JP7302884B2 - Inventory control device, inventory control system, inventory control method and inventory control program - Google Patents

Description

The present device and system relate to an inventory management device, an inventory management system, and its method and program that enable efficient warehousing work and accurate inventory grasping.

Personnel adjustment and time management are conceivable as a method for efficiently carrying out the warehousing work of moving parts and the like required for repair of products to places such as shelves in the warehouse. However, it is not realistic to adjust the personnel each time the number of received parts is not constant. Specifically, for example, when the number of parts is large, if an inexperienced person is assigned, the work efficiency will rather decrease. Therefore, it is considered effective to make effective use of working hours with limited personnel.

As a result, it is often the case that several dozen parts are moved by a single worker, and it is not uncommon for the worker to move around the inside of the refrigerator for several hours. Usually, workers decide the route to receive goods considering the position of the shelf to be received and the weight of the parts to some extent, but when the number of parts increases, which route is the most efficient way to receive goods? I can't get enough of it. That is, wasteful travel time occurs, and the burden on the worker increases.

In addition, as the burden on workers increases, their ability to concentrate decreases, making it more likely that human errors, such as placing parts in the wrong shelf, will occur, making it difficult to accurately ascertain inventory counts. . If you do not have an accurate inventory count, you may not be able to carry out repair work until the missing parts are received, which may lead to a longer repair delivery time, or a certain part may be identified as in stock in the system. Even though repairs were scheduled to be carried out on a business trip due to confirmation, there may be cases where repairs cannot be completed due to lack of items.

Patent Literature 1 discloses a transport system and the like that can determine the priority based on the weight, size, etc. of trays and calculate the route to move for picking products in a warehouse or the like. . In patent document 2, in the warehousing process to multiple warehouses, it is possible to efficiently carry out warehousing work by selecting a warehouse with a small inventory quantity based on the managed inventory quantity and executing the warehousing process. An automated warehouse is disclosed. In Patent Document 3, in order to handle a large number of orders, the same picking cart calculates a route for efficient work in a short distance, and manages to transmit the route information to the picking cart and display it. A picking system including an apparatus is disclosed.

JP 2019-131403 A JP 2015-042589 A JP 2009-249163 A

In addition, each disclosure of the above prior art documents is incorporated into this document by reference. The following analysis was made by the inventors.

As described above, Patent Literatures 1 to 3 disclose means for solving the problem of improving work efficiency mainly during warehousing and warehousing.

However, none of the patent documents discloses a means for accurately grasping the stock quantity at the time of warehousing and warehousing, which should be compatible with the improvement of work efficiency as described above.

In one aspect of the present invention, there is provided an inventory management device, an inventory management system, an inventory management method, and an inventory management program that contribute to improving work efficiency in warehousing work in a warehouse or the like and accurately grasping the number of inventories. for the purpose.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, an item ID for specifying an item, the inventory quantity of the item associated with the item ID, the weight of each item, and information indicating the location of the item; a map information holding unit for holding map information for specifying the route to the location of the item; a stored item ID of the item to be stored; and an in-stock item information receiving unit that receives in-stock item information including at least; an in-stock item information acquisition unit that acquires in-stock item information according to the received in-stock item information; the acquired in-stock item information; and map information; Based on this, there is provided an inventory management device having a route information calculation unit that calculates route information indicating a route to an arrangement location of an article to be stocked, and a route information output unit that outputs the calculated route information.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, an item ID for specifying an item, the inventory quantity of the item, the weight of each item, and information indicating the location of the item, which are associated with the item ID. a database device having an inventory information holding unit that holds inventory information including at least , and a map information holding unit that holds map information for specifying the route to the location of the item; a reception terminal having a received goods information reception unit for receiving received goods information including at least an received goods ID and a received goods quantity; and a received goods information transmission part for transmitting the received received goods information; and receiving the received goods information. an inventory item information receiving unit that receives inventory item information, an inventory item information acquisition unit that acquires the inventory item information according to the received inventory item information, the acquired inventory item information, and the map information. a management terminal having: a route information calculation unit that calculates route information indicating a route to the location of the; and a route information transmission unit that transmits the calculated route information; a route information reception unit that receives the route information; and a work terminal having a route information output unit for outputting the calculated route information.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, there is a step of receiving received article information including at least the received article ID of the article to be stored and the number of articles received; Inventory item information acquisition for acquiring inventory item information including at least an item ID for identification, an item inventory quantity associated with the item ID, a weight per item, and information indicating the location of the item and a route information calculation step of calculating route information indicating a route to an arrangement location of an article to be stored based on the obtained stock article information and map information for specifying the route to the arrangement location of the article. and a route information output step of outputting the calculated route information.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, a process of accepting incoming article information including at least an incoming article ID of an article to be entered and an incoming quantity; A process of acquiring inventory item information including at least an item ID, an item inventory quantity associated with the item ID, a weight of each item, and information indicating the location of the item, and the acquired inventory item information , map information for specifying the route to the location of the item, calculation of route information indicating the route to the location of the item to be stored, and output of the calculated route information. An inventory management program is provided for causing a computer to perform the above.

