Item categorizing system

Abstract

To provide an item categorizing system, with which high article storage efficiency is achieved when there is a shelf portion on which trays for storing items are placed on each of multiple levels.SOLUTION: An item categorizing system according to an embodiment includes an input part into which items to be categorized are input, a shelf portion on which trays for each categorizing destination for categorizing items are placed in each of multiple levels, a sorter arranged between the input part and the shelf portion, and a control device for controlling at least the sorter. The input part includes a conveying device for conveying the input items, and a transporting device for receiving the items from the conveying device and passing the received items to the sorter. The sorter includes a transfer part that has a pull-out mechanism for pulling out the trays from the shelf portion and returning them. When there are items in the sorter, the control device controls the sorter to make the transfer part pull out the trays to which the items are to be categorized from the shelf portion, input the items into the trays, and return the trays to the shelf portion by the transfer part.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Embodiments of the present invention relate to an article classification system.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, for example, there is an article classification system including a shelf portion on which trays for accommodating articles are placed in each of a plurality of stages, and the articles are conveyed to in front of the tray at the classification destination of the shelf portion and put into the tray.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] However, in the above-described article classification system, a space as a passage area at the time of article input is required above each individual tray. Therefore, the height per stage of the shelf becomes high, and there is room for improvement in terms of article accommodation efficiency.

[0005] Therefore, the problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide an article classification system capable of achieving high article accommodation efficiency when including a shelf portion on which trays for accommodating articles are placed in each of a plurality of stages.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] The article sorting system according to the embodiment includes an input unit into which an article to be sorted is input, a shelf unit on which trays for each sorting destination for accommodating the article are placed in a plurality of stages, a sorter disposed between the input unit and the shelf unit, and at least a control device for controlling the sorter. The input unit includes a conveying device for conveying the input article and a transporting device for receiving the article from the conveying device and delivering the received article to the sorter. The sorter includes a transfer unit having a drawing mechanism for drawing out and returning the tray from the shelf unit. When there is an article in the sorter, the control device controls the sorter to draw out the tray of the sorting destination of the article from the shelf unit by the transfer unit, input the article into the tray, and return the tray to the shelf unit by the transfer unit.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0007]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

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Figure 7

Figure 8

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0008] Hereinafter, embodiments of the article sorting system of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. First, in order to facilitate the understanding of the article sorting system of the present embodiment, the prior art will be described again.

[0009] FIG. 8 is an overall configuration diagram showing an example of a part of a prior art article sorting system. The article sorting system includes a sorter 2 and a shelf unit 3. The shelf unit 3 includes shelf boards on which trays T for accommodating articles G are placed in each of a plurality of tiers. The tray T is, here as an example, a substantially rectangular parallelepiped box with an open top. And, as shown in (a), (b), and (c), the article G is put into the destination tray T in the shelf unit 3 by the sorter 2.

[0010] However, in such an article sorting system, a space is required as a passage area when articles are put in above each individual tray T. Therefore, the height per tier of the shelf becomes high, and there is room for improvement in terms of article accommodation efficiency.

[0011] Therefore, hereinafter, an article sorting system capable of realizing high article accommodation efficiency in the case of including a shelf unit on which trays for accommodating articles are placed in each of a plurality of tiers will be described.

[0012] FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram showing an outline of the article sorting system S of the embodiment. The article sorting system S includes a loading unit 1, a sorter 2, a shelf unit 3, and a control device 4. Note that in FIG. 1, only one of the loading unit 1, the sorter 2, the shelf unit 3, and the control device 4 is shown, but it is not limited thereto, and there may be two or more of each.

[0013] The loading unit 1 is a device into which an article G to be sorted is loaded, and includes a loading port 11, a conveying device 12, a conveyor 13, a scanner 14, and the like.

[0014] The loading port 11 is configured to receive the article G loaded by an operator M, a robot, or the like.

[0015] The conveying device 12 conveys the article G input into the input port 11. Although two conveying devices 12 are shown for illustrative purposes in FIG. 1, actually there is only one.

[0016] The conveyor 13 (13a to 13d) is a conveying device that receives the article G from the conveying device 12 and delivers the received article G to the sorter 2.

[0017] The scanner 14 is a device that reads an ID (Identifier) for article identification from the code attached to the article G. The scanner 14 has, for example, an OCR (Optical Character Recognition) function. Note that the installation position of the scanner 14 is not limited to the position shown in FIG. 1, and it may be at any position as long as it can read the ID from the code of the article G input into the input port 11.

