JPH0558405A - Carrying-in and-out control device for automated warehouse - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent overlapped carrying-in and idle carrying-out in advance and reduce a worker's load largely by disposing plural shelf state detectors, an article presence confirmation means and an article absence confirmation means in a carrying-in and -out control device for an automated warehouse. CONSTITUTION:When a worker inputs, with keys, a carrying-in indication where article number and so forth are designated from a working terminal, a host computer 10 selects one of empty shelves as a shelf for carrying-out, a carrying-in command where the selected shelf is designated to a ground controller 12. The ground controller 12 issues a shelf state detection command to a shelf article detector 4 indicated by the carrying-in command, and the article detector 4 detects if a stored article exists to report it to the ground controller 12. When ground controller 12 confirms that no article exists, a carrying-in carrying command where a shelf which needs carrying-in is designated is prepared, which is delivered to a crane controller 14. A crane controller 14 controls a crane to hole and move up an article on a carriage and store it in a commanded shelf.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a loading / unloading management apparatus for an automated warehouse, which uses an unmanned carrier to store articles in each shelf of an automated warehouse and to retrieve articles from each shelf. The present invention relates to a storage / receipt management device for an automated warehouse, which prevents duplicate storage of goods and prevents empty storage during shipment.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, a large number of shelves are provided in an automated warehouse, and an unmanned carrier freely moves between the shelves.
Then, the warehousing / discharging management device is a host computer (host computer) equipped with a storage table that stores what items are stored in each shelf, and a work terminal for accepting a warehousing command and a warehousing command that specify the products. ) And an automatic warehouse control device that drives and controls an unmanned carrier such as a crane based on a command output from the host computer.

In such an automatic warehouse storage / entry management device, when various articles such as materials are stored in the automatic warehouse, the articles to be stored are placed on a trolley arranged at the storage entrance of the automatic warehouse, and a host computer is used. Input the storage instruction by operating the work terminal of. Then, this host computer searches for an empty shelf in the storage table that stores the storage information of the article for each shelf of the automated warehouse that is the management target, and selects the shelf in which the article is to be stored. After that, a storage command for the selected storage shelf and storage port is created, and this is supplied to the automatic warehouse control device.

The automatic warehouse control device which has received the warehousing command operates a crane (unmanned carrier) in the automatic warehouse to drive it to the warehousing entrance. After that, the crane is controlled to cause the crane to grab an article to be stored on the carriage and convey the article to the selected storage shelf, and store the corresponding article in the storage shelf. Upon completion of a series of warehousing operations, the automatic warehouse control device sends a warehousing completion notification to the host computer. Upon receiving this receipt completion notification, the host computer registers that the article is stored in the corresponding shelf of the storage table.

When an article is to be unloaded from the storage shelf of the automated warehouse, the work terminal of the host computer arranged at the exit of the automated warehouse is operated to input the shipping instruction. The host computer searches the storage table for a shelf (delivery shelf) in which the article specified by the work terminal is stored. After that, a delivery command for this delivery shelf and delivery port is created, and this is supplied to the automatic warehouse control device.

The automatic warehouse control device which has received the shipping instruction operates the crane in the automatic warehouse to drive the crane to the retrieved shelf position. After that, the crane is controlled to cause the crane to grip the articles stored in the delivery rack and convey the articles to the designated delivery port. Then, the automatic warehouse control device unloads the article from the crane onto the carriage when the crane arrives at the exit port. After that, the delivery completion notification is sent to the host computer. Upon receiving the delivery completion notification, the host computer registers that the article has been delivered from the corresponding shelf of the storage table.

According to such a storage / receipt management device for an automated warehouse, when a dolly is placed at the entrance of the warehousing and a warehousing instruction is input from the work terminal, the warehousing / discharging article is placed on the dolly. Are automatically stored on empty shelves in the automated warehouse. Further, in the warehousing, only by inputting a warehousing instruction from the work terminal, the designated articles are automatically conveyed from the respective shelves in the automatic warehouse to the warehousing port.

[0008]

However, even in the above-mentioned storage / receipt management device for the automatic warehouse, there are still the following problems to be solved.

That is, in such a storage / receipt management apparatus, for some reason, the storage state of the articles on each shelf in the storage table formed in the storage unit of the host computer and the actual storage of each shelf in the automatic warehouse. It may not match the stored state of being stored.

In this case, in the warehousing operation, when the crane holding the article arrives at the warehousing shelf and tries to store the article in the selected shelf, if the article is already stored in the shelf, duplication occurs. It becomes a goods receipt. Further, in the unloading work, when the crane arrives at the unloading shelf and tries to take out the article, if the article is not stored in the corresponding shelf, the vacant delivery is performed. In this way, after the crane has moved to the corresponding shelf position, if the commanded operation becomes inexecutable, the crane stops in that state and an error state occurs, making control impossible.

