JP2007217116A - Warehouse system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a warehouse system capable of efficiently performing the loading and unloading operations for articles onto and from a storage shelf and reducing the time for the loading and unloading operations, and manufacturable at low cost. <P>SOLUTION: This warehouse system comprises a plurality of loading openings 30 for loading the articles from the outside onto the storage shelf 10 and unloading openings 40 for unloading the articles from the storage shelf 10 to the outside. A plurality of branched guide rails 72 branched from a main guide rail 71 are so laid down as to be connected to the loading openings 30 and the unloading openings 40. A plurality of automated guided vehicles 60 are installed in the warehouse system. Each automated guided vehicle runs on the main guide rail 71 and the branched guide rails 72. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a warehouse system using a plurality of automatic guided vehicles, and more particularly, to a warehouse system that can efficiently carry in / out an article with respect to a storage shelf.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a warehouse system is known that uses an automated guided vehicle to carry items into and out of storage shelves (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
An example of a conventional warehouse system will be described with reference to FIGS. 10 is a top view schematically showing the configuration of a conventional warehouse system, and FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of the warehouse system shown in FIG. FIG. 12 is an enlarged top view in region C of the warehouse system of FIG. 10 and is a top view showing a state when a plurality of automatic guided vehicles are provided.

  As shown in FIGS. 10 to 12, the conventional warehouse system has a storage shelf 80 for storing articles, a warehousing port 82 for carrying articles from the outside to the storage shelf 80, and articles from the storage shelf 80. And a delivery port 84 for carrying it out. In the vicinity of the storage shelf 80, a movable stacker crane 86 is provided for transporting articles in the storage port 82 to the storage shelf 80 and transporting articles from the storage shelf 80 to the exit port 84. In addition, an automatic guided vehicle (AGV) 88 for transporting articles is provided outside the storage shelf 80. Further, a guide rail 90 for guiding the automatic guided vehicle 88 is laid outside the storage shelf 80.

  As shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, the storage shelf 80 has a shape like a so-called bookshelf, and a pair of storage shelves 80 are erected so as to face each other with a gap therebetween. Each storage shelf 80 includes a shelf portion 81 provided in a plurality of stages in the vertical direction (up and down direction in FIG. 11) and the longitudinal direction (left and right direction in FIG. 11). Each shelf portion 81 stores, for example, one article.

  As shown in FIG. 10, a storage entrance 82 is provided on the side of one storage shelf 80 of the pair of storage shelves 80, and an exit port 84 is provided on the side of the other storage shelf 80. Yes. Further, a stacker crane 86 is disposed between the storage shelves 80, and the stacker crane 86 is movable along the longitudinal direction of the storage shelves 80.

  Guide rails 90 are laid in the vicinity of the entrance 82 and the exit 84. The guide rail 90 is laid on the floor so as to extend in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the storage shelf 80.

The automatic guided vehicle 88 loaded with articles moves from the upstream side toward the storage shelf 80 and stops in front of the warehousing port 82. Then, the loaded article is unloaded on the warehousing port 82.
On the other hand, the automated guided vehicle 88 that is in an unloaded state moves from the upstream side toward the storage shelf 80 and stops in front of the exit port 84. Then, articles at the exit port 84 are stacked and loaded on the automatic guided vehicle 88.

  The warehousing port 82 is provided with warehousing facilities (not shown) such as a conveyor and a carriage for moving the articles loaded from the automatic guided vehicle 88 to a position where the articles can be lifted by the stacker crane 86. Similarly, the delivery port 84 is provided with delivery facilities (not shown) such as a conveyor and a carriage for moving articles loaded from the stacker crane 86 to a position where they can be lifted by the automatic guided vehicle 88. .

