JP2022076187A - Automated warehouse - Google Patents

Abstract

To avoid a situation where it becomes difficult to deliver goods from an automated warehouse due to a failure of a goods transfer device.SOLUTION: An automated warehouse includes: multiple shelves; a warehousing elevating device that performs warehousing processing to move goods to be warehousing from a warehousing height position to a warehousing height position corresponding to a storage location; article transfer devices that are arranged in each of the steps and transfers the goods from the warehousing elevating devices to the shelves; a transfer device status acquisition unit that acquires a status of each of the plurality of article transfer devices; and a control unit that performs warehousing processing to determine whether or not there is a failure sign of each of the plurality of article transfer devices based on output data from the transfer device status acquisition unit, and limits warehousing processing so that a warehousing processing to a stage where the goods transfer device determined to have a failure sign is placed, is more restricted than a warehousing processing of the goods transfer device determined to have no failure sign, based on the output data from the transfer device status acquisition unit.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

The present invention relates to an automated warehouse.

Patent Document 1 describes between a storage unit including a plurality of shelves, a temporary storage shelf provided corresponding to the plurality of shelves, the plurality of shelves, and the temporary storage shelf corresponding to each of the multiple shelves. An automated warehouse is disclosed that includes a transfer cart for transferring articles and an elevating mechanism unit for elevating and moving a plurality of articles to and from each position corresponding to the plurality of stages.

Patent Document 2 discloses a material handling equipment parts replacement prediction system that predicts the replacement time of parts of the material handling equipment by artificial intelligence (AI) technology using an output from a sensor installed in the material handling equipment. As the material handling equipment, a transport device, an elevating device, a buffer conveyor and the like are described.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2014-159340 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2020-07765

When the time to replace parts is predicted for the transfer trolley in the automated warehouse, if the transfer trolley is continuously operated, the transfer trolley may break down before the actual replacement. In this case, it becomes difficult to take out the goods from the automated warehouse.

Therefore, it is an object of the present disclosure to avoid a situation in which it becomes difficult to deliver goods from an automated warehouse due to a failure of the goods transfer device.

In order to solve the above problem, the automatic warehouse has a plurality of stages of shelves and a warehousing lift that moves the goods to be warehousing from the warehousing height position to the warehousing height position corresponding to the storage location. Equipment, an article transfer device that is arranged in each of the above stages and transfers articles from the warehousing elevating device to the shelf, and a transfer device state acquisition that acquires the state of each of the plurality of article transfer devices. Based on the output data from the unit and the transfer device status acquisition unit, it is determined whether or not there is a failure sign for each of the plurality of article transfer devices, and it is determined that any one of the plurality of article transfer devices has a failure prediction. Then, the warehousing process to the stage where the article transfer device determined to have a failure sign is arranged is restricted to the warehousing process of the article transfer device determined to have no failure sign. A control unit that controls at least one operation of the warehousing elevating device and the article transfer device to limit the warehousing process is provided.

According to this automated warehouse, the goods transfer device determined to have a sign of failure is restricted in the warehousing process, so that the operating rate is lowered and it becomes difficult to completely fail. Therefore, the delivery operation is likely to be continued. As a result, it is possible to avoid a situation in which it becomes difficult to deliver goods from the automated warehouse due to a failure of the goods transfer device.

It is a schematic side view which shows the automated warehouse which concerns on embodiment. It is a schematic plan view which shows the above-mentioned automated warehouse. It is a perspective view which shows an example of the article transfer apparatus. It is a block diagram which shows the warehouse management system including the automated warehouse. It is a flowchart which shows the warehousing / delivery process. It is explanatory drawing which shows the state of the machine learning apparatus conceptually. It is explanatory drawing which conceptually shows the state which applied the trained model to the state data. It is a flowchart which shows the example of the warehousing processing in the case of performing the failure sign of the 1st level and the failure sign of the 2nd level. It is a flowchart which shows the notification processing at the time of performing the failure sign of the 1st level and the failure sign of the 2nd level. It is a flowchart which shows the process of the control unit and the shelf unit control unit which restricts the warehousing process for the storage unit which has a sign of failure based on the state of the warehousing elevating device. It is a flowchart which shows the processing example of the integrated control unit which restricts the warehousing process for the storage unit which has a failure sign based on the state of the warehousing elevating device.

Hereinafter, the automated warehouse according to the embodiment will be described.

<About the overall configuration>
The overall configuration of the automated warehouse will be described. FIG. 1 is a schematic side view showing the automated warehouse 20, and FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view showing the automated warehouse 20.

The automated warehouse 20 includes a storage unit 21 having a plurality of shelves 24, an elevating device 30 for warehousing, an article transfer device 50, and a transfer device state acquisition unit 70. In the present embodiment, the automated warehouse 20 further includes a delivery lifting device 40. At the time of warehousing, the article 10 is moved up and down to a height position corresponding to the shelf 24 of any one of the plurality of shelves 24 by the warehousing elevating device 30. In the stage, the article 10 is transferred from the warehousing elevating device 30 toward a predetermined empty storage position of the shelf 24 in the stage by the article transfer device 50. As a result, the article 10 is stored in the shelf 24. At the time of delivery, the article 10 is transferred from the shelf 24 toward the delivery lifting device 40 by the article transfer device 50 at the stage where the article 10 is stored. The article 10 is moved up and down from the height position corresponding to the step to the height position suitable for delivery by the delivery lifting device 40. As a result, the article 10 is delivered from the shelf 24.

The storage unit 21 is provided on at least one side of the travel path 28 on which the article transfer device 50 travels. In the present embodiment, a pair of storage portions 21 are provided on both sides of the traveling path 28. The article transfer device 50 traveling on the travel path 28 can put the article 10 in and out of both of the pair of storage portions 21. In the following description, the storage unit 18 may be referred to as a pair of storage units 21 provided on both sides of the traveling path 28 as one unit. FIG. 2 shows an example in which a plurality of (three in the figure) storage units 18 are provided in a parallel state. The number of storage units 18 may be one.

The storage unit 21 has a plurality of shelves 24. The plurality of shelves 24 are supported at intervals in the vertical direction, and the article 10 can be placed on each shelf 24. The shelf 24 is a portion that supports a plurality of articles 10 in a state of being arranged along the traveling path 28. The shelf 24 may be, for example, a shelf board along the horizontal direction. The shelf 24 may be configured such that a pair of slide support portions supporting both bottom side portions of the article 10 are provided in a plurality of sets so as to be arranged along the extending direction of the traveling path 28. The shelf 24 may have a configuration in which a plurality of hanging rails for supporting the articles in a suspended state are provided so as to be lined up along the extending direction of the traveling path 28.

The warehousing elevating device 30 is a warehousing process for moving the warehousing article 10 up and down from the warehousing height position to the step height position corresponding to the storage location of the article 10. The warehousing elevating device 30 includes, for example, a pillar 36, an elevating table 32, and an elevating drive unit 34. The pillar 36 is erected on one end side of the storage portion 21. The elevating table 32 is supported so as to be movable up and down along the pillar 36. The elevating drive unit 34 is composed of a motor and a transmission mechanism. The transmission mechanism transmits the rotational driving force of the motor as a force for moving the elevating table 32 up and down. The transmission mechanism may be configured to include, for example, a chain (or a rotating belt) circulatory and rotatably supported by sprockets (or pulleys) supported above and below the pillar 36. In this case, the rotation of the motor is transmitted to the chain (or the rotating belt), and the chain (or the rotating belt) circulates and rotates, so that the elevating table 32 is moved up and down.

A temporary storage shelf 38 may be provided between the storage unit 21 and the storage elevating device 30. In the present embodiment, a storage temporary storage shelf 38 is provided between one end of the storage unit 21 and the storage lifting device 30. The temporary storage shelves 38 for warehousing are provided corresponding to each of the above-mentioned plurality of shelves 24. Each warehousing temporary storage shelf 38 receives the article 10 from the warehousing elevating device 30, and temporarily places and supports the article 10 until the article 10 is received by the article transfer device 50.

The transfer of the article 10 from the warehousing elevating device 30 to the warehousing temporary storage shelf 38 is carried out, for example, by rotationally driving the rollers provided therein by a rotary drive unit such as a motor, or by driving a cylinder or the like. It may be performed by pushing the article 10 placed on the elevating table 32 by driving the actuator of the above.

The temporary storage shelf 38 may be omitted, and the article 10 may be directly transferred from the warehousing elevating device 30 to the article transfer device 50.

The delivery lifting device 40 is a device that performs a shipping process for moving the goods 10 to be delivered up and down from the height position of the step corresponding to the storage location to the height position for delivery. The warehousing elevating device 40 may be, for example, a device for moving the article 10 up and down by a configuration including a pillar 46, an elevating table 42, and an elevating drive unit 44, similarly to the warehousing elevating device 30. ..

