Article processing device and article processing system

Abstract

To easily calculate the emission amount of carbon dioxide.SOLUTION: An article processing device 1 according to one embodiment includes a storage part 11 for storing information, a read part 12 for reading a unique identifier from merchandise having the unique identifier, a processing part 13 for processing the merchandise on the basis of preset operation, an acquisition part 14 for acquiring information about a power use amount used when the processing part 13 processes the merchandise, and a control part 15 for associating the unique identifier with the information about the power use amount to store them in the storage part 11.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an article processing apparatus and an article processing system. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, countries have been required to reduce greenhouse gas emissions as a measure against global warming. The most representative greenhouse gas is carbon dioxide (CO2). [Prior art documents] [Non-patent literature]

[0003] [Non-Patent Document 1] <https: / / ondankataisaku.env.go.jp / carbon_neutral / > Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, there is currently a problem in that there are no products that take into consideration carbon dioxide emissions in food production lines.

[0005] Therefore, the present invention has been made in consideration of the above problems, and has an object to provide an item processing apparatus and an item processing system that can easily calculate the amount of carbon dioxide emissions. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] An item processing device in one embodiment comprises a memory unit for storing information, a reading unit for reading a unique identifier from a product having a unique identifier, a processing unit for processing the product based on a predetermined operation, an acquisition unit for acquiring information regarding the amount of electricity consumption used when the product was processed by the processing unit, and a control unit for associating the unique identifier with the information regarding the amount of electricity consumption and storing the information in the memory unit.

[0007] An item processing system according to one embodiment has a plurality of item processing devices, a memory unit, and a calculation unit, each of the plurality of item processing devices having a unique identifier, a reading unit that reads the unique identifier from a product having the unique identifier, a processing unit that processes the product based on a predetermined operation, an acquisition unit that acquires information regarding the amount of electricity consumption used when the product was processed by the processing unit, and a transmission unit that transmits the unique identifier and the information regarding the amount of electricity consumption, wherein the memory unit stores the unique identifier and the information regarding the amount of electricity consumption transmitted from the plurality of item processing devices, and the calculation unit identifies all of the information regarding the amount of electricity consumption corresponding to the products stored in the memory unit, and calculates the amount of carbon dioxide emissions based on the identified information regarding the amount of electricity consumption and an emission coefficient for each electric power provider. Effect of the Invention

[0008] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an item processing apparatus and an item processing system that can easily calculate the amount of carbon dioxide emissions. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a schematic overall configuration of an article processing system 100 according to an embodiment. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of functional blocks of the combination weighing device (article processing device) 1 according to one embodiment. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of information stored in the storage unit 11 of the combination weighing device (article processing device) 1 according to one embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of emission coefficients for each electric power supplier. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] A preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following description of the drawings, the same or similar parts are given the same or similar reference numerals. However, it should be noted that the drawings are schematic and the ratios of the dimensions are different from the actual ones. Therefore, the specific dimensions should be determined with reference to the following description. In addition, the drawings may include parts with different dimensional relationships and ratios. In this specification and the drawings, elements having substantially the same functions and configurations are given the same reference numerals to avoid repeated explanations, and elements not directly related to the present invention are not illustrated.

[0011] (First embodiment) An article processing system 100 according to a first embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to FIGS.

[0012] As shown in FIG. 1, an article processing system 100 according to this embodiment includes a combination weighing device 1, a bag-making and packaging device 3, a seal inspection device 5, a weight inspection device 6, and a boxing device .

[0013] The combination weighing device 1 is a device that calculates the weight of objects supplied from a transport conveyor arranged upstream to a target weight value and supplies the objects to the bag making and packaging device 3. The bag making and packaging device 3 is a device that manufactures products by packaging the objects whose combinations have been calculated by the combination weighing device 1 while producing bags in which to package the objects. The seal inspection device 5 is a device that inspects the thickness of the product bags and the presence or absence of air leaks. The weight inspection device 6 is a device that inspects the weight of the products manufactured in the bag making and packaging device 3. The boxing device 7 is a device that packs the products into cardboard boxes (boxes used for packing products).

[0014] As shown in FIG. 1, each of the above devices included in the article processing system 100 is connected to a server 200 via a network 300 .

[0015] In the following, in this embodiment, a combination weighing device 1 will be described as an example of an item processing device, but the present invention is not limited to this example, and other devices (for example, a bag making and packaging device 3, a seal inspection device 5, a weight inspection device 6, a boxing device 7, etc.) may also be the item processing device.

