JPH04280703A - Cargo handling equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a cargo handling equipment capable of grasping next operational contents of cargo handling equipments/apparatuses easily. CONSTITUTION:There are provided a control device to control cargo handling equipments/apparatuses and a display device 26, and a pattern to show arrangement of the cargo handling equipments/apparatuses is displayed on the display device 26, and the number of respective, tracking data on the cargo handling equipments/apparatuses grasped by means of the above-mentioned control device is displayed on a corresponding place of the pattern, and the content of the tracking data on the arrangement of the designated cargo handling equipments/ apparatuses is also displayed. By the fact that the number of the respective tracking data on the cargo handling equipments/apparatuses is displayed on a corresponding place of the pattern to show the arrangement of the cargo handling equipments/apparatuses in the display device 26, operation of the cargo handling equipments/apparatuses can be grasped concretely, and further by the fact that the content of the tracking data is also displayed, the fact of whether or not the difference is created between actual cargoes and the respective tracking data on the cargo handling equipments/apparatuses grasped by means of the control device can be ascertained.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

[Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to cargo handling equipment such as automatic warehouses that automatically store cargo, conveyors used for loading and unloading cargo, and self-propelled carts that transport cargo between automated warehouses and conveyors. This relates to cargo handling equipment equipped with

0002

2. Description of the Related Art The structure of an automatic warehouse facility, which is the conventional cargo handling facility mentioned above, will be explained based on the layout diagram of FIG.

The automatic warehouse equipment shown in FIG. 8 has a shelf 3 having a plurality of cargo storage spaces 2 for storing cargo 1, and a shelf 3 that moves on a fixed path 4 along the shelf 3, and stores cargo 1 between the shelf 3 and the shelf 3. 6 sets of automated warehouses 8 equipped with a crane 5 that performs loading and unloading of goods, and two loading and unloading conveyors 6 that transport goods 1 between the loading and unloading position of the crane 5 and the loading/unloading position of the goods 1; Six self-propelled carriers 10 load and unload the cargo 1 to and from the delivery conveyor 6, and transport the cargo 1 by traveling on a loop-shaped fixed path 9; It is comprised of four sets of cargo handling conveyor devices 12 each including three conveyors 11 for loading and unloading cargoes 1.

[0004] These automated warehouse equipment are connected to control devices (not shown) for each device housed in control panels 13, 14, and 15, as shown in FIG. That is, the conveyor 11 of each material handling conveyor device 12 is connected to a conveyor control panel 13, each self-propelled transport vehicle 10 is wirelessly connected to a self-propelled transport vehicle control panel 14 via a feeder line 16, and the crane of each automated warehouse 8 is connected to a conveyor control panel 13. 5 is connected to the automatic warehouse control panel 15 via an optical transmitter/receiver 17, and the warehouse conveyor 6 is directly connected to the automatic warehouse control panel 15. The control devices for each device are connected to an overall control and monitoring device (not shown) housed in the central control panel 18. Further, this central control panel 18 is equipped with a display device 19 and a keyboard 20 for operation.

With the above configuration, the central control panel 18 controls the control panels 13, 14,
A drive signal is output to the control device of each device housed in 15, and the drive is confirmed by the feedback signal.

When carrying out the cargo 1, the central control panel 18 issues a carrying-out instruction from the inventory management computer 7 (the carrying-out instruction includes the shelf position of the cargo 1 and the cargo handling conveyor 12 at the destination).
), the specified load 1 will be displayed.
It recognizes the shelf position of and sends an unloading instruction to the corresponding automated warehouse 8. When the automated warehouse 8 finishes transporting the cargo 1 from the shelves 3 to the loading/unloading conveyor 6, it sends a transport signal to the central control panel 18. Next, the central control panel 18 sends an unloading command to the warehousing/unloading conveyor 6, and the warehousing/unloading conveyor 6 sends a completion signal to the central control panel 18 when the conveyance is completed. Next, central control panel 1
8 determines the allocation of the self-propelled transport vehicle 10 in charge of transport,
An instruction for transport to the cargo handling conveyor device 12 is sent to the self-propelled transport vehicle 10. The self-propelled transport vehicle 10 sends a completion signal to the central control panel 18 when the transport is completed. lastly,
The central control panel 18 sends a conveyance command to the load handling conveyor device 12, and the load handling conveyor device 12 sends a completion signal to the central control panel 18 when the load handling conveyor device 12 completes conveyance. Then, the central control panel 18 sends a completion of conveyance instruction to the inventory management computer 7.

