JP2003054711A - Article storage device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent overload and damage of constituent parts of a shelf elevating device and a shelf of an article storage device. SOLUTION: A plurality of shelves are arranged so as to pass a conveyance face of a conveyor in a shelf vertically to transfer a cargo onto the shelf from the conveyor due to the rise of the shelf and unload the cargo onto the conveyor from the shelf due to lowering of the shelf. The conveyor in the shelf is connected with an inbound subconveyor and an outbound subconveyor to carry the cargo in/out of the article storage device. The number of loaded articles per shelf is added to the number of product and the number of inbound articles to transmit an inbound command to a controller of the article storage device from physical distribution CPU. The controller changes shelves every time when a value obtained by adding the number of the inbound articles to a fraction of the number of articles in stock reaches the number of loaded articles to prevent loading of the number of articles exceeding the number of loaded articles on the shelves.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an article storage device for storing articles on a shelf by raising and lowering the shelves so that the shelves pass through a conveyor.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art There is known an article storage device which uses a conveyor in a shelf and transfers articles to and from the shelf. In such an article storage device, a plurality of shelves are connected by a chain or the like, and the shelves are moved up and down one by one to pass through a conveying surface of an in-shelf conveyor using a roller conveyor, a chain conveyor, or the like. When the shelves rise above the transport surface, the in-shelf conveyor transfers to the shelves, and when the shelves descend below the transport surface, the shelves move to the in-shelf conveyor. The inventors have found here that when a large number of heavy articles are loaded on the shelves, the components of the shelves may be damaged or the shelving device may be overloaded.

[0003]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A basic object of the present invention is to prevent an unreasonable load from being applied to the shelves and the elevating means of the article storage device (claims 1 to 3). An additional object of the invention of claim 2 is to provide a specific configuration for weight management when accommodating articles of the same type. An additional object of the invention of claim 3 is to provide a specific configuration for weight management when different types of articles are mixed and stored.

[0004]

According to the present invention, an in-shelf conveyor for loading and unloading articles is provided, and the elevating means elevates and lowers the shelves one by one so as to pass through the conveying surface of the in-shelf conveyor. An apparatus adapted to transfer articles between and, and providing a weight management means for obtaining the data representing the total weight of the stored articles on the in-shelf conveyor and comparing the data with a predetermined value, It is characterized in that the data represented is equal to or larger than a predetermined value and the lower shelf of the in-shelf conveyor is raised to transfer the articles to the shelf (claim 1).

Preferably, the in-shelf conveyor is connected to the out-of-shelf conveyor for storage, and the weight managing means stores the number of articles on the in-shelf conveyor, and the number of articles on the in-shelf conveyor indicates the in-shelf conveyor. When the allowable number of the upper articles is reached, the conveyance of the articles by the out-of-shelf conveyor and the in-shelf conveyor is stopped, and the lower shelf is raised (claim 2). If the out-of-shelf conveyor and the in-shelf conveyor for warehousing can be transported bidirectionally, the out-of-shelf conveyor for warehousing can also be used for unloading.
If the conveying direction of the out-of-shelf conveyor or the in-shelf conveyor is fixed in one direction, it is preferable to provide the out-of-shelf conveyor also for delivery. Note that this point is the same as in claim 3.

[0006] Further, preferably, an out-of-shelf conveyor for storage is connected to the in-shelf conveyor, and the weight management means adds the weight each time an article is loaded onto the in-shelf conveyor to add the weight of the article on the in-shelf conveyor. In addition to obtaining the total weight of the above, the predetermined value for the total weight is stored, and when the total weight is equal to or more than the predetermined value, the conveyance of articles on the outside shelf conveyor and the inside shelf conveyor is stopped and the lower shelf is raised (claim Item 3).

[0007]

According to the present invention, the weight of the article on the in-shelf conveyor is managed, and when the weight exceeds a predetermined value, the article is transferred from the in-shelf conveyor to the next shelf. Means are not overloaded and damaged
(Claim 1).