[0018] The sorter 2 is disposed between the input unit 1 and the shelf unit 3 and includes step portions 21 (21a to 21d) and a transfer unit 22.

[0019] The step portion 21 is configured to receive the article G from the conveyor 13. Also, the step portion 21 can move the article G by means of a conveyor structure or the like.

[0020] The transfer unit 22 is movable in the vertical direction and has a drawing mechanism for pulling out and returning the tray T from the shelf unit 3 (details will be described later).

[0021] The shelf unit 3 includes shelf boards on which trays T for each sorting destination for accommodating the article G are placed on each of a plurality of levels.

[0022] The control device 4 is a computer device including a storage unit 41, a communication unit 42, an operation unit 43, a display unit 44, and a control unit 45. Note that the control device 4 may be provided separately for controlling the input unit 1 and for controlling the sorter 2, for example. Here, however, for the sake of simplicity of explanation, it will be described as a single device.

[0023] The storage unit 41 stores various types of information. The storage unit 41 includes, for example, a ROM (Read Only Memory) in which a control program, control data, etc. are pre-stored, and a RAM (Random Access Memory) which is a temporary storage area for data during processing. Further, the storage unit 41 may include an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), an SSD (Solid State Drive), etc. The storage unit 41 stores, for example, destination information indicating the destination tray T corresponding to the ID with respect to the article G.

[0024] The communication unit 42 is a communication interface for communicating with external devices (such as the input unit 1 and the sorter 2).

[0025] The operation unit 43 is a means for receiving various operation inputs by an operator, and is configured by, for example, a touch panel.

[0026] The display unit 44 is a means for displaying various types of information, and is configured by, for example, a liquid crystal monitor. When the operation unit 43 is configured by a touch panel, the display unit 44 may also be integrally formed with the operation unit 43.

[0027] The control unit 45 is a means for executing various controls, and is configured by, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit). The control unit 45 realizes various controls by executing the program stored in the storage unit 41. Note that part or all of the control unit 45 may be realized by a hardware circuit.

[0028] The control unit 45 controls, for example, the transport device 12, the conveyor 13, the sorter 2, the transfer unit 22, etc. based on the ID read by the scanner 14 for the article G input into the input port 11, and inputs it into the destination tray T. Specifically, for example, when there is an article G in the sorter 2 (the step part 21), the control unit 45 controls the sorter 2 to pull out the destination tray T of the article G from the shelf part 3 by the transfer unit 22, input the article G into the tray T, and return the tray T to the shelf part 3 by the transfer unit 22.

[0029] Figure 2 is an explanatory diagram of the operation when an article is loaded into the tray T in the embodiment. As shown in (a), first, the transfer unit 22 pulls out the tray T to the sorting destination from the shelf unit 3. Next, as shown in (b) and (c), the sorter 2 loads the article G into the tray T. Next, as shown in (d), the transfer unit 22 returns the tray T to the shelf unit 3.

[0030] By adopting such a configuration for performing the operation, a space as a passage area during article loading is not required above each individual tray T in the shelf unit 3. Therefore, the height of each shelf level can be reduced. Thus, high article storage efficiency can be achieved.

[0031] Next, an example of the structure of the transfer unit 22 will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 to 5. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a first example of the structure of the transfer unit 22 in the embodiment. As shown in FIG. 3, the transfer unit 22 includes a main body 22a and an arm 22b as a drawing mechanism. The arm 22b has a structure that can be extended and retracted and supports the tray T at the lower part and the side part. With such a transfer unit 22, it is possible to pull out the tray T from the shelf unit 3.

[0032] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a second example of the structure of the transfer unit 22 in the embodiment. As shown in FIG. 4, when the shelf unit 3 approaches the sorter 2, the transfer unit 22c supports the tray T at the lower part in the same manner as a forklift. Then, after the shelf unit 3 moves away from the sorter 2, the sorter 2 loads the article G into the tray T. If the transfer unit 22c has a structure with an extendable and retractable arm, instead of the shelf unit 3 approaching and then moving away, the tray T can be supported at the lower part and pulled out from the shelf unit 3 by extending and retracting the arm.