[0007] Also, when carrying in the cargo 1, the cargo 1 is first set on the cargo handling conveyor device 12, and the inventory management computer 7 issues a carry-in instruction (the carrying-in instruction usually includes the shelf position where the cargo 1 is to be stored. If the location is not included, the central control panel 18 checks the availability of the cargo storage space 2 in the automated warehouse 8 and determines the storage location. After being transported, the load 1 is finally stored in the load storage space 2 by the automated warehouse 8. The central control panel 18 then sends a completion instruction to the inventory management computer 7.

Further, by operating the keyboard 20, the operating status (on/off data) of each automated warehouse equipment is displayed on the display device 19.

[0009]

[Problem to be Solved by the Invention] However, in conventional cargo handling equipment, the overall control and monitoring device housed in the central control panel 18 can only confirm the current operating state of the cargo handling equipment (automated warehouse equipment). Therefore, it is difficult to know which specific cargo handling equipment has tracking data (data for loading/unloading or loading/unloading), and since the contents of that data are unknown, the next loading/unloading equipment There was a problem in that it was not possible to understand the equipment and its operation details.

[0010] If a discrepancy occurs between the position of the tracking data managed by the overall control and monitoring device and the actual position of the load, normal conveyance will not be carried out. In order to correct this deviation once it has occurred, it is necessary to know the position of the tracking data and the contents of that data, so being able to easily and reliably understand the position of the tracking data and its contents is a very important function. It is.

[0011] The present invention solves the above problems, and
The object of the present invention is to provide cargo handling equipment that allows easy understanding of the cargo handling equipment that operates next and the details of its operation.

0012

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to solve the above problems, the cargo handling equipment of the present invention is a cargo handling equipment equipped with cargo handling equipment, comprising: a control device for controlling the cargo handling equipment; a display; The present invention is characterized in that the display is equipped with a display control device configured to display the content of tracking data of designated cargo handling equipment that is grasped by the control device.

[0013]

[Operation] According to the configuration of the invention described above, the content of the specified cargo handling equipment tracking data is displayed on the display, so that the operation content of the cargo handling equipment can be specifically grasped.

[0014]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. It is assumed that the same automated warehouse equipment as in the conventional example shown in FIG. 8 is installed, and the same components as in the conventional example shown in FIGS.

FIG. 1 is a control configuration diagram of automatic warehouse equipment as an example of cargo handling equipment in one embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, 21 is an equipment control device that controls the automatic warehouse equipment (cargo handling equipment) for the cargo 1, and is housed in the conventional conveyor control panel 13 and self-propelled carrier control panel 14 in FIG. 9. All or part of the functions of the control device are housed in place of the board. In addition, each cargo handling conveyor device 1
A sequencer 22 serving as a master station is provided for each conveyor 11, and is connected by a double link 24 to a control box 23 for controlling the conveyor 11 that is provided for each conveyor 11 and serving as a slave station.

When the equipment control device 21 receives a start signal from a display control device 25, which will be described later, it outputs a drive signal to a storage/unloading control device 29 that controls loading/unloading of each automated warehouse 8, and also outputs a drive signal to a storage/unloading control device 29 that controls loading/unloading of each automated warehouse 8. 10 via a feeder line 16, and further outputs a drive signal to the cargo handling conveyor device 12 via a sequencer 22.

When carrying out the load 1, the equipment control device 21 receives a carry-out instruction from the inventory management computer 41 (the carry-out instruction includes the shelf position of the load 1 and the position of the load handling conveyor device 12 at the destination). When inputting the following information, the shelf position of the specified load 1 is recognized and an unloading instruction is sent to the corresponding automated warehouse 8. When the automated warehouse 8 finishes transporting the cargo 1 from the shelves 3 to the warehouse conveyor 6, it sends a transport signal to the equipment control device 21. Next, the equipment control device 21 sends an unloading command to the warehousing/output conveyor 6, and
sends a completion signal to the equipment control device 21 when the transport is completed. Subsequently, the equipment control device 21 determines the assignment of the self-propelled transport vehicle 10 in charge of transport, and sends an instruction to the self-propelled transport vehicle 10 to transport the material to the cargo handling conveyor device 12. The self-propelled transport vehicle 10 sends a completion signal to the equipment control device 21 when the transport is completed. Finally, the equipment control device 21 sends a conveyance command to the material handling conveyor device 12, and the material handling conveyor device 12 sends a completion signal to the equipment control device 21 when the material handling conveyor device 12 completes the transportation. Then, the equipment control device 21 sends a notification that the conveyance instruction has been completed to the inventory management computer 41.

[0018] Also, when carrying in the cargo 1, the cargo 1 is first set on the cargo handling conveyor device 12, and the inventory management computer 41 issues a carry-in instruction (the carrying-in instruction usually includes the shelf position where the cargo 1 is to be stored). When input, the load 1 is conveyed to the loading/unloading conveyor 6 in the same manner as when being carried out, and finally the load 1 is stored in the load storage space 2 by the automated warehouse 8. The equipment control device 21 sends the completion of the carry-in instruction to the inventory management computer 41.

