JPH05178405A - Delivery control device for automatic warehouse - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide an economical delivery control device for an automatic warehouse by which products can be sent out speedily from respective ware house rows while complying orderly with delivery requests without inverse crossing of gate numbers and delivery request order with each other between the warehouse rows. CONSTITUTION:A delivery control device for an automatic warehouse is constituted in such a way that there are provided a control device 11 to control respective stacker cranes 2 by means of a warehousing/delivery control CPU 10 and the outputs and signal transmitting means 12 arranged respectively in the respective stacker cranes 2 and respective warehousing/delivery buffers, and while using taking-out addresses and sending-out buffer row numbers of articles corresponding to delivery requests as a from-to-data, the CPU 10 carries out an arithmetic operation on delivery designation order with respective stacker cranes 2 in delivery order as well as in order farther delivery gates, and the control device 11 controls the respective stacker cranes 2 to convey the articles automatically.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a delivery control device for an automatic warehouse.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, in an automated warehouse, the addresses of the stored products are managed. When products are randomly received and stored, when a shipping request is received, the products are collectively replaced by a part of the warehouse queue according to the shipping request destination, or a stacker crane is used directly from the randomly stored location in the order of shipping requests. It is carried out and transported by a loop cart to the shipping gate for shipping.

[0003]

However, in such an automatic warehouse, replacing the product in the warehouse in advance before leaving the warehouse means that if many shipping request destinations are congested, it takes time and work. Also, replacement itself becomes difficult. On the other hand, in order to carry out the product with the stacker crane from the randomly packed place in response to the shipping request,
There are the following problems. That is, the shipping order list in FIG. 8 is an example of determining the shipping order of products for a plurality of gates from a plurality of warehouse rows in such a case, and a shipping request for each gate as shown in FIG. 5 [the numbers in the table carry out the corresponding products] Warehouse row No.] shows the case where a shipping order list for each stacker crane (S / C) is created, and the left half of FIG. 8 is a vertical reading of FIG. When the order is picked up, the right half shows the case where the order of shipping is picked up for each warehouse row from the top to the bottom by horizontally reading FIG. In FIG. 8, the molecule is the gate N.
o The denominator is in the order of request, and products are unloaded from the warehouse row in ascending order of denominator. However, in the right half of the shipping order, the request order (denominator) is scattered and the shipping takes a long time. In the left half of the shipping order, for example, in the (n) row In the (n + 1) th column, the gate number and the shipping request order may reversely cross each other, which causes a problem that the shipping cannot be performed unless the order is changed.

The present invention has been proposed in view of such circumstances, and a product can be quickly delivered from each warehouse row in accordance with a shipping request in a procedural manner without reverse crossing of the gate number and the delivery request order between the warehouse rows. It is an object of the present invention to provide an economical delivery control device for an automated warehouse that carries out goods.

[0005]

To this end, the present invention is directed to a plurality of stacker cranes that reciprocate between a plurality of row rack warehouses arranged in parallel and their buffers by remote control, and the warehouse side buffer and gate side. In an automatic warehouse equipped with one or more loop carriages that circulate by remote control along a loop track laid between a buffer and each of the stacker cranes described above by a computer for managing entry and exit and its output. A control device for controlling, stacker cranes, and signal transmission means respectively arranged in the loading / unloading buffers are provided, and the computer outputs the take-out address of the article and the sending-out buffer row number corresponding to the shipping request from the two.・ Data is in the order of shipment for each of the above stacker cranes, and in the same order of shipment, the order farthest from the shipping gate Calculating a shipment the order specified, the control device is characterized in that so as to automatically convey the relevant article by controlling the respective stacker cranes.

