Conveying system

Abstract

For example, the present invention provides a novel and improved transport system that can further enhance the efficiency of the shipping process in the shipping section, and consequently, the transport efficiency in the transport system. [Solution] The transport system is, for example, a transport system in which a plurality of transport bodies that move along a rail transport articles suspended from them, and comprises a transport mechanism for transporting the transport bodies, a control unit for controlling the operation of the transport mechanism, a plurality of parallel shipping processing units in which shipping processing of the articles supported by the transport bodies is performed, and a buffer having a plurality of parallel buffer units for temporarily holding the transport bodies before they are brought into the shipping processing units, wherein the control unit controls the transport mechanism so that the transport bodies are brought into a plurality of first buffer units, which are different from each other, for each category of shipping processing performed on the articles supported by the transport bodies.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a conveying system.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, a conveying system is known in which a plurality of carriers moving along rails convey articles while suspending them respectively (see, for example, Patent Document 1). The conveying system includes a shipping processing unit, and in the shipping processing unit, the conveyed articles are taken out from the carriers, and shipping processing such as packing is performed and then shipped.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] In this type of conveying system, when a delay in the shipping processing in the shipping processing unit occurs for some reason, if the carrier stays in front of the shipping processing unit, the influence of the delay spreads to the previous stage of the shipping processing unit, and there is a risk that the number of conveyances per unit time of the entire conveying system will decrease.

[0005] Therefore, one of the problems of the present invention is to provide a new and improved conveying system that can, for example, improve the efficiency of the shipping processing in the shipping processing unit, and thus improve the conveying efficiency in the conveying system.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] The present invention relates to a transport system in which, for example, a plurality of transport bodies that move along a rail transport articles suspended from them, and comprises a transport mechanism for transporting the transport bodies, a control unit for controlling the operation of the transport mechanism, a plurality of parallel shipping processing units in which shipping processing is performed on the articles supported by the transport bodies, and a buffer having a plurality of parallel buffer units for temporarily holding the transport bodies before they are brought into the shipping processing units, wherein the control unit controls the transport mechanism so that the transport bodies are brought into a plurality of first buffer units, each being a different buffer unit, for each category of shipping processing performed on the articles supported by the transport bodies. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0007] [Figure 1] Figure 1 is an exemplary and schematic side view showing the rails of the conveying system of the embodiment and a plurality of conveyed objects being conveyed along the rails. [Figure 2] Figure 2 is an illustrative schematic diagram of the transport system according to the embodiment. [Figure 3] Figure 3 is an illustrative schematic diagram of an export processing station included in the transport system of the embodiment. [Figure 4] Figure 4 is an exemplary block diagram of a control device included in the transport system of the embodiment. [Figure 5] Figure 5 is a table showing an example of information indicating the numbers of multiple lanes stored in correspondence with each other in the transport system of the embodiment, the categories of shipping processes assigned to each lane, and the availability status of each lane. [Figure 6] Figure 6 is a table showing an example of the lane numbers stored in correspondence with each other in the transport system of the embodiment, and the shipping processing categories assigned to each lane, and is a table in a different situation than that in Figure 5. [Figure 7] Figure 7 is a table showing an example of the lane numbers stored in correspondence with each other in the transport system of the embodiment, and the shipping processing categories assigned to each lane, and is a table in a different situation than those in Figures 5 and 6. [Figure 8]Figure 8 is a table showing the item ID, group ID, shipping processing category, and assigned lane number corresponding to the transporter ID stored in the transporter system of the embodiment. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0008] The following describes exemplary embodiments of the present invention. The configurations of the embodiments shown below, as well as the operations and results (effects) obtained from such configurations, are examples only. The present invention can also be realized by configurations other than those disclosed in the following embodiments. Furthermore, according to the present invention, it is possible to obtain at least one of the various effects (including derived effects) that can be obtained by the following configurations.

[0009] [Basic structure of a transport system] Figure 1 is a side view showing the rails 11 and multiple transport bodies 12 of the transport system 10 of the embodiment. The X, Y, and Z directions shown in Figure 1 intersect and are orthogonal to each other. The X direction is the local transport direction, the Z direction is approximately vertically upward, and the Y direction is the width direction intersecting the X and Z directions.