A temporary storage shelf 48 for delivery may be provided between the storage unit 21 and the lifting device 40 for delivery. In the present embodiment, a temporary storage shelf 48 for delivery is provided between the other end of the storage unit 21 and the lifting device 40 for delivery. The temporary storage shelves 48 for delivery are provided corresponding to each of the above-mentioned plurality of shelves 24. Each temporary storage shelf 48 receives the article 10 from the article transfer device 50, and temporarily places and supports the article 10 until the article 10 is lifted and lowered by the delivery elevating device 40.

In addition, the transfer of the article 10 from the temporary storage shelf 48 for delivery to the lifting device 40 for delivery is carried out, for example, by rotationally driving the rollers provided therein by a rotary drive unit such as a motor, or by driving a cylinder or the like. This may be done by pushing the article 10 placed on the temporary storage shelf 48 for delivery by driving the actuator of the above.

The temporary storage shelf 48 for delivery may be omitted, and the article 10 may be directly transferred from the article transfer device 50 to the delivery lifting device 40.

In the present embodiment, the warehousing elevating device 30 and the warehousing temporary storage shelf 38 are provided in each of the pair of storage units 21. The article transfer device 50 can receive the article 10 from both of the two warehousing elevating devices 30 via the warehousing temporary storage shelf 38. Further, in the present embodiment, the delivery elevating device 40 and the delivery temporary storage shelf 48 are provided in each of the pair of storage units 21. The article transfer device 50 can deliver the article 10 to both of the two temporary storage shelves 48 for delivery via the temporary storage shelf 48 for delivery.

In one storage unit 18, only one warehousing elevating device 30 may be provided, or three or more may be provided. In one storage unit 18, only one lifting device 40 for delivery may be provided, or three or more may be provided. One or both of the warehousing elevating device 30 and the warehousing elevating device 40 may be provided in the longitudinal intermediate portion of the storage portion 21. The warehousing elevating device 40 may be omitted, and the warehousing elevating device 30 may be used in combination as a warehousing and warehousing elevating device.

A travel path 28 on which the article transfer device 50 can travel is provided along the arrangement direction of the articles 10 on the shelf 24. For example, the traveling path 28 is provided between the pair of storage portions 21 along the extending direction between them. By moving along the travel path 28, the article transfer device 50 can store the article 10 in the storage unit 21 at different positions along the travel path 28. The traveling path 28 is along the extending direction of the storage unit 21 so that the article transfer device 50 can put in and take out the article 10 to and from the storage unit 21, the temporary storage shelf 38, and the temporary storage shelf 48. Moreover, it extends to the temporary storage shelf 38 for warehousing and the temporary storage shelf 48 for delivery.

The plurality of travel paths 28 are provided corresponding to the upper and lower shelves 24. Each travel path 28 includes, for example, a pair of rails 29, 29. The pair of rails 29, 29 are supported by the pair of storage portions 21 along the horizontal direction along the extending direction of the storage portion 21. As a result, the pair of rails 29, 29 are supported in a parallel posture with an interval.

The rails 29 and 29 may also serve as a horizontal frame for the storage unit 21. The rails 29 and 29 do not have a function as a frame of the storage unit 21, and may be configured as a separate body from the storage unit 21. Further, the traveling path does not have to be composed of a pair of rails, and may be configured as an elongated plate-shaped traveling path on which the article transfer device 50 can travel, or the carriage may be suspended. It may be configured as a rail supported by.

In the present embodiment, the automated warehouse 20 includes a warehousing conveyor 80 for transporting the article 10 from the outside toward the storage unit 21. The warehousing and transporting conveyor 80 is, for example, a roller conveyor that transports articles 10 from a loading point where cargo is carried in from a truck, a container, or the like to each storage unit 18 inside or outside the warehouse. The warehousing and transporting conveyor 80 includes a main line portion 82 and a branch line portion 84. The main line portion 82 is provided along a line passing through one end side outer side of the plurality of storage units 18. The article 10 is conveyed to one side along the longitudinal direction of the main line portion 82 by a roller or the like provided on the main line portion 82. A branch line portion 84 is provided between the main line portion 82 and each of the warehousing elevating devices 30. The article 10 conveyed through the main line portion 82 is extruded toward any branch line portion 84 by an extrusion mechanism 83 that performs an extrusion operation by driving an actuator such as a cylinder. Then, the article 10 is conveyed toward the warehousing elevating device 30 on the downstream side of the branch line portion 84 by a roller or the like provided on the branch line portion 84. As a result, the article 10 is conveyed toward one of the warehousing elevating devices 30 via the warehousing and transporting conveyor 80. The warehousing height position is, for example, a height position at which the warehousing transfer conveyor 80 feeds the article 10 toward the warehousing elevating device 30.

Further, in the present embodiment, the automated warehouse 20 includes a delivery conveyor 90 for transporting the article 10 from the storage unit 21 to the outside. The delivery conveyor 90 is, for example, a roller conveyor that conveys the article 10 from each storage unit 18 to a load delivery location outside the warehouse or inside the warehouse. At the carry-out point, luggage is loaded into a truck, container, or the like. The delivery conveyor 90 includes a main line portion 92 and a branch line portion 94. The main line portion 92 is provided along a line passing through the other end side outer side of the plurality of storage units 18. A branch line portion 94 is provided between each of the main line portion 92 and each delivery lifting device 40. Then, the article 10 is moved up and down to a height position corresponding to the branch line portion 94 by the delivery lifting device 40, and is transferred to the branch line portion 94. The article 10 transferred to the branch line portion 94 is conveyed toward the main line portion 92 by a roller or the like provided in the branch line portion 94. The article 10 is transported along the main line portion 92 to a load carrying-out location on the downstream side thereof by a roller provided in the main line portion 92.

In the present embodiment, the warehousing height position is, for example, a height position at which the warehousing and transporting conveyor 80 feeds the article 10 toward the warehousing elevating device 30, for example, the height at which the branch line portion 84 is provided. It is the position. Similarly, the delivery height position is, for example, a height position at which the delivery transfer conveyor 90 receives the article 10 from the delivery lifting device 40, for example, a height position where the branch line portion 94 is provided.

The article transfer device 50 is a device that is arranged on each of the plurality of shelves 24 and transfers the article 10 from the warehousing elevating device 30 to the shelves 24 at the arranged shelves. Here, when the article transfer device 50 transfers the article 10 from the warehousing elevating device 30 to the shelf 24, the article transfer device 50 directly takes in the article 10 from the warehousing elevating device 30 and puts the article 10 on the shelf 24. This includes not only the case of moving the article but also the case where the article transfer device 50 takes in the article 10 temporarily placed on the storage temporary storage shelf 38 from the warehousing elevating device 30 and moves it onto the shelf 24.

Further, the article transfer device 50 is a device for transferring the article 10 from the shelf 24 to the delivery lifting device 40 at the stage where the article transfer device 50 is arranged. Here, when the article transfer device 50 transfers the article 10 from the shelf 24 to the delivery lifting device 40, the article transfer device 50 directly moves the article 10 taken in from the shelf 24 to the delivery lifting device 40. Not only in the case of making the article transfer device 50, the article transfer device 50 temporarily places the article 10 taken in from the shelf 24 on the temporary storage shelf 48 for delivery, whereby the article 10 is temporarily placed on the temporary storage shelf 48 for delivery. This includes the case of moving to the delivery lifting device 40.

A specific example of the article transfer device 50 will be described. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an example of the article transfer device 50. As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the article transfer device 50 includes a trolley 52 and an article loading / unloading device 60.

The trolley 52 is configured to move the article loading / unloading device 60 between the positions corresponding to the shelves 24 or the temporary storage shelves 38, 48 (which may be the elevating devices 30, 40). For example, the carriage 52 incorporates a traveling drive unit 53 including a motor, gears, and the like. By driving the traveling drive unit 53, the carriage 52 can travel along the traveling path 28. In each stage, the carriage 52 reciprocates on the rails 29 and 29, so that the article loading / unloading device 60 is placed at a position facing any of the shelves 24 in the stage (specifically, the article 10 is placed on the shelf 24). It moves to a position facing the placed position or a vacant position to be placed) and the temporary storage shelves 38, 48 (may be the elevating devices 30, 40).

The article entry / exit device 60 is a device that takes in the article 10 from the outside toward the inside of the article or sends the article 10 from the inside of the article to the outside. The article loading / unloading device 60 includes, for example, a mounting table 62, a pair of advancing / retreating arms 64, and a hook piece 66. The mounting table 62 is configured so that the article 10 can be placed on it. For example, the upper surface of the mounting table 62 is formed on a plane that is the same as or larger than the bottom surface of the article 10, and extends along the horizontal direction. The pair of advancing / retreating arms 64 are provided on both sides of the mounting table 62 at intervals in the extending direction of the traveling path 28. The pair of advancing / retreating arms 64 are provided so as to be able to project and retract from the mounting table 62 in both directions orthogonal to the extending direction of the traveling path 28. The pair of advancing / retreating arms 64 is driven in advancing / retreating by driving an arm driving unit 65 including a motor or the like. Hook pieces 66 are provided at both ends of the pair of advancing / retreating arms 64. The hook piece 66 has a posture between a state in which the hook piece 66 is tilted so as to protrude from the end of the advancing / retreating arm 64 due to the drive of the hooking piece driving unit 67 including a motor and the like, and a state in which the end of the advancing / retreating arm 64 is along the vertical direction. It can be changed and driven.