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the in-shelf conveyor is connected to the in-shelf conveyor to control the number of articles on the in-shelf conveyor. Therefore, when the same kind of articles are stored together, the weight of the shelves can be easily managed. Further, when the transfer from the in-shelf conveyor to the shelf is performed, the conveyance by the in-shelf conveyor or the out-shelf conveyor is stopped, so that it is possible to prevent subsequent articles from entering from the out-of-shelf conveyor during the shelving change.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the in-shelf conveyor is connected to the in-shelf outside conveyor for managing the total weight of the articles on the in-shelf conveyor, even when different kinds of articles are mixed and stored in the same shelf. The weight of the shelf can be managed. Further, when the transfer from the in-shelf conveyor to the shelf is performed, the conveyance by the in-shelf conveyor or the out-shelf conveyor is stopped, so that subsequent articles can be prevented from entering from the out-of-shelf conveyor during the shelving change.

[0010]

EXAMPLE An example is shown in FIGS. FIG. 1 shows a layout of a physical distribution system 2 using the article storage device 5 of the embodiment. A group of a plurality of article storage devices 5 constitutes the article storage device groups 4 and 4, and a storage device controller 31 for control is provided for each of the article storage device groups 4. Note that the article storage device 5 has different lengths and allowable weights per shelf between the article storage device group on the right side and the article storage device group on the left side of the figure, but since the basic configuration is the same, the same reference numeral 5 is used. Show.

Numerals 6 and 6 are warehousing lines using belt conveyors, roller conveyors, etc., 7 is a movable sorter, and other known conversion devices may be used. 8 is a storage sub-conveyor group, one storage sub-conveyor 9 is provided for each individual article storage device 5, 10 is a storage sub-conveyor group, a storage sub-conveyor 11 is provided for each individual storage device 5, and a belt conveyor Delivery line 12 using a roller or roller conveyor
Send the goods out to. Regarding the entry and exit of goods,
Each article storage device 5 is called a frontage. The storage sub-conveyor 9 may be omitted by providing a movable storage sub-conveyor integrally with the sorter 7 and moving it to a desired frontage.

Reference numeral 14 denotes a depalletizing system, which supplies articles in pallet units from an automatic pallet warehouse 15 or the like, depalletizes each case (unit of articles in the embodiment), and stores the articles in the storage lines 6 and 6. Supply. Reference numeral 16 denotes a case automatic warehouse, which stores articles having a relatively high material flow rate in the article storage device 5, and stores articles having a relatively low object flow rate in the case automatic warehouse 16. The articles delivered from the article storage device 5 are conveyed via the delivery sub-conveyor 11 and the delivery line 12, and the articles delivered from the case automatic warehouse 16 merge on the way, and, for example, two supply lines are delivered via the branching device 18. The palletizing system 22 is provided for branching to 19 and 20, and 22 is for shipping.

The palletizing system 22 includes a supply line 1
The articles supplied from 9 and 20 are palletized on a pallet or the like by bar stacking and then shipped. The palletizing system 22 includes, for example, two palletizing devices, and the branching device 18 uses the IDs such as barcodes of the articles so that the predetermined articles are conveyed to the predetermined palletizing apparatuses. Branch the article into.

A picking area 24 is an article which needs to be inspected or subdivided by picking, or cannot be sent to the shipping line 12 in a predetermined order, so that the palletizing system 22 automatically palletizes it. This is an area for manual processing, which is used for processing articles that are not suitable for processing. A worker is resident in the picking area 24 and gives a required instruction to the worker from a display (not shown), and the picking conveyor 26
For example, an article branched from the supply line 19 is conveyed. The articles processed in the picking area 24 are merged into the delivery line 12 by the reflux conveyor 27, or re-stored in the case automatic warehouse 16, for example.

Reference numeral 30 denotes a physical distribution CPU (physical distribution control processing unit). In the embodiment, an example is shown in which one physical distribution CPU 30 performs processing regardless of whether it is a storage system or a shipping system. The physical distribution CPU may be separately provided. The storage device controller 31 is provided for each article storage device group 4, and two storage device controllers 31 and 31 are provided here. Numerals 32 and 32 are warehousing line controllers which control the warehousing lines 6 and 6 to the warehousing sub-conveyor group 8. The reference numeral 33 is a delivery line controller, which is used to control the delivery line 12 to the delivery line 12
Control up to.