Furthermore, since the sequencer 22 is connected to the control box 23 provided for each conveyor 11 by a double link 24, even if one link 24 between the conveyors 11 is disconnected, the system will not go down. Work on the conveyor 11 can be continued and the location of the disconnection can be monitored. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 2, the sequencer 22 and equipment control device 21 are housed in a rack 28, eliminating the need for a control panel installed at the site.

The equipment control device 21 is also connected to a display control device 25 consisting of a microcomputer, and the display control device 25 is connected to a display device 26 and a keyboard 27, as shown in FIG. It is connected.

The display control device 25 will be explained in detail with reference to the block diagram of FIG. The display control device 25 includes an input section 31 that inputs operation signals from the keyboard 27 and the mouse 30.
, an input/output unit 32 that inputs and outputs data to and from the equipment control device 21, a screen display unit 33 that outputs screen data to the display device 26, and a screen pattern storage unit 34 that stores screen pattern data in advance. , a data storage section 35 that stores programs and data, and a control section 36 that controls the entire system.

The control section 36 judges the operation signal input from the keyboard 27 or the mouse 30 via the input section 31, and if it determines that it is an operation signal for the automated warehouse equipment, the control section 36 outputs the signal via the input/output section 32. Transfer to the equipment control device 21. Further, when the operation signal is determined to be an operation signal for the display device 26, selection data for selecting the screen data is output to the screen display section 33, and data necessary for this screen is sent to the equipment via the input/output section 32. The device control device 21 is searched and collected sequentially, and new data is always stored in the data storage section 35. Further, when a feedback signal is input from the screen display section 33, the data stored in the data storage section 35 is outputted to the screen display section 33.

When the selection data is input, the screen display section 33 searches the screen pattern storage section 34 and outputs screen data consisting of the pattern to the display device 26 to display the pattern, and sends a feedback signal to the control section 36. Output. When data to be displayed on the screen is input, the data is converted in accordance with the format of the screen pattern and the converted data is output to the display device 26.

With the above configuration, the display control device 25 selects a previously stored screen and displays it on the display device 26 in response to an operation signal from the keyboard 27 or the mouse 30, and also displays the selected screen on the automatic warehouse equipment using the keyboard 27 or the mouse 30. When a device operation signal is input, the signal is transferred to the equipment control device 21, and the necessary data is collected from the equipment control device 21 according to the selected screen, and the data is moved to the position set on the screen. Convert and display the data according to the format.

FIG. 4 shows an example of an equipment status display screen displayed on the display device 26 by the display control device 25. On the screen of FIG. 4, the layout of the automated warehouse equipment shown in FIG. 8 is displayed in a patterned manner, and a menu for monitoring the automated warehouse equipment specified with the mouse 30 is displayed on a window screen. Further, in FIG. 4, the symbols of the equipment are displayed in different colors: green when the equipment is in operation, blue when it is stopped, red when it is abnormal, and yellow when it is disconnected. The operation of the display control device 25 when displaying this screen will be explained.

First, as an initial screen, a pre-stored equipment status display screen for monitoring is selected, and a pattern showing the arrangement of automated warehouse equipment is displayed. Then, the equipment control device 21 collects the data necessary for this screen, that is, status data such as whether each device is in operation or stopped, and depending on this data, the color of the symbol changes to green when it is in operation and green when it is stopped. The display is converted to blue, abnormality to red, and disconnection to yellow. Also, when the status data changes during display, the color changes in real time.

Next, the "monitoring" function on the screen is displayed by clicking the mouse 3 as shown by the arrow in FIG.
When clicked by 0, the monitoring menu is displayed.

FIG. 5 shows a tracking data status screen displayed when "tracking display" is clicked with the mouse 30 as indicated by the arrow in FIG. 4 on the screen of FIG. The screen in Figure 5 shows Figure 8.
The arrangement of the automated warehouse equipment shown in is displayed as a pattern, and the number of tracking data for each automated warehouse equipment is displayed as a number at the pattern position. The operation of the display control device 25 when displaying this screen will be explained.

When "tracking display" in the monitoring menu is clicked with the mouse 30, the equipment status display screen shown in FIG. A pattern indicating the arrangement of automated warehouse equipment is outputted to the device 26, and at the same time, the number of tracking data currently held by each automated warehouse equipment is collected from the equipment control device 21, and the number is displayed in the pattern. Convert, output, and display according to the format of the automated warehouse equipment location. In the example of FIG. 5, for example, there is one piece of tracking data in the second machine of automated warehouse 8, and
It is determined that the crane 5 is in operation. Also, if the number of tracking data changes during display, the display of that number changes in real time.

