JP5835094B2 - Automatic warehouse equipment - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention provides an article storage shelf provided with a plurality of storage units that store articles in the vertical and horizontal directions, and an article transfer device that can transfer articles between the storage units. An article conveying apparatus that moves the article on the front side of the container and conveys the article to the storage section, and a conveyance control section that controls the operation of the article conveying apparatus, and the conveyance control section stores the article to be stored. In the case of transporting to a part, the transport for warehousing that selects the storage part of the warehousing destination based on the setting selection condition and controls the operation of the article transporting device to transport the goods to be stored to the selected storage part The present invention relates to an automatic warehouse facility configured to perform processing.

As a conventional example of such an automatic warehouse facility, an article storage shelf provided with a plurality of storage units in the vertical direction and the left-right direction is provided, and the article transport device supplies a safe box with the storage unit in the article storage shelf. There is a safe deposit facility that can be transferred freely (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
In the safe deposit box facility of Patent Document 1, there is a possibility that the user may have a large difference in the weight of the money stored in the safe box. Therefore, if the safe box is always stored in the same storage unit, There is a problem that the weight balance is lost and the article storage shelf is easily damaged.

  Therefore, the safe deposit box facility of Patent Document 1 manages the weight of the safe box that varies with time, and in the article storage shelf, for example, the weight of each row is biased, or the weight of the upper storage unit in the vertical direction is increased. When a large safe box is concentrated, the storage position is switched between a heavy safe box and a light safe box in order to correct such unevenness and concentration of weight.

JP 2010-150822 A

  However, in the safe depository facility of the above-mentioned Patent Document 1, when a bias or concentration of weight occurs, only the processing of changing the storage position between the storage units to be replaced is performed to correct it. Determining whether the combination of storage units to be exchanged is effective with respect to other combinations of storage units to be exchanged, and determining whether the replacement process is really necessary Alternatively, it is impossible to determine how much bias or concentration can be allowed.

  This invention is made | formed in view of the said situation, The objective is to provide the automatic warehouse equipment which can perform appropriate operation according to the storage state of the articles | goods in an article storage shelf.

A first characteristic configuration of an automatic warehouse facility according to the present invention for solving the above-described problem is an article storage shelf provided with a plurality of storage units that store articles in the vertical and horizontal directions, and the storage unit. An article transfer device that can transfer an article between them on the front side of the article storage shelf to transfer the article to the storage unit, and a conveyance control unit that controls the operation of the article transfer device; Is provided,
When the conveyance control unit conveys the warehousing object to the storage unit, the warehousing destination storage unit is selected based on the setting selection condition, and the warehousing object is conveyed to the selected storage unit. Therefore, it is configured to execute a warehousing transport process for controlling the operation of the article transport device,
For each of the storage units, all the storages based on the storage unit position index set according to the position of the storage unit in the article storage shelf and the article attribute index set according to the attribute of the article. A storage state index for each of the storage units or for each of the storage units storing articles, and the total value of the storage state indexes of all the storage units or the storage units storing articles The shelf state management unit for executing the storage state evaluation process for evaluating the storage state of the article storage shelf is provided.

  That is, the storage state index calculated based on the storage unit position index set according to the position of the storage unit in the article storage shelf and the item attribute index set according to the attribute of the article for each storage unit Since all the storage units or each of the storage units storing articles can be summed up and the storage state of the article storage rack can be evaluated based on the total value, the articles about the entire article storage rack The storage state of can be evaluated.

When the explanation is added, for example, the storage state index that is an index for storing the article in the storage unit may change depending on the correspondence between the position of the storage unit and the attribute of the article. As an example of such a case, for example, the position of the storage unit may be the height of the storage unit, and the attribute of the article to be stored may be the ease of collapsing when the article is a pallet placement article. That is, the article storage shelf is more likely to be shaken by an earthquake or the like as the storage part is higher in height. Therefore, in the case of a pallet-mounted article that tends to collapse, if it is stored in a storage section with a high height in the article storage shelf, the possibility that the load collapses due to the shaking of the earthquake increases. Conversely, when such a pallet-mounted article is stored in a storage unit having a low height, the possibility of collapsing is reduced.
Therefore, an index based on the height of the storage unit is set as the storage unit position index, an index based on the packing state of the article is set as the article attribute index, and each of the storage units or each of the storage units storing articles is stored. When the total value of the storage state index is calculated, the ease of collapse of articles in the entire article storage shelf can be evaluated by numerical values.

