JP2003306210A - Warehouse equipment and carrying-in/shipping method therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent generation of mutual course interference between a carrying-in car and a shipping car simultaneously received in a warehouse. <P>SOLUTION: A plurality of movable racks 12a-12f are disposed in parallel at a central part of the warehouse 3 at a prescribed clearance movable in the longitudinal direction, and a roughly square-shaped passage 13 is formed around the respective movable racks 12a to 12f. An approach direction a of the loading car A formed out of a manned operation type forklift passing through the passage 13 and an approach direction b of the unloading car B formed out of a non-attended operation type forklift are set so as to face each other. Carrying-in/shipping sensors 14, 15 are respectively provided at a shipping side entrance 4 and a carrying-in side entrance 5, and movable rack sensors 16 are provided at a partitioning wall 3a and an outside wall 3b of the warehouse 3 facing the respective movable-racks 12a to 12f respectively. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a warehouse facility and a method of receiving and shipping the warehouse equipment so that incoming vehicles and shipping vehicles that have entered the warehouse at the same time do not interfere with each other.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an example of a warehouse facility is shown in FIG. This is because a warehouse 3 is constructed adjacent to a factory 2 equipped with a production line 1, a shipping side entrance / exit 4 is formed in the center of a partition wall 3a that partitions the factory 2 and the warehouse 3, and the shipping side thereof is formed. The outer wall 3 of the warehouse 3 facing the doorway 4
A receiving-side entrance / exit 5 is formed in b, a central passage 6a is formed between both entrances / exits 4 and 5 in the warehouse 3, and side passages 6 parallel to each other on both sides of the central passage 6a with a predetermined space therebetween.
b, 6c are formed, and a connecting passage 6d is formed along the outer wall 3b of the warehouse 3 for connecting the central passage 6a and the side passages 6b, 6c. The central passage 6a and the side passages 6b, 6c are formed.
A large number of fixed shelves 7a to 7f are arranged in parallel on both sides of each of the fixed shelves 7a to 7f.
Storage space 8 is formed. 9 is a carry-in station, and 10 is an empty pallet storage area.

In the above-mentioned structure, the incoming vehicle A, which is a manned forklift truck, for example, which lifts the luggage W, is loaded into the storage space 8 of the predetermined fixed shelves 7a to 7f by loading the incoming vehicle A through the loading / unloading entrance 5. W is received, and a shipping vehicle B, which is an unmanned remote-controlled forklift truck, for example, is loaded through the shipping-side entrance / exit 4 to ship the cargo W from the storage space 8 of the predetermined fixed shelves 7a to 7f. It is designed to be loaded into the production line 1 of the factory 2.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In the above conventional configuration,
Since the fixed shelves 7a to 7f are immovable, the moving distance of the vehicles A and B becomes long, and at the same time, the arrival vehicle A stored in the warehouse 3 is received.
Since the approaching direction a of the vehicle A and the approaching direction b of the shipping vehicle B overlap and face the same direction, for example, when the incoming vehicle A is entering the side passage 6b (or 6c), the same side When the shipping vehicle B enters the one-way passage 6b (or 6c), the two vehicles A and B may interfere with each other in the course, and in particular, the shipping vehicle B (or the receiving vehicle A) is an unmanned remote control type. In some cases, it is difficult to stop the entry of the shipping vehicle B (or the arrival vehicle A) on the way, and there is a possibility that both vehicles A and B may cause a contact accident or a collision accident.

In view of the above-mentioned conventional drawbacks, it is an object of the present invention to provide a warehouse facility and a method of receiving and shipping the same so that incoming vehicles and shipping vehicles that have entered the warehouse at the same time do not interfere with each other. .

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1 receives a vehicle from a receiving side entrance of a warehouse in which a large number of shelves are arranged and stores a vehicle to a predetermined shelf. Along with the warehouse equipment in which the shipping vehicle is loaded from the shipping side entrance of the warehouse and the parcels are shipped from a predetermined shelf, the plurality of shelves are arranged in parallel at a predetermined interval in the central portion of the warehouse. It is composed of a large number of movable shelves that can move in the longitudinal direction, and a passage communicating with each of the entrances and exits is formed around the plurality of movable shelves, and the approach directions of the incoming vehicle and the shipping vehicle passing through the passage are opposed to each other. The feature is that it is set to.

