JP6532092B2 - Handling work assignment system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a cargo handling work allocation system for allocating cargo handling work to a plurality of manned unmanned and combined vehicles.

  There is known a manned unmanned and combined vehicle capable of switching between a manned operation mode operated by an operator's manual operation and an unmanned operation mode operated autonomously without an operator's manual operation (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  Patent Document 1 describes a transport system with a high working efficiency that uses a forklift, which is a manned unmanned and combined vehicle. Specifically, according to Patent Document 1, luggage is transported by a forklift operating in a manned operation mode outside the warehouse which is a manned vehicle traveling area, and in a warehouse which is an unmanned vehicle traveling area, unmanned operation is performed. A transport system is described that is configured to transport luggage with a forklift operating in a mode.

JP, 2012-136324, A

  By the way, in the above-mentioned patent documents 1, making sure that the manned unmanned and combined vehicle (unmanned vehicle) operating in the unmanned driving mode and the manned unmanned and combined vehicle (manned vehicle) operating in the manned operating mode do not travel in the same area. For the purpose, the manned vehicle travel area and the unmanned vehicle travel area are predetermined. For this reason, there is a problem that the man-powered vehicle can not perform the cargo handling work scheduled to be performed by the unmanned vehicle instead of the unmanned vehicle.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and it is possible for a manned vehicle to perform the cargo handling work to be performed by the unmanned vehicle instead of the unmanned vehicle, and an area where the manned vehicle and the unmanned vehicle are the same. It is an object of the present invention to provide a cargo handling work allocation system capable of reducing the opportunity to travel on the road.

In order to solve the above problems, the cargo handling work allocation system of the present invention according to claim 1 is characterized by a plurality of cargo handling operations for each of a plurality of manned unmanned and combined use vehicles capable of switching between a manned operation mode and an unmanned operation mode. A cargo handling work assignment system that selects and assigns one or more cargo handling work from among the plurality of cargo handling work, and is provided in a work information storage unit that stores information related to the plurality of cargo handling work, and each of the plurality of manned unmanned and combined vehicles An operation mode detection unit that detects in which operation mode the manned unmanned and combined use vehicle is operating in the manned operation mode and the unmanned operation mode, and the plurality of cargo handling stored in the work information storage unit From the work, select a manned work to be assigned to the manned car operating in the manned operation mode among the plurality of manned unmanned and combined cars, and store it in the work information storage unit From the plurality of load-handling being, work selection unit and, before Symbol plurality of manned unmanned combined vehicle to select an unattended operations to be assigned to an unmanned vehicle which operates in the unattended operation mode among the plurality of manned unmanned combined vehicle A work information transmission unit for transmitting the information related to the manned work and the information related to the unmanned work, the manned unmanned and combined car operating in the manned operation mode, and the operation in the unmanned operation mode In the situation where the manned unmanned and combined car traveling simultaneously travels, the work selecting unit operates a manned vehicle travel area where the manned car travels to perform the manned work, and the unmanned car performs the unmanned work It travels to as the unmanned vehicle traveling area is not duplicated, and selects the manned operation and the unmanned work, the work information transmitting unit, the manned operation mode by the operation mode detection unit The information related to the manned work is transmitted to the manned unmanned and combined car which is detected to be operating in the operation mode, and the manned unmanned operation detected in the unmanned operation mode by the operation mode detection unit It is characterized by transmitting the information concerning the said unmanned operation to a dual purpose car.

  The cargo handling work allocation system according to claim 2 is the cargo handling work allocation system according to claim 1, wherein the work selection unit detects the operation in the manned operation mode. It is characterized in that the manned work and the unmanned work are selected based on the number of vehicles and the number of the manned unmanned and combined car detected to be operating in the unmanned operation mode.

  According to the present invention, it is possible for a manned vehicle to perform cargo handling work scheduled by the unmanned vehicle instead of the unmanned vehicle, and to reduce the opportunity for the manned vehicle and the unmanned vehicle to travel in the same area Cargo handling work assignment system can be provided.

