JP6657661B2 - Automatic warehouse system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an automatic warehouse system, and more particularly, to an automatic warehouse system using a collection shelf member capable of storing goods.

  2. Description of the Related Art There is known an automatic warehouse capable of transporting articles collectively by using a carrier capable of storing a plurality of articles (see Patent Document 1). Carriers are stored in rack shelves, and are unloaded in units of carriers when articles are unloaded.

JP 2013-35671 A

  In the automatic warehouse described in Patent Literature 1, a method of arranging articles in a carrier and exiting the warehouse has been proposed, but a method of arranging articles has not been proposed. That is, there is no known method for storing articles efficiently.

  An object of the present invention is to enable articles to be efficiently stored in a rack of an automatic warehouse by using a collection shelf member in an automatic warehouse system.

  Hereinafter, a plurality of modes will be described as means for solving the problems. These embodiments can be arbitrarily combined as needed.

An automatic warehouse system according to an aspect of the present invention includes a rack, a track, a carrier, and a controller.
The rack has a small baggage shelf that can store goods or containers containing goods, and a large baggage shelf that can store a collection shelf member that can store a plurality of goods or containers.
The track is provided along the rack.
The transport vehicle can travel along a track and can transport goods or containers and / or collection shelf members containing the goods.
The controller controls the operation of the carrier.
The controller is
As the goods receipt work,
A collection shelf member exiting step of ejecting an empty collection shelf member from the large baggage shelf;
A collection shelf member receiving step of storing the collection shelf member in which the product or the container containing the product is stored in the large baggage shelf;
The transport vehicle executes a package moving step of moving a product or a container containing the product from the collection shelf member stored in the large package shelf to the small package shelf .
In this system, a carrier first unloads a collection shelf member from a large baggage shelf. Next, the worker stores the product or the container containing the product in the collection shelf member. Then, the carrier enters the collection shelf member into the large baggage shelf. Subsequently, the carrier moves the product or the container containing the product from the collection shelf member to the parcel shelf.
As described above, by using the collection shelf member, goods can be stored in a short time. In addition, since the operation of moving the product or the container containing the product to the parcel shelf is performed by the carrier, the work efficiency is high.

The controller is
During the work of putting a product or a container containing the product into the collection shelf member by an operator, which is performed between the collection shelf member exiting step and the collection shelf member receiving step,
An association information recording step of receiving and storing association information between the collection shelf member and the package may be executed.
In this system, since the association information between the collection shelf member and the product is stored, the management of the product by the controller becomes accurate.

The rack has an entrance side rack and an exit side rack separated from the entrance side rack,
The track may have a track for the outlet-side rack that can go around only the periphery of the outlet-side rack.
In this system, the transport vehicle transports the product to the exit rack before the product is released, and the transport vehicle travels on the exit rack rack while the product is being retrieved. It can be carried out to the exit. Thereby, the collection efficiency at the time of unloading is improved. That is, a large number of products can be delivered in a short time.

  In the automatic warehouse system according to the present invention, articles can be efficiently stored in the rack of the automatic warehouse using the collection shelf member.

The schematic plan view of a picking system. The schematic front view of an automatic warehouse. The schematic plan view of an automatic warehouse. FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view of a first stacker crane. FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a drive cart. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a first transfer device. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a second transfer device. FIG. 2 is a schematic view of a hybrid transfer device. The side view of a station. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a control configuration of the picking system. 9 is a flowchart of a storage control. The schematic diagram for demonstrating a warehousing operation. The schematic diagram for demonstrating a warehousing operation. The schematic diagram for demonstrating a warehousing operation. The schematic diagram for demonstrating a warehousing operation. The table | surface which shows the correlation information of goods and a collection shelf member. The schematic diagram for demonstrating a warehousing operation. The schematic diagram for demonstrating a warehousing operation. The schematic diagram for demonstrating a warehousing operation. 9 is a flowchart of a delivery control. The schematic diagram for demonstrating a leaving operation. The schematic diagram for demonstrating a leaving operation. The schematic diagram for demonstrating a leaving operation. The schematic diagram for demonstrating a leaving operation. The schematic diagram for demonstrating a leaving operation. The schematic plan view of the picking system of 2nd Embodiment.

