Automated shopping basket creator for a production line

Abstract

The invention relates to an automated shopping basket creator (30) for a production line (32) having intermediate stores (34a to 34g), on and / or in which individual parts for at least one product type that is able to be produced or processed by means of the production line (32) are able be stored, and having at least one loading device (36) to which, for the at least one product type that is able to be produced or processed by means of the production line (32), a product-type-specific specification can be output in each case for loading at least one shopping basket carrier (38) only with the individual parts comprised by the product type in question, and which, in response to an output product-type-specific specification, is designed and / or programmed such that, by means of the at least one loading device (36), taking account of information comprised by the output product-type-specific specification and / or stored on at least one storage device of the automated shopping basket creator (30), only the individual parts comprised by the product type in question are transferable from the respective intermediate stores (34a bis 34g) to the at least one shopping basket carrier (38) to be loaded therewith.

Description

[0001] Description

[0002] title

[0003] Automated shopping cart builder for a production line

[0004] The invention relates to an automated shopping cart creator for a production line and a production line. Furthermore, the invention relates to a method for automated shopping cart creation for a production line and a method for operating a production line.

[0005] State of the art

[0006] The fundamental goal is to make material available on production lines where it is needed. Two principles can be distinguished: On the one hand, the material is delivered to the installation location and made available to the production station via a feed system. In automated stations, these feed systems consist of at least one material container (e.g., a spiral conveyor) and a supply unit (e.g., a multi-axis robot with a gripper). On the other hand, a shopping cart is formed, which is transported along the material flow with the component to be processed. The shopping cart contains the materials required at the respective production stations. A typical application is found in final automotive assembly.

[0007] Disclosure of the invention

[0008] The present invention provides an automated shopping cart creator for a production line having the features of claim 1, a production line having the features of claim 7, a method for automated shopping cart creation for a production line having the features of claim 8 and a method for operating a production line having the features of claim 11.

[0009] Advantages of the invention The present invention creates advantageous possibilities for forming shopping baskets for a production line, wherein each of the formed shopping baskets provides at least one individual part required by the respective station to stations / production stations of the respective production line which require at least one of its individual parts. For this purpose, the respective shopping basket can be transported along the production line by means of a transport system of the production line together with a product / component to be produced / processed by means of the stations of the production line, thus ensuring a reliable supply of the production line. The shopping baskets formed autonomously by means of the present invention can optionally comprise materials, in particular raw materials, semi-finished products and / or components, as individual parts.The automated creation of shopping baskets significantly reduces the labor required for this process, resulting in significant cost savings. The present invention thus simplifies and reduces the cost of order picking.

[0010] To create a shopping cart, the required materials are picked for each shopping cart. The goal of picking is to assemble subsets (items) from a total quantity of goods (assortment) based on requirements (orders) (VDI Standard 3590).

[0011] The transport system can be designed, in particular, as a flexible transport system. In particular, the transport system can comprise at least one, preferably several, mobile transport devices, also referred to as unmanned autonomous transport vehicles (UAT).

[0012] The mobile transport device is designed in particular as an autonomous vehicle. Alternatively, the mobile transport device is designed as a hovering or flying vehicle. In particular, the mobile transport device is designed to be free of people. Alternatively or additionally, the mobile transport device is designed in particular to transport goods or the like, in particular the mobile transport device is configured to enable the transport of goods or the like within a production line. For this purpose, in particular a workpiece carrier is placed on the mobile transport device, on which the goods can be arranged. In particular, the goods are delivered to a station together with the workpiece carrier and, if necessary, received again by another mobile transport device after completion of the manufacturing or assembly step implemented there and transported to the next station.For example, the mobile transport device is implemented as a transport robot, low-floor vehicle, etc. Preferred designations are AGV (Automated Guided Vehicle) and / or FTF (Driverless Transport Vehicle). The mobile transport device can preferably be used for transport within a production line. Optionally, the mobile transport device can be designed as a train comprising a tractor and one or more wagons / trailers, or as an electric pallet truck. This makes it possible, in particular, to implement a vehicle combination comprising several mobile transport devices, wherein, for example, one or more mobile transport devices can transport the shopping cart and a further transport device coupled to this transport device can have a workpiece carrier with a workpiece holder, on which the workpiece can be assembled at the various stations from the individual parts arranged in the shopping cart.

[0013] For example, the transport system and / or an intermediate transport system can comprise a vehicle network comprising a fleet of UATs, wherein the fleet of UATs comprising differently equipped subgroups or swarms of UATs is capable of compensating for the missing features of one subgroup of UATs by coupling UATs from another subgroup or swarm to the former UATs via suitable coupling interfaces. This allows coupled UATs to access shared resources that only need to be activated or present in one of the two UATs, and to forgo certain features in part of the fleet, such as sensors, actuators, independent propulsion, and / or batteries or accumulators, in order to procure and operate this part more cost-effectively.By linking UATs from different subgroups, less private traffic is generated within the fleet's limited operational area, thus reducing potential operational disruptions or waiting times due to the reduced space and safety area requirements of the fleet as a whole. Furthermore, the overall fleet availability can be significantly increased through targeted temporary resource sharing.