JP 2004-277062 A

  However, in the conventional warehouse system as shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, when a plurality of automatic guided vehicles 88 are used in order to improve work efficiency, the following problems occur. That is, since only one entry port 82 and one exit port 84 are provided to correspond to the pair of storage shelves 80, one automatic guided vehicle 88 unloads articles to the entry port 82 as shown in FIG. The other automatic guided vehicle 88 in the subsequent stage must wait until the loading and unloading work is completed. For this reason, in spite of using the plurality of automatic guided vehicles 88, there is a problem that the efficiency of the work of carrying in / out the articles with respect to the storage shelf 80 is poor.

  In addition, it is necessary to provide entry / exit facilities such as conveyors and carts at the entry / exit port 82 and the exit / exit 84, and there is a problem that the manufacturing cost of the warehouse system itself increases.

  The present invention has been made in consideration of such points, and a warehouse system that can efficiently carry out the loading and unloading work of articles with respect to the storage shelf and can shorten the time of the loading and unloading work. The purpose is to provide. Another object of the present invention is to provide a warehouse system capable of reducing the manufacturing cost.

  The present invention is a storage shelf for storing articles, a plurality of warehousing ports for carrying articles from the outside to the storage shelves, and a plurality of outlets for carrying articles from the storage shelves to the outside, A movable transfer device that is disposed in the vicinity of the storage shelf and that transports articles from the storage shelf to the storage shelf and also transports articles from the storage shelf to the exit port, and to the outside of the storage shelf. A plurality of automatic guided vehicles for conveying articles, a main guide rail that is laid outside the storage shelf and guides each automatic guided vehicle, and branches from the main guide rail, A warehouse system comprising: a plurality of branch guide rails that are laid so as to be connected to the respective entrances and the respective exits and that guide the automatic guided vehicle.

  According to such a warehouse system, one unmanned transport vehicle is used for loading and unloading articles by other unmanned transport vehicles in the previous stage as compared with the case where only one entrance and exit port are provided. Therefore, it is not necessary to wait for a short time, and the goods can be loaded and unloaded with a plurality of automatic guided vehicles without delay. For this reason, it is possible to efficiently carry out the loading / unloading operation of articles with respect to the storage shelf, and the time for the loading / unloading operation can be shortened.

  In the warehouse system described above, it is preferable that the transport device is a stacker crane.

  In the above-mentioned warehouse system, it is preferable that each of the warehousing ports and each of the warehousing ports is provided in a lowermost shelf portion of the storage shelf.

  In the above-mentioned warehouse system, it is preferable that the respective entrances and exits are provided in a row so as to be parallel to the main guide rail.

  In the above-mentioned warehouse system, it is preferable that the respective entrances and exits are alternately arranged.

  The present invention provides a storage shelf for storing articles, a warehousing port for bringing articles into the storage shelf from the outside, provided in a lowermost shelf portion of the storage shelf, and a lowermost shelf of the storage shelf A delivery port for carrying out articles from the storage shelf to the outside, provided in a portion; and disposed in the vicinity of the storage shelf, and transporting the articles at the warehouse entrance to the storage shelf and from the storage shelf A movable transfer device for transferring articles to the exit port, an automatic guided vehicle for transporting articles disposed outside the storage shelf, and the storage port and the exit port, respectively. A warehouse system comprising a guide rail laid outside the storage shelf and guiding the automatic guided vehicle.

  According to such a warehouse system, since the entrance and exit are provided at the bottom shelf part of the storage shelf, there is no need for entrance and exit facilities such as conveyors and carts that should normally be installed at the entrance and exit. Thus, the manufacturing cost of the warehouse system can be reduced.

  In the warehouse system described above, it is preferable that the transport device is a stacker crane.