1. First Embodiment (1) Picking System A picking system 1 (an example of an automatic warehouse system) will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view of the picking system.
The picking system 1 is a system capable of picking (loading) in a warehouse. The picking system 1 mainly has an automatic warehouse 3. The picking system 1 is applicable to a parts warehouse of a factory, a general distribution warehouse, and the like. In particular, for example, mail-order sales for general consumers in which the number of orderers and the number and types of products are large. Ideal for warehouses for goods.

(2) Automatic Warehouse The automatic warehouse 3 will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 2 is a schematic front view of the automatic warehouse. FIG. 3 is a schematic plan view of an automatic warehouse.

(2-1) Rack The automatic warehouse 3 has a plurality of racks 5. The racks 5 extend in the X direction, which is one horizontal direction in FIG. 1, and are arranged side by side in the Y direction, which is one horizontal direction (perpendicular to the X direction).
The rack 5 has a plurality of shelves 5a on which luggage can be placed. The shelf 5a has a plurality of stages. The shelf 5a is a large luggage shelf 5A capable of storing the collection shelf member 7 in the first to third stages from the bottom. The collection shelf member 7 is also called a carrier, and can store a plurality of containers 9. Specifically, the collection shelf member 7 is a shelf member having a plurality of stages of support portions. The bottom surface of the collection shelf member 7 has the same structure as the bottom surface of the pallet P. The portion corresponding to the fourth to fifth steps from the bottom of the shelf 5a is a small package shelf 5B capable of storing a container 9 containing a product. The container 9 is also called a case or a bucket, and is a member capable of storing a product. The parcel shelf 5B is composed of a plurality of shelves arranged at high density vertically.
In the above embodiment, since the parcel shelf 5B is provided above the rack 5, a dead space between the parcel and the ceiling can be reduced or eliminated. The arrangement of the large luggage shelf 5A and the small luggage shelf 5B is not limited to the above example.
In FIGS. 2 and 3, a product storage box 11 containing a plurality of products mounted on the pallet P is placed on the first stage of the shelf 5a.

(2-2) Ceiling Rail The automatic warehouse 3 has a ceiling rail 13 (an example of a track) provided along the rack 5. As shown in FIG. 2, the ceiling rail 13 is provided at a position higher than the rack 5, that is, at a position higher than the plurality of shelves 5a.
The ceiling rail 13 is arranged above the passage 5b between the racks 5, as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 1, the ceiling rail 13 has a plurality of orbital tracks 13a, each of which is arranged around the rack 5 in plan view. More specifically, the racks 5 form one set of two adjacent rows, and the orbital tracks 13a are installed every other set.

(2-3) Stacker crane The automatic warehouse 3 has a first stacker crane 21 and a second stacker crane 23 (an example of a transport vehicle). The first stacker crane 21 and the second stacker crane 23 can travel on the orbital track 13a, and can transport a load between the plurality of shelves 5a and a station 67 (described later). The first stacker crane 21 and the second stacker crane 23 can travel along the ceiling rail 13 and can transport the container 9 and / or the collection shelf member 7. FIG. 1 shows a plurality of first stacker cranes 21 and second stacker cranes 23, but the number of each is not particularly limited.
The first stacker crane 21 runs along the ceiling rail 13. The first stacker crane 21 is a suspended stacker crane, and runs while being suspended from the ceiling rail 13. The first stacker crane 21 uses the ceiling rail 13 to drive and branch.

As shown in FIG. 4, the first stacker crane 21 has a plurality of drive carts 31 arranged in the traveling direction (indicated by white arrows). In this embodiment, eight driving carts 31 are provided. FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective view of the first stacker crane.
The drive truck 31 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is a schematic sectional view of the driving bogie. The drive cart 31 has a linear motor 37 composed of a coil facing a permanent magnet 35 provided on the ceiling side. Specifically, the permanent magnet 35 is fixed to the lower surface of a plate 41 fixed to the support member 39 and extending in the traveling direction. Further, the drive cart 31 has a power receiving coil 45 at a position facing the non-contact power supply line 43 provided on the ceiling rail 13. Further, the drive cart 31 has running wheels 47. The traveling wheel 47 is placed on the traveling wall 13d of the ceiling rail 13.

