TW202317444A - Container transport facility - Google Patents

Abstract

A container information memory part 33 does not memorize storage position information of each container stored in an automated warehouse. A facility control unit 30 is communicatively connected to a warehouse control unit 40 and outputs instructions regarding container transportation and storage to the warehouse control unit 40. The warehouse control unit 40 includes: a state recognition information receiving part 42 for receiving state recognition information D, which is information that associates the recognition information and state information of each container stored in the automated warehouse, from the facility control unit 30; and a state recognition information memory part 43 for memorizing the state recognition information D received from the facility control unit 30.

Description

Container Handling Equipment

field of invention

The present invention relates to a container conveying facility equipped with an automatic warehouse for storing a plurality of containers.

Background of the invention

An example of such a container transfer facility is disclosed in JP-A-2006-290491 (Patent Document 1) or JP-A-2007-76918 (Patent Document 2). Hereinafter, in description of this background art, the code|symbol in the referenced document is quoted in parenthesis.

The container conveying equipment of Patent Document 1 is equipped with an automatic storage (18) as an automatic storage, an automatic storage controller (24) for managing the automatic storage (18), and a logistics system as an upper controller of the automatic storage controller (24). Controller (26). Although the details of the automatic storage (18) are not described in Patent Document 1, in the automatic storage (18), usually a stacker crane or the like for transporting the container is installed in the automatic storage (18) device, the automatic storage controller (24) will control the conveying device in the warehouse in response to the instruction from the logistics controller (26).

The container transport facility of Patent Document 2 includes: an automatic warehouse having a plurality of storage units (1) for storing containers; a stacker crane (3) as an in-store transport device for transporting containers in the automatic warehouse; and Processing equipment (EQ) for processing plates stored in containers. The non-empty container containing the board to be processed by the processing device (EQ) is transported from the storage part (1) containing the non-empty container to the delivery part (1a) by a stacker crane (3). Then, the processing device (EQ) takes out the plate body from the non-empty container transported to the delivery unit (1a), and processes the taken out plate body. As described in paragraphs 0077 to 0079 of Patent Document 2, the empty container is transported from the delivery unit (1a) to the storage by the stacker crane (3) after taking out all the boards by the processing device (EQ). Department (1). When the processed boards processed by the processing device (EQ) are returned to the container, the empty container stored in the storage unit (1) is transported to the delivery unit (1a) by the stacker crane (3). In this way, non-empty containers or empty containers are transported to the delivery unit (1a) according to the situation. [summary of the invention]

Summary of the invention

Container transport equipment equipped with an automatic warehouse generally includes a warehouse control unit for controlling the in-warehouse transport devices of the automatic warehouse, or an equipment control unit for outputting transport commands for transporting containers to the warehouse control unit. Although there is no description of these warehouse control units and equipment control units in Patent Document 2, in the conveying equipment of Patent Document 1, the automatic storage controller corresponds to the warehouse control unit, and the logistics controller corresponds to the equipment control unit. The transport command output from the equipment control unit to the warehouse control unit usually includes the identification information of the container to be transported. The warehouse control unit controls the transport device in the warehouse to transport the container corresponding to the identification information specified by the transport command.

As described above, in the container conveying equipment of Patent Document 2, the containers stored in the automatic warehouse include non-empty containers in the state of storing articles inside and empty containers in the state of not storing articles inside. . Moreover, although non-empty containers or empty containers are transported to the delivery department according to the situation, there may be a degree of freedom in the selection of non-empty containers to be transported to the delivery department or the selection of empty containers to be transported to the delivery department.

For example, in the container conveying equipment of patent document 2, in the situation that will become the plate body of the processing target of this processing device to supply to processing device, although non-empty container is conveyed to the outbound part, but also can change in processing device In the case of the processing order, there is a degree of freedom in the selection of non-empty containers to be transported to the outbound department. In addition, in the container conveying equipment of Patent Document 2, in the situation where the processed plate body processed by the processing device is returned to the container, the empty container is transported to the delivery department, but the container for storing the plate body can also be changed. In this case, there is a degree of freedom in the selection of empty containers to be transported to the outbound department.

In this way, although there may be a degree of freedom in the selection of non-empty containers transported to the outbound department or the selection of empty containers transported to the outbound department, the warehouse control unit controls the conveying device in the warehouse so as to communicate with the control unit from the equipment. When the container corresponding to the identification information specified in the transport command of the unit (hereinafter referred to as "corresponding container") is transported to the delivery department, the non-empty container or empty container to be transported to the delivery department is limited to the corresponding container. Therefore, depending on the position of the storage unit that stores the corresponding container, it may take longer for non-empty containers or empty containers to be transported to the delivery unit, and the transfer rate of the containers to the delivery unit may decrease.

Therefore, there is a need for a technology that can improve the efficiency of container transfer to the delivery unit by allowing freedom in the selection of non-empty containers to be transported to the delivery unit or the selection of empty containers to be delivered to the delivery unit.

The container conveying equipment in this disclosure is equipped with an automatic warehouse for storing a plurality of containers that can store articles, and an equipment control unit. The automatic warehouse includes: a plurality of storage parts that store the aforementioned containers respectively; a warehouse delivery part that is stored in the aforementioned storage The aforementioned container in the department is conveyed, and the aforementioned container or the aforementioned article is handed over between the inside and the outside of the aforementioned automatic warehouse; the transport device in the warehouse performs the conveyance of the aforementioned container from the aforementioned storage unit to the aforementioned warehouse-out unit; and warehouse control The unit controls the conveying device in the aforementioned warehouse. The aforementioned container includes: a non-empty container, which is in the state of storing the aforementioned items inside; and an empty container, which is in the state of not storing the aforementioned items inside. The aforementioned warehouse control unit has: information memory in the warehouse The unit associates and memorizes the identification information of each of the aforementioned containers stored in the aforementioned automatic warehouse, and the information indicating the position of the aforementioned storage unit that has stored each of the aforementioned containers, that is, storage position information, and stores the aforementioned device control unit. Possess: a container information storage unit that associates and memorizes the identification information of each of the aforementioned containers and status information indicating whether each of the aforementioned containers is a non-empty container or an empty container, and the container information storage unit does not have Memorizing the storage location information of each of the containers stored in the automatic warehouse, the equipment control unit is communicably connected to the warehouse control unit, and outputs information related to the transport and storage of the containers to the warehouse control unit Instructions, the aforementioned warehouse control unit further includes: a status identification information receiving unit, which receives, from the aforementioned equipment control unit, the aforementioned identification information and the aforementioned status information associated with each of the aforementioned containers that have been stored in the aforementioned automatic warehouse, that is, status identification information. ; and a state identification information storage unit, which memorizes the aforementioned state identification information received from the aforementioned equipment control unit.

In this configuration, the container information storage unit provided in the equipment control unit stores state information indicating whether each container is non-empty or empty, but does not memorize each container stored in the automatic warehouse. Store location information. Therefore, when the equipment control unit sends a warehouse control unit an order to send a non-empty container or an empty container stored in the storage unit to the warehouse control unit by the conveying device in the warehouse, the equipment control unit cannot consider the storage position of each container (in other words, Consider the positional relationship of each container with respect to the delivery department)) to select the container to be transported to the delivery department. In this regard, according to this configuration, the warehouse control unit that manages the storage position information of each container is configured to receive the status identification information from the equipment control unit and store it therein. Therefore, when the warehouse control unit receives the outbound order of the non-empty containers from the equipment control unit, it can consider the storage position of each non-empty container (in other words, consider the positional relationship of each non-empty container to the outbound department) to select the container to be transported to the outbound department. For non-empty containers, for example, non-empty containers that can be most efficiently transported to the outbound department can be selected. In addition, when the warehouse control unit receives the delivery instruction of the empty container from the equipment control unit, it may consider the storage position of each empty container (in other words, consider the positional relationship of each empty container to the delivery unit) to select the empty container to be transported to the delivery unit, For example, it is possible to select empty containers that can be transported to the outbound department most efficiently.

