JP2021038051A - Article carrying arrangement - Google Patents

Abstract

To realize an article carrying arrangement capable of carrying target articles in a proper order according to the situation of the article carrying arrangement.SOLUTION: An article carrying arrangement comprises a carrier unit 21 that carries target articles 1T from a warehouse 3 to a work unit 2 and a control unit that controls the carrier unit 21 based on order information. The order information includes attribute information, number-of-articles information and shipment-destination information. The control unit is allowed to selectively execute a first transport mode that arranges the target articles 1T related to a plurality of pieces of order information on an each-shipment-destination basis and arranges, in respective shipment destinations, a plurality of groups in a preset order so as to carry them to the work unit 2 and a second transport mode that integrates a plurality of shipment destinations together and arranges the plurality of groups in a preset order so as to carry them to the work unit 2. If the number of scheduled articles is the preset number or smaller, the first transport mode is executed. If the number of scheduled articles exceeds the preset number, the second transport mode is executed.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to an article transport facility including a transport unit that transports a target article from a warehouse to a work unit and a control unit that controls the transport unit based on order information.

As such an article transporting facility, for example, those described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2015-199562 (Patent Document 1) are known. Hereinafter, in the description of the background art, the reference numerals or names in parentheses shall be the reference numerals or names in the prior art documents. In the article transport facility described in Patent Document 1, the transport unit (delivery transport portion 31a) moves from the warehouse (automated warehouse R1 for storage) to the work unit (picking station ST) based on the order information (picking order). Is transported, and the work unit is performing the work of taking out the target article from the transport unit.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2015-199562

In an article transport facility that transports a target article from a warehouse to a work unit based on the order information as described above, a plurality of order information is set in one work unit at the same time, and the target article is shipped to a plurality of shipping destinations. Is conceivable to be transported to one working unit. Then, when the target article is transported to one working unit in this way, it is conceivable to divide the target article into a plurality of groups based on the attributes of the target article and transport the plurality of groups in a preset order. For example, when the target article is placed on the mounting body from the transport unit, an attribute relating to the weight of the target article is made so that it is easy to load the heavy target article on the mounting body and then load the light target article on the mounting body. Based on the above, it is conceivable to set the transport order of the group of target articles so that the group of target articles having a heavy weight is transported first.

However, the time required to transport the target article to the working section and the burden on the worker in the working section differ depending on the transport order of the group of the target article. On the other hand, on the side of the article transporting equipment, the relationship between the number of target articles to be transported and the transporting capacity of the article transporting equipment differs depending on the situation of the article transporting equipment, and also depending on the number of workers and the like. Therefore, how much work load is allowed for the worker differs. Therefore, it is required that the target articles are transported in an order in which the transport efficiency and the work load of the operator are appropriate according to the situation of the article transport equipment.

Therefore, it is desired to realize an article transport facility capable of transporting the target articles in an appropriate order according to the situation of the article transport facility.

In view of the above, the characteristic configuration of the article transport facility includes a transport unit that transports the target article from the warehouse to the work unit, and a control unit that controls the transport unit based on the order information. , Attribute information indicating the attributes of the target article, quantity information indicating the number of the target articles, and shipping destination information indicating the shipping destination of the target article.
A group group in which the attributes of the target article are divided into a plurality of groups based on the first condition is defined as a first group group, and a group group in which the attributes of the target article are divided into a plurality of groups based on the second condition is defined as a group group. As the second group group, the control unit arranges the target articles related to the plurality of order information for each shipping destination, and presets a plurality of groups constituting the first group group at each shipping destination. A first transport mode in which the plurality of shipping destinations are grouped together and the plurality of groups constituting the second group group are arranged in a preset order and transported to the working unit. The second transport mode can be selectively executed, and when the number of planned articles that are the target articles that need to be transported to the working unit within the set time is less than or equal to the set number, the first transport mode is selected. When the number of the planned articles exceeds the set number, the second transport mode is executed.

