JP2014051844A - Route planning device and route planning method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To facilitate maintenance of a movement mechanism of a mechanical storage.SOLUTION: A route planning device comprises: a called palette search section 13 which searches for the shortest route for moving a called palette from a rack where the called palette exists at present to a rack which is utilized for a requested operation in layout data regarding layout of a storage and drive frequencies of drive means of the respective racks, and searches for a route for utilizing drive means whose drive frequency included in the layout data is the minimum when a palette to be arranged on any rack is selected as the called palette with a request of storing or delivery; an empty rack search section 14 which searches for the shortest route of movement of the palette for changing positions of empty racks in a plane space in order for the called palette to move on the route searched for by the called palette search section 13, and searches for a route for utilizing the drive means whose drive frequency included in the layout data is the minimum; and a route transmission section 15 which transmits the route searched for by the empty rack search section 14 to a controller which controls the movement of the palette.

Description

  The present invention relates to a route planning apparatus and a route planning method for planning a pallet route when an article is received and loaded in a mechanical hangar.

  Conventionally, a mechanical hangar has been widely used in order to store many articles in a small space and to facilitate taking in and out. As a typical example of such a mechanical warehouse, there is a puzzle type parking lot in which a plane space is divided into a lattice shape and a pallet on which a vehicle stored in each of the divided shelves can be placed is arranged (for example, Patent Document 1). reference). In addition, a technique for efficiently determining and controlling a route regardless of the number of shelves (the number of blocks), the position of the entrance / exit, the position of the pallet, and the like has been developed (see, for example, Patent Document 2).

  In such a mechanical hangar, there are a plurality of movement patterns (movement paths) of pallets in a plane space, but there are cases where a movement path with a large number of uses is determined. Further, in the mechanical hangar, a drive mechanism such as a roller installed on the shelf is used for moving the pallet from the shelf to the shelf, but such a drive mechanism is deteriorated by use. Therefore, a shelf moving mechanism on a path that is frequently used deteriorates quickly, and a shelf moving mechanism on a path that is not frequently used is not easily deteriorated. In other words, the movement mechanism may vary depending on the shelf, and only the movement mechanism on the same shelf may need to be repaired or replaced many times. Accordingly, the repair and replacement times of the moving mechanism are different, and there is a problem that maintenance cannot be easily performed.

Japanese Patent No. 4025701 JP 2011-1760 A

  In view of the above problems, the present invention provides a route planning apparatus and a route planning method for generating a moving route that facilitates maintenance of a moving mechanism of a mechanical hangar.

  In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1 is a plurality of shelves formed by dividing a planar space into a grid, and a plurality of pallets on which a stored item can be placed and a plurality of shelves can be moved. And a storage unit that is provided on each of a plurality of shelves and has a drive unit that slides the arranged pallets to other adjacent shelves. Or a route planning device for planning a movement route to be moved to the exit, and a layout data storage unit for storing layout data relating to the layout of the hangar and the number of times the drive means of each shelf has been driven in the past to move the pallet When a pallet placed on one of the shelves is selected as a call pallet together with a request for entering or leaving, the call pallet is displayed in the layout data. A call that searches for the shortest path to move from the currently existing shelf to the shelf used for the requested operation, and when there are multiple shortest paths, searches for the path that uses the driving means with the minimum number of driving times included in the layout data. In order for the pallet search unit and the call pallet to move along the route searched by the call pallet search unit, the shortest path of the pallet movement for changing the position of the empty shelf in the plane space is searched, and there are a plurality of shortest paths. Sometimes an empty shelf search unit that searches for a route that uses a driving means that includes the minimum number of times of driving included in the layout data, and a route transmission unit that transmits the route searched by the empty shelf search unit to a control device that controls the movement of the pallet. With.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, the call pallet search unit includes first selection means for selecting all the movable adjacent shelves among the adjacent shelves at the current position until the call pallet moves to the destination in the layout data. The first calculation means for calculating the Manhattan distance from the current position of the calling pallet to the destination in the layout data, and the optimum route for the calling pallet to move next through the shelf with the lowest cost based on the calculation result of the first calculating means. When there are a plurality of shelves with the lowest cost, the first extracting means for extracting the shelves with the smallest number of times of driving, and the first decision for determining the shelves extracted by the first extracting means as the movement path of the calling pallet Means.

  In the invention of claim 3, the empty shelf search unit includes a next movement position that is a next movement destination of the calling pallet on the movement route determined by the calling pallet searching unit in the layout data, and an adjacent shelf of the empty shelf. Second selection means for selecting an adjacent shelf where a pallet is present, second calculation means for calculating a Manhattan distance from the empty shelf to the next movement position for each selected adjacent shelf, A pallet movement path is extracted using the adjacent shelf with the lowest cost in the calculation result as the next empty shelf, and when there are a plurality of adjacent shelves with the lowest cost, the adjacent shelf with the lowest number of driving times is extracted. An extraction unit; and a second determination unit that determines the path extracted by the second extraction unit as a movement path of the pallet and updates the layout data in the layout data storage unit.

