Transportation materials management system, transportation materials management method, transportation materials usage determination method, and transportation materials rental system

Abstract

To provide a transport material management system, a transport material management method, a transport material usage determination method, and a transport material rental system which are capable of more properly grasping the aging and deterioration of transport materials, such as returnable cases, and facilitating the long-term use of highly reliable materials.SOLUTION: A transport material management system comprises a strength acquisition part to acquire a residual strength evaluated for each of multiple transport materials 1 capable of packing items inside, and a sorting part to sort the packed items by the impact resistance (allowable maximum stress) of the packed items and by the characteristics of the packed items according to the residual strength. At this time, the sorting part can sort the packed items by considering the degree of impact from transportation to the packed items.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a transport material management system, a transport material management method, a transport material use determination method, and a transport material rental system.

Background Art

[0002] From the viewpoint of waste reduction, as transport materials, reusable tote boxes may be used instead of one-way cardboard boxes.

[0003] Patent Document 1 discloses a tote box and its management system. In this management system, a display unit that can changeably display at least information regarding the usage status of the box body is provided on the reusable box body, and the information includes at least content regarding the past number of uses. Regarding the number of uses as the progress degree of deterioration, those that have reached the number of uses are uniformly discarded.

[0004] Patent Document 2 discloses a transport material management program. This transport material management program includes a reception step of receiving input of identification information from an input means, a time acquisition step of acquiring the time when the identification information is received in the reception step, a time storage step of storing the time acquired in the time acquisition step in a storage means in association with the received identification information, a time reading step of acquiring the time stored in the storage means in the previous time storage step in association with the identification information when the identification information is received in the reception step, an interval calculation step of calculating the time interval between the time acquired in the time reading step and the time acquired in the time acquisition step, and a statistical step of calculating a statistical value of the time interval calculated in the interval calculation step for each identification information received in the reception step. It is disclosed that the deterioration of repeatedly used transport materials is managed by the number of uses and the usage time by this transport material management program.

[0005] Patent Document 3 discloses a logistics system, a logistics support method, and a program for the same. This logistics system is disclosed to include a data extraction unit that extracts transportation environment data corresponding to the entire process of the current transport from a transportation environment model that has vibration data corresponding to the transportation environment acting on the packaged goods during transport by a transport means; a comprehensive transportation environment model that has vibration data corresponding to the transportation environment acting on the packaged goods in transports prior to the current transport, and uses this vibration data and the vibration data extracted by the data extraction unit to output comprehensive transportation environment data corresponding to the transportation environment acting on the packaged goods up to that point; and a simulation unit and a deterioration degree estimation unit that determine the deterioration of the packaging material based on the output results of the comprehensive transportation environment model. However, the vibrations and impacts that the packaging material receives during retrieval are not disclosed. [Prior art documents] [Patent Documents]

[0006] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2002-240954 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2018-16470 [Patent Document 3] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2003-206031 [Overview of the Initiative] [Problems that the invention aims to solve]

[0007] Traditionally, transport materials such as reusable containers have been managed based on cumulative usage counts and usage times, as well as vibration and shock data received by the materials while they contain the contents. However, these methods are insufficient. For example, managing materials based on cumulative usage counts and usage times may result in the disposal of still-usable transport materials. On the other hand, using transport materials that have reached their usage limit may damage the contents. Furthermore, managing materials solely based on vibration and shock data received by transport materials with contents does not reveal the vibration and shock received by the transport materials during retrieval when they are empty, potentially leading to greater deterioration of the transport materials than anticipated. The present invention aims to provide a transportation materials management system, a transportation materials management method, a transportation materials application determination method, and a transportation materials rental system that can more appropriately grasp the deterioration of transportation materials such as reusable containers over time, and enable the use of highly reliable transportation materials for a long period of time. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] To solve the above problems, the present invention is a transport material management system comprising: a strength acquisition unit that acquires the evaluated remaining strength of each of a plurality of transport materials capable of packing items inside; and a sorting unit that sorts the items to be packed according to their impact resistance (maximum allowable stress) and characteristics, based on their remaining strength.