According to this characteristic configuration, in the first transport mode, the target article is transported for each shipping destination, so that the number of target articles belonging to each of the plurality of groups constituting the first group group tends to be small. Therefore, the time required to transport all of the planned articles to the work section tends to be relatively long, but since the target articles are transported to the work section for each transport destination, the target articles are sorted by the shipping destination in the work section. Since no work is required and the worker can concentrate on the target article at one shipping destination, the work load on the worker can be easily reduced.
On the other hand, in the second transport mode, since the target articles of a plurality of shipping destinations are collectively transported, the work unit needs to distribute the target articles to each of the plurality of shipping destinations, and the work load on the operator is large. Easy to become. However, the number of target articles belonging to each of the plurality of groups constituting the second group group tends to increase, and the degree of freedom in the transport order of the target articles within each group tends to increase. Therefore, it is easy to improve the efficiency of transporting the target article to the working section, and it is easy to relatively shorten the time required to transport all the planned articles to the working section.

Then, according to this configuration, when the number of planned articles is less than or equal to the set number, the first transport mode is executed. That is, when the number of planned articles is relatively small and all the planned articles can be transported to the working section within the set time even if the transport efficiency when transporting the scheduled articles to the working section is relatively low. By transporting the target article in the first transport mode, the work load on the operator can be reduced. On the other hand, when the number of planned articles exceeds the set number, the second transport mode is executed. That is, when the number of planned articles is relatively large and it is necessary to increase the transport efficiency when transporting the scheduled articles to the work unit, the target articles are transported in the second transport mode within the set time. It is possible to facilitate the transportation of all planned goods. As described above, according to this configuration, the target articles can be transported in an appropriate order according to the situation of the article transport equipment.

Top view of goods transportation equipment Perspective view of automated warehouse Floor plan of the working part Control block diagram Flowchart of loading control The figure which shows the 1st regulation order The figure which shows the 2nd regulation order

1. 1. Embodiment An embodiment of an article transport facility will be described with reference to the drawings.
As shown in FIG. 1, the article transport facility includes a plurality of working units 2, a plurality of automated warehouses 3 for storing the article 1, and a transport device 4 for transporting the article 1. The transport device 4 transports the article 1 delivered from the plurality of automated warehouses 3 to any of the plurality of working units 2.

As shown in FIG. 2, each of the plurality of automated warehouses 3 includes a plurality of storage shelves 11 installed in a vertically arranged state, and a plurality of transport carts 12 traveling along the longitudinal direction of the storage shelves 11. , Is equipped. A pair of storage shelves 11 are provided in each of a plurality of stages in a state of being arranged at intervals in a direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction in a vertical direction. One transport carriage 12 is provided between the pair of storage shelves 11 in each of the plurality of stages. Further, each of the plurality of automated warehouses 3 has a first relay unit 13 and a second relay unit 14 installed corresponding to each of the plurality of storage shelves 11, and a first elevating unit 15 and a second elevating unit that can be raised and lowered. It is provided with an elevating part 16.

When the articles 1 stored in the first elevating section 15 by the second conveyor 22 are stored in the storage shelves 11, each of the plurality of automated warehouses 3 has a height corresponding to the storage shelves 11 for storing the articles 1. After raising and lowering the elevating unit 15, the article 1 is transported to the storage shelf 11 by the first relay unit 13 and the transport trolley 12 corresponding to the storage shelf 11. Further, when each of the plurality of automated warehouses 3 leaves the article 1 stored in the storage shelf 11, the transport trolley 12 and the second relay unit 14 corresponding to the storage shelf 11 in which the article 1 is stored are used. After the article 1 is conveyed to the second elevating section 16 by the above method, the second elevating section 16 is moved up and down to a height corresponding to the first conveyor 21, and the article 1 is delivered from the second elevating section 16 to the first conveyor 21. ..