Then, when the article 10 is taken into the article transfer device 50, the pair of advancing / retreating arms is in a state where the article transfer device 50 faces the article 10 placed on the shelf 24 or the temporary storage shelves 38, 48. The 64 is moved forward and is arranged at a position where the article 10 is sandwiched from both sides. In this state, the hook piece 66 is projected from the protruding side end of the advancing / retreating arm 64 and hooked on the inner side of the article 10. Then, when the pair of advancing / retreating arms 64 are retracted and moved to the carriage 52 side, a force for transferring the pair of moving arms 64 to the mounting platform 62 side acts on both side portions of the article 10. As a result, the article 10 is taken into the article transfer device 50 side.

Further, when the article 10 on the article transfer device 50 is sent to the shelf 24 or the temporary storage shelves 38, 48, the posture is changed so that the hook piece 66 on the opposite side of the sending direction is projected from the advancing / retreating arm 64. And hook it on both sides of the article 10. In this state, the pair of advancing / retreating arms 64 are advanced and moved from the mounting table 62. Then, a force for transferring the article 10 to the shelves 24 or the temporary storage shelves 38 and 48 acts on both sides of the article 10. As a result, the article 10 is sent to the shelves 24 or the temporary storage shelves 38 and 48.

The transfer device state acquisition unit acquires the state of each of the article transfer devices 50 arranged in each of the plurality of stages. The moving state acquisition unit may have any configuration as long as it acquires a state related to a failure sign of the article transfer device 50. For example, the drive current of at least one of the motor of the traveling drive unit 53, the motor of the arm drive unit 65, and the motor of the hook piece drive unit 67 is an example of a state related to a failure sign. Further, vibration, temperature, etc. of any part of the article transfer device 50 are also examples of states related to a failure sign of the article transfer device 50. Therefore, the transfer device state acquisition unit may be a sensor (for example, a current sensor) that detects the electrical state of the motor or the like, or detects the vibration of any part of the article transfer device 50. It may be a sensor, a sensor that detects temperature, or the like. A more detailed explanation of the moving state acquisition unit will be given later.

The failure sign means a situation in which a future failure of the article transfer device 50 is predicted. The situation for estimating the failure sign may be obtained by observing the article transfer device 50 at the relevant time point, or may be obtained as a situation accumulated from the past to the relevant time point. good.

In the present embodiment, the article transfer device 50 includes a transfer control unit 51, and a control signal for controlling the operation of the article transfer device 50 is given to the transfer control unit 51. Based on this control signal, the transfer control unit 51 controls the operation of the traveling drive unit 53, the arm drive unit 65, the hook piece drive unit 67, and the like. Further, the data indicating the state of the article transfer device 50 acquired by the article transfer device 50 is output to the outside through the transfer control unit 51.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a warehouse management system including the automated warehouse 20. The automated warehouse 20 includes at least one storage unit 18, a control unit 100, an integrated control unit 116, and a conveyor control panel 119. The integrated control unit 116 and the conveyor control panel 119 control the distribution of the article 10 to one of the storage units 18 at the time of warehousing. The integrated control unit 116 and the conveyor control panel 119 control the article 10 to be transported to the outside from the storage unit 18 at the time of delivery. The storage unit 18 includes a shelf unit control unit 110. The shelf unit control unit 110 controls the warehousing elevating device 30 and the article transfer device 50 in each storage unit 18 to perform warehousing processing and warehousing processing. In this embodiment, the automated warehouse 20 includes a plurality of storage units 18. The control unit 100 determines the presence or absence of a failure sign for the article transfer device 50 in the storage unit 18. The determination result is given to the shelf unit control unit 110. Based on the determination result, the shelf unit control unit 110 performs the warehousing process to the stage where the article transfer device 50 determined to have a failure sign is arranged, and the warehousing process of the article transfer device 50 determined to have no failure sign. The operation of either the warehousing elevating device 30 or the article transfer device 50 is controlled so as to be more restricted than the processing.

More specifically, the integrated control unit 116 is composed of a computer including a processor 117, a storage unit 118, and the like. The conveyor control panel 119 is also configured by a computer. The conveyor control panel 119 controls the operation of the warehousing and transporting conveyor 80 and the warehousing and transporting conveyor 90. At the time of warehousing, the overall control unit 116 gives a warehousing command to the conveyor control panel 119. As a result, the conveyor control panel 119 controls the warehousing and transporting conveyor 80 so as to transport the warehousing articles 10 toward any of the storage units 18. For example, the storage unit 18 gives a notification regarding acceptance / rejection of the article 10 according to the necessity of an empty space or the like. The conveyor control panel 119 selects one of the acceptable storage units 18 and controls the warehousing and transporting conveyor 80 so as to transport the article 10 to the selected storage unit 18. Which of the plurality of storage units 18 is selected as the storage target is arbitrary, and may be randomly selected or may be selected in order. Further, at the time of delivery, the integrated control unit 116 stores the article 10 based on a database in which the specific information of the article 10 to be delivered is associated with the storage position in each storage unit 18 and the identification code of the stored article 10. The storage unit 18 is specified. Then, the storage unit 18 is given a delivery command for the article 10, and the delivery conveyor 90 is controlled so that the article 10 is discharged from the storage unit 18. The storage position of the article 10 to be delivered may be specified based on the database stored in the storage unit 118 or may be based on the database stored in the storage unit 114.

The shelf unit control unit 110 is composed of a computer including a processor 112, a storage unit 114, and the like. The program 114a is stored in the storage unit 114. The processor 102 executes the process related to the restriction of the warehousing process described later according to the program 104a. The storage unit 114 stores the location database 114b and the sign notification information 114c. The position database 114b is a database in which a plurality of storage positions on the shelf 24 are associated with the presence / absence of storage of the article 10 (identification code of the article 10 if it is stored). The processor 112 can identify an empty position in the shelf 24 by referring to the main position database 114b at the time of warehousing process. The processor 112 can specify the position of the shelf 24 in which the article 10 to be delivered is stored by referring to the database 114b at the time of delivery processing. The sign notification information 114c is information regarding notification of a failure sign to the article transfer device 50 corresponding to each of the plurality of stages. That is, when the control unit 100 determines that there is a failure sign for the article transfer device 50 corresponding to any stage, the shelf unit control unit 110 is notified that the failure sign is present. This notification information is stored in the storage unit 114 as predictive notification information.

The shelf unit control unit 110 controls each of the plurality of stages of the article transfer device 50, the warehousing elevating device 30, and the warehousing elevating device 40 in response to a command from the integrated control unit 116. For example, the shelf unit control unit 110 identifies an empty space in response to a warehousing command from the integrated control unit 116, and gives a command to the warehousing elevating device 30 to move the article 10 up and down toward the predetermined stage. , The article 10 is received from the warehousing elevating device 30 via the warehousing temporary storage shelf 38 for the article transfer device 50 in the predetermined tier, and the article 10 is conveyed to the predetermined position of the shelf 24 in the predetermined tier. Then, a command to send the product onto the shelf 24 may be given. Further, for example, the shelf unit control unit 110 specifies a storage position in response to a delivery command from the integrated control unit 116, and the article is transferred from the storage position to the article transfer device 50 in the stage corresponding to the storage position. 10 is taken out, the article 10 is sent to the delivery elevating device 40 via the delivery temporary storage shelf 48, and then to the height position corresponding to the delivery transfer conveyor 90 with respect to the delivery elevating device 40. You may give a command to move up and down.

The article transfer device 50 corresponding to each of the plurality of stages is provided with a transfer control unit 51, and the transfer control unit 51 drives the traveling drive unit 53, the arm drive unit 65, and the hook piece drive unit 67. Be controlled. The transfer control unit 51 is composed of a computer including a processor, a memory, and the like, and receives the article 10 at a predetermined position or moves the article 10 toward a predetermined position in response to a command from the shelf unit control unit 110. The drive of the traveling drive unit 53, the arm drive unit 65, and the hook piece drive unit 67 is controlled so as to be sent out.

As described above, the article transfer device 50 is provided with a state acquisition unit 70. In the present embodiment, an example in which the state acquisition unit is configured to output the state detection data of the motor will be described. More specifically, the traveling drive unit 53 includes a sensor that detects the state of its own motor, for example, the driving current of the motor, and outputs from the sensor, that is, the driving current of the traveling driving motor. The sensor to detect is an example of the state acquisition unit. Further, the arm drive unit 65 also includes a sensor that detects the state of its own motor, for example, the drive current of the motor, and the sensor that detects the output from the sensor, that is, the drive current of the motor for driving the arm advance / retreat. This is an example of the state acquisition unit. That is, in the present embodiment, an example in which the state of the article transfer device 50 is the state of the motor for operating the article transfer device 50, more specifically, the drive current of the motor will be described. If there is any sign of abnormality in the article transfer device 50, it is assumed that an abnormality occurs in the drive current due to overload, slipping, or the like. Therefore, a failure sign of the article transfer device 50 can be detected based on the state of the drive current of the traveling drive unit 53 and the state of the drive current of the arm drive unit 65. The detection data of the state acquisition unit 70 is transmitted from the transfer control unit 51 to the control unit 100. The detection data may be transmitted to the control unit 100 via the shelf unit control unit 110.

