Picking cart

Abstract

To efficiently perform picking work of a commodity.SOLUTION: This picking cart 1 having a plurality of weighing parts 10 has a first mode for weighing one kind of commodity by at least two or more predetermined weighing parts.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a picking cart. [Background technology]

[0002] Picking carts are known to assist in the picking process of placing products in a cart in a warehouse. Logistics warehouses are experiencing a chronic labor shortage, and there is a need to improve the efficiency of picking work. In picking carts that carry multiple containers and weigh each item independently, work is carried out by assigning different orders to each container. However, when the products included in an order cannot be loaded into one container, the container must be replaced, which is cumbersome. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 5417034 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Therefore, one of the objects of the present invention is to efficiently perform product picking work. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, a picking cart according to one aspect of the present invention is a picking cart equipped with multiple weighing units, and is equipped with a first mode in which one type of product is weighed using at least two or more specified weighing units. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0006] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic perspective view seen from the front side, showing a picking cart according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. [Figure 2]FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of the picking cart. [Figure 3] 10 is a first example of a screen displayed on a display unit of the picking cart. [Figure 4] 10 is a second example of a screen displayed on the display unit of the picking cart. [Figure 5] 10 is a first example of a screen displayed on a display unit of a picking cart according to a second embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 6] 10 is a second example of a screen displayed on the display unit of the picking cart according to the second embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0007] A picking cart 1 (hereinafter also referred to as "cart 1") according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the following description, the direction of travel of the picking cart 1 is defined as the +Y direction, the width direction of the cart 1 that is perpendicular to the direction of travel is defined as the +X direction, and the vertical direction is defined as the +Z direction. Note that the direction of travel is merely a general direction, and the cart 1 can also be moved in the opposite direction to the direction of travel.

[0008] Overview of picking carts and picking systems As shown in FIG. 1, a picking cart 1 is a device that stores and transports products collected by picking work in a warehouse, supermarket, or the like. The cart 1 is controlled by a control unit 20 installed on the cart 1 itself or a higher-level management device 2 (see FIG. 2). The control unit 20 is, for example, integrated into a display unit 51, but this configuration is not limiting and the control unit 2 may be configured independently of the display unit 51. The cart 1 and the management device 2 constitute a picking system 100. The picking system 100 is a system that assists in picking work, such as picking products from shelves in a space such as a warehouse where a wide variety of products are stored. The picking system 100 transmits information indicating the products to be stored in each cart, i.e., picking work instruction information, to a worker. The picking system 100 may include an autonomously traveling cart that has an electric drive unit and travels autonomously, and a manual cart that is manually moved by a worker.

[0009] The cart 1 has multiple wheels 72 on its bottom surface, and is a device in the shape of two upper and lower tiers of flat plates connected above the wheels 72 by a support pillar located approximately in the center. The multiple wheels 72 are arranged around the periphery of the bottom surface of the cart 1 to support the cart 1 and rotate as the cart 1 moves. A battery 90 that supplies power to each functional unit is mounted below the support pillar. The cart 1 has multiple weighing units 10 (10a, 10b, 10c, 10d) that weigh products. In this embodiment, the weighing units 10a and 10b are arranged side by side in the front and rear of the cart in the direction of travel on the upper tier, and the weighing units 10c and 10d are arranged in the front and rear of the cart in the direction of travel on the lower tier, sandwiching the battery 90 between them.

[0010] Furthermore, each weighing unit 10 displays identification information of the weighing unit 10 that can be seen by an operator. Specifically, labels 12a to 12d, designated A to D, are attached to the sides of the weighing unit 10. Furthermore, a scale barcode containing the identification information of the weighing unit 10 is fixed near or overlapping each of the labels 12a to 12d. The scale barcode can be read by a scanner 61 to identify the identification information of the weighing unit 10.