  Further, the invention of claim 4 includes a plurality of shelves formed by dividing a plane space into a grid, a plurality of pallets on which stored items can be placed and a plurality of shelves can be moved, and a plurality of shelves, respectively. Movement that moves the specified pallet to the entry or exit when the entry or exit is specified in a mechanical hangar having a drive means that slides the pallet to be placed to another adjacent shelf A route planning method for planning a route, and when a pallet placed on one of the shelves is selected as a calling pallet together with a request for warehousing or leaving, the layout of the hangar and the drive means of each shelf are moved in the past. In the layout data relating to the number of drive times driven for the call, the shortest path to move the call pallet from the shelf where it currently exists to the shelf used for the requested action A step of searching for a route using the driving means with the minimum number of times of driving included in the layout data, and a palette for changing the position of the empty shelf in the plane space in order to move the calling palette in the searched route The step of searching for the route using the driving means with the minimum number of times of driving included in the layout data from the shortest route of movement of the above and the step of transmitting the searched route to the control device controlling the movement of the pallet.

  According to the present invention, maintenance of the moving mechanism of the mechanical hangar can be facilitated.

It is a block diagram explaining the structure of the control apparatus which concerns on embodiment. It is a layout explaining the storage space which the control apparatus of FIG. 1 controls. It is a flowchart explaining the process in the puzzle type parking system which has a control apparatus of FIG. It is a figure explaining Manhattan distance. It is a flowchart explaining a calling palette search process. It is a layout explaining call palette search processing. It is a flowchart explaining an empty shelf search process. It is a layout explaining an empty shelf search process.

  A path planning device and a path planning method according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The route planning apparatus and the route planning method according to the present invention plan a route in a mechanical hangar, but in the following description, it is assumed that the mechanical hangar is a puzzle-type parking lot with a car as a storage. To do. For example, as shown in FIG. 1, the route planning device 10 according to the embodiment is used in a puzzle parking system 1 having a hangar 30 that is a puzzle parking lot.

<Puzzle parking system>
The puzzle type parking system 1 includes a route planning device 10 and a hangar 30, an input device 40 for inputting the operation of entering and leaving the vehicle from the hangar 30, and the operation of entering and leaving the vehicle. And a machine control device 20 that transmits a control signal to the hangar 30 according to the route planned by the route planning device 10.

  The hangar 30 has a storage space (planar space) 100 in which a plane as shown in FIG. 2 is divided into a plurality of grid-like shelves. Each shelf is configured so that pallets on which vehicles can be placed can be arranged one by one. In this storage space 100, a vehicle placed on a pallet is stored. In the hangar 30, when there is no other pallet on the shelf adjacent to the shelf where a certain pallet exists, the pallet can be slid to the adjacent shelf by driving by a driving means (not shown).

  Here, in the hangar 30, an entrance (not shown) of the vehicle to be stored and an exit (not shown) of the stored vehicle can be provided at a different level from the storage space 100. Further, since the hangar 30 has a plurality of storage spaces 100, more vehicles can be stored. When the storage space 100 has a warehousing port and a warehousing port, or when the storage space 100 has a plurality of layers, a lift 101 is provided in the storage space 100, and the pallet is moved upward (or downward) by the lift 101. The pallet can be moved to the warehousing port or the warehousing port on the other level or the storage space 100 on the other level.

  Here, the slide movement of the pallet using the driving means and the vertical movement of the pallet using the lift are executed according to a control signal input from the machine control device 20. For example, in the hangar 30 having a plurality of storage spaces 100 shown in FIG. 2 and having a warehousing port on another level, the lift 101 is moved in the storage space 100 in accordance with a control signal input from the machine control device 20 when warehousing. After moving an empty pallet on which no vehicle is placed up, the lift 101 is used to move the pallet upward (or downward) to the warehousing port. When the target vehicle is placed on the pallet at the warehousing port, the lift 101 returns to the original storage space 100 again, and the warehousing of the vehicle is completed.

  In addition, in the hangar 30, when a pallet on which the target vehicle is placed is selected according to a control signal input from the machine control device 20 at the time of delivery, the pallet is moved onto the lift 101, The pallet is moved upward (or downward) to the exit port using the lift 101. When the target vehicle to be placed on the pallet at the exit port is lowered from the pallet, the lift 101 returns to the original storage space 100 again, and the exit is completed. Note that the warehousing port and the warehousing port may be the same or plural. Further, the number of lifts 101 in the storage space 100 is not limited. Further, in the hangar 30, a plurality of warehousing ports and warehousing ports may be provided.

