JP6550505B1 - Automatic warehouse system - Google Patents

Abstract

To improve throughput in an automatic warehouse system. An automatic warehouse system (100) extends in a first direction, and a first storage column and a second storage column for storing a plurality of loads (12) are arranged in a second direction intersecting the first direction. The storage unit 22 provided, the carriage 14 loaded with the load 12 and moved in the first direction, the movement mechanism 16 loaded with the carriage 14 and moved in the second direction, and the movement of the carriage 14 and the movement mechanism 16 And a control unit 18 for controlling. The control unit 18 performs a rearrangement operation for moving the loads 12 so that the difference between the number of loads 12 stored in the first storage row and the number of loads 12 stored in the second storage row is reduced. Control to do. [Selection] Figure 9

Description

  The present invention relates to an automatic warehouse system.

  There is known an automatic warehouse system capable of efficiently entering and leaving a large number of loads in a small space. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses an automatic warehouse system provided with a plurality of storage racks capable of storing a plurality of articles. This automatic warehouse system is configured to carry in and out articles using a transport carriage movable in the row direction between storage racks and a stacker crane movable in the row direction.

JP, 2017-160040, A

  In an automatic warehouse, a single storage column may store a plurality of different types of loads. In such an automatic warehouse, when a load subject to delivery is stored at the back of the row and another load not subject to delivery is stored on the front side of the row, another load is issued before the load subject to delivery. I had to move the load. For this reason, the conventional automatic warehouse system has room for improving the throughput of the delivery.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a technique for improving the throughput in an automatic warehouse system.

  In order to solve the above problems, according to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided an automated warehouse system including: a first storage row and a second storage row that extend in a first direction and store a plurality of loads; A storage unit provided side by side in a second crossing direction, a carriage for loading a load and moving in a first direction, a movement mechanism for loading a carriage and moving in a second direction, movement of the carriage and movement mechanism And a controller for controlling the The control unit performs control so as to execute a reordering operation to move loads so that the difference between the number of loads stored in the first storage row and the number of loads stored in the second storage row is reduced. Do.

  In addition, the automatic warehouse system of another aspect of the present invention extends in the first direction, and a second direction in which the first storage row and the second storage row for storing a plurality of loads intersect the first direction. , A storage unit provided side by side, a carriage for carrying a load and moving in a first direction, a movement mechanism for carrying a carriage and moving in a second direction, and a control unit for controlling movement of the carriage and movement mechanism And. The control unit performs control so as to execute a warehousing operation of warehousing a load in the storage row having the smaller number of stored loads among the first storage row and the second storage row.

  Furthermore, in the automated warehouse system according to another aspect of the present invention, the first storage row and the second storage row for storing a plurality of loads extend in the first direction, and the second direction intersects the first direction. , A storage unit provided side by side, a carriage for carrying a load and moving in a first direction, a movement mechanism for carrying a carriage and moving in a second direction, and a control unit for controlling movement of the carriage and movement mechanism And. When the first load and the second load placed on the moving mechanism side in the first direction later than the first load are included in the same storage row, the first load and the second load being slower than the first load are included in the same storage row, Control is performed to execute a reordering operation to move the first load so that the number of second loads is reduced.

  According to the present invention, the throughput in an automatic warehouse system can be improved.

FIG. 1 is a plan view schematically showing an example of an automatic warehouse system according to Embodiment 1; It is a top view which shows arrangement | positioning of the storage part with which an automatic warehouse system is provided, and a temporary storage part. It is a side view showing typically an example of an automatic warehouse system. It is a side view showing arrangement of a storage part and a temporary storage part of an automatic warehouse system. It is a top view which shows an example of a trolley typically. It is a front view which shows an example of a trolley typically. It is a top view which shows an example of a movement mechanism typically. It is a front view which shows an example of a moving mechanism typically. It is a figure which shows the state of the load before rearrangement operation is performed. It is a functional block diagram of a control part. 5 is a flowchart showing an example of a sorting operation performed in the automatic warehouse system according to Embodiment 1; FIG. 12A is a diagram showing the movement of the load in the sorting operation. FIG. 12 (B) is a diagram showing the state of the load after the reordering operation is performed. FIGS. 13A to 13C are diagrams showing an example of the sorting operation performed in the automatic warehouse system according to the second embodiment. FIGS. 14 (A) and 14 (B) are diagrams showing an example of the warehousing operation performed in the automatic warehouse system according to the third embodiment.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described based on preferred embodiments with reference to the drawings. The embodiments do not limit the invention and are merely examples, and all the features and combinations thereof described in the embodiments are not necessarily essential to the invention. The same or equivalent components, members, and processes shown in the drawings are denoted by the same reference numerals, and duplicating descriptions will be omitted as appropriate. Further, the scale and shape of each part shown in each drawing are set for convenience to facilitate the description, and unless otherwise stated, they are not interpreted in a limited manner. In addition, when terms such as "first" and "second" are used in the specification or the claims, this term does not represent any order or importance unless otherwise stated, and some configurations To distinguish between the other configuration. In each drawing, a part of members which are not important in describing the embodiment is omitted and displayed.