[0010] As shown in Figure 1, the transporter 12 is supported on a rail 11 so as to be movable along the longitudinal direction of the rail 11. The rail 11 is installed, for example, suspended from the ceiling of a building. Multiple transporters 12 each support an item A in a suspended state and move in a series line along the rail 11. In other words, each transporter 12 transports an item A in a suspended state.

[0011] The transporter 12 has a movable body 12a and a support member 12b. The movable body 12a is supported on the rail 11 so as to be movable in its longitudinal direction. The movable body 12a has rollers that roll along the rail 11. The rollers are configured to roll, for example, on the bottom wall of the rail 11 which has a C-shaped cross-section. As the rollers roll, the movable body 12a moves along the rail 11. The movable body 12a is also called a trolley.

[0012] The transporter 12 moves along the rail 11 by either press transport or gravity transport.

[0013] In the section of the rail 11 where pressing and conveying takes place, for example, an endless chain is provided parallel to the rail 11 at approximately constant intervals. Multiple pressing bodies are provided on the chain at predetermined intervals. In this configuration, by driving the chain in a circular motion, one of the pressing bodies presses against the moving body 12a, thereby causing the conveyed body 12 to move along the rail 11. The pressing bodies are also called carriers. The chain is an example of a conveying mechanism 903 (see Figure 4) that conveys the conveyed body 12.

[0014] Furthermore, at least a portion of the rail 11 in the section where gravity transport takes place is inclined downwards as it moves toward one side in the longitudinal direction. In this configuration, the rollers of the transport body 12a roll on the support surface of the rail 11 due to gravity (self-weight) acting on the transport body 12, and as a result of this rolling, the transport body 12 moves along the rail 11.

[0015] The support member 12b is detachably connected to the mobile body 12a and supports the article A in a suspended state relative to the mobile body 12a. The support member 12b has a bag portion 12b1 that supports the article A. The bag portion 12b1 has, for example, a strip-like and cloth-like shape with a substantially constant width, extending downward from the upper end, folding back at the lower end and returning to the upper end, and supports the article A by enveloping it from at least the front, below, and rear in the direction of transport. At least the lower part of the bag portion 12b1 may be provided with a movement-restricting portion, such as gathers, that restricts the lateral movement of the article A, i.e., in the width direction. The support member 12b is also called a pouch.

[0016] Furthermore, as shown in Figure 1, the transporter 12 can support and transport articles A of various forms.

[0017] [Conveyor System] FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of the conveying system 10. As shown in FIG. 2, the conveying system 10 includes a loading processing station 100, a first storage unit 200, a second storage unit 300, a sorting unit 400, an unloading processing station 500, a third storage unit 600, and a control device 700.

[0018] At the loading processing station 100, the article A is placed on the support member 12b of the carrier 12. Between the loading processing station 100 and the first storage unit 200, between the first storage unit 200 and the second storage unit 300, between the second storage unit 300 and the sorting unit 400, and between the sorting unit 400 and the unloading processing station 500, the article A is conveyed by the carrier 12 moving along the rail 11 as shown in FIG. 1.

[0019] At the unloading processing station 500, the article A is taken out from the support member 12b. Between the unloading processing station 500 and the third storage unit 600, and between the third storage unit 600 and the loading processing station 100, a plurality of empty carriers 12 that do not support the article A move in a state of being arranged in series along the rail 11.

[0020] [Loading Processing Station] At the loading processing station 100, an operator or a robot performs a process of placing the article A on the support member 12b of the empty carrier 12 that does not support the article A. Thereby, the support state of the article A shown in FIG. 1 is obtained. In the example of FIG. 1, one article A is supported by one support member 12b, but this is not limited, and a plurality of articles A may be supported by one support member 12b.

[0021] Each transporter 12 is assigned a transporter code indicating its transporter ID, and each item A is assigned an item code indicating its item ID. The transporter code and item code are either two-dimensional or three-dimensional codes. At the loading processing station 100, when a worker or robot places item A into the transporter 12, it uses a code reader 901 (see Figure 4) to read and register the transporter code of the transporter 12 and the item code of item A in association with each other. Based on this registration, the control device 700 can store the transporter ID and item ID in association in the auxiliary storage unit 703. Note that the reading of the transporter code and item code during registration may be performed automatically at their respective predetermined locations. In addition, similar code readers 901 are provided in various parts of the transport system 10, particularly before the turnouts, and are used to control the operation of the turnouts, etc.