A depalletizing controller 34 controls the depalletizing system 14, and a palletizing controller 35 controls the branching device 18 to the supply lines 19 and 20 and the palletizing system 22. A picking controller 36 controls the picking area 24 and the recirculation conveyor 27 from the picking conveyor 26, and outputs an instruction to the operator to a terminal, a display board or the like (not shown) in the picking area 24.

A bar code reader 38 is provided in the warehousing lines 6 and 6, the warehousing line 12, the supply lines 19 and 20, the picking conveyor 26, and the like to read the bar code attached to the article. The bar code is an example of the ID data of the article. From the physical distribution CPU 30 to various controllers 31
In the instruction to ~ 36, instructions such as warehousing, warehousing, palletizing, and picking are transmitted in advance so that the article can be identified, and the bar code reader 38 provided in front of each of these areas reads the bar code of the article. The process may be started at the time of reading and detecting that the article instructed by the physical distribution CPU 30 has arrived. Or conversely, when the barcode of the article is read by the barcode reader 38 provided in front of each area of the article storage device groups 4, 4, etc., the read barcode data is transmitted to the physical distribution CPU 30 and the next processing is performed. The physical distribution CPU 30 may instruct the controller in each area to perform processing. For example, in the storage instruction to the article storage device group 4, when the barcode reader 38 in contact with the storage line 6 detects an article, the barcode data is transmitted to the distribution CPU 30, and the distribution CPU 30 stores the storage line controller 32 and the storage device controller. Instructs 31 to store.

FIG. 2 shows a control system of the physical distribution system. Four
Reference numeral 0 is a LAN, 42 and 42 are input / output terminals, and 30 is the physical distribution CPU. The physical distribution CPU 30 includes storage device controllers 31, 31, storage line controllers 32, 3
2, a delivery line controller 33, a depalletizing controller 34, a palletizing controller 35, and a picking controller 36 are connected. Storage device control
The roller 31 controls the article storage device in units of the article storage device group, and the main control items are raising and lowering the shelf and driving the conveyor in the shelf.
Shelf weight management. The receiving line controller 32 is
The warehousing line 6 and the warehousing subconveyor 8 are controlled, and the warehousing line 6 is connected to a movable sorter 7 and a bar code reader 38. The delivery line controller 33 is connected to the delivery sub-conveyor 10, the delivery line 12, and the bar code reader 38 provided in contact with each article storage device group. The palletizing controller 35 is connected to the palletizing system 22, and the depalletizing controller 34 is connected to the depalletizing system 14.

FIG. 3 shows the appearance of the article storage device 5. Fifty
Is an in-shelf conveyor, for example, a number of rollers 52 are driven by a conveyor motor 53. In place of the roller conveyor,
A chain conveyor or the like may be used. 54 is a shelf, 55
Is a frame thereof, and 56 is a plurality of combs of the shelf 54. When the shelf 54 moves up and down, the comb 56 passes through the gap between the rollers 52, 52, and when the shelf 54 rises from the conveying surface of the in-shelf conveyor 50, the articles on the in-shelf conveyor 50 are loaded and the shelf 54 moves in the shelf. When the conveying surface of the conveyor 50 is passed downward, the shelf 54
Unload the above items to the in-shelf conveyor 50.

Reference numeral 58 is a column of the article storage device 5, 60 is a lifting motor, and 62 is a chain for lifting the shelf 54. A plurality of shelves 54 are stacked and stored under the in-shelf conveyor 50. A metal plate 64 is attached to the chain 62 between the shelves 54 and 54, and when the shelves 54 are stacked under the in-shelf conveyor 60, the chains 62 are Prevents being pinched between shelves. The shelves 54 can be raised and lowered one by one in order, and the space between the shelves is determined by the metal plate 64 and the chain.

