KR102409613B1 - Article transport facility - Google Patents

Abstract

An article transport facility including a transport device having a plurality of transport units includes a first assignment process for determining a preferential transport process to be performed preferentially and assigning a preferential transport command corresponding thereto to one of the plurality of transport devices; A second assignment process of determining a sub-conveying process based on the movement path along which the conveying apparatus moves in order to execute the processing and assigning a sub-conveying command corresponding thereto to the other one of the plurality of conveying mounting units is executed.

Description

Goods transport facility {ARTICLE TRANSPORT FACILITY}

The present invention relates to equipment for conveying articles.

For example, in a production facility such as a factory, while temporarily storing raw materials, intermediate products, finished products, etc., when necessary, in order to transport them to a place where they are needed, in addition to a conveying device, a holding device for holding articles Goods conveying equipment including wealth is used. In such article transport equipment, there are cases where a transport device is configured to have a plurality of transport and mount parts, and those configured so that each of the plurality of transport parts can transport and mount an article to and from a holder is used. .

An example of the above multi-transfer-mounted article transport equipment is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2012-136310 (Patent Document 1). In the article transport facility of Patent Document 1, the transport device [stacker crane A] is configured with two transport mounts [fork device F], and in these two transport mounts, the first holding part [storage part 1] and adjacent thereto The article is simultaneously transferred and mounted on a second holding unit.

However, depending on the usage situation of the article transport facility, there may be cases where it is not always necessary to simultaneously transport and mount the articles to a plurality of holding units adjacent to each other. In this case, the plurality of transfer mounting units are operated individually to sequentially transfer and mount the articles to a plurality of holding units located apart from each other. throw it away In the article transport facility as described in Patent Document 1, room for improvement remains in view of the above.

In a multi-transfer mounting type article conveying facility in which a conveying apparatus is configured to have a plurality of conveying units, it is desired to improve the conveying efficiency of the entire facility.

The article transport facility according to the present disclosure includes:

It has a plurality of holding units for holding articles, and a plurality of transfer units, and is movable along a conveying direction in a state in which an article is mounted on each of the conveying units, and between each of the conveying units and the holding unit. a conveyance device capable of transporting and mounting articles, based on a conveyance instruction set as a set of a conveyance source holding unit as the holding unit of a conveyance source and a conveyance destination holding unit as the holding unit at a conveyance destination an article transport facility for carrying out transport processing for transporting articles from the transport source holding unit to the transport destination holding unit by the transport device,

determining a priority conveyance processing, which is the conveyance processing to be performed preferentially, based on a predetermined decision rule, and assigning a priority conveyance command according to the determined priority conveyance processing to a first conveyance unit that is one of the plurality of conveyance units 1 allocation processing;

At least a sub conveying process is determined based on a movement path through which the conveying apparatus moves in order to execute the preferential conveying process, and a sub conveying command according to the determined sub conveying process is provided to another one of a plurality of the conveying mounting units. A second allocation process for allocating to the second transfer unit is executed.

According to the above configuration, by the first assignment processing, the transfer command is assigned to the first transfer unit, and the transfer process to be performed preferentially is performed using the first transfer unit. A necessary conveying process or a preferable conveying process from a viewpoint of efficiency, etc. can be performed suitably without delay. In addition, by the second assignment processing, since the sub-conveying command according to the conveying process including the conveying by the priority conveying process and the conveying other than the simultaneous conveying is assigned to the second conveying unit, the contents of the sub conveying processing are You have a lot of freedom to decide. And, by determining the content of the sub-conveying process based on at least the movement path of the conveying apparatus for executing the preferential conveying process, the preferential conveying process and the sub-conveying process can be executed at least partially overlapping each other during the preferential conveying process. That is, since the sub-conveyance process can be performed together at least partially using the movement of the conveying apparatus at the time of performing the conveyance process first, the conveyance efficiency of the whole facility can be improved by repeating this.

Additional features and advantages of the technology related to the present disclosure will become more apparent from the following description of exemplary and non-limiting embodiments described with reference to the drawings.

1 is a perspective view of an article transport facility.
Fig. 2 is a horizontal cross-sectional view of an interfloor conveyance facility.
Fig. 3 is a horizontal cross-sectional view of an interfloor transport facility.
4 : is a vertical sectional view of an interfloor conveyance facility.
5 is a block diagram of a control unit.
Fig. 6 is a flowchart showing a procedure for assigning a conveyance instruction.
7 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a situation in which simultaneous transfer is possible.
8 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a situation in which simultaneous transfer and mounting is possible.
9 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a situation in which simultaneous transfer and mounting is possible.
10 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a situation in which transfer is possible on the way.
Fig. 11 is a table showing the class classification in relation to the lifting position of the transfer mounted transport candidate on the way.
Fig. 12 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a situation in which transfer can be carried out on the way in class A.
Fig. 13 is a table showing detailed class classification in relation to the placement position of the transfer mounted conveyed object candidates on the way.
Fig. 14 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a situation in which transfer can be carried out on the way in class B.
Fig. 15 is a table showing detailed class classification in relation to the placement position of the transfer-mounted conveyed object candidates on the way.
Fig. 16 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a situation in which transfer can be carried out on the way in class C.
Fig. 17 is a table showing detailed class classification in relation to the placing positions of transfer mounted transport candidates on the way.
18 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a situation in which use and transport is possible on the way.
Fig. 19 is a table showing the class classification in relation to the lifting position of the used conveyed object candidates on the way.
Fig. 20 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a situation in which use and transport can be carried out on the way in class X.
Fig. 21 is a table showing detailed class classification in relation to the placement position of the used transported object candidates on the way.
Fig. 22 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a situation in which use and transport can be carried out on the way in class Y.
Fig. 23 is a table showing the detailed class classification in relation to the placement position of the used transported object candidates on the way.

An embodiment of the article transport facility will be described. The article transport facility 1 is installed, for example, in a production facility such as a factory, and is used to temporarily store raw materials, intermediate products, finished products, and the like while transporting them to a location where they are importantly needed. In the present embodiment, as an example, the article transport facility 1 installed in a clean room that processes raw materials and the like under a clean environment will be described as an example.

As shown in FIG. 1 , the article transport facility 1 includes an interfloor transport device 2 that transports articles A between multiple floors, and transports articles A by traveling near the ceiling on each floor. It includes a ceiling conveying device 3 to be used, and a floor conveying device 4 traveling on the floor of each floor to convey the article A. In addition, the article transport facility 1 is installed on the floor surface of each floor, and is a loading/unloading transport device for loading the article A into the interfloor transport device 2 or unloading the article A from the interfloor transport device 2 . (6) is included. Incidentally, as the article A, for example, a storage container (such as a FOUP (Front Opening Unified Pod) or a reticle pod) that accommodates a semiconductor substrate, a reticle substrate, or the like can be exemplified.

The interlayer conveyance device 2 is provided inside the cylindrical partition body 90 provided over each floor in the state which penetrates the bottom surface of each floor in an up-down direction. The ceiling conveying apparatus 3 and the floor conveying apparatus 4 are provided outside the partition 90 . As shown in FIG. 2, the input/export conveyance apparatus 6 is provided over the inside and the outside of the partition 90 in the state which penetrates the partition 90 in a horizontal direction. The input/export conveyance device 6 has an end (outer end) positioned outside the partition 90 and an end positioned inside the partition 90 (inner end 6e). )] to transport the article (A) between The input/export conveyance device 6 is, for example, a driven conveyor, and is driven by a drive motor (not shown).

