JP5729606B2 - Article processing equipment - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention provides a storage shelf in which a plurality of storage units for storing articles are arranged side by side, an article storage / extraction unit installed corresponding to the storage shelf, and between the storage unit and the article storage / extraction unit An automatic warehouse provided with shelf-side article transport means for transporting articles is provided, and at least one of the article transport paths between the article loading / unloading unit and the article loading / unloading unit that carries articles from outside and carries the articles to the outside An automatic guided vehicle handling route is set in the section, and the automatic guided vehicle handling route is provided with an unmanned automatic guided vehicle that automatically travels on the floor along the set traveling route, and is located in the external loading / unloading unit. The automatic warehouse in the route for the automatic guided vehicle in order to carry out an article carrying-in process for carrying an article to the article loading / unloading part and an article carrying-out process for carrying an article located in the article loading / unloading part to the external carry-in / out part Warehouse side An article processing equipment transport management means for allocating transport task with an external side article transfer portion located on the goods transfer portion and the external discharge join the club side to the AGV is provided.

  Such an article processing facility stores articles carried into the external carry-in / out section from the outside in a storage shelf of an automatic warehouse, and carries the articles stored in the storage shelf to the outside from the external carry-in / out section at a necessary time. For example, it is installed and used in a distribution center or the like.

An automatic guided vehicle handling route is set in at least a part of the goods transport route between the external carry-in / out unit and the goods storage / removal unit, and the unmanned transport vehicle assigned route includes a floor along the set travel route. An article loading process in which an unmanned unmanned guided vehicle that automatically travels on the surface is provided, and an article located in an external loading / unloading unit is transported to an article loading / unloading unit by controlling the operation of the automated guided vehicle by a transportation management means Or the article carrying-out process which conveys the article located in the article loading / unloading part to the said external carrying in / out part can be performed using an automatic guided vehicle (for example, refer patent document 1).

Although not described in detail in the above-mentioned Patent Document 1, the transport management means, when controlling the operation of the automatic guided vehicle, the traveling-side article transfer unit located on the automatic warehouse side in the automatic guided vehicle handling route, The transfer work with the external article transfer unit located on the external carry-in / out part side is assigned to the automatic guided vehicle, and the automatic transfer vehicle executes the transfer work assigned by the transfer management means. .
Conventionally, all of the transfer work between the automatic warehouse-side article transfer unit and the external transfer-in / out unit-side article transfer unit in the automatic guided vehicle handling route is assigned to the automatic guided vehicle. It was.

  Incidentally, in the above-mentioned Patent Document 1, the loading / unloading apparatus as the article loading / unloading section of the automatic warehouse becomes the warehouse-side article transfer section in the unmanned conveyance charge path, and the station conveyor as the external loading / unloading section is in the unmanned conveyance charge path. In the case of becoming an external article transfer section, that is, the case where all of the article transport path between the external carry-in / out section and the article load / unload section is described as an unmanned transport vehicle handling path is described. A part of the article conveyance route with the article entry / exit unit may be set as the automatic guided vehicle handling route.

JP 2007-65754 A

  Conventionally, since all the transfer work between the warehouse-side article transfer unit and the external-side article transfer unit on the route in charge of the automatic guided vehicle is assigned to the automatic guided vehicle, the number of automatic guided vehicles to be equipped However, there is a disadvantage that the installation cost of the equipment is expensive, and improvement is desired.

  In other words, the number of automated guided vehicles to be equipped must be the number that can properly convey the goods without stagnation when storing the articles in the automatic warehouse or taking out the stored articles. In general, a large amount of goods are transported and a small amount of time, such as when transport work is concentrated in a specific time of the day In addition, there is a tendency that the time zone in which there is a large amount of article transportation work is less than the time zone in which there is a small quantity of article transportation work.

  And when assigning all of the goods transport operations to the automatic guided vehicle, it is necessary to equip the number of automatic guided vehicles that can appropriately transport the goods without stagnation even during the time when there is a large amount of goods transport work. However, in a time zone in which the work of transporting articles is small, an unnecessarily automatic guided vehicle is installed.

  In other words, when allocating all of the goods transport operations to the automatic guided vehicle, the number of the automatic guided vehicles to be equipped becomes equal to or more than the number required in the time zone in which the goods transport work is small. There is a disadvantage that the number of transport vehicles increases and the installation cost of facilities increases, and improvement is desired.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and its object is to reduce the number of automatic guided vehicles to be equipped while reducing the number of automatic guided vehicles to be installed while appropriately carrying goods. It is in the point which provides the article processing equipment which can aim at the fall of this.

The article processing facility according to the present invention includes a storage shelf in which a plurality of storage units for storing articles are arranged side by side, an article storage / removal unit installed corresponding to the storage shelf, and the storage unit and the article storage / removal unit. An automatic warehouse with shelf-side article transport means for transporting articles between and
An automatic guided vehicle handling route is set in at least a part of an article conveyance route between an external carry-in / out unit that carries in an article from the outside and carries the article out to the outside, and the article entry / exit unit,
The automatic guided vehicle charge route includes a trackless automatic guided vehicle that automatically travels on the floor along a set travel route,
The unmanned transfer for carrying out an article carry-in process for carrying an article located in the external carry-in / out part to the article entry / exit part, and an article carry-out process for carrying an article located in the article carry-in / out part to the external carry-in / out part. A transfer management means for allocating a transfer work between the warehouse-side article transfer unit located on the automatic warehouse side and the external-side article transfer unit located on the external carry-in / out unit in the vehicle handling route to the automatic guided vehicle; The first characteristic configuration is provided.
When the transfer management means is instructed to interrupt, a part of the transfer work between the warehouse-side article transfer unit and the external-side article transfer unit is operated by an operator. It is characterized by being configured to be assigned to a manned transport vehicle.

That is, a manned transport vehicle driven by an operator is equipped to perform a transport operation between the warehouse-side article transfer unit and the external-side article transfer unit.
Then, when an interrupt request is instructed, the transport management means assigns a part of the transport work between the warehouse-side article transfer unit and the external-side article transfer unit to the manned transport vehicle. Become.

In other words, a part of the transfer work between the warehouse-side article transfer unit and the external-side article transfer unit can be assigned to the manned transfer vehicle. In a time zone in which there is a large amount of transport work between the loading unit and the external article transfer unit, a part of the transport work can be assigned to the manned transport vehicle.
By the way, in the time zone when the transportation work between the warehouse-side article transfer unit and the external-side article transfer unit on the unmanned transport vehicle handling route is small, all of the transport work is assigned to the automatic transport vehicle. To do.

  In this way, in a time zone where there is a large amount of transport work between the warehouse-side article transfer unit and the external-side article transfer unit in the unmanned transport vehicle handling route, a part of the transport work is sent to the manned transport vehicle. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the number of automatic guided vehicles to be provided while appropriately transporting articles without stagnation even when there is a large amount of transport work.

  And since the manned transport vehicle driven by the operator can be configured at a lower cost than the automatic guided vehicle equipped with various devices for automatic travel, it is possible to reduce the installation cost of the equipment. It becomes.

  In short, according to the first characteristic configuration of the present invention, the article can be appropriately transported without stagnation, and the equipment installation cost can be reduced by reducing the number of automatic guided vehicles to be equipped. Processing facilities can be provided.

In addition to the first feature configuration, the second feature configuration of the article processing facility of the present invention is:
A list of articles that are not assigned to the automatic guided vehicle among the articles that are transported by using the warehouse-side article transfer unit or the external-side article transfer unit as a transport source is displayed on the manned transport vehicle. A list display means, and an article selection means for selecting an article to be transported from a list displayed on the list display means,
When the article is carried into the warehouse-side article transfer unit and the external-side article transfer unit, the transfer management unit is configured to allocate a transfer operation for the article to the automatic guided vehicle, and the article When an article is selected by the selection means, it is assumed that the interrupt request is instructed, and the transport operation for the selected article is preferentially assigned to the manned transport vehicle. Features.

