JP6770660B1 - Container management system, container management device and container management method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To manage a gas container more easily. SOLUTION: A recording device that records specific information that can identify a gas container based on container information acquired from a gas container on a recording medium, and a plurality of storages that store the gas container in which the recording medium is arranged, and a plurality of storages. A container management system that includes a storage compartment and a management device that holds specific information in association with each other. [Selection diagram] Fig. 1

Description

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

Conventionally, a business operator that provides high-pressure gas fills a container with high-pressure gas at a high-pressure gas filling factory and delivers it to each store by a collection and delivery vehicle. The container filled with high-pressure gas is delivered from each store to the user. Containers that have been used by the user are collected by each store. The containers collected at each store are collected at the filling factory by a collection and delivery vehicle. The recovered container is refilled with high-pressure gas at the filling factory. The container filled with high-pressure gas is delivered to the store again and delivered to the user. In this way, the container filled with high-pressure gas (hereinafter referred to as "gas container") circulates between the filling factory, the store, and the user. High-pressure gas users need to properly manage gas containers in accordance with relevant laws and regulations such as the High Pressure Gas Safety Act. Conventionally, a system for managing a gas container has been proposed (for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2).

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2015-222551 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2018-96521

The conventional gas container management system does not assume that gas containers of a plurality of manufacturers are recorded by the same system, and there is a problem that it is difficult to centrally manage each gas container. If the information recorded in the gas container can be unified among all gas manufacturers, this problem can be solved, but at present, the hurdles are very high and it is difficult to realize. Further, even if the gas container is made by one manufacturer, it is difficult to centrally manage the gas container because the tag may or may not be attached to each user of the sales destination. Therefore, there is a demand for a technique for managing gas containers more easily.

In view of the above circumstances, an object of the present invention is to provide a technique capable of managing a gas container more easily.

One aspect of the present invention is a label that is pre-applied to the gas container, the container number associated with the gas container, gas name, concentration of gas, the quality assurance period, the vessel information including information of loading and date of manufacture from printed labels with a letter, a recording device for recording the gas container by the character recognition technique based on the container information obtained by reading the character of possible specific information specific to the recording medium, the recording medium is placed A management device that holds a plurality of storages for storing the gas container, information on the plurality of storages, and the specific information on the gas container stored in each of the plurality of storages in association with each other. It is a container management system equipped with.
One aspect of the present invention is a plurality of recording devices that record specific information that can identify the gas container based on the container information acquired from the gas container on a recording medium, and a plurality of storing the gas container in which the recording medium is arranged. The management device includes, and a management device that holds information about the plurality of storages and the specific information about the gas container stored in each of the plurality of storages in association with each other. When the specific information associated with the storage is not obtained for a predetermined period, it is determined that the gas container has moved from the storage and the specific information associated with the storage is deleted. It is a container management system.
One aspect of the present invention is a plurality of recording devices that record specific information that can identify the gas container based on the container information acquired from the gas container on a recording medium, and a plurality of the gas container in which the recording medium is arranged. The management device includes, and a management device that holds information about the plurality of storages and the specific information about the gas container stored in each of the plurality of storages in association with each other. Further control the operation of the transport trolley for transporting, carrying out, and carrying in the gas container, transporting the gas container according to the control instruction of the management device, and carrying out the mounting portion on which the gas container is placed and the gas container. It is a container management system further provided with a transport trolley that automatically carries in and out the gas container while sliding the gas container to and from the destination.

One aspect of the present invention is the container management system, wherein the plurality of storages include an acquisition unit for acquiring the specific information, and the management device has the specific information acquired by the acquisition unit. , Information about the storage including the acquisition unit that acquired the specific information is stored in association with the information .

One aspect of the present invention is the above-mentioned container management system, further including an information acquisition device for acquiring the container information from the gas container, and the information acquisition device is among the acquired container information among gas companies. Information commonly given to the gas container is transmitted to the management device, and the management device transmits a part or all of the information transmitted from the information acquisition device to the recording device as the specific information, or , The information transmitted from the information acquisition device is converted into a predetermined format and transmitted to the recording device as the specific information.

One aspect of the present invention is the container management system, wherein a part of the storage is a cylinder cabinet, and the management device is based on the consumption amount of the gas container used in the cylinder cabinet. , Gas consumption is predicted using a model trained to output an estimated date when the amount of gas filled in the gas container is less than the threshold value.

One aspect of the present invention is the container management system, wherein the management device is based on a gas consumption forecast, inventory information of the gas container, and a period required for delivery of the gas container. Is satisfied, and if the gas ordering condition is satisfied, the gas container is automatically ordered, or information prompting the order is output.

One aspect of the present invention is a label that is pre-applied to the gas container, the container number associated with the gas container, gas name, concentration of gas, the quality assurance period, the vessel information including information of loading and date of manufacture from printed labels with a letter, accommodates the said gas container the recording medium is arranged which stores identification information which can specify the gas container based on the container information obtained by reading the character by the character recognition technology A container management device including a plurality of storage units, an acquisition unit for acquiring the specific information, and a storage unit for holding the acquired information on the plurality of storage units in association with the specific information. ..

One aspect of the present invention is a label that is pre-applied to the gas container, the container number associated with the gas container, gas name, concentration of gas, the quality assurance period, the vessel information including information of loading and date of manufacture from printed labels in character, records specific information capable of specifying the gas container based on the container information obtained by the character recognition technology to read the characters on the recording medium, the recording medium is disposed the This is a container management method for holding information on a plurality of storages for storing gas containers in association with the specific information.

According to the present invention, it is possible to manage the gas container more easily.

It is a figure which shows the system structure of the gas container management system in 1st Embodiment. It is a schematic block diagram which shows the functional structure of the communication apparatus in 1st Embodiment. It is a schematic block diagram which shows the functional structure of the management apparatus in 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the container table in 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the management table in 1st Embodiment. It is a sequence diagram which shows the flow of the registration process of the gas container of the gas container management system in 1st Embodiment. It is a sequence diagram which shows the flow of processing at the time of moving a gas container of the gas container management system in 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the screen which is displayed on the screen of the display part in 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the screen which is displayed on the screen of the display part in 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the appearance of the cylinder transport carriage in the 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the system structure of the gas container management system in 2nd Embodiment. It is a schematic block diagram which shows the functional structure of the operation terminal in 2nd Embodiment. It is a schematic block diagram which shows the functional structure of the management apparatus in 2nd Embodiment. It is a schematic block diagram which shows the functional structure inside the cylinder transport carriage in 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the route table in 2nd Embodiment. It is a sequence diagram which shows the flow of the empty bottle carry-out processing in the gas container management system of 2nd Embodiment. It is a sequence diagram which shows the flow of the empty bottle carry-out processing in the gas container management system of 2nd Embodiment. It is a sequence diagram which shows the flow of the filling | filling process in the gas container management system of 2nd Embodiment. It is a sequence diagram which shows the flow of the filling | filling process in the gas container management system of 2nd Embodiment. It is a schematic block diagram which shows the functional structure of the management apparatus in 3rd Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the order processing performed by the management apparatus in 3rd Embodiment.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
(First Embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a system configuration of the gas container management system 1 according to the first embodiment.
The gas container management system 1 is a system for managing gas containers in a facility. The gas container management system 1 includes a communication device 30, a management device 40, a writing device 50, a cylinder cabinet 60, and a cylinder cabinet 70. The communication device 30, the management device 40, the writing device 50, the cylinder cabinet 60, and the cylinder cabinet 70 are communicably connected via the network 80. The network 80 is a LAN (Local Area Network). In the following description, the communication device 30, the management device 40, the writing device 50, the cylinder cabinet 60, and the cylinder cabinet 70 will be described as being provided in a facility such as one factory of one customer. That is, in the following description, it is a system that manages gas containers in one facility.

The communication device 30 acquires information on the gas container B (hereinafter referred to as “container information”) from the label 3 affixed to the gas container B delivered from the gas container B vendor or retailer. Generally, a label 3 on which container information is printed is affixed to the surface of the gas container B. Here, the container information includes, for example, at least the container number, the gas name, the gas concentration, the quality assurance deadline, the filling amount, and the manufacturing date. The communication device 30 acquires image data by capturing the label 3 with the camera function, and analyzes the acquired image data. As a result, the communication device 30 acquires the container information described on the label 3. The communication device 30 may use, for example, an OCR (Optical Character Reader) function for analyzing image data.

The container information includes various information for each gas supplier, but there is information (hereinafter referred to as "essential information") commonly described in the gas container B for each gas supplier. The container number, gas name, gas concentration, quality assurance deadline, filling amount and manufacturing date shown above are examples of essential information. The communication device 30 transmits the essential information among the acquired container information to the management device 40. The communication device 30 is configured by using a portable information processing device such as a tablet terminal, a smartphone, or a mobile phone. The communication device 30 is an example of an information acquisition device.

The management device 40 is a device that manages the gas container management system 1. The management device 40 receives essential information from the communication device 30 and holds the received essential information. The management device 40 transmits specific information that can identify the gas container B based on the essential information to the writing device 50. Specifically, the management device 40 may transmit a part or all of the essential information as specific information to the writing device 50, or convert the essential information into a predetermined format and transmit it to the writing device 50 as specific information. You may. Here, the predetermined format may be, for example, identification information (for example, ID or the like) that can identify essential information. In the following description, the management device 40 will be described by taking as an example a configuration in which the container number is transmitted to the writing device 50 as specific information. When the management device 40 converts the essential information into a predetermined format to make the specific information, the management device 40 holds the identification information in the predetermined format after the conversion.

Further, the management device 40 receives various information (for example, a pressure monitoring result, a gas leak monitoring result, information on the remaining amount of the gas container B, and specific information) from the cylinder cabinet 70. In addition, the management device 40 receives various information (for example, free storage space information and specific information) from the cylinder 60. The management device 40 holds the cylinder cabinet 70 and the cylinder cabinet 70 in association with specific information about the gas container B stored in each of the cylinder cabinet 60 and the cylinder cabinet 70. The management device 40 is configured by using an information processing device such as a personal computer.

The writing device 50 temporarily stores the specific information transmitted from the management device 40, and writes the stored specific information in the electronic tag 90 according to the operation of the user. The writing device 50 is, for example, an RF reader / writer. The writing device 50 does not have to be an RF reader / writer as long as specific information can be written to the electronic tag 90. The writing device 50 is a specific example of a recording device.

The cylinder vester 60 is provided for each type of gas, and is a storage for storing a plurality of gas containers B in one cylinder vestker 60. The cylinder 60 is opened and closed the door, and a plurality of gas containers B are stored side by side in the storage space inside the door. In addition to the cylinder bestker 60, for example, a sensor for detecting an empty state of a storage space, a control box for controlling the opening and closing of a door, a communication unit (not shown) for communicating with a management device 40, and an electronic tag A reading device 61 (acquisition unit) that reads specific information from the 90 is provided, and the communication unit transmits information on the open / closed state of the door, free storage space information, specific information, and the like to the management device 40.

The cylinder cabinet 70 is a facility for supplying the gas filled in the gas container B to the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, and is a storage for storing a plurality of gas containers B in one cylinder cabinet 70. The cylinder cabinet 70 opens and closes a door, and stores a pair of gas containers B side by side in the width direction in a storage space inside the door. Further, in the cylinder cabinet 70, by exchanging one of the gas containers B while supplying gas from one of the gas containers B, it is possible to perform the gas supply without interruption. It has become. The cylinder cabinet 70 also contains, for example, piping connected to the gas container B, a control box containing equipment for opening / closing doors, opening / closing valves, monitoring pressure, monitoring gas leaks, and the like. , A piping box (none of which is shown) containing a piping for connecting to a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus or the like, a reading device 71 (acquisition unit) for reading specific information from the electronic tag 90, and the like are provided. In addition, the control box is equipped with a communication unit (not shown) for communicating with the host device, and the communication unit monitors door opening / closing information, valve opening / closing information, pressure monitoring results, and gas leak monitoring. As a result, information on the remaining amount of the gas container B, specific information, and the like are transmitted to the management device 40.

The electronic tag 90 is a recording medium on which specific information is recorded by the writing device 50. The electronic tag 90 is, for example, an RF tag. In the present embodiment, the electronic tag 90 will be described by taking a neckband type RF tag as an example, but the electronic tag 90 may be in any form as long as it is portable and can be attached to the gas container B.