The state of the article transfer device 50 that can be used for detecting a failure sign of the article transfer device 50 is not limited to the drive current. For example, one or more of the states of the article transfer device 50 listed below may be utilized for detecting a failure sign of the article transfer device 50.

An example of the state of the article transfer device 50 is the drive state of the motor in the traveling drive unit 53, the arm drive unit 65, and the hook piece drive unit 67. In addition to the above-mentioned drive current, the drive state of the motor may be a load factor, a rotation speed, an acceleration, or the like. If there is an abnormality sign in the article transfer device 50, the load factor may become excessive, the rotation speed may change irregularly, or smooth acceleration may not be achieved. Therefore, predict the failure sign from these states. Is possible.

Further, an example of the state of the article transfer device 50 is the usage time of the entire article transfer device 50, or the usage time of some parts (for example, a cooling fan, a capacitor, etc.). If the usage time is long, the article transfer device 50 is likely to fail, and these states can be used for predicting a failure sign.

An example of the state of the article transfer device 50 is the number of times the brake is applied when the carriage 52 has a brake device. This is because if the number of brakings is large, the frequency of use is high and it is predicted that a failure is likely to occur.

Further, an example of the state of the article transfer device 50 is the temperature in any part of the article transfer device 50 (for example, the temperature of the traveling drive unit 53, etc.). This is because if the temperature is higher than usual, it is predicted that a failure sign has occurred in the article transfer device 50.

An example of the state of the article transfer device 50 is the number of times a memory write error, read error, or the like occurs in the transfer control unit 51. This is because it is predicted that if these errors occur frequently in the memory, it will lead to a failure of the article transfer device 50 including the computer.

Further, an example of the state of the article transfer device 50 is a communication state (number of communication retries, etc.) between the transfer control unit 51 and the control unit 100. This is because if the communication state deteriorates, some abnormality has occurred in the communication circuit or the communication line, which is expected to lead to the failure of the article transfer device 50.

Further, an example of the state of the article transfer device 50 is a vibration detection sensor that detects vibration at any part of the article transfer device 50. This is because if a defect such as uneven wear occurs in the movable portion of the article transfer device 50, abnormal vibration may occur, which is expected to lead to a failure of the article transfer device 50.

A pair of warehousing elevating devices 30 are provided with a warehousing elevating control unit 31. The warehousing elevating control unit 31 is composed of a computer equipped with a memory or the like, and in response to a command from the shelf unit control unit 110, from the warehousing height position to the height position corresponding to the stage to be warehousing. The elevating table 32 is moved up and down by driving the elevating drive unit 34.

A pair of delivery elevating devices 40 are provided with a delivery elevating control unit 41. The elevating control unit 41 for warehousing is configured by a computer equipped with a memory or the like, and in response to a command from the shelf unit control unit 110, from a height position corresponding to a stage in which the article 10 to be warehousing is stored. The elevating table 42 is moved up and down by driving the elevating drive unit 44 toward the delivery height position.

The control unit 100 is composed of a computer including a processor 102, a storage unit 104, and the like. The program 104a is stored in the storage unit 104. The processor 102 executes a process related to determination of the presence / absence of a failure sign, which will be described later, according to the program 104a.

That is, in the present embodiment, the shelf unit control unit 110 and the control unit 100 cooperate with each other to determine whether or not there is a failure sign of each of the plurality of article transfer devices 50 based on the output data from the transfer device state acquisition unit 70. Then, when it is determined that there is a failure prediction for any of the plurality of article transfer devices 50, it is determined that there is no failure sign in the warehousing process to the stage where the article transfer device 50 determined to have a failure sign is arranged. Function as a control unit that limits the warehousing process by controlling the operation of at least one of the warehousing elevating control unit 31 and the article transfer device 50 so as to limit the warehousing process of the article transfer device 50. To realize. The processing between the shelf unit control unit 110 and the control unit 100 will be described in more detail later together with the flowchart.

A display unit 108 may be connected to the control unit 100. The display unit 108 is composed of a liquid crystal display device, an organic EL display device, and the like. The display unit 108 may display a failure sign. For example, the display unit 108 may specify any one of the plurality of article transfer devices 50 by the display control of the control unit 100 and display that there is a sign of failure. The identification of the article transfer device 50 may be made, for example, by specifying the specific information (for example, a number) of one of the plurality of storage units 18 and the stage of the article transfer device 50. The indication that there is a failure sign may be made by a message such as "Failure sign is present", or may be made by a color, a mark reminiscent of a failure, or the like. The control unit 100 includes a shelf unit control unit 110 of each storage unit 18, an article transfer device 50, a warehousing elevating device 30, a warehousing elevating device 40, a general control unit 116, and a conveyor control panel via a LAN communication line or the like. It is connected to 119 etc. so that it can communicate.

The control unit 100 may be communicably connected to the external terminal devices 122 and 124 via the communication network 120. The communication network 120 may be a wired type, a wireless type, or a composite thereof. The communication network 120 may be a public communication network, a network by a dedicated line, or a combined network thereof. For example, the communication network 120 is composed of one of a telephone line network, a mobile communication network, a dedicated communication line, a LAN (Local Area Network), a wireless LAN, Bluetooth (registered trademark), or a combination thereof. The remote location is a location outside the walking range, for example, a location 1 km or more away from the storage unit 18.

The external terminal devices 122 and 124 may be computers provided at a remote location with respect to the automated warehouse 20. For example, the external terminal device 122 may be installed in an office for the operator of the automated warehouse 20 to monitor from a position away from the storage unit 18. For example, the external terminal device 124 may be installed at a management base where a maintenance worker who performs maintenance and inspection of the automated warehouse 20 resides.

The control unit 100 may transmit a failure sign to the terminal devices 122 and 124 at a remote location. The fact that a failure sign has occurred on the display units 123 and 125 of the terminal devices 122 and 124 indicates the position identification information of the storage unit 18 (at least one of the location and the warehouse name, further, the specific number of the storage unit 18 and the like), and the stage. It may be displayed with specific information. The terminal devices 122 and 124 may be mobile terminal devices such as smartphones or tablet computers. The control unit 100 may transmit a failure sign to the terminal devices 122 and 124 by e-mail or the like.

The presence or absence of a failure sign may be determined by the shelf unit control unit 110. The command of the shelf unit control unit 110 may be given directly to each drive unit without going through the transfer control unit 51, the warehousing elevating control unit 31, and the like. The control unit 100 may give control commands for the article transfer device 50, the warehousing elevating device 30, and the warehousing elevating device 40. The detection data of the state acquisition unit 70 may be given to the control unit 100 via the shelf unit control unit 110, the transfer control unit 51, the warehousing elevating control unit 31, and the like. A part or all of the shelf unit control unit 110, the transfer control unit 51, and the warehousing elevating control unit 31 may be omitted. The above processing performed by the control unit 100 and the shelf unit control unit 110 may be performed by one computer. In this case, any of the shelf unit control unit 110, the integrated control unit 116, a computer installed at a remote location, and the like. The computer may do it. The above processing performed by the control unit 100 and the shelf unit control unit 110 may be distributed and processed by a plurality of computers. In this case, the control unit 100, the shelf unit control unit 110, the central control unit 116, and a remote location may be used. It may be processed in a distributed manner by a plurality of computers installed at any place such as an installed computer.

As in the present embodiment, the basic processing as an automated warehouse that determines the storage position and performs warehousing and retrieval and the additional processing for determining the sign of failure are performed by separate computers (here, the shelf unit control unit 110). And the control unit 100), an automated warehouse that performs warehousing processing based on failure signs by adding a computer that performs failure sign determination and outputs information or commands based on the determination results to the existing automated warehouse. There is a merit that 20 can be easily realized.

<About warehousing / delivery processing>
The processing related to warehousing / delivery will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. In FIG. 5, steps T1 to T5 show the processing of the control unit 100, and steps S1 to S15 show the processing of the shelf unit control unit 110.

In step S1, the shelf unit control unit 110 determines whether or not the article 10 is warehousing. The presence or absence of warehousing may be determined based on the instruction given from the overall control unit 116. The warehousing instruction by the integrated control unit 116 may be issued based on the instruction of the operator, or may be issued based on the detection data from the detection sensor of the article 10 provided in the middle of the warehousing and transporting conveyor 80. good. When the article 10 is received, the identification information (identification number or the like) associated with the article 10 may be registered. If it is determined in step S1 that there is warehousing, the process proceeds to step S2.

