JP4471059B2 - Article storage system - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
[Field of the Invention]
The present invention relates to a system in which an article storage device in which a shelf is moved up and down so as to pass through a conveying surface of a conveyor and an article is stored in the shelf is connected to a delivery line.
[0002]
[Prior art]
An article storage device using transfer of articles between a conveyor in a shelf and a shelf is known. In such an article storage device, a plurality of shelves are connected by a chain or the like, moved up and down one by one, and passed through a transport surface of an in-shelf conveyor using a roller conveyor or a chain conveyor. When the shelf rises over the conveying surface, the load is transferred from the in-shelf conveyor to the shelf, and when the shelf is lowered below the conveying surface, the load is transferred from the shelf to the in-shelf conveyor. It is convenient to connect a plurality of such article storage devices in parallel to the delivery line, and the inventor has studied the control of delivery from the article storage device to the delivery line in such a case.
[0003]
[Problems of the Invention]
A basic problem of the present invention is to automatically re-deliver an article that has missed a predetermined leaving space on the leaving line (claims 1 to 3).
An additional problem in the invention of claim 2 is to facilitate post-processing of articles delivered by automatic re-delivery.
An additional problem in the invention of claim 3 is that it is possible to process an article that has been delayed by hand when it is not suitable for automatic re-loading.
[0004]
[Structure of the invention]
  The article storage system according to the present invention is a system in which a plurality of article storage apparatuses including a plurality of shelves for storing articles by moving up and down so as to pass through a conveyor surface of the intra-shelf conveyor and the conveyor surface in the shelf, When a delivery line connecting the respective article storage devices is provided, and means for designating the space of the articles to be delivered from the article storage device to the delivery line on the delivery line, and when the processing capacity on the downstream side of the delivery line is reduced In addition,Goods storage deviceMeans for stopping the delivery line after a time after prohibiting the delivery to the delivery line, and designating another delivery space for the goods that missed the space as the delivery line stopped, Means for causing the goods to be reissued on the output line so as to be distinguishable from other articles is provided (claim 1).
[0005]
Preferably, there is provided means for recognizing the re-issued article and branching it to a station for processing the late-arrival article (Claim 2).
[0006]
Preferably, a means for determining whether or not re-delivery is possible is displayed according to a situation of occurrence of late-arrival articles, and the position of the article storage device in which the late arrival occurred and the number of late-arrival articles are displayed when re-removal is impossible. Means is provided. (Claim 3)
[0007]
[Operation and effect of the invention]
In the present invention, an article that has not been delivered to the space designated on the delivery line (a late arrival article) can be reissued by designating another space on the delivery line. Can be reissued automatically in a distinguishable manner (Claim 1).
[0008]
Articles automatically reissued as described above are often out of order in palletizing. However, according to the second aspect of the present invention, the post-processing of the delayed article is facilitated because the branched article is conveyed to the station for processing the delayed article.
[0009]
In the invention of claim 3, when the number of late arrival articles is large or the number of article storage devices with late arrivals is large, it is not suitable for automatic re-delivery. Can be issued to
[0010]
【Example】
Basic configuration of the embodiment
1 to 12 show an embodiment and its modifications. FIG. 1 shows a layout of the article storage system 2 of the embodiment. A group of a plurality of article storage apparatuses 5 constitutes an article storage apparatus group 4, 4, and a control storage apparatus controller 31 is provided for each article storage apparatus group 4. The article storage device 5 is different in length and allowable weight per shelf between the right-side article storage device group and the left-side article storage device group, but the basic configuration is the same. Show.
