JP6651611B2 - Transfer system, transfer method and management system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a transport system, a transport method, and a management system.

  In a warehouse or a factory, a worker performs a picking operation, which is an operation of collecting items stored according to an order, in order to perform a sorting operation to a shipping destination, a processing operation into articles, and the like. 2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, the operation of a transport system that transports a shelf or a pallet or the like in which articles are stored by an automatic transport vehicle to an operator and performs a picking operation has been active. In a transport system using an automatic transport vehicle, in order to improve the storage efficiency of each area of the article, the shelves are closely attached without securing a traveling path corresponding to the size of the shelf transported by the automatic transport vehicle. 2. Description of the Related Art A transport system that stores articles by placing them is known.

  As a technique related to this, Patent Literature 1 discloses that when a first shelf not facing a passage is transported from a storage area, a second shelf between the first shelf and the passage is temporarily passed through the passage. To secure a passage route for the first shelf, and then carry the first shelf to the passage.

  Further, in Patent Document 2, when a first shelf surrounded by other shelves is transported, the second shelf located between the first shelf and the passage is separated from the storage area by a distance. Tentatively moved to a pre-designated buffer area to secure the passage of the first shelf, transport the first shelf outside the storage area, and finally move the second shelf temporarily moved to the buffer area. A technique for returning a shelf to an original area is described.

US Patent No. 9067317 WO 2015/052830

  However, in Patent Literature 1, after the transport vehicle temporarily transports the second shelf between the first shelf and the passage to the passage, the second shelf is stored in the storage area in order to secure the use of the passage. Work to return to Therefore, the number of times that the transport vehicle transports the shelf increases, and it has been difficult to improve the transport efficiency of the shelf.

  Further, in Patent Literature 2, the second shelf is temporarily moved to a buffer area designated in advance, but there is a limit in securing a space for the buffer area in the warehouse. Therefore, when there are a plurality of second shelves to be moved, it may be difficult to secure a buffer area to be temporarily moved. Furthermore, if the buffer area is temporarily filled with shelves, it is necessary to return the shelves to the original area, as in Patent Document 1, and the number of times the shelves are transported increases.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a transport system or a transport method that makes it easier to improve the transport efficiency of shelves while improving the storage efficiency of articles.

  A typical example of the means for solving the above problems is a transport system, which is a shelf arrangement area where shelves are arranged, a shelf retreat area which is an area for retreating the shelves, and a position of a passage. And an area information database holding position information on the position of the shelf, accepting the work data and the position information on the article, and placing a first object between the first shelf on which the article is stored and an arbitrary passage. An instruction creation unit that creates a second instruction to save the second shelf to a predetermined first position in the shelf saving area when determining that the second shelf is arranged; An instruction transmitting unit for transmitting the instruction of the second shelf to the predetermined carrier, and receiving the information that the second shelf has been evacuated from the second position where the second shelf was located, the second position. Area setting unit for newly adding Transport system with. Is mentioned.

  Further, in the transport method, a shelf arrangement area where shelves are arranged, a shelf evacuation area which is an area for evacuation of the shelf, a position of a passage and position information on the position of the shelf are held, and work data and Accepting the position information, creating a first instruction to transport the first shelf of the first transport object in which the article is stored, between the first shelf and any path based on the position information When it is determined that the second shelf is arranged, a second instruction to retreat the second shelf to a predetermined first position in the shelf retreat area is created, and the second instruction is created. To a predetermined carrier, and when receiving information that the second shelf has been retracted from the second position where the second shelf was located, the second position is newly retracted. There is a transport method to be added to the area.

Further, a management system, a warehouse management system that manages work data and article data in the warehouse, a transport system that receives the work data and the article data and creates an instruction on a transport vehicle, and a shelf based on the instruction. Comprising the transport vehicle to transport, the transport system,
A shelf arrangement area where the shelves are arranged, a shelf evacuation area as an area for evacuation of the shelves, an area information database holding position information on positions of passages and positions of the shelves, and work data and the position information on articles And if it is determined that the second shelf is located between the first shelf to be transported in which the articles are stored and an arbitrary passage, the second shelf is moved to the shelf retreat area. An instruction creation unit that creates a second instruction to retreat to a predetermined first position in the inside, an instruction transmission unit that sends the second instruction to a predetermined carrier, and the second shelf is arranged. A management system having an area setting unit that newly adds the second position to the shelf evacuation area when receiving information that the second shelf has been evacuated from the second position. Can be

Advantageous Effects of Invention According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a transport system or a transport method that makes it easier to improve shelf transport efficiency while improving shelf storage efficiency.

It is an example of the top view of the warehouse which applies a conveyance system. It is an example of a block diagram of a management system provided with a transport system. It is an example of the figure showing update of a shelf arrangement area and a shelf evacuation area. It is the example of the figure which showed the process of the conveyance system in the installation possible area | region which contacted the wall surface. It is an example of a figure showing evacuation work using evacuation priority. It is an example of the table | surface which showed the save priority. It is an example of the figure showing evacuation work by a plurality of vehicles. It is an example of the table | surface which showed the conveyance priority and the work determination threshold value. FIG. 3 is an example of a hardware configuration diagram of a transport system. It is an example of the figure showing the screen which displays each field.

  In the present embodiment, as an example of the transport system, the setting of a shelf arrangement area, which is an area for arranging shelves, and a shelf evacuation area, which is an area for evacuation of a predetermined shelf in order to secure a moving path for the shelves, is performed according to the situation. An example of a transport system to be managed will be described.