The transport device 4 has a first conveyor 21 that transports articles 1 that have been delivered from the plurality of automated warehouses 3 toward the work unit 2, and a first conveyor that conveys articles 1 that are stored in the plurality of automated warehouses 3 toward the automated warehouse 3. It includes two conveyors 22 and a third conveyor 23 that conveys the article 1 from the working unit 2.

The first conveyor 21 includes a plurality of upstream transport units 21A installed corresponding to each of the plurality of automated warehouses 3, a plurality of downstream transport units 21C installed corresponding to each of the plurality of work units 2, and a first. In the transport path of the conveyor 21, one midstream transport section 21B installed between the upstream transport section 21A and the downstream transport section 21C, and a carry-out transport section 21D for transporting the article 1 to a location other than the working section are provided. There is.

Each of the plurality of upstream transport units 21A is a transport unit that transports the articles 1 delivered from the corresponding automated warehouse 3 in a lined state, and conveys the articles 1 so as to merge with the midstream transport unit 21B. Each of the plurality of downstream transport units 21C is a transport unit that transports articles 1 branched from the middle flow transport unit 21B to the work unit 2 in a lined state in order to transport the articles 1 to the work unit 2. The carry-out transport unit 21D is a transport portion 1 that is branched from the middle-stream transport unit 21B and transports the articles 1 that have been delivered from the automated warehouse 3 for a purpose other than transporting to the work unit 2 in a lined state. It is a department.

A plurality of upstream transport units 21A, a plurality of downstream transport units 21C, and one carry-out transport unit 21D are connected to the middle flow transport unit 21B. The plurality of upstream transport units 21A are connected to the midstream transport unit 21B on the upstream side of the position where the plurality of downstream transport units 21C and one carry-out transport unit 21D are connected to the midstream transport unit 21B. That is, in the first conveyor 21, the articles 1 delivered to the plurality of upstream transport units 21A all merge into one midstream transport unit 21B and are transported by the one midstream transport unit 21B, and then a plurality of downstream. It is transported to any of the transport units 21C or the carry-out transport unit 21D. Hereinafter, the article 1 to be conveyed to the working unit 2 will be referred to as a target article 1T. The automated warehouse 3 corresponds to a warehouse, and the first conveyor 21 corresponds to a transport unit that transports the target article 1T from the warehouse to the work unit 2.

As shown in FIG. 1, each of the plurality of working units 2 is a first working unit 2A or a second working unit 2B. A plurality of mounting bodies, in this example, a basket wheel 26 are installed in the first working unit 2A. As shown in FIG. 3, the first working unit 2A is a working unit 2 that performs a loading operation of loading the target article 1T transported to the first working unit 2A by the downstream transporting unit 21C on the basket wheel 26. To add an explanation, a display unit 27 for displaying the contents of the work is installed in the first work unit 2A, and the worker M of the first work unit 2A has the contents of the work displayed on the display unit 27. In response to this, the target article 1T conveyed to the first working unit 2A by the first conveyor 21 is placed on the basket wheel 26 designated as the display unit 27. In the example shown in FIG. 3, 10 basket cars 26 are installed in the first working unit 2A, and order information is assigned to each of these 10 basket cars 26. In the example shown in FIG. 3, a state in which the first order information D1 to the tenth order information D10 are assigned to the ten basket cars 26 is shown. Further, in the example shown in FIG. 3, the allocation order information group DA assigned to one working unit 2 is configured by the first order information D1 to the tenth order information D10. The basket wheel 26 is an example of a mounting body installed in the first working unit 2A, and as a mounting body on which the target article 1T is placed in the first working unit 2A, various transport carts are also used. Or, for example, a container such as a container, a pallet, or the like can be used.