Thus, according to this configuration, the warehouse control unit can select the non-empty container to be transported to the delivery unit in consideration of the storage position of each non-empty container, or can select the empty container to be transported to the delivery unit in consideration of the storage position of each empty container. Therefore, when there is a degree of freedom in the selection of non-empty containers to be transported to the delivery unit or the selection of empty containers to be transported to the delivery unit, it is possible to improve the transport efficiency of the containers to the delivery unit.

Further features and advantages of the container conveyance facility will become apparent from the following description regarding embodiments described with reference to the drawings.

Embodiments of the container transfer facility will be described with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIG. 1 , a container transport facility 100 includes an automatic warehouse 10 for storing a plurality of containers 1 that can store articles 2 . In this embodiment, the container conveying equipment 100 is further equipped with an external conveying device 20 for conveying the containers 1 loaded into the automatic warehouse 10 or out of the automatic warehouse 10 . The external conveyance device 20 conveys the container 1 outside the automatic warehouse 10 . As shown in FIG. 1 , in this embodiment, a plurality of automatic warehouses 10 are provided in a container transport facility 100 . In FIG. 1 , two automatic warehouses 10 included in the plurality of automatic warehouses 10 are defined as a first automatic warehouse 10A and a second automatic warehouse 10B. The external transfer device 20 is configured to transfer the container 1 to a plurality of automatic warehouses 10 . In addition, the external transfer device 20 is configured to transfer the containers 1 from a plurality of automatic warehouses 10 .

As shown in FIG. 1 , the container 1 includes a non-empty container 1L in which the article 2 is stored, and an empty container 1E in which the article 2 is not stored therein. The container 1 is a cassette for accommodating substrates such as glass substrates and semiconductor wafers (an example of the article 2 ), for example. The container 1 is constructed by combining frame materials, for example.

As shown in FIG. 1 , the automatic warehouse 10 is equipped with a plurality of storage units 11 for respectively storing containers 1 , transports the containers 1 stored in the storage units 11 , and carries out containers 1 or articles 2 between the inside and outside of the automatic warehouse 10 . The outbound unit 13 for the handover, and the in-store transport device 12 for transporting the container 1 from the storage unit 11 to the outbound unit 13 (that is, outbound transport). The automated warehouse 10 further includes a storage unit 14 serving as a starting point for the transport of the container 1 to the storage unit 11, and the in-store transport device 12 also transports the container 1 from the storage unit 14 to the storage unit 11 (that is, storage transport). Furthermore, the in-store conveyance device 12 may also directly (that is, not pass through the storage part 11) transport the container 1 between the outbound part 13 and the inbound part 14.

As shown in FIG. 1 , in this embodiment, a plurality of storage portions 11 are provided so as to be aligned in the first direction X along the horizontal plane. Although illustration is omitted, in this embodiment, a plurality of storage parts 11 are provided so as to be aligned in the first direction X at a plurality of positions in the vertical direction (vertical direction). That is, a plurality of storage parts 11 are arranged in a plurality of rows in the first direction X, and a plurality of stages are arranged in an up-down direction, and a storage rack is formed by the plurality of storage parts 11 . Let the direction along the horizontal plane and perpendicular to the first direction X be the second direction Y. In the example shown in FIG. A pair is provided so as to face each other along the second direction Y. Furthermore, the plurality of storage portions 11 arranged in the first direction X do not necessarily need to be physically divided. For example, the position or width of each storage portion 11 may be configured to be variable.

In the example shown in FIG. 1 , the delivery unit 13 includes an article loading/unloading unit 15 and a delivery conveyor 16 , and the storage unit 14 includes an article loading/unloading unit 15 and a storage conveyor 17 . As will be described later, in the article loading/unloading unit 15 , the delivery of the articles 2 between the inside and outside of the automatic warehouse 10 is performed without delivery of the container 1 between the inside and the outside of the automatic warehouse 10 . Therefore, the article carrying-in unit 15 is the delivery unit 13 at a point serving as a transfer destination of the container 1 stored in the storage unit 11, and is also the storage unit 14 at a point serving as a starting point of transportation of the container 1 stored in the storage unit 11. . In this way, in the article loading/unloading unit 15 , the container 1 is not shipped from the automatic warehouse 10 or the container 1 is loaded into the automatic warehouse 10 .

On the other hand, delivery of the container 1 from the inside of the automated warehouse 10 to the outside is performed on the delivery conveyor 16 . That is, the outbound conveyor 16 is used for outbound containers 1 from the automated warehouse 10 . Moreover, the delivery of the container 1 from the outside of the automated warehouse 10 to the inside is performed by the inbound conveyor 17 . That is, the storage conveyor 17 is used for storage of the container 1 toward the automatic warehouse 10 . As the outgoing conveyor 16 and the incoming conveyor 17, for example, a belt conveyor or a roller conveyor can be used.

In the example shown in FIG. 1 , the article loading/unloading unit 15 is provided instead of a part of the storage units 11 in a storage rack formed by a plurality of storage units 11 . In other words, a part of the storage unit 11 is used as the article carry-in/out unit 15 . As shown in FIG. 1 , a processing device 3 for processing the articles 2 or using the articles 2 is provided adjacent to the article loading/unloading unit 15 . The handling device 3 is configured to take out and put in the article 2 to the container 1 arranged in the article unloading and loading unit 15 . An opening for taking out and putting in the article 2 is formed in the container 1, and taking out and putting in the article 2 to the container 1 is performed through the opening.

The processing device 3 takes out the article 2 from the non-empty container 1L conveyed to the article loading/unloading unit 15 , and performs processing on the taken out article 2 or processing using the taken out article 2 . In this case, the non-empty container 1L stored in the storage unit 11 is transported to the article loading and unloading section 15 as the delivery section 13 by the in-store conveying device 12, and the article 2 is carried out from the automatic warehouse 10 at the article loading and unloading section 15. Handover from inside to outside (specifically, processing device 3). The empty container 1E that has been emptied by taking out the article 2 by the processing device 3 is conveyed to the storage section 11 from the article carry-in section 15 serving as the storage section 14 by the in-store conveyance device 12 .

Furthermore, the processing device 3 puts the processed article 2 or the article 2 already used for processing into the empty container 1E conveyed to the article loading/unloading unit 15 . In this case, the empty container 1E stored in the storage unit 11 is transported to the article loading/unloading section 15 serving as the delivery section 13 by the in-store transportation device 12, and the article 2 is transported from the automatic warehouse 10 at the article loading/unloading section 15. Handover from the outside (specifically, the processing device 3 ) to the inside. In FIG. 1 , the movement of the container 1 and the in-store transport device 12 when the hollow container 1E is transported from the first storage unit 11A, which is one of the storage units 11, to the article loading/unloading unit 15 is shown in chronological order in the first automatic warehouse 10A. . The non-empty container 1L in which the articles 2 are stored by the handling device 3 is transported from the article loading/unloading section 15 serving as the storage section 14 to the storage section 11 by the internal transport device 12 .