[0022] [First storage department] The first storage unit 200 functions as a storage facility for storing various items A in the state shown in Figure 1. The first storage unit 200 has, for example, one or more loop-shaped rails 11, and dynamically stores multiple transporters 12, each supporting an item A, by moving (circling) along the loop-shaped rails 11.

[0023] In response to a request from an external device (higher-level device) to remove item A, the control device 700 determines which transport body 12 to remove from among the transport bodies 12 supporting item A stored in the first storage unit 200. The control device 700 then controls the operation of the first storage unit 200 so that the determined transport body 12 is removed.

[0024] [Second storage department] The second storage unit 300 has, for example, multiple lanes arranged in parallel to each other, i.e., linear rails, and temporarily holds multiple transported objects 12 that have been discharged from the first storage unit 200. The provision of the second storage unit 300 makes it possible to discharge the transported objects 12 from the first storage unit 200 and to load the transported objects 12 into the sorting unit 400 in parallel, that is, independently. This makes it possible to suppress the effect of the processing status of one of the first storage unit 200 and the sorting unit 400 on the processing status of the other. The second storage unit 300 may also be called a pre-sorting storage unit.

[0025] [Sorting Department] In the unloading processing station 500, for example, when multiple items A supported by multiple transporters 12 are packed into a single package, it is preferable that the multiple transporters 12 supporting the items A be packed together are grouped in a row of multiple transporters 12 arranged in series. This is because if the multiple transporters 12 supporting the items A be packed together are located far apart in the row, the waiting time until all the items A be packed together are ready at the unloading processing station 500 will be longer, and the processing speed will decrease. In other words, it is preferable that the row of multiple transporters 12 be appropriately aligned according to the work and sequence of the unloading process at the unloading processing station 500 when they reach the unloading processing station 500. However, when the first storage unit 200 unloads multiple transporters 12 prioritizing the reduction of the unloading time, the multiple transporters 12 are not necessarily appropriately aligned according to the work and sequence of the unloading process. Therefore, the sorting unit 400 rearranges the group of multiple transport bodies 12 that have been unloaded from the first storage unit 200, that is, the row in which multiple transport bodies 12 are lined up in series along the rail 11, and aligns them in a state suitable for the work and sequence of unloading at the unloading processing station 500.

[0026] [Removal and Processing Station] At the unloading station 500, a worker or robot performs the process of removing item A from the transporter 12 that supports item A, as shown in Figure 1. Furthermore, the worker or robot performs predetermined processing on one or more items A, such as packaging, to achieve a specified unloading configuration. Shipments containing one or more items A that have undergone unloading processing are unloaded from the unloading station 500. The configuration and operation of the unloading station 500 will be described later.

[0027] [Third Storage Department] The third storage unit 600 stores empty transport bodies 12 that do not support item A. Transport bodies 12 that have been released with item A at the discharge processing station 500 are sent to the third storage unit 600. Empty transport bodies 12 are also sent from the third storage unit 600 to the receiving processing station 100. The third storage unit 600 may also be referred to as the empty transport body storage unit.

[0028] [Configuration and operation of the loading and unloading station] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of the unloading processing station 500. The unloading processing station 500 includes a first stage 510, a second stage 520, and an unloading mechanism 530. Unloading processing is also called shipping processing, and the unloading processing station 500 may also be called a shipping processing station.

[0029] The first stage 510 has multiple parallel lanes Lni (where i is an integer greater than or equal to 1) (eight lanes in Figure 3 as an example). The entrance to each lane Lni is a turnout 21, and the exit is a merger 22. Each lane Lni has a rail 11b from the turnout 21 to the merger 22.

[0030] In the first stage 510, multiple transport bodies 12 are brought in one by one from the entrance rail 11i1, branched at the turnout 21 and brought into one of the lanes Lni, where they are temporarily held. The transport bodies 12 held in each lane Lni are then transported out to the exit rail 11o1 from the confluencer 22. Each lane Lni is also provided with a stopper 23 that can restrict the movement of the transport bodies 12. The stopper 23 is located behind the confluencer 22, near the confluencer 22 located at the front end of each lane Lni. The first stage 510 is an example of a buffer, and each lane Lni is an example of a buffer section. The buffer may also be referred to as a storage section or a holding section.