  According to the warehouse system of the present invention, it is possible to efficiently carry in / out work of articles with respect to a storage shelf, and it is possible to shorten the time of this storage / exit work. Moreover, according to the other warehouse system of this invention, the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 to 9 are diagrams showing an embodiment of a warehouse system according to the present invention.
Among these, FIG. 1 is a top view schematically showing the configuration of the warehouse system of the present embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the warehouse system of FIG. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a state when the article is lifted by the fork portion of the stacker crane, and FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA of the warehouse system of FIG. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a state when being placed, and FIG. 4 is a front view of a stacker crane used in the warehouse system of FIG. FIGS. 5 to 9 are top views sequentially showing operations when articles are stored in the storage shelf from the outside in the warehouse system of FIG.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the warehouse system includes a storage shelf 10 for storing articles, a warehousing port 30 for carrying articles into the storage shelf 10 from the outside, and articles from the storage shelf 10 to the outside. It has a shipping port 40 for carrying it out. In the vicinity of the storage shelf 10, there is provided a movable transport device 50 for transporting articles at the storage port 30 to the storage shelf 10 and transporting articles from the storage shelf 10 to the exit port 40. In addition, a plurality of automatic guided vehicles (AGV) 60 for conveying articles are provided outside the storage shelf 10. Further, a guide rail 70 for guiding the automatic guided vehicle 60 is laid outside the storage shelf 10.
Details of each component of such a warehouse system will be described below.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the storage shelf 10 is configured, for example, by stacking a plurality of shelf portions 11 for storing one article. Here, the lowermost shelf portion of the storage shelf 10 is not used for storing articles, but is used as an entrance 30 or an exit 40 described later. As shown in FIG. 2 and the like, a plurality of combinations 12 of stacked shelf portions 11 are connected in the horizontal direction to form a storage shelf 10 shaped like a so-called book shelf. As shown in FIG. 1, a pair of storage shelves 10 are arranged to face each other.

  The warehousing port 30 is for carrying articles from the outside into each shelf portion 11 of the storage shelf 10 and is provided at the lowest shelf portion of the storage shelf 10 as shown in FIG. The exit port 40 is for carrying out articles from the respective shelf portions 11 of the storage shelf 10 to the outside, and is provided in the lowest shelf portion of the storage shelf 10 in the same manner as the entrance port 30. As shown in FIG. 1, a plurality of entrances 30 and exits 40 are provided. Specifically, each warehousing port 30 and each warehousing port 40 are provided in a line, and these warehousing ports 30 and the warehousing ports 40 are alternately arranged.

  As described above, the transport device 50 is for transporting the article at the warehousing port 30 to the storage shelf 10 and transporting the article from the storage shelf 10 to the warehousing port 40, and is configured by, for example, a stacker crane 51. . The structure of this stacker crane 51 is shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 4, the stacker crane 51 is attached to the ceiling rail 52, a guide frame 53 suspended from the ceiling rail 52 so as to be movable along the ceiling rail 52, and a guide frame 53 that can be raised and lowered. And a fork (loading platform) 54 capable of holding an article, and an operating unit 55 provided on the fork 54 for raising and lowering the fork 54.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the stacker crane 51 holds the article by lifting it with a fork 54 and transports it to the shelf portion 11 of the storage shelf 10. Further, the stacker crane 51 holds the article by lifting the article on the shelf portion 11 with the fork 54 and conveys the article to the exit port 40.

  The unmanned transport vehicle 60 is a transport cart for transporting articles unattended, that is, for automatically transporting articles, and is disposed outside the pair of storage shelves 10. The automatic guided vehicle 60 travels on a guide rail 70 described later. In the warehouse system of the present embodiment, a plurality of such automatic guided vehicles 60 are provided. The automatic guided vehicle 60 conveys articles from the outside to the respective entry ports 30 and conveys articles from the respective exit ports 40 to the outside.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the automatic guided vehicle 60 includes a traveling carriage 61 that travels on the guide rail 70, and a lifter section 62 that is placed on the traveling carriage 61 and extends upward and downward in the vertical direction. have. When the automated guided vehicle 60 is at the warehousing port 30 or the warehousing port 40, the lifter 62 extends vertically upward so that the articles at the warehousing port 30 or the warehousing port 40 are lifted and held.