Here, the outline of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.
In the gas container management system 1 of the present invention, essential information is acquired from the gas container B to which the label 3 on which various information is printed is affixed to each gas supplier using the communication device 30. The writing device 50 writes specific information based on the acquired essential information on the electronic tag 90. The electronic tag 90 on which the specific information is written is attached to the delivered gas container B. The gas container B to which the electronic tag 90 is attached is temporarily stored in the cylinder vestker 60 by the user. Then, the gas container B actually used is stored in the cylinder cabinet 70 by the user.

The cylinder cabinet 70 and the cylinder cabinet 70 in which the gas container B is housed are provided with a reading device 61 and a reading device 71 capable of reading the information written in the electronic tag 90. The reading device 61 and the reading device 71 acquire the information written in the electronic tag 90, and transmit the acquired information to the management device 40 via a communication unit (not shown). As a result, the management device 40 manages the storage locations of the plurality of gas containers B. Therefore, even if the gas container B moves, it is possible to easily grasp which cylinder cabinet 60 or cylinder cabinet 70 the gas container B is housed in. Then, when the gas container B is returned, the electronic tag 90 is removed and the information written in the electronic tag 90 is erased. This makes it possible to reuse the electronic tag 90.
As described above, it becomes possible to manage the gas container more easily.

FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram showing a functional configuration of the communication device 30 according to the first embodiment. The communication device 30 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a memory, an auxiliary storage device, and the like connected by a bus, and executes a control program. By executing the control program, the communication device 30 functions as a device including an image pickup unit 31, a storage unit 32, a display unit 33, an operation unit 34, a control unit 35, and a communication unit 36. All or part of each function of the communication device 30 may be realized by using hardware such as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), a PLD (Programmable Logic Device), or an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array). Further, the control program may be recorded on a computer-readable recording medium. The computer-readable recording medium is, for example, a flexible disk, a magneto-optical disk, a portable medium such as a ROM or a CD-ROM, or a storage device such as a hard disk built in a computer system. Further, the control program may be transmitted and received via a telecommunication line.

The imaging unit 31 images the label 3 according to the operation of the user.
The storage unit 32 stores the image data of the label 3 captured by the image pickup unit 31. The storage unit 32 is configured by using a storage device such as a magnetic hard disk device or a semiconductor storage device.

The display unit 33 is an image display device such as a liquid crystal display or an organic EL (Electro Luminescence) display. The display unit 33 displays, for example, a screen for selecting an image analysis result or information by the control unit 35. The display unit 44 may be an interface for connecting the image display device to the communication device 30. In this case, the communication device 30 generates a video signal for displaying information and outputs the video signal to the image display device connected to itself.

The operation unit 34 is configured by using existing input devices such as a keyboard, a pointing device (mouse, tablet, etc.), a touch panel, and buttons. The operation unit 34 is operated by the user when inputting the user's instruction to the communication device 30. For example, the operation unit 34 receives an information selection instruction.
The control unit 35 controls the operation of the communication device 30. For example, the control unit 35 acquires character information by analyzing the image data stored in the storage unit 32. As a result, the control unit 35 acquires the paper information.
The communication unit 36 communicates with other devices. For example, the communication unit 36 communicates with the management device 40.

FIG. 3 is a schematic block diagram showing a functional configuration of the management device 40 according to the first embodiment. The management device 40 includes a CPU, a memory, an auxiliary storage device, and the like connected by a bus, and executes a control program. By executing the control program, the management device 40 functions as a device including a communication unit 41, an operation unit 42, a storage unit 43, a display unit 44, and a control unit 45. All or part of each function of the management device 40 may be realized by using hardware such as ASIC, PLD, and FPGA. Further, the control program may be recorded on a computer-readable recording medium. The computer-readable recording medium is, for example, a flexible disk, a magneto-optical disk, a portable medium such as a ROM or a CD-ROM, or a storage device such as a hard disk built in a computer system. Further, the control program may be transmitted and received via a telecommunication line.

The communication unit 41 communicates with other devices. For example, the communication unit 41 communicates with the communication device 30, the writing device 50, the cylinder cabinet 60, and the cylinder cabinet 70.
The operation unit 42 is configured by using existing input devices such as a keyboard, a pointing device (mouse, tablet, etc.), a touch panel, and buttons. The operation unit 42 is operated by the user when inputting the user's instruction to the management device 40. For example, the operation unit 42 receives an information transmission instruction and an information display instruction to the writing device 50.

The storage unit 43 stores the container table 431 and the management table 432. The container table 431 is a table in which information about the gas container B is registered. The management table 432 is a table in which information for managing the gas container B is registered. The storage unit 43 is configured by using a storage device such as a magnetic hard disk device or a semiconductor storage device.

The display unit 44 is an image display device such as a liquid crystal display or an organic EL display. The display unit 44 displays based on the information registered in the container table 431 and the management table 432. For example, the display unit 44 displays the storage status of the gas container B, the amount of gas stored, the acceptance information of the container, and the like. The display unit 44 may be an interface for connecting the image display device to the management device 40. In this case, the display unit 44 generates a video signal for displaying information, and outputs the video signal to an image display device connected to the display unit 44.

The control unit 45 controls the operation of the management device 40. For example, the control unit 45 sets the container number of the essential information transmitted from the communication device 30 in the writing device 50 according to the operation of the user.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the container table 431 according to the first embodiment.
Information on the gas name, gas concentration, quality assurance deadline, initial filling amount, manufacturing date, and remaining amount is registered in the container table 431 in association with the container number. The container number represents identification information for identifying the gas container B. The gas name represents the name of the gas filled in the gas container B. The gas concentration represents the concentration of the gas filled in the gas container B. The quality assurance period represents the period for which the quality of the gas filled in the gas container B is guaranteed. The initial filling amount represents the amount of gas filled in the gas container B at the time of delivery. The initial filling amount corresponds to the filling amount in the container information. The manufacturing date represents the date when the gas container B is filled with gas. The remaining amount represents the amount of gas remaining in the gas container B. The remaining amount information is transmitted from the cylinder cabinet 70 at a predetermined timing. When information obtained by converting essential information into a predetermined format is used as specific information, information obtained by converting essential information into a predetermined format may be associated with each container in the container table 431.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the management table 432 according to the first embodiment.
In the management table 432, tag identification information, specific information, carry-in date and carry-out date information are registered in association with the storage information. The storage information represents information about the cylinder cabinet 70 and the cylinder cabinet 70. In FIG. 5, storage identification information, reader identification information, storage name, and installation position information are registered as storage information. The storage identification information represents identification information for identifying the cylinder cabinet 70 and the cylinder cabinet 70. The reader identification information represents identification information for identifying the reading device provided in the cylinder cabinet 60 or the cylinder cabinet 70, that is, the reading device 61 and the reading device 71. The storage name represents the name of the cylinder cabinet 70 and the cylinder cabinet 70. The installation position information represents the position information in which the cylinder cabinet 70 and the cylinder cabinet 70 are installed. The installation position information may be expressed in latitude and longitude.

The tag identification information represents identification information for identifying the electronic tag 90. The specific information represents information that can identify the gas container B. The carry-in date represents the date when the gas container B is brought into the storage. The carry-out date represents the day when the gas container B was carried out to the storage. It should be noted that not all information is necessarily registered in the management table 432. For example, on the delivery date, registration may be performed only when the storage is the cylinder bestker 60.

FIG. 6 is a sequence diagram showing a flow of registration processing of the gas container B of the gas container management system 1 according to the first embodiment. The process of FIG. 6 is executed when the gas container B is delivered.
The imaging unit 31 of the communication device 30 acquires imaging data by imaging the gas container B in response to a user operation (step S101). The imaging unit 31 stores the acquired imaging data in the storage unit 32 via the control unit 35. The control unit 35 acquires container information from the imaged data by analyzing the imaged data stored in the storage unit 32. Specifically, the control unit 35 converts the characters included in the imaged data into text data by performing image analysis of the imaged data by OCR. The control unit 35 displays the container information converted into text data on the display unit 33 (step S102). The control unit 35 selects predetermined information from the container information displayed on the screen. For example, the control unit 35 selects information on the container number, gas name, gas concentration, quality assurance deadline, filling amount, and manufacturing date as predetermined information from the container information. The user may select information from the container information displayed on the screen. If the container information displayed on the screen is incorrect, or if the characters are not recognized and cannot be read, the user inputs essential information via the operation unit 34. Further, the control unit 35 may select essential information from the container information converted into text data and display it on the display unit 33.

The communication unit 36 transmits the selected and input essential information to the management device 40 according to the operation of the user (step S103).
The communication unit 41 of the management device 40 receives the essential information transmitted from the communication device 30. The communication unit 41 outputs the received essential information to the control unit 45. The control unit 45 registers the output essential information in the container table 431 (step S104). For example, when the required information includes information on the container number, gas name, gas concentration, quality assurance deadline, filling amount, and manufacturing date, the control unit 45 controls the container number, gas name, concentration, and quality of the container table 431. Register the acquired required information in the items of warranty period, initial filling amount, and manufacturing date. After that, the management device 40 transmits the specific information to the writing device 50 in response to the user's operation (step S105). Here, it is assumed that the management device 40 transmits the container number selected according to the user's operation to the writing device 50 as specific information.

The writing device 50 acquires the specific information transmitted from the management device 40. The writing device 50 temporarily stores the acquired specific information (step S106). The writing device 50 writes specific information to the electronic tag 90 in response to a user operation (step S107). When a plurality of specific information is registered in the writing device 50, the user selects desired specific information and causes the selected specific information to be written to the electronic tag 90. As a result, specific information is recorded in the electronic tag 90. The user attaches the electronic tag 90 on which the specific information is written to the delivered gas container B (step S108).

Then, the user stores the gas container B to which the electronic tag 90 is attached in the cylinder bestker 60 (step S109). The reading device 61 provided in the cylinder 60 is reading the electronic tag 90 periodically (for example, every 3 hours, every day, etc.) or at a predetermined timing (step S110). When the electronic tag 90 is in the cylinder 60, the reading device 61 acquires the specific information stored in the electronic tag 90. At this time, the reading device 61 also acquires the identification information (tag identification information) of the electronic tag 90 in association with the specific information. The reading device 61 outputs the acquired specific information and the identification information of the electronic tag 90 to a communication unit (not shown). The communication unit transmits information including specific information, identification information of the electronic tag 90, identification information of the cylinder 60, and identification information of the reading device 61 to the management device 40 (step S111).

The communication unit 41 of the management device 40 receives the information transmitted from the cylinder bestker 60. The communication unit 41 outputs the received information to the control unit 45. The control unit 45 registers the output information in the management table 432 (step S112). Specifically, the control unit 45 reads the management table 432 from the storage unit 43. The control unit 45 selects the record corresponding to the acquired storage identification information and reader identification information from the records of the read management table 432. The control unit 45 registers the acquired tag identification information and specific information in the tag identification information and specific information items of the selected record. Further, if the value is not registered in the item of the import date of the selected record, the control unit 45 may register this date as the import date.
By the above processing, the delivered gas container B and the storage storage in which the gas container B is stored are registered in association with each other.

FIG. 7 is a sequence diagram showing a processing flow when the gas container B of the gas container management system 1 according to the first embodiment is moved. The process of FIG. 7 is performed when the gas container B is moved from the cylinder cabinet 60 to the cylinder cabinet 70.
When the cylinder cabinet 70 is refilled with the gas container B, the user carries out the gas container B from the cylinder cabinet 60 (step S201). The reading device 61 provided in the cylinder 60 is reading the electronic tag 90 periodically or at a predetermined timing (step S202). However, it is assumed that the electronic tag 90 is not present at the timing when the reading device 61 reads the electronic tag 90. In this case, the reading device 61 cannot acquire specific information from the electronic tag 90. Therefore, the reading device 61 does not transmit information to the management device 40 (step S203). Alternatively, the communication unit transmits information including two pieces of information, the identification information of the cylinder bestker 60 and the identification information of the reading device 61, to the management device 40.