After the container 1 (non-empty container 1L or empty container 1E) discharged from the automatic warehouse 10 is transported from the storage unit 11 to the outgoing conveyor 16 by the conveying device 12 in the warehouse, it is transported to the downstream side by the outgoing conveyor 16 (in FIG. In the example shown in 1, it is conveyed on the right side of the figure), and then received by the external conveying device 20. In this case, the container 1 stored in the storage unit 11 is transported to the delivery conveyor 16 as the delivery unit 13, and the delivery conveyor 16 carries out the container 1 from the inside of the automatic warehouse 10 to the outside (specifically, to the outside). Handover of device 20). The external transfer device 20 moves toward the transfer destination of the container 1 while holding the container 1 received from the outbound conveyor 16 .

After the container 1 (non-empty container 1L or empty container 1E) to be stored in the automatic warehouse 10 is transported to the storage conveyor 17 by the external conveying device 20, it is moved toward the downstream side by the storage conveyor 17 (in the example shown in FIG. , is the left side in the figure) to be transported, and then received by the transport device 12 in the warehouse. The in-store transport device 12 transports the container 1 received from the store-in conveyor 17 from the store-in conveyor 17 serving as the store-in unit 14 to the storage unit 11 . In FIG. 1 , the movement of the container 1 and the internal conveyance device 12 when the hollow container 1E is conveyed from the external conveyance device 20 to the second storage part 11B which is one of the storage parts 11 is shown in chronological order in the second automatic warehouse 10B. .

In FIG. 1 , it is assumed that the external conveying device 20 travels along a rail 21 arranged on the ceiling to convey the case of a ceiling conveying vehicle that conveys the container 1 . In addition, the external conveyance device 20 may be a conveyance device other than a ceiling conveyance vehicle. Examples of transport devices other than the ceiling transport vehicle include a transport device that travels along rails 21 arranged on the floor to transport the container 1 , or a transport device that automatically travels on the floor to transport the container 1 .

As shown in FIG. 1 , in this embodiment, the in-store conveyance device 12 moves in the first direction X to convey the container 1 . In the example shown in FIG. 1, the internal conveyance apparatus 12 moves in the 1st direction X between a pair of storage racks arrange|positioned so that it may oppose in the 2nd direction Y. As shown in FIG. The in-store transport device 12 is configured to be able to transfer the container 1 between the transfer destination and to be movable while holding the container 1 (here, movable in the first direction X). The transfer destination includes the storage unit 11 , the delivery unit 13 , and the storage unit 14 . The in-store conveyance device 12 is, for example, a stacker crane including a traveling body guided by rails and a lifting body that moves up and down along a mast erected on the traveling body. In this case, a transfer device (for example, a fork-type transfer device that moves forward and backward a mounting portion on which the container 1 is placed) for transferring the container 1 between the transfer object and the place to be transferred is provided on the lift body.

When carrying out the outbound operation of transporting the container 1 from the storage unit 11 toward the outbound unit 13, the container 1 is moved from the storage unit 11 after the in-store transport device 12 moves to a position corresponding to the storage unit 11 at the starting point of the container 1. Load it on yourself, and take out the container 1 from the storage unit 11 . Then, after the in-store transport device 12 moves to a position corresponding to the delivery unit 13 of the delivery destination of the container 1, the container 1 is transferred from itself to the delivery unit 13, and the container 1 is unloaded to the delivery unit 13. When carrying out the warehousing operation of transporting the container 1 from the storage unit 14 toward the storage unit 11, after the in-store transport device 12 moves to a position corresponding to the storage unit 14 of the transport starting point of the container 1, the container 1 is transported from the storage unit 14. The container 1 is transferred to itself, and the container 1 is taken out from the storage unit 14 . Then, after the in-store transport device 12 moves to a position corresponding to the storage unit 11 of the transport destination of the container 1 , the container 1 is transferred from itself to the storage unit 11 , and the container 1 is unloaded to the storage unit 11 . Here, the position corresponding to the transfer target (storage unit 11, delivery unit 13, or storage unit 14) is a position where the in-store transport device 12 can transfer the container 1 between itself and the transfer target.

As shown in FIG. 2 , the container conveyance facility 100 includes a facility control unit 30 . In this embodiment, the container conveying equipment 100 further includes an external control unit 50 for controlling the external conveying device 20 . The external control unit 50 controls, for example, a plurality of external transfer devices 20 . Moreover, the automatic warehouse 10 is equipped with the warehouse control unit 40 which controls the conveyance apparatus 12 in a warehouse. In the example shown in FIG. 1 , the warehouse control unit 40 also controls the transport operation of the container 1 on each of the outgoing conveyor 16 and the incoming conveyor 17 . The functions of these control units are realized, for example, by cooperation of hardware such as an arithmetic processing device and programs executed on the hardware.

The equipment control unit 30 is connected to communicate with the warehouse control unit 40 (wired or wireless communication is possible, hereinafter the same), and outputs commands related to the transport and storage of the container 1 to the warehouse control unit 40 . The equipment control unit 30 outputs a command to the warehouse control unit 40 based on, for example, the transport schedule of the container 1 . The warehouse control unit 40 controls the operation of the transport device 12 in the warehouse (for example, a warehouse-out operation or a warehouse-in operation) in response to an instruction from the equipment control unit 30 . In this embodiment, since a plurality of automatic warehouses 10 are installed in the container conveyance facility 100 , each of the plurality of automatic warehouses 10 includes a warehouse control unit 40 . A configuration may be employed in which a plurality of automatic warehouses 10 are provided with a common warehouse control unit 40 that controls the in-warehouse transfer device 12 for each of the plurality of automatic warehouses 10 .

In the present embodiment, the equipment control unit 30 is connected so as to be communicable with the external control unit 50 , and outputs commands related to the transport of the container 1 to the external control unit 50 . The equipment control unit 30 outputs commands to the external control unit 50 based on, for example, the transport schedule of the containers 1 . The external control unit 50 controls the operation of the external conveying device 20 in response to instructions from the equipment control unit 30 . Furthermore, for example, when the external conveying device 20 is a conveyor for conveying the container 1 between two automatic warehouses 10, etc., other external control units 50 are not provided outside the warehouse control unit 40, and the warehouse control unit 40 A configuration having the function of the external control unit 50 (that is, the warehouse control unit 40 includes the external control unit 50).

As shown in Figure 2, in this embodiment, the equipment control unit 30 is equipped with a first control unit 31 connected to communicate with the warehouse control unit 40 and an external control unit 50, and connected to communicate with the first control unit 31. The second control unit 32. The second control unit 32 is a higher-level control unit than the first control unit 31 . The second control unit 32 generates a high-level transport command C1 related to the transport of the container 1 and outputs it to the first control unit 31 . The first control unit 31 outputs a transport command C2 for transporting the container 1 to the warehouse control unit 40 and the external control unit 50 based on the upper transport command C1 received from the second control unit 32 .

Furthermore, the first control unit 31 and the second control unit 32 are at least logically distinguished, and do not necessarily have to be physically distinguished. Therefore, the device control unit 30 can also be configured to include the first control unit 31 and the second control unit 32 physically separated from the first control unit 31, and the device control unit 30 can also be configured as the first control unit 31 and the second control unit 31. 2 The configuration of the control unit 32 is a logically distinct but physically integrated unit.

As shown in FIG. 2 , the device control unit 30 (specifically, the second control unit 32 ) includes a container information storage unit 33 . The device control unit 30 (specifically, the second control unit 32 ) is configured to be able to read and write information to the container information storage unit 33 . The container information storage unit 33 includes, for example, a storage medium such as a flash memory or a hard disk. The container information storage unit 33 associates and stores the respective identification information of the containers 1 and state information indicating whether each of the containers 1 is a non-empty container 1L or an empty container 1E. The state information will be updated along with the change of the state of the container 1 .

