JP6857213B2 - Automated warehouse system - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an automated warehouse system.

An automated warehouse system that can efficiently load and retrieve a large number of loads in a small space is known. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses an automated warehouse system including a plurality of storage shelves capable of storing a plurality of articles. This automated warehouse system is configured to carry in and out goods using a transport trolley that can move in the row direction and a stacker crane that can move in the row direction between the storage shelves.

JP-A-2017-160040

In an automated warehouse, a storage row may store multiple loads of different types. In such an automated warehouse, if the load to be shipped is stored in the back side of the line and another load that is not the target to be shipped is stored in the front side of the line, another load to be shipped is stored before the cargo to be delivered is delivered. I had to move the load. For this reason, the conventional automated warehouse system has room for improving the delivery throughput.

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

In order to solve the above problems, the automated warehouse system according to an embodiment of the present invention extends in the first direction, and the first storage row and the second storage row for storing a plurality of loads are in the first direction. Storage units provided side by side in the intersecting second directions, a dolly that carries a load and moves in the first direction, a moving mechanism that carries a dolly and moves in the second direction, and movement of the dolly and the moving mechanism. It is provided with a control unit for controlling the above. The control unit controls to execute a reordering operation of moving the loads so that the difference between the number of loads stored in the first storage row and the number of loads stored in the second storage row becomes small. To do.

Further, the automated warehouse system of another aspect of the present invention extends in the first direction, and the first storage row and the second storage row for storing a plurality of loads intersect the first direction in the second direction. A storage unit provided side by side, a dolly that carries a load and moves in the first direction, a moving mechanism that carries a dolly and moves in the second direction, and a control unit that controls the movement of the dolly and the moving mechanism. And. The control unit controls to execute the warehousing operation of warehousing the load in the storage row having the smaller number of stored loads among the first storage row and the second storage row.

Further, the automated warehouse system of another aspect of the present invention extends in the first direction, and the first storage row and the second storage row for storing a plurality of loads intersect the first direction in the second direction. A storage unit provided side by side, a dolly that carries a load and moves in the first direction, a moving mechanism that carries a dolly and moves in the second direction, and a control unit that controls the movement of the dolly and the moving mechanism. And. When the first load and the second load arranged on the moving mechanism side in the first direction from the first load are included in the same storage row, the control unit delivers the first load later than the first load. It is controlled to execute the reordering operation of moving the first load so that the number of the second load is reduced.

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

It is a top view which shows typically an example of the automated warehouse system which concerns on Embodiment 1. FIG. It is a top view which shows the arrangement of the storage part and the temporary storage part provided in the automated warehouse system. It is a side view which shows an example of an automated warehouse system schematically. It is a side view which shows the arrangement of the storage part and the temporary storage part of an automated warehouse system. It is a top view which shows an example of a dolly schematically. It is a front view which shows an example of a dolly schematically. It is a top view which shows an example of the moving mechanism schematically. It is a front view which shows an example of the moving mechanism schematically. It is a figure which shows the state of the load before the reordering operation is executed. It is a functional block diagram of a control part. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the rearrangement operation executed in the automated warehouse system which concerns on Embodiment 1. FIG. FIG. 12A is a diagram showing the movement of the load in the rearrangement operation. FIG. 12B is a diagram showing a state of the load after the rearrangement operation is executed. 13 (A) to 13 (C) are diagrams showing an example of a rearrangement operation executed in the automated warehouse system according to the second embodiment. 14 (A) and 14 (B) are diagrams showing an example of a warehousing operation executed in the automated warehouse system according to the third embodiment.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings based on preferred embodiments. The embodiments are not limited to the invention, but are exemplary, and all the features and combinations thereof described in the embodiments are not necessarily essential to the invention. The same or equivalent components, members, and processes shown in the drawings shall be designated by the same reference numerals, and redundant description will be omitted as appropriate. In addition, the scale and shape of each part shown in each figure are set for convenience in order to facilitate explanation, and are not limitedly interpreted unless otherwise specified. In addition, when terms such as "first" and "second" are used in the present specification or claims, these terms do not represent any order or importance unless otherwise specified, and have a certain structure. Is to distinguish between and other configurations. In addition, some of the members that are not important for explaining the embodiment in each drawing are omitted and displayed.