This program can be recorded in a computer-readable storage medium. The storage medium can be non-transient such as semiconductor memory, hard disk, magnetic recording medium, optical recording medium, and the like. The invention can also be embodied as a computer program product.

According to each aspect of the present invention, an inventory management device, an inventory management system, an inventory management method, and an inventory management program that contribute to both improvement of work efficiency in warehousing work in a warehouse and the like and accurate grasp of inventory numbers are provided. provided.

It is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration in the inventory management device of one embodiment. It is a schematic diagram showing an example of map information and route information in the inventory management device of one embodiment. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the inventory management device of Embodiment 1; FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing the flow of processing in the inventory management device of Embodiment 1. FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing the flow of processing in the inventory management device of Embodiment 1. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration in the inventory management device of Embodiment 1; FIG. FIG. 11 is a diagram for showing an outline of an inventory management system according to Embodiment 2; FIG. FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the inventory management system of Embodiment 2; FIG. 11 is a sequence diagram showing the flow of processing in the inventory management system of Embodiment 2;

First, an overview of one embodiment will be described. It should be noted that the drawing reference numerals added to this outline are added to each element for convenience as an example to aid understanding, and the description of this outline does not intend any limitation.

FIG. 1 shows a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of an inventory management device according to one embodiment. The inventory management device 1 of one embodiment includes an inventory item information storage unit 11, a map information storage unit 12, a stock item information reception unit 13, an inventory item information acquisition unit 14, a route information calculation unit 15, route information and an output unit 16 .

The inventory item information holding unit 11 includes at least an item ID for specifying an item, an inventory quantity of the item associated with the item ID, a weight of each item, and information indicating the location of the item. Hold inventory information. Inventory information may be held in a database owned by the inventory management device or in a database device installed outside the device. “Information indicating the location of an item” is information indicating where an item associated with an item ID should be placed in a warehouse or the like. This information is defined in the map information held in the map information holding unit 12, which will be described later, and is information for specifying the position by the indicated section. The position indicated by the same information may be one or more.

The map information holding unit 12 holds map information for specifying a route to an item placement location. The "map information" is, for example, information for specifying the position where the article is to be placed in the partitioned area, such as the inside of the warehouse, where the article is to be arranged. The area may not only partition a plane but also partition a space. Information indicating this section is held in association with the article ID, and is used for the process of specifying the arrangement position of the article. Further, the map information includes information on passages, and a route for warehousing work on the passages indicated by the information on passages is set by the route information calculation unit 15, which will be described later.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an outline of map information and route information. As shown in this figure, the places where the articles are placed are partitioned and numbered to identify the positions. For example, the section indicated by the number string "3.2.17.2" represents "the second shelf in the second row of the 17th section of the warehouse 3" (black part in Fig. 2). Conceivable.

The warehoused article information receiving unit 13 receives warehoused article information including at least the warehoused article ID of the article to be stocked and the number of the articles to be stocked. "Receiving" means being placed in an item's location. The information may be received by the inventory management device itself, or may be received via an external reception terminal. The received inventory item information is sent to the inventory item information acquisition unit 14, which will be described later.

The warehoused article information reception unit 13 may be configured to receive the warehoused article ID and the warehoused quantity by recognizing the appearance of the warehoused article. Specifically, in addition to an identifier such as a barcode, the article itself may be recognized by image recognition. A feature amount for recognition may be associated with an article ID and held in the stock article information holding unit 11 .

The inventory item information acquisition unit 14 acquires inventory item information according to the received inventory item information. Specifically, the department connects to the inventory item information holding unit 11, and executes processing for acquiring inventory item information using the received item ID in the received item information as a key. As a result, it is possible to use information such as the location of the goods in stock, the number of stocks, and the weight of each goods in stock. The acquired inventory item information is combined with the received item information and sent to the route information calculation unit 15, which will be described later.