[0014] According to one embodiment, a method for automated shopping cart creation for a production line may comprise providing a vehicle network, wherein the provision is carried out by means of the following steps:

[0015] Coupling a first unmanned autonomous transport vehicle, UAT, which has a control processor, an electrical energy storage device, a drive module and a sensor module, via a first UAT coupling interface with a second UAT coupling interface of a second UAT, which has a control processor and a maximum of two components from a component group comprising an electrical energy storage device, a drive module and a sensor module,

[0016] • wherein the UAT comprises a workpiece carrier or is configured to receive the workpiece carrier and the second UAT comprises the basket carrier or is configured to receive the basket carrier, or

[0017] • wherein the first UAT comprises the basket carrier or is configured to receive the basket carrier and the second UAT comprises the workpiece carrier or is configured to receive the workpiece carrier;

[0018] Providing, by the first UAT, the functionality of the missing component of the component group to the second UAT; and

[0019] Joint action of the first UAT and the second UAT to transport a shopping cart carrier and a product type that can be manufactured from the individual parts of the shopping cart or processed with these individual parts.

[0020] In particular, additional UATs with additional shopping cart carriers can be added to the vehicle network in this way.

[0021] In particular, the vehicle convoy can be formed before the at least one basket carrier is loaded with individual parts, so that the vehicle convoy travels to the consignment warehouse. Alternatively, it is also conceivable that the basket is first assembled and placed on at least one basket carrier, and then a vehicle convoy is formed with a UAT with a workpiece carrier, which transports the basket and workpiece carrier away.

[0022] In an advantageous embodiment of the automated shopping cart creator, the at least one shopping cart carrier, each loaded with at least one individual part at at least one loading position of the automated shopping cart creator by means of the at least one loading device, can be transferred from the respective loading position by means of a transport system of the production line or by means of at least one intermediate transport system of the automated shopping cart creator connected to the transport system. A shopping cart created by means of the embodiment of the automated shopping cart creator described here can thus be transferred directly / immediately along the production line by means of the transport system in order to supply the production line with the individual parts required for the manufacture or processing of one of its products.The design of the automated shopping cart builder described here enables a line-integrated, automated shopping cart principle for the respective production line, allowing the shopping cart to be created at the latest possible time. Orders can thus be swapped around in any order until they are executed.

[0023] As an advantageous development, the at least one shopping cart carrier loaded with at least one individual item at the at least one loading position by means of the at least one loading device can be previously transferred from at least one shopping cart builder-specific and / or external carrier buffer to the respective loading position by means of the transport system and / or the at least one and / or at least one further intermediate transport system of the automated shopping cart builder. This also means that no / hardly any personnel effort is required to prepare the at least one shopping cart carrier to be loaded at the at least one loading position.

[0024] Preferably, the at least one loading device is additionally designed and / or programmed in response to the output product-type-specific specification such that, by means of the at least one loading device, taking into account the information contained in the output product-type-specific specification and / or stored on the at least one storage device, the respective individual parts can each be positioned at an actual position on the at least one shopping cart carrier to be loaded therewith, which actual position corresponds to a predetermined target position. If a respective shopping cart tray of the at least one shopping cart carrier has product-type-specific insertion positions, each of the individual parts positioned by means of the at least one loading device can be deposited precisely in its assigned insertion position. This facilitates removal of the individual parts at the stations / production stations of the production line.

[0025] As an advantageous further development, an individual part type-specific statement relating to an individual part type of individual parts that can be made available at at least one shopping cart creator's own and / or shopping cart creator's external delivery point can be output to the at least one and / or at least one further loading device of the automated shopping cart creator for the individual parts to be stored on and / or in the intermediate storage facilities, wherein the at least one loading device is designed and / or programmed in response to a currently output individual part type-specific statement in such a way thatthat, by means of the at least one loading device, the individual parts currently provided at the respective delivery point can be transferred to and / or into the assigned intermediate storage facility, taking into account information contained in the issued individual part-type-specific information and / or stored on the at least one and / or at least one further storage device of the automated shopping cart creator. By means of the further development of the automated shopping cart creator described here, the personnel workload for providing the respective individual parts to and / or in the intermediate storage facilities is significantly reduced. Costs can also be saved in this way.

[0026] Advantageously, the automated shopping cart creator can be a consignment warehouse. The respective consignment warehouse can be understood as a warehouse maintained by at least one supplier and / or at least one logistics service provider close to production / close to the respective production line, into which the at least one supplier and / or at least one logistics service provider stores agreed-upon individual parts for the production line. If necessary, the operator of the production line is only billed for the individual parts after they have been used or after an inspection of the product manufactured / processed by the production line. Until then, the at least one supplier and / or at least one logistics service provider remains the owner of the individual parts stored in the consignment warehouse, although the operator of the production line has control over the individual parts stored in the consignment warehouse at all times.The embodiment of the automated shopping cart creator described here is therefore suitable for an economic principle which allows the at least one supplier and / or the at least one logistics service provider to produce (essentially) in a way that is decoupled from consumption, i.e. while maintaining an agreed minimum stock.

