JP2019099338A - Computer for automatic warehouses - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a computer for an automatic warehouse capable of suppressing the falling and breakage of a commodity from a high place due to an earthquake.SOLUTION: An automatic warehouse 10 has a sensor 13 which detects a packing figure of a commodity 11 stored in a warehouse, a rack 14 which is divided into at least a lower area and an upper area in the height direction and can store the commodity 11, and a crane 15 which carries the commodity 11 to a designated position of the rack 14 in response to a warehousing signal. An automatic warehouse computer 20 comprises a storage area selection unit 24 which calculates an evaluation value concerning a dynamic stability from the packing figure of the commodity, and selects a lower area when the evaluation value does not satisfy a stability condition which defines the stability of the commodity 11, and a warehousing position instructing part 26 which outputs a warehousing signal for specifying an empty space in the lower area.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to an automatic warehouse computer.

  It is known that an automatic warehouse that automatically transports and stores goods on multi-tiered storage racks can be effectively used in the height direction and that storage efficiency is good. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a three-dimensional warehouse that stores products in a first stage storage shelf when the product is heavy and stores them in a second or higher stage storage shelf when the product is a lightweight product. .

JP, 2011-73865, A

  Heretofore, in an automatic warehouse system, there has been a damage that a product is broken due to a fall or the like when a large earthquake occurs. In particular, in countries where there are many earthquakes, in order to reduce damage, the automatic warehouse itself is subjected to seismic structure, and control is performed to stop the automatic warehouse system by capturing earthquake alert data.

  However, it is necessary to take hardware measures in order to apply earthquake resistant structure and capture earthquake early warning data, and the cost of earthquake countermeasures was large. In addition, even if earthquake countermeasures are taken, there is a problem that the influence of the earthquake can not be suppressed depending on the occurrence situation and the goods storage position.

  The present invention has been made to solve the problems as described above, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a computer for an automatic warehouse which can suppress falling damage from high places of goods due to an earthquake.

The present invention achieves the above object by
A sensor that detects the packing of goods stored in the warehouse;
A rack divided into at least a lower area and an upper area in the height direction and capable of storing the goods;
A crane for transporting the goods to a designated position of the rack in response to a receipt signal;
An automated warehouse computer for an automated warehouse, having
A storage area selection unit which calculates an evaluation value regarding mechanical stability from the packing style of the product, and selects the lower area when the evaluation value does not satisfy a stability condition that defines the stability of the product;
And a warehousing position designation unit for outputting the warehousing signal for designating a vacant space in the lower area.

  In one embodiment, the evaluation value is the size of the center of gravity and the bottom surface of the product, and the stability condition is that when the product is inclined at a defined angle, a center of gravity line extending downward from the center of gravity is the bottom surface It is characterized by mutualism.

  In another embodiment, the evaluation value is a height and a width of the product, and the stability condition is that the width with respect to the height is equal to or more than a specified ratio.

  In another embodiment, the evaluation value is the upper product area occupied by the product in the upper image and the product in the lower image when the image obtained by capturing the product package is equally divided in the height direction. And the stable condition is characterized in that the lower product area with respect to the upper product area is a specified ratio or more.

Preferably, the automated warehouse computer
A code input unit capable of inputting a code corresponding to the product;
And a product master in which a correspondence between a product code and an area for storing the product is registered,
The storage area selection unit
A registered product storage area selection unit that acquires a storage area corresponding to the code from the product master, when the code is a product code included in the product master;
An unregistered product storage area selection unit for selecting the lower area when the code is not a product code included in the product master and the evaluation value does not satisfy the stability condition; Do.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to the computer for automatic warehouses which concerns on this invention, the fall damage from the high place of goods by an earthquake can be suppressed beforehand.