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

For convenience of explanation, an XYZ Cartesian coordinate system is defined in which the horizontal first direction is the X-axis direction, the horizontal second direction orthogonal to the X-axis direction is the Y-axis direction, and the vertical direction orthogonal to both is the Z-axis direction. The positive directions of the X-axis, the Y-axis, and the Z-axis are defined in the directions of the arrows in each figure, and the negative directions are defined in the directions opposite to the arrows. Further, the X-axis direction may be referred to as "row direction", the Y-axis direction may be referred to as "column direction", and the Z-axis direction may be referred to as "vertical direction". The notation in such a direction does not limit the configuration of the automated warehouse system, and the automated warehouse system can be used in any posture depending on the application. Further, the X-axis direction, the Y-axis direction, and the Z-axis direction do not necessarily have to be orthogonal to each other.

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

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

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

The storage unit 22 of each stage includes a plurality of storage rows 24 extending in the Y-axis direction (first direction). The storage unit 22 of this embodiment includes six storage rows 24. The plurality of storage rows 24 are arranged in the X-axis direction (second direction) intersecting the Y-axis direction. Each storage row 24 includes a plurality of storage compartments 26 connected in the Y-axis direction. Therefore, a plurality of loads 12 can be stored in each storage row 24. The storage column 24 of this embodiment includes five storage sections 26. The storage area 26 is a unit for storing the load 12.

The temporary storage unit 28 is arranged at a position different from that of the storage unit 22, and is a storage space for temporarily storing one or more loads 12. The temporary storage unit 28 includes a plurality of storage areas 26 arranged in the X-axis direction. The automated warehouse system 100 of the present embodiment has three stages of temporary storage units 28 stacked in layers in the vertical direction, and each temporary storage unit 28 has six storage sections 26.

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

The first rail 40 is a travel path on which the carriage 14 travels. The first rail 40 extends in the Y-axis direction in each storage section 26 of each storage row 24 and the temporary storage unit 28. The first rail 40 is supported by the first support member 42.

The second rail 44 is a traveling path for the moving mechanism 16 to travel. The second rail 44 extends in the X-axis direction so as to cross each storage row 24. The second rail 44 of the present embodiment is provided between the storage row 24 and the temporary storage unit 28. At the end of each storage row 24 on the second rail 44 side, an entrance / exit portion for the carriage 14 to enter / exit is provided. At the end of each storage section 26 of the temporary storage section 28 on the second rail 44 side, an entrance / exit portion for the carriage 14 to enter / exit is provided. At the end of each storage section 26 opposite to the second rail 44 side, an entry / exit port for loading / unloading the load 12 is provided. The second rail 44 is supported by the second support member 46.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The mechanism storage portion 16d is thicker in the Z-axis direction than the trolley mounting portion 16c, and has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape protruding upward on both sides of the trolley mounting portion 16c. Therefore, the vehicle body 16b has a concave shape that is recessed downward in the bogie mounting portion 16c. The mechanism storage portion 16d has a pair of side wall portions 16j that sandwich the space above the carriage mounting portion 16c in the X-axis direction. The pair of side wall portions 16j face the carriage 14 via a gap in the X-axis direction. Inside the mechanism accommodating portion 16d, a motor for driving the wheels 16f (not shown) and a control circuit for controlling the motor (not shown) are mounted.

The wheel 16f travels on the second rail 44. The current collecting unit 38 comes into contact with the power feeding unit 34 (see FIG. 1) extending in the vicinity of the second rail 44 along the X-axis direction to receive electric power. The moving mechanism 16 receives electric power from the power feeding unit 34 via the current collecting unit 38. The moving mechanism 16 is configured to drive the motor by the received electric power. Further, the moving mechanism 16 can charge the battery 14 g of the carriage 14 with the received electric power.

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

The load 12 is conveyed in the column direction by the carriage 14, and is conveyed in the row direction together with the carriage 14 by the moving mechanism 16. In the following description, the positions of the load 12, the trolley 14, and the storage area 26 are indicated by the row names and column names of the squares such as “A1”. Further, in order to distinguish a plurality of storage columns 24, the storage columns 24 corresponding to the A to F columns are referred to as storage columns 24A to 24F. The storage rows 24A to 24F can each store five loads 12 in the row direction. The sixth line shows the second rail 44 on which the moving mechanism 16 travels. The seventh line shows the lines of the squares corresponding to the storage area 26 of the temporary storage unit 28.

As shown in FIG. 9, loads 12a to 12x are stored in the storage unit 22 as an example. For convenience of explanation, the loads 12a to 12x are different types of loads. "Different types" include those having different contents as well as those having the same contents but different attributes such as production lots and warehousing lots that are distinguished at the time of warehousing. In the state shown in FIG. 9, for example, it is assumed that the load 12d is the target of delivery. In this case, in order to deliver the load 12d, it is necessary to move the loads 12a to 12c stored in the storage row 24A closer to the moving mechanism 16 than the load 12d.

