JP2018151328A - Route determination device, route determination method, and route determination program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a route determination device capable of allowing a transportation vehicle to efficiently move in a warehouse.SOLUTION: A disclosed route determination device includes: a storage part that stores link information on movement directions in which a vehicle may move crossing a borderline while associating with the borderlines between the areas neighboring each other on a plane which has plural areas arranged in lateral and vertical directions; and a route determination part that receives a request to determine a route on which the vehicle moves from a departure area to a destination area in the plural areas and determines the route while referring to the movement direction in the link information.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

  The present invention relates to a route determination device, a route determination method, and a route determination program.

  In recent years, techniques for automating the movement of articles have been put into practical use inside warehouses. The reason for this is that with the expansion of the mail order market and the diversification of customer needs, the items to be stored have become smaller, and the work related to picking up in the warehouse has become complicated, while labor The population is decreasing, and there is a situation that automation and efficiency of work are indispensable.

  In Patent Document 1, a shelf storing articles is disposed on the floor of a warehouse. The vehicle can move on its floor and pass directly under the shelf. For example, the vehicle arrives at the place where a certain article is stored by passing under another shelf. Thereafter, the vehicle lifts the shelf where the article is stored. Thereafter, the vehicle transports the shelf to a predetermined work space or the like while lifting the shelf.

  The system of Patent Document 1 determines a route along which such a vehicle moves. The route is divided into a plurality of segments. The system “reserves” the next segment to which the vehicle will move while the vehicle is moving in a segment. The reservation is to give the vehicle the right to move the segment exclusively in order to avoid a vehicle from colliding with another vehicle.

Japanese Patent No. 5231407

In an actual warehouse, a large number of vehicles are moving simultaneously. In such an environment, when the system of Patent Document 1 is used, the vehicles interfere with each other, and the traffic jam of the vehicles (stuck without moving to the next segment) frequently occurs. The cause of the traffic jam is that it is assumed that the vehicle can move in any direction on every cell (unit area) on the floor.
Then, an object of this invention is to move a conveyance vehicle efficiently in a warehouse.

The route determination device of the present invention stores link information in which a moving direction in which a vehicle can move across a boundary is stored in association with a boundary between adjacent regions on a plane having a plurality of regions arranged vertically and horizontally. A storage unit, a route determination unit that receives a request for determining a route from which a vehicle moves from a departure region in a plurality of regions to a destination region in a plurality of regions, refers to a moving direction of link information, and determines a route; It is characterized by providing.
Other means will be described in the embodiment for carrying out the invention.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, a conveyance vehicle can be moved efficiently in a warehouse.

(A) is a figure explaining a conveyance vehicle. (B) is a figure explaining a shelf. It is a figure explaining a floor surface. It is a figure explaining the boundary and link of a node. It is a figure explaining a path | route and a segment. It is a figure explaining an address diagram. It is a figure explaining composition of a route decision device etc. It is an example of node information. It is an example of link information. It is a figure explaining the address information of dynamic information. It is an example of shelf information. It is an example of conveyance vehicle information. It is a flowchart of a processing procedure. (A) is a figure of the floor before a provisional passage opens. (B) is a figure of the floor after the provisional passage is opened. (A) is an example of the path | route of a conveyance vehicle (empty car). (B) is an example of the path | route of a conveyance vehicle (real vehicle). (A) is an example of the path | route of the conveyance vehicle (actual vehicle) after a temporary channel | path is opened. (B) is an example of a path | route when the conveyance vehicle of an offline state has stopped in a certain position. (A) And (b) is a figure which shows the example of a reroute process. (A) And (b) is a figure which shows the other example of a reroute process. (A), (b) and (c) is a figure which shows the relationship between node information, link information, and address information.

  Hereinafter, a mode for carrying out the present invention (referred to as “the present embodiment”) will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. This embodiment is an example in which the vehicle is a transport vehicle that transports a shelf in a warehouse. However, the present invention can also be applied to cases where the vehicle transports objects other than shelves and when the vehicle moves in places other than the warehouse. That is, the present invention is generally applicable when determining a route along which a vehicle moves. Note that the shelf of this embodiment is an example of a “mounting table”.

(Cars and shelves)
A conveyance vehicle is demonstrated along Fig.1 (a). The conveyance vehicle 2 of this embodiment is a vehicle which conveys the shelf 7 (FIG.1 (b), detailed postscript). The transport vehicle 2 has a rectangular parallelepiped outer shape that is square in plan view. The height of the transport vehicle 2 is slightly lower than the position of a human knee standing on the floor, and the transport vehicle 2 can pass through the lower portion of the shelf 7 without contacting the shelf 7. The transport vehicle 2 has a disk-shaped cargo handling plate 42 at the center of the upper surface thereof. The transport vehicle 2 can change the height of the cargo handling plate 42 from the floor surface by changing the length of a shaft 43 (not shown) that connects the transport vehicle main body 46 and the cargo handling plate 42. A square recess 47 at the center of the cargo handling plate 42 is fitted to the shelf 7.

  The recess 47 has a sensor (imaging camera) 49 at the center thereof, and the sensor 49 reads a mark (bar code or the like) attached to the lower surface of the lowest step 62 of the shelf 7. Thus, the shelf ID (detailed later) of the shelf 7 to be fitted is identified. The transport vehicle 2 lifts the cargo handling plate 42 when transporting the shelf 7, and lowers the cargo handling plate 42 to the level of the upper surface of the transport vehicle main body 46 when not transporting the shelf 7. Note that a rubber material may be attached to the upper surface of the cargo handling plate 42 instead of the cargo handling plate 42 having the recess 47 in the center thereof. Then, the friction between the cargo handling plate 42 and the shelf 7 increases, and the shelf 7 is stabilized.

  The transport vehicle 2 has a sensor 44 on each of its four side surfaces. The sensor 44 detects the floor surface, the shelf 7, and other transport vehicles. The sensor 44 is an imaging camera, and recognizes the floor surface, the shelf 7 and other transport vehicles by processing the captured image. Although not visible in FIG. 1 (a), the transport vehicle 2 normally has two drive wheels 45 (not shown) therein. These drive wheels 45 can freely change the rotation direction and rotation speed. There is a slight space (clearance) between the bottom surface of the transport vehicle 2 and the floor surface.

  The transport vehicle 2 also includes a sensor 44 on the bottom surface. The sensor 44 is also an imaging camera, and recognizes an identifier (detailed later) of each area on the floor surface by reading a mark (bar code or the like) attached to each area (detailed later) on the floor surface. As a result, the transport vehicle 2 recognizes in which region on the floor it is. The transport vehicle 2 can turn at that position by rotating the left driving wheel and the right driving wheel in the opposite directions at the same rotational speed. Furthermore, the transport vehicle 2 can change only the direction of the cargo handling plate 42 (and the shelf 7) by rotating the shaft 43 without changing its own direction.

  A shelf is demonstrated along FIG.1 (b). The shelf 7 of the present embodiment has a rectangular parallelepiped main body 8, four legs 9, and four wheels 61 that are square in plan view, and the main body 8 of the shelf 7 includes a plurality of steps 62 (FIG. 1B). 3 stages). Each stage 62 has a plurality of drawer-shaped trays 63 (three in FIG. 1B) in which articles are stored. The worker 64 can open the tray 63 by hand and collect items inside. Note that the shelf 7 may store articles directly in the shelf 7 without having a movable (drawer type) tray.