  An example of a warehouse in which shelves are closely arranged to improve storage efficiency of articles will be described with reference to FIG. The warehouse 100 includes a shelf arrangement area 101 in which shelves 103 storing articles are arranged to store the articles. The transport vehicle 104 communicates with the transport system 105 by radio or the like, and lifts and transports the shelf 103 according to instructions from the transport system 105. For example, the transport vehicle 104 transports the shelf 103 to a work station 106 in the warehouse 100 according to an instruction from the transport system 105. An operator at the work station 106 takes out an article from the shelf 103 or stores an article in the shelf 103.

  Here, shelves are spread and arranged in the shelf arrangement area. The environment in which the shelves are laid out indicates that the shelves are arranged such that the distance between the shelves is short enough to prevent the shelves 103 or 104 from passing. It can also be described that the shelf located inside the shelf arrangement area does not face the passage. Thereby, the number of shelves that can be arranged in a certain area increases as compared with the case where the distance between shelves is widened until the shelves and the transport vehicle can pass, so that the storage efficiency of articles can be improved.

  FIG. 2 is an example of a configuration diagram of a management system including the transport system of the present embodiment. The management system 201 includes a WMS (Warehouse Management System: warehouse management system) 202, a transport system 105, a work station 106, and a transport vehicle 104. The WMS 202 manages article data on articles and work data on work in the warehouse. The article data includes, for example, identification information of the article and identification information and a position of a storage shelf in which the article is stored. The work data includes, for example, a delivery order in which a relationship between a delivery destination and identification information of an article delivered to the delivery destination is registered.

  The transport system 105 receives the article data and the work data from the WMS 202, and creates and manages a work instruction to work at the work station 106. In addition, based on the created work instruction, a transfer instruction of the storage shelf and a move instruction are transmitted to the transport vehicle 104, and the created work instruction is transmitted to an instruction device installed in the work station 106. For example, the work instruction may be an instruction to pick 10 articles A to the delivery destination X, and the transport instruction for the storage shelf may be to transport the shelf 103A storing the article A to the work station 106A. And so on. As an example of the movement instruction, an instruction to move to the position Z where the shelf 103A is arranged can be considered.

  Here, the transport system 105 includes an instruction creating unit 203, an area information database 204, an instruction transmitting unit 205, and an area setting unit 206.

  The instruction creation unit receives the article data and the work data from the WMS 202, creates a work instruction to the work station 106, a transport instruction to the transport vehicle 104, and a movement instruction based on the received data, and transmits the instruction to the instruction transmission unit. . Further, data on the position of the storage shelf in the article data is registered in the area information database 204.

  Further, the instruction creating unit 203 refers to the position of the storage shelf, the position of the shelf arrangement area, the position of the shelf retreat area, and the position of the passage registered in advance in the area information database, and determines the shelf to be transported by the created transport instruction. It is determined whether another shelf is located between the position and an arbitrary passage. The state where another shelf is located between the position of the shelf to be transported and an arbitrary passage is, for example, a case where the shelf to be transported does not face the passage. When it is determined that another shelf is not located between the shelf to be transported and the passage, a transport instruction for the transported shelf is created and transmitted to the instruction transmitting unit 205. On the other hand, if it is determined that another shelf is located between the shelf to be transported and the passage, the shelf to be transported cannot be transported out of the shelf arrangement area as it is, and the transport of the shelf to be transported is not performed. Along with the instruction, an evacuation instruction for evacuation of another shelf located between the aisle and the shelves is also created and transmitted to the instruction transmission unit 205. Here, in this embodiment, the shelf arrangement area, the shelf retreat area, and the passage at a certain moment are clearly distinguished. The shelf arrangement area is an area indicating the position where the shelves are actually arranged, and the shelf evacuation area secures a route for transporting shelves arranged in the shelf arrangement area, although shelves are not currently arranged. This area indicates the position where other shelves are evacuated to save. The passage has a shelf and a space through which the transport vehicle can pass, and indicates an area actually used by the transport vehicle for movement. For example, the difference between the shelf retreat area and the passage is whether shelves can be arranged. By the management system 201 or the area setting unit 205 described later, the position and the size of the shelf arrangement area, the shelf evacuation area, and the passage can be flexibly changed according to the condition of the warehouse, and the area information database can be updated each time. .

  When receiving the evacuation instruction from the instruction creating unit, the instruction transmitting unit 205 allocates the evacuation instruction to an arbitrary transport vehicle 104 that is not currently working. In addition, a predetermined position in the shelf retreat area where the storage shelf is to be retracted is determined, and the path of the carrier 104 toward the storage shelf targeted for the retraction instruction and the direction from the storage shelf to the predetermined position in the shelf retraction area are determined. The route is calculated, and an evacuation instruction including the calculated route is transmitted to the transport vehicle 104. In addition, when only the transport instruction is received from the instruction creating unit, or when the information that the above-described retreat operation has been completed is received from the transport vehicle 104, the transport instruction is assigned to any transport vehicle 104 that is not currently working. Further, similarly to the case of the evacuation instruction, a route toward the storage shelf and a route from the storage shelf to the work station are calculated, and a transport instruction including the calculated route is transmitted to the transport vehicle 104. Here, the transport vehicle that transmits the retreat instruction and the transport vehicle that transmits the transport instruction may be the same or different transport vehicles. When transmission is performed to a different transport vehicle, the evacuation operation and the transport operation can be performed at the same time, and the transport efficiency of the shelf is improved.

