Device and method for the partially or completely automatic commissioning of packs

• US 8,768,862 B2
• Filed: 11/23/2010
• Issued: 07/01/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 11/26/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Alliacense Limited
• Original Assignee: Krones AG (Krones)
• Inventors: Hirschbichler, Martin, Holzner, Robert
• Primary Examiner(s): VINCENT, DAVID ROBERT
• Application Number:
  US12/952,232
• Publication Number:
  US 20110125694A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,316 Days
• Field of Search: 706/12, 706/47, 706/62
• US Class Current: 706/12
• CPC Class Codes: B65G 1/1378 the orders being assembled on fixed commissioning areas remote from the storage areas

Abstract

A method for the partially or completely automatic commissioning of packs of one or several articles, in particular beverage articles, including receiving a commissioning order for preparing a target unit which comprises a target carrier and target packs of one or several articles, holding ready a source unit which comprises a source carrier and source packs of a predetermined article, automatically determining whether the source unit is suited for negative commissioning based on the commissioning order, and if the source unit is suited for negative commissioning, use of the source unit as target unit.

Claims

1. Method for the partially or completely automatic commissioning of packs of one or several articles, in particular beverage articles, using a commissioning system, the method comprising the steps of:

receiving, by a control element of the commissioning system, a commissioning order for preparing a target unit which comprises a target carrier and target packs of one or several articles;

providing a source unit which comprises a source carrier and source packs of a predetermined article in a pick-up area of the commissioning system;

making an automatic determination, by the control element, whether the source unit is suited for negative commissioning, which requires the removal of one or more source packs, based on the commissioning order, and

if the source unit is suited for negative commissioning, making use of the source unit as the target unit, the use comprising;

unloading one or more source packs from the source unit, so that the number of packs of the predetermined article remaining on the source unit matches an order quantity of the packs of the predetermined article in accordance with the commissioning order;

automatically moving the partially unloaded source unit to a target area of the commissioning system; and

supplementing the partially unloaded source unit in the target area with packs or bonds of packs using a sequence formation means of the commissioning system to form the target unit.

2. Method according to claim 1, wherein making the automatic determination comprises determining a remaining quantity, wherein the remaining quantity corresponds to the difference between the number of source packs and the number of packs of the predetermined article ordered by the commissioning order.

3. Method according to claim 2, wherein the source unit is suited for negative commissioning if the remaining quantity is smaller than a predetermined fraction of the number of the source packs of the source unit.

4. Method according to claim 2, wherein using the source unit as target unit comprises:

removing the remaining quantity from the source unit; and

using the source carrier as target carrier and using the source pack remaining after the remaining quantity has been removed as target packs.

5. Method according to claim 1, wherein several commissioning orders are received, and wherein the step of making the automatic determination is carried out for each commissioning order.

6. Method according to claim 5, wherein the several received commissioning orders are associated to a predetermined period.

7. Method according to claim 5, the method further comprising determining the commissioning order with the smallest remaining quantity.

8. Method according to claim 1, wherein several source units are provided, and wherein the step of making the automatic determination is carried out for each source unit.

9. Method according to claim 8, wherein the source unit associated with the smallest remaining quantity for the commissioning order is used for the commissioning order as target unit.

10. Method according to claim 1, comprising introducing the packs not used for the target unit into a pack storage.

11. Method according to claim 10, comprising determining whether the packs not used for the target unit can be one of completely or partially used for preparing a further target unit.

12. Computer program product, comprising one or several machine-readable media with instructions stored thereon that can be carried out by a computer to carry out the steps of a method according to claim 1 if these instructions are carried out on a computer.

13. Device for the partially or completely automatic commissioning of packs of one or several articles, in particular beverage articles, comprising a control element which is configured to carry out the method according to claim 1, a pick-up area for one or several source units, and a target area for one or several target units, the pick-up area and the target area being connected with each other via a transport section.

14. Method according to claim 7, wherein the source unit is used as target unit for the commissioning order with the smallest remaining quantity.