The first stacker crane 21 has a first transfer device 33 as shown in FIGS. FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of the first transfer device. The first transfer device 33 is a device for transferring the collection shelf member 7 or the pallet P. In this embodiment, the first transfer device 33 is of a conventional slide fork type, and has a slide fork 33a.
The first stacker crane 21 has an elevating device 51 as shown in FIG. The elevating device 51 is a device for elevating the first transfer device 33 while suspending the first transfer device 33 with respect to the plurality of drive carts 31 so as to be able to elevate. The elevating device 51 has an elevating table 55 supported by a mast 53 and an elevating unit 57 for elevating the elevating table 55. The elevating unit 57 is a known device including a motor, a belt, a guide roller, and the like.

The second stacker crane 23 has basically the same structure as the first stacker crane 21. Four driving carts 31 of the second stacker crane 23 are provided. That is, the number of the driving carts 31 of the second stacker crane 23 is smaller than the number of the driving carts 31 of the first stacker crane 21.
The second stacker crane 23 has a second transfer device 63 as shown in FIG. FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of the second transfer device. The second transfer device 63 is a device for transferring the container 9. Specifically, the second transfer device 63 can transfer a plurality of containers 9 at the same time, and can transfer the left and right containers. In the embodiment, the transfer structure is provided in the upper and lower three stages, and two containers 9 can be arranged in the traveling direction in each stage. As described above, the second transfer device 63 can mount a total of 12 containers 9. The second transfer device 63 has a plurality of arm driving devices 85.
In the above embodiment, each transfer device is mounted on a different stacker crane, but each transfer device may be mounted on one stacker crane. The transfer device 65 shown in FIG. 8 is a hybrid type that incorporates both the first transfer device 33A and the second transfer device 63A. FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of a hybrid transfer device.

(3) Station The picking system 1 has a station 67. The station 67 is a place where luggage to be stored in the automatic warehouse 3 from the outside is placed. In addition, the station 67 is a place where luggage to be taken out of the automatic warehouse 3 to the outside is placed.
The station 67 is disposed on the outer peripheral side of the direction changing portion 13b of the orbit 13a. The “direction changing portion” means the whole or a part of a curved portion for changing a direction in the orbit 13a. More specifically, the “direction change portion” refers to the entirety of a portion that changes direction in order to move from one straight track (the portion close to the side of the rack 5) of the orbit 13a to the other straight track. Some say. As described above, since the station 67 is disposed on the outer peripheral side of the direction changing portion 13b of the orbital track 13a, the station 67 is disposed near the orbital track 13a but away from the safety fence 69, for example. As a result, interference between, for example, the forklift 61 accessing the station 67 and the safety fence 69 is prevented. As described above, the forklift 61 can easily access the station 67.

  As shown in FIG. 9, the station 67 has a plurality of luggage placement sections 67a arranged in the height direction. FIG. 9 is a side view of the station. For this reason, by using the plurality of luggage placement sections 67a of the station 67 for entry and exit, the forklift 61 can continuously execute entry and exit of luggage at the station 67. For example, in FIG. 9, the first-stage luggage placement section 67a is dedicated to entry into the warehouse and the second-stage luggage placement section 67a is dedicated to exit from the warehouse. Further, in this embodiment, the third or higher luggage placement section 67a is a storage.

In the above description, the entry and exit work to and from the station 67 was performed by the forklift 61, but the entry and exit operation may be performed by the worker S. Further, in the station 67, the worker S can also perform picking from the collection shelf member 7 in which the container 9 is stored.
As shown in FIG. 1, the picking system 1 has a picking area 111 near the automatic warehouse 3. A plurality of picking stations 113 are provided in the picking area 111. The picking area 111 is surrounded by a safety fence 115. In the safety fence 115, a plurality of automatic transport vehicles 117 travel to move, for example, the collection shelf member 7. From outside the safety fence 115, the worker S can pick up the luggage.

(4) Control Configuration of Picking System The control configuration of the picking system 1 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing a control configuration of the picking system.
The first stacker crane 21 has a first controller 81. The first controller 81 is a computer that includes a CPU, a RAM, a ROM, and the like, and executes a program.

The first controller 81 controls the operation of each drive truck 31 of the first stacker crane 21. The first controller 81 is connected to the linear motor 37 and the branch / merge switching device 59 of each of the driving carts 31. Further, the first controller 81 is connected to the first transfer device 33 and the elevating device 51, and the first controller 81 can transmit a drive signal to them.
In addition, a sensor for detecting information on the traveling state is provided in each drive truck 31. As described above, the first controller 81 can control appropriate timing and capability based on the individual positions of the respective driving bogies 31 such as traveling driving and branch switching.