On the other hand, the storage position information of each container 1 stored in the automatic warehouse 10 is not stored in the container information storage unit 33 . Here, the "storage position information" is information indicating the position of the storage unit 11 in which the container 1 is stored (that is, the storage position of the container 1 ). In the example shown in FIG. 1, the position of the storage part 11 is shown by the position of the 1st direction X, for example, or is shown by each position of the 1st direction X and an up-down direction. In this way, since the storage position information of the container 1 stored in the automatic warehouse 10 is not stored in the container information storage unit 33, the automatic warehouse of the container 1 stored in the automatic warehouse 10 cannot be grasped by referring to the container information storage unit 33. The positional relationship (distance relationship) in 10. For example, the positional relationship between the container 1 stored in the automatic warehouse 10 and the delivery unit 13 (the delivery unit 13 included in the automatic warehouse 10 ) cannot be grasped by referring to the container information storage unit 33 . Furthermore, in the present embodiment, in the container information storage unit 33, for each of the containers 1 stored in the automatic warehouse 10, the identification information of the storage unit 11 that has stored the container 1 (for example, the rack number, etc.) is stored. identification number).

Since the state information is stored in the container information storage unit 33, the device control unit 30 (specifically, the second control unit 32) manages for each container 1 whether the container 1 is a non-empty container 1L or an empty container 1E. In this embodiment, in the container information storage unit 33, the information of the automatic warehouse 10 (identification information of the automatic warehouse 10) that has stored each container 1, or the storage of each container 1 is displayed. The identification information of the portion 11 is also stored in association with the identification information of each container 1 . Therefore, the equipment control unit 30 (specifically, the second control unit 32) manages, for each container 1, whether the container 1 has been stored in the automatic warehouse 10, which automatic warehouse 10 the container 1 has been stored in, and In which storage unit 11 the container 1 is stored. On the other hand, storage position information for each container 1 already stored in the automatic warehouse 10 is not stored in the container information storage unit 33 as described above. Therefore, the equipment control unit 30 (specifically, the second control unit 32 ) does not grasp the positional relationship (distance relationship) of the containers 1 in the automatic warehouse 10 .

As shown in FIG. 2 , the warehouse control unit 40 includes a warehouse information storage unit 41 , a status identification information receiving unit 42 , and a status identification information storage unit 43 . The warehouse control unit 40 is configured to be able to read and write information to the warehouse information storage unit 41 and the status recognition information storage unit 43 . The internal information storage unit 41 and the status recognition information storage unit 43 include storage media such as flash memory or hard disk. These two memory units may have mutually independent memory media, or may have a common memory medium. In the latter case, the two memory units are not physically distinguished but logically distinguished.

The internal information storage unit 41 associates and memorizes the identification information for each of the containers 1 stored in the automatic warehouse 10 and the information indicating the position of the storage unit 11 in which each of the containers 1 are stored, that is, storage position information. . Therefore, the warehouse control unit 40 can grasp the positional relationship of the containers 1 stored in the automatic warehouse 10 in the automatic warehouse 10 by referring to the storage position information stored in the warehouse information storage unit 41 . The storage position information will be updated along with the change of the storage position of the container 1 .

The status identification information receiving unit 42 receives the status identification information D, which associates identification information and status information of each container 1 stored in the automatic warehouse 10 , from the equipment control unit 30 . That is, the equipment control unit 30 generates state identification information D based on the information stored in the container information storage unit 33 and sends it to the warehouse control unit 40 . Then, the state identification information storage unit 43 stores the state identification information D received by the state identification information receiving unit 42 from the device control unit 30 . In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the second control unit 32 generates state identification information D and sends it to the first control unit 31, and the first control unit 31 receives the state identification information D received from the second control unit 32. Sent to warehouse control unit 40.

The transmission of state identification information D from the equipment control unit 30 to the warehouse control unit 40 will be accompanied by whether the container 1 has been stored in the automatic warehouse 10, or the state of the container 1 (the state of the non-empty container 1L or the state of the empty container 1E) ) changes. Therefore, the status identification information D stored in the status identification information storage unit 43 is updated according to whether the status of the container 1 is stored in the automatic warehouse 10 or the status of the container 1 is changed.

Since the storage position information has been memorized in the information storage unit 41 in the warehouse, the warehouse control unit 40 has been stored in each container 1 of the automatic warehouse 10, and manages (in other words, grasps) the container 1 in the automatic warehouse 10. Positional relationship. Moreover, since the state identification information D is stored in the state identification information storage unit 43, the warehouse control unit 40 manages each of the containers 1 stored in the automatic warehouse 10 whether the container 1 is a non-empty container 1L or an empty container 1E.

When the warehouse control unit 40 receives the outbound order of the container 1 from the equipment control unit 30, it controls the conveying device 12 in the warehouse according to the outbound order, so that the container 1 is transported from the storage part 11 to the outbound part 13 (specifically, the warehouse Inner conveying device 12 carries out warehouse-out action). In the example shown in FIG. 1 , the article loading/unloading unit 15 and the delivery conveyor 16 are included in the delivery unit 13 . Therefore, the outbound command includes information on whether the outbound unit 13 of the delivery destination of the container 1 is the item loading and unloading unit 15 or the outbound conveyor 16, and the warehouse control unit 40 controls the conveying device 12 in the warehouse to transport the container 1 to the outbound order. Designated outbound department 13.

When the warehouse control unit 40 receives the warehouse-in instruction of the container 1 from the equipment control unit 30, it controls the conveying device 12 in the warehouse according to the warehouse-in instruction, so that the container 1 is transported from the warehouse-in part 14 to the storage part 11 (specifically, the warehouse Inner conveying device 12 carries out warehouse-in operation). In the example shown in FIG. 1 , the article loading/unloading unit 15 and the storage conveyor 17 are included in the storage unit 14 . Therefore, the storage command includes information on whether the storage unit 14, which is the starting point of the container 1, is the item unloading unit 15 or the storage conveyor 17. 14 transport container 1.

And, since the storage command is an instruction to transport the container 1 from the storage unit 14 to the storage unit 11, the transport starting point of the container 1 is specified to the storage unit 14 (specifically, the storage unit 14 specified by the storage command). Therefore, the containers 1 transported according to the storage order become the containers 1 arranged in the storage unit 14 . On the other hand, since the delivery command is an instruction to transport the container 1 from the storage unit 11 to the delivery unit 13, the delivery destination of the container 1 is specified to the delivery unit 13 (specifically, the delivery unit 13 specified by the delivery command). ). On the other hand, there may be a degree of freedom in selection of the container 1 conveyed by the delivery order.

For example, when the processing order of the processing device 3 is not limited to a specific order, there is a degree of freedom in the selection of the non-empty container 1L to be transported to the article loading/unloading section 15 serving as the delivery section 13 . Also, when the empty container 1E containing the article 2 processed by the processing device 3 or the article 2 that has been used for processing may be different from the container 1 in which the article 2 was stored in the past, it may be transported to the warehouse as the delivery unit 13. There is a degree of freedom in the selection of the empty container 1E of the article loading/unloading unit 15 . In addition, when the delivery order of the containers 1 from the automatic warehouse 10 is not limited to a specific order, there is a degree of freedom in the selection of the containers 1 to be transported to the delivery conveyor 16 as the delivery unit 13 .

When there is no degree of freedom in the selection of the container 1 to be transported to the delivery unit 13, the equipment control unit 30 (specifically, the second control unit 32) outputs identification information identifying the container 1 to the warehouse control unit 40. outbound order. In this case, the warehouse control unit 40 controls the conveying device 12 in the warehouse so as to convey the container 1 designated by the dispatch command to the dispatch unit 13 .

On the other hand, when there is a degree of freedom in the selection of non-empty containers 1L transported to the delivery unit 13, the equipment control unit 30 (specifically, the second control unit 32) does not specify the container 1L to the warehouse control unit 40. identification information, and output a delivery order specifying the state of the so-called non-empty container 1L. In this case, there is a degree of freedom in the selection of non-empty containers 1L transported to the delivery unit 13, and the warehouse control unit 40 selects one non-empty container 1L from among the non-empty containers 1L stored in the automatic warehouse 10, and controls The conveying device 12 in the warehouse is used to convey the selected non-empty container 1L to the outbound unit 13 . As described above, since the warehouse control unit 40 has already stored each container 1 in the automatic warehouse 10, it manages the positional relationship of the container 1 in the automatic warehouse 10, and whether the container 1 is a non-empty container 1L or an empty container 1E, and can For example, considering the storage position of each non-empty container 1L (specifically, considering the positional relationship of each non-empty container 1L to the delivery unit 13 ), the non-empty container 1L that can be most efficiently transported to the delivery unit 13 is selected.

Also, when there is a degree of freedom in the selection of the empty container 1E transported to the delivery unit 13, the equipment control unit 30 (specifically, the second control unit 32) does not specify the identification information of the container 1 to the warehouse control unit 40. , and an outbound instruction specifying the state of the so-called empty container 1E is output. In this case, there is a degree of freedom in the selection of empty containers 1E to be transported to the delivery unit 13, and the warehouse control unit 40 selects one empty container 1E from among the empty containers 1E stored in the automatic warehouse 10, and controls the conveying device in the warehouse. 12 to transport the selected empty container 1E to the delivery unit 13. As mentioned above, since the warehouse control unit 40 has already stored each container 1 in the automatic warehouse 10, it manages the positional relationship of the container 1 in the automatic warehouse 10 and whether the container 1 is a non-empty container 1L or an empty container 1E, so for example The storage position of each empty container 1E (specifically, considering the positional relationship of each empty container 1E to the delivery unit 13 ) can be selected to select the empty container 1E that can be most efficiently transported to the delivery unit 13 .

In the present embodiment, the equipment control unit 30 is configured to output a delivery command, so that there is no degree of freedom in the selection of the non-empty container 1L transported to the delivery unit 13, and the empty container 1E delivered to the delivery unit 13 has no degree of freedom. There is freedom of choice. Therefore, the equipment control unit 30 outputs an instruction specifying the identification information of the container 1 (non-empty container 1L) when issuing an outbound instruction of the non-empty container 1L to the warehouse control unit 40 . On the other hand, when the equipment control unit 30 executes an empty container delivery command for the empty container 1E to the warehouse control unit 40, it does not specify the identification information of the container 1 (empty container 1E), but outputs the so-called empty container 1E. status instructions.

In this embodiment, the warehouse control unit 40 is configured to preferentially select the empty container 1E that takes the shortest time required for conveyance to the delivery unit 13 when receiving the empty container delivery command from the equipment control unit 30, and transfer the selected empty container 1E to the delivery unit 13. The empty container 1E is conveyed toward the outbound part 13 by the conveying device 12 in the warehouse. As described above, since the warehouse control unit 40 has already stored each container 1 in the automatic warehouse 10, and manages the positional relationship of the container 1 in the automatic warehouse 10, and whether the container 1 is a non-empty container 1L or an empty container 1E, it can The empty container 1E with the shortest time required for conveyance to the delivery unit 13 is selected.

And, in any delivery unit 13 (specifically, the article loading and unloading unit 15) of any automated warehouse 10, even if the empty container 1E becomes necessary, the empty container 1E is quickly supplied from the delivery unit 13 that is necessary for the empty container 1E. From the viewpoint of the container 1E, it is desirable to supply the empty container 1E from the storage unit 11 of the automated warehouse 10 including the delivery unit 13 . Regarding this point, in the present embodiment, by configuring the equipment control unit 30 as follows, the variation in the storage number of the empty containers 1E among the plurality of automatic warehouses 10 can be suppressed to be small, thereby, even if it is When conveyance of the empty container 1E to the delivery unit 13 is necessary in any of the automatic warehouses 10 , basically, the empty container 1E can be supplied from the storage unit 11 of the automatic warehouse 10 including the delivery unit 13 .

The number of empty containers 1E stored in each of the plurality of automatic warehouses 10 is regarded as the number of empty containers to be stored. In this embodiment, the equipment control unit 30 (specifically, the second control unit 32) is configured to When the empty container 1E is transported to any one of the plurality of automatic warehouses 10 using the external transport device 20, among the plurality of automatic warehouses 10 included in the object to transport the empty container 1E, the automatic warehouse that stores the least number of empty containers is selected. 10 is used as a transfer destination of the empty container 1E. For example, the automatic warehouse 10 provided with the delivery unit 13 (in the example shown in FIG. 1 , the article loading and unloading unit 15 ) which is different from the delivery conveyor 16 is included in the object to which the empty container 1E is to be transported. For example, the equipment control unit 30 executes the transfer process of the empty container 1E every predetermined time, or when the index indicating the variation in the number of stored empty containers among the plurality of automatic warehouses 10 becomes more than a predetermined threshold value. implement.

As mentioned above, when transporting the empty container 1E, the external control unit 50 will control the external transport device 20 in response to the instruction from the equipment control unit 30, so that the empty container 1E is transported to the storage section 14 of the automatic warehouse 10 at the transport destination (in FIG. In the example shown in 1, it is the storage conveyor 17). Then, the warehouse control unit 40 that selects the automatic warehouse 10 as the delivery destination of the empty container 1E responds to an instruction from the equipment control unit 30 to control the conveying device 12 in the warehouse so that the empty container 1E is transported from the storage unit 14 (shown in FIG. 1 ). In the illustrated example, the storage unit 11 is transported to the storage unit 11 by the storage conveyor 17 (specifically, the storage transport device 12 is caused to perform storage operation).

Furthermore, the empty container 1E is, for example, supplied from any automatic warehouse 10 (for example, the automatic warehouse 10 for storing the largest number of empty containers), or from a storage place for the empty container 1E (for example, for storing the empty container 1E). Dedicated warehouse) supply. In the former case, the warehouse control unit 40 of the automatic warehouse 10 serving as the transport starting point of the empty container 1E responds to the instruction from the equipment control unit 30, and controls the transport device 12 in the warehouse so that the empty container 1E is transported from the storage unit 11 to the outbound warehouse. The unit 13 (in the example shown in FIG. 1 , the outbound conveyor 16) (specifically, makes the in-store conveyance device 12 perform an outbound operation). Then, the external control unit 50 controls the external conveying device 20 in response to an instruction from the equipment control unit 30, so that the empty container 1E is transported from the delivery part 13 (in the example shown in FIG. 1 , the delivery conveyor) of the automatic warehouse 10 16) The storage part 14 (in the example shown in FIG. 1, the storage conveyor 17) of the automatic warehouse 10 which conveys to a transfer destination.

In this embodiment, by configuring the equipment control unit 30 as follows, each of the plurality of automatic warehouses 10 can always be stored at least to a certain extent (specifically, as described later). The state of the number of empty containers 1E equal to or equal to the first threshold value) can also improve the transport efficiency of the non-empty containers 1L.

The equipment control unit 30 sends an empty container transfer command that is an empty container 1E transfer command between different automatic warehouses 10, or a non-empty container transfer command that is a non-empty container 1L transfer command between different automatic warehouses 10, Output to the warehouse control unit 40 and the external control unit 50 . In the empty container transport command and the non-empty container transport command, the automatic warehouse 10 of the transport origin and the automatic warehouse 10 of the transport destination are designated.

When an empty container transport command or a non-empty container transport command is output from the equipment control unit 30, the warehouse control unit 40 of the automatic warehouse 10 at the origin of the transport controls the in-warehouse transport device 12 so that the container 1 to be transported is transported from the storage unit 11 to the outbound warehouse. Section 13 (in the example shown in FIG. 1 , it is the delivery conveyor 16). Also, the external control unit 50 controls the external transfer device 20 as described above so that the container 1 that has been transferred to the delivery unit 13 of the automatic warehouse 10 at the transfer origin is transferred from the delivery unit 13 to the storage unit 10 of the automatic warehouse 10 at the transfer destination. 14 (in the example shown in Figure 1, it is the storage conveyor 17). Then, the warehouse control unit 40 of the automatic warehouse 10 at the transfer destination controls the transfer device 12 in the warehouse as described above, so that the container 1 that has been transferred to the storage unit 14 of the automatic warehouse 10 at the transfer destination is transferred from the storage unit 14 to the storage unit 14. The accommodating part 11 which is a destination of transport.

Here, automatic warehouses 10 storing empty containers whose number is smaller than a predetermined first threshold are taken as the first target automatic warehouses, and automatic warehouses 10 storing empty containers whose number is more than a predetermined second threshold set to be equal to or greater than the first threshold are taken as the first target automatic warehouse. The second target automatic warehouse. In the present embodiment, the device control unit 30 is configured to give priority to an empty container transport command whose transport destination is in the first automatic warehouse over a non-empty container transport command to which the first target automatic warehouse is a transport destination. , and output empty container transport command and non-empty container transport command. Thereby, in each of the plurality of automatic warehouses 10, it is possible to create a state in which empty containers 1E of the number at least as large as the first threshold value are always stored. Also, in the present embodiment, the device control unit 30 is configured so that a non-empty container transfer instruction that takes the second object automatic warehouse as the transfer destination is more efficient than an empty container transfer instruction that uses the second object automatic warehouse as the transfer destination. The command takes precedence, and the empty container transport command and the non-empty container transport command are output. Thereby, the improvement of the conveyance efficiency of 1 L of non-empty containers can also be aimed at.

Furthermore, when the second threshold value is set to a value larger than the first threshold value, the automatic warehouse 10 whose number of empty containers is more than the first threshold value and smaller than the second threshold value is stored, and the automatic warehouse 10 is used as the transfer destination. There is no priority order between empty container transfer commands and non-empty container transfer commands. In this case, the equipment control unit 30 is configured to output an empty container transport command or a non-empty container transport command, for example, in accordance with the order in which the transport requests of the containers 1 occur.

In this embodiment, the device control unit 30 includes a first control unit 31 and a second control unit 32 . Moreover, in this embodiment, the second control unit 32 responds to the occurrence of a transport request for the container 1, etc., and sends the upper transport command C1 (see FIG. 2 ) including the empty container transport command and the non-empty container transport command to the second control unit 32. Unit 32 outputs sequentially. Then, the first control unit 31 outputs the empty container transport command and the non-empty container transport command to the warehouse control unit 40 and the external control unit 50 as the transport command C2 for transporting the container 1 according to the upper transport command C1 (see FIG. 2 ). At this time, based on the number of stored empty containers in each of the plurality of automatic warehouses 10, let the empty container transport command with the first target automatic warehouse as the transport destination be compared with the non-empty container transport command with the first target automatic warehouse as the transport destination. The empty container transfer command is given priority, and the non-empty container transfer command whose transfer destination is in the second target automatic warehouse is given priority over the empty container transfer command whose transfer destination is in the second target automatic warehouse.

[Other implementation types] Next, another embodiment of the container transfer facility will be described.

(1) In the above-mentioned embodiment, the equipment control unit 30 makes the empty container transfer command that takes the first object automatic warehouse as the transfer destination to be larger than the non-empty container that uses the first object automatic warehouse as the transfer destination. The transport command has priority, and the non-empty container transport command with the second target automatic warehouse as the transport destination is given priority over the empty container transport command with the second target automatic warehouse as the transport destination, and the empty container transport is output The structure of command and non-empty container transport command will be described as an example. However, the present disclosure is not limited to such a configuration. For example, the device control unit 30 may output an empty container transfer command or a non-empty container transfer command according to the order in which the container 1 transfer requests occur, regardless of the number of empty containers stored.

(2) In the above-mentioned embodiment, when the equipment control unit 30 uses the external conveying device 20 to convey the empty container 1E to any one of the plurality of automatic warehouses 10, it selects the object included in the empty container 1E to be conveyed. Among the plurality of automatic warehouses 10 , the automatic warehouse 10 that accommodates the smallest number of empty containers will be described as an example of the configuration of the transfer destination of the empty containers 1E. However, the present disclosure is not limited to such a configuration. For example, the equipment control unit 30 may be configured to transfer the empty containers 1E using the external transfer device 20 to the automatic warehouse 10 that is relatively insufficient in the required number of empty containers 1E. The necessary number of empty containers 1E may be made a different value for each automatic warehouse 10, or may be made a different value depending on the situation.

(3) In the above-mentioned embodiment, the output instruction is output by the equipment control unit 30, so that there is no degree of freedom in the selection of the non-empty container 1L transported to the delivery unit 13, and the delivery to the delivery unit 13 A configuration having a degree of freedom in the selection of the empty container 1E will be described as an example. However, the present disclosure is not limited to such a configuration, and the equipment control unit 30 may also be configured to output a delivery command so that there is a degree of freedom in the selection of the non-empty container 1L that is transported to the delivery unit 13, while the delivery to the delivery unit 13 has a degree of freedom. 13 also has a degree of freedom in the selection of the empty container 1E, or the equipment control unit 30 outputs a delivery command, so that there is a degree of freedom in the selection of the non-empty container 1L that is transported to the delivery unit 13, and when it is transported to the delivery unit 13, there is a degree of freedom in the selection. The empty container 1E of the part 13 has a configuration with no degree of freedom in selection.

(4) In the example shown in FIG. 1 , the following configuration is used as an example for description: the processing device 3 takes out and puts the article 2 into the container 1 arranged in the article carrying-in section 15, and 15 , Carrying out the delivery of items 2 between the interior and exterior of the automated warehouse 10 . However, the present disclosure is not limited to such a structure, and may also be configured as follows: for example, a container carrying-in section is provided instead of the article carrying-in section 15, and the article 2 together with the container 1 is transported between the container carrying-in section and the processing device 3. transport. In this case, the container 1 stored in the storage unit 11 is transported by the in-store transport device 12 to the container loading and unloading unit as the delivery unit 13, and at the container loading and unloading unit, the container 1 is moved from the inside of the automatic warehouse 10 to the outside ( Specifically, the handover of the processing device 3). The container 1 returned from the processing device 3 to the automatic warehouse 10 is transported from the processing device 3 to the container loading/unloading section, and then is transported from the container loading/unloading section to the storage section 11 by the internal transport device 12 .

(5) In the example shown in FIG. 1 , the conveyance of the empty container 1E toward the outbound unit 13 (specifically, the item unloading and loading unit 15 ) is to transport the processed item 2 or the processed item 2 in the processing device 3 . The configuration in which the articles 2 for processing are returned to the container 1 will be described as an example. However, the present disclosure is not limited to such a configuration, and may be configured so that, for example, the empty container 1E is conveyed to the delivery unit 13 for the purpose of supplying the empty container 1E to a pick-up place where the article 2 is picked up.

(6) In the above-mentioned embodiment, the configuration in which the device control unit 30 includes the first control unit 31 and the second control unit 32 is taken as an example for description. However, the present disclosure is not limited to such a configuration, and the device control unit 30 may be configured as a single control unit having both the function of the first control unit 31 and the function of the second control unit 32 .

(7) In the above-mentioned embodiment, the configuration in which the container conveyance facility 100 includes the external conveyance device 20 and the external control unit 50 is taken as an example and described. However, the present disclosure is not limited to such a configuration, and the container transfer facility 100 may be configured without the external transfer device 20 and the external control unit 50 when, for example, a plurality of automatic warehouses 10 are not installed.

(8) Furthermore, as long as there is no contradiction between the configurations disclosed in the above-mentioned embodiments, the configurations disclosed in other embodiments can also be combined and applied (including the embodiments described as other embodiments). The combination). Regarding other configurations, the embodiments disclosed in this specification are merely examples in all points. Therefore, various changes in topography can be adapted without departing from the gist of the present disclosure.

[Summary of the above implementation forms] Hereinafter, the outline|summary of the container conveyance facility demonstrated above is demonstrated.

A container conveying device comprising an automatic warehouse for storing a plurality of containers capable of storing articles, and an equipment control unit, wherein the automatic warehouse includes: a plurality of storage sections for storing the containers respectively; a delivery section for storing the containers in the storage section The container is transported to deliver the container or the article between the inside and outside of the automatic warehouse; the transport device in the warehouse transports the container from the storage unit to the delivery unit; and the warehouse control unit controls The above-mentioned transport device in the warehouse, the aforementioned container includes: a non-empty container, which is in the state of storing the aforementioned items inside; and an empty container, which is in the state of not storing the aforementioned items inside. The identification information of each of the aforementioned containers that have been stored in the aforementioned automatic warehouse, and information indicating the position of the aforementioned storage portion that has stored each of the aforementioned containers, that is, the storage position information is associated and memorized, and the aforementioned equipment control unit has: The container information memory section associates and memorizes the aforementioned identification information of each of the aforementioned containers and the state information indicating whether each of the aforementioned containers is the aforementioned non-empty container or the state of the aforementioned empty container, and the aforementioned container information memory section does not memorize The storage position information of each of the containers stored in the automatic warehouse, the equipment control unit is communicably connected to the warehouse control unit, and outputs instructions related to the transport and storage of the containers to the warehouse control unit, The warehouse control unit further includes: a state identification information receiving unit for receiving, from the equipment control unit, state identification information that associates the identification information and the state information with each of the containers stored in the automatic warehouse; and The status identification information storage unit stores the aforementioned status identification information received from the aforementioned equipment control unit.

In this configuration, although the container information storage unit provided in the equipment control unit stores status information indicating whether each container is non-empty or empty, each container stored in the automatic warehouse is not stored. A storage location information. Therefore, when the equipment control unit issues an order to the warehouse control unit to transport the non-empty or empty containers stored in the storage unit to the delivery unit by the conveying device in the warehouse, the equipment control unit cannot take into account (in other words, consider the relationship between each container). Select the container to be transported to the delivery department based on the storage position of each container. In this regard, according to this configuration, the warehouse control unit that manages the storage position information of each container is configured to receive the state identification information from the equipment control unit and store it therein. Therefore, when the warehouse control unit receives the delivery instruction of the non-empty container from the equipment control unit, it can consider the storage position of each non-empty container (in other words, consider the positional relationship between each non-empty container with respect to the delivery department), and choose to transport it to the delivery department. For non-empty containers, for example, non-empty containers that can be transported to the outbound department most efficiently can be selected. In addition, when the warehouse control unit receives the delivery instruction of the empty container from the equipment control unit, it may consider the storage position of each empty container (in other words, consider the positional relationship of each empty container to the delivery unit) to select the empty container to be transported to the delivery unit, For example, it is possible to select empty containers that can be transported to the outbound department most efficiently.

In this way, according to this configuration, the warehouse control unit can select the non-empty container to be transported to the delivery unit in consideration of the storage position of each non-empty container, or can select the empty container to be transported to the delivery unit in consideration of the storage position of each empty container. Therefore, when there is a degree of freedom in the selection of non-empty containers to be transported to the delivery unit or the selection of empty containers to be transported to the delivery unit, it is possible to improve the transport efficiency of the containers to the delivery unit.

Here, it is preferable that the equipment control unit outputs a command specifying the state of the so-called empty container without specifying the identification information when issuing the empty container delivery command to the warehouse control unit, that is, the empty container delivery command.

According to this configuration, since the equipment control unit creates a command for unspecified identification information to the empty container delivery command output from the warehouse control unit, the warehouse control unit that manages the storage position information of each container can select the empty container to be transported to the delivery department. . Therefore, when transporting the empty containers to the outbound section, the empty containers selected in consideration of the storage positions of the respective empty containers can be transported to the outbound section by the in-store conveying device.

As mentioned above, it is preferable that the equipment control unit output an instruction specifying the state of the so-called empty container without specifying the identification information when issuing the empty container delivery command to the warehouse control unit, that is, the empty container delivery command. In this case, when the warehouse control unit receives the empty container delivery command from the equipment control unit, it preferentially selects the empty container with the shortest time required for transportation to the delivery unit, and borrows the selected empty container. It is conveyed toward the aforementioned outbound section by the conveying device in the warehouse.

According to this configuration, when the empty container is transported to the delivery unit, since the empty container with the shortest time required for transportation to the delivery unit can be transported to the delivery unit, the delivery unit necessary for the empty container can be quickly supplied. empty container.

In the container conveying equipment with each of the above configurations, it is preferable that it further includes: an external conveying device for conveying the aforementioned containers into or out of the aforementioned automatic warehouse; and an external control unit for controlling the aforementioned external conveying device, the aforementioned automatic There are a plurality of warehouses, and the external transfer device is configured to transfer the container to the plurality of automatic warehouses. The equipment control unit is communicably connected to the external control unit, and outputs information related to the transfer of the container to the external control unit. The number of empty containers stored in each of the plurality of automatic warehouses is used as the number of stored empty containers, and the equipment control unit uses the external conveying device to transport the empty containers to any one of the plurality of automatic warehouses. When the above-mentioned empty container is to be transported, among the plurality of the automatic warehouses included in the object to transport the empty container, the automatic warehouse with the smallest number of empty containers is selected as the transfer destination of the empty container.

According to this structure, the fluctuation|variation of the storage quantity of the empty container among several automatic warehouses can be suppressed small. Therefore, even when conveyance of the empty container to the delivery unit is necessary in any automatic warehouse, the empty container can basically be supplied from the storage unit of the automatic warehouse provided with the delivery unit. Therefore, even when an empty container is required in any of the outgoing sections of the automated warehouse, empty containers can be quickly supplied to the outgoing section requiring the empty container easily.