[0016] As shown in FIG. 2, the combination weighing device (article processing device) 1 includes a memory unit 11, a reading unit 12, a processing unit 13, an acquisition unit 14, a control unit 15, a transmission unit 16, a calculation unit 17, and an input unit 18.

[0017] The storage unit 11 stores information. For example, as shown in Fig. 3, the storage unit 11 stores a unique identifier of a product in association with information on the amount of power used when the product was processed by the processing unit 13 described below. The storage unit 11 stores the information shown in Fig. 3 in response to an instruction from the control unit 15, as described below.

[0018] The storage unit 11 may delete the information after a predetermined period of time has elapsed since the start of storage. The predetermined period of time may differ for each product. Furthermore, the storage unit 11 may overwrite the information beginning with the oldest information when the size of the stored information exceeds a predetermined amount. Furthermore, the storage unit 11 may delete the information relating to the unique identifier and the amount of power usage transmitted to the server 200 by the transmission unit 16 described below.

[0019] The reading unit 12 reads a unique identifier from a product having such a unique identifier. Such a unique identifier may be included, for example, in a two-dimensional or three-dimensional barcode printed on the product's package (for example, a bag for wrapping the item) together with other information, or may be included in a chip attached to the product together with other information. The reading unit 12 may also be configured to be composed of a camera that captures moving images or still images, and to perform OCR processing on the captured moving images or still images to read the unique identification information. In this case, the unique identifier is printed on the product as character information.

[0020] Here, the unique identifier is an identifier unique to each product, and may include, for example, information indicating the type of product and a product number. The unique identifier may also include information indicating the date on which the product was processed by the processing unit 13. The unique identifier may be of variable length or fixed length.

[0021] The processing unit 13 processes the products based on a preset operation. For example, the processing unit 13 of the combination weighing device 1 performs a calculation of the combination of the items.

[0022] The acquisition unit 14 acquires information related to the above-mentioned power consumption. For example, the acquisition unit 14 of the combination weighing device 1 acquires information related to the power consumption used in processing items included in one product. Specifically, the processing unit 13 of the combination weighing device 1 determines the power consumption at the timing when the items included in one product are discharged downstream. In this case, the combination weighing device 1 determines the total amount of power consumption used to process the items within its own device, such as transporting, discharging, and combination calculation of the items, as the final power consumption.

[0023] For example, the unit of power consumption is kWh. The information on the power consumption may be the above-mentioned power consumption itself, or may be information indicating the above-mentioned power consumption amount.

[0024] When the amount of power used in each process does not change, the acquisition unit 14 may acquire information on the amount of power used in a certain number of processes, or may acquire information on the amount of power used in processes for a certain period of time. For example, the amount of power used when processing goods may be measured for a certain period of time, and an estimated value may be calculated based on the measured value. Also, instead of a certain period of time, a certain number of discharges may be used. In short, the combination weighing device 1 may be configured to use an estimated value estimated to have been used when processing goods.

[0025] The control unit 15 controls each of the storage unit 11, the reading unit 12, the processing unit 13, the acquisition unit 14, the transmission unit 16, the calculation unit 17, and the input unit 18.

[0026] For example, the control unit 15 causes the storage unit 11 to store the above-mentioned unique identifier and information related to the amount of electric power data in association with each other.

[0027] The transmitter 16 transmits the unique identifier and the information on the amount of power consumption stored in the memory 11 to the server 200 via the network 300.

[0028] Here, the transmission unit 16 may encrypt the unique identifier and the information on the amount of power consumption and transmit the encrypted information to the server 200.

[0029] Alternatively, the transmission unit 16 may use a blockchain to transmit the unique identifier and information related to the amount of power usage to the server 200. In this case, the network 300 is a network in which a blockchain is built.

[0030] These configurations make it possible to prevent the unique identifier and information on the amount of power usage transmitted to the server 200 from being tampered with.

[0031] Furthermore, the transmission unit 16 may transmit the unique identifier and the information on the amount of power usage in real time to the server 200. Alternatively, the transmission unit 16 may transmit information on a predetermined amount of power usage together with the unique identifier to the server 200.

[0032] The calculation unit 17 calculates the amount of carbon dioxide emission based on the information related to the amount of power consumption stored in the storage unit 11. Specifically, the calculation unit 17 can calculate the amount of carbon dioxide emission by multiplying the amount of power consumption by the emission coefficient.