Then, until this condition is repaired, warehousing and unloading operations cannot be performed, and it becomes impossible to carry in and carry out articles. For example, when this article is incorporated into one product as a part, the product manufacturing line is Will stop
There was a problem that it caused a great deal of damage to the production plan.

Further, when such double warehousing and vacant warehousing occur, it is necessary for an operator to get on the crane and manually perform warehousing and warehousing operations. For example, when an overlapping storage occurs, the empty shelf is searched, and when the empty storage occurs, the shipping operation is canceled. Then, the stored contents of the storage table managed by the host computer are corrected by manual operation from the work terminal, and then the automatic operation is restored. As described above, once an error occurs, it takes a lot of time and labor for a worker to eliminate it, and it takes a long time to automatically restore the error.

The present invention has been made in view of such a situation, and by mounting a shelf state detector for detecting whether or not articles are actually stored in each shelf, a storage command and a storage command can be issued. By checking the status of the relevant shelves at the time of occurrence, it is possible to prevent duplicate warehousing and empty warehousing by issuing a warehousing / leaving instruction, which can greatly reduce the labor of the worker. At the same time, it is an object of the present invention to provide an automatic warehouse entry / exit management device capable of preventing the entire system from falling into an uncontrollable state.

[0014]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention has a storage table for storing the storage state of the articles on each shelf, and in response to a storage instruction specifying the articles, the storage table is moved from the storage table. Select a shelf that does not contain goods, move the goods placed at the entrance to the selected shelf with an unmanned transporter, and store the goods.In response to the specified shipping command, the goods are stored on the storage table. The shelves containing the relevant articles are searched, the articles stored in the retrieved shelves are carried out to the exit port by the unmanned carrier, and the storage table is loaded and unloaded each time the loading and unloading occurs. In the entry / exit management device of the automated warehouse to register,

A plurality of shelf state detectors provided on each shelf for detecting whether or not articles are stored, and a shelf state detected on a shelf selected before a movement of the automated guided machine is started when a storage command is issued. The item status confirmation means for confirming that the item is not stored by the container, and that the shelf condition detector stores the item on the shelf detected before the unmanned transporter starts moving after the issue command is issued. It is provided with an article existence confirmation means for confirming.

[0016]

According to the loading / unloading management apparatus for the automatic warehouse configured as described above, when the loading / unloading command specifying the article is input,
Before the automatic guided machine actually starts moving, it is confirmed by the shelf state detector of the storage destination shelf (storage shelf) selected from the storage table that no articles are stored in the corresponding shelf. Then, after the confirmation, the unmanned carrier actually starts moving.

Similarly, when a delivery command designating an article is input, a shelf state detector of a shelf (delivery shelf) retrieved from the storage table before the unmanned carrier actually starts moving. Check that the items are stored in the corresponding shelves. Then, after the confirmation, the unmanned carrier actually starts moving.

As described above, it is confirmed that the shelf is in a normal state before the automatic carrier actually starts moving. If an anomaly is detected at this point, the unmanned transporter does not start operation and selects or searches another shelf of the storage table. Then, the shelf state detector again detects whether the shelf newly selected or searched is normal or abnormal. In this way, the unmanned transporter does not start operating until it is confirmed to be normal, so that it is possible to prevent the unmanned transporter from moving to the corresponding shelf position and then becoming uncontrollable due to an error.

[0019]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a schematic structure of an automatic warehouse to which the warehousing / delivery management apparatus of the embodiment is applied. A plurality of rows of racks 1 are arranged in the automated warehouse, and a large number of shelves 2 are formed on the rack 1. The articles 3 are stored in the respective shelves 2. Each shelf 2 is provided with an article detector 4 as a shelf state detector that includes, for example, a light emitting diode and a phototransistor that detects whether or not an article 3 is stored in the shelf 2.

Rails 5a provided on the ceiling of the automated warehouse,
A crane 7 as an unmanned carrier is mounted on an arm 6 movably provided on 5b. Therefore, the crane 7 can be moved to any position of each rack 2 of the rack 1 in the automated warehouse.

In the vicinity of the doorway of the automated warehouse, there is a cart 8 for placing articles 3 to be stored in or taken out from each shelf 2. Further, a work terminal 9 of the warehousing / dispatching management device is provided near the entrance / exit.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic structure of a storage / delivery management device. This warehousing management device is roughly divided into
Host computer 10 that outputs a warehousing instruction command and a warehousing instruction command
And an automatic warehouse control device 11 for actually automatically operating the crane 7 and the like.