It is a figure for demonstrating the structure of the automatic warehouse system which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the evaluation value and stability condition which concern on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating an example of the warehousing pattern to an automatic warehouse. It is a figure for demonstrating an example of the warehousing pattern to an automatic warehouse. It is a flowchart of the processing routine which the computer for automatic warehouses performs. It is a conceptual diagram which shows the example of a hardware constitutions of the processing circuit which the computer for automatic warehouses has. It is a figure for demonstrating the evaluation value and stability condition which concern on Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the evaluation value and stability condition which concern on Embodiment 3 of this invention.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. The same reference numerals are given to the elements common to the respective drawings, and the redundant description will be omitted.

Embodiment 1
FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining a configuration of an automatic warehouse system according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. The automatic warehouse system 1 comprises an automatic warehouse 10 and an automatic warehouse computer 20.

(Automatic warehouse)
The automated warehouse 10 includes a plurality of storage and retrieval conveyors 12, one or more sensors 13, one or more racks 14, a plurality of cranes 15, and a storage processing unit 16.

  The storage conveyor 12 conveys the product 11 to the elevation position by the crane 15.

  In the vicinity of the storage conveyor 12, a sensor 13 for detecting the packing style of the goods 11 stored in the warehouse is disposed. Specifically, in order to detect the three-dimensional shape of the product 11, an image sensor (camera), an optical sensor, an ultrasonic sensor, and the like are arranged at a plurality of places. The product packaging information is transmitted to the automatic warehouse computer 20.

  The rack 14 is a storage shelf in which the storage area is divided into at least a lower area and an upper area in the height direction, and the products 11 can be stored.

  The crane 15 is a device for storing the product 11 in the rack 14 and for discharging the product 11 from the rack 14. The goods 11 are carried into the designated position of the rack 14 in response to the receipt signal, and the goods 11 are carried out of the designated position in the rack 14 in response to the withdrawal signal.

  The storage processing unit 16 controls the crane 15 in accordance with the control signal (storage signal, storage signal) received from the automatic warehouse computer 20. The control result is sent to the automatic warehouse computer 20.

(Automatic warehouse computer)
The automatic warehouse computer 20 includes a code input unit 21, a warehousing conveyor presence processing unit 22, an automatic warehouse stock 23, a storage area selecting unit 24, a product master 25, a warehousing position designation unit 26, and a tracking 27.

  The code input unit 21 can input a code corresponding to the product 11. If there is a product code for the product placed on the storage and transfer conveyor 12, the operator inputs the product code. On the other hand, when there is no product code for the product placed on the storage and transfer conveyor 12, the operator inputs a slip code and the like. The input code is transmitted to the warehousing conveyor inventory processor 22 and the storage area selector 24.

  When receiving the code, the warehousing conveyor inventory processing unit 22 acquires inventory information (vacancy information) of the rack 14 from the automated warehouse inventory 23. Further, the warehousing conveyor inventory processing unit 22 receives the control result of the warehousing processing unit 16 and registers inventory information in the automatic warehouse inventory 23. The automatic warehouse stock 23 has a table for storing the information on the load of each position in the rack 14.

  The storage area selection unit 24 has a registered commodity storage area selection unit and an unregistered commodity storage area selection unit.

  When the code input to the code input unit 21 is a product code included in the product master 25, the registered product storage area selection unit acquires a storage area corresponding to the code from the product master 25. In the product master 25, the correspondence between the product code and the area where the product is to be stored is registered. Specifically, the lower area is specified in advance for a product with low mechanical stability, and the upper area is specified for a highly stable product. That is, when there is a product code that matches the input code, it is possible to prevent falling damage from high places of the product due to an earthquake by storing the product according to the storage area registered in the product master 25. it can. The product master 25 may include other information (such as the product height and weight) corresponding to the product code.

  By the way, there are also cases where goods that are not registered in the goods master 25 are received. Even for such products, it is necessary to select an appropriate storage area. Therefore, the present invention is provided with an unregistered commodity storage area selection unit.

