JP2004283994A - Transfer control system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a transfer control system whereby a workpiece having high priority is surely delivered and transferred with priority in accordance with a transfer instruction, and can be supplied to a target processing device even when the workpiece waiting to be delivered exists in a delivery port. <P>SOLUTION: In this transfer control system, automatic warehouses B1 and B2 having a storage port P4 and the delivery port P3, a transfer control device 10 for controlling them, and product processing devices E1 to E4 are arranged along a traveling passage R of automatic transfer apparatuses A1 to A3. The automatic warehouses and/or the product processing devices are connected by the automatic transfer apparatuses, and the workpiece is automatically transferred. When the transfer instruction of which the priority is higher than that of the workpiece on the delivery port of the automatic warehouse is made with respect to the workpiece maintained in the automatic warehouse, the priority of the transfer instruction of the workpiece in the delivery port is temporarily raised, the workpiece in the delivery port is transferred with priority, and the workpiece maintained in the automatic warehouse and having the high priority is controlled to be delivered and transferred soon from the delivery port. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides a transfer control system with a higher priority for efficient transfer, particularly between automatic warehouses and / or product processing devices arranged along the travel path of automatic transfer equipment, than a work that has already exited from the exit. The present invention relates to a transport control system that controls a workpiece that has received a transport instruction so that it can be efficiently transported out of the warehouse by automatic transport equipment in accordance with the priority.
[0002]
[Prior art]
2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, various proposals have been made for improving the transfer efficiency of a workpiece in a transfer control system in a production line or the like. For example, as shown in FIG. 1, a plurality of automatic warehouses B1 and B2 and product processing devices E1 to E4 are arranged along a traveling route R of an automatic transport device, and a plurality of automatic transporters are arranged along the traveling route R. The devices A1, A2, and A3 are run, and the automatic transport devices A1, A2, and A3 are respectively controlled by the control devices according to the flowchart shown in FIG. 3, and the workpieces are transferred from the automatic warehouses B1 and B2 to the product processing devices E1 to E1. It is transported to E4.
In this case, at the exit P3 of the automatic warehouse B1 and the exit P9 of the automatic warehouse B2, the workpiece with the highest priority at that time is to be ejected, and the automatic transfer device is used on the exit. , And waits for transportation to a destination processing device or automatic warehouse.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in the above-described conventional transfer control system, at the exit of each automatic warehouse, the work having the highest priority at that time is waited for being transferred to the destination processing apparatus or automatic warehouse. Therefore, at this point, if a transfer instruction having a higher priority than the priority of the workpiece loaded in the outlet is generated in the workpiece stored in the automatic warehouse, FIG. According to the flowchart shown in FIG. 7, the workpiece waiting at the exit is not loaded until the exit is vacant because the workpiece is loaded on the automatic transfer device and conveyed. There is a problem that the workpiece is not supplied to the processing device.
[0004]
The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems of the conventional transfer control system, and even when there is already a work-in-progress at the outlet, a work having a higher priority is reliably delivered and conveyed with priority according to the transfer instruction. It is another object of the present invention to provide a transport control system capable of supplying a desired processing device in accordance with a priority.
[0005]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
To achieve the above object, a transfer control system according to the present invention includes an automatic warehouse having an entrance and an exit for temporarily storing a workpiece along a traveling path of an automatic transport device, It is composed of an automatic transfer device and a transfer control device that manages and controls the automatic warehouse. The automatic warehouse and / or the product processing device are connected by the automatic transfer device, and the work is automatically transferred by the transfer control device. In the transfer control system, if a transfer instruction with a higher priority than the work delivered to the exit of the automatic warehouse is issued to the work stored in the automatic warehouse, the work is already issued to the exit. Temporarily raises the priority of the transfer instruction of the work being processed, and causes the work at the exit to be transferred preferentially by the automatic transfer equipment, and the work with the high priority transfer instruction stored in the automatic warehouse. Early exit Ri is characterized in that so as to control to allow goods issue conveyor.
In this case, the automatic transport equipment includes an unmanned transport vehicle (AGV), a tracked unmanned transport vehicle (RGV), a conveyor, an overhead transport device (OHV), a vertical transport device, and the like.
[0006]
In the transfer control system of the present invention, a transfer instruction having a higher priority than the priority of the workpiece waiting to be taken out at the exit of the automatic warehouse has occurred in the workpiece stored in the automatic warehouse. Even in this case, the priority of the workpiece that has already exited from the exit and is on standby is temporarily increased, and the workpiece is preferentially transported out of the exit by the automatic transfer device, and the exit is quickly vacant. Therefore, even if a higher-priority transport instruction is issued for a workpiece stored in an automatic warehouse, an appropriate workpiece is promptly supplied to the exit, and Since the product can be transported out of the warehouse, a predetermined workpiece can be reliably supplied to the target processing apparatus in accordance with the priority.
