JP6748592B2 - Picking management system and picking management method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a picking management system and a picking management method for picking articles.

There is an operation of picking an article according to an order from a warehouse in which the article is stored, for example, inspection, packing, and then shipping from the warehouse. The items that can be shipped are collectively loaded into a delivery vehicle and delivered to the destination. However, the delivery vehicle often arrives at the warehouse at a predetermined time and is loaded all at once because the customer demands time when delivering the goods. Therefore, if a part of the progress of the picking work is delayed, it may lead to a delay in the departure of the delivery vehicle, resulting in a great loss.

In a warehouse, there is an operation to take out articles from shelves in which a large number of articles are stored, and a worker often takes out a predetermined article by moving while referring to a list in the warehouse. If it is possible to reduce the time for searching for and moving the article, the work efficiency is improved. Therefore, there is a system in which the shelf storing the target article is moved to the worker by a transport vehicle. Patent Document 1 discloses that, in the system in which the carrier transports the shelves, the shelves are temporarily arranged near the picking work station to shorten the travel distance of the carrier.

JP, 2014-224000, A

However, in the technique of Patent Document 1, since the work areas of a plurality of transport vehicles overlap with each other, the transport area of each transport vehicle is large, and when a work station is installed, the travel distance of the transport vehicles is large. Becomes longer, and the efficiency of transportation is reduced.

Further, in the technique of Patent Document 1, no moving zone is set for each transport vehicle. Therefore, Patent Document 1 does not naturally disclose a technique for dealing with a large difference in work progress between zones when each worker picks in each zone that divides the warehouse. ..

An object of the present invention is to coordinate work progress among multiple zones.

A picking management system and a picking management method according to the present invention include a plurality of transport vehicles, a management apparatus, and a transport vehicle controller. The carrier transports each of the plurality of carrier shelves. The management device manages order information that instructs picking of articles. The carrier controller controls the movement of each of the plurality of carriers based on an instruction from the management device. Carrier controller. A movable zone was set up for each of multiple transport vehicles.

It is possible to divide a wide work area into a plurality of zones, shorten the moving distance of the carrier vehicle, and adjust the work progress between the plurality of zones.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of a picking work in a warehouse according to the first embodiment. 1 is a configuration diagram of a picking management system according to a first embodiment. FIG. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of a layout of zones and work areas in the warehouse according to the first embodiment. 3 is a functional configuration diagram of the picking management system according to the first embodiment. FIG. Explanatory drawing of the order management data which concerns on Example 1. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of inventory management data according to the first embodiment. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of a processing flow of the leveling function unit according to the first embodiment. 6 is a functional configuration diagram of a picking management system according to a second embodiment. FIG. 9A and 9B are explanatory diagrams of management data for managing work progress according to the second embodiment. Explanatory drawing of the screen which displays the state of the work progress which concerns on Example 2. FIG. 6 is a functional configuration diagram of a picking management system according to a third embodiment. FIG. Explanatory drawing of the processing flow of the shelf position determination part which concerns on Example 3. FIG.

The first embodiment is a system for leveling the work amount among a plurality of zones, which will be described later, in the picking management system 202 in the shipping operation when the order information is received, which will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 7.

<Example of shipping work>
FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a shipping operation in a warehouse.

The warehouse has an article storage area 101 and a work area 102. In the storage area 101, a plurality of transport shelves DS and a plurality of transport vehicles AC are arranged. Each carrier shelf DS carries one or more types of articles. Each carrier vehicle AC moves under the control of the management device 204 described later.

Specifically, the transport vehicle AC moves to the designated transport shelf DS. When the transport vehicle AC goes under the transport shelf DS, it lifts the transport shelf DS directly above by a jack mechanism (not shown) provided on the upper surface of the transport vehicle AC. After that, the transport vehicle AC moves to the designated work stations WS1 and WS2 in the work area 102 while lifting the transport shelf DS. For the sake of explanation, when the work stations WS1 and WS2 are not distinguished, they are referred to as work stations WS. When the transport vehicle AC arrives at the work station WS, the transport vehicle AC waits until the shipping operation is completed, and when the shipping operation is completed, returns the transport shelf DS to the original position. In this embodiment, the transport vehicle AC is used as a moving device that moves the transport shelf DS. Each transport vehicle AC may be fixed to each transport shelf DS.