That is, in addition to the movement of the load 12d that is the target of delivery, it is necessary to move the load 12 that is not the target of delivery, that is, to perform the transfer three times. Examining the number of transfers required when each load 12a to 12x is delivered, the number of transfers is 0 for the loads 12a, 12f, 12j, 12n, 12s, and 12u located in the front row in each storage row 24. Further, in the case of loads 12b, 12g, 12k, 12o, 12t, 12v having one other load on the moving mechanism 16 side, the number of transfers is one. Further, in the loads 12c, 12h, 12l, 12p, 12w having two other loads on the moving mechanism 16 side, the number of transfers is two. Further, in the load 12d, 12i, 12m, 12q, 12x having three other loads on the moving mechanism 16 side, the number of transfers is three. Further, in the loads 12e and 12r having four other loads on the moving mechanism 16 side, the number of transfers is four.

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

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

The control unit 18 includes a warehousing / delivery management unit 18a, a mode receiving unit 18b, a load arrangement determination unit 18c, and a movement instruction unit 18d. The warehousing / delivery management unit 18a manages the warehousing of the load 12 into the storage unit 22 and the warehousing of the load 12 from the storage unit 22, that is, the normal warehousing / delivery operation. The warehousing / delivery management unit 18a receives the warehousing / delivery instruction of the load 12 from the outside, and controls the carriage 14 and the moving mechanism 16 so as to warehousing / unloading the load 12 in response to the instruction. In addition, the warehousing / delivery management unit 18a stores the type and position of the load 12 stored in each storage area 26 of the storage unit 22.

The mode receiving unit 18b receives the operation mode selection result by the user from the mode setting unit 30. When this selection result is the rearrangement operation mode, the load arrangement determination unit 18c calculates the average number of transfers of the entire storage unit 22 in the arrangement of the load 12 at that time. Further, the load arrangement determination unit 18c determines the arrangement of the load 12 having a smaller average number of transfers. The load arrangement determination unit 18c sends information regarding the determined arrangement to the movement instruction unit 18d. The movement instruction unit 18d determines the load 12 to be transferred and the storage area 26 to which the load 12 is moved, based on the arrangement determined by the load arrangement determination unit 18c. Then, a sequence for operating the carriage 14 and the moving mechanism 16 is generated based on the determination result, and the movement of the carriage 14 and the moving mechanism 16 is controlled based on the generated sequence.

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

For example, when the first storage row is the storage row 24A and the second storage row is the storage row 24E, the control unit 18 has a difference 3 between the storage load number 5 in the storage row 24A and the storage load number 2 in the storage row 24E. The carriage 14 and the moving mechanism 16 are controlled so as to be smaller. As a result, the average number of transfers in the entire storage unit 22 is not a little reduced.

Further, as a more ideal rearrangement operation, the control unit 18 of the present embodiment moves the load 12 so that the difference between the number of loads in the first storage row and the number of loads in the second storage row becomes zero. Further, the control unit 18 moves the load 12 so that the difference in the number of loads in all the storage rows 24 becomes zero.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing an example of a rearrangement operation executed in the automated warehouse system according to the first embodiment. FIG. 12A is a diagram showing the movement of the load in the rearrangement operation. FIG. 12B is a diagram showing a state of the load after the rearrangement operation is executed.

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

In the state of the storage unit 22 shown in FIG. 12 (A), in the storage row 24A and the storage row 24D having a larger number of storage loads than the average load number 4, the load 12a and the load 12n closest to the moving mechanism 16 are to be replaced. It is decided. Further, the storage areas 26 of E3 and E4 in the storage row 24E, which has a smaller number of storage loads than the average load number 4, are defined as the destinations of the loads 12a and 12n.

Then, the control unit 18 generates an operation sequence of the carriage 14 and the moving mechanism 16 based on the determination result (S103). Subsequently, the control unit 18 controls the carriage 14 and the moving mechanism 16 to move the load 12 to be replaced to the storage zone 26 defined as the moving destination (S104). In the present embodiment, the load 12n of D5 is transferred to the storage section 26 of E3, and then the load 12a of A5 is transferred to the storage row 24 of E4. As a result, as shown in FIG. 12B, the number of stored loads in each storage row 24 becomes equal. In this state, the average number of transfers in the entire storage unit 22 is 1.5 (= total number of transfers 36 / total number of loads 24), and the average number of transfers is reduced as compared with that before the transfer operation.