[0011]
6 and 6 are warehousing lines using a belt conveyor, a roller conveyor, and the like, 7 is a movable sorter, and other known conversion devices may be used. Reference numeral 8 denotes a receiving sub-conveyor group, one receiving sub-conveyor 9 is provided for each individual article storage device 5, and reference numeral 10 denotes an outgoing sub-conveyor group, and an outgoing sub-conveyor 11 is provided for each individual article storing apparatus 5, and a belt conveyor. The delivery goods are sent out to the delivery line 12 using a roller conveyor or the like. Note that each article storage device 5 is referred to as a frontage with respect to goods storage / exit. The incoming sub-conveyor 9 and outgoing sub-conveyor 11 are made shorter than one shelf of the article storage device 5 in order to save space. Moreover, if the storage sub-conveyor is provided integrally with the sorter 7 and moved so as to be connected to the required frontage, the incoming sub-conveyor 9 for each frontage can be omitted.
[0012]
14 is a depalletizing system in which articles are supplied in units of pallets from the automatic pallet warehouse 15 and the like, depalletized for each article, and supplied to the warehousing lines 6 and 6. Reference numeral 16 denotes a case automatic warehouse, in which the article storage device 5 stores articles having a relatively high flow rate, and the case automatic warehouse 16 stores articles having a relatively low flow rate. Articles delivered from the article storage device 5 are conveyed via the delivery sub-conveyor 11 and the delivery line 12, and the goods delivered from the case automatic warehouse 16 are merged on the way, and two supply lines are provided via the branch device 18. 19 and 20 are branched and supplied, and 22 is a palletizing system for shipping.
[0013]
The palletizing system 22 palletizes and supplies the articles supplied from the supply lines 19 and 20 by an appropriate method such as bar stacking or interlock stacking on a pallet or the like. The palletizing system 22 has, for example, two palletizing devices, and the branching device 18 uses supply IDs 19 and 20 by using IDs such as barcodes of articles so that predetermined articles are conveyed to the predetermined palletizing apparatus. Divide the goods into
[0014]
Reference numeral 24 denotes a picking area, and an article branched from the supply line 19 by the sorter 25 is carried by the picking conveyor 26. Since the picking area 24 missed the shipping zone when the shipping line 12 was restarted after being stopped, the picked area 24 was automatically shipped to a position different from the normal shipping zone, the item requiring inspection or the like, or picked and subdivided. Used to process necessary items. Articles automatically delivered to a position different from the regular delivery zone are sent to the delivery line 12 in an order different from the predetermined order, and therefore are not suitable for being automatically palletized by the palletizing system 22. The sorter 25 reads the barcode of the article with the barcode reader 38 on the upstream side, and controls the branching. An operator is arranged in the picking area 24 as necessary, and necessary instructions are displayed on a display (not shown), and are manually loaded on a pallet, picked, or joined to the delivery line 12 by the return conveyor 27 after inspection. Alternatively, a measure such as re-entry into the case automatic warehouse 16 is performed.
[0015]
Reference numeral 30 denotes a distribution CPU (distribution control processing unit). In the embodiment, an example in which processing is performed by one distribution CPU 30 irrespective of the entry system or the delivery system is shown. And may be provided separately. The storage device controller 31 is provided for each article storage device group 4, and here, two storage device controllers 31 and 31 are provided. 32 and 32 are warehousing line controllers which control the warehousing lines 6 and 6 to the warehousing sub-conveyor group 8. A delivery line controller 33 controls the delivery sub-conveyor group 10 to the delivery line 12.
[0016]
A depalletizing controller 34 controls the depalletizing system 14, and a palletizing controller 35 controls the branching device 18 to the supply lines 19 and 20 as well as the palletizing system 22 and the sorter 25. Reference numeral 36 denotes a picking controller that controls the picking area 24 and the return conveyor 27 from the picking conveyor 26. In the picking area 24, an instruction to an operator is output to a terminal or a display board (not shown).