[0009] Here, the sorting unit can sort the items to be packaged, taking into account the degree of impact applied to the items during transportation. In this case, the rank of the items to be packaged can be adjusted according to the degree of impact. Furthermore, the degree of impact can be determined based on the transport route taken when the packaged goods are transported. In this case, the degree of impact due to dropping and vibration can be determined. Furthermore, the impact level can be determined from the expected transport route and represent the maximum impact applied to the packaged goods. In this case, the maximum value that would affect the packaged goods can be applied as the impact level. Furthermore, the impact level can be determined by adding the transportation route taken when transporting the materials to the recovery destination after the packaged goods have been removed. In this case, the impact level can be determined more accurately. Furthermore, the degree of impact can be determined by including at least one of the following factors in addition to the transport route used to carry the packaged goods: the characteristics of the packaged goods, the transport method, the transport distance, and the frequency of transshipment. In this case, the degree of impact can be determined even more accurately. Furthermore, the remaining strength can be determined based on the stress-strain curve of the transported material. In this case, the remaining strength can be determined with greater accuracy. Furthermore, the remaining strength is graded based on the stress-strain curve, and the sorting unit can sort the items to be packaged based on the correspondence between the graded remaining strength and the characteristics of the packaged items. In this case, the sorting of packaged items becomes more reliable because the items to be packaged have a lower impact resistance (maximum allowable stress) than the remaining strength of the transport materials. Furthermore, the strain corresponding to the boundary between the elastic and plastic regions of the stress-strain curve of the transported material can be used as a boundary for grading. In this case, grading can be performed using a boundary that indicates whether or not fatigue has accumulated. Furthermore, the characteristics of the packaged item can be determined based on its fragility and weight. In this case, the characteristics of the packaged item can be quantified more easily. Furthermore, in the plastic region, materials can be graded based on their fracture strain during transport. In this case, the region where fatigue has accumulated can be graded.

[0010] Furthermore, the present invention is a transport material management system that predicts the lifespan of a transport material based on the amount of crack propagation within each of a plurality of transport materials capable of packaging goods inside. Furthermore, the present invention is a transport material management system that prevents damage to packaged goods by predicting the maximum vibrational shock that the packaged goods will receive from the transport route.

[0011] Furthermore, the present invention is a method for managing transport materials, in which a processor executes software stored in memory to obtain the evaluated remaining strength for each of a plurality of transport materials capable of packaging items inside, and sorts the items to be packaged according to their remaining strength.

[0012] Furthermore, the present invention relates to a method for determining the use of multiple transport materials that are capable of packaging items inside when they are reused. When a product manufacturer or product packer packages items, transports them to a delivery destination, and then retrieves the transport materials after removing the items, and then delivers them back to the product manufacturer or product packer, the method determines the remaining strength of each of the multiple transport materials as evaluated, sorts the items to be packaged according to their remaining strength, and provides the corresponding transport materials to the product manufacturer or product packer who will be packaging the sorted items.

[0013] Furthermore, the present invention relates to a transport material rental system used when renting multiple transport materials capable of packaging items inside to a rental company. When the rental company transports the packaged items to the delivery destination and retrieves the transport materials after removing the packaged items, the system obtains the evaluated remaining strength of each of the multiple transport materials, sorts the items to be packaged according to the remaining strength, and determines which transport materials to rent to the rental company that will transport the sorted items. In this case, highly reliable transport materials can be rented. [Effects of the Invention]

[0014] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a transportation materials management system, a transportation materials management method, a transportation materials application determination method, and a transportation materials rental system that enable more appropriate understanding of the deterioration of transportation materials over time, such as reusable containers, and enable the use of highly reliable transportation materials for a long period of time. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0015] [Figure 1] This diagram shows the processing details of the material transport management system in this embodiment. [Figure 2] This diagram illustrates a method for classifying transport materials into different grades. [Figure 3] This table shows the method for distributing transport materials. [Figure 4](a) to (d) are conceptual diagrams showing the correspondence between the grades of transportation materials and the ranks of the packaged items to be allocated. [Figure 5] (a) to (d) are diagrams showing the transportation material management system, product manufacturing, and the organization performing product packaging in FIG. 1 of the present embodiment. [Figure 6] It is a diagram representing the life curve of transportation materials. [Figure 7] It is a diagram explaining the method for predicting the life of transportation materials. [Figure 8] It is a diagram explaining the method for selecting transportation materials considering vibration and impact. [Figure 9] It is a diagram showing a transportation material rental system to which the transportation material management system, transportation material management method, and transportation material use determination method of the present embodiment are applied.