2 to 4 , a plurality of accommodating portions 10 for accommodating the article A are formed inside the partition 90 . The accommodating part 10 is formed over a plurality of stages in the vertical direction, and in each stage, a plurality of accommodating parts 10 are arranged side by side along the circumferential direction centering on the interlayer conveyance device 2 . The accommodating part 10 is provided with the support body 12 which supports the article A from below. The support body 12 is formed in a U-shape in plan view, and is provided so that each U-shaped front-end|tip part may face the interlayer conveyance apparatus 2 side. In this way, the accommodating part 10 is configured to accommodate the article A in a state in which the article A is supported by the support 12 from below.

When the article A is loaded on the outer end of the loading/unloading transport device 6 by the ceiling transport device 3, the floor transport device 4, an operator, or the like, the article A is transferred to the loading/unloading transport device 6 is conveyed to the inner end portion 6e of the inside of the partition body 90 . Thereafter, the article A is conveyed from the inner end 6e by the interlayer conveying device 2 to the storage unit 10 located on the same or different floor, and is accommodated in the storage unit 10 . Further, the article A stored in the storage unit 10 is transferred by the interlayer conveying device 2 to the inner end 6e of the loading/unloading conveying device 6 located on the same floor or a different floor from the storage unit 10 . ), and then conveyed to the outer end by the input/exit conveying device 6 . The article A conveyed to the outer end is unloaded from the outer end by the ceiling conveying device 3 , the floor conveying device 4 , an operator, or the like. Then, when the article A is transported from the inner end 6e to the inner end 6e of another input/export transport device 6 by the interlayer transport device 2 , or when the article A is transported from the storage unit 10 to another In some cases, the article A is transported to the storage unit 10 .

As described above, in the article transport facility 1 of the present embodiment, the article A is held in the storage unit 10 or mounted on the inner end portion 6e of the input/export transport device 6 . It may or may not be maintained as it is. In this embodiment, the inner side edge part 6e of the accommodating part 10 or the loading/unloading conveyance apparatus 6 corresponds to "holding part R". The article transport facility 1 includes a plurality of holding units R inside the compartment 90 .

As shown in FIG. 4, the guide rail 14 is provided in the inside of the partition 90 in the state spanning each floor along the up-down direction, and the conveyance apparatus 20 which moves along the guide rail 14 further. ) is installed. The interlayer conveying apparatus 2 is comprised using these guide rails 14 and the conveying apparatus 20 as main elements. The conveying apparatus 20 includes an elevating body 21 and a plurality of (two in this example) conveying mounting units 31 fixed to the elevating body 21 . In this way, the article transport facility 1 includes a transport device 20 having a plurality of holding parts R and a plurality of transport mounting parts 31 .

The elevating body 21 is connected to a belt 15 wound around a pair of pulleys (not shown) provided at both upper and lower ends of the guide rail 14 , for example. By driving one pulley by the first motor M1 (refer to FIG. 5 ) and driving the belt 15 as a follower, the elevating body 21 can be raised and lowered along the guide rail 14 . has been

The elevating body 21 includes a body part 22 extending in the vertical direction, and first and second support parts 23 and 24 connected to the body part 22 at different positions in the vertical direction. . In this embodiment, the 1st support part 23 is connected to the lower end of the elongate body part 22, and the 2nd support part 24 is connected to the middle part of the up-down direction of the main body part 22. As shown in FIG. And, the transfer mounting part 31 is connected to the 1st support part 23 and the 2nd support part 24, respectively. In this way, in the conveying apparatus 20 of this embodiment, the some conveyance mounting part 31 which is divided in an up-down direction and arrange|positioned so that it may overlap in planar view is comprised so that raising/lowering integrally is possible. And the spacing width between these two transfer mounting parts 31 respond|corresponds to the spacing width|variety between the two accommodating parts 10 (support body 12) arranged in a vertical line.

The plurality of transfer mounting units 31 have the same structure as each other. The transfer mounting portion 31 includes a turning table 32 , a link mechanism 33 , a base portion 34 , and a support body 35 , respectively. The turning table 32 is supported so as to be able to rotate about an axis along the vertical direction with respect to the supporting parts 23 and 24 . The link mechanism 33 is connected to the pivot 32 at its base end, and is further connected to the base 34 at its distal end. The support body 35 is supported so as to be able to move up and down relatively with respect to the base part 34 . The support body 35 is formed to be one turn smaller than the opening part so as to be able to pass through the opening of the U-shaped support body 12 in a plan view (refer to FIGS. 2 and 3).

The swing table 32 is driven by the second motor M2 (refer to FIG. 5 ) to swing with respect to the supports 23 , 24 . The link mechanism 33 is driven by a third motor M3 (refer to FIG. 5 ) to expand and contract, and has a protruding posture in which the support body 35 protrudes from the support parts 23 and 24 , and the support body 35 is a support part (23, 24) is converted to the evacuation posture accommodated in the phase. The support body 35 is driven by the 4th motor M4 (refer FIG. 5), and moves relative to the base part 34 in an up-down direction. In addition, the second motor M2 , the third motor M3 , and the fourth motor M4 are provided for each of the plurality of transfer mounting units 31 , and they can be driven independently of each other.

The control unit 40 that controls the operation of each unit of the article transport facility 1 is constituted by, for example, an electronic control unit having a microcomputer. As shown in FIG. 5 , the control unit 40 includes an integrated control unit 41 and a conveyance control unit 45 . The general control unit 41 collectively manages storage, movement, and the like of the plurality of articles A in the article transport facility 1 . The conveyance control unit 45 specifically controls the conveyance of the product A by controlling the operation of each unit of the product conveying facility 1 according to a command from the general control unit 41 .

The general control unit 41 transfers the article A held in one holding unit R (the inner end portion 6e of the storage unit 10 or the loading/unloading transport device 6) to another holding unit R. It is determined to be conveyed to the storage unit 10 or the inner end portion 6e of the loading/unloading conveyance device 6, and a conveyance instruction for instructing execution of the conveying process is generated. The transfer instruction includes a carrier holding unit Rs holding the target article A as the carrier holding unit R at that point in time, and a carrier holding unit R holding the target article A as the carrier holding unit R. is created as a set with the transfer destination holding unit Rd to be transferred in the future (refer to FIG. 7 and the like). And the transfer destination holding part Rd is the holding part R which should be conveyed next in relation to the subsequent production process, for example. In the present embodiment, the general control unit 41 includes a first conveyance determining unit 42 and a sub conveying determining unit 43 , and in this embodiment further includes an intermediate conveyance determining unit 44 . The function of each of these functional units 42 to 44 will be described later.