[0007]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, an embodiment of a transport control system of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
[0008]
Although the transport control system of the present invention is not particularly limited, for example, as shown in the overall view of FIG. 1, a plurality of automatic transport devices A1, A2, A3 (in the illustrated embodiment, And three automatic warehouses B1 and B2 (two in the illustrated embodiment) for temporarily storing workpieces along the travel route R, and a workpiece processing device E1, E2, E3, and E4 (four in the illustrated embodiment) are arbitrarily arranged, and are constituted by automatic transport devices A1, A2, A3 and a transport control device 10 for managing and controlling the automatic warehouses B1, B2.
The traveling route R on which the automatic transporting devices A1, A2, and A3 travel can be such that the preceding automatic transporting device can be overtaken by the succeeding automatic transporting device, or can not be overtaken. The traveling route R is not limited to the illustrated route, but may be variously selected.
In addition, as the automatic transport equipment A1, A2, A3, in addition to the automatic guided vehicle (AGV), any of a tracked automatic guided vehicle (RGV), a conveyor, a ceiling transport device (OHV), a vertical transport device, or any of these May be employed in combination.
[0009]
The automatic warehouses B1 and B2 have an entrance for loading a workpiece into the automatic warehouse from outside the automatic warehouse and an exit for discharging the workpiece outside the automatic warehouse. In the illustrated embodiment, P3 and P9 are provided. The exits, P4 and P10 are entrances.
Further, in the processing apparatuses E1, E2, E3, and E4, an automatic transfer device, for example, an automatic guided vehicle (AGV) stops, and a plurality of ports P1 to P12 (in the illustrated embodiment, each processing apparatus) for loading and unloading a workpiece. Is provided with two ports).
[0010]
The transport control device 10 includes a transmitting and receiving unit 11 for transmitting information to and from the automatic warehouses B1, B2 and the automatic transport devices A1, A2, A3, a control unit 12 for performing transport control, and a storage unit 13 for storing each information. It is composed of In this case, the transfer control device 10 can be configured by one control device (computer), or in a large-scale system, can be configured by a plurality of control devices (computers).
The transmission / reception unit 11 transmits and receives information such as a transfer request, a transfer instruction request, and an operation status between the unmanned automatic transfer equipment (AGV) A1 to A3, the automatic warehouses B1 and B2, and the processing apparatuses E1 to E4, The information is sent to the control unit 12.
The control unit 12 adds the information to the information stored in the storage unit 13 and creates a transport instruction for the automatic transport devices A1 to A3 and the automatic warehouses B1 and B2 based on the information. Then, the transmission / reception unit 11 transmits a transfer instruction to the automatic transfer equipment (automated guided vehicle AGV) A1 to A3 and the automatic warehouses B1 and B2.
[0011]
Next, the operation of the transport control system will be described.
In any of the processing apparatuses E1 to E4, when it becomes necessary to unload the workpiece, the transport request to the automatic warehouse B1 or B2 is sent to the transport control apparatus 10 via a higher-level control device (computer) such as a CIM. Send
Next, the control unit 12 of the transfer control device 10 transfers the highest priority transfer instruction from the transfer instructions stored in the storage unit 13 to the automatic warehouse B1, for example, and transfers the work X to the priority ３3. At ▼, a loading point (shelf) B1a and a unloading point (delivery port) P3 in the automatic warehouse are added and assigned. However, as for the priority here, the smaller the value, the higher the priority level.
[0012]
In response to this transfer instruction, the automatic warehouse B1 transfers the workpiece X from the stacking point (shelf) B1a to the unloading point (shipping outlet) P3, and sends a delivery completion to the transport control device 10, whereby the workpiece is It will be waiting at the exit of the automatic warehouse.
Next, the control unit 12 of the transfer control device 10 issues a transfer instruction from the outlet P3 to the processing devices E1 to E4, and sends the transfer instruction to any of the empty unmanned transfer vehicles (AGV) A1 to A3 that are not currently performing the transfer operation. However, since the priority of the transfer instruction of another workpiece is higher than the priority (3) of the work X, the transfer instruction of the work X is assigned to the automatic guided vehicles (AGV) A1 to A3. For example, there is a case where the workpiece X at the outlet P3 is not conveyed forever and remains loaded at the outlet P3.