Embodiment 1
FIG. 1 is a plan view schematically showing an example of the automatic warehouse system according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the arrangement of storage units and a temporary storage unit provided in the automatic warehouse system. FIG. 3 is a side view schematically showing an example of the automatic warehouse system. FIG. 4 is a side view showing the arrangement of the storage unit and the temporary storage unit of the automatic warehouse system. In these figures, the description of columns and beams is omitted.

  For convenience of explanation, an XYZ orthogonal coordinate system is defined in which a horizontal first direction is an X-axis direction, a horizontal second direction orthogonal to the X-axis direction is a Y-axis direction, and a vertical direction orthogonal to both is a Z-axis direction. The positive direction of each of the X axis, Y axis, and Z axis is defined in the direction of the arrow in each drawing, and the negative direction is defined in the direction opposite to the arrow. Also, the X-axis direction may be referred to as "row direction", the Y-axis direction may be referred to as "column direction", and the Z-axis direction may be referred to as "vertical direction". The notation of such direction does not limit the configuration of the automatic warehouse system, and the automatic warehouse system can be used in any posture depending on the application. In addition, the X-axis direction, the Y-axis direction, and the Z-axis direction may not necessarily be orthogonal to each other.

  The automatic warehouse system 100 includes a storage unit 22, a temporary storage unit 28, a carriage 14, a moving mechanism 16, a first rail 40, a second rail 44, a power feeding unit 34, a control unit 18, and mode setting. And 30. In the present embodiment, the Y-axis direction is exemplified as the first direction, and the X-axis direction is exemplified as the second direction. In the storage unit 22, the first rail 40 extends in the Y-axis direction, and the second rail 44 and the power feeding unit 34 extend in the X-axis direction.

  The control unit 18 is configured to include an MPU (Micro Processing Unit) or the like, and controls movement of the carriage 14 and the movement mechanism 16 in order to control movement of the load 12. The mode setting unit 30 is setting means for setting the operation mode of the automatic warehouse system 100. The mode setting unit 30 can store a plurality of operation modes in advance. The user can select an arbitrary operation mode by operating the mode setting unit 30. The operation mode includes a rearranging operation mode described later. The mode setting unit 30 provides the control unit 18 with the selection result of the user. The control unit 18 controls the movement of the load 12 based on the selection result from the mode setting unit 30. The load 12 may be handled on a pallet (not shown), or the load 12 may be handled alone without using the pallet. The mode setting unit 30 may be provided integrally with the control unit 18.

  The storage unit 22 is a so-called high-density storage type storage space which is installed on the floor Lg and can store a plurality of loads 12. The configuration of the storage unit 22 is not particularly limited as long as it can store and store a plurality of loads 12. The automatic warehouse system 100 of the present embodiment has a three-tiered storage unit 22 layered in the vertical direction. The three-tiered storage unit 22 is referred to as a storage unit group 20.

  The storage unit 22 of each stage includes a plurality of storage rows 24 extending in the Y-axis direction (first direction). The storage unit 22 of the present embodiment includes six storage columns 24. The plurality of storage rows 24 are arranged in the X-axis direction (second direction) intersecting the Y-axis direction. Each storage column 24 includes a plurality of storage areas 26 connected in the Y-axis direction. Thus, each storage column 24 can store a plurality of loads 12. Storage row 24 of the present embodiment includes five storage areas 26. The storage area 26 is a unit for storing the load 12.

  The temporary storage unit 28 is disposed at a position different from the storage unit 22 and is a storage space for temporarily storing one or more loads 12. Temporary storage unit 28 includes a plurality of storage areas 26 arranged in the X-axis direction. The automatic warehouse system 100 according to the present embodiment has a three-stage temporary storage unit 28 layered in the vertical direction, and each temporary storage unit 28 has six storage areas 26.

  The temporary storage unit 28 can temporarily store the load 12 brought in from the outside of the warehouse by a transfer device such as a forklift or a crane at the time of storage. The loads 12 stored in the temporary storage unit 28 are sequentially transferred to a predetermined storage area 26 of the storage unit 22. In addition, the temporary storage unit 28 can temporarily store the load 12 transferred from the storage unit 22 at the time of delivery. The loads 12 stored in the temporary storage unit 28 are sequentially carried out of the warehouse by a forklift or the like. By providing the temporary storage unit 28, the transfer operation of the load 12 in the storage unit 22 and the loading and unloading operation of the forklift can be performed separately. For this reason, each operation efficiency can be improved.