In step S2, it is determined whether or not any one of the plurality of article transfer devices 50 corresponding to the plurality of stages has a failure sign. The determination in step S2 may be made based on, for example, the sign notification information 114c. Each time step S2 is performed, the presence or absence of a failure sign may be determined based on the detection data of the state acquisition unit 70. If it is determined in step S2 that there is no sign of failure in the article transfer device 50 corresponding to any stage, the process proceeds to step S3.

In step S3, the shelf unit control unit 110 determines the storage position of the article 10 based on the position database 114b. That is, since the vacant position on the shelf 24 is specified by referring to the position database 114b, any vacant position is determined as the storage position of the article 10. Any of a plurality of empty positions may be used as the storage position.

If it is determined in step S2 that there is a sign of failure in the article transfer device 50 corresponding to any stage, the process proceeds to step S10.

In step S10, the shelf unit control unit 110 determines the storage position of the article 10 based on the position database 114b and the sign notification information 114c. That is, by referring to the position database 114b, an empty position on the shelf 24 is specified. Further, by referring to the sign notification information 114c, the stage corresponding to the article transfer device 50 indicating the failure sign is specified. The shelf unit control unit 110 determines the storage position of the article 10 from the vacant positions on the shelf 24 excluding the positions existing in the stage corresponding to the article transfer device 50 indicating a failure sign. That is, the shelf unit control unit 110 does not perform the warehousing process for the warehousing article 10 at the stage where the article transfer device 50 determined to have a failure sign is arranged.

After step S3 or step S10, the process proceeds to step S4. In step S4, the shelf unit control unit 110 designates a storage position for the warehousing elevating device 30 and the article transfer device 50 and commands warehousing. For example, the shelf unit control unit 110 causes the warehousing elevating device 30 to perform an operation of moving the article 10 up and down to a stage corresponding to the storage position. Further, the shelf unit control unit 110 causes the article transfer device 50 provided in the stage corresponding to the storage position to perform an operation of transferring the article 10 from the warehousing elevating device 30 to a predetermined storage position on the shelf 24. .. In the present embodiment, the article 10 is passed from the warehousing elevating device 30 to the article transfer device 50 via the warehousing temporary storage shelf 38. As a result, the article 10 is stored in a predetermined storage position.

After step S4, in step S5, it is determined whether or not the warehousing is completed based on the operating status of the article transfer device 50, and if it is determined that the warehousing is completed, the process proceeds to the next step S6.

In step S6, the shelf unit control unit 110 updates the information that the article 10 to be warehousing has been warehousing in the predetermined storage position in the position database 114b.

In the next step S7, it is determined whether or not the failure sign is updated based on the notification of the failure sign from the control unit 100. For example, when it is determined from the control unit 100 that there is a failure sign for the article transfer device 50 corresponding to any stage, the failure sign is notified. Therefore, when the notification is given, the failure sign is updated. Is determined. If it is determined that the failure sign has been updated, the process proceeds to step S8, and the notification information that the failure sign is present is stored in the article transfer device 50 corresponding to the stage determined to have the failure sign.

If it is determined in step S7 that the failure sign has not been updated, and after saving the notification information in step S8, the process proceeds to step S9. In step S9, it is determined whether or not the operation of the automated warehouse is turned off. If it is determined that the operation is off, the process is terminated, and if it is determined that the operation is not turned off, the process returns to step S1.

If it is determined in step S1 that there is no warehousing, the process proceeds to step S11. In step S11, it is determined whether or not the goods have been delivered. The presence or absence of delivery may be determined based on an instruction given from the integrated control unit 116, as in the case of receipt, for example. The delivery instruction by the overall control unit 116 may be issued based on the instruction of the operator. When instructing the delivery of the article 10, it is preferable that the identification information (identification number, etc.) associated with the article 10 is specified by using an input device such as a keyboard or a touch panel. If it is determined in step S11 that there is delivery, the process proceeds to step S12, and if it is determined that there is no delivery, the process proceeds to step S7.

In step S12, the storage position of the article 10 to be delivered is specified based on the position database 114b. That is, the storage position of the article 10 is specified by referring to the position database 114b using the specific information included in the delivery command of the article 10 as a key.

In the next step S13, the shelf unit control unit 110 gives a command to the delivery lifting device 40 and the article transfer device 50 to issue the article 10 stored in the storage position. For example, the shelf unit control unit 110 takes out the article 10 from the storage position on the shelf 24 and transfers it to the goods transfer device 40 provided in the stage corresponding to the storage position. Make the operation work. Further, the shelf unit control unit 110 causes the delivery lifting device 40 to move the article 10 up and down from the stage corresponding to the storage position of the article 10 toward the delivery height position. In the present embodiment, the article 10 is passed from the article transfer device 50 to the delivery elevating device 40 via the temporary storage shelf 48 for delivery.

After step S13, in step S14, the shelf unit control unit 110 determines whether or not the delivery is completed based on the operating status of the article transfer device 50, and if it is determined that the delivery is completed, the process proceeds to the next step S15.

In step S15, the shelf unit control unit 110 updates the information in the position database 114b that the article 10 to be delivered has been delivered from the predetermined storage position (that is, the position has become empty). After that, the process proceeds to step S7.

As described above, when the shelf unit control unit 110 performs processing, the control unit 100 executes the following processing.

That is, when the article transfer device 50 executes an operation by the storage position command (see step S4) and the take-out position command (see step S13) of the shelf unit control unit 110, the control unit 100 is in a state as shown in step T1. The detection data output from the acquisition unit 70 is acquired. The acquired state detection data is stored in the storage unit 104 at least until the failure sign is determined at T2. The state detection data may continue to be stored in the storage unit 104 as history data even after the failure sign determination.

In the next step T2, the control unit 100 determines the presence or absence of a failure sign based on the acquired state detection data of the article transfer device 50. Various processes including well-known techniques can be applied to determine the presence or absence of a failure sign. Regarding the presence or absence of a failure sign, a predetermined condition for determining that there is a failure sign may be set for the state detection data, and it may be determined that there is a failure sign when the state detection data satisfies the predetermined condition. For example, when the drive current of the motor exceeds a predetermined upper limit current value, the load factor of the motor exceeds a predetermined upper limit value, the speed change range during constant speed running exceeds a predetermined condition range, the acceleration If the article transfer device 50 cannot reach the predetermined conditional acceleration, or if the usage time of all or part of the article transfer device 50 exceeds the predetermined condition time, the number of times of braking of the article transfer device 50 exceeds the predetermined condition number of times. If the temperature of any part of the article transfer device 50 exceeds the predetermined condition temperature, or if the number of abnormalities of the memory and communication function in the transfer control unit 51 exceeds the predetermined condition number, the article transfer The presence or absence of a failure sign may be determined by one or a combination of cases where abnormal vibration is detected in the mounting device 50. The presence or absence of a failure sign may be determined by applying a guess model generated by machine learning to the state detection data. An example of this case will be described later.

In the next step T3, if it is determined that the article transfer device 50 corresponding to any stage has a failure sign, the process proceeds to step T4, and if it is determined that there is no failure sign, the process proceeds to step T5.

In step T4, the shelf unit control unit 110 is notified that the article transfer device 50 corresponding to the stage has a sign of failure. After that, the process proceeds to step T5.

In step T5, it is determined whether or not the operation of the automated warehouse is turned off. If it is determined that the operation is off, the process is terminated, and if it is determined that the operation is not turned off, the process returns to step T1.

As described above, the shelf unit control unit 110 performs the warehousing process without performing the warehousing process for the warehousing article 10 at the stage where the article transfer device 50 determined to have a failure sign is arranged. conduct. In this warehousing process, the article 10 stored in the stage where the article transfer device 50 determined to have a sign of failure is placed is also warehousing in the same manner as the other stages.

<Example of judgment of failure sign by machine learning>
The presence or absence of a failure sign of the article transfer device 50 may be determined by applying a machine-learned guess model. For example, as shown in FIG. 6, learning data is input to the machine learning device 150. The learning data is composed of the state data of the article transfer device 50 obtained by the state acquisition unit 70. For example, the learning data is composed of a data string group in which time-series data of the drive current of the motor is divided at regular time intervals. The learning data may be multidimensional data including a plurality of types of state data of the article transfer device 50. When the training data is multidimensional data, the dimensions may be reduced so as to be suitable for machine learning processing.

As the machine learning device 150, any classifier may be used, for example, an SVM (support vector machine) or a neural network. The learning may be unsupervised learning based on the state detection data during normal operation, or may be supervised learning based on the state detection data during normal operation and the state detection data during continuous failure sign.

The lower part of FIG. 6 is a diagram conceptually showing the learned inference model when unsupervised learning is performed based on the state detection data during normal operation. In this example, OCSVM (One-Class Support Vector Machine) is applied as the machine learning device 150. In the figure, the learning data is represented by two feature quantities 1 and 2. The contour lines L in the figure indicate lines having the same classification score. It is shown that the more the contour lines L are surrounded, the closer to the normal operation, and the more the contour lines L deviate from the contour line L, the more the degree deviates from the normal state.

