JPH07251906A - Tracking device optical space transmission - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide an object tracking device which has a high accuracy for position sensing, can perform installation and maintenance at a low cost, presents no risk of causing a trouble in other apparatus, and does not require to acquire the operating licens according to the electric wave law. CONSTITUTION:Optical distance measuring means 7x, 7y, 7z are loaded on a transporting means 10 to sense the coordinate information in an object accommodation space, and a tracking device concerned is equipped with this transporting means 10, which is arranged as movable within the space 100, and optical space transmission communication means 20, 21 which perform giving/receiving of the data on the basis of the coordinate information between the transporting means 10 and a base station 3 to conduct the object management.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an on-the-spot tracking device by optical space transmission, which is suitable for use in a system for managing an on-the-spot product which carries products in and out of a warehouse by means of conveying means.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, in order to manage a system for loading and unloading an actual product (product) in a warehouse, it is necessary to detect the position of a transportation means in the warehouse. Therefore, in a conventional product tracking system in a conventional warehouse (= actual product storage space), a magnetic induction cable is preliminarily extended along the moving direction of the conveying means, and a change in the magnetic field strength generated from the induction cable is reflected by the antenna. And position information of the actual item is detected (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 50-9704).
9).

Further, a rotary encoder is attached at an appropriate position of the drive system of the conveying means, and the moving distance of the conveying means is calculated from the number of rotations thereof (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 61-203008).
Alternatively, a photoelectric switch group is provided to calculate a moving distance (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 60-112583), a large number of position sensors are arranged at regular intervals along a track, and output signals are used to detect a traveling position ( JP-A-54-68663), in which a positioning device having a movable light beam generator is moved to a target stop position of an overhead crane in advance, and the crane is stopped at that position by a position signal thereof (JP-A-57-68663)
107393) and the like are known.

[0004]

However, the above conventional item tracking system has various problems in terms of cost, accuracy, maintainability, and the like. That is, in the case of the induction cable system, a large amount of work is required to install the induction cable, which requires a large amount of cost, has a limited detection accuracy, is vulnerable to noise, and is troublesome and expensive to maintain. was there.

When a position sensor such as a rotary encoder or a photoelectric switch is used, the accuracy may be deteriorated due to wear of the rotating mechanism, or a large number of position sensors such as a photoelectric switch and a proximity switch are required, and maintenance is required. There was a problem that a great load was applied. In addition, the one using the positioning device equipped with the light beam generator requires a large-scale drive mechanism for the positioning device, which is also costly.
There was a problem in terms of maintainability.

On the other hand, the applicant of the present invention mounts an optical distance measuring means on a conveying means which is movable in the actual product storage space, detects position information of the conveying means, and manages the position information on the actual goods. An application for an actual item tracking method and apparatus for transmitting the position to the station by wireless communication means and controlling the position of the conveying means was filed (Japanese Patent Application No. 4-074610). However, since this device uses wireless communication means, it may interfere with other devices, and requires a driver's license based on the Radio Law, so it cannot be operated by anyone. It doesn't.

Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and has a high position detection accuracy, and is installed / installed.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an actual item tracking device which has a low maintenance cost, does not have a possibility of damaging other devices, and does not need to obtain a driving license based on the Radio Law.

[0008]

The item tracking device of the present invention which achieves the above object is equipped with an optical distance measuring means for detecting coordinate information in the item storage space and is movable in the space. The present invention is characterized in that it is provided with a conveying means and an optical space transmission communication means for exchanging data based on the coordinate information between the conveying means and a base station for managing an actual product. Can be an overhead traveling crane.

The optical distance measuring means emits laser light along the moving direction of the conveying means, detects reflected light from a reflecting plate provided at an end portion in the moving direction, and detects the reflected light in the moving direction. A laser range finder capable of detecting the amount of movement can be used. Further, the optical space transmission communication means is a means for bidirectionally serially transmitting the target coordinate information of the carrier means output from the base station side and the current coordinate information of the carrier means output from the optical distance measuring means. can do.

[0010]

When the command information from the host computer (for example, "Transfer the product at the point A to the point B") is transmitted from the base station which manages the actual product to the conveying means by the optical space transmission communication means, the conveying means performs optical measurement. While moving in the warehouse while detecting its own current position by the distance means, it reaches the desired actual product position A point.