In the work area 102, a plurality of work stations WSi (i is an integer satisfying 1≦i≦n. n is an integer of 2 or more and indicates the total number of work stations WS. In the present embodiment, n=2. And). The work station WSi has a terminal Ti, a gate Gi, and a belt conveyor B. The terminal Ti is a computer that displays information and is operated by the worker Wi. The gate Gi is formed in a frame shape, and has a plurality of openings through which articles picked from the transport shelf DS pass. The belt conveyor B is, for example, a device that puts an article picked from the transfer shelf DS in a container and places the article.

<Example of management device>
FIG. 2 is a system configuration diagram showing an example of the management device.

The picking management system 202 includes a management device 204, a plurality of carrier vehicle controllers WCS-B1 to WCS-B3 205 to 207, and a plurality of carrier vehicles 208 to 210.

The management apparatus in the case where the article storage area 101 shown in FIG. 1 is divided into zones set for each of the plurality of transport vehicles 208 to 210 and one zone has one or more transport shelves DS will be described. When the storage area 101 becomes large, the moving distances of the transport vehicles 208 to 210 become long. Therefore, the moving distances of the transport vehicles 208 to 210 can be shortened by dividing the storage areas 101 into small areas called zones. .. Further, when there is a limit to the number of transport vehicles 208 to 210 that can be managed by one transport vehicle controller (WCS-B), by equipping each zone with the transport vehicle controllers WCS-B1 to WCS-B3 205 to 207, It is possible to construct a large-scale picking management system that does not limit the number of transport vehicles 208 to 210.

Here, the zone is configured by partitioning a certain wide area into certain sections. The transport racks DS in the zone are transported to the work station WS by transport vehicles 208 to 210. The carrier rack DS in a zone is carried to one or more specific work stations WS. A particular work station WS is associated with a zone. The zone division method may be divided based on the size of the area, may be divided based on the category of the article stored in the transport shelf DS, or may be based on the vendor of the article stored. You may divide it. Further, the number of shelves and zone delimiters may be set according to the shipping frequency of stored items. The zone setting method is not limited to this.

Each zone has one or more transport vehicles 208 to 210, and transport vehicle controllers WCS-B1 to WCS-B3 205 to 207 that control the transport vehicles 208 to 210 in each zone. Since the guided vehicle controller WCS-Bi manages the guided vehicles 208 to 210 in each zone, i=M when the zones for the M region are set. It should be noted that each transport vehicle controller WCS-Bi 205 to 207 may manage a plurality of zones by one transport vehicle controller WCS-B instead of managing the zones one by one. Since the storage area 101 is divided into zones, the work station WS also belongs to each zone.

The management device 204 manages the plurality of carrier vehicle controllers WCS-B205 to 207. The management device 204 manages the order data received from the WMS (Warehouse Management System) 201, and allocates the order to each carrier controller WCS-B1 to WCS-B3 205 to 207. Furthermore, the management device 204 can control each work of warehousing, warehousing, and replenishment by giving a work instruction to the work station WS in each zone.

The WMS 201 allocates the managed order data not only to the management device 204 but also to the other device management device 203. Therefore, the WMS 201 has a function of receiving the work progress from the management device 204 and the other device management device 203, and controlling the order data according to the work progress.

FIG. 3 shows a device layout in the warehouse.

In the warehouse, a carrier picking zone in which a plurality of carrier ACs are picked is arranged, and another device picking zone in which another device is picked is adjacent to the carrier picking zone. The picking zones are connected by a belt conveyor B, and the picked articles carried out from the picking zone are conveyed to the loading area. In the packing area, the articles are collected for each shipping destination ID, and then it is confirmed in the inspection area whether the picked articles match the order, and in the packing area, the picked articles are packed and shipped for each shipping destination. Note that this layout is an example, and loading may be performed in each picking zone. Furthermore, the method of connecting the picking zones is not limited to this. Further, packages to be shipped to the same shipping destination may be relayed and picked between the picking zones.

For example, a case will be described in which the items to be shipped to the shipping destination ID 100 include the items A and B. The article A is stored in the transport shelf S1 belonging to the zone Z1, and the article B is stored in the transport shelf S2 belonging to the zone Z2. When the zone Z1 is upstream of the belt conveyor B, the shipping box containing the articles A picked in the zone Z1 is conveyed on the belt conveyor B, and the articles B are loaded in the same shipping box in the zone Z2. It As a result, when the product is conveyed to the final picking zone by the belt conveyor B, all the ordered products are in the shipping box shipped to one shipping destination. In addition to the belt conveyor B, the transport vehicle AC may be used as the transport mechanism. In this case, since the transportation direction is not restricted, the shipping box can be transported in the direction from the zone Z1 to the zone Z2, the zone Z2 to the zone Z1, or the like. Therefore, by changing the transportation direction according to the work progress, Relay picking can be performed more efficiently. The transportation mechanism is not limited to this.