  The transport vehicle 104 receives the transport instruction or the evacuation instruction transmitted from the instruction transmission unit, moves along the received route, and transports or retracts the storage shelf. The transport vehicle 104 transmits status notification information including its own position and work status to the instruction transmitting unit 205 of the transport system 201. The work state includes, for example, a state in which the storage shelf is moving toward the storage shelf, a state in which the storage shelf is being transported to the work station, a state in which the storage shelf is being returned, and a state in which the transportation work has been completed.

  The area setting unit 206, when receiving a notification that the evacuation work has been completed from the transport vehicle 104, the position where the storage shelf related to the evacuation position received from the instruction transmission unit 205 is located, and the shelf for evacuation of the storage shelf The information of the shelf arrangement area and the shelf save area is updated based on a predetermined position in the save area. Specifically, the position where the shelves to be evacuated were arranged is set as a new shelf evacuation area, and the position where the shelves to be evacuated was evacuated is set as a shelf arrangement area. Further, based on the updated information, the data in the area information database is updated and registered. In this respect, unlike the temporary arrangement of shelves in the buffer area described in Patent Literature 2, since the position at which the sheltered shelves are newly installed is managed as a shelf arrangement area by the transport system, the shelves from the buffer areas are managed. This eliminates the need to perform the movement of a new shelf, and eliminates the need to perform the calculation processing of the arrangement position of a new shelf outside the buffer area and the actual movement processing of the shelf, thereby reducing the processing amount and improving the efficiency in the warehouse. Next, an example of a process in which the management system 201 updates the settings of the shelf arrangement area and the shelf save area will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 3A is a top view of a part of a warehouse to which the management system of the present embodiment is applied. The area 301 is an area that indicates a shelving area at a certain timing. When an operation of picking an article stored in the shelf S21 is generated based on the article data and the work data, the instruction creating unit 203 creates the transport instruction of the shelf S21 and simultaneously creates the transport instruction of the shelf S21. Reading, it is determined whether another shelf is located between the shelf S21 and the passage. In the case of FIG. 3A, since S22 is located between the passage and the passage, the instruction creating unit 203 also creates an evacuation instruction for the shelf S22. At this time, a predetermined position in the shelf save area is determined based on the shelf arrangement area, the shelf save area, and the passage position registered in the area information database. Subsequently, the evacuation instruction is transmitted to any carrier 104 via the instruction transmission unit 205. Here, as a criterion for selecting the transport vehicle 104, it is conceivable to select a transport vehicle to which no work is currently assigned. Further, for example, a carrier near the shelf S22 is selected. By selecting a nearby carrier, it is possible to reduce the operation time of the evacuation operation.

  When the transport vehicle 104 receives the evacuation instruction for the shelf S22, the carrier S22 retreats the shelf S22 between the shelf S21 and the passage to a predetermined position A21 in the shelf evacuation area 301 (FIG. 3B). When completing the evacuation operation to the position A21, the transport vehicle 104 transmits information indicating the completion of the evacuation operation to the area setting unit 206. When receiving the information indicating the completion of the evacuation work from the transport vehicle 104, the area setting unit 206 updates the position A21, which is the evacuation position, from the information indicating the shelf evacuation area to the information indicating the shelf arrangement area. Further, the original position A24 of the shelf S22 evacuated to the position A21 is additionally updated as a new shelf evacuation area.

  As described above, by adding the position where the shelved shelves originally existed to the shelf evacuation area, the space for shelving the shelves for each evacuation work does not decrease. This eliminates the need to transport extra shelves when the evacuation space is filled with shelves, unlike the case of providing an area for temporarily shelving shelves as in Patent Document 1, for example. Therefore, there is an effect that the transport efficiency of the shelf is improved in the entire warehouse. Further, the shelf arrangement area and the shelf save area are managed in a database in a distinguished manner, and the position where the shelf is saved is selected from within the shelf save area. For this reason, unlike a mode in which shelves are temporarily retracted in a passage as in Patent Literature 2, it is possible to omit a process of determining at which position in a passage a shelf to be evacuated should be temporarily placed. Since it is not necessary to return the warehouse to its original position, the amount of processing is reduced and the efficiency of transporting the shelves is improved as a whole warehouse.

  As described above, in the transport system according to the present embodiment, the shelf arrangement area 101 in which shelves are arranged, the shelf retreat area 301 as an area for shelving shelves, the area holding position information relating to the position of a passage and the position of shelves. When the information database 204 and work data and position information on the article are received, and it is determined that the second shelf is located between the first shelf to be transported in which the article is stored and an arbitrary passageway An instruction creating unit 203 that creates a second instruction to retreat the second shelf to a predetermined first position in the shelf evacuation area 301, and an instruction transmitting unit that transmits the second instruction to the predetermined transport vehicle 104 205, and an area setting unit 206 that newly adds the second position to the shelf evacuation area 301 when receiving information that the second shelf has been evacuated from the second position where the second shelf was located. Having.

  According to such a feature, it is possible to more easily improve the shelf transport efficiency while improving the shelf storage efficiency.

  Next, with reference to FIG. 3C, a further update process of the shelf save area will be described.