It is a schematic diagram of the cargo handling work allotment system concerning one embodiment of the present invention. It is a block diagram which shows schematic structure of the manned unmanned and combined use vehicle and management apparatus which concern on the embodiment. It is a top view which shows the area where cargo handling work concerning the embodiment is performed. (A) is a table showing an example of information related to cargo handling work stored in the work information storage unit, and (B) is an example of operation information of a manned unmanned and combined vehicle stored in the operation information storage unit Is a table showing (A) is a table which shows an example of the cargo handling operation allocated to the manned unmanned and combined use vehicle, (B) is a top view showing the unmanned vehicle travel area according to (A). (A) is a table which shows an example of the information which concerns on the updated cargo handling work, (B) is a table which shows an example of the operation information of the manned unmanned and combined vehicle which has been updated. (A) is a table which shows an example of the cargo handling operation assigned to a manned unmanned and combined use vehicle, (B) is a top view which shows a manned vehicle travel area and an unmanned vehicle travel area according to (A).

One embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
As shown in FIG. 1, the cargo handling work allocation system S includes a plurality of forklifts 1 and a management device 2. The cargo handling work allocation system S allocates the cargo handling work to be performed to each of the forklifts 1 using the management device 2.

  The forklift 1 is capable of switching between a manned operation mode operated by a manual operation of an operator (not shown) on the forklift 1 and an unmanned operation mode operated autonomously without a manual operation. It is a car. The forklift 1 receives the information related to the cargo handling work assigned by the management device 2. In the manned operation mode, the forklift 1 presents information related to the cargo handling work to the operator, and the operator operates the forklift 1 according to the information related to the cargo handling work to perform the cargo handling work assigned to the forklift 1. Further, in the unmanned operation mode, the forklift 1 performs the cargo handling work assigned to the forklift 1 by operating autonomously based on the information related to the cargo handling work.

  The management device 2 is configured of a cargo handling work assignment device 2A and a wireless communication device 2B. The cargo handling operation allocation device 2A selects and allocates one or more cargo handling operations from the plurality of cargo handling operations to each of the plurality of forklifts 1. The wireless communication device 2 </ b> B wirelessly transmits the information related to the cargo handling work assigned to the forklift 1 to the forklift 1.

  In the present embodiment, the cargo handling work assigned to the forklift 1 receives the package N at a predetermined loading location P, conveys the package N from the loading location P to a predetermined unloading location, and a predetermined position in the rack R Loading the package N on the The forklift 1 reciprocates between the loading location P and the unloading location to perform a plurality of cargo handling operations. In addition, before moving to the loading place P, the forklift 1 operating in the unmanned operation mode stands by for a predetermined time at a predetermined waiting place Q (see FIG. 3) so that the operator can get on the forklift 1.

FIG. 2 shows a functional block diagram of the forklift 1 and the management device 2.
As shown in FIG. 2, for each of the plurality of forklifts 1, the transmission / reception unit 11, the operation plan storage unit 12, the operation plan presentation unit 13, the operation unit for manned operation 14, the control unit 15, and mode switching A switch 16 and an operation mode detection unit 17 are provided.

  The transmission / reception unit 11 communicates with the management device 2 wirelessly. The transmitting and receiving unit 11 is a work information receiving unit that receives the information related to the cargo handling work transmitted from the management device 2. The information related to the cargo handling operation received by the transmission / reception unit 11 includes information on the package N to be transported, information on the unloading position of the package N, information on the unloading location of the package N, and the use passage at the time of the cargo handling operation Information is included, and such information is associated with each cargo handling operation.

  The transmission / reception unit 11 is also an operation information transmission unit that transmits operation information of the forklift 1 to the management device 2. The operation information of the forklift 1 transmitted by the transmission / reception unit 11 includes information on the work status of the forklift 1 and information on the operation mode. The work status of the forklift 1 is transmitted when the forklift 1 starts the cargo handling operation and when the forklift 1 completes the cargo handling operation, and the information on the operation mode of the forklift 1 is the operation mode detection described later It is transmitted when the switch between the manned operation mode and the unmanned operation mode is detected by the unit 17.

  The work plan storage unit 12 stores, as a work plan, information related to the cargo handling work received by the transmission and reception unit 11. Thus, the work information storage unit 21 stores the information related to the cargo handling work selected by the management device 2. In addition, the work information storage unit 21 updates the work plan when the management device 2 reselects the cargo handling work.