[0011] The cart 1 has multiple weighing units 10. In this embodiment, there are four weighing units 10, each capable of weighing independently. The top surfaces of the weighing units 10 are flat and hold containers for containing products. That is, a container is placed on the top surface of each of the multiple weighing units 10. The containers are, for example, foldable containers, so-called folding containers, each of whose surfaces is formed by connecting multiple elongated flat plates and hinges. The containers are box-shaped members with an opening at the top, and picked products are placed inside the container. The weighing units 10 weigh the products contained in each container. The weighing units 10 may store the weight of the container in advance and measure the weight of the products themselves by performing a tare process. The containers are delivered to different destinations. Therefore, each weighing unit 10 is linked to the destination of the product.

[0012] The cart 1 according to this embodiment has two weighing units 10, one above the other, with two weighing units 10 provided on each level along the direction of travel, but multiple weighing units 10, for example, two, may be provided along the width of the cart. The number of weighing units 10 may also be three or less, or five or more.

[0013] On the upper level of the cart 1, at the rear in the direction of travel, there is provided a workbench 110 on which an operator can perform various operations on the cart 1. On the workbench 110, there are mainly arranged grips 101 that an operator holds when manually moving the cart 1, a printing mechanism 41 that issues labels to be affixed to containers, a display unit 51, a scanner 61 that reads barcodes, a physical button operation unit 7, etc.

[0014] The printing mechanism 41 is held on the underside of the work table 110 and prints on labels pulled out from the label roll. The printed labels are ejected from the side of the cart 1. When the barcode printed on the picking list is scanned by the scanner 61, the printing mechanism 41 issues a shipping label. The shipping label is printed with, for example, the issue date and time, the issuer ID, information about the products included in the order, information about delivery, etc. Information about the products includes, for example, the product name, barcode, product code, quantity, unit weight, and measured weight. Information about delivery includes, for example, the name of the customer and store to which the product is to be delivered.

[0015] The display unit 51 is a so-called touch panel display in which a liquid crystal display 51a and a touch panel 51b (see FIG. 2) are stacked on top of each other, allowing data to be displayed and input on the same surface. When the operator touches the touch panel 51b, it detects the position of the touch and accepts input according to the detected position. The display unit 51 displays picking work instruction information, the status of the cart 1, etc. to the worker.

[0016] The display unit 51 is disposed at the top rear of the cart 1 in the direction of travel, with the display surface facing in the opposite direction to the direction of travel. In other words, the display unit 51 is visible to a worker behind the cart 1 in the direction of travel. This worker may, for example, be someone who pushes the cart 1 or someone who runs alongside the automatically traveling cart 1.

[0017] The scanner 61 is capable of reading barcodes on products, shelves in a warehouse, containers, labels, etc. The scanner 61 may include a wireless handheld scanner 61a, as well as a fixed scanner 61b that is fixed above the work table 110 and has a reading area that is a partial area on or above the work table 110. The fixed scanner 61b can read barcodes by holding a label issued by the printing mechanism unit 41 over it, for example.

[0018] Furthermore, each worker may carry a separate wireless scanner 61. In this case, the wireless scanner 61 may be connected to the cart 1 using an appropriate standard such as Bluetooth (registered trademark) to perform short-range communication and transfer scanned data.

[0019] Further, a frame 103 that surrounds the entire cart 1 from the outside is provided at the bottom of the cart 1.

[0020] ●Block diagram 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the cart 1. The cart 1 is equipped with multiple weighing units 10, a control unit 20, a printing unit 40, an operation unit 50, and a reading unit 60. Each of the multiple weighing units 10 is equipped with a load cell 11 and measures the weight of the product.

[0021] The control unit 20 includes a CPU 21, a load cell control unit 22, an operation control unit 24, a display control device 25, a ROM 26, a RAM 27, a communication processing unit 30, and an interface circuit 35. The CPU 21 is connected to each unit of the control unit 20 via a bus. The control unit 20 is also connected to a print mechanism unit 41 and a scanner 61 via the interface circuit 35.

