JP4853386B2 - Article storage support system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an article storage support system, and more particularly to an article storage support system that supports an operation of storing an article in a predetermined storage location.

  When storing an article that is an object to be stored on a shelf or the like installed on the floor in a warehouse or a store, the article is transported using a cart such as a forklift, and an operator stores the article in a storage location. . In such a case, in order to efficiently perform the storage operation, it is necessary to quickly and accurately grasp the position of the storage location that can be stored by the operator.

  And the following patent document 1 discloses a system for managing the storage space of the shelf as a technique related to supporting the article storage work. In this system, storage work is supported by displaying an empty space on a screen or outputting a warehousing instruction for a worker who performs storage work.

  However, in the system disclosed in Patent Document 1, the storage location instruction method is not specifically disclosed. For example, the storage location instruction method can be used to change the shelf number or empty space on the screen or in a warehousing instruction sheet. In the case of a method of notifying by an assigned address or the like, the worker must grasp the arrangement of shelves in the floor corresponding to the number and the relationship between the address and the position in the floor. Therefore, it is difficult for the operator to specify the shelves to be stored, resulting in inconvenience such as a storage error. In addition, the management of the storage location after storing the article has a problem that an operator has to input manually into the management system, which may cause an input error.

  Also, as a technique related to article storage, there is an article position detection system disclosed in Patent Document 2. In the system described in this document, a plurality of light emitting elements provided in an article placement area of a shelf emit light to an RFID medium attached to an article placed on the shelf, and the emitted light is emitted from the RFID medium. It is configured to detect and switch whether to read information from the RFID medium. In addition, by providing a reading device that reads from the RFID media on the shelf, it is possible to recognize the position where a specific article is placed according to the light emitting operation of each light emitting element when the article information is read from the RFID media. It becomes.

  However, in the system disclosed in Patent Document 2, the position of the article placed on the shelf can be visually confirmed. However, when the article is to be stored from now on, an appropriate place for placing the article is determined by the operator. Cannot be presented. Therefore, as described above, it is difficult for the operator to specify the storage location of the article, and there is a problem that the work efficiency at the time of storing the article cannot be improved.

JP-A-3-23103 JP 2006-160503 A

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an article storage support system capable of improving the efficiency of storing articles.

Therefore, the present invention provides
Provided with a notification means that is provided at a storage location for storing articles and outputs notification information for recognizing the position of the storage location, and a management server for managing the storage status of the storage location, and supports the storage operation of the article in the storage location An article storage support system,
Management server
Storage status data storage means for storing storage status data representing the storage status of articles in the storage location; article information receiving means for receiving input of article information for specifying articles to be stored; article information and storage status data A storage location selection means for selecting a storage location based on the information, and a notification control means for controlling the notification state of the notification means provided at the storage location selected by the storage location selection means,
The structure is adopted.

  The present invention is configured as described above, so that an appropriate storage location is selected according to the storage status of the storage location and the articles to be stored, and notification is provided from the notification means equipped at the selected actual storage location. Information is output. Therefore, the worker who conveys the article can easily recognize the storage location for storing the article to be stored. As a result, the storage work can be speeded up, storage errors can be reduced, and the storage work efficiency can be improved.

One aspect of the present invention is:
Provided with a notification means that is provided at a storage location for storing articles and outputs notification information for recognizing the position of the storage location, and a management server for managing the storage status of the storage location, and supports the storage operation of the article in the storage location An article storage support system,
Management server
Storage status data storage means for storing storage status data representing the storage status of articles in the storage location; article information receiving means for receiving input of article information for specifying articles to be stored; article information and storage status data A storage location selection means for selecting a storage location based on the information, and a notification control means for controlling the notification state of the notification means provided at the storage location selected by the storage location selection means,
The structure is adopted.

  According to the above configuration, first, the management server stores and manages storage status data representing the current storage status of the storage location. And when the input of the article | item information which specifies the accommodation object article | item to store is received, the suitable storage location which accommodates a storage object article | item will be selected based on this article | item information and storage condition data. For example, according to the item name and quantity of the article, a storage location having an empty space that can appropriately accommodate the article to be stored is selected, or a storage location that cannot be stored is selected. And the alerting | reporting state of the alerting | reporting means provided in the selected storage location is controlled, and the alerting | reporting information which can be recognized is output with respect to the operator who conveys an article | item to a storage location.

  Thereby, since the notification information indicating that it can be stored is output from the actual storage location, the worker who transports the article can easily recognize the storage location where the storage target article is stored. Therefore, it is possible to speed up the storage work, reduce storage errors, and improve the storage work efficiency.

The article storage support system
An RFID tag attached to an article and storing article information of the article;
An article management device that is mounted on a conveyance device that conveys an article to be stored to a storage location and manages the article to be conveyed;
The article management device includes a tag reading unit that reads article information from an RFID tag attached to an article to be conveyed, an article information transmission unit that transmits the article information read by the tag reading unit to a management server via a network, With
The article information receiving means of the management server accepts input of article information transmitted from the article management device.
The structure is adopted.

  Thereby, first, the article management device provided in the conveying apparatus that conveys the article to be stored reads the article information from the RFID tag attached to the article during the article conveyance. Then, the read article information is transmitted to the management server via the network. In response to this, the management server selects a storage location where the storage target article can be appropriately stored based on the article information and the storage status data, as described above. And the alerting | reporting operation | movement of the alerting | reporting means provided in the selected storage location is controlled, and the alerting | reporting information recognizable with respect to the operator who conveys an article | item to a storage location is output.

  Therefore, during transportation, the article information of the articles to be stored is automatically collected and notified to the management server, whereby the storage location is selected. As a result, the storage operation can be automated and simplified. As a result, the storage operation becomes quick, storage errors can be reduced, and storage efficiency can be further improved.