  The worker 64 can pull out the tray 63 from a predetermined number of side surfaces among the four side surfaces of the main body 8 of the shelf 7. In the example of FIG. 1B, the number of such side surfaces is “1”. As described above, the main body 8 of the shelf 7 has the four legs 9 at the four corners. Each of those legs 9 has one wheel 61. These wheels 61 have no power. When the shelf 7 is arranged on the floor surface, the wheel 61 is locked and the shelf 7 does not move on the floor surface. When the transport vehicle 2 stops just below the shelf 7 and lifts the loading table 42, the loading table 42 and the bottom of the main body 8 of the shelf 7 are fitted together, and the entire shelf 7 eventually floats in the air. Thereafter, the transport vehicle 2 transports the shelf 7. When the transport vehicle 2 arrives at the destination, it lowers the shelf 7 onto the floor surface by lowering the cargo handling plate 42. While the transport vehicle 2 is transporting the shelf 7, the wheels 61 are unlocked, and the shelf 7 does not fall even if the leg 9 may lightly contact the floor surface. Note that the leg 9 may not have the wheel 61.

(Floor)
A floor surface is demonstrated along FIG. FIG. 2 is a plan view of the floor on which the transport vehicle 2 of the present embodiment is viewed from above. The floor surface is a plane having a plurality of regions arranged vertically and horizontally. The floor surface of this embodiment is rectangular and has 42 regions. Each area is a square having the same length of one side, and corresponds to the shape of the transport vehicle 2 having a square shape in plan view. The floor surface has a horizontal axis (X axis) and a vertical axis (Y axis) which are coordinate axes orthogonal to each other. The origin of the coordinate axes is at the upper left position of the floor. The floor has 6 columns and 7 rows. Each column corresponds to coordinate values 1 to 6 on the horizontal axis. Each row corresponds to coordinate values 1 to 7 on the vertical axis.

  Each area on the floor has an identifier that uniquely identifies itself. The identifier has two numbers following “N” and “N”. The first “N” is attributed to “node”, which is a term in the art that indicates a region. In the present embodiment, “area” and “node” are synonymous terms. The first number indicates a column (coordinate value on the horizontal axis), and the last number indicates a row (coordinate value on the vertical axis). In other words, the identifier directly indicates the position at the same time that the node is specified. Each node in FIG. 2 is either a shelf storage node (thick line node) or a passage node (other nodes). In addition, a mark (bar code or the like, not shown) indicating an identifier of each area is attached to each area of the floor surface, and the transport vehicle 2 reads the mark so that itself is on the floor surface. Recognize in which area.

  The passage node (node N22 or the like) is for the purpose of moving the transport vehicle, and no shelf is arranged on the passage node. The shelf storage node (node N32 or the like) is intended to store the shelf. Each node according to the present embodiment has a size enough for one shelf 7 to move or to store one shelf 7. There are cases where shelves are actually arranged on the shelf storage node, and there are cases where shelves are not arranged. Note that FIG. 2 is merely an explanatory diagram, and the actual floor surface is considered to have a much larger number of nodes than that shown in FIG.

(Nodes and boundaries)
The node boundaries and links will be described with reference to FIG. Although details will be described later, the node information and the link information are also referred to as “static information”. A boundary 71 (see a partially enlarged view at the bottom of FIG. 3) exists between nodes adjacent to each other. Now, pay attention to the node N22 in FIG. The node N22 is adjacent to the node N21, the node N23, the node N12, and the node N32. The upper side of the node N22 is a boundary with the node N21. The lower side of the node N22 is a boundary with the node N23. The left side of the node N22 is a boundary with the node N12. The right side of the node N22 is a boundary with the node N32. Normally, one node has four boundaries 71, and each boundary is shared with adjacent upper, lower, left, and right nodes.

  However, as an exception, nodes on the periphery of the floor surface (for example, the node N21, the node N12, the node N62, the node N27, etc.) have only three boundaries excluding the outer peripheral line of the floor surface. Furthermore, the four corner nodes (node N11, node N61, node N17, and node N67) on the floor have only two boundaries excluding the outer peripheral line of the floor. One or two “links” (detailed later) are defined in association with each boundary excluding the outer peripheral line of the floor surface.

(Link)
The above-mentioned link first constrains the state of the transport vehicle 2 that can move across the boundary 71 between the nodes (whether the shelf is transported), and secondly, the transport vehicle 2 has a boundary between the nodes. This is information that restricts the direction in which the vehicle can move across 71. Furthermore, the restriction defined by the link improves the flow of the transport vehicle 2 and prevents congestion. In FIG. 3, the link is represented by a white arrow.

  The links are either “no shelves / movable links with shelves” or “movable links without shelves”. A movable link without a shelf / with a shelf may be referred to as a transport vehicle that transports a shelf (hereinafter may be referred to as “actual vehicle”) and a transport vehicle that does not transport a shelf (hereinafter referred to as “empty vehicle”). ) Indicates that they can move across the boundary. A shelfless movable link indicates that only an empty vehicle can move across its boundary.

  Logically, it is possible to define a “movable link with shelves” in which only the actual vehicle can move across the boundary. For example, when an unnecessary empty vehicle is prevented from moving to a node for temporarily stopping an actual vehicle for a worker to collect goods, the link toward the node may be a “movable link with shelf”. . For simplification of explanation, it is assumed that there is no “movable link with shelf” in the present embodiment.

  The link indicates a direction (moving direction) in which the transport vehicle (actual vehicle or empty vehicle) can move across the boundary 71. One link indicates one moving direction. The moving direction is one of “up”, “down”, “left”, and “right”, and “up” indicates that the transport vehicle can move the boundary from the bottom to the top in FIG. . “Down” indicates that the transport vehicle can move the boundary from the top to the bottom of FIG. "Left" indicates that the transport vehicle can move the boundary from right to left in FIG. “Right” indicates that the transport vehicle can move the boundary from left to right in FIG. A single link does not indicate that bi-directional movement (up / down or left / right) is possible.

  All arrows (except coordinate axes) shown in FIG. 3 are links. Among them, the solid-line arrows are “movable links without shelves / with shelves”, and the broken-line arrows are “movable links without shelves”. The boundary 71 over which the arrow is straddled (associated) is the boundary 71 where the transport vehicle can move across the boundary, and the direction of the arrow indicates the moving direction.

  First, attention is paid to the node N22 in FIG. One link is associated with the boundary between the node N22 and the upper node N21. The link is “no shelf / movable link with shelf”, and the moving direction is “up”. One link is associated with the boundary between the node N22 and the lower node N23. The link is “no shelf / movable link with shelf”, and the moving direction is “up”. Two links are associated with the boundary between the node N22 and the left node N12. One of them is a “link without a shelf / movable link with a shelf”, and the movement direction is “right”. The other is a “link without shelf / movable link with shelf”, and the moving direction is “left”. Two links are associated with the boundary between the node N22 and the node N32 on the right side thereof. One of them is a “link without a shelf / movable link with a shelf”, and the movement direction is “right”. The other is a “link without shelf / movable link with shelf”, and the moving direction is “left”.

The above indicates that the transport vehicle can move as follows.
The transport vehicle (actual vehicle or empty vehicle) can move from the node N23 to the node N21 via the node N22. At this time, the transport vehicle does not interfere (frontal collision) with other transport vehicles moving from the node N21 to the node N23 via the node N22.
-Assume that shelves are arranged at the nodes N12 and N32. The transport vehicle (empty vehicle) can enter from the node N22 under the shelf of the node N12 or the node N32, lift the shelf (actual vehicle), and return to the node N22.
-Assume that no shelves are arranged at the nodes N12 and N32. The transport vehicle (actual vehicle) can enter the node N12 or the node N32 from the node N22, drop the shelf (become an empty vehicle), and return to the node N22.