  In other words, when an article is carried into the warehouse-side article transfer section and the external-side article transfer section, the transfer management means assigns the transfer operation for the article to the automatic guided vehicle, and the assigned article is unmanned. It will be transported by a transport vehicle.

  And the worker who boarded the manned transport vehicle is an unmanned transport vehicle among the articles transported using the warehouse side article transfer section or the external side article transfer section displayed on the list display means as the transport source. In the case where the goods are stagnant in the warehouse-side article transfer section or the external-side article transfer section while checking the list of articles not assigned to the item, the article selection means displays the list on the list display means. An article to be conveyed is selected from the list, and a conveying operation for conveying the selected article is performed.

  When an article is selected by the article selection means, the transport management means preferentially assigns a transport operation for the selected article to the manned transport vehicle, assuming that an interrupt request is instructed. Even if the article selected by the article selection means is carried into the warehouse-side article transfer section or the external-side article transfer section, the transfer operation for the article is not assigned to the automatic guided vehicle.

  In this way, since the assignment of the transfer work for the manned transport vehicle is performed according to the intention of the operator driving the manned transport vehicle, the worker driving the manned transport vehicle takes a break, for example, when a break is necessary, The transport operation can be performed in a form that gives top priority to safety without performing excessive operation.

  Moreover, since the assignment of the transfer work to the manned transport vehicle can be performed by selecting the article to be transferred from the list displayed on the list display means by the article selection means, Articles that need to be transported can be assigned to manned transport vehicles and transported urgently.

  That is, the manned transport vehicle is capable of traveling at a higher speed than an unmanned unmanned transport vehicle that travels at a low speed in consideration of safety because it is unmanned, and is displayed on the list display means. By selecting an article to be transported urgently from the list of articles to be transported, it can be transported by a manned transport vehicle at a higher speed than an unmanned transport vehicle.

  In short, according to the second characteristic configuration of the present invention, in addition to the operational effects of the first characteristic configuration, it is possible to perform the transport work in a form that gives top priority to safety, and further, it is necessary to transport it urgently. An article processing facility capable of urgently conveying a certain article can be provided.

In addition to the second feature configuration, the third feature configuration of the article processing facility of the present invention is:
In the case where the state in which the article assigned to the manned delivery vehicle is located in the warehouse-side article transfer unit or the external-side article transfer unit continues even after the set waiting time has elapsed, when the transfer management means Is characterized in that it is configured to change the assignment of the conveyance work for the article from the manned conveyance vehicle to the automatic guided vehicle.

  In other words, if the state where the article assigned to the manned transport vehicle is located in the warehouse-side article transfer unit or the external-side article transfer unit continues even after the set waiting time has passed, the transfer management means, The assignment of the conveyance work for the article is changed from the manned conveyance vehicle to the automatic conveyance vehicle.

  That is, the articles located in the warehouse-side article transfer section or the external-side article transfer section in a state where the transfer work is assigned to the manned transport vehicle are transferred from the warehouse-side article transfer section or the external-side article transfer section. However, there are cases where the operator who drives the manned transport vehicle assigned the work for transporting the article cannot execute the transport work quickly due to special circumstances.

  In such a case, the state where the article assigned to the manned transport vehicle is kept in the warehouse-side article transfer unit or the external-side article transfer unit will continue. When the set waiting time elapses, the assignment of the transfer work for the article will be automatically changed from the manned carrier vehicle to the automatic guided vehicle, so the article assigned to the manned carrier vehicle is the warehouse-side article. It can avoid that the state located in a transfer part or an external article transfer part continues for a long time, and can suppress that conveyance work efficiency falls.

  In other words, the state in which the article assigned to the manned transport vehicle is located in the warehouse-side article transfer unit or the external-side article transfer unit is the warehouse-side article transfer unit or the external-side article in which the article is located. Since the transfer operation of the automatic guided vehicle by the transfer unit will be stopped, the state where the article assigned to the manned transfer vehicle is located in the warehouse-side article transfer unit or the external-side article transfer unit for a long time. If it continues for a long time, the transfer work by the automatic guided vehicle will be stopped and the transfer work efficiency will be reduced, but the goods assigned the transfer work to the manned transfer vehicle will be transferred to the warehouse-side goods transfer section or the external-side goods transfer It can avoid that the state located in a part continues for a long time, and can suppress that conveyance work efficiency falls.

  In short, according to the third feature configuration of the present invention, in addition to the operational effects of the second feature configuration, the article assigned to the manned transport vehicle is transferred to the warehouse-side article transfer section or the external-side article transfer section. It is possible to provide an article processing facility that can prevent the position being kept from continuing for a long time and suppress a decrease in the transfer work efficiency.

In addition to the second or third feature configuration, the fourth feature configuration of the article processing facility of the present invention,
When the article assigned by the conveyance management means to the automatic guided vehicle is located in the warehouse-side article transfer unit or the external-side article transfer unit, the article is transferred by the manned transfer vehicle. In this case, it is characterized in that the assignment of the transfer work for the article is changed from the unmanned transfer vehicle to the manned transfer vehicle.

  That is, when the article assigned to the automated guided vehicle is located in the warehouse-side article transfer unit or the external-side article transfer unit, if the article is transferred by the manned transfer vehicle, the transfer management The means changes the assignment of the transport operation for the article from the automatic guided vehicle to the manned transport vehicle.

  In other words, when the operator who drives the manned transport vehicle determines that the article located in the warehouse-side article transfer unit or the external-side article transfer unit is not transported, the article is transferred. Then, the transfer management means changes the assignment of the transfer work for the article from the automatic guided vehicle to the manned transport vehicle.

  Therefore, although the transfer work is assigned to the automatic guided vehicle, it is possible to transfer the article located in the warehouse-side article transfer unit or the external-side article transfer unit with the manned transfer vehicle, thereby improving the transfer work efficiency. Can be further improved.

  In short, according to the fourth characteristic configuration of the present invention, it is possible to provide an article processing facility capable of further improving the transfer work efficiency in addition to the operational effects of the second or third characteristic configuration.

In addition to any of the second to fourth characteristic configurations described above, the fifth characteristic configuration of the article processing facility of the present invention is:
The manned transport vehicle is equipped with an informing means for informing that the article is stagnant in the warehouse-side article transfer section or the external-side article transfer section.

That is, when an article is stagnant in the warehouse-side article transfer section or the external-side article transfer section, this is notified by the notification means equipped on the manned transport vehicle.
Accordingly, the operator who drives the manned transport vehicle recognizes that the article is stagnant in the warehouse-side article transfer section or the external-side article transfer section by the notification operation of the notification means, and moves the warehouse-side article transfer. It is possible to appropriately perform the transporting work for eliminating the stagnation of the articles in the section or the external article transfer section.

  That is, for the operator who drives the manned transport vehicle, the warehouse-side article transfer unit or the external-side article transfer unit is separated, so that the article is stored in the warehouse-side article transfer unit or the external-side article transfer unit. Although it may be difficult to understand that the stagnation has occurred, the notification operation of the notification means appropriately recognizes that the article is stagnation in the warehouse-side article transfer section or the external-side article transfer section. Therefore, it is possible to appropriately perform the transporting work for eliminating the stagnation of the articles in the warehouse-side article transfer section or the external-side article transfer section.

In short, according to the fifth feature configuration of the present invention, in addition to the operational effects of any of the second to fourth feature configurations, the article stagnates in the warehouse-side article transfer section or the external-side article transfer section. It is possible to provide an article processing facility capable of appropriately carrying out the transfer work for eliminating the problem.

