JP3973860B2 - Warehousing / exiting control device and warehousing / exiting control method for automatic warehouse - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a storage / retrieval control apparatus and a storage / exit control method for an automatic warehouse that automatically stores and retrieves articles and retrieves them.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Generally, in an automatic warehouse used in a physical distribution system or the like, a warehouse entry / exit that can be moved horizontally is provided in front of each shelf of a storage shelf. Then, goods are loaded into and out of the shelf by the loading / unloading dolly.
[0003]
In a conventional automatic warehouse, the entry / exit dory basically performs entry / exit of goods to / from the shelf in units of one. Of course, the goods entering / exiting operation by the entering / exiting dolly has been completely separated.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
By the way, in the above-mentioned automatic warehouse, in order to perform the goods in-and-out operation efficiently, the structure which performs the goods in-and-out operation of goods by a plurality of units and an in-and-out dolly is proposed.
[0005]
In this case, similarly to the conventional case, if the goods entering operation and the goods leaving operation by the goods entering / exiting dolly are completely separated, the efficiency of the goods entering / exiting operation is inferior.
[0006]
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide an automatic warehouse entrance / exit control device and an entrance / exit control method that can efficiently perform an operation of entering / exiting articles to / from a storage shelf.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the invention according to claim 1 is a storage shelf having a shelf, a storage reservoir that moves a plurality of articles to be moved to a position corresponding to the shelf, and the storage reservoir. It is possible to collect a plurality of articles from the batch, transfer the plurality of articles individually to the empty space of the shelf, and receive the goods. Entry / exit dory, unloading means capable of receiving a plurality of articles taken in the entry / exit dory and carrying them out to the outside, identification information of articles stored in the storage shelf, and storage position information of articles A storage position data storage unit that stores the storage position data associated with the storage position data, and based on the storage position data, determines a storage position of an article stored in the shelf and updates / creates the storage position data; Depending on the decision An entry position determination processing unit that gives an entry instruction of an article to an entry / exit dory, an entry of an exit request for each article stored in the storage shelf, and an exit position of an article to be delivered based on the storage position data Then, the storage position data is updated and created, and a warehousing content determination processing unit that gives a warehousing instruction to the warehousing / delivery according to the determination content, and when the warehousing instruction and the warehousing instruction are given at the same time, A dolly operation control unit that causes the loading / unloading dolly to perform a loading / unloading mixing operation in which the loading / unloading operation of each article with respect to the shelf is mixed.
[0008]
In addition, as described in claim 2, the storage shelf may have a plurality of shelf levels in the vertical direction, and the loading / unloading dolly may be provided corresponding to each shelf level.
[0009]
According to a third aspect of the present invention, the storage reservoir is provided on one end side of the storage shelf, and the unloading means is provided on the other end side of the storage shelf. After the loading / unloading dolly at the stage has taken in a plurality of articles from the storage reservoir, the articles are sequentially placed from the one at the loading position while moving to the other end of the shelf. Even if it is an operation of taking in and taking out an article to be delivered from the shelf, if there is an empty capacity that can be transferred to and placed in the shelf and the goods can be taken into the storage / dolly during the movement. Good.
[0010]
Further, as described in claim 4, the loading / unloading mixing operation is performed in such a manner that the number of empty capacities generated during the movement of the loading / unloading dolly at a predetermined shelf to the other end of the shelf When the number of goods to be delivered at the passing position in the middle of the movement exceeds the number, the operation of returning to the position at which the entry / exit dolly passes and taking in the goods to be delivered may be performed.
[0011]
The invention according to claim 5 is a storage shelf having a shelf, a storage reservoir that moves a plurality of articles to be moved to a position corresponding to the shelf, and a plurality of articles from the storage reservoir. Loading and unloading dollies that can be transferred in a batch and individually transferred to the empty space of the shelf and can be received, and a plurality of items in the shelf can be individually transferred and output, and A loading / unloading control method for an automatic warehouse comprising a plurality of articles received in the loading / unloading dolly and capable of being carried out toward the outside. Update and create storage position data that associates the specific information of the stored articles and the storage position information of the articles, and based on the storage position data, determines the storage position of the articles to be stored in the shelf, For each article stored in the storage shelf Based on the input of the unloading request to be performed and the storage position data, the unloading position is determined, and when both the unloading position of the articles to be unloaded and the unloading position of the articles to be unloaded are determined, the unloading operation and the unloading operation of each article The loading / unloading mixing operation is performed by the loading / unloading dolly.
[0012]
In addition, as the said entering / exiting mixing operation | movement, as the said in / out warehouse mixing operation | movement, the said 1st process in which the said in-and-out delivery dolly takes in a plurality of articles | goods from the said in-coming storage reservoir | reserver at the one end side of the said storage shelf, and the said in-and-out delivery While the dolly moves from one end side to the other end side of the storage shelf, it is determined whether or not there is an article to be delivered, and it is determined whether or not the number of passing items exceeds the number of empty capacity of the entry / exit dory. In the second step and the second step, it is determined that there is no article to be delivered that has passed through, or it is determined that the passing number does not exceed the empty capacity, and at the scheduled stop position on the next other end side A third step of performing an operation of moving an entry / exit dory to the next scheduled stop position and transferring an article when the operation content of the entry / exit dory is determined to be exited; In the process, the outbound delivery pair It is determined that there is no article or the number of passages does not exceed the free capacity, and the operation content of the loading / unloading dolly at the scheduled stop position on the other end side is loading, and the empty capacity In the fourth step of performing the operation of moving the loading / unloading dolly to the next scheduled stop position and taking out the article when it is present, and in the second step, it is determined that there is no article to be delivered. Or when it is determined that the number of passages does not exceed the free capacity, and the operation content of the loading / unloading dory at the scheduled stop position on the other end side is loading, and there is no free capacity, In the fifth step of moving the loading / unloading dolly so as to pass through the next scheduled stop position, and in the second step, it is determined that there is an article to be discharged, and the number of passing passes is determined to exceed the empty capacity. Is In this case, the sixth step of moving to each outgoing object corresponding position that has passed through the incoming and outgoing doors and performing the operation of taking in each outgoing object, and the above process until all of the outgoing objects are taken in. After repeating the second to sixth steps, the seventh step of moving each of the articles to the unloading means by moving the loading / unloading dolly to the other end side of the storage shelf may be included. .