  Next, attention is paid to the node N42 in FIG. One link is associated with the boundary between this node N42 and the upper node N41. The link is a “movable link without shelf”, and the moving direction is “up”. One link is associated with the boundary between the node N42 and the lower node N43. The link is a “movable link without shelf”, and the moving direction is “up”. One link is associated with the boundary between the node N42 and the left node N32. The link is a “movable link without shelf”, and the moving direction is “right”. Two links are associated with the boundary between the node N42 and the node N52 on the right side thereof. One of them is a “link without a shelf / movable link with a shelf”, and the movement direction is “right”. The other is a “link without shelf / movable link with shelf”, and the moving direction is “left”.

The above indicates that the transport vehicle can move as follows.
The transport vehicle (empty vehicle) can move from the node N43 to the node N41 via the node N42. At this time, the transport vehicle does not interfere (frontal collision) with another transport vehicle (empty vehicle) moving from the node N41 to the node N43 via the node N42.
The transport vehicle (empty vehicle) can move from the node N32 to the node N41 via the node N42, and can also move to the node N52.

-Assume that a shelf is arranged at the node N42. The transport vehicle (empty vehicle) can enter from the node N52 under the shelf of the node N42, lift the shelf (actual vehicle), and return to the node N52.
-Assume that no shelf is arranged at the node N42. The transport vehicle (actual vehicle) can enter the node N42 from the node N52, drop the shelf (become an empty vehicle), and return to the node N52.

Looking at FIG. 3 as a whole, the following can be understood.
The movable link without shelf / with shelf moves around the first row, the sixth column, the seventh row, and the first column while pointing in the clockwise direction.
-The link without a shelf / movable link with a shelf also serves as the link without a shelf. Therefore, temporarily, the movable links without shelves / with shelves in the first and seventh rows are replaced with movable links without shelves. Then, the shelf-less movable link circulates the first row, the third column, the seventh row, and the first column while pointing in the clockwise direction. Similarly, the shelf-less movable link circulates in the first row, the sixth column, the seventh row, and the fourth column while pointing in the clockwise direction.

-There are seven boundaries between the third and fourth columns. When attention is paid to the boundary between the second row and the sixth row, right-side shelf-less movable links and left-side shelf-less movable links are alternately arranged. That is, the two sets of movable links without shelves that go around are connected with two shortcuts in the left direction (shortcut) and three shortcuts in the right direction.

  For example, in the first column of FIG. 3, a shelf-less movable link having the same movement direction “up” is stored in association with the boundary between seven consecutive nodes N11 to N17. In the first row, a link without shelf / movable with shelf having the same movement direction “right” is stored in association with the boundary between six consecutive nodes N11, N21, N31, N41, N51, and N61. ing. As described above, it is important to store as many links in the same moving direction in the vertical direction or the horizontal direction as little as possible in order to prevent the congestion of the transport vehicle.

(Routes and segments)
A path and a segment will be described with reference to FIG. The identifier for identifying the node on the floor surface in FIG. 4 is the same as that in FIGS. However, for ease of explanation, in FIG. 4, whether each node is a passage node or a shelf storage node is discarded. Furthermore, whether the transport vehicle is an actual vehicle or an empty vehicle is also discarded. The links associated with the boundaries described in FIG. 3 are also discarded here.

  Now, it is assumed that the transport vehicle needs to move from the node N26 (indicated by a bold line) that is a departure node to the node N52 (indicated by a bold line) that is a target node. The route determination device of this embodiment determines a route for this purpose. In FIG. 4, three paths 81 to 83 are described. The route determination device divides the routes 81 to 83 into a plurality of sections. It is arbitrary where the route is divided. Here, the route determination device divides the route at the corner of the route. Each part of the divided path is called a “segment”. The path 81 has segments 81a and 81b. The path 82 has segments 82a, 82b, 82c and 82d. The path 83 has segments 83a, 83b, and 83c.

(Segment reservation)
Now, it is assumed that the route determination device determines the route 81 of the three routes 81 to 83 as a route on which the transport vehicle should move. The transport vehicle requests the route determination device to reserve the first segment 81 a of the route 81. Then, the route determination device determines whether the route 84 of the other transport vehicle (more precisely, the segment that is the part) has already been reserved across the segment 81a of the transport vehicle (own vehicle) that requests the reservation. Judge whether or not. Then, when the route 84 of the other transport vehicle is not reserved, the route determination device reserves the segment 81a for the own vehicle and notifies the own vehicle that the reservation has been made.

  Here, the reservation is to guarantee exclusive movement from the node N26 to the node N22 to the transport vehicle (own vehicle). The route determination device does not make a reservation for the own vehicle when the route of another transport vehicle has already been reserved across the segment 81a of the own vehicle. The own vehicle does not leave the node N26 unless receiving a notification that the segment 81a has been reserved from the route determination device. When the transport vehicle 2 finishes moving the reserved segment, the route determination device cancels (deletes) the reservation.

  When receiving the notification that the segment is reserved, the transport vehicle (own vehicle) leaves the node N26, moves the segment 81a, and heads for the node N22. The host vehicle requests the route determination device to reserve the next segment 81b of the route 81 at an arbitrary time after leaving the node N26 and before arriving at the node N22. Then, the route determination device reserves the segment 81b for the own vehicle unless the route of the other transport vehicle such as the route 85 has already been reserved across the segment 81b of the own vehicle. Notify your vehicle that you have gone. Thereafter, similar processing is repeated, and the transport vehicle finally arrives at the target node (node N52) while temporarily stopping at a certain node on the route. Note that the route determination device may make a reservation for each predetermined number of nodes included in a segment, for example, in addition to each segment.

(Path evaluation)
As shown in FIG. 4, when there are a plurality of route candidates from the same departure node to the same destination node, the route determination device evaluates each candidate and determines the route with the highest evaluation. The route determination device of this embodiment calculates an “evaluation value” for each candidate. The evaluation value is, for example, a total value of “movement time”, “rotation time”, and “standby time”.

The travel time is obtained by multiplying the number of nodes included in the candidate by the time required for the transport vehicle to move one node.
The rotation time is obtained by multiplying the number of corners included in the candidate by the time required for the transport vehicle to change its direction once at the corner. It is assumed that the transport vehicle stops at a corner such as the node N22 in FIG. 4 and then changes its direction and then resumes movement.

The waiting time is a time for which the own vehicle waits for the next segment to be reserved, that is, a time for waiting while stopping in order to avoid an intersection (interference) with another transport vehicle. As described above, the host vehicle waits at the last node on the current segment until there is no segment node already reserved by another transport vehicle on the next segment. This waiting time is calculated by the following equation.
Standby time = Σ (number of segment links-number of vehicle links) x conversion factor

  Here, the number of segment links is the number of all links associated with the boundaries of nodes included in the segment on which the vehicle moves. In practice, many links are associated with the boundaries of the nodes included in the segment 81a (from the node N26 to the node N22) in FIG. 4, as shown in FIG. Assume that the link from the node N26 to the node N22 in FIG. 4 is as shown in FIG. Then, the segment link number of the segment 81a in this case is “26”. The breakdown is 10 left “no shelf / movable link with shelf”, 10 right “no shelf / movable link with shelf”, and 6 upward “no shelf / This is a movable link with shelf.