The second stacker crane 23 has a second controller 83. The second controller 83 is a computer that includes a CPU, a RAM, a ROM, and executes a program.
The second controller 83 controls the operation of each drive truck 31 of the second stacker crane 23. The linear motor 37 of each drive carriage 31 and the branch / merge switching device 59 are connected to the second controller 83. Furthermore, the second transfer device 63 and the elevating device 51 are connected to the second controller 83, and the second controller 83 can transmit drive signals to those motors.

  In addition, a sensor for detecting information on the traveling state is provided in each drive truck 31. As described above, the second controller 83 can control appropriate timing and ability based on the individual positions of the respective driving bogies 31 such as traveling driving and branch switching.

  The first controller 81 and the second controller 83 can communicate with the host controller 91. The host controller 91 is a computer that includes a CPU, a RAM, a ROM, and the like, and executes a program. The upper controller 91 controls the entire automatic warehouse 3, and in particular, performs the transfer and transportation of the container 9 and the collection shelf member 7 by the first stacker crane 21 and the second stacker crane 23, and the assortment of articles to be delivered by these. Control. The host controller 91 has an assignment function of managing the first stacker crane 21 and the second stacker crane 23 and assigning a traveling command or a transport command to these. Note that the “transportation command” includes a traveling command and a transfer command including a load grasping position and a load unloading position.

A plurality of barcode readers 93 are connected to the host controller 91. The bar code reader 93 is provided near the station 67 and is a device for inputting information in which merchandise information is associated with the collection shelf member 7 information at the time of storage.
A plurality of switches 95 are connected to the host controller 91. The switch 95 is provided, for example, near the station 67 and is a device for notifying the host controller 91 of the completion of the loading of the product.
The host controller 91 has a memory 97. The memory 97 is a storage device that can store programs and data.

(5) Control operation at the time of goods storage The control operation at the time of goods storage will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 11 is a flowchart of the storage control. FIGS. 12 to 15 and FIGS. 17 to 19 are schematic diagrams for explaining the warehousing operation. FIG. 16 is a table showing association information between products and collection shelf members.
Note that the control flowchart in this specification is an exemplification, and the order of each step may be changed or each step may be omitted as necessary. Also, a plurality of steps may be executed at the same timing as needed.
In step S1 of FIG. 11, the host controller 91 waits for a storage preparation command to be transmitted from another computer. At this time, as shown in FIG. 12, for example, a car 103 with luggage loaded from the truck 101 is lowered.

A collection shelf member exiting step of ejecting an empty collection shelf member 7 from the large luggage shelf 5A will be described. In step S <b> 2, the upper controller 91 transmits a command to take out the empty collection shelf member 7 to the first controller 81 of the first stacker crane 21. Then, the first controller 81 drives the drive cart 31, the first transfer device 33, and the like, so that the first stacker crane 21 moves the empty collection device 5A on the large luggage shelf 5A of the rack 5 as shown in FIG. The shelf member 7 is delivered to the station 67.
Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 14, the worker S unloads the luggage from the car 103 and further puts it in the collection shelf member 7. In the course of this operation (the operation of putting the goods into the collection shelf member 7 using the container 9 by the worker S, which is performed between the collection shelf member unloading step and the collection shelf member storage step), the worker S As shown in FIG. 15, the barcode affixed to the product is read by the barcode reader 93 and is associated with the collection shelf member 7. Specifically, the worker S reads the barcode affixed to the collection shelf member 7 with the barcode reader 93 before and after reading the barcode affixed to the product with the barcode reader 93, and further reads the barcode on the shelf. The attached bar code is read by a bar code reader 93 or a shelf number is input to the bar code reader 93. When the loading operation is completed, the worker S presses the switch 95 to notify the upper controller 91 that the loading of the product is completed.
In loading the above-mentioned products, the worker takes out the products from the cardboard box, puts them in the container 9 and puts them in each shelf of the collection shelf member 7. Alternatively, the worker puts the cardboard box having a volume equal to or smaller than a predetermined value into each shelf of the collection shelf member 7 as it is.