[0017]
Bar code readers 38 are provided on the warehousing lines 6 and 6, the warehousing line 12, the supply lines 19 and 20, the picking conveyor 26, and the like to read the bar code attached to the article. A bar code is an example of ID data of an article. In the instructions from the distribution CPU 30 to the various controllers 31 to 36, instructions such as warehousing, warehousing, palletizing, and picking are transmitted in advance so that an article can be specified, and a bar code reader provided in front of each of these areas. The bar code of the article is read at 38, and the processing may be started when it is detected that the article instructed from the distribution CPU 30 has arrived. Or, conversely, when the barcode of the article is read by the barcode reader 38 provided in front of each area of the article storage device group 4, 4, etc., the read barcode data is transmitted to the distribution CPU 30 for the next processing. And the distribution CPU 30 may instruct the controller in each area to perform processing. For example, in the warehousing command to the article storage device group 4, when an article is detected by the barcode reader 38 in contact with the warehousing line 6, the barcode data is transmitted to the distribution CPU 30, and the distribution CPU 30 receives the warehousing line controller 32 and the storage device controller. Command 31 to enter goods.
[0018]
FIG. 2 shows a control system of the article storage system. 40 is a LAN, 42 and 42 are input / output terminals, and 30 is the logistics CPU. The distribution CPU 30 is connected to storage device controllers 31, 31, incoming line controllers 32, 32, outgoing line controller 33, depalletizing controller 34, palletizing controller 35, and picking controller 36. The storage device controller 31 controls the product storage device in units of the product storage device group, and main control items are the raising and lowering of the shelf and the driving of the conveyor in the shelf. The warehousing line controller 32 controls the warehousing line 6 and the warehousing sub-conveyor 8, and a movable sorter 7 and a barcode reader 38 are connected to the warehousing line 6. The delivery line controller 33 is connected to the delivery sub-conveyor 10, the delivery line 12, the barcode reader 38, and the terminal 39 provided in contact with each article storage device group. A palletizing system 22 is connected to the palletizing controller 35, and a depalletizing system 14 is connected to the depalletizing controller 34.
[0019]
FIG. 3 shows the appearance of the article storage device 5. Reference numeral 50 denotes an in-shelf conveyor, for example, a large number of rollers 52 are driven by a conveyor motor 53. A chain conveyor or the like may be used instead of the roller conveyor. The conveyor motor 53 is a variable speed motor by inverter control or the like, and the output speed is, for example, from the low speed side in the order of the first delivery speed <the incoming speed <the second outgoing speed. The storage motor controller controls the conveyor motor 53. 54 is a shelf, 55 is its frame, and 56 is a plurality of combs of the shelf 54. When the shelf 54 moves up and down, the comb 56 passes through the gap between the rollers 52 and 52, and when the shelf 54 rises from the conveying surface of the in-shelf conveyor 50, the articles on the in-shelf conveyor 50 are loaded, and the shelf 54 is in the shelf. When the conveying surface of the conveyor 50 is passed downward, the articles on the shelf 54 are unloaded onto the in-shelf conveyor 50.
[0020]
58 is a column of the article storage device 5, 60 is a lifting motor, and 62 is a chain for lifting the shelf 54. A plurality of shelves 54 are stacked and stored in the lower part of the in-shelf conveyor 50. When the metal plate 64 is attached to the chain 62 between the shelves 54, 54, the chain 62 is formed when the shelf 54 is stacked on the lower part of the in-shelf conveyor 60. Prevents being caught between shelves. Further, the shelf 54 can be moved up and down one by one in order, and the interval between the shelf is determined by the metal plate 64 and the chain.
[0021]
FIG. 4 shows the connection between the article storage device 5, the warehousing sub-conveyor 9 and the warehousing sub-conveyor 11. A movable sorter 7 moves on the warehousing line 6, and the movable sorter 7 feeds articles to a warehousing sub-conveyor 9 that is in contact with the entrance to be warehousing, and includes a conveyor for this purpose. The warehousing sub-conveyor 9 is a power conveyor that conveys articles at a constant speed by a drive motor (not shown).