Schematic plan view of article processing equipment Side view of stacker crane Schematic plan view of STV Schematic plan view of AGV Schematic perspective view of AGV Perspective view of manned fork Schematic front view of operation terminal Schematic perspective view of lighting device Block diagram showing control configuration Flow chart showing control operation

Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
As shown in FIG. 1, an automatic warehouse A that stores articles P (hereinafter simply referred to as articles) placed on a pallet, an external loading / unloading section B that carries articles P from the outside and carries articles P to the outside, In addition, an article conveying means D for conveying the article P between the automatic warehouse A and the external loading / unloading section B is provided, and the article P carried into the external loading / unloading section B is conveyed to the automatic warehouse A by the article conveying means D. Thus, an article processing facility is constructed in which the article P stored in the automatic warehouse A is conveyed to the external carry-in / out section B by the article conveying means D and carried out to the outside.

  The automatic warehouse A is a storage shelf 1 in which a plurality of storage units S for storing articles P are arranged side by side in the vertical and horizontal directions, and an article loading / unloading unit that is installed corresponding to the storage shelf 1. The loading / unloading conveyor 2 installed by the side and the stacker crane K as a shelf side article conveyance means which conveys the goods P between the storage part S and the loading / unloading conveyor 2 are comprised.

  In the present embodiment, three shelves composed of a pair of left and right storage shelves 1 are juxtaposed along the width direction of the shelves, and the pair of left and right storage shelves 1 of each shelves set each other in the direction of taking in and out the goods A stacker crane K is installed between each pair of left and right storage shelves 1 in each shelf set.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the storage shelf 1 has columns 1A arranged side by side in the width direction of the shelf, and arms U for placing and supporting the articles P are arranged side by side in the vertical direction on each column 1A. The storage portion S is formed between the adjacent struts 1 </ b> A so as to be arranged in the vertical direction.

Moreover, as shown in FIG. 1, the loading / unloading conveyor 2 is installed in each of the side of the pair of right and left storage shelves 1 in each shelf group.
These entry / exit conveyors 2 supply the goods P supplied to the end away from the storage shelf 1 to the end close to the storage shelf 1 and the end close to the storage shelf 1. The conveyance direction can be switched to the unloading conveyance state in which the article P is conveyed to the end on the side away from the storage shelf 1.
Incidentally, the stacker crane K is configured to transfer the article P to and from the end of the loading / unloading conveyor 2 that is close to the storage shelf 1, and the article transport means D is the end on the side away from the storage shelf 1. The article P is configured to be transferred between the parts.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the stacker crane K is in a retracted state in which the stacker crane K is retracted to the outside of the storage portion S and the inside of the storage portion S is moved up and down along the lift mast 4 erected from the traveling carriage 3. The fork 6 that can be driven out and retracted in the projecting state protruding into the product is equipped as an article transfer device, and the fork 6 is moved up and down and retracted to store the article P in the storage section S and stored. The scooping process for taking out the article P stored in the section S is performed.

  That is, the crane control unit KC (see FIG. 9) mounted on the stacker crane K or installed on the ground side stores the articles P stored on the storage conveyor 2 in the storage unit S, The operation of the stacker crane K is controlled to perform the unloading work for unloading the articles P stored in the storage unit S to the loading / unloading conveyor 2, and the above-described unloading process is performed when the loading operation is performed. In addition, the above-described scooping process is performed when performing the shipping operation.

  Note that the crane control unit KC operates the fork 6 in the same manner as the above scooping process when unloading the article P from the loading / unloading conveyor 2 during the loading operation, and when unloading the article P onto the loading / unloading conveyor 2 during the loading operation. In addition, the fork 6 is operated in the same manner as the above-described lowering process.

The external carry-in / out part B is equipped with six external carry-in / out conveyors 7 in the present embodiment.
Each of these external carry-in / out conveyors 7 is configured to be able to switch the conveyance direction between a carry-in state in which an article P carried in from the outside is carried and a carry-out state in which the article P carried out to the outside is carried.
Further, each of the external carry-in / out conveyors 7 is configured to have a length capable of placing a plurality of (for example, seven) articles P, and the articles P can be moved in the carrying direction in both the carry-in state and the carry-out state. It is comprised so that it can convey in the state packed in the front end side.

The article transport means D includes a track-type unmanned transport vehicle 9 (hereinafter referred to as STV) that transports between the loading / unloading conveyor 2 and the relay transport conveyor 8 of the automatic warehouse A, and the relay transport conveyor 8 and the outside. A trackless automatic guided vehicle 10 (hereinafter referred to as “AGV”) is provided for transporting to / from the carry-in / out conveyor 7.
That is, the article conveyance path between the loading / unloading conveyor 2 and the external loading / unloading conveyor 7 of the automatic warehouse A is the conveyance path portion between the loading / unloading conveyor 2 and the relay conveying conveyor 8, the relay conveying conveyor 8 and the external loading / unloading. Conveying path part between the entrance conveyor 7 and the transport path part between the relay conveying conveyor 8 and the external carry-in / out conveyor 7 is configured as a route for automatic guided vehicle equipped with the trackless AGV 10 Has been.

  Incidentally, in the present embodiment, the warehouse-side article transfer unit F located on the automatic warehouse side in the route for the automatic guided vehicle equipped with the trackless AGV 10 is configured by the relay transfer conveyor 8, and is connected to the external loading / unloading unit. The external article transfer section G located on the side is constituted by the external carry-in / out conveyor 7.

  In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, two STVs 9 that run at a higher speed than the AGV 10 are installed, and three AGVs 10 are installed.

In the present embodiment, four relay transfer conveyors 8 are provided as the relay transfer conveyors 8.
The relay conveyor 8 includes an AGV-side transport state in which the article P is transported from an end on the STV 9 side toward an end on the AGV 10 side, and an end on the STV 9 side from the end on the AGV 10 side. The conveyance direction can be switched to the STV side conveyance state in which the article P is conveyed toward the section.

  Further, each of the relay conveyance conveyors 8 is configured to have a length capable of placing a plurality of (for example, five) articles P, and the articles P can be placed in any of the AGV side conveyance state and the STV side conveyance state. It is comprised so that it can convey in the state packed in the front end side of the conveyance direction.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the STV 9 is guided by a pair of left and right traveling rails 11 installed in an annular shape, and is driven by a traveling electric motor 12. A wheel 13 and a pair of front and rear freewheels 14 are provided, and an article transfer conveyor 15 for transferring articles is provided at the top as shown in FIG.
Further, the STV 9 is equipped with an STV control unit 9A (see FIG. 9), and the STV control unit 9A is configured to control the operation of the traveling electric motor 12 and the operation of the article transport conveyor 15. .

That is, the STV control unit 9A controls the operation of the electric motor 12 for traveling so as to travel the STV 9 along the traveling rail 11, and transfers the article P between the loading / unloading conveyor 2 and the relay transport conveyor 8. It is configured to control the operation of the article transport conveyor 15 to be placed.
Incidentally, when the STV 9 transfers the article P between the loading / unloading conveyor 2 and the relay conveyor 8, the STV control unit 9 </ b> A and the loading / unloading conveyor control unit 2 </ b> A for controlling the operation of the loading / unloading conveyor 2 (FIG. 9) and a relay conveyor control unit 8A (see FIG. 9) for controlling the operation of the relay transport conveyor 8, a transport start command and a transport stop command are communicated with each other. Therefore, detailed description is omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the STV 9 travels in a certain direction along a pair of annular left and right traveling rails 11 and cannot overtake the other STVs 9. When it is stopped for the transfer of P, the subsequent STV 9 is stopped.

  Incidentally, although not described in detail, a stop position indicator indicating a stop position for transfer to the loading / unloading conveyor 2 or the relay transport conveyor 8 is installed corresponding to the travel rail 11 and detects the travel position indicator. A stop position detection sensor is installed in the STV 9. And STV control part 9A is comprised so that it may stop in the stop position for transfer with respect to the loading / unloading conveyor 2 and the relay conveyance conveyor 8 based on the detection information of a stop position detection sensor.