[0027] The advantages described above are also realized in a production line with such an automated shopping cart creator.

[0028] Furthermore, executing a corresponding method for automated shopping cart creation for a production line, or executing a corresponding method for operating a production line, also provides the advantages explained above. It is expressly noted that the methods mentioned here can be further developed according to the above-described embodiments of the automated shopping cart creator.

[0029] Short description of the drawings

[0030] Further features and advantages of the present invention are explained below with reference to the figures. They show:

[0031] Fig. 1 is a schematic representation of a shopping cart carrier;

[0032] Fig. 2a and 2b are schematic representations of an embodiment of the automated shopping cart creator; and

[0033] Fig. 3 is a flowchart for explaining an embodiment of the method for automated shopping cart creation for a production line.

[0034] Embodiments of the invention

[0035] Fig. 1 shows a schematic representation of a shopping cart carrier.

[0036] The shopping cart carrier 10, schematically shown in Fig. 1, enables the transport of individual parts 12a to 12c for exactly one product that can be manufactured or processed by a production line along the respective production line. The shopping cart carrier 10 equipped with the individual parts 12a to 12c is often also referred to as a shopping cart.

[0037] The shopping cart carrier 10 comprises a shopping cart carrier base plate 14 and a shopping cart tray 16 fixedly arranged on an upper side of the shopping cart carrier base plate 14. At least one fixing unit 18 is fastened to a loading side 16a of the shopping cart tray 16 directed away from the shopping cart carrier base plate 14. One fixing pin 20 per fixing unit 18 is connected to the upper side of the shopping cart carrier base plate 14. The at least one fixing pin 20 has a bore into which a tensionable bolt of the associated fixing unit 18 can be reversibly inserted such that the shopping cart tray 16 is reversibly connected to the shopping cart carrier base plate 14. The loading side 16a of the shopping cart tray 16 can then be loaded with the individual parts 12a to 12c.The shopping cart carrier 10 can then travel to various stations of the production line by means of a transport system of the production line and supply the respective stations with at least one individual part 12a to 12c required by the respective station.

[0038] Fig. 2a and 2b show schematic representations of an embodiment of the automated shopping cart creator.

[0039] The automated shopping cart creator 30, schematically illustrated in Figs. 2a and 2b, can advantageously interact with a production line 32. The automated shopping cart creator 30 can, in particular, be a subunit, such as a warehouse, of the production line 32. It should be noted that the usability of the automated shopping cart creator 30 described below is not limited to any specific production line type of the cooperating / equipped production line 32. One possible application of the automated shopping cart creator 30 can be, for example, in automotive final assembly.

[0040] The automated shopping cart creator 30 has intermediate storage areas 34a to 34g, on and / or in which individual parts for at least one product type that can be manufactured or processed by the production line 32 can be stored. The intermediate storage areas 34a to 34g can thus be used to stock the material for the individual parts for the at least one product type that can be manufactured or processed by the production line 32. The storage of the individual parts is implemented such that on and / or in each of the intermediate storage areas 34a to 34g, individual parts of only one individual part type, which differs from the at least one other individual part type of the individual parts on and / or in the at least one further intermediate storage area 34a to 34g, can be stored.The at least one intermediate storage area 34a to 34g can be understood, for example, as an area for material storage, which serves as a storage location for a material container that can be filled with / is filled with the individual parts of the respective individual part type. The respective material container can be reversibly secured to the assigned storage location, for example, via a screw or clamping device.

[0041] The automated shopping cart creator 30 has at least one loading device 36, to which a product-type-specific specification for loading at least one shopping cart carrier 38 exclusively with the individual parts comprising the respective product type can be output for the at least one product type that can be manufactured or processed by the production line 32. The respective product type is understood to be a product type (precisely) specified by means of the product-type-specific specification from the set of product types that can be manufactured or processed by the production line 32. For example, at least one gripper, specifically at least one universal gripper, can be used as the at least one loading device 36.

[0042] The at least one loading device 36, or at least one (not sketched) control electronics of the at least one loading device 36, is designed and / or programmed such that, in response to an output product-type-specific specification, by means of the at least one loading device 36, only the individual parts comprised by the respective product type can be transferred from the respective intermediate storage areas 34a to 34g to the at least one shopping cart carrier 38 to be loaded therewith.This can also be described as the at least one loading device 36 being designed and / or programmed, in response to the issued product-type-specific specification, to load the at least one shopping cart carrier 38 to be loaded exclusively with the individual parts comprised by the respective product type and only in the quantity in which a subsequent product of the respective product type comprises the individual parts, by removing the respective individual parts from the assigned intermediate storage areas 34a to 34g. In this way, the at least one loading device 36, in cooperation with at least the intermediate storage areas 34a to 34g, creates a shopping cart which is equipped exclusively with individual parts used for the production or processing of exactly one product (workpiece) of the respective product type by the production line 32. The respective shopping cart can be loaded by means of a single shopping cart carrier 38 or, as in Fig.2a is shown pictorially, can be created by means of several shopping cart carriers 38.