As described above, the storage state index calculated based on the storage unit position index set according to the position of the storage unit in the article storage shelf and the item attribute index set according to the attribute of the article for each storage unit By summing up all storage units or storage units storing articles, it is possible to evaluate the storage state of articles in the article storage shelf.
Thereby, for example, when the storage position of the article is switched to optimize the storage state of the article in the article storage shelf, the combination of the storage units to be replaced is effective with respect to the combination of the other storage units to be replaced. Judgment of whether or not there is a change, the determination of whether or not the replacement process is really necessary, or the degree of deviation when the storage position of the article is biased or concentrated on the article storage shelf It is possible to judge whether or not toleration is possible.
That is, since the storage state of the article in the article storage shelf can be evaluated as described above, the user performs a measure for optimizing the storage state based on the evaluation result of the storage state of the article storage shelf. It can be determined whether or not.

  Thus, according to the first characteristic configuration, it is possible to provide an automatic warehouse facility capable of performing an appropriate operation according to the storage state of articles in the article storage shelf.

  A second feature configuration of the automatic warehouse facility according to the present invention is, in addition to the first feature configuration, the shelf state management unit classified into a plurality of storage unit groups based on the position of the storage unit in the article storage shelf. The storage unit is managed, and the storage unit position index is set for each storage unit group.

  That is, the properties of the storage units often change continuously between storage units whose positions are adjacent to each other. In other words, for example, when classified based on the magnitude of shaking caused by an earthquake in the article storage shelf or the magnitude of the effect when the article falls from the storage unit, the drop in the article increases as the height of the article storage shelf in the storage unit increases. The degree of influence associated with the item and the degree of ease of collapsing the article increase. As described above, the properties of the storage units change continuously between adjacent ones. Therefore, setting the storage unit position index for each of the plurality of storage units takes time and effort. For this reason, it is classified into a plurality of storage unit groups based on the position of the storage unit in a form divided by the position of a certain storage unit, and by setting a storage unit position index for each storage unit group, for a plurality of storage units Even if the storage unit position index is set, it is possible to reduce the time and effort required for the setting.

  Therefore, according to the second feature configuration, when setting the storage unit position index for the storage unit, it is possible to reduce the time and effort required for the setting.

  A third characteristic configuration of the automatic warehouse facility according to the present invention is such that, in addition to the first or second characteristic configuration, the shelf state management unit classifies the goods into a plurality of article groups based on the attributes of the articles and manages the articles. And the product attribute index is set for each product group.

That is, the attribute of an article may be determined depending on, for example, the package appearance when the article is stored in the storage unit. That is, for example, in the case of an article placed on a pallet, the attribute that it is difficult to collapse if each of a plurality of loads placed on the pallet is fixed to each other (for example, wound with a stretch film). It has an attribute that it is easy to collapse if a part of the load that is held and placed on the pallet is picked.
Therefore, by setting articles having the same attribute as a group and setting an article attribute index for each article group, for example, compared to setting an article attribute index for each article, the article attribute index is easily set. be able to.

  Therefore, according to the third feature configuration, when an article attribute index is set for an article, an appropriate article attribute index can be easily set.

In addition to any of the first to third characteristic configurations described above, the fourth characteristic configuration of the automatic warehouse facility according to the present invention is preferably as a storage state as the storage unit position index and the article attribute index are smaller. The storage state index is set to the storage unit position index and the article attribute index so as to indicate a smaller value when either the storage unit position index or the article attribute index decreases. Is calculated based on
When the total value of the storage state index of the storage unit that stores all the storage units or articles is the set upper limit value, the shelf state management unit is configured to reduce the total value. It is configured to instruct the conveyance control unit to perform a conveyance command for changing a storage unit for moving an article stored in the storage unit,
When the conveyance control unit is instructed to transfer the storage unit, the article stored in the storage unit specified by the storage unit change conveyance command is transferred to the storage unit change conveyance command. In order to move to another storage unit designated in (1), the storage unit changing transport process for controlling the operation of the article transporting device is executed.

That is, the storage unit position index and the article attribute index are set such that the smaller the values are, the more preferable the storage state is. The storage state index is based on the storage unit position index and the article attribute index. Since either the index or the item attribute index is smaller, it is calculated so as to indicate a smaller value. Therefore, the smaller the value of the storage state index, the better the storage state in the storage unit. become.
Therefore, as for the total value of the storage state index of all storage units or storage units storing articles, the smaller the value, the better the storage state in the article storage shelf, and the larger the value This indicates that the storage state in the article storage shelf is not good.
Therefore, as described above, a set upper limit is set as a threshold for evaluating the storage state in the article storage shelf, and the total value is reduced when the total value of the storage state index reaches the set upper limit. By moving the articles stored in the storage unit by the article transporting device, the storage state in the article storage shelf can be made appropriate.

  As described above, according to the fourth feature configuration, it is possible to determine whether or not the storage state of the article storage shelf needs to be optimized by a simple determination method so that the article transport apparatus is not operated unnecessarily. it can.