[0013]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, an automatic warehouse input / output control apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described.
[0014]
<1. Overall configuration of automated warehouse>
As shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 2, FIG. 3 (a), and FIG. 3 (b), the automatic warehouse is configured such that articles (corrugated cardboard packed articles, etc.) P are received from the storage conveyor 10 into the storage reservoir 20, the storage traverser 30, and the storage / exit. It is stored in the storage shelf 5 via the dolly 40, and the article P stored in the storage shelf 5 is carried out to the outside via the storage / removal dolly 40, the storage temporary storage unit 60, the storage reservoir 70 and the storage conveyor 80. Composed.
[0015]
The storage shelf 5 has a plurality of (e.g., 10) shelf stages extending along a predetermined direction (for convenience, the X1-X2 directions shown in FIGS. 1, 2, 3 (a) and 3 (b)). 6. Each shelf 6 has a configuration in which a plurality of vertical bars 7 extending in the front-rear direction are arranged in parallel at predetermined intervals, and a plurality of articles P can be placed on the vertical bars 7. Further, in the present embodiment, the two storage shelves 5 are arranged in parallel at a predetermined interval, and a loading / unloading dolly 40 or the like is disposed between the two storage shelves 5.
[0016]
The warehousing conveyor 10 is installed on a path from a place where the article P is carried in (a place where a truck is placed, etc., not shown) to one side (X1 side) of the storage shelf 5. When the article P is placed on the warehousing conveyor 10 at the carry-in location, the rollers of the warehousing conveyor 10 are rotationally driven by a motor (not shown), and the article P is stored in the storage shelf 5 from the carry-in location of the warehousing conveyor 10. It is transported toward the side portion 10A (hereinafter, the uniform alignment region 10A).
[0017]
The uniform alignment region 10A is provided with a plurality of stoppers (not shown) as means for arranging the articles P at regular intervals. Then, as the articles P are transported to the uniform alignment region 10A, the respective stoppers are sequentially advanced from the downstream side in the transport direction toward the upstream side to stop the transport of the respective articles P, whereby a plurality of articles P are stopped. Are arranged on the uniform alignment region 10A in a uniform alignment state with a constant interval (here, the surface on the downstream side in the transport direction is a constant interval) in the order of arrival.
[0018]
The warehousing reservoir 20 moves a plurality of articles P to be carried in a batch in order of arrival to a height position corresponding to each shelf 6.
[0019]
More specifically, the warehousing reservoir 20 can be driven up and down by a vertical driving means using a motor or the like (not shown) along the column body 21 standing at a position facing the uniform alignment region 10A.
[0020]
The storage reservoir 20 has comb-shaped fork teeth that can be placed in a state where a plurality of articles P are aligned in a row. Then, in a state where the warehousing reservoir 20 is disposed so as to face the uniform alignment region 10A, the articles P on the uniform alignment region 10A are bundled together by an operation similar to that of the individual transfer / acquisition unit 45 of the storage / delivery dolly 40 described later. In the state where the storage reservoir 20 is driven up and down to a height position facing the storage traverser 30 at a predetermined stage, the captured articles P are collectively transferred to the storage traverser 30.
[0021]
Each warehousing traverser 30 has a function of receiving the article P from the warehousing reservoir 20 and temporarily depositing the article P until the entry / exit dory 40 receives the article P.
[0022]
Specifically, a plurality of warehousing traversers 30 are provided at positions above the uniform alignment region 10 </ b> A of the warehousing conveyor 10 corresponding to the respective shelf steps 6 of the storage shelf 5.
[0023]
Each warehousing traverser 30 is close to the receiving position corresponding to the warehousing reservoir 20 and the storage shelf 5 on the rail body 31 provided along one side of the shelf 6 of the storage shelf 5 along the X1-X2 direction. It is possible to reciprocate between the side delivery position.
[0024]
Then, the articles P from the warehousing reservoir 20 are collectively received at the receiving position. Further, with each article P being transferred in this manner, each warehousing traverser 30 is moved from the receiving position to the delivery position by driving of a driving means (not shown), and each warehousing traverser 30 on the warehousing traverser 30 is moved to the delivery position. The article P is taken into the entry / exit dolly 40.
[0025]
In addition, each warehousing traverser 30 may be omitted, and a plurality of articles P may be directly transferred from the warehousing reservoir 20 to each warehousing / delivery dolly 40.
[0026]
The entry / exit dolly 40 is provided corresponding to each shelf 6, and as shown in FIGS. 1, 2, 3 (a), 3 (b), and 4, a plurality of entry / exit dorsies 40 are provided. Articles P (articles on each warehousing traverser 30 in the present embodiment) can be taken together and the plurality of articles P can be individually transferred to the empty space of the corresponding shelf 6 and can be received. A plurality of articles P on the shelf 6 to be taken are individually taken out and can be delivered.
[0027]
Specifically, each loading / unloading dolly 40 is located on the rail body 41 provided along the X1-X2 direction in front of each shelf 6, in front of each loading traverser 30, in front of each shelf 6. It can be reciprocated between a predetermined position and a front position of each outgoing temporary placement unit 60.