[0022] The CPU 21 reads the control program stored in the ROM 26 and various information stored in the RAM 27, and controls each part based on the read control program and various information. The CPU 21 also stores necessary information in the RAM 27. The ROM 26 stores various information such as various programs executed by the CPU 21. The RAM 27 is a temporary storage area that stores information used by the CPU 21. The RAM 27 also serves as storage means for storing various files.

[0023] The CPU 21 also functions as an input control unit that acquires information input to the touch panel 51b and the button operation unit 7 via the operation control unit 24.

[0024] The CPU 21 also functions as an output control unit that changes the display content of the screen displayed on the liquid crystal display 51a via the display control device 25. The output control unit is configured to output various information to be communicated to the operator, and in addition to or instead of the configuration of controlling the liquid crystal display 51a to display information as described above, the output control unit may output information by other means such as sound. For example, the output control unit may guide the operator on the tasks to be performed by voice.

[0025] The load cell control unit 22 controls the load cells 11 provided in each of the weighing units 10. The operation control unit 24 controls the touch panel 51b and the button operation unit 7. The touch panel 51b instructs a desired operation by touching a predetermined portion of the screen displayed on the liquid crystal display 51a. The display control device 25 controls the liquid crystal display 51a provided in the display unit 51.

[0026] The communication processing unit 30 is a functional unit that performs wireless communication with external devices. The communication processing unit 30 transmits and receives information to and from the management device 2, for example, via a network NW. The management device 2 is a higher-level device such as a server or a cloud computer. The communication processing unit 30 receives information such as identification information of the products to be loaded on the cart 1, location information within the warehouse where the products are stored, i.e., information on the lane, shelf, and row and column within the shelf, and the amount of products to be loaded. The communication processing unit 30 may also receive the travel route planned for the cart 1. Note that part or all of the above information may be stored in the management device 2 instead of being stored in the control unit 20 of the cart 1 and transmitted to the cart 1 . The printing unit 40 is configured by connecting the CPU 21 and the like to a printing mechanism 41 via an interface circuit 35. The printing mechanism 41 is, for example, a so-called printer, which prints labels and ejects (issues) the printed labels. The operation unit 50 is realized by the button operation unit 7 and the touch panel 51b. The reading unit 60 is configured by connecting the control unit 20 and the like to a scanner 61 via the interface circuit 35. The functional blocks configured by the control unit 20 and the management device 2 will be described later. Furthermore, the block configuration of the cart 1 is not limited to the configuration described in this embodiment, and any appropriate configuration can be adopted. For example, in this embodiment, the printing mechanism 41 and the scanner 61 are connected to the control unit 20 via the interface circuit 35, but instead, the control unit 20 may be configured to directly control the printing mechanism 41 or the scanner 61. Furthermore, the operation unit 50 or the display unit 51 may be connected to the control unit 20 via an appropriate interface circuit.

[0027] The picking cart 1 may be a manual cart that is moved by a worker or an autonomous cart. In the case of an autonomous cart, drive wheels and an appropriate control unit for controlling the drive wheels are provided. The autonomous cart may also be provided with a functional unit that generates a travel route based on a picking plan.

[0028] ● Functional section The picking system 100 includes a control unit 20 of the cart 1 or a management device 2, which includes a computing device such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) for executing information processing, and storage devices such as RAM (Random Access Memory) and ROM (Read Only Memory). These devices provide software resources, such as at least a product information storage unit, a shipping information storage unit, an order acquisition unit, a printing control unit, a linking unit, a mode switching unit, a counting unit, and a display control unit. The control unit 20 executes a computer program that controls the cart 1. The computer program can be provided by downloading it via a network such as the Internet, or by recording it on various computer-readable recording media such as a CD-ROM. Some or all of the above-described functional units may be implemented by the control unit 20 or the management device 2. The management device 2 may be configured with one or more pieces of hardware or may be a cloud computer. The above-described functional units may also be provided on a terminal operated by a user, such as a mobile terminal.