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0016] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. <Explanation of the Configuration of the Transportation Material Management System> FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the processing contents of the transportation material management system 100 in the present embodiment. The illustrated transportation material management system 100 is a computer device that manages a plurality of transportation materials 1 capable of packaging the items to be packaged inside.

[0017] The transportation material 1 is, for example, a reusable box. That is, after packaging the item to be packaged, transporting the item to be packaged to the delivery destination, and taking out the item to be packaged at the delivery destination, it is folded or assembled and collected, and then used again to transport the item to be packaged. The item to be packaged is the object to be packaged by the transportation material 1, and its type and shape are not particularly limited.

[0018] The transport materials management system 100 includes, for example, a processing unit 115 such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) that controls each part through program execution, and a display device such as a display that shows images and other information. The transport materials management system 100 also includes, for example, an input device such as a keyboard or mouse for inputting characters. Furthermore, the transport materials management system 100 includes, for example, a communication module used for communication with external devices, internal memory such as RAM (Random Access Memory) for storing system data and internal data, and external memory such as a storage medium device.

[0019] The transport material management system 100 includes, as databases, an impact resistance database 111, a delivery / collection destination database 112, a transport route database 113, and a stress-strain database 114. The transport material management system 100 stores these in their respective storage media devices. The impact resistance database 111 is a database that stores the relationship between the type of packaged item and the impact resistance of the packaged item. The delivery and collection destination database 112 is a database that stores information about the delivery destinations of packaged goods and the collection destinations of the transport materials 1 after the packaged goods have been removed. The transportation route database 113 is a database that stores information about the transportation routes to the delivery destinations of packaged goods and the transportation routes to the collection destinations of the transportation materials 1. The stress-strain database 114 is a database that anticipates the aging deterioration changes of transport materials in advance, acquires data on the relationship between strain and remaining strength, and stores this data. The stress-strain database 114 also stores data on the degree of deterioration caused by the impact received during transport (and retrieval) of the transport materials, whether in a folded or assembled state.

[0020] The transport materials management system 100 receives information about the packaged items from the information input unit 1111, and based on the relationship between the packaged items and their impact resistance stored in the impact resistance database 111, the evaluation module 1112 ranks the packaged items and transmits the ranking to the arithmetic processing unit 115 via the transmission module 1113. Figure 1 shows that the transport materials management system 100 ranks the packaged items into four levels: rank I, II, III, and IV. The transport materials management system 100 then transmits the ranking information to the delivery destination / collection destination database 112 (storage medium device) via the transmission module 1113, the evaluation module 1121 identifies the delivery destination and the collection destination of the packaged items, and transmits this information to the processing unit 115 via the transmission module 1122.

[0021] Furthermore, the transport materials management system 100, based on information about the delivery and collection destinations of the packaged goods identified via the transmission module 1122, refers to the transport route database 113, determines the transport route for transporting the packaged goods using the evaluation module 1131, and transmits this information to the arithmetic processing unit 115 via the transmission module 1132. The transport materials management system 100 then determines the degree of impact applied to the packaged goods according to the transport route. The degree of impact is, for example, the maximum impact that can be expected to be applied to the packaged goods based on the transport route. The transport materials management system 100 can also include the characteristics of the packaged goods when determining the degree of impact. The characteristics of the packaged goods will be described in more detail later, but for example, they include the fragility of the packaged goods and the weight of the packaged goods. The transport materials management system 100 can also include the method of transporting the packaged goods when determining the degree of impact. The method of transport is, for example, the means of transport, such as trucks, freight cars, ships, and aircraft. Road conditions (paved roads, unpaved roads, rough roads, etc.) can also be included. Furthermore, the transport material management system 100 can include the distance over which the packaged goods are transported when determining the impact level. The transport material management system 100 may also include factors such as the presence and frequency of transshipment operations when determining the impact level. Additionally, the transport material management system 100 may further consider the effects of vibration and impact on the transport material 1 during transport to the collection point after the packaged goods have been removed, either in a folded or assembled state. This is because the degree of deterioration of the transport material 1 differs depending on whether it is in a folded or assembled state, even when subjected to the same vibration and impact. By incorporating these factors, the impact level can be determined more accurately. The above processing on the packaged items is performed by the arithmetic processing unit 115, which executes a program and performs predetermined calculations by referring to the impact resistance database 111, the delivery destination / collection destination database 112, and the transport route database 113.