[0031] The second stage 520 has multiple parallel shipping processing units 521 (521-1 to 521-6) (six in Figure 3 as an example). Multiple transport bodies 12 are brought in one by one from the entrance rail 11i2 downstream of the exit rail 11o1, branched off at the turnout 21, and delivered to one of the shipping processing units 521.

[0032] The shipping processing unit 521 includes a work unit 522 and a pre-work buffer 523. The pre-work buffer 523 temporarily holds the transport body 12 before it reaches the work unit 522. The pre-work buffer 523 has rails 11c from the turnout 21 to the junction 22.

[0033] In the first stage 510 and the second stage 520, the operation of the turnout 21, merging device 22, and stopper 23 is controlled by the control device 700. The turnout 21, merging device 22, and stopper 23 are examples of the transport mechanism 903 (see Figure 4).

[0034] In the work unit 522, a worker or robot performs shipping processing tasks such as taking item A from the transporter 12 and placing the taken item A into predetermined packaging materials. Shipping processing in each work unit 522 is performed, for example, on a per-shipping order basis. As a specific example, consider a case where shipping processing for an order to ship three items A in one cardboard box as packaging material is performed in one of the shipping processing units 521. In this case, the transporters 12 that transport each of the three items A are successively brought into the pre-work buffer 523 of the shipping processing unit 521. The transporters 12 are sequentially brought into the work unit 522 from the pre-work buffer 523, and in the work unit 522, a worker or robot sequentially takes the three items A from the brought-in transporters 12 and performs tasks such as placing the taken item A into predetermined packaging materials. Packaging materials are just one example of materials.

[0035] Once the shipping processing is complete in the work unit 522 and the products are in the predetermined shipping format, they are loaded from each work unit 522 to the discharge mechanism 530 by a worker or robot. The discharge mechanism 530 transports the products toward the discharge exit. The discharge mechanism 530 is, for example, a conveyor.

[0036] As shown in Figure 3, in the unloading processing station 500, a first stage 510 is provided as a buffer in front of the multiple shipping processing units 521. If the first stage 510 were not provided, a delay in shipping processing in the shipping processing unit 521 could affect the preceding stages of the unloading processing station 500, for example, the sorting unit 400 shown in Figure 2. In this embodiment, however, since the first stage 510 is provided as a buffer to temporarily hold the transported bodies 12 before they are brought into the shipping processing unit 521, even if a delay in shipping processing occurs in the shipping processing unit 521, the impact of that delay on the preceding stages of the unloading processing station 500 can be suppressed.

[0037] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the first stage 510 has multiple parallel buffer lanes Lni, as described above. In this configuration, the control device 700 controls the operation of the transport mechanism 903 so that one or more transport bodies 12 (hereinafter referred to as a group) supporting an item A corresponding to a single shipping process performed by the shipping processing unit 521 are transported into a single lane Lni in a grouped, series-lined manner, without spanning multiple lanes Lni. With this configuration and control, it is possible to select a group that matches the processing status or availability of the multiple shipping processing units 521 of the second stage 520, or a more suitable group, from among the multiple groups waiting at the front of the multiple lanes Lni, and transport them to the multiple shipping processing units 521 of the second stage 520. Therefore, according to this embodiment, the second stage 520 can be operated more efficiently, resulting in effects such as being able to increase the number of shipping processes per unit time in the second stage 520, and reducing the likelihood of processing delays in the second stage 520.

[0038] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the shipping process performed by the shipping processing unit 521 is divided into categories, and each of these categories is assigned to the shipping processing unit 521. In other words, each shipping processing unit 521 performs the shipping process of the assigned category. The categories of shipping processes are, for example (the following parentheses show examples of category settings): • Types of packaging materials (e.g., boxes / other than boxes) • Specifications of packaging materials such as size, volume, and weight (e.g., above / below a specified threshold) • Details of the packing work (e.g., whether or not additional work other than packing is required) • The number of item A included in the shipment (e.g., 1 piece / 2 or more pieces) • Type of item A (e.g., boxed / unboxed) • Whether inspection of item A is required (e.g., inspection required / inspection not required) • Shipping destination of the shipped goods (e.g., within a specific region / outside a specific region) These are some examples. By assigning a shipping processing category to each shipping processing unit 521 in this way, the types of shipping processing performed in each shipping processing unit 521 can be reduced, making the shipping process simpler. This improves the efficiency of shipping processing in each shipping processing unit 521 and, consequently, in the second stage 520, compared to the case where various shipping processing is performed in each shipping processing unit 521. The assignment of categories to the shipping processing units 521 may be fixed or changed as appropriate. The number of categories may be three or more, or more categories may be set by various combinations of the above items.