Although not illustrated, the STV 9 is equipped with an STV side communication device that communicates with a station communication device equipped on the loading / unloading conveyor 2 and the relay transfer conveyor 8, and between the station communication device and the STV side communication device. As will be described later, a transfer work command from the STV management controller SC (see FIG. 9) is commanded to the STV control unit 9A by communication in the above.
That is, the STV 9 loads the article P, travels to the loading / unloading conveyor 2 and the relay transfer conveyor 8 and transfers the article P to the loading / unloading conveyor 2 and the relay transfer conveyor 8. You will stop there until you are done.

As shown in FIG. 1, the AGV 10 is configured to automatically travel on the floor along an annular set travel route L.
As shown in FIG. 4, the AGV 10 includes a pair of left and right front wheels 17 driven by a traveling electric motor 16, and a pair of left and right rear wheels 18 that rotate freely. The direction of the pair of left and right front wheels 17 is changed and adjusted around the shaft center along the vertical direction so that it can be switched between a straight traveling state, a left turning state, and a right turning state.
Further, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 5, an article transfer conveyor 20 for transferring articles is equipped on the upper part of the AGV.

The AGV 10 is equipped with an AGV control unit 10A (see FIG. 9), and the AGV control unit 10A is configured to control the operation of the traveling electric motor 16, the steering electric motor 19, and the article conveying conveyor 20. Has been.
That is, the AGV control unit 10A controls the operation of the traveling electric motor 16 and the steering electric motor 19 in order to automatically travel the AGV 10 along the set traveling route L, and the relay conveying conveyor 8 and the external carry-in / out conveyor. 7 is configured to control the operation of the article conveying conveyor 20 to transfer the article P to and from the apparatus 7.

  By the way, when the AGV 10 transfers the article P between the relay conveyor 8 and the external carry-in / out conveyor 7, the AGV control unit 10A, the relay conveyor control unit 8A, and the external carry-in / out conveyor 7 are controlled. A transfer start command and a transfer stop command are mutually communicated with the external carry-in / out conveyor control unit 7A (see FIG. 9), but details thereof are well known, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

As shown in FIG. 1, the AGV 10 travels in a certain direction along the annular set travel route L, and the other AGV 10 is stopped to transfer the article P. In some cases, the vehicle can travel over the stopped AGV through the detour route portion La that detours the location where the AGV 10 stops.

When the configuration for automatically running the AGV 10 is described, as shown in FIG. 5, the light reflector 21 for position setting is installed in association with the set travel route L.
As shown in FIG. 5, the AGV 10 is equipped with a light projecting / receiving sensor 22 that scans a position detecting laser beam along a horizontal plane and receives reflected light from the light reflector 21. As shown in FIG. 5, a travel distance detection encoder 23 that detects the rotation amount of the front wheel 17 as a travel distance of the AGV 10, a azimuth detection sensor 24 that is configured by a gyro and the like and detects the azimuth of the AGV 10, etc. It is equipped as a measuring instrument.

  The AGV control unit 10A then maps the map information corresponding to the set travel route L on the two-dimensional coordinate along the horizontal plane (floor surface), and the position of the light reflector 21 on the two-dimensional coordinate along the horizontal plane (floor surface). Information is stored in advance, and two-dimensional along the horizontal plane (floor surface) based on the stored information and detection information of the light projecting / receiving sensor 22 (scanning angle information when the light reflector 21 is detected) In order to drive the AGV 10 along the set travel route L while detecting the current position on the coordinates, the steering electric motor 19 is operated based on information from the travel distance detection encoder 23 and the direction detection sensor 24. It is configured.

  Incidentally, although not described in detail, a stop position indicator indicating a stop position for transfer with respect to the external carry-in / out conveyor 7 and the relay transport conveyor 8 is installed corresponding to the set travel path L, and the travel position indicator is The AGV 10 is equipped with a stop position detection sensor for detection. And AGV control part 10A is comprised so that it can confirm that it is located in the stop position for the transfer with respect to the external carry-in / out conveyor 7 and the relay conveyance conveyor 8 based on the detection information of a stop position detection sensor.

Although not illustrated, the AGV 10 is equipped with an AGV side communication device that communicates with a station communication device equipped on the external carry-in / out conveyor 7 and the relay transfer conveyor 8, and the station communication device and the AGV side communication device are connected to each other. As will be described later, a conveyance work instruction from the AGV management controller GC (see FIG. 9) is instructed to the AGV control unit 10A by communication between them.
That is, the AGV 10 loads the article P, travels to the external carry-in / out conveyor 7 and the relay transport conveyor 8, and transfers the article P to the external carry-in / out conveyor 7 and the relay transport conveyor 8. Will stop there until commanded.

  Next, a control configuration for storing the article P carried into the external carry-in / out section B in the automatic warehouse A and carrying the stored article P out of the external carry-in / out section B will be described.

As shown in FIG. 9, a warehouse management controller AC that manages the operation of the automatic warehouse A, an STV management controller SC that manages the operation of the STV 9, an AGV management controller GC that manages the operation of the AGV 10, and an external carry-in / out conveyor 7 A conveyor management controller CC that manages the operation of the relay conveyor 8 is provided.
In addition, the host controller JC to which the information on the article P carried into the external carry-in / out section B and the information about the article P carried out from the external carry-in / out section B are input in advance, and the carry-in article information and carry-out commanded by the host controller JC A conveyance management controller DC that manages conveyance of the entire article processing facility based on the article information is provided.

  Incidentally, in FIG. 9, there are a plurality of crane control units KC, STV control units 9A, and AGV control units 10A in this embodiment, but one is described as a representative, Similarly, even if there are a plurality of other devices, one is described as a representative.

A first article information reading sensor 25 is provided at the outer end of the six external carry-in / out conveyors 7 equipped in the external carry-in / out section B. That is, the article P to be carried in is configured using an IC tag or the like, and is equipped with an article information storage body that stores article information indicating the type of the article, and the first article information reading sensor 25 is The article information stored in the article information storage body mounted on the article P to be carried in is read.
The detection information of the first article information reading sensor 25 is configured to be input to the conveyor management controller CC as shown in FIG.

In addition, the first article sensor 26 that detects the presence of the article P is equipped at the end of the AGV 10 on the six external carry-in / out conveyors 7.
The detection information of the first article sensor 26 is configured to be input to the AGV management controller GC as shown in FIG.

  A second article sensor 27 for detecting the presence of the article P, and an article information storage device mounted on the article P to be carried in are stored at the end of the AGV 10 on the four relay conveyors 8. A third article sensor 29 for detecting the presence of the article P at the end of the STV 9 in the four relay transfer conveyors 8; The third article information reading sensor 30 for reading the article information stored in the article information storage body equipped on the article P to be carried in is provided.

  Then, as shown in FIG. 9, the detection information of the second article sensor 27 and the second article information reading sensor 28 is input to the AGV management controller GC, and the third article sensor 29 and the third article information reading sensor 30 The detection information is input to the STV management controller SC.

  A fourth article sensor 31 for detecting the presence of the article P and an article information storage device mounted on the article P to be loaded are stored at the end of the plurality of loading / unloading conveyors 2 on the side away from the storage shelf 1. A fourth article information reading sensor 32 for reading the article information being read is provided.

  As shown in FIG. 9, the detection information of the fourth article sensor 31 is input to the STV management controller SC and the warehouse management controller AC, and the detection information of the fourth article information reading sensor 32 is inputted to the warehouse management controller AC. It is comprised so that it may be input.

  In the host controller JC, information on the carry-in time and the type of the goods P for the goods P carried from the outside, and information on the carry-out time and the types of the goods P for the goods P to be carried outside are previously stored. Based on the input information, the host controller JC inputs the article information that is information of the article P that is expected to be delivered until the set time elapses from the current time, and until the set time elapses from the current time. In this case, unloading article information that is information of the article P to be unloaded is created, and the created loading article information and unloading article information are instructed to the transport management controller DC.