FIG. 4 shows the connection between the article storage device 5, the storage sub-conveyor 9 and the storage sub-conveyor 11. The movable sorter 7 moves on the storage line 6, and the movable sorter 7 sends the articles to the storage sub-conveyor 9 which is in contact with the frontage for storing, and is provided with a conveyor for this. The storage sub-conveyor 9 is a power conveyor that conveys articles by a drive motor (not shown). The delivery sub-conveyor is, for example, an accumulation conveyor 70 and a second stage conveyor 7.
It consists of three conveyors, 1 and 3rd conveyor 72, which can be driven independently of each other, and the articles discharged from the in-shelf conveyor 50 are aligned on the accumulation conveyor 70, and the tips thereof are pressed by the stopper 74 for positioning. For example, one article is transferred to the second stage conveyor 71 by operating the stopper 74. The second stage conveyor 71 waits for an article to arrive in a virtual zone provided on the delivery line 12, sends the article to the third stage conveyor 72, and transfers the article from the third stage conveyor 72 to the delivery line 12. Send in.
The second-stage conveyor 71 and the third-stage conveyor 72 may be integrated into one conveyor. Reference numeral 75 denotes a stopper provided between the receiving sub-conveyor 9 and the in-shelf conveyor 50, when transferring an article from the in-shelf conveyor 50 to the next shelf 54, or from the in-shelf conveyor 50 to the accumulation conveyor 7.
When the article is unloaded to 0, the subsequent article is prevented from being carried in from the warehousing sub-conveyor 9. The same function may be achieved only by controlling the storage sub-conveyor 9 without providing the stopper 75.

S1, S2, S3 and S4 are monitoring lines,
For example, a photoelectric switch, a photo interrupter, or the like is used to detect the passage of the article on this line, and also to detect the width of the article from the time required for the article to pass the monitoring line. The monitoring line S1 detects an article protruding from the article storage device 5 to the delivery subconveyor 11 side. The monitoring line S2 is the accumulation conveyor 7
0 upstream article is detected, and the accumulation conveyor 70
Detects that the item is full of articles. The monitoring line S3 is for detecting articles moving from the accumulation conveyor 70 to the second stage conveyor 72, and may not be provided.
The monitoring line S4 is a monitoring line on the entrance side of the article storage device 5, and detects articles received from the storage sub-conveyor 9 one by one. When the signal transmission from the article storage device 5 to the storage sub-conveyor 9 is shown in the lower left of FIG.
Reference numeral 9 denotes a phototransistor, which turns on the LED 78 and sends it to the phototransistor 79 when the carry-in of the article to the in-shelf conveyor 50 is prohibited. Then, in response to this, the receiving sub-conveyor 9 stops the conveyance and stops the stopper 7.
Raise 5 LED 78 and phototransistor 79
Signals may be transmitted and received between the controllers 31 and 32 instead of communicating using.

FIG. 5 shows the configuration of the storage instruction from the physical distribution CPU to the storage device controller. For example, when the bar code reader 38 detects an item upstream of the storage device group 4 in FIG. The barcode data of the article read by the barcode reader is transmitted to the CPU 30 to inquire about the processing. Correspondingly, the physical distribution CPU 30 transmits a warehousing instruction to the warehousing line controller 32 and the storage device controller 31.

FIG. 5A shows a warehousing instruction 80 when only articles of the same type are stored in one article storage device. The warehousing instruction 80 is the product number and the frontage number (the number of the article storage device to be stored). The number of articles stored (the number of articles to be stored) and the number of articles loaded (the number of articles that can be placed on one shelf). (2)
Indicates a warehousing instruction 81 when a large number of types of articles are mixed and stored in one article storage device, the contents of which are the product number and the frontage N.
o. and the weight of the articles. In this case, since the mixed storage is in principle, the warehousing instruction 81 is issued for each article. (3)
Indicates a warehousing instruction 82 when only the same type of articles are stored in one article storage device and the number of loaded items is stored on the storage device controller side. In this case, since the stacking number is known by the storage device controller, the warehousing instruction 82 is composed of the product number, the frontage number and the warehousing number.

