Picking facility

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11753248-B2
Application number	US-202017007057-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 31, 2020
Priority date	Sep 2, 2019
Publication date	Sep 12, 2023
Grant date	Sep 12, 2023

Abstract

In a picking facility, if both a first picking operation and a second picking operation are performed based on order information, a third container is transported from a housing portion to a second picking portion, a fourth container is transported from the housing portion to the second picking portion, after the second picking operation has been performed, the fourth container in which a target article has been housed by the second picking operation is transported as a second container to a first picking portion, a first container is transported from the housing portion to the first picking portion, and, after the first picking operation has been performed, the second container in which the target articles have been housed by the first picking operation and the second picking operation is transported to a shipping portion.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A picking facility comprising:
a first picking portion at which an operator performs a first picking operation;
a second picking portion at which a robot performs a second picking operation;
a housing portion that houses containers;
a transport portion that transports the containers along a transport path; and
a control portion that controls the transport portion,
wherein:
the containers include a first container in which articles of an article type to be subjected to the first picking operation are housed, a second container serving as a shipping container, a third container in which articles of an article type to be subjected to the second picking operation are housed, and a fourth container,
the first picking operation is an operation in which, based on order information serving as information indicating a target article to be shipped, the target article that has been taken out from the first container is housed in the second container,
the second picking operation is an operation in which the target article that has been taken out from the third container is housed in the fourth container based on the order information,
the housing portion is upstream of the first picking portion and the second picking portion on the transport path,
the transport path includes a first path portion connecting the housing portion with the first picking portion and a second path portion connecting the housing portion with the second picking portion, the first and second path portions being parallel to each other, and
the control portion, if only the first picking operation out of the first picking operation and the second picking operation is performed based on the order information, controls the transport portion such that:
the first container is transported from the housing portion to the first picking portion;
the second container is transported from the housing portion to the first picking portion and, after the first picking operation has been performed, the second container in which the target article has been housed by the first picking operation is transported to a shipping portion; and

if both the first picking operation and the second picking operation are performed based on the order information, the control portion controls the transport portion such that:
the third container is transported from the housing portion to the second picking portion;
the fourth container is transported from the housing portion to the second picking portion;
after the second picking operation has been performed, the fourth container in which the target article has been housed by the second picking operation is temporarily transported from the second picking portion to the housing portion and housed in the housing portion, and is then transported as the second container to the first picking portion;
the first container is transported from the housing portion to the first picking portion; and
after the first picking operation has been performed, the second container in which the target articles have been housed by the first picking operation and the second picking operation is transported to the shipping portion.

2. The picking facility according to claim 1 , wherein:
the control portion, if both the first picking operation and the second picking operation are performed based on the order information, controls the transport portion such that
when the first picking operation is performed thereafter, the fourth container is transported as the second container to the first picking portion.

3. The picking facility according to claim 1 , wherein:
the control portion, if only the second picking operation out of the first picking operation and the second picking operation is performed based on the order information, controls the transport portion such that:
the third container is transported from the housing portion to the second picking portion;
the fourth container is transported from the housing portion to the second picking portion; and
after the second picking operation has been performed, the fourth container in which the target article has been housed by the second picking operation is transported to the shipping portion.

4. The picking facility according to claim 1 , wherein
the housing portion comprises:
a first warehouse portion that houses the first container and the third container and that is capable of housing the fourth container; and
a second warehouse portion that houses the second container and the fourth container in each of which no article is housed, and

in a case where both the first picking operation and the second picking operation are performed based on the order information, the control portion, after the second picking operation is performed, controls the transport portion such that the fourth container in which the target article has been housed by the second picking operation is temporarily transported to the first warehouse portion, and is then housed in the first warehouse portion.

5. The picking facility according to claim 1 , wherein
the transport portion comprises a sorter portion that changes an arrangement sequence of the containers that are transported, and
in a case where the order information includes a plurality of pieces of the order information, the control portion controls the transport portion such that the transport portion transports from the housing portion to the sorter portion a plurality of the first container and a plurality of the second container corresponding to the plurality of pieces of the order information, the plurality of the second container including the fourth container in which the target article has been housed by the second picking operation, the sorter portion changes the arrangement sequence of the plurality of the first container and the plurality of the second container according to the plurality of pieces of the order information and transports out the plurality of the first container and the plurality of the second container, and the transport portion then transports the plurality of first container and the plurality of second container to the first picking portion.

6. The picking facility according to claim 1 , wherein
in a case where both the first picking operation and the second picking operation are performed based on the order information, the control portion controls the transport portion such that the transport portion transports the fourth container from the housing portion to the second picking portion along a path that is at least partially different from a path along which the third container is transported.

7. A picking facility comprising:
a first picking portion at which an operator performs a first picking operation;
a second picking portion at which a robot performs a second picking operation;
a housing portion that houses containers;
a transport portion that transports the containers; and
a control portion that controls the transport portion,
wherein:
the containers include a first container in which articles of an article type to be subjected to the first picking operation are housed, a second container serving as a shipping container, a third container in which articles of an article type to be subjected to the second picking operation are housed, and a fourth container,
the first picking operation is an operation in which, based on order information serving as information indicating a target article to be shipped, the target article that has been taken out from the first container located at a first position is housed in the second container located at a second position that is different from the first position,
the second picking operation is an operation in which the target article that has been taken out from the third container is housed

Assignees

• Daifuku Kk

Inventors

• Miyamoto Masaya
• Haruta Hiroaki

Classifications

• B65G47/49 Primary

  without bodily contact between article or load carrier and automatic control device {, e.g. the destination marks being electrically or electronically detected} · CPC title

• B65G1/0485 Primary

  Check-in, check-out devices · CPC title

• B65G1/1373 Primary

  for fulfilling orders in warehouses · CPC title

• B65G1/1376 Primary

  the orders being assembled on a commissioning conveyor · CPC title

• B65G47/50

  according to destination signals stored in separate systems · CPC title