[0006]

According to this structure, the stacker cranes in each warehouse row have the standby position in front of the buffer position at the warehouse row end, receive the delivery order data by the optical transmission method through the signal transfer means, and specify it by the automatic operation. The products are taken out from the corresponding addresses in the order in which they are processed and supplied to the buffer conveyor. When the buffer is full of products, the stacker crane automatically stops in front of the buffer and waits, waits for empty space, and resumes automatic operation. The specified order data to be transmitted to the stacker crane through the signal transfer means is searched by the computer for automatic warehouse management from the pre-input same day shipment request data in the order of shipment request for the corresponding product address, warehouse row assignment, and warehouse row When the loading request order and the loading request order are the same, they are sorted in the order of the farthest from the gate, sent to the signal transfer means through the control device, and transmitted to the stacker crane of each warehouse row. The products conveyed by the stacker crane to the buffer conveyor are received by the loop carriage from the buffer conveyor in a constant cycle, and are conveyed and sent to each gate in order according to the loading request order.

[0007]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring to the drawings, an embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 1 is a plan view of an automatic warehouse entrance, FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing operation control procedures of a buffer conveyor and a stacker crane in FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing functions of main parts of FIG. 2, FIG. 4 is a flow chart of an automatic operation control of a stacker crane and a flow chart of a warehouse queue buffer operation control, and FIG. 5 is a delivery plan table diagram executed by the control flow of FIG. FIG. 6 is a view showing the stacking order by stacker crane executed in the control flow of FIG. 2, and FIG. 7 is a shipping cycle list in the loading request order executed in the control flow of FIG.

First, in the plan view of FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a plurality of warehouse rows S1, S2 ..., a stacker crane 2 orbiting in each warehouse row, and a length of two products at the warehouse row end. An automatic warehouse section equipped with a buffer conveyor 3 for carrying in and out, 4 is an oval loop track provided along the edge of the warehouse section, 5 is a number of automatic traveling type loop carriages provided on the loop track 4. , G1 to G4 have 10 loading / unloading gates each having a buffer conveyor having a length of 2 products, which is arranged in contact with the loop track 4 near the end thereof, 6 is a circulating direction of the loop carriage 5, and 7 is each warehouse row The stacker crane signal transfer means arranged at the ends of S1, S2 ... To face each stacker crane 2, 8 is a signal transmission means for the loop carriage 5 arranged at the upstream position of the entire warehouse row, and 10 and 11 are respectively. Warehouse provided in the control room, etc. Management computer (CPU),
It is a control device.

Reference numeral 12 is a signal transmission means provided for each buffer 3 of each warehouse, 13 is a signal transmission means provided for each stacker crane 2, 14 and 15 are respectively signal transmission means provided for the loop carriage 5, and each gate buffer. , B1-B
4 is a warehouse row S1 ... 2 rows of buffers 3 and 3 for each S4
It is an area that has been set as the preceding order place for the above load. That is, the stacker crane 2 loads the load taken out from the warehouse in the area B.
Alternately, they are unloading to areas B3 and B4, and the unloading loads are sent to areas B1 and B2 by a buffer conveyor.

In such a structure, the storage of products into the warehouse 1, for example the storage of automobiles, is performed by gates G1, G2 ...
・ After the driver leaves the car on an empty pallet placed above, the pallet is sent to the loop carriage 5 and the loop carriage 5 runs in the direction of arrow 6 and loops to the buffer conveyor 3 in the designated warehouse row. The pallet is sent from the carriage 5, the stacker crane 2 stores the pallet in an empty section in the warehouse row, and the warehouse management CPU 10 manages the address.

Next, FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the control device. Reference numerals 16 and 17 are an input device and a storage device respectively connected to the CPU 10. The control system 11 of the automatic warehouse and the transport system other than the stacker crane are shown. Omitted.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the function of the apparatus of FIG. 2 and is a double line block portion 2, 3, 7, 11, 12, 13.
Is a controlled object part according to the present invention.

FIG. 4A shows signal transmission means 7, 12, 13
The control flow of the automatic operation of the stacker crane performed by the data transmitted through the stacker crane is shown in FIG. 6B as a reference, and the stacker crane 2 determines the load state of the buffer. However, the automatic shipping operation is repeated continuously in an independent cycle.

