JPH0480103A - Control device for automatic warehouse - Google Patents

Abstract

NEW MATERIAL:To obtain the above control device which can move a traverser, effectively, in an automatic warehouse by providing a means for setting pallets on both sides so that pallets stored in racks are shifted to the other side in order to make the travel distance shorter at subsequent working steps. CONSTITUTION:When a repositioning switch on a panel is depressed so as to deliver an instruction for setting pallets both sides, a CPU 12 refers to supply data in a memory section 15, and allocates numbers 1 to 15 to storage stations in such an order that they are more and more far from a delivery station 4. Further, the CPU 12 delivers instructions for introduction and delivery so that a pallet 5 is shifted from the present storage station to another storage station. Thus, after pallets are set on both sides, the pallet 5 which is accessed at a maximum frequency by the station 4 is brought to a position in the vicinity of the station 4. Accordingly, for a continuation of a process before both side setting, the travel distance of a traverser becomes short so that the efficiency thereof is increased, thus a delay in delivery for a working machine can be eliminated, thereby it is possible to enhance the efficiency of the system in its entirety.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] [Purpose of the invention] (Industrial application field) The present invention relates to a control device for an automated warehouse.

(Prior art) In recent years, the development of automated warehouses has been remarkable, such as FMS machining lines for sheet metal processing, material storage, and product (
It has come to be frequently used for storing (including semi-finished products).

Here, conventional automated warehouses use multi-row, multi-tiered pallets (
It is equipped with a shelf equipped with a pallet storage station that stores pallets (including packets), and a traverser that moves the pallets stored in each storage station to the loading/unloading station and processes them. Alternatively, the pallets at the storage station are moved to the loading/unloading station, the necessary materials are supplied to the necessary parts, and the finished products are stored as appropriate.

Therefore, for example, when storing or loading/unloading materials and products in the above-mentioned FMS processing line, the traverser moves to the storage station storing the required pallet, and also moves to the loading/unloading station. And this is repeated every day.

(Problem to be Solved by the Invention) However, in the conventional automated warehouse as described above, the initial setting is used to determine which pallet to store in which storage station. Therefore, even if the traverser operates efficiently at the beginning, as the date and time get closer, the traverser begins to operate extremely inefficiently, such as only processing storage stations far away from the loading/unloading station. There were some problems.

If a frequently used pallet is placed at a storage station far from the station where the pallet is loaded or unloaded, wasted time equal to the pallet movement time will occur each time the pallet is loaded or unloaded.

Therefore, the present invention addresses the above-mentioned problems and provides a shelf equipped with multi-row, multi-stage pallet storage stations, and a traverser that moves the pallets stored in each storage station to the loading/unloading station and processes the loading/unloading. An object of the present invention is to provide a control device that can efficiently move a traverser in an automated warehouse equipped with the same.

[Structure of the Invention] (Means for Solving the Problems) To solve the above problems, the present invention provides a rack having multi-row, multi-stage pallet storage stations, and a loading/unloading station for the pallets stored in each storage station. A control device for an automated warehouse comprising: a traverser that performs loading/unloading operations by moving the traverser between the shelves and the loading/unloading station; The present invention is characterized by comprising a pallet rearrangement means for moving the pallets stored in each storage station of the shelf to another storage station.

In addition, in a control device for an automated warehouse equipped with shelves equipped with multi-row, multi-tiered pallet storage stations, and a traverser that moves pallets stored in each storage station to a loading/unloading station for loading/unloading processing, each A performance data storage unit that stores data on the number of times a pallet moves to and from the loading/unloading station as performance data; and a performance data storage unit that searches the performance data accumulated in the performance data storage unit in response to a relocation command to select frequently used pallets. traverser drive control means for driving and controlling the traverser so that the pallet is relocated from the current storage station to another storage station so that the pallet is closer to the loading/unloading station.

(Function) In the automatic warehouse control device of the present invention, in the above configuration,
In order to make the distance traveled by the traverser shorter for subsequent operations, for example, based on actual data on the number of times each pallet has been moved to the loading/unloading station, the most frequently used pallets are moved closer to the loading/unloading station.
Can be rearranged.

(Example) In FIG. 2 showing the appearance of an automated warehouse in which the present invention is implemented, an automated warehouse 1 has a multi-row, multi-stage pallet storage station 2 (i, j) (i indicates column order, j indicates stage order). ), a loading/unloading station 4 located on the machine side, and a loading/unloading station 322.4 for storing sheet metal materials and other cargo W.
The traverser 6 is configured to be driven and controlled by a control device consisting of a machine controller 7 and a stocker controller 8. The illustration of a station dedicated to warehousing is omitted. The machine controller 7 is a control device for driving the automatic warehouse], and the stocker controller 8 is a device for giving drive commands to the machine controller 7 in relation to other machines.

In the automated warehouse with the above configuration, each storage station 2 stores a pallet with an appropriate amount of cargo, and is loaded onto the delivery station 4 in response to a delivery command by the general operation of the traverser 6. be. Further, another pallet may be stored from a station dedicated to warehousing (not shown) or from another warehousing/unloading station.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing details of the control devices 7 and 8.