[0029] The product information storage unit is a functional unit that stores product identification information and product attributes. Product attributes include, for example, product weight or volume. Product weight is the weight per product, which is the so-called unit weight (also called "loose unit weight"). Product attributes may also include information such as the number of products that can be placed in one container. The product information storage unit also stores product identification information in association with location information that indicates the position of the shelf or storage unit where the product is stored. Each piece of product information, including the product unit weight, can be registered on a separate management screen.

[0030] The shipping information storage unit stores the shipping label attached to the container in association with the order identification information.

[0031] The order acquisition unit is a functional unit that acquires the type and number of products to be picked by the picking cart 1, i.e., the order. An order includes information on one type of product to be picked for one delivery destination. The order may be input by the worker via the management device 2, or may be received from another device via a network, etc. The worker specifies the order identification information (order ID) on the cart 1, thereby specifying the picking work to be performed on the cart 1. Note that the picking work to be performed may be determined by the management device 2, etc., and presented to the worker.

[0032] The print control unit is a functional unit that controls the print mechanism unit 41. For example, the print control unit issues a shipping label based on the order acquired by the order acquisition unit. The issued shipping label is then affixed to a container on the picking cart 1 by an operator.

[0033] The linking unit is a functional unit that manages the link between an order and the identification information of a shipping label affixed to a container. When the scanner 61 reads the code on the shipping label and the scale barcode of the weighing unit 10 fixed to the cart 1 in association with each other, the linking unit links the identification information of the order with the identification information of the shipping label and stores the linked information in the shipping information storage unit. The linking unit may also perform processing to delete the linking information related to the shipping label from the shipping information storage unit. For example, if there is an empty container when picking work for an order is completed, the shipping label affixed to the empty container is discarded, and the linking information related to this shipping label is deleted by the linking unit.

[0034] The mode switching unit is a functional unit that switches modes related to the settings of the weighing units 10. The picking cart 1 has a first mode in which one type of product is weighed using at least two or more weighing units 10, and a second mode in which one type of product is weighed using one weighing unit 10, and the mode switching unit is capable of switching between the first mode and the second mode.

[0035] Although the mode switching unit switches between two modes in this embodiment, it may also switch between three or more modes. For example, the picking cart 1 may have a mode in which two weighing units 10 weigh one type of product and two other weighing units 10 weigh another type of product. The picking cart 1 may also have a mode in which two weighing units 10 weigh one type of product and the other two weighing units 10 weigh different types of products. The picking cart 1 may also have a mode in which three weighing units 10 weigh one type of product and the other weighing unit 10 weigh a different type of product. In this embodiment, the picking cart 1 includes four weighing units 10, but the number of weighing units 10 is not limited to this. Regardless of the number of weighing units 10, combinations of weighing units 10 that weigh the same type of product may be set as appropriate modes, and the mode switching unit may switch between these modes.

[0036] The mode switching unit switches the mode in response to a mode selection input from the user, for example. More specifically, for example, a drop-down list may be displayed on the display unit 51, from which a first mode, "all scales, one order," and a second mode, "one scale, one order," can be selected and input.

[0037] The mode switching unit may also determine an appropriate mode depending on the order and automatically set the mode. For example, the number of items included in the order may be referenced, and if the number is equal to or greater than a predetermined number, the mode switching unit may determine to set the mode to the first mode. The volume of the items may also be referenced, and the number of items that can be accommodated in a container held in one weighing unit 10 may be estimated, and if the number of items included in the order exceeds the number that can be accommodated in one container, the mode switching unit may determine to set the mode to the first mode. Furthermore, the number that can be accommodated in one container may be linked and stored in advance for each item, and the mode switching unit may determine to set the mode to the first mode if the number of items included in the order exceeds that number. Instead of being configured to automatically change the mode, the mode switching unit may display the mode determined in response to the order as a recommended mode on the display unit 51 and then accept the mode selection by the operator.