FIG. 4 is a functional configuration diagram of the management device 204.

The management device 400 includes an allocation unit 401, a leveling determination unit 402, a leveling function unit 403, an instruction creation unit 404, and an instruction transmission unit 405.

When the management device 400 receives the order data from the WMS 201, the allocation unit 401 allocates the order data to each carrier controller WCS-B420. The allocating unit 401 determines order allocation based on the articles included in the transport shelves DS arranged in each zone.

FIG. 5 shows an explanatory diagram of order management data.

As shown in FIG. 5, the order includes, for example, an order ID for each order, a product ID indicating the type of article, the number of items to be shipped, a shipping destination ID indicating a shipping destination, and the like. An order is represented by one line for each product ID. For example, the order ID1 and the order ID2 are the same shipping destination ID. However, these order ID1 and order ID2 are expressed in two lines. However, the information of the order data is not limited to this.

FIG. 6 shows an explanatory diagram of inventory management data.

The articles included in the transport shelf DS are managed as inventory management. As shown in FIG. 6, the inventory management data is distinguished by, for example, inventory management IDs, and the product IDs corresponding to each inventory management ID, the number of products in the stored products, and the shelf IDs of the stored transport shelves DS. , The zone ID in which the transport shelf DS is installed, and the like are included. However, the inventory management data is not limited to this.

Returning to FIG. The allocating unit 401 collates the order data with the inventory management data to determine the zone to which the order is allocated. For example, if order ID1 is a request to retrieve the product ID A, the article is included in the transport shelf ID S1, and if the transport shelf S1 belongs to the zone ID Z1, the order 1 is in the zone Z1. Allocated as an order to process.

The leveling determination unit 402 determines whether or not the work in each zone is biased.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of a processing flow of the leveling function unit.

Description will be given according to the determination flow shown in FIG. 7. In the zone difference evaluation step 701, for example, when there are n zones from Z1 to Zn, for example, when the leveling criterion is the work end time, the time when the work of the order assigned to each zone ends is calculated. Next, in the leveling determination step 702, if there is a difference of a predetermined threshold value or more in the work end time of each zone calculated in step 701, it is determined to perform leveling.

When the determination result of S702 is true (S702: YES), the leveling function unit 403 determines a shelf to be moved between zones in the moving shelf determination step 703. In order to level the work between zones, first, the number of order lines is averaged between zones. When the order processed in zone Z1 is 100 lines and the order processed in zone Z2 is 180 lines, the order of zone Z1 is increased by 40 lines to 140 lines and the order of zone Z2 is decreased by 40 lines to 140 lines. Is. Next, the number of shelves is leveled. In order to reduce 40 rows from zone Z2, the orders that can be put together in the smallest number of shelves are extracted. For example, if the transport shelf S1 belongs to the zone Z2 and the number of rows of the order for taking out a plurality of articles stored in the transport shelf S1 is 40, the number of rows of the order of only the transport shelf S1 is 40 rows. Is determined to be aggregated and is extracted.

Then select the shelves to move between zones. As described above, by moving the transport shelf S1 from the zone Z2 to the zone Z1, when the number of order rows becomes equal between the zones, the transport shelf S1 is moved to the zone Z1 and, instead, from the zone Z1 to the transport shelf not related to the order. Move S2 to zone Z2. Next, it is determined whether the transport shelf S1 is a shelf that can be moved to the zone Z2 (S704). For example, when the transport shelf S1 is arranged at a position where access to the zone Z2 is impossible (S704: NO), it is determined that the transport shelf S1 cannot be moved. When the carrying shelf S1 is a movable carrying shelf (S704: YES), a shelf moving instruction for moving the carrying shelf S1 to the zone Z2 is selected. Here, for simplification, an example in which the number of order lines between zones can be made common by moving only the transport shelf S1 is shown. However, generally, the number of transport shelves to be moved reaches a plurality. Further, by exchanging a plurality of transport shelves, there may be a case where the number of order lines between zones cannot be completely matched, so that it is sufficient if the difference in the number of order lines falls within a predetermined fluctuation range. , May be determined.

