US 11,753,248 B2
Picking facility
Masaya Miyamoto, Tokyo (JP); and Hiroaki Haruta, Tokyo (JP)
Assigned to Daifuku Co., Ltd., Osaka (JP)
Filed by Daifuku Co., Ltd., Osaka (JP)
Filed on Aug. 31, 2020, as Appl. No. 17/7,057.
Claims priority of application No. 2019-159679 (JP), filed on Sep. 2, 2019.
Prior Publication US 2021/0061569 A1, Mar. 4, 2021
Int. Cl. B65G 1/137 (2006.01); B65G 1/04 (2006.01); B65G 47/49 (2006.01); B65G 47/50 (2006.01); B65G 47/52 (2006.01)
CPC B65G 1/1376 (2013.01) [B65G 1/0492 (2013.01); B65G 1/1371 (2013.01); B65G 1/1378 (2013.01); B65G 47/49 (2013.01); B65G 47/50 (2013.01); B65G 47/52 (2013.01)] 8 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
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.