Further, as shown in FIG. 1, a unloading vehicle, in this example, a truck 28 is stopped at the second working unit 2B. The second working unit 2B is a working unit 2 that performs a loading operation of loading the target article 1T transported to the second working unit 2B by the downstream transporting unit 21C on the truck 28. To add an explanation, a display unit 27 (not shown in FIG. 1) is installed in the second work unit 2B as in the first work unit 2A, and the worker M of the second work unit 2B is a display unit. According to the content of the work displayed on the 27th, the work of placing the target article 1T conveyed to the second working unit 2B by the first conveyor 21 on the truck 28 is performed. The truck 28 is an example of a mounting body installed in the first working unit 2A, and other mounting bodies for mounting the target article 1T in the first working unit 2A include various transport carts and the like. For example, a container such as a container, a pallet, or the like can be used.

As shown in FIG. 4, the article transport facility includes a control device H that controls an automated warehouse 3, a transport device 4, and a display unit 27 based on order information. The control device H is composed of, for example, a computer including a CPU and a storage device. A management device K that manages order information is connected to the control device H. The management device K is configured to include a database or the like that manages order information created in association with the shipping destination in a manner in which the attributes of the goods 1 to be collected and their quantities are determined based on the order from the shipping destination. Has been done. The order information includes attribute information indicating the attributes of the target article 1T, numerical information indicating the number of the target article 1T, and shipping destination information indicating the shipping destination of the target article 1T. The control device H corresponds to a control unit that controls the transport unit based on the order information.

The attribute of the target article 1T is a classification in which various articles 1 that can be handled in this article transport facility are classified according to a predetermined standard. That is, the attributes may be appropriately set in consideration of efficiency and convenience in the loading work performed by the goods transport facility. Such attributes include, for example, sub-classifications based on the identification name and identification code of article 1, which are classified by JAN code, EAN code, etc., such as plant pots, fertilizers, car wash supplies, engine oils, confectionery, and prepared foods. Including middle classification based on the general name, use and type of article 1, gardening supplies (including plant pots, fertilizers, etc.), automobile supplies (including car wash supplies, engine oil, etc.), foodstuffs (including confectionery, prepared foods, etc.) ), Etc., one of the major classifications based on the comprehensive name of the article 1, the weight classification in which the weight of the article 1 is divided by the division unit such as several hundred grams or several kilograms, or one of these. A classification that combines a plurality of them can be used. In the present embodiment, the order information includes information indicating a subclass as attribute information. In addition, the database of the control device H stores classification-related information indicating the relationship between the minor classification, the middle classification, the major classification, and the weight of the article 1, and the weight indicating the relationship between the weight of the article 1 and the weight classification. Related information is stored. That is, by referring to the database, the control device H has information on the minor classification shown in the order information, the middle classification, the major classification, the weight, and the weight classification to which the target article 1T shown in the order information belongs. It is possible to obtain.

The control device H is configured to be able to selectively execute the first transport mode and the second transport mode. In the first transport mode, the target articles 1T related to a plurality of order information are arranged for each shipping destination, and a plurality of groups constituting the first group group at each shipping destination are arranged in a preset order in the work unit 2. It is a transport mode for transport. The second transport mode is a transport mode in which a plurality of shipping destinations are grouped together and a plurality of groups constituting the second group group are arranged in a preset order and transported to the work unit 2. In the present embodiment, the group group in which the attribute of the target article 1T is divided into a plurality of groups based on the first condition is set as the first group group, and the attribute of the target article 1T is divided into a plurality of groups based on the second condition. The group group is the second group group. Further, in the present embodiment, the first condition and the second condition are the same conditions. Specifically, in this example, the first condition and the second condition are conditions for grouping the target article 1T into a plurality of groups according to the above-mentioned middle classification.

When the number of planned articles, which are the target articles 1T that need to be transported to the work unit 2 within the set time, is less than or equal to the set number, the control device H executes the first transport mode, and the number of planned articles sets the set number. If it exceeds, the second transport mode is executed. In the present embodiment, the number of target articles 1T of a plurality of order information assigned to one shift described later is set as the number of planned articles. Specifically, in the present embodiment, the number of target articles 1T of the allocation order information group DA assigned to one working unit 2 in one shift is set as the number of planned articles. Then, the target article 1T is transported in the first transport mode to the working unit 2 in which the number of planned articles is less than or equal to the set number, and the second transport mode is transported to the working unit 2 in which the number of planned articles exceeds the set number. The target article 1T is transported in. That is, the control device H can selectively execute the first transport mode and the second transport mode independently for each of the plurality of working units 2.