[0013]
In such a situation, a transport request is made again to the same automatic warehouse B1, and the transport instruction of the workpiece Y in response to the transport request indicates that the lowering point (the outlet) of the workpiece Y has been completely delivered and is waiting for transport. Is assigned to the loading port P3 that is loaded, and the priority is higher than the priority (3) of the transport instruction of the workpiece X that has completed the delivery to the loading port P3 and is waiting to be transported. If the transfer instruction is assigned in 2 ▼, no matter how high the priority is set, the transfer is not started until the lowering point (exit port) becomes empty.
[0014]
In such a case, as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 2, the priority (3) of the transfer instruction of the workpiece X that has completed the delivery to the delivery port P3 and is waiting to be transported is set to a higher priority. Also, the transfer is not started until the lowering point (exit port) becomes empty, and the priority is temporarily changed to the same priority (2) as the priority (2) of the transfer instruction of the workpiece Y waiting to be transferred. I do.
As a result, it is possible to carry out the delivery by any one of the automatic guided vehicles A1 to A3 with the highest priority, and the delivery port P3 is made empty. Next, the workpieces Y assigned with the priority (2) waiting to be transported can be ejected from the exit P3. In this case, the control unit 12 of the transfer control device 10 determines, from among the transfer instructions stored in the storage unit 13, the priority of the transfer instruction of the workpiece X that has been completed in the outlet P <b> 3 and is waiting to be transferred. The transfer is not started until the point (outlet) becomes empty, and the priority is changed to the same priority (2) as the priority (2) of the transfer instruction of the workpiece Y waiting to be transferred. The transfer instruction of the workpiece X is assigned to one of the automatic guided vehicles (AGV) A1 to A3.
[0015]
The priority of the transfer instruction of the workpiece X is temporarily (2), but is returned to the original priority (3) because the automatic guided vehicles A1 to A3 are allocated.
In addition, the workpiece Y, which is not started to be transported until the lowering point (the exit port) becomes empty, and is in a transport waiting state, is processed by an automatic guided vehicle (AGV) A1 to A3. When the product Y is transferred to the automatic warehouse B1, the control unit 12 of the transfer control device 10 transfers the workpiece Y to the automatic warehouse B1 from among the transfer instructions stored in the storage unit 13 because the outlet P3 is empty. At the priority (2), a loading point (shelf) B1b and a dropping point (shipping port) P3 are added and assigned.
[0016]
In response to the transfer instruction, the automatic warehouse B1 transfers the workpiece Y from the stacking point (shelf) B1b to the unloading point (shipping port) P3, and transmits the completion of the unloading to the transfer control device 10.
[0017]
As described above, the transport control system of the present invention has been described based on the embodiment. However, the present invention is not limited to the configuration described in the above embodiment, and the configuration may be appropriately changed without departing from the gist thereof. Is what you can do.
[0018]
【The invention's effect】
According to the transport control system of the present invention, a transport instruction having a higher priority than the priority of a workpiece waiting to be delivered at the exit of an automatic warehouse is given to a workpiece stored in the automatic warehouse. Even in the event of occurrence, the priority of the workpiece already released at the exit and waiting is temporarily increased, and the workpiece is preferentially transported by the automatic transfer device from the exit, and the exit is quickly Since it is possible to make the workpiece empty, even if a higher priority transport instruction is issued to the workpiece stored in the automatic warehouse, the appropriate workpiece is promptly supplied to the outlet, and Since it is possible to carry out the delivery from the exit, it is possible to reliably supply a predetermined workpiece to the target processing apparatus in accordance with the priority.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing the entire transport control system of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a flowchart for explaining a transport instruction method according to the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining a conventional transport instruction method.
[Explanation of symbols]
10 transfer control devices A1 to A3 automatic transfer equipment (automated guided vehicle AGV)
B1, B2 Automatic warehouse B1a, B1b Shelf P1 to P12 of automatic warehouse B1 Port P3 Exit port P4 of automatic warehouse B1 Entry port E1 to E4 of automatic warehouse B1 Processing device R Travel route X, Y Workpiece

Claims (1)

Along with the path of the automatic transport equipment, an automatic warehouse equipped with an entrance and an exit to temporarily store the workpiece and a product processing device are arranged, and the automatic transport equipment and automatic warehouse are managed and controlled. In a transfer control system that is configured with a transfer control device that connects the automatic warehouse and / or the product processing device with automatic transfer equipment, and automatically transfers the workpiece by the transfer control device, When a transfer instruction with a higher priority than the issued work is issued to a work stored in the automated warehouse, the priority of the transfer instruction of the work already issued to the exit is temporarily increased. , The workpieces at the exit are controlled to be transported preferentially by the automatic transport device so that the workpieces with the high priority transport instructions stored in the automatic warehouse can be transported from the exit as soon as possible. Features and Transport control system that.

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