Next, in the screen of FIG. 5, the tracking data display screen in which the tracking data of the automated warehouse equipment is displayed by clicking with the mouse 30 as indicated by the arrow in FIG. 5 is shown in FIG. Shown below. On the screen in FIG. 6, the layout of the automated warehouse equipment shown in FIG. A list of tracking data for automated warehouse equipment is displayed on a window screen. Display control device 25 when displaying the screen shown in FIG.
Explain the operation.

On the screen shown in FIG. 5, when the automated warehouse equipment is specified by clicking with the mouse 30, screen data of a pattern showing a list of tracking data stored in advance is selected, and the list of tracking data is selected. The format is output and a window screen is opened on the screen shown in FIG. 5, and at the same time, the tracking data of the automated warehouse equipment clicked by the mouse 30 is collected from the equipment control device 21, and the data is converted according to the format of the list. output and display. In the example of FIG. 6, it is displayed that the warehousing data and the warehousing data of the second machine of the automated warehouse 8 are stored in order, and it is then determined that the second machine of the automated warehouse 8 executes the warehousing operation. .

Next, in the screen of FIG. 6, a tracking data detail display screen is displayed when the data in the tracking data list on the window screen is clicked with the mouse 30 as indicated by the arrow in FIG. is shown in Figure 7. On the screen in FIG. 7, the layout of the automated warehouse equipment shown in FIG. The details of the tracking data of the automated warehouse equipment that has been updated are displayed on the window screen. The operation of the display control device 25 when displaying this screen will be explained.

When the data in the tracking data list on the window screen of FIG. 6 is clicked and specified with the mouse 30, the window drawing of the tracking data list is closed and a screen of the format of the tracking data details stored in advance is displayed. Select your data and track it.
The format of the data details is output and a window screen is opened on the screen shown in FIG. Convert it, output it, and display it. In the example of FIG. 7, the detailed contents of the warehousing data of the second machine of the automated warehouse 8,
That is, the number of the shelf 3 and the cargo storage space 2 where the cargo 1 is stored are displayed.

In this way, it is possible to realize a non-panel system, and by displaying a pattern indicating the arrangement of the automated warehouse equipment on the display device 26, it is possible to concretely understand the arrangement of the automated warehouse equipment. Furthermore, by displaying the number of tracking data in real time, it is possible to understand the specific automated warehouse equipment that is operating, and by displaying a list and detailed contents of tracking data, it is possible to understand the automated warehouse equipment that is specifically operating. It is possible to understand the specific operation details of the equipment.

Note that the display of other functions on the screen and the display of other menu contents of the monitoring menu are not essential parts of the present invention, and therefore their explanations will be omitted. Furthermore, in this embodiment, an automatic warehouse, a conveyor device, and an automatic warehouse equipped with a self-propelled transport vehicle are shown as the cargo handling equipment, but the cargo handling equipment may also be composed of individual cargo handling equipment. It is also possible to use any other load handling equipment other than automated warehouse equipment, such as an unmanned vehicle system, a monorail system, or a linear motor transport system.

[0036]

Effects of the Invention As explained above, according to the present invention, the content of the tracking data of the specified cargo handling equipment is displayed on the display, so that the actual cargo and the cargo handling equipment can be grasped by the control device. You can check whether there are any discrepancies between the tracking data and each tracking data. Furthermore, very useful information can be provided when correcting this deviation when it occurs.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a control configuration diagram of automatic warehouse equipment that is cargo handling equipment in one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a display control device section of the automated warehouse equipment.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a display control device of the automated warehouse equipment.

FIG. 4 is a state screen diagram displayed on a display device of the automated warehouse equipment.

FIG. 5 is a diagram of a tracking display screen displayed on a display device of the automated warehouse equipment.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a tracking data list display screen displayed on a display device of the automated warehouse equipment.

FIG. 7 is a diagram of a detailed tracking data display screen displayed on a display device of the automated warehouse equipment.

FIG. 8 is a layout diagram of equipment in the automated warehouse facility.

FIG. 9 is a control configuration diagram of conventional automated warehouse equipment.

[Explanation of symbols]

5 Crane 6 Input/output conveyor 8 Automated warehouse 10 Self-propelled transport vehicle 11 Conveyor 12 Load handling conveyor device 21 Equipment control device 22 Sequencer 23 Control box 24 Link 25 Display control device 26 Display device 27 Keyboard 28 Stores the equipment control device and sequencer Rack 29 Automated warehouse loading/unloading control device 30
Mouse 41 Inventory management computer

Claims (1)

[Claims] Claim 1: Cargo handling equipment equipped with cargo handling equipment, comprising: a control device for controlling the cargo handling equipment; a display; and a display showing a specified cargo handling equipment as understood by the control device. 1. Cargo handling equipment characterized by comprising a display control device that displays the contents of tracking data.