The conveyance control part 45 includes at least the lifting body drive control part 46, the 1st conveyance mounting part drive control part 47, and the 2nd conveyance mounting part drive control part 48. As shown in FIG. The elevating body drive control unit 46 drives the first motor M1 according to the conveying command, and moves the conveying device ( 20) The [elevating body 21] is moved. The first transfer unit drive control unit 47 and the second transfer unit drive control unit 48 control the second motor M2, the third motor M3, and the fourth motor M4 of each transfer unit 31 . It drives and takes charge of the conveyance and mounting operation of the article A between the conveying apparatus 20 and the holding|maintenance part R. In addition, the first transfer unit drive control unit 47 controls the operation of one of the two transfer units 31 (a first transfer unit 31A to be described later) in this example, and the second transfer unit drive control unit 48 ) controls the operation of the other of the two transfer-mounted parts 31 (second transfer-mounted part 31B to be described later).

For example, the transfer mounting unit drive control units 47 and 48 drive the second motor M2 according to the transfer command to turn the turning table 32, and change the moving direction of the support body 35 to and from the transfer source holding unit ( Rs) or the transfer destination holding unit Rd. In addition, the transfer mounting unit drive control units 47 and 48 drive the third motor M3 in a state in which the moving direction of the support body 35 is directed to the transfer source holding unit Rs or the transfer destination holding unit Rd. , the link mechanism 33 is extended to bring the support body 35 close to the holding portion R thereof. In addition, the transfer mounting unit drive control unit 47, 48 drives the fourth motor M4 in the protruding posture of the support body 35 to raise the support body 35 with respect to the base part 34 to raise the carrier 35 to the carrier holding part ( A lifting transport that lifts the article A from Rs), and a lowering transport that lowers the support 35 with respect to the base 34 to place the article A on the transport destination holding part Rd. control

When these elevating body drive control unit 46 , first transfer unit drive control unit 47 , and second transfer unit drive control unit 48 work together, the conveying device 20 transfers the article to each of the conveying unit 31 . In a state in which (A) is mounted, the article (A) is movable along the transport direction (T) (in this example, the up-down direction), and between each of the transport mounting parts (31) and the holding part (R) independently of each other (A) can be transported and mounted. Then, the conveying device 20 transfers and mounts the article A (lifting and transporting) with the transfer source holding unit Rs based on the transfer command, and transfers the article A to the transfer mounting unit 31 . ), it moves from the transport source holder Rs to the transport destination holder Rd, and transfers and mounts the article A between the transport destination holder Rd and the transport destination holder Rd. In this way, the conveying apparatus 20 is configured to perform conveyance processing of conveying the article A from the conveying source holding unit Rs to the conveying destination holding unit Rd. In addition, although detailed description is abbreviate|omitted here, the conveyance control part 45 is comprised so that the operation|movement of the ceiling conveying apparatus 3, the operation|movement of the floor conveyance apparatus 4, and the operation|movement of the input/exit conveyance apparatus 6 may also be controlled.

The article transport facility 1 of the present embodiment focuses on improving the transport efficiency of the entire equipment in relation to a single transport device 20 having a plurality of transport units 31, and It is characterized in that the transfer command determined under different conditions is assigned to the transfer mounting unit 31 . Hereinafter, the above points will be described.

As described above, the general control unit 41 of the present embodiment includes a priority conveyance determination unit 42 and a sub conveyance determination unit 43 . The priority conveyance decision unit 42 determines a priority conveyance process, which is a conveyance process to be performed with priority, based on a predetermined decision rule. The transport process to be performed preferentially is, for example, a transport process that needs to be performed at an early stage from the viewpoint of the surface state of the semiconductor substrate accommodated inside the article A (FOUP in this example), and from the viewpoint of efficiency, etc. In the preferred conveyance processing, etc. In the present embodiment, the above decision rule is from the position of the transfer apparatus 20 at that point (hereinafter referred to as "the present position") to the transfer source holding unit Rs where the target article A is held. the movement distance of the target article A, the transport distance from the transport source holding unit Rs to the transport destination holding part Rd, and the waiting at the transport source holding part Rs of the target article A It is arranged to determine the priority based on at least one of the times.

More specifically, when the determination rule includes the viewpoint of the movement distance from the current position of the conveying apparatus 20 to the conveying source holding unit Rs in which the target article A is held, other conditions are If it is the same, it is determined so that the priority increases as the movement distance becomes shorter. In addition, when the decision rule includes the viewpoint of a transport distance from the transport source holding unit Rs to the transport destination holding unit Rd for the target article A, the transport distance is the same if other conditions are the same. It is determined that the priority increases as is shortened. In addition, when the decision rule includes the viewpoint of the waiting time in the carrier holding unit Rs of the target article A, the priority increases as the waiting time becomes longer, other conditions being the same. it is decided When the decision rule includes two or more viewpoints among them, different weights may be assigned to each viewpoint. In addition, decision rules may be established including other viewpoints. It is preferable that the decision rule be determined in the form of a function of priority in which each of the above parameters is used as a variable, for example.

Priority transport decision unit 42 calculates priorities for all combinations of the candidates for the transport source holding unit Rs and the candidates for the transport destination holding unit Rd, based on the above decision rules, and has the highest priority A combination with a higher degree is determined as the priority conveyance process. When the priority conveyance process is determined, the priority conveyance command Cp is generated as a command composed of a set of a conveyance source holding unit Rs and a conveyance destination holding unit Rd for giving the preferential conveyance processing. The general control unit 41 assigns the generated preferential transfer command Cp to one of the plurality of transfer units 31 included in the transfer apparatus 20 (hereinafter referred to as “the first transfer unit 31A”). (#01 in FIG. 6). For example, among the two transfer mounts 31 arranged vertically, the transfer mount 31 on the lower end is the first transfer mount 31A, and the integrated control unit 41 is the first on the lower end. A transfer command Cp is first assigned to the transfer mounting unit 31A (refer to Fig. 7). In the present embodiment, the series of processing up to this point corresponds to the "first allocation processing". Hereinafter, the article A, which is the object of the preferential transport process, is referred to as a "priority transported article", and is denoted by "Ap" in each drawing.

The sub-conveyance determining unit 43 determines the sub-conveying processing based on a viewpoint different from the viewpoint for determining the preferential conveying processing by the priority conveying determining unit 42 . The sub-conveyance determination unit 43 determines the sub-conveyance processing based on at least the movement path through which the conveying apparatus 20 moves in order to first perform the conveying processing. The movement path along which the conveying apparatus 20 moves in order to perform the preferential conveying process is a conveying direction T from the conveying source holding unit Rs designated by the preferential conveying command Cp to the conveying destination holding unit Rd It is a movement path of the conveying device 20 along In addition to the movement path for first carrying out the conveyance process, the sub conveyance determining unit 43 may, for example, the current position of the conveying device 20 or a candidate article to be conveyed by the sub conveyance process (hereinafter referred to as "sub conveyance article"). The sub-carrying process is determined based on the current position (raised position) and the put-down position of the candidate").