  The work plan presentation unit 13 presents the work plan (information related to cargo handling work) stored in the work plan storage unit 12 to the operator on board the forklift 1 in the manned operation mode. In the manned operation mode, the operator operates the forklift 1 using the operation unit for manned operation 14 configured by a lever or the like so as to execute the presented work plan.

  The control unit 15 controls the operation of the forklift 1 based on the operation of the operation unit 14 for manned operation by the operator in the manned operation mode, and the work plan stored in the work plan storage unit 12 in the unmanned operation mode. The operation of the forklift 1 is controlled based on.

  The mode switching switch 16 is a switch for switching between a manned operation mode and an unmanned operation mode, and is operated by an operator boarding the forklift 1. When the operator gets on the forklift 1 and operates the mode switching switch 16, the operation of the operation unit 14 for manned operation becomes effective, and the unmanned operation mode is switched to the manned operation mode.

  The operation mode detection unit 17 detects switching between the manned operation mode and the unmanned operation mode to detect which operation mode the forklift 1 is operating in the manned operation mode and the unmanned operation mode.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the management device 2 is provided with a work information storage unit 21, an operation information storage unit 22, a work selection unit 23, and a transmission / reception unit 24.

  The work information storage unit 21 stores information related to a plurality of cargo handling work. In the work information storage unit 21, information related to the cargo handling work to be performed by the forklift 1 is stored in advance. The information related to the cargo handling work stored in the work information storage unit 21 includes information on the package N to be transported, information on the unloading position of the package N, information on the unloading location of the package N, and use at the time of cargo handling Information on passage and information on work status are included, and the information is associated with each cargo handling operation.

  The operation information storage unit 22 stores operation information of a plurality of forklifts 1. The operation information of the forklift 1 stored in the operation information storage unit 22 includes the information of the work status of the forklift 1 and the information of the operation mode of the forklift 1, and the information is associated with each forklift 1 .

  The work selection unit 23 selects, from the plurality of cargo handling operations stored in the task information storage unit 21, the cargo handling operation to be assigned to the forklift 1 (manned car) operating in the manned operation mode as the manned operation and The cargo handling operation to be assigned to the forklift 1 (unmanned vehicle) operating in the mode is selected as the unmanned operation. At this time, the work selection unit 23 performs manned work so that the manned vehicle travel area where the manned vehicle travels to perform manned work and the unmanned vehicle travel area where the unmanned vehicle travels to perform unmanned work do not overlap And select unmanned work. In addition, the work selection unit 23 is configured such that the number of forklifts 1 detected to be operating in the manned operation mode (hereinafter referred to as “number X”) and the operation of the unmanned operation mode are detected. Based on the number (hereinafter referred to as “number Y”), the manned work and the unmanned work are selected such that the manned vehicle travel area and the unmanned vehicle travel area are divided. Specifically, the work selection unit 23 selects manned work and unmanned work so that the travel area of the manned car also increases as the value of “number X / (number X + number Y)” increases.

  As described above, the work selection unit 23 assigns one or more cargo handling work to each of the forklifts 1 by selecting the manned work and the unmanned work. In addition, the work selection unit 23 reselects the manned work and the unmanned work when the switching between the manned operation mode and the unmanned operation mode is detected by the operation mode detection unit 17 provided in any of the plurality of forklifts 1 .

  The transmission / reception unit 24 communicates with the forklift 1 by radio. The transmitting and receiving unit 24 is a work information transmitting unit that transmits information related to the manned work and information related to the unmanned work to the plurality of forklifts 1. The transmission / reception unit 24 transmits the information related to the manned work selected by the work selection unit 23 to the forklift 1 whose operation mode detection unit 17 has detected that it is operating in the manned operation mode, and the operation mode detection unit 17 The information which concerns on the unmanned operation | work selected by the operation | work selection part 23 is transmitted to the forklift 1 by which it was detected that it operate | moves by unmanned operation mode by this.

  The transmitting and receiving unit 24 is also an operation information receiving unit that receives the operation information of the forklift 1 transmitted from the forklift 1. The transmission / reception unit 24 receives the operation information of the forklift 1 to update the information of the work status stored in the work information storage unit 21 and the work status of the forklift 1 stored in the operation information storage unit 22. And the information on the operation mode of the forklift 1 is updated.