[0038] The counting unit is a functional unit that counts the number of products placed on the weighing unit 10. The counting unit references the product information storage unit and extracts the unit weight of the products placed on it. Information about the products placed on it is obtained, for example, by reading a barcode or the like associated with the product with the scanner 61 or by receiving input of the product's identification information. The counting unit obtains the weighing value measured by the weighing unit 10 and divides this weighing value by the unit weight of the product to calculate the number of products placed on it.

[0039] The counting unit performs different counting processes depending on whether the picking cart 1 is in the first mode or the second mode. When the picking cart 1 is set to the second mode, the counting unit calculates the number of products placed on one predetermined weighing unit 10 and determines the calculation result as the number of those products. When the picking cart 1 is set to the first mode, the counting unit calculates the number of products placed on each of the multiple weighing units 10 that are set, and then adds up the calculation results to determine the number of those products.

[0040] With this configuration, when items in a container set to be placed in the same order are counted together regardless of which container they are placed in, this reduces the amount of empty space in the container when multiple items are being delivered to the same delivery destination, allowing items to be placed efficiently in the picking cart 1. Even if there is empty space in a container but the size of the item prevents it from being placed in, the item can be placed in another container, allowing the placement work to continue without changing containers. Furthermore, with a configuration that allows switching between the first and second modes, when multiple types of items need to be picked, setting the device to the second mode allows different items to be placed in each weighing unit 10. In other words, the picking cart according to the present invention allows for flexible improvement of work efficiency according to the characteristics of the order.

[0041] Furthermore, by configuring multiple weighing units 10 associated with the same order to each perform weighing, even if a single product is divided into multiple pieces and multiple pieces that should be treated as a single product are placed in different containers, resulting in a so-called "separation," the occurrence of the separation can be estimated and the number of products placed can be properly calculated. Furthermore, since the multiple weighing units 10 can each independently count the number of products placed, detailed management of the number of products in each container can also be performed.

[0042] Furthermore, when the designated number of products are put in in the first mode, the counting unit may determine whether or not products have been put in each of the weighing units 10a to 10d.

[0043] The display control unit is a functional unit that controls the display unit 15 and displays appropriate information. The display control unit causes the display unit 15 to display the number of products counted by the counting unit. In addition, in the first mode, the display control unit causes the display unit 15 to display the total number of products processed by two or more predetermined weighing units 10. With this configuration, even when one product is placed in containers held by multiple weighing units 10a to 10d, the total number of products inserted is displayed, making it easy for the operator to grasp the number of products inserted.

[0044] When a specified number of products have been added, the display control unit may display an instruction to replace the container on display unit 15. The specified number is the number that can be added to a container, and is determined in advance according to the product identification information, volume, etc. The display control unit displays on display unit 15 the identification information of weighing unit 10 that holds the container that needs to be replaced.

[0045] When the display control unit receives an operation from the worker to suspend the product insertion work and the first mode is set, the display control unit may display on the display unit 15 an instruction to associate and store the containers held by the multiple weighing units 10 associated with the same order as one set. Suspension is performed, for example, when the warehouse where the picking work is performed does not have the number of products specified in the insertion instruction and it is desired to insert another product instead of the product insertion work. With the above-described configuration, it is possible to continue inserting products into multiple containers even when the work for the suspended work instruction is resumed.

[0046] When the reserved containers are to be loaded back onto the cart 1, the labels attached to all of the containers stored in association with one order may be scanned by the scanner 61, and once the association with the weighing unit 10 is complete, the resumption of the operation may be permitted. With this configuration, even when the loading operation in the first mode is resumed, the associated containers can be reliably loaded.

[0047] If the label of a container for which the loading operation in the second mode is pending is scanned and held in one of the weighing units 10, and the label of a container associated with more containers in the first mode than the number of available weighing units 10 is scanned, an error message is displayed on the display unit 15. Also, designation of a container for which the loading operation in the first mode is pending is not permitted. This is because in the first mode, containers must be held in a predetermined number of weighing units 10, and if the predetermined number of containers cannot be placed on the cart 1, loading operation in the first mode cannot be performed.