The article storage support system
The notification means is capable of a plurality of different notifications,
The storage location selecting means selects a storage location where the article to be stored cannot be stored and a storage location having an empty area for storing the article to be stored, respectively.
The notification control means controls the notification state of the notification means so as to distinguish and notify each storage location selected by the storage location selection means,
The structure is adopted.

The article information includes information indicating the article name of the article to which the RFID tag in which the article information is stored is attached,
The storage location selection means selects a storage location in which an item having a name different from the item to be stored and a storage location without an empty storage area are selected as a storage location that cannot be stored, and an item to be stored Select a storage location where an article with the same product name is stored but there is an empty storage area, and a storage location where no other article is stored and there is an empty storage area,
The notification control means controls the notification state of the notification means so as to distinguish and notify each storage location selected by the storage location selection means,
The structure is adopted.

Furthermore, a plurality of storage location groups in which a plurality of the storage locations are formed are formed,
The notification control means outputs the notification information from the notification means provided at the storage location formed in the storage location group having the most storage locations having the empty storage area for storing the article selected by the storage location selection means. Control the notification state to
The structure is adopted.

  Thereby, the situation of each storage location with respect to an article | item can be distinguished in detail and it can alert | report to an operator etc., and the operator can select the storage location suitable for accommodating an article | item from it. Therefore, the work efficiency can be further improved.

  And the said alerting | reporting means has taken the structure that it is the light emission means which outputs alerting | reporting information by light-emitting, for example. Thereby, an operator can recognize a storage location visually. Therefore, the position of the storage location can be easily and accurately grasped, and the storage operation can be further improved in efficiency.

The article storage support system
The storage location includes storage location information output means for outputting storage location information for specifying the storage location,
The article management apparatus includes a storage location information reading unit that reads storage location information output from a storage location information output unit provided in the storage location when storing the article conveyed to the storage location, and the read storage location information. Storage location information transmitting means for transmitting to the management server,
The management server includes storage status management means for changing storage status data based on the storage location information transmitted from the article management device.
The structure is adopted.

Further, the tag reading means of the article management device reads article information stored in an RFID tag attached to the article when storing the article conveyed to the storage location,
The storage location information transmitting means transmits the article information read by the tag reading means and the storage location information read by the storage location information reading means to the management server,
The storage status management means of the management server changes the storage status data based on the item information and the storage location information transmitted from the item management device.
The structure is adopted.

  The storage location information output means is a light emitting means for outputting the storage location information by light emission, and the storage location information reading means is a light receiving means.

  As a result, the article management device equipped in the conveying apparatus that conveys the article reads the storage location information output from the storage location for storing the article, and transmits it to the management server. Receiving this, the management server recognizes the storage location where the article is actually stored, and changes the storage status data accordingly. In addition, when the article is stored, the article management apparatus also acquires the article information of the article to be stored and transmits it to the management server, so that the management server can also reflect the stored article information in the database, depending on the actual situation. The storage status data can be changed more accurately.

Moreover, the other form of this invention is:
Storage status data storage means for storing storage status data representing the storage status for a storage location for storing articles, article information reception means for receiving input of article information for specifying an article to be stored, article information and storage status data The storage location selection means for selecting the storage location based on the control location and the notification state of the notification means for outputting the notification information for recognizing the position of the storage location provided in the storage location selected by the storage location selection means is controlled. A management server having an offense provided with a notification control means.

  The management server includes an RFID attached to the article to be transported by the article management apparatus in which the article information receiving means is mounted on the transport apparatus that transports the article to be stored to the storage location and manages the article to be transported. A configuration is adopted in which article information of the article stored in the tag and read from the RFID tag is received from the article management apparatus via a network.

  Further, when storing the article conveyed to the storage location, the storage location information is read from the article management device that has read the storage location information specifying the storage location output from the storage location information output means provided at the storage location. Is received via a network, and the storage status management means for changing the storage status data based on the storage location information is provided.

  Further, the storage status management means reads the article information read from the RFID tag attached to the article when the article transported to the storage location by the article management device is stored, the storage location information, The storage status data is changed based on the configuration.

Moreover, the other form of this invention is:
In the management server storing the storage status data representing the storage status for the storage location for storing the article,
Item information receiving means for receiving input of article information for specifying an article to be stored, storage location selecting means for selecting a storage location based on the article information and storage status data, and the storage location selection means. And a notification control unit for controlling a notification state of a notification unit that outputs notification information for recognizing the position of the storage location.

Furthermore, another aspect of the present invention is:
A management server that stores storage status data representing the storage status of a storage location for storing articles,
An article information receiving step for receiving an input of article information for specifying an article to be stored;
A storage location selection step of selecting a storage location based on the article information and storage status data;
A notification control step for controlling a notification state of notification means for outputting notification information provided in the storage location selected in the storage location selection step and recognizing the position of the storage location;
This is an article storage support method.

And the article storage support method is:
Since an article management device that manages an article to be transported mounted on a transport apparatus that transports an article to be stored to a storage location is stored in an RFID tag attached to the article to be transported to the storage location, the article information of the article is A tag reading process for reading from the RFID tag;
In the article information receiving process, the management server receives the article information read in the tag reading process from the article management apparatus via the network.
The structure is adopted.

The notification control step controls the management server to output storage location information for specifying the storage location from the storage location information output means provided in the storage location,
Thereafter, when the article management device stores the article conveyed to the storage location, the storage location information output from the storage location information output means provided at the storage location is read, and the read storage location information is transmitted to the management server. A storage location information reading process,
A management server having a storage status management step of changing storage status data based on the storage location information transmitted from the article management device;
The structure is adopted.

Further, the storage location information reading step reads the product information stored in the RFID tag attached to the product when the product management device stores the product transported to the storage location, and the read product information and the storage location Send information to the management server,
In the storage status management step, the management server changes the storage status data based on the item information and the storage location information transmitted from the item management device.
The structure is adopted.