The leveling function unit 403 may determine at which position in the transfer destination zone the transfer rack to be moved is arranged. For example, the articles stored in the transport shelf S1 match the order of 40 rows. In addition to being included in the zone Z2, a satisfactory order line number is obtained for each of the transport shelves S, and the order matching degree of the transport shelf S1 is determined. For example, if the number of ordered lines matching of the transport shelf S1 is 40 and the number of matching is the third largest in the zone Z2, the transport shelf S1 is arranged as close to the work station WS2 as possible. Therefore, the transport shelf S2 to be moved from the zone Z2 to the zone Z1 instead of the transport shelf S1 can be selected near the work station WS2 to reduce the transport distance of the transport shelf. Here, instead of the order matching degree, for example, the probability of the goods to be delivered may be obtained from the past shipping history and the like, and the arrangement of the transport shelves may be determined based on the delivery probability of the articles. The transport shelf that stores the items whose shipping rate is very high based on the past history is placed near the work station WS, and conversely, the transport shelf includes only the items that have never been shipped from the past shipping history. The shelves are located far from the work station WS.

The instruction creating unit 404 adds the moving transport shelf selected by the leveling function unit 403 and the zone of the transport destination and the arrangement information in the zone to the rack movement list (S705).

Returning to FIG. The instruction transmitting unit 405 instructs the carrier controller WCS-Bi 420 to issue the movement instruction created by the instruction creating unit 404.

The carrier vehicle controller WCS-Bi 420 is a carrier vehicle controller that controls the carrier vehicles AC in each zone, and has a function of giving an instruction to the carrier vehicles AC in the zones.

The guided vehicle controller WCS-Bi 420 includes an instruction receiving unit 407, a guided vehicle assignment unit 408, a route creation unit 209, a guided vehicle instruction transmitting unit 410, and a guided vehicle management unit 411.

The instruction receiving unit 407 receives the movement instruction information from the instruction transmitting unit 405.

The carrier allocation unit 408 selects the carrier AC to which the received movement instruction information is allocated. The transport vehicle AC refers to the information on the positions and work states of the plurality of transport vehicles AC managed by the transport vehicle management unit 411 described later, and selects the transport vehicle AC to which the work instruction is not assigned. Alternatively, it may be possible to search for a carrier vehicle AC that is not assigned a work instruction near the carrier shelf S to be moved, and select the carrier vehicle AC located closest to the carrier vehicle AC.

The route creation unit 409 moves to the bottom of the transport shelf S and lifts the transport shelf S according to the movement instruction information, and creates a route to the instructed transport destination. The route is determined by calculating the shortest route from the current position to the destination. The route creation unit 409 has been described as a function in the carrier controller WCS-Bi 420. However, the route creation unit 409 may be installed in the control device of the transport vehicle 412. In this case, since the route of the transport vehicle 412 can be searched for in the transport vehicle 412, the calculation cost of the transport vehicle controller WCS-Bi 420 can be suppressed.

When the route creation unit 409 creates an instruction to move from the zone Z1 to the zone Z2, since the carrier controller WCS-B1 and WCS-B2 are different between the zones, the boundary for switching the carrier controllers WCS-B1 and WCS-B2. Go through the path through the position. The boundary position for system switching is a predetermined position, and the carrier controller WCS-B1 or WCS-B2 can be switched between zones by passing through the boundary position. It should be noted that the boundary position may be one or plural. Here, the case where the transport vehicle AC holds the relevant transport shelf DS and moves between the zones has been described as an example. However, the carrier AC1 does not move back and forth between zones, and the carrier shelf DS may be delivered to another carrier AC2 at the boundary position. In this case, since there is no need to switch the transport vehicle controllers WCS-B1 and WCS-B2 in the transport vehicle AC1, the picking management system 202 can be simplified.

The guided vehicle instruction transmission unit 410 transmits the route instruction determined by the route creation unit 409 to the guided vehicle 412. The route instruction indicates a route from the current position of the transport vehicle 412 to the destination, and also includes an instruction of an operation on the way (for example, lifting, lowering, rotating the transport shelf DS).

The transport vehicle 412 operates according to an instruction from the transport vehicle controller WCS-B420.

The transport vehicle 412 notifies the transport vehicle controller WCS-B420 of the position and work state of the transport vehicle 412.

The carrier management unit 411 manages information on the position and work state of the carrier 412 received from the carrier 412.