[0043] The transfer, which can be carried out / carried out by means of the at least one loading device 36, exclusively of the individual parts comprised by the respective product type from the respective intermediate storage areas 34a to 34g to the at least one shopping cart carrier 38 to be loaded therewith takes into account information comprised in the issued product-type-specific specification and / or stored on at least one (not shown) storage device of the automated shopping cart creator 30. The information generally comprises at least data relating to a target number of each individual part type of the individual part types that can be stored / stored on and / or in the intermediate storage areas 34a to 34g for the respective product type, a target distribution of the storable / stored individual part types between the intermediate storage areas 34a to 34g and / or a target position of each of the intermediate storage areas 34a to 34g. The at least one loading device 36, orits at least one control electronics, for the product type which is "displayed" to it by means of the issued product type-specific specification, quickly and reliably removes exactly those individual parts from the respective intermediate storage areas 34a to 34g which are used for the manufacture / processing of exactly one product of the respective product type by the production line 32.

[0044] The automated shopping cart creator 30 is thus suitable for creating shopping carts for the production line, significantly reducing the personnel effort normally required. The significant reduction in the personnel effort required to create shopping carts using the automated shopping cart creator 30 enables considerable cost savings. The present invention thus simplifies and reduces the cost of order picking. As is clear from the preceding description, shopping carts for different product types can also be successively compiled from the set of product types that can be manufactured or processed using the production line 32 using the automated shopping cart creator 30. The automated shopping cart creator 30 thus enables flexible shopping cart creation for multiple product types that can be manufactured or processed using the production line 32.

[0045] Furthermore, the automated shopping cart creator 30 can be easily further developed for a broader spectrum of product types that can be manufactured or processed by the production line 32 by means of a corresponding new creation of at least one further product-type-specific specification and / or a corresponding reprogramming of its at least one storage device. Thus, the automated shopping cart creator 30 can also be further developed for new product types that can be manufactured or processed by the production line 32 with relatively little effort. The interaction of the production line 32 with the automated shopping cart creator 30 therefore increases the adaptability of the production line 32.

[0046] Output of the product-type-specific specification to the at least one loading device 36 or its at least one control electronics does not necessarily mean a current output. Instead, a plurality of product-type-specific specifications can be output to the at least one loading device 36 or its at least one control electronics.

[0047] In particular, the product-type-specific specifications can be output to the at least one loading device 36, or its at least one control electronics, together with a target sequence specified by a user of the automated shopping cart creator 30, such as an operator of the production line 32, for their subsequent processing. Subsequently, at least one shopping cart carrier 38 can be loaded with the required individual parts by the at least one loading device 36, in particular while adhering to the target sequence, for each of the product-type-specific specifications. In addition, the target sequence of the product-type-specific specifications not yet completed can still be changed during this process, e.g., by subsequently inserting at least one additional product-type-specific specification.As an alternative to the target sequence specified by the user of the automated shopping cart creator 30, an algorithm can also be stored on the at least one loading device 36, or its at least one control electronics, which selects the product-type-specific specification to be completed next, taking into account the current occupancy of a transport system 40 of the production line 32 by mobile carriers, such as in particular by shopping cart carriers 38 and / or workpiece carriers 42, and / or taking into account the current status of the stations / production stations 44a and 44b of the production line 32. A further advantage of the automated shopping cart creator 30 is therefore its high flexibility in the sequence of the shopping carts to be created. In this exemplary embodiment, the transport system 40 comprises unmanned autonomous transport vehicles (UATs) and a roadway on which the UATs can move.The workpiece carrier 42 and the shopping cart carrier are each arranged on a UAT, whereby the UATs form a vehicle network.

[0048] During its loading with at least one individual part by means of the at least one loading device 36, the at least one shopping cart carrier 38 can be positioned at at least one loading position 46 of the automated shopping cart creator 30. Preferably, after its loading, the at least one shopping cart carrier 38 can be transported automatically, i.e., without any personnel effort, from the respective loading position 46 to the cooperating production line 32. For this purpose, the automated shopping cart creator 30 can be connected to the transport system 40 of the cooperating production line 32 such that the at least one loading position 46 of the automated shopping cart creator 30 is "integrated" either into the transport system 40 or into at least one intermediate transport system 48 of the automated shopping cart creator 30 connected to the transport system 40. As shown in Fig.2b, the at least one intermediate transport system 48 of the automated shopping cart creator 30 can, for example, run through at least one entry and / or exit gate 50 ending at the transport system 40.