  The unregistered commodity storage area selection unit is a case where the code input to the code input unit 21 is not the commodity code included in the commodity master 25, and the evaluation value regarding the mechanical stability of the commodity 11 indicates the stability of the commodity. The lower area is selected when the determined stability condition is not satisfied. In addition, the unregistered product storage area selection unit selects the upper area when the code is not the product code included in the product master 25 and the evaluation value satisfies the stability condition. This evaluation value is calculated from the product packaging.

  The evaluation value according to the first embodiment of the present invention and the stability condition will be described with reference to FIG. In the first embodiment, the evaluation value regarding the mechanical stability of the product 11 calculated from the product packaging is the size of the center of gravity and the bottom surface of the product 11. The center of gravity may be calculated as the product density is uniform. Generally, an object is more stable as the spread of the bottom surface (bottom area) is larger and as the center of gravity is lower. If the angle at which the product 11 shown in FIG. 2 is inclined is in the range where the center of gravity line extending downward from the center of gravity of the product 11 crosses the bottom surface, the product 11 returns to the original. On the other hand, if the angle exceeds the above range, the product 11 falls down. Therefore, in the first embodiment, when the product 11 is inclined at the specified angle θ as the stability condition, the center of gravity line extending downward from the center of gravity intersects the bottom surface.

  According to this, when the code which is not in the commodity master 25 is input, the stability is judged from the evaluation value regarding the mechanical stability of the commodity 11 based on the commodity packing detected by the sensor 13. And by storing goods 11 whose stability is low in the lower area and goods 11 which are not so in the upper area, it is possible to prevent falling damage from high places of goods due to an earthquake.

  The storage position designation unit 26 outputs a storage signal for designating an empty space in the storage area (upper area / lower area) selected by the storage area selection unit 24. Specifically, the warehousing position designation unit 26 is based on the presence information (vacancy information) of the rack 14 acquired from the automated warehouse stock 23, and the operation information and failure information of the crane 15 acquired from the tracking 27. , Specify the free space in the selected storage area. The tracking 27 stores operation information and failure information of each crane 15 received from the automated warehouse 10, and cranes in use or in failure are excluded from control targets, and a warehousing signal for controlling usable cranes is It is output.

  An example of the warehousing pattern to the automatic warehouse 10 will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4. In this example, the storage area is divided into three in the height direction of the rack 14. The low load area is an area for storing unstable goods and corresponds to the lower area described above. The general area above the low load area and the high load area correspond to the upper area described above. In the product master 25, any one of a low load area, a general area, and a high load area is registered as a storage area for each product code. The storage location determined by the storage location instruction unit 26 in each storage area is prioritized. Specifically, in order to reduce the influence of earthquakes in the selected storage area, warehousing patterns A to C are defined such that warehousing is closer to the loading and unloading cranes and warehousing is prioritized from lower tiers. ing.

(flowchart)
FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a processing routine that the automated warehouse computer 20 executes to realize the above-described operation. This routine is executed each time the product 11 is placed on the storage and transport conveyor 12.

  In the routine shown in FIG. 5, first, in step S100, the operator inputs the product code or the slip code or the like corresponding to the product 11 into the code input unit 21. The slip code or the like is input instead of the product code when there is no product code corresponding to the product 11.

  When the code is input, in step S101, the warehousing conveyor inventory processing unit 22 acquires inventory information (vacancy information) of the automated warehouse from the automated warehouse inventory 23. The load information is transmitted to the storage area selection unit 24.

  In step S102, the storage area selection unit 24 searches whether or not the code is included in the product master 25. If the code matches the product code in the product master 25, the process proceeds to step S103.

  In step S103, the registered product storage area selection unit (storage area selection unit 24) acquires the storage area corresponding to the code from the product master 25. The storage area is notified to the storage position instruction unit 26. Then, it progresses to the process of step S109 mentioned later.

  On the other hand, when the code does not match the product code in the product master 25 in step S102, the process proceeds to step S104.

  In step S104, the unregistered product storage area selection unit (storage area selection unit 24) acquires information on the product package of the product 11 detected by the sensor 13.

