JP2006069758A - Transport system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a transport system easily capable of securely managing receipt and shipment of articles, and easily grasping work situations of transport vehicles. <P>SOLUTION: In mounting articles 7 on a truck 4 at a shipper, an ID tag 6b attached to the articles is read by an ID reader 14, and an ID tag 6a on the truck 4 is read by the ID reader 14 provided at an exit gate 12. As the truck 4 arrives at a delivery center 22, the ID tag 6a is read for preparation for receipt and shipment of the articles, and an instruction part 26 guides them to a berth 10 or a stand-by station. Stay time of the truck 4 at the shipper 2 and the delivery center 22, and moving time between them are analyzed by a controller 36, and a transport route is reviewed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a transport system, and more particularly to management of a transport vehicle such as a truck.

  The usual delivery method is to deliver goods from a manufacturer's factory through a distribution center to individual dealers. In order to review transport routes, transport vehicle assignments, and delivery time zones, it is also possible to set up a global positioning system (GPS) on the truck, constantly monitor the truck's position at the delivery center, and review the delivery efficiency from now on. It is done. However, it is inefficient to provide a GPS only to determine the position of the truck, and it is necessary to accurately know the status of the truck from the position, such as whether it is working or waiting in a base such as a distribution center. Is unsuitable.

The basic problem of the present invention is to obtain the position and state of each transport vehicle with simple equipment and facilitate the review of the transport route and the like.
An additional problem in the invention of claim 2 is to evaluate the work time and waiting time of the transport vehicle at each base so that the time required for arrival at the transport vehicle can be reviewed.
An additional problem in the invention of claim 3 is to grasp the traffic congestion situation of the transport route so that the transport route can be reviewed.

  The transport system according to the present invention is a system in which a plurality of transport vehicles transport an article while moving between points. The transport vehicle is provided with an ID tag, an ID reader is provided at the point, and the ID of the transport vehicle is read and transported. The system management means is notified of the ID of the transport vehicle. The transport vehicle is, for example, a truck such as a truck or a trailer, but may be an automatic guided vehicle, a tracked carriage, an overhead traveling vehicle, or the like. The time when the transport vehicle passes the point can be obtained by transmitting the ID together with the time from the ID reader side or by estimating that the transport vehicle has passed the point at the time received by the management means. it can. The state of the transport vehicle can be determined to be traveling, for example, between point points, and it is possible to know the position of the stopped point, or because it has been instructed to travel to the berth or waiting area, it is waiting or being unloaded. And so on.

  Preferably, an ID reader is provided at the entrance gate of the distribution center, and the staying time of the truck at the distribution center is managed by the management means.

  Preferably, an ID reader is provided at the stop of the truck, and the operation status such as the moving time and the number of stops of the truck between the stops is managed by the management means.

  In this invention, the position and state of the transport vehicle can be grasped with simple equipment, and the efficiency of the transport system can be improved. In addition, by providing a large number of ID readers in the base, or estimating from instructions given to the transport vehicle, it is possible to identify the state of the transport vehicle such as working in a berth or waiting in a waiting area.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, the truck arrival time can be reviewed by obtaining the truck staying time at the distribution center.

  In the invention of claim 3, it is possible to review the transportation route of each truck by obtaining the operation status such as the travel time between the stops and the number of stops.

  In the following, an optimum embodiment for carrying out the present invention will be shown.

  1 to 5 show an embodiment and its modifications. In addition, in each modification, the same code | symbol and the same term as an Example represent the same thing, and the description regarding an Example is applied also to each modification as it is, unless there is particular notice. 1 to 3, reference numeral 2 denotes a shipping source, which is a manufacturer's factory or other distribution center, and 4 is a truck as an example of a transport vehicle. For example, an ID tag 6 a is attached to a predetermined position such as a roof. . The ID tag 6a may be physically a barcode label or the like, but is preferably an RFID tag, which can wirelessly communicate with the ID reader 14 using electromagnetic waves from the ID reader 14 as a power source. , A tag using an IC. The ID tag 6a has a label shape or a stick shape, and the shape is arbitrary. In this embodiment, as the ID reader 14, a reader / writer for the RFID tags 6a and 6b is used. Note that “providing an ID tag on the transport vehicle” means that the driver holds the ID tag toward the ID reader without carrying it off the truck in addition to the case where it is attached to the roof or the like as in this embodiment. Including the form that can be read by.

