JP5925132B2 - Warehouse management system, rack, and warehouse management method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a warehouse management system, in particular, a warehouse management system using an RFID system, a rack used in the system, and a warehouse management system using an RFID system.

  In recent years, an RFID system using a reader / writer and an RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) tag is spreading. Each RFID tag has ID information that can be identified for each tag. By reading and writing an RFID tag attached to an article or case with a reader / writer, the ID information of each article is obtained by wireless communication. can do.

  This RFID system is expected to be used as a management system in factories and warehouses. Specifically, for example, as disclosed in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2, an RFID tag is attached to each storage area of a rack installed in a warehouse, and the information is provided in a forklift. A system for reading and writing with a reader / writer has been proposed. Since this system can identify and collect information on the transportation destination of goods, inventory information, and the like via wireless communication, it can efficiently perform article management and physical distribution management in factories and warehouses.

  However, if the RFID tag is attached in an exposed state on the surface of the rack, the pallet or fork may hit the RFID tag when the pallet on which the article is placed is stored in the storage area, and the RFID tag may be damaged. . Although it is conceivable to put a protective case on the RFID tag, if it is made of a metal case to maintain rigidity, communication with the reader / writer becomes impossible.

JP 2007-112523 A JP 2012-62143 A

  An object of the present invention is to provide a warehouse management system, a rack, and a warehouse management method that can prevent the RFID tag from being damaged without hindering the communication function of the RFID tag attached to the rack.

The warehouse storage system according to the first aspect of the present invention is:
A rack having a plurality of storage areas, each of which is provided with a first RFID tag;
A forklift having a fork portion having a reader / writer antenna for reading the first RFID tag, and for transporting an article loaded on the pallet to the predetermined storage area;
Including
A warehouse management system for managing a storage location of the article by reading a first RFID tag through the antenna,
The rack has a pallet mounting surface for loading the pallet;
The first RFID tag is an inner region of the frame constituting the rack and within the thickness range of the frame constituting the pallet mounting surface, and the directivity of the first RFID tag is the same as that of the pallet. Being arranged to face the direction of insertion,
It is characterized by.

The rack according to the second embodiment of the present invention is
This rack has a plurality of storage areas, each of which is provided with a first RFID tag, and a forklift equipped with a reader / writer antenna on the fork portion, and the articles on the pallet are transported to a predetermined storage area. And
A pallet mounting surface for loading the pallet;
The first RFID tag is an inner region of the frame constituting the rack and within the thickness range of the frame constituting the pallet mounting surface, and the directivity of the first RFID tag is the same as that of the pallet. Being arranged to face the direction of insertion,
It is characterized by.

In the warehouse management system and the rack, since the first RFID tag is arranged within the range of the thickness of the frame constituting the pallet mounting surface, which is the inner area of the frame constituting the rack, the storage area There is no risk of the pallet or fork coming into contact with each other when the article is loaded. Further, since the directivity of the first RFID tag is opposed to the insertion direction of the pallet, communication with the reader / writer antenna provided in the fork portion of the forklift is not hindered.

The warehouse management method according to the third aspect of the present invention is:
A warehouse management method using the warehouse management system according to the first aspect,
Reading the second RFID tag through the antenna when the forklift transports the pallet;
Designating a storage area for articles on the pallet based on the read information of the second RFID tag;
When the forklift stores the pallet in a designated storage area, reading a first RFID tag provided in the designated storage area through the antenna;
Associating and holding information on the second RFID tag and information on the first RFID tag;
It is provided with.

The warehouse management method according to the fourth aspect of the present invention is:
A warehouse management method using the warehouse management system according to the first aspect,
Reading the second RFID tag through the antenna when the forklift transports the pallet;
When the forklift stores the pallet in an arbitrary storage area, reading the first RFID tag provided in the arbitrary storage area through the antenna;
Associating and holding information on the second RFID tag and information on the first RFID tag;
It is provided with.

  In the warehouse management methods according to the third and fourth embodiments, the RFID tag can be prevented from being damaged without impeding the communication function of the RFID tag attached to the rack. Item information) and the first RFID tag information (storage area information) are associated with each other, so that the types of articles stored in the specific storage area can be efficiently managed.

  Incidentally, in the warehouse management method according to the third embodiment, the storage area to be carried in is specified when the information (article information) of the second RFID tag is read. In the warehouse management method according to the fourth aspect, the storage area is not specified, but the information (article information) of the second RFID tag and the first RFID are stored when the article is stored in an arbitrary storage area. Since the tag information (storage area information) is associated, it is possible to manage the types of articles stored in a specific storage area.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to prevent damage to the RFID tag without hindering the communication function of the RFID tag attached to the rack.