[0022] On the other hand, each transport material 1 is subjected to non-destructive testing. This non-destructive testing measures, for example, the deterioration of transport material 1 over time by measuring its strain. Strain measurement can be performed, for example, by X-ray observation or microwave measurement if transport material 1 is corrugated cardboard made of resin and plastic. If transport material 1 is corrugated cardboard made of paper, for example, image analysis can be used.

[0023] Then, the measurement module 1141 measures the amount of strain, and the result is evaluated by the evaluation module 1142. The evaluated amount of strain is transmitted to the stress-strain database 114 (storage medium) via the transmission module 1143, and the remaining strength is evaluated by the evaluation module 1144 based on the amount of strain of the transport material 1. Then, the remaining strength information is transmitted to the arithmetic processing unit 115 via the transmission module 1145 and graded. Figure 1 shows that the remaining strength of the transport material 1 is graded into four levels: grade A, B, C, and D. The evaluation of the remaining strength of the transport material 1 is performed by the arithmetic processing unit 115, which executes a program and performs predetermined calculations based on the measured strain, referring to the stress-strain database 114. That is, the remaining strength is determined based on the strain stress-strain curve of the transport material 1. Then, the remaining strength is graded based on the stress-strain curve of the transport material 1. In this case, the arithmetic processing unit 115 functions as a strength acquisition unit that acquires the evaluated remaining strength for each of the multiple transport materials 1.

[0024] <Explanation of the grading of transport materials 1> Figure 2 shows a method for classifying transport materials 1 into grades. Figure 2 illustrates the stress-strain curve of transport material 1. Here, the vertical axis represents stress σ, and the horizontal axis represents strain ε. The stress-strain curve of transport material 1 can be divided into an elastic region up to the yield point and a plastic region beyond the yield point. That is, the region with small strain is the elastic region, and transport material 1 undergoes elastic deformation. Conversely, the region with large strain is the plastic region, and transport material 1 undergoes plastic deformation. The point of fracture after plastic deformation is indicated by an "X". The strain at this point is the fracture strain.

[0025] In this embodiment, the material being transported 1 is graded based on the strain corresponding to the boundary between its elastic and plastic regions. Here, with respect to this boundary, the elastic region up to the yield point on the left side of the figure is designated as Grade A, and the regions on the right side of the figure are designated as Grades B, C, and D. Furthermore, in this embodiment, in the plastic region, the material being transported is graded based on the fracture strain. Here, the strain is divided into three parts, from the yield point to the fracture strain, and grades B, C, and D are assigned from smallest strain to largest.

[0026] The transport material 1 is considered unlikely to accumulate fatigue because, even if subjected to impact during transport of the packaged goods, it returns to its original shape within the elastic deformation region. On the other hand, in the plastic region beyond the yield point, the transport material 1 does not return to its original shape, and deterioration progresses due to the impacts and vibrations that occur during transport of the packaged goods. In this case, repeated impacts and vibrations accumulate repeated fatigue, eventually leading to fracture. In this embodiment, the strain is used to first determine whether the transport material 1 has reached its yield point, and if so, this is considered a precursor to fracture. The progression of fatigue in the transport material 1 is then determined by measuring the strain. In this embodiment, by measuring the strain, when the transport material 1 is in the elastic region, the grade of the transport material 1 is set to grade A, and the remaining strength is assumed to be the greatest. In the plastic region, the grade of the transport material 1 is set to grade B to grade D, and the remaining strength is assumed to decrease as the grade changes from grade B to grade C to grade D.