The guide rail 70 includes a single main guide rail 71 and a plurality of branch guide rails 72 branched from the main guide rail 71. The main guide rail 71 and the plurality of branch guide rails 72 are respectively laid outside the pair of storage shelves 10.
As shown in FIG. 1, the main guide rail 71 is laid so as to extend in parallel with a combination of a plurality of warehousing ports 30 and a warehousing port 40 provided in a row. On the other hand, each branch guide rail 72 is laid so as to branch from the main guide rail 71 in the vertical direction and to be connected to the entrance 30 or the exit 40.

  In order to store the external article on the storage shelf 10, the article sent from the outside is first placed on the automatic guided vehicle 60 on the main guide rail 71, and the automatic guided vehicle 60 travels on the main guide rail 71. Then, when the automatic guided vehicle 60 arrives at the branch point where the branch guide rail 72 is connected and approaches the warehouse entrance 30, the automatic guided vehicle 60 travels on the branch guide rail 72 and arrives at the warehouse entrance 30. Each rail is configured as follows. On the other hand, when the article is carried out from the storage shelf 10, the automated guided vehicle 60 reaches the exit 40 and lifts the article at the exit 40, and sequentially travels on the branch guide rail 72 and the main guide rail 71. And this rail is comprised so that this automatic guided vehicle 60 may go away from the exit 40.

  A detection sensor 73 that detects the passage of the automatic guided vehicle 60 is provided on the upstream side of the branch point to the branch guide rail 72 in the main guide rail 71. The detection sensor 73 is connected to a management computer that controls a branch switching device (not shown) that switches the travel route between the main guide rail 71 and the branch guide rail 72.

  Next, the operation of the present embodiment having such a configuration will be described with reference to FIGS. First, an operation for storing an external article in the storage shelf 10 will be described below.

  First, as shown in FIG. 5, the first automatic guided vehicle 60 a loaded with articles travels from the upstream side of the main guide rail 71 toward the storage shelf 10. When the automatic guided vehicle 60a passes the detection sensor 73 on the main guide rail 71, this is detected by the detection sensor 73, and this detection information is sent to a management computer (not shown). As shown in FIG. 6, the management computer sends a control signal to the branch switch so that the automatic guided vehicle 60a travels toward one branch guide rail 72a among the plurality of branch guide rails 72a. Change the driving route.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the automatic guided vehicle 60a that has traveled in order on the main guide rail 71 and the one branch guide rail 72a reaches one warehousing port 30a. At this warehousing port 30a, articles are unloaded from the automatic guided vehicle 60a to the warehousing port 30a.

  While the loading and unloading operation of the articles by the first automatic guided vehicle 60a is performed, the second automatic guided vehicle 60b loaded with the articles is located on the upstream side of the main guide rail 71 as shown in FIG. To the storage shelf 10. When this automatic guided vehicle 60b passes the detection sensor 73 on the main guide rail 71, this is detected by the detection sensor 73, and this detection information is sent to the management computer described above. As shown in FIG. 9, the management computer directs the second automatic guided vehicle 60b to one of the plurality of branch guide rails 72b (a branch guide rail different from the aforementioned branch guide rail 72a). In order to travel, the control signal is sent to the branch switch to switch the traveling route of the automatic guided vehicle 60b. At this time, the management computer moves the automatic guided vehicle 60b so that the second automatic guided vehicle 60b reaches the other entrance 30b different from the one entrance 30a through which the first automatic guided vehicle 60a is transported. Change the driving route.

  Similarly, the third and subsequent automatic guided vehicles 60 loaded with articles travel from the upstream side of the main guide rail 71 toward the storage shelf 10, and at this time, the other automatic guided vehicles 60 do not exist. The travel route of the automatic guided vehicle 60 is switched so as to reach the mouth 30. Thereby, the several automatic guided vehicle 60 sent from the upstream of the main guide rail 71 can be made to drive to each warehousing port 30 without delay.

  Articles placed at each warehousing port 30 are lifted by a stacker crane 51 and conveyed to a predetermined shelf portion 11 of the storage shelf 10. In this way, the article is stored in each shelf portion 11 of the storage shelf 10.