[0048] Furthermore, when work on a suspended work order is resumed, scanning the label on any one of the multiple containers stored in association with a single work order resumes weighing and counting of the products in all associated containers. This configuration is highly convenient, as workers can load multiple containers by scanning one label.

[0049] When a container into which no product has been added is identified when the specified number of products have been added, or when there is a weighing unit 10 whose weighing result is approximately zero, the display control unit may display information about the weighing unit 10 holding the container into which no product has been added on the display unit 15. The display control unit may also display an instruction on the display unit 15 to discard the shipping label affixed to the container. Since there is no need to affix a shipping label to a container into which no product has been added, this configuration allows the worker to reliably discard unnecessary shipping labels. In this case, the identification information of the shipping label assigned to the empty container, which is stored in the shipping information storage unit, is discarded by the linking unit.

[0050] ●Screen example FIG. 3 shows a screen G10 that displays information about ordered products when the second mode is selected. Information about the ordered products is displayed in a target product display area G11, and includes, for example, the product name, product code, JAN code, expiration date, and location information of the products to be picked within the warehouse. While the location information is shown as five numbers connected by hyphens in the figure, it is not limited to this and may be, for example, a map showing the storage location. The worker refers to the location information on the screen G10 and moves the cart 1 to the storage location of the products to be picked. If the cart 1 is an autonomous cart, the cart 1 will automatically drive to the storage location of the products while the screen G10 is displayed.

[0051] Screen G10 displays guidance for placing products on weighing unit 10. Screen G10 also displays an operation area G12 for receiving input of various instructions, a container display field G13 for displaying information related to an order for multiple containers loaded on cart 1, a next process display area G14 for displaying some of the information related to the product scheduled to be picked after the product displayed in target product display area G11, and the like.

[0052] The container display field G13 is divided into four areas G13a-13d corresponding to the four weighing units 10a-10d, respectively, and each area displays a symbol A-D corresponding to the container identification information. Furthermore, the four areas G13a-13d display information about the picking order for each weighing unit 10a-10d, such as the number of items to be inserted and the number currently inserted. Furthermore, the four areas G13a-13d display the delivery destination of each container.

[0053] In the second mode, while the screen G10 is displayed, the operator places products into each of the containers held by the weighing units 10a-10d. In this case, the areas G13a-13d displaying information about the weighing units 10a-10d holding the containers to be placed may be highlighted in a different manner from the other areas. Furthermore, the areas G13a-13d displaying information about the weighing units 10a-10d linked to orders may display information about the products, while the areas G13a-13d corresponding to the weighing units 10a-10d not linked to orders may be blank. The weighing units 10a-10d sequentially weigh the weight of the products placed into each of the weighing units 10a-10d. Furthermore, the counting unit counts the number of products placed into each weighing unit 10a-10d based on the unit weight of the products and displays the count in the container display field G13.

[0054] When the number of products inserted into each weighing unit 10a-10d matches the instructed number to be inserted, a confirm button is displayed on screen G10. When the confirm button is pressed, weighing of the products in weighing unit 10 is completed. Next, if there is an instruction to work on another product, information about the next product is displayed in area G11. This is repeated until the instruction to work on all products is completed.

[0055] In the above explanation, the process is terminated when the confirmation button is pressed, but this is not limited to this. When the number of products inserted into each weighing unit 10a to 10d matches the number of products to be inserted, the process may be terminated automatically without waiting for operation from the operator.

[0056] 4 is an example of a screen G20 that is displayed when the first mode is set. Similar to screen G10, screen G20 displays a target product display area G11, an operation area G12, a container display field G13, a next process display area G14, and the like. Similar to screen G10, container display field G13 is divided into four areas G13a to G13d. Furthermore, only one of these areas, area G13b, displays information about the picking order and the delivery destination, etc. On screen G20, products inserted into any of the four weighing units 10 are weighed, and the total number of products counted according to the unit weight is displayed in area G13b.