Next, the operator confirms the information transmitted from the base station by the optical space transmission communication means and the actual product,
Take out the actual product, move the transport device to another position B,
Store the actual item taken out at point A. At this time, the fact that the actual product has moved from point A to point B is transmitted to the base station by the optical space transmission communication means and stored in the host computer as management information.

[0012]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below based on an embodiment shown in the accompanying drawings. 1 is a system configuration diagram using the tracking device of the present application, FIG. 2 is a plan layout view showing the entire layout of a warehouse with a traveling crane to which the system of the present application is applied, FIG. 3 is the same perspective view, and FIG. It is a principle diagram which shows the addressing method of.

In the figure, 1 is a host computer,
In the host computer 1, the type of the actual product, the location,
A series of information related to inventory management such as movement history is accumulated. Reference numeral 2 is a controller for converting the command information of the host computer 1 into a predetermined protocol and transmitting it to the base station 3, or conversely, transmitting the information transmitted from the warehouse 100 side to the host computer 1. belongs to.

Here, the base station 3 is close to the on-board station 4 mounted on the crane 10, which is a carrier on the side of the warehouse (actual product storage space) 100, as an optical space transmission communication means for performing optical space transmission communication. An optical space transmission device 20 using infrared rays is provided. The optical space transmission device 20 can transmit, for example, a command on the host side such as “move the product X in the warehouse from point A to point B” to the crane 10 side, and at the same time send a position information signal from the crane 10 side. It is capable of receiving bidirectional serial transmission.

The on-board station 4 is mounted on a traverse vehicle (club) 12 traveling on the crane 10 or installed on the side of the crane cab 15 and a position information signal is sent from the side of the crane 10 to the base station 3 And an optical space transmission device 21 as an optical space transmission communication means capable of bidirectional serial transmission for receiving the command information on the host side transmitted from the base station 3.

These optical space transmitters 20 and 21 include a light source / receiver 20a having a light source device such as a semiconductor laser for optical communication which emits near infrared rays having a wavelength of 2.5 μm or less and a light receiving device which receives and photoelectrically converts the light source device. 21a, the transmitter / receiver 20a of the optical space transmitter 20 on the side of the base station 3 performs optical space transmission communication while automatically tracking the movement of the transmitter / receiver 21a of the optical space transmitter 21 on the side of the on-board station 4. The command information that is configured and received by the on-board station 4 is the personal computer 5
And is transmitted to the display device 6 for the operator and the position detecting means 7 (optical distance measuring means which will be described later) in an appropriate signal form.

Although the crane 10 can freely move in the warehouse 100, in the present embodiment, the ridgeline of the rectangular warehouse 100, that is, the X axis (traveling direction) in FIGS. 2 and 3, Y. A traveling platform (girder) 1 traveling in the X direction on the traveling rail 13 so as to be movable along the axis (transverse direction).
1 and a traverse carriage (club) 12 that traverses on the traveling platform 11 in the Y direction. A crane hand 9 which is vertically moved in the Z-axis direction by a hoisting device (not shown) is mounted on the traverse vehicle 12 (only one crane is shown in FIG. 2). And the crane cab 1
The operator in 5 determines the target product according to the display information on the display 6, and moves the crane 10 to the target position.

Laser distance meters 7x and 7y are mounted on the crane 10 as the optical distance measuring means 7. The laser rangefinders 7x and 7y emit laser light along the moving directions X and Y axes of the crane 10 in the horizontal plane, and the reflectors 8x and 8y.
It is configured so that the amount of movement in each movement direction can be detected by detecting the reflected light from y. In the case of this embodiment, reflectors 8x and 8y for reflecting the light emitted from the laser rangefinders 7x and 7y, respectively, are provided at the ends of the X and Y axis of each moving direction. That is, a reflecting plate 8x is mounted at the end position of the warehouse corresponding to the laser range finder 7x mounted on the traveling platform 11 of the crane 10 to detect the position in the X direction, and mounted on the traverse vehicle 12 of the crane 10. The reflecting plate 8 is provided at the end position of the traveling platform 11 corresponding to the laser rangefinder 7y that detects the position in the Y direction.
y stands upright with respect to the laser light of each laser range finder 7x, 7y.

The crane 10 is also equipped with a laser range finder 7z for detecting the position in the Z-axis direction that changes as the crane hand 9 moves in the vertical direction. The amount of movement of can be detected. If the movement amount of the crane hand 9 is also added to the management target, the actual product storage space, that is, the warehouse 100
Will be managed three-dimensionally.

