceability of product quality, thereby protecting the company's reputation and the interests of consumers.

[0003] However, the current logistics material management method mainly relies on manual operation in the outbound and sorting links. Employees use forklifts, power arms and other tools to perform tedious picking and packing work. This working mode is not only inefficient, but also prone to errors, which brings considerable losses to the company. At the same time, with the growth of business volume, the difficulty of personnel management is also increasing. The traditional manual operation mode can no longer meet the needs of modern enterprises. Summary of the invention

[0004] The main purpose of the present invention is to solve the problems that the current logistics material management method mainly relies on manual operation, resulting in low sorting efficiency, high error rate, and difficulty in unified management, and to provide a flexible ring sorting system and sorting method that combines manual sorting with a robot.

[0005] In order to achieve the above-mentioned invention object, the present invention provides the following technical solutions:

[0006] A flexible circular sorting system combining manual sorting with a manipulator, comprising a circular sorting line which is sequentially divided into a goods-incoming section, a code-scanning section and a goods-outgoing section, a plurality of supply belts connected to the goods-incoming section of the circular sorting line, a five-sided code scanner arranged on the code-scanning section of the circular sorting line, and a control system; the special features thereof are:

[0007] It also includes a plurality of manual picking ports, a plurality of robot picking ports, and a material conveying device connecting adjacent manual picking ports, between a manual picking port and a robot picking port, and between adjacent robot picking ports;

[0008] Each manual picking port is equipped with a personal handheld terminal for manual picking; each robot picking port is equipped with a robot equipped with a controller; each manual picking port and robot picking port are set at the corresponding position outside the supply belt;

[0009] A plurality of bag drop openings are fixedly arranged on one side of the delivery section of the circular sorting line, and a turnover box is arranged at the delivery end of each bag drop opening; a delivery conveyor line is arranged on the other side of the turnover box, and a delivery opening is arranged at the end of the delivery conveyor line; an abnormal rejection opening is also arranged on the other side of the delivery section of the circular sorting line; the abnormal rejection opening is equipped with a personal handheld terminal for manually rejecting abnormal materials on the circular sorting line;

[0010] The control system is connected to the personal handheld terminal, controller, material conveying device, circular sorting line, five-sided barcode scanner and shipping conveyor line through a wireless network; the control system displays the name, part number, inventory number, shipping number and remaining number of the current outbound materials in real time on the personal handheld terminal, and generates picking information based on the order information.

[0011] Furthermore, the package drop port is arranged on the inner side of the circular sorting line; the abnormal rejection port is arranged on the outer side of the circular sorting line; the turnover box and the shipping conveyor line are both located on the inner side of the circular sorting line, and the end of the shipping conveyor line extends to the outer side of the circular sorting line.

[0012] Furthermore, a box replenishment conveyor line is provided on the other side of the shipping conveyor line corresponding to the turnover box. The box replenishment conveyor line is located on the inner side of the circular sorting line. The front end of the box replenishment conveyor line extends to the outer side of the circular sorting line, and a box replenishment port is provided at the front end.

[0013] Furthermore, the material conveying device includes a material conveyor belt and a driving device for the material conveyor belt, and the control system is electrically connected to the driving device for the material conveyor belt.

[0014] Furthermore, vertical hoists are provided in both the container replenishment port and the delivery port.

[0015] Furthermore, the circular sorting line runs in a clockwise direction.

[0016] At the same time, the present invention also provides a sorting method combining manual sorting with a robot, which adopts the above-mentioned flexible ring sorting system combining manual sorting with a robot, and its special feature is that it includes the following steps:

[0017] S1, order material information extraction

[0018] The control system receives multiple orders at the same time, integrates the information according to the types of materials in the order, and queries the location of the materials;

[0019] S2, Order Material Allocation

[0020] After the control system takes the material box from the cargo position, it is transported to the material conveying device, which then transports the material box to the manipulator sorting port specified by the control system. At the same time, the control system generates picking information based on the material information in the order and sends it to the controller set on the personal handheld terminal and the manipulator at the same time.