  In step S105, the unregistered product storage area selection unit calculates an evaluation value regarding mechanical stability from the product package. In the first embodiment, the evaluation value is the size of the center of gravity and the bottom of the product 11.

  In step S106, the unregistered commodity storage area selection unit determines whether the evaluation value satisfies the stability condition. In the first embodiment, when the product 11 is inclined at the specified angle θ, the stability condition is that the center of gravity line extending downward from the center of gravity intersects the bottom surface. If the stability condition is satisfied, the process proceeds to step S107, and the upper area (high load area or general area in FIG. 4) is selected. On the other hand, if the stability condition is not satisfied, the process proceeds to step S108 and the lower area is selected.

  After the processing in any of steps S103, S107, and S108 described above, in step S109, the warehousing position designation unit 26 is capable of warehousing from within the selected storage area based on the information of the automatic warehouse stock 23 and the tracking 27. Specify 14 free spaces and output a receipt signal.

(effect)
As described above, according to the routine shown in FIG. 5, when the product 11 is registered in the product master 25, the product 11 with low stability according to the storage area in consideration of the stability registered in the product master 25. In the lower area, the highly stable product 11 can be stored in the upper area. In addition, according to this routine, even if the product 11 is not registered in the product master 25, the mechanical stability of the product 11 is evaluated from the product packaging, and the product 11 with low stability is lowered. A highly stable product 11 can be stored in the upper area in the area. Therefore, it is possible to prevent in advance the falling damage from high places of the product due to the earthquake, it is possible to reduce the impact of the earthquake.

(Modification)
By the way, in the automatic warehouse system of the first embodiment described above, it is assumed that the goods 11 are always stored in the selected storage area, but the selected storage area may be full. Therefore, the process may be extended to search for free space from the area one above or one below. However, it should be restricted that products decided to be stored in the lower area (low load area) can not be reflected in other areas. This point is the same in the following embodiments.

  Moreover, although the automatic warehouse system of Embodiment 1 mentioned above demonstrated the example which divided the rack 14 into three in the height direction (FIG. 3, FIG. 4), it is not limited to this. The rack 14 may be divided into two or more areas in the height direction.

(Hardware configuration example)
FIG. 6 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the processing circuit of the automatic warehouse computer 20 of this system. Each part of the computer 20 for automatic warehouses of FIG. 1 shows a part of function, and each function is implement | achieved by a processing circuit. In one aspect, the processing circuitry comprises at least one processor 91 and at least one memory 92. In another aspect, the processing circuitry comprises at least one dedicated hardware 93.

  When the processing circuit includes the processor 91 and the memory 92, each function is realized by software, firmware, or a combination of software and firmware. At least one of software and firmware is described as a program. The software and / or firmware is stored in the memory 92. The processor 91 implements each function by reading and executing the program stored in the memory 92.

  Where the processing circuitry comprises dedicated hardware 93, the processing circuitry may be, for example, a single circuit, a complex circuit, a programmed processor, or a combination thereof. Each function is realized by a processing circuit.

Second Embodiment
In the first embodiment described above, the evaluation value is the center of gravity and height of the product, and the stability condition is that the center of gravity line downward from the center of gravity intersects the bottom surface when the product is inclined at a prescribed angle. By the way, there is also a case where the stored products are packaged and stored in a simple shape such as a rectangular parallelepiped. In such a case, the process can be simplified. Therefore, in the second embodiment, the processing is simplified on the premise that the stored product has a simple shape.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining the evaluation value and the stable condition according to the second embodiment of the present invention. In the second embodiment, the evaluation value regarding the mechanical stability of the product 11 calculated from the product packaging is the height and the width of the product 11. It is considered that mechanical stability is higher as the width is larger than the height. Therefore, the stability condition is that the width with respect to the height of the product 11 is equal to or more than the specified ratio.