  Here, the own vehicle link number is the number of links indicating the direction in which the own vehicle moves in the segment among the number of segment links. In the above example, the number of vehicle links is “6”, which corresponds to the number of “links without shelves / movable links with shelves” in the upward direction. In addition, the link linked | related with the boundary known that the own vehicle does not move across it does not need to be counted as the own vehicle link number. For example, the link number associated with the boundary line between the node N21 and the node N22 and the boundary line between the node N26 and the node N27 may not be counted, and the number of vehicle links may be set to “4”. The larger the “number of segment links−the number of own vehicle links”, the longer the time that the own vehicle waits until the reservation of another transport vehicle is canceled. The conversion coefficient is a coefficient for converting the number of links into time. The route determination device determines the conversion coefficient based on past experience values. “Σ” in the above formula means that all segments included in the route candidates are summed.

  Note that a result of multiplying the calculated “movement time”, “rotation time”, and “standby time” by a predetermined cost coefficient may be used as the evaluation value. In this case, the unit of the evaluation value is not a time but an amount. It is assumed that the user of the route determination device determines the cost coefficient based on the past results of power costs, labor costs, and the like.

(Address diagram)
The address diagram will be described with reference to FIG. Although details will be described later, the shelf information 33 and the transport vehicle information 34 are referred to as “dynamic information” that is updated in real time. The shelf position information and the real-time position information of the transport vehicle are treated as an address diagram. FIG. 5 shows the position information of the shelves and the position information of the transport vehicle corresponding to the position information of the floor on which the transport vehicle 2 of the present embodiment shown in FIG. 2 moves. The coordinates A11 to A67 in the address diagram are set corresponding to the coordinates similar to those in FIG. In this example, rectangular shelf position information 51 is stored at address A51. This indicates in real time that a shelf is arranged at the address A62. Further, the position information 52 of the quadrangular shelf and the position information 53 of the pentagonal conveyance vehicle are stored at the address A44. This indicates in real time that a shelf is arranged at the address A44 and that there is a transport vehicle.

(Relationship between node information, link information and address information)
For convenience of explanation, the relationship among node information, link information, and address information will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 18A is the floor surface of FIG. 2 and shows the node coordinates N11 to N67 as described above. The hatched area is a shelf storage node (node N32 or the like), and the other areas are passage nodes. Incidentally, in FIG. 18A, information of each area is defined by node information 31 (FIG. 7) described later.
FIG. 18B shows the boundaries and links of the nodes in FIG. The solid arrow indicates “no shelf / movable link with shelf”, and the dotted arrow indicates “movable link without shelf”. Incidentally, in FIG. 18B, information of each area is defined by link information 32 (FIG. 8) described later.
FIG. 18C is an address diagram of FIG. For example, information defined in the shelf information 33 (FIG. 10) is stored in real time at the address A44 in the address diagram, and information defined in the transport vehicle information 34 (FIG. 11) is also stored in real time.

The node information reflected in FIG. 18A and the link information 32 reflected in FIG. 18B are also called “static information”. The shelf information 33 and the transport vehicle information 34 reflected in FIG. 18C are also referred to as “dynamic information”. This is because the contents of the shelf information 33 and the transport vehicle information 34 are updated every moment in real time, whereas the contents of the node information 31 and the link information 32 are partially set by the user after being initially set by the user. Or it is fixed until the whole is updated.
And when calculating | requiring the path | route of a conveyance vehicle using the link information 32 reflected in FIG.18 (b), the link information 32 is discarded using the shelf information 33 and the conveyance vehicle information 34 which are dynamic information, By making the selection, a movement route is generated.

  As an example of route generation, when the transport vehicle is an actual vehicle, the route determination device follows the “link without shelf / movable link with shelf”. For example, “address without shelf / movable link with shelf” exists from address A23 to address A33. Therefore, there is a possibility that the transport vehicle can move from address A23 to address A33. However, according to the shelf information 33, a shelf exists in real time at the link destination address A33. Accordingly, the transport vehicle cannot follow the link from the address A23 to the address A33 (to prevent a collision). And from address A24 to address A34, there is a “link without shelf / movable link with shelf”. Therefore, there is a possibility that the transport vehicle can move from address A24 to address A34. Moreover, according to the shelf information 33, there is no shelf in real time at the link destination address A34. Therefore, the transport vehicle can follow the link from the address A24 to the address A34.

  When the transport vehicle is an empty vehicle, the route determination device selects and generates a route by following the “no shelf / movable link with shelf” and “movable link without shelf”. For example, since there is a “link without shelf / movable link with shelf” from address A23 to address A33, there is a possibility that the transport vehicle can move from address A23 to address A33. Even if there is a shelf in real time at the link destination address A33, the transport vehicle (empty vehicle) can pass through the lower part of the shelf. Accordingly, the transport vehicle (empty vehicle) can move from address A23 to address A33. In addition, for example, a “shelfless movable link” exists from the address A34 to the address A44. Therefore, there is a possibility that the transport vehicle can move from address A34 to address A44. On the other hand, according to the transport vehicle information 34, the transport vehicle is stopped at the link destination address A44 due to some abnormality or the like as real-time information. Then, it becomes impossible for the transport vehicle to move from address A34 to address A44.

(Configuration of route determination device, etc.)
The configuration of the route determination device and the like will be described with reference to FIG. The route determination device 1 is a general computer. The route determination device 1 includes a central control device 11, an input device 12, an output device 13, a main storage device 14, an auxiliary storage device 15, and a communication device 16. These are connected by a bus. The auxiliary storage device 15 stores node information 31, link information 32, shelf information 33, transport vehicle information 34, and a map 35 (detailed later). The static information management unit 21, the dynamic information management unit 22, and the route determination unit 23 in the main storage device 14 are programs. In the following description, when the operation subject is described as “XX part”, it means that the central control unit 11 reads the XX part from the auxiliary storage device 15 and loads it into the main storage device 14 and then loads the XX part. It means to realize the function (detailed later). Further, the map 35 is the coordinate plane of FIG. 2 and the node ID itself.

  The route determination device 1 can be connected to one or more transport vehicles 2, one or more floor sensors 5, and one or more monitoring cameras 6 via a wired or wireless network 3. The transport vehicle 2 includes a transport vehicle control device 41 in addition to the cargo handling plate 42, the shaft 43, the sensor 44, and the drive wheel 45 described above. The transport vehicle control device 41 controls communication with the route determination device 1 and controls the cargo handling plate 42, the shaft 43, the sensor 44, and the drive wheels 45.

  As described above, the transport vehicle 2 reads the mark (bar code) on the floor surface detected by its own sensor 44, so that its own position (coordinate value or node identifier in FIG. 2) is transferred to the route determination device 1 in real time. Can be sent. Moreover, it is also possible to detect the position on the floor surface of the transport vehicle 2 by embedding the floor sensor 5 in the floor surface in a form that does not affect the movement of the transport vehicle 2. Moreover, the position on the floor surface of the shelf 7 and the transport vehicle 2 can be detected by arranging the monitoring camera 6 on the ceiling surface of the warehouse, for example. Thereby, the floor sensor 5 and the monitoring camera 6 can transmit the detected positional information to the route determination apparatus 1 in real time. If the sensor 44 of the transport vehicle 2 can always detect its position on the floor surface with sufficient accuracy, the monitoring camera 6 does not need to detect the position of the transport vehicle 2 and the floor sensor does not exist in the first place. May be.