The sub-transfer determining unit 43 is configured to be different when the first transfer-mounting unit 31A performs transfer-mounting processing in the transfer source holding unit Rs or the transfer destination holding unit Rd designated by the transfer command Cp. It is determined whether or not there is an article A capable of being transferred simultaneously in one transfer unit 31 (hereinafter, referred to as "second transfer unit 31B") (#02). Here, as described above, when the lower transfer unit 31 is the first transfer unit 31A, the upper transfer unit 31 serves as the second transfer unit 31B. The sub-conveyance determining unit 43 first determines whether the article A is present in the holding unit R located at the upper end by one stage with respect to the conveying source holding unit Rs designated by the conveying instruction Cp. to determine whether In addition, the sub-transport decision unit 43 is configured to first convey the article A to be conveyed to the holding unit R located at the upper end by one step with respect to the transfer destination holding unit Rd designated by the conveying instruction Cp. Determines whether this exists. In addition, the sub conveyance determining unit 43 first determines whether the article A is present in the holding unit R located at the upper end by one step with respect to the conveyance destination holding unit Rd designated by the conveying instruction Cp. to determine whether

The sub-conveyance determination unit 43 determines that simultaneous transfer and mounting is possible in the following cases (#02: Yes). That is, when the article A is present in the holding unit R on the upper end by one stage with respect to the conveyance source holding unit Rs designated by the conveyance instruction Cp, the sub conveyance determining unit 43 determines that simultaneous transfer and mounting of "lifting/lifting" shown in FIG. 7 is possible. First, when there is an article A to be conveyed in the holding unit R on the upper side by one stage with respect to the conveyance destination holding unit Rd designated by the conveyance instruction Cp, the sub conveyance determining unit 43 ), it is determined that simultaneous transfer and loading of "putting down/loading" shown in FIG. 8 is possible. First, when the article A is present in the holding unit R on the upper end by one stage with respect to the transport destination holding unit Rd designated by the conveyance instruction Cp, the sub conveyance determining unit 43 is It is determined that simultaneous transfer and mounting of "lowering/lifting" shown in FIG. 9 is possible. Incidentally, in Figs. 7 to 9, articles that can be simultaneously transferred and mounted in any of the above patterns are indicated by "As".

These three types of simultaneous transfer and loading patterns have the highest priority of "lifting/lifting", in the order of "lifting/lifting" ⇒ "lowering/lowering" ⇒ "lowering/lifting". The priority is set so that the priority is lowered. If simultaneous transfer and installation of "lifting/lifting" is possible, the sub-conveyance determination unit 43 first selects the article A that can be lifted and transferred simultaneously with the lifting transfer of the transfer processing of the article A. The processing to be conveyed to the conveyance destination holding unit Rd is determined as the sub conveying processing. In addition, in the case where simultaneous transfer and installation of "lifting/lifting" is impossible, the sub-conveying decision unit 43 is configured to prioritize transfer processing of unloading transfer if simultaneous transfer and loading of "lowering/unloading" is possible. At the same time, the process of transporting the article A that can be placed and mounted to the transport destination holding unit Rd of the article A is determined as the sub transport process. In addition, the sub-conveyance decision unit 43 is, in the case where simultaneous transfer and installation of "lifting / lifting" and "lowering / lowering" are impossible, if simultaneous transfer and installation of "lowering / lifting" is possible , first, a process for conveying the article A that can be lifted and transferred simultaneously with the unloading transfer of the transfer process to the transfer destination holding unit Rd of the article A is determined as the sub transfer process.

When the sub-conveyance process is determined as described above, a sub-conveyance command (here, simultaneous transfer-equipped conveyance) is a command composed of a set of the carrier holding unit Rs and the transfer destination holding unit Rd for giving the sub-conveying process. command) is created. The general control unit 41 assigns the generated sub conveying command (simultaneous conveying and mounting conveying command) to the second conveying and mounting unit 31B (#03).

When the article A that can be simultaneously transferred from the second transfer unit 31B does not exist (#02: No) during the transfer processing by the first transfer unit 31A, the sub transfer decision unit 43 is First of all, in order to perform a conveying process, an article capable of being lifted by the second conveying mounting unit 31B while the conveying apparatus 20 is moving along a movement path and conveyed in the same direction as the moving direction M of the conveying apparatus 20 . It is determined whether (A) exists (#04). First, in order to carry out the transport process, the article A that can be lifted (hereinafter referred to as “transferable on the way”) while the transport device 20 is moving along the movement path is located at the lifting position of the article A In relation to, for example, as shown in FIG. 10, it is classified into three types of patterns. In addition, hereinafter, the candidate of the article A that can be transferred and mounted on the way is referred to as a "candidate for the article A that can be transferred on the way", and is denoted by "Am" in each figure. The transfer mounted transport candidate Am on the way is an example of the above-described sub transported article candidate.

The 1st pattern is a pattern in which the conveyance mounted conveyance candidate Am exists on the same floor as the present position of the conveyance apparatus 20, as shown in the 6th-floor part in FIG. In the second pattern, as shown in the fifth floor portion in FIG. 10 , the transfer mounted transport candidate Am is present on the way from the current position of the transport device 20 to the lifting position of the preferential transport object Ap. it's a pattern In the third pattern, as shown in the fourth floor portion in Fig. 10, the intermediate transfer mounted transported object candidate Am is first present on the same floor as the lifting position of the transported object Ap (however, “lift/lift” Simultaneous transfer and loading of "Up" is not possible) pattern.

These are classified into classes as shown in Fig. 11, and in the present embodiment, the first pattern described above becomes "class A", the second pattern becomes "class C", and the third pattern becomes "class B", have. The priority is set so that "class A" has the highest priority, and the priority is lowered in the order of "class A" ⇒ "class B" ⇒ "class C".

The "class A" pattern in which the intermediate transfer candidate Am exists on the same floor as the current position of the transfer apparatus 20, in relation to the unloading position of the intermediate transfer transfer object Am, for example For example, as shown in FIG. 12, it is further classified into 5 types of patterns. As for the 1st pattern, as shown in the 5th-floor part virtual in FIG. 12, the lowering position of the transfer mounted conveyed object candidate Am on the way is the lifting position of the preferential conveyed object Ap from the current position of the conveying apparatus 20 It is a pattern that exists along the way. In the second pattern, as imaginary displayed on the fourth floor portion in Fig. 12, the lowering position of the intermediate transfer mounted transfer object Am is located on the same floor as the lifting position of the first transfer object Ap (however, Simultaneous transfer and installation of "lift/lower" is not possible) pattern. As for the 3rd pattern, as shown in the 3rd-floor part virtual in FIG. 12, the lowering position of the transfer mounted conveyed object candidate Am on the way is the lowering position of the preferential conveyed object Ap from the lifting position of the priority conveyed object Ap. It is a pattern that exists on the way to a location. In the fourth pattern, as imaginary displayed on the second floor portion in Fig. 12, the unloading position of the transfer mounted transported object candidate Am is on the same floor as the unloading position of the first transported object Ap (however, Simultaneous transfer and loading of 「Drop down/Put down」is not possible) pattern. As for the fifth pattern, as virtually displayed on the first floor portion in FIG. 12 , the lowering position of the intermediate transfer mounted transport candidate Am is the first transported object when viewed from the lifting position of the intermediate transferred transported article candidate Am. It is a pattern that exists in the layer beyond the lay-down position of (Ap).

These class classifications are further subdivided as shown in Fig. 13, and in the present embodiment, the first pattern, the third pattern, and the fifth pattern are "class A" as they are, and the second pattern and the fourth pattern are " Class A+". The superiority and inferiority of these are set so that the priority of "class A+" may become higher than the priority of normal "class A".