The control unit 45 of the management device 40 normally cannot obtain the information at the timing when the information is obtained from the cylinder bestker 60, or the identification information and reading of the cylinder bestker 60 in the information transmitted from the cylinder bestker 60. When only two pieces of identification information of the device 61 are included, the control unit 45 determines that the gas container B has been carried out from the cylinder bestker 60. That is, when the specific information associated with the storage is not obtained for a predetermined period, the control unit 45 determines that the gas container B has been carried out from the cylinder bestker 60. It should be noted that such a determination is the same for the cylinder cabinet 70. Specifically, when the gas container B is housed in the cylinder cabinet 70, specific information should be acquired from the reading device 71 as in the case of the cylinder cabinet 60. However, when the gas container B is carried out from the cylinder cabinet 70, the specific information is not acquired from the reading device 71. Therefore, as in the case of the cylinder cabinet 60, the control unit 45 carries out the gas container B from the cylinder cabinet 70 when only two pieces of information, the identification information of the cylinder cabinet 70 and the identification information of the reading device 71, are included. Judged as Then, the control unit 45 updates the management table 432 (step S204). Specifically, the control unit 45 reads the management table 432 from the storage unit 43. The control unit 45 selects the record corresponding to the acquired storage identification information and reader identification information from the records of the read management table 432. The control unit 45 deletes the information that could not be obtained from the tag identification information and specific information items of the selected record.

A plurality of gas containers B can be stored in one cylinder cabinet 70 and one cylinder cabinet 70. Therefore, in the management table 432, a plurality of tag identification information and specific information are associated with one cylinder cabinet 70 and one cylinder cabinet 70. Therefore, when a plurality of tag identification information and specific information are associated with one cylinder cabinet 70 and the cylinder cabinet 70, even if one tag identification information and specific information cannot be obtained, other tag identification information can be identified. Information and specific information can be obtained. Therefore, the control unit 45 manages the information associated with the storage by deleting the tag identification information and the information for which the specific information could not be obtained.

It is assumed that the user carries the gas container B carried out from the cylinder cabinet 60 into the cylinder cabinet 70 (step S205). The reading device 71 provided in the cylinder cabinet 70 reads the electronic tag 90 periodically or at a predetermined timing (step S206). When the electronic tag 90 is in the cylinder cabinet 70, the reading device 71 acquires the specific information stored in the electronic tag 90. At this time, the reading device 71 also acquires the identification information (tag identification information) of the electronic tag 90 in association with the specific information. The reading device 71 outputs the acquired container number and the identification information of the electronic tag 90 to a communication unit (not shown). The communication unit transmits information including specific information, identification information of the electronic tag 90, identification information of the cylinder cabinet 70, and identification information of the reading device 71 to the management device 40 (step S207).

The communication unit 41 of the management device 40 receives the information transmitted from the cylinder cabinet 70. The communication unit 41 outputs the received information to the control unit 45. The control unit 45 updates the management table 432 according to the output information (step S208). Specifically, the control unit 45 reads the management table 432 from the storage unit 43. The control unit 45 selects the record corresponding to the acquired storage identification information and reader identification information from the records of the read management table 432. The control unit 45 registers the acquired tag identification information and specific information in the tag identification information and specific information items of the selected record. As a result, the control unit 45 updates the management table 432. Further, if the value is not registered in the item of the import date of the selected record, the control unit 45 may register this date as the import date.

The control unit 45 displays the contents stored in the storage unit 43 on the display unit 44 in response to the user's operation (step S209). 8 and 9 are views showing an example of a screen displayed on the screen of the display unit 44.
As shown in FIG. 8, a display selection area 441, a storage status display area 442, an acceptance information display area 443, and a storage amount display area 444 are displayed on the screen of the display unit 44. In the display selection area 441, a plurality of buttons selected when observing the installation status of the storage in each room are displayed. By selecting the button displayed in the display selection area 441, the information displayed in the storage status display area 442 is changed. For example, in FIG. 8, room A is selected. In the storage status display area 442, the status of the storage of the room selected in the display selection area 441 is displayed. For example, the storage status display area 442 indicates where the gas container B is stored. A black circle indicates that the gas container B is housed. These displays are displayed by the control unit 45 referring to the management table 432.

In the acceptance information display area 443, information on the gas container B to be accepted is displayed. “Done” in the acceptance information display area 443 indicates whether or not acceptance has been completed. Whether or not the acceptance is completed is determined by whether or not the target gas container B is stored in the cylinder bestker 60. When the target gas container B is housed in the cylinder bestker 60, the control unit 45 determines that the acceptance is completed. In this case, the control unit 45 makes the display mode of "finished" corresponding to the gas container B for which acceptance has been completed different from the display mode of "finished" corresponding to the gas container B for which acceptance has not been completed. For example, the control unit 45 may erase the display of “done” corresponding to the gas container B for which acceptance has been completed, or may paint black as shown in FIG. On the other hand, when the target gas container B is not stored in the cylinder bestker 60, the control unit 45 determines that the acceptance is not completed.

In the storage amount display area 444, information on the total amount of gas stored in the room selected in the display selection area 441 is displayed. The total storage capacity of high pressure gas is regulated by the relevant laws and regulations of high pressure gas. If more than the total storage amount stipulated by the relevant laws and regulations of high pressure gas is stored, notification is required.
In this way, the user can grasp information such as the status of the storage in each room and the amount of gas stored at a glance by looking at the screen of the display unit 44.

When the user selects one gas container B displayed on the screen, the control unit 45 displays information about the selected gas container B as a pop-up 445 as shown in FIG. The pop-up 445 displays information on the storage identification information, the tag identification information, the container number, the state, the filling amount, the manufacturing date, the quality assurance deadline, and the standard delivery date. The information displayed in the pop-up 445 is not limited to this, and any division method may be used as long as the information is stored in the management device 40. Here, the state represents the state of the gas container B at the time of selection. For example, whether or not the gas container B is currently used. When the gas container B is currently in use, the information of "supplying" is displayed as the state, and when the gas container B is not currently used, the information of "waiting" is displayed as the state. .. The standard delivery date represents the period until the gas container B of the same type as the selected gas container B is delivered. The standard delivery date may be stored in advance by the management device 40 for each manufacturer's gas type.

According to the gas container management system 1 according to the first embodiment configured as described above, the writing device 50 that records specific information based on the container information acquired from the gas container B on the electronic tag 90, and the electronic tag 90. A plurality of storages for storing the gas container B to which the gas container B is attached, a plurality of storages, and a management device 40 for associating and holding specific information about the gas container B stored in each of the plurality of storages. Be prepared. As a result, it is possible to easily grasp in which storage the gas container B is stored. Therefore, it becomes possible to manage the gas container more easily.

Further, in the gas container management system 1, a plurality of storages are provided with a reading device 61 or a reading device 71 capable of reading specific information, and the management device 40 is provided with the specific information acquired by the reading device 61 or the reading device 71. And the reading device 61 that has acquired the specific information or the storage that includes the reading device 71 are held in association with each other. That is, in the gas container management system 1, a reading device is installed in a storage such as a cylinder cabinet 70 and a cylinder cabinet 70, and by reading an electronic tag 90 attached to the gas container B, where and how many gas containers B are located. to manage. As a result, even when the gas container B is moved from the storage location to another storage, the movement of the container and the change in the number of the gas container B at each location can be managed from the information of the reading device. it can. Further, in the gas container management system 1, even if different container information is attached to each gas supplier, only the essential information always described by each manufacturer is acquired to unify the information. Therefore, centralized management is possible even if the sellers of the gas container B are different. Then, the user only has to read the label 3 of the delivered gas container B and write the information in the electronic tag 90. Therefore, it becomes possible to manage the gas container more easily.

Further, in the gas container management system 1, when the specific information associated with the storage is not obtained for a predetermined period, it is determined that the gas container B has moved from the storage and the gas container B is associated with the storage. Delete the specific information that exists. As a result, the information of the moved (carried out) gas container B does not remain as it is. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the possibility that information is erroneously managed.

(Second Embodiment)
In the first embodiment, a case where the gas container B is manually moved has been described as an example. In the second embodiment, a case where a cylinder transport carriage for transporting the gas container B by automatic operation is used for moving the gas container B will be described as an example.
FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the appearance of the cylinder transport carriage 2 according to the second embodiment. The cylinder transport trolley 2 of the second embodiment includes a transport vehicle 10 that self-propells the transport of the gas container B, and a carry-in / carry-out robot 20 that automatically carries in and out the gas container B.

The guided vehicle 10 is an automatic guided vehicle called an AGV (Automated Guided Vehicle), which transports the gas container B by automatic operation. Specifically, the transport vehicle 10 includes a vehicle body 12 provided with a mounting portion 11 on which the gas container B is mounted, and a plurality of wheels 13 (six in the present embodiment) that freely support the vehicle body 12. have.

The vehicle body 12 is wider than the gas container B, is longer in the front-rear direction than the width direction, is about 1/2 the height of the gas container B, and has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape as a whole. The mounting portion 11 is located on the back side of the vehicle body 12. That is, the front surface of the vehicle body 12 is the side opposite to the side on which the mounting portion 11 is located. The cylinder transport trolley 2 operates backward when the gas container B is carried in or out of the storage such as the cylinder cabinet 70 or the cylinder cabinet 60. The cylinder transport trolley 2 moves forward when moving. A recess 14 is provided on the back surface of the vehicle body 12 so as to cut out a part of the side surface of the vehicle body 12 in the vertical direction. The mounting portion 11 is provided inside the recess 14.

The mounting portion 11 is provided with a slide support mechanism 15 that slidably supports the gas container B in the front-rear direction. The slide support mechanism 15 is composed of free rollers, and has a plurality of rollers 15a provided side by side in the front-rear direction of the mounting portion 11 and a frame 15b that rotatably supports the plurality of rollers 15a. As a result, the gas container B mounted on the slide support mechanism 15 can be slid in the front-rear direction of the mounting portion 11 via the plurality of rollers 15a while standing upright.

The slide support mechanism 15 is not necessarily limited to such a free roller, and for example, a belt conveyor or the like can be used.

Further, the transport vehicle 10 adjusts the height of the free roller (slide support mechanism 15) provided on the mounting portion 11 side according to the height of the free roller 4 provided on the cylinder cabinet 70 side described above. It may be configured to include a height adjustment mechanism.

Further, in the transport vehicle 10, in addition to such a height adjusting mechanism, the position of the free roller (slide support mechanism 15) provided on the mounting portion 11 side in the front-rear direction, the inclination in the front-back and left-right directions, and the like are adjusted. It may be configured to provide a mechanism for this.

In addition to the above, the vehicle body 12 also has an emergency stop button 16a for stopping the transport vehicle 10 in an emergency, a display device 16b for performing various displays, an operation switch 16c for performing various operations, and communication with the outside. An antenna 16d or the like is provided.

The plurality of wheels 13 are rotatably attached to the lower surface of the vehicle body 12. Of these, four caster wheels 12a that are rotatably attached are provided at the four corners of the vehicle body 12. On the other hand, in the center of the vehicle body 12, two drive wheels 12b that are rotationally driven via a rotational drive mechanism (not shown) such as a motor are provided side by side in the width direction.

In the transport vehicle 10, it is possible to control the traveling and steering of the transport vehicle 10 by switching the distribution of the driving force transmitted to these two drive wheels 12b. In the transport vehicle 10, the guidance system for transporting the gas container B by automatic operation is not particularly limited, and a known guidance system can be adopted.

Further, the transport vehicle 10 can be provided with, for example, a position detector such as a photoelectric sensor, a magnetic sensor, or a limit switch, or a communication device for communicating between the cylinder transport carriage 2 and the outside. is there.

The carry-in / out robot 20 is installed on the upper part of the transport vehicle 10 and automatically carries out and carries in the gas container B with respect to the mounting portion 11. Specifically, the loading / unloading robot 20 has a holding mechanism 21 for holding the gas container B and a slide drive mechanism 22 for sliding the gas container B held by the holding mechanism 21 in the front-rear direction of the vehicle body 12. are doing.

The holding mechanism 21 has a pair of arm portions 21a that grip the body portion of the gas container B. The pair of arm portions 21a have a shape curved in an arc shape with respect to each other, and the base end side is rotatably supported via a hinge.

In the holding mechanism 21, the body of the gas container B is gripped between the pair of arm portions 21a from both sides while rotating the pair of arm portions 21a in opposite directions. Further, in the holding mechanism 21, two pairs of arm portions 21a are provided side by side in the vertical direction in order to grip the upper side and the lower side of the gas container B. This makes it possible to hold the gas container B in an upright state in a stable state.

The holding mechanism 21 is not necessarily limited to the configuration in which the body portion of the gas container B is gripped by the pair of arm portions 21a, and for example, the holding mechanism 21 is configured to hold the gas container B while adsorbing it. You may.

