WO2017175312A1

WO2017175312A1 - Measurement system and measurement method

Info

Publication number: WO2017175312A1
Application number: PCT/JP2016/061154
Authority: WO
Inventors: 紅山　史子; 敬介藤本; 健二上松
Original assignee: 株式会社日立物流
Priority date: 2016-04-05
Filing date: 2016-04-05
Publication date: 2017-10-12
Also published as: JPWO2017175312A1; JP6605711B2

Abstract

Provided is a measurement system formed by a computing machine, the measurement system characterized in that: the computing machine includes a processor that executes a program, and a storage device that stores the program; the storage device holds shelf shape data, shelf area data showing the area occupied by a shelf, and load area data showing the area on the shelf where a load can be stored; and the processor receives input of warehouse-internal shape data measured by a measurement sensor, matches the shelf shape data and the warehouse-internal shape data, specifies a warehouse-internal position of the shelf, extracts the shelf shape data from the warehouse-internal shape data on the basis of the specified shelf position and the shelf area data, and extracts load area shape data on the shelf from the shelf shape data on the basis of the load area data.

Description

Measuring system and measuring method

The present invention relates to a measurement system for managing a space in a distribution warehouse.

In recent years, with the expansion of the mail order market and the diversification of customer needs, the luggage handled in the distribution warehouse has become smaller. There are two types of merchandise management in a distribution warehouse: a fixed location system that fixes the storage location of merchandise and a free location system that does not fix the storage location of merchandise. The fixed location method is easy to grasp the location because a certain product is always in the same storage location, but if a free space is assigned as a storage location, other products can not be stored, so it is flexible Lack. On the other hand, the free location method can store luggage in a vacant place and can effectively use the storage space. In order to adopt the free location method, it is necessary to grasp the inventory status of each shelf. In a distribution warehouse that has introduced a warehouse management system, products, inventory, and locations are managed in association with each other, so that the inventory (number of products) of each shelf can be grasped. In inventory work for actually confirming the number of stocks in a warehouse, generally, an operator walks in the warehouse and confirms the number by visual observation or bar code.

There is, for example, Patent Document 1 as a prior art in this field. In Patent Document 1, “a sensor that measures a distance to an object, a moving mechanism that moves the sensor, an object information database that stores at least the shape of the object, and an object arrangement that stores an object arrangement pattern connected to the sensor. The database and sensor data obtained by measuring the distance from the sensor to the object accompanying the movement of the sensor by the moving mechanism and the position of the sensor from which the sensor data was obtained are input, and the sensor data is stored in a three-dimensional space according to the sensor position. Sensor data integration unit that outputs integrated data indicating the outline of the object, and an object model created from the shape of the object stored in the object information database, and refer to the object arrangement pattern stored in the object arrangement database Compare the created object model with the integrated data, and output the actual object placement data indicating the actual placement of the object. It describes a computer "having the parts.

JP 2010-23950 A

Patent Document 1 described above describes a technology for recognizing the existence of a product from the three-dimensional shape data in the warehouse and recognizing the number of the products. Although it is necessary to extract the position of the shelf and the product installation area in the shelf from the shape data, the specific method is not described. In addition, the calculation of the rate at which the product occupies the product installation area in the shelf is not considered. If the product occupancy rate is not grasped, it is impossible to make a plan for bringing packages stored in a plurality of places, and the storage space cannot be used effectively.

The object of the present invention is to extract a shelf area and a luggage installation area from shape measurement data.

A typical example of the invention disclosed in the present application is as follows. That is, the measurement system is configured by a computer, and the computer includes a processor that executes a program and a storage device that stores the program, and the storage device includes shelf shape data and an area occupied by the shelf. Storage area data representing the area in the shelf that can store luggage, and the processor receives the shape data in the warehouse measured by the measurement sensor, the shape of the shelf The data is compared with the shape data in the warehouse, the position of the shelf in the warehouse is specified, and the shape of the shelf is determined from the shape data in the warehouse based on the position of the specified shelf and the shelf area data. Data is extracted, and shape data of the luggage area in the shelf is extracted from the shape data of the shelf based on the luggage area data.

According to one aspect of the present invention, the shelf area and the luggage installation area can be extracted from the shape measurement data. Problems, configurations, and effects other than those described above will become apparent from the description of the following embodiments.

It is a figure which shows the structure of the measurement system of 1st Example. It is a functional block diagram which shows the flow of the quantity measurement in the measurement system of 1st Example. It is a flowchart which illustrates the basic process of the measurement system of 1st Example. It is a figure which shows an example of the CAD data of the shelf of 1st Example, a shelf installation area | region, and a luggage installation area | region. It is a figure which shows an example of the whole warehouse shape data of 1st Example. It is a figure which shows the process which extracts the shelf area | region shape data of 1st Example. It is a figure which shows extraction of the luggage installation area | region shape data of 1st Example. It is a figure which shows an example of the location data stuck on the shelf of 1st Example. It is a figure which shows the process which calculates the package volume of 1st Example. It is a figure which shows the process which calculates a load volume in the state in which the shape data of 1st Example are missing. It is a figure which shows an example of the data structure of the package information of 1st Example. It is a figure which shows an example of acquisition of the whole warehouse shape data of 1st Example. It is a figure which shows the estimation of the sensor position and attitude | position of 1st Example. It is a figure which shows creation of the whole warehouse shape data of 1st Example. It is a functional block diagram which shows the flow of quantity measurement in the measurement system of 2nd Example. It is a figure which shows an example of the setting method of the shelf position of 2nd Example. It is a figure which shows the modification of the process which extracts the shelf area | region shape data of 2nd Example. It is a functional block diagram which shows the flow of the quantity measurement in the measurement system which correct | amends the load volume of 3rd Example. It is a figure which shows an example of the measurement area | region time corresponding data of 3rd Example. It is a figure which shows the package volume correction process of 3rd Example.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The embodiment of the present invention is not limited to the examples described later, and various modifications are possible within the scope of the technical idea.