As shown in FIG. 7, the guess model 150M trained as described above is applied to the state data obtained in step T1. When the operating state of the article transfer device 50 is normal, the state data 152a falls within the contour line L determined to be normal, as shown on the left side of FIG. 7. Therefore, it is determined that there is no sign of failure. On the other hand, when the operating state of the article transfer device 50 is out of the normal state, the state data 152b is out of the reference contour line L judged to be normal, as shown on the right side of FIG. Will increase. Therefore, when the state data during the operation of the article transfer device 50 deviates from the reference contour line L determined to be normal, or when the deviation from the reference contour line L exceeds a predetermined number, etc. , It can be determined that there is a sign of failure.

<About effects>
According to the automated warehouse 20 configured in this way, the goods transfer device 50 determined to have a sign of failure is restricted in the warehousing process, so that the operating rate of the goods transfer device 50 is lowered and the goods transfer device 50 completely fails. It becomes difficult. Therefore, the delivery operation is likely to be continued. As a result, it is possible to avoid a situation in which it becomes difficult to deliver the article 10 from the automated warehouse 20 due to a failure of the article transfer device 50.

The limitation of the warehousing process performed by the control unit 100 and the shelf unit control unit 110 is that the warehousing process for the article 10 to be warehousing is performed at the stage where the article transfer device 50 determined to have a failure sign is placed. Includes control to perform shipping processing without. Therefore, since the article transfer device 50 determined to have a failure sign does not need to perform the warehousing process, the article transfer device 50 is less likely to fail completely. Further, since the article transfer device 50 determined to have a failure sign can be delivered, the delivery of the article 10 can be continuously performed regardless of the presence or absence of the failure sign.

The warehousing process performed by the control unit 100 and the shelf unit control unit 110 may be restricted as compared with other stages corresponding to the article transfer device 50 which is not determined to have a failure sign. It is not limited to the case where the goods are not received at all in the stage. For example, each of the following processes is included when the warehousing process is restricted. For example, the shelf unit control unit 110 stores the article 10 in preference to another stage different from the stage corresponding to the product transfer device 50 determined to have a failure sign, and there is no empty position in the other stage. In this case, or when the warehousing / delivery operation of another stage is in progress, the article 10 may be stored in the stage corresponding to the article transfer device 50 determined to have a sign of failure. For example, the shelf unit control unit 110 makes the allocation ratio of the warehousing position to the stage corresponding to the article transfer device 50 determined to have a failure sign lower than the allocation ratio of the warehousing position of each of the other stages. May be good.

Further, by applying the guess model 150M generated by machine learning to determine the presence or absence of a failure sign, the failure sign can be easily determined.

Further, the control unit 100 displays a failure sign on the display unit 108. Therefore, even in a situation where the article transfer device 50 determined to have a failure sign continues the delivery operation or the like, the on-site manager or the like can know the failure sign by looking at the display unit 108.

Further, since the control unit 100 also transmits the failure sign to the terminal devices 122 and 124 at the remote location, the manager at the remote location, the maintenance person, and the like can know the failure sign.

<Modification example>
In the above embodiment, the explanation is made on the assumption that the failure sign of the article transfer device 50 is grasped as one state. It is assumed that the signs of failure signs indicated by the article transfer device 50 can be grasped by dividing them into a plurality of levels in view of the possibility of failure. Therefore, the control unit 100 and the shelf unit control unit 110 determine the presence or absence of a plurality of levels of failure signs based on the output from the state acquisition unit 70, and change the warehousing process restriction process according to the failure sign level. You may.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing an example of warehousing processing in the case of performing the first level failure sign and the second level failure sign. FIG. 8 shows a modified example of the processing after the shelf unit control unit 110 determines in step S1 of FIG. 5 that there is warehousing. If it is determined that there is warehousing, in step S21, it is determined whether or not there is a failure sign stage of the first level. If it is determined in step S21 that there is a first-level failure sign stage, the process proceeds to step S31, and if it is determined that there is no first-level failure sign stage, the process proceeds to step S22. In step S22, it is determined whether or not there is a second level failure sign stage. If it is determined in step S22 that there is a second level failure sign stage, the process proceeds to step S30, and if it is determined that there is no second level failure sign stage, the process proceeds to step S23.

Similar to the flowchart shown in FIG. 5, the determination in steps S21 and S22 may be made based on the sign notification information 114c, or may be determined based on the state data each time the determination is made.

The first-level failure sign is more likely to lead to a failure than the second-level failure sign. For example, two condition values different from each other are set for the state value (for example, drive current) of the motor, and when the state value exceeds the larger condition value, it is determined that there is a failure sign of the first level, and the state value is determined. If the value exceeds the smaller condition value, it may be determined that there is a second level failure sign. Further, for example, taking the guess model shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 as an example, the first level data is the data that is located on the outer periphery of the contour line L more than the second level data. If it is determined that there is a first-level failure sign, a failure is likely to occur. Therefore, if it is determined that there is a first-level failure sign, the restriction of the warehousing process is determined to be that there is a second-level failure sign. It will be stricter than the restrictions on the warehousing process. Strict restrictions on warehousing processing for any stage means, for example, reducing the number of warehousing processing in that stage to be smaller than in the other stages.

In the present embodiment, when it is determined that there is a first-level failure sign, the warehousing position of the article 10 is determined based on the position database 104b and the sign notification information 114c as shown in step S31. At this time, the allocation of the warehousing position is prohibited for the stage where the article transfer device 50 determined to have a failure sign of the first level is arranged. Further, when it is determined that there is a second level failure sign, as shown in step S30, the warehousing position of the article 10 is determined based on the position database 104b and the sign notification information 114c. At this time, the allocation ratio of the warehousing position is reduced in the stage where the article transfer device 50 determined to have a second level failure sign is arranged, as compared with the other stages.

After any of the processes of steps S23, S30, and S31, the process proceeds to step S4, and the warehousing process of the article 10 is performed in the same manner as the process of step S4 of FIG.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a processing example in the case of determining a first-level failure sign and a second-level failure sign. FIG. 9 shows a modified example relating to the processing after the state is received in step T1 of FIG. When the state is received, the failure sign is determined in step T2.

In the next step T11, the presence or absence of the first level failure sign stage is determined based on the state data acquired in step T1. When it is determined that there is a first-level failure sign, the process proceeds to step T12, and information that there is a first-level failure sign at the stage where the article transfer device 50 determined to have the first-level failure sign is placed. Is notified to the shelf unit control unit 110. The notification information is stored in the shelf unit control unit 110 as the sign notification information 114c.

If it is determined in step T11 that there is no first-level failure sign stage, the process proceeds to step T13. In step T13, it is determined whether or not there is a second level failure sign. When it is determined that there is a second level failure sign, the process proceeds to step T14, and information that there is a second level failure sign at the stage where the article transfer device 50 determined to have the second level failure sign is placed. Is notified to the shelf unit control unit 110. The notification information is stored in the shelf unit control unit 110 as the sign notification information 114c.

If it is determined that there is no sign of failure of the second level after steps T12 and T14 and in step T13, the process proceeds to step T5, and if necessary, processing for the next warehousing / delivery is performed.

In the processes shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the degree of failure sign may be determined in more stages. Further, the warehousing process may be restricted in more stages based on the degree of failure sign.

According to this modification, it is possible to limit the warehousing process of the article transfer device 50 according to the degree of failure sign. For example, when the possibility of failure is low, the restriction on the warehousing process by the article transfer device 50 is relaxed to give priority to the warehousing / delivery efficiency, and when the possibility of failure is high, the restriction on the warehousing process is tightened. Priority can be given to the prevention of complete failure of the transfer device 50.

10 and 11 are flowcharts showing a processing example of limiting the warehousing process for the storage unit 18 having a failure sign based on the state of the warehousing elevating device 30. FIG. 10 shows the processing of the control unit 100 and the shelf unit control unit 110 corresponding to FIG. 5, and FIG. 11 shows the processing of the integrated control unit 116.

That is, when there are a plurality of storage units 18, and if it is determined that the warehousing elevating device 30 has a failure sign, the storage unit 18 corresponding to the warehousing elevating device 30 determined to have the failure sign is , The warehousing process may be restricted.

With respect to FIG. 10, the difference from the process of FIG. 5 will be mainly described. In step Tb1 corresponding to step T1, the control unit 100 is the warehousing elevating device 30 in addition to the operating condition from the article transfer device 50. Get the operating status. That is, when the warehousing elevating device 30 performs the warehousing operation, the operating status of the warehousing elevating device 30 is acquired by the warehousing elevating device state acquisition unit. Like the state acquisition unit 70 in the article transfer device 50, the warehousing elevating device state acquisition unit acquires a state indicating the operating status of the warehousing elevating device 30 for warehousing. The warehousing elevating device state acquisition unit is, for example, a sensor for acquiring the motor status of the warehousing / elevating drive unit 34 (for example, a sensor for detecting a drive current), a temperature of any part of the warehousing elevating device 30, and a vibration state. It may be a sensor or the like to acquire.