In addition, it is preferable that it further comprises: an external conveying device for conveying the aforementioned container into or out of the aforementioned automatic warehouse; The device is configured to transport the container to a plurality of the automatic warehouses, the equipment control unit is communicably connected to the external control unit, and the warehouse control unit and the external control unit output data between different automatic warehouses. The empty container transfer command that is the transfer command for the empty container and the non-empty container transfer command that is the transfer command for the non-empty container between the different automatic warehouses will store the empty containers stored in each of the plurality of automatic warehouses. The number of containers is regarded as the number of stored empty containers, and the aforementioned automatic warehouse whose number of stored empty containers is less than a predetermined first threshold value is regarded as the first target automatic warehouse, and the number of stored empty containers is set to be greater than or equal to the aforementioned first threshold value. The aforementioned automatic warehouse above the second threshold value is regarded as the second object automatic warehouse, and the aforementioned equipment control unit makes the above-mentioned empty container transfer command that takes the inside of the first object automatic warehouse as the transfer destination to be higher than the one in the first object automatic warehouse. The aforementioned non-empty container transport command as the transport destination also has priority, and the aforementioned non-empty container transport command that uses the aforementioned second object automatic warehouse as the transport destination is more important than the aforementioned non-empty container transport command that uses the aforementioned second target automatic warehouse as the transport destination. The empty container transfer command is given priority, and the empty container transfer command and the non-empty container transfer command are output.

According to this configuration, for an automatic warehouse that accommodates a small number of empty containers that are less than the first threshold value, the number of empty container transport orders that are transported in the automatic warehouse is higher than the number of non-empty containers that are transported in the automatic warehouse. The transport command is output from the equipment control unit with priority. Therefore, in each of the plurality of automatic warehouses, it is possible to create a state in which empty containers of at least the same number as the first threshold value are always stored. Also, for an automatic warehouse that stores a large number of empty containers when it becomes greater than or equal to the second threshold value, since the non-empty container transportation command that uses the automatic warehouse as the transportation destination is also more than the empty container that uses the automatic warehouse as the transportation destination Since the container transport command is output from the equipment control unit with priority, it is possible to improve the transport efficiency of non-empty containers.

The container conveying equipment in this disclosure should just be able to achieve at least one of the above-mentioned effects.

1: container 1E: empty container 1L: non-empty container 2: Items 3: Processing device 10: Automatic warehouse 10A: The first automatic warehouse 10B: The second automatic warehouse 11: storage department 11A: The first storage part 11B: The second storage part 12: Storage transfer device 13: Departure Department 14: Warehousing department 15: Goods moving out and moving in 16: Exit conveyor 17: Storage conveyor 20: External conveying device 21: track 30: Equipment control unit 31: 1st control unit 32: 2nd control unit 33: container information memory 40: Warehouse control unit 41:Information memory department in the library 42: Status recognition information receiving unit 43:Status recognition information memory unit 50: External control unit 100:Container handling equipment C1: Host transfer command C2: Transport command D: Status identification information X: the first direction Y: 2nd direction

Fig. 1 is a plan view showing a simplified container conveyance facility. Figure 2 is a control block diagram.

12: Storage transfer device

20: External conveying device

30: Equipment control unit

31: 1st control unit

32: 2nd control unit

33: container information memory

40: Warehouse control unit

41:Information memory department in the library

42: Status recognition information receiving unit

43:Status recognition information memory unit

50: External control unit

C1: Host transfer command

C2: Transport command

D: Status identification information

Claims (5)

A container conveying device comprising an automatic warehouse for accommodating a plurality of containers capable of storing articles, and a device control unit, It has the following characteristics: The aforementioned automatic warehouse has: a plurality of storage parts respectively accommodate the aforementioned containers; In the outbound section, the container stored in the storage section is transported, and the container or the article is handed over between the inside and outside of the automatic warehouse; an in-warehouse transport device for transporting the container from the storage unit to the delivery unit; and The warehouse control unit controls the aforementioned conveying device in the warehouse, The aforementioned container contains: A non-empty container in a state in which the aforementioned items have been contained; and Empty containers in a state in which the aforementioned items are not contained inside, The warehouse control unit is provided with: a storehouse information storage unit, which stores identification information of each of the aforementioned containers stored in the aforementioned automatic warehouse, and information indicating the position of the aforementioned storage unit that has stored each of the aforementioned containers, that is, the storage position. Information gives association and memory, The aforementioned device control unit is provided with: a container information storage section, which associates and memorizes the aforementioned identification information of each of the aforementioned containers and the state information indicating whether each of the aforementioned containers is the aforementioned non-empty container or the aforementioned empty container, The container information storage unit does not memorize the storage location information of each of the containers stored in the automatic warehouse, The aforementioned equipment control unit is communicably connected to the aforementioned warehouse control unit, and outputs instructions related to the transportation and storage of the aforementioned container to the aforementioned warehouse control unit, The aforementioned warehouse control unit is further equipped with: The state identification information receiving unit receives, from the equipment control unit, state identification information that associates the identification information and the state information with each of the containers stored in the automatic warehouse; and The status identification information storage unit stores the aforementioned status identification information received from the aforementioned equipment control unit. The container conveying equipment as claimed in claim 1, wherein the equipment control unit does not specify the identification information but outputs the status of the so-called empty container when it executes the delivery command of the empty container to the warehouse control unit, that is, the delivery command of the empty container. instructions. The container transport facility according to claim 2, wherein the warehouse control unit preferentially selects the empty container with the shortest time required for transport to the delivery unit when receiving the empty container delivery command from the equipment control unit, and The selected empty container is conveyed toward the outgoing warehouse by the conveying device in the warehouse. The container handling equipment according to any one of claims 1 to 3, which further has: An external conveying device for conveying the aforementioned containers into or out of the aforementioned automatic warehouse; and an external control unit controlling the aforementioned external conveying device, A plurality of the aforementioned automatic warehouses are set, The aforementioned external transfer device is configured to transfer the aforementioned container to a plurality of the aforementioned automated warehouses, The aforementioned equipment control unit is communicably connected to the aforementioned external control unit, and outputs instructions related to the transfer of the aforementioned container to the aforementioned external control unit, The number of empty containers stored in each of the plurality of automatic warehouses is the number of empty containers stored, When the equipment control unit transports the empty container to any one of the plurality of automatic warehouses using the external transport device, the number of empty containers stored is the least among the plurality of automatic warehouses included in the object to transport the empty container. The aforementioned automatic warehouse is used as the delivery destination of the aforementioned empty containers. The container handling equipment according to any one of claims 1 to 3, which further has: An external conveying device for conveying the aforementioned containers into or out of the aforementioned automatic warehouse; and an external control unit controlling the aforementioned external conveying device, A plurality of the aforementioned automatic warehouses are set, The aforementioned external transfer device is configured to transfer the aforementioned container to a plurality of the aforementioned automated warehouses, The aforementioned equipment control unit is communicably connected to the aforementioned external control unit, and to the aforementioned warehouse control unit and the aforementioned external control unit, outputs the transport command of the aforementioned empty container between the different aforementioned automatic warehouses, that is, the empty container transport command, and the command for transporting the empty container between the different automatic warehouses, The transfer instruction of the aforementioned non-empty container between the aforementioned automatic warehouses, that is, the transfer instruction of the non-empty container, The number of empty containers stored in each of the plurality of automatic warehouses is regarded as the number of stored empty containers, the automatic warehouse with the number of stored empty containers less than a predetermined first threshold value is defined as the first object automatic warehouse, and the stored The aforementioned automated warehouse whose number of empty containers is equal to or greater than the predetermined second threshold value set above the aforementioned first threshold value is the second object automated warehouse, The aforementioned equipment control means gives priority to the aforementioned empty container transfer command that uses the first target automatic warehouse as the transfer destination than the aforementioned non-empty container transfer command that uses the first target automatic warehouse as the transfer destination, and allows The above-mentioned non-empty container transfer command that uses the second object automatic warehouse as the transfer destination has priority over the above-mentioned empty container transfer command that uses the second object automatic warehouse as the transfer destination, and the above-mentioned empty container transfer command and the above-mentioned Non-empty container transfer instruction.

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