  According to a fifth characteristic configuration of the automatic warehouse equipment according to the present invention, in addition to the fourth characteristic configuration, the shelf state management unit is stored in the storage unit as an article to be commanded by the storage unit changing conveyance command. Among all the articles that have been moved, the article is configured to be selected as the article to be commanded in preference to the one that has a large decrease in the total value when it is assumed that the article has been moved to another storage unit.

  That is, since all of the articles stored in the storage unit are selected as articles to be commanded in preference to those with a large decrease in the total value when it is assumed that they are moved to another storage unit, the storage unit When the transfer process for change is executed, the total value of the storage state index can be reduced as quickly as possible. Therefore, according to the fifth characteristic configuration, the storage state of the articles in the article storage shelf can be optimized as quickly as possible when the storage unit changing transport process is executed.

According to a sixth characteristic configuration of the automatic warehouse equipment according to the present invention, in addition to the fifth characteristic configuration, the shelf state management unit is stored in the storage unit as an article to be commanded for a storage unit change conveyance command. Of all the articles that have been moved to another storage unit, it is a form that is preferentially selected from those with a large reduction amount of the total value, and for a plurality of selected articles to be transported It is configured to select a plurality of articles to be commanded in such a form that the total time required for the storage unit changing transport process is within a set time limit.

In other words, among all the articles stored in the storage section, select as the article to be commanded preferentially from the one with a large decrease in the total value when it is assumed that it has been moved to another storage section, and select Since the plurality of command target articles are selected such that the total time required for the storage unit change transport process for the plurality of transported articles is within the set time limit, for example, the storage unit change transport process Even in a case where the time during which the item can be executed is restricted, the article to be commanded can be selected so that the reduction amount of the total value of the storage state index can be reduced as much as possible.
Therefore, even when the time during which the storage unit changing conveyance process can be executed is limited, the storage state of the article storage shelf can be optimized as effectively as possible.

  The seventh characteristic configuration of the automatic warehouse facility according to the present invention is such that, in addition to any of the fourth to sixth characteristic configurations, the setting selection condition in the warehousing transport process is such that an article having a larger article attribute index The storage unit having a small storage unit position index is set so as to be selected as the storage unit to be stored.

  That is, the storage unit position index and the article attribute index are set so that the smaller the values are, the more preferable the storage state is. Therefore, as the setting selection condition in the warehousing transport process, an article with a larger article attribute index is stored. If a storage unit having a small part position index is selected as a storage unit to be stored, the storage state can be brought close to an appropriate storage state as much as possible when the product is stored in the product storage shelf.

  In addition to any of the first to seventh characteristic configurations, the eighth characteristic configuration of the automatic warehouse facility according to the present invention is such that the storage unit position index increases as the installation height in the article storage shelf increases. The article attribute index is set so as to have a larger value as the article is more likely to collapse.

That is, the storage unit position index is set to be a larger value as the installation height in the article storage shelf is higher, and the article attribute index is a value that is larger as the packing state of the article is more likely to collapse. Therefore, when the article is stored in a storage section with a high installation height in the article storage shelf, or the packing state of the article is likely to collapse, the storage state is high. The index will increase. And when there are many storage units with such a large storage state index, the total value of the storage state index becomes large, so it can be evaluated that the storage state of the article storage shelf is in a high risk state.
In this way, whether or not the storage state of the article storage shelf is in a high risk state can be easily determined by a numerical value.

Elevation view showing the configuration of the article storage rack and stacker crane Control block diagram of goods storage equipment The figure which shows the 1st packing figure of goods The figure which shows the 2nd packing figure of goods The figure which shows the 3rd packing figure of goods Illustration explaining the storage unit position index Diagram explaining article attribute index The flowchart explaining the process which a shelf state management part performs The figure which shows the storage position before the conveyance process for the storage part change of the articles | goods stored in a storage part. The figure which shows the storage position after the conveyance process for storage part change of the articles | goods stored in a storage part

[Configuration of goods storage equipment]
An embodiment of an automatic warehouse facility according to the present invention will be described based on the drawings.
As shown in FIG. 1, the automatic warehouse facility includes an article storage shelf 2, a stacker crane 51, and a loading / unloading conveyor 52 that delivers the article B between the stacker crane 51.