<First embodiment>
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of the measurement system of the first embodiment.

The measurement system of the present embodiment is configured by the computer 100. The computer 100 measures the amount of luggage at each level of each shelf based on the data acquired by the shape measurement sensor, and updates and saves the luggage information. The computer 100 has a processor (CPU) 110, a memory (RAM, ROM), and an auxiliary storage device (HDD, SSD) as a basic configuration, and provides functions to be described later when the processor executes a program stored in the memory. . An operator operates the computer 100 through an input device 115 such as a mouse, a keyboard, or a touch screen.

Specifically, the processor 110 executes a program stored in the memory. The memory includes a ROM that is a nonvolatile storage device and a RAM that is a volatile storage device. The ROM stores an immutable program (for example, BIOS). The RAM is a high-speed and volatile storage device such as DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory), and temporarily stores a program executed by the processor 110 and data used when the program is executed.

The auxiliary storage device 200 is a large-capacity non-volatile storage device such as a magnetic storage device (HDD) or a flash memory (SSD), and stores a program executed by the processor 110 and data used when the program is executed. To do. That is, the program is read from the auxiliary storage device 200, loaded into the memory, and executed by the processor 110.

The measurement system may include an output device 116. The output device is a display device or a printer, and is an interface that outputs the execution result of the program in a format that can be visually recognized by the operator.

The communication interface is a network interface device that controls communication with other devices according to a predetermined protocol. The measurement system may be connected to a terminal (not shown) via a communication interface, may operate according to an instruction input from the terminal, and output a calculation result to the terminal.

The computer 100 is connected to the warehouse management system 400 through the Internet 300 and transfers data to each other through both transmission / reception units (network interfaces).

The collation processing unit 101 accurately calculates the installation position and the installation direction of the shelf in the entire warehouse shape data 201 by superimposing the entire warehouse shape data 201 and the shelf CAD data 202.

The shelf area shape data extraction unit 102 uses the shelf area data 203 including the position and orientation of the shelf calculated by the matching processing unit 101 and the shelf and the luggage installation area inside the shelf area shape data 204 to obtain the shelf area shape data 204. Extract.

The luggage placement area shape data extraction unit 103 uses the extracted shelf area shape data 204 and the luggage placement area data 205 indicating where the luggage is placed in the shelf area, and the luggage at each level of the shelf. Installation area shape data 206 is extracted.

The location data acquisition unit 104 acquires the location data assigned to the shelf. The location data is, for example, a character string such as “A-1-2-3” affixed to the shelf, a barcode or the like, and is identification information that can uniquely identify the shelf. The location data acquisition unit 104 acquires location data by character recognition or barcode reading.

The package information acquisition unit 105 makes an inquiry to the warehouse management system 400 using the read location data 209 to acquire the package information 210 of the packages stored on the shelf to which the location data is assigned. The package information 210 includes, for example, a product ID, the number of inventory, a package size, and the like.

The package amount measuring unit 106 calculates the package volume 211 from the shape data 206 in the package installation area 205.

The package information storage / update unit 107 stores and updates the calculated package volume, the coordinate value in the warehouse of the shelf where the package is installed, and the coordinate value in the shelf of the package installation area in the package volume 211 and updates it. . Further, the update result of the package information is transmitted to the warehouse management system 400 through the data transmitting / receiving unit 108 and stored in the product management DB 401.

The auxiliary storage device 200 for storing data includes warehouse whole shape data 201, shelf CAD data 202, shelf area data 203, shelf area shape data 204, luggage installation area data 205, luggage installation area shape data 206, and shelf area warehouse coordinates. A value 207, a storage area coordinate value 208 of the luggage area, location data 209, luggage information 210, and a luggage volume 211 are stored.

The warehouse whole shape data 201 is shape data of the whole warehouse obtained by integrating the data acquired by the shape measurement sensor at a plurality of points into one. The shelf CAD data 202 is data indicating the shape and size of the shelf installed in the warehouse. The shelf area data 203 is data indicating a shelf area including an area occupied by the shelf and a luggage installation area inside the area. The shelf area shape data 204 is shape data in the shelf area data 203. The luggage installation area data 205 is data indicating the position and size of the luggage installation area, which is a space in which luggage can be installed. The luggage installation area shape data 206 is shape data in the luggage installation area data 205.