[0039] [Control device] Figure 4 is an exemplary block diagram of the control device 700. As shown in Figure 4, the control device 700 is configured as a computer having, for example, an arithmetic processing unit 701, a main memory unit 702, an auxiliary storage unit 703, etc. The arithmetic processing unit 701 is, for example, a processor (circuit) such as a central processing unit (CPU). The main memory unit 702 is, for example, random access memory (RAM) or read-only memory (ROM), and the auxiliary storage unit 703 is, for example, a solid-state drive (SSD) or a hard disk drive (HDD). In Figure 4, the arithmetic processing unit 701 mainly shows functional blocks related to the operation of the first stage 510.

[0040] The arithmetic processing unit 701 operates according to the installed program, executing processing using a predetermined algorithm defined in the program. The program may be provided as an installable or executable file, recorded on a computer-readable recording medium. The recording medium may also be referred to as a program product. Information such as values, tables, and maps used in the program and processor's arithmetic processing may be pre-stored in the ROM of the main memory unit 702 or in the auxiliary storage unit 703, or they may be stored in the memory of a computer connected to a communication network and downloaded to the auxiliary storage unit 703 via the communication network. The arithmetic processing by the arithmetic processing unit 701 may be performed, at least partially, by hardware. In this case, the arithmetic processing unit 701 may include, for example, an FPGA (field programmable gate array) or an ASIC (application-specific integrated circuit).

[0041] The arithmetic processing unit 701 includes a lane allocation unit 701a, a shipping processing classification acquisition unit 701b, a receiving destination determination unit 701c, and an operation control unit 701d, etc., in relation to the operation of the discharge processing station 500. The operation of each unit will be described later.

[0042] [Assigning shipping processing categories to multiple lanes] Figure 5 is a table showing an example of the lane numbers (lane No.), shipping processing classifications, and lane availability of lanes Lni (buffer units) stored in the auxiliary storage unit 703 in association with each other. As shown in Figure 5, in this embodiment, each of the multiple lanes Lni included in the first stage 510 is assigned a shipping processing classification Dj (where j is an integer of 1 or more) and C. The classifications Dj (D1, D2) in Figure 5 represent different shipping processing classifications in the shipping processing unit 521. In the example in Figure 5, the number of shipping processing classifications is 2, but it may be 3 or more.

[0043] In the first stage 510, the transporter 12 is brought into different lanes Lni for each shipment processing category Dj performed on the item A supported by the transporter 12. The lanes Lni to which category Dj (D1, D2) is assigned are examples of the first buffer. In the example in Figure 5, lanes Ln1 to Ln6 correspond to the first buffer.

[0044] Furthermore, lane Lni to which category C is assigned is a lane into which groups of transporters 12 carrying items A of different categories Dj are brought. In other words, lane Lni to which category C is assigned is a lane into which transporters 12 of any group of category Dj can be brought. Lane Lni to which category C is assigned is an example of a second buffer and may also be called a common lane or a common reserve lane. In the example in Figure 5, lanes Ln7 and Ln8 correspond to the second buffer.

[0045] Furthermore, in each lane Lni, the transporter 12 is held in groups, regardless of the assigned classification Dj,C. That is, transporter 12 belonging to the same group are not held across different lanes Lni, but are temporarily held together in a series in one of the lanes Lni.

[0046] The assignment of classifications Dj and C to lanes Lni is performed by the lane assignment unit 701a (see Figure 4). Figures 6 and 7 are tables showing an example of lane numbers and classifications of lanes Lni stored in the auxiliary storage unit 703 in association with each other, and represent a different situation from Figure 5. Note that the display of availability is omitted in Figures 6 and 7. As illustrated in Figures 5 to 7, the lane assignment unit 701a can change the assignment of classifications Dj and C to multiple lanes Lni, that is, the assignment of the first buffer unit and the assignment of the second buffer unit, depending on the situation. The lane assignment unit 701a is an example of an assignment determination unit.