  FIG. 2 shows an example of a storage space 100 in which the plane is divided into 3 × 5 and has 15 shelves. Moreover, in the example shown in FIG. 2, the code | symbol attached | subjected in each shelf has shown the identification number of the pallet arrange | positioned in a shelf. Accordingly, in FIG. 2, the first pallet on the 1-b shelf, the second pallet on the 1-c shelf, the third pallet on the 1-d shelf, the fourth pallet on the 1-e shelf, Pallet No. 5 on shelf 2-b, Pallet 6 on shelf 2-c, Pallet 7 on shelf 2-d, Pallet 8 on shelf 2-e, Pallet 3-a 9th pallet, 10th pallet on 3-b shelf, 11th pallet on 3-c shelf, 12th pallet on 3-d shelf, 13th pallet on 3-e shelf An example is shown. In the example shown in FIG. 2, no pallets are arranged on the 1-a shelf and the 2-a shelf, and the 1-a shelf and the 2-a shelf are empty shelves.

  In the example shown in FIG. 2, the 1-c shelf on which the second pallet is arranged is a failure shelf 102 in which the pallet cannot be moved due to a failure of the driving means or the like. Thus, for example, to move the third pallet on the 1-d shelf to 1-b, instead of going through the 1-c shelf, the 2-d shelf, the 2-c shelf and 2 It is necessary to go through the shelf -b.

  In the example shown in FIG. 2, there is a wall 103 between the 3-c shelf and the 3-d shelf, and the pallet cannot be slid between these shelves. Therefore, for example, in order to move the 12th pallet on the 3-d shelf to 3-c, it is necessary to go through the 2-d shelf and the 2-c shelf.

  In the puzzle type parking system 1, when an operation signal for entering or leaving is input via the input device 40, the machine control device 20 requests the route planning device 10 to plan a pallet route. The route planning device 10 plans an optimal route for moving the calling pallet to the shelf with the lift 101 corresponding to the warehousing port or the warehousing port according to the layout of the hangar 30. Further, the machine control device 20 controls the movement of the pallet in the hangar 30 according to the route planned by the route planning device 10.

<Machine control device>
As shown in FIG. 1, the machine control device 20 has an operation input unit 21 that inputs an operation signal for entering or leaving from an input device 40, and a route planning device when the operation input unit 21 inputs an operation signal for entering or leaving. And a route request unit 22 for transmitting a request signal for requesting a pallet route plan for executing an operation in accordance with the operation signal input to 10. When the machine control device 20 receives a request signal requesting transmission of layout data related to the layout of the hangar 30 from the route planning device 10, the machine control device 20 sends the layout data stored in the first layout data storage unit 23 to the route planning device 10. A layout transmission unit 24 for transmission is provided. Further, the machine control device 20 generates a control signal for controlling the movement of the pallet according to the route planned by the route planning device 10, and transmits the generated control signal to the storage 30 and the control signal to be transmitted. A counting unit 26 that counts the number of driving times of the driving means of each shelf that moves the pallet is provided. In addition, the machine control device 20 includes an update unit 27 that updates layout data in accordance with a layout change in the hangar 30.

  The layout data stored in the first layout data storage unit 23 includes not only the positional relationship between the shelves of the hangar 30 but also the number of pallets arranged on each shelf and the position of the wall provided between the shelves. , The position of the failed shelf, and the number of driving times of the driving means of each shelf. Specifically, the layout data is data having the number of times that the driving means of each shelf has been driven in the past for moving the pallet together with the data regarding the positional relationship as described above with reference to FIG.

  Here, the number of times of driving for each shelf included in the layout data stored in the first layout data storage unit 23 is incremented at the time of driving for moving the pallet, but the driving means has been replaced due to a failure. At the time, or when it is exchanged by periodic exchange, it is reset to 0 by an operation signal via the input device 40.

<Route planning device>
As shown in FIG. 1, the route planning device 10 includes a layout acquisition unit 11 that acquires layout data in response to a request signal that requests a route plan received from the machine control device 20, and a second layout that stores layout data. The data storage unit 16, the position determination unit 12 that determines the position of the calling pallet using the layout data stored in the second layout data storage unit 16, and the layout data stored in the second layout data storage unit 16 are used. The call pallet search unit 13 for searching the movement path of the call pallet, the empty shelf search unit 14 for searching the movement path of the pallet, and the movement paths of the pallets searched by the call pallet search unit 13 and the empty shelf search unit 14 Stored in the travel route data storage unit 17 for storing the travel route data as a list and the travel route data storage unit 17 And a path transmitting unit 15 for transmitting a movement path data.

  When the layout acquisition unit 11 receives a request signal for requesting a route plan from the machine control device 20, the layout acquisition unit 11 transmits a request signal for requesting transmission of layout data to the machine control device 20 to acquire layout data from the machine control device 20. To do.

  The second layout data storage unit 16 stores the layout data acquired by the layout acquisition unit 11. Similarly to the layout data stored in the first layout data storage unit 23 described above, the layout data stored in the second layout data storage unit 16 also has the positional relationship of the shelves of the hangar 30 using FIG. In addition to the number of pallets placed on each shelf, the position of the wall provided between the shelves, the position of the broken wall, the drive means of each shelf has been driven in the past to move the pallet Has the number of driving times.