The article storage shelf 2 is provided with a pair of support pillars 2h that are fixed on the floor with anchor bolts (not shown) or the like in the front-rear direction and a plurality of support parts in the left-right direction. A plurality of arms 2u that are connected in the front-rear direction and the left-right direction and that connect the pair of front-rear struts 2h and project in the left-right direction are provided at intervals in the up-down direction. The article B is stored in a state in which the pallet Bp (see FIGS. 3 to 5) of the article B is placed and supported on the arm 2u. Therefore, the space surrounded by the pair of left and right and front / rear support columns 2h, the arm 2u, and the upper arm 2u is the storage portion 2S.
That is, the article storage shelf 2 includes a plurality of storage units 2S for storing the articles B in a state where a plurality of storage units 2S are arranged in the vertical direction and the horizontal direction. In the present embodiment, the storage unit 2S is provided in eight stages in the vertical direction.

Further, the stacker crane 51 includes a traveling carriage 51c that can travel on a traveling rail 3R provided in the work path 3 along the left-right direction of the article storage shelf 2 on the front side of the article storage shelf 2, and the traveling direction of the traveling carriage 51c. A pair of elevating guide masts 51s provided in the front and rear and an elevating platform 51d movable in the vertical direction along the elevating guide mast 51s are provided. The lifting platform 51d is provided with an article transfer device 51i that can transfer the article B between the storage unit 2S and itself.
Note that the end of the stacker crane 51 in the travel route is referred to as a reference position HP, and the other end is referred to as a reference facing position OP.

Moreover, the conveyance control part H2 (refer FIG. 2) which controls the action | operation of the stacker crane 51 and the loading / unloading conveyor 52 is provided in the HP side edge part of the traveling rail 3R outside a figure.
In the present embodiment, the stacker crane 51 corresponds to an article conveying device. That is, the stacker crane 51 is provided to move the article transfer device 51i that can transfer the article B to and from the storage section 2S on the front side of the article storage shelf 2 and to transport the article B to the storage section 2S. A conveyance control unit H <b> 2 that controls the operation of the crane 51 is provided.

Moreover, as shown in FIG. 1, the odometer L1 comprised by the laser light-emitting-and-emitting device provided in OP vicinity in the work path 3 and the reflective mirror with which the traveling cart 51c is mounted | worn, and it mounts | wears with a traveling cart. An elevating distance meter L2 configured by a laser receiving / emitting device and a reflecting mirror mounted on the elevating platform 51d is provided, and detection information of the odometer L1 and the elevating distance meter L2 is input to the transport control unit H2. It is configured to be.
Further, the article transfer device 51i is provided with an article position sensor L3 for detecting the position of the article, and the detection information of the article position sensor L3 is input to the conveyance control unit H2.

The conveyance control unit H2 is configured by, for example, an accumulation program type computer, and as shown in FIG. 2, a stacker crane 51 and a loading / unloading conveyor 52 are connected to the conveyance control unit H2 so as to be able to send and receive data to and from each other. And the conveyance control part H2 is comprised so that the stacker crane 51 may be operated based on the command information from the high-order management apparatus H1 or the shelf state management part H3 mentioned later.
In FIG. 2, the controller that controls the operation of the stacker crane 51 and the loading / unloading conveyor 52 is omitted as being included in the stacker crane 51 and the loading / unloading conveyor 52.

The conveyance control unit H2 drives the driving motor M1 based on the distance information input from the odometer L1 and target traveling position information based on command information from the higher-level management device H1 or the shelf state management unit H3 described later. Further, the driving of the lifting motor M2 is controlled based on the distance information input from the lifting distance meter L2 and the target lifting position information based on the command information from the host management device H1.
Further, the transport control unit H2 scoops the article B from the storage unit 2S based on the scooping instruction or the wholesale command based on the article position information input from the article position sensor L3 and the command information from the host management device H1. Alternatively, the operation of the article transfer device 51i is controlled so as to carry out a wholesale operation for wholesale the article B to the storage unit 2S.

The upper management apparatus H1 is configured by, for example, a storage program type computer, and is stored in a shelf management database D1 that records information related to attributes and states of each of the plurality of storage units 2S and a storage unit 2S in the article storage shelf 2. And an article management database D2 for recording information related to the attributes and states of the article B. The host management device H1 is connected to the transport control unit H2 and the shelf state management unit H3 so as to be able to exchange data with each other.
Note that the shelf management database D1 and the article management database D2 are configured to be updated at any time, reflecting the processing results of the inventory management program executed by the host management device H1.

  The shelf state management unit H3 is composed of, for example, a storage program type computer, calculates the storage state index indicating the storage state of the article B in the storage unit 2S and manages the storage in order to manage the state of the entire article storage shelf 2. The storage state of the article storage shelf 2 is evaluated based on the state index. The shelf state management unit H3 is connected to the host management device H1 and the transport control unit H2 so as to be able to send and receive data to and from each other. Further, an input device C1 that inputs information to the shelf state management unit H3 and a display device C2 that displays information from the shelf state management unit H3 are connected to the shelf state management unit H3. The calculation method of the storage state index and the evaluation method of the storage state will be described later.