  After the operation of FIG. 2B is completed, the operation of transporting the shelf S21 is performed. Here, the instruction transmitting unit 205 transmits the transport instruction already created by the instruction creating unit 203 to an arbitrary transport vehicle 104. The transmission timing may be, for example, a timing at which the instruction transmitting unit receives information that the shelf S22 is located at the retreat position A21, or a timing at which the information that the shelf S22 goes out of the shelf arrangement area 101 is transferred to the carrier 104. And may be transmitted at that timing. Here, FIG. 3 shows one carrier 104, but there may be a plurality of carriers. When there are a plurality of transport vehicles near the shelf arrangement area, as described above, the shelves are moved to the transport vehicles other than the transport vehicle that is performing the evacuation work at the timing when the shelf S22 goes out of the shelf arrangement area 101 as described above. It is possible to transmit the transfer instruction in S21. Thus, the evacuation operation and the transfer operation can be performed simultaneously by the two transfer vehicles, so that the operation time for transferring the shelves inside the shelf arrangement area can be reduced.

  Further, upon receiving a notification from the transport vehicle 104 that the transport operation of the shelf S21 has been completed, the area setting unit 206 locates the storage shelf for the transport operation received from the instruction transmitting unit 205 (A25). , The information of the shelf arrangement area and the shelf evacuation area is updated. Specifically, the position (A25) where the shelf to be transported is located is newly set as a shelf retreat area. Further, based on the updated information, the data in the area information database is updated and registered. Accordingly, when the next evacuation operation occurs, the evacuation position can be determined from the shelves evacuation area including the position of A25 where the transported shelves are located, so that a more appropriate evacuation position Can make a decision. Further, in order to improve the storage efficiency of the articles, it is preferable that shelves are arranged in the shelf arrangement area without any gap. By newly setting the position of A25 in the shelf retreat area, the retreat position of the shelf can be determined to be a deep position when viewed from the passage side, which leads to realizing a shelf arrangement without a gap.

  Next, a screen for displaying a shelf arrangement area and a shelf evacuation area to an administrator will be described with reference to FIG. The screen 1001 is for confirming information on the current area in the warehouse, and may be displayed on a display screen (not shown) managed by the management system 201, for example. In the information display area 1002, information on the current shelf evacuation area is displayed for each location (for example, an area of a set of a shelf arrangement area and a shelf evacuation area of one section). In the example of FIG. 10, the shelf arrangement area 101 is displayed in white and the shelf retreat area 301 is displayed in black. This allows the administrator to check the current status of the shelf arrangement area and the like.

<Modification 1>
Hereinafter, a modified example of the management system of the present invention will be described. The basic system configuration is the same as that of FIG. 2, but differs in the following points. FIG. 4 is a top view of a warehouse to which the management system is applied.

  In FIG. 4A, an installable area (101 + 301) in which shelves including the shelter retreat area 301 and the shelf arrangement area 101 can be installed is rectangular, and the left side and the upper side are in contact with the wall surface 401. By setting the installable area to be in contact with the wall surface, the space in the warehouse can be effectively used, and the storage efficiency of articles can be improved. In addition, by setting the installable area to be rectangular, the transport vehicle 104 can move in a straight line when the shelves are retracted or transported, so that the shelves can be retracted or transported via the shortest route. Further, in FIG. 4A, a shelf retreat area is in contact with the outer periphery of the shelf arrangement area 101. This makes it possible to shorten the moving distance of the transport vehicle involved in the shelving operation of the shelves, thereby improving the efficiency of the sheltering operation.

  In the area information database 204, an installable area (101 + 301) is registered as an initial state. In FIG. 4A, two shelves retreat positions A31 and A32, which are one less than three shelves, which is the number of shelves that can be arranged on the short side of the rectangular installable area (101 + 301), are set in the shelves retreat area 301. Prepare. When the instruction creating unit 203 creates an instruction to transport the shelf S31 based on the article data and the work data, first, the shelf S33 located between the shelf S31 and the long side passage 402 of the rectangular installable area (101 + 301). Then, an operation of retreating the shelf S32 to the shelf retreat area is created. The instruction transmitting unit, upon receiving the evacuation instruction for the shelves S31 and S32 from the instruction creating unit, transmits the instruction to any carrier 104. Based on the route determined by the instruction transmitting unit, the transport vehicle 104 retreats to the shelf retreat positions A31 and A32 through the long side path 402 of the installable area (101 + 301) based on the route determined by the instruction transmitting unit (FIG. 4B )). When the area setting unit 206 receives information indicating the completion of these evacuation operations from the transport vehicle 104, the position A34 where the shelf S33 was located and the position A35 where the shelf S32 was located are added as shelf evacuation areas, and are added to the area information database. Update stored data. When the shelves are retracted to the shelf evacuation area, the number of shelves to be retracted to the shelf evacuation area 301 is reduced to the short side of the rectangular installable area by passing through a passage on the long side of the rectangular installable area. It is possible to limit the number of shelves to one less than the number of shelves that can be placed on the side, and the efficiency of shelving operation is improved. In addition, the size of the shelf retreat area can be minimized, and more shelves can be arranged in the installable area, so that the article storage efficiency can be improved. Finally, the transport vehicle 104 transports the shelf S31 to a target location (FIG. 4C). When the transfer operation is completed, the area setting unit 206 adds the position A36 where the shelf S31 was located as a shelf retreat area.