It is a perspective view which shows the warehouse management system which is one Embodiment. It is a perspective view which shows the pallet which mounted the forklift and the articles | goods. It is a front view which shows the state which mounted the article on the pallet. It is an elevation view which shows the state which inserts a fork into a pallet. It is sectional drawing which shows the 1st attachment state of the RFID tag to a rack. It is a perspective view which shows the 2nd attachment state of the RFID tag to a rack. It is a side view which shows the 2nd attachment state of the RFID tag to a rack. It is explanatory drawing which shows the reading state of a RFID tag. It is a flowchart figure which shows the 1st example of a warehouse management procedure. It is a flowchart figure which shows the 2nd example of a warehouse management procedure.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of a warehouse management system, a rack, and a warehouse management method according to the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In addition, in each figure, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the same components and parts, and the overlapping description is abbreviate | omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the warehouse management system includes a rack 10 having a plurality of storage areas 11 installed in the warehouse, and a forklift 20 for transporting articles to the storage area 11 of the rack 10. Each storage area 11 is partitioned by a horizontal frame 12a, a vertical frame 12b, and a depth frame 12c made of a metal material, and an RFID tag 15 is provided for each storage area 11. The RFID tag 15 stores information for identifying the storage area 11. The attached state of the RFID tag 15 will be described in detail later.

  The forklift 20 is known per se for lifting an article 35 (shown as a case containing the article in the drawing) loaded on the pallet 30 by a fork 21 and transporting it to a predetermined storage area 11. Is. A fork 21 and a holding plate 22 for driving the fork 21 in the vertical direction are provided, and the fork 21 and the holding plate 22 can move up and down along the column 23. As shown in FIG. 2, a reader / writer antenna 26 constituting an RFID system is disposed in front of the holding plate 23. The antenna 26 is a dipole antenna, and is provided on the holding plate 22 so that the radiation surface faces the pallet 30 side. The antenna 26 is connected to a reader / writer body built in a terminal device 27 provided in the driver's seat 24. The terminal device 27 is provided with a monitor screen and an operation unit. Note that the reader / writer main body may be configured integrally with the antenna 26.

  The reader / writer antenna 26 may be attached to the fork portion. That is, the antenna 26 may be attached to the fork 21 itself, or attached to a holding plate 22 that supports the fork 21 and operates integrally with the fork 21.

  An RFID system in the UHF band is used as the RFID system. However, RFID systems of various frequency bands such as an HF band RFID system can also be used. The terminal device 27 can communicate with a server (not shown) via a wireless LAN. The server performs overall control and processing of the warehouse management system.

  The pallet 30 has a hole 31 for inserting the fork 21 and is known per se. As shown in FIG. 3, an RFID tag 32 is provided on the front surface. The RFID tag 32 is different from the RFID tag 15 provided in the storage area 11, and stores information such as the type of the article 35 placed on the pallet 30.

  The RFID tag 15 includes an RFID IC chip 16 having a memory circuit, a logic circuit, and the like, and an antenna element 17 connected to the IC chip 16 (see FIGS. 5 and 7). A dipole antenna is used as the antenna element 17. The RFID tag 32 attached to the pallet 30 has a similar configuration.

  FIG. 5 shows a first attachment state of the RFID tag 15. Here, the holding plate 14 of the RFID tag 15 is attached to the bracket 18 fixed to the lower edge portion of the opening 12 a ′ of the horizontal frame 12 a constituting the rack 10. The RFID tag 15 is arranged so that the directivity of the antenna element 17 faces the insertion direction of the pallet 30 (see arrow X).

  6 and 7 show the second attachment state of the RFID tag 15. Here, the holding plate 14 of the RFID tag 15 is attached to the bracket 13 fixed to the inner region of the horizontal frame 12a constituting the rack 10. The RFID tag 15 is arranged so that the directivity of the antenna element 17 faces the insertion direction of the pallet 30 (see arrow X).

  The bracket 13 and the holding plate 14 that hold the RFID tag 15 are preferably made of a material other than metal, for example, resin. The horizontal frame 12a may have an opening through which radio waves pass. In addition, the crosspiece 12d for holding the pallet 30 is stretched over each storage area 11 (refer FIG. 6). Further, the crossbar 12d is not shown in FIG. 1 in order to avoid complexity.

  A management example in the warehouse management system configured as described above, particularly a procedure for storing articles in the rack 10, will be described first with reference to FIG.

  When the forklift 20 conveys the pallet 30, that is, as shown in FIG. 4, when the fork 21 is to be inserted into the pallet 30, or when the pallet 30 is lifted by insertion, the pallet 30 is passed through the antenna 26. The attached RFID tag 32 is read (step S1). The information read at this time is information on the article 35 loaded on the pallet 30, and this information is transferred from the terminal device 27 to the server through the wireless LAN (step S2). Based on the acquired information on the article 35, the server designates the specific storage area 11 in which the article 35 is to be stored to the terminal device 27 (step S3).