The slide drive mechanism 22 slides and drives the slide shaft 22a connected to the holding mechanism 21 in the front-rear direction. The slide shaft 22a may be driven by a motor or the like, or may be driven by an air cylinder, a hydraulic cylinder or the like.

As shown in FIG. 10, the carry-in / out robot 20 slides the gas container B in an upright state in the front-rear direction of the vehicle body 12 by the slide drive mechanism 22 while being held by the holding mechanism 21. As a result, the gas container B is carried out between the mounting portion 11 and the free roller 4 on the cylinder cabinet 70 side while sliding the gas container B via the slide support mechanism 15 provided on the mounting portion 11. And it is possible to carry in automatically.

Next, in the gas container management system 1 described above, the gas container B (hereinafter referred to as “replacement target gas container Be”) having a low remaining amount is carried out from the cylinder cabinet 70, and the gas filled with gas is carried out. An example will be described in which the gas container B is managed by applying the container B (hereinafter referred to as “the gas container Bf to be carried in”) to the cylinder cabinet 70. The gas cylinder to be replaced is a gas cylinder that is not filled with enough gas to be supplied.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a system configuration of the gas container management system 1a according to the second embodiment. Note that FIG. 11 shows only the configuration related to the automatic transfer in order to explain the case where the gas container B is automatically transferred in the cylinder transfer carriage 2. Therefore, the configuration other than the transportation of the gas container B is the same as that of the first embodiment. The gas container management system 1a includes a plurality of cylinder transport carriages 2-1 and 2, a plurality of cylinder vesters 60-1 to 60-4, a plurality of cylinder cabinets 70, an operation terminal 100, and a management device 40a. The number of cylinder transport carriages 2-1 and 2-2, cylinder cabinet 70, and cylinder cabinets 60-1 to 60-4 is not particularly limited. In the following description, the cylinder transport trolleys 2-1 and 2-2 will be referred to as the cylinder transport trolley 2 unless otherwise specified. Further, in the following description, the cylinder bestker 60-1 to 60-4 will be referred to as the cylinder bestker 60 unless any particular distinction is made.

The cylinder transport carriage 2, the cylinder cabinet 70, and the cylinder bestker 60 are installed on the floor in the factory. The cylinder transport carriage 2, the cylinder cabinet 70, the cylinder bestker 60, the operation terminal 100, and the management device 40a are communicably connected. The cylinder transport carriages 2-1 and 2-2 are located in predetermined areas 71-1 and 71-2, respectively. Area 71-1 is a storage place where the cylinder transport carriage 2-1 is located at the start and end of processing. Area 71-2 is a storage place where the cylinder transport carriage 2-2 is located at the start and end of processing.

The cylinder transport trolley 2-1 is, for example, a trolley for carrying out the gas container Be to be replaced from the cylinder cabinet 70 and carrying the gas container Be to be replaced into the cylinder cabinet 60.
The cylinder transport trolley 2-2 is, for example, a trolley in which the carry-in target gas container Bf is carried out from the cylinder cabinet 60 and the carry-in target gas container Bf is carried into the cylinder cabinet 70.

The cylinder transport carts 2-1 and 2-2 communicate with the operation terminal 100 and the management device 40a via the antenna 16d. Further, the cylinder transporting carriage 2 may execute the processing of the cylinder transporting carriage 2-1 and the cylinder transporting carriage 2-2 by one unit. For example, in the cylinder transport trolley 2, the gas container Be to be replaced is carried out from the cylinder cabinet 70, the gas container Be to be replaced is carried into the cylinder cabinet 60, the gas container Bf to be carried in is carried out from the cylinder cabinet 60, and the gas container Bf to be carried is carried out. The gas container Bf is carried into the cylinder cabinet 70.

The cylinder vestker 60 is provided for each type of gas, and one cylinder vestker 60 accommodates a plurality of gas containers B. In the example shown in FIG. 11, the cylinders 60-1 and 60-2 contain the gas container Bf to be carried in, and the cylinders 60-3 and 60-4 contain the gas container Be to be replaced. The cylinder 60 is opened and closed the door, and a plurality of gas containers B are stored side by side in the storage space inside the door.

Further, at the bottom of the storage space, a free roller on which each gas container B is placed is provided. The free roller has a plurality of rollers provided side by side in the front-rear direction of the storage space, and a frame that rotatably supports the plurality of rollers. As a result, the gas container B placed on the free roller can be slid in the front-rear direction of the storage space via the plurality of rollers while the gas container B is in an upright state.

In addition to the cylinder 60, the cylinder 60 is provided with, for example, a sensor for detecting an empty state of a storage space, a control box for controlling the opening and closing of a door, and a communication unit (not shown) for communicating with the management device 40a. , Information on the open / closed state of the door, information on the availability of the storage space, and the like are transmitted to the management device 40a by the communication unit.

The operation terminal 100 is a terminal owned by an employee who moves in the factory. The operation terminal 100 receives an operation instruction of the cylinder transport carriage 2 and an instruction of loading and unloading the gas container B (Be, Bf) by input of an employee. The operation terminal 100 transmits the received instruction to the cylinder transport carriage 2 via the management device 40a. The operation terminal 100 is configured by using a portable information processing device such as a tablet terminal, a smartphone, or a mobile phone.

The management device 40a is a device that manages the gas container management system 1a. The management device 40a performs the same processing as the functional unit having the same name in the first embodiment. Further, the management device 40a transmits the information of the exchange target gas container Be to the operation terminal 100 in response to the request from the operation terminal 100. Further, the management device 40a receives various information (for example, door opening / closing information, valve opening / closing information, pressure monitoring result, gas leak monitoring result, and gas container B remaining amount information) from the cylinder cabinet 70. Receive. Further, the management device 40a receives various information (for example, door opening / closing information, storage space availability information) from the cylinder 60. The management device 40a controls the traveling of the cylinder transport carriage 2 in response to a request from the operation terminal 100. The management device 40a is configured by using an information processing device such as a personal computer.

FIG. 12 is a schematic block diagram showing a functional configuration of the operation terminal 100 according to the second embodiment. The operation terminal 100 includes a CPU, a memory, an auxiliary storage device, and the like connected by a bus, and executes an operation program. By executing the operation program, the operation terminal 100 functions as a device including a communication unit 101, an operation unit 102, a control unit 103, a display unit 104, and a route information storage unit 105. In addition, all or a part of each function of the operation terminal 100 may be realized by using hardware such as ASIC, PLD and FPGA. Further, the operation program may be recorded on a computer-readable recording medium. The computer-readable recording medium is, for example, a flexible disk, a magneto-optical disk, a portable medium such as a ROM or a CD-ROM, or a storage device such as a hard disk built in a computer system. Further, the operation program may be transmitted and received via a telecommunication line.

The communication unit 101 communicates with other devices. For example, the communication unit 101 communicates with the management device 40a.
The operation unit 102 is configured by using existing input devices such as a keyboard, a pointing device (mouse, tablet, etc.), a touch panel, and buttons. The operation unit 102 is operated by the user when inputting the user's instruction to the operation terminal 100. For example, the operation unit 102 receives a traveling instruction of the cylinder transporting carriage 2 and an instruction of carrying out and carrying in the gas container B by the cylinder transporting carriage 2.

The control unit 103 controls the operation of the operation terminal 100. For example, the control unit 103 causes the display unit 104 to display the information transmitted from the management device 40a. Further, the control unit 103 controls the communication unit 101 to transmit the user's instruction input via the operation unit 102 to the management device 40a.

The display unit 104 is an image display device such as a liquid crystal display or an organic EL display. The display unit 104 displays, for example, the information transmitted from the management device 40a. The display unit 104 may be an interface for connecting the image display device to the operation terminal 100. In this case, the display unit 104 generates a video signal for displaying information and outputs the video signal to an image display device connected to the display unit 104.

The route information storage unit 105 stores a route instruction table in which the position of the cylinder transport trolley 2, the destination, and the route number are associated with each other. The position of the cylinder transport trolley 2 represents the position of the cylinder transport trolley 2 at the time of inputting the instruction. For example, at the start of processing, the position of the cylinder transport trolley 2 is the accommodation place, and when the cylinder transport trolley 2 is carried out or carried in, the position of the cylinder transport trolley 2 is the place where the carry-out or carry-in is performed. The destination is the destination to which the cylinder transport trolley 2 heads. For example, when carrying out the gas container Be, the destination is the cylinder cabinet 70 accommodating the gas container Be. The route number is a number for indicating a route from the position of the cylinder transport carriage 2 to the destination. The route information storage unit 105 is configured by using a storage device such as a magnetic hard disk device or a semiconductor storage device.

FIG. 13 is a schematic block diagram showing a functional configuration of the management device 40a according to the second embodiment. The management device 40a includes a CPU, a memory, an auxiliary storage device, and the like connected by a bus, and executes a management program. By executing the management program, the management device 40a functions as a device including a communication unit 41, an operation unit 42, a storage unit 43a, a display unit 44, and a control unit 45a. All or part of each function of the management device 40a may be realized by using hardware such as ASIC, PLD, and FPGA. Further, the management program may be recorded on a computer-readable recording medium. The computer-readable recording medium is, for example, a flexible disk, a magneto-optical disk, a portable medium such as a ROM or a CD-ROM, or a storage device such as a hard disk built in a computer system. Further, the management program may be transmitted and received via a telecommunication line.

The communication unit 41 communicates with other devices. For example, the communication unit 41 communicates with the cylinder transport carriage 2, the cylinder bestker 60, the cylinder cabinet 70, and the operation terminal 100.
The operation unit 42 is configured by using existing input devices such as a keyboard, a pointing device (mouse, tablet, etc.), a touch panel, and buttons. The operation unit 42 is operated by the user when inputting the user's instruction to the management device 40a. For example, the operation unit 42 receives a traveling instruction of the cylinder transporting carriage 2 and an instruction of carrying out and carrying in the gas container B by the cylinder transporting carriage 2.

The storage unit 43a stores the container table 431, the management table 432, and the trolley information 433. The trolley information 433 stores at least information on the state of the cylinder transport trolley 2 (whether or not it is in operation, which work is being performed, where it is located, etc.). The position information of the cylinder transport trolley 2 may be acquired from the cylinder transport trolley 2. The storage unit 43a is configured by using a storage device such as a magnetic hard disk device or a semiconductor storage device.

The display unit 44 is an image display device such as a liquid crystal display or an organic EL display. The display unit 44 displays based on the information registered in the container table 431 and the management table 432. For example, the display unit 44 displays the storage status of the gas container B, the amount of gas stored, the acceptance information of the container, and the like. The display unit 44 may be an interface for connecting the image display device to the management device 40a. In this case, the display unit 44 generates a video signal for displaying information, and outputs the video signal to an image display device connected to the display unit 44.

The control unit 45a controls the operation of the management device 40a. For example, the control unit 45a sets the container number in the writing device 50 among the essential information transmitted from the communication device 30 according to the operation of the user. For example, the control unit 45a controls the communication unit 41 to transmit information according to a request from the operation terminal 100 to the operation terminal 100. Further, for example, the control unit 45a controls the communication unit 41 to transmit an instruction from the operation terminal 100 to the target device.

FIG. 14 is a schematic block diagram showing an internal functional configuration of the cylinder transport carriage 2 according to the second embodiment. As described above, the cylinder transport trolley 2 includes a transport vehicle 10 and a carry-in / out robot 20.
The carry-in / out robot 20 includes a control unit 24. The control unit 24 is composed of, for example, a PLC (programmable logic controller). The control unit 24 functions as a communication control unit 241 and a carry-in / out control unit 242 by executing a program.

The communication control unit 241 controls the communication performed with other devices. For example, the communication control unit 241 outputs the instruction to the carry-in / out control unit 242 or the transport vehicle 10 according to the content of the instruction received by the antenna 16d. For example, when the instruction received by the antenna 16d includes an instruction for carrying out or carrying in the gas container B, the communication control unit 241 outputs the instruction to the carry-in / out control unit 242. For example, the communication control unit 241 includes an instruction to move the cylinder transport carriage 2 and an instruction to connect the cylinder transport carriage 2 to the cylinder cabinet 60 or the cylinder cabinet 70 in the instruction received by the antenna 16d. If so, the instruction is output to the transport vehicle 10. Here, connecting the cylinder transport trolley 2 to the cylinder cabinet 70 or the cylinder cabinet 70 means that the cylinder transport trolley 2 is docked with the cylinder cabinet 70 so that the gas container B can be carried out or carried in. is there.