[0027] <Explanation of the distribution of transport materials 1> Furthermore, the arithmetic processing unit 115 functions as a sorting unit, sorting the items to be packaged according to the remaining strength of the transported material 1, which has been graded. Specifically, the arithmetic processing unit 115 sorts the items to be packaged based on the correspondence between the remaining strength of the graded transported material 1, the impact resistance (maximum allowable stress) of the items to be packaged, and the characteristics of the items to be packaged. In addition, it is preferable that the arithmetic processing unit 115 also takes into account the degree of impact applied to the items during transport when sorting the items to be packaged. In this case, the rank of the items to be packaged can be adjusted as needed.

[0028] Figure 3 is a table showing the method for distributing transport materials 1. This section describes a method for sorting items to be packaged based on the correspondence between the grade and impact resistance of the transport material 1. In the table shown in Figure 3, the first row indicates the grade of transport material 1. Here, it shows that grades A to D, as described above, are available. The second line indicates the type of packaged item. Here, the packaged item is classified into cases where it is a precision instrument, etc., and cases where it is not a precision instrument. Furthermore, lines 3 and 4 describe the characteristics of the packaged item. Here, the characteristics of the packaged item are determined based on its fragility and weight. The fragility of the packaged item is classified into two categories: easily fragile and not easily fragile. The weight of the packaged item is considered light if it is below a predetermined threshold, and heavy if it exceeds this threshold. The fifth line then shows the specifications of transport material 1 as the box specifications. Here, the box specifications are expressed in terms of load capacity. The load capacity is classified into cases where the load capacity of transport material 1 is high and cases where it is low. The sixth line indicates the rank of the packaged items to be sorted. Here, it shows that for each of the grades A through D, the packaged items of ranks I through IV mentioned above will be sorted accordingly.

[0029] Figures 4(a) to 4(d) are illustrative diagrams showing the correspondence between the grade of transport material 1 and the rank of the packaged goods to which it is assigned. Figure 4(a) shows that the transport material 1 is grade A, which has the highest remaining strength. Therefore, the items to be packaged are, for example, precision equipment, which are heavy and fragile. Furthermore, Figure 4(b) shows that the grade of transport material 1 is Grade D, which has the lowest remaining strength. Therefore, the items to be packaged should be, for example, not precision equipment, and should be light and resistant to breakage.

[0030] Furthermore, Figure 4(c) shows the case where the strain of transport material 1 reaches or approaches the fracture strain, and it is determined that it has reached its usage limit. In this case, the use of transport material 1 for transporting the packaged goods should be stopped. Then, as shown in Figure 4(d), transport material 1 should be repaired or discarded. Alternatively, transport material 1 should be used as a storage box instead of for transport.

[0031] Figures 5(a) to 5(d) are organizational charts of the transport materials management system 100, product manufacturing, and product packaging in Figure 1 of this embodiment. Figure 5(a) shows that the product manufacturer, product packer, and manager of the transport materials management system 100 (transport materials management system manager) are all separate organizations (complete horizontal division of labor). Figure 5(b) shows that the product manufacturer and product packer are the same organization, but the transport materials management system manager is a different organization. Alternatively, as shown by the dotted line frame, the product packer and the transport materials management system manager may be the same organization, while the product manufacturer is a different organization. Figure 5(c) shows that the product manufacturer and the transport materials management system manager are the same organization, but the product packer is a different organization. Figure 5(d) shows that the product manufacturer, product packer, and transport materials management system manager are the same organization (complete vertical integration). Furthermore, the transport materials management system 100 may be managed by parties other than the product manufacturer and product packer. For example, a system provider or a transport materials rental company. Furthermore, for example, if any one of the following parties—the product manufacturer, the product packer, or the system provider—partners with a transportation equipment rental company, they can use transportation equipment 1 without having to perform maintenance or management of the transportation equipment themselves.