[0028]
Moreover, each loading / unloading dolly 40 has a plurality of individual transfer taking-in portions 45 that can take in or transfer articles P independently. The number of the individual transfer take-in portions 45 is set according to the number of articles P to be collectively processed by the warehousing reservoir 20 and the warehousing traverser 30 (here, five). Corresponds to the alignment interval of the articles P in the uniform alignment region 10A.
[0029]
Each of the individual transfer take-in portions 45 is not shown because it has comb-like fork teeth 46 (see FIG. 4) and drives the fork teeth 46 to advance and retreat with respect to the shelf 6 (with a slight width). Loading and transfer driving means.
[0030]
Then, for example, in a state where the article P is placed on the predetermined fork teeth 46, the loading / unloading dolly 40 is disposed at a position opposite to the empty space of the shelf 6 and each fork 46 is connected to each shelf 6 When the fork teeth 46 are moved downward so as to be buried between the vertical bars 7 after being advanced so as to be inserted between the vertical bars 7, the articles P on the fork teeth 46 are moved to the vertical bars 7. After that, when each fork tooth 46 is retracted so as to be pulled out from between the vertical rails 7, the transfer operation of the article P from the loading / unloading dolly 40 to the shelf 6 is completed (transfer). Operation). Similarly, if each individual transfer loading part 45 performs a transfer operation in a state where the respective input / output dorsies 40 are moved to the front positions of the temporary output storage units 60, the transfer / dolly 40 The articles P are collectively transferred to the corresponding temporary storage units 60.
[0031]
In addition, the fork teeth 46 are advanced so as to be inserted between the vertical rails 7 in a state where the entry / exit dory 40 is disposed at a position opposite to the vertical rails 7 of the shelf 6 in which the articles P are stored, When the fork teeth 46 are moved slightly upward so as to protrude from between the vertical bars 7, the article P placed on the vertical bars 7 is placed on the fork teeth 46. Thereafter, when each fork tooth 46 is retracted from the shelf 6, the article P is taken into the loading / unloading dolly 40 (take-in operation). Similarly, when each of the loading / unloading units 45 performs a loading operation in a state where the loading / unloading dollies 40 are moved to the front positions of the corresponding loading traversers 30, Each article P is taken into the loading / unloading dolly 40 at once.
[0032]
As shown in FIGS. 2, 3 (a), and 3 (b), a plurality of temporary storage units 60 are provided corresponding to each shelf 6, and a plurality of temporary storage units 60 are taken into the storage / exit dolly 40. The articles P are received while being arranged in a predetermined order, and can be sent one by one in the order of arrangement.
[0033]
Specifically, each outgoing temporary storage unit 60 is provided at a position adjacent to the other side (X2 side) of the storage shelf 5, and the outgoing temporary storage shelf 62 and the tilt unit 64 are respectively provided. Prepare.
[0034]
Each delivery temporary storage shelf 62 is provided adjacent to each shelf 6 and is taken into the entry / exit dolly 40 in a state where the articles P are arranged in a predetermined order on the predetermined shelf 6. Then, the loading / unloading dolly 40 moves to the front of the corresponding temporary storage shelf 62 and transfers the articles P to the temporary storage shelf 62 in a state where the articles P are arranged in the predetermined order. . When each article P is placed on the delivery temporary storage shelf 62 and the rollers of each delivery temporary storage shelf 62 are driven to rotate by driving means such as a motor (not shown), each article P is tilted. The components are arranged so that they are sequentially sent to the tilt unit 64 from the unit 64 side.
[0035]
The tilt portion 64 has a substantially plate-like overall shape, and an endless annular belt (not shown) is wound around the outer periphery thereof. The endless annular belt can be circulated and rotated in the direction in which the article P placed on the tilt portion 64 is sent out toward the other end side by driving a rotation driving means (not shown).
[0036]
When the article P is placed on the delivery temporary storage shelf 62 and the roller of the delivery temporary storage shelf 62 is rotated by a predetermined amount, the article P on the delivery temporary storage shelf 62 is tilted. 64. In addition, when the endless annular belt of the tilt unit 64 is driven to rotate while the article P is placed on the tilt unit 64, the article P on the tilt unit 64 is next moved from the other end side of the tilt unit 64. The delivery cart unit 74 to be described is configured to be sent out.
[0037]
The delivery reservoir 70 can be cyclically moved from the upper delivery temporary storage unit 60 toward the lower delivery temporary placement unit 60 and corresponds to each delivery temporary store corresponding to a height position corresponding to each delivery temporary placement unit 60. A plurality of delivery cart units 74 that receive the articles P sent from the placement unit 60 and carry them out to the outside at positions below the respective delivery temporary placement units 60 are provided.
[0038]
Specifically, the delivery reservoir 70 is disposed adjacent to each delivery temporary storage unit 60, and an endless annular belt 72 is wound around the upper and lower rollers 71, and the endless annular belt 72 is spaced apart from the endless annular belt 72. Each delivery cart part 74 is attached.
[0039]
At least one of the upper and lower rollers 71 is configured to be driven to rotate clockwise in FIG. 3B by a rotation driving unit (not shown), and the endless annular belt 72 is rotated by the rotation of the roller 71 as shown in FIG. Rotate clockwise.
[0040]
Then, when each delivery cart unit 74 moves to the delivery temporary placement unit 60 side beyond the upper roller 71 by the circulation rotation of the endless annular belt 72, each delivery cart unit 74 is located on the side of the delivery temporary placement unit 60 at each stage. And move downwards. And each delivery cart part 74 is comprised so that the article P sent out from the said tilt part 64 can be received, when it is located on the side extension of the tilt part 64. As shown in FIG.
[0041]
The unloading conveyor 80 is installed on a path from the side of the unloading reservoir 70 to the outside, and has a function of receiving the articles P of the unloading cart units 74 and carrying them out to the outside.