[0022]
The delivery sub-conveyor comprises, for example, a three-stage conveyor including an accumulation conveyor 70, a second-stage conveyor 71, and a third-stage conveyor 72, which can be driven independently, and the articles delivered from the in-shelf conveyor 50 are placed on the accumulation conveyor 70. Are aligned with each other, and the front end thereof is pressed and positioned by a stopper 74, and, for example, one article is transferred to the second stage conveyor 71 by operating the stopper 74. At the second stage conveyor 71, the article waits for the virtual zone provided on the delivery line 12 to arrive, sends the article to the third stage conveyor 72, and sends the article from the third stage conveyor 72 onto the delivery line 12. Send it in. The second-stage conveyor 71 and the third-stage conveyor 72 may be integrated to form a single conveyor.
[0023]
75 is a stopper provided between the warehousing sub-conveyor 9 and the in-shelf conveyor 50. When the goods are transferred from the in-shelf conveyor 50 to the next shelf 54, or when the articles are transferred from the in-shelf conveyor 50 to the accumulation conveyor 70, When unloading, subsequent articles are prevented from being loaded from the receiving sub-conveyor 9. The same function may be achieved only by controlling the warehousing sub-conveyor 9 without providing the stopper 75.
[0024]
S1, S2, S3, and S4 are monitoring lines. For example, a photoelectric switch, a photo interrupter, or the like is used to detect that an article has passed through the line, and from the time required for the article to pass through the monitoring line. Detect the width of the article. The monitoring line S1 detects an article protruding from the article storage device 5 to the delivery sub-conveyor 11 side. The monitoring line S2 detects the article upstream of the accumulation conveyor 70 and detects that the accumulation conveyor 70 is full of articles. The monitoring line S3 is for detecting articles moving from the accumulation conveyor 70 to the second stage conveyor 72, and may not be provided. The monitoring line S4 is a monitoring line on the entrance side of the article storage device 5, and detects articles received from the warehousing sub-conveyor 9 one by one. When the signal transmission from the article storage device 5 to the warehousing sub-conveyor 9 is shown in the lower left of FIG. 4, 78 is an LED, 79 is a phototransistor, and the LED 78 is turned on to prohibit the delivery of the article to the in-shelf conveyor 50. Then, that fact is transmitted to the phototransistor 79. In response to this, the warehousing sub-conveyor 9 stops the conveyance and raises the stopper 75. The article storage device 5 may communicate with the controllers 31 and 32 to transmit and receive signals instead of directly communicating with the warehousing sub-conveyor 9 using the LED 78, the phototransistor 79, and the like.
[0025]
Set goods issue parameters
FIG. 5 shows the setting of the delivery parameter. When goods are delivered to the delivery line, the delivery parameters are determined according to the size, weight, etc. of the goods, and the length of the delivery zone assigned on the delivery line is based on the delivery parameters × proportional constant × number of articles. And when shelving is changed in the middle of shipping, the shipping zone length is added according to the time required for shelving change, and when shipping only one item or only a small number of items, the shipping zone length is slightly increased ( For example, the correction is made so that the length of the unloading zone before correction is 1 time longer than 2 times. In addition, it is not necessary to perform correction in the case of adding the zone length accompanying the shelf change and issuing only one item or only a small number of items. In the embodiment, the delivery space is assigned as the delivery zone, but the delivery space may be assigned in a form other than the delivery zone.
[0026]
In FIG. 5, reference numeral 80 denotes a product type master stored in, for example, a logistics CPU, which is composed of a product type, its weight rank (here, four levels A to D), and parameters corresponding thereto. The parameter represents a delivery zone length allocated per article, and the zone length per article is proportional to the parameter, for example. When the type to be stored is assigned to each frontage, data related to the delivery for each frontage is stored in the parameter storage unit 82 provided in the outgoing line controller or the storage device controller. For example, the type, rank, parameter value, the value of a parameter added when only one or a small number are cut out, the value of a parameter added when changing the shelf, and the like. These parameters may be stored only in the parameter storage unit 82 instead of determining the zone length to be secured on the delivery line and storing the parameters in the product type master 80.