The route information calculation unit 15 calculates the route information indicating the route to the arrangement location of the goods to be stored based on the inventory information acquired from the inventory information acquisition unit 14 and the map information acquired from the map information storage unit 12. calculate. Specifically, it connects to the map information holding unit 12 and searches for and specifies the placement location using information indicating the location of the item included in the inventory information acquired by the inventory information acquisition unit 14 as a key. Once identified, a process of setting a route connecting the placement location and the departure point on the passage is executed. The process of setting the route can be executed by various algorithms.

With reference to FIG. 2, the dotted line indicates the passage along the route, and the points with letters are the stopping positions on the route. A route is expressed using this stop position. The stop positions are associated with the placement locations of the articles. .*”. For example, if you first perform a warehousing operation at the "3.1.4.1" shelf, then "3.2.4.2", and finally visit the "3.3.7.1" shelf. can express the route as {1D, 2D, 3G}.

A distance may be defined between each stop position, and the order of the stop positions may be determined by arithmetic processing of combinatorial optimization using the distance.

The route information output unit 16 outputs the calculated route information. The "route information" may be a destination on a map, that is, a place where an article is placed and a route to reach it. Also, the navigation may be performed by text or voice. Further, the route information output unit 16 includes a display device, an audio output device, a communication interface, etc., and presents the route information visually, outputs it by voice, and transmits it to other devices by communication. may

In the inventory management apparatus of the above-described embodiment, received item information is received along with the receipt of an item, and inventory item information is acquired using the item ID of the received item included in the received received item information. The inventory item information includes information indicating the location of the item, and based on this information and the stored map information, the route information for the warehousing operation is calculated and output.

On the other hand, the received goods information includes the information of the received goods quantity, and this information is used to update the inventory quantity information of the goods contained in the stocked goods information.

Specific embodiments will be described in more detail below with reference to the drawings. In addition, the same code|symbol is attached|subjected to the same component in each embodiment, and the description is abbreviate|omitted.

[First Embodiment]
[Device configuration]
FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the inventory management device of the first embodiment. As shown in this figure, the inventory management device 1 of this embodiment includes an inventory item information storage unit 11, a map information storage unit 12, an inventory item information reception unit 13, an inventory item information acquisition unit 14, and route information. It has a calculation unit 15 and a route information output unit 16 . Since the above configuration requirements have already been explained in the above embodiment, a description thereof will be omitted.

The inventory management device 1 of this embodiment newly has a reading unit 17 , a confirmation unit 18 , and an inventory information update unit 19 .

Further, in the inventory management device 1 of the present embodiment, the received item information reception unit 13 receives a plurality of types of received item IDs, and the inventory item information acquisition unit 14 receives inventory information corresponding to the plurality of types of received item IDs. As a result of acquiring the item information, when it is determined that the inventory quantity of one type of item out of the plurality of types of items in inventory is equal to or less than a predetermined value, the route information calculation unit 15 determines whether the inventory item of the type is may be configured to calculate a route for arranging items with priority over other stored items.

Furthermore, in the inventory management device 1 of the present embodiment, the received item information reception unit 13 receives a plurality of types of received item IDs, and the inventory item information acquisition unit 14 receives inventory information corresponding to the plurality of types of received item IDs. The route information calculation unit 15 calculates the total weight of each type of article by acquiring the article information and multiplying the weight of each article by the weight of each of the plurality of types of articles. A configuration may be adopted in which a route for arranging stored articles is calculated with priority given to the type having the largest total weight.

The reading unit 17 reads the code for identifying the location of the stored article, which is attached to the location of the stored article. This is for confirming that the stored article is arranged at the arrangement place by the confirmation unit 18 to be described later. The "code" includes not only optically recognizable bar codes, but also wireless codes such as IC tags. The "code" includes at least the ID of the associated article to be placed, in addition to the information specifying the place of placement.

The confirmation unit 18 uses the read code and the route information to check whether or not the vehicle is moving according to the route information. By reading the code that specifies the location, it is possible to specify the position on the map information, so it is possible to determine whether or not the user is moving along the route information. In addition, since the code read by the reading unit 17 also includes the ID of the article to be placed at that position, it is possible to confirm whether the article is placed at the place where it should be placed. In the case of warehousing a plurality of types of articles, the route information also includes the warehousing order of each article, and it is also possible to confirm whether or not the articles are arranged along the route along the warehousing order. The confirmation result is sent to the stock item information update unit 19, which will be described later.