[Package of goods]
As an article B to be stored handled in the automatic warehouse facility of this embodiment, a plurality of loads Bn are placed on a pallet Bp as shown in FIG. A load-like article B1 wrapped around a load-fixing film), a load-like article B2 in which a plurality of loads Bn are simply placed on the pallet Bp as shown in FIG. 4, and FIG. In this way, there is an article B3 in a packaged state after picking (removing the load Bn). When only a part of the load Bn placed on the pallet Bp is picked as the picking target, the remaining load Bn that is not the picking target is re-stocked in the article storage shelf 2. In this case, the article B received as the article B1 or the article B2 is restocked into the article storage shelf as the article B3 by picking.
In addition, it is preferable that the packing state of the article at the time of warehousing is a packing form in which the stretch film W is wound as in the case of the article B1, but a state in which the stretch film W is not wound at the shipping source (a plurality of pallets Bp). There is also a possibility that the product will be shipped in the form of a load just loaded with the load Bn), and there is a possibility that B1 and B2 are mixed in the form of the article at the time of receipt.

[About processing of shelf state management unit H3]
The shelf state management unit H3 illustrated in FIG. 2 executes the storage state index calculation method and the storage state evaluation as described above.
In calculating the storage state index, the shelf state management unit H3 reads the storage unit position index recorded in the storage unit position index management table in the shelf management database D1 of the upper management apparatus H1.
In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, in the upper and lower storage units 2 </ b> S, a plurality of storage units 2 </ b> S positioned from the first level (i.e., the lowest level) to the fourth level are counted from the lower level. The group is defined as a group S1, and the storage unit position index in the storage unit 2S corresponding to the low-layer storage unit group S1 is 1.
In the present embodiment, a plurality of storage units 2S positioned from the fifth level to the eighth level (that is, the uppermost level) from the bottom of the article storage shelf 2 are defined as a high-level storage unit group S2, and the high-level storage The storage unit position index in the storage unit 2S corresponding to the unit group S2 is set to 3.
That is, the shelf state management unit H3 manages the storage units 2S by classifying them into a plurality of storage unit groups based on the positions of the storage units 2S in the article storage shelf 2, and sets the storage unit position index for each storage unit group. Is configured to do.
Further, the storage unit position index is set to be larger as the installation height in the article storage shelf 2 is higher.

In addition, when calculating the storage state index, the shelf state management unit H3 reads the article attribute index recorded in the article attribute index management table in the article management database D2 of the upper management device H1.
In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7, for each of the articles B1, B2, and B3 defined as a group for each package, the article B1 is 1, the article B2 is 3, and the article B3 is 5. The article attribute index is defined as follows. In addition, in the article management database D2, B4 to B6 are prepared as spare groups in addition to the articles B1, B2, and B3 defined as groups for each package of articles, and B1, B2, and B3 It is configured so that a new item attribute index can be defined for items with different packing forms.
That is, the shelf state management unit H3 is configured to manage the article B by classifying it into a plurality of article groups based on the attribute of the article B, and to set the article attribute index for each article group. Yes.
Further, the item attribute index is set so that the value of the item B that is easy to collapse is larger.
That is, the storage unit position index and the article attribute index are set such that the smaller the values are, the more preferable the storage state is.

  The transport control unit H2 is configured to select the storage unit 2S having a small storage unit position index as the storage unit to be stored as the storage unit 2S having a large storage unit position index as a setting selection condition in the storage processing for storage. Specifically, for the article B3 having the article attribute index of 5 and the article B2 having the article attribute index of 3, the low-layer storage unit group S1 having the storage unit position index of 1 is selected as the storage unit to be stored. The article B1 having an attribute index of 1 is configured to select a high-rise storage unit group S2 having a storage unit position index of 3 as the storage target storage unit.

Processing executed by the shelf state management unit H3 will be described based on the flowchart of FIG. The shelf state management unit H3 stores all the storage units 2Si (i = 1, 2,..., M) of the low-layer storage unit group S1 in the storage unit position index (1) of the storage unit 2Si and the storage unit 2Si. The storage state index αi is calculated as a product of the article attribute index (any one of 1, 3, 5) of the article B being held (step # 1).
Further, the shelf state management unit H3 adds the storage unit position index (3) of the storage unit 2Sj and the storage unit 2Sj to all the storage units 2Sj (j = 1, 2,..., N) of the high-rise storage unit group S2. A storage state index βj is calculated as the product of the article attribute indices (any one of 1, 3, 5) of the stored article B (step # 2).
In other words, the storage state index is calculated based on the storage unit position index and the article attribute index so as to indicate a smaller value when either the storage unit position index or the article attribute index decreases.

