JPS63230404A - Storing/leaving method for three dimentional warehouse - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To eliminate a special rack for correcting errors in storing/leaving operation for double rack automatic warehouse, by determing the storing/leaving method according to the judgement whether or not the number of the arrangement change in loads housed in the preceeding rack reaches the specified number. CONSTITUTION:In storing operation, an empty address capable of storing is selected and, in the column of the address, it is checked whether or not the number of the arrangement change in either load housed in the preceeding rack reaches the specified number. When, the number of the arrangement change in either load reaches the specified number, the storing is performed only to the empty rack in the preceeding rack in the same column. When the loads in the preceeding rack does not reach the number of the specified arrangement change, the storing is performed the rack selected in a step SI. In leaving operation, when the loads in the preceeding rack reaches the number of the specified arrangement change, the loads are transferred into the empty rack in the same column and thereafter loads in the follwing rack is delivered. Withe this arrangement, it is possible to eliminate the specified rack for correcting errors.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a method for managing shelves in a so-called double rack automatic warehouse having a back shelf and a front shelf.

[Conventional technology]

An automated warehouse consists of a shelf group consisting of a large number of shelves, and a stacker crane that travels along this shelf group and performs loading and unloading operations.

As such a shelf, there is a so-called double rack automatic warehouse in which one shelf is divided into two parts in the front and back in the forward and backward direction of the forks of the stacker crane. The fork of the stacker crane is also a so-called double reach type fork that can protrude to each position of the front shelf and the back shelf. One load can be placed on the elevating body having a fork. (For example, JP-A-56
(Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 1'13602, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 57-72503) This will be explained with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6. A shelf group 1 consisting of a large number of shelves is installed on both sides of the travel path of the stacker crane 5. One shelf group consists of a front shelf 1a and a back shelf 1b. The stacker crane 5 transports one load, and its fork can stop at each of the front shelf 1a and the back shelf 1b.

4 is an entrance/exit.

In this case, different loads are stored on the front shelf 1a and the back shelf 1b, which have the same shelf position in the running direction and height direction when viewed from the stacker crane 5 side, and there is a case where it is desired to take out the cargo on the back shelf 1b. . In this case, first, the cargo on the front shelf 1a is moved to an empty shelf (referred to as rearrangement), and then the cargo on the back shelf 1b is taken out and shipped. The empty shelf to be rearranged is the front shelf or the back shelf.

Such sorting may be performed multiple times for the same load.

If the same load is carried out multiple times, errors in stopping the stacker crane on the shelf will be accumulated, making it impossible to store the load on the shelf.

For this reason, the number of times the load is rearranged is counted using a ground computer, and when it exceeds a predetermined number of times, it is temporarily stored on a positioning shelf 8 with a guide 7 whose upper part is enlarged, and the load is accumulated. After that, the stopping error is reduced to zero, and then the shelf is immediately moved to another predetermined empty shelf. 9 is a pallet as a load.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

The load-carrying method in the above-mentioned prior art requires the provision of a special shelf 8 at one position of the rack, and also requires the installation of at most two to three shelves.
If the number of times is changed, it is necessary to use the special shelf 8 to perform positioning operation due to stopping accuracy, which requires extra time for this operation, resulting in problems such as a decrease in overall capacity. Ta.

An object of the present invention is to eliminate the need for installing a special shelf for error correction.

[Means for solving problems]

The above object is achieved by allowing products on the front shelf to be moved to other shelves at any time.

[For production]

When receiving cargo, if some of the cargo stored on the front shelf has reached the specified number of times of distribution, it will be stocked only if there is an empty line on the same line, and the cargo will be stored on the front shelf. If none of the items on the shelf reach the specified number of times of rearrangement, they can be stored on all shelves.On the other hand, when the items on the rear shelf are unloaded, the items on the front shelf reach the specified number of times of change. If there is, the cargo on the front shelf is moved to the empty shelf in the same row, and then the cargo on the rear shelf is discharged.

〔Example〕

Hereinafter, one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIGS. 1 and 2 show flowcharts of the present invention, which are executed by the ground-side computer 10 shown in FIG.

Commands from the ground computer 10 are given to the stacker crane side computer 15 via an interface 11, optical transmission devices 12, 13, and an interface 14.

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of one row of the shelf group 1, and shows an example of the storage situation of loads. The symbol inside the egg indicates the type of cargo stored. Note that a "row" is a shelf provided along the running direction of the stacker crane, and the same row has a large number of shelves in the vertical direction as shown in FIG.

First, the warehousing operation will be explained with reference to FIG. 2.

First, the address (row, stage, column (left or right side of the stacker crane travel path, front shelf or rear shelf)) of the empty shelf that can be stocked is selected. (Step Sl) Next, in the row of the selected address, it is checked whether there is any load on any of the front shelves that has reached the specified number of times of rearrangement.