  As described above, in the management system according to the present embodiment, a rectangular installable area (101 + 301) including the shelf arrangement area 101 and the shelf evacuation area 301 is set in the area information database. A transport system is provided in which at least the shelter retreat area 301 is set to a number one less than the number of shelves that can be installed on the short side of the possible area. With such a feature, the size of the shelf retreat area can be suppressed to a necessary minimum, and the storage efficiency of articles can be improved.

  Further, in FIG. 4, the configuration in which two sides of the installable area are in contact with the wall has been described, but the two sides may not be in contact with the wall. Even in such a form, the minimum size of the shelf retreat area can be similarly considered. If the number of shelves that can be installed on the short side of the installable area is an odd number, the short side It is only necessary to have space for several minutes from the center shelf to the passage, and in the case of an even number, from the center two shelves on the short side to the passage on the long side of the closer installable area It is sufficient to secure space for several minutes. By doing so, the shelving area can be kept to a minimum.

  In this embodiment, another example of the transport system of the present invention will be described. In the first embodiment, the shelf arrangement area and the shelf evacuation area are changed each time the shelf transfer operation or the evacuation operation is completed. Will be described.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a warehouse using the transport system according to the present embodiment. The basic system configuration diagram is the same as FIG. 2, but differs in the following points.

  In FIG. 5A, the shelf retreat area 301 has five shelf retreat positions A41 to A45. When the transport vehicle 104 receives the transport instruction of the shelf S41, first, the shelves S43 and S42 between the shelf S41 and the passage are retracted to the shelf retreat area. At this time, the instruction creating unit 203 calculates an evacuation priority, which is a priority at which shelves are to be evacuated, for each of the shelves evacuation positions A41 to A45, and creates an evacuation instruction for the shelves to an evacuation position having a high evacuation priority. The evacuation priority is calculated for the purpose of improving the efficiency of work in the warehouse, and the shelf evacuation priority is at least the size of the area where the shelving evacuation position is in contact with the surrounding shelves and the size of the area in contact with the surrounding wall surface. , The size of the area in contact with the surrounding passage, the moving distance of the shelving shelter, the passing frequency of any shelves that pass from now on the shelter retreat position, the passing frequency of any carrier that will pass from now on the shelter retreat position, the shelves The determination is made based on one of the distance between the evacuation position and an arbitrary work station and the use frequency of the shelving shelter.

  An example of a method of calculating the evacuation priority will be described using (Equation 1) to (Equation 3).

(A, b and c are arbitrary coefficients)
The size of the area where the shelf retreat position contacts the surrounding shelves is, for example, the number of sides where the shelf retreat position contacts the surrounding shelves. The size of the area where the shelf retreat position contacts the surrounding wall surface is, for example, the number of sides where the shelf retreat position contacts the surrounding wall surface. The size of the area where the shelf retreat position contacts the surrounding passage is, for example, the reciprocal of the number obtained by adding 1 to the number of sides where the shelf retreat position contacts the passage. Unnecessary gaps are created in the shelter evacuation area by selecting a position with a large number of sides in contact with the surrounding shelf, a position with a large number of sides in contact with the surrounding wall, or a position with a small number of sides in contact with the surrounding passage. And the shelves can be densely arranged. Therefore, by using (Equation 1), it is possible to improve the storage efficiency of the articles, and it is not necessary to avoid the shelves that form the gaps and perform the evacuation work, so that it is easy to set the route of the transport vehicle performing the evacuation work Thus, the transfer operation and the evacuation operation can be performed efficiently.

(D, e and f are arbitrary coefficients)
The moving distance to the shelf retreat position is the reciprocal of the moving distance when the transport vehicle 104 conveys the shelves retreating to the shelf retreat position. By increasing the priority of the shelving position where the moving distance is short, the moving time of the carrier 104 can be shortened, and the evacuation operation can be made more efficient. The distance between the shelf retreat position and the work station is, for example, the reciprocal of the distance between the shelf retreat position and the work station. By increasing the priority of the shelf retreat position far from the work station, the shelves can be arranged in order from the back as viewed from the work station, and the shelf retreat area can be effectively used. The use frequency of the shelves to be evacuated is, for example, a scheduled number of times of conveyance, which is the number of times the shelves to be evacuated are conveyed by the conveyance instruction after being evacuated to the evacuation position. When shelving frequently used shelves, for example, the transport time of frequently used shelves can be reduced by increasing the priority of the shelving evacuation position where the distance between the shelving evacuation position and the work station is short. In this way, by using (Equation 2), it is possible to improve the efficiency of the evacuation operation or the transport operation after evacuation of the shelf.

(G and h are arbitrary coefficients)
The passing frequency of an arbitrary shelf at the shelf retreat position is set to be the number of times that a given transport vehicle receives an instruction to convey an arbitrary shelf and passes through the shelf retreat position within a predetermined period from the time when the evacuation priority is calculated. Is the reciprocal of the number added. The passing frequency of an arbitrary carrier at the shelf retreat position is the reciprocal of the number obtained by adding 1 to the number of times the arbitrary carrier has passed the shelf retreat position in a predetermined period from the time of calculating the shelf retreat priority. The number of passes is a value predicted from the result of the picking work and the accompanying shelving work performed by the transport system 105 based on the article data and the work data.
By increasing the priority of the shelf retreat position where the frequency of passage of the shelf or the carrier is low, it is possible to prevent the shelf retreated to the shelf retreat position from hindering the movement of another shelf or the carrier. As described above, by using (Equation 2), it is possible to improve work efficiency other than the evacuation work to be performed.