The carry-in / out control unit 242 controls the operations of the holding mechanism 21 and the slide drive mechanism 22 in response to the input instructions. More specifically, the carry-in / out control unit 242 controls the holding mechanism 21 in response to the input instruction to grip the gas container B. The carry-in / out control unit 242 controls the slide drive mechanism 22 in response to the input instruction to slide the slide shaft 22a in the front-rear direction.

The transport vehicle 10 includes a storage unit 25 and a travel control unit 26.
The storage unit 25 stores the route table 251. The storage unit 25 is configured by using a storage device such as a magnetic hard disk device or a semiconductor storage device.
In the route table 251, information regarding the route on which the cylinder transport carriage 2 travels is registered. The specific configuration of the route table 251 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an example of the route table 251 according to the second embodiment. As shown in FIG. 15, route information is registered in the route table 251 in association with the route number. The route number represents an identification number for uniquely identifying the route. The route is information indicating a movement route when the cylinder transport carriage 2 travels on the floor of the factory. The route includes, for example, a movement route from the storage location of the cylinder transport trolley 2 to a specific cylinder cabinet 60, a movement route from the position of the cylinder cabinet 60 to a specific cylinder cabinet 70, and a movement route from the position of the cylinder cabinet 70. It includes a movement route to reach the storage location, a movement route from the storage location of the cylinder transport trolley 2 to the specific cylinder cabinet 70, and a movement route from the position of the cylinder cabinet 70 to the specific cylinder cabinet 60. .. The travel path also includes information indicating how many meters in a straight line and at what position a left or right turn should be made. The route table 251 is different between the cylinder transport carriage 2-1 and the cylinder transport carriage 2-2. This is because the purpose and installation position of the cylinder transport trolley 2-1 and the cylinder transport trolley 2-2 are different.

As described above, all the movement routes on which the cylinder transport carriage 2 is expected to travel are registered in the route table 251. Therefore, the cylinder transport carriage 2 can reach the target position by traveling along the movement route indicated by the route associated with the route number of the route table 251.

Returning to FIG. 14, the description of the cylinder transport carriage 2 will be continued.
The travel control unit 26 controls the travel of the cylinder transport carriage 2 by controlling the rotation of the wheels 13 in response to the input instruction.

16 and 17 are sequence diagrams showing the flow of empty bottle unloading processing in the gas container management system 1a of the second embodiment. The empty bottle unloading process is a process of unloading the gas container Be to be replaced from the cylinder cabinet 70. At the start of the processes of FIGS. 16 and 17, it is assumed that the route number to the cylinder cabinet 70 selected by the user has been acquired.
The control unit 103 of the operation terminal 100 controls the communication unit 101 to transmit the carry-out instruction including the acquired route number to the management device 40a (step S301). The communication unit 41 of the management device 40a receives the carry-out instruction transmitted from the operation terminal 100. After that, the communication unit 41 transmits the received carry-out instruction to the cylinder transport carriage 2-1 (step S302).
The antenna 16d of the cylinder transport carriage 2-1 receives the carry-out instruction transmitted from the management device 40a. Since the received instruction is information related to unloading, the communication control unit 241 outputs the unloading instruction to the traveling control unit 26 (step S303).

The employee operates the cylinder cabinet 70 to be replaced of the gas container B to open the door. The cylinder cabinet 70 opens the door according to the operation of the employee. After opening the door, the employee removes the gas container B fixing, the base, and the tubes.
The travel control unit 26 moves the cylinder transport carriage 2-1 to the position of the replacement target gas container Be of the cylinder cabinet 70 at the delivery destination based on the carry-out instruction and the route table 251 (step S304). Specifically, the travel control unit 26 refers to the route table 251 and acquires route information corresponding to the route number included in the carry-out instruction. Then, the traveling control unit 26 moves the cylinder transport carriage 2-1 to the position of the replacement target gas container Be of the cylinder cabinet 70 at the delivery destination by controlling the wheels 13 according to the route information.

When the traveling control unit 26 moves the cylinder transport carriage 2-1 to the position of the replacement target gas container Be of the cylinder cabinet 70 at the delivery destination, the travel control unit 26 notifies the control unit 24 that the movement is completed. The communication control unit 241 transmits the movement completion information indicating that the movement is completed to the management device 40a (step S305).
The communication unit 41 of the management device 40a receives the movement completion information transmitted from the cylinder transport carriage 2-1. The communication unit 41 transmits the received movement completion information to the operation terminal 100 (step S306).

The communication unit 101 of the operation terminal 100 receives the movement completion information transmitted from the management device 40a. The control unit 103 asks the user whether or not to connect the cylinder transport carriage 2-1 to the cylinder cabinet 70 based on the movement completion information received by the communication unit 101 (step S307). Specifically, the control unit 103 displays a display such as "Do you want to connect the cylinder transport trolley 2-1 to the cylinder cabinet 70?" On the screen of the display unit 104, so that the cylinder transport trolley 2 Ask the user whether to connect -1 to the cylinder cabinet 70.

The user operates the operation unit 102 to input an answer to the question displayed on the screen of the display unit 104. When an instruction not to connect the cylinder transport carriage 2-1 to the cylinder cabinet 70 is input, the operation terminal 100 ends the process. Here, it is assumed that the user has input an instruction to connect the cylinder transport carriage 2-1 to the cylinder cabinet 70. In this case, the control unit 103 controls the communication unit 101 to transmit a connection instruction including an instruction to connect the cylinder transport carriage 2-1 to the cylinder cabinet 70 to the management device 40a (step S308). The communication unit 41 of the management device 40a receives the connection instruction transmitted from the operation terminal 100. After that, the communication unit 41 transmits the received connection instruction to the cylinder transport carriage 2-1 (step S309).

The antenna 16d of the cylinder transport carriage 2-1 receives the connection instruction transmitted from the management device 40a. Since the received instruction is information related to the connection, the communication control unit 241 outputs the connection instruction to the travel control unit 26 (step S310). The travel control unit 26 controls the wheels 13 to connect the cylinder transport carriage 2-1 and the cylinder cabinet 70 (step S311).

It is confirmed by a sensor or the like that the cylinder cabinet 70 is correctly connected to the cylinder transport carriage 2-1 (step S312). When the cylinder cabinet 70 is correctly connected to the cylinder transport carriage 2-1, the cylinder cabinet 70 transmits connection completion information indicating that the connection is completed to the management device 40a (step S313). On the other hand, when the cylinder cabinet 70 is not correctly connected to the cylinder transport carriage 2-1, the cylinder cabinet 70 transmits error information indicating that the connection is not completed to the management device 40a. Here, it is assumed that the cylinder cabinet 70 and the cylinder transport carriage 2-1 are correctly connected.

The communication unit 41 of the management device 40a receives the connection completion information transmitted from the cylinder cabinet 70. The communication unit 41 transmits the received connection completion information to the operation terminal 100 (step S314).
The communication unit 101 of the operation terminal 100 receives the connection completion information transmitted from the management device 40a. The control unit 103 asks the user whether to carry out the gas container Be to be replaced from the cylinder cabinet 70 based on the connection completion information received by the communication unit 101 (step S315). Specifically, the control unit 103 displays a display such as "Do you want to carry out the gas container Be to be replaced from the cylinder cabinet 70?" On the screen of the display unit 104, so that the gas to be replaced is displayed from the cylinder cabinet 70. Ask the user whether to carry out the container Be.

The user operates the operation unit 102 to input an answer to the question displayed on the screen of the display unit 104. When an instruction not to carry out the gas container Be to be replaced is input from the cylinder cabinet 70, the operation terminal 100 ends the process. Here, it is assumed that the user has input an instruction to carry out the gas container Be to be replaced from the cylinder cabinet 70. In this case, the control unit 103 controls the communication unit 101 to transmit the carry-out instruction including the instruction to carry out the gas container Be to be replaced from the cylinder cabinet 70 to the management device 40a (step S316). The communication unit 41 of the management device 40a receives the carry-out instruction transmitted from the operation terminal 100. After that, the communication unit 41 transmits the received carry-out instruction to the cylinder transport carriage 2-1 (step S317).

The antenna 16d of the cylinder transport carriage 2-1 receives the carry-out instruction transmitted from the management device 40a. Since the received instruction is information related to unloading, the communication control unit 241 outputs the unloading instruction to the unloading / unloading control unit 242. The carry-in / out control unit 242 controls the holding mechanism 21 and the slide drive mechanism 22 to carry out the gas container Be to be replaced (step S318). When the carry-out / out control unit 242 completes the carry-out of the exchange target gas container Be, the carry-in / out control unit 242 notifies the communication control unit 241 that the carry-out of the exchange target gas container Be is completed. The communication control unit 241 transmits the carry-out completion information indicating that the carry-out of the exchange target gas container Be has been completed to the management device 40a (step S319). The completion of carrying out the replacement target gas container Be may be determined, for example, by mounting the replacement target gas container Be on the mounting portion 11.

The communication unit 41 of the management device 40a receives the carry-out completion information transmitted from the cylinder transport carriage 2-1. The communication unit 41 transmits the received carry-out completion information to the operation terminal 100 (step S320).
The communication unit 101 of the operation terminal 100 receives the carry-out completion information transmitted from the management device 40a. Based on the carry-out completion information received by the communication unit 101, the control unit 103 asks the user whether or not to move the carried-out gas container Be to be replaced to the cylinder bestker 60 (step S321). Specifically, the control unit 103 displays a display such as "Do you want to move the carried-out gas container Be to be replaced to the cylinder vestker 60?" On the screen of the display unit 104, thereby causing the carried-out gas to be replaced. Ask the user whether to move the container Be to the cylinder bestker 60.

The user operates the operation unit 102 to input an answer to the question displayed on the screen of the display unit 104. When an instruction not to move the carried-out gas container Be to be replaced to the cylinder bestker 60 is input, the operation terminal 100 ends the process. Here, it is assumed that the user has input an instruction to move the carried-out gas container Be to be replaced to the cylinder bestker 60. In this case, the control unit 103 controls the communication unit 101 and requests the management device 40a to list the cylinder 60 with a space for placing the gas container Be to be replaced. By this process, the management device 40a obtains a list of cylinder vesters 60 having a space for placing the gas container Be to be replaced. The control unit 103 displays the list obtained from the management device 40a on the screen of the display unit 104, thereby selecting the cylinder 60 of the destination of the carried-out gas container Be to be replaced.

Here, it is assumed that the cylinder vestker 60 (for example, the cylinder vestker 60-3) to which the gas container Be to be replaced is carried out is selected by the user. In this case, the control unit 103 refers to the route information storage unit 105, and the route number associated with the current position of the cylinder transport carriage 2-1 and the selected cylinder bestker 60-3 as the destination. To get. Then, the control unit 103 controls the communication unit 101 to transmit a movement instruction including the acquired route number to the management device 40a (step S322). The communication unit 41 of the management device 40a receives the movement instruction transmitted from the operation terminal 100. After that, the communication unit 41a transmits the received movement instruction to the cylinder transport carriage 2-1 (step S323).
The antenna 16d of the cylinder transport carriage 2-1 receives the movement instruction transmitted from the management device 40a. Since the received movement instruction is information related to movement, the communication control unit 241 outputs the movement instruction to the travel control unit 26 (step S324).

The travel control unit 26 moves the cylinder transport trolley 2-1 to the position of the cylinder bestker 60-3 at the delivery destination based on the movement instruction and the route table 251 (step S325). Specifically, the travel control unit 26 refers to the route table 251 and acquires route information corresponding to the route number included in the movement instruction. Then, the traveling control unit 26 controls the wheels 13 according to the route information to move the wheels 13 to the position of the cylinder vestker 60-3 at the delivery destination.

When the travel control unit 26 moves the cylinder transport trolley 2-1 to the position of the cylinder bestker 60-3 at the delivery destination, the travel control unit 26 notifies the control unit 24 that the movement is completed. The communication control unit 241 transmits the movement completion information indicating that the movement is completed to the management device 40a (step S326).
The communication unit 41 of the management device 40a receives the movement completion information transmitted from the cylinder transport carriage 2-1. The communication unit 41 transmits the received movement completion information to the operation terminal 100 (step S327).