The control device H executes the set number setting control, the mode setting control, and the transport control. As shown in the flow chart of the loading control of FIG. 5, the control device H first executes the set number setting control to set the set number for each work unit 2 (S1), and then sets by the set number setting control. The mode setting control is executed based on the set number of settings to set the transfer mode to be executed for each work unit 2 (S2), and based on the transfer mode set for the work unit 2 and the allocation order information group DA. The transport control for controlling the automated warehouse 3 and the transport device 4 is executed (S3). Next, each control of the set number setting control, the mode setting control, and the transport control will be described.

In the present embodiment, the time zone in which the work is performed in the article transport facility is divided into a plurality of work time zones, that is, shifts. The set number setting process is a process of assigning each of the plurality of order information acquired from the management device K to any of the plurality of shifts and setting the set number based on the plurality of order information assigned to each shift. .. In the present embodiment, in the set number setting process, the plurality of order information assigned to one shift is divided and assigned to the plurality of working units 2. Here, a plurality of order information for which one working unit 2 performs loading work in parallel at the same time is set as an allocation order information group DA, and a plurality of order information included in the allocation order information group DA is used as a plurality of working units. Assign to each of 2. In the example shown in FIG. 1, 10 order informations are assigned to each of the four first working units 2A as the assigned order information group DA, and the allocated order information is assigned to one second working unit 2B. A plurality of order information is assigned as a group DA.

Further, in the present embodiment, in the set number setting process, the set number is variably set so that the set number becomes smaller as the number of groups constituting the first group group increases with respect to the number of planned articles. Specifically, the control device H is the total number of groups, with the total number of groups included in the allocation order information group DA (for example, 10 order information) assigned to one working unit 2 as the total number of groups. The number of settings according to the above is set for each of the plurality of working units 2. For example, the first threshold value is lower than the second threshold value, the first set number is smaller than the second set number, the second set number is smaller than the third set number, and the total number of groups is the first threshold value. For the work unit 2 less than, a third set number is set as the set number, and for the work unit 2 in which the total number of groups is equal to or more than the first threshold value and less than the second threshold value, the second set number is set as the set number. The working unit 2 whose total number of groups is equal to or larger than the second threshold value sets the first set number as the set number, and sets the set number for each of the plurality of work units 2. For example, the first threshold value is set to 10, the second threshold value is set to 20, the first set number is set to 80, the second set number is set to 100, and the third set number is set to 120.

In the mode setting process, the transport to be executed for the work unit 2 based on the number of target articles 1T of the allocation order information group DA assigned to the work unit 2 and the set number set by the set number setting process. Set the mode. Specifically, the control device H uses the total number of target articles 1T (that is, the number of planned articles) included in the allocation order information group DA assigned to one working unit 2 as the total number of articles, and the control device H controls the working unit 2. The first transport mode is set for the work unit 2 in which the total number of articles is less than or equal to the set number, and the total number of articles is compared with the set number set in the work unit 2 in the above-mentioned set number setting process. A second transport mode is set for the work unit 2 in which the number of articles exceeds the set number.

In the transport control, for the work unit 2 in which the first transport mode is set, the target article 1T is transported to the work unit 2 in the first transport mode, and to the work unit 2 in which the second transport mode is set. On the other hand, the automated warehouse 3 and the transport device 4 are controlled so as to transport the target article 1T to the work unit 2 in the second transport mode.