The laser rangefinders 7x, 7y and 7z are provided with a reflection plate 8x, in order to prevent the laser light from being irregularly reflected due to vibrations of the crane 10 while the vehicle is traveling.
8y, the reflected light from 8z (not shown) has a short period (for example, 83po
It can be eliminated by sampling at a frequency of int / sec) and detecting the position at an appropriate timing using the light incident signal of these signals. And
The detected position information is output to the display 6.

Further, regarding the optical space transmission devices 20 and 21, the light emitting and receiving device 2 is also affected by the traveling vibration of the crane 10.
Since the optical axes of 0a and 21a cannot be squeezed, measures against vibration are taken by increasing the light emission intensity as compared with the fixed type. As shown in FIG. 4, the warehouse 100 has a corner as an origin and a traveling direction (X direction) and a transverse direction (Y direction).
The direction) is divided into predetermined intervals, and the address or column number (span No.) corresponding to the moving distance from the origin can be designated. However, the addressing direction in the warehouse 100 and the distance measuring directions of the laser rangefinders 7x and 7y do not necessarily have to match.

Here, the crane 10 is set to a target position,
When the detection positions of the laser rangefinders 7x, 7y, 7z, etc. match, the fact is displayed on the display unit 6 so that the operator can confirm (when the display is performed, the operator uses the name in the warehouse It is designed so that it can be displayed in an easy-to-understand manner. Then, when the operator confirms the type and position of the actual product (product), the actual product is transferred to the instructed position (for example, the carry-out yard).

The operation of the actual item tracking device of the present embodiment configured as described above is performed in the following procedure. Procedure 1: The host computer 1 transmits product information to the controller 2, for example, "move product A at location A in the warehouse to location B."

Step 2: The relevant product information is sent to the controller 2
To the optical space transmission device 20 of the base station 3. Step 3: The product information is stored in the optical space transmission device 2 of the base station 3.
From 0 to the optical space transmission device 21 of the on-board station 4 mounted on the crane 10.

Step 4: The product information transmitted from the host computer 1 is stored in the personal computer 5 from the optical space transmission device 21 of the on-board station 4. Step 5: In order to instruct the operator in the cab 15 to move the product in the warehouse, the personal computer 5 operates the crane 10 based on the pre-stored all product information in the warehouse and the product information transmitted from the host computer 1. It is sent to the display device 6 installed in the room 15 and displayed.

Step 6: The operator determines the target product to be moved from the display information on the display unit 6. Step 7: The operator moves the crane 10. Step 8: With the movement of the crane 10, a laser beam is emitted from the laser rangefinder 7x installed on the traveling platform 11 to the reflector 8x, and the position in the X-axis direction, that is, the distance in the X-direction from the origin or the span No. Also, a laser beam is emitted from the laser rangefinder 7y installed on the traverse table 12 to the reflector 8y to measure the position in the Y-axis direction, that is, the distance or address in the Y-direction from the origin at a frequency of 83 points / sec. While doing so, the result is automatically read into the personal computer 5. Regarding position reading and display, a correspondence table of absolute distances (in mm) in the X-axis traveling direction and the Y-axis transverse direction and storage space names (representable by address and span No.) is stored in advance in the personal computer 5, It is easy for the operator to understand when the moving distance read by the laser distance meter 7 is converted into a place name and displayed on the display 6.

Step 9: The movement status of the moving crane 10 is displayed on the display 6 at an arbitrary cycle, and the operator is informed every moment. Step 10: Place where product A to be moved is placed (a)
When the position information detected by the laser rangefinders 7x and 7y matches, the personal computer 5 displays the fact on the display 6 so that the operator can confirm.

Step 11: After confirming the product A and its position, the operator moves the crane hand 9 in the Z direction to lift the product A. At this time, the position information (height) of the crane hand 9 in the Z direction can be aligned with the product A while checking the position information (height) of the crane hand 9 with the laser rangefinder 7z as described above.

Step 12: Based on the above display, the operator moves the crane 10 while hoisting the product A. Even while moving to the destination (b), the above step 8,
The movement status is detected and displayed on the display unit 6 as in the case of 9. Step 13: At the time point when the designated position to move to and the current position detected by the laser rangefinders 7x and 7y match, the operator presses the end key. As a result, the product A is stored in the predetermined storage position (b) and the actual product unloading operation is completed.