The shelf area warehouse coordinate value 207 is a coordinate value and orientation in the warehouse of the shelf area indicated by the shelf area data 203, and is represented by four parameters (X, Y, Z, θ). When the warehouse floor is fixed to a constant value in the vertical direction such as Z = 0, the coordinate value 207 of the shelf area may be expressed by (X, Y, θ). The in-shelf coordinate value 208 is a coordinate value in the shelf of the luggage installation area indicated by the luggage installation area data 205. The location data 209 is data representing the location in the warehouse attached to each shelf. The package information 210 is information related to packages, for example, product ID, number of inventory, package size, and the like. The luggage volume 211 is the volume of the luggage on the shelf calculated for each shelf.

The warehouse management system 400 includes a product management database 401 that stores product information, and a data transmission / reception unit 402 that is an interface for transmitting / receiving information about the product to / from the computer 100.

The program executed by the processor 110 is provided to the measurement system via a removable medium (CD-ROM, flash memory, etc.) or a network, and is stored in the auxiliary storage device 200 which is a non-temporary storage medium. For this reason, the measurement system may have an interface for reading data from a removable medium.

A measurement system is a computer system that is configured on a single computer or a plurality of computers that are logically or physically configured, and can operate on separate threads on the same computer. It is also possible to operate on a virtual machine constructed on a plurality of physical computer resources.

FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram showing the flow of the quantity measurement in the measurement system of the first embodiment.

First, the computer 100 receives the input of the entire warehouse shape data 201 that is measured by the shape measurement sensor and represents the surface shape in the warehouse. The shape data is, for example, data obtained by measurement using a laser distance sensor, and is shape data that is an aggregate of three-dimensional coordinate values of a large number of points representing the shape of the object surface. In this embodiment, the shape data will be described using point cloud data as an example, but mesh data or image data may be used. The shape data may be, for example, a stereo camera image, an RGB-D camera image, or sonar data using sound waves as long as it represents the surrounding shape. An example of acquiring the entire warehouse shape data 201 using a laser distance sensor will be described later with reference to FIG.

Next, the collation processing unit 101 superimposes the entire warehouse shape data 201 and the shelf CAD data 202, and performs a collation process for searching for a place where they match. As a result, a specific portion of the shelf is extracted from the entire shape data, and the coordinate value 207 (X, Y, Z, θ) of the shelf area in the coordinate system of the entire warehouse shape data 201 is output. By associating the output coordinate value with the package information 210 later, the coordinate value of the storage location in the warehouse of the package can be obtained. By obtaining the storage location of the package as a coordinate value, for example, when the autonomous vehicle moves in the warehouse and performs inventory inspection or picking of the package, it can move based on the coordinate value.

The shelf area shape data extraction unit 102 extracts the shelf area shape data 204 from the entire warehouse shape data 201 based on the shelf area warehouse coordinate value 207 and the shelf area data 203 calculated by the matching processing unit 101. As shown in FIG. 4, the shelf area data 203 is an area including the shelf CAD data 202 and the baggage placement area data 205. For example, as shown in the shelf area data 203d, the shelf area data 203 is based on the origin of the shelf CAD data 202. Width w, depth d, and height h.

The luggage installation area shape data extraction unit 103 extracts the luggage installation area shape data 206 from the shelf area shape data 204 based on the luggage installation area data 205 indicating the area where the luggage is installed in the shelf area.

The location data acquisition unit 104 acquires location data indicating the address of the shelf from the shelf area shape data 204. The location data indicates an approximate area in the warehouse, a shelf number, and the like, and is described by a barcode or a letter (alphabet, number, etc.) in a place where the shelf is easy to see (for example, the front). The location data acquisition unit 104 acquires shelf location data, and reads the location number assigned to the shelf by barcode recognition or character recognition. When location data is affixed to a predetermined location on the shelf, location data can be acquired by extracting an area corresponding to the predetermined location. When location data is affixed to an unknown location on a shelf, for example, the location data can be acquired by extracting a portion having a color different from that of the shelf body from the shelf image.

The package information acquisition unit 105 queries the warehouse management system 400 for the acquired location data 209 and acquires the package information 210 stored at the location. The package information 210 stores, for example, a product ID, a storage location, a stock quantity, a package size, and the like.

The package amount measuring unit 106 outputs the package volume 211 from the package installation area data 205 and the package installation area shape data 206. The load placement area shape data 206 is not data obtained by measuring the load from all directions, but data representing a surface shape in a range visible from a place measured by the shape measurement sensor. For this reason, the baggage placement region shape data 206 includes surface irregularity data, but does not include baggage depth data. Therefore, the innermost surface of the luggage installation area is set using the luggage installation area data 205 indicating the area where the luggage can be installed in each shelf, and the luggage is installed from the innermost surface of the luggage installation area to the surface of the luggage. Can be calculated. Here, the load occupancy rate in the corresponding step of the corresponding shelf is calculated by dividing the calculated load amount by the load setting area volume.

The package information storage / update unit 107 stores and updates the package information 210. The package information 210 includes, for example, a product ID, a storage location, a stock quantity, and a package size, and may include a package volume 211, a shelf area warehouse coordinate value 207, and a luggage area intra-shelf coordinate value 208. Further, the baggage occupation rate may be stored together with the baggage volume 211.

The update result of the package information 210 is stored in the product management DB 401 of the warehouse management system 400 through the data transmission / reception unit 108.