  The first rail 40 is a traveling path for the bogie 14 to travel. The first rail 40 extends in the Y-axis direction in each storage section 26 of each storage column 24 and the temporary storage unit 28. The first rail 40 is supported by the first support member 42.

  The second rail 44 is a traveling path for the moving mechanism 16 to travel. The second rails 44 extend in the X-axis direction so as to cross each storage row 24. The second rail 44 of the present embodiment is provided between the storage row 24 and the temporary storage unit 28. At the end of each storage row 24 on the second rail 44 side, an entrance portion through which the carriage 14 enters and exits is provided. At the end on the side of the second rail 44 in each storage area 26 of the temporary storage unit 28, an entrance portion through which the carriage 14 enters and exits is provided. At the end of each storage area 26 opposite to the second rail 44 side, an inlet / outlet for loading / unloading the load 12 is provided. The second rail 44 is supported by the second support member 46.

  The carriage 14 can load the load 12 and move on the first rail 40 in the Y-axis direction. The moving mechanism 16 can move the carriage 14 on the second rail 44 in the X-axis direction.

  FIG. 5 is a plan view schematically showing an example of the carriage 14. FIG. 6 is a front view schematically showing an example of the carriage 14. The carriage 14 travels the first rail 40 in each storage row 24 in the Y-axis direction in order to put the load 12 in and out of each storage section 26 of each storage row 24. Further, the carriage 14 travels on the moving mechanism 16 in the Y-axis direction in order to get on and off the moving mechanism 16. In addition, the carriage 14 travels in the Y-axis direction on the first rail 40 of the temporary storage unit 28 in order to put the load 12 in and out of the storage areas 26 of the temporary storage unit 28.

  The carriage 14 includes a vehicle body 14 b, a mounting table 14 c, a lift mechanism 14 d, and a plurality of wheels 14 f. The vehicle body 14 b has an outline of a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape that is flat in the vertical direction. Inside the vehicle body 14b, a motor (not shown) for driving the plurality of wheels 14f, a control circuit (not shown) for controlling the motor, and a battery 14g are mounted. The carriage 14 is configured to drive the motor by the power of the battery 14g. The battery is, for example, a rechargeable battery, such as a lithium ion battery, which can be charged repeatedly. The battery 14 g of the present embodiment is charged by the moving mechanism 16 in a state where the carriage 14 is mounted on the moving mechanism 16.

  The mounting table 14 c is a portion that lifts and holds the load 12. The lift mechanism 14d is a mechanism that raises and lowers the mounting table 14c. In FIG. 6, the mounting base portion 14c in the raised state is shown by a broken line, and the mounting base portion 14c in the lowered state is shown by a solid line. The lift mechanism 14 d can lift the load 12 from the mounting surface of the storage area 26 by raising the mounting table 14 c. In addition, the lift mechanism 14d can lower the load 12 onto the placement surface of the storage area 26 by lowering the placement table 14c. The plurality of wheels 14 f can roll on the first rail 40 and the moving mechanism 16.

  FIG. 7 is a plan view schematically showing an example of the moving mechanism. FIG. 8 is a front view schematically showing an example of the moving mechanism 16. FIG. 8 shows a state in which the carriage 14 is mounted. The moving mechanism 16 of the present embodiment takes the form of a carriage as an example. The moving mechanism 16 travels the second rail 44 in the X-axis direction, and transports the carriage 14 in an empty state or in a state in which the load 12 is mounted.

  The moving mechanism 16 includes a carriage mounting portion 16 c, a mechanism storage portion 16 d, a plurality of wheels 16 f, and a current collecting unit 38. The carriage mounting portion 16 c is a portion on which the carriage 14 is mounted. The mechanism storage portions 16 d are provided on both sides in the X-axis direction of the carriage mounting portion 16 c. The carriage mounting portion 16c and the mechanism storage portion 16d constitute a vehicle body 16b.

  The carriage mounting portion 16c has a substantially plate shape that is thin in the Z-axis direction with respect to the Y-axis direction and the X-axis direction. The carriage mounting portion 16 c constitutes a part of the traveling path of the carriage 14. The carriage mounting portion 16c has a size obtained by adding a sufficient amount of margin to the size of the carriage 14 so that the carriage 14 can travel in the Y-axis direction without interfering with the surroundings of the carriage mounting portion 16c.

  The mechanism storage portion 16d is thicker in the Z-axis direction than the carriage mounting portion 16c, and has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape that protrudes upward on both sides of the carriage mounting portion 16c. Therefore, the vehicle body 16b has a concave shape which is recessed downward in the carriage mounting portion 16c. The mechanism storage portion 16d has a pair of side wall portions 16j sandwiching the space above the carriage mounting portion 16c in the X-axis direction. The pair of side wall portions 16 j opposes the carriage 14 in the X axis direction with a gap therebetween. A motor (not shown) for driving the wheel 16f and a control circuit (not shown) for controlling the motor are mounted inside the mechanism storage portion 16d.