[0032] <Explanation of lifespan prediction for transport material 1> The upper part of Figure 6 shows the lifespan (strength limit) curve of the transport material 1, where the vertical axis represents the number of repetitions and the horizontal axis represents the cumulative impact force. The lifespan (strength limit) of the transport material 1 is predicted using this lifespan (strength limit) curve. When the curve reaches the upper side of the graph line, it is determined that the material has reached the end of its lifespan. The lower part of the figure shows the state of crack propagation inside the resin during the repetitions. In this case, the transport material management system 100 predicts the lifespan (strength limit) based on the length and depth of the cracks inside the resin. Therefore, it can also be said that the transport material management system 100 predicts the lifespan of the transport material 1 based on the amount of crack propagation inside each of the multiple transport materials 1 that are capable of carrying packaged goods inside.

[0033] Figure 7 shows the prediction of fatigue crack propagation rate using the Paris law and the integration of the Newman-Lajou solution. This section describes a method for predicting the lifespan of a resin-based transport material 1 that has been subjected to repeated impacts, based on the length and depth of internal cracks in the resin. Once the material coefficients C and m, stress diffusion displacement ΔK, and crack length a are determined by the Paris law, the crack propagation rate at that point (Equation 1) can be calculated.

[0034] da / dN = C(ΔK) m …(Formula 1)

[0035] Note that da / dN represents the crack propagation rate, and N represents the number of cycles (repetitions). Furthermore, we predict the lifespan using a method that allows us to predict how much the crack length a will propagate depending on the number of cycles N by integrating (Equation 1) (fatigue crack propagation prediction by integration of the Newman-Laju solution).

[0036] Figure 6 shows the relationship between repeated impact force and internal cracks in the resin, obtained by repeatedly loading the resin transport material 1 with the maximum impact expected to be received during transport, using the resin transport material material to be used beforehand. By comparing this crack length / depth propagation image and the cumulative impact force received up to that point with the crack length / depth propagation image of the transport material 1 that has been subjected to repeated impacts, obtained by non-destructive X-ray observation and microwave measurement performed in non-destructive testing of the transport material 1 in Figure 1 (measuring and observing factors other than strain), the lifespan is determined by detecting cracks that have reached the limit of use, or by taking into account the degree of impact that the transport material 1 will receive in the next transport to determine whether it can be used. In other words, the lifespan of the transport material 1 can be determined by the number of cycles based on the striations (stripe patterns observed on the fatigue fracture surface) that are formed by the repeated loads that the resin transport material 1 receives.

[0037] <Vibration and impact on transported material 1> Up to this point, we have discussed the impact that transport material 1 receives from falling. However, the remaining strength of transport material 1 may also be determined by considering vibrational impact in addition to the impact from falling. Figure 8 illustrates a method for selecting transport materials that take vibration and shock into account. Figure 8 shows that the reliability of the transported materials is guaranteed by first determining the maximum vibrational impact that the transported materials 1 will experience depending on the road conditions, and then selecting transported materials 1 that have residual strength greater than or equal to that vibrational impact. For example, location, route (distance), and acceleration information from RFID (Radio Frequency Identifier) ​​data used for transport material management is utilized. Then, points along the transport route that experience significant vibration and shock are extracted, and transport materials with residual strength greater than the shock value are selected. Furthermore, transport material management and material usage determination are performed assuming that transport material 1 will not break during transport, based on the maximum vibration and shock during transport multiplied by a safety factor of 3. In Figure 8, when the maximum vibration and shock force during transport is a and the safety factor is 3, a residual strength of 3a is set, and transport material 1 is selected accordingly. Therefore, it can be said that the transport material management system 100 prevents damage to the packaged goods by predicting the maximum vibration and shock that the packaged goods will receive from the transport route.

[0038] <Explanation of the Transportation Equipment Rental System 200> Up to this point, we have described the method in which the product manufacturer, product packer, and transportation materials management system manager manage the transportation materials management system 100, as explained in Figure 5. In this method, the product manufacturer, product packer, and transportation materials management system manager are required to manage and maintain the transportation materials 1. However, as explained in Figure 5, the transportation materials management system 100 may be managed by someone other than the product manufacturer and product packer. An example of this case will be explained below.