[0033] FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a third example of the structure of the transfer unit 22 of the embodiment. (b) is a view when (a) is viewed in the B direction. (c) is a view when (a) is viewed in the A direction. As shown in FIG. 5, the transfer unit 22 includes a main body portion 22d and an arm 22e which is a drawing mechanism. The arm 22e is stretchable, has a claw portion 22f, and is structured to support the tray T at the lower portion and with the claw portion 22f. With such a transfer unit 22, it becomes possible to pull out the tray T from the shelf portion 3.

[0034] In this way, the transfer unit 22 can be realized as a structure as shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, for example.

[0035] Next, FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of the structure of the sorter 2 of the embodiment. (b) is a view when (a) is viewed in the C direction. As shown in FIG. 6, the sorter 2 includes a trapezoidal slider 23 (sliding table) when viewed in the C direction. In the sorter 2, the article G is put into the tray T placed on the transfer unit 22 (that is, pulled out from the shelf portion 3) via the slider 23 from the stepped portion 21. In this way, the sorter 2 can be realized as a structure having a slider 23 as shown in FIG. 6, for example.

[0036] Next, FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an example of the processing by the control device 4 of the embodiment. Here, it is assumed that the article G to be classified is put into the input port 11 of the input unit 1.

[0037] In step S1, the control unit 45 of the control device 4 acquires the ID of the article G from the scanner 14.

[0038] Next, in step S2, the control unit 45 refers to the storage unit 41 and acquires the classification destination information corresponding to the ID.

[0039] Next, in step S3, the control unit 45 controls the transport device 12, the conveyor 13, etc., and transports the article G to the stepped portion 21 of the sorter 2 (FIG. 2(a)).

[0040] Next, in step S4, the control unit 45 controls the sorter 2 to pull out the destination tray T from the shelf unit 3 by the transfer unit 22 (Fig. 2(a)).

[0041] Next, in step S5, the control unit 45 controls the sorter 2 to load the article G into the tray T (Figs. 2(b) and (c)).

[0042] Next, in step S6, the control unit 45 controls the sorter 2 to return the tray T to the shelf unit 3 by the transfer unit 22 (Fig. 2(d)).

[0043] As described above, in the article sorting system S of the present embodiment, when the shelf unit 3 having trays T placed on each of a plurality of levels is provided, the article G is loaded into the tray T pulled out from the shelf unit 3. As a result, since a space as a passage area at the time of article loading is not required above each individual tray T in the shelf unit 3, the height of each shelf can be reduced, and high article storage efficiency can be achieved.

[0044] In addition, by using an arm (drawing mechanism) that is stretchable and supports the tray T at at least one of the lower part and the side part for the transfer unit 22, the transfer unit 22 can be realized with a simple structure.

[0045] Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described, this embodiment is presented as an example and is not intended to limit the scope of the invention. This novel embodiment can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, replacements, and changes can be made without departing from the gist of the invention. This embodiment and its modifications are included in the scope and gist of the invention, and are also included in the invention described in the claims and its equivalent scope.

[0046] In addition, the program executed by the control device 4 of the present embodiment can be provided by recording it on a computer-readable recording medium such as a CD (Compact Disc)-ROM (Read Only Memory), flexible disk (FD), CD-R (Recordable), DVD (Digital Versatile Disk) in an installable format or an executable format. Further, the program may be provided or distributed via a network such as the Internet.

Explanation of Signs

[0047] 1... Input unit, 2... Sorter, 3... Shelf unit, 4... Control device, 11... Input port, 12... Conveyor, 13... Conveyor (transport device), 14... Scanner, 21... Step part, 22... Transfer part, 41... Storage part, 42... Communication part, 43... Operation part, 44... Display part, 45... Control part, G... Article, M... Operator, S... Article classification system, T... Tray

Claims

1. An input unit into which an article to be sorted is inserted, A shelf unit on which trays for each sorting destination for accommodating the articles are placed in a plurality of stages, A sorter disposed between the input unit and the shelf unit, And a control device for controlling at least the sorter, The input unit A conveying device for conveying the inserted article, A transporting device that receives the article from the conveying device and delivers the received article to the sorter, The sorter Includes a transfer unit having a drawing mechanism for drawing out and returning the tray from the shelf unit, The control device When the article is present in the sorter, controls the sorter to draw out the tray of the sorting destination of the article by the transfer unit from the shelf unit, insert the article into the tray, and return the tray to the shelf unit by the transfer unit, an article sorting system.

2. The drawing mechanism includes an arm that is stretchable and supports the tray at at least one of the lower part and the side part, The article sorting system according to claim 1.

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