By combining the coordinate value 207 in the shelf area warehouse and the coordinate value 208 in the shelf of the luggage area, the three-dimensional coordinate value in the warehouse of the luggage area can be calculated. By changing the display mode (for example, color) in accordance with at least one of the load volume and the load occupancy rate of each load region, the load region is displayed in the three-dimensional space in the warehouse, It is possible to easily grasp a region with a large occupation rate or a region with a small occupation rate.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating the basic processing of the measurement system according to the first embodiment, and illustrates the processing for measuring the amount of goods on the shelf executed by the computer 100 according to the first embodiment. This processing is provided by execution of a program by the computer 100.

First, in step S101, the warehouse whole shape data 201 representing the surface shape in the warehouse measured by the shape measurement sensor 30 is received. Further, the entire warehouse shape data is a set of points representing the position of the surface of the object, for example, as shown in FIG.

Next, in step S102, shelf data is input. The input shelf data includes shelf CAD data 202, shelf area data 203 in the shelf CAD data coordinate system, and a luggage installation area 205 for each shelf (see FIG. 4). The shelf area data 203 is an area that is first extracted from the entire warehouse shape data 201, and is an area that includes a shelf and a luggage installation area, as shown in FIG. For example, as shown in the shelf area data 203d (see FIG. 4B), the shelf area data 203 is represented by a width w, a depth d, and a height h with reference to the origin 202a of the shelf CAD data. As shown in FIG. 4E, the luggage installation area 205 is an area in which luggage can be installed at each level of the shelf. For example, as shown in the luggage installation area data 205d (see FIG. 4C), It is represented by the number of shelves, the xyz coordinate value based on the origin 202a of the shelf CAD data, the width w, the depth d, and the height h.

In step S103, shape data of the shelf installation area is extracted. The entire warehouse shape data 201 input in step S101 and the shelf CAD data 202 input in step S102 are collated to search for a place where the entire warehouse shape data 201 and the shelf CAD data 202 match.

Here, with reference to FIG. 6, the process of collating the entire warehouse shape data 201 and the shelf CAD data 202, calculating the coordinate value 207 of the shelf area in the warehouse, and extracting the shelf area shape data 204 will be described. . Here, the search range can be limited and the calculation time can be shortened by using the condition that the shelf is installed in contact with the floor and perpendicular to the floor. For this reason, the warehouse whole shape data 201 desirably has a floor surface parallel to the XY plane and Z = 0. However, even if the search range is limited, the method of searching all within the limited range requires a lot of calculation cost. Therefore, by setting an approximate shelf position in advance and giving an initial value, the calculation cost Can be greatly reduced. An example of the setting method of the approximate shelf position will be described later with reference to FIG.

After searching for a place where the entire warehouse shape data 201 matches the shelf CAD data 202, the shape data in the range described in the shelf region data 203d is extracted, and the shelf region shape data 204 is extracted. The extracted shelf area shape data 204 is used to calculate the luggage installation area data 205 at each stage and to acquire location data.

In step S104, the shape data of the luggage installation area in each stage of the shelf is extracted from the extracted shelf area shape data 204. Based on the luggage area coordinate value and the size (width w, depth d, height h) in the shelf CAD data coordinate system described in the preset luggage installation area data 205d, the number of the shelf installation area shapes Data 206 is extracted. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the extraction of the luggage placement area shape data 206 from the shelf area shape data 204 and the luggage placement area data 205. Specifically, the shape data 206 in the luggage installation area 205 at each stage is extracted from the shelf area shape data 204.

In step S105, shelf location data 209 is acquired. For example, data relating to a location attached to the shelf is read by character recognition or barcode recognition. For this reason, the warehouse whole shape data 201 needs to be colored data. When acquiring the warehouse whole shape data 201, the surface shape of the installed object in the warehouse is acquired with a laser beam or the like, and color information is acquired by photographing the inside of the warehouse with a camera. As a result, the location data affixed to the shelf can be read. FIG. 8 shows an example of the location data 209 pasted on the shelf 10.

In step S106, the package information 210 is acquired using the acquired location data 209. The warehouse management system 400 is inquired through the data transmission / reception unit 108. The warehouse management system 400 extracts information on the packages installed at the corresponding location from the package information stored in the product management DB 401. The computer 100 (measurement system) receives the package information through the data transmitting / receiving unit 108 and stores it in the package information 210.

Note that step S104 and steps S105 to S106 may be executed in parallel, or one may be executed first and the other after.

After extracting the luggage installation area shape data 206 and acquiring the location data 209, in step S107, the luggage volume 211 is calculated from the luggage installation area shape data 206 and the luggage installation area data 205. With reference to FIG. 9, a process for calculating the load volume 211 from the load placement area shape data 206 (FIG. 9A) will be described. First, the plane 206a perpendicular to the xy plane is detected using the luggage placement area shape data 206 (FIG. 9B). Since the shape measurement sensor measures the surface shape from the front of the shelf, the laser beam does not reach the upper surface of the luggage, and the shape data of the upper surface of the luggage cannot be acquired. For this reason, a plane that is horizontal to the xy plane is also detected in the plane detection, but is deleted, leaving a plane 206a perpendicular to the xy plane. A space generated by extending the detected plane 206a to the innermost surface in the x-axis direction of the load placement area 205 is calculated as a load volume 211 and output (FIG. 9C).