[0049] The connection of the automated shopping cart creator 30 to the transport system 40 of the cooperating production line 32 realizes fully automatic transport of at least one shopping cart carrier 38 loaded with at least one individual part from its respective loading position 46 and further to the stations 44a and 44b of the production line 32. In addition, the fully automatic transport enables the creation of the shopping carts used by the production line 32 by means of the automated shopping cart creator 30 only immediately before the respective product is manufactured / processed. The sequence of different products manufactured / processed by the production line 32 can thus be swapped as required until the execution of the respective product is started.The automated shopping cart creator 30 thus realizes a line-integrated and flexible shopping cart creation for the production line 32, which is particularly compatible with equipping the production line 32 with a flexible transport system 40.

[0050] The transport system 40 can alternatively or additionally also comprise a transfer system. The transfer system can be designed either as a continuous conveyor with a continuous flow of goods or as a discontinuous conveyor with transport at intervals. The transfer system to which the automated shopping cart creator 30 is / can be connected can therefore also be understood as a flexible transport system 40. The transport system 40 is preferably planar.

[0051] A possible technical implementation of the transport system 40 comprises UATs and a transport plane (roadway) with a code field. The UATs have at least one localization module, wherein the localization module is designed to determine its own position by decoding the coded coarse position. In particular, the localization module reads the coarse position from the code field. If the localization module moves relative to the code field, the coarse position changes. The code field can, for example, have a two-dimensional, rectangular, in particular square, dot grid, wherein the coarse positions of the grid points are coded. The code field is preferably designed as described in the document DE 10 2016216 221 A1, the disclosure of which with regard to the code arrangement is incorporated by reference into the present disclosure.The transport system 40 can alternatively or additionally comprise at least one conveyor device, such as at least one planar robot, which enables transport of shopping cart carriers 38 and workpiece carriers 42 using magnetic levitation technology. This also offers a high degree of flexibility, particularly because the mobile carrier devices can overtake each other in this case. However, it should be noted that other embodiments of the transport system 40 are also possible.

[0052] The at least one loaded shopping cart carrier 38 per shopping cart, together with the workpiece carrier 42, on which the product / workpiece manufactured / processed using the assembled individual parts is transported along the production line 32, can be coupled within the automated shopping cart creator 30 to form a composite / vehicle composite before the composite comprising the at least one loaded shopping cart carrier 38 and the workpiece carrier 42 can be transported to a first station 44a of the production line 32 by means of the transport system 40. As illustrated in Fig. 2a (by means of the dashed lines), the shopping cart assembly carried out by means of the automated shopping cart creator 30 can eliminate the need for at least one separate feed station 52a and 52b for each of the stations 44a and 44b of the production line 32.When using the automated shopping cart creator 30, the problems and costs of a conventional supply of the production line 32 via the feed stations 52a and 52b are generally eliminated.

[0053] The at least one shopping cart carrier 38 used during operation of the automated shopping cart creator 30 is preferably designed such that the at least one shopping cart carrier 38, or a combination / vehicle combination comprising the at least one shopping cart carrier 38 and the associated workpiece carrier 42, can be positioned by means of at least one clamping and indexing device for all manufacturing and processing operations carried out by means of the stations 44a and 44b of the production line 32. The at least one shopping cart carrier 38 can be designed as a flat body with a square or rectangular basic shape. Although this is not visible in Figs. 2a and 2b, the at least one shopping cart carrier 38 can comprise a shopping cart carrier base plate and a shopping cart tray fixedly arranged on an upper side of the shopping cart carrier base plate.Preferably, the shopping cart tray is reversibly connected to the associated shopping cart support base plate such that a loading side 38a of the shopping cart tray directed away from the shopping cart support base plate can be loaded with at least one individual part. For example, at least one fixing unit attached to a loading side 38a of the shopping cart tray can interact with a fixing pin connected to an upper side of the shopping cart support base plate, in that a tensionable bolt of the at least one fixing unit can be reversibly inserted into an associated bore of the at least one fixing pin.

[0054] In one possible embodiment, the shopping cart carriers 38 each have a shopping cart tray that is suitable for all shopping carts that can be assembled using the automated shopping cart creator 30, or for all product types / product variants of the production line 32. In a further advantageous embodiment of the automated shopping cart creator 30, the at least one loading device 36 is designed and / or programmed, taking into account the information contained in the output product-type-specific specification and / or stored on the at least one storage device of the automated shopping cart creator 30, to transfer the shopping cart tray suitable / optimized for the respective shopping cart from a respective intermediate storage area 34a to 34g to the respective shopping cart carrier base plate and, if necessary, to reversibly connect it to the shopping cart carrier base plate.The reversible connection of the shopping cart carrier to the respective shopping cart carrier base plate by means of the automated shopping cart creator 30 / its at least one loading device 36 also eliminates the need for personnel to create the at least one shopping cart carrier 38 suitable / optimized for the respective shopping cart.