[0021] S3, order material sorting

[0022] The manipulator at the designated manipulator sorting port identifies the materials in the material box according to the picking information received by the controller; if the identification is successful, the manipulator sorts the materials to the supply belt according to the picking information; if the identification fails, the controller set on the manipulator sends the corresponding information to the control system, and the control system controls the material conveying device to transfer the material box to the designated manual sorting port. The operator of the designated manual sorting port sorts the materials in the material box to the supply belt according to the picking information on the personal handheld terminal; the supply belt transports the materials to the incoming section of the circular sorting line for circulation;

[0023] S4, automatic distribution of materials

[0024] The materials flow to the scanning section of the circular sorting line, and after being scanned by the five-sided barcode scanner installed on the scanning section, they flow to the shipping section; if the scanning is successful, the five-sided barcode scanner will feed back the material information to the control system, and the control system will issue an instruction to allocate the materials to the designated bag drop port; if the scanning fails, the five-sided barcode scanner will feed back the signal to the control system for recording, and the materials will continue to flow on the circular sorting line and be scanned again; if the control system receives a scanning failure signal after three repeated scannings, the control system will issue an instruction to allocate the materials to the abnormal rejection port, and the operators waiting at the abnormal rejection port will manually allocate the materials to the designated bag drop port according to the picking information on their personal handheld terminals;

[0025] S5, materials are transported to the shipping port

[0026] The materials slide into the turnover boxes set up at the delivery end of the package drop-off port. The turnover boxes will feed back the full load information to the control system. The control system will issue instructions to the delivery conveyor line. The turnover boxes will flow to the delivery port through the delivery conveyor line, thus completing the material sorting and delivery.

[0027] Furthermore, S5 is specifically that the materials slide into the turnover box set at the delivery end of the package drop-off port. After the turnover box feeds back the full load information to the control system, the control system sends a command to the delivery conveyor line. The turnover box flows to the delivery port through the delivery conveyor line, and the materials are transported to the delivery temporary storage area through the vertical elevator set in the delivery port for unloading; the unloaded turnover box is transported to the replenishment conveyor line through the vertical elevator in the replenishment port, and the replenishment conveyor line replenishes the turnover box to the vacant package drop-off port; thereby completing the material sorting and delivery.

[0028] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following beneficial effects:

[0029] 1. The flexible ring sorting system and sorting method combining manual sorting and manipulator proposed in the present invention integrate the order processing flow and can process multiple orders at the same time; this working method can complete the sorting of a large number of orders in a short time, which not only achieves a significant improvement in sorting efficiency, but also reduces labor costs, reduces manual intervention, and reduces error rates; speeds up cargo processing, shortens the delivery cycle, and adapts to fast-paced needs.

[0030] 2. The present invention proposes a flexible ring sorting system and a sorting method that combine manual sorting with a robot. A high-precision five-sided barcode scanner is used to perform an all-round scan of the goods, thereby accurately obtaining the size information and barcode information of the goods. Based on these data, the control system can accurately calculate the optimal loading quantity of each turnover box, thereby maximizing the packing efficiency, reducing space waste during transportation, and ensuring the stability and safety of the goods during transportation.

[0031] 3. The present invention proposes a flexible ring-shaped sorting system and a sorting method that combine manual sorting with a robot. The flexible ring-shaped sorting system relies on information technology, can identify materials of different sizes, and can monitor the sorting process in real time to ensure that each step of the operation is accurate and correct, thereby ensuring product quality while improving customer satisfaction and winning a broader market space for the company. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0032] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of the structural layout of an embodiment of a flexible ring-shaped sorting system combining manual sorting with a robot according to the present invention;

[0033] Figure 2 The figure is a flow chart of an embodiment of a sorting method combining manual sorting with a robot according to the present invention.