In step S3, the host controller 91 executes an association information recording step of receiving and storing the association information between the collection shelf member 7 and the package (product). Specifically, the host controller 91 stores the association information between the luggage (product) and the collection shelf member 7 in the memory 97. In this manner, the association information between the product and the collection shelf member 7 is stored, so that the management of the product by the upper controller 91 becomes accurate. Note that the association information may be stored in any one of the storage units, and the storage destination is not limited to the upper controller 91. For example, the above-described association information may be temporarily stored in a local controller arranged near a work place, and then transmitted to a higher-level controller.
The reception and storage of the association information may be performed each time the barcode reader 93 associates each package with the collection shelf member 7.
Specifically, the association information between the luggage and the collection shelf member 7 is stored in a table format in which a shelf number is associated with a product type name, as shown in FIG.

The collection shelf member storage step of storing the collection shelf member 7 in which the luggage is stored in the large luggage shelf 5A will be described. In step S <b> 4, the host controller 91 sends a command to the first controller 81 of the first stacker crane 21 to store the collection shelf member 7 containing the package. Then, the first controller 81 drives the drive cart 31, the first transfer device 33, and the like, so that the first stacker crane 21 moves the collection shelf member 7 containing the product from the station 67 as shown in FIG. It is carried out and stored in the large luggage shelf 5A of the rack 5.
A luggage moving step of moving luggage from the collection shelf member 7 to the small package rack 5B will be described. In step S5, the host controller 91 transmits a command to the second controller 83 of the second stacker crane 23 to store the container 9 from the collection shelf member 7 in which goods are stored in the small package shelf 5B. The command is based on the association information between the product and the collection shelf member 7 read from the memory 97. Then, the second controller 83 drives the drive cart 31, the second transfer device 63, and the like, so that the second stacker crane 23 is moved from the collection shelf member 7 on the large baggage shelf 5A as shown in FIG. The plurality of containers 9 are transferred to the second transfer device 63. At this time, the second transfer device 63 transfers the plurality of containers 9 collectively. Subsequently, the second stacker crane 23 transports the plurality of containers 9 to the parcel shelf 5B, and transfers the containers 9 to each of the parcel shelves 5B by the second transfer device 63, as shown in FIG. I do. At this time, the information on the merchandise and each position of the parcel shelf 5B is stored in the memory 97 in association with each other.
The above-described baggage transfer step does not need to be performed immediately after the collection shelf member storage step. Rather, it is preferable that the luggage moving step is performed when there is no loading and unloading work and the load on the second stacker crane 23 of the automatic warehouse 3 is small. Thereby, the load of the second stacker crane 23 is leveled.

In summary, in the picking system 1, first, the first stacker crane 21 unloads the collection shelf member 7 from the large baggage shelf 5A. Next, the worker S stores the luggage in the collection shelf member 7. Then, the first stacker crane 21 stores the collection shelf member 7 in the large luggage shelf 5A. Subsequently, the second stacker crane 23 moves the package from the collection shelf member 7 to the small package rack 5B.
As described above, by using the collection shelf member 7, goods can be stored in a short time. Further, since the operation of moving the package to the parcel shelf 5B is performed by the second stacker crane 23, the work efficiency is high.

(6) Control operation at the time of merchandise retrieval A control operation at the time of merchandise retrieval will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 20 is a flowchart of the delivery control. FIG. 21 to FIG. 24 are schematic diagrams for explaining the unloading operation.
In step S11 in FIG. 20, the higher-level controller 91 waits for a command to prepare to leave from another computer. The leaving preparation command includes information on the type and number of the products.
In step S12, the upper controller 91 sends a command to the second controller 83 of the second stacker crane 23 to collect the container 9 containing the product. The command is based on the association information between the product read from the memory 97 and each position of the parcel shelf 5B. Then, as shown in FIGS. 21 and 22, the second controller 83 drives the drive cart 31, the second transfer device 63, and the like, so that the second stacker crane 23 moves the plurality of containers on the parcel shelf 5B. 9 is transferred to the second transfer device 63.
At this time, as shown in FIG. 21, if the second transfer device 63 transfers the containers 9 alternately from the left and right parcel shelves 5B, the work efficiency of collecting the containers 9 is improved.