  The wheels 16 f travel on the second rail 44. The current collecting unit 38 contacts the power feeding portion 34 (see FIG. 1) extending in the vicinity of the second rail 44 along the X-axis direction to receive power supply. The moving mechanism 16 receives power from the power supply unit 34 via the current collection unit 38. The moving mechanism 16 is configured to drive the motor by the received power. Further, the moving mechanism 16 can charge the battery 14g of the truck 14 by the received power.

  Subsequently, the sorting operation performed by the automatic warehouse system 100 will be described. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the state of the load before the rearrangement operation is performed. In FIG. 9, each storage area 26 when the storage unit 22 is viewed in plan is schematically shown by squares. A to F and 1 to 5 in the figure are symbols for specifying the position of the square. A to F indicate columns of squares, and 1 to 5 indicate rows of squares.

  The loads 12 are transported in the row direction by the carriage 14 and are transported in the row direction together with the carriage 14 by the moving mechanism 16. In the following description, the positions of the load 12, the cart 14, and the storage area 26 are indicated by the row names and column names of the squares as in "A1". Further, in order to distinguish the plurality of storage columns 24, the storage columns 24 corresponding to the columns A to F are referred to as storage columns 24A to 24F. The storage rows 24A to 24F can store five loads 12 in the row direction, respectively. The sixth row shows the traveling second rail 44 of the moving mechanism 16. The seventh row shows a row of squares corresponding to the storage area 26 of the temporary storage unit 28.

  As shown in FIG. 9, the storage unit 22 stores loads 12a to 12x as an example. For convenience of explanation, the loads 12a to 12x are different types of loads. The “different types” include ones having the same contents but having different attributes, such as manufacturing lots and receiving lots, which are distinguished at the time of leaving, other than those having different contents. In the state shown in FIG. 9, for example, it is assumed that the load 12d is a delivery target. In this case, in order to take out the load 12d, it is necessary to move the loads 12a to 12c stored on the side closer to the moving mechanism 16 than the load 12d in the storage row 24A.

  That is, in addition to the movement of the load 12d which is the delivery target, it is necessary to move, ie, change, the load 12 which is not the delivery target three times. Considering the number of transfers necessary for taking out each of the loads 12a to 12x, it is 0 for the loads 12a, 12f, 12j, 12n, 12s, and 12u located in the foremost row in each storage row 24. In addition, in the loads 12b, 12g, 12k, 12o, 12t, and 12v in which there is one other load on the moving mechanism 16 side, the number of times of replacement is one. Further, in the case of loads 12c, 12h, 12l, 12p, 12w in which there are two other loads on the moving mechanism 16 side, the number of times of replacement is two. In addition, in the case of loads 12d, 12i, 12m, 12q, and 12x in which there are three other loads on the moving mechanism 16 side, the number of times of replacement is three. Further, in the case of loads 12e and 12r in which there are four other loads on the moving mechanism 16 side, the number of times of replacement is four.

  Therefore, the average number of times of distribution in the storage column 24A is 2.0 times (= (0 + 1 + 2 + 3 + 4) / 5). Similarly, the average number of distributions in storage column 24B, storage column 24C and storage column 24F is 1.5, the average number of distribution in storage column 24D is 2.0, and the average number of distribution in storage column 24E is 0. It will be five times. In addition, the average number of distributions in the entire storage unit 22 is 1.625 times (= total number of distributions 39 / total number 24 of loads). The greater the number of loads 12 stored, the greater the average number of transfers. An increase in the number of transfers leads to a decrease in the throughput of goods issue.

  On the other hand, the control unit 18 of the present embodiment is configured to execute the rearranging operation described below. FIG. 10 is a functional block diagram of the control unit 18. In FIG. 10, the components of the control unit 18 are depicted as functional blocks. These functional blocks are realized as hardware configuration by elements and circuits such as a CPU of a computer and a memory, and software configuration is realized by a computer program and the like. Those skilled in the art will understand that these functional blocks can be realized in various forms by a combination of hardware and software.

  Control unit 18 includes storage control unit 18a, mode reception unit 18b, load placement determination unit 18c, and movement instruction unit 18d. The storage and storage management unit 18a manages the storage of the load 12 to the storage unit 22 and the storage of the load 12 from the storage unit 22, that is, the normal storage and storage operation. The storage and storage management unit 18a receives the storage and storage instruction of the load 12 from the outside, and controls the carriage 14 and the moving mechanism 16 to perform storage and storage of the load 12 according to the instruction. In addition, the storage and storage management unit 18 a stores the type and the position of the load 12 stored in each storage area 26 of the storage unit 22.