[0039] Figure 9 shows a transportation material rental system 200 to which the transportation material management system 100 of this embodiment is applied. The transportation equipment rental system 200 is used when renting multiple pieces of transportation equipment 1 to a rental company, using the transportation equipment management system 100.

[0040] This diagram illustrates the case where transportation equipment 1 is rented from transportation equipment rental company 210. In the case of Figure 9, the rental recipients are supplier 220 and company 230 of company A. Transport material 1 is leased to supplier 220 of Company A in an empty box (1A). Supplier 220 of Company A packages the parts as packaged goods and delivers the parts to Company A 230 (1B). Therefore, Supplier 220 of Company A is both the manufacturer of the products (parts) and the packager of the products (parts). At Company A 230, the delivered parts are removed, and the empty boxes of transport materials 1 are collected and placed in an empty box storage cart. The weight of the empty box storage cart is measured by a weight sensor. The weight is managed using a smartphone app or similar. When the stored transport materials 1 reach a predetermined weight, Company A 230 instructs the transport materials rental company 210 to collect the transport materials 1. The empty cart containing the transport materials 1 is then returned to the transport material rental company 210, which is the collection destination (1C).

[0041] Meanwhile, transport material 1 is also leased to Company A 230 in an empty box (1D). Company A 230 packages the products as packaged goods and delivers the products to Company A's customer 240 (1E). Therefore, Company A 230 is both the product manufacturer and the product packer. Customer 240 of Company A takes out the delivered products and places the empty boxes of transport materials 1 into an empty box storage cart. The weight of the empty box storage cart is measured by a weight sensor, and when the weight of the stored transport materials 1 reaches a predetermined weight, customer 240 of Company A instructs transport material rental company 210 to collect the transport materials 1. The empty cart containing the transport materials 1 is then returned to the transport material rental company 210 (1F), which is the collection destination.

[0042] When the transportation equipment rental company 210 rents out the collected transportation equipment to the rental company again, it uses the aforementioned transportation equipment management system 100. In the case of Figure 9, this applies to transportation equipment collected along the routes shown in 1C and 1F. Therefore, the transportation equipment rental company 210 is the transportation equipment management system administrator. Transportation equipment rental company 210 performs cleaning and non-destructive testing of transportation equipment 1. Cleaning of transportation equipment 1 is performed before non-destructive testing. If transportation equipment 1 is foldable, it is collected in a folded state, but cleaning and non-destructive testing are performed in an assembled state. Non-destructive testing is performed by measuring the amount of strain and crack propagation as described above. If a strength limit is detected, the material can be repaired, recycled, or stored in a storage box. Conversely, if the material is still usable and has not reached its strength limit, as described above, the transport material 1 is graded, and the items to be packaged are allocated according to each grade. These items are then rented to the rental company that will be packaging them. Therefore, it can be said that the transport material management system 100 obtains the evaluated remaining strength for each of the multiple transport material 1, allocates the items to be packaged according to the remaining strength, and decides to rent the corresponding transport material 1 to the rental company that will be transporting the allocated items.

[0043] Conventionally, because the durability (remaining strength) of the transport material 1 was unknown, transport material 1 with excessive strength specifications was used. In this case, it was necessary to use an excessive amount of packaging material or transport material 1 with an excessively thick casing. On the other hand, in this embodiment, it is possible to more appropriately understand the changes in the deterioration of transport material 1 such as reusable containers over time. Furthermore, by minimizing the amount of packaging material and casing thickness according to the type of packaged goods, the amount of packaging material used can be reduced. In addition, by distributing the packaged goods according to the remaining strength, highly reliable transport material 1 can be used for a long period of time. Furthermore, by evaluating the deterioration of the transport material 1 over time using non-destructive testing and quantitatively determining its service limit (lifespan), the reliability of the transport material 1 can be guaranteed. Furthermore, by selecting transport materials 1 that have residual strength exceeding the impact force they receive from road conditions (such as rough roads) during transport, highly reliable transport materials 1 can be used for a long period of time. Furthermore, it eliminates the need for excessive packaging materials and excessively thick transport materials 1, and allows for the long-term use of transport materials 1, leading to a reduction in waste and costs. Furthermore, the risk of damaging the packaged goods due to the use of transport material 1 that has reached its usage limit can be avoided.

