JPH11301817A - Article storage equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide article storage equipment capable of flexibly corresponding to change or the like in equipment. SOLUTION: This article storage equipment is provided with storage racks 2A, 2B having a plurality of storage parts 1 storing an article and a conveyer TR conveying the article between the respective storage parts 2A, 2B and an article in/out carrying part 4 for in/out carrying the article in the storage racks 2A, 2B. In that equipment, a controlling computer SC connected to the conveyer TR via a communication interface and a memory medium forming the controlling computer SC in a readable form to store a program for executing a communication process communicating an operation indication relating to each part of the conveyer TR via the communication interface to be connectable to a read part of the controlling computer SC and provided.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a storage shelf provided with a plurality of storage sections for storing articles, each of the storage sections, and an article loading / unloading section for loading / unloading articles in / from the storage shelf. The present invention relates to an article storage facility provided with a transport device for transporting articles between them.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In such an article storage facility, articles are conveyed between each storage section and an article carry-in / out section by a conveying device such as a stacker crane, so that articles can be stored and taken out freely. This is a facility for storing articles in the department. Conventionally, a dedicated control device has been provided for instructing the transport device to perform an article transport operation.

[0003]

Therefore, in the above-mentioned conventional configuration, a dedicated control device is fixedly provided to the transfer device. It takes time and effort to modify the dedicated control device in accordance with the equipment change,
It is not always easy to modify the equipment of the dedicated control device itself. The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide an article storage facility capable of flexibly responding to a facility change or the like.

[0004]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, a storage medium is connected to a reading section of a management computer, and an operation instruction to each section of the transport device stored in the storage medium is provided. By reading a program for executing a communication process for communication, an operation instruction can be transmitted from the management computer to each unit of the transport device via the communication interface. Therefore,
For example, when changing the model of the management computer, it is possible to cope with the change of the model of the management computer simply by incorporating the program of the storage medium into the newly installed management computer. If there is, prepare a new storage medium that stores the communication processing program corresponding to the transport device after the equipment change, and respond to the equipment change of the transport device by simply reading it to the management computer. it can. Accordingly, by providing the storage medium as a part of the article storage facility, it is possible to provide an article storage facility that can flexibly respond to equipment changes and the like.

[0005] With the configuration of the second aspect, the communication interface for communication between the management computer and the transport device is constituted by a general-purpose communication interface. The degree of freedom in selection is increased, and the article storage facility can be made more convenient.

Further, by providing the configuration according to the third aspect, the storage medium read by the management computer includes not only the program for the communication processing but also the storage shelf configuration information and the storage shelf configuration information. A program for managing the entry and exit of articles is stored. Therefore, the management computer that has read the program stored in the storage medium can perform not only an operation instruction to each part of the transport device but also management of the entry / exit of articles to / from the storage shelves. Thus, the article storage facility can be made more convenient while suppressing the above.

[0007]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of an article storage facility according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In FIG. 1, a container C (hereinafter, may be simply referred to as “article C”) as an example of an article is stored in a pair of storage units 1 of storage shelves 2 </ b> A and 2 </ b> B at a predetermined interval in front and rear. Can be stored in the storage unit 1 and a predetermined storage shelf 2
1 shows an article storage facility according to the present invention, which can take out a container C stored in A and 2B. In the container C, for example, small parts and the like are loaded by type.

[0008] The storage section 1 is arranged in each of a pair of storage shelves 2A and 2B so as to be vertically and horizontally aligned.
A plurality of storage shelves 2A and 2B are arranged such that the article loading / unloading sides of the respective storage sections 1 face each other. An intermediate portion between the front and rear of the pair of storage shelves 2A and 2B is a traveling passage of a stacker crane 3 which is a transport device TR for carrying in and out of each storage portion 1. The stacker crane 3 travels while being guided by a guide rail 3a on the ceiling side and a travel rail 3b on the ground side. By being guided up and down by the two masts 3c, the elevating platform 3d can be freely moved to a position facing each storage unit 1. The lift 3d is provided with a slide fork 3e, and the slide fork 3e transfers the articles C between each of the storage units 1 and the lift 3d.