Next, in step Tb2 corresponding to step T2, the control unit 100 determines whether or not there is a sign of failure of the article transfer device 50, and is for warehousing based on the acquired state detection data of the warehousing elevating device 30. The presence or absence of a failure sign is also determined for the elevating device 30. Various processes including well-known techniques can be applied to determine the presence or absence of a failure sign. The presence or absence of a failure sign can be determined by the same process as for determining the presence or absence of a failure sign in the article transfer device 50.

Next, in step Tb3 corresponding to step T3, if it is determined that there is a failure sign for either the article transfer device 50 or the warehousing elevating device 30, the process proceeds to step Tb4 corresponding to step T4, and there is a failure sign. Notify the shelf unit control unit 110 of the article transfer device 50 or the warehousing elevating device 30 determined to be.

If it is determined in step Tb3 that there is no sign of failure, and after the processing of step Tb4, the process proceeds to step T5.

The shelf unit control unit 110 confirms the warehousing / delivery request in step Sb0 before the step S1. The confirmation is made based on the warehousing request from the integrated control unit 116 or the warehousing request from the conveyor control panel 119. The delivery request is a command to issue the article 10, and includes specific information of the article 10. The warehousing request is a command to warehousing the article 10.

After step Sb0, the process proceeds to step S1. Since the processes of steps S1 to S6 and S10 to S15 are the same as the processes shown in FIG. 5, step S6 and step Sb1 after step S15 will be described.

In step Sb1, the shelf unit control unit 110 transmits the warehousing / delivery information to the integrated control unit 116. The warehousing / delivery information is warehousing completion information in response to the warehousing request or warehousing completion information in response to the warehousing request. As a result, the integrated control unit 116 can grasp that the processing corresponding to the warehousing / delivery request has been completed. If the warehousing / delivery information includes the warehousing position and the like, the integrated control unit 116 can manage the warehousing / delivery position of the article 10.

In the next step Sb2, it is determined whether or not there is a warehousing elevating device 30 having no failure sign based on the failure sign notification from the control unit 100. If YES, the process proceeds to step Sb3, and if NO, the process proceeds to step Sb6.

In step Sb3, it is determined whether or not there is a stage having no sign of failure. If YES, the process proceeds to step Sb4, and if NO, the process proceeds to step Sb6.

In step Sb4, it is determined whether or not there is a free space that can be stored by referring to the location database 114b. If YES, the process proceeds to step Sb5, and if NO, the process proceeds to step Sb6.

In the case of step Sb5, the article 10 may be stored in the storage unit 18. Therefore, the shelf unit control unit 110 notifies the conveyor control panel 119 that the warehousing branch is possible.

In the case of step Sb6, the article 10 is not stored in the storage unit 18. Therefore, the shelf unit control unit 110 notifies the conveyor control panel 119 that the warehousing branch is not possible.

After that, the process proceeds to step S9.

As shown in FIG. 11, the integrated control unit 116 determines in step U1 whether or not there is warehousing. Whether or not there is warehousing (the same applies to whether or not there is warehousing, which will be described later) may be determined based on the instructions of the worker, or may be determined based on instructions based on a higher-level computer. In the case of warehousing, the process proceeds to step U2.

In step U2, a conveyor warehousing instruction is given to the conveyor control panel 119. The conveyor control panel 119 is given a warehousing branch availability signal from the shelf unit control unit 110, and the conveyor control panel 119 selects one from at least one storage unit 18 that can be warehousing in response to a warehousing instruction. Then, the warehousing and transporting conveyor 80 is controlled so as to transport the warehousing article 10 toward the storage unit 18. For example, the extrusion mechanism 83 is instructed to extrude the article 10 to the branch line portion 84 corresponding to the storage unit 18. One selection from at least one storage unit 18 that can be stocked may be made by any criterion, for example, may be randomly selected or may be selected in sequence. A warehousing request is transmitted to the shelf unit control unit 110 corresponding to the selected storage unit 18 according to the selection result by the conveyor control panel 119. After this, the process proceeds to step U3.

If it is determined in step U1 that the goods are not received, the process proceeds to step U4. In step U4, it is determined whether or not the goods have been delivered. If it is determined that the goods are not delivered, the process returns to step U1, and if it is determined that the goods are not delivered, the process proceeds to step U5.

In step U5, the storage unit 18 for taking out the article 10 is specified. This identification is made based on the specific information of the article 10 instructed to be delivered and the location database 114b. The storage unit 18 is specified by the integrated control unit 116 itself, which stores the position database 114b, and may be specified based on the position database 114b. This may be done by the overall control unit 116 making an inquiry to the shelf unit control unit 110 or the like, or by referring to the position database 114b of the shelf unit control unit 110.

In the next step U6, a delivery instruction is given to the conveyor control panel 119 from the specified storage unit 18, and a delivery instruction is given to the shelf unit control unit 110 for the specified storage unit 18. As a result, the corresponding storage unit 18 discharges the article 10 toward the delivery conveyor 90, and the delivery transfer conveyor 90 conveys the article 10 from the corresponding storage unit 18 to the outside. After this, step U3 is executed.

In step U3, it is determined whether or not the processing is completed. When the operation end command of the automated warehouse is issued, the process is terminated, and when the warehousing / dispatching operation of the automated warehouse is continued, the process returns to step U1.

In step Sb2, when there are a plurality of (two in this case) warehousing elevating devices 30 in the storage unit 18, warehousing is restricted when it is determined that there is a failure sign for all the warehousing elevating devices 30. Alternatively, the warehousing may be restricted when it is determined that there is a sign of failure in some of the warehousing elevating devices 30.

Further, in this example, when it is determined that there is a sign of failure in the warehousing elevating device 30, the process of not warehousing at all has been described. It is not necessary to completely restrict the warehousing in this way, and when it is determined that there is a sign of failure in the warehousing elevating device 30, the warehousing process may be restricted as compared with the other storage units 18. That is, the limitation of the warehousing process for any of the storage units 18 includes the case where the warehousing ratio is smaller than that of the other storage units 18.

Instead of determining the presence or absence of a failure sign of the control unit 100 and the warehousing elevating device 30, the presence or absence of a failure sign of the warehousing elevating device 40 is determined, and the shelving unit control unit 110 determines the presence or absence of a failure sign of the warehousing elevating device 40. When it is determined that there is a failure sign of 40, the storage of the storage unit 18 provided with the delivery lifting device 40 determined to have the failure sign may be restricted.

The warehousing branch availability signal may be transmitted to the integrated control unit 116, and the warehousing unit 18 to be the warehousing destination may be specified so that the warehousing elevating device 30 with a sign of failure restricts warehousing in the integrated control unit 116.

According to this example, since the warehousing process of the warehousing elevating device 30 determined to have a failure sign is restricted, the operating rate is lowered and it becomes difficult to completely break down. Therefore, it is possible to avoid a situation in which it is completely difficult to store goods from the automated warehouse due to a failure of the storage lifting device 30. In particular, when one warehousing elevating device 30 is provided for one storage unit 18, it is possible to suppress a situation in which warehousing cannot be completed completely. When one warehousing elevating device 30 is provided for one storage unit 18 and it is determined that the one warehousing elevating device 30 has a sign of failure, the warehousing elevating device 40 may be used for both warehousing and delivery. good.

Further, if the warehousing process to the storage unit 18 corresponding to the warehousing elevating device 40 determined to have a failure sign is restricted, the operating rate of the warehousing elevating device 40 decreases, and it becomes difficult to completely fail. Therefore, the delivery operation of the delivery lifting device 40 is likely to be continued. The purpose of this is to avoid a situation in which it becomes difficult to deliver goods from the automated warehouse due to a failure of the delivery lifting device 40. In particular, when one delivery lifting device 40 is provided for one storage unit 18, it is possible to suppress a situation in which delivery cannot be performed. If one warehousing elevating device 40 is provided for one storage unit 18 and it is determined that there is a sign of failure in the one warehousing elevating device 40, the warehousing elevating device 30 may be used for both warehousing and delivery. good.

The automated warehouse that performs such processing is provided in each of a plurality of storage units including a plurality of stages of shelves and the plurality of storage units, and the goods to be stored are stored in the above-mentioned stages corresponding to the storage locations from the height position for storage. A warehousing elevating device (for example, a warehousing elevating device 30) that performs a warehousing process to move to the height position of The output data from the article transfer device (for example, the article transfer device 50) for transferring the article to the shelf, the state acquisition unit for acquiring the respective states of the plurality of warehousing elevating devices, and the state acquisition unit. Based on this, it is determined whether or not there is a failure sign of the plurality of warehousing elevating devices, and if it is determined that there is a failure prediction for any of the plurality of warehousing elevating devices, the warehousing elevating device determined to have a failure sign is determined. The operation of the warehousing elevating device is controlled to limit the warehousing process so as to limit the warehousing process to the storage unit in which the warehousing is placed. It can be grasped as an automated warehouse including a control unit (control unit 100, shelf unit control unit 110, general control unit 116, and conveyor control panel 119).