  The flow of allocation of cargo handling work by the cargo handling work allocation system S will be described using a specific example. In this specific example, as shown in FIG. 3, the cargo handling work allocation system S includes three forklifts 1A, 1B, 1C as the forklift 1, and the forklifts 1A, 1B, 1C are racks R1 of a plurality of rows. It is premised that cargo handling work is performed using the passages A1 to A6 provided between R8 and R8.

  The racks R1 to R4 are provided in parallel with an interval so that the passages A1 to A3 are formed between the racks R1 to R4. The racks R5 to R8 are provided in parallel at intervals so as to form the passages A4 to A6 between the racks R5 to R8, and are provided closer to the loading place P than the racks R1 to R4. The passages A1 to A3 provided between the racks R1 to R4 and the passages A4 to A6 provided between the racks R5 to R8 are connected in a straight line, and the forklifts 1A, 1B, 1C are connected to the passages A4 to A6. And enter through the passages A1 to A3.

  Further, in this specific example, the information related to the cargo handling work shown in FIG. 4 (A) is stored in the work information storage unit 21, and the forklift 1 shown in FIG. 4 (B) is stored in the operation information storage unit 22. It is assumed that the operation information pertaining to is stored.

  Based on the information on the operation mode of the forklift 1 stored in the operation information storage unit 22, the operation selection unit 23 grasps that all the forklifts 1A, 1B, and 1C are operating in the unmanned operation mode. Therefore, the travel area for manned vehicles and the travel area for unmanned vehicles do not overlap, and the work selection unit 23 appropriately selects unmanned work assigned to the forklifts 1A, 1B, 1C from the plurality of cargo handling works W1 to W9. For example, the work selection unit 23 selects the loading operations W1, W4, and W7 as unmanned operations to be assigned to the forklift 1A from the plurality of loading operations W1 to W9 stored in the operation information storage unit 21 and assigns them to the forklift 1B. The cargo handling operations W2, W5, and W8 are selected as operations, and the cargo handling operations W3, W6, and W9 are selected as unmanned operations assigned to the forklift 1C.

  As shown in FIG. 5A, when the cargo handling operations W1 to W9 are appropriately allocated to the forklifts 1A, 1B, and 1C, the forklifts 1A, 1B, and 1C start the cargo handling operations W1 to W9 in the unmanned operation mode. Specifically, the forklift 1A sequentially performs the cargo handling operations W1, W4, and W7, the forklift 1B sequentially performs the cargo handling operations W2, W5, and W8, and the forklift 1C sequentially performs the cargo handling operations W3, W6, and W9. At this time, as shown in FIG. 5B, the unmanned vehicle travel area where the forklifts 1A, 1B, and 1C which are unmanned vehicles travel includes all the passages A1 to A6.

  When the forklift 1C completes the cargo handling work W3, the information related to the cargo handling work stored in the work information storage unit 21 is updated as shown in FIG. 6 (A). Then, when the forklift 1C is on standby at the waiting place Q before starting the cargo handling work W6, the operator gets on the forklift 1C and switches the operation mode of the forklift 1C from the unmanned operation mode to the manned operation mode. The operation information concerning the forklift 1 stored in the information storage unit 22 is updated as shown in FIG. 6 (B). At this time, based on the detection of switching between the unmanned operation mode and the manned operation mode in the forklift 1C, the work selection unit 23 reselects the unmanned work assigned to the forklifts 1A and 1B and also assigns the worker to assign the forklift 1C. Select the work.