  When the pallet movement path is searched by the calling pallet search unit 13 and the empty shelf search unit 14, the layout data stored in the second layout data storage unit 16 is searched from the layout data acquired by the layout acquisition unit 11. The layout data is updated as a simulation result when the pallet is moved using the moved movement path. At this time, the number of driving times of the driving means of each shelf included in the layout data is also updated according to the number of times of driving of the driving means of the shelf according to the movement of the pallet in the simulation result.

  The position determination unit 12 uses the layout data stored in the second layout data storage unit 16 to determine whether or not the calling pallet 104 exists on the destination (lift 101 used for entering or leaving). To do. When the layout data stored in the second layout data storage unit 16 is the actual layout of the storage 30, the position determination unit 12 is present on the lift 101 where the calling pallet 104 is the destination in the actual layout. It is determined whether or not to do. On the other hand, when the layout data stored in the second layout data storage unit 16 is a layout of a simulation result obtained by moving the pallet along the movement route searched by the calling pallet search unit 13 and the empty shelf search unit 14, The position determination unit 12 determines whether the calling pallet 104 exists on the lift 101 based on the layout of the simulation result.

  The call pallet search unit 13 searches for a route for moving the call pallet 104 onto the lift 101 when the call pallet 104 does not exist on the lift 101 based on the layout data stored in the second layout data storage unit 16. At this time, the call pallet search unit 13 searches for the movement path of the call pallet 104 so that there is no variation in the number of times the drive means of each shelf is driven. In order to execute these processes, the calling palette search unit 13 includes a first selection unit 13a, a first calculation unit 13b, a first extraction unit 13c, and a first determination unit 13d.

  The empty shelf search unit 14 uses the layout data stored in the second layout data storage unit 16 to determine the position of the empty shelf in order to move the call pallet 104 along the movement route determined by the call pallet search unit 13. Search the movement path of the pallet to change. That is, in order to move the calling pallet 104 along the movement route determined by the calling pallet search unit 13, the positional relationship between the shelf on which the pallet is placed and the empty shelf is changed, and the calling pallet 104 is moved next on the movement route. The moving position (next moving position) needs to be an empty shelf where no pallet is arranged. Therefore, the empty shelf search unit 14 searches for the movement path of the pallet in the storage space 100 for making the next movement position an empty shelf. At this time, the empty shelf search unit 14 searches for the movement path of the pallet so that there is no variation in the number of driving times of the driving means of each shelf. In order to execute these processes, the empty shelf search unit 14 includes a second selection unit 14a, a second calculation unit 14b, a second extraction unit 14c, a second determination unit 14d, and a count unit 14e.

  The movement route data storage unit 17 is a movement route that is a list of a movement route that moves the pallet searched by the empty shelf searching unit 14 and a route that moves the calling pallet 104 to the next movement position determined by the calling pallet searching unit 13. I remember the data. As the call pallet 104 moves away from the destination lift 101, the number of shelves to which the call pallet 104 moves increases. Therefore, as the call pallet 104 moves away from the destination, the movement path data includes a plurality of pallets. The travel route will be added.

  When the position determination unit 12 determines that the calling pallet 104 is on the lift, the route transmission unit 15 transmits the movement route data stored in the movement route data storage unit 17 to the machine control device 20. The machine control device 20 that has received the movement route data transmitted by the route transmission unit 15 moves the pallet of the hangar 30 according to the movement route included in the movement route data.

  As shown in the flowchart of FIG. 3, in the puzzle type parking system 1, an input or output operation signal is input from the input device 40 to the operation input unit 21 of the machine control device 20 (S <b> 01). A route plan is requested to the route planning device 10 from the route request unit 22 of the machine control device 20 to which the operation signal for entering or leaving is input, and the layout data is acquired and stored in the second layout data storage unit 16. In the apparatus 10, the position determination unit 12 determines whether the call pallet 104 exists on the lift 101 that is the destination in the layout data stored in the second layout data storage unit 16 (S02).

  When the position determination unit 12 determines that the call pallet 104 is at the destination (YES in S02), the route transmission unit 15 does not need to move the call pallet 104 in the storage space 100. A signal notifying that the calling pallet 104 is at the destination is transmitted to the control unit 25, and the control unit 25 executes an operation of entering or leaving (S08). Specifically, since the calling pallet 104 exists on the lift 101, the calling pallet 104 is moved to the warehousing port or the warehousing port by moving the lift 101 upward (or downward) to execute warehousing or warehousing. To do.

  When the position determining unit 12 determines that the calling palette 104 is not at the destination (NO in S02), the calling palette searching unit 13 executes a calling palette searching process (S03). The call pallet search process will be described later with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6, and is a process for searching for a route along which the call pallet 104 moves to the lift 101 that is the destination. A shelf on which the calling pallet 104 moves next on the movement route from the current position is set as a “next movement position”.