As shown in the figure, the stocker controller 8 connects the CRT]O, keyboard]], CPU 12, and RO via a bus 9.
M], 3, RAM 14, performance data record section]5,
Serial interface]6 is connected. The performance data storage unit 15 is composed of a nonvolatile rewritable storage device such as a hacked-up RAM, an EEFROM, a memory card, or a floppy disk. The serial interface 6 is connected to the machine controller 7 and other control devices, and enables serial communication with the connected devices.

On the other hand, the machine controller 7 connects the CPU 18, the serial interface] 9, and the ROM 2 via the bus 17.
0, RAM 21, motor control 22, and I10 interface 23 are connected, and motor control I/roll 2
2, a motor 24 for driving the traverser 6;
is connected. In addition, the I10 interface 23 has solenoids and LEs other than the sensors 25 and the motor 24.
Actuators such as D are connected to each other via human output (Ilo) terminals.

The serial interface 16 outputs a loading/unloading command to the machine controller 7, and the serial interface 23 on the machine controller 7 side sends a machine status signal as a status signal of the trapper 6 to the stocker controller 8.

Therefore, the stocker controller 8 drives the traverser 6 by generating a loading/unloading command in response to a loading/unloading request input from the keyboard 11 or other machines via the serial interface 16 and sending it to the machine controller. , pallets 5 can be transferred between each station 2.3.

At this time, as shown in FIG. 3, in the performance data storage section 15, the number of times the pallet has been transported (performance data) is stored and accumulated for each pallet number.

Therefore, in this example, when the "Relocation" button provided on the board is pressed and a relocation command is input, the CPU 2
5, each storage station 2 (i, j
) are numbered (1 to 15), and assigned to the storage stations closest to the unloading station 4 in descending order of the number of times shown in FIG. I will move it to the storage station.

For example, the pallet at the storage station 2 (1,,1) closest to the delivery station 4 is carried out to an empty station, leaving the storage station 2 (1, 1) empty, and then the pallet is carried in and carried out. The pallet that has been used the most is carried into this storage station:/2 (1, 1-). At this time, the data on the storage rows and storage stages in the table of FIG. 3 are updated as appropriate depending on the pallet movement status. Repeat the same operation up to the 15th pallet in Figure 4. Of course, other more efficient sorting algorithms may be used. For example, refer to a table for assignments that indicate which pallets should be transferred to which storage stations, generate an algorithm that can complete the work in the minimum time by using empty storage stations, and run it using the generated algorithm. You can do it like this.

As a result of the above, when field workers recognize that the operation of the traverser 6 is inefficient after a certain period of time, they can operate the "reposition" button after completing the machining work for that day, allowing them to perform the work at night. Pallet rearrangement processing can be performed when work is suspended.

When the pallet rearrangement process is performed according to the procedure shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the pallet 5 that has been used the most with respect to the unloading station 4 is brought near the unloading station 4. As machining continues, the moving distance of the traverser 6 becomes shorter, and the minute movement rate increases.
There is no longer any delay in shipping processing machines, and the efficiency of the entire system can be improved.

In the above example, the case where there is one delivery station is shown, but it goes without saying that even in the case of a plurality of delivery stations, the same procedure of relocation processing can be superimposed on each delivery station. In this case, based on the performance data, the traverser 6 may be rearranged so that the total moving distance of the traverser 6 is minimized with respect to the exit station for both people.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, since the present invention is a control device for an automatic warehouse as described in the claims, pallets can be arranged so that the moving distance of the traverser can be shortened and the time for carrying it in can be shortened. The traverser can be rearranged, and the operating efficiency of the traverser and, by extension, the operating efficiency of the cannibalism system can be improved.

In addition, in the invention in which pallets are rearranged based on actual data, the pallet I, which is frequently carried in and out, is relocated to a storage station near the loading/unloading station, the configuration of the control device and its processing method are simple and efficient. Can be rearranged.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of an automated warehouse control device according to an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is an external view showing an example of an automated warehouse equipped with the above control device, and Fig. 3 is actual data. An explanatory diagram showing the storage contents of the storage unit, and the second diagram is an explanatory diagram showing the state of ranking of storage stations with respect to delivery stations. 1...Automated warehouse 2...Storage station 3.
... Shelf 4 ... Output station 5 ...
Palette 6...Driver/server 7...Machine controller 8...Stocker controller 15...Actual data storage department representative Patent attorney Hide Miyoshi Kazuki

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) In a control device for an automated warehouse equipped with shelves equipped with multi-row, multi-stage pallet storage stations, and a traverser that moves pallets stored in each storage station to the loading/unloading station for loading/unloading processing, The pallets stored in each storage station on the shelf are moved to another storage station so that the distance traveled by the traverser between the shelf and the loading/unloading station becomes shorter for subsequent operations. An automatic warehouse control device characterized by being equipped with a pallet rearrangement means. (2) A control device for an automated warehouse comprising a shelf equipped with multi-row, multi-stage pallet storage stations, and a traverser that moves the pallets stored in each storage station to the loading/unloading station for loading/unloading processing, A track record data storage unit that stores data on the number of times each pallet moves to the loading/unloading station as track record data; traverser drive control means for driving and controlling the traverser so that the pallet is relocated from the current storage station to another storage station so that the pallet comes near the loading/unloading station. control device.