[0033] In such a case, the memory unit 11 stores an emission coefficient for each electric power supplier, and the calculation unit 17 may calculate the amount of carbon dioxide emissions by multiplying the information regarding the amount of electricity consumption stored in the memory unit 11 by the emission coefficient of the electric power supplier that supplied such amount of electricity consumption.

[0034] The input unit 18 acquires the emission coefficient for each electric power company input from outside, and stores it in the storage unit 11 .

[0035] The above-mentioned item processing device 100 may be a stretch wrapping machine or a labeler installed in the back yard of a supermarket. The stretch wrapping machine is a device that wraps items placed on a tray with film. In this case, the stretch wrapping machine stores information regarding the amount of electricity used from the start of conveying the tray placed on the stretch wrapping machine to the completion of wrapping with film. Meanwhile, the labeler is a device that issues labels on which information about products is printed. In this case, the labeler records information regarding the amount of electricity used from the start of printing on the label to the completion of actually printing the label.

[0036] (Example of change) Modifications of the present invention will be described below, focusing on differences from the above-described first embodiment.

[0037] In the item processing system 100 of this modified example, each of the multiple item processing devices (i.e., at least one of the combination weighing device 1, bag making and packaging device 3, seal inspection device 5, weight inspection device 6 and boxing device 7) has at least the above-mentioned reading unit 12, processing unit 13, acquisition unit 14, control unit 15 and transmission unit 16.

[0038] In this modified example, the above-mentioned storage unit 11 and calculation unit 17 may be provided in the server 200, or may be provided in each of the multiple item processing devices.

[0039] According to the article processing system 100 of this embodiment, it is possible to calculate the amount of carbon dioxide emissions in a food production line, specifically in each article processing apparatus.

[0040] Although the present invention has been described in detail using the above-mentioned embodiment, it is clear to those skilled in the art that the present invention is not limited to the embodiment described in the present specification. The present invention can be implemented in modified and altered forms without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention defined by the description of the claims. Therefore, the description in this specification is intended to be illustrative and does not have any limiting meaning on the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0041] 100...Materials handling system 200...Server 300…Network 1...Combination weighing device 11...Storage section 12...Reading section 13... Processing section 14…Acquisition part 15...Control section 16...Transmitter 17...Calculation section 18...Input section 3…Bag making and packaging equipment 5…Seal inspection device 6. Weight inspection equipment 7...Boxing device

Claims

1. A storage unit that stores information; a reading unit that reads a unique identifier from a product having a unique identifier; A processing unit that processes the product based on a preset operation; an acquisition unit that acquires information regarding an amount of electricity used when the product is processed by the processing unit; An item processing apparatus comprising: a control unit that associates the unique identifier with information regarding the amount of electric power data and stores the information in the memory unit.

2. a transmission unit configured to transmit the unique identifier and information regarding the amount of power consumption to a server; The item processing device according to claim 1 , wherein the transmission unit transmits the unique identifier and the information regarding the amount of power consumption to the server after encrypting the information or using a blockchain.

3. a transmission unit configured to transmit the unique identifier and information regarding the amount of power consumption to a server; The article processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the transmission unit transmits the unique identifier and the information on the amount of power consumption to the server in real time, or transmits a predetermined amount of information on the amount of power consumption together with the unique identifier to the server.

4. The article processing apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising a calculation unit that calculates an amount of carbon dioxide emission based on the information regarding the amount of power consumption.

5. The storage unit stores an emission coefficient for each electric power company, The item processing apparatus according to claim 4 , wherein the calculation unit calculates the amount of carbon dioxide emission based on the information relating to the amount of power consumption and the emission coefficient.

6. An article processing system having a plurality of article processing devices, a memory unit, and a calculation unit, Each of the plurality of article processing devices includes: a reading unit that reads a unique identifier from a product having a unique identifier; A processing unit that processes the product based on a preset operation; an acquisition unit that acquires information regarding an amount of electricity used when the product is processed by the processing unit; a transmitter that transmits the unique identifier and information regarding the amount of power consumption, the storage unit stores the unique identifier and information regarding the amount of power consumption transmitted from the plurality of item processing devices; The calculation unit identifies information regarding all of the electricity consumption corresponding to the products stored in the memory unit, and calculates the amount of carbon dioxide emissions based on the identified information regarding the electricity consumption and the emission coefficient for each electric power provider.

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