[0027]
84 is an exit zone allocation unit, for example, provided in the exit line controller, which multiplies the number of articles to be delivered at one time (number of deliveries) by a parameter, and additional parameters for cutting out only one article or a small number of articles, Add the additional parameters when changing shelves to determine the delivery zone length. By the way, the delivery sub-conveyor is controlled via a timer of the local controller, and the interval for sending out articles is determined by a timer value, which is determined by a parameter. The parameter value, additional parameter value at the time of cutting out one or a small number of items, additional parameter value at the time of changing the shelf, etc. can be changed depending on whether there is a trouble at the time of shipping, etc. It is preferable that the storage device controller can increase or decrease. Reference numeral 86 denotes a switch for increasing or decreasing these values, which is provided on the delivery line controller or storage device controller side, but need not be provided.
[0028]
FIG. 6 shows a modification related to the operation of the parameters. In this modification, the product size is stored in the product master 90, and the parameters are determined according to the size. In the allocation of the shipping zone, what is actually important is the size rather than the weight, but the weight is data that can be obtained more easily than the size, and the weight often corresponds to the size. Is converted into a rank, and parameters are determined from the rank. On the other hand, in the modified example of FIG. 6, the parameters are determined around the size. The height H in the size indicates the ease of falling of the article. For articles that fall easily, the speed at the time of delivery from the delivery sub-conveyor to the delivery line is reduced, the acceleration / deceleration time is increased, and the article is increased in height. Increases the shipping parameter.
[0029]
In the parameter storage unit 92 of the delivery line controller or the storage device controller, the feeder speed determined by the height of the article in addition to the above-described parameters, additional parameters when cutting out only one or a small number, and additional parameters when changing the shelf Remember. This defines the acceleration of the second stage conveyor and represents the degree of acceleration when the article is sent to the delivery line. When the feeder speed data is input to the second-stage conveyor 71 and the delivery zone length determined by the delivery number and delivery parameters is calculated by the delivery zone assignment unit 84 and assigned to the delivery work, the parameter value is inappropriate. Change with the increase / decrease switch 86.
[0030]
Issue
FIG. 7 shows the delivery of articles to the delivery line 12. 94 is a delivery zone, which is allocated to the outgoing goods for the number of outgoing goods, and 95 is a margin remaining at the end of the outgoing zone when the goods for the outgoing goods are delivered. A local controller 96 controls the delivery sub-conveyor 11 and includes interfaces 97 and 99 and a timer 98. The interface 99 receives the number of goods delivered, the delivery parameters, and the like from the storage device controller 31, sends them to the delivery line controller 33, receives the assignment of the delivery zone, and determines the presence / absence and the number of late arrival articles. 33 is notified of whether automatic delivery to late-arrival articles is possible. The function may be directly executed by the delivery line controller 33 without providing a local controller or the like.
[0031]
In the allocation of the delivery zone, for example, the start and end addresses of the delivery zone in the movement coordinate system on the delivery line are input, and in addition to this, data for converting the coordinates of the movement coordinate system into the coordinates of the stationary coordinate system For example, the current position of the origin position of the delivery line is input. The interface 99 determines arrival and passage of the assigned delivery zone using these data and the location of the delivery sub-conveyor 11 in the stationary coordinate system.
[0032]
The timer 98 of the local controller 96 controls the delivery of articles from the second-stage conveyor 71 to the third-stage conveyor 72. Specifically, the timer 98 signals from the second-stage conveyor 71 via the interface 97 by a signal from the timer 98. The article is sent out to the third stage conveyor 72 and discharged to the shipping line 12. The operation interval of the second stage conveyor 71 is determined by a timer 98, and the timer 98 operates the second stage conveyor 71 at a pitch proportional to the parameter input from the storage device controller 31. Further, the operation speed (feeder speed) of the second stage conveyor 71 is constant in the embodiment of FIG. 5, and is determined by the data in the parameter storage unit 92 in the modification of FIG.
[0033]
The terminal 39 (touch panel monitor) of the delivery line controller 33 displays the front door number, the number of late arrival items, and the position on the delivery line at which this item should be put in, when it is necessary to process late arrival items manually. To do. As a general rule, the input position of the article is a normal input position, that is, a delivery zone assigned before the delay in the arrival of the article.