  The transfer management controller DC has six external carry-in / out conveyors 7 and four relay transfer conveyors 8 installed in the external carry-in / out section B based on information such as carry-in article information and carry-out article information instructed from the host controller JC. , And the conveyor conveyance form information that defines the conveyance direction of the loading / unloading conveyor 2, and the incoming article information commanded from the host controller JC and the first article information input via the conveyor management controller CC Based on information such as detection information of the reading sensor 25, article storage location information that determines which storage shelf 1 of the plurality of storage shelves 1 stores each of the articles P carried into the external loading / unloading unit B. And, in addition, the order of unloading the articles P from the plurality of storage shelves 1 based on information such as unloading article information instructed by the host controller JC Unloading information to be determined and transfer destination information to determine which of the articles P discharged from the storage shelf 1 are to be transferred to the external carry-in / out conveyor 7 are created, and the generated information is stored in the warehouse management controller AC and the STV management controller. The SC, the AGV management controller GC, and the conveyor management controller CC are commanded.

  The warehouse management controller AC sets each of the pair of left and right warehousing conveyors 2 provided in each of the shelf groups including the pair of left and right storage shelves 1 based on the conveyor conveyance form information, and operates the conveyors. Further, based on the delivery information, in order to deliver the stored article P, the work instruction is instructed to the crane control unit KC, and the fourth article is entered to receive the article P carried into the entry / exit conveyor 2. Based on information such as detection information of the sensor 31 and the fourth article information reading sensor 32, the storage section S for storing the article P is set, and a work command is instructed to the crane control section KC.

  The conveyor management controller CC is configured to operate each of the six external carry-in / out conveyors 7 and the four relay transfer conveyors 8 with their transfer directions set based on the conveyor transfer mode information.

  The STV management controller SC confirms the conveying direction of the plurality of loading / unloading conveyors 2 and the four relay conveying conveyors 8 based on the conveyor conveying type information, and the article between the loading / unloading conveyor 2 and the relay conveying conveyor 8. The operation of the STV 9 is controlled to transport P, and details thereof will be described later.

  The AGV management controller GC checks the transfer directions of the six external carry-in / out conveyors 7 and the four relay transfer conveyors 8 based on the conveyor transfer mode information, and The operation of the AGV 10 is controlled to convey the article P between them, and the details will be described later.

  Incidentally, in the time zone when articles P are concentrated and carried from the outside, the conveyance management controller DC has six external carry-in / out conveyors 7, four relay conveyance conveyors 8, and a plurality of conveyor conveyance form information. In the time zone in which the conveyance direction of the loading / unloading conveyor 2 is set to be in a state suitable for conveying the articles P that are loaded in a concentrated manner, the articles P are concentrated and carried out to the outside. As information, the transport directions of the six external carry-in / out conveyors 7, the four relay / conveyor conveyors 8 and the plurality of loading / unloading conveyors 2 are made to be in a state suitable for carrying the articles P to be carried out in a concentrated manner. Will be set to.

  Furthermore, in the time zone when the article management controller DC carries the article P from the outside and the article P to the outside in parallel, as the conveyor conveyance form information, the six external carry-in / out conveyors 7, 4 The transfer direction of the intermediate transfer conveyor 8 and the plurality of loading / unloading conveyors 2 is set so as to be suitable for carrying in the article P from the outside and carrying out the article P to the outside in parallel. However, in the following description, it will be described that it is a time zone in which the carry-in of the article P from the outside and the carry-out of the article P to the outside are performed in parallel.

  Accordingly, in the following description, each of the six external carry-in / out conveyors 7 provided in the external carry-in / out section B, the four relay transfer conveyors 8 and the shelf set including the pair of left and right storage shelves 1 is provided. It is assumed that the pair of left and right loading / unloading conveyors 2 is set to a conveyance mode suitable for carrying in the article P from the outside and carrying out the article P to the outside in parallel.

  That is, among the six external carry-in / out conveyors 7 equipped in the external carry-in / out section B, the three external carry-in / out conveyors 7 positioned on the upper side in the traveling direction of the AGV 10 are set in the carry-out state, and the remaining 3 The individual external carry-in / out conveyors 7 are set in the carry-in state.

  Of the four relay transport conveyors 8, two relay transport conveyors 8 positioned on the upper side in the travel direction of the STV 9 and on the lower side in the travel direction of the AGV 10 are in the AGV side transport state. Two relay transfer conveyors 8 are set in the STV-side transfer state, which are set on the lower side in the running direction of the STV 9 and on the upper side in the running direction of the AGV 10.

  Furthermore, among the pair of left and right loading / unloading conveyors 2 installed in each of the left and right storage shelves 1, the loading / unloading conveyor 2 positioned on the upper side in the running direction of the STV 9 is set in the loading / unloading state. The loading / unloading conveyor 2 located on the lower side in the running direction of the STV 9 is set to the unloading conveyance state.

Management control for the STV 9 by the STV management controller SC will be described.
When the fourth article sensor 31 equipped in the entry / exit conveyor 2 set in the exit / conveyance state detects the article P, the STV management controller SC has the article P to be transported from the entry / exit conveyor 2 to the relay transport conveyor 8. When the third article sensor 29 equipped on the relay transport conveyor 8 set in the STV side transport state detects the article P, the article P transported from the relay transport conveyor 8 to the loading / unloading conveyor 2 is detected. You will recognize that it exists.

  Further, the STV management controller SC uses the reading information of the third article information reading sensor 30 provided in the relay transfer conveyor 8 set to the STV side transfer state, and the article storage location information commanded from the transfer management controller DC. Based on the storage shelf 1 to be stored in the warehousing / conveying conveyor 2 in the warehousing / conveying state, as a conveying destination for the article P placed on the relay conveying conveyor 8 set in the STV side conveying state. The loading / unloading conveyor 2 is determined.

Then, when the STV management controller SC recognizes that there is an article P to be transported from the entry / exit conveyor 2 to the relay conveyor 8 or that there is an article P to be transported from the relay conveyor 8 to the entrance conveyor 2, In order to transport the article P in a state where the article P whose presence is recognized earlier is transported earlier, the transportation work is assigned to the STV 9, and the assignment is performed earlier among the two STVs 9. It is assigned to STV9 that can do this.
Incidentally, the STV 9 capable of executing the transfer operation early means that the STV 9 that can quickly travel to the transfer source when the article P is not placed among the two STVs 9.

  Further, when the article P is transported from the loading / unloading conveyor 2 to the relay transport conveyor 8, one of the two relay transport conveyors 8 is determined as the transport destination. In the present embodiment, two relay transports are determined. The smaller number of articles P to be placed is preferentially determined as the transport destination so that the number of articles P placed on the conveyor 8 is the same, and the articles P placed on the two relay conveyor 8 When the number is the same, the intermediate transfer conveyor 8 on the lower side in the traveling direction of the STV 9 is preferentially determined as the transfer destination.

Management control for the AGV 10 by the AGV management controller GC will be described.
When the first article sensor 26 equipped on the external carry-in / out conveyor 7 set in the carry-in state detects the article P, the AGV management controller GC has an article P to be conveyed from the external carry-in / out conveyor 7 to the relay conveyance conveyor 8. When the second article sensor 27 equipped in the relay transport conveyor 8 set in the AGV side transport state detects the article P, the article transported from the relay transport conveyor 8 to the external carry-in / out conveyor 7 It will recognize that P exists.

Then, the AGV management controller GC recognizes that there is an article P to be transported from the external carry-in / out conveyor 7 to the relay transport conveyor 8 and that there is an article P to be transported from the relay transport conveyor 8 to the external carry-in / out conveyor 7. Then, in order to transport the article P in a state where the article P whose presence is recognized earlier is transported earlier, the transportation work is assigned to the AGV 10, and the assignment is performed by the transportation work of the three AGVs 10. It will be assigned to the AGV 10 that can be executed early.
By the way, the AGV 10 capable of executing the transfer operation quickly means the AGV 10 that can travel to the transfer source early in the non-placement state of the article P among the three AGVs 9.