  When the call pallet search unit 13 determines the movement path of the call pallet 104, the empty shelf search unit 14 executes an empty shelf search process (S04). This empty shelf search process will be described later with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8. How to move the pallet in the storage space 100 in order to move the calling pallet 104 according to the movement route searched in step S03. Is a process of searching for.

  The empty shelf search unit 14 updates the data when the pallet is moved using the search result of step S04 as a moving procedure (S05). Specifically, the empty shelf search unit 14 adds the searched movement route to the movement route data storage unit 17. Further, the empty shelf search unit 14 updates the simulation result when the pallet is moved along the movement route in which the layout data held in the second layout data storage unit 16 is additionally written. The simulation result includes the number of times of driving of each shelf driving means when the pallet is moved, in addition to the layout when the pallet is moved.

  In the route planning device 10, when the layout data held in the second layout data storage unit 16 is updated, the position determination unit 12 determines whether or not the calling pallet 104 exists on the lift 101 that is the destination. Determination is made (S06).

  When the position determination unit 12 determines that the calling pallet 104 is not at the destination (NO in S06), the route planning apparatus 10 repeats the processes in steps S04 to S06 and sequentially adds to the moving route list. On the other hand, when the position determination unit 12 determines that the calling pallet 104 is at the destination (YES in S06), the route transmission unit 15 is stored in the movement route data storage unit 17 in the control unit 25 of the machine control device 20. The control unit 25 moves the pallet in accordance with the received list data, and then executes a warehousing or leaving operation (S07, S08).

  Here, the Manhattan distance used in the calling palette searching process in step S03 and the empty shelf searching process in step S04 will be described. The Manhattan distance used here is the distance from one shelf to another shelf. Specifically, it is the total value of the difference between the row coordinates and the column coordinates between the two shelves. Further, when determining the Manhattan distance, the failure shelf 102 and the wall 103 are not considered. Therefore, for example, in the example shown in FIG. 4, when obtaining the Manhattan distance from shelf 1 (1-a) to shelf 2 (3-e), it is the difference between 2 which is the difference in row coordinates and the column coordinate. The total value 6 of 4 is the Manhattan distance.

<Call palette search processing>
With reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. 5 and the layout shown in FIG. 6, the call palette search process in step S03 of the flowchart of FIG. 3 will be described. In this call palette search process, the shortest path of the call palette 104 is searched. Here, as shown in FIG. 6 (a), pallets are arranged on each shelf, the seventh pallet on the 2-d shelf is designated as the calling pallet 104, and the lift on the 3-b shelf. A case of moving to 101 will be described. Similar to the example shown in FIG. 2, in the layout shown in FIG. 6, the 3-b shelf has the lift 101, the 1-c shelf is the failure shelf 102, the 3-c shelf, and the 3-d shelf. Since there is a wall 103 between the shelves, it cannot be moved.

  First, the first selection means 13a selects an adjacent shelf to which the calling pallet 104 can move (S11). For example, since it is possible to move from 2-d shelves to all adjacent shelves, 2-e shelves, 2-c shelves, 3-d shelves, and 1-d that are all adjacent shelves. Shelf is selected.

  When the movable adjacent shelf is selected by the first selection unit 13a, the first calculation unit 13b calculates the cost from the adjacent shelf to the lift 101 for each selected adjacent shelf (S12). Specifically, the first calculation unit 13b can use the distance from the adjacent shelf to the lift 101 (for example, the Manhattan distance) as the cost t (m). Or the 1st calculation means 13b is good also considering the time required for the movement from an adjacent shelf to the lift 101 other than distance as the cost t (m). Note that m is a number assigned for each layout.

  As shown in FIG. 6B, in the case 1 layout in which the 2-e shelf is selected (m = 1), since the Manhattan distance from this shelf to the lift 101 is 4, the cost t ( 1) = 4. In the case 2 layout in which the 2-c shelf is selected (m = 2), since the Manhattan distance from the shelf to the lift 101 is 2, the cost t (2) = 2. In the case 3 layout in which the 3-d shelf is selected (m = 3), since the Manhattan distance from the shelf to the lift 101 is 1, t (3) = 2. In case 4 where the calling pallet is moved to the 1-d shelf (m = 4), since the Manhattan distance from this shelf to the lift 101 is 4, t (4) = 4.

  When the cost is calculated for each adjacent shelf by the first calculating unit 13b, the first extracting unit 13c extracts the adjacent shelf having the lowest cost (S13). Here, when there are a plurality of adjacent shelves having the same calculated cost, the first extracting unit 13c selects the adjacent shelf with the smallest number of pallet driving times included in the layout data stored in the second layout data storage unit 16. To do. Further, when the number of pallet driving times is equal, the first extraction unit 13c selects the adjacent shelf closest to the empty shelf.