[0055] In an advantageous embodiment of the automated shopping cart creator 30, the at least one loading device 36 is additionally designed and / or programmed in response to the output product-type-specific specification such that, by means of the at least one loading device 36, the respective individual parts can each be positioned at an actual position on the at least one shopping cart carrier 38 to be loaded therewith, which corresponds to a predetermined target position. For this purpose, the information comprised by the output product-type-specific specification and / or stored on the at least one storage device can additionally comprise data relating to the target position exclusively of the individual parts comprised by the respective product type on the at least one shopping cart carrier 38 to be loaded therewith.By taking this information into account, the at least one predetermined target position can then be maintained relatively precisely by the at least one loading device 36. For example, if a respective shopping cart tray of the at least one shopping cart carrier 38 has product-type-specific insertion positions on its loading side 38a, each of the individual parts positioned by the at least one loading device 36 can be deposited precisely in its assigned insertion position. This facilitates removal of the individual parts at stations 44a and 44b of the production line 32.

[0056] As an advantageous development, the at least one shopping cart carrier 38, or the respective shopping cart carrier base plate, loaded with at least one individual item at the at least one loading position 46 by means of the at least one loading device 36, can be / are previously transferred from at least one (not shown) carrier buffer to the respective loading position 46 by means of the transport system 40 and / or the at least one and / or at least one further intermediate transport system 48 of the automated shopping cart creator 30. The at least one carrier buffer can be understood to mean a carrier buffer belonging to the shopping cart creator and / or a carrier buffer external to the shopping cart creator.

[0057] As an alternative or additional development, the automated shopping cart creator 30 can be further developed for automated "refilling" of the intermediate storage areas 34a to 34g with the individual parts to be stored thereon and / or therein. The "refilling" of the intermediate storage areas 34a to 34g can, in particular, be carried out fully automatically using the at least one loading device 36 and / or at least one further loading device 54 of the automated shopping cart creator 30. Advantageously, the fully automatic "refilling" of the intermediate storage areas 34a to 34g can be implemented such that it can begin whenever individual parts of a common individual part type are available at at least one (not outlined) delivery point. The at least one delivery point can be understood as either a shopping cart creator's own delivery point and / or a delivery point external to the shopping cart creator.

[0058] For this purpose, an individual part type-specific statement relating to the individual part type of individual parts currently provided at the at least one delivery point can be output to the at least one loading device 36 and 54 of the automated shopping cart creator 30, or its at least one control electronics, for the individual parts to be stored on and / or in the intermediate storage areas 34a to 34g. The at least one loading device 36 and 54 is optionally designed and / or programmed such that, in response to a currently output individual part type-specific statement, the individual parts provided at the respective delivery point can be transferred to and / or into the associated intermediate storage areas 34a to 34g by means of the at least one loading device 36 and 54. The transfer of the individual parts provided at the respective delivery point to and / or into the associated intermediate storage areas 34a to 34g thus takes place automatically.A reliable allocation of the individual parts to and / or into the correct intermediate storage area 34a to 34g can be ensured by taking into account the information contained in the output individual part type-specific information and / or stored on the at least one and / or at least one further storage device of the automated shopping cart creator 30. As already explained above, the information can also include data regarding the target distribution of the storable / stored individual part types among the intermediate storage areas 34a to 34g. The respective individual part type-specific information can be understood as an information specifying (exactly) one individual part type from the set of individual part types storable / stored on and / or in the intermediate storage areas 34a to 34g for the at least one loading device 36 and 54 of the automated shopping cart creator 30, or its at least one control electronics unit.The at least one loading device 36 and 54 used to transfer the individual parts provided at the respective delivery point to and / or in the associated intermediate storage areas 34a to 34g thus serves as an "interface" or "supply interface" of the automated shopping cart creator 30 for automatically "refilling" its intermediate storage areas 34a to 34g. For example, at least one lift system 54 for conveying the individual parts, in particular the individual parts filled in a respective material container, can be used as the at least one loading device 36 and 54 for automatic "refilling."

[0059] The automated shopping cart creator 30 can, in particular, be a consignment warehouse. If necessary, the automated shopping cart creator 30 implements a line-integrated consignment warehouse for creating shopping carts for a production line 32 with a high degree of adaptability. This results in lower investment costs through centralized material supply, lower line reconfiguration costs due to the elimination of process-specific supply systems, and a reduction in error costs due to one-piece flow. The integration of the automated shopping cart creator 30, designed as a consignment warehouse, into the production line 32 further increases its advantages by ensuring that supplied material remains in the possession of the respective supplier for as long as possible, thereby minimizing the capital tied up by the operator of the production line 32.

[0060] Fig. 3 shows a flowchart for explaining an embodiment of the method for automated shopping cart creation for a production line.

[0061] The feasibility of the procedure described below is not limited to any specific production line type of the production line used.

[0062] In a method step S1 of the method, a product-type-specific specification is output to at least one loading device, to which a product-type-specific specification can be output for at least one product type that can be manufactured or processed by the production line. Examples of the at least one loading device have already been listed above.