The inventory item information update unit 19 updates the inventory item information based on the received item information when it is confirmed that the item is moving according to the route information. The inventory item information update unit 19 connects to the inventory item information holding unit 11 according to the confirmation result from the confirmation unit 18, and updates the item information included in the read code and the received items temporarily held in the storage area. information, and updates the quantity of goods received for which the result of the confirmation has been obtained.

Note that the inventory management device 1 of this embodiment includes a timer (not shown) that measures the time it takes to move on the route, and a result of confirmation from the confirmation unit that the vehicle has moved along the route within a predetermined time. an elapsed time judgment unit (not shown) for judging whether or not it has been obtained, and a notification unit (not shown) for notifying when a judgment result that a predetermined time or more has elapsed is obtained It may be configured to have further. With this configuration, it is possible to determine whether or not the arrangement of articles is being executed efficiently, and to notify the worker. Note that the predetermined time can be adjusted in consideration of the distance to the placement location and the worker's attributes (age, years of experience, etc.). As a result, it becomes possible to confirm whether or not each worker can efficiently perform the work according to the attribute.

[Process flow]
4 and 5 are flowcharts showing the flow of processing of the inventory management device of the first embodiment. FIG. 4 shows the flow of processing from receiving information on goods in stock to calculating and outputting a route. FIG. 5 shows the flow of processing for moving in the warehouse along the calculated route and arranging the articles while updating the inventory. The inventory management device 1 receives the received article information by the received article information reception unit 13 (step S11). Next, the inventory item information acquisition unit 14 acquires inventory item information (step S12). Next, the route information calculation unit 15 calculates the total weight of each received article (step S13). Next, the route information calculation unit 15 determines whether the inventory quantity is equal to or less than a predetermined value (step S14). If it is equal to or less than the predetermined value, a route for arranging the article having a value equal to or less than the predetermined value is calculated and added to the route (step S15). If the inventory quantity is greater than the predetermined value, a route for arranging the article having the largest calculated total weight for each article is calculated and added to the route (step S16). After that, the route information calculation unit 15 determines whether or not all items have been added to the route (step S17). As a result of the determination, if there is an item that has not been added, the process returns to the stock quantity determination process (step S14), and the subsequent processes are repeated. If it is determined that all the articles have been added to the route, the route information output unit 16 outputs the route (step S18), and the processing for placing the articles (FIG. 5) continues (A).

When a route is calculated by the route information calculation unit 15 and output by the route information output unit 16, the inventory management apparatus shifts to processing for arranging articles (FIG. 5A). When the article arrives at the place where the articles are arranged, the inventory management device 1 uses the reading unit 17 to read a code such as a bar code attached to the shelf or storage container at the place where the articles are arranged (step S21). As described above, the code includes information indicating the placement location of the article, and the confirmation unit 18 determines whether or not the read location is located on the route based on this information and the route information. (Step S22). When it is determined that it is within the route, the inventory information update unit 19 updates the number of inventory items in the DB holding the inventory information (step S24). On the other hand, if it is determined that the vehicle is not on the route, it notifies that it is off the route and performs processing such as guidance to return to the route (step S23). . Next, the inventory management device 1 determines whether or not there is an unstocked article (step S25). If the judgment result (Y) is that there is no unstocked article, the process is terminated. , and the reading unit 17 reads the code at the location (step S21).

[Hardware configuration]
Next, the hardware configuration of various devices that constitute the inventory management device according to the first embodiment will be described. FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the inventory management device 1 according to the first embodiment.

The inventory management device 1 can be configured by an information processing device (computer), and has a configuration illustrated in FIG. For example, the inventory management apparatus 1 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 101, a memory 102, an input/output interface 103, a communication means such as a NIC (Network Interface Card) 104, etc., which are interconnected by an internal bus 105. FIG.

However, the configuration shown in FIG. 6 is not intended to limit the hardware configuration of the inventory management device 1. FIG. The inventory management device 1 may include hardware (not shown), and may not have the input/output interface 103 if necessary. Also, the number of CPUs and the like included in the inventory management device 1 is not limited to the example shown in FIG.

The memory 102 is a RAM (Random Access Memory), a ROM (Read Only Memory), an auxiliary storage device (such as a hard disk).

The input/output interface 103 is a means that serves as an interface for a display device and an input device (not shown). The display device is, for example, a liquid crystal display. The input device is, for example, a device such as a keyboard or mouse that receives user operations.