In the first transport mode, each target article 1T is delivered from the plurality of automated warehouses 3 so that the plurality of target articles 1T are in the first specified order in the middle flow transport section 21B, and the target articles 1T are delivered from the plurality of automated warehouses 3. The upstream transport section 21A joins the midstream transport section 21B. Here, the first specified order is an order in which the target articles 1T are arranged for each shipping destination and a plurality of groups constituting the first group group are arranged in a preset order at each shipping destination. Further, in the second transport mode, each target article 1T is discharged from the plurality of automated warehouses 3 so that the plurality of target articles 1T are in the second specified order in the middle flow transport section 21B, and the target articles 1T are delivered from the plurality of automated warehouses 3. A plurality of upstream transport units 21A are merged with the middle flow transport unit 21B. Here, the second specified order is an order in which the target articles 1T of a plurality of shipping destinations are grouped together and a plurality of groups constituting the second group group are arranged in a preset order. Since the upstream transport section 21A, the middle stream transport section 21B, and the downstream transport section 21C all transport the articles 1 in a line, the middle stream transport section 21B transports the articles 1 to each of the working sections 2 in the first specified order. The transported target article 1T is transported to each of the working units 2 as it is in the first specified order, and the target article 1T conveyed to each of the working units 2 in the middle flow transporting unit 21B in the second specified order is as it is. It is transported to each of the working units 2 in the second specified order.

Next, the first specified order and the second specified order will be described. In explaining these orders, as shown in FIG. 6, the groups belonging to the first group group are referred to as the first group G1 to the seventh group G7 in order from the downstream side, and as shown in FIG. 7, the first group The groups belonging to the two group groups are referred to as the eighth group G8 and the ninth group G9. Further, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the attributes A to D are referred to in order from the attribute that needs to be conveyed to the working unit 2 first.

In the first specified order shown in FIG. 6, in order from the downstream side (right side in FIG. 6), the first group G1 formed by the target article 1T of the attribute A of the first order information D1 and the attribute B of the first order information D1 are formed. The second group G2 formed by the target article 1T of the above, the third group G3 formed by the target article 1T of the attribute C of the first order information D1, and the target article 1T of the attribute D of the first order information D1. The fourth group G4 is transported in this order. Then, after all the target articles 1T of the first order information D1 are lined up in this way, the fifth group G5 and the attribute B of the second order information D2 formed by the target article 1T of the attribute A of the second order information D2. The sixth group G6 formed of the target article 1T of the above, and the seventh group G7 formed of the target article 1T of the attribute D of the second order information D2 are transported. In this way, in the first specified order, the target articles 1T are arranged in order units, such that after all the target articles 1T of one order information (shipping destination) are arranged, all the target articles 1T of another order information are arranged. In addition to being lined up with, a plurality of target articles 1T of one order information are lined up in a preset order for each attribute.

As described above, each of the order information is created in association with the shipping destination. Therefore, when the target article 1T is transported to the work unit 2 in the first specified order, the target article 1T is transported for each transport destination. Therefore, it is not necessary for the work unit 2 to distribute the target article 1T to each shipping destination (plurality of basket cars 26), and the worker M concentrates on the target article 1T of one shipping destination (one basket car 26). Since the work can be performed, it is easy to reduce the work load of the worker M.

On the other hand, in the second specified order shown in FIG. 7, in the order from the downstream side (right side in FIG. 7), the eighth group G8 formed by the target article 1T of the attribute A of the first order information D1 to the tenth order information D10. Later, the ninth group G9 formed by the target article 1T of the attribute B of the first order information D1 to the tenth order information D10 is transported. In this way, in the second defined order, after all the target articles 1T of one attribute of the allocation order information group DA are lined up, all the target articles 1T of another attribute of the allocation order information group DA are lined up, and so on. The target articles 1T related to all of the plurality of order information assigned to the working unit 2 are put together, and the target articles 1T are arranged in a preset order for each attribute.

When the target article 1T is transported to the working unit 2 in the second specified order in this way, the number of the target article 1T belonging to one group increases, and the degree of freedom in the transport order of the target article 1T within the group increases. It tends to be expensive. As a result, it is possible to increase the degree of freedom in the timing of leaving the target article 1T from the automated warehouse 3 and the timing of merging from the upstream transport section 21A to the midstream transport section 21B. The time required for this tends to be relatively short.