The rearrangement operation is executed at a predetermined timing after the control unit 18 receives the execution instruction of the rearrangement operation from the mode setting unit 30. It is preferable that the control unit 18 executes the rearrangement operation when the load 12 is not being delivered. For example, the sorting operation is set to be performed at a time zone such as nighttime when the shipping operation is not performed. The total throughput can be improved by executing the reordering operation during the time when the warehousing operation is not performed.

In the automated warehouse system 100, after the user confirms the end of the warehousing operation, the mode setting unit 30 inputs an execution instruction for the reordering operation, and the control unit 18 immediately executes the reordering operation after receiving the execution instruction. After the user inputs the execution instruction of the reordering operation from the mode setting unit 30 and the control unit 18 confirms the end of the warehousing operation regardless of whether the warehousing operation is being executed or not. It may be designed to perform a reordering operation. In addition, there is a variation in the number of stored loads among the storage rows during the delivery of the load, for example, the difference in the number of stored loads between the storage row 24 having the largest number of loads and the storage row 24 having the smallest number of loads is predetermined. When it is detected that the value becomes larger than the value, the mode may be automatically changed from the shipping operation to the sorting operation.

As described above, the automated warehouse system 100 according to the present embodiment extends in the first direction and is a storage unit 22 including a first storage row and a second storage row for storing a plurality of loads 12. There are storage units 22 provided side by side in the second direction where the first storage row and the second storage row intersect the first direction, a trolley 14 carrying the load 12 and moving in the first direction, and a trolley. A moving mechanism 16 on which the 14 is mounted and moving in the second direction, and a control unit 18 for controlling the movement of the carriage 14 and the moving mechanism 16 are provided. The control unit 18 executes a rearrangement operation of moving the load 12 so that the difference between the number of loads 12 stored in the first storage row and the number of loads 12 stored in the second storage row becomes small. To do.

In this way, the average number of transfers in the entire storage unit 22 can be reduced by executing the rearrangement operation that reduces the difference in the number of stored loads 12 for at least two storage rows 24. As a result, the throughput in the automated warehouse system 100 can be improved.

When storing high-mix low-volume loads 12, the types of loads 12 stored in the same storage row 24 tend to increase. In this case, when the target load 12 is delivered, the number of times the load 12 that is not subject to delivery is transferred increases. Therefore, the automated warehouse system 100 of the present embodiment is particularly suitable for storing a load 12 of a wide variety of small lots.

Further, the storage unit 22 of the present embodiment includes three or more storage rows 24, the first storage row is the storage row 24 having the largest number of stored loads, and the second storage row has the smallest number of stored loads. Storage column 24. That is, the control unit 18 executes the rearrangement operation so that the difference in the number of loads between the storage row 24 having the largest number of loads and the storage row 24 having the smallest number of loads is small. Further, when the first storage row having the largest number of stored loads or the second storage row having the smallest number of stored loads is changed to another storage row 24 during the execution of the rearrangement operation, the control unit 18 is said to be different. The storage row 24 of the above can be defined as a new first storage row or second storage row, and the rearrangement operation can be executed. As a result, the average number of transfers in the entire storage unit 22 can be reduced more efficiently.

Further, the control unit 18 of the present embodiment controls the carriage 14 and the moving mechanism 16 so that the difference in the number of loads becomes zero. As a result, the throughput of the automated warehouse system 100 can be further improved.

(Embodiment 2)
The automated warehouse system 100 according to the second embodiment has the same configuration as the first embodiment except for the content of the rearrangement operation. Hereinafter, the automated warehouse system 100 according to the present embodiment will be mainly described with a configuration different from that of the first embodiment, and the common configuration will be briefly described or omitted.

In the rearrangement operation of the load 12, the control unit 18 of the present embodiment is used for averaging the number of loads in each storage row 24 described in the first embodiment (hereinafter, appropriately referred to as a load number averaging process). In addition, the movement of the cargo 12 that is quickly delivered to the moving mechanism 16 side (hereinafter, appropriately referred to as the shipping cargo moving process) is executed.

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

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

As a more ideal rearrangement operation, the control unit 18 of the present embodiment has the trolley 14 and the trolley 14 so that the first load is arranged closest to the moving mechanism 16 in the storage row 24 in which the first load is stored. Controls the moving mechanism 16. 13 (A) to 13 (C) are diagrams showing an example of a rearrangement operation executed in the automated warehouse system according to the second embodiment.