FIG. 9 shows a method of obtaining the luggage volume 211 from the luggage installation area shape data 206 and the luggage installation area data 205. However, even when the shape is somewhat missing due to occlusion or the like, the luggage information 210 is used together to determine the luggage volume. A more accurate method is shown in FIG. In the package information 210, the missing portion is compensated by using the package size (width w, depth d, height h) 210_7 (see FIG. 11). First, the plane 206a perpendicular to the xy plane is detected using the load placement area shape data 206 (FIG. 10A) (FIG. 10B). The extracted plane 206a is divided for each package size (height h) (FIG. 10C), and for each height h, the plane 206a is such that the width of the plane 206a is a multiple of the package size (width w). Is adjusted (FIG. 10D). Using the adjusted flat surface 206a, a space that can be extended to the innermost surface in the x-axis direction of the load placement area 205 is calculated as a load volume 211 and output (FIG. 10E).

In step S108, the shelf area warehouse coordinate value 207 calculated in step S103, the luggage area shelf coordinate value 208 used in step S104, and the package volume 211 calculated in step S107 are stored in the package information 210. Update.

FIG. 11 shows an example of the data structure of the package information 210. The package information 210 includes, for example, a package ID 210_1, a location 210_2, a warehouse area coordinate value 210_3, a package area information 210_4, an inventory quantity 210_5, a package volume 210_6, a package size 210_7, and an update date and time 210_8.

The package ID 210_1 is identification information for uniquely identifying the package. Location 210_2 indicates the location of the luggage in the warehouse. The in-warehouse coordinate value 210_3 of the shelf area is a coordinate value in the warehouse of the shelf where the luggage is installed. The luggage area information 210_4 is information on an area where the luggage is installed in the shelf, and is represented by a three-dimensional coordinate value in the shelf, a width, a depth, and a height. The inventory number 210_5 is the number that the package is in stock. The load volume 210_6 is the total volume of the load. The package size 210_7 is the size of each package, and is represented by a width, a depth, and a height. The update date 210_8 is the date and time when the package information is updated. The update date / time 210_8 may be one value for each package ID 210_1, but the update date / time may be recorded separately for the number of stocks and the package size.

In step S109, the next shelf is searched from the entire warehouse shape data 201.

In step S110, it is determined whether or not there is a next shelf. If there is a next shelf, the process returns to step S103 to extract shape data of the shelf area. If there is no next shelf, the process ends.

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of acquisition of the entire warehouse shape data 201.

In the first embodiment, a method of measuring the shape measuring sensor 30 by moving it with the carriage 50 will be described, but other methods may be used. For example, a shape measurement sensor is mounted on a mobile robot and automatically measured while moving, a shape measurement sensor is mounted on a UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) and automatically measured while moving, or a shape measurement sensor is used. Alternatively, a method of measuring at a plurality of stationary points may be used.

In this embodiment, a method of creating shape data using the two

shape measurement sensors

30 and 40 will be described. The shape measurement sensor 30 acquires data for creating the entire warehouse shape data 201, and the shape measurement sensor 40 sequentially acquires measurement positions measured by the shape measurement sensor 30.

For example, the shape measurement sensor 30 is mounted on the carriage 50 so that the scan surface is perpendicular to the floor surface, and is irradiated with a laser beam in a specified direction while moving on the carriage 50, so that the shelf 10, the luggage 20, etc. Measure the distance to the object. Thereafter, the entire warehouse shape data 201 can be created by connecting the measurement data. In order to connect measurement data, it is necessary to know the position and orientation at which the data was measured. For this reason, for example, the shape measurement sensor 40 is installed on the carriage 50 such that the scan surface is horizontal with the floor surface, and measures the distance from the surroundings at a certain height. Based on the measured data, the self-position and posture are sequentially estimated while creating a two-dimensional map.

Also, the shape measurement sensor 30 may be provided with a camera 60. The entire warehouse shape data 201 can be colored by the color image of the visible light region captured by the camera 60, and the location data of the shelf 10 can be acquired. A shape measurement sensor 30 with a built-in camera may be used.

FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating estimation of the sensor position and orientation using the data measured by the shape measurement sensor 40.

The shape measurement sensor 40 obtains distance data 41-1, 41-2,... To the object for each position to be moved and measured. The distance data 41-1 and the like represent the contours of objects (objects and obstacles) indicated by solid lines (strictly speaking, a set of points as will be described later).

The shape measurement sensor 40 obtains distance data 41 such as 41-1, 41-2, 41-3,... For each moving position. The respective measurement positions and postures are obtained from the distance data 41 obtained sequentially. In order to integrate the distance data 41, a SLAM (Simultaneous Localization And Mapping) technique that executes these two calculations simultaneously is used. Specifically, by performing a collation process between the distance data 41 and the two-dimensional plane map 42 created so far, the position and orientation of the shape measurement sensor 40 on the two-dimensional plane map 42 are obtained, and based on these. Thus, the two-dimensional planar map 42 is sequentially expanded / updated.

The creation of the two-dimensional planar map 42 will be described with reference to FIG. First, the distance data 41-1 and the distance data 41-2 are overlapped at a position where the contours of the objects coincide with each other to obtain a two-dimensional planar map. Further, the two-dimensional planar map 42 is formed by superimposing the distance data 41-3 on the two-dimensional planar map 42 created from the distance data 41-1 and the distance data 41-2 at a position where the contour of the object matches. Extend / update. The two-dimensional planar map 42 is created by repeating the process of integrating the distance data into the two-dimensional planar map 42 in this way.