Then, as the total risk index Y, the sum of the storage state indexes αi for all the storage units 2Si of the low-layer storage unit group S1 and the sum of the storage state indexes βj for all the storage units 2Sj of the high-layer storage unit group S2 The sum is calculated (step # 3).
That is, as the total risk index Y, the total value of the storage state indexes of all the storage units 2S is calculated.

Next, the shelf state management unit H3 determines whether or not the total risk index Y is larger than the set upper limit value G (step # 4), and if the total risk index Y is larger than the set upper limit value G, the next Proceed to step # 5.
In the present embodiment, the process of calculating the total value of the storage state index corresponds to the storage state evaluation process. That is, the shelf state management unit H3 executes a storage state evaluation process for evaluating the storage state of the article storage shelf 2 based on the total risk index Y.

In step # 5, the storage state index βj is arranged in order from the largest, and the storage state index αi is arranged in order from the smallest.
Then, the storage state index βj arranged in order from the largest and the storage state index αi arranged in order from the smallest are sequentially stored as a pair of movement target storage unit sets Pk (k = 1, 2,..., Q). That is, when the articles B are moved from the storage unit 2Sj to the storage unit 2Si, the movement target storage unit set Pk is arranged in descending order of the storage state index reduction amount.

  Next, the shelf state management unit H3 reads the stored processing time limit information (step # 6). The time limit information for processing is input from the input device C1 connected to the shelf state management unit H3 by the user, for example, and the time limit for processing as the time limit for setting the processing start time and the time when the processing can be executed. And T. That is, it is possible to perform processing in a form in which the influence on the work is reduced, for example, by designating a night time when there is no work for putting in / out the goods to / from the article storage shelf 2.

  The shelf state management unit H3 selects the movement target storage unit set Pk that can be executed during the processing time limit T in descending order of the reduction amount of the total storage state index, and the movement target storage unit set Pk. In order to move the article B from the storage unit 2Sj to the storage unit 2Si, a storage unit changing transport process is executed to instruct the transport control unit H2 to transmit a storage unit change transport command (step # 7).

That is, when it is assumed that the shelf state management unit H3 is moved to another storage unit 2S out of all of the articles B stored in the storage unit 2S as the target item B of the storage unit change conveyance command. It is configured to select the article to be commanded in preference to the one with the large decrease amount of the total value.
Further, the shelf state management unit H3 is configured such that the total time required for the storage unit changing transport process for the selected plurality of transport target articles B is within the process time limit T, and The product B is configured to be selected.

  When the time T elapses from the start of the process, the storage unit changing transport process is terminated and the process returns (step # 8). If it is determined in step # 4 that the total risk index Y is not greater than the set upper limit value G, the process returns without executing the storage unit changing transport process.

9 and 10 are schematic diagrams illustrating a simplified model for explaining the relationship between the movement of the article and the total storage state index when the storage unit changing conveyance process is executed. This model is simplified to explain the present invention, and does not define the actual number of storage shelves in the article storage shelf. In this model, the setting upper limit G is 200. Consider a case where articles are stored as shown in FIG. Each region divided by the vertical line and the horizontal line is the storage unit 2S, and B1, B2, and B3 described in each region are articles. Moreover, the area | region where none of B1-B3 is described is an empty storage part.
In FIG. 9, although there is a vacancy in the high-rise storage section group S2, all the articles in the low-rise storage section group S1 are stored. In this situation, the sum of the storage state indices is 215, and the set upper limit G exceeds 200. For this reason, the shelf state management unit H3 executes a storage unit changing transport process.

  Specifically, the article indicated by B3 stored in the high-layer storage unit group S2 is moved to the low-layer storage unit group S1 as indicated by an arrow. The state after movement is shown in FIG. After the storage unit changing transport process is executed, the total storage state index is 195. If the processing time limit T is not limited, the storage unit changing transport process can be executed for all the storage units 2S. However, if the storage unit changing transport process is performed for all the storage units 2S, time is required. There is a risk of taking. This becomes more conspicuous as the height of the article storage shelf 2 (that is, the number of steps in the vertical direction of the storage unit 2S) increases and the number of storage units 2S in the horizontal direction increases. Therefore, the shelf state management unit H3 selects the movement target storage unit set Pk so as to execute the storage unit changing transport process by the number that can be processed within the processing time limit T.

  That is, when the total risk index Y that is the total value of the storage state indexes of the storage units 2S storing all the storage units 2S or the articles B reaches the set upper limit value G, the shelf state management unit H3 The conveyance control unit H2 is configured to instruct the conveyance control unit H2 to issue a conveyance command for changing the storage unit that moves the article B stored in the storage unit 2S so that the total risk index Y becomes small. The conveyance control unit H2 changes the storage unit. When the transport instruction for the storage is instructed, the article B stored in the storage section 2S specified by the transport instruction for changing the storage section is replaced with another storage section specified by the transport instruction for changing the storage section. In order to move to 2S, it is configured to execute a storage unit changing conveyance process for controlling the operation of the stacker crane 51.