  Reference numeral 7 denotes a pallet as an example of a transported article, and an RF type ID tag 6b describing the ID, the name of the article, the number of articles, a delivery destination, and the like is attached to each pallet. When an article is put in a bucket or an assortment case and conveyed, the ID tag 6b is attached to them. A forklift 8 loads the pallet 7 on the truck 4. Reference numeral 10 denotes a berth, and reference numeral 12 denotes an entrance gate. An ID reader 14 is provided to read and write the track ID tag 6a. Although not shown in the figure, it is preferable to provide an ID reader 14 at the entrance gate and the like to detect the track position.

  Reference numeral 22 denotes a distribution center, in which an ID reader 14 is similarly provided at the entrance gate 24, and an ID reader is similarly attached to an exit gate (not shown). Reference numeral 26 denotes an instruction unit that gives instructions to the truck 4 such as waiting in a waiting area or loading / unloading a baggage at a specified number of berths. Instead of giving an instruction from the instruction unit 26, an instruction is given by communicating with the portable information terminal of the driver of the truck 4, or an instruction such as a destination is given from the ID reader 14 to the ID tag 6a provided on the truck 4. The information may be written and read by an ID reader (not shown) provided on the track 4 and displayed. When an instruction is given to the track 4, it is managed that the track 4 is in the instructed state. Furthermore, the entrance gate 24 can read the ID tag 6a of the track 4 by the ID reader 14 and check whether or not the entrance of the track 4 to the distribution center 22 is permitted.

  Reference numeral 30 denotes a store, which is a transport destination by the truck 4, and may be another delivery center or a depot. The store 32 is provided with an ID reader 14 and reads the ID tag 6 a of the track 4. Further, the ID reader 14 is preferably provided at a stopover of the vending machine 32 or the like. At a small stop, such as a vending machine 32, an IC card reader or the like for reading an IC card held by the driver may be provided in place of the ID reader 14. In this embodiment, the delivery from the delivery center 22 to the store 30 or the vending machine 32 has been described as an example. However, delivery from a manufacturing factory to a delivery center or delivery between manufacturing plants may be used. The original type is not particularly limited.

  The upstream controller 34 provided at the shipping source 2 receives the data of the ID tag 6 b of the pallet 7 from the ID reader 14 provided near the berth 10. In addition, the vehicle ID and departure time of the truck 4 are received from the ID reader 14 provided at the entrance gate 12. The ID reader 14 provided in the berth 10 can confirm that the predetermined pallet 7 is loaded on the predetermined track 4, and the ID reader 14 of the gate 12 can check which truck 4 has started. As described above, the upstream controller 34 confirms that the transfer plan is being executed as scheduled. The upstream controller 34 transmits the ID of the shipped article, the name and number of the article, the vehicle ID of the truck used for transportation, the departure time, and the like to the center controller 36 provided on the downstream side such as the delivery center 22. To do.

    The center-side controller 36 can know from the signal from the ID reader 14 that the truck 4 has passed through the entry gate 24. At this time, the vehicle ID of the truck 4 and the entry / exit time are known, and the upstream controller 34 has already notified which truck is carrying which article. Therefore, the center-side controller 36 uses the instruction unit 26 and the like to give instructions to the truck 4 about which berth to work on and whether to wait in a waiting area.

  At the same time, the forklift 8 and the like are instructed to prepare for loading and unloading the goods with the truck 4, and the automatic warehouse and the flat warehouse and the like are prepared for processing the goods that are received or shipped from the truck 4. Instruct. When the truck 4 arrives at the berth 10, unloading or loading is performed by the forklift 8 or the like, and the ID of an article entering or leaving the berth 10 is read by the ID reader 14, thereby preventing erroneous arrival or erroneous shipment.