The functions of the inventory management device 1 are processing modules such as an incoming goods information reception program, an inventory goods information acquisition program, a route information calculation program, a route information output program, a reading program, a confirmation program, and an inventory information update. It is realized by a program or the like. The processing module is implemented, for example, by the CPU 101 executing a program stored in the memory 102 . Also, the program can be downloaded via a network or updated using a storage medium storing the program. Furthermore, the processing module may be realized by a semiconductor chip. In other words, it is sufficient if there is means for executing the functions performed by the processing module by some kind of hardware and/or software.

[Hardware operation: processing from receiving goods in warehouse to calculating and outputting the route]
When the inventory management apparatus 1 starts processing, a received article information reception program is called from the memory 102 and is put into an execution state by the CPU 101 . The program temporarily stores the item ID included in the received item information in the memory 102 when receiving the item information. Next, the stock item information acquisition program is called from the memory 102 and executed by the CPU 101 . The program accesses the stock article information database using the stored article ID temporarily held in the memory 102 as a key, and acquires the record corresponding to the key. The retrieved record is combined with the incoming goods information and temporarily stored in memory 102 . Next, the route information calculation program is called from the memory 102 and executed by the CPU 101 . The program reads the combined data of the stored article information and the inventory article information temporarily held in the memory 102, accesses the map information database, and calculates the route information.

The program reads the number of stock items from the stock item information combined with the stock item information temporarily held in the memory 102 for calculation. If the number of items in stock is less than a predetermined value, the item is prioritized and placed first. If the number of items in inventory is greater than a predetermined value, the product of the number of items in inventory and the weight of each item in the inventory information is calculated, the weight of each item in inventory is calculated, and the item with the highest weight is prioritized. are placed first. The determined order is temporarily stored in memory 102 .

The program then calculates a route based on the determined order. Acquisition of information indicating the arrangement location of the goods temporarily stored in the memory 102 . Next, the map information database is accessed to acquire the map information of the placement location. On the acquired map information, the CPU 101 calculates the order of stop positions for arranging the stored articles according to the determined priority order. The calculated route is stored in memory 102 .

If a route is determined based on the arrangement order of articles to be arranged preferentially, the route may not always be a route for efficient arrangement. In that case, the configuration may be such that the route is optimized and the route to be arranged efficiently is recalculated. For example, if the value obtained by dividing the route length calculated based on the above priority by the number of arranged articles is greater than a predetermined value, recalculation may be performed. Also, for example, if there is a placement location for an item with a relatively low priority in the vicinity of the placement location for an item with a high placement priority, immediately after placing the priority item within a predetermined distance. A configuration in which a route for placement is calculated may be used.

The calculated route information is then output via the input/output interface 103 such as a display by the route information output program that has entered an execution state. Alternatively, the route information may be transmitted to smart glasses or the like connected to the inventory management device via the NIC 104 and output.

[Hardware operation: processing up to placement of articles based on route information]
When the route information is output, processing is performed to move to the item placement location according to the route and place the item. First, the reading program is called from the memory 102 and executed by the CPU 101 . When the item arrives at the location, the code attached to the location is read by the input/output interface 103 such as a bar code reader. The code includes information indicating the location of the item and the item ID. Next, the confirmation program is called from the memory 102 and executed by the CPU 101 . The program refers to the route information held in the memory 102, acquires the article ID of the unconfirmed article that is the first in order, and obtains the incoming article information and inventory article information stored in the memory 102. or accesses the inventory database to acquire information indicating the location of the item ID. Next, it is determined whether or not the read item ID and the information indicating the placement location match the acquired information. As a result, if they match, it is assumed that the article is arranged at the arrangement location along the correct route, and the number of stocked articles is updated based on the received quantity included in the received article information. The update process is executed by calling an inventory information update program from the memory 102, setting it to an execution state in the CPU 101, and accessing the inventory database by the program.

On the other hand, if it is determined that they do not match, the input/output interface 103 may output a notification that the article is being placed along an incorrect route.

The CPU 101 executes a timer program to measure the time from the output of the confirmation result by the confirmation program, and the elapsed time determination program determines whether a predetermined time has passed. In the case of the determination result of (2), the configuration may be such that the notification program executes notification that the predetermined time has passed through the input/output interface 103 .

[Explanation of effect]
The inventory management apparatus of the present embodiment can receive incoming article information, and calculate route information for arranging incoming articles according to priority based on the received article information, inventory article information, and map information. Based on this, it is possible to determine whether or not the arrangement of the articles has been executed according to the route information. Through these processes, it is possible to carry out efficient warehousing and arrangement work of articles.