  An example of a calculation formula for calculating the evacuation priority is shown by (Equation 1) to (Equation 3). The coefficients a to h are variables for weighting each factor for calculating the evacuation priority. It can be changed to any value according to the situation. The method of calculating the save priority is not limited to the above method, and various suitable methods can be executed. For example, the calculation may be performed by combining (Expression 1) to (Expression 3), or the calculation may be performed using only an arbitrary term of each expression.

  Next, returning to FIG. 5A, an example of the calculation result of the evacuation priority of the shelf evacuation position when evacuation of the shelf S43 is shown. FIG. 6A is a table 501 showing the calculation results of the save priority. These numerical values are calculated using (Equation 1) to (Equation 3). As a result, since the shelter position A45 has the highest evacuation priority, the shelves S43 are moved to the shelve evacuation position A45 (FIG. 5B). As soon as the evacuation operation is completed, the area setting unit updates A46 where the shelf S43 is arranged to a shelf evacuation area, and updates A45 to a shelf arrangement area. Next, FIG. 6B shows an example of the calculation result of the sheltering priority of the shelving position when shelving the shelf S42. The shelf retreat position A46 is excluded from the shelf retreat position candidates because it is used for a passage for transporting the shelf S41. As described above, the route required for the transfer operation is not set in the shelf retreat area until the transfer operation is completed, so that it is possible to prevent the transfer operation from becoming an obstacle. Since the shelving priority of the shelf retreat position A41 is the highest as shown in FIG. 6B, the shelves S42 are retracted to the shelf retreat position A41 (FIG. 5B). Then, after securing the transport path of the shelf S41, the shelf S41 is finally transported from the shelf arrangement area 101 to the target work station (FIG. 5B). In the example of FIG. 5B, the area setting unit sets the positions A41 and A45 as the shelf arrangement areas, and newly sets the positions A46, A47, and A48 as the shelf retreat areas. As described above, by using the above-described evacuation priority, it is possible to densely arrange the shelving areas.

  Next, it is assumed that the shelf S41 transported to the work station is transported, and the shelf S41 is returned to the shelf arrangement area 101 after a predetermined operation is completed. In this way, not only the evacuation work but also some work is completed, and when returning the shelf outside the shelf arrangement area to the installable area, the destination of the shelf S41 is determined based on the evacuation priority. FIG. 6C shows an example of the calculation result of the evacuation priority of the shelter evacuation position when the shelf S41 is moved. The example shows a case where the instruction to transport the shelf S44 has already been created by the instruction creating unit, and the shelf retreat positions A46 to A48 are used as a path for transporting the shelf S44 and are therefore excluded from the shelf retreat position candidates. I have. This is the same as the reason for removing A46 from the candidates in FIG. 6B. 6C, the shelf evacuation position A42 has the highest shelf evacuation priority, so the shelf S44 is moved to the shelf evacuation position A42 (FIG. 5C).

<Modification 2>
In the second embodiment, the example based on the calculation of the evacuation priority, which is the priority of the position where the shelves to be evacuated are evacuated, has been described. In the present modification, the calculation of the transport priority will be described. The basic system configuration diagram is the same as FIG. 2, but differs in the following points.

  In FIG. 7A, the installable area including the shelf retreat area 301 and the shelf arrangement area 101 is in contact with the wall surface 401 on the left and upper sides. The shelf retreat area 301 has two shelf retreat positions A31 and A32. When the transport vehicle V1 receives the instruction to transport the shelf S31, first, the shelves S33 and S32 between the shelf S31 and the passage are retracted to the shelf retreat positions A31 and A32 in the shelf retreat area. At this time, the transport priority of the shelf S31 to be transported is calculated, and the transport vehicles and the number of transport vehicles that retreat the shelves S33 and S32 to the shelf retreat area 01 are determined based on the shelf transport priority. The transfer priority is calculated for the purpose of improving the efficiency of the warehouse operation, and is an index indicating how much priority should be given to the transfer operation of the shelf. The transfer priority includes, for example, the urgency of the shelf to be transferred, the number of shelves between the shelf to be transferred and the passage (the number of shelves to be evacuated), and shelving from the position of the shelf to be evacuated to the shelf evacuation area. The determination is made based on one of the distance to the position, the number of transport vehicles in the warehouse, and the workload of the transport vehicles.

  An example of a method of calculating the transport priority will be described using (Equation 4).

(J to m are arbitrary coefficients)
The urgency of the shelf to be transported is, for example, the time until the work completion deadline of the work object stored in the shelf to be transported. For example, the work management time limit is determined based on work instructions managed by the transport system. By increasing the transport priority of shelves with high urgency, multiple shelves transport shelves to the shelves evacuation area between shelves to be transported and passages when transporting shelves with high urgency Thus, the transfer operation can be completed in a short time. The number of shelves between the shelf to be transported and the passage is the number of shelves that need to be evacuated to the shelf retreat area existing between the shelf to be transported and the passage. The determination can be made based on the position of the shelf stored in the area information database. By increasing the transport priority when the number of shelves to be evacuated is large, the evacuating operation can be completed in a short time by performing the evacuating operation with a plurality of transport vehicles. The distance from the retracted shelf position to the retracted position is the moving distance of the transport vehicle retracted to the shelf retracted area. When the moving distance of the carrier that retreats the shelves to be evacuated to the shelves evacuation area is large, the shelving priority of the shelves to be conveyed is increased, so that the shelves to be evacuated are moved to the shelves to be conveyed. The transfer operation can be completed in a short time by being transferred by a transfer vehicle different from the transfer vehicle. The number of transport vehicles in the warehouse is the number of transport vehicles operating in the warehouse 100. By increasing the transport priority when the number of operating transport vehicles is large, the transport operation can be completed in a short time by retreating the shelf to the shelf evacuation area by a plurality of transport vehicles. The work amount of the transport vehicle is the reciprocal of the number of transport instructions received by the transport vehicle operating in the warehouse 100. By increasing the transport priority when the amount of work is small, the shelves can be retracted to the shelf evacuation area by multiple transport vehicles, minimizing the effect on other operations and shortening the time required for transport operations. Can be completed. The coefficients j to m are variables for weighting each factor for calculating the transport priority, and the method for calculating the transport priority is not limited to the method of the present embodiment, and various suitable methods are executed. sell.