In step S13, the second stacker crane 23 carries the plurality of containers 9 to the large luggage shelf 5A, and transfers the containers 9 to the collection shelf member 7 by the second transfer device 63 as shown in FIG. . At this time, the plurality of containers 9 are collectively transferred.
In step S <b> 14, the upper controller 91 sends a command to the first controller 81 of the first stacker crane 21 to take out the collection shelf member 7 containing the container 9. Then, as shown in FIG. 24, the first controller 81 drives the drive cart 31, the first transfer device 33, and the like, so that the first stacker crane 21 loads the goods on the large baggage shelf 5 </ b> A of the rack 5. The collected collection member 7 is delivered to the station 67. Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 25, the worker S picks up a product from the container 9 at the station 67 according to the instruction on the screen.

  In step S15, the host controller 91 waits until the picking ends and the operator S presses the switch 95 to notify that the picking has ended.

2. Second Embodiment A picking system 1A will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 26 is a schematic plan view of the picking system according to the second embodiment.
The picking system 1A is a system capable of picking (loading) in a warehouse. The picking system 1 mainly has an automatic warehouse 3A.

  The basic structure of the automatic warehouse 3A is the same as that of the above embodiment. Therefore, the automatic warehouse 3 includes the rack 5, the ceiling rail 13, the first stacker crane 21, and the second stacker crane 23.

Hereinafter, the layout of the picking system 1A will be described on the assumption that the picking system 1A is different from the picking system 1.
The rack 5 surrounded by the orbit 13a has an entrance rack 5C and an exit rack 5D separated from the entrance rack 5C in the X direction.
The orbital track 13a has an entrance-port side rack orbit 13A that can orbit only around the entrance-side rack 5C. Further, the orbital track 13a has an orifice-side rack orbital track 13B that can orbit only around the outlet-side rack 5D.
A storage station 67A is provided on the opposite side of the entrance-side rack orbit 13A from the entrance-side rack orbit 13B. An unloading station 67B is provided on the side opposite to the entrance-side rack orbit 13A of the exit-side rack orbit 13B. The storage station 67A and the storage station 67B are the same as the station 67 of the first embodiment.

  In this picking system 1A, the first stacker crane 21 and the second stacker crane 23 transport the goods to the outlet-side rack 5D in advance, and the second stacker crane 23 moves the orbit for the outlet-side rack at the time of discharging the goods. While traveling on 13B, containers 9 containing commodities are collected from the outlet rack 5D, and are transferred to the collection shelf member 7 in the outlet rack 5D. Then, the first stacker crane 21 can carry out the collection shelf member 7 to the delivery station 67B. Thereby, the collection efficiency at the time of unloading is improved. That is, a large number of products can be delivered in a short time.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a truck or the like is waiting when a product is taken out, so that it is required to take out a predetermined amount of luggage in a limited time. In the above embodiment, the containers 9 in the outlet rack 5D are collected on the collection shelf member 7 in the outlet rack 5D while the second stacker crane 23 repeatedly circulates around the orbit 13B for the outlet rack. be able to. In addition, the collection rack member 7 in the outlet rack 5D can be discharged to the discharge station 67B while the first stacker crane 21 repeatedly circulates on the discharge port side rack orbit 13B.
On the other hand, the collection of commodities in the outlet rack 5D may be performed during a time period when various operations in the automatic warehouse are small.

In the second embodiment, an exit-side rack separated from the entrance-side rack is provided, and an exit-port-side rack orbit that can circulate only around the exit-end rack is provided. Therefore, other structures and arrangements are not limited to the above embodiment.
For example, the number of outlet-side racks, the number of shelves in the outlet-side rack, and the difference between the number of shelves in the entrance-side rack and the number of shelves in the outlet-side lux are not particularly limited.
Further, in this embodiment, the station is arranged at the direction change part of the orbit for entering and leaving, but the station may be provided at another position. Further, the station may have a structure having a conventional conveyor or the like.
Furthermore, since it is sufficient that the goods to be delivered are stored in the outlet side rack, the use of containers and collection shelf members is not essential. Further, the transfer device of the stacker crane may be capable of transferring components other than the container and the collection shelf member.