According to the present embodiment, the picking management system 202 of the warehouse in which the plurality of transport shelves DS that store the articles are arranged includes a plurality of transport vehicles AC, a management device 400, and a transport vehicle controller WCS-B420. The transport vehicle AC transports each of the plurality of transport shelves DS. The management device 400 manages order information that instructs picking of articles. The carrier controller WCS-B420 controls the movement of each carrier based on an instruction from the management device 400. The guided vehicle controller WCS-B420 sets a movable zone for each of the plurality of guided vehicles AC. As a result, it is possible to divide the movement area of the carrier vehicle in the wide-area work area into a plurality of zones, and adjust the work progress between the plurality of zones in advance to shorten the movement distance of each carrier vehicle AC. Therefore, the efficiency of the picking work can be improved.

Further, the management device 400 selects the transport shelf DS transported across the plurality of zones set for each of the plurality of transport vehicles AC based on the order information, and standardizes the picking work between the plurality of zones. It has a standardization function unit 403. Therefore, it is possible to realize the picking management system 202 that equalizes the work amount between the zones by moving the transport shelves DS arranged in the plurality of zones between the zones. As a result, the variation in the work end time between the zones is reduced, the subsequent processing such as inspection and packing is smoothly performed, and the cost can be reduced.

Further, the carrier controller WCS-B420 creates a carrier allocation unit 401 that allocates a carrier AC that moves across a plurality of zones, and a route that creates a moving route of the carrier AC selected by the carrier allocation unit 401. And a creating unit 409. As a result, it is possible to reduce the moving distance for each transport vehicle AC.

The present embodiment is not limited to the above configuration and processing flow. For example, it has a plurality of carrier vehicle controllers WCS-B420, each carrier vehicle controller WCS-B420 manages carrier vehicles AC and carrier racks DS in one or more zones, and other carrier vehicle controllers WCS-B420. The transport shelf DS is moved to the zone managed by the. As a result, each transport rack DS can be managed for each transport vehicle controller WCS-B420.

Furthermore, it has a plurality of carrier vehicle controllers WCS-B420, each carrier vehicle controller WCS-B420 manages carrier vehicles AC and carrier racks DS in one or more zones, and other carrier vehicle controllers WCS-B420. The transport vehicle AC is moved to a zone managed by. As a result, each transport vehicle AC can be managed for each transport vehicle controller WCS-B420.

<Example of hardware configuration>
The computer has a processor, a storage device, an input device, an output device, and a communication interface (communication IF). The processor, storage device, input device, output device, and communication IF are connected by a bus.

The processor controls the computer. The storage device becomes the work area of the processor. The storage device is, for example, a non-temporary or temporary recording medium that stores various programs and data. Examples of the storage device include a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), and a flash memory. The input device inputs data. Examples of the input device include a keyboard, a mouse, a touch panel, a numeric keypad, a scanner, and a bar code reader. The output device outputs data. Examples of output devices include a display and a printer. The communication IF is connected to the network and transmits/receives data.

In the first embodiment, the picking management system 202 that levels the work amount after receiving the order from the WMS 201 has been described. In the second embodiment, a picking management system 202 that dynamically levels the work amount according to the progress status of the work will be described with reference to FIGS. 8 and 9.

FIG. 8 is a system function diagram of the management device 400 according to the second embodiment. The description overlapping with the description of FIG. 4 used in the first embodiment will be omitted, and the description will focus on the changes in FIG.

The management apparatus 400 according to the second embodiment further includes a work progress management unit 801 and a work progress display unit 803, as compared with the management apparatus 400 according to the first embodiment.

The work progress management unit 801 of the management device 400 receives work progress from a work station 802 described later.

As for the work progress, as shown in FIG. 9, the shelf ID of the target transport shelf DS, the zone ID of the assigned zone, and the work progress are managed for each order ID. Work progress is managed as worked or unworked. The work progress management information is not limited to this.

Returning to FIG. The leveling determination unit 402 refers to the work progress information managed by the work progress management unit 801 to calculate the remaining work in each zone, and the difference in the remaining work between the zones is a threshold value (average number of rows or target rows) described below. It is determined that leveling will be carried out when the number exceeds.

The leveling function unit 403 changes the order assigned to the zone Z1 with much remaining work to the zone Z2 with less remaining work and assigns it. The number of order lines for the remaining work is calculated for each zone, the zone to be leveled is extracted, and the average number of lines is set.