  Based on the designation, the driver of the forklift 20 stores the lifted pallet 30 in the designated storage area 11 (step S4). As shown in FIG. 8, when the fork 21 is inserted into the designated storage area 11 together with the pallet 30 (article), the antenna 26 comes close to the RFID tag 15 attached to the storage area 11 and the RFID tag 15 is Read (step S5). The information read at this time is information for specifying the storage area 11, and this information is transferred from the terminal device 27 to the server through the wireless LAN (step S6). Therefore, the server associates the information of the RFID tags 32 and 15. In other words, the fact that a certain article 35 is stored in the specific storage area 11 is recorded in the memory.

  In the second example of the management procedure, as shown in FIG. 10, the storage area 11 designation process (step S3) in the first example (FIG. 9) is omitted. Even if the storage area 11 is not specified and the driver of the forklift 20 stores the article 35 in an arbitrary storage area 11, a certain article 35 is stored in a specific storage by associating the information of the RFID tags 32 and 15. It can be recorded that it is stored in the area 11.

  In this warehouse management system, since the RFID tag 15 is arranged in the inner region of the horizontal frame 12a constituting the rack 10, the pallet 30 and the fork 21 may come into contact with each other and be damaged when the article is carried into the storage area 11. Disappears. Further, since the RFID tag 15 faces the direction of insertion X of the pallet 30, communication with the reader / writer antenna 26 provided on the forklift 20 is not hindered.

  The warehouse management system, rack, and warehouse management method according to the present invention are not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be variously modified within the scope of the gist thereof.

  For example, an RFID tag storing information identifying itself is attached to an article (case) that is a transported object, and information on the RFID tag attached to the article is used instead of the RFID tag attached to the pallet. You may make it read.

  As an antenna of the RFID tag, various antennas such as a loop antenna, an inverted F antenna, and a patch antenna can be used in addition to a dipole antenna. Similarly, the antenna for the reader / writer can use various antennas such as a patch antenna, a loop antenna, and an inverted F antenna in addition to the dipole antenna. Further, the RFID tag does not necessarily have to face obliquely upward as shown in FIGS. 5, 6, and 7, and may be arranged so as to be able to communicate with the reader / writer antenna.

  The present invention is useful for a warehouse management system, a rack, and a warehouse management method, and is particularly excellent in that the RFID tag can be prevented from being damaged without hindering the communication function of the RFID tag attached to the rack.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Rack 11 ... Storage area 12a ... Horizontal frame 15 ... RFID tag 20 ... Forklift 21 ... Fork 22 ... Holding plate 26 ... Reader / writer antenna 30 ... Pallet 32 ... RFID tag

Claims (5)

A rack having a plurality of storage areas, each of which is provided with a first RFID tag;
A forklift having a fork portion having a reader / writer antenna for reading the first RFID tag, and for transporting an article loaded on the pallet to the predetermined storage area;
Including
A warehouse management system for managing a storage location of the article by reading a first RFID tag through the antenna,
The rack has a pallet mounting surface for loading the pallet;
The first RFID tag is an inner region of the frame constituting the rack and within the thickness range of the frame constituting the pallet mounting surface, and the directivity of the first RFID tag is the same as that of the pallet. Being arranged to face the direction of insertion,
A warehouse management system characterized by   2. The warehouse management system according to claim 1, wherein a second RFID tag is arranged on the pallet, and the information of the second RFID tag and the information of the first RFID tag are associated with each other. This rack has a plurality of storage areas, each of which is provided with a first RFID tag, and a forklift equipped with a reader / writer antenna on the fork portion, and the articles on the pallet are transported to a predetermined storage area. And
A pallet mounting surface for loading the pallet;
The first RFID tag is an inner region of the frame constituting the rack and within the thickness range of the frame constituting the pallet mounting surface, and the directivity of the first RFID tag is the same as that of the pallet. Being arranged to face the direction of insertion,
Rack characterized by. A warehouse management method using the warehouse management system according to claim 1,
Reading the second RFID tag through the antenna when the forklift transports the pallet;
Designating a storage area for articles on the pallet based on the read information of the second RFID tag;
When the forklift stores the pallet in a designated storage area, reading a first RFID tag provided in the designated storage area through the antenna;
Associating and holding information on the second RFID tag and information on the first RFID tag;
A warehouse management method characterized by comprising: A warehouse management method using the warehouse management system according to claim 1,
Reading the second RFID tag through the antenna when the forklift transports the pallet;
When the forklift stores the pallet in an arbitrary storage area, reading the first RFID tag provided in the arbitrary storage area through the antenna;
Associating and holding information on the second RFID tag and information on the first RFID tag;
A warehouse management method characterized by comprising:

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