JP7327316B2 - Carriage control device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a carriage control device.

As a conventional carriage control device, for example, the technology described in Patent Document 1 is known. The carriage control device described in Patent Document 1 controls the drive unit of the tracking vehicle so that the tracking vehicle on which the cargo taken out from the shelf is placed tracks the worker when the worker performs the picking work. do.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2019-212008

By the way, in the picking work using the tracking vehicle as in the conventional technology, the tracking vehicle tracks the worker who is the tracking target during the picking work, and after the picking work is completed, the tracking vehicle moves to the destination. It is necessary to autonomously travel to a certain luggage storage area. However, when the worker himself/herself determines that the cargo space of the tracking vehicle is full, and operates the manual switch to switch from tracking the worker to autonomous driving to the cargo storage area, the burden on the worker increases. This leads to a decrease in work efficiency.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a carriage control device that can reduce the burden on a person to be tracked and improve work efficiency.

One aspect of the present invention is a carriage control device that controls a carriage on which cargo is loaded, and includes a drive unit that causes the carriage to travel, and a carriage that causes the carriage to follow a person to be tracked or autonomously travel toward a destination. and a cargo detection unit that detects whether the amount of cargo loaded on the carrier is equal to or greater than a specified amount. When the baggage detection unit detects that the amount of baggage loaded on the carriage is greater than or equal to a specified amount during tracking travel, the carriage follows the person to be tracked and travels to the destination. The drive unit is controlled so that the carriage starts to run autonomously.

In such a carriage control device, the drive section is controlled so that the carriage follows and travels the tracking target person when the tracking target person loads the luggage onto the carriage. When the carriage is traveling to track a person to be tracked, it is detected whether or not the amount of cargo loaded on the carriage is equal to or greater than a specified amount. Then, when it is detected that the amount of cargo loaded on the carriage is equal to or greater than a specified amount, the driving unit terminates the carriage tracking the person to be tracked and starts the carriage autonomously traveling to the destination. is controlled. Therefore, when the amount of cargo loaded on the carrier exceeds a specified amount, the traveling operation of the carrier is automatically switched from tracking the person to be tracked to autonomous traveling toward the destination. Therefore, it is not necessary for the tracked person to perform a switching operation with a manual switch. This reduces the burden on the tracking target person and improves work efficiency.

The cargo detection unit includes a weight detection unit that detects the weight of the cargo loaded on the carriage, a volume detection unit that detects the volume of the cargo loaded on the carriage, and the weight of the cargo detected by the weight detection unit. and a determination unit that determines that the loading amount of the cargo on the carriage is equal to or greater than a specified amount when the volume of the cargo detected by the volume detection unit is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value.

With such a configuration, by detecting the weight and volume of the cargo loaded on the carriage, it can be determined with high accuracy whether the amount of cargo loaded on the carriage is equal to or greater than a specified amount, regardless of the type of cargo. can be detected.

The carriage control device further includes a tracking stop instructing section for instructing a temporary stop of the tracking travel of the carriage with respect to the tracking target person, and the travel control section causes the tracking stop instruction section to temporarily stop the tracking travel of the carriage with respect to the tracking target person. When the stop is instructed, the driving unit may be controlled so as to stop the tracking travel of the carriage with respect to the tracking target person.

In such a configuration, when the tracking stop instructing unit instructs the carriage to stop tracking the person to be tracked, the carriage to follow the person to be tracked stops. Therefore, the carriage is prevented from moving while the person to be tracked is loading the cargo on the carriage.

The carriage control device may further include a notification section that issues an alarm when the baggage detection section detects that the amount of baggage loaded on the carriage is greater than or equal to a specified amount.

With such a configuration, the person to be tracked can immediately know from the warning that the amount of cargo loaded on the carriage is greater than or equal to the specified amount.

The carriage control device further includes a vehicle allocation control unit for controlling to allocate another carriage on which the cargo is loaded next to the carriage. When the baggage detection unit detects that the amount of baggage loaded on the carriage is equal to or greater than the first specified amount, the carriage tracking the person to be tracked is terminated and the carriage moves toward the destination. The driving unit is controlled so as to start autonomous travel, and the dispatch control unit determines that the loading amount of the cargo on the carriage is the first specified amount by the luggage detection unit while the carriage is tracking the person to be tracked. When it is detected that the amount is equal to or greater than a second specified amount, which is less than the specified amount, control may be performed so that another carriage is dispatched.

With such a configuration, when the loading amount of the cargo on the transportation vehicle becomes equal to or larger than the second specified amount while the transportation vehicle is tracking the person to be tracked, the cargo is loaded next to the transportation vehicle. carriages are automatically dispatched. After that, when the amount of cargo loaded on the carriage becomes equal to or greater than the first specified amount, the carriage following the tracked person ends and the carriage starts autonomously traveling to the destination. At this time, since other carriages have already been dispatched, the person to be tracked does not have to go to pick up the other carriages one by one. As a result, the burden on the tracking target is further reduced, and work efficiency is further improved.

ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, a tracking target person's burden can be reduced and working efficiency can be improved.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a carriage control device according to a first embodiment of the present invention; FIG. It is a side view which shows a mode that a conveyance trolley tracks a worker. FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of a route along which a worker moves together with a carrier when the worker performs picking work; FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing details of a travel control processing procedure executed by a travel control unit shown in FIG. 1; FIG. 2 is a flow chart showing details of a loading platform determination processing procedure executed by a loading platform determination unit shown in FIG. 1; FIG. 6 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a carriage control device according to a second embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing details of a travel control processing procedure executed by a travel control unit shown in FIG. 6; FIG. FIG. 11 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a carriage control device according to a third embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 9 is a flow chart showing the details of a loading platform determination processing procedure executed by a loading platform determination unit shown in FIG. 8; FIG. FIG. 9 is a flow chart showing details of a vehicle allocation control processing procedure executed by a vehicle allocation control unit shown in FIG. 8; FIG. FIG. 10 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of a route along which a worker and a carriage travel when the worker performs a picking work, together with other carriage allocation routes.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the drawings, the same or equivalent elements are denoted by the same reference numerals, and overlapping descriptions are omitted.

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a carriage control device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, a carriage control device 1 of this embodiment is a device for controlling a carriage 2 as shown in FIG.

The carriage 2 is an unmanned carriage that is used for picking work in physical distribution and conveys the cargo M. As shown in FIG. The carriage 2 has a carriage body 3 and a plurality of (for example, four) wheels 4 rotatably supported by the carriage body 3 . A loading platform 5 on which cargo M is loaded is provided on the top of the carriage body 3. - 特許庁Note that two loading platforms 5 may be provided above and below the carriage body 3 . The carriage 2 has a function of tracking and traveling the worker S who is a tracking target (see FIG. 2) and a function of autonomous travel.

When the worker S performs the picking work, as shown in FIG. 3, the worker S takes out the packages M from a plurality of shelves 6 installed in the warehouse and loads the packages M on the platform 5 of the carriage 2. - 特許庁After finishing taking out the package M from one shelf 6, the worker S moves to another shelf 6 and takes out the package M from that shelf 6. - 特許庁At this time, the carriage 2 tracks the worker S and travels. In addition, in the warehouse, a machine stand place X where other carriages 2 stand by is provided in advance.

The carriage control device 1 includes a tracking switch 11 , a laser sensor 12 , a weight sensor 13 , a camera 14 , a drive section 15 , a notification section 16 and a carriage controller 17 . The carriage control device 1 is mounted on the carriage body 3 of the carriage 2 .

The tracking switch 11 is a manually operated switch for the worker S to instruct the carrier 2 to start tracking. As the tracking switch 11, for example, a push button switch or a voice recognition switch is used. Note that the tracking switch 11 may be capable of instructing the carriage 2 to stop tracking.

The laser sensor 12 is a sensor that detects an object existing around the carriage 2 by irradiating a region including the front of the carriage 2 with a laser beam and receiving the reflected light of the laser beam. The laser sensor 12 detects the worker S by receiving the laser beam L reflected by the worker S, as shown in FIG. This enables the carriage 2 to track the worker S.

The weight sensor 13 is a weight detection unit that detects the weight of the load M loaded on the platform 5 of the carriage 2 . The camera 14 is a volume detection unit that detects the volume of the cargo M by capturing an image of the cargo M loaded on the loading platform 5 of the carriage 2 .

The drive unit 15 is a motor that rotates the wheels 4 to move the carriage 2 . The notification unit 16 issues an alarm by emitting an alarm sound. The notification unit 16 generates different alarm sounds when the carriage 2 is tracking and when the carriage 2 is autonomously traveling.

The carriage controller 17 is composed of a CPU, a RAM, a ROM, an input/output interface, and the like. The carriage controller 17 has a travel control section 18 and a platform determination section 19 .

The traveling control unit 18 controls the driving unit 15 so that the carriage 2 tracks the worker S or autonomously travels toward the destination based on the instruction signal from the tracking switch 11 and the detection data from the laser sensor 12. .

Based on the detection value of the weight sensor 13 and the captured image of the camera 14, the loading platform determination unit 19 determines whether or not the loading amount of the luggage M on the loading platform 5 of the carriage 2 is equal to or greater than a specified amount. The prescribed amount is such that the loading platform 5 is filled with the cargo M. As shown in FIG.

The carrier determination unit 19 cooperates with the weight sensor 13 and the camera 14 to constitute a cargo detection unit 10 that detects whether the amount of cargo M loaded on the carriage 2 is equal to or greater than a specified amount.

Here, when the carriage 2 is tracking the worker S, the travel control unit 18 detects that the loading amount of the articles M on the carriage 2 is equal to or greater than the specified amount by the baggage detection unit 10 . Then, the drive section 15 is controlled so that the tracking travel of the carriage 2 to the worker S is terminated and the autonomous travel of the carriage 2 to the destination is started.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the details of the travel control processing procedure executed by the travel control unit 18. As shown in FIG. In FIG. 4, the travel control unit 18 first acquires an instruction signal from the tracking switch 11 (step S101).

Then, based on the instruction signal from the tracking switch 11, the travel control unit 18 determines whether or not an instruction to start tracking travel by the carriage 2 has been issued (step S102). When the travel control unit 18 determines that the start of the tracking travel by the carriage 2 has not been instructed, the step S101 is executed again.

When the travel control unit 18 determines that the start of tracking travel by the carriage 2 is instructed, the travel control unit 18 acquires detection data of the laser sensor 12 (step S103). Based on the data detected by the laser sensor 12, the traveling control unit 18 controls the driving unit 15 so that the carriage 2 tracks the worker S (step S104).

Subsequently, the travel control unit 18 determines whether or not a tracking end signal (described later) has been received from the carrier determination unit 19 (step S105). When the travel control unit 18 determines that the tracking end signal from the carrier determination unit 19 has not been received, the steps S103 and S104 are executed again.

When the travel control unit 18 determines that it has received the tracking end signal from the carrier determination unit 19, it controls the drive unit 15 so as to terminate the tracking travel of the carriage 2 to the worker S (step S106).

Subsequently, the traveling control unit 18 acquires detection data of the laser sensor 12 (step S107). Based on the data detected by the laser sensor 12, the traveling control unit 18 controls the driving unit 15 so that the carriage 2 autonomously travels to the destination, which is a luggage storage area (not shown) (procedure S108).

Specifically, the travel control unit 18 uses, for example, a SLAM (simultaneous localization and mapping) technique to match the detection data of the laser sensor 12 with the map data of the surrounding environment of the carriage 2 to determine the self-position of the carriage 2 . is estimated, and the driving unit 15 is controlled so that the carriage 2 automatically travels toward the destination. SLAM is a self-localization technique that uses sensor data and map data to estimate self-location.

Subsequently, the travel control unit 18 determines whether the carriage 2 has reached the destination (step S109). When the travel control unit 18 determines that the carriage 2 has not reached the destination, it executes steps S107 and S108 again. When the travel control unit 18 determines that the carriage 2 has reached the destination, it ends this process.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the details of the procedure of the carrier determination process executed by the carrier determination unit 19. As shown in FIG. In FIG. 5, the carrier determination unit 19 first acquires the detected value of the weight sensor 13 and the captured image of the camera 14 (step S111).

Based on the detection value of the weight sensor 13, the loading platform determination unit 19 determines whether or not the weight of the luggage M loaded on the loading platform 5 of the carriage 2 is equal to or greater than a predetermined weight threshold value A1 (procedure S112). The weight threshold A1 is a threshold such that the loading platform 5 is filled with the cargo M. FIG. When the loading platform determination unit 19 determines that the weight of the cargo M loaded on the loading platform 5 is equal to or greater than the weight threshold value A1, it determines that the loading platform 5 is full (step S113).

When it is determined that the weight of the load M loaded on the loading platform 5 is not equal to or greater than the weight threshold value A1, the loading platform determining unit 19 predetermines the volume of the load M loaded on the loading platform 5 based on the image captured by the camera 14. It is determined whether the volume threshold A2 or more is determined (step S114). The volume threshold A2 is a threshold such that the loading platform 5 is filled with the cargo M. FIG.

When the loading platform determining unit 19 determines that the volume of the cargo M loaded on the loading platform 5 is equal to or greater than the volume threshold value A2, it determines that the loading platform 5 is full (step S113). When the loading platform determination unit 19 determines that the volume of the load M loaded on the loading platform 5 is not equal to or greater than the volume threshold value A2, the step S111 is executed again.

After executing step S113, the loading platform determination unit 19 controls the notification unit 16 to generate an alarm sound (step S115). At this time, the notification unit 16 generates an alarm sound different from that when the carriage 2 is tracking and traveling autonomously.

Then, the platform determination unit 19 outputs a tracking end signal to the traveling control unit 18 (step S116). The tracking end signal is a signal for ending the tracking travel of the carriage 2 with respect to the worker S. FIG. After executing step S116, the carrier determination unit executes step S111 again.

In this embodiment configured as described above, when the picking operation is performed, the operator S first operates the tracking switch 11 to instruct the carriage 2 to start tracking. Then, the carriage 2 starts tracking the worker S. After operating the tracking switch 11, the operator S moves to the shelf 6 for picking. Then, the worker S loads the cargo M taken out from the shelf 6 onto the carrier 5 of the carrier 2. - 特許庁

When the weight of the cargo M on the loading platform 5 reaches the weight threshold value A1 or the volume of the cargo M on the loading platform 5 reaches the volume threshold value A2, and the loading platform 5 becomes full, the carrier 2 tracks the worker S. Running ends. Then, the carriage 2 starts to travel autonomously toward its destination, which is a baggage storage area (not shown).

After that, the worker S moves to the machine stand X. Then, the operator S instructs the other carriage 2 waiting in the machine storage area X to start tracking by using the tracking switch 11 . Then, another carriage 2 starts tracking the worker S. Therefore, the worker S continues the picking operation using another carrier 2 .

As described above, in this embodiment, when the worker S loads the cargo M on the carrier 2, the drive unit 15 is controlled so that the carrier 2 tracks the worker S. When the carriage 2 is following the worker S, it is detected whether or not the loading amount of the goods M on the carriage 2 is equal to or greater than a specified amount. Then, when it is detected that the amount of cargo M loaded on the carrier 2 is equal to or greater than the specified amount, the carrier 2 stops tracking the operator S and starts autonomous travel of the carrier 2 toward the destination. The drive unit 15 is controlled as follows. Therefore, when the loading amount of the goods M on the carriage 2 exceeds a specified amount, the traveling operation of the carriage 2 is automatically switched from tracking the worker S to autonomous traveling toward the destination. Therefore, the operator S does not need to switch the manual switch. As a result, the burden on the worker S is reduced, and work efficiency is improved.

Further, in the present embodiment, when the weight or volume of the cargo M loaded on the carriage 2 is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value, it is determined that the load amount of the cargo M on the carriage 2 is equal to or greater than the specified amount. be. By detecting the weight and volume of the cargo M loaded on the carriage 2 in this way, regardless of the type of the cargo M, such as a heavy cargo M that is small in size or a light cargo M that is large in size, It is possible to detect with high accuracy whether or not the amount of cargo M loaded on the carriage 2 is equal to or greater than the specified amount.

Further, in the present embodiment, when it is detected that the loading amount of the articles M on the carriage 2 is equal to or greater than the specified amount, an alarm is issued. Therefore, the worker S can immediately know from the alarm that the loading amount of the articles M on the carriage 2 is equal to or greater than the specified amount.

FIG. 6 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a carriage control device according to a second embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 6, the carriage control device 1 of the present embodiment includes a temporary stop switch 21 in addition to the configuration of the first embodiment.

The temporary stop switch 21 is a switch (tracking stop instruction unit) that instructs the worker S to temporarily stop the tracking travel of the carriage 2 . The temporary stop switch 21 is mounted on the carriage body 3 of the carriage 2 .

Further, the carriage control device 1 includes a carriage controller 17A instead of the carriage controller 17 in the first embodiment. The carriage controller 17A has a travel control section 18A and the above-described loading platform determination section 19 .

The travel control unit 18A causes the carriage 2 to track the worker S or autonomously travel to the destination based on the instruction signal from the tracking switch 11, the detection data from the laser sensor 12, and the instruction signal from the temporary stop switch 21. The drive unit 15 is controlled as follows.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the details of the travel control processing procedure executed by the travel control unit 18A. In FIG. 7, the travel control unit 18A executes steps S101 to S104 in the same manner as the travel control unit 18 described above.

After executing step S104, the traveling control unit 18A acquires an instruction signal for the temporary stop switch 21 (step S121). Then, based on the instruction signal of the temporary stop switch 21, the traveling control unit 18A determines whether or not the temporary stop of the tracking traveling of the carriage 2 for the worker S is instructed (step S122).

When the travel control unit 18A determines that the temporary stop of the tracking travel of the carriage 2 to the worker S is instructed, the travel control unit 18A controls the driving unit 15 so as to stop the carriage 2 to follow the worker S ( step S123).

Subsequently, the travel control unit 18A acquires an instruction signal for the temporary stop switch 21 (step S124). Then, based on the instruction signal of the temporary stop switch 21, the traveling control unit 18A determines whether or not there is an instruction to cancel the temporary stop of the tracking traveling of the carriage 2 for the worker S (step S125). When the travel control unit 18A determines that the release of the temporary stop of the tracking travel of the carriage 2 has not been instructed, the step S124 is executed again.

When the travel control unit 18A determines that the temporary stop of the tracking travel of the carriage 2 has been instructed, it controls the driving unit 15 so as to restart the carriage 2 following the worker S (step S126). ). Then, the travel control unit 18A executes steps S105 to S109 in the same manner as the travel control unit 18 described above.

When the travel control unit 18A determines in step S122 that the temporary stop of the tracking travel of the carriage 2 with respect to the worker S is not instructed, the travel control unit 18A performs steps S105 to S109 without performing steps S123 to S126. .

In the above, when the worker S moves to the shelf 6 where the picking work is to be performed, the operator S operates the temporary stop switch 21 to instruct the carriage 2 to temporarily stop the tracking travel. Then, the tracking travel of the carriage 2 with respect to the worker S is stopped. Therefore, even if the worker S moves a little when loading the cargo M taken out from the shelf 6 by the worker S onto the carrier 5 of the carrier 2, the carrier 2 does not start to move.

After that, when the picking work on one shelf 6 is completed, the worker S operates the temporary stop switch 21 to instruct the carriage 2 to cancel the temporary stop of the tracking travel. Then, the temporary stop of the tracking travel by the carriage 2 is released, and the carriage 2 following the worker S is restarted. Then, the worker S moves to the shelf 6 where the picking work is to be performed next. At this time, the carriage 2 follows the operator S again and travels.

As described above, in this embodiment, when the temporary stop switch 21 instructs the carriage 2 to stop following the worker S, the carriage 2 stops following the worker S. FIG. Therefore, the carrier 2 is prevented from moving while the worker S is loading the load M on the carrier 2 .

Note that, in this embodiment, similarly to the first embodiment, when the loading platform 5 of the carriage 2 becomes full, the notification unit 16 issues an alarm. Therefore, if the loading platform 5 becomes full while the carriage 2 is temporarily stopped following the worker S, for example, the worker S can operate the tracking switch 11 or the like so that the worker can It is possible to forcibly terminate the tracking travel of the carriage 2 with respect to S and start the autonomous travel of the carriage 2 toward the destination.

Further, in the present embodiment, when the temporary stop switch 21 is operated to temporarily stop the carriage 2 following the worker S, the carriage 2 temporarily stops following the worker S. For example, when it is detected by the camera 14 that the worker S is loading the load M on the carriage 2, the carriage 2 following the worker S is temporarily stopped. You may let In this case, the camera 14 constitutes part of the tracking stop instructing section.

FIG. 8 is a schematic side view showing a carriage control device according to a third embodiment of the invention. In FIG. 8, the carriage controller 1 of the present embodiment includes a carriage controller 17B instead of the carriage controller 17 in the first embodiment. A communication unit 30 is connected to the carriage controller 17B. The communication unit 30 wirelessly communicates with other carriages 2 .

The carriage controller 17B has the travel control unit 18, the carrier determination unit 19B, and the vehicle allocation control unit 31 described above.

Similar to the above-described carrier determination unit 19, the carrier determination unit 19B determines whether the amount of cargo M loaded on the carrier 5 of the carriage 2 is equal to or greater than a specified amount based on the detection value of the weight sensor 13 and the captured image of the camera 14. determine whether

The carrier determination unit 19B constitutes a cargo detection unit 10 that cooperates with the weight sensor 13 and the camera 14 to detect whether the amount of cargo M loaded on the carriage 2 is equal to or greater than a specified amount.

The travel control unit 18 detects that the loading amount of the items M on the transport trolley 2 is equal to or larger than the first specified amount by the load detection unit 10 while the transport trolley 2 is tracking the worker S. Then, the drive unit 15 is controlled so that the tracking travel of the carriage 2 to the worker S is terminated and the autonomous travel of the carriage 2 to the destination is started. The first specified amount is such an amount that the loading platform 5 is filled with the cargo M. As shown in FIG.

The vehicle allocation control unit 31 controls to allocate another transportation vehicle 2 on which the load M is loaded next to the transportation vehicle 2 . In the vehicle allocation control unit 31, when the carriage 2 is following the worker S, the cargo detection unit 10 detects that the loading amount of the cargo M on the carriage 2 is equal to or greater than the second specified amount. , the other carriage 2 is dispatched. The second specified amount is an amount smaller than the first specified amount. The second specified amount is, for example, an amount that fills the loading platform 5 with the cargo M to about 80%.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the details of the determination processing procedure executed by the loading platform determination section 19B. Note that the dispatch flag is set to 0 before this process is executed.

In FIG. 9, the carrier determination unit 19B first acquires the detected value of the weight sensor 13 and the captured image of the camera 14 (step S111). Subsequently, the carrier determination unit 19B determines whether or not the vehicle allocation flag is 0 (step S131).

When the carrier determination unit 19B determines that the vehicle allocation flag is 0, based on the detection value of the weight sensor 13, the weight of the cargo M loaded on the carrier 5 of the carrier 2 reaches a predetermined weight threshold value B1. It is determined whether or not the above is satisfied (step S132). The weight threshold B1 is, for example, a threshold such that the cargo bed 5 is about 80% full with the cargo M. As shown in FIG. The weight threshold B1 corresponds to the above second specified amount.

When the loading platform determination unit 19B determines that the weight of the luggage M loaded on the loading platform 5 is equal to or greater than the weight threshold value B1, the loading platform determination unit 19B controls the reporting unit 16 to generate an alarm sound (step S133). . The warning sound at this time is different from the warning sound in step S115 described above. Then, the carrier determination unit 19B outputs a vehicle allocation request signal for requesting allocation of another carriage 2 to the vehicle allocation control unit 31 (step S134). Then, the carrier determination unit 19B sets the vehicle allocation flag to 1 (step S135).

When it is determined in step S132 that the weight of the cargo M loaded on the cargo bed 5 is not equal to or greater than the weight threshold value B1, the cargo bed determination unit 19B determines the volume of the cargo M loaded on the cargo bed 5 based on the image captured by the camera 14. is greater than or equal to a predetermined volume threshold value B2 (step S136). The volume threshold B2 is, for example, a threshold such that the cargo bed 5 is about 80% full with the cargo M. As shown in FIG. The volume threshold B2 corresponds to the above-described second specified amount. When the loading platform determination unit 19B determines that the volume of the load M loaded on the loading platform 5 is equal to or greater than the volume threshold value B2, the steps S133 to S135 are executed.

When the loading platform determining unit 19B determines that the volume of the cargo M loaded on the loading platform 5 is not equal to or greater than the volume threshold value B2, the steps S133 to S135 are not executed. Further, when the vehicle allocation flag is determined to be 1 instead of 0 in step S131, the carrier determination unit 19B does not execute steps S132 to S136.

After that, the carrier determination section 19B executes the above steps S112 to S116 in the same manner as the carrier determination section 19 described above. Note that in step S112, the weight threshold A1 corresponds to the first specified amount described above. In step S114, the volume threshold A2 corresponds to the above-described first prescribed amount.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the details of the vehicle allocation control processing procedure executed by the vehicle allocation control unit 31. As shown in FIG. In FIG. 10, the vehicle allocation control unit 31 first determines whether or not a vehicle allocation request signal has been received from the carrier determination unit 19B (step S141).

When the vehicle allocation control unit 31 determines that it has received a vehicle allocation request signal from the carrier determination unit 19B, the vehicle allocation control unit 31 determines the specified vehicle allocation location for the other carriages 2 stopped at the machine storage area X (see FIG. 11). output a dispatch instruction signal for instructing movement to (step S142). At this time, the vehicle allocation control unit 31 transmits a vehicle allocation instruction signal to the other carriages 2 via the communication unit 30 .

As another location for allocating the carriage 2, as shown in FIG. It may be in the vicinity of the worker S, as shown. Several machine stand standby locations P are designated in advance according to the number and length of the racks 6 and the like. When the delivery place is the machine stand standby place P, other carriages 2 are less likely to interfere with the picking work by the worker S. When the delivery place is in the vicinity of the worker S, the worker S does not have to move to the machine stand standby place P when starting to load the cargo M onto another carriage 2.例文帳に追加

In the above, when the operator S is picking, the weight of the package M on the loading platform 5 of the carrier 2 reaches the weight threshold value B1, or the volume of the package M on the loading platform 5 reaches the volume threshold value B2. When it reaches, the allocation instruction signal is transmitted to the other carriages 2 stopped at the carriage place X even before the carriage 5 becomes full. Then, another carriage 2 moves from the machine stand X to the machine stand waiting place P or near the worker S and waits.

After that, when the weight of the cargo M on the loading platform 5 of the carrier 2 reaches the weight threshold value A1 or the volume of the cargo M on the loading platform 5 reaches the volume threshold value A2, and the loading platform 5 becomes full, the operator S The tracking travel of the carriage 2 with respect to is completed. Then, the carriage 2 autonomously travels toward its destination, which is a baggage storage area (not shown).

Then, the worker S instructs the start of tracking travel by the tracking switch 11 at the machine stand standby place P or another carriage 2 waiting in the vicinity of the worker S. Then, another carriage 2 starts tracking the worker S. Therefore, the worker S continues the picking operation using another carrier 2 .

In this embodiment, when the transport trolley 2 is following the worker S and the loading amount of the cargo M on the transport trolley 2 reaches the second specified amount, the next load after the transport trolley 2 is loaded. Another carrier 2 on which M is loaded is automatically dispatched. After that, when the loading amount of the goods M on the carrier 2 becomes equal to or larger than the first specified amount, the carrier 2 stops following the worker S and starts autonomously traveling to the destination. At this time, since the other carriage 2 has already been dispatched, the operator S does not have to go to the machine stand X to pick up the other carriage 2 one by one. As a result, the burden on the worker S is further reduced, and work efficiency is further improved.

In this embodiment, instead of the truck controller 17 in the first embodiment, a truck controller 17B is provided. may

Although some embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the tracking switch 11 is mounted on the carrier 2 for the operator S to instruct the carrier 2 to start tracking, but the tracking switch 11 is not particularly limited to this form. , for example, a wireless switch or the like owned by the worker S may be used. Similarly, the temporary stop switch 21 may be a wireless switch or the like.

In the above embodiment, the camera 14 detects the volume of the cargo M loaded on the loading platform 5 of the carriage 2. As a volume detection unit for detecting the volume of the cargo M loaded on the loading platform 5, The form is not particularly limited, and an optical axis sensor or the like may be used.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the weight and volume of the cargo M loaded on the loading platform 5 of the carriage 2 are detected, and when the weight or volume of the cargo M is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value, the cargo on the carriage 2 is detected. Although it is determined that the loading amount of M is equal to or greater than the specified amount, the form is not particularly limited, and only one of the weight and volume of the cargo M loaded on the carriage 2 may be detected.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the laser sensor 12 is used for tracking the worker S and estimating the self-position of the carriage 2, but it is not particularly limited to such a form. A laser sensor for tracking the worker S and a laser sensor for estimating the self-position of the carriage 2 may be provided separately.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, when the carriage 2 autonomously travels to its destination, which is a luggage storage area (not shown), the self-position of the carriage 2 is estimated using the SLAM method. The self-localization technique to be used is not particularly limited to the SLAM technique. For example, a magnetic tape may be installed on the road surface in the warehouse, and the magnetic tape may be detected by a magnetic sensor mounted on the carriage 2 to estimate the self-position of the carriage 2 .

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Conveyance carriage control apparatus 2... Conveyance carriage 10... Package detection part 13... Weight sensor (weight detection part) 14... Camera (volume detection part) 15... Drive part 16... Notification part 18, 18A Travel control unit 19, 19B Cargo platform determination unit (determination unit) 21 Temporary stop switch (tracking stop instruction unit) 31 Vehicle allocation control unit A1, B1 Weight threshold (threshold) A2, B2 Volume Threshold (threshold), M: package, S: worker (tracking target).

Claims (5)

A carriage control device for controlling a carriage on which cargo is loaded,
a driving unit for running the carriage;
a travel control unit that controls the drive unit so that the carriage tracks a person to be tracked or autonomously travels to a destination;
a luggage detection unit that detects whether the loading amount of the luggage on the carriage is equal to or greater than a specified amount;
The travel control unit detects, by the luggage detection unit, that the loading amount of the luggage on the platform vehicle is equal to or greater than the prescribed amount when the platform vehicle travels to track the tracked person. and a carriage control device for controlling the driving section so that the carriage following the tracked person is terminated and the carriage starts autonomously traveling toward the destination. The cargo detection unit includes a weight detection unit that detects the weight of the cargo loaded on the carriage, a volume detection unit that detects the volume of the cargo loaded on the carriage, and the weight detection unit. When the weight of the cargo detected or the volume of the cargo detected by the volume detection unit is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value, it is determined that the loading amount of the cargo on the carriage is equal to or greater than the prescribed amount. 2. The carriage control device according to claim 1, further comprising a determination unit. further comprising a tracking stop instructing unit for instructing a temporary stop of tracking travel of the carriage with respect to the tracking target person;
When the tracking stop instructing unit instructs to temporarily stop the tracking travel of the carriage with respect to the tracking target person, the travel control unit stops the carriage tracking the tracking target person. 3. The carriage control device according to claim 1 or 2, which controls a section. 4. The carrier according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising a notification unit that issues an alarm when the luggage detection unit detects that the amount of the luggage loaded on the carrier is equal to or greater than the specified amount. Control device. further comprising a vehicle allocation control unit that controls so as to allocate another vehicle on which the goods are loaded next to the vehicle,
The traveling control unit detects that the loading amount of the cargo on the transportation vehicle is equal to or greater than a first specified amount by the luggage detection unit while the transportation vehicle is traveling to track the tracked person. Then, controlling the driving unit so as to end the tracking travel of the carriage with respect to the tracking target person and start the autonomous travel of the carriage toward the destination,
The vehicle allocation control unit determines a second regulation that the load amount of the cargo on the transportation vehicle is less than the first prescribed amount by the luggage detection unit when the transportation vehicle is traveling to track the tracked person. 5. The carriage control device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein when it is detected that the quantity is greater than or equal to the quantity, control is performed so that the other carriage is dispatched.

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