  Further, when the article P is transported from the external carry-in / out conveyor 7 to the relay transport conveyor 8, one of the two relay transport conveyors 8 is determined as the transport destination. In the present embodiment, two relays are used. An article having a smaller number of articles P to be placed is preferentially determined as a transport destination so that the number of articles P placed on the transport conveyor 8 is equal, and an article placed on the two relay transport conveyors 8 is placed. In the case where the number of P is the same, the intermediate transfer conveyor 8 on the lower side in the traveling direction of the AGV 10 is preferentially determined as the transfer destination.

  Furthermore, when the article P is transported from the relay transport conveyor 8 to the external carry-in / out conveyor 7, one of the three external carry-in / out conveyors 7 is determined as the transport destination. In this embodiment, the transport management is performed. Based on the conveyance destination command information commanded from the controller DC and the detection information of the second article information reading sensor 28, the external carry-in / out conveyor 7 that is the conveyance destination of the article P is determined.

The basic configuration of the present embodiment is as described above, and the characteristic configuration of the present embodiment will be described below.
That is, the article carrying-in process for conveying the article P located in the external loading / unloading section B to the loading / unloading conveyor 2 of the automatic warehouse A and the article carrying-out process for conveying the article P located on the loading / unloading conveyor 2 to the external loading / unloading section B. Therefore, in this embodiment, the AGV management controller GC serving as a transport management unit includes a relay transport conveyor 8 serving as a warehouse-side article transfer unit F located on the automatic warehouse side in the unmanned transport vehicle handling route, and an external carry-in / out unit. As described above, the AGV 10 is assigned to transfer work to and from the external carry-in / out conveyor 7 as the external article transfer section G located on the side, but the AGV management controller GC is instructed to issue an interrupt request. When a part of the transfer work between the relay transfer conveyor 8 and the external carry-in / out conveyor 7 is transferred to the manned transfer vehicle M operated by the operator And it is configured to attach Ri.

Incidentally, as the transfer work between the relay transfer conveyor 8 and the external carry-in / out conveyor 7, the carry-out transfer work for transferring the article P from the relay transfer conveyor 8 to the external carry-in / out conveyor 7, and the external carry-in / out conveyor 7 Although there is a carrying-in conveyance work for carrying the article P to the relay conveyance conveyor 8, in the present embodiment, it is necessary to carry out the carrying-out conveyance work without delay rather than the carrying-in conveyance work. A case where a part of the carrying work for carrying out is assigned to the manned carrier vehicle M will be exemplified.
In carrying out the present invention, a part of the carrying work for carrying in may be carried out in a form assigned to the manned carrier M, or only a part of the carrying work for carrying in may be performed. Alternatively, it may be implemented in a form assigned to the manned transport vehicle M.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the manned transport vehicle M is configured by using a so-called forklift provided with a fork 36 for transferring articles at the front portion of a vehicle body 35 on which an operator gets on board. In this embodiment, two manned transport vehicles M are equipped as shown in FIG. 1 to transport the article P by traveling on the floor on which the AGV 10 travels. .

As shown in FIGS. 6 and 9, the manned transport vehicle M functions as a list display means Ea that displays a list of articles P transported using the relay transport conveyor 8 as a transport source, and is displayed as a list. A touch panel type display 37 with a wireless communication function that functions as an article selection means Eb for selecting an article P to be transported is provided.
In addition, the manned transport vehicle M is equipped with a headphone 38 that notifies the operator who operates the manned transport vehicle M of various kinds of information by voice while being connected to the touch panel display 37.

  The AGV management controller GC, based on the delivery information instructed from the transport management controller DC and the progress information of the article transport by the AGV 10, among the articles P transported using the relay transport conveyor 8 as a transport source, It is configured to manage unassigned article information indicating an article P that has not yet been assigned to the AGV 10 and to communicate the managed unassigned article information to the touch panel display 37 via the wireless communication device W. Has been.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the display unit 37 assigns the transfer work to the AGV 10 among the articles P transported using the relay transport conveyor 8 as the transport source based on the unassigned product information from the transport management controller DC. The work No. (identification number) for the article P that has not been displayed is configured to be displayed in the vertical direction on the display portion 37A, and the portion corresponding to the displayed work No. (identification number) is the worker's When pressed with a finger, it is detected that the conveyance work of the article P corresponding to the work No. is selected, and the work No (identification number) is communicated to the AGV management controller GC. Has been.

  A plurality of work numbers are arranged and displayed in the order of delivery in the display portion 37A of the display device 37, and the display device 37 is equipped with a scroll button 39 for scrolling the displayed work numbers. Has been.

  Further, the display portion 37A of the indicator 37 is arranged on the side of the work No. (identification number) of the article P, and indicates the identification information of the relay transport conveyor 8 serving as the transfer source for the article P of the work No. The transport destination information indicating the information and the identification information of the external carry-in / out conveyor 7 that is the transport destination for the article P of the operation No. is displayed, and the worker who has boarded the manned transport vehicle M It is possible to recognize which conveyor is the intermediate transfer conveyor 8 that is the transfer source of the article P for which the work is selected, and which conveyor is the external carry-in / out conveyor 7 that is the transfer destination of the article for which the transfer work is selected. It has become.

  Incidentally, since the intermediate transfer conveyor 8 that is the transfer source of the article P is determined as a result of transferring the article P by the intermediate transfer conveyor 8 in the STV 9, the article P that has not yet been transferred to the intermediate transfer conveyor 8. Will be displayed after the intermediate transfer conveyor 8 as the transfer source is determined.

  In the present embodiment, as the identification information of the relay transport conveyor 8, information of the first to fourth conveyors, which are assigned as serial numbers to the four relay transport conveyors 8, is displayed, and the external carry-in / out conveyor 7 As the identification information, information on the first to sixth conveyors, which are assigned as serial numbers to the six external carry-in / out conveyors 7, is displayed.

  The transport management controller DC communicates with the warehouse management controller AC to distinguish information that has been taken out from the storage shelf 1 and that has not yet been taken out of the plurality of articles P in the delivery information described above. Of the articles P taken out from the storage shelf 1, information for distinguishing those that have been transported by the STV 9 from those that have not yet been transported, and the relay transport conveyor 8 of the articles P that have been transported by the STV 9 The article conveyance status information consisting of information for distinguishing between those that have been delivered and those that have not yet been delivered, and the number of articles P that are placed on each of the plurality of relay conveyors 8 Conveyor article placement information consisting of information and information indicating the position in the conveyance direction is managed, and the article conveyance status information and conveyor article placement information are controlled by the AGV management controller. It is configured to communicate to the GC.

When the work No. of the article P is selected by the display 37, the AGV management controller GC selects the article P of the work No. based on the article conveyance status information and the conveyor article placement information from the conveyance management controller DC. However, the arrival time at the AGV side end of the relay transfer conveyor 8 in the AGV side transfer state is predicted, and the estimated arrival time is communicated to the display 37.
Note that the estimated arrival time is obtained as a rough time by referring to the current position of the article P and the rank in the delivery information and the time required for carrying in the past.

  The display 37 is configured to display the predicted arrival time from the AGV management controller GC on the predicted time display unit 40, and displays the current time on the current time display unit 41 aligned with the predicted time display unit 40. It is configured as follows.

  Based on the conveyor article placement information from the conveyance management controller DC, the AGV management controller GC has four or more articles P placed on each of the relay conveyance conveyors 8 in the AGV side conveyance state. It is determined that the article is in a stagnation state, and the article stagnation information is communicated to the display unit 37.

When the display unit 37 receives the article stagnation information, the display unit 37 turns on the stagnation display lamp 42 and outputs alarm information such as “the article is stagnant” as sound information through the headphones 38. It is configured.
Therefore, the worker who is boarding the manned transport vehicle M stagnates the article P on the relay transport conveyor 8 in the AGV-side transport state based on lighting of the stagnation display lamp 42 and alarm information output from the headphones 38. In order to convey the article P by the manned transport vehicle M, an operation of selecting the work number (identification information) displayed on the display unit 37 is performed.