2. Other Embodiments Next, other embodiments of the article transporting equipment will be described.

(1) In the above embodiment, a configuration in which the article transporting equipment includes a plurality of working units 2 has been described as an example. However, it is not limited to such a configuration. For example, the article transporting equipment may be configured to include only one working unit 2. Further, in the above embodiment, an example in which two types of working units 2 of the first working unit 2A and the second working unit 2B are included in the plurality of working units 2 has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this. , The article transporting equipment may be configured to include only one type of working unit 2.

(2) In the above embodiment, the configuration in which the control device H can selectively execute the first transport mode and the second transport mode independently for each of the plurality of working units 2 has been described as an example. .. However, it is not limited to such a configuration. For example, the control device H may be configured to select the same transport mode for all of the plurality of working units 2.

(3) In the above embodiment, a configuration in which the first condition and the second condition are the same conditions has been described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to such a configuration, and the first condition and the second condition may be set as different upper limits. For example, the first condition may be a condition based on the weight classification, the second condition may be a condition based on the middle classification, and the first condition and the second condition may be different criteria from each other.

(4) In the above embodiment, the configuration in which the control device H variably sets the set number according to the number of groups constituting the first group group has been described as an example, but the present invention is not limited to this. The set number as a reference for selecting the first transport mode and the second transport mode may be a fixed value.

(5) In the above embodiment, an example is described in which the warehouse is an automated warehouse provided with a plurality of transport carts 12 installed for each of a plurality of stages and traveling along the longitudinal direction of the storage shelves 11. did. However, it is not limited to such a configuration. For example, the warehouse may be an automated warehouse equipped with a stacker crane, or an automated warehouse equipped with a trolley that travels along an elevating body in the longitudinal direction to transport the article 1. The form to be used may be changed as appropriate.

(6) The configurations disclosed in each of the above-described embodiments can be applied in combination with the configurations disclosed in other embodiments as long as there is no contradiction. With respect to other configurations, the embodiments disclosed herein are merely exemplary in all respects. Therefore, various modifications can be made as appropriate without departing from the gist of the present disclosure.

3. 3. Outline of the above-described embodiment The outline of the article transporting equipment described above will be described below.

The article transport facility includes a transport unit that transports the target article from the warehouse to the work unit and a control unit that controls the transport unit based on the order information, and the order information indicates the attributes of the target article. Attribute information, quantity information indicating the number of the target articles, and shipping destination information indicating the shipping destination of the target articles are included.
A group group in which the attributes of the target article are divided into a plurality of groups based on the first condition is defined as a first group group, and a group group in which the attributes of the target article are divided into a plurality of groups based on the second condition is defined as a group group. As the second group group, the control unit arranges the target articles related to the plurality of order information for each shipping destination, and presets a plurality of groups constituting the first group group at each shipping destination. A first transport mode in which the plurality of shipping destinations are grouped together and the plurality of groups constituting the second group group are arranged in a preset order and transported to the working unit. The second transport mode can be selectively executed, and when the number of planned articles that are the target articles that need to be transported to the working unit within the set time is less than or equal to the set number, the first transport mode is selected. When the number of the planned articles exceeds the set number, the second transport mode is executed.

According to this configuration, in the first transport mode, the target article is transported for each shipping destination, so that the number of target articles belonging to each of the plurality of groups constituting the first group group tends to be small. Therefore, the time required to transport all of the planned articles to the work section tends to be relatively long, but since the target articles are transported to the work section for each transport destination, the target articles are sorted by the shipping destination in the work section. Since no work is required and the worker can concentrate on the target article at one shipping destination, the work load on the worker can be easily reduced.
On the other hand, in the second transport mode, since the target articles of a plurality of shipping destinations are collectively transported, the work unit needs to distribute the target articles to each of the plurality of shipping destinations, and the work load on the operator is large. Easy to become. However, the number of target articles belonging to each of the plurality of groups constituting the second group group tends to increase, and the degree of freedom in the transport order of the target articles within each group tends to increase. Therefore, it is easy to improve the efficiency of transporting the target article to the working section, and it is easy to relatively shorten the time required to transport all the planned articles to the working section.