  The mode receiving unit 18 b receives the selection result of the operation mode by the user from the mode setting unit 30. If the selection result is the rearrangement operation mode, the load placement determination unit 18c calculates the average number of times of distribution of the entire storage unit 22 in the placement of the load 12 at that time. In addition, the load placement determination unit 18c determines the placement of the load 12 that has a smaller average number of distribution times. The load placement determining unit 18c sends information on the determined placement to the movement instructing unit 18d. The movement instruction unit 18d determines the load 12 to be a transfer target and the storage area 26 to which the load 12 is to be moved based on the arrangement determined by the load arrangement determination unit 18c. Then, a sequence for operating the carriage 14 and the movement mechanism 16 is generated based on the determination result, and the movement of the carriage 14 and the movement mechanism 16 is controlled based on the generated sequence.

  Specifically, the control unit 18 sets the number of loads 12 stored in the first storage column and the second storage column for any first storage column and second storage column included in the plurality of storage columns 24. The load 12 is moved so that the difference with the number of loads 12 stored becomes small. Further, the storage unit 22 of the present embodiment includes three or more storage rows 24. In this case, preferably, the first storage column is the storage column 24 with the largest number of storage loads, and the second storage column is the storage column 24 with the smallest number of storage loads. That is, the control unit 18 controls the carriage 14 and the moving mechanism 16 so that the difference between the load number in the storage row 24 with the maximum storage load number and the load number in the storage row 24 with the minimum storage load number becomes small.

  For example, when the first storage column is the storage column 24A, and the second storage column is the storage column 24E, the control unit 18 determines that the difference 3 between the storage load number 5 in the storage column 24A and the storage load number 2 in the storage column 24E. The carriage 14 and the moving mechanism 16 are controlled to be smaller. As a result, the average number of times of distribution in the entire storage unit 22 decreases a little.

  In addition, the control unit 18 according to the present embodiment moves the load 12 so that the difference in the number of loads in the first storage row and the second storage row becomes 0, as a more ideal sorting operation. Furthermore, the control unit 18 moves the load 12 so that the difference in the load numbers in all the storage rows 24 becomes zero.

  FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing an example of the sorting operation performed in the automatic warehouse system according to the first embodiment. FIG. 12A is a diagram showing the movement of the load in the sorting operation. FIG. 12 (B) is a diagram showing the state of the load after the reordering operation is performed.

  As shown in FIG. 11, first, the control unit 18 stores each of the storage rows 24 from the total number of the storage rows 24 and the total number of loads 12 stored in the storage unit 22 in order to equalize the storage load number in each storage row 24. The average load number in the column 24 is calculated (S101). In the present embodiment, the average number of loads is 4 (= total number of loads 24 / total number of storage columns 6). Subsequently, the control unit 18 determines the load 12 to be replaced and the storage area 26 to which the load 12 is to be moved (S102).

  In the state of the storage unit 22 shown in FIG. 12A, the load 12a and the load 12n closest to the moving mechanism 16 are to be replaced in the storage row 24A and the storage row 24D having the storage load number larger than the average load number 4. It will be determined. Further, the storage areas E3 and E4 in the storage row 24E having the storage load number smaller than the average load number 4 are determined as the destinations of the load 12a and the load 12n.

  Then, the control unit 18 generates an operation sequence of the carriage 14 and the moving mechanism 16 based on the determination result (S103). Subsequently, the control unit 18 controls the carriage 14 and the moving mechanism 16 to move the load 12 to be transferred to the storage area 26 determined as the movement destination (S104). In the present embodiment, the load 12n of D5 is transferred to the storage area 26 of E3, and subsequently, the load 12a of A5 is transferred to the storage row 24 of E4. As a result, as shown in FIG. 12 (B), the number of storage loads in each storage row 24 becomes even. In this state, the average number of distributions in the entire storage unit 22 is 1.5 times (= total number of distributions 36 / total number 24 of loads), and the average number of distributions is smaller than that before the sorting operation.

  The rearrangement operation is performed at a predetermined timing after the control unit 18 receives an instruction to execute the rearrangement operation from the mode setting unit 30. The control unit 18 preferably executes the sorting operation when the unloading operation of the load 12 is not performed. For example, the sorting operation is set to be performed in a time zone such as nighttime when the leaving operation is not performed. The total throughput can be improved by executing the rearrangement operation in a time zone in which the leaving operation is not performed.