Incidentally, in this embodiment, the notification means for notifying that the article P is stagnated on the relay transport conveyor 8 is constituted by the stagnation display lamp 42 and the headphones 38.
In the case where the transfer work by the manned transfer vehicle M is also assigned to the transfer work from the external carry-in / out conveyor 7 to the relay transfer conveyor 8, the number of articles placed on the external carry-in / out conveyor 7 is set. If the number of articles increases, the article P is assumed to be in a stagnation state, and the stagnation display lamp 42 or the headphones 38 may be used to notify that the article P is in a stagnation state.

  When the AGV management controller GC carries the article P into the relay conveyor 8 in the AGV-side conveyance state and the second article sensor 27 equipped on the relay conveyor 8 detects the presence of the article P, basically, As described above, the conveyance work for the article P is assigned to the AGV, but the article information read by the second article information reading sensor 28 is the article P of the work No. selected by the display 37. In this case, it is assumed that the above-described interrupt request is instructed, so that the transport work for the article P is preferentially assigned to the manned transport vehicle M and the transport work is not assigned to the AGV 10. Yes.

Incidentally, when the AGV management controller GC assigns the transfer work for the article P to the manned transport vehicle M as described above, the AGV management controller GC indicates that the article P of the work No. selected by the display 37 has arrived. Information is configured to be communicated to the display 37.
Then, when the display device 37 receives the arrival information, the portion corresponding to the work No. assigned to the manned carrier vehicle M among the work Nos displayed on the display portion 37A of the display device 37 for the set time thereafter. , And guidance information such as “article has arrived” is output as audio information through the headphones 38.

  Therefore, the worker who is boarding the manned transport vehicle M has the article P to be transported by the blinking of the part corresponding to the work No. in the display part 37A of the display 37 and the guidance information output from the headphones 38. The transfer operation can be started by recognizing the arrival at the AGV side end of the relay transfer conveyor 8 in the AGV side transfer state.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 8, a terminal operation device 43 is provided corresponding to each of the plurality of relay conveyance conveyors 8. The terminal operation device 43 includes a display lamp 44 such as a patrol light, and the completion of the work. And an emergency stop button 46 for emergency stop of the apparatus when an abnormality occurs.
For each of the plurality of external carry-in / out conveyors 7, a terminal operator 43 similar to the terminal operator 43 installed in correspondence with the relay conveyor 8 is installed.

The AGV management controller GC is installed corresponding to the relay conveyor 8 on which the assigned article P is placed when the transfer work for the article P is assigned to the manned carrier M as described above. The display lamp 44 of the terminal operation device 43 is turned on.
Therefore, the operator who is boarding the manned transport vehicle M can accurately recognize the position of the article P to be transported by turning on the display lamp 44.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the display device 37 is provided with a scooping completion button 47, a wholesale completion button 48, and an interrupt button 49.

  In the case where the AGV management controller GC assigns the transport operation for the article P to the manned transport vehicle M as described above, the second article sensor 27 detects the absence of the article P and assigns the article. The completion button 45 of the terminal operation device 43 installed corresponding to the relay transfer conveyor 8 on which P is placed is operated to input completion information, or the scooping completion button 47 of the display device 37 is When the operation information is input and the completion information is input, it is determined that the article P assigned to the manned transport vehicle M is transferred from the relay transport conveyor 8 to the manned transport vehicle M.

  Therefore, when an operator boarding the manned transport vehicle M transfers the article P to be transported from the relay transport conveyor 8, a terminal installed corresponding to the relay transport conveyor 8 on which the article P is placed. The completion button 45 of the operating device 43 is operated or the scooping completion button 47 of the display device 37 is operated to input that the transfer (scooping) of the article P is completed.

  The AGV management controller GC detects the presence of the article P by the first article sensor 26 installed corresponding to the external carry-in / out conveyor 7, and the terminal operator 43 installed corresponding to the external carry-in / out conveyor 7. When the completion button 45 is operated and completion information is input, or when the completion information is input when the wholesale completion button 48 of the display 37 is operated and the completion information is input, the article assigned to the manned carrier M is transported. It is configured so that P is transferred from the manned transport vehicle M to the external carry-in / out conveyor 7 (wholesale).

  Therefore, when an operator boarding the manned transport vehicle M transfers the article P to be transported from the manned transport vehicle M to the external carry-in / out conveyor 7, it corresponds to the external carry-in / out conveyor 7 to which the article P is transferred. The completion button 45 of the installed terminal operation device 43 is operated or the wholesale completion button 48 of the display device 37 is operated to input that the transfer (wholesale) of the article P has been completed. .

If the state where the article P assigned to the manned carrier M is positioned on the relay conveyor 8 in the AGV side conveyance state continues even after the set waiting time has elapsed, the AGV management controller GC It is configured to change the assignment of the transfer work for the manned transfer vehicle M to AGV.
In other words, if the state where the article P assigned to the manned transport vehicle M is positioned on the relay conveyor 8 in the AGV-side transport state continues even after the set waiting time has elapsed, the transport work for the article P is performed. Is assigned to the AGV 10.
In this case, the AGV management controller GC assigns a transport operation to the AGV 10 so as to transport the article P with the highest priority.

The AGV management controller GC operates the interrupt button 49 of the display 37 and inputs the interrupt information when the article P assigned with the transport work to the AGV 10 is positioned on the relay transport conveyor 8 in the AGV side transport state. When the article P is transferred by the manned transport vehicle M, the allocation of the transport work for the article P is changed from the AGV to the manned transport vehicle M.
That is, the AGV management controller GC is configured to cancel allocation to the AGV 10 for the article P transferred by the manned transport vehicle M and to allocate the transport operation of the article P to the manned transport vehicle M.

  When the article P assigned to the AGV 10 is positioned on the relay conveyor 8 in the AGV-side transport state, the AGV management controller GC, when the article P is transferred by the manned transport vehicle M, Work No., conveyance source information, and conveyance destination information about the article P are configured to communicate with the display device 37 as emergency display information.

  When the emergency display information is communicated from the AGV management controller GC, the display unit 37 is configured to display the work number, the transport source information, and the transport destination information in a blinking state for a set time thereafter. ing.

Therefore, when the operator boarding the manned transport vehicle M operates the interrupt button 49 of the display unit 37 to transfer (crawls) the article P from the relay transport conveyor 8, the display unit 37 thereafter Based on the displayed emergency display information, that is, work No., transport source information, and transport destination information, the transport destination for the product P is recognized, and the product P is placed on the external carry-in / out conveyor 7 serving as the transport destination. Will be transported.
In addition, when transferring the article P to the external carry-in / out conveyor 7 (wholesale), it is the same as when transferring the article P selected by the indicator 37 to the external carry-in / out conveyor 7 (wholesale). Description is omitted.

Incidentally, although not described in detail, the AGV 10 is equipped with an obstacle detection sensor for detecting an obstacle, and is configured to make an emergency stop when the manned transport vehicle M is detected as an obstacle.
In addition, the manned transport vehicle M is equipped with an ID tag for communicating unique information. Correspondingly, the relay transport conveyor 8 and the external carry-in / out conveyor 7 can read the ID tag of the manned transport vehicle M by reading the ID tag. , Equipped with a manned carrier presence detection sensor for detecting that the manned carrier M is located at a location corresponding to the relay carrier conveyor 8 or the external carry-in / out conveyor 7, and the AGV management controller GC detects the presence of the manned carrier vehicle In the region where the presence of the manned transport vehicle M is detected by the sensor, the AGV controller 10A is instructed to run at a low speed at which the AGV 10 can be stopped immediately.