For example, if the average number of remaining works is 500, the remaining work is 550 in the zone Z1, and the number of remaining works is 470 in the zone Z2. Consider moving the transport shelf DS from the zone Z1 to the zone Z2. .. Here, the target number of rows may be obtained instead of the average number of rows. The target number of rows is the number of ordered rows that can be worked in the target zone. For example, the target number of rows is determined for each zone according to the area size of each zone, the number of transport shelves DS, the skill of the worker, and the like. May be. For example, when the worker cannot work due to sudden circumstances, the number of target rows in the corresponding zone is set to 0. As a result, the difference between the number of remaining works and the number of target lines becomes significantly large, so the leveling determination unit 402 determines whether to perform leveling, and the transfer rack DS from the zone where the worker is no longer working to another zone. The work can be continued by moving the. In this way, since the leveling can be performed according to the warehouse and the work status, it is possible to prevent the progress delay of the work from occurring.

Next, the number of remaining works per transport shelf DS is obtained, and the transport shelf DS to be transported between the zones is selected. For example, in the zone Z1, 50 rows more than the average remaining work number remain, so the transport shelf DS closest to the remaining work of 50 rows is selected. When there is no transport rack DS having the remaining work number of 50 rows, a combination of transport racks DS that is closest to 50 rows is obtained with the smallest combination. As a result, it is possible to reduce the movement of the transfer rack DS between zones as much as possible and shorten the time required for transfer.

According to the above configuration, the management device 400 calculates the remaining work of the picking work assigned to each of the plurality of zones, and determines that the difference in the remaining work between the plurality of zones exceeds a predetermined threshold. It has a work progress management unit 801. As a result, even when the work is being performed, it is possible to prevent the work delay between zones from occurring by moving the transport shelf DS according to the work progress of the worker.

Furthermore, when the work progress management unit 801 determines that the work progress management unit 801 has exceeded the threshold value, the leveling function unit 403 allocates the picking work assigned to the zone with a lot of remaining work to another zone. As a result, the remaining work between the zones can be leveled according to the progress of the work.

Further, since the management device 400 has the progress display unit 803 that displays the number of picking works and the remaining work, which are assigned to each of the plurality of zones, the manager can easily confirm the progress of the work.

The work station 802 displays an instruction on the terminal T in the work area 102 and prompts the worker to pick the target article. When the transport vehicle management unit 411 detects that the transport vehicle AC has arrived at the work station 802, it gives a work instruction to the work station 802. On the terminal T, an instruction to take out a specified number of products from the specified frontage of the transport shelf DS is displayed. When the work is completed, the worker operates the terminal T to notify the work progress management unit 801 that the work is completed.

The work progress management unit 801 updates the work progress information for each order ID according to the notification information from the work station 802.

The work progress display unit 803 is provided in the management device 204 and visualizes the management information of the work progress management unit 801 and the calculation result of the leveling function unit 403.

FIG. 10 is an example of a display screen of visualization information.

On the display screen, the number of remaining work lines is graphed for each zone, and the expected number of work work when leveling is executed is simultaneously drawn for each zone. Thereby, the leveling can be executed, or the administrator can confirm and execute the leveling. In addition, since the status of each zone can be confirmed, the administrator can also specify the target zone and move the transport shelf DS for leveling. Furthermore, the timing of performing the leveling may be set to be performed at regular intervals. From the display screen, the administrator can decide whether to perform it at the administrator's timing, at regular intervals, or automatically when the difference between the remaining work zones exceeds a specified threshold. You can choose.

In the second embodiment, an example in which the transport shelf DS is moved to another zone has been described. In the third embodiment, a method of deciding a position to return the transport shelf DS after moving the transport shelf DS from another zone will be described.

FIG. 11 is a functional diagram in which a shelf position determination unit 1101 of the transport shelf DS is added. Further, FIG. 12 is a processing flow in the shelf position determination unit 1101. FIG. 11 is a diagram in which a function is added to the functional diagram described in FIG. 8, and the added function will be mainly described here.

In the work station 802, when the worker picks a predetermined article from the transport shelf DS, the picking end notification is received. The work station 802 notifies the work progress management unit 801 of the received information.

The work progress management unit 801 manages the progress information of the work station 802, and when the work related to the transport shelf DS transported to the work station 802 is completed, notifies the transport shelf position determination unit 1101.