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

The control unit 18 (for example, the load arrangement determination unit 18c) specifies the load 12a and the load 12h as the first load, and sets the load 12g and the load 12f as the second load based on the delivery information received by the warehousing / delivery management unit 18a. Identify. If the warehousing / delivery management unit 18a has not received the warehousing instruction, the control unit 18 ends the warehousing / delivery transfer process. Further, the control unit 18 excludes the load 12a specified as the first load from the target of the delivery / delivery movement processing. This is because the load 12a is already closest to the moving mechanism 16 in the storage row 24E and there is no second load for the load 12a.

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

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

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

As described above, the control unit 18 of the automated warehouse system 100 according to the present embodiment is slower to deliver the first load and the first load, and is on the moving mechanism 16 side in the first direction than the first load. When the second load arranged in is included in the same storage row 24, a rearrangement operation of moving the first load so as to reduce the number of the second load is executed. In this way, the throughput in the automated warehouse system 100 can be improved by arranging the first load scheduled to be delivered closer to the moving mechanism 16 prior to the delivery.

The delivery / delivery movement process may be executed at the stage of determining the load arrangement in the load number averaging process described in the first embodiment. That is, when the load 12 is moved so that the difference between the number of stored cargoes in the first storage row and the number of stored cargoes in the second storage row becomes small, the first load with the allowance for delivery is arranged closer to the moving mechanism 16. In consideration of this, the load 12 may be moved. Further, the control unit 18 may execute only the rearrangement operation of moving the first load so that the number of the second load is reduced.

(Embodiment 3)
The automated warehouse system 100 according to the third embodiment has the same configuration as the first embodiment except that a specific warehousing operation is executed. Hereinafter, the automated warehouse system 100 according to the present embodiment will be mainly described with a configuration different from that of the first embodiment, and the common configuration will be briefly described or omitted.

The control unit 18 of the present embodiment executes a warehousing operation of warehousing the load 12 in the storage row 24 of the first storage row and the second storage row, whichever has the smaller number of stored loads 12. It is configured. In this way, by preferentially storing the load 12 in the storage row 24 having a small number of stored loads, the number of loads in each storage row 24 can be averaged. Preferably, the control unit 18 stores the load 12 so that the difference between the number of loads 12 stored in the first storage row and the number of loads 12 stored in the second storage row becomes zero.

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

Specifically, the control unit 18 arranges the load 12b in the storage area 26 of A4 and the load 12n in the storage area 26 of E3. At this stage, only the storage row 24E is in a state where the number of stored loads is one less than that of the other storage rows 24. Therefore, the control unit 18 arranges the remaining load 12a in the storage area 26 of E5. As a result, as shown in FIG. 14B, the number of stored loads in each storage row 24 becomes equal. When the load 12 is further stored in a state where the number of stored loads is equal, the load 12 is stored in an arbitrary storage row 24, for example, the storage row 24 closest to the position of the load 12 placed in the temporary storage unit 28. Will be done.

As described above, the control unit 18 of the automated warehouse system 100 according to the present embodiment is placed in the storage row 24 of the first storage row and the second storage row, whichever has the smaller number of stored loads 12. The warehousing operation for warehousing the load 12 is executed. Thereby, the throughput in the automated warehouse system 100 can be improved. The warehousing operation of the present embodiment may be executed in combination with the rearrangement operation described in the first and / or second embodiments, or may be executed independently.

The embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above. Each of the above-described embodiments merely shows specific examples for carrying out the present invention. The content of each embodiment does not limit the technical scope of the present invention, and many designs such as modification, addition, and deletion of components are made without departing from the idea of the invention defined in the claims. It can be changed. In each of the above-described embodiments, the contents capable of such design changes are emphasized by adding notations such as "in the present embodiment" and "in the present embodiment". Design changes are allowed even if there is no description. In addition, any combination of components included in each embodiment is also effective as an aspect of the present invention. The new embodiments obtained by design changes and combinations of components have the effects of the components and modifications to be combined.

In each embodiment, an example including a moving mechanism 16 that runs on the storage unit 22 in a plane is shown, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the moving mechanism 16 may be a stacker crane that has an elevating function and can travel in the row direction. Further, in each embodiment, an example in which the carriage 14 and the moving mechanism 16 travel on the rail is shown, but the present invention is not limited to this. The bogie 14 and the moving mechanism 16 may travel on a traveling path having no rail.