[0057] 4, an embodiment has been described in which information about the picking order is displayed only in area G13b, but the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to this, and the information may be displayed in any of the four areas G13a to G13d, for example. Furthermore, the number of products weighed by the weighing units 10a to 10d corresponding to each of the multiple areas G13a to G13d corresponding to one order may be displayed in each of the multiple areas G13a to G13d, and the total number of products weighed by the weighing units 10a to 10d may be displayed in an appropriate area on screen G20.

[0058] Furthermore, information indicating the set mode may be displayed on screen G20. For example, in area G13b, which displays information about picking orders, the identification information of the weighing units 10a-10d that count the items may be displayed as "ABCD." The name of the mode may also be displayed on screen G20. Furthermore, areas G13a-G13d that display the total number of items loaded onto multiple weighing units 10a-10d may be displayed in a different manner, such as by using a different color or frame, than when displaying the number of items loaded onto a single weighing unit 10a-10d.

[0059] Alternatively, for example, the same text may be displayed in multiple areas G13a-G13d corresponding to weighing units 10 linked to the same order. In this case, if some of the areas G13a-G13d are linked to the same order, each product may be shaded or framed in a different color.

[0060] For example, the area for displaying information about the picking order may be larger depending on the number of weighing units 10 linked to the same order. In other words, the container display field G33 is divided and displayed depending on the number of orders linked to multiple weighing units 10.

[0061] 5 shows a first example of the screen G30 displayed when the first mode is set, in which two weighing units 10 are linked to one order and the other two weighing units 10 are linked to another order. Therefore, the container display field G33 is displayed divided into two areas G33a and G33b.

[0062] Figure 6 shows a second example of screen G40 that is displayed when the first mode is set. In screen G40, all four weighing units 10 are linked to the same order, and information about one order is displayed across the entire container display area G42.

[0063] According to the picking cart according to the present embodiment, product picking operations can be carried out efficiently.

[0064] ● Overview of implementation The present invention relates to a picking cart.

[0065] Picking carts are known to assist in the picking process of placing products in a cart in a warehouse. Logistics warehouses are experiencing a chronic labor shortage, and there is a need to improve the efficiency of picking work. In picking carts that carry multiple containers and weigh each item independently, work is carried out by assigning different orders to each container. However, when the products included in an order cannot be loaded into one container, the container must be replaced, which is cumbersome.

[0066] Prior art documents include Japanese Patent Publication No. 5417034.

[0067] Therefore, one of the objects of the present invention is to efficiently perform product picking work.

[0068] In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, a picking cart according to one aspect of the present invention is a picking cart equipped with multiple weighing units, and is equipped with a first mode in which one type of product is weighed using at least two or more specified weighing units.

[0069] The plurality of measuring units may each hold a container for containing the product.

[0070] The weighing unit may be configured to be switchable between the first mode and a second mode in which one type of product is weighed by one of the weighing units.

[0071] The weighing device may further include a display unit, and the first mode may be characterized by displaying the total number of products processed by two or more predetermined weighing units on the display unit.

[0072] The picking cart according to the present invention allows product picking work to be carried out efficiently. [Explanation of symbols]

[0073] 100 Picking System 1 picking cart 10 Measuring part 20 Control Unit 51 Display section 61 Scanner

Claims

1. In a picking cart having a plurality of weighing units, a first mode in which one type of product is weighed using at least two or more predetermined weighing units; Picking cart.

2. Each of the plurality of measuring units holds a container for containing the product. The picking cart according to claim 1.

3. The weighing unit is capable of switching between the first mode and a second mode in which one type of product is weighed by one weighing unit. The picking cart according to claim 1.

4. Further comprising a display unit, In the first mode, the total number of products processed by two or more predetermined weighing units is displayed on the display unit. The picking cart according to claim 1.

Images