As described above, in the present invention, at the time of shipping, based on the same day shipping request data input by the warehouse management CPU 10, the address search of the corresponding product, the warehouse row designation, the shipping request order, the loading request order, The shipping order for each warehouse row is sorted and arranged in the order of distant gates, and the shipping order is commanded to the stacker cranes 2 of each warehouse row via the control device 11 and the signal transmission means 7, and each stacker crane 2 is automatically continued independently. In the operation cycle, products are unloaded from the warehouse row to the buffer conveyor 3. The products carried out to the buffer conveyor 3 are separately received by the loop carriage 5 in a fixed order in the operation sequence cycle in which the signal transfer means 8 is transmitted to the loop carriage 5, and are conveyed to the shipping gates G1, G2 ...

Next, FIG. 5, FIG. 6, and FIG. 7 are the delivery schedule table for the day created by the CPU 10 in the control process,
It is a shipping order list and stacking cycle list by stacker crane. First, in the plan table of FIG. 5, gates G1, G2 ...
The warehouse line No. (indicated as stacker crane No.) that should be delivered in the order of loading requested for each is shown for the gate No. 1 of the first delivery operation (OPE No1).
The products corresponding to the order of 8, S4, S13, S11, S2, S13 are assigned to be delivered.

In the delivery order list shown in FIG. 6, the products in the plan table shown in FIG. 5 are sorted by stacker crane No. (warehouse queue No.) in descending order of loading request and far from the shipping gate. From No1 (S1) [1st loading order for 2 gates], [3rd loading order for 6 gates], [2
4th place in loading order for gates], [5th place in loading order for 8 gates]
It indicates that the products corresponding to the shipping request are sent out in the order of. This stacker crane for each warehouse row has this
The delivery order of the delivery order list is designated by the warehouse management CPU 10 via the control device 11 and the signal transfer means 7 by optical transmission or the like, and the automatic operation is performed in this order.

The output cycle list of FIG. 7 targets the front row of products delivered to each warehouse row buffer 3 in the order of delivery shown in FIG. 6 so that the loading request order is continuous for each gate in the buffer conveyor 3 of products. From the table, the left is a loading order, the middle is a warehouse row, that is, a stacker crane No., and the right is a product unloading order by a stacker crane.

This grouping sort is performed in the vertical direction from the youngest shipping order in FIG. 7. First, in the first cycle, the first shipping order is sorted from the first shipping order and the first loading order is applied to each gate No column. For 2 cycles, sort the 1st place in loading order from the 2nd column,
From the 1st and 2nd columns, the ones that are already in the loading order and that are already sorted and consecutive gate Nos. Are sorted and applied to the corresponding columns in the 2nd cycle, and in the 3rd cycle, the 1st place in the loading order from the 3rd column. This is performed by sorting, then sorting from the 1st to 3rd columns that are consecutive to the already sorted gate Nos. In the 2nd and 3rd loading order, and repeating the sorting in the manner of fitting the data.

Referring now to FIG. 8, from the first cycle to the first
By sending products to the loop carriage 5 from the buffer in the warehouse row [center number] corresponding to each cycle in order until 0 cycle, the feed to the gates G1, G2 ... It was found that the product output order of the stacker cranes in each warehouse row was also ordered in an orderly manner from the 1st cycle to the 10th cycle at the same time. It is shown that it is possible to respond to the loading request of (3) by procuring well without the need for reversing the order and exchanging products as in the past.

According to the above-mentioned structure, the order of delivery of the corresponding products is designated and transmitted to a large number of warehouse row stacker cranes in the automated warehouse through the signal transfer means for each warehouse row, so that the designation to each warehouse row stacker crane can be made. It becomes clear, and it becomes easier to change the designation of the shipping order before starting automatic operation. In addition, the order of loading requests for each gate and those of the same loading request order should be passed to each stacker crane as the distant order of the gates, so that the product order of the buffers in the warehouse rows may cross in reverse. And the product can be sent to the loop trolley with good procedure. Further, since the stacker crane has a vacant buffer in each warehouse row and the designated product is not completely transported, the automatic continuous shipping operation is independently performed, which eliminates loss time and helps shorten the shipping time.