  FIG. 8A shows an example of a calculation result of the transport priority when the shelf S31 in FIG. 7A is transported. This is a value calculated based on the above (Equation 4). FIG. 8B shows a calculation result of a threshold value for determining whether or not each transport vehicle performs a retreat operation of a shelf located between a shelf to be transported and a passage by comparing with a calculation result of the transport priority. . The work determination threshold value in FIG. 8B is calculated based on the work amount for each carrier. For example, based on the work plan of each transport vehicle managed by the transport system, the amount of movement during a predetermined period from the timing of performing the evacuation work, the number of times of transfer of the shelf or the amount of charge, etc. are calculated, and the work amount is calculated from these values. May be estimated. Here, it is shown that the higher the work determination threshold is, the higher the value of the transport vehicle is in the future.

  In FIG. 7A, when the instruction transmitting unit allocates the transfer instruction of the transfer target shelf S31 to the transfer vehicle V1, the evacuation work of the shelves S32 and S33, which are the shelves to be evacuated, is allocated to the transfer vehicle V1. Or may be assigned to another work vehicle V2 or V3. An example in which a transport operation and an evacuation operation are performed by such a plurality of transport vehicles will be described below.

8A and 8B, since the transport priority of the shelf S31 is larger than the work determination threshold of the transport vehicle V3 and the transport vehicle V2, the shelves S33 and S32 are retracted to the shelf retreat positions A31 and A32. Are carried out by the transport vehicles V3 and V2, and the transport of the shelf S31 is performed by the transport vehicle V1 (FIG. 7B). The area setting unit, when receiving from the carrier that the shelves S33 and S32 are arranged at the positions A31 and A32,
As described above, the transport system according to the present embodiment is characterized in that when there are a plurality of shelves to be evacuated, the transport system has an instruction transmitting unit that transmits each evacuation instruction to a different transport vehicle.

  With such a configuration, it is possible to improve the time efficiency of the evacuation work.

  Further, the instruction transmission unit determines the transport vehicle that transmits the second instruction and the third instruction based on the transport priority of the shelf as described above.

  With such a feature, it is possible to improve the work efficiency by performing the transfer operation and the evacuation operation by the appropriate number of transport vehicles according to the operation status.

  FIG. 9 is an example of a hardware configuration diagram of the transport system of the present invention. The transport system may be a general computer, and includes a CPU 901, a memory 902, an input / output device 904, a network interface 905, and an auxiliary storage device 906, which are interconnected via a bus 903.

  The CPU 901 executes various arithmetic processes. The auxiliary storage device 906 is a non-volatile non-transitory storage medium, and stores various programs and various data. The memory 902 is a volatile temporary storage medium, in which various programs and various data stored in the auxiliary storage device are loaded, and the CPU 901 executes the various programs loaded in the memory 902, and Read and write various data loaded in

  The CPU 901 has functions corresponding to the instruction creating unit 203, the instruction transmitting unit 205, and the area setting unit 206. In the memory, an instruction creating unit, an instruction transmitting unit, and an area setting unit, corresponding programs and work data, article data, a shelf arrangement area, a shelf evacuation area, a passage, and a position of a shelf stored in the area information database. The information is stored. When the CPU executes these programs stored in the memory, the functions of the instruction creating unit, the instruction transmitting unit, and the area setting unit are realized.

  The article data stored in the memory includes the identification information of the article to be delivered, the number of articles to be delivered, the identification information of the delivery destination and the storage shelf, the identification information of the article stored in the storage shelf, and the Storage shelf data in which the number of stored articles is registered is registered.

  In the position information of the shelf arrangement area stored in the memory, identification information of a place where a shelf in the warehouse can be arranged and presence / absence of a shelf at the place are registered.

  As the position information of the shelf save area stored in the memory, identification information of a place where shelves in the shelf arrangement area can be saved is registered. The position information of the shelf arrangement area and the shelf retreat area is updated as needed.

  The network interface is an interface for communicating data with the WMS and an interface for communicating data with the carrier. The control device and the WMS may be connected by wire or wirelessly. It is assumed that the control device and the carrier are wirelessly connected.

  In the above description, the transport target is described as a shelf, but the transport target may be a shelf, and may be a storage container such as a pallet or a tray for storing articles. In addition, although the description has been made centering on work in a warehouse, work in a factory may be used, and the present invention is applicable to all forms of transporting containers for storing articles.