On the other hand, in the vicinity of the position / posture from which the previous distance data 41 is acquired, the two-dimensional planar map 42 that is sequentially updated and the current distance data 41 are collated, thereby performing the two-dimensional measurement of the shape measurement sensor 40. A two-dimensional position and orientation 43 (x, y, θ) on the planar map 42 can be estimated. The shape measurement sensor 30 is obtained by adding the difference between the position and posture of the shape measurement sensor 40 and the position and posture of the shape measurement sensor 30 to the estimated position and posture 43 (x, y, θ) of the shape measurement sensor 40. Can be estimated.

FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating an example of creation of the entire warehouse shape data 201 from the data measured by the shape measurement sensor 30.

As shown in FIG. 14A, the distance and angle (L, θ) to an object such as an object or an obstacle measured by the shape measurement sensor 30 and the position and orientation (x, y, z) of the shape measurement sensor 30 , Θ), the three-dimensional coordinate value (x1, y1, z1) of the object is calculated. The position and orientation of the shape measurement sensor 30 are represented by a set of measurement position (x, y, z) and direction θ, and as described above, the position and orientation 43 of the shape measurement sensor 40 and the position of the shape measurement sensor 30 and It can be calculated by the posture. Since the distance data is measured while moving the shape measurement sensor 30, the distance data acquired at different positions as the movement is obtained as a collection of points 31-1 to 31-5 as shown in FIG. It is done. If these distance data are converted into the same coordinate system and combined and expressed as a set of points in a three-dimensional space, data 32 can be generated (see FIG. 14C). By performing this integration process on the entire warehouse data, the entire warehouse shape data 201 can be generated.

<Second embodiment>
FIG. 15 is a functional block diagram illustrating the flow of physical quantity measurement in the measurement system in which the shelf position is preset in the second embodiment. In the measurement system shown in FIG. 15, processing related to shelf position setting is added to the measurement system shown in FIG.

Even if shelves are set in advance or shelves are stored, actual shelves installed in actual warehouses are likely to have errors in their positions and angles. It is effective to calculate the shelf position by the matching process.

The shelf position setting unit 109 sets an approximate position of the shelf on the entire warehouse shape data 201 by an operator input, and creates a shelf installation diagram 212. By giving the approximate position in advance, the shelf position can be grasped quickly and accurately. The matching processing unit 101 performs matching processing in the vicinity of the coordinate values shown in the shelf installation diagram 212 to facilitate the extraction of the shelf area and the grasp of the position. Since the processing after the verification processing unit 101 is the same as that in the above-described embodiment, the description thereof is omitted.

For example, as shown in FIG. 16A, the shelf position is set by creating a plan view 201a obtained by cutting the entire warehouse shape data 201 at a certain height. Then, as shown in FIG. 16B, a rectangle 212a representing a shelf is arranged at the extreme end position of each column of the shelf on the plan view 201a. A direction 212b in which the installed shelves are arranged adjacent to each other may be shown in the plan view 201a. Although not shown, all rectangles representing shelves may be arranged. If a shelf layout diagram is held, it may be used.

Since the entire warehouse shape data 201 represents the shape of the object surface viewed from the measurement position, it is difficult to obtain the shape of the side surface of the shelf other than the endmost position among the adjacently arranged shelves. For this reason, the front surface shape of many shelves is mainly measured. For this reason, by setting the shelf position in advance, not only the calculation time is shortened, but also the possibility that a different place is recognized as the shelf position is reduced.

FIG. 17 is a diagram showing a modified example of the process of comparing the entire warehouse shape data 201 and the shelf CAD data 202, calculating the coordinate value 207 of the shelf area in the warehouse, and extracting the shelf area shape data 204.

The process shown in FIG. 17 is different from the process shown in FIG.

The shelf CAD data 202 is arranged at the same location (x, y, θ) as the coordinate value of the shelf indicated by the shelf installation chart 212. There is a high possibility that the shelf CAD data 202 and the shelf area of the entire warehouse shape data 201 do not match due to an installation error. Therefore, by performing a collation process between the shelf CAD data 202 and the entire warehouse shape data 201 in the vicinity of the installed location, it is possible to output an accurate warehouse coordinate value (x1, y1, θ1) of the shelf area.

<Third embodiment>
Up to this point, the case has been described where the amount of luggage does not change between the acquisition of the entire shape data in the warehouse and the measurement of the quantity of luggage on the shelf. In a warehouse with a time zone during which warehouse operations are not performed, the latest package amount information for the day can be updated by acquiring the entire warehouse shape data 201 after the warehouse operation is completed and measuring the amount of luggage on the shelf. However, in a warehouse that operates for 24 hours, after the warehouse whole shape data 201 is acquired, the work of entering and leaving is performed, and there is a discrepancy with the current state when measuring the quantity of luggage on the shelf. As a third embodiment, a method for eliminating this divergence will be described below.

FIG. 18 is a functional block diagram showing the flow of measuring the quantity in the measurement system for correcting the load volume according to the third embodiment. In the measurement system shown in FIG. 18, processing for correcting the load volume by using the inventory difference is added to the measurement system shown in FIG. 2.