[0042]
A delivery conveyor 82 is provided on the delivery reservoir 70 side of the delivery conveyor 80. The delivery conveyor 82 is provided at a position below the delivery temporary placement unit 60, and when each delivery cart unit 74 moves below each delivery temporary placement unit 60, the articles P of each delivery cart unit 74 are transferred to the delivery conveyor 82. It is transferred to the top, discharged from the delivery conveyor 82 to the delivery conveyor 80, and carried out to the outside by the delivery conveyor 80.
[0043]
Each of the temporary storage units 60, the storage reservoirs 70, and the output conveyor 80 correspond to unloading means provided on the other end side of the storage shelf 5.
[0044]
The operation control of each component of the automatic warehouse described above is performed by the warehouse operation management control unit 100 described below.
[0045]
<2. Automatic warehouse loading and unloading control device>
As shown in FIG. 5, the warehousing / unloading control device includes a warehousing conveyor 10, a warehousing reservoir 20, a warehousing traverser 30, and a warehousing / delivery door 40 based on data provided from the article identification information reading unit 120 and the warehousing command input unit 122. , A temporary storage unit 60, a storage reservoir 70 and a storage conveyor control unit 100 for controlling the operation of the storage unit 80, and a self-in response to a command from the storage unit operation control unit 100 mounted on each storage unit 40 And a dolly operation control unit 48 for controlling the take-in / transfer operation.
[0046]
The loading / unloading operation management control unit 100 includes a storage position data storage unit 102, a tiered warehousing position determination processing unit 104, and a tiered warehousing content determination processing unit 106 as functional components.
[0047]
The storage position data storage unit 102 stores storage position data that associates the specific information of the articles P stored in the storage shelf 5 with the storage position information of the articles P. The storage position data is updated and created by the staged entry position determination processing unit 104 and the staged delivery content determination processing unit 106.
[0048]
Based on the storage position data, the tiered warehousing position determination processing unit 104 determines the warehousing position of the article P to be garnered for each tier and updates / creates the storage position data. The delivery command of the goods P is given to the delivery dolly 40.
[0049]
In the present embodiment, it is assumed that the tiered warehousing position determination processing unit 104 updates / creates storage position data based on data read by the article specifying information reading unit 120.
[0050]
That is, a bar code is attached to the outer surface of each article P as the specific information of the article P, and the barcode attached to the article P can be read in the middle of the conveyance path of the article P by the warehousing conveyor 10. An article specifying information reading unit 120 such as a code reader is provided. Then, when each article P is transported on the warehousing conveyor 10 when each article P is carried in, the article specifying information reading unit 120 reads the article specifying information related to each article P, and the read article specifying information is read. Is given to the warehouse operation management control unit 100. Then, when the specific information of the article P to be carried in is given, the tiered warehousing position determination processing unit 104 refers to the storage position data stored in the storage unit 102 and stores each shelf 6 of the storage shelf 5. The storage position of the article P is assigned to the empty space, and new storage position data to which the storage position of the article P to be loaded is assigned is updated and created, and stored in the storage unit 102. Note that, each time each article P is carried in, article specifying information such as a product name of each article P may be sequentially input using an input device such as a keyboard.
[0051]
Further, when the storage position determination processing unit 104 for each stage determines the storage position of the article P for each shelf 6 in this way, it gives a storage command to each storage / dolly 40 according to the determined content. The warehousing instruction here is, for example, that the article P on the warehousing / delivery dolly 40 is warehousing at a predetermined shelf position (n) on the predetermined shelf 6 (n indicates a position on the predetermined shelf 6). (See FIG. 8).
[0052]
The step-by-step unloading content determination processing unit 106 determines the unloading position of the item P to be unloaded by each step based on the input of the unloading request for each item P stored in the storage shelf 5 and the storage position data. The storage position data is updated / created, and a delivery instruction is given to each entry / exit dolly 40 in accordance with the determined contents.
[0053]
In other words, when the article P is carried out, a delivery request regarding which article P stored in the storage shelf 5 is to be delivered is input via the delivery command input unit 122 such as a keyboard, and this delivery request is input / output operation management. It is given to the control unit 100. When this delivery request is given, the staged delivery content determination processing unit 106 refers to the storage position data stored in the storage unit 102 and requests delivery from the articles P stored in the storage shelf 5. The storage position of the received article P is searched, and new storage position data with the storage position of the article P to be carried out as the empty space is updated and created, and stored in the storage unit 102.
[0054]
Further, when the stage-specific delivery content determination processing unit 106 searches for the storage position of the article P requested to be delivered as described above, each entry / exit is performed according to the storage position of each article P searched for each stage. A delivery command is given to the dolly 40. The delivery instruction here is an instruction to issue the article P at the predetermined shelf position (n) in the predetermined shelf 6 (see FIG. 8).
[0055]
The entry / exit operation management control unit 100 stores the article P to be carried in at the predetermined position when the article P is carried in, and the article P to be carried out when the article P is carried out. A series of loading / unloading operations are controlled for the warehousing conveyor 10, the warehousing reservoir 20, the warehousing traverser 30, the warehousing temporary storage unit 60, the warehousing reservoir 70, and the warehousing conveyor 80 so as to be carried out from the retrieved storage position. Do.
[0056]
Each dolly operation control unit 48, when a warehousing command and the warehousing command are given at the same time, performs an warehousing / unloading operation in which the warehousing operation and the warehousing operation of each article P described later are mixed. It has a function of controlling the delivery dolly 40.
[0057]
Note that each function of the warehousing / unloading operation management control unit 100 and each dolly operation control unit 48 are based on a software program stored in advance in a general microcomputer including a CPU, a ROM and a RAM, a magnetic storage device, and the like. Realized by processing.
[0058]
Of course, each function may be integrated into a single microcomputer, or may be distributed among a plurality of microcomputers. For example, when there are a plurality of storage shelves 5, a common computer (such as a host computer unit) is provided for the plurality of storage shelves 5 and a separate computer (local computer) is provided for each storage shelf 5. Units (LCUs) may be provided, and these functions may be realized by being distributed by these computers.