[Second embodiment]
[System overview]
FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an outline of the inventory management system of the second embodiment. The inventory management system 10 of this embodiment includes a database device 2 , a reception terminal 3 , a management terminal 4 and a work terminal 5 . The database device 2 stores inventory information and map information. The receiving terminal 3 receives received article information of the received article. The management terminal 4 acquires the stored article information received by the reception terminal 3 and accesses the database device 2 to calculate route information. The work terminal 5 may be, for example, a wearable terminal worn by a worker who arranges articles. On the work terminal 5, the route information calculated by the management terminal 4 is displayed, and the QR code (registered trademark), etc.

[System configuration]
FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the inventory management system of the second embodiment. As shown in this figure, the inventory management system 10 of this embodiment comprises a database device 2 , a reception terminal 3 , a management terminal 4 and a work terminal 5 . The database device 2 has an inventory information storage unit 11 and a map information storage unit 12 . The reception terminal 3 has a warehoused article information reception unit 13 and a warehoused article information transmission unit 20 . The management terminal 4 has a received article information receiving section 21 , an inventory article information acquiring section 14 , a route information calculating section 15 and a route information transmitting section 22 . The work terminal 5 has a route information receiver 23 and a route information output unit 16 .

Note that the above configuration is an example, and other configurations may be used. For example, the database device 2 and the management terminal 4 may be configured as one device. Further, the work terminal 5 and the management terminal 4 may be configured as one device, and the reception terminal 3 and the work terminal 5 may be configured as one device.

The received article information transmission unit 20 transmits the received article information received by the reception terminal 3 to the management terminal 4 . The warehoused article information receiving unit 21 receives the warehoused article information from the reception terminal 3 in the management terminal 4 . The route information transmission unit 22 transmits the route information calculated in the management terminal 4 to the work terminal 5 . A route information receiving unit 23 receives route information from the management terminal 4 in the work terminal 5 .

Note that each component from the stock item information holding unit 11 to the route information output unit 16 is the same as in the above-described embodiment, so description thereof is omitted. Alternatively, the work terminal 5 may have a reading unit 17, a confirmation unit 18, and an inventory information updating unit 19. FIG. Further, the management terminal 4 or the work terminal 5 may be configured to have a clock section, an elapsed time determination section, and a notification section.

[Process flow]
FIG. 9 is a sequence diagram showing the processing flow of the inventory management system of the second embodiment. As shown in this figure, first, the receiving terminal receives information on goods in stock (step S31). The received article information is transmitted to the management terminal. At the management terminal, a process of acquiring inventory information is performed (step S32). When the management terminal transmits the stored article ID to the database device, a record having an article ID corresponding to the stored article ID is received as inventory article information. The management terminal combines the received article information and the inventory article information and holds them. Next, the map information is requested from the management terminal that calculates the route information to the database device. The map information is transmitted from the database device to the management terminal (step S33). Route information is calculated based on the stored inventory information and map information. The calculated route information is transmitted to the work terminal and output (step S34).

[Hardware configuration]
The hardware configuration of the inventory management system of the second embodiment is the same as the configuration in FIG. 6 in both terminals and devices, so illustration and description are omitted. The database device 2 has an inventory article information database and a map information database, and the reception terminal 3 has an incoming article information reception program and an incoming article information transmission program for transmitting incoming article information to the management terminal 4 . The management terminal 4 has an incoming article information reception program for receiving incoming article information from the reception terminal 3, an inventory article information acquisition program, a route information calculation program, and a route information transmission program for transmitting route information to the work terminal 5. . The work terminal 5 has a route information receiving program for receiving route information from the management terminal 4 and a route information output program. As for hardware operations, programs for transmitting and receiving received article information and route information are added (a received article information transmission program, a received article information reception program, a route information transmission program, and a route information reception program). Other program operations are the same as above.