Further, in each embodiment, an example is shown in which the automated warehouse system 100 includes a storage unit 22 having three stages, but the present invention is not limited to this. The automated warehouse system 100 may include a storage unit 22 having two or less stages or four or more stages. Further, it is not essential to provide the carriage 14 in each row of each stage. Further, an elevating mechanism for elevating and lowering the load 12 may be provided between the storage units 22 in a plurality of stages.

The number of storage compartments 26 in each storage row 24 does not have to be uniform. The number of storage sections 26 in each storage row 24 can be appropriately varied depending on the unevenness of the wall of the building accommodating the storage section 22 and the like. Further, the number of stages of the storage rows 24 stacked in the vertical direction does not have to be uniform. The number of stages of the storage row 24 may be provided with an area having a large number of stages and an area having a small number of stages, depending on the height of the ceiling Lc of the building accommodating the storage unit 22 and the like. Further, the number of storage rows 24 in the storage unit 22 is not limited to six, and the number of storage zones 26 in each storage row 24 is not limited to five.

Further, in each embodiment, an example in which the automated warehouse system 100 includes a temporary storage unit 28 is shown, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, even if the automated warehouse system 100 is not provided with a temporary storage unit 28 and the moving mechanism 16 is configured to convey the load 12 to an entry / exit port (not shown) provided on one end side of the second rail 44. Good.

Further, in each embodiment, an example in which the first storage row and the second storage row are located in the same stage is shown, but the present invention is not limited to this. The first storage row and the second storage row may be located in different stages, and the rearrangement operation may be performed between the different stages.

It should be noted that any combination of the above components and those in which the components and expressions of the present invention are mutually replaced between methods, systems and the like are also effective as aspects of the present invention.

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

Claims (7)

A storage unit consisting of multiple mounting units and a storage unit
Withdrawal department
A transport means capable of moving an article between the above-mentioned storage section and the delivery section,
A control unit for controlling the transport means is provided.
The storage unit is composed of a plurality of rows, a plurality of columns, and a plurality of columns.
The control unit
A first mode in which the article is moved from the above-mentioned storage portion to the delivery portion,
A second mode in which the article is moved from one mounting portion to another.
Controlling the transport means by,
The transport means
A first transport means that can move in the row direction,
A second transport means equipped with the first transport means and capable of moving in the row direction is provided.
Each stage of the storage unit is formed by arranging three or more column-direction storage units having three or more mounting units in the column direction in the row direction.
The second transport means is configured to be movable along each end of the row direction storage portion, and the first transport means can move from the second transport means to access the row direction storage portion. Configured
A set of the first transport means and the second transport means is arranged in each stage.
In the second mode, the control unit moves the article from one mounting unit to another in the same stage.
Automated warehouse system. A storage unit consisting of multiple mounting units and a storage unit
Withdrawal department
A transport means capable of moving an article between the above-mentioned storage section and the delivery section,
A control unit for controlling the transport means is provided.
The storage unit is composed of a plurality of rows, a plurality of columns, and a plurality of columns.
The control unit
A first mode in which the article is moved from the above-mentioned storage portion to the delivery portion,
A second mode in which the article is moved from one mounting portion to another.
Control the transport means by
The control unit
A plurality of articles placed in the above-mentioned storage part are classified into a shipping target to be delivered first and a shipping target to be delivered later.
In the second mode, the shipping target to be delivered first is moved from one mounting section to another mounting section so as to be closer to the shipping section.
In the first mode, to convey the ship target will be unloading the destination near association with respect to the outlet unit in the second mode to the outlet unit,
Automatic warehouse system. The automated according to claim 1 or 2 , wherein in the second mode, the control unit moves a group of articles scheduled to be shipped in the first mode to a pre-described storage unit that is relatively close to the delivery unit. Warehouse system. The transport means includes a first transport means that can move in the column direction, a second transport means that can move in the row direction, and a third transport means that can move in the height direction, and the article can be moved between different stages. The automated warehouse system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, which moves from one mounting unit to another mounting unit. In the second mode, the control unit carries out the articles of at least three mounting units in the row direction storage unit from the row direction storage unit and carries them into the row direction storage unit or another row direction storage unit. The automated warehouse system according to claim 1. 1. When the control unit receives an input of the second mode while the first mode is being executed, the control unit executes the second mode after the execution of the first mode is completed. The automated warehouse system according to any one of 5 to 5. The automated warehouse system according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the control unit is configured to execute the second mode at a predetermined time zone or a predetermined timing.

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