[0059]
<3. Carry-in / out operation>
The carrying-in / out operation of the automatic warehouse will be schematically described.
[0060]
That is, the description will be made by paying attention to the articles P that are carried in. The articles P that are carried in from outside by a truck or the like are placed on the carry-in location side of the warehousing conveyor 10 by an operator or the like, and each roller of the warehousing conveyor 10 is rotated. Is conveyed toward the uniform alignment area 10 </ b> A on the storage shelf 5 side of the storage conveyor 10. In the uniform alignment region 10A, the articles P are arranged in the uniform alignment state in the order of arrival on the uniform alignment region 10A. When each article P is transported on the warehousing conveyor 10, the article specifying information reading unit 120 reads the article specifying information relating to each article P, and the tiered warehousing position determination processing unit 104 updates the storage position data. Created.
[0061]
Next, after the warehousing reservoir 20 descends to a position corresponding to the uniform alignment area 10A and collects the articles P on the uniform alignment area 10A in a lump, a predetermined level corresponding to the storage position of the articles P is obtained. The articles P are collectively transferred to the warehousing traverser 30 corresponding to the predetermined level.
[0062]
After this, the warehousing traverser 30 moves from the receiving position to the delivery position on the storage shelf 5 side, and the warehousing / delivery door 40 corresponding to the predetermined stage moves to a position in front of the warehousing traverser 30 so that the warehousing traverser 30 Each article P is taken in at once.
[0063]
Finally, the loading / unloading dolly 40 that has taken in the article P appropriately transfers each taken article P to the storage shelf 5.
[0064]
Further, when focusing on the article P to be carried out, when a delivery request is input via the delivery command input unit 122, the storage position data is updated and created by the staged delivery content determination processing unit 106.
[0065]
Then, the goods P to be delivered are appropriately taken in each stage by each entry / exit dolly 40. Thereafter, each entry / exit dolly 40 moves to a front position of each delivery temporary storage unit 60, and each article P is transferred to the delivery temporary storage shelf 62 of each delivery temporary storage unit 60.
[0066]
Each article P transferred to each delivery temporary storage shelf 62 is sequentially sent from each delivery temporary storage shelf 62 to each tilt unit 64, and then sent from a predetermined tilt unit 64 to the delivery cart unit 74.
[0067]
The article P sent to the delivery cart unit 74 moves downward by the delivery cart unit 74 and is delivered onto the delivery conveyor 80 by the delivery conveyor 82 at a position below each temporary delivery unit 60. Then, each article P is carried out to the outside by the delivery conveyor 80.
[0068]
<4. Entry / exit mixing operation>
Next, the loading / unloading mixing operation by each loading / unloading dolly 40 will be described.
[0069]
That is, in the above loading / unloading operation, when a loading command and a shipping command are given to each loading / unloading dolly 40, the loading / unloading dolly 40 performs only a loading operation or a loading operation. When the command and the exit command are given at the same time during the predetermined operation command input waiting period, the entering / exiting mixing operation described below is performed.
[0070]
This loading / unloading mixing operation is an operation in which the loading operation and the unloading operation of each article P with respect to the predetermined shelf 6 are mixed. More specifically, the loading / unloading dory 40 in the predetermined shelf 6 is After the articles P from the warehousing traverser 30 are taken together, each article P is transferred to the ledge 6 sequentially from the warehousing position (X1) while moving to the other end side of the ledge 6. Then, when there is an empty capacity that allows the goods P to be taken into the loading / unloading dolly 40 in the middle of the movement, the goods P to be delivered are taken out from the shelf 6 and discharged.
[0071]
In particular, in the present embodiment, the number of empty capacities generated during the movement of the loading / unloading dolly 40 at the predetermined shelf 6 to the shipping side (X2) of the shelf 6 passes through while moving to the shipping side. When the number of goods to be delivered P exceeds the number of goods to be delivered P, the entry / exit dory 40 returns to the position where it has passed through, takes in the goods to be delivered P, and exits.
[0072]
This entering / exiting mixing operation will be specifically described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. 6 and 7.
[0073]
In other words, when a warehousing command and a warehousing command are given to a predetermined warehousing / delivery dolly 40 at the same time, the number of warehousing completions (the number of articles P transferred from the warehousing / delivery dolly 40 to the shelf 6) is set to 0 in step S1. In addition, the number of finished goods exits (the number of articles P taken into the entry / exit dory 40 from the shelf 6) is set to 0, and the number of exits (the entry / exit dory 40 moves from the entry side (X1) to the exit side (X2). An initial setting process is performed in which the number of articles to be delivered P that are passed through without being taken in during the process is set to 0 and the empty capacity (the number of available articles P that can be taken into the entry / exit dolly 40) is set to 5.
[0074]
Next, the process proceeds to step S2, and after the loading / unloading dolly 40 has moved to the warehousing traverser 30 side, in step S3, the articles on the warehousing traverser 30 are collectively taken in, the empty capacity is set to 0, and then Proceed to step S5.
[0075]
In step S5, it is determined whether there is a delivery route (number of delivery passes> 0). If it is determined that there is a delivery route, the process proceeds to step S6, where it is determined whether the number of delivery passes ≦ empty capacity. Is done.
[0076]
If it is determined in step S5 that there is no outgoing passage, or if it is determined in step S6 that the condition of the outgoing passage number ≦ the empty capacity is not satisfied, the process proceeds to step S11.