  In addition, the automatic warehouse system 100 inputs the execution instruction of the rearrangement operation from the mode setting unit 30 after confirming the end of the delivery operation, and the control unit 18 executes the rearrangement operation immediately after the execution instruction is received. May be designed, or after the control unit 18 confirms the end of the delivery operation, the user inputs an instruction to execute the rearranging operation from the mode setting unit 30 regardless of whether or not the delivery operation is being executed. It may be designed to perform the reordering operation. In addition, there is a variation in the number of loads stored between storage rows during the delivery of loads, for example, the difference in the number of storages between the maximum number of storage rows 24 and the minimum number of storage rows 24 is predetermined. The mode may be automatically changed from the delivery operation to the rearranging operation when it is detected that the value has become larger than the value.

  As described above, the automatic warehouse system 100 according to the present embodiment extends in the first direction, and includes the storage unit 22 including the first storage row and the second storage row for storing the plurality of loads 12. A storage unit 22 provided side by side in a second direction in which the first storage row and the second storage row intersect the first direction; a carriage 14 carrying the load 12 and moving in the first direction; And a control unit 18 configured to control the movement of the carriage 14 and the moving mechanism 16. The control unit 18 executes the rearrangement operation of moving the load 12 so that the difference between the number of loads 12 stored in the first storage row and the number of loads 12 stored in the second storage row is reduced. Do.

  Thus, the average number of times of distribution in the entire storage unit 22 can be reduced by executing the rearrangement operation to reduce the difference in the number of loads 12 stored for at least two storage columns 24. As a result, the throughput in the automatic warehouse system 100 can be improved.

  In the case of storing loads 12 of various types and small lots, the types of loads 12 stored in the same storage column 24 tend to increase. In this case, when the target load 12 is delivered, the number of transfers of the load 12 not to be delivered increases. Therefore, the automatic warehouse system 100 according to the present embodiment is particularly suitable for storing loads 12 of various types of small lots.

  In addition, the storage unit 22 of the present embodiment includes three or more storage rows 24. The first storage row is the storage row 24 with the largest number of storage loads, and the second storage row is the smallest number of storage loads. It is a storage column 24. That is, the control unit 18 performs the sorting operation such that the difference in the number of loads between the storage row 24 with the largest number of loads and the storage row 24 with the smallest number of loads becomes smaller. In addition, when the first storage column having the largest storage load number or the second storage column having the smallest storage load number changes to another storage column 24 during execution of the reordering operation, the control unit 18 Can be defined as a new first storage column or a second storage column to perform the reordering operation. As a result, the average number of distributions in the entire storage unit 22 can be reduced more efficiently.

  Moreover, the control part 18 of this Embodiment controls the trolley | bogie 14 and the moving mechanism 16 so that the difference of a load number becomes zero. Thereby, the throughput of the automatic warehouse system 100 can be further improved.

Second Embodiment
The automatic warehouse system 100 according to the second embodiment has the same configuration as that of the first embodiment except for the contents of the rearrangement operation. Hereinafter, the automatic warehouse system 100 according to the present embodiment will be described focusing on a configuration different from that of the first embodiment, and the common configuration will be briefly described or omitted.

  The control unit 18 according to the present embodiment performs averaging of the load numbers in each storage row 24 described in the first embodiment (hereinafter, appropriately referred to as load number averaging processing) in the sorting operation of the loads 12. In addition, the movement of the load 12 having an early exit to the moving mechanism 16 side (hereinafter referred to as exit load transfer processing as appropriate) is executed.

  Specifically, it is assumed that the entry / exit management unit 18a has received a withdrawal instruction of the predetermined first load at the timing when the control unit 18 executes the rearrangement operation. As such a situation, for example, it is assumed that the first leaving instruction in the next morning is received at night. In this case, the storage unit 22 stores a first load which is to be shipped and a second load which is not to be shipped, that is, which is slower than the first load. The second load may be a load for which delivery at a later timing than the first load is instructed.

  In such a situation, when the same storage row 24 includes the first load and the second load arranged closer to the moving mechanism 16 than the first load, the control unit 18 determines the number of second loads. Move the first load so that In other words, the control unit 18 interchanges the arrangement of the first load that is early in storage and the second load that is late in storage, and brings the first load closer to the moving mechanism 16 side. By reducing the number of second loads arranged closer to the moving mechanism 16 than the first load in the direction in which the storage row 24 extends (first direction, Y-axis direction, row direction), the first It is possible to reduce the number of transfers required when unloading a load.

  As a more ideal rearrangement operation, the control unit 18 according to the present embodiment is configured such that the carriage 14 and the carriage 14 and the first load are arranged closest to the moving mechanism 16 in the storage row 24 in which the first load is stored. The moving mechanism 16 is controlled. FIGS. 13A to 13C are diagrams showing an example of the sorting operation performed in the automatic warehouse system according to the second embodiment.