[0044] In the above-described configuration, the terms "rank" and "grade" were used to classify the packaged goods and transport materials 1, but these can be set arbitrarily. For example, terms such as "strength," "degree," "level," "standard," or "grade" may also be used.

[0045] <Explanation of transportation material management methods and transportation material usage determination methods> The processes performed by the transport materials management system 100, as described above, are realized through the cooperation of software and hardware resources. Specifically, the processor inside the computer provided in the transport materials management system 100 loads the software that implements each of the above-mentioned functions into memory and executes it, thereby realizing each of these functions. Therefore, the processing performed by the transport material management system 100 can be understood as a transport material management method and a transport material usage determination method, in which the processor executes software stored in memory to obtain the evaluated remaining strength for each of the multiple transport materials 1 capable of packing items inside, and then sorts the items to be packed according to the remaining strength. Furthermore, the process performed by the transport material management system 100 is a method for determining the use of transport materials when reusing multiple transport materials capable of packing items inside. When a product manufacturer or product packer packs items, transports them to a delivery destination, and then retrieves the transport materials after removing the items, and then delivers them back to the product manufacturer or product packer, the system obtains the evaluated remaining strength of each of the multiple transport materials, sorts the items to be packed according to their remaining strength, and then decides to provide the corresponding transport materials to the product manufacturer or product packer who will pack the sorted items.

[0046] Although this embodiment has been described above, the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the scope described in the above embodiment. It is clear from the claims that various modifications or improvements made to the above embodiment are also included in the technical scope of the present invention. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0047] 1...Transportation materials, 100...Transportation materials management system, 111...Impact resistance database, 112...Delivery destination / collection destination database, 113...Transportation route database, 114...Stress-strain database, 200...Transportation materials rental system, 210...Transportation materials rental company, 220...Supplier of Company A, 230...Company A, 240...Customer of Company A

Claims

1. A strength acquisition unit that obtains graded residual strength based on the strain amount evaluated by performing non-destructive testing (strain measurement) on each of the multiple transport materials capable of packing the contents inside, For each of the multiple transport materials, a sorting unit sorts the items to be packaged based on the correspondence between the remaining strength of the graded transport material and the type and characteristics of the items to be packaged, A transport materials management system equipped with the following features.

2. The transport material management system according to claim 1, wherein the sorting unit sorts the items to be packaged, taking into account the degree of impact applied to the items during transport.

3. The impact degree is determined based on the transport route when transporting the packaged goods, as described in claim 2.

4. The transport material management system according to claim 3, wherein the impact degree is the maximum impact that can be predicted from the transport route and applied to the packaged goods.

5. The transport material management system according to claim 2, wherein the sorting unit further adds a transport route for transporting the transport materials to the collection destination after the packaged items have been removed, and sorts the packaged items to be packaged.

6. The impact level is determined by including at least one of the transportation method, transportation distance, and transshipment frequency, in addition to the transportation route for transporting the packaged goods, according to any one of claims 3 to 5.

7. The transport material management system according to claim 1, wherein the remaining strength is determined based on the stress-strain curve of the transport material according to the magnitude of the strain.

8. The transport material management system according to claim 7, wherein the transport material is graded based on the amount of strain corresponding to the boundary between the elastic region and the plastic region of the stress-strain curve of the transport material.

9. The transport material management system according to claim 8, wherein in the plastic region, the transport material is graded based on the amount of strain at which it breaks.

10. The transport material management system according to claim 1, wherein the characteristics of the packaged item are determined based on the fragility and weight of the packaged item.

11. The processor executes the software stored in memory, By performing non-destructive strain measurement on each of the multiple transport materials capable of packing items inside, we evaluated the amount of strain and obtained graded residual strength based on that strain. For each of the multiple transport materials, the items to be packaged are sorted based on the correspondence between the remaining strength of the graded transport material and the type and characteristics of the items to be packaged. Methods for managing transported materials.

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