According to the above construction, since the approaching directions of the incoming vehicle and the shipping vehicle are set to face each other, it is possible to safely drive both vehicles so as not to interfere with each other. Further, since the predetermined movable rack is moved as necessary, the moving distance of the incoming vehicle and the shipping vehicle can be shortened as compared with the conventional one, and thereby the receiving and shipping work can be efficiently performed. You can

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the invention, a storage / reception sensor is provided at each of the receipt side entrance and the shipment side entrance.

According to the above construction, by detecting the warehousing of each vehicle by the warehousing / unloading sensor, it is possible to drive the both vehicles more safely so as not to cause a path obstacle or a contact accident with each other.

The invention according to claim 3 is the invention according to claim 1 or 2.
In the invention described above, a movable rack sensor for detecting the movement of each movable rack is provided in the warehouse.

According to the above construction, by detecting the movement of each moving rack by the moving rack sensor, it is possible to prevent accidental contact between the moved moving rack and the parked vehicle.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, based on the program according to any one of the first to third aspects, the program is recorded in a memory in response to the detection signals of the respective loading / unloading sensors and the moving shelf sensor. It is characterized in that a drive unit of each moving rack, and a control unit for controlling the incoming vehicle or the shipping vehicle are provided.

According to the above construction, even when the incoming vehicle and the shipping vehicle are stored at the same time, it is possible to control the two vehicles so as not to interfere with each other's path or to cause a contact accident.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, a receiving vehicle is received from a receiving side entrance / exit of a warehouse in which a large number of shelves are arranged to receive a package on a predetermined shelf, and a shipping vehicle is received from a shipping side entrance / exit of the warehouse. In the warehouse facility configured to ship the parcels from a predetermined shelf, the plurality of shelves includes a plurality of movable shelves arranged in parallel in the central portion of the warehouse at predetermined intervals and movable in the longitudinal direction thereof. , A passage communicating with each of the entrances and exits is formed around the plurality of movable shelves, and the entrance direction of the incoming vehicle and the shipping vehicle passing through the entrance are set to face each other. An entrance / exit sensor is installed at each entrance and exit, and a moving rack sensor is installed in the warehouse to detect the movement of each moving rack. The sensor determines whether or not the incoming vehicle has arrived, and if the incoming vehicle is not in stock, moves the shipping vehicle closer to the target moving shelf, and if the incoming vehicle is in stock, tries to receive the incoming vehicle. Determine whether or not the intended moving shelf and the intended moving shelf that the shipping vehicle intends to ship overlap, and if they do not overlap, bring the shipping vehicle closer to the intended moving shelf, and if there is an overlap, select the shipping vehicle. The present invention is characterized in that the shipment vehicle in the standby state is brought close to the intended moving shelf when the stocking-side warehousing sensor detects the warehousing of the arriving vehicle.

According to the above construction, even when the incoming vehicle and the shipping vehicle are put in at the same time, the incoming and outgoing operations can be smoothly carried out by controlling them so as not to interfere with each other's path or to cause a contact accident. You can

[0016]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 shows a warehouse facility according to an embodiment of the present invention, in which a large number of movable shelves 12a to 12f are predetermined in a central portion of a warehouse 3 so as to be movable in the longitudinal direction thereof. The movable shelves 12a to 12f are arranged in parallel at intervals.
A generally square-shaped passage 13 communicating with the entrances and exits 4 and 5 is formed in the periphery of the moving rack, and the movable racks are provided in two side passages 13c and 13d that connect the shipping side passage 13a and the receiving side passage 13b of the passage 13. 12a to 12f are formed so that they can be moved by two storage spaces 8 minutes (see the phantom line in FIG. 1), and the approach direction a and the unmanned operation type of the incoming vehicle A, which is a manned forklift that passes through the passage 13, The shipping vehicle B, which is a forklift, and the approaching direction b of the shipping vehicle B are set to face each other.
And a loading / unloading sensor 14, 15 made of, for example, a reflection type photoelectric sensor or the like is provided, and the partition wall 3a and the outer side wall 3b of the warehouse 3 face the movable shelves 12a to 12f, respectively, and, A movable rack sensor 16 is provided. Since the configuration other than the above is almost the same as that of the conventional example shown in FIG. 5, the same reference numerals are given to the same portions and the description thereof will be omitted.