An operator inputs an instruction to store / stores data in the host computer 10.
A work terminal 9 formed of, for example, a keyboard and a CRT display device for inputting various commands such as a shipping instruction is connected, and a storage table showing the storage state of the articles on each shelf 2 is formed in the storage unit. There is. And the high-order computer 1
0 is a process for selecting a receiving shelf, a process for searching an outgoing shelf, and sending an incoming / outgoing command to the automatic warehouse control device 11 based on an incoming / outgoing instruction input from the work terminal 9, and an automatic warehouse control. Based on the completion of warehousing / completion of warehousing from the device 11, registration processing and the like for the storage table are executed.

The automatic warehouse control device 11 issues a trolley control command, a crane control command, a shelf state detection command, etc. based on a loading / unloading instruction from the host computer 10, and the ground control device 12 A trolley control device 13 that controls a trolley 8 serving as a loading / unloading port for the article 3 based on a trolley control command that is output, and a crane 7 that is controlled based on a crane control command that is output from the ground control device 12. A crane control device 14 for performing work, the above-described article detector 4 for detecting the state of each shelf in order to prevent duplicate loading and unloading, and a plurality of rows and a plurality of stages incorporated in the rack 1 shown in FIG. And a warehouse 15 having the shelves 2. Next, each operation at the time of loading and unloading in the loading / unloading management device of the automatic warehouse configured as described above will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. (1) Storage operation

First, when the worker inputs a storage instruction from the work terminal 1 which specifies, for example, an article number for identifying an article, the host computer 10 receives the storage instruction and receives nothing from the storage table in the storage section. Select one of the empty shelves that is not stored as the output shelf. Then, a warehousing instruction designating the selected shelf is created and sent to the ground control device 11 (S1).

The ground control device 11 that has received this warehousing instruction
Issues a shelf state detection command to the article detector 4 on the shelf 2 indicated by the storage command (S2). The article detector 4 on the corresponding shelf 2 detects whether or not the article 3 is stored, and reports the presence / absence 3 of the article on the corresponding shelf 2 to the ground control device 12.

The ground control device 12 receives the presence / absence status report of the shelf 2 from the article detector 4 and determines the presence / absence of the article 3 (S3). If it is confirmed that the article 3 does not exist, it is possible to store the new article 3 in the corresponding shelf 2, so it is confirmed that the current instruction is the storage instruction (S4). And S
After confirming that it does not correspond to the overlapped storage in 6, the storage transfer command designating the shelf 2 of the storage destination is created and sent to the crane controller 14 (S7).

The crane control device 14 which has received the warehousing and conveying command controls the crane 7 to pick up the article 3 placed on the dolly 8 at the warehousing entrance, and position the article 3 at the designated shelf 2 position. The article 3 is transported to and stored in the shelf 2. Then, a storage completion notification is sent to the ground control device 12. The ground control device 12 sends a storage completion notification to the host computer 10.
Send to. The high-level computer 10 registers that the designated article is stored in the corresponding shelf of the storage table based on the receipt completion notification. Thus, the normal warehousing process for one article 3 is completed.

Here, when the article presence information is input from the article detector 4 of the selected shelf 2 in S3, since the current work is a warehousing operation (S8), it is assumed that duplicate warehousing has occurred ( S9). In this case, in S6, the host computer 1
Report the occurrence of double warehousing to 0.

The host computer 10 which has received the duplicate receipt occurrence information
Selects another shelf 2 in the storage table of the storage unit in which the articles are not yet stored, creates a storage instruction specifying this shelf 2 and sends it to the ground control device 11 (S
1).

The ground control device 11 which has received the warehousing instruction again
Issues a shelf state detection command to the article detector 4 on the shelf 2 indicated by the storage command (S2). The article detector 4 on the corresponding shelf 2 detects whether or not the article 3 is stored, and reports the presence / absence 3 of the article on the corresponding shelf 2 to the ground control device 12.

In this way, the empty shelves 2 stored in the storage table are sequentially subjected to the field verification until the articles 3 are not detected on the corresponding shelves 2 and the overlapping storage is avoided. Therefore, when it is confirmed that the selected shelf 2 is empty, the article is stored in the corresponding shelf 2. As a result, the crane 7
Is prevented from getting stuck at the position of shelf 2. (2) Departure operation

First, when the worker inputs a shipping instruction designating an article number or the like for specifying an article from the work terminal 1, the host computer 10 receives the shipping instruction and the corresponding part number in the storage table of the storage unit. The shelf 2 in which the article 3 is stored is searched as the delivery shelf. Then, a leaving command that specifies the searched shelf 2 is created, and this is issued to the ground controller 1
1 (S1).

The ground control device 11 which has received this leaving command
Issues a shelf state detection command to the article detector 4 on the shelf 2 indicated by the delivery command (S2). The article detector 4 on the corresponding shelf 2 detects whether or not the article 3 is stored, and reports the presence or absence of the article on the corresponding shelf 2 to the ground control device 12.