The prescribed number of times of allocation is one or more times. (Step S
3) In step S3, if there is a load that has been rearranged the specified number of times on the front shelf, it is checked whether there is an empty shelf on the front shelf in the same row. The shelf with the address selected in step S1 is removed from the empty shelves.

If there is no empty shelf, the process returns to step S1 and selects an incoming shelf in another row. (Step S5) If there is an empty shelf in step S5, and if the number of loads on the front shelf has not reached the predetermined number of times in step S3, step S5
The shelf selected in step 1 is determined as the warehousing shelf address, and the stacker crane 1 is used to carry out warehousing processing. (Step 39)
According to this, if the loads on the front shelf in one row have not reached the specified number of times of distribution, it is possible to distribute the loads on the front shelf to another row, so all the loads on the front shelf and rear shelf are Cargo can be stocked at

Therefore, storage efficiency can be improved.

However, if the number of items on the front shelf in one row has reached the specified number of times of rearrangement, the items are stored so that there is one empty shelf in the same row (Steps 1.S3.S5). This state 7g is shown in FIG. For this reason, as will be described later, the load on the front shelf that has reached the specified number of times of rearrangement is moved to the empty shelf in the same row. This is not a rearrangement because it does not cause an error in stopping the stacker crane on the shelf.) , it is possible to unload cargo from the back shelf.

Next, the unloading work will be explained with reference to FIG.

If the shelf address of the load for which the delivery request has been made is not the back shelf, the cargo on the front shelf is delivered. (Step S11.513) If the shipping shelf is the back shelf and there is no cargo on the front shelf, the cargo on the back shelf is delivered. (Step Sll, S15゜If the outgoing shelf is the back shelf and there is a load on the front shelf, check whether the load on the front shelf has reached the specified number of times of rearrangement.If the specified number of times has not been reached. , performs the process of allocating items to empty shelves in other rows. When the items are allocated to other lines, the number of times the items are allocated is counted. (Steps S11, S15, S19, 521)
Note that if there is an empty shelf in the same row, the relocation in step 321 may be performed by moving to the empty shelf in the same row.

In step S21, if the cargo on the front shelf has reached the predetermined number of times of rearrangement, the cargo on the front shelf is temporarily moved to an empty shelf in the same row, and then the cargo on the back shelf is shipped. Then, the temporarily moved cargo is stored in the back shelf of the original shelf. (Step S23,
S25.527) To explain this with reference to FIG. 3, if there is a request for delivery of cargo A1 on the back shelf on the left and cargo B1 on the front shelf has reached the predetermined number of times, the stacker crane 5 will move cargo B
1 is taken out, and without traveling, it is temporarily moved to an empty shelf in the same row (for example, the front shelf of the 2nd to 2nd tier on the right), and then the goods on the back shelf are taken out. Next, the stacker crane 5 returns the load B1 that has been moved to the empty shelf to the back shelf of the original shelf (or to the front shelf if another item has been received before this operation).

In the above, the stacker crane does not move because the temporary movement of the load B1 on the front shelf to the empty shelf and the return from the temporary movement destination to the original shelf are in the same line. Therefore, there is no error in stopping the stacker crane on the shelf, so it is possible to move the stacker crane even if the specified number of reassignments has been reached.

Note that the return from the temporary destination to the original shelf is performed to eliminate the need to change data for inventory management, and the return is not necessarily necessary.

〔Effect of the invention〕

According to the present invention, there is no need for a special shelf for error correction, delivery can be done in a short time, and empty shelves can be eliminated in one row, improving storage efficiency.

[Brief Description of the Drawings] Fig. 1 is a flowchart of an embodiment of the present invention when a delivery command is issued, Fig. 2 is a flowchart of an embodiment of the present invention when a crowd is out, and Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section of a group of shelves. 4 is a block diagram of a control device, FIG. 5 is a plan view of a multi-level warehouse to which the present invention is applied, and FIG. 6 is a front view of a special shelf. 1-----Eleventh shelf group, 1a----First shelf, 1b--
---Ichigo shelf

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. When receiving cargo, if there is a cargo stored on the front shelf that has reached the specified number of times of rearrangement, it will be stocked only if there is an empty line on the same line. If none of the cargo stored on the front shelf reaches the specified number of times of rearrangement, it is possible to store the cargo on all shelves, and when the cargo on the rear shelf is taken out, the cargo on the front shelf is If the number of rearrangements has been reached, after moving the load on the previous shelf to the empty shelf in the same row,
A method for loading and unloading a multi-level warehouse, characterized by loading and unloading cargo from rear shelves.