[0034]
The length of the delivery zone 94 is such that a margin 95 remains when goods for the number of delivery are delivered. In the timer 98, a timer value is determined so that articles are delivered at intervals shorter than the length of the delivery zone divided by the number of delivery, and as a result, a margin 95 remains at the end of the delivery zone 94. The margin 95 is a countermeasure when the delivery of the article is delayed or when an additional article is delivered between the delivery zone by the automatic delivery described later. Further, the margin 95 can prevent interference with the subsequent article, and even when the delivery of the article from the delivery sub-conveyor to the delivery line is somewhat delayed, the margin 95 can absorb it.
[0035]
FIG. 8 and FIG. 9 show the delivery work in the case of changing the shelf and the assignment of the delivery zone. Since the length of the accumulation conveyor 70 is made shorter than that of the in-shelf conveyor to save space, it is difficult to place all articles on the in-shelf conveyor 50 on the accumulation conveyor 70 when changing the shelves. Therefore, as shown in the middle part of FIG. 8, when the accumulation conveyor 70 is full with articles remaining on the in-shelf conveyor, delivery to the delivery line is started. In this way, an empty space is provided on the accumulation conveyor 70, and the articles remaining on the in-shelf conveyor 50 are accommodated therein.
[0036]
When the in-shelf conveyor 50 is emptied, the next shelf 54 can be lowered to transfer articles to the in-shelf conveyor 50, so that there is a gap between the next shelf article and the last article on the shelf conveyor 50. In addition, a large gap is left on the shipping line. In order to solve this problem, the speed of carrying out articles from the in-shelf conveyor 50 to the accumulator conveyor 70 is increased after changing the shelves, and an additional length is assigned for each change of shelves in the allocation of the delivery zone.
[0037]
As a problem other than this, when the number of outgoing items is 1, the margin formed behind the outgoing item is very small, and there is a possibility of interference with the next item. Therefore, when the number of outgoings is 1, or when the outgoing number is equal to or less than a predetermined number, an additional length is assigned as the outgoing zone. As a result of these, the relationship between the number of issues and the issue zone length is as shown in FIG. 9. If there is a shelf change, the issue zone length jumps and increases. If the number of issues is one or a small number, The zone length of is larger than the others.
[0038]
In the embodiment, the zone length per article is determined by parameters, and corrections are made for the case of changing the shelves and the number of outgoings being one or a small number. For example, the parameters and the outgoing numbers are used as headings. A two-dimensional lookup table may be provided, and the delivery zone length may be determined based on the value in the lookup table. In this case, since the number of shelf replacements is not determined by the number of shipments, it is preferable to separately determine the number of shelf replacements and add to it.
[0039]
FIG. 10 shows detection of traffic jams in the supply lines 19 and 20 on the downstream side of the delivery line. There is a palletizing system or the like on the downstream side of the supply lines 19 and 20, and when an article exceeding its processing capacity is delivered, the delivery line must be urgently stopped. Although the supply lines 19 and 20 are buffers for this, in order to avoid an emergency stop of the shipping line, the traffic congestion of the supply lines 19 and 20 is detected. The article is monitored by the barcode reader 38 on the upstream side of the supply lines 19 and 20, and the stock count of the traffic jam detection unit 102 is incremented by 1 every time the article passes. Bar code readers 38 and 38 are provided on the outlet sides of the supply lines 19 and 20 to reduce the stock quantity by 1 each time an article passes and simultaneously increase the downstream pass quantity by 1. The traffic jam detection unit 102 is, for example, a part of the delivery line controller, but may be a part of the palletizing controller. 104 is an inventory number detection unit that stores the number of articles on the supply lines 19 and 20, and 106 is a downstream passage number detection unit that stores the number of articles detected by a downstream barcode reader per predetermined time. To do. Instead of actually detecting the number of stocks and the number of downstream passages, it is possible to detect a traffic jam by receiving a report of a palletizing system trouble from the palletizing controller. If only the number of articles passed is detected, a photoelectric switch or the like may be used instead of the barcode reader.