  The center-side controller 36 communicates with the store 30 and the vending machine 32 via the Internet 38 and the like. The center-side controller 36 notifies the store 30 and the like of the scheduled time when the truck 4 arrives, the article ID, and the like. Note that the center controller 36 not only notifies the downstream stop, but also responds to the advanced stop such as the shipping source 2 according to the progress of the work in the distribution center. Thus, the arrival request time for each track 4 may be notified. The ID reader 14 of the store 30 or the vending machine 32 notifies the center side controller 36 of the arrival time and departure time of the truck, the vehicle ID, and the like. When an IC card reader or the like is used instead of the ID reader 14, the driver ID is notified instead of the vehicle ID. In this case, the IC card reader is regarded as one type of ID card reader.

  The data of the track ID tag 6a and the data of the pallet ID tag 6b are shown in FIG. In the ID tag 6a, for example, the ID number and vehicle number of the ID tag itself and the delivery history are recorded. The delivery history is written from the ID reader 14 and the like when passing through the entrance gate and exit gate, and the delivery route of the day and each point in the delivery route (gates 12, 24, dealer 30, vending machine 32, etc.) The passing time is stored as a delivery history.

  The ID tag 6b stores the ID of the ID tag itself or the ID of the pallet, the article name and the number thereof, the shipping source / destination, the shipping date / time, the delivery date / time, and the like. The pallet ID tag 6b can be used as a record of pallet history until the pallet is depalletized. For example, the shipping source 2 records the shipping source name, the destination delivery center name, the shipping date and time, and the like. The delivery center 22 records the time of unloading from the berth 10 as the delivery date and time, records the date and time of warehousing, the shelf address used for storage, and the like. When this pallet is reshipped from the distribution center 22, the date and time of reshipment, the destination, etc. are recorded, and the history of the pallet until depalletizing is recorded in the same manner.

  FIG. 3 shows the configuration of the center-side controller 36, which is the same for the upstream controller 34. Reference numeral 40 denotes a communication interface that performs communication via the Internet 38 or the like, performs communication with, for example, n ID readers 14 from the LAN interface 42, and instructs the instruction unit 26 about display contents. . Further, the LAN interface 42 communicates with the automatic warehouse 52, the flat warehouse 54, the picking unit 56, the forklift group 58, etc. of the distribution center, gives instructions such as receipt and shipment, and reports work status and troubles. receive.

  The work record related to the distribution center 22 is stored in the database 44. For example, when the data for one truck is shown, the vehicle ID, the time of passing through the entrance gate, the time of passing through the entrance gate, and the ID of the transported article And remember. The stay time analysis unit 46 obtains the stay time at the delivery center or the like for each truck using the entry time and the exit time in the database 44. Then, the characteristics of the truck transportation plan with a long stay time are determined by statistical analysis such as discriminant analysis and factor analysis. These features include the time required for arrival at the truck, the entry time, and the type of transport route from the shipping source or distribution center.

  If an element that increases the staying time of the truck at the distribution center is determined, it is determined whether the staying time at the berth is long or the staying time at other places, for example, the waiting area. For example, when the staying time in a waiting area or the like is long, the transportation route can be rationalized by changing the time required for arrival at the distribution center.

  In the movement time analysis unit 48, the movement time between the shipping source 2 and the distribution center 22, the movement time from the distribution center 22 to the store 30, or the total movement time for one entire delivery route is similarly determined. Analyze and determine the relationship between the long travel time section and the long transport route, and the relationship between the long travel time and factors such as the time zone, and review the transport route and the arrival request time. Note that the transport route, the arrival request time, and the like may be different between, for example, weekdays from Monday to Friday, and Saturday and Sunday. In addition to this, obtain the number of truck visits to dealers, vending machines, shippers, etc., and analyze whether it is possible to reduce the number of visits by changing the transportation route and its time zone. You may do it.

  The work management unit 50 can be used from an automatic warehouse or a flat storage warehouse where the truck has passed through the entrance gate, arrived at the berth, passed through the exit gate, loaded with a predetermined article on the truck, unloaded the article from the truck, etc. The work status, such as the receipt / extraction of goods or the picking at the picking unit, is obtained from the database 44 and the work management is performed, and an instruction is given to the instruction unit 26, the automatic warehouse 52 to the forklift group 58, etc.

