JPH1072103A - Operation control method for face pick crane in automated warehouse - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To set up a plurality of sets of face pick cranes in one lane of passage between a storage rack and a picking rack, automatically control movement thereof, prevent mutual interference between the face pick cranes, and efficiently perform picking work, in an automated warehouse picking goods received in the storage rack. SOLUTION: In one lane between a storage rack 1 and a picking rack, a plurality of sets of face pick cranes for supplying goods stored in the storage rack 1 to the picking rack are movably arranged, relating to each face pick crane, a moving command is given by a light transmitting mechanism 8, each face pick crane is moved to a prescribed position of the storage rack 1, picking operation is performed, on the other hand, a traveling position of each face pick crane is supervised by a multiplex transmitting mechanism 9, and mutual interference thereof is prevented.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a distribution center,
At delivery centers, daily necessities, miscellaneous goods, various foods,
The present invention relates to a method for controlling the operation of a face pick crane in an automatic warehouse for storing goods such as drinking water and automatically carrying in and out of the goods.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Automated warehouses that store commodities such as daily necessities, miscellaneous goods, various foods, various kinds of drinking water in bottles or cans, and so on, automatically in and out of warehouses at distribution centers, distribution centers, etc. Is being built in

A conventional automatic warehouse has a shelf for storing goods,
A stacker crane for taking goods in and out of shelves,
It comprises a loading / unloading mechanism composed of a cart and a conveyor for loading and unloading goods, a sequence control controller and a computer for controlling these facilities.

[0004] Incoming / outgoing of goods is performed in units of goods stacked on a pallet in a plurality of layers, that is, in units of pallets, and inventory management of goods is performed by calculating a product number, an ID number, a quantity, and the like of the product at the time of receiving the goods. This is done by reducing the registered stock quantity at the time of merchandise delivery.

However, in the above-mentioned conventional method,
Since merchandise is loaded and unloaded on a pallet basis, it is not possible to pick up a small amount of load, for example, only one layer of commodities loaded on a pallet. Therefore, when only one layer of goods is picked, one pallet of goods must be taken out of the warehouse, only one layer of the goods must be picked, and the pallet must be re-stocked. It was extremely inefficient.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the present applicant has previously described a storage shelf 1 composed of a plurality of rows and a plurality of rows in which goods stacked in a plurality of layers on a pallet as shown in FIG. And a storage shelf 1 for taking out one layer of a plurality of layers of the product 3 on the pallet 2 stored in the storage shelf 1 and storing it.
Picking shelf 4 arranged in the front row and storage shelf 1 in the front row
The product 3 on the pallet 2 stored in the storage shelf 1 in the front row, which is movably disposed between the
An automatic warehouse composed of a face pick crane 5 that picks up one layer unit and a stacker crane 6 arranged between a plurality of rows of storage shelves 2 was developed, and a patent application was filed in Japanese Patent Application No. 8-171399 and others. Have been.

[0007] According to the automatic warehouse of this type, storing and paying out of commodities are performed as follows. That is, upon entry of the product, necessary items such as the product number and the expiration date of the product are input to the computer, and the products 3 stacked on the pallet 2 in a plurality of layers are placed on a predetermined position of the storage shelf 1 by a bogie, a crane, or the like. To store. On the other hand, the picking shelf 4 accommodates only one layer of the products 3 stacked on the pallet 2 of the storage shelf 1 in a plurality of layers. Performed in units.

When the picking shelf 4 is emptied by the payout, the face pick crane 5 moves the storage shelf 1 at a predetermined position from the storage shelf 1 at a predetermined position to the uppermost one of the products 3 stacked on the pallet 2 in a plurality of layers. Take out the layers,
This is supplied to the empty picking shelf 4. Then, the goods 3 stored on the pallet 2 and stored in the storage shelf 1
When the storage shelf 1 is emptied and becomes empty, the stacker crane 6 moves the storage shelf 1 to the empty storage shelf 1.
The products 3 stacked on the pallet 2 in a plurality of layers are stored.

[0009]

In storing and dispensing the above-mentioned products, a single face pick crane 5 for moving the products 3 from the storage shelves 1 to the picking shelves 4 has a slow picking cycle time and is inefficient, and If the face pick crane 5 breaks down, the picking operation must be stopped, resulting in a large economic loss.

Therefore, it is conceivable to install a plurality of face pick cranes 5 in one lane. In such a case, unless the interference between the plurality of face pick cranes is securely prevented, the face pick cranes 5 cannot be connected to each other. There is a problem that a collision accident or the like occurs.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problem and provide an automatic warehouse for picking up goods stacked in a plurality of layers on a pallet in units of one layer. In the aisle, multiple face pick cranes are installed to supply the products stored in the storage shelves to the picking shelves, and their movement is automatically controlled, and the interference between face pick cranes is prevented. Another object of the present invention is to provide an operation control method of a face pick crane that can efficiently perform a picking operation.

[0012]

A method according to the present invention comprises a plurality of storage shelves for storing goods stacked in a plurality of layers on a pallet; and a method for storing the goods on the pallet stored in the storage shelves. In an automatic warehouse comprising a picking shelf arranged in a front row of the storage shelf for taking out and storing one layer, a space between the storage shelf in the front row and the picking shelf is provided.
In the lane, a plurality of face pick cranes for supplying goods stored in the front row storage shelves to the picking shelves are movably arranged, and light transmission is performed for each of the plurality of face pick cranes. A movement command is provided by the mechanism to move each face pick crane in front of a predetermined storage shelf and picking shelf and to perform a picking operation, while the traveling position of each of the face pick cranes is monitored by a multiplex transmission mechanism. Further, each face pick crane is provided with a distance sensor to prevent mutual interference.