  Hereinafter, an example of the detailed configuration and operation of the above-described invention will be described in Examples.

  A first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an article storage support system which is an embodiment of the present invention. 2 to 6 are diagrams showing the configuration of each device constituting the article storage support system. 7 to 10 are an explanatory diagram and a sequence diagram showing the operation of the article storage support system.

[Constitution]
The article storage support system according to the present embodiment is a system for supporting an operation in which an operator transports an article to a shelf installed in a warehouse or the like using a cart such as a forklift and stores the article. Specifically, when storing the article 8 in the shelf 2, the system notifies the operator of the position of the box 21 formed on the shelf 2, which is an appropriate storage location in accordance with the stored article 8. It is.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the article storage support system according to the present embodiment first includes a light-emitting device 3 provided in each of boxes 21 that are a plurality of storage locations formed on a shelf 2 described later, and these light-emitting devices. And an LED control device 4 for controlling the light emission operation 3. The storage server 1 includes a management server 1 that manages the storage status of each box 21 and transmits information instructing the light emitting operation of each light emitting device 3 to the LED control device 4. Furthermore, an article conveyance management device 7 that is equipped on a cart 6 such as a forklift that actually conveys the article 8 and manages the conveyance and storage state of the article 8 is provided. Each article 8 has an RFID tag 9 attached thereto. Each configuration will be described in detail below with reference to FIGS.

  First, the shelf 2 that stores the articles 8 will be described. First, FIG. 1 shows a side view of a floor such as a warehouse or a store, and a plurality of shelves 2 (storage locations) are installed on the floor. In FIG. 1, only two shelves 2 are shown, but the number of shelves 2 is not limited. Each shelf 2 is formed with a box 21 (storage location) for storing (N × M) articles 8 partitioned into N rows in the horizontal direction and M floors in the vertical direction. Each of these boxes 21 is formed so that a plurality of articles 8 can be stored. In addition, an LED control device 4 that performs light emission control of each light emitting device 3 provided on the shelf 2 is installed on the top of each shelf 2. The issuing device 3 that is controlled to emit light by the LED control device 4 is installed on the ceiling portion of each box 21. The light emitting device 3 and the like will be described later.

  As described above, a plurality of wireless LAN base stations 5 are installed on the floor on which the shelf 2 is installed, and the wireless LAN base stations 5 are connected to the management server 1 via a network. Further, as will be described later, the carriage 6 and the LED control device 4 are each equipped with a wireless transceiver, and can transmit / receive information to / from the management server 1 via the wireless LAN base station 5. Yes.

  Next, the configuration of the article 8 will be described with reference to FIG. Fig.2 (a) is a figure which shows the external appearance of the articles | goods 8 in a present Example. As shown in this figure, the article 8 has, for example, a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, but the shape of the article 8 is not limited to such a shape.

  Each article 8 has a card-shaped RFID tag 9 attached thereto. As will be described later, the RFID tag 9 is capable of short-range wireless communication with a reader / writer device 71 provided in the article transport management device 7. The RFID tag 9 stores article management information (article information) transmitted and received by short-range wireless communication. The article management information is information for identifying an article, and includes, for example, identification information (tag ID) of the RFID tag 9, an article name (article name) of the article 8, and alphanumeric characters, as shown in FIG. It includes information representing the identification number (article ID) of the article 8, and the total number of articles 8 (total number of articles) placed on the carriage 6 as a storage target article as will be described later. The article management information is read from the RFID tag 9 by short-range wireless communication by the reader / writer device 71 of the article transport management apparatus 7 mounted on the carriage 6 to be described later, and for example, new data such as the total number of articles is written. Alternatively, update writing is performed.

  Next, the configuration of the article transport management device 7 mounted on the carriage 6 will be described with reference to FIG. Here, the carriage 6 (conveyance device) moves in the path between the shelves 2 on the floor, and the worker stores the articles 8 on the carriage 6 in the individual boxes 21 from the front surface of the shelf 2. Then, the articles 8 are carried out from the individual boxes 21 of the shelf 2 onto the cart 6. The article transport management device 7 (article management device) is configured by a computer having the following configuration.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the article transport management apparatus 7 includes a reader / writer device 71 that reads article management information from an RFID tag 9 attached to the article 8, and an infrared that constitutes a part of the light-emitting device 3 as will be described later. A light receiving device 72 that receives the blinking light of the LED 34, a decoding device 73 that decodes information from an electrical signal output from the light receiving device 72, a keyboard that allows the operator to input the number of articles 8 stored in the box 21, etc. Input device 74 and a wireless transmitter / receiver 75 that transmits / receives data to / from the management server 2 via the wireless LAN base station 5. Further, a predetermined program is incorporated in the CPU of the article transport management device 7 so that the tag read / write processing unit 76, the input / output control processing unit 77, the storage location request processing unit 78, and the storage status notification processing unit. 79 are constructed.

  The input / output control processing unit 77 mainly controls input / output of information with respect to the article transport management device 7. For example, the operation of the tag read / write processing unit 76 (tag reading means) is controlled so that the tag read / write processing unit 76 is transporting the article 8 and the transported article 8 is the target box. When stored in 21, the article management information is read from the RFID tags 9 of all the articles 8 loaded. Note that the reading process is performed, for example, at a timing when a reading command is input from the input device 74 by the operator during conveyance or storage.

  In addition, as will be described later, the input / output control processing unit 77 receives the light received and decoded by the light receiving device 72 and is output by light emission from the infrared LED 34 provided in the box 21 that actually stores the article 8. It has a function of receiving input of position information (storage location information) of the box 21 (storage location information reading means). Further, the input / output control processing unit 77 has a function of receiving the number information and the storage information of the box 21 input by the worker to the input device 74 when the worker stores the article 8 in the box 21.

  The information input to the input / output control processing unit 77 is passed to the storage location request processing unit 78 or the storage status notification processing unit 79. Specifically, the information read at the time of article conveyance, that is, the article management information read from the RFID tag 9 is transferred to the storage location request processing unit 78. Further, information read when the article is stored in the target box 21, that is, article management information read from the RFID tag 9, box position information read from the light receiving device 72, and number-of-items information input from the input device 74. Is transferred to the storage status notification processing unit 79. The position information of the box 21 read from the light receiving device 72 will be described later.

  In addition, the tag read / write processing unit 76 calculates the number of articles 8 loaded on the carriage 6 based on the article ID of the article management information received from the RFID tag 9 of the article 8. Perform the writing process. The calculated article number data is also included in the article management information, and is notified from the input / output control processing unit 77 to the storage location request processing unit 78 or the storage status notification processing unit 79 as described above.

  Further, the storage location request processing unit 78 (article information transmission means) sends the article management information of the article 8 to be stored, that is, the name of the article to be stored, the total number of articles, and the like to the wireless transceiver 75. To the management server 1 via the wireless LAN base station 5. In addition, the storage status notification processing unit 79 (storage location information transmission means) stores the article management information of the article 8 when stored, that is, information such as the name of the article to be actually stored, the total number of articles, and the actual storage. The position information of the box 21 to be transmitted is transmitted from the wireless transceiver 75 to the management server 1 via the wireless LAN base station 5.

  Next, the configuration of the management server 1 will be described. As shown in FIG. 4, the CPU of the management server 1 according to the present embodiment incorporates a predetermined program, whereby an article information reception processing unit 11, a storage location selection processing unit 12, a light emission instruction processing unit 13, The storage status management processing unit 14 is constructed. A storage location management database 15 is formed in a storage device such as a hard disk. Hereinafter, each configuration will be described in detail.

  First, the storage location management database 15 (storage status data storage means) stores data indicating the article storage status of each box 21 formed on the plurality of shelves 2, that is, article position management information (storage) indicating the storage position of the articles. (Status data) is stored. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, the item position management information includes the identification information (shelf ID) of the shelf 2, the position information of the shelf 2, the position information of the box 21, and the item name (article of the item 8 stored in the box 21. Name), the number of items 8 stored in the box 21 (number of items), and storage information indicating the storage state of the box 21 indicating whether or not the item to be stored can be stored. In addition, the floor is divided by the coordinates of X and Y that are orthogonal, the position information of the shelf 2 is indicated by the intersection of the coordinates (N, M), and the shelf 2 that is composed of (N × M) boxes 21 The position information 21 is represented by coordinates (n, m) representing “n columns from the right in the horizontal direction and m floors from the bottom in the vertical direction”.

  In addition, the article information reception processing unit 11 (article information receiving means) transmits the article management information transmitted from the storage location request processing unit 78 of the article transport management device 7 described above, that is, when the article is transported by the carriage 6. The article management information read from the article 8 being conveyed is received via the wireless LAN base station 5 and transferred to the storage location selection processing unit 12.

  The storage location selection processing unit 12 (storage location selection means) stores the articles 8 to be stored that are being transported based on the received article management information and the article location management information in the storage location management database 15. A possible box 21 is selected. Specifically, an article name read from the article 8 is recognized, and a storage location that can store a box 21 in which an article identical to the article name is already stored but an empty storage area remains is stored. Select as a “Caution” box. Further, the box 21 in which no article is stored is selected as a “storable” box which is a storage location where the article can be stored. The storage location selection processing unit 12 also determines a storage location that cannot be stored. For example, a box 21 in which an item different from the name of the item scheduled to be stored or a box 21 that already has no empty storage area is selected as a “cannot be stored” box. Then, the selection results such as “cannot be stored”, “careful storage”, and “can be stored” are written in the item position management information in the storage location management database 15 as the storage information of each box 21 and the light emission instruction processing unit. Pass to 13.

  And the light emission instruction | indication process part 13 (notification control means) transmits the selection result of the said accommodation location selection process part 12, ie, the storage information for every box 21, to the LED control apparatus 4, and the light emission provided in each box 21 Commands the device 3 to control the light emission state. Specifically, as described above, the light emitting devices 3 of the respective boxes 21 selected as “non-accommodable”, “attention to store”, and “can be stored” are distinguished from each other for each selection result to have different light emission states. Issue a command to control. At this time, in particular, the number of boxes 21 selected as “storage attention” and “accommodable” as the boxes 21 in which the articles 8 can be stored is counted for each shelf 2 on which each box 21 is formed. The shelf 2 (storage location group) is selected, and the storage information is transmitted to the LED control device 4 mounted on the shelf 2 together with information specifying the shelf 2, and a light emission control command is issued. Thereby, only the light-emitting device 3 provided in the shelf 1 having the most accommodable boxes 21 emits light.

  Further, the storage status management processing unit 14 (storage status management processing unit) stores the article management information received from the storage status notification processing unit 79 of the article transport management device 7 when the worker stores the article 8, and a box for storing the article management information. The item location management information in the storage location management database 15 is updated based on the location information and the information input by the operator. Specifically, the identification information of the shelf 2 storing the article 8 included in the position information of the box, the position information of the shelf 2, the position information of the box 21, and the article management information of the stored article 8 The product name, the number of items 8 stored in the information input by the operator, and the information stored in the box 21 are received, and the item position management information of each shelf 2 is updated. The number of stored articles 8 may be the information included in the article management information read from the RFID tag 9 of the article 8 instead of the information input by the operator.

  Next, with reference to FIG. 6, the structure of the LED control apparatus 4 provided in each shelf 2 and the light-emitting device 3 provided in each box 21 is demonstrated. First, FIG. 6B shows the configuration of the light emitting device 3 provided on the ceiling of each box 21. As shown in this figure, the light-emitting device 3 (light-emitting means (notification means)) is composed of four LEDs, a green LED 31, an orange LED 32, a red LED 33, and an infrared LED 34. The light of each color (notification information) is emitted. The infrared LED 34 emits infrared light.

  FIG. 6A shows the configuration of the LED control device 4 and the connection state with the light emitting device 3. One LED control device 4 is provided in each shelf 2, and controls the light emission state of the light emitting device 3 provided in each box 21 of the provided shelf 2. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 6A, the wireless transmitter / receiver 41 that receives the light emission control command from the management server 1 via the wireless LAN base station 5 and the light emission state of each light emitting device 3 are controlled. The control part 42 is connected to each LED 31-34 which each light-emitting device 3 has, respectively.

  The control unit 42 first receives the selection result for each box 21, that is, the storage information of each box 21 from the management server 1 via the wireless LAN base station 5 by the wireless transceiver 41. Moreover, the control part 42 has the positional information and identification information of the own shelf 2. FIG. The storage information transmitted from the management server 1 includes information for designating the shelf 2 that emits light, that is, the position information and identification information of the shelf 2. It is determined whether or not it matches the identification information. If it is determined that they match, the LEDs 31 to 34 of each light emitting device 3 are controlled to emit light based on the storage information. Specifically, for the box 21 whose storage information is “cannot be stored”, the “red” LED indicated by reference numeral 33 is caused to emit light, and the “orange” LED indicated by reference numeral 32 is set for the box 21 which is “storage attention”. For the box 21 that is “accommodable”, the “green” LED 31 is caused to emit light.

  Further, the LED control device 4 uses the infrared LED 34 provided as the light emitting device 3 of each box 21 with the identification information of the shelf 2, the position information of the shelf 2, and the storage location information that is the position information of each box 21. Make a call with the flashing of. Specifically, the LED control device 4 encodes the identification information of the shelf 2, the positional information of the shelf 2, and the positional information of the box 21 into serial signals of 1 and 0, and further serials of “1” and “0”. The preamble signal, “1” and “0” serial signal are added before the signal, and the end signal is added. The preamble signal, “1” and “0” serial signal, and the end signal are repeated as one set, and the infrared LED 34 Flashes the light of. The LED 34 emits light when “1”, and the LED 34 does not emit light when “0”, and the LED 34 emits light. The frequency of the flashing of light emission is, for example, a frequency between 1 KHz and 1 MHz per second. When the total data amount of the identification information of the shelf 1, the position information of the shelf 1, and the position information of the box 2 is large, transmission is performed in the high frequency region, and the number of repetitions is increased by reducing one set of transmission time. Thus, the LED control device 4 and the infrared LED 34 (light emitting means) function as storage location information output means for outputting storage location information that identifies the position of the box 21 to which the infrared LED 34 is attached. . The storage location information by the infrared LED 34 is received by the light receiving device 72 provided in the article transport management device 7 mounted on the cart 6 and the contents thereof are recognized.

[Operation]
Next, the operation of the article storage support system configured as described above will be described with reference to FIGS. 7 to 8 are operation explanatory diagrams showing information transmission / reception states in the system, and FIGS. 9 to 10 are sequence diagrams showing the operation of the system.

  First, the worker enters the carriage 6 with the article 8 on the floor of a warehouse or a store, and the RFID attached to the article 8 by the reader / writer device 71 of the article transport management device 7 mounted on the carriage 6. Article management information is read from the tag 9 (arrow Y1 in FIG. 7, steps S1, S2 in FIG. 9, tag reading step). The article management information includes data such as identification information of the RFID tag 9, an article name of the article 8, an identification number of the article 8 consisting of alphanumeric characters, and the total number of articles 8 placed on the carriage 6. At this time, the reader / writer device 71 calculates the total number data of the articles 8 from the identification information and the like of all the read RFID tags 9, and writes the data in each RFID tag 9 (steps S3 and S4 in FIG. 9). Note that the reading of the article management information is executed, for example, when an operator inputs a reading command for the article management information from the input device 74 of the article transporting device 7.

  Subsequently, the operator makes a request for notification of the positions of the shelves 2 and the boxes 21 that can be stored from the input device 74 in order to store the articles 8 on the cart 6. Then, the article transport management device 7 transmits a request signal for notification of the positions of the shelves 2 and the boxes 21 that can be stored together with the read article management information from the wireless transceiver 75. When receiving the article management information and the request signal, the wireless LAN base station 5 transmits these information to the management server 1 via the network (arrow Y2 in FIG. 7, step S5 in FIG. 9).

Subsequently, when the management server 1 receives the article management information and the request signal (step S6 in FIG. 9, the article information receiving step), the management server 1 determines the name of the article 8 placed on the carriage 6 and the article 8 from the received article management information. The total number is recognized (step S7 in FIG. 9). Further, the article position management information indicating the storage status of each box 21 of each shelf 2 in the floor is read from the storage location management database 15. Based on the article position management information, the storage state of each box 2 is classified into the following three types of storage information (step S8 in FIG. 9, storage location selection step).
“Unaccommodable”: An article having a product name different from that of the article 8 placed on the carriage 6 is contained.
“Storage attention”: An article having the same name as the article 8 placed on the carriage 6 has already been stored, but a vacant space remains.
“Storable”: The article is not stored. There is free space.

  In addition, the management server 1 counts the number of “storable” and “storing attention” boxes 21 of each shelf 1 in the floor, and the number of “storable” and “storing attention” boxes 2 is the largest. Individual shelf 2 is selected.

  Subsequently, the management server 1 stores the identification information of the selected shelf 2, the position information of the shelf 2, the position information of each box 21, the item name of the article 8 in each box 21, and the storage of the article 8 in each box 21. The storage state information including the number and storage information that is the selection result of each box 21 is transmitted from the wireless LAN base station 5 to each LED control device 4 (arrow Y3 in FIG. 7, step S9 in FIG. 9). . At the same time, the management server 1 causes the LED control device 4 to cause the light emitting device 3 of each box 21 of the selected shelf 2 to emit light in a different color according to the storage information, and the position of the box 21 in which the article 8 can be stored. In addition, the light emitting device 3 is instructed to transmit the identification information of the shelf 2, the position information of the shelf 2, and the position information of the box 21 (notification control step).

  Then, the LED control device 4 that has received the storage state information and the light emission command from the management server 1 indicates that the position information and identification information of the shelf 2 included in the storage state information transmitted from the management server 1 is the position of the own shelf 2. If it is determined that the information matches the identification information, all the storage state information is acquired. And the LED control apparatus 4 selects the light-emitting device 3 installed in each box 21 from the positional information on each box 21 using the acquired storage state information. Furthermore, “green” is assigned to the light emitting device 3 of each box 21 selected as “accommodable”, “accommodate storage”, and “impossible to store” in the storage information of each box 21 included in the storage status information. , “Orange”, “Red” LEDs 31, 32, 33 are selected to emit light. Further, the LED control device 4 transmits the identification information of the shelf 2, the position information of the shelf 2, and the position information of each box 21 by blinking the emission of the infrared LED 34 of the light emitting device 3 of each box 21 ( Step S10 in FIGS. 9 and 10).

  Then, the operator confirms one shelf 2 where the light emitting device 3 of the box 21 emits light in the floor, and the management server 1 notifies the position of the shelf 2 as the shelf 2 in which the articles 8 are stored. Recognize that Thereafter, when the carriage 6 is moved in front of the shelf 2, the position of the box 21 that can be stored is recognized by the color of light emitted from the light emitting device 3 of each box 21. Specifically, the article 8 placed on the carriage 6 is a “green” light-emitting box 21 indicating “accommodable”, or an empty storage area is available, but the same article is stored. Is stored in the “orange” light emitting box 21 indicating “storage attention” (step S11 in FIG. 10).

  Then, at the time of storage in each box 21, for example, when the operator inputs a reading command from the input device 74 of the article transport management device 7, the RFID in which the reader / writer device 71 of the article management device 7 is attached to the article 8. Article management information is read from the tag 9 (arrow Y11 in FIG. 8, step S12 in FIG. 10). Further, at this timing, the identification information of the shelf 2, the position information of the shelf 2, and the position information of the box 21 which are storage location information transmitted by the flashing of the emission of the infrared LED 34 by the light receiving device 72 are acquired (FIG. 8). Arrow Y12, step 13 in FIG. 10, storage location information reading step). Further, the operator inputs the number of articles 12 stored in the box 21 and the storage information of the box 2 (selection result such as “can be stored”) from the input device 24 (step S14 in FIG. 10). Then, the article transport management device 7 reads the read information and the input information, that is, the article management information, the identification information of the shelf 2, the position information of the shelf 2, the position information of the box 21, and the article stored in the box 21. The number of 8 and the storage information of the box 21 are transmitted from the wireless transceiver 75 to the wireless LAN base station 5 (arrow Y13 in FIG. 8, step S15 in FIG. 10).

  Subsequently, via the wireless LAN base station 5, the management server 1 stores the article management information of the RFID tag 9, the identification information of the shelf 2, the position information of the shelf 2, the position information of the box 21, and the box 21. The number of articles 8 and the storage information of the box 21 are received. Then, the management server 1 determines the shelf 2 whose information is to be updated from the identification information of the shelf 2, and further, the position management information (storage location) of the articles 8 in the (N × M) boxes 21 of the shelf 2. The management database 15) is updated (step S16 in FIG. 10, storage status management process). That is, the current storage state of each shelf 2 and each box 21 after the worker performs the storage operation is reflected in the database 15.

  As described above, according to the above system, first, the management server stores and manages storage status data indicating the current storage status of the storage location. And when the input of the article | item information which specifies the accommodation object article | item to store is received, the suitable storage location which accommodates a storage object article | item will be selected based on this article | item information and storage condition data. For example, according to the item name and quantity of the article, a storage location having an empty space that can appropriately accommodate the article to be stored is selected, or a storage location that cannot be stored is selected. And the alerting | reporting state of the alerting | reporting means provided in the selected storage location is controlled, and the alerting | reporting information which can be recognized is output with respect to the operator who conveys an article | item to a storage location.

  Thereby, since the notification information indicating that it can be stored is output from the actual storage location, the worker who transports the article can easily recognize the storage location where the storage target article is stored. Therefore, it is possible to speed up the storage work, reduce storage errors, and improve the storage work efficiency.

  As described above, according to the above system, information on the article 8 to be stored is automatically collected and notified to the management server 1 while the article 8 is being transported. As a result, a storage location suitable for the storage article 8 is selected, and a notification by light emission is made from the light emitting device 3 equipped in the box 21 that is the actual storage location. Therefore, the operator can easily recognize the storage location, and the storage operation can be automated and simplified. As a result, the storage operation becomes quick, storage errors can be reduced, and storage efficiency can be further improved.

  Here, in the above, as a method of notifying the operator of the position of the box 21 that is a storage location, a method of notifying by light emission from the light emitting device 3 equipped in the box 21 is exemplified, but the notification method is not limited thereto. . For example, you may output the alerting | reporting information which an operator can distinguish a storage position with other senses, such as a sound.

  Moreover, although the case where selection of the box 21 to be stored is classified into three states of “cannot be stored”, “careful storage”, and “can be stored” has been described above, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, whether or not each box can be stored may be distinguished, or may be further detailed. Further, whether or not it can be stored may be determined according to the total number of articles to be stored. That is, based on the total number of articles included in the article management information read from the RFID tag 9, the box 21 that can store all the boxes may be selected.

  A second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 11 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a storage support system which is an embodiment of the present invention. In the present embodiment, a basic system configuration having the same configuration as that of the above-described storage support system of the first embodiment will be described.

  First, the storage support system in the present embodiment, as in the first embodiment described above, shows the light emitting devices 3 respectively mounted on the boxes 21 that are a plurality of storage locations formed on the shelf 2 and the storage status of each box 21. And a management server 1 that is a computer to be managed.

  In the first embodiment, the management server 1 receives the article management information of the article to be stored from the article transport management device 7 mounted on the carriage that transports the article. Then, the structure input by another method is taken. For example, the worker himself manually inputs article management information such as identification information, article name, and total number of articles to be stored into the management server 1 from a predetermined input device. Then, the management server 1 receives the article management information input by the article information reception processing unit 11 and stores the article based on the storage location management database 15 by the storage location selection processing unit 12 as described above. 21 is selected. And the light emission instruction | indication process part 13 instruct | indicates a light emission state so that the light-emitting device 3 with which each box was equipped will light-emit according to a selection result.

  Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the present embodiment, the system configuration itself is the same as in the first and second embodiments, but the storage location is not limited to a shelf. For example, the storage location is a floor of a warehouse or a store. In such a case, the center of one area of a floor such as a warehouse or a store is indicated by XY position information in the horizontal direction X and the vertical direction Y, and the area is set as a storage location. The light emitting device 3 for notifying the storage location is attached to the storage location itself such as the ceiling or the floor of the storage location. Then, as described above, the management server 1 manages the item location management information of each location in the storage location management database, selects the storage location based on the input information of the stored item, and the light emitting device 3. The light emission state is controlled to notify the operator of an appropriate storage location.

  INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention can be installed and used in a warehouse for storing articles and has industrial applicability.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the article | item storage assistance system in Example 1. FIG. FIG. 2A is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration of the article disclosed in FIG. 1, and FIG. 2B is a diagram illustrating an example of information stored in an RFID tag attached to the article. It is a functional block diagram which shows the structure of the article | item conveyance management apparatus disclosed in FIG. It is a functional block diagram which shows the structure of the management server disclosed in FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the information memorize | stored in the storage location management database disclosed in FIG. FIG. 6A is a block diagram showing the configuration of the LED control device and the light emitting device disclosed in FIG. 1, and FIG. 6B is a diagram showing the state of the light emitting device attached to the box. It is explanatory drawing which shows operation | movement of the article | item storage assistance system disclosed in FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows operation | movement of the article | item storage assistance system disclosed in FIG. It is a sequence diagram which shows operation | movement of the goods storage assistance system disclosed in FIG. It is a sequence diagram which shows operation | movement of the goods storage assistance system disclosed in FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the article | item storage assistance system in Example 2. FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Management server 2 Shelf 3 Light-emitting device 4 LED control device 5 Wireless LAN base station 6 Cart 7 Article conveyance management device 8 Article 9 RFID tag 11 Article information reception processing unit 12 Storage location selection processing unit 13 Light emission instruction processing unit 14 Storage status management Processing unit 15 Storage location management database 21 Box 31, 32, 33, 34 LED
71 Reader / Writer Device 72 Light Receiving Device 73 Decoding Circuit 74 Input Device 75 Wireless Transceiver 76 Tag Read / Write Processing Unit 77 Input / Output Control Processing Unit 78 Storage Location Request Processing Unit 79 Storage Status Notification Processing Unit

Claims (13)