In this case, the process for determining the presence / absence of a failure sign, the process for leveling the failure sign, etc. described in the above embodiment may be applied.

Further, the automatic warehouse is provided in each of a plurality of storage units including a plurality of stages of shelves and the plurality of storage units, and the height of the stage corresponding to the storage location from the height position for warehousing of the goods to be delivered. The height of the warehousing elevating device (for example, the warehousing elevating device 30) that performs the warehousing process to move to the up position and the height of the step corresponding to the storage location provided in each of the plurality of storage units. An elevating device for warehousing (for example, an elevating device for warehousing 40) that performs a warehousing process for moving from a position to a height position for warehousing, and each of the plurality of storage units are arranged in each of the stages and used for warehousing. An article transfer device (for example, an article transfer device 50) that transfers an article from the elevating device to the shelf and also transfers an article from the shelf to the delivery elevating device, and the plurality of delivery elevating devices. Based on the state acquisition unit that acquires each state and the output data from the state acquisition unit, it is determined whether or not there is a sign of failure of the plurality of delivery elevating devices, and any one of the plurality of delivery elevating devices fails. When it is determined that there is a prediction, the warehousing process to the storage unit in which the warehousing elevating device determined to have a failure sign is arranged is performed for the warehousing corresponding to the warehousing elevating device determined to have no failure sign. A control unit (control unit 100, shelf unit control unit 110, general control unit 116, and conveyor control panel) that controls the operation of the warehousing elevating device to limit the warehousing process so as to limit the warehousing process rather than the warehousing process of the elevating device. It can be grasped as an automatic warehouse equipped with 119).

In these cases, the process for determining the presence / absence of a failure sign, the process for leveling the failure sign, etc. described in the above embodiment may be applied.

Further, in these modifications, when a plurality of warehousing elevating devices 30 are provided in one storage unit 18, the use of the warehousing elevating device 30 determined to have a failure sign may be stopped. Similarly, when a plurality of delivery lifting devices 40 are provided in one storage unit 18, the delivery lifting device 40 determined to have a failure sign may be stopped.

It should be noted that the configurations described in the above-described embodiment and each modification can be appropriately combined as long as they do not conflict with each other.

The present specification and drawings disclose the following aspects.

The first aspect is a plurality of shelves, a warehousing elevating device that performs a warehousing process for moving the goods to be warehousing from the warehousing height position to the warehousing height position corresponding to the storage location, and each of the above. An article transfer device that is arranged in each of the stages and transfers articles from the warehousing elevating device to the shelf, a transfer device state acquisition unit that acquires the state of each of the plurality of article transfer devices, and the transfer device. Based on the output data from the loading device status acquisition unit, it is determined whether or not there is a failure sign of each of the plurality of article transfer devices, and if it is determined that any of the plurality of article transfer devices has a failure prediction, a failure occurs. The warehousing elevating device and the warehousing elevating device so as to limit the warehousing process to the stage where the article transfer device determined to have a sign is arranged to be more restricted than the warehousing process of the article transfer device determined to have no failure sign. It is an automatic warehouse including a control unit that controls at least one operation of the article transfer device to limit the warehousing process.

According to the first aspect, since the warehousing process is restricted for the article transfer device determined to have a sign of failure, the operating rate is lowered and it becomes difficult to completely fail. Therefore, the delivery operation is likely to be continued. As a result, it is possible to avoid a situation in which it becomes difficult to deliver goods from the automated warehouse due to a failure of the goods transfer device.

The second aspect is the automatic warehouse according to the first aspect, in which the control unit has a first-level failure sign and the first level based on the output from the transfer device state acquisition unit. The presence or absence of a second-level failure sign, which is more likely to be a failure than the level, is determined, and the warehousing process is performed in the stage where the article transfer device determined to have the second-level failure sign is placed. It is an automatic warehouse in which the restriction is made stricter than the restriction of the warehousing process to the stage where the article transfer device determined to have a second level failure sign is arranged. This makes it possible to change the restrictions on the warehousing process of the goods transfer device according to the degree of failure sign.

The third aspect is the automated warehouse according to the first or second aspect, in which the goods to be delivered are moved from the height position of the step corresponding to the storage location to the height position for delivery. An article transfer device is further provided with a delivery lifting device, and the article transfer device transfers articles from the shelf to the delivery lifting device, and it is determined that there is a sign of failure in the restriction of the warehousing process performed by the control unit. The stage in which the article transfer device is arranged is an automated warehouse including a control for performing the warehousing process without performing the warehousing process for the article to be warehousing. In this case, since the article transfer device determined to have a failure sign does not perform the warehousing process, the article transfer device is less likely to fail completely.

The fourth aspect is the automated warehouse according to any one of the first to the third aspects, and the control unit is generated by machine learning with respect to the output data from the transfer device state acquisition unit. It is an automated warehouse that determines the presence or absence of failure signs of each of the plurality of article transfer devices by applying the estimation model. In this case, the presence or absence of a failure sign can be determined by applying the guess model generated by machine learning.

A fifth aspect is an automated warehouse according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, wherein the transfer device state acquisition unit outputs motor state detection data in the article transfer device, automatically. It is a warehouse. Thereby, it is possible to determine the presence or absence of a failure sign of the article transfer device based on the state of the motor that operates the article transfer device.

A sixth aspect is an automated warehouse according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, wherein the control unit is an automated warehouse that displays a failure sign on a display unit. As a result, the site manager or the like can know the failure sign by looking at the display unit.

A seventh aspect is an automated warehouse according to any one of the first to sixth aspects, wherein the control unit is an automated warehouse that transmits a failure sign to a terminal device at a remote location. As a result, the terminal device in the remote location allows the administrator in the remote location, the person in charge of maintenance, and the like to know the sign of failure.

The above description is exemplary in all respects, and the invention is not limited thereto. It is understood that innumerable variations not illustrated can be assumed without departing from the scope of the present invention.

10 Goods 18 Storage unit 20 Automatic warehouse 24 Shelf 30 Elevating device for warehousing 40 Elevating device for warehousing 50 Goods transfer device 70 Transfer device Status acquisition unit 100 Control unit 102 Processor 104 Storage unit 104a Program 104b Position database 108 Display unit 110 Shelf Unit control unit 112 Processor 114 Storage unit 114a Program 114b Position database 114c Predictive notification information 116 Central control unit 117 Processor 118 Storage unit 119 Conveyor control panel 120 Communication network 122, 124 External terminal device 150 Machine learning device 150M Guess model

Claims (7)

With multiple shelves,
An elevating device for warehousing that performs warehousing processing to move the goods to be warehousing from the height position for warehousing to the height position of the step corresponding to the storage location.
An article transfer device, which is arranged in each of the above stages and transfers articles from the warehousing elevating device to the shelf.
The transfer device state acquisition unit that acquires the state of each of the plurality of article transfer devices, and
It is determined that the presence or absence of a failure sign of each of the plurality of article transfer devices is determined based on the output data from the transfer device state acquisition unit, and it is determined that any one of the plurality of article transfer devices has a failure prediction. The warehousing process to the stage where the article transfer device determined to have a failure sign is placed is restricted to the warehousing process of the article transfer device determined to have no failure sign. A control unit that controls the operation of at least one of the device and the article transfer device to limit the warehousing process.
Automated warehouse equipped with. The automated warehouse according to claim 1.
The control unit is
Based on the output from the transfer device state acquisition unit, it is determined whether or not there is a first-level failure sign and whether or not there is a second-level failure sign that is more likely to fail than the first level.
The article transfer device determined to have a second-level failure sign is placed to limit the warehousing process to the stage where the article transfer device determined to have a second-level failure sign is placed. Tighter than the restrictions on the warehousing process to the stage,
Automatic warehouse. The automated warehouse according to claim 1 or 2.
Further equipped with a shipping lifting device that performs a shipping process for moving the goods to be shipped from the height position of the step corresponding to the storage location to the height position for shipping.
The article transfer device transfers articles from the shelf to the delivery lifting device.
The limitation of the warehousing process performed by the control unit is that the warehousing process for the article to be warehousing is not performed at the stage where the article transfer device determined to have a failure sign is placed. Including control to do,
Automatic warehouse. The automated warehouse according to any one of claims 1 to 3.
The control unit determines whether or not there is a failure sign of each of the plurality of article transfer devices by applying a guess model generated by machine learning to the output data from the transfer device state acquisition unit. ,
Automatic warehouse. The automated warehouse according to any one of claims 1 to 4.
The transfer device state acquisition unit outputs the state detection data of the motor in the article transfer device.
Automatic warehouse. The automated warehouse according to any one of claims 1 to 5.
The control unit displays a failure sign on the display unit.
Automatic warehouse. The automated warehouse according to any one of claims 1 to 6.
The control unit transmits a failure sign to a terminal device at a remote location.
Automatic warehouse.

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