[0047] The lane allocation unit 701a can change the ratio of the number of lanes Lni corresponding to each of the categories Dj (hereinafter referred to as the lane ratio) according to the ratio of the number of items A in each category Dj to the total number of items A (a predetermined number) brought into the first stage 510 in a predetermined time (hereinafter referred to as the number ratio). Specifically, if the number of items A in category D1 and the number of items A in category D2 are approximately the same in a predetermined time or per unit time, the number of lanes Lni assigned to category D1 (3) and the number of lanes Lni assigned to category D2 (3) can be made the same, as shown in Figure 5. Also, if the number of items A in category D1 is less than the number of items A in category D2 in a predetermined time or per unit time, the number of lanes Lni assigned to category D1 (2) can be made less than the number of lanes Lni assigned to category D2 (4), as shown in Figure 6. This type of control makes it easier to avoid situations where, for example, the number of temporarily held transporters 12 exceeds the upper limit in lane Lni of any section Dj in the first stage 510, preventing the transporters 12 from being brought in. Note that the ratio of the number of items A in each section Dj and the ratio of the number of lanes Lni in each section Dj do not need to be approximately the same.

[0048] Furthermore, the lane allocation unit 701a can increase the number of lanes Lni in category C, or the ratio of the number of lanes Lni in category C to the total number of lanes Lni, if the number of lanes fluctuates significantly over time. Specifically, for example, if the fluctuation range (absolute value) of the number of lanes ratio over a predetermined time is greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold, the lane allocation unit 701a can increase the number of lanes Lni in category C compared to when the fluctuation range is less than the threshold. This helps to prevent a large number of empty lanes Lni in any of the lanes Lni to which category Dj is assigned.

[0049] [Determining the lane into which the transported items will be brought] Figure 8 is a table showing an example of transporter ID, item ID, group ID, shipping processing classification, and lane number stored in the auxiliary storage unit 703 in association with each other. As shown in Figure 8, in this embodiment, a classification Dj is determined for each group of item A, and a lane Lni is assigned corresponding to that classification Dj.

[0050] In determining the lane Lni into which the group of transported bodies 12 will be brought, the shipping processing classification acquisition unit 701b (see Figure 4) first obtains the transported body ID from the result of reading the transported body code by the code reader 901 located in front of the entrance to the first stage 510. Then, the shipping processing classification acquisition unit 701b obtains the classification Dj corresponding to the group of transported bodies 12 by referring to the information shown in Figure 8.

[0051] Next, the destination determination unit 701c (see Figure 4) determines the destination lane Lni for the transported

[0052] Conversely, if there is no lane Lni in the lane Lni assigned to the category Dj corresponding to the group of transport bodies 12 that can accept all of the transport bodies 12 in that group, the destination determination unit 701c determines that the destination for the group of transport bodies 12 is lane Lni in category C. This corresponds to the case where the number of transport bodies 12 belonging to the group is greater than the number of transport bodies 12 that can be accepted in all lanes Lni assigned to the category Dj corresponding to that group. Specifically, for example, in the setting of Figure 5, if the number of transport bodies 12 belonging to the group that is to be processed for shipment in category D1 is greater than the number of transport bodies that can be accepted in all lanes Ln1 to Ln3 to which category D1 is assigned, the destination determination unit 701c determines that one of lanes Ln7 or Ln8 in category C is the destination for the multiple transport bodies 12. In this case, the destination determination unit 701c can, for example, determine lane Lni, which has a larger acceptance capacity than lanes Ln7 and Ln8 in section C, as the destination.

[0053] The operation control unit 701d (see Figure 4) controls the operation of the transport mechanism 903 so that the transport body 12, which is being transported to the first stage 510, is transported to the destination lane Lni determined by the destination determination unit 701c. The operation control unit 701d is an example of a control unit.

[0054] Furthermore, the arithmetic processing unit 701 determines the shipping processing unit 521 as the destination for groups of transported bodies 12 temporarily held in lane Lni, depending on the processing status and availability of the shipping processing unit 521, and controls the operation of the transport mechanism 903 so that the groups of transported bodies 12 move sequentially from lane Lni to the shipping processing unit 521.

[0055] As described above, in the transport system 10 of this embodiment, multiple classifications Dj are set for the shipping processes in multiple parallel shipping processing units 521, and a first stage 510 (buffer) having multiple parallel lanes Lni (first buffer section) is provided in front of the multiple parallel shipping processing units 521, and classification Dj is assigned to each lane Lni. Then, the transported body 12 is brought into the lane Lni corresponding to the classification Dj of the shipping process. With this configuration, for example, for each classification Dj of the shipping process, the transported body 12 can be brought in from the lane Lni according to the availability in the shipping processing unit 521, thereby increasing the efficiency of the shipping process in the shipping processing unit 521 and, consequently, the transport efficiency of the transport system 10.