  For example, as illustrated in FIG. 13A, it is assumed that the load 12a and the load 12h correspond to the first load in the storage unit 22 after the load number averaging process is performed. In this case, the loads 12g and 12f stored on the moving mechanism 16 side of the load 12h in the storage row 24B correspond to the second load.

  The control unit 18 (for example, the load placement determining unit 18c) identifies the load 12a and the load 12h as the first load, and the load 12g and the load 12f as the second load, based on the delivery information received by the storage and storage management unit 18a. Identify. If the entry and exit management unit 18a has not received the exit instruction, the control unit 18 ends the exit load transfer process. In addition, the control unit 18 excludes the load 12a specified as the first load from the target of the output load transfer process. The load 12a is already closest to the moving mechanism 16 in the storage row 24E, and there is no second load for the load 12a.

  Then, the control unit 18 determines the arrangement of the load 12 where the load 12h is closer to the moving mechanism 16 than the load 12f and the load 12g. Also, based on the determined arrangement, a sequence for operating the carriage 14 and the moving mechanism 16 is generated, and the movement of the carriage 14 and the moving mechanism 16 is controlled.

  Specifically, the control unit 18 temporarily moves the loads 12 f and 12 g corresponding to the second load and the load 12 h corresponding to the first load to the empty storage area 26. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 13 (B), the load 12f is moved to the storage area 26 of A5, the load 12g is moved to the storage area 26 of C5, and the load 12h is moved to the storage area 26 of D5. Let The storage area 26 of the temporary storage unit 28 may be used for temporary movement of each load 12.

  Subsequently, the control unit 18 returns the temporarily moved loads 12f, 12g, and 12h to the original storage row 24B. At this time, the loads 12f and 12g corresponding to the second load are returned earlier than the load 12h corresponding to the first load. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 13C, the load 12f is first moved to the storage area 26 of B2, then the load 12g is moved to the storage area 26 of B3, and finally the load 12h is changed to B4. Move to storage area 26 of As a result, the load 12h corresponding to the first load is arranged closest to the moving mechanism 16 in the storage row 24B.

  As described above, the control unit 18 of the automatic warehouse system 100 according to the present embodiment is faster than the first load and the first load, and is closer to the moving mechanism 16 in the first direction than the first load. If the second load to be placed is included in the same storage row 24, a reordering operation is performed to move the first load so as to reduce the number of second loads. Thus, the throughput of the automatic warehouse system 100 can be improved by arranging the first load scheduled to be delivered closer to the moving mechanism 16 prior to the delivery.

  It should be noted that the output load transfer process may be performed at the stage of load allocation determination in the load number averaging process described in the first embodiment. That is, when moving the load 12 so that the difference between the number of storage loads in the first storage row and the number of storage loads in the second storage row is small, the first load with the delivery allowance is arranged closer to the moving mechanism 16 The load 12 may be moved in consideration of the above. In addition, the control unit 18 may execute only the sorting operation of moving the first load so as to reduce the number of second loads.

Third Embodiment
The automatic warehouse system 100 according to the third embodiment has the same configuration as that of the first embodiment except that a specific storage operation is performed. Hereinafter, the automatic warehouse system 100 according to the present embodiment will be described focusing on a configuration different from that of the first embodiment, and the common configuration will be briefly described or omitted.

  The control unit 18 according to the present embodiment performs the warehousing operation of warehousing the load 12 in the storage row 24 having the smaller number of loads 12 stored in the first storage row and the second storage row. It is configured. As described above, by preferentially storing the loads 12 in the storage row 24 with a small number of storage loads, it is possible to average the number of loads in each storage row 24. Preferably, the control unit 18 stores the loads 12 such that the difference between the number of loads 12 stored in the first storage row and the number of loads 12 stored in the second storage row is zero.

  FIGS. 14 (A) and 14 (B) are diagrams showing an example of the warehousing operation performed in the automatic warehouse system according to the third embodiment. For example, as shown in FIG. 14A, it is assumed that loads 12a, 12b, 12n are carried into temporary storage unit 28. In this case, the control unit 18 preferentially stores the load 12 in the storage rows 24A, 24E having a smaller number of storage loads than the storage rows 24B, 24C, 24D, 24F.

  Specifically, the control unit 18 places the load 12 b in the storage area 26 of A4, and places the load 12 n in the storage area 26 of E3. At this stage, only the storage row 24E has one less storage load than the other storage rows 24. Therefore, the control unit 18 places the remaining load 12a in the storage area 26 of E5. As a result, as shown in FIG. 14 (B), the number of storage loads in each storage row 24 becomes even. When the load 12 is received with the even number of storage loads equalized, 12 is received in an arbitrary storage row 24, for example, the storage row 24 closest to the position of the load 12 placed in the temporary storage unit 28. Be done.