The employee operates the cylinder cabinet 70 in which the gas container B has been replaced and closes the door. The cylinder cabinet 70 closes the door according to the operation of the employee. The employee opens the door by operating the cylinder vestker 60-3, which is the delivery destination of the gas container Be to be replaced. The cylinder vestker 60-3 opens the door according to the operation of the employee.

The communication unit 101 of the operation terminal 100 receives the movement completion information transmitted from the management device 40a. Based on the movement completion information received by the communication unit 101, the control unit 103 inquires the user whether or not to connect the cylinder transport carriage 2-1 to the cylinder bestker 60-3 (step S328). Specifically, the control unit 103 displays a display such as "Do you want to connect the cylinder transport carriage 2-1 to the cylinder transporter 60-3?" On the screen of the display unit 44, thereby transporting the cylinder. Ask the user whether to connect the dolly 2-1 to the cylinder vestker 60-3.

The user operates the operation unit 102 to input an answer to the question displayed on the screen of the display unit 104. When an instruction not to connect the cylinder transport carriage 2-1 to the cylinder bestker 60-3 is input, the operation terminal 100 ends the process. Here, it is assumed that the user has input an instruction to connect the cylinder transporting carriage 2-1 to the cylinder bestker 60-3. In this case, the control unit 103 controls the communication unit 101 to transmit a connection instruction including an instruction to connect the cylinder transport carriage 2-1 to the cylinder bestker 60-3 to the management device 40a (step S329). ). The communication unit 41 of the management device 40a receives the connection instruction transmitted from the operation terminal 100. After that, the communication unit 41 transmits the received connection instruction to the cylinder transport carriage 2-1 (step S330).

The antenna 16d of the cylinder transport carriage 2-1 receives the connection instruction transmitted from the management device 40a. Since the received connection instruction is information related to the connection, the communication control unit 241 outputs the connection instruction to the travel control unit 26 (step S331). The travel control unit 26 controls the wheels 13 to connect the cylinder transport carriage 2-1 and the cylinder bestker 60-3 (step S332).

The cylinder bestker 60-3 confirms that it is correctly connected to the cylinder transport carriage 2-1 by a sensor or the like (step S333). When the cylinder transporter 60-3 is correctly connected to the cylinder transport carriage 2-1, the cylinder bestker 60-3 transmits connection completion information indicating that the connection is completed to the management device 40a (step S334). On the other hand, if the cylinder transporter 60-3 is not correctly connected to the cylinder transport carriage 2-1, the cylinder bestker 60-3 transmits error information indicating that the connection is not completed to the management device 40a. Here, it is assumed that the cylinder bestker 60-3 and the cylinder transport carriage 2-1 are correctly connected.

The communication unit 41 of the management device 40a receives the connection completion information transmitted from the cylinder bestker 60-3. The communication unit 41 transmits the received connection completion information to the operation terminal 100 (step S335).
The communication unit 101 of the operation terminal 100 receives the connection completion information transmitted from the management device 40a. Based on the connection completion information received by the communication unit 101, the control unit 103 inquires the user whether or not to carry the gas container Be to be replaced into the cylinder bestker 60-3 (step S336). Specifically, the control unit 103 displays a display such as "Do you want to carry the gas container Be to be replaced into the cylinder bestker 60-3?" On the screen of the display unit 104, thereby causing the cylinder bestker 60-3. Inquires to the user whether or not to carry in the gas container Be to be replaced.

The user operates the operation unit 102 to input an answer to the question displayed on the screen of the display unit 104. When the instruction not to carry in the gas container Be to be replaced is input to the cylinder bestker 60-3, the operation terminal 100 ends the process. Here, it is assumed that the user has input an instruction to carry the gas container Be to be replaced into the cylinder bestker 60-3. In this case, the control unit 103 controls the communication unit 101 to transmit a carry-in instruction including an instruction to carry the gas container Be to be replaced into the cylinder bestker 60-3 to the management device 40a (step S337). The communication unit 41 of the management device 40a receives the carry-in instruction transmitted from the operation terminal 100. After that, the communication unit 41 transmits the received carry-in instruction to the cylinder transport carriage 2-1 (step S338).

The antenna 16d of the cylinder transport carriage 2-1 receives the carry-in instruction transmitted from the management device 40a. Since the received carry-in instruction is information related to carry-in, the communication control unit 241 outputs the carry-in instruction to the carry-in / out control unit 242. The carry-in / out control unit 242 controls the holding mechanism 21 and the slide drive mechanism 22 to carry the gas container Be to be replaced into the cylinder 60-3 (step S339). When the carry-in of the exchange target gas container Be is completed, the carry-in / out control unit 242 notifies the communication control unit 241 that the carry-in of the exchange target gas container Be is completed. The communication control unit 241 transmits to the management device 40a the carry-in completion information indicating that the carry-in of the gas container Be to be exchanged has been completed (step S340).

The communication unit 41 of the management device 40a receives the carry-in completion information transmitted from the cylinder transport carriage 2-1. The communication unit 41 transmits the received carry-in completion information to the operation terminal 100 (step S341).
The communication unit 101 of the operation terminal 100 receives the carry-in completion information transmitted from the management device 40a. The control unit 103 inquires the user whether or not to end the work based on the carry-in completion information received by the communication unit 101 (step S342). Specifically, whether or not the control unit 103 ends the work by displaying a display such as "Do you want to return the cylinder transport carriage 2-1 to the accommodation position?" On the screen of the display unit 104. Ask the user.

The user operates the operation unit 102 to input an answer to the question displayed on the screen of the display unit 104. When an instruction not to finish the work is input, the worker operates the operation terminal 100 to continue the work. Here, when the user inputs a movement instruction to end the work, that is, to return the cylinder transport trolley 2-1 to the accommodation position, the cylinder transport trolley 2-1 is accommodated in response to the movement instruction. Move to the position (region 71-1).

18 and 19 are sequence diagrams showing the flow of the filling and loading process in the gas container management system 1a of the second embodiment. The filling bottle carry-in process is a process of carrying the gas container Bf to be carried into the cylinder cabinet 70. At the start of the processes of FIGS. 18 and 19, it is assumed that the route number to the cylinder bestker 60 selected by the user has been acquired.
The control unit 103 of the operation terminal 100 controls the communication unit 41 and transmits a carry-out instruction including the acquired route number to the management device 40a (step S401). The communication unit 41 of the management device 40a receives the carry-out instruction transmitted from the operation terminal 100. After that, the communication unit 41 transmits the received carry-out instruction to the cylinder transport carriage 2-2 (step S402).
The antenna 16d of the cylinder transport carriage 2-2 receives the carry-out instruction transmitted from the management device 40a. Since the received carry-out instruction is information related to carry-in, the communication control unit 241 outputs the carry-out instruction to the travel control unit 26 (step S403).

The employee operates the cylinder vestker 60, which is the extraction source, to open the door. The cylinder bestker 60 opens the door according to the operation of the employee.
The traveling control unit 26 moves the cylinder transport trolley 2-2 to the position of the cylinder vestker 60 at the unloading destination based on the unloading instruction and the route table 251 (step S404). Specifically, the travel control unit 26 refers to the route table 251 and acquires route information corresponding to the route number included in the carry-out instruction. Then, the traveling control unit 26 moves the cylinder transport carriage 2-2 to the position of the cylinder bestker 60 at the delivery destination by controlling the wheels 13 according to the route information.

When the travel control unit 26 moves the cylinder transport trolley 2-2 to the position of the cylinder vestker 60 at the delivery destination, the travel control unit 26 notifies the control unit 24 that the movement is completed. The communication control unit 241 transmits the movement completion information indicating that the movement is completed to the management device 40a (step S405).
The communication unit 41 of the management device 40 receives the movement completion information transmitted from the cylinder transport carriage 2-2. The communication unit 41 transmits the received movement completion information to the operation terminal 100 (step S406).

The communication unit 101 of the operation terminal 100 receives the movement completion information transmitted from the management device 40a. Based on the movement completion information received by the communication unit 101, the control unit 103 asks the user whether or not to connect the cylinder transport carriage 2-2 to the cylinder bestker 60 (step S407). Specifically, the control unit 103 displays a display such as "Do you want to connect the cylinder transport trolley 2-2 to the cylinder transporter 60?" On the screen of the display unit 104, so that the cylinder transport trolley 2 Ask the user whether or not to connect -2 to the cylinder bestker 60.

The user operates the operation unit 102 to input an answer to the question displayed on the screen of the display unit 104. When an instruction not to connect the cylinder transport carriage 2-2 to the cylinder bestker 60 is input, the operation terminal 100 ends the process. Here, it is assumed that the user has input an instruction to connect the cylinder transport carriage 2-2 to the cylinder bestker 60. In this case, the control unit 103 controls the communication unit 101 to transmit a connection instruction including an instruction to connect the cylinder transport carriage 2-2 to the cylinder bestker 60 to the management device 40a (step S408). The communication unit 41 of the management device 40a receives the connection instruction transmitted from the operation terminal 100. After that, the communication unit 41 transmits the received connection instruction to the cylinder transport carriage 2-2 (step S409).

The antenna 16d of the cylinder transport carriage 2-2 receives the connection instruction transmitted from the management device 40a. Since the received connection instruction is information related to the connection, the communication control unit 241 outputs the connection instruction to the travel control unit 26 (step S410). The travel control unit 26 controls the wheels 13 to connect the cylinder transport carriage 2-2 and the cylinder bestker 60 (step S411).

The cylinder bestker 60 confirms that it is correctly connected to the cylinder transport carriage 2-2 by a sensor or the like (step S412). When the cylinder transporter 60 is correctly connected to the cylinder transport carriage 2-2, the cylinder bestker 60 transmits connection completion information indicating that the connection is completed to the management device 40a (step S413). On the other hand, if the cylinder transporter 60 is not correctly connected to the cylinder transport carriage 2-2, the cylinder bestker 60 transmits error information indicating that the connection is not completed to the management device 40a. Here, it is assumed that the cylinder bestker 60 and the cylinder transport carriage 2-2 are correctly connected.

The communication unit 41 of the management device 40a receives the connection completion information transmitted from the cylinder bestker 60. The communication unit 41 transmits the received connection completion information to the operation terminal 100 (step S414).
The communication unit 101 of the operation terminal 100 receives the connection completion information transmitted from the management device 40a. The control unit 103 asks the user whether or not to carry out the gas container B from the cylinder bestker 60 based on the connection completion information received by the communication unit 101 (step S415). Specifically, the control unit 103 displays a display such as "Do you want to carry out the gas container B from the cylinder bestker 60?" On the screen of the display unit 104, so that the gas container Bf to be carried in from the cylinder bestker 60 is displayed. Ask the user if they want to carry it out.

The user operates the operation unit 102 to input an answer to the question displayed on the screen of the display unit 104. When an instruction not to carry out the gas container Bf to be carried in is input from the cylinder bestker 60, the operation terminal 100 ends the process. Here, it is assumed that the user has input an instruction to carry out the gas container Bf to be carried in from the cylinder bestker 60. In this case, the control unit 103 controls the communication unit 101 to transmit a carry-out instruction including an instruction to carry out the carry-in target gas container Bf from the cylinder bestker 60 to the management device 40a (step S416). The communication unit 41 of the management device 40a receives the carry-out instruction transmitted from the operation terminal 100. After that, the communication unit 41 transmits the received carry-out instruction to the cylinder transport carriage 2-1 (step S417).

The antenna 16d of the cylinder transport carriage 2-2 receives the carry-out instruction transmitted from the management device 40a. Since the received carry-out instruction is information related to carry-out, the communication control unit 241 outputs the carry-out instruction to the carry-in / out control unit 242. The carry-in / out control unit 242 controls the holding mechanism 21 and the slide drive mechanism 22 to carry out the carry-in target gas container Bf from the cylinder vestker 60 (step S418). When the carry-in / out control unit 242 completes the carry-out of the carry-in target gas container Bf, the carry-in / out control unit 242 notifies the communication control unit 241 that the carry-in target gas container Bf has been carried out. The communication control unit 241 transmits the carry-out completion information indicating that the carry-in target gas container Bf has been carried out to the management device 40a (step S419). The completion of carrying out the carry-in target gas container Bf may be determined, for example, by placing the carry-in target gas container Bf on the loading unit 11.