As shown in FIG. 2, the stacker crane 3 has a lifting motor M1 for driving the lifting platform 3d up and down, a traveling motor M2 for driving the stacker crane 3 and a crane side for controlling the slide fork 3e and the like. The crane-side control unit C1 is provided with a storage unit 2 based on detection information of various sensors (not shown).
A control for receiving and transporting the articles C placed on the receiving table 4 installed adjacent to the ends of A and 2B to one of the storage sections 1 and transferring the articles C from any of the storing sections 1 to the receiving table. 4 and control to carry out delivery. Therefore, the receiving table 4 functions as an article carrying-in / out section.

The operation of the stacker crane 3 is managed by a management computer SC installed near the end of the traveling rail 3b. The management computer SC is connected to a relay box 5 forming a part of the device of the stacker crane 3 by a cable via an RS-232C which is a general-purpose interface. Communicate with C1. The relay box 5 is fixedly installed near the installation position of the management computer SC and near the traveling rail 3b of the stacker crane 3, as shown in FIG. The communication is performed by optical communication with the traveling main body of the stacker crane 3 while communicating with the 232C. As shown in FIG. 2, the relay box 5 includes an RS-232C interface circuit 5 for this communication.
a, an optical communication device 5b, and a data conversion unit 5c for performing data conversion for exchanging data between them. In response to this, an optical communication device 3f is provided on the traveling main body portion side of the stacker crane 3, and R is generally provided on the management computer SC side.
The S-232C interface circuit 6 is used.

Hereinafter, the control operation of the management computer SC for the stacker crane 3 will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. When the program shown in the flowcharts of FIGS. 3 to 5 starts, the management computer SC displays a menu screen on the screen of the monitor 7 of the management computer SC (step #).
1). Although illustration is omitted, in this menu screen display,
Four menus of “storage”, “shipment”, “individual operation”, and “storage information” are displayed, and the operator can select and instruct any one of the menus with the keyboard 8 or the mouse 9 of the management computer SC.

When the operator selects "storage" (step # 2), a storage process shown in FIG. 4 is executed (step # 3). In this warehousing process, the screen of the monitor 7 is switched to a screen for inputting warehousing data including attribute information such as the item name and quantity of the articles C to be warehousing, and the operator inputs each warehousing data according to the guidance on the screen display. Do (step #
20). When the input of the storage data is completed, the storage shelf 2 stored in the built-in memory or the hard disk device 10
An empty storage unit 1 is selected from the storage information of the storage units 1 of A and 2B, and the storage unit 1 in which the article C is to be stored is determined (step # 21). Then, a storage command is sent to the crane-side control unit C1 by specifying the storage unit 1 as the storage destination (step # 22). The worker sequentially places the articles C on the receiving tray 4.
The storage operation is repeated in conjunction with the loading of the data, and when the storage operation is completed for all the articles C for which data has been input (step # 23), the storage information is updated (step # 23).
24), returning to the flowchart of FIG.

When the operator selects "delivery" (step # 4), a retrieval process shown in FIG. 5 is executed (step # 5). In this retrieval process, as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 5, the screen of the monitor 7 is switched to a screen for inputting retrieval data such as the item name and quantity of the article C to be retrieved, and the operator follows the guidance on the screen display. The respective retrieval data is input (step # 30). When the input of the leaving data is completed, the storage unit 1 in which the article C to be taken out is stored is determined from the storage information stored in the built-in memory or the hard disk device 10 (step # 31). Then, a delivery command is sent by designating the storage unit 1 of the delivery source (step # 32). Workers sequentially receive cargo 4
The removal operation is repeated in conjunction with the removal of the article C that has been delivered to the user. When the removal operation is completed for all the articles C for which data has been input (step # 33), the storage stored in the built-in memory or the hard disk device 10 is performed. The information is updated (step # 34), and the process returns to the flowchart of FIG.