[0013]

Next, the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an optical / multiplex transmission system diagram showing one embodiment of the method of the present invention. As shown in the drawing,
In one lane of the passage between the front row storage shelves 1 and the picking racks 4, three face pick cranes for picking products on the pallets stored in the front row storage shelves 1 by one layer unit. 5A, 5B, and 5C are respectively movably arranged. A stacker crane 6 is movably disposed in a passage provided between the plurality of rows of storage shelves 1.

Face pick crane 5A, 5B, 5C
Is automatically controlled by the overall control mechanism 7. The overall control mechanism 7 includes an optical transmission mechanism 8 and a multiplex transmission mechanism 9.
It consists of The light transmission mechanism 8 includes a first light transmission line 10 for giving a movement and picking operation command to the first face pick crane 5A, and a second light for making the second face pick crane 5B perform picking operation. It has a transmission line 11 and a third optical transmission line 12 for causing the third face pick crane 5C to perform a picking operation.

The multiplex transmission mechanism 9 monitors the traveling position of the first face pick crane 5A, and determines the traveling position of the first multiplex transmission line 13 and the second face pick crane 5B for preventing mutual interference with other cranes. A second multiplex transmission line 14 for monitoring and preventing mutual interference with other cranes, and a third multiplex transmission line 15 for monitoring the traveling position of the third face pick crane 5C and preventing mutual interference with other cranes. And Each of these multiplex transmission lines consists of an insulating trolley.

As described above, the mechanism for monitoring the traveling position of each face pick crane and preventing mutual interference is performed by the multiplex transmission mechanism 9 of a different system from the optical transmission mechanism 8 by giving an operation command to each face pick crane. Therefore, mutual interference of the face pick cranes is securely and reliably prevented.

Face pick crane 5A, 5B, 5C
A distance sensor 16 is attached to each of the sensors, and two positions are detected by such a distance sensor 16. When the face pick cranes approach each other at a long distance, decelerate and stop. Backup control of mutual interference is performed.

Since the present invention is configured as described above, when the general control mechanism 7 transmits the picking support data, the position of the storage shelf 1 on the picking side and the position of the picking shelf 4 on the unloading side are determined. After confirming that the other face picking cranes 5 do not interfere with each other, the data is transmitted, and the picking operation is performed.

At this time, another face pick crane 5
When there is an interference, the interfering crane is temporarily evacuated to an optimal position, and then data transmission is performed to perform a picking operation.

Further, in order to prevent mutual interference of the same series and the same stage as the stacker crane 6 for replenishing products, when the face pick crane 5 stops in the same series, mutual access shelves are confirmed by optical communication. When the shelves are different, the operations are continued with each other. On the other hand, in the case of the same stage, it waits until one of the picking is completed, and then resumes the operation to prevent mutual interference.

The entry and exit of goods, inventory management, and operation of the face pick crane and stacker crane are all performed by a warehouse management computer. That is, the warehouse management computer monitors the state of loading of the goods of one layer unit stored in the picking shelf 2 and becomes empty due to the shipment of the goods of one layer unit to the picking shelf 2. Sometimes, a command to replenish the picked shelf 2 with the product stored in the storage shelf 1 opposite to the shelf 2 is transmitted to the face pick crane 3 through the overall control mechanism 7.

Further, the warehouse management computer monitors the loading status of the storage shelf 1, and when an empty shelf occurs, another storage shelf storing the same product as the product allocated to the shelf. Out of the items stored on those shelves and find the item with the shortest shelf life
The replenishment is performed by moving between shelves or between rows by means such as.

[0023]

As described above, according to the present invention,
In an automatic warehouse that picks up products stacked in multiple layers on a pallet in units of one layer, the products stored in the storage shelves are picked on one lane of the passage between the storage shelves and the picking shelves. A number of face pick cranes are installed to supply the equipment to the factory, and its movement is automatically controlled. In addition, interference between face pick cranes can be prevented and the picking work can be performed efficiently. A useful effect is provided.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an optical / multiplex transmission system diagram showing an embodiment of the method of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of an automatic warehouse.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Storage shelf 2 Pallet 3 Merchandise 4 Picking shelf 5 Face pick crane 6 Stacker crane 7 Overall control mechanism 8 Optical transmission mechanism 9 Multiple transmission mechanism 10 1st optical transmission line 11 2nd optical transmission line 12 3rd optical transmission line 13 1st Multiple line 14 Second multiple line 15 Third multiple line 16 Distance sensor

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A plurality of storage shelves on which products stacked in a plurality of layers are stored on a pallet, and one layer of the products on the pallet stored in the storage shelf is taken out and housed. In an automatic warehouse consisting of picking shelves arranged in the front row of the storage shelves, in one lane between the front row storage shelves and the picking shelves, the goods stored in the front row storage shelves are picked up by the picking shelves. A plurality of face pick cranes for arranging the face pick cranes are movably arranged, and a moving command is given to each of the plurality of face pick cranes by an optical transmission mechanism, and each face pick crane is moved to a predetermined storage shelf and Moving in front of the picking rack and performing the picking operation, while monitoring the traveling position of each of the face pick cranes by a multiplex transmission mechanism, The distance sensor is provided on the face pick crane, characterized in that to prevent the mutual interference, the operation control method of a face pick crane in an automated warehouse.