  For example, in the example shown in FIG. 6B, the costs of case 2 and case 3 are both “2” and are the same. For example, the number of times the shelf is driven in the 2-c shelf selected in case 2 is selected in case 3. When the number of times of driving the pallet on the 3-d shelf is smaller, the first extraction unit 13c extracts the 2-c shelf of case2.

  When one adjacent shelf is extracted by the first extracting means 13c, it is assumed that the calling pallet 104 is on the extracted adjacent shelf and it is determined whether the calling pallet 104 is on the lift 101 that is the destination. Perform (S14). When it is determined that the vehicle is not on the lift 101 that is the destination (NO in S14), the processing in steps S12 to S14 is repeated until the calling pallet 104 reaches the destination.

  When it is determined that the call pallet 104 is at the destination (YES in S14), the shelves extracted in order in step S13 so far are determined as the movement path of the call pallet 104 (S15). The first determination unit 13d outputs the determined next movement position to the empty shelf search unit 14. Here, when steps S12 to S14 are repeated, the searched movement path of the calling pallet 104 is stored in a memory (not shown), but when the next movement position is determined in step S15, the search is performed. Since the moving path of the call palette 104 is not used, it is deleted from the memory.

  In the calling pallet search process in the example shown in FIG. 6, in the case 2 layout state shown in FIG. 6B, the first selection unit 13a is shown as 2 in FIG. 6C as a movable adjacent shelf. -B shelf (case 2-1) and 3-c shelf (case 2-2) are selected. The first calculating unit 13b calculates t (5) = 1 as the cost in the case 2-1 layout (m = 5), and in the case 2-2 layout (m = 6). T (6) = 1 is calculated as the cost of. The costs obtained in case 2-1 and case 2-2 are both “1” and are the same. However, if the 2-b shelf has fewer driving times than the 3-c shelf, the first extraction means 13c Extracts the 2-b shelf of case2-1. If the 2-b shelf and the 3-c shelf are driven at the same number of times, the first extraction unit 13c extracts the 2-b shelf that is close to the empty shelf.

  Further, in the case 2-1 layout state of FIG. 6C, the first selection unit 13a displays the 2-1 shelf (case 2-1-1) illustrated in FIG. 6D as the movable adjacent shelf. ), 3-b shelf (case2-1-2) and 1-b shelf (case2-1-3). The first calculating unit 13b calculates t (7) = 2 as the cost in the case of the case 2-1-1 layout (m = 7), and in the case of the case 2-1-2 layout (m = 7). T (8) = 0 is calculated as the cost of 8), and t (9) = 2 is calculated as the cost in the case of the case 2-1-3 layout (assuming n = 9). Accordingly, the first extraction unit 13c extracts the 3-b shelf of the case 2-1-2 having the lowest cost.

  Thus, in the storage space 100 in which the pallets are arranged as shown in FIG. 6A, when the seventh pallet on the 2-d shelf is the calling pallet, the calling pallet is the 2-c shelf. (Case 2 in FIG. 6B), 2-b shelf (case 2-1 in FIG. 6C), 3-b shelf (case 2-1-2 in FIG. 6D) Explored.

<Empty shelf search process>
With reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. 7 and the layout shown in FIG. 8, the empty shelf search process in step S04 of the flowchart of FIG. 3 will be described. In the empty shelf search process, in order to move the calling pallet 104 to the next movement position 105, a movement path of pallets other than the calling pallet 104 is searched to make the next movement position 105 an empty shelf. That is, moving the pallet and changing the position of the empty shelf is equivalent to moving the empty shelf. Further, in the empty shelf search process, the shortest route is searched among a plurality of possible movement routes of each pallet. Here, as shown in FIG. 8 (a), a pallet is arranged on each shelf, and the seventh pallet on the 2-d shelf is designated as the calling pallet 104, and as the next movement position 105 from the movement route. The description will be made assuming that the 2-c shelf is selected and the movement path of the pallet for making the 2-c shelf empty is searched.

  First, the second selection means 14 a is the most similar to the next movement position 105 and the next movement position 105 of the calling pallet 104 based on the movement path of the calling pallet 104 searched in the calling pallet search process and the current position of the calling pallet 104. A near empty shelf is selected (S21). If there are a plurality of closest empty shelves, an empty shelf that is in a straight line with the next movement position 105 is selected. In the example shown in FIG. 8A, the 2-a shelf that is the empty shelf 2 is selected. Even if there are a plurality of nearest empty shelves, if they are not all on the straight line of the next movement position 105, the empty shelves are selected in a predetermined order.

  Thereafter, the second selection unit 14a selects an adjacent shelf that can move the pallet to the empty shelf among the adjacent shelves selected in the layout data stored in the second layout data storage unit 16 (S22). For example, in the example shown in FIG. 8A, when the second selection unit 14a selects the 2-a shelf that is the empty shelf 2, the 2-b shelf and the 3-a shelf are selected as the adjacent shelves. .