The "class B" pattern in which the intermediate transfer candidate Am) exists on the same floor as the lifting position of the first transfer object Ap, in relation to the lowering position of the intermediate transfer mounted transfer object candidate Am, Yes For example, as shown in FIG. 14, it is further classified into three types of patterns. As for the 1st pattern, as shown virtual on the 3rd-floor part in FIG. 14, the lowering position of the transfer mounted conveyed object candidate Am on the way is the lowering position of the preferential conveyed object Ap from the lifting position of the priority conveyed object Ap. It is a pattern that exists on the way to a location. In the second pattern, as imaginary displayed on the second floor portion in Fig. 14, the placing position of the intermediate transfer mounted conveyed object Am is on the same floor as the placing position of the first conveyed object Ap (provided that, Simultaneous transfer and loading of 「Drop down/Put down」is not possible) pattern. As for the third pattern, as virtually displayed on the first floor portion in FIG. 14 , the lowering position of the intermediate transfer mounted transport candidate Am is prioritized when viewed from the lifting position of the intermediate transferred transported article candidate Am. It is a pattern that exists in the layer beyond the lay-down position of (Ap).

These class classifications are further subdivided as shown in Fig. 15, and in the present embodiment, the first pattern and the third pattern are "class B" as they are, and the second pattern is "class B+". The superiority and inferiority of these are set so that the priority of "class B+" becomes higher than that of normal "class B". And the priority of "class B+" is set lower than the priority of normal "class A".

The "class C" pattern that exists midway from the current position of the conveying apparatus 20 to the lifting position of the preferential conveyed object Ap in the intermediate conveyed conveyed object candidate Am is the lowering of the intermediate conveyed conveyed object Am) In relation to the placement position, for example, as shown in Fig. 16, it is further classified into five types of patterns. As for the first pattern, as virtually displayed on the fifth floor portion in FIG. 16 , the lowering position of the intermediate transfer mounted transfer object candidate Am is the preferred transfer object Ap from the lifting position of the intermediate transfer mounted transfer object candidate Am. It is a pattern that exists on the way to the lifting position of In the second pattern, as imaginary displayed on the fourth floor portion in Fig. 16, the lowering position of the intermediate transfer mounted transfer object Am is on the same floor as the lifting position of the first transfer object Ap (however, Simultaneous transfer and installation of "lift/lower" is not possible) pattern. As for the 3rd pattern, as shown in the virtual display on the 3rd floor part in FIG. 16, the lowering position of the transfer mounted conveyed object candidate Am on the way is the lowering position of the preferential conveyed object Ap from the lifting position of the priority conveyed object Ap. It is a pattern that exists on the way to a location. In the fourth pattern, as virtually displayed on the second floor portion in Fig. 16, the unloading position of the intermediate transported transported object candidate Am is on the same floor as the unloading position of the first transported object Ap (however, Simultaneous transfer and loading of 「Drop down/Put down」is not possible) pattern. As for the fifth pattern, as virtually displayed on the first floor portion in FIG. 16 , the lowering position of the intermediate transfer mounted transfer object Am is prioritized when viewed from the lifting position of the intermediate transfer mounted transferred object candidate Am. It is a pattern that exists in the layer beyond the lay-down position of (Ap).

These class classifications are further subdivided as shown in Fig. 17, and in the present embodiment, the first pattern, the third pattern, and the fifth pattern are "class C" as they are, and the second pattern and the fourth pattern are " Class C+". The superiority and inferiority of these are set so that the priority of "class C+" becomes higher than that of normal "class C". And the priority of "class C+" is set lower than the priority of normal "class B".

The sub-conveyance determination unit 43 determines the class described above for the transfer-mounted transported object candidate Am during all transfers. Then, the sub-conveyance determining unit 43 determines, as a sub-conveyed article, an intermediate transfer-mounted transport candidate Am belonging to a class having the highest priority among them, and sets the sub-conveyed article to a carrier holding unit for the article. The processing to be conveyed from (Rs) to the conveyance destination holding unit Rd is determined as the sub conveying processing.

When the sub-conveyance process is determined as described above, a sub-conveyance command (here, intermediate transfer mounted conveyance) is a command composed of a set of the transport source holding unit Rs and the transport destination holding unit Rd for giving the sub-conveying process. command) is created. The general control unit 41 assigns the generated sub-transport command (transfer-mounted-transfer instruction on the way) to the second transfer-mounted unit 31B (#05). In the present embodiment, a series of processing up to there after the first allocation processing corresponds to the "second allocation processing". And when the article A that can be lifted and transported does not exist (#04: No) during the movement of the transport apparatus 20 for performing the transport process first, a sub transport command is not generated and the second transport A sub-conveyance command is not assigned to the mounting unit 31B.

As described above, in the present embodiment, in the second assignment process, the general control unit 41 controls the first transfer unit 31 to transfer and mount the conveyed object Ap in the second transfer unit 31B. When there is an article A that can be simultaneously transferred and mounted, the holding part R holding the article A that can be simultaneously transferred is included as the transport source holding part Rs or the transport destination holding part Rd A transfer-mounted transfer command is assigned to the second transfer-mounted unit 31B as a sub-transfer instruction. On the other hand, when there is no article A that can be simultaneously transferred and mounted in the second transfer unit 31B, the general control unit 41 first controls the transfer device 20 between the lifting position of the transfer object Ap. If there is an article A that can be lifted by the second transfer mounting portion 31B during movement and is transferred in the same direction as the movement direction M of the transfer device 20, the article A is held. A transfer-mounted transfer command is assigned to the second transfer-mounted unit 31B as a sub-conveyance command while the unit R is included as the transfer source holding unit Rs. In the case where there is also no article A that can be transferred on the way in the second transfer unit 31B, the general control unit 41 does not assign a sub transfer command to the second transfer unit 31B.

In generating an intermediate transfer mounted transfer command, the general control unit 41 transfers the article A existing on the same floor as the lifting position of the preferentially transported object Ap from the current position of the transfer device 20 to the preferentially transported article ( Ap), compared to the article (A) existing on the way to the lifting position, more preferentially, the article is set as the object of the intermediate transfer loading instruction (refer to Fig. 11). In addition, the general control unit 41 compares the article A existing on the same floor as the current position of the transfer device 20 to the article A existing on the same floor as the lifting position of the transfer object Ap first. , more preferentially, it is set as a target article of a transfer command on the way (refer to Fig. 11). In addition, the general control unit 41 first, unloads and transports the articles A on the same floor as the lifting position or the unloading position of the transported object Ap, and unloading and transporting articles A at positions other than these. ), more preferentially, it is set as a target article of a transfer command on the way (refer to Figs. 13, 15 and 17).

In the present embodiment, the general control unit 41 further includes a use conveyance determining unit 44 on the way in addition to the priority conveyance determining unit 42 and the sub conveying determining unit 43 . On the way, in the conveyance determination unit 44 to be used, the priority conveyance command Cp has already been assigned to the first conveyance mounting unit 31A of the conveying apparatus 20, and the sub conveyance instruction has already been assigned to the second conveyance mounting unit 31B. In the case of assignment, while the conveying apparatus 20 is moving from its current position to the lifting position of the first conveyed object Ap, lifting and conveying can be carried out in any of the conveying units 31 of the conveying apparatus 20 . In addition, it is determined whether or not there is an article A that is conveyed in the same direction as the moving direction M of the conveying device 20 and completed until unloading and loading (#06). Goods capable of both lifting and lowering transfers (hereinafter referred to as "intermediate use and transfer possible") while the transfer device 20 is moving from its current position to the lifting position of the preferentially transported object Ap (A) is classified into two types of patterns as shown in Fig. 18, for example, in relation to the lifting position of the article (A). Hereinafter, candidates for articles A that can be used and transported on the way are referred to as "candidates for articles that can be used and transported on the way", and are denoted by "Au" in each figure.

The 1st pattern is a pattern in which the used conveyance object candidate Au exists on the same floor as the present position of the conveyance apparatus 20, as shown in the 6th-floor part in FIG. The 2nd pattern is a pattern in which the used conveyed object candidate Au exists on the way from the current position of the conveying apparatus 20 to the lifting position of the preferential conveyed object Ap, as shown in the 5th-floor part in FIG. 18. to be. These are classified into classes as shown in FIG. 19, and in this embodiment, said 1st pattern becomes "class X", and the 2nd pattern becomes "class Y". The superiority and inferiority of these are set so that the priority of "class X" becomes higher than the priority of "class Y".

The "class X" pattern in which the used conveyed object candidate Au exists on the same floor as the current position of the conveying apparatus 20 is related to the put-down position of the used conveyed object candidate Au on the way, for example, As shown in FIG. 20, it is further classified into two types of patterns. As for the 1st pattern, as shown in the 5th-floor part virtual in FIG. 20, the put-down position of the used conveyed object Au on the way has already been the priority conveyance instruction|command Cp or the sub conveyance from the current position of the conveying apparatus 20. It is a pattern existing on the way to the lifting position of the article A to which the command has been assigned (hereinafter referred to as "allocated conveyed article"). Incidentally, in this example, when the moving direction M of the conveying device 20 is downward, the article A to which the sub-conveying command has been assigned is first present on a floor below the conveyed material Ap. do. The 2nd pattern is a pattern in which the laying-down position of the used conveyed object candidate Au exists on the same layer as the lifting position of the preferential conveyed object Ap, as virtually displayed in the 4th-floor part in FIG.

These class classifications are further subdivided as shown in FIG. 21, and in this embodiment, the said 1st pattern becomes "class X" as it is, and the 2nd pattern becomes "class X+". The superiority and inferiority are set so that the priority of "class X+" may become higher than the priority of normal "class X".

The "class Y" pattern that exists in the middle of the used conveyed object candidate Au on the way from the current position of the conveying apparatus 20 to the preferentially conveyed object Ap lifting position is the lowering position of the used conveyed material candidate Au In relation to , for example, as shown in FIG. 22, it is further classified into two types of patterns. As for the 1st pattern, as shown virtual on the 5th floor part in FIG. 22, the set-down position of the used conveyed material candidate Au on the way is the allocated conveyed material from the current position of the conveying apparatus 20 (in this example, above It is a pattern that exists on the way to the lifting position of the priority conveyed object Ap]. The 2nd pattern is a pattern in which the laying-down position of the used conveyed object candidate Au exists on the same layer as the lifting position of the preferential conveyed object Ap, as virtually displayed in the 4th-floor part in FIG.

These class classifications are further subdivided as shown in FIG. 23, and in this embodiment, the said 1st pattern becomes "class Y" as it is, and the 2nd pattern becomes "class Y+". The superiority and inferiority of these are set so that the priority of "class Y+" becomes higher than the priority of normal "class Y". And the priority of "class Y+" is set lower than the priority of normal "class X".

The halfway used transport decision unit 44 determines the above-described class for all the halfway used transported object candidates Au. Then, the sub-conveyance determining unit 43 determines, as a target article, a used transported object candidate Au belonging to a class having the highest priority among them, and selects the article from the transporter holding unit Rs for the article. The processing to be conveyed to the conveyance destination holding unit Rd is determined as the middle use conveyance processing.

When the intermediate transfer processing is determined as described above, the intermediate use transfer instruction is generated as a set of instructions including the transfer source holding unit Rs and the transfer destination holding unit Rd for granting the used transfer processing in the middle. The general control unit 41 assigns the generated use conveyance command to any one of the plurality of conveyance and mounting units 31 (#07). Since the halfway use transport process is a transport process that is completed before the execution of the preferential transport process or the sub transport process, it is an intermediate transport command in a state in which the priority transport command Cp or the sub transport command has already been assigned to each transport mounting unit 31 . Even if this is further allocated, there is no influence on the execution of the priority conveyance process or the subcarrying process. In the present embodiment, a series of processing up to there after the second allocation processing corresponds to the "third allocation processing". Prior to the execution of both the transfer processing and the sub-transfer processing, while the conveying apparatus 20 is moving to the lifting position of the allocated conveyed object, when there is no article A capable of both lifting and discharging loading and unloading conveying At (#06: No), an intermediate use transfer instruction is not generated, and no intermediate transfer instruction is assigned to each transfer mounting unit 31 .

As described above, in the present embodiment, in the third allocation process, the integrated control unit 41 is a transfer mounting unit while the conveying apparatus 20 is moving from its current position to the lifting position of the first conveyed object Ap. In (31), if there is an article A that can be lifted and transported and transported in the same direction as the moving direction M of the transport device 20 and completed up to the unloading transport, the article A While the holding unit R for carrying out lifting and lowering transfers is included as the transfer source holding unit Rs and the transfer destination holding unit Rd, respectively, a use transfer command is sent to a transfer mounting unit 31 somewhere. allocate

In the generation of the transfer instruction for use on the way, the general control unit 41 transfers the goods A existing on the same floor as the current position of the transfer apparatus 20 from the current position of the transfer apparatus 20 to the transported goods. Compared to the article (A) existing on the way to the loading position, it is more preferentially set as the article subject to the use/transfer instruction (refer to Fig. 19). In addition, the general control unit 41 transfers the article A to be unloaded and transported on the same floor as the lifting position of the allocated transported object on the way from the current position of the transporting device 20 to the lifting position of the allocated transported object. Compared to the article A to be placed and transferred, it is more preferentially set as an article subject to an intermediate use transfer instruction (refer to Figs. 21 and 23).

As described above, if a transfer command Cp or a sub-transport command is first assigned to each transfer mounting unit 31, and in some cases, a use transfer command is further assigned, the transfer process is actually performed based on each of the assigned instructions. Executed (#08). The above processes are sequentially and repeatedly executed.

[Other embodiments]

(1) In the above embodiment, in the second allocation process, the sequence of "lifting/lifting" ⇒ "lowering/lowering" ⇒ "lowering/lifting" with respect to three types of simultaneous transfer and mounting patterns The configuration in which superiority and inferiority is set so that the priority is lowered with the above has been described as an example. However, it is not limited to such a structure, The order of superiority and inferiority different from the above may be set. In addition, for example, the priority of at least two simultaneous transfer mounting patterns (for example, "lifting/raise|lifting" and "lowering/lowering") may be set equal to each other.

(2) In the above embodiment, in the second assignment process, the transfer-mounted conveyed object candidate Am is classified finely in the relation between the lifting position and the lowering position, and based on the subdivided class classification Thus, the configuration for determining the sub-transported article has been described as an example. However, it is not limited to such a configuration, and for example, the transfer mounted transport candidate Am is classified into a class only in relation to its lifting position, and a sub-carried article is determined based on the relatively rough class classification thereof. It may be configured to do so.

(3) In the above embodiment, the first assignment processing (process of allocating the priority transfer command Cp to the first transport unit 31A) and the second assignment process (the sub transport command is assigned to the second transport unit 31B) In addition to the processing to be assigned to , the configuration for executing the third assignment processing (processing to assign an intermediate use conveyance command to a certain transfer unit 31) has been described as an example. However, it is not limited to such a structure, and it may be comprised so that only a 1st allocation process and a 2nd allocation process may be performed without executing a 3rd allocation process.

(4) In the above embodiment, the configuration in which the plurality of transfer mounting portions 31 of the transfer apparatus 20 are vertically divided and overlapped in a plan view has been described as an example. However, it is not limited to such a structure, For example, you may provide so that the some conveyance mounting part 31 of the conveyance apparatus 20 may be divided into right and left and lined up. In this case, when the first transfer unit 31A performs the transfer and mounting process of the first transfer object Ap, the article A that can be simultaneously transferred by the second transfer unit 31B is preferentially transferred to the transfer source Ap. It becomes the article A existing in the holding|maintenance part R adjacent to the part Rs or the conveyance-destination holding|maintenance part Rd by one row|line|column.

(5) In the above embodiment, the configuration in which the conveying apparatus 20 includes the two conveying mounting parts 31 has been described as an example. However, it is not limited to such a structure, For example, the conveyance apparatus 20 may be comprised including the three or more conveyance mounting parts 31. As shown in FIG. In this case, the transfer command Cp may be first assigned to one of the plurality of transport units 31 of the transport device 20 , and different sub transport commands may be assigned to the other transport units 31 , respectively.

(6) The configuration disclosed in each of the above-described embodiments (including the above-described embodiment and other embodiments; the same hereinafter) is applied in combination with the configuration disclosed in the other embodiments, unless inconsistency occurs. It is possible. Also about other structures, embodiment disclosed in this specification is an illustration in all points, and it can change suitably within the range which does not deviate from the meaning of this indication.

[Summary of embodiment]

Summarizing the above, the article transport facility according to the present disclosure preferably includes the following configurations.

It has a plurality of holding units for holding articles, and a plurality of transfer units, and is movable along a conveying direction in a state in which an article is mounted on each of the conveying units, and between each of the conveying units and the holding unit. and a conveying device capable of transporting and mounting an article, wherein the conveying device is transported by the conveying device based on a conveying instruction set as a set of a conveyance source holding unit which is the holding unit of a conveyance source and a conveyance destination holding unit which is the holding unit of a conveyance destination. An article transport facility for carrying out transport processing for transporting articles from an original holding unit to the transport destination holding unit, comprising:

determining a priority conveyance processing, which is the conveyance processing to be performed preferentially, based on a predetermined decision rule, and assigning a priority conveyance command according to the determined priority conveyance processing to a first conveyance unit that is one of the plurality of conveyance units 1 allocation processing;

A second transfer, which is another one of the plurality of transfer mounting units, determines a sub transfer process based on at least a movement path along which the transfer device moves in order to execute the preferential transfer process, and provides a sub transfer command according to the determined sub transfer process. A second allocation process for allocating to the mounting unit is executed.

According to the above configuration, by the first assignment processing, the transfer command is assigned to the first transfer unit, and the transfer process to be performed preferentially is performed using the first transfer unit. A necessary conveying process or a preferable conveying process from a viewpoint of efficiency, etc. can be performed suitably without delay. In addition, by the second assignment processing, since the sub-conveying command according to the conveying process including the conveying by the priority conveying process and the conveying other than the simultaneous conveying is assigned to the second conveying unit, the contents of the sub conveying processing are You have a lot of freedom to decide. And, by determining the content of the sub-conveying process based on at least the movement path of the conveying apparatus for executing the preferential conveying process, the preferential conveying process and the sub-conveying process can be executed at least partially overlapping each other during the preferential conveying process. That is, since the sub-conveyance process can be collectively performed by using at least partially the movement of the conveying apparatus at the time of first carrying out the conveying process, the conveyance efficiency of the whole facility can be improved by repeating this.

As a sun,

In the second allocation process, when the first transfer unit performs transfer and mount processing in the transfer source holding unit or the transfer destination holding unit designated by the priority transfer instruction, simultaneous transfer and loading in the second transfer unit is possible. If there is an article, a simultaneous transfer and loading transfer command including the holding unit in which the simultaneously transferable article is held as the transfer source holding unit or the transfer destination holding unit is assigned to the second transfer unit as the sub transfer instruction It is preferable to do

According to the above configuration, in the case where simultaneous transfer and mounting by the transfer processing by the first transfer processing is possible, the transfer and installation by the simultaneous transfer is performed by a sub-conveyance process (a transfer process executed according to a sub-conveyance instruction). In this case, by simultaneously performing the lifting transfer or lowering transfer by the transfer process and the lifting transfer or lower transfer by the sub transfer process at the same time, the transfer efficiency per cycle can be maximized or close to it. can Therefore, it can contribute to the improvement of the conveyance efficiency of the whole facility.

As a sun,

If there is no article that can be simultaneously transferred and mounted in the second transfer unit, the second transfer unit can lift the second transfer unit while the transfer device moves on the movement path and is also transferred in the same direction as the movement direction of the transfer device. When there is an article to be used, it is preferable to assign a transfer-mounted transfer instruction to the second transfer-mounted portion as the sub transfer instruction while including the holder in which the article is held as the transfer source holder.

According to the above configuration, even if simultaneous transfer and mounting with transfer and mounting by the preferential transfer process is impossible, if there is an article to be transferred in the same direction by lifting the movement path for performing the preferential transfer process while the transfer device is moving, Lifting, transporting, and subsequent transport of the article is performed by a sub transport process. Also in this case, the conveyance efficiency per cycle can be improved by carrying out the conveyance by a priority conveyance process, and conveyance by a sub conveyance process partially overlappingly. Therefore, it can contribute to the improvement of the conveyance efficiency of the whole facility.

As a sun,

In the case where any one of the priority conveying instruction and the sub conveying instruction has already been assigned to all of the conveying units of the conveying apparatus, the conveying apparatus maintains the conveying source designated by the priority conveying instruction from the position at the time. If there is an article that can be lifted in any of the transfer mounting units of the transfer device while moving to the negative position and is transferred in the same direction as the movement direction of the transfer device and completed until unloading, the article is lifted and lowered It is preferable to further execute a third assignment process for allocating a use conveyance instruction to any of the conveying mounting units of the conveying apparatus while including the placing holding units as the conveying source holding unit and the conveying destination holding unit, respectively.

According to the above configuration, using the movement from the starting position of the conveying apparatus to the position of the conveying source holding unit designated by the conveying instruction first, an article that can be lifted up during the movement, conveyed in the same direction, and finished until unloading. If there is further, the conveyance from the lifting conveyance to the unloading conveyance installation for the said article is performed by the use conveyance process (transport process performed in accordance with the use conveyance instruction|command on the way). Prior to execution of each conveyance process according to the priority conveyance instruction and the sub conveyance instruction which are already assigned to all the conveyance mounting units of a conveyance apparatus, the use conveyance process can be performed without interfering with the execution of these each conveyance process. Accordingly, it is possible to shorten the distance the transfer mounting unit of the transfer apparatus moves in a state where no articles are mounted, and it is possible to further improve the transfer efficiency of the entire facility.

As a sun,

The determination rule is a movement distance from the position of the transfer device at that point to the carrier holding unit holding the target article, and the transport from the carrier holding unit to the transport destination holding unit for the target article. based on at least one of a distance, and a waiting time in the transport source holding unit of the target article, the priority increases as the moving distance becomes shorter, the priority increases as the transport distance becomes shorter, and the waiting time decreases It is preferable that it is determined so that the priority may increase as the length increases.

According to the above configuration, a transport process for quickly unloading an article that has already been waiting for a long time in the transport source holding unit or a transport process for shortening the moving distance of the transport device or the transport distance of the article is appropriately determined as the transport process with priority. can In addition, by making the conveyance processing for unloading the goods already waiting for a long time in the conveyance source holding unit at an early time as the conveying processing, it is possible to suppress the retention of specific articles in the product conveyance facility. In addition, by preferentially setting the conveying processing in which the moving distance of the conveying apparatus or the conveying distance of the articles is shortened, a plurality of articles can be efficiently transported and the transport efficiency of the entire facility can be improved.

The article transport facility according to the present disclosure may exhibit at least one of the aforementioned effects.

1: Goods conveying equipment
20: conveying device
31: transfer mounting unit
31A: first transfer mounting unit
31B: second transfer mounting unit
A: Goods
T: conveying direction
R: holding part
Rs: carrier holding part
Rd: Transfer destination holding part
Cp: Priority return command

Claims (5)

a plurality of holding parts for holding articles; And it has a plurality of transport and is movable along the transport direction in a state in which the article is mounted on each of the transport parts, and each of the transport parts is capable of transporting the article between the holding part and the holding part. It includes a conveying apparatus, and based on the conveyance instruction|command set by the set of the conveyance source holding part which is the said holding part of a conveyance source, and the conveyance destination holding|maintenance part which is the said holding|maintenance part of a conveyance destination, the said conveying apparatus An article transport facility that performs transport processing for transporting articles from the transport source holding unit to the transport destination holding unit by
determining a priority conveyance processing, which is the conveyance processing to be performed preferentially, based on a predetermined decision rule, and assigning a priority conveyance command according to the determined priority conveyance processing to a first conveyance unit that is one of the plurality of conveyance units 1 allocation processing; and
At least on the basis of a movement path along which the conveying apparatus moves in order to execute the preferential conveyance processing, a sub conveying process that is the conveying processing to be executed in addition to the preferential conveying processing is determined, and a portion according to the determined sub conveying process is determined. A second assignment process for allocating a conveyance command to a second conveyance-mounted unit that is another one of the plurality of conveying-mounted units
run
In the sub-transfer process,
In the case where there is an article that can be simultaneously transferred by the second transfer unit when the first transfer unit performs transfer and mount processing in the transfer source holding unit or the transfer destination holding unit designated in the preferential transfer instruction, The holding unit for holding articles that can be simultaneously transferred and mounted is determined as the transport source holding unit to be subjected to the sub-transfer processing, or the holding unit serving as the transport destination of the simultaneously-transferred articles is the subject of the sub-conveying process. to be determined as the transport destination holding unit,
In the case where there is no article that can be simultaneously transferred and mounted in the second transfer unit, the second transfer unit can be lifted in the middle of the movement path of the transfer device and can be lifted in the same direction as the movement direction of the transfer device. determining, when there is an article to be transported, the holding part holding the article as the transport destination holding part to be subjected to the sub transport process;
Goods return equipment. a plurality of holding parts for holding articles; And it has a plurality of transport and is movable along the transport direction in a state in which the article is mounted on each of the transport parts, and each of the transport parts is capable of transporting the article between the holding part and the holding part. It includes a conveying apparatus, and based on the conveyance instruction|command set by the set of the conveyance source holding part which is the said holding part of a conveyance source, and the conveyance destination holding|maintenance part which is the said holding|maintenance part of a conveyance destination, the said conveying apparatus An article transport facility that performs transport processing for transporting articles from the transport source holding unit to the transport destination holding unit by
determining a priority conveyance processing, which is the conveyance processing to be performed preferentially, based on a predetermined decision rule, and assigning a priority conveyance command according to the determined priority conveyance processing to a first conveyance unit that is one of the plurality of conveyance units 1 allocation processing; and
At least a sub conveying process is determined based on a movement path through which the conveying apparatus moves in order to execute the preferential conveying process, and a sub conveying command according to the determined sub conveying process is provided to another one of a plurality of the conveying mounting units. Second allocation processing for allocating to the second transfer unit
run
In the case where any one of the priority conveying instruction and the sub conveying instruction has already been assigned to all of the conveying units of the conveying apparatus, the conveying apparatus maintains the conveying source designated by the priority conveying instruction from the position at that point in time. During the movement to the negative position, if there is an article that can be lifted at any of the transfer mounting units of the transfer device and is transported in the same direction as the movement direction of the transport device and completed until unloading, the lifting and lowering of the article further executing a third assignment process for allocating a use transport instruction to any of the transport mounting parts of the transport apparatus while including the holding parts for placing as the transport source holding part and the transport destination holding part, respectively;
Goods return equipment. 3. The method of claim 2,
In the second allocation process, when the first transfer unit performs transfer and mount processing in the transfer source holding unit or the transfer destination holding unit designated by the priority transfer instruction, simultaneous transfer and loading in the second transfer unit is possible. If there is an article, a simultaneous transfer and loading transfer command including the holding unit in which the simultaneously transferable article is held as the transfer source holding unit or the transfer destination holding unit is assigned to the second transfer unit as the sub transfer instruction which, goods conveyance equipment. 4. The method of claim 3,
When there is no article that can be simultaneously transferred and mounted in the second transfer unit, the second transfer unit can be lifted by the second transfer unit while the transfer device moves on the movement path and is transported in the same direction as the movement direction of the transfer device. and if there is an article to be used, a transfer-mounted transfer instruction is assigned to the second transfer-mounted unit as the sub-transport instruction while the holding unit in which the article is held is included as the transfer source holder. 5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The determination rule is a movement distance from the position of the transfer device at that point to the carrier holding unit holding the target article, and the transport from the carrier holding unit to the transport destination holding unit for the target article. based on at least one of a distance and a waiting time in the carrier holding unit of the target article, wherein the priority increases as the moving distance becomes shorter, the priority increases as the carrier distance becomes shorter, and the waiting time The article conveyance facility which is determined so that the priority may become higher as this lengthens.

Images