100: warehouse 101: shelf arrangement area 103: shelf 104: carrier vehicle 105: carrier system 106: work station 201: management system 202: WMS (warehouse management system)
203: instruction creation unit 204: area information database 205: instruction transmission unit 206: area setting unit 301: shelf evacuation area 401: wall surface 402: transport paths 601 to 603: evacuation priority calculation result 801: transport priority calculation result 802: Work determination threshold value calculation result 901: CPU
902: memory 903: bus 904: input / output device 905: network interface 906: auxiliary storage device

Claims (15)

A shelf arrangement area where shelves are arranged, a shelf evacuation area which is an area for evacuation of the shelves, an area information database holding position information on positions of passages and positions of the shelves,
When the work data and the position information on the article are received and it is determined that the second shelf is located between the first shelf to be transported in which the article is stored and an arbitrary passage, the second An instruction creating unit that creates a second instruction to save the second shelf to a predetermined first position in the shelf saving area,
An instruction transmitting unit that transmits the second instruction to a predetermined carrier,
An area setting unit that newly adds the second position to the shelf evacuation area when receiving information that the second shelf has been evacuated from the second position where the second shelf was arranged, A transport system having: The transport system according to claim 1,
The area setting unit newly adds the third position to the shelf evacuation area when receiving information that the first shelf has been transported from the third position where the first shelf was located. A transport system characterized by: The transport system according to claim 1,
The instruction transmitting unit at the timing when the second shelf has received the information retreated, with respect to the transport vehicle other than the transport vehicle that is performed recession避作industry, and characterized in that transmitting a first instruction Transport system. The transport system according to claim 1,
The transport system according to claim 1, wherein the area information database registers the shelf arrangement area and the shelf evacuation area, each part of which is at least rectangular. In the transport system according to claim 4,
In the area information database, a rectangular installable area including the shelf arrangement area and the shelf evacuation area is set, and one set is set from the number of shelves that can be installed on the short side of the installable area. A transport system, wherein at least a small number of the shelter retreat areas are set. In the transport system according to claim 4,
In the area information database, a rectangular installable area including the shelf arrangement area and the shelf evacuation area is set,
The instruction creating unit selects the passage from the passage on the long side of the installable area, determines whether the second shelf is arranged, the first shelf and the passage on the long side. Wherein the second instruction to retract the second shelf during the second step is created. The transport system according to claim 1,
The instruction creation unit may determine the first position as a size of a region where the first position contacts a surrounding shelf arrangement region, a size of a region where the first position contacts a surrounding wall surface, or the first position. Wherein the position is determined based on one of the sizes of an area in contact with a surrounding passage. The transport system according to claim 1,
Calculate the instruction preparing portion, said first position, said first position and distance of the second position, the distance to the work station and the first position, on the basis of the work data及beauty product goods data Determined based on one of the scheduled number of times of transportation of the second shelf or the number of times of passing the vehicle at the first position within a predetermined period calculated based on the work data and the article data. Characteristic transport system. The transport system according to claim 1,
A transport system having a screen for displaying the shelf arrangement area and the shelf retreat area. The transport system according to claim 1,
The instruction creating unit, when a third shelf is disposed between the first shelf and an arbitrary passage, moves the third shelf to a predetermined third position in the shelf retreat area. Create a third instruction to evacuate,
The area setting unit newly adds the fourth position to the shelf evacuation area when receiving information that the third shelf has been evacuated from the fourth position where the third shelf was located. A transport system characterized by: The transport system according to claim 10,
A transport system comprising: an instruction transmitting unit that transmits the second instruction and the third instruction to different transport vehicles. The transport system according to claim 11,
The transport system, wherein the instruction transmitting unit determines a transport vehicle that transmits the second instruction and the third instruction based on a transport priority of the first shelf. The transport system according to claim 12,
The instruction transmitting unit, the transfer priority, the urgency of the transfer of the first shelf, the number of shelves located between the first shelf and the passage calculated based on the position information, the wherein the second position a first distance position, and characterized in that calculated on the basis of either the amount of work transport vehicle that is movable in the number or the warehouse transport vehicle that is movable in a warehouse Transport system. A shelf arrangement area where shelves are arranged, a shelf evacuation area which is an area for evacuation of the shelves, holding position information on a position of a passage and a position of the shelves,
When the work data and the position information on the article are received and it is determined that the second shelf is located between the first shelf to be transported in which the article is stored and an arbitrary passage, the second Create a second instruction to save the second shelf to a predetermined first position in the shelf evacuation area,
Transmitting the second instruction to a predetermined carrier,
A transport method for newly adding the second position to the shelf retreat area when receiving information that the second shelf has been retracted from the second position where the second shelf was located. A warehouse management system that manages work data and article data in a warehouse, a transport system that receives the work data and the article data and creates an instruction on a transport vehicle, and a management that includes the transport vehicle that transports shelves based on the instruction. The system
The transport system,
A shelf arrangement area in which the shelves are arranged, a shelf evacuation area which is an area for evacuation of the shelves, an area information database holding position information on a position of a passage and a position of the shelves,
When the work data and the position information on the article are received and it is determined that the second shelf is located between the first shelf to be transported in which the article is stored and an arbitrary passage, the second An instruction creating unit that creates a second instruction to save the second shelf to a predetermined first position in the shelf saving area,
An instruction transmitting unit that transmits the second instruction to a predetermined carrier,
An area setting unit that newly adds the second position to the shelf evacuation area when receiving information that the second shelf has been evacuated from the second position where the second shelf was arranged, A management system comprising:

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