[0077]
It progresses to step S11, it is determined whether the operation content of the scheduled stop position of the next warehousing side (X2 side) seeing from the warehousing / delivery dolly 40 is warehousing, and when the operation content is not warehousing, that is, warehousing. In the case, the process proceeds to step S15. In step S15, the loading / unloading dolly 40 stops at the next scheduled stop position, performs the transfer operation of the article P, adds 1 to the number of completed receipts to make a new number of completed receipts, and has an empty capacity. 1 is added to make a new empty capacity. Thereafter, the process returns to step S5 until a predetermined loop end condition is satisfied, and after the loop end condition is satisfied, the process proceeds to step S10.
[0078]
On the other hand, if it is determined in step S11 that the operation content is a shipment, the process proceeds to step S12, where it is determined whether there is no free space (free space = 0?), And it is determined that there is no free space. If so, the process proceeds to step S14. In step S14, the entry / exit dory 40 is moved to the exit side (X2 side) so as to pass through the scheduled stop position on the next exit side, and the number of exit passes is incremented by 1 to obtain a new exit passage number. Thereafter, the process returns to step S5 until a predetermined loop end condition is satisfied.
[0079]
If it is determined in step S12 that there is an empty capacity, the process proceeds to step S13, stops at the scheduled stop position on the next exit side, performs the operation of taking in the article P at that position, and sets the number of exits to 1 Addition is performed to obtain a new number of exits, and a process of subtracting 1 from the empty capacity to obtain a new empty capacity is performed. Thereafter, the process returns to step S5 until a predetermined loop end condition is satisfied, and after the loop end condition is satisfied, the process proceeds to step S10.
[0080]
If it is determined in step S5 that there is a delivery route, and it is determined in the next step S6 that the number of delivery passes is equal to or less than the empty capacity, the process proceeds to step S7, and each entry / exit dory 40 is passed. Move to the delivery position of the article P. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S8 to perform the taking-in operation of the article P, add 1 to the number of exits to obtain a new exit number, subtract 1 from the empty capacity to obtain a new empty capacity, and 1 to the number of exits. Subtraction is performed to obtain a new number of outgoing passes. In addition, the process of step S7, S8 may be repeatedly performed according to the number of the delivery passage numbers.
[0081]
Thereafter, the process returns to step S5 until a predetermined loop end condition is satisfied. On the other hand, if a predetermined loop end condition, that is, a condition that the taking-in of all articles P requested to be delivered in the shelf 6 is completed (number of finished goods = 5, number of finished goods = 5), the process proceeds to step S10. Then, the loading / unloading dolly 40 moves to the loading temporary storage unit 60 side, performs a process of collectively transferring and discharging the taken articles P to the shipping temporary storage unit 60, and ends the loading / unloading mixing operation. To do.
[0082]
A specific example of the above-described loading / unloading mixing operation will be described with reference to FIGS. 8 and 9A to 9C.
[0083]
First, in this specific example, as shown in FIG. 8, a warehousing command and a warehousing command are given to the warehousing / delivery dolly 40 of a predetermined shelf 6. That is, a command to store the five articles P to be loaded into the shelf positions (7), (10), (11), (14), and (24) of the shelf 6 and the articles P stored in the shelf 6 are stored. Of these, it is a command to take out the item at the position of shelf position (8) (14) (39) (41) (50). In addition, the number of the shelf position (n) is given in order from the warehousing side (X1 side) to the warehousing side (X2) in the predetermined shelf 6.
[0084]
FIG. 9A schematically shows the position of the goods P to be received and the position of the goods P to be delivered in the shelf 6. In FIG. 9, the numbers surrounded by circles indicate the shelf positions (n) of the articles P to be received, and the numbers surrounded by triangles indicate the shelf positions (n) of the articles to be output.
[0085]
In this case, the entering / exiting mixing operation of the entering / exiting dolly 40 is as shown in FIG. That is, the loading / unloading dolly 40 takes in the articles P on the loading traverser 30 in a lump, and then moves to the loading side (X2 side). Then, after the article P is first transferred to the shelf position (7), the article P at the shelf position (8) is taken in. Next, after the article P is transferred to the shelf positions (10), (11), and (14), the article P at the shelf position (14) is taken in. Then, after the article P is transferred to the shelf position (24), the articles P at the shelf positions (39) (41) (50) are taken in. In this case, each article P can be transferred and taken in without returning to the warehousing side (X2 side) while the warehousing / delivery dolly 40 moves from the warehousing side (X1 side) to the warehousing side (X2).
[0086]
Incidentally, when the loading / unloading dory 40 performs the loading operation and the unloading operation separately, as shown in FIG. 9 (c), the loading / unloading dory 40 collects the articles on the loading traverser 30 in a lump. After moving to the exit side (X2 side) and transferring the article P to the shelf positions (7), (10), (11), (14), and (24), it returns to the position corresponding to the shelf position (8) and returns to the shelf position (8 ) (14) (39) (41) (50). Therefore, after the warehousing traverser 30 moves to the position corresponding to the shelf position (24), it is necessary to return to the warehousing side (X1 side) to the position corresponding to the shelf position (8), and the warehousing and unloading is performed as compared with the case shown in FIG. The moving distance of the dolly 40 becomes longer.
[0087]
Further, in the specific examples shown in FIGS. 10A to 10B, as shown in FIG. 10A, the five articles P that are carried in are the shelf positions (31) (32) of the shelf 6. ) (33) (41) (46) and goods P at the positions of the shelf positions (4) (22) (34) (38) (47) of the shelf 6 are delivered.
[0088]
In this case, the entering / exiting mixing operation of the entering / exiting dolly 40 is as shown in FIG. That is, the entry / exit dolly 40 takes in the articles on the entry traverser 30 in a lump and then moves to the exit side (X2 side). And since there is no empty capacity at the next and the next planned stop position (4) (22), the next stop where the operation content is warehousing through these shelf positions (4) (22). It moves to the planned position, that is, the shelf position (31), and the article P on the loading / unloading dolly 40 is transferred to the shelf position (31).