  When the adjacent shelf of the empty shelf is selected by the second selection unit 14a, the second calculation unit 14b calculates the cost from the adjacent shelf to the next movement position for each selected adjacent shelf (S23). Specifically, the second calculation unit 14b can use the distance from the adjacent shelf to the next movement position (for example, the Manhattan distance) as the cost t (n). Or the 2nd calculation means 14b is good also considering the time required for the movement of the pallet from an adjacent shelf to the next movement position as a cost t (n) besides a distance. Note that n is a number assigned for each layout, that is, for each adjacent shelf selected in step S22.

  Specifically, as shown in FIG. 8B, in the case 1 layout in which the fifth pallet is moved to the 2-a shelf which is the adjacent shelf and the 2-b shelf becomes a new empty shelf. (N = 1) Since the Manhattan distance from the adjacent shelf to the next movement position is 1, t (1) = 1. In case 2 layout where the 9th pallet is moved to the 2-a shelf and the 3-a shelf becomes a new empty shelf (n = 2), the Manhattan distance from this adjacent shelf to the next movement position Since t is 2, t (2) = 2.

  When the cost is calculated for each adjacent shelf by the second calculating unit 14b, the second extracting unit 14c extracts the adjacent shelf having the lowest cost (S24). Here, when there are a plurality of adjacent shelves having the same calculated cost, the second extracting unit 14c selects the adjacent shelf having the smallest number of pallet drivings included in the layout data stored in the second layout data storage unit 16. To do. When the pallet driving times are equal, the second extraction unit 14c extracts adjacent shelves in a predetermined order. In the example illustrated in FIG. 8, the second extraction unit 14 c extracts the movement of the pallet that uses 2-b of case1 as an empty shelf.

  When the adjacent shelves are extracted by the second extracting unit 14c, the counting unit 14e increments the number of driving times T (i) of the driving unit for the adjacent shelves extracted by the second extracting unit 14c, and a memory (not shown). (S25). Here, i is a shelf number.

  When the adjacent shelf is extracted by the second extracting unit 14c, the second determining unit 14d determines whether or not the extracted adjacent shelf is the next movement position 105 (S26). When the extracted adjacent shelf is the next movement position 105 (YES in S26), the second determination unit 14d determines the pallet until the movement path 105 extracted in steps S22 to S24 becomes the next movement position 105 as an empty shelf. The travel route is determined (S27). Further, the second determination means 14d adds the path for moving the calling pallet 104 to the next movement position that has become an empty shelf to the path for making the next movement position determined in step S27 as an empty shelf, thereby forming the movement path of the pallet. Then, the empty shelf search process is terminated (S28).

  On the other hand, if the extracted adjacent shelf is not the next movement position 105 (NO in S26), the process returns to step S22 to search for the movement path of the pallet until the next movement position 105 becomes an empty shelf. Here, when steps S22 to S26 are repeated, the searched pallet path is stored in a memory (not shown) and is reflected in the pallet movement path determined in step S27. The determined movement route is added to the list of the movement route data storage unit 17 in the above-described process in step S05, and the empty shelf moves to the next movement position 105 according to the movement route. The state in which the calling pallet 104 has moved and the number of driving times T (i) of the driving means for each shelf obtained in step S25 and stored in the memory are stored in the layout data of the second layout data storage unit 16.

  As described above, in the puzzle type parking system 1 according to the embodiment, the search result of the call pallet search unit 13 and the empty shelf search unit 14 is used until the call pallet 104 moves to the lift 101 that is the destination. The processes in steps S03 to S05 are repeated. In the puzzle type parking system 1, the pallet is then moved along the searched route, whereby entry or exit is performed. At this time, in the puzzle type parking system 1, when there are a plurality of shelves having the same cost, a shelf with a small number of times of driving is selected, thereby reducing a deviation in the number of times of driving of the driving means. Therefore, by making the number of driving times of the driving means of each shelf uniform, it becomes possible to realize the replacement of the driving means of a plurality of shelves at the same timing, and the maintenance of the driving means can be facilitated.

<Modification>
Since a pattern is determined in the layout in the storage space 100, the path in the case of a frequently occurring layout is stored in the storage device in advance, and read out from the storage device when necessary to move the panel. Good. Pre-storing, reading, and using a small number of candidate routes can reduce processing loads such as computation and storage, as compared with the case where all candidate routes are created and stored.

  Specifically, the route planning device 10 has a storage unit that stores a frequently occurring layout and a candidate route in the case of this layout, and the storage unit stores layout data acquired by the layout acquisition unit 11. This can be realized by providing a layout determination unit that determines whether there are many layouts. Further, the layout and the candidate route stored here may be changed in accordance with the layout change due to the occurrence of the failure shelf 102 or the like.

  For example, the pallet serving as the calling pallet 104 is often stored in a shelf near the lift 101, and in such a case, the position of the empty shelf is often the same. Therefore, the processing load can be reduced by storing the layout and the candidate route that are frequently generated in the storage device.