  Specifically, based on the information on the operation mode of the forklift 1 stored in the operation information storage unit 22, the work selection unit 23 operates the forklifts 1A and 1B in the unmanned operation mode, and the forklift 1C performs manned operation Know that you are working in mode. Then, the work selection unit 23 prevents the forklift 1A, 1B, and so on so that the manned vehicle travel area where the forklift 1C, which is a manned vehicle, travels and the unmanned vehicle travel area where the forklifts 1A and 1B, which are unmanned vehicles, travel. Select manned work and unmanned work to be assigned to 1C. Further, at this time, the work selection unit 23 grasps that one third of the total number of forklifts 1 is operating in the manned operation mode, and sets one third of the passages A1 to A6 as the manned vehicle travel area Manned work and unmanned work are selected so that setting and others are set as the unmanned vehicle travel area. For example, the work selection unit 23 selects the cargo handling operations W4 and W5 as unmanned operations to be assigned to the forklift 1A from the plurality of unworked cargo handling operations W4 to W9 and selects the cargo handling operations W6 and W9 as unmanned operations to be assigned to the forklift 1B. The cargo handling operations W7 and W8 are selected as manned operations to be assigned to the forklift 1C.

  As shown in FIG. 7A, when the loading operations W4 to W9 are appropriately reallocated to the forklifts 1A, 1B, and 1C, the forklift 1A sequentially loads the loading operations W4 and W5 in the unmanned operation mode after the loading operation W1 is completed. The forklift 1B sequentially performs the loading operations W6 and W9 in the unmanned operation mode after the completion of the loading operation W2. On the other hand, the forklift 1C sequentially performs the cargo handling work W7 and W8 in the manned operation mode. At this time, as shown in FIG. 7 (B), the manned vehicle travel area where the forklift 1C which is a manned vehicle travels includes passages A3 and A6 used at the time of the cargo handling work W7 and W8. The unmanned vehicle travel area in which the forklifts 1A and 1B are traveling includes passages A4 and A5 used when the loading work W4 to W6 and W9 are performed. Therefore, the forklift 1C, which is a manned vehicle, and the forklifts 1A, 1B, which are unmanned vehicles, do not pass each other in the passages A1 to A6 between the racks R1 to R8.

  The forklift 1C, which is a manned vehicle, can perform the cargo handling operations W7 and W8 more quickly by the operator skillfully operating the forklift 1C as compared with the case of operating in the unmanned operation mode. For this reason, compared with the case where all the forklifts 1A, 1B, and 1C operate in the unmanned operation mode, it is possible to expect quick completion of the cargo handling work W1 to W9.

The following effects can be obtained in the above embodiment.
(1) Using the management device 2, select the manned work and the unmanned work so that the manned vehicle travel area and the unmanned vehicle travel area do not overlap, and the forklift 1 detected to operate in the manned operation mode The information related to the unmanned work can be transmitted from the management device 2 to the forklift 1 which transmits the information related to the manned work from the management device 2 and the forklift 1 detected to be operating in the unmanned operation mode. Therefore, a manned vehicle (forklift truck 1 operating in the manned operation mode) can perform the cargo handling work scheduled to be performed by the unmanned vehicle (forklift truck 1 operating in the unmanned operation mode), and with the unmanned vehicle It becomes possible to reduce the opportunity for a man-made car to travel in the same area. As a result, the work efficiency of the cargo handling work W1 to W9 by the plurality of forklifts 1 can be improved, and the collision between the manned vehicle and the unmanned vehicle can be suppressed.

  (2) The work information storage unit 21 stores information related to the use passage used at the time of cargo handling work among the passages A1 to A6, and the work selection unit 23 performs racks R1 to R8 based on the information related to the use passage. Manned work and unmanned work are selected such that the manned vehicle travel area and the unmanned vehicle travel area do not overlap in the passages A1 to A6 provided between them. For this reason, it can suppress that the forklift 1C which is a manned vehicle, and the forklifts 1A and 1B which are unmanned vehicles collide in passage A1-A6 between racks R1-R8.

  (3) The work selection unit 23 performs manned work based on the number of forklifts 1 detected to operate in the manned operation mode and the number of forklifts 1 detected to operate in the unmanned operation mode. And select unmanned work. For this reason, it is possible to set up a manned vehicle travel area and an unmanned vehicle travel area which are sized according to the number of manned vehicles and unmanned vehicles.

  (4) When the operation mode detection unit 17 detects switching between the manned operation mode and the unmanned operation mode, the operation selection unit 23 reselects the manned operation and the unmanned operation. For this reason, the work selection unit 23 can flexibly select the manned work and the unmanned work according to the switching between the manned operation mode and the unmanned operation mode.

  The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and the above configuration may be changed as appropriate. For example, the above embodiment may be implemented with the following modifications, or the following modifications may be implemented in combination.