FIG. 2 shows a control unit 18 consisting of a microprocessor for controlling the warehouse equipment.
Upon receiving the detection signals from the respective loading / unloading sensors 14 and 15 and the respective moving rack sensors 16, the drive unit 20 of each of the moving racks 12a to 12f and the shipping vehicle B are controlled based on the program recorded in the memory 19. ing.

The control operation of the control unit 18 will be described with reference to FIG. 3. In step S1, the shipping side loading / unloading sensor 14 checks whether or not the shipping vehicle B is loaded from the shipping side entrance / exit 4. If it is detected that B has entered the warehouse, the process proceeds to step S2, and the arrival-side entry / exit sensor 15 checks whether the arrival vehicle A has entered through the arrival-side entrance / exit 5 and the arrival vehicle A has not arrived. In this case, the process proceeds to step S3, the shipping vehicle B is brought close to the target moving shelves 12a to 12f, and the parcel W is shipped from the predetermined storage space 8.

In step S2, if the incoming vehicle A is stored, the process proceeds to step S4, and the incoming vehicle A is received.
Determines whether the target moving shelves 12a to 12f and the target moving shelves 12a to 12f of the shipping vehicle B overlap. Here, as shown in FIG. 4A, for example, when the moving shelf 12d targeted by the incoming vehicle A and the moving shelf 12c targeted by the shipping vehicle B do not overlap, the process proceeds to step S3, Moving shelves 12a-1 for the purpose of shipping vehicle B
The package W is shipped from the predetermined storage space 8 by approaching 2f.

Further, as shown in FIG. 4B, when the moving shelf 12b targeted by the incoming vehicle A and the moving shelf 12e targeted by the shipping vehicle B overlap, for example, the process proceeds to step S5. Then, the shipping vehicle B is made to stand by in the vicinity of the shipping side entrance / exit 4, and the process proceeds to step S6, where the predetermined storage space 8
Whether the arrival vehicle A that has received the parcel W has exited from the arrival side entrance / exit 5 is checked by the arrival side entry / exit sensor 15, and if it is detected that the arrival vehicle A exits, the process proceeds to step S3. , The moving shelf 12a intended for the shipping vehicle B
The package W is shipped from the predetermined storage space 8 by approaching to the space 12f.

In step S3, if the shipment vehicle B has shipped the package W from the predetermined storage space 8, the process proceeds to step S7, and it is determined whether the shipment vehicle B has exited from the shipping side entrance / exit 4 or not. It is checked by the sensor 14 and the shipped delivery vehicle B is moved to the production line 1.

According to the above construction, the predetermined movable shelves 12a ...
Since the 12f is moved as necessary, the moving distance of the incoming vehicle A and the shipping vehicle B can be shortened as compared with the conventional case, whereby the receiving and shipping work can be performed efficiently. Further, since the approach direction a of the incoming vehicle A and the approach direction b of the shipping vehicle B are set to face each other, both vehicles A and B should be safely driven so as not to interfere with each other. You can
Further, by detecting the warehousing of the vehicles A and B by the warehousing and unloading sensors 14 and 15, both the vehicles A and B can be more safely driven so as not to interfere with each other's path and to prevent a contact accident. By detecting the movement of each of the moving shelves 12a to 12f by each of the moving shelf sensors 16, the moved moving shelves 12a to 12f and the vehicles A and B that have been stored.
It is possible to prevent accidental contact between and, and in particular, even when the incoming vehicle A and the shipping vehicle B are put in at the same time, both vehicles A and B do not interfere with each other's path or cause a contact accident. It is possible to smoothly carry out receipt / shipment work by controlling.

In the above-described embodiment, when the incoming vehicle A is the manned operation type and the shipping vehicle B is the unmanned operation type, and both vehicles A and B are stored at the same time, the shipping vehicle B is on standby. The receiving vehicle A is preferentially driven, but conversely, the receiving vehicle A is an unmanned operation type and the shipping vehicle B is a manned operation type, and both vehicles A and B are stored at the same time. In this case, the incoming vehicle A may be put on standby and the shipping vehicle B may be preferentially driven.

[0024]

According to the invention described in claim 1, since the predetermined movable rack is moved as necessary,
The moving distance of the incoming vehicle and the shipping vehicle can be shortened as compared with the conventional one, and thus the incoming and outgoing work can be efficiently performed. In addition, since the approach directions of the incoming vehicle and the shipping vehicle are set to face each other, it is possible to safely drive both vehicles so as not to interfere with each other.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, by detecting the warehousing of each vehicle by the warehousing / unloading sensor, it is possible to drive the two vehicles more safely so as not to interfere with each other's path or to prevent a contact accident. .