[Another embodiment]
(1) In the above-described embodiment, in the article storage shelf 2 having the upper and lower storage units in the eight stages, the plurality of storage units 2S positioned from the first level (the lowest level) to the fourth level counted from below are arranged in the low-level storage unit group. A configuration has been described in which a plurality of storage units 2S that are defined as S1 and are located from the fifth to the eighth (uppermost) level from the bottom are defined as a high-layer storage unit group S2. However, the present invention is not limited to such a configuration. For example, the article storage shelf 2 may include eight or more or eight or less storage units in the vertical direction, or a plurality of upper and lower storage units. It is possible to arbitrarily set the height of the storage unit as the low-layer storage unit group S1 and the height of the storage unit as the high-layer storage unit group S2. In addition, the storage unit group may be classified into two or more groups of a low-layer storage unit group S1 and a high-layer storage unit group S2.

In addition to the height, for example, the stacker crane 51 may be classified into a plurality of storage unit groups based on the distance from the home position. In this case, the storage unit position index of the storage unit group close to the home position is set to a small value, and the storage unit position index of the storage unit group far from the home position is set to a large value, so that the storage focusing on the entry / exit processing time of the article is performed. State optimization can be executed.
Furthermore, by classifying the storage unit group based on both the vertical height of the article storage shelf 2 and the distance from the home position of the stacker crane 51, the ease of collapse of the article and the loading / unloading process can be performed. The storage state can be optimized by focusing on both time and time.

  Further, in the above embodiment, the storage state index is set to 1 in the low-layer storage unit group S1 and 3 in the high-layer storage unit group S2. However, these numerical values are examples, and the storage state index is an arbitrary value. Can be set.

(2) In the above embodiment, the first item attribute index is set to the first type item B1, the second type item B2, and the third type item B3 defined as a plurality of item groups based on the attribute of the item. The seed article B1 is defined as 1, the second kind article B2 is defined as 3, and the third kind article B3 is defined as 5. However, the article attribute index is not limited to the above numerical values and can be arbitrarily set. is there. Moreover, as an article group, it may be set in consideration of the packing form other than the first kind article B1, the second kind article B2, and the third kind article B3, and the contents in the article, for example, dangerous goods In consideration of whether or not it is a dangerous article, a large numerical value may be set as the article attribute index.
Further, for example, in order to store an article (for example, a medicine or an infusion solution) that needs to be preferentially stored even when the stacker crane 51 stops during an earthquake, such an article is stored in the low-layer storage unit group S1 of the article storage shelf 2. A large numerical value may be set as the article attribute index.
In addition, the classification of the first type article B1 to the sixth type article B6 in the above embodiment is an example. For example, the classification is classified into two or more categories, or only the first type article B1 to the third type article B3. You may comprise so that it may be set as this division.

(3) In the above embodiment, the storage state of the article storage shelf 2 is evaluated based on the total value of the storage state indexes of all the storage units 2S. However, the present invention is not limited to such a configuration. The storage state of the article storage rack 2 may be evaluated based on the total value of the storage state indexes of the storage unit 2S that stores the article B.

(4) In the above embodiment, the storage unit position index is set so as to increase as the installation height in the article storage shelf 2 increases, and the article attribute index is set such that the packing state of the article is more likely to collapse. The configuration for setting a large value has been described. However, the configuration is not limited to such a configuration. For example, the storage unit position index is set to a smaller value as the installation height in the article storage shelf 2 is higher. And the article attribute index may be set to a smaller value as the article is more likely to collapse. In this case, the shelf state management unit H3 changes the storage unit that moves the article B stored in the storage unit 2S so that the total value increases when the total risk index Y becomes smaller than the set lower limit value. A conveyance command is commanded to the conveyance control unit H2.

(5) In the above embodiment, when the shelf state management unit H3 moves the article B stored in the storage unit 2S so that the total value becomes smaller when the total value of the storage state index reaches the set upper limit value G. However, for example, a plurality of set upper limit values G may be provided in multiple stages. That is, for example, a first setting upper limit value G1 and a larger second setting upper limit value G2 are defined as setting upper limit values, and the total value is not less than the first setting upper limit value G1 and less than the second setting upper limit value G2. In some cases, the storage unit changing transport process is performed when the processing start time is reached, and when the total value is equal to or greater than the second set upper limit G2, the storage is performed as long as it can be executed even if the processing start time is not reached. You may comprise so that the conveyance process for a part change may be performed.