  As mentioned above, although this invention was demonstrated in detail using embodiment, this invention is not limited to embodiment described in this specification. The scope of the present invention is determined by the description of the claims and the scope equivalent to the description of the claims.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Puzzle type parking system 10 ... Path planning device 11 ... Layout acquisition part 12 ... Position determination part 13 ... Call palette search part 13a ... 1st selection means 13b ... 1st calculation means 13c ... 1st extraction means 13d ... 1st determination Means 14: Empty shelf search unit 14a ... Second selection unit 14b ... Second calculation unit 14c ... Second extraction unit 14d ... Second determination unit 14e ... Counting unit 15 ... Path transmission unit 16 ... Second layout data storage unit (layout) Data storage unit)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 17 ... Movement path | route data storage part 20 ... Machine control apparatus 21 ... Operation input part 22 ... Path | route request | requirement part 23 ... 1st layout data storage part 24 ... Layout transmission part 25 ... Control part 26 ... Count part 27 ... Update part 30 ... Hangar 40: input device 100 ... storage space 101 ... lift 102 ... failure shelf 103 ... wall 104 ... calling pallet 105 ... next movement position

Claims (4)

A plurality of shelves formed by dividing a planar space into a grid, a plurality of pallets on which stored items can be placed and the plurality of shelves can be moved, and a pallet provided and disposed on each of the plurality of shelves A path planning device for planning a moving path for moving a specified pallet to a warehousing port or a warehousing port when a warehousing or warehousing is designated in a mechanical hangar having a driving means for sliding the pallet to another adjacent shelf Because
A layout data storage unit for storing layout data relating to the number of times the hangar layout and each shelf driving means have been driven for movement of pallets in the past;
When a pallet placed on one of the shelves is selected as a calling pallet together with a loading or unloading request, the calling pallet in the layout data is moved from the shelf that currently exists to the shelf used for the requested operation. A call pallet search unit that searches for a shortest path and searches for a path that uses a driving means with the minimum number of times of driving included in the layout data when there are a plurality of shortest paths;
In order for the calling pallet to move along the route searched by the calling pallet search unit, a search is made for the shortest path of movement of the pallet for changing the position of the empty shelf in the plane space. An empty shelf search unit for searching for a route using the driving means with the minimum number of driving times included in the layout data;
A route transmission unit that transmits the route searched by the empty shelf search unit to a control device that controls movement of the pallet;
A path planning apparatus comprising: The call palette search unit includes:
First selecting means for selecting all movable adjacent shelves from among the adjacent shelves at the current position until the calling pallet moves to a destination in the layout data;
First calculation means for calculating a Manhattan distance from the current position of the calling pallet to the destination in the layout data;
The shelf with the lowest cost in the calculation result of the first calculating means is extracted as the optimum route for the next call pallet to move, and when there are a plurality of shelves with the lowest cost, the shelf with the smallest number of driving times is extracted. 1 extraction means;
First determination means for determining a shelf extracted by the first extraction means as a movement path of a calling pallet;
The path planning apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: The empty shelf search unit
In the layout data, a second movement position that is the next movement destination of the calling pallet on the movement route determined by the calling pallet search unit, and an adjacent shelf where the pallet is present are selected from the adjacent shelves of the empty shelf. A selection means;
Second calculation means for calculating a Manhattan distance from the empty shelf to the next movement position for each selected adjacent shelf;
The pallet movement path is extracted using the adjacent shelf with the lowest cost as the next empty shelf in the calculation result of the second calculating means, and when there are a plurality of adjacent shelves with the lowest cost, the adjacent drive with the minimum number of times of driving is extracted. A second extraction means for extracting a shelf;
A second determination unit that determines the path extracted by the second extraction unit as a movement path of the pallet and updates the layout data in the layout data storage unit;
The path planning apparatus according to claim 2, wherein: A plurality of shelves formed by dividing a planar space into a grid, a plurality of pallets on which stored items can be placed and the plurality of shelves can be moved, and a pallet provided and disposed on each of the plurality of shelves Route planning method for planning a movement route for moving a specified pallet to a warehousing port or a warehousing port when warehousing or warehousing is designated in a mechanical hangar having a sliding means for sliding the pallet to another adjacent shelf Because
When a pallet placed on one of the shelves is selected as a calling pallet together with a loading or unloading request, layout data relating to the layout of the hangar and the number of times that the driving means of each shelf has been driven in the past to move the pallet In step 1, the shortest path to be moved from the shelf where the calling pallet currently exists to the shelf used for the requested operation is searched, and when there are a plurality of shortest paths, the driving means having the minimum number of driving times included in the layout data is used. Searching for a route to take,
In order for the calling pallet to move along the searched path, a search is made for the shortest path of movement of the pallet for changing the position of the empty shelf in the plane space, and the driving included in the layout data when there are a plurality of the shortest paths Searching for a route using the driving means having the smallest number of times;
Transmitting the searched route to a control device that controls movement of the pallet;
A path planning method comprising:

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