The measuring unit 120 measures the shape data in the warehouse and stores the measurement time in the data measurement time 220. The measurement data integration unit 121 integrates the measurement data using, for example, the method illustrated in FIGS. 13 and 14 and creates the entire warehouse shape data 201. The measurement area / time association unit 122 associates the measurement time with the measured area. For example, as shown in FIG. 19A, in the plan view 201a extracted at a certain height from the entire warehouse shape data 201, the area is divided at each measurement time, and the coordinate value indicating the range of each area, Measurement area / time correspondence data 221 (FIG. 19B) including the measurement time of the area is created.

At the time of quantity measurement, the package information acquisition unit 105 acquires the package information 210 at the time of quantity measurement and the package information 222 at the time of shape measurement by making an inquiry to the product management DB 401 of the warehouse management system 400. The package information 222 at the time of shape measurement is obtained by acquiring the measurement time of the area corresponding to the coordinate value of the shelf area by using the coordinate value 207 in the shelf area warehouse and the measurement area / time correspondence data 221, and the package information at a time equal to the time To get. For this reason, the merchandise management DB 401 holds data for a predetermined period in the past.

If there is a difference between the inventory information 210 of the package information 210 and the package information 222 at the time of shape measurement, it is estimated that an entry / exit operation has occurred after the shape measurement, and the package volume is corrected. As shown in FIG. 20, the package volume correction unit 123 compares the inventory quantity of the luggage information 210 at the time of physical quantity measurement with the inventory quantity of the luggage information 222 at the time of shape measurement, calculates the luggage quantity difference, The load volume difference is calculated from the box size and the load amount difference. Then, the load volume difference is added to the load volume 211a calculated by the load amount measuring unit 106 to create a corrected load volume 211b. The package information storage / update unit 107 updates the package information 210 using the corrected package volume 211b.

Note that the difference between the inventory quantity and the luggage volume 211 at the time of shape measurement has a predetermined threshold even though the inventory quantity of the luggage information 210 at the time of quantity measurement is the same as the inventory quantity of the luggage information 222 at the time of quantity measurement. When exceeding, a warning (a specific character, a figure, a color, a sound, blinking, etc.) may be emitted and notified to the operator.

In warehouses that have time periods when warehouse operations are not performed, warehouse operations (entry work and delivery work) can be separated from warehouse shape measurement and physical quantity measurement. However, in warehouses that operate 24 hours, entry and exit work and measurement work are separated from each other. Is difficult to separate. At the time of measuring the shape in the warehouse, it is necessary to avoid the shelves and products to be measured from being shielded by an operator or a loading robot. For this reason, in a 24-hour warehouse, it is preferable to avoid simultaneous execution of the loading / unloading work and the measurement work by adjusting the measurement schedule and the work schedule.

As described above, according to the embodiment of the present invention, the measurement system collates the shelf CAD data 202 and the entire warehouse shape data 201 and specifies the position of the shelf in the warehouse, A shelf area shape data extraction unit 102 for extracting the shelf area shape data 204 from the entire warehouse shape data 201 based on the coordinate values 207 in the shelf area and the shelf area data 203, and a shelf area based on the luggage installation area data 205 Since the load placement area shape data extraction unit 103 extracts the load placement area shape data 206 from the data 203, the load is placed from the shape data acquired by the measurement sensor without specifying the position of the shelf in detail. The area can be extracted automatically.

Further, since the measurement system has the load amount measuring unit 106 that estimates the load volume 211 using the load setting area shape data 206 and the load setting area data 205, the amount of the load stored on the shelf can be estimated. In addition, the load amount measuring unit 106 may calculate the occupancy rate of the load at each level of the shelf by dividing the estimated load volume by the volume of the load setting area. Whether or not shelving is possible can be determined based on the occupation ratio.

In addition, the load amount measuring unit 106 estimates the load volume 211 using the load size 210_7, the load setting area shape data 206, and the load setting area data 205 acquired from the warehouse management system 400, and thus is extracted from the shape data. Even if there is a missing part in the packaged area, it is possible to complement the luggage area and obtain the volume of the package with high accuracy. In addition, the load amount measuring unit 106 may calculate the occupancy rate of the load at each level of the shelf by dividing the estimated load volume by the volume of the load setting area.

In addition, since the measurement system issues a warning when the inventory quantity 210_5 of the luggage acquired from the warehouse management system 400 and the luggage volume 211 are different, the measurement system gives an opportunity to notice the difference between the current inventory quantity and the estimated volume value. be able to.

Further, the package information acquisition unit 105 uses the location data 209 assigned to the shelf to acquire the package information stored in the shelf from the warehouse management system 400, so that the location of the shelf in the warehouse is known. Can do. It can also be determined whether the shelves are close when shelving.

In addition, since the measurement system has the luggage volume correction unit 123 that corrects the volume of the luggage using the luggage information at the time equal to the measurement time of the entire warehouse shape data 201 and the information of the luggage acquired at the time of the quantity measurement, The load volume can be estimated with high accuracy. In addition, it is possible to accurately grasp the current state of luggage and reduce the risk of excess inventory and out of stock. Furthermore, it is possible to efficiently store luggage on the shelf by reducing the space available on the shelf.