Some or all of the above embodiments may also be described as follows, but are not limited to the following.
[Mode 1]
This is the same as the inventory management device according to the first aspect described above.
[Mode 2]
In the route information calculation unit, the received item information reception unit receives a plurality of types of received item IDs, and the inventory item information acquisition unit receives a plurality of types of inventory item information according to the plurality of types of received item IDs. , and if it is determined that the inventory quantity of one type of inventory item among the multiple types of inventory items is less than a predetermined value, that type of inventory item will be prioritized over other inventory items. An inventory management device, preferably according to aspect 1, for calculating a route to be placed by
[Form 3]
In the route information calculation unit, the received item ID reception unit receives a plurality of types of received item IDs, and the item information acquisition unit obtains a plurality of types of inventory item information according to the plurality of types of received item IDs. In the case of acquisition, the total weight of each type of goods is calculated by multiplying the weight of each item by the weight of each of the multiple types of goods in stock, and the goods in stock are prioritized in order of the type with the largest total weight. Preferably, the inventory management device according to form 1 or form 2, which calculates a path for arranging the .
[Mode 4]
After calculating the route to be preferentially arranged, the route information calculation unit judges whether or not there is an incoming article to be arranged at a position within a predetermined distance from the route, and if it is judged that there is Preferably, the inventory management device according to any one of modes 1 to 3, wherein a route for arranging the stored goods determined to exist is also calculated.
[Mode 5]
a reading unit that reads a code that specifies the location of the stored article, and a confirmation unit that checks whether or not the article is moving according to the route information using the read code and the route information; and an inventory item information updating unit that updates the inventory item information based on the stored item information when it is confirmed that the vehicle is moving according to the route information. 1. Inventory management device according to 1.
[Mode 6]
a timing unit for measuring the time taken to move along the route; an elapsed time determination unit for determining whether or not a confirmation result indicating that the vehicle is moving along the route has been obtained from the confirmation unit within a predetermined time; Preferably, the inventory management device according to form 5, further comprising a notification unit that notifies when it is determined that more than the time has passed.
[Mode 7]
7. Preferably, the inventory management device according to any one of modes 1 to 6, wherein the incoming article information reception unit accepts incoming article IDs and incoming quantity by recognizing appearances of incoming articles.
[Mode 8]
It is as described in the inventory management system related to the second viewpoint above.
[Mode 9]
It is as described above for the third aspect.
[Mode 10]
It is as described in the program related to the fourth viewpoint above.
Forms 8 to 10 can be developed into forms 2 to 7 in the same manner as form 1. FIG.

The respective disclosures of the cited patent documents and the like are incorporated herein by reference. Within the framework of the full disclosure of the present invention (including the scope of claims), modifications and adjustments of the embodiments and examples are possible based on the basic technical concept thereof. Also, various combinations or selections of various disclosure elements (including each element of each claim, each element of each embodiment or example, each element of each drawing, etc.) within the framework of the full disclosure of the present invention is possible. That is, the present invention naturally includes various variations and modifications that can be made by those skilled in the art according to the entire disclosure including claims and technical ideas. In particular, any numerical range recited herein should be construed as specifically recited for any numerical value or subrange within that range, even if not otherwise stated.

1 inventory management device 2 database device 3 reception terminal 4 management terminal 5 work terminal 10 inventory management system 11 inventory information storage unit 12 map information storage unit 13 received product information reception unit 14 inventory information acquisition unit 15 route information calculation unit 16 route Information output unit 17 Reading unit 18 Confirmation unit 19 Inventory item information update unit 20 Receiving item information transmitting unit 21 Receiving item information receiving unit 22 Route information transmitting unit 23 Route information receiving unit 101 CPU
102 memory 103 input/output interface 104 NIC
105 internal bus

Claims (9)