6 (1) to 6 (3) show inventory data 84 to 86 on the storage device controller side, and FIG. 6 (1) is shown in FIG. 5 (1).
6 (2) corresponds to FIG. 5 (2), and FIG. 6 (3) corresponds to FIG.
Corresponds to (3). Data 84 to 86 in FIG. 6 are inventory data for one article storage device, that is, one frontage. In the inventory data 84 of FIG. 6 (1), the product number stored by the storage device, the number of stocks (the number of articles in the storage device), and the fraction (the remainder when the number of stocks is divided by the number of loads per shelf), The number of articles on the in-shelf conveyor is stored. The article storage device stores the received command (execution next), which is a storage command or a storage command, and the specified product number, the difference between the storage or the storage and the number of storages or the number of storages, and the loading in the case of storage. In the case of the number of goods and the number of goods issued, it is composed of the issue pitch. The delivery pitch is a parameter indicating the length that one article should occupy on the delivery line, and is the length of the zone to which the delivery pitch x the number of deliveries is assigned on the delivery line.

In the case of the inventory data 85 of FIG. 6 (2), the allowable weight of the articles per shelf is stored and the remaining weight obtained by subtracting the weight of the fractional articles from the allowable weight is stored. This is essentially equivalent to storing the total weight of the articles on the in-shelf conveyor. In the case of FIG. 6 (2), since a plurality of articles are mixedly stored in one shelf, it is possible to determine which article number is stored at which position (shelf address) of which shelf of the article storage device. Need to manage. In the case of the embodiment, since the storage device controller 31 is configured by a simple controller such as a programmable controller, it is not suitable for storing the product number for each shelf address. Therefore, in the inventory data, the product number of the article to be stored next and the shelf address to be assigned to the article are stored, and this data is transmitted to the physical distribution CPU each time one article is stored, and the inventory file of the physical distribution CPU
Manage records including frontage number, shelf address, and product number.

In the inventory data 86 of FIG. 6 (3), the product number, the number of inventories, the fraction, the weight, size and shipping pitch of each article are stored. If the total allowable weight of the articles on the shelf is divided by the weight per article, the number of loads can be obtained, and the number of loads may be stored instead of the weight. The size is a size such as the length, width, or height of the article, which is auxiliary data related to the delivery pitch and weight, and the size need not be stored. Since the inventory data 86 stores data such as weight, size, and delivery pitch that represent the characteristics of the article when it is stored, it is not necessary to notify the number of loaded items and the delivery pitch from the physical distribution CPU.

FIG. 7 shows the structure of the inventory file in the physical distribution CPU, and the inventory file is divided according to the frontage. The inventory file 88 of FIG. 7 (1) is an example in which only articles of the same type are stored in one article storage device. The article number, the current number of stocks, and the characteristics of the articles corresponding to the frontage number are shown. The size, weight, delivery pitch, number of loads, etc. are stored. It should be noted that the size, weight, delivery pitch, loading number, etc. may not be stored for each frontage, but a separate reference table may be provided and referred to by product number.

The inventory data 89 shown in FIG. 7 (2) is an example of the case where a variety of products are stored in one frontage. Here, the shelf address 1-1 of the frontage No. 1 (the top of the top shelf (maximum It is described that the article of the product number ABC is stored in the (downstream side)), the weight thereof is an appropriate unit, for example, 12 in Kg unit, and the delivery pitch is 9. Shelf address 1-2 (second position on top shelf)
Stores an article with a product number AB, the weight is 7, and the delivery pitch is 8. In this way, it is possible to search which shelf number of which article has the article number of the article stored therein. Therefore, even when storing many kinds of articles, management can be performed for each product type.

FIGS. 8 (1), (2), and (2) 'show the speed relationship between the receiving sub-conveyor and the in-shelf conveyor, and the speed relationship between the in-shelf conveyor and the leaving sub-conveyor. The articles 90 arrive at the storage sub-conveyor 9 in close contact with each other, for example. On the other hand, if a certain gap is provided between the articles 90 and 90 on the in-shelf conveyor 50, the load can be evenly applied to the shelves, and the articles can be sent to the delivery sub-conveyor one by one. It is preferable because it is possible. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 8A, the speed of the in-shelf conveyor is set to be higher than that of the in-shelf sub-conveyor so that a gap is created between the articles when the article is transferred from the in-shelf sub-conveyor to the in-shelf conveyor 50.