  The forklift 1 does not have to stand by at the stand-by place Q. In this case, the operator may board the forklift 1 by forcibly stopping the forklift 1 traveling in the passages A1 to A6. At this time, the work selection unit 23 sets a manned vehicle traveling area in accordance with the position of the manned vehicle at the time when the switching between the manned operation mode and the unmanned operation mode is detected by the operation mode detection unit 17, and a plurality of cargo handling operations Among them, the cargo handling work using the manned vehicle travel area can be selected as the manned work, and the cargo handling work using the area excluding the manned vehicle travel area can be selected as the unmanned work.

  The work information storage unit 21 may not store the information related to the use passage used at the time of the cargo handling work. That is, the utilization passage used at the time of cargo handling operation among the passages A1 to A6 can be appropriately derived by the management device 2 based on the information of the loading place P and the unloading place. Moreover, the manned vehicle travel area and the unmanned vehicle travel area set according to the present invention are not limited to the passages A1 to A6 between the racks R1 to R8.

  The work information storage unit 21 not only transmits the information related to the manned work to the forklift 1 detected to be operating in the manned operation mode, but also another forklift that the operator boarding the forklift 1 In order to obtain the information related to the cargo handling work performed by 1, the information related to the unmanned work may be transmitted. That is, the present invention does not deny that the information related to the unmanned work is transmitted to the forklift 1 detected to be operating in the manned operation mode, and is also operated in the unmanned operation mode It does not deny that transmitting the information concerning manned work to the detected forklift 1.

  -The cargo handling operation assigned to the forklift 1 may be an unloading operation for transporting the load in the rack R to a predetermined unloading site outside the rack R. In addition, the cargo handling operation assigned to the forklift 1 may be a transfer operation for transferring the load in the rack R into another rack R.

1, 1A, 1B, 1C Forklift truck
2 management device 2A cargo handling work assignment device 2B wireless communication device 17 operation mode detection unit 21 operation information storage unit 23 operation selection unit 24 transmission / reception unit (operation information transmission unit)
A1 to A6 Aisle R1 to R8 Rack S Load handling work assignment system

Claims (2)

A cargo handling operation assignment system that selects and assigns one or more cargo handling operations from a plurality of cargo handling operations to each of a plurality of manned unmanned and combined vehicles that can switch between a manned operation mode and an unmanned operation mode,
A work information storage unit storing information related to the plurality of cargo handling work;
An operation mode detection unit which is provided for each of the plurality of manned unmanned and combined vehicles and detects which one of the manned operation mode and the unmanned operation mode the manned unmanned and operated vehicle is operating in;
From the plurality of cargo handling operations stored in the operation information storage unit, a manned operation to be assigned to a manned vehicle operating in the manned operation mode among the plurality of manned unmanned and combined vehicles is selected, and the operation information storage A work selection unit for selecting unmanned work to be assigned to the unmanned vehicle operating in the unmanned operation mode among the plurality of manned unmanned and combined vehicles from the plurality of cargo handling operations stored in the unit;
Before SL plurality of manned unmanned combined vehicle, and a work information transmitting unit that transmits information related to information and the unmanned working according to the manned operation,
In a situation where the manned unmanned and combined vehicle operating in the manned operation mode and the manned and unmanned combined vehicle operating in the unmanned operation mode simultaneously travel, the work selection unit is configured to a manned vehicle traveling area running in order to perform the manned operation, so that the unmanned vehicle traveling area in which the unmanned vehicle is traveling in order to carry out the unattended operation is not duplicated, and selects the manned operation and the unmanned operation,
The work information transmission unit transmits information related to the manned work to the manned unmanned and combined vehicle whose operation mode detection unit has detected that it is operating in the manned operation mode, and the operation mode detection unit Information on the unmanned work is transmitted to the manned unmanned and combined vehicle detected to operate in the unmanned operation mode. The work selection unit may include the number of the unmanned and unmanned combined vehicles detected to be operating in the manned operation mode and the number of the unmanned and unmanned combined vehicles detected to be operating in the unmanned operation mode. The cargo handling work assignment system according to claim 1, wherein the manned work and the unmanned work are selected based on the selected work.

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