The ground controller 12 receives the presence / absence status report of the shelf 2 from the article detector 4 and determines the presence / absence of the article 3 (S3). If it is confirmed that the article 3 is present, it is possible to carry the article 3 out of the relevant shelf 2, so it is confirmed that the instruction this time is a delivery instruction (S8). And S
After confirming that it does not correspond to the empty unloading at 6, the unloading and transporting command designating the above-mentioned shelf 2 is created, and the crane controller 1
4 (S7).

The crane controller 14 which has received the warehousing and transporting command controls the crane 7 to move the crane 7 to the designated position of the shelf 2. Then, the article 3 stored in the shelf 2 is picked up, the article 3 is conveyed to the position of the cart 8 at the exit port, and the article 3 is placed on the cart 8. Then, the delivery completion notification is sent to the ground control device 12. The ground control device 12 transmits a leaving completion notification to the host computer 10. The host computer 10 clears the articles stored in the corresponding shelf of the storage table based on the delivery completion notification,
Leave it empty. Thus, the normal shipping process for one item is completed.

Here, when the article absence information is input from the article detector 4 of the searched shelf 2 in S3, since the current work is the unloading work (S4), it is assumed that an empty unloading has occurred ( S5). In this case, in S6, the host computer 10
Report the occurrence of vacant warehousing.

The host computer 10 which has received the vacant garage occurrence information
Searches again for another shelf 2 in the storage table of the storage unit in which the relevant article is stored, creates a shipping instruction specifying this shelf, and sends this to the ground control device 11 (S1).

The ground control device 11 that has received the leaving command again
Issues a shelf state detection command to the article detector 4 on the shelf 2 indicated by the delivery command (S2). The article detector 4 on the corresponding shelf 2 detects whether or not the article 3 is stored, and reports the presence / absence 3 of the article on the corresponding shelf 2 to the ground control device 12.

As described above, until the articles 3 are detected on the corresponding shelves 2 and the empty storage is avoided, the storage shelves 2 of the corresponding articles stored in the storage table are sequentially subjected to the field verification.
Therefore, the article 3 is unloaded from the relevant shelf 2 when it is confirmed that the article is stored in the searched shelf 2. As a result, the crane 7 is prevented from being stuck at the position of the shelf 2.

In the automatic warehouse warehousing / management apparatus configured as described above, the storage state of the shelves 2 as the warehousing / discharging object can be detected before the crane 7 actually operates. It is possible to prevent the occurrence of warehousing or vacant warehousing in advance, the crane does not fall into an uncontrollable state, and the automatic warehousing / discharging processing can be normally continued. In addition, since the crane does not stop, the work efficiency of loading and unloading articles can be greatly improved.

[0043]

As described above, according to the warehousing / delivery management apparatus of the present invention, a shelf state detector for detecting whether or not articles are actually stored in each shelf is attached, and a warehousing instruction and a warehousing instruction are issued. At the time of occurrence, the state of the relevant shelf is confirmed in advance, and then a storage instruction / a delivery instruction is given. Therefore, double warehousing and vacant warehousing can be prevented in advance, whereby the labor of the worker can be greatly reduced, and the occurrence of the uncontrollable state can be prevented as much as possible. It is also possible to prevent the system from going down.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a warehouse to which a warehousing / dispatching management apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied,

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the apparatus of the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the operation of the apparatus of the embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

2 ... Shelf, 3 ... Article, 4 ... Article detector, 7 ... Crane,
8 ... Bogie, 9 ... Work terminal, 10 ... Host computer, 11 ... Automatic warehouse control device, 12 ... Ground control device, 13 ... Bogie control device, 14 ... Crane control device.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A storage table that stores a storage state of articles on each shelf, and in response to a storage instruction that designates an article, selects a shelf in which no articles are stored from the storage table and stores it in a storage port. The placed article is moved to the selected shelves by an unmanned transporter and stored, and in response to a designated shipping instruction of the articles, the shelving table is searched for shelves in which the relevant articles are stored, In an entry / exit management device of an automatic warehouse, which carries out articles stored in the searched shelves to the exit port by the unmanned carrier and registers the entry and exit in the storage table every time entry and exit occur. , A plurality of shelf state detectors provided on each of the shelves to detect whether or not articles are stored therein, and the shelves selected on the selected shelves before the movement of the unmanned carrier starts when the storage instruction is issued. Shelf status detection By means of an article non-confirmation means for confirming that the article is not stored, and by the shelf state detector, the article is stored in the detected shelf before the start of the movement of the unmanned transporting machine when the delivery command is generated. An automatic warehouse warehousing and management device equipped with means for confirming the existence of goods.