[0040]
When the processing capacity on the downstream side is reduced due to troubles of the palletizing system, the number of stocks in the supply lines 19 and 20 increases, and the number of downstream passages decreases. Therefore, a decrease in the number of downstream passages and an increase in the number of stocks are indications that articles are being sent from the delivery line beyond the downstream processing capacity. In particular, when the number of stocks exceeds a predetermined value, the delivery line must be stopped urgently.
[0041]
When the traffic jam detection unit 102 detects traffic jam from these signs, it inputs a traffic jam signal to the outgoing line controller 33, and the outgoing line controller 33 increases the outgoing zone length, for example, in order to reduce the number of articles sent to the outgoing line. Let In the embodiment, each of the above parameters is virtually increased in accordance with a traffic jam signal, and the delivery zone length is extended and assigned. As a result, the number of articles sent to the delivery line per hour is limited, the increase in the number of stocks in the supply lines 19 and 20 is prevented, and the number of delivery is reduced according to the processing capacity of the downstream palletizing system, etc. Let
[0042]
Automatic delivery of missed items
FIGS. 11 and 12 show processing of late arrival items. Even if the downstream processing capacity is monitored as shown in FIG. 10, the output line 12 may have to be stopped if the processing capacity is significantly reduced. In such a case, as shown in FIG. 11, the delivery from the delivery sub-conveyor is prohibited, and only the time required for delivery of one article is waited, and the delivery line is stopped. In the following, the stop of the delivery line includes slow speed running. When the downstream fullness is released, the delivery line is restarted, and immediately after the delivery is resumed, the delivery is resumed after waiting for a delay time so as not to cause a collision of articles on the delivery line.
[0043]
An article that could not be delivered to the assigned delivery zone at this time or the like is a late arrival article. When an overdue item occurs, the local controller sends the number of the outage and the number of overdue items to the output line controller, and if the output line controller is capable of automatic output, the gap between the assigned output zone and the output zone ( A zone for automatically issuing missed items is designated and automatically issued, such as at the margin). The delivery destination of the automatically delivered article is a picking area. Except for the missed article, the article is automatically palletized by the palletizing system, and the missed article is palletized manually, for example.
[0044]
The unloading line controller determines whether the unloading goods can be automatically unloaded. If the unloading is not possible, the unloading line is stopped again, and the terminal No., the number of articles, and the normal unloading position are displayed on the terminal. Place the article at a regular delivery position on the delivery line by hand, etc., finish the process of manual delivery, etc. at all the entrances to be delivered, and when the reset switch is input, restart the delivery line, Transport the goods to the palletizing system.
[0045]
FIG. 12 shows a procedure for determining the occurrence of late arrival items and the possibility of automatic delivery. At the time of receiving the exit prohibition command in FIG. 11, the articles that have already started the second-stage conveyor are released, and the unstarted articles are not released. In addition, the position (address) of the delivery line is monitored between the prohibition of delivery and restart, and if the address corresponding to the exit zone arrives before restart and the address corresponding to the next zone has not arrived, Resuming goods delivery with the restart of the delivery process. If the next zone arrives before the delivery line is restarted, or if the next zone arrives before the delivery of all the delivered goods is completed, a delay occurs.
[0046]
The local controller reports to the delivery line controller the front door number where the late arrival occurred and the number of late arrival items. The delivery line controller has a small number of generated frontage doors, a small number of late arrival items, a zone for late arrival items can be assigned, and late arrival items can be input separately from the previous and next items, or an unassigned zone Select automatic issue when is available. This is a case where the number of late arrival items is small, and it is considered more efficient than manually stopping the delivery line even if the late arrival items are palletized manually. Note that the gap between zones is, for example, the margin. In the embodiment, as a condition for distinguishing between the preceding and following articles, the article in the next zone and the article in the next next zone are different from each other. This corresponds to the fact that even if it branches into two lines on the downstream side, it can be distinguished from the preceding and following articles.