FIGS. 8 (2) and 8 (2) 'show the delivery of articles from the in-shelf conveyor to the delivery sub-conveyor 11. The first exit speed is a normal exit speed, and the second exit speed is higher than the exit first speed. It is a fast speed. Then, the first speed of unloading is slightly slower than the warehousing speed, and is used for storing the articles separated on the in-shelf conveyor 50 on the accumulation conveyor 70 with a short interval. The second speed of unloading is used for recovery after the shelving is changed during the transfer of articles from the in-shelf conveyor 50 onto the accumulation conveyor 70. It should be noted that the shelf replacement here means the in-shelf conveyor 5
0 to supply articles from the next shelf or to transfer items from the in-shelf conveyor 50 to the next shelf.

If the shelving change 3 is performed at the time when only a part of the goods to be discharged onto the accumulator 70 is discharged, the goods may be sequentially sent to the discharge line before the remaining goods are conveyed to the accumulator 70. . This is because the length of the accumulation conveyor 70 is shorter than the length of the in-shelf conveyor 50. In such a case, when the articles on the next shelf have been transferred to the in-shelf conveyor, only a small number of articles remain on the accumulation conveyor 70, and there is a gap between the articles on the delivery line and the articles delivered before the shelf change. A gap will be opened. For this reason, a zone having a length longer than necessary is assigned to the outgoing article in advance, or the outgoing article exceeds the assigned zone and becomes unable to exit. So in such a case,
Use the 2nd speed, which is faster than the 1st speed,
Is sent from the in-shelf conveyor 50 onto the accumulation conveyor 70 so as to close the gap between the goods delivered before the shelf change and the extra space on the delivery line.

Returning to FIGS. 5 and 6, the operation of storing the goods in the article storage device is shown. When the bar code reader on the front side of the article storage device reads the bar code of the article, the physical distribution CPU inquires about the processing of the article, and the physical distribution CPU notifies the storage line controller and the storage device controller as shown in Fig. 5 (1) to (3). Such a storage instruction is transmitted. When only one product type is stored in one frontage, the maximum number of articles that can be placed on one shelf is the number of items to be loaded, and the number on the inventory data plus the number of items to be entered in the receiving instruction is the number of items to be loaded. If it exceeds, shelves need to be replaced on the way. From this, it becomes clear to the storage device controller how many times the shelving needs to be changed and how many items should be shelved.
The storage device controller detects the number of articles that have been stored using the monitoring line S4 and the like in FIG. 4, and when this reaches the number of loaded items, notifies the storage subconveyor side of the storage stop by the LED 78 and the like in FIG. On the storage sub-conveyor side, the storage is temporarily stopped by stopping the conveyor or raising the stopper 75. During this period, on the side of the article storage device, the in-shelf conveyor is stopped, the next shelf is raised, and the shelf is changed, and after the completion of the shelf change, the LED 78 of FIG. Warehousing.

By doing so, it is possible to place a predetermined number or more of articles on the shelves and prevent the components of the shelves, the chains, the lifting motor, etc. from being damaged due to the overweight, and to detect the overweight and The accompanying shelving change and stopping operation of the storage sub-conveyor can be performed directly between the article storage device and the output sub-conveyor as shown in FIG. 4, or by communicating from the storage device controller to the storage line controller. . Therefore, it is possible to change shelves and manage the weight of shelves without going through the physical distribution CPU, and the accompanying temporary stop operation of warehousing can also be performed without going through the physical distribution CPU.

When storing various kinds of articles in one shelf,
As a general rule, the articles are stored one by one, and the storage device controller causes the storage device controller to carry out each shelf change operation and every time the storage operation is completed.
The in-shelf address and product number of the stored goods are reported to the physical distribution CPU. The storage device controller stores, for each frontage, the allowable weight on the shelf and the remaining weight obtained by subtracting the total weight of the articles on the in-shelf conveyor from this. The allowable weight is subtracted each time the product is stored, and the shelving is replaced when the remaining weight becomes 0 or less than a predetermined value. During this period, the in-shelf conveyor is stopped and the storage sub-conveyor is stopped in the same manner as in (1). Then, after the change of shelves is completed, the next article can be stored from the storage sub-conveyor.