[0021]

According to such a device, the following effects can be obtained. (1) Each warehouse row of an automated warehouse has a stacker crane runway end position as a signal transmission point, and a signal transfer means is provided between the stacker crane and the stacker crane. The stacking crane is automatically transmitted by designating and transmitting the output order of the corresponding product for each stacker crane. Since the operation is performed, it becomes easy to specify the shipping order for each stacker crane, and it is easy to change the shipping order before the start of automatic operation. (2) In addition, the data to be designated and transmitted is transferred to the stacker crane in the order of loading requests for each gate, and the products with the same loading request are passed to the stacker crane as the order farthest from the shipping gate. The phenomenon that the products delivered to the buffer are crossed backwards can be eliminated, and the gates can be delivered to the gates in a procedurally responsive manner in batch order. (3) As long as the stacker cranes in each warehouse row are empty on the buffer conveyor at the warehouse row end, the products will be automatically delivered continuously according to the designated delivery order until the delivery of the designated products is completed. It has the effect of eliminating the delay in delivery from the warehouse row, eliminating lost time, and improving the efficiency of delivery work.

In short, according to the present invention, a plurality of stacker cranes that remotely reciprocate between a plurality of multi-tier rack warehouse rows arranged in parallel and their buffers, and between the warehouse side buffer and the gate side buffer are provided. In an automatic warehouse comprising one or a plurality of loop carriages that circulate by remote control along a laid loop track, a storage control computer and a control device that controls each stacker crane by its output. , Each of the stacker cranes, and signal transmission means disposed in each of the loading / unloading buffers, and the computer takes the take-out address of the article corresponding to the shipping request and the sending-out buffer column number as the FROM-TO data. In the order of shipment for each stacker crane, and in the case of the same order of shipment, the order specified in the order farthest from the shipping gate By calculating and controlling the above-mentioned stacker cranes to automatically convey the relevant articles, the gate number and the delivery request order do not reverse cross between the warehouse rows, and the shipment request is made in good order. According to the present invention, the present invention is extremely useful industrially because an economical automatic warehouse delivery control device for quickly delivering products from each warehouse row is obtained.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of an entrance of an automated warehouse showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an operation control procedure of a buffer conveyor and a stacker crane in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing functions of main parts of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing an automatic operation control of a stacker crane and a warehouse row buffer operation control flow chart.

5 is a delivery plan diagram executed under the control flow of FIG.

FIG. 6 is a view showing a stacking order by stacker crane, which is executed under the control flow of FIG. 2.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a shipping cycle in the order of loading requests executed under the control flow of FIG. 2;

FIG. 8 is a shipping plan showing a conventional stacking order of stacker cranes.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Automatic Warehouse 2 Stacker Crane (S / C) 3 Buffer Conveyor 4 Loop Track (Loop Rail) 5 Loop Cart 6 Circulation Direction 7 Stacker Crane Signal Transmission Means 8 Loop Cart Signal Transmission Means 10 Warehouse Management Computer (CPU) 11 Control device 12 Buffer signal transmission means 13 Stacker crane signal transmission means 14 Car signal transmission means 15 Gate buffer signal transmission means B1 to B4 Leading forward area of cargo G1 to G4 Entry / exit gates S1 to S4 Warehouse row

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A plurality of stacker cranes that remotely reciprocate between a plurality of multi-tier rack warehouse rows arranged in parallel and their buffers, and a loop track laid between the warehouse side buffer and the gate side buffer. In an automatic warehouse equipped with one or more loop carriages that circulate by remote control along a line, a control device for controlling each stacker crane by a computer for storage / receipt management and its output, and each stacker crane , A signal transmission means disposed in each of the loading / unloading buffers, the computer taking out address of the article corresponding to the shipping request,
The output buffer column number is used as the FROM-TO data to calculate the order of shipment for each of the above stacker cranes, and in the case of the same order of shipment, the designated order of shipment is calculated in the order of the distance from the shipping gate. A delivery control device for an automatic warehouse, characterized in that the corresponding article is automatically conveyed.