[0063] In response to the issued product-type-specific specification, a method step S2 is carried out. Method step S2 is carried out using intermediate storage facilities on and / or in which the individual parts for the at least one product type that can be manufactured or processed by the production line are stored in such a way that individual parts of only one individual part type are stored on and / or in each of the intermediate storage facilities, which individual parts differ from the at least one other individual part type of the individual parts on and / or in the at least one further intermediate storage facility. In method step S2, only the individual parts comprising the respective product type are transferred by means of the at least one loading device from the respective intermediate storage facilities to the at least one shopping cart carrier to be loaded therewith.This is done taking into account information included in the issued product-type-specific specification and / or stored on at least one storage device of the automated shopping cart creator. The at least one shopping cart carrier can be loaded with at least one individual item using the at least one loading device at at least one loading position of the automated shopping cart creator.

[0064] Advantageously, method step S2 can also comprise a sub-step (not outlined) in which (from the loading of the shopping cart carrier) a shopping cart tray suitable / optimized for the respective shopping cart is transferred by means of the at least one loading device from a respective intermediate storage location to a respective shopping cart carrier base plate of the subsequent shopping cart carrier and, if necessary, reversibly connected to the shopping cart carrier base plate. The sub-step described here can also be carried out taking into account the information contained in the issued product-type-specific specification and / or stored on the at least one storage device of the automated shopping cart creator. This sub-step also eliminates the personnel effort required to create the at least one shopping cart carrier suitable / optimized for the respective shopping cart.Alternatively, the method described here can also be carried out using shopping cart carriers which have a shopping cart tray suitable for all combinable shopping carts or for all product types / product variants of the production line 32. Optionally, a further method step S3 can be carried out after method step S2. In the (optional) method step S3, the at least one shopping cart carrier, each loaded with at least one individual part, is transferred from the respective loading position by means of a transport system of the production line or by means of at least one intermediate transport system connected to the transport system. In this way, fully automatic transport of the at least one loaded shopping cart carrier to the production line is possible.

[0065] Process steps S1 to S3 can be repeated as often as required. Please note that of the process steps S1 to S3, only process step S1 requires personnel effort.

[0066] Fully automatic "refilling" of the intermediate storage areas is possible using the (optional) process steps S4 and S5. In process step S4, an individual part type-specific specification is output to the at least one and / or at least one further loading device of the automated shopping cart creator, to which an individual part type-specific specification can be output for each of the individual parts to be stored on and / or in the intermediate storage areas, relating to an individual part type of individual parts that can be provided at at least one delivery point within the shopping cart creator and / or external to the shopping cart creator. Process step S4 is preferably always executed when individual parts are currently available at the respective delivery point.

[0067] In response to the currently issued individual part type-specific information, method step S5 follows, in which the individual parts currently provided at the respective delivery point are transferred to and / or into the assigned intermediate storage facility by means of the at least one loading device, taking into account information contained in the issued individual part type-specific information and / or stored on the at least one and / or at least one further storage device of the automated shopping cart creator. Thus, for the fully automated "refilling" of the intermediate storage facilities, only method step S4 involves personnel effort. A warehouse comprising at least the at least one loading device and the at least one intermediate storage facility can advantageously be used as a consignment warehouse.In addition, at least the method steps S1 and S2 can also be part of a method for operating a production line, during the execution of which shopping baskets for the production line are formed by means of an automated shopping basket creation.

Claims

Claims 1. Automated shopping cart creator (30) for a production line (32) with: Intermediate storage facilities (34a to 34g) on ​​and / or in which individual parts for at least one product type that can be manufactured or processed by means of the production line (32) can be stored in such a way that on and / or in each of the intermediate storage facilities (34a to 34g) individual parts of only one individual part type, which differs from the at least one other individual part type of the individual parts on and / or in the at least one further intermediate storage facility (34a to 34g), can be stored;and at least one loading device (36), to which a product-type-specific specification for loading at least one shopping cart carrier (38) exclusively with the individual parts comprised by the respective product type can be output for the at least one product type that can be produced or processed by means of the production line (32), and which, in response to an output product-type-specific specification, is designed and / or programmed in such a way that, by means of the at least one loading device (36), taking into account information comprised by the output product-type-specific specification and / or stored on at least one storage device of the automated shopping cart creator (30), exclusively the individual parts comprised by the respective product type can be transferred from the respective intermediate storage devices (34a to 34g) to the at least one shopping cart carrier (38) to be loaded therewith.

2. Automated shopping cart creator (30) according to claim 1, wherein the at least one shopping cart carrier (38) loaded with at least one individual part at at least one loading position (46) of the automated shopping cart creator (30) by means of the at least one loading device (36) is transported from the respective loading position (46) by means of a transport system (40) of the production line (32) or by means of at least one intermediate transport system (48) of the automated shopping cart creator (30).