  Next, an operation for carrying out articles stored in the storage shelf 10 to the outside will be described below.

  First, an article stored in each shelf portion 11 of the storage shelf 10 is lifted by the stacker crane 51 and conveyed to each exit port 40.

  Next, the first automatic guided vehicle 60 in an unloaded state travels from the upstream side of the main guide rail 71 toward the storage shelf 10. When this automatic guided vehicle 60 passes the detection sensor 73 on the main guide rail 71, this is detected by the detection sensor 73, and this detection information is sent to the management computer. The management computer sends a control signal to the branch switch to switch the travel route of the automatic guided vehicle 60 so that the automatic guided vehicle 60 travels toward one of the plurality of branched guide rails 72. Do. Then, the automatic guided vehicle 60 that has traveled in order on the main guide rail 71 and the one branch guide rail 72 reaches the one exit 40. Articles at the exit 40 are loaded on the automated guided vehicle 60 at the exit 40.

  While the work of stacking articles by the first automatic guided vehicle 60 is performed, the second automatic guided vehicle 60 that is in an unloaded state is moved from the upstream side of the main guide rail 71 to the storage shelf 10. Drive towards. When this automatic guided vehicle 60 passes the detection sensor 73 on the main guide rail 71, this is detected by the detection sensor 73, and this detection information is sent to the management computer. The management computer sends a control signal to the branch switching device so that the second automatic guided vehicle 60 travels toward one of the plurality of branched guide rails 72 to travel the automatic guided vehicle 60. Although the route is switched, at this time, the second automatic guided vehicle 60 reaches another delivery port 40 different from the one delivery port 40 through which the first automated guided vehicle 60 is transported. The travel route of the automatic guided vehicle 60 is switched.

  Similarly, the third and subsequent unmanned automatic guided vehicles 60 loaded with articles travel from the upstream side of the main guide rail 71 toward the storage shelf 10, and at this time, there are other automatic guided vehicles 60. The travel route of the automatic guided vehicle 60 is switched so as to reach the unloading port 40 that does not. Thereby, the several automatic guided vehicle 60 sent from the upstream of the main guide rail 71 can be made to drive | work to each exit port 40 without delay.

  As described above, according to the warehouse system of the present embodiment, a plurality of entry ports 30 for conveying articles from the outside to the storage shelf 10 and a plurality of exit ports 40 for carrying articles from the storage shelf 10 to the outside are provided. A plurality of branch guide rails 72 branched from the main guide rail 71 are laid so as to be connected to the respective entrances 30 and the respective exits 40. For this reason, as compared with the case where only one entry port 30 and one exit port 40 are provided, one unmanned transport vehicle 60 is temporarily used for loading and unloading articles by the other unmanned transport vehicles 60 in the previous stage. Therefore, it is possible to carry out the goods in and out operation without delay in the plurality of automatic guided vehicles 60. For this reason, it is possible to efficiently carry out the loading / unloading work of articles with respect to the storage shelf 10, and the time for this loading / unloading work can be shortened.

  Moreover, according to the warehouse system of this Embodiment, since the entrance 30 and the exit 40 are provided in the lowest shelf part of the storage shelf 10, the conveyor which should usually be installed in the entrance 30 or the exit 40 Warehousing facilities such as trucks and trolleys are not required, and the manufacturing cost of the warehouse system can be reduced.

The warehouse system by this Embodiment is not limited to said aspect, A various change can be added.
For example, the transport device 50 is not limited to the stacker crane 51, and the transport device 50 can transport an article at the storage entrance 30 to the storage shelf 10 and also transport an article from the storage shelf 10 to the exit port 40. Other mechanisms can be used as long as possible.
Further, the automatic guided vehicle 60 is not limited to the lifter type having the lifter unit 62, and for example, a mechanism having another mechanism such as a conveyor transfer method or a fork transfer method can be used.