[0047]
If any of the above conditions is not met, the exit line controller stops the exit line, displays the front door number with late arrival items, the number of late arrival items, and the normal insertion position on the terminal of the outgoing line controller. And restart the shipping line after the re-input is completed. In this case, since the article has been put into the regular feeding position, the delayed article is conveyed to the palletizing system.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a layout of an article storage system according to an embodiment.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a control system of the article storage system of FIG.
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the article storage device in the embodiment.
FIG. 4 is a side view showing an arrangement of an article storage device, an incoming sub-conveyor, and an outgoing sub-conveyor in the embodiment.
FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a data flow in the delivery parameter setting in the embodiment.
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a data flow in a modified example of the delivery parameter setting in the embodiment.
FIG. 7 is a diagram schematically showing transfer of articles to a delivery line by a delivery zone and a timer and securing a margin in the embodiment.
FIG. 8 is a diagram schematically illustrating the leaving operation when the shelf is changed in the embodiment.
FIG. 9 is a characteristic diagram showing the relationship between the number of outgoings, presence / absence of shelf change, and outgoing zone length in the embodiment.
FIG. 10 is a diagram showing detection of traffic jam on the downstream side and change of allocation of the leaving zone length in the embodiment.
FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating processing for late-arrival goods in the embodiment.
FIG. 12 is a diagram schematically showing generation of late arrival items and a procedure for determining whether automatic delivery to late arrival items is possible in the embodiment.
[Explanation of symbols]
2 Goods storage system
4 Goods storage device group
5 Goods storage device
6 Receipt line
7 Sorter
8 Warehousing sub-conveyor group
9 Receipt sub-conveyor
10 Delivery sub-conveyor group
11 Delivery sub-conveyor
12 Outgoing line
14 Depalletizing system
15 Automatic pallet warehouse
16 Case automatic warehouse
18 Branching device
19, 20 supply line
22 Palletizing system
24 Picking area
25 Sorter
26 Picking conveyor
27 Reflux conveyor
30 Logistics CPU
31 Storage device controller
32 Receipt line controller
33 Delivery line controller
34 Depalletizing controller
35 Palletizing controller
36 picking controller
38 Barcode reader
39 terminal
40 LAN
42 I / O terminal
50 In-shelf conveyor
52 Laura
53 Conveyor motor
54 shelves
55 frames
56 Comb
58 prop
60 Lifting motor
62 chain
64 metal plate
70 Accumulator
71 Second stage conveyor
72 Third stage conveyor
74,75 stopper
78 LED
79 Phototransistor
80, 90 variety master
82, 92 Parameter storage unit
84 Delivery Zone Assignment Department
86 Increase / decrease switch
94 Outgoing Zone
95 margin
96 Local controller
97,99 interface
98 timer
100 articles
102 Traffic jam detection unit
104 Stock quantity detector
106 Downstream passage number detection unit
S1-S4 monitoring line

Claims (3)

In a system in which a plurality of article storage devices including a plurality of shelves for storing articles by moving up and down so as to pass through the conveyor surface of the intra-shelf conveyor, the respective article storage devices are connected. A means for designating a space for an article to be delivered from the article storage device to the delivery line on the delivery line and a delivery line from the article storage device when the processing capacity downstream of the delivery line is reduced. Means for stopping the delivery line after a time after prohibiting the delivery to the store, and specifying other delivery space for the article that missed the space due to the stoppage of the delivery line. And an article storage system characterized in that a means for re-delivery on the exit line is provided.   2. The article storage system according to claim 1, further comprising means for recognizing the re-issued article and branching it to a station for processing late-arrival articles.   Means for determining whether or not re-delivery is possible, and means for displaying the position of the article storage device where the late arrival occurred and the number of late-arrival articles when re-removal is impossible The article storage system according to claim 1 or 2, characterized by comprising:

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