(Node information)
The node information 31 will be described with reference to FIG. In the node information 31, in association with the node ID stored in the node ID column 101, the node division column 102 has a node division, the column column 103 has a column number, and the row column 104 has a row number. The column 105 stores an unusable flag.

The node ID in the node ID column 101 is an identifier that uniquely identifies the node.
The node classification in the node classification column 102 is a classification of the purpose of the node. In this embodiment, either “passage” indicating the “path node” described above or “shelf storage” indicating the “shelf storage node” described above. It is. In addition, “turn” indicating a node where the transport vehicle changes its direction, “work” indicating a node where an operator works toward the side of the shelf, and “charging” indicating a node charging the transport vehicle. Etc. may be stored.

The column number in the column column 103 is a number (the ○ column) indicating the position of the horizontal axis (X axis) of the node.
The row number in the row column 104 is a number (the ○ th row) indicating the position of the vertical axis (Y axis) of the node.
The unusable flag in the unusable column 105 is a character string of “unusable” indicating that the carriage cannot enter the node due to, for example, a pillar at the position or an opening for maintenance of the underfloor equipment. It is. The unusable field 105 of many records is blank and usable.

(Link information)
The link information 32 will be described with reference to FIG. In the link information 32, in association with the link ID stored in the link ID column 111, the link category column 112 has a link category, the start point node ID column 113 has a start point node ID, and the end point node ID column 114 has an end point. The node ID is stored in the direction column 115.

The link ID in the link ID column 111 is an identifier that uniquely identifies the above-described link. In the present embodiment, the first two digits of the four digits following “L” match the two digits of the starting point node ID described later. The last two digits of the link ID match the two digits of the end point node ID described later. Therefore, it is easy to know where the link is in FIG. 3 simply by referring to the link ID.
The link category in the link category column 112 is either “no shelf” or “no shelf / with shelf”. “No shelf” indicates that only an empty vehicle can move across a boundary associated with a link. “Without shelf / with shelf” indicates that both the empty vehicle and the actual vehicle can move across the boundary associated with the link.

The starting point node ID in the starting point node ID column 113 is a node ID that identifies a node that is the starting point of the link arrow among two adjacent nodes across the boundary.
The end node ID in the end node ID column 114 is a node ID that identifies a node that is an end point of a link arrow among two adjacent nodes across the boundary.
The movement direction of the direction column 115 is a direction in which the transport vehicle can move across the boundary, and is one of “up”, “down”, “left”, and “right”. As described above, for example, “up” indicates that the transport vehicle can move from below the boundary to above. In this embodiment, instead of “up”, “down”, “left”, and “right”, numbers indicating orientations such as “0 degrees”, “90 degrees”, “180 degrees”, “270 degrees”, etc. (0 degree or more and less than 360 degree) may be used. In addition, the direction indicated by the short hand may be used as the moving direction, such as 0 o'clock, 3 o'clock, 6 o'clock, and 9 o'clock, with the floor surface viewed as a clock face.

  It should be noted in FIG. 8 that one moving direction (such as “up”) is defined for one link, while one or two links are defined for one boundary. That is. As a result, when viewed on a boundary basis, the transport vehicle may move only in one direction across a certain boundary, and the transport vehicle crosses one boundary in two directions (from left to right and right May move from left to right, or from bottom to top and from top to bottom).

  Returning to FIG. 3, attention is paid to the boundary between the node N22 and the node N32. Of the two links straddling the boundary, the link whose movement direction is “left to right” corresponds to the record 124b in FIG. Of the two links straddling the boundary, the link whose movement direction is “right to left” corresponds to the record 124c in FIG. After all, the combination of the record 124b and the record 124c in FIG. 8 indicates that “the actual vehicle and the empty vehicle can move across the boundary between the node N22 and the node N32 in both directions from right to left and from left to right. "It is shown that.

  Further, in FIG. 3, attention is paid to the boundary between the node N31 and the node N32. There is only one link straddling the boundary. The moving direction of the link is “from top to bottom”. The link corresponds to the record 125a in FIG. The record 125a indicates that “the empty vehicle can move across the boundary between the node N31 and the node N32 from the top to the bottom”.

  When looking at FIG. 8 in order from the top record in this way, the records 121a to 121b are links that straddle the boundaries extending in the left-right direction (total of six lines) among the boundaries of the nodes in the first column in FIG. It can be seen that they correspond in order from the top. Further, the records 122a to 122f in FIG. 8 correspond to the links extending in the vertical direction between the nodes in the first column and the nodes in the second column in FIG. I understand that. The direction in which the boundary extends is a concept different from the moving direction of the transport vehicle. The record 126d of the link information 32 corresponds to the link 76b in FIGS. 13 (a) and 13 (b).

(Address information)
The address information, which is dynamic information updated in real time, will be described with reference to FIG. In the address information, in association with the address ID stored in the address ID column 151, the column number in the column column 152, the row number in the row column 153, and the presence / absence of a shelf at the address in the shelf presence / absence column 154. In the presence / absence column 155 of the transport vehicle, the presence of the transport vehicle at the address is stored.

The address ID in the address ID column 151 is an identifier that uniquely identifies the address.
The column number in the column field 152 is a number (the ○ column) indicating the position of the horizontal axis (X axis) of the address.
The row number in the row column 153 is a number (the ○ th row) indicating the position of the vertical axis (Y axis) of the address.
In the shelf presence / absence column 154, “present” or “none” indicating the presence / absence of a shelf is stored. For example, “present” in the record in the second row indicates that there is a shelf in real time at the address A12.

In the presence / absence column 155 of the transport vehicle, “present” or “not present” indicating the presence or absence of the transport vehicle is stored.
For example, “present” in the record on the 16th line indicates that there is a transport vehicle at the address A44 in real time.
Then, the dynamic information management unit 22 receives information from the transport vehicle 2, the floor sensor 5, and the monitoring camera 6 in real time, and the presence / absence 154 of the shelf and the transport vehicle are present in the corresponding column / row address ID. The presence / absence 155 is maintained in the latest state and stored in the auxiliary storage device 15.

(Shelf information)
The shelf information 33 will be described with reference to FIG. In the shelf information 33, in association with the shelf ID stored in the shelf ID column 131, the shelf type column 132 has a shelf type, the shelf state column 133 has a shelf state, the position column 134 has an address ID, The column 135 stores the orientation.
The shelf ID in the shelf ID column 131 is an identifier that uniquely identifies the shelf 7.
The shelf type in the shelf type column 132 is arbitrary information indicating the type of shelf. The shelf type specifies the number of side surfaces that can be collected among the four side surfaces, the number of steps 62, the number of trays 63 that fit in one step, and the like.

  The shelf state in the shelf state column 133 is the current state of the shelf. The shelf state of the present embodiment is one of “stored”, “moving”, and “not managed”. “Storing” indicates that the shelf stores an article and is stationary (self-supporting with a leg) at an address indicated by a certain column / row. “Moving” indicates that the shelf is being transported by the transport vehicle. “Out of control” indicates that the shelf is not registered as a target to be transported by the transport vehicle (for example, stores only seasonal items that are not expected to be picked for a long period of time). In addition, “Incoming” indicating that the worker is collecting items from the shelf, and “Receiving” indicating that the worker is loading items on the shelf. “Medium” or the like may be stored.