Next, the allocation process executed by the AGV management controller GC will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.
First, it is determined whether or not a transport request has occurred (# 1). In other words, the first article sensor 26 equipped in the external carry-in / out conveyor 7 set in the carry-in state is in a state of detecting the article P, and is equipped in the relay carrying conveyor 8 set in the AGV-side carrying state. When the second article sensor 27 is in a state of detecting the article P, it is determined that a conveyance request has occurred.

If it is determined in # 1 that a transport request has occurred, it is determined whether or not there is an interrupt request from the manned transport vehicle M for the transport operation of the article P for which the transport request has occurred (# 2). .
If there is no interrupt request from the manned transport vehicle M, a process of assigning the transport operation of the article P for which the transport request has occurred to the AGV 10 is executed (# 3). Then, the process of assigning the transfer operation of the article P for which the transfer request has been made to the manned transfer vehicle M is executed (# 4).

  Next, it is determined whether or not the article P assigned to the AGV 10 has been transferred by the manned transport vehicle M (# 5). Is assigned to the manned transport vehicle M (# 6).

  Subsequently, at # 4, it is determined whether or not the elapsed time of the state in which the article P assigned to the manned transport vehicle M is positioned on the relay transport conveyor 8 in the AGV side transport state is equal to or longer than the set waiting time. (# 7) If the elapsed time is equal to or longer than the set waiting time, the assignment of the transfer work of the article P is changed to AGV10, and the process of assigning the transfer work of the article P to the AGV10 is executed ( # 8).

  As described above, in the present embodiment, a part of the transport work originally performed by the AGV 10 can be performed by the manned transport vehicle M. Therefore, the relay transport conveyor 8 and the external carry-in / out conveyor 7 By reducing the number of AGVs 10 that are equipped to carry the article P between them, the installation cost of the article processing equipment can be reduced.

In the above embodiment, of the transfer work between the relay transfer conveyor 8 and the external carry-in / out conveyor 7, a part of the transfer work for carrying out the article P from the relay transfer conveyor 8 to the external carry-in / out conveyor 7. Although the case where the transfer work is assigned to the manned transport vehicle M has been illustrated, as described above, a part of the transfer work for carrying the article P from the external carry-in / out conveyor 7 to the relay transport conveyor 8 is You may make it allocate to the conveyance vehicle M. FIG.
In this case, the display 37 displays information about the article P placed on the external carry-in / out conveyor 7 in the carry-in state as being the article P to be selected.

[Another embodiment]
Next, another embodiment is listed.
(1) In the above-described embodiment, the case where the trackless automatic guided vehicle is travel-controlled using the light projecting / receiving sensor that scans the laser light is illustrated. For example, on the floor surface along the set travel route, A guide line such as a belt-shaped magnetic material or light reflecting tape is installed, and a line detection sensor for detecting the guide line is installed in the trackless automatic guided vehicle. Based on the detection information of the line detection sensor, the trackless type You may implement with the form which makes an automatic guided vehicle drive | work along a setting driving | running route.

(2) In the above embodiment, an STV as an unmanned guided vehicle on the track side is provided in addition to the unmanned guided vehicle between the external carry-in / out unit and the article loading / unloading unit of the automatic warehouse. Exemplified the case where the warehouse-side article transfer unit in the unmanned vehicle transfer path of the mold is a relay transfer conveyor and the external item transfer unit is an external carry-out conveyor of the external carry-in / out unit, but as an unmanned transfer vehicle on the track side The STV may be omitted.
In this case, the warehouse-side article transfer unit in the trackless unmanned vehicle conveyance path becomes an entry / exit conveyor as an article entry / exit unit, and the outer-side article transfer unit becomes an external carry-out conveyor of the external carry-in / out unit.

(3) In the above embodiment, the article placed on the pallet is exemplified as the article, and the case where the manned transport vehicle is configured using a forklift is illustrated. However, the manned transport vehicle is replaced with a forklift. In addition, various forms such as those equipped with a conveyor can be used, and as articles, various articles such as articles stored in containers and boxes stored in cardboard boxes can be used. It will be applicable.

(4) In the above-described embodiment, the case of selecting an article to be transported by a manned transport vehicle using the list display means and the article selecting means equipped on the manned transport vehicle has been exemplified. The management room to be managed may be equipped with list display means and article selection means so that the manager present in the management room can select the articles to be transported by the manned transport vehicle.

(5) In the above embodiment, the case of artificially selecting an article to be transported by a manned transport vehicle has been exemplified. However, an article corresponding to the setting determination condition among the transported articles is automatically sent to the manned transport vehicle. You may implement by the form to allocate.
By the way, as setting determination conditions, it is possible to adopt conditions for assigning a set number of articles that are sequentially conveyed, or conditions for allocating articles that are congested when goods are congested. it can.

(6) In the above embodiment, the case where two manned transport vehicles are installed is exemplified. However, the number of equipment equipped with manned transport vehicles is one or three or more. Various changes can be made according to the number and the like.

(7) In the above embodiment, the case where the transport management means is configured with a large number of controllers such as the warehouse management controller AC and the AGV management controller GC and the AGV management controller GC as a main part is illustrated. Various control configurations can be changed.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Storage shelf 2 Entry / exit part 10 Trackless automatic guided vehicles 38, 42 Notification means A Automatic warehouse B External carry-in / out part Ea List display means Eb Article selection means GC Transport management means K Shelf-side article transport means L Set travel route M Manned Transport vehicle S storage

Claims (5)

A storage shelf in which a plurality of storage units for storing articles are arranged side by side, an article storage / removal unit installed corresponding to the storage shelf, and the article is transported between the storage unit and the article storage / removal unit An automatic warehouse with shelf-side article transport means is provided,
An automatic guided vehicle handling route is set in at least a part of an article conveyance route between an external carry-in / out unit that carries in an article from the outside and carries the article out to the outside, and the article entry / exit unit,
The automatic guided vehicle charge route includes a trackless automatic guided vehicle that automatically travels on the floor along a set travel route,
The unmanned transfer for carrying out an article carry-in process for carrying an article located in the external carry-in / out part to the article entry / exit part, and an article carry-out process for carrying an article located in the article load / unload part to the external carry-in / out part A transfer management means for allocating a transfer work between the warehouse-side article transfer unit located on the automatic warehouse side and the external-side article transfer unit located on the external carry-in / out unit in the vehicle handling route to the automatic guided vehicle; An article processing facility provided,
When the transfer management means is instructed to interrupt, a part of the transfer work between the warehouse-side article transfer unit and the external-side article transfer unit is operated by an operator. An article processing facility configured to be assigned to a manned transport vehicle. List display means for displaying, on the manned transport vehicle, a list of articles transported using the warehouse-side article transfer section as a transport source or a list of articles transported using the external-side article transfer section as a transport source, and the list It is equipped with an article selection means for selecting an article to be transported from a list displayed on the display means,
When the article is carried into the warehouse-side article transfer unit and the external-side article transfer unit, the transfer management unit is configured to allocate a transfer operation for the article to the automatic guided vehicle, and the article When an article is selected by a selection means, it is configured to preferentially assign a transport operation for the selected article to the manned transport vehicle, assuming that the interrupt request is in a commanded state. Item processing equipment according to 1.   In the case where the state in which the article assigned to the manned delivery vehicle is located in the warehouse-side article transfer unit or the external-side article transfer unit continues even after the set waiting time has elapsed, when the transfer management means The article processing facility according to claim 2, wherein the article handling equipment is configured to change the assignment of the conveyance work for the article from the manned conveyance vehicle to the automatic guided vehicle.   When the article assigned by the conveyance management means to the automatic guided vehicle is located in the warehouse-side article transfer unit or the external-side article transfer unit, the article is transferred by the manned transfer vehicle. 4. The article processing facility according to claim 2 or 3, wherein when it is done, the assignment of the transfer operation for the article is changed from the automatic guided vehicle to the manned transport vehicle.   5. The informing means for notifying that the article is stagnated in the warehouse-side article transfer unit or the external-side article transfer unit in the manned transport vehicle. The article processing facility as described.

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