[0089]
In this state, since the empty capacity is 1 and does not reach the number 2, the entry / exit dolly 40 further moves to the delivery side (X2 side) and transfers the article P to the next shelf position (32). . At this time, since the empty capacity of the entry / exit dory 40 becomes 2, which is equal to the number of passages 2, the entry / exit dory 40 returns to the entry side (X1) and passes through the shelf position (4) (22 ).
[0090]
Thereafter, the loading / unloading dolly 40 transfers the article P to the shelf position (33), takes in the article P at the shelf position (34), passes through the shelf position (38), and moves to the shelf position (41). After the article P is transferred, the article P is taken back to the position corresponding to the shelf position (38).
[0091]
Then, after the article P is transferred to the shelf position (46), the article P at the shelf position (47) is taken in, and the entry / exit dolly 40 moves to the delivery temporary storage unit 60 side, and each taken article P is transferred. The batch is transferred to the temporary storage unit 60.
[0092]
Incidentally, when the entry / exit dory 40 performs the entry operation and the exit operation separately, as shown in FIG. 10 (c), the entry / exit dory 40 collects the articles on the entry traverser 30 in a lump. After moving to the exit side (X2 side) and transferring the article P to the shelf positions (31) (32) (33) (41) (46), the product returns to the position corresponding to the shelf position (4) and returns to the shelf position (4 ) (22) (34) (38) The article P of (47) is taken in.
[0093]
As is apparent from FIGS. 10B and 10C, in the case of FIG. 10B in which the entering / exiting / mixing operation is performed, the moving distance of the entering / exiting dolly 40 is shorter than in the case of FIG. 10C. .
[0094]
<Summary>
According to the automatic warehouse storage / exit control apparatus configured as described above, when a storage command and a storage command are given at the same time in a predetermined shelf 6, the storage operation of each article P with respect to the predetermined shelf 6 is performed. Since the loading / unloading mixing operation in which the loading / unloading operation is mixed is performed by the loading / unloading dolly 40, the loading / unloading operation of the article P can be performed efficiently.
[0095]
In particular, the number of empty capacities generated during the movement of the loading / unloading dolly 40 at the predetermined shelf 6 to the delivery side (X2 side) of the shelf 6 passed along the way to the delivery side (X2 side). When the number of goods to be delivered P exceeds the number of goods to be delivered, the entry / exit dory 40 returns to the pass-through position, and the entry / exit mixing operation for taking in and leaving the goods to be delivered is performed. It is possible to reduce the wasteful movement of the delivery dory 40 and to perform the entry / exit operation of the article P more efficiently.
[0096]
<Modification>
In the present embodiment, the description of the operation of the entry / exit dory 40 has been made ignoring the position of the article P in the entry / exit dory 40, but in actuality, the position of the article P in the entry / exit dory 40 is considered. Thus, the position at which the entry / exit dolly 40 transfers or takes in the article P is determined.
[0097]
Moreover, in this Embodiment, although it is set as the structure which provided the single loading / unloading dolly 40 corresponding to each shelf stage 6 of the single storage shelf 5, each shelf of the pair of storage shelf 5 arranged in parallel A single loading / unloading dolly 40 is provided between the stages 6, and the loading / unloading dolly 40 can transfer and take in the article P with respect to the shelves 6 on both sides.
[0098]
【The invention's effect】
According to the automatic warehouse input / output control device according to claims 1 to 4 configured as described above, when an input command and an output command are given to the input / output dough at the same time, each article for the shelf Since the warehousing / unloading operation in which the warehousing operation and the warehousing operation are mixed is performed, the goods warehousing operation can be performed efficiently.
[0099]
In particular, as described in claim 4, the number of empty capacity generated during the movement of the loading / unloading dolly to the other end side of the shelf is in a position that has been passed through during the movement to the one end side. When the number exceeds the number, the entry / exit dory returns to the position where the entry / exit dory passes, and the entry / exit mixing operation for taking in and taking out the article to be delivered is performed, thereby reducing the wasteful movement of the entry / exit dory, Goods entry / exit operations can be performed more efficiently.
[0100]
Moreover, according to the storage control method of the automatic warehouse of Claim 5 and Claim 6 of this invention, when both the warehousing position of the goods warehousing to the shelf and the warehousing position of the goods to be unloaded are determined, Since the loading / unloading operation in which the loading / unloading operation of each article with respect to the shelf is mixed is performed by the loading / unloading dolly, the loading / unloading operation of the articles can be performed efficiently.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing a warehousing side portion of an automatic warehouse according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view showing a delivery side portion of the automatic warehouse.
FIG. 3 (a) is a schematic plan view showing the automatic warehouse, and FIG. 3 (b) is a schematic side view showing the automatic warehouse.
FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of a main part showing a loading / unloading dolly.
FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram showing an electrical configuration of an automatic warehouse.
FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a loading / unloading mixing operation.
FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the same loading / unloading mixing operation.
FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of a warehousing command and an operation command.
FIG. 9 (a) is a diagram schematically showing an example of the position of an article to be received and the position of an article to be delivered, and FIG. 9 (b) is a movement of an entry / exit dory by an entry / exit mixing operation. FIG. 9C is an explanatory diagram showing the movement trajectory of the entry / exit dory according to the entry / exit operation.
FIG. 10 (a) is a diagram schematically showing another example of the position of an article to be received and the position of an article to be delivered, and FIG. 10 (b) is an entry / exit dory by an entry / exit mixing operation. FIG. 10 (c) is an explanatory diagram showing the movement trajectory of the warehousing / exiting dory according to the entering / exiting operation.