The address ID in the position column 134 is a node ID that identifies the address where the shelf is currently located.
The orientation of the orientation field 135 is the current orientation of a predetermined side surface of the shelf (the side on which the worker collects goods), and any one of “up”, “down”, “left”, and “right” It is. These indicate the directions of "up", "down", "left" and "right" in Fig. 3. However, instead of "0 degrees", "90 degrees", "180 degrees", " A number indicating an orientation such as “270 degrees” (0 degree or more and less than 360 degrees) may be used.

(Car information)
The conveyance vehicle information 34 is demonstrated along FIG. In the transport vehicle information 34, in association with the transport vehicle ID stored in the transport vehicle ID column 141, the transport vehicle type column 142 indicates the transport vehicle type, the online state column 143 indicates the online state, and the transport vehicle state column 144. Is stored in the abnormal state column 145, the address column is stored in the direction column 147, and the remaining battery amount is stored in the remaining battery column 148.

The transport vehicle ID in the transport vehicle ID column 141 is an identifier that uniquely identifies the transport vehicle.
The transport vehicle type in the transport vehicle type column 142 is arbitrary information indicating the type of the transport vehicle. The transport vehicle type specifies the maximum weight of a shelf that can be transported, power consumption, manufacturer name, year of manufacture, and the like.
The online state in the online state column 143 is either “on” or “off”. “On” indicates that the transport vehicle is connected to the route determination device 1 via a network and is controlled by the route determination device 1. “Off” indicates that the transport vehicle is not connected to the route determination device 1 via the network and is not controlled by the route determination device 1.

  The conveyance vehicle state in the conveyance vehicle state column 144 is either “actual vehicle” or “empty vehicle”. The meanings of “actual vehicle” and “empty vehicle” are as described above. “Real vehicle” indicates that the transport vehicle is moving while transporting the shelves. On the other hand, regarding the “empty vehicle”, it is possible to know a more detailed state in the transport vehicle information 34. Now, it is assumed that the address A17 (lower left corner in FIG. 5) is an address for parking while waiting for an unnumbered transport vehicle to be assigned a route. Then, it can be seen that the transport vehicle V05 in FIG. 11 is an unnumbered transport vehicle and is naturally an “empty vehicle”. In addition, the transport vehicle V06 accidentally moved as an empty vehicle, and an abnormality of “axle breakage” occurred, so that it was inspected by the maintenance staff who stopped at the address A55 and rushed (or waited for the maintenance staff to rush). I understand). Of course, an abnormality can occur even in an “actual vehicle”. It can be seen that the other empty vehicles V03 and V04 are moving along the route.

The abnormality content in the abnormality content column 145 is the content of the abnormality when there is an abnormality in the transport vehicle. If there is no abnormality in the transport vehicle, it remains blank.
The address ID in the position column 146 is the address ID of the address where the transport vehicle currently exists.
The direction of the direction column 147 is the direction in which the predetermined reference plane of the transport vehicle is currently facing. The reference plane here is one of “upper”, “lower”, “left”, and “right”. These meanings are the same as the direction of the shelf in FIG.
The storage battery remaining amount in the storage battery remaining amount column 148 is the remaining amount of the power storage battery held by the transport vehicle. “#” Indicates an abbreviation of the remaining amount of storage battery having a different value.

(Opening of temporary passage)
For convenience of explanation, FIG. 12 is skipped, and an example in which the temporary passage is opened in the shelf storage block will be described along FIG. The shelf storage block is a rectangular two-row area group composed of nodes N32 to N36 and N42 to N46 in FIG. In FIG. 13A, one “no shelf / movable link with shelf” 76b is associated with the boundary between the nodes N34 and N44. The direction of the “no shelf / movable link with shelf” 76b is “right”.

  Now, after the route determination device is in operation, the dynamic information management unit 22 receives information from the transport vehicle 2 and the like in real time and maintains the shelf presence / absence information 154 of the corresponding column / row address ID in the latest state. And stored in the auxiliary storage device 15. In this real-time processing, it is assumed that a shelf is arranged at address A34 and a shelf is also arranged at address A44. In the shelf information 33 (FIG. 10), the route determination device 1 includes a record having the shelf state “storage” and the address ID “A34”, and also has the shelf state “storage” and the address ID “A44”. This state can be confirmed by detecting the presence of a record.

  After that, in FIG. 3, it is assumed that the shelf arranged at the address A34 is conveyed to another address, and the shelf arranged at the address A44 is conveyed to another address. This change is referred to as “opening a temporary passage in the shelf storage block”.

  The route determination device 1 does not include a record having the shelf state “storage” and the address ID “A34” in the shelf information 33, and a record having the shelf state “storage” and the address ID “A44”. By detecting the absence, the provisional passage can be confirmed. As a matter of course, the actual vehicle can move through the opened temporary passage. Then, compared to the case where the temporary passage is not opened, the number of route candidates on which the actual vehicle moves increases.

(Processing procedure)
The processing procedure of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. As a premise for starting the processing procedure, the static information management unit 21 has already accepted that the user inputs the node information 31 and the link information 32 via the input device 12, and stores them in the auxiliary storage device 15. It shall be. The dynamic information management unit 22 receives information from the transport vehicle 2, the floor sensor 5, the monitoring camera 6, and the like in real time, maintains the shelf information 33 and the transport vehicle information 34 in the latest state, and stores them in the auxiliary storage device 15. Suppose you are.

  In step S201, the route determination unit 23 of the route determination device 1 accepts a route determination request. Specifically, the route determination unit 23 receives a route determination request from an arbitrary transport vehicle (own vehicle). The route determination request is a request for requesting the route determination unit 23 to determine a route, and the route determination request includes the node ID of the departure node, the node ID of the destination node, and the carrier ID of the own vehicle.

In step S202, the route determination unit 23 determines whether the transport vehicle is transporting a shelf. Specifically, first, the route determination unit 23 searches the transport vehicle information 34 (FIG. 11) using the transport vehicle ID received in step S201 as a key, and acquires the transport vehicle state of the corresponding record.
Second, the route determination unit 23 proceeds to step S203 and is “empty” when the transport vehicle state acquired in “first” of step S202 in real time is “actual vehicle” (step S202 “Yes”). If so (step S202 "No"), the process proceeds to step S204.

  In step S <b> 203, the route determination unit 23 determines the route of the transport vehicle 2 that is transporting the shelf 7. Specifically, firstly, the route determination unit 23 acquires a plurality of route candidates that satisfy the following actual vehicle route search condition by the following actual vehicle route search method. Hereinafter, the term “candidate” simply means a “route candidate” unless otherwise specified.

(Actual vehicle route search conditions)
In all the nodes included in the candidates, at least one “shelfless / shelfable link” is associated with the boundary of the node. The route determination unit 23 refers to the link information 32 to determine whether or not the condition is satisfied.
The starting point of the candidate is the departure node, and the end point of the candidate is the target node.
The candidate does not include the address (node) where the shelf is currently located. The route determination unit 23 refers to the shelf information 33 to determine whether or not the condition is satisfied.
• Candidates do not include addresses where unusable flags are stored. The route determination unit 23 refers to the node information 31 (address information) to determine whether or not the condition is satisfied.
The candidate does not include an address where there is a transport vehicle whose online state is “off” or a transport vehicle causing an abnormality. The route determination unit 23 refers to the transport vehicle information 34 to determine whether or not the condition is satisfied.