  In the processing routine of the second embodiment, except that the evaluation value in step S105 is the height and width of the product 11 described above, and the stability condition in step S106 is that the width to the height of the product 11 is not less than the specified ratio. It is similar to FIG. 5 described above. Therefore, the description of the common processing is omitted.

  As described above, according to the system according to the second embodiment, when the stored product has a simple shape, the drop damage from the high place of the product due to the earthquake can be obviated by the processing simpler than the first embodiment. It can be suppressed and the impact at the time of the earthquake can be reduced.

Third Embodiment
In the third embodiment, it is assumed that evaluation values and stability conditions different from those of the second embodiment described above are used on the premise that the stored product has a simple shape.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining the evaluation value and the stability condition according to the third embodiment of the present invention. In the third embodiment, the evaluation value related to the mechanical stability of the product 11 calculated from the product package is the product 11 in the upper image when the image obtained by capturing the product package is equally divided in the height direction. Of the upper product area occupied by the lower product and the lower product area occupied by the product 11 in the lower image. The mechanical stability is considered to be higher as the lower product area is larger than the upper product area. Therefore, the stable condition is that the lower product area with respect to the upper product area is equal to or more than the specified ratio.

  In the processing routine of the third embodiment, the evaluation value in step S105 is the upper product area occupied by the product 11 in the upper image and the lower product area occupied by the product 11 in the lower image, and stability in step S106. The conditions are the same as those of FIG. 5 described above except that the lower product area to the upper product area is equal to or more than the specified ratio. Therefore, the description of the common processing is omitted.

  As described above, according to the system according to the third embodiment, when the stored product has a simple shape, the drop damage from the high place of the product due to the earthquake is achieved in a simpler process than the first embodiment. It can be suppressed and the impact at the time of the earthquake can be reduced.

  As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was described, this invention is not limited to said embodiment, It can variously deform and implement in the range which does not deviate from the meaning of this invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Automatic warehouse system 10 Automatic warehouse 11 Commodity 12 loading and unloading conveyor 13 Sensor 14 Rack 15 Crane 16 Warehousing processing unit 20 Automatic warehouse computer 21 Code input unit 22 Warehousing conveyor load processing unit 23 Automatic warehouse stock 24 Storage area selecting unit 25 Products Master 26 warehousing position indication unit 27 tracking 91 processor 92 memory 93 hardware θ specified angle

Claims (5)

A sensor that detects the packing of goods stored in the warehouse;
A rack divided into at least a lower area and an upper area in the height direction and capable of storing the goods;
A crane for transporting the goods to a designated position of the rack in response to a receipt signal;
An automated warehouse computer for an automated warehouse, having
A storage area selection unit which calculates an evaluation value regarding mechanical stability from the packing style of the product, and selects the lower area when the evaluation value does not satisfy a stability condition that defines the stability of the product;
A warehousing position designation unit that outputs the warehousing signal specifying a vacant space in the lower area;
An automated warehouse computer comprising: The evaluation value is the size of the center of gravity and the bottom of the product,
The stability condition is that, when the product is inclined at a defined angle, a barycentric line extending downward from the barycenter intersects the bottom surface.
The automatic warehouse computer according to claim 1, characterized in that The evaluation value is the height and width of the product,
The stability condition is that the width to the height is a specified ratio or more.
The automatic warehouse computer according to claim 1, characterized in that The evaluation value is an upper product area occupied by the product in the upper image and a lower product area occupied by the product in the lower image when the image obtained by capturing the product package is equally divided in the height direction. Yes,
The stable condition is that the lower product area to the upper product area is a specified ratio or more.
The automatic warehouse computer according to claim 1, characterized in that A code input unit capable of inputting a code corresponding to the product;
And a product master in which a correspondence between a product code and an area for storing the product is registered,
The storage area selection unit
A registered product storage area selection unit that acquires a storage area corresponding to the code from the product master, when the code is a product code included in the product master;
An unregistered product storage area selection unit that selects the lower area when the code is not a product code included in the product master and the evaluation value does not satisfy the stability condition;
The computer according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising:

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