[0056] Furthermore, in this embodiment, a lane Lni (second buffer section) assigned to section C is provided, and multiple transport bodies 12 of different sections Dj can be brought into this lane Lni. With this configuration, for example, if a transport body 12 supporting an item A corresponding to section Dj cannot be transported to the lane Lni corresponding to section Dj, the transport body 12 can be brought into the lane Lni assigned to section C. Therefore, it is possible to more reliably avoid a situation in which the transport body 12 gets stuck in front of the discharge processing station 500.

[0057] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the lane allocation unit 701a (allocation determination unit) can change the allocation of lanes Lni (first buffer) corresponding to category Dj in the first stage 510 according to, for example, the processing status for each category Dj in the shipping processing unit 521, or the ratio of incoming goods A for each category Dj. In addition, the lane allocation unit 701a can also change the allocation of lanes Lni (second buffer) corresponding to category C in the first stage 510. With this configuration, by changing the allocation of categories Dj and C to lanes Lni, effects such as suppressing the accumulation of transported bodies 12 before reaching the unloading processing station 500, suppressing variations in the number of transported bodies 12 held in multiple lanes Lni, enabling more efficient operation of multiple lanes Lni, and ultimately allowing the first stage 510 to be configured more compactly can be obtained.

[0058] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the shipping processing category Dj is set according to the type and specifications of the packaging materials (materials). With this configuration, for example, the efficiency of shipping processing in the shipping processing unit 521 can be increased, and the equipment for supplying packaging materials to each shipping processing unit 521 can be simplified, resulting in a more compact shipping processing unit 521.

[0059] Although embodiments of the present invention have been illustrated above, these embodiments are merely examples and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. The above embodiments can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, substitutions, combinations, and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. Furthermore, each configuration and specification (structure, type, orientation, model, size, length, width, thickness, height, number, arrangement, position, material, etc.) can be modified as appropriate.

[0060] For example, the number of buffers, the number and types of first buffer sections, the number of second buffer sections, the number of shipping processing units, etc., can be set in various ways. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0061] 10…Conveyor system 11, 11b, 11c... rails 12... Carrier 510...First Stage (Buffer) 701a...Lane allocation unit (allocation determination unit) 701d...Operation Control Unit (Control Unit) 903... Conveying mechanism A...Goods Dj(D1,D2)…Classification Lni(Ln1~Ln8)...Lane (buffer section, first buffer section, second buffer section)

Claims

1. A transport system in which multiple transport bodies move along a rail, each transporting an item while suspended from it, A conveying mechanism for conveying the aforementioned conveyed object, A control unit that controls the operation of the transport mechanism, Multiple parallel shipping processing units, each carrying out the shipping process for the articles supported by the transporter, A buffer having multiple parallel buffer sections that temporarily holds the transported object before it is brought into the shipping processing unit, Equipped with, The control unit controls the transport mechanism so that the transport body is brought into a plurality of first buffer sections, each of which is a different buffer section, for each section of the shipping process performed on the article supported by the transport body.

2. The transport system according to claim 1, wherein the control unit controls the transport mechanism so that the plurality of transport bodies, each supporting the articles of different classifications, are transported to a second buffer section which is the same buffer section but is different from the first buffer section.

3. The transport system according to claim 1, further comprising an assignment determination unit that changes the assignment of the first buffer unit to the buffer unit in the buffer.

4. The transport system according to claim 3, wherein the allocation determination unit can change the ratio of the number of first buffer units corresponding to each of the divisions in accordance with the ratio of the number of articles in each division to a predetermined number of articles supported by the plurality of transport bodies that are brought into the buffer.

5. The transport system according to claim 2, wherein the control unit controls the transport mechanism to transport a plurality of transport bodies to the buffer unit to the second buffer unit if the number of such transport bodies corresponding to a single shipping process performed by the shipping processing unit is greater than the total number of transport bodies that can be received in all first buffer units corresponding to the shipping process division.

6. The transport system according to claim 1, wherein the classification is set according to the materials used in the shipping process.

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