[0034] Description of reference numerals:

[0035] 1-manual picking port; 2-robot picking port; 3-supply belt; 4-ring sorting line; 5-five-sided barcode scanner; 6-turnover box; 7-package drop port; 8-abnormal rejection port; 9-shipping conveyor line; 10-box replenishment conveyor line; 11-box replenishment port; 12-shipping port. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0036] The present invention will be further described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments.

[0037] like Figure 1As shown, a flexible ring sorting system combining manual sorting with a manipulator comprises a ring sorting line 4 which is divided into a receiving section, a code scanning section and a shipping section in a clockwise direction, and four supply belts 3 connected to the receiving section of the ring sorting line 4; two of the supply belts 3 are respectively provided with manual picking ports 1 on the outside, and each manual picking port 1 is equipped with a personal handheld terminal for manual picking; the other two supply belts 3 are respectively provided with manipulator supply belts 2 on the outside, and each manipulator supply belt 2 is also provided with a manipulator equipped with a controller; and also comprises a material conveying device for connecting the two manual picking ports 1 and the two manipulator supply belts 2;

[0038] A five-sided barcode scanner 5 is provided on the barcode scanning section of the circular sorting line 4; a plurality of bag drop openings 7 are provided on the inner side of the delivery section of the circular sorting line 4, and a turnover box 6 is provided at the delivery end of each bag drop opening 7, and a delivery conveyor line 9 is provided on the other side of the turnover box 6, and the end of the delivery conveyor line 9 extends to the outer side of the circular sorting line 4, and a delivery opening 12 is provided, and a vertical elevator is provided in the delivery opening 12; an abnormal rejection opening 8 is also provided on the outer side of the delivery section of the circular sorting line 4, and a personal handheld terminal is provided in the abnormal rejection opening 8, which is used to manually reject abnormal materials on the circular sorting line 4;

[0039] A box replenishment conveyor line 10 is also provided on the other side of the delivery conveyor line 9 corresponding to the turnover box 6. The front end of the box replenishment conveyor line 10 extends to the outside of the ring sorting line 4 and is provided with a box replenishment port 11. A vertical elevator is provided in the box replenishment port 11.

[0040] This embodiment also includes a control system. The personal handheld terminal, controller, material conveying device, ring sorting line 4, five-sided barcode scanner 5 and shipping conveyor line 9 are all connected to the control system through a wireless network. The control system displays the name, part number, inventory number, shipping number and remaining number of the current outbound materials in real time on the personal handheld terminal, and generates picking information based on the order information.

[0041] like Figure 2 As shown, the present invention also provides a sorting method combining manual sorting with a robot, using the above-mentioned flexible annular sorting system combining manual sorting with a robot, comprising the following steps:

[0042] S1, order material information extraction

[0043] The control system receives multiple orders at the same time, integrates the information according to the types of materials in the order, and queries the location of the materials;

[0044] S2, Order Material Allocation

[0045] After the control system takes the material box from the cargo position, it is transported to the material conveying device, which transports the material box to the manipulator sorting port 2 specified by the control system. At the same time, the control system generates picking information based on the material information in the order, and sends it to the personal handheld terminal and the controller set on the manipulator at the same time. At this time, the personal handheld terminal displays the name, part number, inventory number, outbound number and remaining number of the current outbound material in real time;

[0046] S3, order material sorting

[0047] The manipulator at the designated manipulator sorting port 2 identifies the materials in the material box according to the picking information received by the controller; if the identification is successful, the manipulator sorts the materials to the supply belt 3 according to the order information; if the identification fails, the material box is transferred to the manual sorting port 1, and the operator sorts the materials to the supply belt 3 according to the order information on the personal handheld terminal; the supply belt 3 transports the materials to the incoming section of the circular sorting line 4 for circulation; after confirming that the picking is completed, the control system updates the quantity of materials in the material box and controls the conveyor to transport the remaining materials in the material box back to the original warehouse for storage;