(Actual vehicle route search method)
The route determination unit 23 acquires candidates by the following method, for example. The route determination unit 23 places a “virtual transport vehicle” at the departure node, and the route determination unit 23 determines the “alternate number of virtual transport vehicles” by the number of “no shelves / movable links with shelves” from the departure node to other nodes. Is generated. At this time, the route determination unit 23 refers to the address in the movement direction of the link information 32. The route determination unit 23 moves each of the alternations to the address (halfway address) ahead of the “link without shelf / movable link with shelf”.

  The route determination unit 23 generates “alternate” in addition to “alternate” by the number of “no shelves / movable links with shelves” from the midway address to other addresses. Also at this time, the route determination unit 23 refers to the address of the link information 32 in the moving direction. The route determination unit 23 moves each of the second generations to the address ahead of “link without shelf / movable link with shelf”. When the route determination unit 23 repeats such processing, a number of generations will eventually arrive at the target node. The trajectory followed by this alternation is nothing but a route candidate.

Secondly, the route determination unit 23 calculates an evaluation value for each of a plurality of candidates by the method described above. Then, the route determination unit 23 determines a candidate having the smallest evaluation value (short time or low cost) as a final route.
Third, the route determination unit 23 transmits the route determined in “second” in step S203 to the transport vehicle. The route is expressed as a combination of address IDs of a plurality of midway addresses or a combination of records of link information 32.

  In step S <b> 204, the route determination unit 23 determines the route of the transport vehicle 2 that is not transporting the shelf 7. Specifically, first, the route determination unit 23 acquires a plurality of route candidates that satisfy the following empty vehicle route search conditions by the following empty vehicle route search method.

(Empty route search condition)
In all nodes included in the candidates, at least one “no shelf / movable link with shelf” or “movable link without shelf” is associated with the boundary of the node. The route determination unit 23 refers to the link information 32 to determine whether or not the condition is satisfied.
The starting point of the candidate is the departure node, and the end point of the candidate is the target node.
The candidate does not include an address (node) where the unusable flag is stored. The route determination unit 23 refers to the node information 31 (address information) to determine whether or not the condition is satisfied.
The candidate does not include an address where there is a transport vehicle whose online state is “off” or a transport vehicle causing an abnormality. The route determination unit 23 refers to the transport vehicle information 34 to determine whether or not the condition is satisfied.

  In this step S204, unlike the example of step S203, the route determination unit 23 refers to the shelf information 33, so that the condition “candidate does not include the address where the shelf 7 is currently arranged” is satisfied. There is no need to decide whether or not. This is because the empty car can move under the shelf 7. However, as will be described later, there is a restriction on the moving direction of the link even if the vehicle is empty.

(Vacant route search method)
The route determination unit 23 acquires candidates by the following method, for example. The route determination unit 23 places a “virtual transport vehicle” at the departure node. The route determination unit 23 includes “no shelf / movable link with shelf” and “movable link without shelf” from the departure node to another node. The number of “alternatives” of virtual vehicles is generated. At this time, the route determination unit 23 refers to the address in the movement direction of the link information 32. The route determination unit 23 moves each of the alternations to the addresses (halfway addresses) ahead of the “no shelf / movable link with shelf” and “movable link without shelf”.

  The route determination unit 23 generates “alternate” in addition to “alternate” by the number of “no shelves / movable links with shelves” and “movable links without shelves” from the midway address to other addresses. Also at this time, the route determination unit 23 refers to the moving direction of the link information 32. The route determination unit 23 moves each of the second generations to the addresses ahead of the “no shelf / movable link with shelf” and “movable link without shelf”. When the route determination unit 23 repeats such processing, many alternations of several generations eventually arrive at the target node. The trajectory followed by this alternation is nothing but a route candidate.

Secondly, the route determination unit 23 calculates an evaluation value for each of a plurality of candidates by the method described above. Then, the route determination unit 23 determines a candidate having the smallest evaluation value (short time or low cost) as a final route.
Thirdly, the route determination unit 23 transmits the route determined in “second” in step S204 to the transport vehicle. The route is expressed as a combination of node IDs of a plurality of intermediate nodes or a combination of records of link information 32.

  In step S205, the route determination unit 23 determines whether or not a segment can be reserved. Specifically, first, a reservation request indicating that the first segment of the route transmitted in “third” in step S203 (or S204) is reserved for the carrier vehicle (own vehicle) is issued. Receive from.

  Secondly, the route determination unit 23 refers to the reservation status of the other transport vehicle, and whether at least one node of the first segment of the own vehicle is included in the segment reserved for the other transport vehicle. Judge whether or not. The route determination unit 23 stores “reservation information” (not shown) in which the transport vehicle ID that requested the segment reservation and the node ID included in the reserved segment are stored in association with each other in the auxiliary storage device 15. It shall be. Then, when the determined result is “included” (step S205 “No”), the route determination unit 23 proceeds to step S210, and when it is “not included” (step S205 “Yes”). The process proceeds to step S206.

In step S206, the route determination unit 23 reserves a segment. Specifically, the route determination unit 23 stores the transport vehicle ID of the own vehicle and the node IDs of all nodes included in the reserved segment in the reservation information in association with each other.
In step S207, the route determination unit 23 transmits a segment. Specifically, the route determination unit 23 transmits the segment reserved in step S206 to the own vehicle (the transport vehicle 2 that transmitted the route determination request). Thereafter, the transport vehicle (own vehicle) 2 moves toward the last node of the reserved segment.

  In step S208, the route determination unit 23 receives information indicating that it has moved to the last node of the segment. Specifically, the route determination unit 23 receives from the own vehicle a report that the transport vehicle (own vehicle) 2 has arrived at the last node of the reserved segment. The report includes the node ID of the last node.

  In step S209, the route determination unit 23 determines whether or not the destination node has been reached. Specifically, when the node ID included in the report received in step S208 matches the node ID of the target node (step S209 “Yes”), the route determination unit 23 ends the processing procedure and does not match ( Step S209 “No”) returns to Step S205. In step S205 after the return, the route determination unit 23 performs the above process for the next segment.

In step S210, the route determination unit 23 determines whether it is possible to wait. Specifically, first, the route determination unit 23 refers to the reservation information, and estimates the time until all existing reservations for other transport vehicles are canceled by an arbitrary method.
Second, the route determination unit 23 proceeds to step S212 when the estimated time exceeds the predetermined threshold (step S210 “No”), and proceeds to step S212 when the estimated time does not exceed the predetermined threshold (step S210 “Yes”). Proceed to

  In step S211, the route determination unit 23 instructs standby. Specifically, the route determination unit 23 instructs the transport vehicle (own vehicle) to stand by while stopped. The route determination unit 23 returns to step S205 after the time estimated in “first” in step S210 has elapsed. In step S205 after the return, the route determination unit 23 performs the above process again for the current segment.

  In step S212, the route determination unit 23 determines to perform reroute processing. Specifically, the route determination unit 23 sets the node where the transport vehicle (own vehicle) currently exists as a “departure node”, and then returns to step S202.

(Specific example of provisional passage opening)
Fig.13 (a) is a figure of the floor surface before the above-mentioned temporary passage opens. In FIG. 13A, one “no shelf / movable link with shelf” 76b is associated in advance with the boundary between the nodes N34 and N44 before the operation of the route determination device. The direction of the movable link 76b without the shelf / with the shelf is “right”. Then, the route determination device recognizes that shelves are arranged at the addresses A34 and A44 during operation.