The communication unit 41 of the management device 40a receives the carry-out completion information transmitted from the cylinder transport carriage 2-2. The communication unit 41 transmits the received carry-out completion information to the operation terminal 100 (step S420).
The communication unit 101 of the operation terminal 100 receives the carry-out completion information transmitted from the management device 40a. The control unit 103 asks the user whether or not to move the carried-out target gas container Bf to the cylinder cabinet 70 based on the carry-out completion information received by the communication unit 101 (step S421). Specifically, the control unit 103 displays a display such as "Do you want to move the carried-out target gas container Bf to the cylinder cabinet 70?" On the screen of the display unit 104, so that the carried-in target gas is carried out. Ask the user whether to move the container Bf to the cylinder cabinet 70.

The user operates the operation unit 102 to input an answer to the question displayed on the screen of the display unit 104. When an instruction not to move the carry-in target gas container Bf to the cylinder cabinet 70 is input, the operation terminal 100 ends the process. Here, it is assumed that the user has input an instruction to move the carried-out target gas container Bf to the cylinder cabinet 70. In this case, the control unit 103 controls the communication unit 101 to request the management device 40a to list the cylinder cabinet 70 having a space for placing the carry-in target gas container Bf. By this process, a list of cylinder cabinets 70 having a space for placing the gas container Bf to be carried in is obtained from the management device 40a. The control unit 103 displays the list obtained from the management device 40a on the screen of the display unit 104, thereby selecting the cylinder cabinet 70 to which the gas container Bf to be carried out is carried in.

Here, it is assumed that the cylinder cabinet 70 to which the gas container Bf to be carried out is carried in is selected by the user. In this case, the control unit 103 refers to the route information storage unit 105 and acquires the current position of the cylinder transport carriage 2-2 and the route number associated with the selected cylinder cabinet 70 as the destination. To do. Then, the control unit 103 controls the communication unit 101 to transmit a movement instruction including the acquired route number to the management device 40a (step S422). The communication unit 41 of the management device 40a receives the movement instruction transmitted from the operation terminal 100. After that, the communication unit 41 transmits the received movement instruction to the cylinder transport carriage 2-2 (step S423).
The antenna 16d of the cylinder transport carriage 2-2 receives the movement instruction transmitted from the management device 40a. Since the received movement instruction is information related to movement, the communication control unit 241 outputs the movement instruction to the travel control unit 26 (step S424).

The travel control unit 26 moves the cylinder transport carriage 2-2 to the position of the cylinder cabinet 70 of the carry-in destination based on the movement instruction and the route table 251 (step S425). Specifically, the travel control unit 26 refers to the route table 251 and acquires route information corresponding to the route number included in the movement instruction. Then, the travel control unit 26 moves the wheels 13 to the position of the carry-in destination cylinder cabinet 70 by controlling the wheels 13 according to the route information.

When the travel control unit 26 moves the cylinder transport carriage 2-2 to the position of the cylinder cabinet 70 at the delivery destination, the travel control unit 26 notifies the control unit 24 that the movement is completed. The communication control unit 241 transmits the movement completion information indicating that the movement is completed to the management device 40a (step S426).
The communication unit 41 of the management device 40a receives the movement completion information transmitted from the cylinder transport carriage 2-2. The communication unit 41 transmits the received movement completion information to the operation terminal 100 (step S427).

The employee closes the door by operating the cylinder bestker 60, which has completed the removal of the gas container Bf to be carried in. The cylinder vestker 60 closes the door according to the operation of the employee. The employee operates the cylinder cabinet 70, which is the destination of the gas container Bf to be carried in, to open the door. The cylinder cabinet 70 opens the door according to the operation of the employee.

The communication unit 101 of the operation terminal 100 receives the movement completion information transmitted from the management device 40a. The control unit 103 asks the user whether or not to connect the cylinder transport carriage 2-2 to the cylinder cabinet 70 based on the movement completion information received by the communication unit 101 (step S428). Specifically, the control unit 103 displays a display such as "Do you want to connect the cylinder transport carriage 2-2 to the cylinder cabinet 70?" On the screen of the display unit 104, so that the cylinder transport carriage 2 Ask the user whether to connect -2 to the cylinder cabinet 70.

The user operates the operation unit 102 to input an answer to the question displayed on the screen of the display unit 104. When an instruction not to connect the cylinder transport carriage 2-2 to the cylinder cabinet 70 is input, the operation terminal 100 ends the process. Here, it is assumed that the user has input an instruction to connect the cylinder transport carriage 2-2 to the cylinder cabinet 70. In this case, the control unit 103 controls the communication unit 101 to transmit a connection instruction to connect the cylinder transport carriage 2-2 to the cylinder cabinet 70 to the management device 40a (step S429). The communication unit 41 of the management device 40a receives the connection instruction transmitted from the operation terminal 100. After that, the communication unit 41 transmits the received connection instruction to the cylinder transport carriage 2-2 (step S430).

The antenna 16d of the cylinder transport carriage 2-2 receives the connection instruction transmitted from the management device 40a. Since the received connection instruction is information related to the connection, the communication control unit 241 outputs the connection instruction to the travel control unit 26 (step S431). The travel control unit 26 controls the wheels 13 to connect the cylinder transport carriage 2-2 and the cylinder cabinet 70 (step S432).

It is confirmed by a sensor or the like that the cylinder cabinet 70 is correctly connected to the cylinder transport carriage 2-2 (step S433). When the cylinder cabinet 70 is correctly connected to the cylinder transport carriage 2-2, the cylinder cabinet 70 transmits connection completion information indicating that the connection is completed to the management device 40a (step S434). On the other hand, if the cylinder transporter 60 is not correctly connected to the cylinder transport carriage 2-1, the cylinder bestker 60 transmits error information indicating that the connection is not completed to the management device 40a. Here, it is assumed that the cylinder cabinet 70 and the cylinder transport carriage 2-2 are correctly connected.

The communication unit 41 of the management device 40a receives the connection completion information transmitted from the cylinder cabinet 70. The communication unit 41 transmits the received connection completion information to the operation terminal 100 (step S435).
The communication unit 101 of the operation terminal 100 receives the connection completion information transmitted from the management device 40a. Based on the connection completion information received by the communication unit 101, the control unit 103 inquires the user whether or not to carry the gas container Bf to be carried into the cylinder cabinet 70 (step S436). Specifically, the control unit 103 displays a display such as "Do you want to carry the gas container Bf to be carried into the cylinder cabinet 70?" On the screen of the display unit 104, thereby causing the gas to be carried into the cylinder cabinet 70. Ask the user whether to carry in the container Bf.

The user operates the operation unit 102 to input an answer to the question displayed on the screen of the display unit 104. When an instruction not to carry in the gas container Bf to be carried in is input to the cylinder cabinet 70, the operation terminal 100 ends the process. Here, it is assumed that the user has input an instruction to carry in the gas container Bf to be carried into the cylinder cabinet 70. In this case, the control unit 103 controls the communication unit 101 to transmit a carry-in instruction including an instruction to carry the gas container B into the cylinder cabinet 70 to the management device 40a (step S437). The communication unit 41 of the management device 40a receives the carry-in instruction transmitted from the operation terminal 100. After that, the communication unit 41 transmits the received carry-in instruction to the cylinder transport carriage 2-2 (step S438).

The antenna 16d of the cylinder transport carriage 2-2 receives the carry-in instruction transmitted from the management device 40a. Since the received carry-in instruction is information related to carry-in, the communication control unit 241 outputs the carry-in instruction to the carry-in / out control unit 242. The carry-in / out control unit 242 controls the holding mechanism 21 and the slide drive mechanism 22 to carry the gas container Bf to be carried into the cylinder cabinet 70 (step S439). When the carry-in target gas container Bf is completed, the carry-in / out control unit 242 notifies the communication control unit 241 that the carry-in target gas container Bf has been carried in. The communication control unit 241 transmits the carry-in completion information indicating that the carry-in target gas container Bf has been carried in to the management device 40a (step S440).

The communication unit 41 of the management device 40a receives the carry-in completion information transmitted from the cylinder transport carriage 2-2. The communication unit 41 transmits the received carry-in completion information to the operation terminal 100 (step S441).
The communication unit 101 of the operation terminal 100 receives the carry-in completion information transmitted from the management device 40a. The control unit 103 inquires the user whether or not to end the work based on the carry-in completion information received by the communication unit 101 (step S442). Specifically, whether or not the control unit 103 ends the work by displaying a display such as "Do you want to return the cylinder transport carriage 2-2 to the accommodation position?" On the screen of the display unit 104. Ask the user.

The user operates the operation unit 102 to input an answer to the question displayed on the screen of the display unit 104. When an instruction not to finish the work is input, the worker operates the operation terminal 100 to continue the work. Here, when the user inputs a movement instruction to end the work, that is, to return the cylinder transport trolley 2-2 to the home position, the cylinder transport trolley 2-2 is accommodated in response to the movement instruction. Move to the position (region 71-2).

According to the gas container management system 1a according to the second embodiment configured as described above, the same effect as that of the first embodiment can be obtained.
Further, in the gas container management system 1a, the gas container B is conveyed according to the control device (operation terminal 100, management device 40a) that controls the operation of the transfer trolley (bomb transfer trolley 2) and the control instruction of the control device. , A transport trolley that automatically carries out and carries in the gas container B while sliding the gas container B between the mounting portion 11 on which the gas container B is placed and the carry-in / out destination of the gas container B. Be prepared. As a result, the transport carriage automatically transports, carries out, and carries in the gas container B according to the instructions of the control device. Therefore, the user only has to operate the control device to send an instruction to the transport carriage, and does not need to carry the gas container B to the carry-out destination or the carry-in destination. Therefore, the gas container B can be easily transported, carried out, and carried in.

(Modified example of the second embodiment)
The operation terminal 100 and the cylinder transport carriage 2 may be configured to directly communicate with each other without going through the management device 40a. The operation terminal 100 and the cylinder cabinet 70 may be configured to directly communicate with each other without going through the management device 40a. The operation terminal 100 and the cylinder vestker 60 may be configured to directly communicate with each other without going through the management device 40a.
In the above embodiment, the configuration is shown in which the worker operates the operation terminal 100 to control the transportation, the unloading, and the transportation by the cylinder transport trolley 2, but the worker operates the management device 40a for the cylinder transport. It may be configured to control transport, carry-out and transport by the carriage 2. In this case, the management device 40a includes a route information storage unit 105 like the operation terminal 100.

The route information storage unit 105 may be provided in addition to the operation terminal 100. For example, the route information storage unit 105 may be provided in the management device 40a. In this case, the operation terminal 100 may not be provided with the route information storage unit 105. An instruction signal is transmitted from the device in which the route information storage unit 105 is stored to the cylinder transport carriage 2. An example will be described. It is assumed that the user selects the exchange target gas cylinder Be to be carried out in the area displayed on the operation terminal 100. In this case, the control unit 103 controls the communication unit 101 to transmit instruction information to the selected exchange target gas cylinder Be as the destination to the management device 40a. The communication unit 101 transmits instruction information with the exchange target gas cylinder Be as the destination to the management device 40a under the control of the control unit 103. The communication unit 41 of the management device 40a receives the instruction information transmitted from the operation terminal 100. The control unit 45 refers to the route information storage unit 105, and acquires the route number from the current position of the cylinder transport carriage 2 to the exchange target gas cylinder Be included in the instruction information. After that, the communication unit 41 transmits an instruction including the acquired route number to the cylinder transport carriage 2.

The cylinder cabinet 60 and the cylinder cabinet 70 may be automatically opened and closed according to the information transmitted from the cylinder transport carriage 2. For example, when the cylinder cabinet 60 and the cylinder cabinet 70 receive a signal from the cylinder carrier 2 indicating that the door is to be opened, the cylinder cabinet 70 automatically opens the door. For example, the cylinder cabinet 60 and the cylinder cabinet 70 automatically close the door when the cylinder carrier 2 receives a signal indicating that the door is closed. Such control is realized by a control box provided in the cylinder cabinet 70 and the cylinder cabinet 70.

(Third Embodiment)
The gas container B requires a certain period (delivery period) from the ordering to the delivery. Therefore, if an order is placed after the remaining amount of gas filled in the gas container B becomes less than the threshold value, it is assumed that the inventory may be insufficient until a new gas container B is delivered. Therefore, in the third embodiment, in addition to the above configuration, a configuration for performing appropriate inventory management based on the consumption tendency of the gas container B will be described. The basic system configuration is the same as that of the first embodiment or the second embodiment. The difference between the first embodiment and the second embodiment is that the configuration of the management device is different. Therefore, in the following description, only the differences will be described.