It is a top view which shows the outline of a structure of the warehouse system of this Embodiment. It is AA arrow sectional drawing of the warehouse system of FIG. 1, Comprising: It is sectional drawing which shows the state at the time of the article | item in a warehouse opening being lifted by the fork part of a stacker crane. It is AA arrow sectional drawing of the warehouse system of FIG. 1, Comprising: It is sectional drawing which shows the state at the time of an article being mounted in a warehousing port with an automatic guided vehicle. It is a front view of the stacker crane used for the warehouse system of FIG. It is a top view which shows the 1st state which concerns on the operation | movement when the articles | goods are stored in the storage shelf from the outside in the warehouse system of FIG. It is a top view which shows the 2nd state which concerns on the operation | movement when the articles | goods are stored in the storage shelf from the outside in the warehouse system of FIG. It is a top view which shows the 3rd state which concerns on operation | movement when the articles | goods are stored in the storage shelf from the outside in the warehouse system of FIG. FIG. 10 is a top view showing a fourth state relating to an operation when the article is stored in the storage shelf from the outside in the warehouse system of FIG. 1. It is a top view which shows the 5th state which concerns on operation | movement when the articles | goods are stored in the storage shelf from the outside in the warehouse system of FIG. It is a top view which shows the outline of a structure of the conventional warehouse system. It is BB arrow sectional drawing of the warehouse system of FIG. FIG. 11 is an enlarged top view in region C of the warehouse system of FIG. 10, illustrating a state when a plurality of automatic guided vehicles are provided.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Storage shelf 11 Shelf part 12 Combination of shelf part 30 Inlet 40 Outlet 50 Conveyor 51 Stacker crane 52 Ceiling rail 53 Guide frame 54 Fork 55 Driving part 60 Automated guided vehicle 61 Traveling carriage 62 Lifter part 70 Guide rail 71 Main Guide rail 72 Branch guide rail 73 Detection sensor 80 Storage shelf 81 Shelf portion 82 Entry port 84 Exit port 86 Stacker crane 88 Automated guided vehicle 90 Guide rail

Claims (7)

A storage shelf for storing items;
A plurality of warehousing ports for carrying articles from outside into the storage shelf;
A plurality of outlets for unloading articles from the storage shelf;
A movable conveying device disposed in the vicinity of the storage shelf and configured to convey the article at the entry port to the storage shelf and convey the article from the storage shelf to the exit port;
A plurality of automated guided vehicles for conveying articles disposed outside the storage shelf;
A main guide rail laid outside the storage shelf and guiding each automatic guided vehicle;
A plurality of branch guide rails for branching from the main guide rail and for guiding the automatic guided vehicle laid so as to be respectively connected to the respective entrances and the respective exits;
A warehouse system characterized by comprising   The warehouse system according to claim 1, wherein the transport device is a stacker crane.   3. The warehouse system according to claim 1, wherein each of the warehousing port and each of the warehousing ports is provided at a lowermost shelf portion of the storage shelf.   The warehouse system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein each of the warehousing ports and each of the warehousing ports is provided in a row so as to be parallel to the main guide rail.   The warehouse system according to claim 4, wherein each of the warehousing ports and each of the warehousing ports are arranged alternately. A storage shelf for storing items;
A warehousing port for carrying articles from the outside to the storage shelf, provided in the lowermost shelf portion of the storage shelf,
A delivery port for carrying out articles from the storage shelf to the outside, provided in a lowermost shelf portion of the storage shelf;
A movable conveying device disposed in the vicinity of the storage shelf and configured to convey the article at the entry port to the storage shelf and convey the article from the storage shelf to the exit port;
An automated guided vehicle for transporting articles disposed outside the storage shelf;
A guide rail that is laid outside the storage shelf so as to be connected to the warehouse entrance and the delivery exit, respectively, and guides the automatic guided vehicle;
A warehouse system characterized by comprising   The warehouse system according to claim 6, wherein the transport device is a stacker crane.

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