The following effects can be obtained from the embodiment.
(1) The location and movement of a truck or article can be tracked by an ID tag or ID reader that is cheaper than GPS.
(2) By increasing the number of ID readers, it is possible to obtain detailed information such as which track is located at which berth or is in a waiting area.
(3) When loading or unloading from a truck, reading an ID tag attached to an article such as a pallet can prevent erroneous arrival and shipment.
(4) The truck transport history and the article transport history can be read from the ID tag.

  FIG. 4 shows a modification for providing a conveyance record when unloading the pallet 7 from a store or the like not equipped with an ID reader. An ID reader 14 is provided on the loading platform of the truck 4 to read data of the ID tag 6b. In addition, a state detection unit 62 is provided to unload the pallet when the truck engine is stopped, the loading platform cover is open, or the driver touches the unloading or loading button. Detect that. When the state detection unit 62 detects that the truck is in the unloading mode, the ID reader 14 reads the data of the ID tag 6b and stores the ID of the article. Thus, for example, data such as the ID of the article, the time when the article was loaded on the truck, the name and type and number of articles, the delivery destination and the delivery time, etc. can be recorded in the in-vehicle database 60 of the truck 4.

  FIG. 5 shows a modification using an automatic guided vehicle 64 such as an automatic guided vehicle, a tracked carriage, and an overhead traveling vehicle. An ID tag 6c is provided on the transport vehicle 64, and an ID reader 14d is provided on a post or a station along the travel route. Preferably, an ID tag 6d is provided at a station, a post or the like so that the ID reader 14c of the transport vehicle 64 can read and write. The ID tag 6c describes the state of the transport vehicle ID, destination, in-stock, empty load, standby, breakdown, etc., and the ID tag 6d can be unloaded from the transport vehicle 64 with the ID and position of the station, Describes a state in which there is an article to be unloaded to the transport vehicle 64, such as a failure. When the ID tag 6d is a post ID, a post ID and a post position are described.

Therefore, when the transport vehicle 64 travels along the travel route, the transport vehicle 64 can know the current position when it passes the post. Further, the post side can know the ID and position of the transport vehicle, and reports the current position of the transport vehicle to the ground controller or the like. In the case of a station, the ID tag 6c is read by the station's ID reader 14b, and the station's ID tag 14d is read by the ID reader 14c of the transport vehicle 64, thereby exchanging the state of each other and data necessary for transferring the article. Can be exchanged

It is a figure which shows the conveyance system of an Example typically, and shows shipment from a factory, a delivery center, etc., the arrival to a delivery center etc., and delivery to a store, a vending machine, etc. typically. The figure which shows typically the data of the ID tag of a truck, and the ID tag of goods Block diagram of a distribution center controller in an embodiment The figure which shows typically the modification which provided the ID reader in the track | truck The figure which shows the modification which provided the ID reader in the automatic guided vehicle

Explanation of symbols

2 Shipment 4 Truck 6a to d ID tag 7 Pallet 8 Forklift 10 Berth 12 Exit gate 14 ID reader 22 Distribution center 24 Entrance gate 26 Instruction section 30 Dealer 32 Vending machine 34, 36 Controller 38 Internet 40 Communication interface 42 LAN interface 44 Database 46 Stay Time Analysis Unit 48 Travel Time Analysis Unit 50 Work Management Unit 52 Automatic Warehouse 54 Flat Place Warehouse 56 Picking Unit 58 Forklift Group 60 In-vehicle Database 62 Status Detection Unit 64 Transport Vehicle

Claims (3)

In a system in which a plurality of transport vehicles transport articles while moving between points,
An conveyance system, wherein an ID tag is provided on a conveyance vehicle, an ID reader is provided at a point, the ID of the conveyance vehicle is read, and the management unit of the conveyance system is notified of the conveyance vehicle ID. 2. The transport system according to claim 1, wherein an ID reader is provided at an entrance gate of the delivery center, and the staying time of the truck at the delivery center is managed by the management means. 3. The transport according to claim 1, wherein an ID reader is provided at a stop of the truck, and the operation status such as the moving time and the number of stops of the truck between the stops is managed by the management means. system.

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