3. Features of the embodiment The picking system 1 (an example of an automatic warehouse system) includes a rack 5 (an example of a rack), a ceiling rail 13 (an example of a track), a first stacker crane 21 and a second stacker crane 23 (a transporter). And an upper controller 91 (an example of a controller). The rack 5 includes a parcel shelf 5B (an example of a parcel shelf) that can store a container 9 (an example of a container) containing a product, and a collection shelf member 7 (an article that is collected) that can store a plurality of containers 9. And a large luggage shelf 5A (an example of a large luggage shelf) capable of storing a shelf member). The ceiling rail 13 is provided along the rack 5. The first stacker crane 21 and the second stacker crane 23 can travel along the ceiling rail 13 and can transport the container 9 and / or the collection shelf member 7. The higher-level controller 91 performs a collection shelf member exiting step of taking out an empty collection shelf member 7 from the large luggage shelf 5A as a product loading operation, and moves the collection shelf member 7 in which the container 9 is stored into a large luggage shelf. The first stacker crane 21 and the second stacker crane 23 execute a collection shelf member storage step of storing the goods on the shelf 5A and a package moving step of moving the container 9 from the collection shelf member 7 to the small package shelf 5B. Let it.
As described above, by using the collection shelf member 7, goods can be stored in a short time. In addition, since the operation of moving the container 9 to the parcel shelf 5B is performed by the second stacker crane 23, the work efficiency is high.

4. Other Embodiments A plurality of embodiments of the present invention have been described above, but the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various changes can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. In particular, a plurality of embodiments and modifications described in this specification can be arbitrarily combined as needed.

In the above embodiment, the parcel shelves and the large parcel shelves are provided on one rack. However, the parcel shelves and the large parcel shelves may be present in the picking system. The luggage shelf may be provided on another rack. For example, a picking system including a combination of a rack for only small packages and a rack for only large packages may be used. Further, a picking system in which a plurality of types of racks are mixed may be used.
In the above-described embodiment, the number of the stations provided on the outer peripheral side of the curved portion of the direction changing portion of the track is one, but a plurality of stations may be provided on the outer peripheral side of the curved portion.
In the above-described embodiment, the track is a ceiling rail installed on the ceiling and a carrier is suspended therefrom, but may be a ground rail installed on the ground and on which the carrier travels.

  INDUSTRIAL APPLICATION This invention can be widely applied to the automatic warehouse system using the collection shelf member which can store goods.

1: Picking system 1A: Picking system 3: Automatic warehouse 5: Rack 5A: Large luggage shelf 5B: Small luggage shelf 5C: Storage entrance side rack 5D: Delivery exit side rack 5a: Shelf 5b: Passage 7: Collection shelf Member 9: Container 11: Commodity storage box 13: Ceiling rail 13A: Revolving track 13a for outlet side rack: Revolving track 13b: Direction changing part 13d: Running wall 21: First stacker crane 23: Second stacker crane 31: Drive Cart 33: First transfer device 33A: First transfer device 33a: Slide fork 35: Permanent magnet 37: Linear motor 39: Support member 41: Plate 43: Non-contact power supply line 45: Power receiving coil 47: Running wheel 51: Elevating device 53: Mast 55: Elevating table 57: Elevating unit 59: Branch / merge switching device 61: Forklift 63: Second transfer device 6 A: Second transfer device 65: Transfer device 67: Station 67a: Luggage placement portion 69: Safety fence 81: First controller 83: Second controller 85: Arm drive device 91: Upper controller 93: Bar code reader 95 : Switch 97: Memory 101: Truck 103: Basket car 111: Picking area 113: Passage 115: Storage area 117: Storage area P: Pallet S: Worker

Claims (3)

And a rack having a commodity or parcel shelf capable of storing the goods container with, and a plurality of goods or container large luggage rack capable of housing a retractable collecting goods shelf member,
A track provided along the rack,
A transport vehicle capable of traveling along the track, and capable of transporting the product or a container containing the product and / or the collection shelf member;
A controller for controlling the operation of the carrier,
The controller is
As the warehousing work of the product,
A collection shelf member exiting step of causing the empty collection shelf member to exit from the large baggage shelf;
A collection shelf member receiving step of storing the collection shelf member in which the product or the container containing the product is stored in the large baggage shelf;
Causing the transport vehicle to execute a package moving step of moving the product or the container containing the product from the collection shelf member stored in the large package shelf to the small package shelf .
Automatic warehouse system. The controller is
It is performed between the collection shelf member exiting step and the collection shelf member receiving step, when the worker puts the product or the container containing the product into the collection shelf member,
The automatic warehouse system according to claim 1, further comprising executing an association information recording step of receiving and storing association information between the collection shelf member and the product. The rack has an entrance side rack and an exit side rack separated from the entrance side rack,
3. The automatic warehouse system according to claim 1, wherein the track has a track for the outlet-side rack that can go around only the outlet-side rack. 4.

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