[0048] S4, automatic distribution of materials

[0049] The materials flow to the scanning section of the circular sorting line 4, and after being scanned by the five-sided barcode scanner 5 set on the scanning section, they flow to the shipping section; if the scanning is successful, the five-sided barcode scanner 5 will feed back the material information to the control system, and the control system will issue an instruction to allocate the materials to the designated bag drop port 7; if the scanning fails, the five-sided barcode scanner 5 will feed back the signal to the control system for recording, and the materials will continue to flow on the circular sorting line 4 and be scanned again; if the control system receives a scanning failure signal after three repeated scannings, the control system will issue an instruction to allocate the materials to the abnormal rejection port 8, and the operator waiting at the abnormal rejection port 8 will manually allocate the materials to the designated bag drop port 7 according to the picking information on the personal handheld terminal;

[0050] S5, materials are transported to the shipping port

[0051] The materials slide into the turnover box 6 set at the delivery end of the bag drop port 7. The turnover box 6 feeds back the full load information to the control system. The control system also sends instructions to the delivery conveyor line 9. The turnover box 6 flows to the delivery port 12 through the delivery conveyor line 9. The materials are transported to the delivery temporary storage area for unloading through the vertical elevator set in the delivery port 12. The unloaded turnover box 6 is transported to the replenishment conveyor line 10 through the vertical elevator in the replenishment port 11, and the replenishment conveyor line 10 replenishes the turnover box 6 to the idle bag drop port 7, thereby completing the material sorting and delivery.

[0052] Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present invention rather than to limit them. For ordinary professional and technical personnel in the field, the specific technical solutions recorded in the above embodiments can be modified, or some of the technical features therein can be replaced by equivalents, and these modifications or replacements do not make the essence of the corresponding technical solutions deviate from the scope of the technical solutions protected by the present invention.

Claims

1. A flexible annular sorting system combining manual sorting with a robot, comprising an annular sorting line (4) sequentially divided into an incoming goods section, a code scanning section and an outgoing goods section, a plurality of supply belts (3) connected to the incoming goods section of the annular sorting line (4), a five-sided code scanner (5) arranged on the code scanning section of the annular sorting line (4), and a control system; characterized in that: It also includes a plurality of manual picking openings (1), a plurality of robot picking openings (2), and a material conveying device connecting adjacent manual picking openings (1), between the manual picking openings (1) and the robot picking openings (2), and between adjacent robot picking openings (2); Each manual picking port (1) is equipped with a personal handheld terminal for manual picking; each robot picking port (2) is provided with a robot equipped with a controller; each manual picking port (1) and robot picking port (2) are arranged at corresponding positions outside the supply belt (3); A plurality of bag drop openings (7) are fixedly arranged on one side of the delivery section of the circular sorting line (4), and a turnover box (6) is arranged at the delivery end of each bag drop opening (7); a delivery conveyor line (9) is arranged on the other side of the turnover box (6), and a delivery opening (12) is arranged at the end of the delivery conveyor line (9); an abnormal rejection opening (8) is also arranged on the other side of the delivery section of the circular sorting line (4), and the abnormal rejection opening (8) is equipped with a personal handheld terminal for manually rejecting abnormal materials on the circular sorting line (4); The control system is electrically connected to the personal handheld terminal, the controller, the material conveying device, the circular sorting line (4), the five-sided code scanner (5) and the shipping conveying line (9).

2. According to claim 1, a flexible ring-shaped sorting system combining manual sorting and a robot is characterized in that: The bag drop port (7) is arranged on the inner side of the circular sorting line (4); the abnormal rejection port (8) is arranged on the outer side of the circular sorting line (4); the turnover box (6) and the delivery conveyor line (9) are both located on the inner side of the circular sorting line (4), and the end of the delivery conveyor line (9) extends to the outer side of the circular sorting line (4).