  As described above, the control unit 18 of the automatic warehouse system 100 according to the present embodiment is configured to use one of the first storage row and the second storage row in the storage row 24 with the smaller number of loads 12 being stored. Execute a warehousing operation to warehousing the load 12 Thereby, the throughput in the automatic warehouse system 100 can be improved. The storage operation of the present embodiment may be performed in combination with the rearrangement operation described in the first embodiment and / or the second embodiment, or may be performed independently.

  The embodiments of the present invention have been described above in detail. Each of the embodiments described above is merely a specific example for practicing the present invention. The contents of each embodiment do not limit the technical scope of the present invention, and many designs such as modification, addition, and deletion of components can be made without departing from the concept of the invention defined in the claims. Changes are possible. In each of the embodiments described above, the contents of which such design changes are possible are emphasized with the notation of “in the present embodiment”, “in the present embodiment”, etc. Design change is acceptable even for content without notation. In addition, any combination of components included in each embodiment is also effective as an aspect of the present invention. The new embodiment obtained by the design change and the combination of the components combines the effects of the combined components and deformations.

  In each embodiment, although the example provided with the moving mechanism 16 which travels the storage part 22 planarly was shown, this invention is not limited to this. For example, the moving mechanism 16 may be a stacker crane capable of traveling in the row direction with an elevating function. Moreover, although the example which the trolley | bogie 14 and the moving mechanism 16 drive | work on a rail was shown in each embodiment, this invention is not limited to this. The carriage 14 and the moving mechanism 16 may travel on a traveling path without rails.

  Moreover, although the example which the automatic warehouse system 100 equips 3 steps | paragraphs of storage parts 22 was shown in each embodiment, this invention is not limited to this. The automatic warehouse system 100 may include two or less storage units or four or more storage units 22. Further, it is not essential to provide the carriages 14 in each row of each step. Further, an elevating mechanism may be provided to raise and lower the load 12 between the storage units 22 of a plurality of stages.

  The number of storage areas 26 in each storage column 24 may not be uniform. The number of storage areas 26 in each storage row 24 can be appropriately changed according to the unevenness or the like of the wall of the building that accommodates the storage units 22. Also, the number of storage rows 24 stacked in the vertical direction may not be uniform. The number of stages of the storage rows 24 may be an area with a large number of stages and a small area according to the height of the ceiling Lc of the building that accommodates the storage unit 22 or the like. Further, the number of storage columns 24 in the storage unit 22 is not limited to six, and the number of storage areas 26 in each storage column 24 is not limited to five.

  Moreover, although the example which the automatic warehouse system 100 equips with the temporary storage part 28 was shown in each embodiment, this invention is not limited to this. For example, even if the automatic warehouse system 100 does not include the temporary storage unit 28, the moving mechanism 16 transports the load 12 to an inlet / outlet (not shown) provided at one end of the second rail 44. Good.

  Moreover, although the example which a 1st storage row | line and a 2nd storage row | line locate in the same level was shown in each embodiment, this invention is not limited to this. The first storage row and the second storage row may be located in different stages, and the sorting operation may be performed between the different stages.

  It is to be noted that any combination of the above-described constituent elements, and one in which the constituent elements and expressions of the present invention are mutually replaced among methods, systems, etc. is also effective as an aspect of the present invention.

  12, 14 trolleys, 16 moving mechanisms, 18 control units, 22 storage units, 24, 26 storage areas, 100 automatic warehouse system.

Claims (6)

A storage unit which extends in a first direction and in which a first storage row and a second storage row for storing a plurality of loads are provided side by side in a second direction intersecting the first direction;
A truck mounted with the load and moving in the first direction;
A moving mechanism mounted on the carriage and moving in the second direction;
And a control unit that controls movement of the carriage and the moving mechanism.
The control unit executes a rearranging operation to move the load so that the difference between the number of loads stored in the first storage row and the number of loads stored in the second storage row is reduced. Automatic warehouse system characterized in that it controls. The storage unit includes three or more storage columns,
The automatic warehouse system according to claim 1, wherein the first storage column is a storage column having the largest storage load number, and the second storage column is a storage column having the smallest storage load number.   When the storage column having the largest storage load number or the storage column having the smallest storage load number changes to another storage column during execution of the sorting operation, the control unit stores the first storage column concerned The automatic warehouse system according to claim 2, which is defined as a row or the second storage row.   The automatic warehouse system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the control unit moves the load such that the difference is zero. The control unit is configured such that the first load and the second load arranged at the moving mechanism side in the first direction with respect to the first load are slower than the first load and in the same storage row. If included, the automated warehouse system according to any one of claims 1 to 4 and the prior SL first loading interchanged arrangement of the second load.   The control unit is configured to execute a warehousing operation for warehousing a load in a storage row having a smaller number of stored loads among the first storage row and the second storage row. The automatic warehouse system according to any one of to 5.

Images