Even in the case where various kinds of articles are mixedly stored in one shelf, the distribution CPU can find out which product is stored in which shelf address of which frontage, and the distribution CPU is required. It is possible to search for an article with the item number of and output it. For this reason, it is possible to easily deal with inspection of abnormal products, emergency delivery of products for each specific product number, etc., which is often the case when other types of products are mixed and stored.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a layout of a physical distribution system using an article storage device according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a control system in the physical distribution system of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the article storage device according to the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a side view showing an arrangement of an article storage device, a storage sub-conveyor, and a storage sub-conveyor in the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a configuration of a storage instruction from the physical distribution CPU to the storage device controller in the embodiment, (1) is a standard instruction for storing a single product in one front, (2) Indicates a command for storing a plurality of products in a mixed manner in one front, and (3) indicates a command for managing the weight on the storage device controller side when storing a single product in one front.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a structure of inventory data in the storage device controller in the embodiment, (1) is an example of standard inventory data when storing a single product in one front, (2) Is an example of inventory data when multiple products are mixed and stored in one front, (3)
Shows an example of inventory data when managing a weight and a delivery pitch on the storage device controller side when a single product is stored in one frontage.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a configuration of an inventory file in the physical distribution CPU in the embodiment. (1) is an example of the inventory file when storing a single product in one frontage, and (2) is one in the frontage. An example of an inventory file when a plurality of products are mixed and stored is shown.

FIG. 8 shows the speed relationship between the in-shelf conveyor of the article storage device and the receiving sub-conveyor and the outgoing sub-conveyor in the embodiment, and (1) shows the speed relationship between the receiving sub-conveyor and the in-shelf conveyor. , (2) shows the normal speed relationship between the in-shelf conveyor and the shipping sub-conveyor, and (2) 'shows the speed relationship between the in-shelf conveyor and the outgoing sub-conveyor when a shelving change occurs.

[Explanation of symbols]

2 logistics system 4 Article storage device group 5 Article storage device 6 warehousing line 7 Sorter 8 Storage sub-conveyor group 9 Storage sub-conveyor 10 Delivery sub-conveyor group 11 Outgoing sub-conveyor 12 Outgoing line 14 Depalletizing system 15 Automatic pallet warehouse 16 case automatic warehouse 18 branching device 19,20 supply line 22 Palletizing system 24 picking areas 26 Picking conveyor 27 Reflux conveyor 30 physical distribution CPU 31 Storage device controller 32 Storage line controller 33 Delivery line controller 34 Depalletizing Controller 35 Palletizing controller 36 Picking controller 38 Bar Code Reader 40 LAN 42 I / O terminal 50 In-shelf conveyor 52 Laura 53 Conveyor motor 54 shelves 55 frames 56 combs 58 props 60 lifting motor 62 chains 64 metal plate 70 Accumulator 71 Second stage conveyor 72 3rd stage conveyor 74,75 stopper 78 LED 79 Phototransistor 80-82 Storage instruction 84-86 inventory data 88,89 inventory files 90 articles S1 to S4 monitoring line

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An in-shelf conveyor for loading and unloading articles is provided, and the shelves are moved up and down one by one so as to pass through the transport surface of the in-shelf conveyor by the elevating means, and between the shelves and the in-shelf conveyor. A device for transferring goods, which is provided with a weight management means for obtaining and comparing data representing the total weight of the stored goods on the in-shelf conveyor with a predetermined value so that the data representing the total weight is predetermined. An article storage device, characterized in that when the value is equal to or more than a value, the lower shelf of the in-shelf conveyor is raised to transfer the article to the shelf. 2. The in-shelf conveyor is connected to an out-of-shelf conveyor for storage, and the weight management means stores the number of articles on the in-shelf conveyor, and the number of articles on the in-shelf conveyor is within the shelf. When the allowable number of articles on the conveyor is reached, the conveyance of articles on the out-of-shelf conveyor and the in-shelf conveyor is stopped,
The article storage device according to claim 1, wherein the lower shelf is raised. 3. An article on the in-shelf conveyor is connected to the in-shelf conveyor, and the weight management means adds the weight of the article each time it is loaded onto the in-shelf conveyor. And store a predetermined value for the total weight, and when the total weight is greater than or equal to a predetermined value, stop the conveyance of articles on the outside shelf conveyor and the inside shelf conveyor to raise the lower shelf. The article storage device according to claim 1, wherein: