JP5790409B2 - Logistics equipment display system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a distribution facility display system for displaying status information of distribution equipment.

  The automatic warehouse system includes, for example, an automatic warehouse including a rack, a stacker crane, and a loading / unloading station, and further includes a computer for controlling these devices. When the article is carried into the warehousing station, the stacker crane loads the article and transfers it to the rack shelf. In addition, the stacker crane transfers the articles on the rack shelf to another shelf or a delivery station.

  In the automatic warehouse system, a terminal screen for informing the operator of the state of the automatic warehouse system in real time is provided. Thereby, the operator can adjust the control of the automatic warehouse as needed.

  In the automatic warehouse system described in Patent Document 1, the system configuration, the number of shelves in the shelf, the number of reserved shelves for delivery, the normal / abnormal state of the transfer device and the station, etc. are displayed on the terminal screen of the automatic warehouse system. Enable to set in / out from the screen. In addition, two settings of distribution according to the machine designation / distribution rate are possible for entry, and three settings of distribution according to the machine designation / first-in first-out / distribution ratio can be performed for delivery. As a result, the entry / exit setting can be performed while grasping the current state of the system.

JP 2000-309409 A

  In the conventional automatic warehouse system, when one plan view is displayed on one screen, for example, in order to confirm the state of a plurality of floors, display switching work is required. Further, in the case of 3D display, it is necessary to rotate the diagram in order to confirm the state of the back side of the facility.

  An object of the present invention is to make it possible to check the overall state of a physical distribution device with a small amount of work.

  Hereinafter, a plurality of modes will be described as means for solving the problems. These aspects can be arbitrarily combined as necessary.

A logistics facility display system according to an aspect of the present invention is a system for displaying status information of a logistics facility having a plurality of devices arranged in at least two layers arranged at least partially overlapping in the vertical direction. . The physical distribution facility display system includes a state information receiving unit and a display control unit.
The state information receiving unit receives state information.
In the display control unit, a plurality of devices in each layer are arranged in a vertical direction in a state where the layout and state information of the distribution facility is slanted so that the entire devices arranged in at least two layers can be seen. Draw in one screen as follows.
In this system, in one screen, a plurality of devices arranged in at least two layers are arranged side by side in an up-down direction in an oblique state so that the whole can be seen. Therefore, the operator can check the overall state of the distribution facility without switching the screen. Further, since the vertical positional relationship between the layers can be easily grasped, the operator can understand the state of the device in each layer in association with the state of the device in the other layer.

The display control unit may be able to collectively change the display of at least two layers.
In this system, since the display of devices can be changed at once, the operability of changing the screen is good.

The display control unit may be able to collectively change the display angles of at least two layers.
In this system, since the display angle of the device can be changed at once, the operability of changing the screen is good.

The display control unit may be capable of rotating the display of at least two layers at once.
In this system, since the display of the devices can be rotated at once, the operability of changing the screen is good.

The state information may be displayed following the corresponding device when the display of the device is changed.
In this system, since the status information is displayed following the device, the operator can always grasp the device status accurately.

The state information may include simple information, detailed information linked to the simple information, and a display start unit that is combined with the simple information and starts displaying the detailed information. When the display of the device is changed, the simple information and the display start unit may follow the corresponding device.
In this system, since the display start unit is displayed following the display of the device, the operator can display the detailed information of the status information by operating the display portion of the device even after the display is changed. . In this way, the operator can always accurately grasp the detailed information on the state of the device.

  In the physical distribution facility display system according to the present invention, the overall state of the physical distribution facility can be confirmed with a small amount of work.

The block diagram which shows the control structure of an automatic warehouse system. The floor layout of the automated warehouse displayed on the monitoring terminal. A tilted layout of multiple floors displayed on a surveillance terminal. A tilted layout of multiple floors displayed on a surveillance terminal. A tilted layout of multiple floors displayed on a surveillance terminal. A tilted layout of multiple floors displayed on a surveillance terminal. Detailed display screen of status information.

(1) Automatic warehouse system The automatic warehouse system 1 is demonstrated using FIG. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a control configuration of the automatic warehouse system.

  The automatic warehouse system 1 is a system for controlling the operation of the automatic warehouse 25. The automatic warehouse 25 has a multiple floor (for example, 3rd floor) structure. The automatic warehouse 25 has a plurality of stacker cranes 27, a plurality of loading / unloading stations 29, a plurality of racks 31, and a maintenance area 33. The rack 31 penetrates all the floors and extends in the vertical direction, and a plurality of shelves are provided in the vertical and horizontal directions. One set of racks 31 is arranged, and one stacker crane 27 is arranged in a passage between each set. The stacker crane 27 has a height corresponding to a plurality of floors. The loading / unloading station 29 is arranged only on the first floor or on all floors.

  The automatic warehouse system 1 has an automatic warehouse controller 3, a monitoring PC 5, and a design PC 7.

  The automatic warehouse controller 3 controls operations of the stacker crane 27 and the loading / unloading station 29 of the automatic warehouse 25. Further, the automatic warehouse controller 3 can grasp the state of each device (stacker crane 27, loading / unloading station 29, rack 31) of the automatic warehouse 25 and notify the state to other devices (described later).

  The monitoring PC 5 is a computer terminal for an operator to monitor the state of the automatic warehouse 25. The monitoring PC 5 includes a control unit 9, an operation unit 11, and a display 13. Details of the monitoring PC 5 will be described later.

  The design PC 7 is a computer terminal for creating / updating CAD data of the automatic warehouse 25.

(2) Monitoring PC
The control unit 9 is a computer including, for example, a CPU, a RAM, and a ROM, and executes various controls by executing programs stored in the memory.

  Each function realized by the control unit 9 will be described. The control unit 9 includes a display control unit 15, an equipment state information receiving unit 17, and a CAD data receiving unit 19.

The display control unit 15 includes drawing software for changing the display screen. The display control unit 15 takes in various data, creates data to be displayed on the display 13 from these data, and performs drawing. In addition, the display control unit 15 changes the display content according to an input from the operation unit 11.
The display control unit 15 has a storage unit 15a for storing various data.

  The equipment state information receiving unit 17 receives the equipment state information from the automatic warehouse controller 3 and then transmits it to the display control unit 15.

  The CAD data receiving unit 19 receives CAD related data from the design PC 7 and then transmits it to the data acquiring unit 21. The CAD related data includes CAD data and association information. The association information includes area information (described later) on the image data of each physical distribution device and an ID associated with each area information. The area information is, for example, data for which equipment corresponds to where in CAD data, and the equipment name, equipment ID, and coordinates are acquired and converted into text data.

  The data acquisition unit 21 creates image data by converting from CAD data. The image data includes, for example, an image that faithfully represents an actual layout, and is, for example, a CAD diagram or a photograph. The conversion is converting CAD data into image data as it is. Further, the data acquisition unit 21 extracts area information from the CAD related data as text data. The data acquisition unit 21 transmits image data and area information to the display control unit 15 separately.

  As described above, the display control unit 15 is provided with equipment state information, image data, and area information. The display control unit 15 displays the information and data on the display 13 in a superimposed state. As a result, the state of the facility can be displayed with a color at an accurate location.

The operation unit 11 is, for example, a keyboard, a mouse, or a touch panel.
The display 13 is, for example, a liquid crystal panel, plasma, or CRT.

(3) Various data The equipment state information is information indicating that, for example, the stacker crane 27 and the loading / unloading station 29 are in a normal state, an abnormal state, a failure, or a stop (non-automatic control state). . The equipment state information is composed of an ID of each device and state information. The state information includes simple information (normal, abnormal, failure, or stopped state) and detailed information (for example, detailed contents and recovery information at the time of failure).

The equipment state information includes equipment states on each floor (for example, the first floor, the second floor, and the third floor). Specifically, the equipment state information is composed of, for example, first floor state information, second floor state information, and third floor state information. The first-floor state information, second-floor state information, and third-floor state information include state information of devices in each floor, and state information of devices corresponding to the up and down directions correspond to each other.
In the status information, the simple information and the detailed information are linked to each other. Further, the status information further includes a button (an example of a display start unit) that is combined with the simple information and starts displaying detailed information. The button corresponds to the portion where the simple information is displayed. When the button is clicked or touched, the display control unit 15 activates the display of the detailed information.
The simple information is displayed following the movement of the display of the logistics equipment. The button also moves following the logistics equipment and simple information.

  Image data is image data obtained by conversion from a CAD data diagram. The image data is stored in, for example, a PNG file format. The image data accurately represents the layout of each floor of the automatic warehouse 25 although the amount of data is smaller than the CAD data itself. Therefore, for example, when the worker heads for the failed device, the route and the surrounding situation can be accurately known.

The area information includes position information indicating the position of each physical distribution device in the image data. The position information is composed of coordinate data, for example, and is stored in a text file. If the coordinate data is a plane quadrangular device, it has four coordinates as position information of the device. The area information is associated with the CAD data diagram, and is therefore also associated with the image data obtained from the CAD data.
As described above, by linking the ID of the physical distribution device included in the state information with the ID of the physical distribution device included in the association information, it becomes easy to display the state information superimposed on the image data.
Further, since the image data and the coordinate data have a small amount of data, the drawing load of the display control unit 15 is reduced. Therefore, it is not necessary to improve the performance of the control unit 9. For this reason, even a low-performance monitoring terminal can express an animation with an accurate drawing. As a result, a realistic monitor screen is realized.

(4) Screen Operation As described above, the display control unit 15 uses the area information to display the equipment state information on the image data 13 on the image data. Therefore, the operator can know the state of each device in the automatic warehouse 25 by looking at the display 13. The equipment state is displayed in color, for example. For example, green indicates normality, red indicates abnormality, gray indicates failure (disconnected as operation, manual operation for maintenance or inspection), and yellow indicates stoppage.

  Furthermore, the operator can change the content displayed on the display 13 by the display control unit 15 by operating the operation unit 11.

Moreover, the automatic warehouse controller 3 transmits equipment state information to the control unit 9 irregularly or periodically. Therefore, the display control unit 15 can display the latest equipment state information on the display 13.
The design PC 7 transmits the CAD data to the control unit 9 every time the CAD data is updated or at a predetermined timing. Therefore, the display control unit 15 can display the latest image data on the display 13. As described above, even when the layout of the automatic warehouse 25 is changed, the latest information from the updated CAD data is provided, so that the monitoring PC 5 is quickly linked to the change of the actual system.

2 to 4 show display screens actually displayed on the display 13.
In FIG. 2, a plan view of the first floor layout 41 of the automatic warehouse 25 is shown on the display 13. The first floor layout 41 shows racks 31a to 31h, stacker cranes 27s to 27d, loading / unloading stations 29a to 29d, and a maintenance area 33. The status information is shown in a color displayed superimposed on each device.
On the display 13, a plurality of buttons on the touch panel are displayed as the operation unit 11. The operator can operate the button to change the display on the display 13.

  In FIG. 3, the layout and status information of the three floors of the automatic warehouse 25 are displayed. Here, the first-floor layout 41, the second-floor layout 42, and the third-floor layout 43 are arranged side by side in order from the bottom. In other words, the display control unit 15 arranges a plurality of logistics devices in each layer in the vertical direction in an oblique state so that the entire logistics equipment arranged on the three floors can be seen in the layout and status information of the automatic warehouse 25. As shown, it is drawn in one screen. Specifically, the display is tilted so that the front side of each floor is located on the lower side of the screen compared to the back side. Therefore, the operator can check the entire state of the automatic warehouse without switching the screen. Moreover, since the vertical positional relationship between the floors can be easily grasped, the operator can understand the state of each floor in association with the state of other floors.

  The display control unit 15 can collectively change the display of the distribution equipment on the three floors. Therefore, the operability for changing the screen is good. Specifically, the display control unit 15 can collectively change the display angles of the logistics equipment on the three floors. For example, in FIG. 3, each floor is displayed with an inclination so that the front side of each floor is located below the display compared to the back side, and the inclination of each floor is collectively changed. As a result, the display on each floor can be expanded or contracted.

  The display control unit 15 can collectively rotate the displays of the distribution equipment on the three floors. For example, the display control unit 15 can rotate the first floor layout 41, the second floor layout 42, and the third floor layout 43 from the display of FIG. In FIG. 4, the back side of each floor is arranged on the near side on the screen, so that it is easy to see.

  Further, the display control unit 15 can change the display of FIG. 5 to the display of FIG. 5 by rotating the first floor layout 41, the second floor layout 42 and the third floor layout 43 from the display of FIG. 3 by 90 degrees. As a result, the side portions of each floor can be brought to the front side on the screen for easy viewing.

  Furthermore, the display control unit 15 can move / enlarge / reduce a plurality of floor layouts at once.

  In order to collectively move, tilt, rotate, enlarge, and reduce the plurality of layouts arranged on one screen as described above, for example, parameters for image processing using any one of the plurality of layouts as a reference image A method may be employed in which image processing is executed by setting and image processing is performed on another layout based on the above parameters. However, the specific method of image processing is not particularly limited.

  Further, the display control unit 15 can change the layout of each floor independently. For example, the display control unit 15 can arrange the first floor layout 41 so as to be shifted laterally with respect to the second floor layout 42 and the third floor layout 43 from the display of FIG. Thereby, the inclination angle can be changed so that the display of each floor is closer to a plane on one screen. The display control unit 15 can enlarge or reduce the layout of each floor independently.

  When the display of the logistics equipment is changed as described above, the status information is displayed following the corresponding logistics equipment. Therefore, the operator can always accurately grasp the state of the logistics equipment.

Next, detailed information display of status information will be described. For example, when the operator clicks or touches a button on the stacker crane 27a where the failure is displayed, as shown in FIG. 7, a detailed display screen 51 is displayed over the normal screen. The detailed display screen 51 displays a failure state and a recovery method.
As described above, since the buttons are displayed following the display of the logistics equipment, the operator can always accurately grasp the detailed information on the status of the logistics equipment.

(5) Effects of Embodiment The above embodiment can be expressed as follows.
The automatic warehouse system 1 (an example of a distribution facility display system) includes an automatic warehouse 25 having a plurality of distribution devices arranged in at least two floors (an example of two layers) arranged at least partially overlapping in the vertical direction. It is a system that displays status information of (an example of physical distribution equipment). The automatic warehouse system 1 includes an equipment state information receiving unit 17 (an example of a state information receiving unit) and a display control unit 15 (an example of a display control unit).
The equipment state information receiving unit 17 receives state information.
The display control unit 15 arranges a plurality of logistics devices in each layer in the vertical direction in a state where the layout and state information of the automatic warehouse 25 are slanted so that the entire logistics devices arranged in at least two floors can be seen. Draw within one screen to be placed.

  In this system, at least two logistics devices in two floors are arranged side by side in an up-down direction in an oblique state so that the whole can be seen in one screen. Therefore, the operator can check the overall state of the logistics equipment without switching the screen. Moreover, since the vertical positional relationship between the floors can be easily grasped, the operator can understand the state of each floor in association with the state of other floors.

(6) Other Embodiments Although one embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. In particular, a plurality of embodiments and modifications described in this specification can be arbitrarily combined as necessary.

  (A) In the above-described embodiment, a plurality of floors of an automatic warehouse are arranged on one screen. For example, an overhead traveling vehicle and a track, and a stocker or a processing device below the vehicle are arranged in the vertical direction. The present invention may be applied to installed facilities.

  (B) In the above embodiment, the three drawings are the same, but may be a combination of different drawings.

  (C) In the above-described embodiment, the three drawings are image data or photographs converted from CAD data. However, the drawings may be drawn using a drawing software program.

  (D) In the above-described embodiment, a plurality of drawing displays are collectively changed, but a function of changing only one drawing display may be added as necessary.

(E) Although the number of layers of the physical distribution equipment displayed at the same time in the above embodiment is three, it may be two or four or more.
(F) In the above embodiment, the simple information is displayed in color, but may be displayed in characters or symbols.

  The present invention can be widely applied to a distribution facility display system for displaying state information of distribution equipment.

1 Automatic warehouse system 3 Automatic warehouse controller 5 Monitoring PC
7 Design PC
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 9 Control part 11 Operation part 13 Display 15 Display control part 15a Storage part 17 Equipment state information receiving part 19 CAD data receiving part 21 Data acquisition part 25 Automatic warehouse 27 Stacker crane 29 Entry / exit station 31 Rack 33 Maintenance area 51 Detailed display screen

Claims (4)

A logistics facility display system for displaying status information of a logistics facility having a plurality of devices arranged in at least two layers arranged at least partially overlapping in the vertical direction,
A state information receiving unit for receiving the state information;
A plurality of devices in each layer are arranged in the vertical direction in a state where the layout of the physical distribution facility and the state information are inclined so that the whole of the plurality of devices arranged in the at least two layers can be seen. A display control unit for drawing in one screen as shown in FIG .
The status information is displayed following the corresponding device when the display of the device is changed,
The status information includes simple information, detailed information linked to the simple information, and a display start unit coupled to the simple information to start displaying the detailed information,
A physical distribution facility display system in which, when the display of the device is changed, the simplified information and the display start unit follow the corresponding device .   The physical distribution facility display system according to claim 1, wherein the display control unit can collectively change the display of the at least two layers.   The physical distribution facility display system according to claim 2, wherein the display control unit can collectively change display angles of the at least two layers.   The physical distribution facility display system according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the display control unit can rotate the display of the at least two layers at once.

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