  FIG.13 (b) is a figure of the floor surface after the above-mentioned provisional channel | path opens after the route determination apparatus operate | moves. The shelf has disappeared (moved to another address) from the addresses A34 and A44. Compared to FIG. 13A, the shelf disappears from the addresses A34 and A44 in the real-time processing, and as a result, the shelf no longer exists from the nodes N34 and N44. There are many options (candidates) for determining the route of the actual vehicle.

(Example of route)
FIG. 14A is an example of a route of the transport vehicle (empty vehicle) 2. After the route determination device is in operation, the empty vehicle can move the address where the shelf is located in real time. In FIG. 14A, as a result, the empty vehicle can move from the departure node to the destination node by shortcut (passing under the shelf 7) between the passage node and the passage node (see reference numeral 72). . FIG. 14B is an example of a route of the transport vehicle (actual vehicle). As a result, the actual vehicle can move from the departure node to the destination node only through the passage node by avoiding the address where the shelf is arranged (see reference numeral 73).

  FIG. 15A is an example of the route of the transport vehicle (actual vehicle) 2 after the provisional passage is opened. Compared to the path 73 in FIG. 14B, the path 74 in FIG. 15A is much shorter. FIG. 15B shows an example of a route when it is detected by a sensor of the transport vehicle itself, the floor sensor 5 or the monitoring camera 6 that a certain transport vehicle is stopped at the address A44. The online state of the stopped transport vehicle is off. In FIG.15 (b), the conveyance vehicle (own vehicle) 2 is an empty vehicle. The own vehicle moves along a route 75 that avoids the transport vehicle 2 that is stopped.

  FIG. 16A and FIG. 16B are diagrams illustrating an example of the reroute process. In FIG. 16A, the transport vehicle (actual vehicle) 2 has already acquired the route 74. As shown in FIG. 16 (b), before the transport vehicle reserved the third segment of the route 74, a shelf was arranged at the address A34 (the provisional passage was closed). Therefore, the transport vehicle newly acquired a route 74b. At this time, the route determination unit 23 determines the route 74b after setting the address A24 as a new “departure node”.

FIGS. 17A and 17B are diagrams illustrating another example of the reroute process. In FIG. 17A, the transport vehicle (actual vehicle) 2 has already acquired the route 74. As shown in FIG. 16B, after that, while the transport vehicle is moving along the third segment of the path 74, another transport vehicle that has failed for some reason stopped at the address A44. Therefore, the transport vehicle newly acquires a route 74c. At this time, the route determination unit 23 determines the route 74c after setting the address A34 as a new “departure node”.
In the above example, when the route is generated using the link information, the route is generated using real-time shelf position information and address information indicating the position information of the transport vehicle. However, it is also possible to unify the position information of the address into the position information of the node coordinates and generate a route using the link information based on the unified position information of the node coordinates.

(Effect of this embodiment)
The effects of the route determination device of this embodiment are as follows.
(1) The route determination device stores the moving direction for each boundary of the area. Therefore, it becomes possible to set the moving direction so that the vehicle moves in the one-way area, and traffic congestion is reduced.
(2) When there are a plurality of route candidates, the route determination device calculates an evaluation value for each of the candidates. Therefore, the most evaluated route can be determined from a plurality of candidates.
(3) The route determination device calculates the travel time of the vehicle, the time when the vehicle changes its direction, and the time when the vehicle waits to avoid crossing with another vehicle. Therefore, a path that minimizes these times can be determined.
(4) The route determination device can store the same movement direction for each boundary between a plurality of continuous regions. Therefore, the vehicle can move efficiently in the one-way passage.
(5) The route determination device can use a transport vehicle that lifts and places a mounting table (shelf) in some cases and moves without a mounting table in other cases.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to an above-described Example, Various modifications are included. For example, the above-described embodiments have been described in detail for easy understanding of the present invention, and are not necessarily limited to those having all the configurations described. Further, a part of the configuration of one embodiment can be replaced with the configuration of another embodiment, and the configuration of another embodiment can be added to the configuration of one embodiment. Further, it is possible to add, delete, and replace other configurations for a part of the configuration of each embodiment.

Each of the above-described configurations, functions, processing units, processing means, and the like may be realized by hardware by designing a part or all of them with, for example, an integrated circuit. Each of the above-described configurations, functions, and the like may be realized by software by interpreting and executing a program that realizes each function by the processor. Information such as programs, tables, and files that realize each function can be stored in a recording device such as a memory, a hard disk, or an SSD (Solid State Drive), or a recording medium such as an IC card, an SD card, or a DVD.
In addition, the control lines and information lines are those that are considered necessary for the explanation, and not all the control lines and information lines on the product are necessarily shown. In practice, it may be considered that almost all the components are connected to each other.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Route determination apparatus 2 Carrier 3 Network 5 Floor sensor 6 Surveillance camera 7 Shelf 11 Central controller 12 Input device 13 Output device 14 Main memory (storage part)
15 Auxiliary storage device (storage unit)
16 Communication Device 21 Static Information Management Unit 22 Dynamic Information Management Unit 23 Route Determination Unit 31 Node Information 32 Link Information 33 Shelf Information 34 Carrier Information 35 Map

Claims (7)

A storage unit storing link information in which a moving direction in which a vehicle can move across the boundary is stored in association with a boundary between the regions adjacent to each other on a plane having a plurality of regions arranged vertically and horizontally;
Accepting a request to determine a route for the vehicle to travel from a departure area in the plurality of areas to a destination area in the plurality of areas;
A route determination unit that refers to the moving direction of the link information and determines the route;
A route determination device comprising: The route determination unit
Create a plurality of route candidates,
An evaluation value is calculated for each of the candidates,
Determining the final route from the candidates based on the evaluation value;
The route determination device according to claim 1, wherein: The route determination unit
As the evaluation value, the time required for the vehicle to move the candidate, the time required for the vehicle to change direction in the candidate, and the vehicle in the candidate to avoid crossing with another vehicle Calculating at least one of the waiting times for
The route determination device according to claim 2, wherein: The link information is
Storing only the same movement direction in association with the boundary between a predetermined number or more of the regions continuous in the vertical direction or the horizontal direction;
The route determination device according to claim 3, wherein: The vehicle is
Transport the mounting table disposed on the area;
When not transporting the mounting table, the space below the mounting table can be moved without contacting the mounting table,
The route determination unit
Create the candidate according to whether the vehicle is carrying the mounting table,
When the vehicle is transporting the mounting table, creating the candidate according to whether or not the mounting table is arranged in the region;
The route determination device according to claim 4, wherein: The storage unit of the route determination device
In association with the boundary between the regions adjacent to each other on a plane having a plurality of regions arranged vertically and horizontally, link information is stored that stores a moving direction in which the vehicle can move across the boundary,
The route determination unit of the route determination device includes:
Accepting a request to determine a route for the vehicle to travel from a departure area in the plurality of areas to a destination area in the plurality of areas;
Determining the route with reference to the moving direction of the link information;
A route determination method for a route determination device. For the storage unit of the route determination device
In association with a boundary between the areas adjacent to each other on a plane having a plurality of areas arranged vertically and horizontally, link information that stores a moving direction in which the vehicle can move across the boundary is stored,
For the route determination unit of the route determination device,
Accepting a request to determine a route for the vehicle to travel from a departure area in the plurality of areas to a destination area in the plurality of areas;
Referring to the movement direction of the link information and executing the process of determining the route;
A route determination program for causing a route determination device to function.

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