3. A flexible ring-shaped sorting system combining manual sorting and a robot according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: A box replenishment conveyor line (10) is provided on the other side of the delivery conveyor line (9) corresponding to the turnover box (6); the box replenishment conveyor line (10) is located on the inner side of the circular sorting line (4); the front end of the box replenishment conveyor line (10) extends to the outer side of the circular sorting line (4); and a box replenishment opening (11) is provided at the front end.

4. The flexible ring sorting system combining manual sorting and a robot according to claim 1 is characterized in that: The material conveying device comprises a material conveying belt and a driving device of the material conveying belt, and the control system is electrically connected to the driving device of the material conveying belt.

5. The flexible ring-shaped sorting system combining manual sorting and a robot according to claim 1 is characterized in that: The tank filling port (11) and the delivery port (12) are both provided with vertical hoists.

6. The flexible ring-shaped sorting system combining manual sorting and a robot according to claim 1 is characterized in that: The circular sorting line (4) runs in a clockwise direction.

7. A sorting method combining manual sorting with a robot, using a flexible annular sorting system combining manual sorting with a robot as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 6; characterized in that: The following steps are involved: S1, order material information extraction The control system receives multiple orders at the same time, integrates the information based on the material information in the order, and queries the location of the materials; S2, Order Material Allocation After the control system takes the material box from the cargo position, it is transported to the material conveying device, and the material conveying device transports the material box to the manipulator sorting port (2) specified by the control system. At the same time, the control system generates picking information based on the material information in the order, and sends it to the personal handheld terminal and the controller set on the manipulator at the same time; S3, order material sorting The manipulator at the designated manipulator sorting port (2) identifies the materials in the material box according to the picking information received by the controller; if the identification is successful, the manipulator sorts the materials onto the supply belt (3) according to the picking information; if the identification fails, the controller provided on the manipulator sends the corresponding information to the control system, and the control system controls the material conveying device to transfer the material box to the designated manual sorting port (1), and the operator at the designated manual sorting port (1) sorts the materials in the material box onto the supply belt (3) according to the picking information on the personal handheld terminal; the supply belt (3) transports the materials to the incoming goods section of the circular sorting line (4) for circulation; S4, automatic distribution of materials The materials flow to the scanning section of the circular sorting line (4), and after being scanned by the five-sided barcode scanner (5) installed on the scanning section, they flow to the shipping section; if the scanning is successful, the five-sided barcode scanner (5) feeds back the material information to the control system, and the control system issues an instruction to distribute the materials to the designated bag drop port (7); if the scanning fails, the five-sided barcode scanner (5) feeds back the signal to the control system for recording, and the materials continue to flow on the circular sorting line (4) until they are scanned again; if the control system receives a scanning failure signal after scanning three times, the control system issues an instruction to distribute the materials to the abnormal rejection port (8), and the operator waiting at the abnormal rejection port (8) manually distributes the materials to the designated bag drop port (7) according to the picking information on the personal handheld terminal; S5, materials are transported to the shipping port The materials slide into the turnover box (6) arranged at the delivery end of the bag drop port (7), and the turnover box (6) feeds back the full load information to the control system. The control system issues a command to the delivery conveyor line (9), and the turnover box (6) flows to the delivery port (12) through the delivery conveyor line (9), thereby completing the material sorting and delivery.

8. The sorting method combining manual sorting and robot according to claim 7, characterized in that: S5 specifically comprises the following steps: the materials slide into the turnover box (6) arranged at the delivery end of the bag drop port (7); after the turnover box (6) feeds back the full load information to the control system, the control system issues a command to the delivery conveyor line (9); the turnover box (6) flows to the delivery port (12) through the delivery conveyor line (9); the materials are transported to the delivery temporary storage area by the vertical elevator arranged in the delivery port (12) and then unloaded; the unloaded turnover box (6) is transported to the box replenishment conveyor line (10) by the vertical elevator in the box replenishment port (11); the box replenishment conveyor line (10) replenishes the turnover box (6) to the vacant bag drop port (7); thus, the materials are sorted out of the warehouse.

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