According to the third aspect of the present invention, by detecting the movement of each movable rack by the movable rack sensor, it is possible to prevent accidental contact between the moved movable rack and the parked vehicle. .

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, even when the incoming vehicle and the shipping vehicle are loaded at the same time, it is possible to control the two vehicles so that they do not interfere with each other's path or cause a contact accident.

According to the fifth aspect of the invention, even when the incoming vehicle and the shipping vehicle are loaded at the same time, the loading and unloading work is controlled so that the two vehicles do not interfere with each other's path or cause a contact accident. It can be done smoothly.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic horizontal sectional view showing a warehouse facility according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a control action of the control unit.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a control action of the control unit.

FIG. 4A is a schematic horizontal cross-sectional view of a main part when the intended moving shelf of the incoming vehicle and the intended moving shelf of the shipping vehicle do not overlap, and FIG. 4B is the intended moving shelf and shipping of the incoming vehicle. FIG. 3 is a schematic horizontal cross-sectional view of a main part in the case where the target movable rack of the vehicle overlaps.

FIG. 5 is a schematic horizontal sectional view showing a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

3 warehouse 4 Shipping side entrance 5 Arrival side entrance 12a-12f mobile shelf 13 passages 14 Shipping-side loading / unloading sensor 15 Receiving side entry / exit sensor 16 Mobile shelf sensor 18 Control unit 19 memory 20 Mobile shelf drive A arrival vehicle B shipment vehicle a Direction of incoming vehicles b Approach direction of shipping vehicle W luggage

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A storage vehicle in which a large number of shelves are arranged is loaded from an incoming / outgoing side entrance of a warehouse to receive a cargo on a predetermined shelf, and a shipping vehicle is loaded from a shipping side entrance / outlet of the warehouse from a predetermined shelf. In a warehouse facility for shipping parcels, the plurality of shelves comprises a large number of movable shelves arranged in parallel at a predetermined interval in the center of the warehouse and movable in the longitudinal direction thereof. A warehouse facility is formed in the vicinity of the passageway, the passageway communicating with each of the entrances and exits, and the approaching directions of the incoming vehicle and the shipping vehicle passing through the passageway are set to face each other. 2. The warehouse equipment according to claim 1, wherein a warehouse sensor is provided at each of the receipt side entrance and the shipment side entrance. 3. The warehouse equipment according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a movable rack sensor for detecting movement of each movable rack is provided in the warehouse. 4. A control unit for controlling the drive unit of each moving shelf, the receiving vehicle or the shipping vehicle on the basis of a program recorded in a memory in response to the detection signals of the loading / unloading sensors and the moving shelf sensor. Warehouse equipment according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein 5. A storage vehicle in which a large number of shelves are arranged is loaded from an incoming / outgoing door of a warehouse to receive a package on a predetermined shelf, and at the same time, a shipping vehicle is loaded from an in / out port of the shipping side of a warehouse to a predetermined shelf. In a warehouse facility for shipping parcels, the plurality of shelves comprises a large number of movable shelves arranged in parallel at a predetermined interval in the center of the warehouse and movable in the longitudinal direction thereof. A passage communicating with each of the entrances and exits is formed in the vicinity of, and the entrance direction of the arrival vehicle and the shipment vehicle passing through the entrance is set to face each other, and the entrance and exit of the arrival side entrance and the shipment side entrance respectively A sensor is provided, and a movable rack sensor for detecting the movement of each movable rack is provided in the warehouse. The shipment side loading / unloading sensor detects the receipt of the shipping vehicle, and the receipt side loading / unloading sensor detects the arrival vehicle. Determines whether or not the vehicle has arrived, moves the vehicle to the target moving shelf when the vehicle is not received, and moves the vehicle to be received when the vehicle is received if the vehicle is received. Judging whether or not the shelf and the target moving shelf that the shipping vehicle is going to ship overlap, if not, bring the shipping vehicle closer to the target moving shelf, and if they do overlap, stop the shipping vehicle and wait. A receiving / shipping method in a warehouse facility, characterized in that when a receiving-side loading / unloading sensor detects the exiting of the incoming vehicle, the shipping vehicle in a standby state is brought close to a target moving shelf.