When the operator selects "individual operation" (step # 6), instead of giving an integrated operation instruction to each part of the stacker crane 3 as described above, each part of the stacker crane 3 is not operated. Direct operation instructions can be given to each of them, and the screen of the monitor 7 is switched to the screen display for that (step # 7). Specifically, the screen is switched to a screen for instructing the elevating operation of the elevating platform 3d, the running operation of the stacker crane 3 main body, that is, the traversing operation of the elevating platform 3d, and the moving operation of the slide fork 3e. These operation instructions are step-by-step operation instructions obtained by decomposing a series of movements into respective steps, and operation instructions for instructing the moving direction and then instructing the respective moving amounts (elevation amount, traversing amount, or retreat amount). When the operator inputs these operation instructions from the keyboard 8 or the mouse 9 (step # 8), the operation instructions are input to the crane. Side control unit C
1 (step # 9). Crane side control unit C1
Then, upon receiving the operation instruction, the operation is performed with the highest priority according to the instruction, and the detection information of the sensor related to the operation is transmitted to the management computer SC. The management computer SC displays the detection information of the sensor on the screen of the monitor 7 (step # 10). The worker
When "End" is entered with the keyboard 8 or the mouse 9,
The processing for the “individual operation” ends (step # 1)
1).

If the operator selects "storage information" (step # 12), the screen of the monitor 7 is changed to a screen for selecting information to be displayed, such as the use status of storage shelves and a list of storage items. Then, as the instruction is input by the keyboard 8 or the mouse 9 (step # 13), the instructed storage information is displayed (step # 14). When the operator inputs "end" using the keyboard 8 or the mouse 9, the process for the "storage information" ends (step # 15).

The programs executed by the management computer SC and schematically shown by the flowcharts in FIGS. 3 to 5 are created in conformity with an operating system (for example, Windows or the like) incorporated in the management computer SC. The format is readable by the management computer SC, and is stored in the floppy disk 11 as a storage medium as shown in FIG. 2 and supplied to the management computer SC. That is, the floppy disk 11 constitutes a part of the article storage facility, and the floppy disk 11 is inserted into the floppy disk drive device 12 which is a reading unit of the management computer SC, and the above-mentioned program is read and the hard disk drive device 10 Is stored. In the management computer SC, the program stored in the hard disk drive 10 is read out or resident in the memory and executed as described above. As shown in the flowcharts of FIGS. 3 to 5, the floppy disk 11 includes a program for executing a communication process for communicating operation instructions to each unit of the stacker crane 3 via the above-described communication interface, The configuration information of the shelves 2A and 2B and a program for managing entry and exit of the article C based on the configuration information are stored as one body. If necessary, a program for incorporating the program into the management computer SC is also stored.

[Other Embodiments] Hereinafter, other embodiments will be listed. In the above embodiment, the article C is stored in the article storage facility.
A so-called stacker crane 3 is illustrated as an example of the transport device TR for transporting the moving object. However, the specific configuration of the transport device TR can be variously changed. It is also possible to provide an elevating rail that moves and guides over substantially the entire width in the horizontal width direction, and that the elevating rail is operated to elevate and lower over substantially the entire width in the vertical direction of the storage shelf. In the above-described embodiment, RS-232C is illustrated as a general-purpose communication interface for communication between the management computer SC and the transport device TR.
-422 or another general-purpose communication interface may be used. In the above embodiment, the floppy disk 11 is exemplified as the storage medium, but another type of storage medium such as a magneto-optical disk may be used. In the above embodiment, the communication between the main body side of the stacker crane 3 and the relay box 5 is performed by optical communication. However, the communication may be performed by wireless communication using radio waves.
A communication line may be connected to perform wired communication.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of an article storage facility according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart according to the embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart according to the embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Storage part 2A, 2B Storage shelf 4 Article carry-in / out part SC management computer TR transport apparatus 11 Storage medium 12 Reading part

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A storage shelf provided with a plurality of storage sections for storing articles, and the transfer of articles between each of the storage sections and an article loading / unloading section for loading / unloading articles in / from the storage shelf. And a management device connected to the transfer device via a communication interface, the management computer being created in a format readable by the management device, and performing the communication. An article storing a program for executing a communication process for communicating an operation instruction to each section of the transport device via an interface, and a storage medium connectable to a reading section of the management computer; Storage equipment. 2. The article storage facility according to claim 1, wherein said communication interface comprises a general-purpose communication interface. 3. The article storage facility according to claim 1, wherein the storage medium stores configuration information of the storage shelves and a program for managing article entry / exit based on the configuration information.