(6) In the above embodiment, the shelf state management unit H3 assigns the storage unit 2S to another storage unit 2S among all the items B stored in the storage unit 2S as the target product B of the storage unit change conveyance command. It is configured to select as the article B to be commanded preferentially from the one with the large decrease amount of the total value of the storage state index when it is assumed to be moved, but is not limited to such a configuration, for example, The shelf state management unit H3 transmits a list of articles B subject to the storage unit change conveyance command to be processed within the processing time limit T to the conveyance control unit H2, and the conveyance control unit H2 In consideration of the conveyance efficiency such as the position, the operation of the article conveyance device may be controlled so that the conveyance process for changing the storage unit is completed for all the articles B specified in the list.

(7) In the above-described embodiment, the configuration using the stacker crane 51 as the article conveying device is illustrated. However, the article conveying device may be a ceiling suspended conveying device, a self-propelled conveying device, or the like. Various configurations in which the article B can be conveyed between the storage unit 2S of the storage shelf 2 can be applied.

2 article storage shelf 2S storage section 51 article transport apparatus 51i article transfer apparatus B article G set upper limit value H2 transport control section H3 shelf state management section S1 low-layer storage section group S2 high-layer storage section group T processing time limit Y total value αi Storage condition index βj Storage condition index

Claims (8)

On the front side of the article storage shelf, there is provided an article storage shelf provided with a plurality of storage units for storing articles in the vertical and horizontal directions, and an article transfer device capable of transferring articles between the storage units. An article conveyance device that moves and conveys an article to the storage unit, and a conveyance control unit that controls the operation of the article conveyance device;
When the conveyance control unit conveys the warehousing object to the storage unit, the warehousing destination storage unit is selected based on the setting selection condition, and the warehousing object is conveyed to the selected storage unit. Therefore, automatic warehouse equipment configured to execute a warehousing transport process for controlling the operation of the article transport device,
For each of the storage units, all the storages based on the storage unit position index set according to the position of the storage unit in the article storage shelf and the article attribute index set according to the attribute of the article. A storage state index for each of the storage units or for each of the storage units storing articles, and the total value of the storage state indexes of all the storage units or the storage units storing articles , An automatic warehouse facility provided with a shelf state management unit for executing a storage state evaluation process for evaluating a storage state of the article storage shelf.   The shelf state management unit manages the storage unit by classifying into a plurality of storage unit groups based on the position of the storage unit in the article storage shelf, and sets the storage unit position index for each storage unit group The automatic warehouse equipment according to claim 1, wherein the automatic warehouse equipment is configured to.   The shelf state management unit is configured to manage an article by classifying into a plurality of article groups based on an attribute of the article, and configured to set the article attribute index for each article group. Item 3. An automatic warehouse facility according to item 1 or 2. The storage unit position index and the article attribute index are set such that the smaller the value is, the more preferable the storage state is, and the storage unit index is either the storage unit position index or the article attribute index. It is calculated based on the storage unit position index and the article attribute index so as to indicate a smaller value if it becomes smaller,
When the total value of the storage state index of the storage unit that stores all the storage units or articles is the set upper limit value, the shelf state management unit is configured to reduce the total value. It is configured to instruct the conveyance control unit to perform a conveyance command for changing a storage unit for moving an article stored in the storage unit,
When the conveyance control unit is instructed to transfer the storage unit, the article stored in the storage unit specified by the storage unit change conveyance command is transferred to the storage unit change conveyance command. The storage unit changing transport process for controlling the operation of the article transporting device is executed to move the storage unit to another storage unit specified in step 1. Automatic warehouse equipment as described.   The total value when it is assumed that the shelf state management unit has moved the storage unit to another storage unit out of all the items stored in the storage unit as the target product of the storage unit change transport command. 5. The automatic warehouse equipment according to claim 4, wherein the automatic warehouse equipment is configured to select the article to be commanded in priority from the one having a large decrease amount. The total value when it is assumed that the shelf state management unit has moved to another storage unit out of all the items stored in the storage unit as the target object of the storage unit change conveyance command. In a form in which priority is selected from those with a large amount of decrease, and in a form in which the total time required for the storage unit changing transport process for a plurality of selected transport target articles is within a set time limit, 6. The automatic warehouse facility according to claim 5, configured to select a plurality of articles to be commanded.   5. The setting selection condition in the warehousing transport process is set so that an article having a larger article attribute index selects the storage section having a smaller storage section position index as the storage section to be stored. The automatic warehouse equipment according to any one of 6. The storage unit position index is set to be a larger value as the installation height in the article storage shelf is higher,
The automatic warehouse equipment according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the article attribute index is set so as to have a larger value as an article is easily collapsed.

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