3. Automated shopping cart creator (30) according to claim 2, wherein the at least one shopping cart carrier (38) loaded with at least one individual part at the at least one loading position (46) by means of the at least one loading device (36) can be transferred beforehand by means of the transport system (40) and / or by means of the at least one and / or at least one further intermediate transport system (48) of the automated shopping cart creator (30) from at least one carrier intermediate storage device which is internal to the shopping cart creator and / or external to the shopping cart creator to the respective loading position (46).

4. Automated shopping cart creator (30) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the at least one loading device (36) is additionally designed and / or programmed in response to the output product-type-specific specification such that by means of the at least one loading device (36), taking into account the information comprised in the output product-type-specific specification and / or stored on the at least one storage device, the respective individual parts can each be positioned at an actual position on the at least one shopping cart carrier (38) to be loaded therewith, which actual position corresponds in each case to a predetermined target position.

5. Automated shopping cart creator (30) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein an item-type-specific statement relating to an item type of individual parts that can be provided at at least one shopping cart creator's own and / or external delivery point can be output to the at least one and / or at least one further loading device (36, 54) of the automated shopping cart creator (30) for the individual parts to be stored on and / or in the intermediate storage areas (34a to 34g), and wherein the at least one loading device (36, 54) is designed and / or programmed in such a way as to react to a currently output item-type-specific statement, that by means of the at least one loading device (36, 54), the individual parts currently provided at the respective delivery point can be transferred to and / or into the associated intermediate storage facility (34a to 34g) taking into account information contained in the output individual part type-specific information and / or stored on the at least one and / or at least one further storage device of the automated shopping cart creator (30).

6. Automated shopping cart creator (30) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the automated shopping cart creator (30) is a consignment warehouse.

7. Production line (32) comprising: an automated shopping cart creator (30) according to any one of the preceding claims.

8. Method for automated shopping cart creation for a production line (32) comprising the steps: Outputting a product-type-specific specification to at least one loading device (36), to which a product-type-specific specification can be output for at least one product type that can be manufactured or processed by means of the production line (32) (S1); and, in response to the output product-type-specific specification and using intermediate storage facilities (34a to 34g), on and / or in which the individual parts for the at least one product type that can be manufactured or processed by means of the production line (3) are stored such that on and / or in each of the intermediate storage facilities (34a to 34g) individual parts of only one individual part type, which differs from the at least one other individual part type of the individual parts on and / or in the at least one further intermediate storage facility (34a to 34g), transferring exclusively the individual parts comprised by the respective product type by means of the at least one loading device (36) from the respective intermediate storage facilities (34a to 34t) onto the at least one shopping cart carrier (38) to be loaded therewith, taking into account information (S2) included in the issued product-type-specific specification and / or stored on at least one storage device of the automated shopping cart creator (30).

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein the at least one shopping cart carrier (38) loaded with at least one individual part at at least one loading position (46) of the automated shopping cart creator (30) by means of the at least one loading device (36) is transferred away from the respective loading position (46) by means of a transport system (40) of the production line (32) or by means of at least one intermediate transport system (48) connected to the transport system (40) (S3).

10. The method according to claim 8 or 9, wherein a warehouse (30) comprising at least the at least one loading device (36) and the at least one intermediate storage facility (34a to 34g) is used as a consignment warehouse.

11. Method according to one of claims 8 to 10, which comprises providing a vehicle network, wherein the provision is carried out by means of the following steps: Coupling a first unmanned autonomous transport vehicle, UAT, which has a control processor, an electrical energy storage device, a drive module and a sensor module, via a first UAT coupling interface with a second UAT coupling interface of a second UAT, which has a control processor and a maximum of two components from a component group comprising an electrical energy storage device, a drive module and a sensor module, • wherein the first UAT comprises a workpiece carrier (42) or is configured to receive the workpiece carrier (42) and the second UAT comprises the shopping cart carrier (38) or is designed to accommodate the shopping cart carrier (38), or • wherein the first UAT comprises the basket carrier (38) or is configured to receive the basket carrier (38) and the second UAT comprises the workpiece carrier (42) or is configured to receive the workpiece carrier (42); Providing, by the first UAT, the functionality of the missing component of the component group to the second UAT; and Joint action of the first UAT and the second UAT to transport a shopping cart carrier and a workpiece that can be manufactured from the individual parts of the shopping cart or machined with these individual parts.

12. A method for operating a production line (32) comprising the step: Forming shopping baskets for the production line (32) by means of an automated shopping basket creation according to the method according to one of claims 8 to 11.

13. The method according to claim 12, comprising the steps: • Coupling the shopping cart carrier (38) with a workpiece carrier (42) to form a vehicle assembly, wherein the shopping cart carrier (38) can be loaded or is loaded with individual parts for at least one product type that can be produced or processed by means of the production line (32), and wherein the workpiece carrier (42) is designed to transport the workpiece that can be produced or processed by means of the assembled individual parts along the production line (32), • Transporting the shopping cart carrier and a product made from the individual parts of the shopping cart or The workpiece, which can be machined into individual parts, is transported by means of the transport system (40) to a first station (44a) of the production line (32).

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