By inputting the end key of the operator,
A series of information about product wholesale is stored in the personal computer 5. Step 14: The information follows the route opposite to that of steps 1 to 4, and the information is traced from the personal computer 5 to the on-board station 4 and the optical space transmission device 2.
1, is transmitted to the host computer 1 via the optical space transmission device 20 and the base station 3.

Step 15: The host computer 1 stores this information as management information and performs tracking for each product. As in the above embodiment, the command from the host computer 1 is
The optical space transmission device 20 via the controller 2 and the base station 3,
21 is transmitted to the on-board station 4 in the optical space, and further passed through the personal computer 5 to display 6 and position detector 7 (laser rangefinder 7
x, 7y, 7z).

Next, the crane 10 uses the laser range finder 7
The movement is started while always detecting the current position in the warehouse 100 by x, 7y, and 7z, and the target type of product is taken out at the target position. Then, when the taken out product is placed at a predetermined position, the work completion information is transmitted through the optical space transmission devices 21 and 20 in the order of personal computer 5 → car station 4 → base station 3 → controller 2 → host computer 1. And transmitted, and the management information in the host computer 1 is updated.

In the above embodiment, the case where the operator operates the crane has been described. However, by realizing the accurate position measurement by the laser range finder and the remote command by the optical space transmission communication, the crane is operated. It is also possible to automate the loading and unloading of the actual product by promoting the unmanned operation.

[0034]

As described above, the actual item tracking device of the present invention is equipped with the optical distance measuring means for detecting the coordinate information in the actual item storage space, and the conveying means which is movable in the space. Since it is an actual item tracking device by optical space transmission, which is provided with an optical space transmission communication device for exchanging data based on the coordinate information between a carrier means and a base station for managing an actual item, it is simple and inexpensive. The optical distance measuring means is not susceptible to noise, and highly accurate position detection can be performed. As a result, the burden on the crane operator can be reduced and mistakes in product loading / unloading can be prevented.

Further, a troublesome work such as installation of an induction cable is not required, and an inexpensive and flexible tracking system can be constructed. In addition, by transmitting and receiving information between the base station and the on-board station by means of the optical space transmission communication means, there is no fear of causing a trouble to other equipment as in the case of using the wireless communication means. In addition, it is possible to obtain a practically great effect that no one needs to obtain a driving license based on the Radio Law and anyone can operate it.

Further, by automating the operation of the crane system, it is possible to automate the system relating to the loading and unloading of the actual product in the warehouse.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram of an actual item tracking device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an overall layout diagram of an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a warehouse equipped with a traveling crane.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a part of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a principle diagram showing a two-dimensional addressing method in a warehouse (actual product storage space).

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Host Computer 2 Controller 3 Base Station 4 Car Station 5 Personal Computer 6 Display 7x Laser Distance Meter (Optical Distance Means) 7y Laser Distance Meter (Optical Distance Means) 7z Laser Distance Meter (Optical Distance Means) 9 Crane Hand 10 Crane (conveying means) 20 Optical space transmission device (optical space transmission communication device) 21 Optical space transmission device (optical space transmission communication device) 100 Warehouse (actual item storage space)

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Shuzo Watanabe 3-3-3 Toyosu, Koto-ku, Tokyo Within Kawatetsu System Development Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Nobuoki Nawa 3-3-3 Toyosu, Koto-ku, Tokyo No. 72 Kawatetsu System Development Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Hiroshi Sasaki 3-3-3 Toyosu, Koto-ku, Tokyo Within Kawatetsu System Development Co., Ltd.

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A transport means, which is equipped with an optical distance measuring means for detecting coordinate information in the actual product storage space and is movable in the space, and between the transport means and a base station which manages the actual product. An optical item tracking device by optical space transmission, comprising: an optical space transmission communication unit that transmits and receives data based on the coordinate information. 2. The actual item tracking device by optical space transmission according to claim 1, wherein the conveying means is an overhead traveling crane. 3. The optical distance measuring means emits laser light along the moving direction of the conveying means, detects reflected light from a reflecting plate provided at an end portion in the moving direction, and detects the reflected light in the moving direction. An actual item tracking device by optical space transmission according to claim 1, which is a laser range finder capable of detecting a movement amount. 4. The optical space transmission communication means bidirectionally serially transmits target coordinate information of the carrier means output from the base station side and current coordinate information of the carrier means output from the optical distance measuring means. The actual item tracking device by optical space transmission according to claim 1, characterized in that