Picking system

• US 5,646,616 A
• Filed: 06/26/1995
• Issued: 07/08/1997
• Est. Priority Date: 07/01/1994
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Murata Machinery Limited (Muratec)
• Original Assignee: Murata Machinery Limited (Muratec)
• Inventors: Komatsu, Yukio
• Primary Examiner(s): Hofsass, Jeffery
• Assistant Examiner(s): Lee, Benjamin C.
• Application Number:
  US08/494,983
• Time in Patent Office: 743 Days
• Field of Search: 340/988, 340/674, 340/572, 340/825.35, 340/825.49, 364/401, 364/403, 364/450, 364/478
• US Class Current: 340/988
• CPC Class Codes: B65G 1/1375 the orders being assembled on a commissioning stacker-crane or truck
• CPC Class Codes: B65G 2209/04 Indication location means
• CPC Class Codes: B65G 2209/06 Use of order trucks
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/203 Inventory monitoring

Abstract

To display picking information on a liquid crystal display unit, ID tags are disposed at the entrance and the exits of paths between racks, and the current position of a picking cart is recognized by way of communication with an antenna. Between an entrance and an exit, the distance over which the picking cart has traveled from the communication position with an ID tag is detected by way of an encoder which detects rotation of a wheel of the picking cart to recognize the current position.

Claims

1. An article pick-up system including a display device for displaying article pick-up information as to a current position of a cart having wheels, comprising:

a first means for indexing predetermined positions, said first means being disposed at a predetermined position;

a second means for detecting position information of said first means;

a third means for detecting a number and a direction of rotations of at least one of said wheels; and

a fourth means for detecting a travel distance of said cart based on said number and said direction of rotation of said at least one of said wheels received from said third means and based on an outer diameter of said wheel, and for recognizing said current position of said cart in accordance with said position information resulting from said second means and said travel distance, wherein said second, third and fourth means are provided on said cart.

2. The article pick-up system as recited in claim 1, wherein said first means is provided only at an entrance and an exit of each path between racks.

3. The article pick-up system as recited in claim 1, wherein said second means includes an antenna for detecting ID tags disposed only at said entrance and said exit of each path between said racks, and said third means includes an encoder for detecting rotation of a wheel of said cart.