An inventory that holds inventory information including at least an item ID for identifying an item, an inventory quantity of the item associated with the item ID, the weight of each item, and information indicating the location of the item. an article information holding unit;
a map information holding unit that holds map information for specifying a route to an item placement location;
an incoming article information reception unit that receives incoming article information including at least an incoming article ID of an article to be entered and an incoming article quantity;
an inventory item information acquisition unit that acquires the inventory item information according to the received inventory item information;
a route information calculation unit that calculates route information indicating a route to an arrangement location of an article to be stored based on the obtained inventory article information and the map information;
a route information output unit that outputs the calculated route information;
has
In the route information calculation unit, the received item information reception unit receives a plurality of types of received item IDs, and the inventory item information acquisition unit receives a plurality of types of inventory item information according to the plurality of types of received item IDs. , and if it is determined that the inventory quantity of one type of inventory item among the multiple types of inventory items is less than a predetermined value, that type of inventory item will be prioritized over other inventory items. to calculate the route to be placed by
Inventory control device. In the route information calculation unit, the received item information reception unit receives a plurality of types of received item IDs, and the inventory item information acquisition unit receives a plurality of types of inventory item information according to the plurality of types of received item IDs. is obtained, the total weight of each type of goods is calculated by multiplying the weight of each item by the weight of each of the multiple types of goods, and the type with the largest total weight is prioritized for warehousing. Calculating a path for arranging an item,
The inventory management device according to claim 1. After calculating the route to be preferentially arranged, the route information calculation unit judges whether or not there is an incoming article to be arranged at a position within a predetermined distance from the route. , calculates a route for arranging the stored goods that are determined to exist,
The inventory management device according to claim 1 or 2 . a reading unit that reads a code that specifies the location of the stored goods;
a confirmation unit for confirming whether or not the user is moving according to the route information using the read code and the route information;
an inventory item information updating unit that updates inventory item information based on the stored item information when it is confirmed that the item is moving according to the route information;
4. The inventory management device according to any one of claims 1 to 3 , further comprising: a timing unit that measures the time it takes to move on the route;
an elapsed time determination unit that determines whether or not a result of confirmation that the vehicle is moving along the route from the confirmation unit has been obtained within a predetermined time;
a notification unit that notifies when it is determined that a predetermined time or more has elapsed;
5. The inventory management device of claim 4 , further comprising: 6. The inventory management device according to any one of claims 1 to 5 , wherein the received article information receiving unit receives the received article ID by recognizing the appearance of the received article. An inventory that holds inventory information including at least an item ID for identifying an item, an inventory quantity of the item associated with the item ID, the weight of each item, and information indicating the location of the item. an article information holding unit;
a map information holding unit that holds map information for specifying a route to an item placement location;
a database device having
an incoming article information reception unit that receives incoming article information including at least an incoming article ID of an article to be entered and an incoming article quantity;
a warehousing article information transmission unit that transmits received warehousing article information;
a reception terminal having
a warehoused article information receiving unit for receiving warehoused article information;
an inventory item information acquisition unit that acquires the inventory item information according to the received inventory item information;
a route information calculation unit that calculates route information indicating a route to an arrangement location of an article to be stored based on the obtained inventory article information and the map information;
a route information transmission unit that transmits the calculated route information;
has
In the route information calculation unit, the received item information reception unit receives a plurality of types of received item IDs, and the inventory item information acquisition unit receives a plurality of types of inventory item information according to the plurality of types of received item IDs. , and if it is determined that the inventory quantity of one type of inventory item among the multiple types of inventory items is less than a predetermined value, that type of inventory item will be prioritized over other inventory items. to calculate the route to be placed by
a management terminal;
a routing information receiving unit that receives routing information;
a route information output unit that outputs the calculated route information;
a work terminal having
inventory management system. an incoming article information receiving step of accepting incoming article information including at least an incoming article ID of an article to be entered and an incoming quantity;
An article ID for identifying an article, and information indicating the inventory quantity of the article, the weight of each article, and the location of the article, which are associated with the article ID, according to the received article information. an inventory item information acquisition step of acquiring inventory item information including at least
a route information calculation step of calculating route information indicating a route to an arrangement location of an article to be stored, based on the obtained inventory article information and map information for specifying a route to an arrangement location of the article;
a route information output step of outputting the calculated route information;
has
The route information calculating step receives a plurality of types of stored article IDs in the stored article information receiving step, and the inventory article information acquisition step receives a plurality of types of inventory article information according to the plurality of types of stored article IDs. , and if it is determined that the inventory quantity of one type of inventory item among the multiple types of inventory items is less than a predetermined value, that type of inventory item will be prioritized over other inventory items. to calculate the route to be placed by
Inventory management method. a process of receiving received goods information including at least the received goods ID of the goods to be received and the received quantity;
An article ID for identifying an article, and information indicating the inventory quantity of the article, the weight of each article, and the location of the article, which are associated with the article ID, according to the received article information. a process of obtaining inventory information including at least;
A process of calculating route information indicating a route to an arrangement location of an article to be stored based on the obtained inventory article information and map information for specifying a route to the arrangement location of the article;
a process of outputting the calculated route information;
and run
The process of calculating the route information includes the process of receiving a plurality of types of received article IDs in the process of receiving the received article information, and the process of acquiring the inventory article information according to the plurality of types of received article IDs. When inventory item information of a type is acquired, if it is determined that the inventory quantity of one type of item out of the multiple types of inventory items is less than a predetermined value, the item in inventory of that type is transferred to another The process of calculating the route to be placed with priority over the goods in stock is
An inventory management program for running on a computer.

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