FIG. 20 is a schematic block diagram showing a functional configuration of the management device 40b according to the third embodiment. The management device 40b includes a CPU, a memory, an auxiliary storage device, and the like connected by a bus, and executes a control program. By executing the control program, the management device 40b functions as a device including a communication unit 41, an operation unit 42, a storage unit 43b, a display unit 44, and a control unit 45b. In addition, all or a part of each function of the management device 40b may be realized by using hardware such as ASIC, PLD and FPGA. Further, the control program may be recorded on a computer-readable recording medium. The computer-readable recording medium is, for example, a flexible disk, a magneto-optical disk, a portable medium such as a ROM or a CD-ROM, or a storage device such as a hard disk built in a computer system. Further, the control program may be transmitted and received via a telecommunication line.

The storage unit 43b stores the container table 431, the management table 432, the gas utilization information 434, and the prediction model 435. The gas utilization information 434 is information indicating the remaining amount of each number of days for each gas container B of each gas type in use in the cylinder cabinet 70.
The prediction model 435 is a model learned to output an estimated date when the amount of gas filled in the gas container B is less than the threshold value based on the gas utilization information 434. The prediction model 435 is stored in the storage unit 43b for each gas type.

The control unit 45b controls the operation of the management device 40b. The control unit 45b determines whether or not the gas ordering conditions are satisfied based on the gas consumption forecast by the prediction model 435, the inventory information of the gas container B, and the delivery period of the gas container B, and orders the gas. When the conditions are satisfied, information prompting the order for the gas container B is output. The inventory information of the gas container B may be calculated based on the container table 431. For example, the control unit 45b may calculate the unused gas container B among the gas containers B registered in the container table 431 as the number of stocks of the gas container B. For example, the control unit 45b may determine that the gas container B stored in the cylinder bestker 60 among the gas containers B registered in the container table 431 is unused. The gas ordering condition is a condition for considering that an order for gas container B is necessary. For example, the inventory of gas container B on the date estimated by the gas consumption forecast (hereinafter referred to as "estimated date") is less than the threshold value. That is. In terms of operation, it is desirable that the gas container B can be delivered before the estimated date while satisfying the above conditions. The control unit 45b learns the prediction model 435 based on the gas utilization information 434.

FIG. 21 is a flowchart showing a flow of order processing performed by the management device 40b according to the third embodiment. The ordering process is a process of placing an order for the gas container B. The process of FIG. 21 is executed at a predetermined timing. For example, the process of FIG. 21 may be executed at a predetermined time, or may be executed at a timing instructed by the user.
The control unit 45b selects one gas type (step S501). For example, when instructed by the user, the control unit 45b selects the gas type selected by the user. When a plurality of gas types are selected by the user, the control unit 45b randomly selects one gas type. Further, when the execution is performed at a predetermined time, the control unit 45b randomly selects one gas type.

The control unit 45b acquires the gas utilization information 434 and the prediction model 435 corresponding to the selected gas type from the storage unit 43b. Then, the control unit 45b acquires the estimated date by inputting the acquired gas utilization information 434 into the prediction model 435 (step S502). The control unit 45b acquires inventory information of the gas container B corresponding to the selected gas type from the container table 431 (step S503). Further, the control unit 45b acquires the delivery date information of the gas container B corresponding to the selected gas type (step S504). The delivery date information of the gas container B corresponding to the gas type may be stored in advance by the management device 40b, or may be included in the essential information transmitted from the communication device 30.

The control unit 45b determines whether or not the gas ordering condition is satisfied based on the acquired gas consumption forecast, the inventory information of the gas container B, and the delivery period of the gas container B (step S505). When the gas ordering condition is satisfied (step S505-YES), the control unit 45b displays information prompting the gas container B to order on the display unit 44 (step S506). At this time, the control unit 45b includes, as information for prompting the ordering of the gas container B, not only the necessity of ordering, but also information such as the number of stocks of the gas container B and how many days the stock quantity becomes less than the threshold value. May be displayed on the display unit 44. The control unit 45b determines whether or not it has been input that an order is required (step S507). When it is input that an order is required (step S507-YES), the control unit 45b orders the corresponding gas container B (step S508). The control unit 45b determines whether or not the end condition is satisfied (step S509). The end condition is a condition for terminating the order processing, for example, an instruction to end the order may be input from the user, or the gas order condition has been determined for all gas types. It may be that the gas ordering condition is determined a predetermined number of times.

When the end condition is satisfied (step S509-YES), the control unit 45b ends the order processing.
On the other hand, when the end condition is not satisfied (step S509-NO), the control unit 45b executes the processes after step S501.
When the gas ordering condition is not satisfied in the process of step S505 (step S505-NO), or when it is input that the order is not required in the process of step S507 (step S507-NO), the control unit 45b is the end condition. Is satisfied or not (step S509).

According to the gas container management system according to the third embodiment configured as described above, the same effect as that of the first embodiment or the second embodiment can be obtained.
Further, in the gas container management system according to the third embodiment, the gas consumption forecast and the inventory information of the gas container B are combined to encourage the ordering of the gas container B. As a result, it is possible to notify the manager or the like that it is necessary to place an order for the gas container B before the gas container B becomes insufficient. As described above, in the gas container management system according to the third embodiment, the gas container B can be easily managed.

(Modified example of the third embodiment)
The control unit 45b may be configured to display the consumption prediction result of the gas container B selected by the user on the display unit 44. When configured in this way, the control unit 45b uses the gas utilization information 434 corresponding to the gas container B selected by the user as the input of the prediction model 435.
This makes it possible to provide the user with the consumption prediction result of the specific gas container B.

The control unit 45b may be configured to automatically order the gas container B when the gas ordering condition is satisfied. When configured in this way, the control unit 45b compares the inventory quantity of the gas container B at the time when the gas ordering condition is satisfied with the predetermined inventory quantity. Then, the control unit 45b automatically orders the gas containers B in the insufficient number with respect to the predetermined inventory quantity.

(Modification example common to the first to third embodiments)
The management devices 40, 40a, 40b may be configured to manage the gas containers B of a plurality of facilities by one unit. When configured in this way, the network 80 is configured with the Internet. Then, the management devices 40, 40a, 40b collect information transmitted by the communication device 30, information transmitted by the cylinder cabinet 60, and information transmitted by the cylinder cabinet 70 from the plurality of facilities. The specific treatment after collection is the same as that of any of the first to third embodiments.

The communication device 30 may acquire the imaging data from another device. For example, the communication device 30 may be configured to acquire image pickup data from the image pickup device and perform image analysis using the acquired image pickup data. When configured in this way, the communication device 30 does not have to have a function of imaging the label 3.
In each of the above embodiments, the communication device 30 has shown a configuration in which the label 3 of the delivered gas container B is imaged to acquire container information, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, when the delivered gas container B is given a label in which the container information is converted into code information (for example, a one-dimensional code or a two-dimensional code) and printed, the communication device 30 reads the code information. Get container information by.

A recording medium other than the electronic tag 90 may be arranged in the gas container B housed in the cylinder cabinet 60 and the cylinder cabinet 70. For example, the gas container B may be affixed with a label printed by converting the information transmitted from the management devices 40, 40a, 40b into code information (for example, a one-dimensional code or a two-dimensional code). When configured in this way, the gas container management system 1 may include a printing device capable of printing a label on which code information is printed, instead of the writing device 50. In this case, the reading device 61 of the cylinder cabinet 70 and the reading device 71 of the cylinder cabinet 70 are provided with a reading device capable of reading the code information printed on the label.

The writing device 50 may acquire specific information from the communication device 30. When configured in this way, the communication device 30 transmits the essential information and the specific information to the management devices 40, 40a, 40b, and also transmits the specific information to the writing device 50. In such a case, the specific information may be automatically generated by the communication device 30, or the information input by the user may be used as the specific information.
The control units 45, 45a, 45b may be configured to display information on the gas container B that has exceeded the quality assurance period on the screen of the display unit 44.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail with reference to the drawings, the specific configuration is not limited to this embodiment, and the design and the like within a range not deviating from the gist of the present invention are also included.

30 ... communication device, 40, 40a, 40b ... management device, 50 ... writing device, 60 ... cylinder cabinet, 61 ... reading device, 70 ... cylinder cabinet, 71 ... reading device, 90 ... electronic tag, 100 ... operating terminal, 31 ... Imaging unit, 32 ... Storage unit, 33 ... Display unit, 34 ... Operation unit, 35 ... Control unit, 36 ... Communication unit, 41 ... Communication unit, 42 ... Operation unit, 43, 43a, 43b ... Storage unit, 44 ... Display unit, 45, 45a, 45b ... Control unit, 101 ... Communication unit, 102 ... Operation unit, 103 ... Control unit, 104 ... Display unit, 105 ... Route information storage unit

Claims (9)

A label that is pre-applied to the gas container, the container number associated with the gas container, gas name, concentration of gas, the quality assurance period, the label-container information is printed in characters, including information of loading and date of manufacture a recording apparatus for recording specifying information capable of specifying the gas container based on the container information obtained by the character recognition technology to read the characters on a recording medium,
A plurality of storages for storing the gas container in which the recording medium is arranged, and
A management device that holds the information about the plurality of storages and the specific information about the gas container stored in each of the plurality of storages in association with each other.
Container management system equipped with. A recording device that records specific information that can identify the gas container based on the container information acquired from the gas container on a recording medium, and
A plurality of storages for storing the gas container in which the recording medium is arranged, and
A management device that holds the information about the plurality of storages and the specific information about the gas container stored in each of the plurality of storages in association with each other.
With
When the specific information associated with the storage is not obtained for a predetermined period of time, the management device determines that the gas container has moved from the storage and associates it with the storage. A container management system that deletes the specific information. A recording device that records specific information that can identify the gas container based on the container information acquired from the gas container on a recording medium, and
A plurality of storages for storing the gas container in which the recording medium is arranged, and
A management device that holds the information about the plurality of storages and the specific information about the gas container stored in each of the plurality of storages in association with each other.
With
The management device further controls the operation of the transport carriage that transports, carries out, and carries in the gas container.
According to the control instruction of the management device, the gas container is conveyed, and the gas container is slid between the mounting portion on which the gas container is placed and the loading / unloading destination of the gas container. A container management system equipped with a transport trolley that automatically carries out and carries in. The plurality of storages include an acquisition unit for acquiring the specific information.
Any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the management device holds the specific information acquired by the acquisition unit in association with information about a storage container including the acquisition unit that has acquired the specific information. The container management system described in. Further provided with an information acquisition device for acquiring the container information from the gas container,
The information acquisition device transmits the information given to the gas container among the acquired container information common among gas companies to the management device.
The management device transmits a part or all of the information transmitted from the information acquisition device to the recording device as the specific information, or converts the information transmitted from the information acquisition device into a predetermined format and said. The container management system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, which is transmitted to the recording device as specific information. A part of the storage is a cylinder cabinet.
The management device is trained to output an estimated date when the amount of gas filled in the gas container is below the threshold, based on the consumption of the gas container used in the cylinder cabinet. The container management system according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the gas consumption is predicted by using the container management system. The management device determines whether or not the gas ordering condition is satisfied based on the gas consumption forecast, the inventory information of the gas container, and the period required for delivery of the gas container, and the gas ordering condition is satisfied. The container management system according to claim 6, which automatically places an order for the gas container or outputs information prompting the order. A label that is pre-applied to the gas container, the container number associated with the gas container, gas name, concentration of gas, the quality assurance period, the label-container information is printed in characters, including information of loading and date of manufacture a plurality of storage boxes for accommodating the gas container and the recording medium storing the specific information capable of specifying the gas container based on the container information obtained by the character recognition technology to read the characters are disposed, the The acquisition unit that acquires specific information and
A storage unit that holds the acquired information about the plurality of storages in association with the specific information.
A container management device equipped with. A label that is pre-applied to the gas container, the container number associated with the gas container, gas name, concentration of gas, the quality assurance period, the label-container information is printed in characters, including information of loading and date of manufacture , recording the gas container by the character recognition technique based on the container information obtained by reading the character of possible specific information specific to the recording medium,
A container management method for holding information about a plurality of storages for storing the gas container in which the recording medium is arranged and the specific information in association with each other.

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