An informing means provided at a storage location for storing articles and outputting notification information for recognizing the position of the storage location; and a management server for managing the storage status of the storage location, and storing articles in the storage location An article storage support system to support,
An RFID tag that is attached to an article and stores article information that identifies the article;
An article management device that is mounted on a conveyance device that conveys an article to be stored to the storage location and manages the article to be conveyed;
The article management apparatus includes a tag reading unit that reads the article information from the RFID tag attached to the article to be conveyed, and an article that transmits the article information read by the tag reading unit to the management server via a network. An information transmission means,
The management server is
A storage status data storage means for storing accommodation status data representing the accommodation status of the article relative to the housing portion, and an article information receiving means for receiving an input of the article information of an article to be accommodated subject transmitted from the article management apparatus, The storage location selection means for selecting the storage location based on the article information and the storage status data, and the notification state of the notification means provided at the storage location selected by the storage location selection means are controlled. for example Bei and a notification control means, the,
The notification means is capable of a plurality of different notifications,
The article information includes information representing an article name of an article to which the RFID tag storing the article information is attached,
The storage location selecting means selects a storage location in which an article having a different product name from an item to be stored and a storage location without an empty storage area are selected as a first storage location that cannot be stored, and a storage target. A second storage place where an article having the same name as the article to be stored is stored but having an empty storage area, and a third storage place having no storage area where no other articles are stored. Select
The notification means notifies the first storage location, the second storage location, and the third storage location selected by the storage location selection means, so as to distinguish and notify each of them. Control the state,
An article storage support system characterized by the above. A plurality of storage location groups in which a plurality of the storage locations are formed are formed,
The notification control means includes the notification means provided at the storage location formed in the storage location group where there are the most storage locations having empty storage areas for storing the articles selected by the storage location selection means. Controlling the notification state to output the notification information;
The article storage support system according to claim 1 . The informing means is a light emitting means for outputting the informing information by emitting light.
The article storage support system according to claim 1 or 2 . The storage location includes storage location information output means for outputting storage location information for specifying the storage location,
The article management apparatus reads the storage location information reading means that reads the storage location information output from the storage location information output means provided at the storage location when storing the article conveyed to the storage location, and the read Storage location information transmitting means for transmitting storage location information to the management server,
The management server comprises storage status management means for changing the storage status data based on the storage location information transmitted from the article management device.
The article storage support system according to claim 1, 2 or 3 . The tag reading means of the article management device reads the article information stored in the RFID tag attached to the article when storing the article transported to the storage location,
The storage location information transmitting means transmits the article information read by the tag reading means and the storage location information read by the storage location information reading means to the management server,
The storage status management means of the management server changes the storage status data based on the product information and the storage location information transmitted from the product management device.
The article storage support system according to claim 4 . The storage location information output means is a light emission means for outputting the storage location information by light emission,
The storage location information reading means is a light receiving means.
The article storage support system according to claim 4 or 5 , characterized in that. Storage status data storage means for storing storage status data representing the storage status for a storage location for storing articles, article information reception means for receiving input of article information for specifying articles to be stored, the article information and the storage Storage location selection means for selecting the storage location based on the situation data, and notification means for outputting notification information provided in the storage location selected by the storage location selection means to recognize the position of the storage location. and a notification control means for controlling the notification state, the Bei example,
The article information receiving means is stored in an RFID tag attached to an article to be conveyed by an article management apparatus that is mounted on a conveyance apparatus that conveys an article to be stored to a storage location and manages the article to be conveyed. Receiving the article information of the article read from the RFID tag from the article management apparatus via a network;
The notification means is capable of a plurality of different notifications,
The article information includes information representing an article name of an article to which the RFID tag storing the article information is attached,
The storage location selecting means selects a storage location in which an article having a different product name from an item to be stored and a storage location without an empty storage area are selected as a first storage location that cannot be stored, and a storage target. A second storage place where an article having the same name as the article to be stored is stored but having an empty storage area, and a third storage place having no storage area where no other articles are stored. Select
The notification means notifies the first storage location, the second storage location, and the third storage location selected by the storage location selection means, so as to distinguish and notify each of them. Control the state,
A management server characterized by that. The storage location information is read from the article management device that has read the storage location information for specifying the storage location output from the storage location information output means provided at the storage location when storing the article conveyed to the storage location. The management server according to claim 7 , further comprising: a storage status management unit configured to receive the data via a network and change the storage status data based on the storage location information. The storage status management means includes the article information read from the RFID tag attached to the article and transmitted via the network when storing the article transported to the storage place by the article management device, and the storage place. Changing the storage status data based on the information,
The management server according to claim 8 . In the management server storing the storage status data representing the storage status for the storage location for storing the article,
An article information receiving means for receiving input of article information for specifying an article to be stored; a storage location selecting means for selecting the storage location based on the article information and the storage status data; and And a notification control means for controlling a notification state of a notification means for outputting notification information for recognizing the position of the storage location provided in the storage location selected in the above ,
The article information receiving means is stored in an RFID tag attached to an article to be conveyed by an article management apparatus that is mounted on a conveyance apparatus that conveys an article to be stored to a storage location and manages the article to be conveyed. Receiving the article information of the article read from the RFID tag from the article management apparatus via a network;
The notification means is capable of a plurality of different notifications,
The article information includes information representing an article name of an article to which the RFID tag in which the article information is stored is attached,
The storage location selecting means selects a storage location in which an article having a different product name from an item to be stored and a storage location without an empty storage area are selected as a first storage location that cannot be stored, and a storage target. A second storage place where an article having the same name as the article to be stored is stored but having an empty storage area, and a third storage place having no storage area where no other articles are stored. Select
The notification means notifies the first storage location, the second storage location, and the third storage location selected by the storage location selection means, so as to distinguish and notify each of them. Control the state,
A program to make things happen . A management server that stores storage status data representing the storage status of a storage location for storing articles,
An article information receiving step for receiving an input of article information for specifying an article to be stored;
A storage location selection step of selecting the storage location based on the article information and the storage status data;
A notification control step for controlling a notification state of a notification means for outputting notification information provided in the storage location selected in the storage location selection step and recognizing the position of the storage location;
I have a,
Since the article management device for managing the article to be transported mounted on the transport device that transports the article to be stored to the storage location is stored in the RFID tag attached to the article to be transported to the storage location, the article information of the article A tag reading step of reading from the RFID tag,
In the article information receiving step, the management server receives the article information read in the tag reading step from the article management device via a network,
The notification means is capable of a plurality of different notifications,
The article information includes information representing an article name of an article to which the RFID tag in which the article information is stored is attached,
In the storage location selecting step, a storage location where an article having a name different from the item to be stored and a storage location without an empty storage area are selected as a first storage location that cannot be stored, and a storage target A second storage place where an article having the same name as the article to be stored is stored but having an empty storage area, and a third storage place having no storage area where no other articles are stored. Select
In the notification control step, the notification means notifies the first storage location, the second storage location, and the third storage location selected in the storage location selection step. Control the state,
An article storage support method characterized by the above. The notification control step controls the management server to output storage location information for specifying the storage location from storage location information output means provided in the storage location,
Thereafter, the article management device reads the storage location information output from the storage location information output means provided at the storage location when storing the article conveyed to the storage location, and the read storage location information is stored in the storage location information. A storage location information reading step to be transmitted to the management server;
The management server includes a storage status management step of changing the storage status data based on the storage location information transmitted from the article management device.
The article storage support method according to claim 11 . The storage location information reading step reads the product information stored in the RFID tag attached to the product when the product management device stores the product transported to the storage location, and reads the product information. And the storage location information, to the management server,
In the storage status management step, the management server changes the storage status data based on the product information and the storage location information transmitted from the product management device.
The article storage support method according to claim 12, wherein:

Images