[Explanation of symbols]
5 Storage shelf
6 shelf
10 Warehousing conveyor
20 Receiving reservoir
30 Warehousing traverser
40 Entry / Exit Dolly
45 Individual transfer / transfer section
48 Dolly operation controller
60 temporary storage section
70 Unloading reservoir
80 Delivery conveyor
100 Entry / exit operation management control part
102 storage unit
102 Storage position data storage unit
104 Staged storage position determination processing section
106 Stepwise delivery contents determination processing section
120 article specific information reading unit
P article

Claims (6)

A storage shelf having shelves;
A storage reservoir that collectively moves a plurality of articles to be moved to a position corresponding to the shelf,
A plurality of articles from the warehousing reservoir can be collected at once, and the plurality of articles can be individually transferred to the empty space of the shelf and can be stored, and a plurality of articles on the shelf can be individually captured. Entry / exit dori that can be issued,
An unloading means capable of receiving a plurality of articles taken into the loading / unloading dolly and unloading the articles to the outside;
A storage position data storage unit that stores storage position data that associates the specific information of the articles stored in the storage shelf with the storage position information of the articles;
Based on the storage position data, the storage position data of the article to be stored in the shelf is determined, and the storage position data is updated / created. The warehousing position determination processing section
Based on the input of the delivery request for each article stored in the storage shelf and the storage position data, the delivery position of the article to be delivered is determined, and the storage position data is updated / created, and the determination contents A delivery content determination processing unit for giving a delivery command to the entry / exit
When the warehousing command and the warehousing command are given at the same time, a dolly operation control unit that causes the warehousing dory to perform a warehousing / unloading operation that mixes the warehousing operation and the warehousing operation of each article with respect to the shelf. ,
Entry / exit control device of automatic warehouse equipped with. The automatic warehouse storage / exit control device according to claim 1,
The storage shelf has a plurality of shelves in the vertical direction,
The loading / unloading dolly is an automatic warehouse loading / unloading control device provided corresponding to each shelf. An automatic warehouse storage / exit control device according to claim 1 or claim 2,
The storage reservoir is provided on one end side of the storage shelf, and the unloading means is provided on the other end side of the storage shelf,
In the loading / unloading operation, the loading / unloading position of the loading / unloading dolly at a predetermined shelf is moved to the other end side of the shelf after the plurality of articles from the loading reservoir are collectively collected. From the one end side, each article is sequentially transferred to and received from the shelf, and when there is an empty capacity in which the article can be taken into the loading / unloading dolly, the article to be delivered from the shelf is removed. Automatic warehouse entry / exit control device, which is the operation of taking in and taking out goods. The automatic warehouse storage / exit control device according to claim 3,
In the loading / unloading mixing operation, the number of empty capacities generated during the movement of the loading / unloading dolly at a predetermined shelf to the other end side of the shelf is at a position where the number of empty capacities passes through the one end side. When the number of articles to be delivered exceeds the number of articles to be delivered, an entry / exit control device for an automatic warehouse, which is an operation of returning to the position where the entry / exit dolly passes through and taking out the articles to be delivered. A storage shelf having shelves;
A storage reservoir that collectively moves a plurality of articles to be moved to a position corresponding to the shelf,
A plurality of articles from the warehousing reservoir can be collected at once, and the plurality of articles can be individually transferred to the empty space of the shelf and can be stored, and a plurality of articles on the shelf can be individually captured. Entry / exit dori that can be issued,
An unloading means capable of receiving a plurality of articles taken into the loading / unloading dolly and unloading the articles to the outside;
A method for controlling entry / exit of an automatic warehouse equipped with
Update / create storage position data that associates the specific information of the articles stored in the storage shelf with the storage position information of the articles at the time of entering / exiting the articles,
Based on the storage position data, the storage position of the articles to be stored in the shelf is determined, and the output position is determined on the basis of the input of the output request for each article stored in the storage shelf and the storage position data. Decide
When both the warehousing position of the goods to be warehousing and the warehousing position of the goods to be garnished are determined, the automatic warehouse that causes the warehousing dory to perform the warehousing / unloading mixing operation in which the warehousing operation and the warehousing operation of each article are mixed. Entry / exit control method. It is the storage control method of the automatic warehouse according to claim 5,
The loading / unloading mixing operation includes a first step in which the loading / unloading dolly takes in a plurality of articles from the loading reservoir at one end of the storage shelf;
In the middle of moving the entry / exit dolly from one end side to the other end side of the storage shelf, it is determined whether or not there is an article to be delivered, and whether the number of passes exceeds the number of empty capacity of the entry / exit dolly. A second step of determining
In the second step, it is determined that there is no article to be delivered that passes through, or it is determined that the passing number does not exceed the empty capacity, and the entry / exit dory at the next scheduled stop position on the other end side is determined. A third step of performing an operation of moving an entry / exit dory to the next scheduled stop position and transferring an article when the operation content is determined to be exited;
In the second step, it is determined that there is no article to be delivered that passes through, or it is determined that the passing number does not exceed the empty capacity, and the entry / exit dory at the next scheduled stop position on the other end side is determined. A fourth step of performing an operation of moving the entry / exit dory to the next scheduled stop position and taking in and exiting goods when the operation content is warehousing and there is an empty capacity;
In the second step, it is determined that there is no article to be delivered that passes through, or it is determined that the passing number does not exceed the empty capacity, and the entry / exit dory at the next scheduled stop position on the other end side is determined. A fifth step of moving the warehousing dory so that the next scheduled stop position passes through when the operation content is warehousing and there is no free space;
In the second step, when it is determined that there is an article to be delivered that has passed through and it is determined that the number of articles to pass exceeds the empty capacity, the entry / exit dori is moved to the corresponding delivery object corresponding position. A sixth step of performing an operation of taking in each of the goods to be delivered;
After repeating the second to sixth steps until all the goods to be delivered are taken in, a seventh process of transferring the articles to the unloading means by moving the entry / exit to the other end of the storage shelf. When,
Entry / exit control method of automatic warehouse including

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