Then, according to this configuration, when the number of planned articles is less than or equal to the set number, the first transport mode is executed. That is, when the number of planned articles is relatively small and all the planned articles can be transported to the working section within the set time even if the transport efficiency when transporting the scheduled articles to the working section is relatively low. By transporting the target article in the first transport mode, the work load on the operator can be reduced. On the other hand, when the number of planned articles exceeds the set number, the second transport mode is executed. That is, when the number of planned articles is relatively large and it is necessary to increase the transport efficiency when transporting the scheduled articles to the work unit, the target articles are transported in the second transport mode within the set time. It is possible to facilitate the transportation of all planned goods. As described above, according to this configuration, the target articles can be transported in an appropriate order according to the situation of the article transport equipment.

Here, it is preferable that the control unit variably sets the set number so that the set number becomes smaller as the number of groups constituting the first group group increases with respect to the planned article number.

For example, when the number of planned articles is the same, as the number of groups constituting the first group group increases, the number of scheduled articles belonging to each of the plurality of groups constituting the first group group decreases. According to this configuration, the set number is reduced as the number of groups constituting the first group group increases. As a result, when the number of planned articles belonging to each of the plurality of groups is reduced and the transport efficiency when transporting the scheduled articles to the work unit tends to be low, the second transport mode is likely to be selected, and conversely, When the number of scheduled articles belonging to each of the plurality of groups is large and the transport efficiency when transporting the scheduled articles to the work unit tends to be high, the first transport mode can be easily selected. Therefore, according to this configuration, the target articles can be transported in an appropriate order according to the situation of the article transport facility.

Further, it is preferable that a plurality of the working units are provided, and the control unit can selectively execute the first transport mode and the second transport mode independently of each of the plurality of working units. is there.

According to this configuration, the target articles can be transported in an appropriate order for each of the planned articles, the number of workers, and the like for each work unit.

The technique according to the present disclosure can be used for an article transport facility including a transport unit that transports a target article from a warehouse to a work unit and a control unit that controls the transport unit based on order information.

1: Goods 2: Working department 3: Automatic warehouse (warehouse)
21: First conveyor (conveyor unit)
H: Control device (control unit)

Claims (3)

A transport unit that transports the target goods from the warehouse to the work unit,
A control unit that controls the transport unit based on order information is provided.
The order information includes attribute information indicating the attributes of the target article, quantity information indicating the number of the target articles, and shipping destination information indicating the shipping destination of the target article. There,
A group group in which the attributes of the target article are divided into a plurality of groups based on the first condition is defined as a first group group, and a group group in which the attributes of the target article are divided into a plurality of groups based on the second condition is defined as a group group. As the second group group
The control unit arranges the target articles related to the plurality of order information for each shipping destination, and arranges a plurality of groups constituting the first group group at each shipping destination in a preset order. A first transport mode for transporting to the working unit, a second transport mode for grouping a plurality of the shipping destinations and arranging a plurality of groups constituting the second group group in a preset order and transporting the plurality of shipping destinations to the working unit. Is selectively feasible, and when the number of planned articles that are the target articles that need to be transported to the working unit within the set time is less than or equal to the set number, the first transport mode is executed and the scheduled articles are executed. An article transfer facility that executes the second transfer mode when the number of items exceeds the set number. The first aspect of the present invention, wherein the control unit variably sets the set number so that the set number becomes smaller as the number of groups constituting the first group group increases with respect to the planned article number. Goods transport equipment. With a plurality of the working parts
The article transporting equipment according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the control unit can selectively execute the first transport mode and the second transport mode independently of each of the plurality of working units. ..

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