The transport shelf position determination unit 1101 determines the position where the transport shelf DS is returned. When the transport shelf DS is transported from another zone Z1, it is first searched whether or not there is a space in which the transport shelf DS can be placed in the zone Z2 to which the transport shelf DS belongs (S1201). For example, when another transport shelf DS is being transported and is vacant (S1201: YES), the space is set as the search target. Further, the spare space provided in the zone Z2 may be used. If a plurality of vacant spaces are found in the zone Z2, the number of deliveries of the articles stored in the transport shelf DS in the remaining work is obtained, and the remaining scheduled transport number of the transport shelf DS is calculated. The other transport shelves DS are similarly calculated, and the scheduled transfer times of the transport shelves DS are ranked (=shelf rank calculation) (S1203). Including all of the vacant and non-vacant spaces in the zone Z2, for example, the case is divided into a plurality of shelf ranks in the order of closer to the work station 802. Of the vacant spaces, the space closest to the shelf rank of the transport shelf DS is selected (S1204), and the position where the transport shelf DS is returned is determined (S1205). If no empty space is found in the zone Z2 (S1201: NO), the process is repeated until an empty space is found in the other zones Z1, Z3... (S1202). At this time, the empty space search in another zone is performed from the space adjacent to the zone Z2. Thereby, the transport distance for returning the transport shelf DS can be shortened.

When the shelf position determination unit 1101 determines the position to return the transport shelf DS, the shelf position determination unit 1101 transmits it to the instruction creation unit 404.

The instruction creating unit 404 receives the shelf installation position determined by the transport shelf position determining unit 1101, and creates an instruction including the position to return the shelf from the current position of the transport shelf DS.

The instruction transmitting unit 405 transmits the instruction information received from the instruction creating unit 404 to the carrier controller WCS-B420.

The method of determining the position at which the shelf DS is returned when the transport shelf DS moves from another zone has been described. However, the transport shelf DS may be returned to the original zone, and further to the original shelf installation position. At this time, since the position of the transport shelf DS is fixed, when, for example, adding articles for warehousing or replenishing work, the relevant work station WS that calls the relevant transport shelf DS in a short time is easily determined. be able to. Further, for example, when visually confirming the transport shelf DS and the stored items in the event of a disaster such as an earthquake or an emergency, the inventory can be easily visually checked.

According to the above configuration, when the transport shelf DS is transported from another zone, it is possible to determine the position to return the transport shelf DS in a shortest possible time.

Furthermore, the management device 400 has a shelf position determination unit 1101 that determines the position at which the transport shelf DS that has moved between a plurality of zones is installed, and the rack position determination unit 1101 displays the transport shelf DS at the end of the picking operation. Based on the position, the installation position is determined so that the movement distance of the transport shelf DS is shortened. As a result, it is possible to shorten the moving distance of the transport shelf DS according to the position of the transport shelf DS that moves to another zone each time the picking work is completed.

Furthermore, the management device 400 has a shelf position determination unit 1101 that determines the position at which the transport shelf DS that has moved between a plurality of zones is installed. The shelf position determination unit 1101 calculates the number of times the carrier shelf DS is transported based on the remaining work of the carrier shelf DS at the end of the picking work, and selects the installation position of the carrier shelf according to the calculated number of deliveries. As a result, the movement distance of the transport shelf DS can be shortened according to the shipping frequency of the transport shelf DS that moves to another zone each time the picking work is completed.

Information such as programs, tables, and files for realizing each function is recorded in a memory, a hard disk, a storage device such as SSD (Solid State Drive), or an IC (Integrated Circuit) card, an SD card, a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc). It can be stored on a medium.

Furthermore, the control lines and information lines are shown to be necessary for explanation, and not all the control lines and information lines necessary for mounting are shown. In reality, it can be considered that almost all configurations are connected to each other.