In addition, the measurement system has a shelf position setting unit 109 that accepts setting of a shelf position on a plan view 201a configured by extracting a shape at a certain height from the entire warehouse shape data 201, and a collation processing unit In 101, the search range is set in the vicinity of the received shelf position, so that the shelf CAD data and the entire warehouse shape data 201 are collated, so that the collation range can be narrowed and the calculation can be speeded up.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and includes various modifications and equivalent configurations within the scope of the appended claims. For example, the above-described embodiments have been described in detail for easy understanding of the present invention, and the present invention is not necessarily limited to those having all the configurations described. A part of the configuration of one embodiment may be replaced with the configuration of another embodiment. Moreover, you may add the structure of another Example to the structure of a certain Example. In addition, for a part of the configuration of each embodiment, another configuration may be added, deleted, or replaced.

In addition, each of the above-described configurations, functions, processing units, processing means, etc. may be realized in hardware by designing a part or all of them, for example, with an integrated circuit, and the processor realizes each function. It may be realized by software by interpreting and executing the program to be executed.

Information such as programs, tables, and files that realize each function can be stored in a storage device such as a memory, a hard disk, and an SSD (Solid State Drive), or a recording medium such as an IC card, an SD card, and a DVD.

Also, the control lines and information lines indicate what is considered necessary for the explanation, and do not necessarily indicate all control lines and information lines necessary for mounting. In practice, it can be considered that almost all the components are connected to each other.

Claims

A measuring system comprising a computer,
The computer has a processor that executes a program and a storage device that stores the program,
The storage device holds shelf shape data, shelf area data representing an area occupied by the shelf, and luggage area data representing an area where the luggage can be stored in the shelf,
The processor is
Receives input of shape data in the warehouse measured by the measurement sensor,
Collating the shape data of the shelf with the shape data in the warehouse, and specifying the position of the shelf in the warehouse,
Based on the position of the specified shelf and the shelf area data, extract the shape data of the shelf from the shape data in the warehouse,
A measurement system, wherein shape data of a luggage area in the shelf is extracted from shape data of the shelf based on the luggage area data.
The measurement system according to claim 1,
The measurement system, wherein the processor estimates a volume of a load in a shelf using the extracted shape data of the load region and the load region data.
The measurement system according to claim 2,
Connected to the warehouse management system that holds the product management database,
The processor is
Information on the size of the luggage is obtained from the warehouse management system;
A measurement system for estimating a volume of a package in a shelf using the acquired information on the size of the package, the shape data of the extracted package region, and the package region data.
The measurement system according to claim 3,
The processor is
Obtain information on the number of items in stock from the warehouse management system,
A warning system is provided, wherein a warning is notified when the acquired information on the inventory number of packages differs from the estimated volume of packages.
The measurement system according to claim 3,
The processor is
Get the identification information assigned to the shelf,
Using the acquired identification information, the information of the package stored on the shelf is acquired from the warehouse management system.
The measurement system according to claim 2,
The processor is
The measurement sensor can acquire the time when the shape data in the warehouse is measured,
A measurement system for correcting a volume of a package using package information at a time equal to the measurement time and information on the package acquired at the time of measuring the quantity.
The measurement system according to claim 1,
The processor is
On the plane configured by extracting the shape at a certain height from the shape data in the warehouse, accepting the setting of the position of the shelf,
A measuring system which collates shape data of the shelf with shape data in the warehouse by setting a search range in the vicinity of the position of the accepted shelf.
A measurement method performed by a computer,
The computer has a processor that executes a program and a storage device that stores the program,
The storage device holds shelf shape data, shelf area data representing an area occupied by the shelf, and luggage area data representing an area where the luggage can be stored in the shelf,
The measurement method is:
The processor receives input of shape data in a warehouse measured by a measurement sensor;
The processor compares the shape data of the shelf with the shape data in the warehouse, and specifies a position of the shelf in the warehouse;
The processor extracting shelf shape data from shape data in the warehouse based on the specified shelf position and the shelf area data; and
And a step of extracting the shape data of the luggage area in the shelf from the shape data of the shelf based on the luggage area data.
The measurement method according to claim 8,
A measurement method comprising: an estimation step in which the processor estimates a volume of a load in a shelf using the extracted shape data of the load region and the load region data.
The measurement method according to claim 9,
The computer is connected to a warehouse management system that holds a product management database,
The measurement method is:
The processor includes an obtaining step of obtaining information on a size of a package from the warehouse management system;
In the estimation step, the volume of the luggage in the shelf is estimated using the acquired luggage size information, the extracted luggage area shape data, and the luggage area data. .
It is the measuring method of Claim 10, Comprising:
An acquisition step in which the processor acquires information on a stock quantity of packages from the warehouse management system;
A measurement method, comprising: a step of notifying a warning when the information on the acquired inventory quantity of the package is different from the estimated volume of the package.
It is the measuring method of Claim 10, Comprising:
The processor includes obtaining identification information assigned to the shelf;
In the obtaining step, the information on the luggage stored on the shelf is obtained from the warehouse management system using the obtained identification information.
The measurement method according to claim 9,
The processor obtains the time when the measurement sensor measured shape data in a warehouse;
The processor includes a step of correcting the volume of the package using the package information at the time equal to the measurement time and the information on the package acquired at the time of measuring the quantity.
The measurement method according to claim 8,
The processor includes receiving a setting of a shelf position on a plane configured by extracting a shape at a certain height from the shape data in the warehouse,
In the collating step, the shape data of the shelf and the shape data in the warehouse are collated by setting a search range in the vicinity of the received shelf position.