202... Picking management system, 204... Management device, 205... Transport vehicle controller WCS-B1, 206... Transport vehicle controller WCS-B2, 207... Transport vehicle controller WCS-B3, 303... Leveling function unit, 308... Transport vehicle allocation Part, 309... Route creation part, 400... Management device, 420... Transport controller WCS-B, 801,... Work progress management part, 803... Progress display part, shelf position determination part 1101, AC... Transport car, DS... Transport shelf

Claims (15)

A picking management system for a warehouse in which a plurality of transfer shelves for storing articles are arranged,
A plurality of transport vehicles for transporting each of the plurality of transport shelves,
A management device for managing order information for instructing picking of the article,
And a carrier controller that controls the movement of each of the plurality of carriers based on an instruction from the management device,
The carrier controller sets different movable zones for each of the plurality of carrier vehicles ,
Based on the order information, the management device selects, based on the order information, a transport shelf that is transported across the plurality of zones set for each of the plurality of transport vehicles to level the picking work between the plurality of zones. A picking management system having a leveling function unit . A picking management system for a warehouse in which a plurality of transfer shelves for storing articles are arranged,
A plurality of transport vehicles for transporting each of the plurality of transport shelves,
A management device for managing order information for instructing picking of the article,
A plurality of carrier controllers that control the movement of each of the plurality of carriers based on an instruction from the management device;
Have
The carrier controller sets different movable zones for each of the plurality of carrier vehicles,
A picking management system in which each carrier controller manages the carrier and the shelves in one or more of the zones, and moves the carrier shelves to a zone managed by another carrier controller. Based on the order information, the management device selects, based on the order information, a transport shelf that is transported across the plurality of zones set for each of the plurality of transport vehicles to level the picking work between the plurality of zones. Has a leveling function part to
The picking management system according to claim 2 . The management device calculates a remaining work of the picking work assigned to each of the plurality of zones, and determines that the difference in the remaining work between the plurality of zones exceeds a predetermined threshold. Have
The picking management system according to claim 1 or 2 . Based on the order information, the management device selects, based on the order information, a transport shelf that is transported across the plurality of zones set for each of the plurality of transport vehicles to level the picking work between the plurality of zones. Has a leveling function part to
When the work progress management unit determines that the work progress management unit has exceeded the threshold value, the leveling function unit allocates the picking work assigned to the zone with a lot of remaining work to another zone,
The picking management system according to claim 4 . The carrier controller is
A carrier allocation unit that allocates a carrier moving across the plurality of zones,
And a route creating unit that determines a moving route of the transport vehicle assigned to the transport vehicle assigning unit,
The picking management system according to claim 1 or 2 . The management device has a progress display unit that displays the number of picking works and remaining work assigned to each of the plurality of zones,
The picking management system according to claim 1 or 2 . Having a plurality of carrier controllers,
Each transport vehicle controller manages the transport vehicles and the transport shelves in one or more of the zones, and moves the transport shelves to zones managed by other transport vehicle controllers,
The picking management system according to claim 1. Having a plurality of carrier controllers,
Each transport vehicle controller manages the transport vehicles and the transport shelves within one or more of the zones, and moves the transport vehicles to zones managed by other transport vehicle controllers,
The picking management system according to claim 1 or 2 . The management device includes a shelf position determination unit that determines a position at which a transport shelf moved between the plurality of zones is installed,
The shelf position determination unit determines an installation position such that the moving distance of the transport vehicle is shortened based on the position of the transport shelf at the end of the picking operation.
The picking management system according to claim 1 or 2 . The management device includes a shelf position determination unit that determines a position at which a transport shelf moved between the plurality of zones is installed,
The shelf position determination unit, based on the remaining work of the transport shelf at the end of the picking work, calculates the number of transport of the transport shelf,
Selecting the installation position of the transport shelf according to the calculated number of transport,
The picking management system according to claim 1 or 2 . A picking management method for a warehouse in which a plurality of transfer shelves for storing articles are arranged,
A transport vehicle controller that controls the movement of each of the transport vehicles that transports each of the transport shelves based on an instruction from a management device that manages order information that directs the picking of the articles, Set different zones that can be moved for each car ,
Based on the order information, the standardization function unit of the management device selects a transport shelf transported across the plurality of zones set for each of the plurality of transport vehicles, and picking work between the plurality of zones. Picking management method to standardize . The work progress management unit of the management device calculates the remaining work of the picking work assigned to each of the plurality of zones, and determines that the difference in the remaining work between the plurality of zones exceeds a predetermined threshold. if you did this,
By the standardization function unit, the picking work assigned to the zone with a lot of remaining work is assigned to another zone,
The picking management method according to claim 12. The transport vehicle allocating unit of the transport vehicle controller assigns a transport vehicle that moves across the plurality of zones,
The route creating unit of the carrier controller creates a moving route of the carrier assigned to the carrier assigning unit.
Picking management method according to claim 1 2. The progress display unit of the management device displays the number of picking operations and the work remaining assigned to each of the plurality of zones,
Picking management method according to claim 1 2.

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