JP7475009B2 - Logistics Warehouse - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a logistics warehouse.

At logistics centers and the like, a wide variety of items are stored in automated warehouses. There is a demand for an efficient method for retrieving items from the automated warehouse. A conventional logistics warehouse with such an automated warehouse is known, for example, as described in Patent Document 1. In this logistics warehouse, in response to the problem of how to select a conveyor to be used to retrieve items, the occupancy time of the conveyor is evaluated based on the capacity of the conveyor and the number of retrieving pallets, and a combination pattern of retrieving pallets that minimizes the time is calculated.

JP 2002-179222 A

In the above-mentioned logistics warehouse, although it is possible to select an appropriate conveyor based on the capacity of the conveyor and the number of pallets to be removed, it is not possible to calculate the appropriate operating sequence for operating the conveyor. As a result, it is not possible to improve the conveyor efficiency of the logistics warehouse, and there is a problem that when trying to calculate an operating sequence with good conveyor efficiency, the calculation processing time becomes long.

The present invention therefore aims to provide a logistics warehouse that can improve transport efficiency and reduce the time required to calculate the operation sequence of transport machines.

A logistics warehouse according to one aspect of the present invention is a logistics warehouse that includes an automated warehouse for storing items, a transport lane for transporting a plurality of items arranged in a predetermined order, a transport machine provided between the transport lane and the automated warehouse, and a control unit for controlling at least the transport machine, and the control unit includes a transport order information acquisition unit that acquires transport order information that associates storage information regarding the storage state of items in the automated warehouse with the transport order of the items in the transport lane, an operation order information storage unit that stores operation order information indicating the order in which the transport machine operates for the arrangement information of a specific number of items associated with the storage information, a division processing unit that divides the transport order information acquired by the transport order information acquisition unit, and an operation order determination unit that determines the operation order to be adopted by the transport machine in response to the transport order information based on the division result by the division processing unit and the operation order information stored in the operation order information storage unit.

In the logistics warehouse, the transport sequence information acquisition unit acquires transport sequence information that associates storage information regarding the storage state of the items in the automated warehouse with the transport sequence of the items in the transport lane. In response to this, the operation sequence determination unit determines the adopted operation sequence to be adopted by the transport machine in response to the acquired transport sequence information, so that the transport machine can be operated in an appropriate operation sequence according to the storage state of the items in the automated warehouse, thereby improving the transport efficiency of the items. Here, for example, if the operation sequence determination unit attempts to calculate the operation sequence directly in response to the transport sequence information, the calculation of the operation sequence becomes complicated when the number of items to be transported to the transport lane increases. In response to this, in the logistics warehouse according to the present invention, the division processing unit divides the transport sequence information, and the operation sequence determination unit determines the adopted operation sequence based on the division result by the division processing unit. In this case, the operation sequence determination unit can calculate the operation sequence in a state in which the number of items is suppressed by the division, and by combining these operation sequences, it becomes possible to determine the operation sequence as the entire transport sequence information. Furthermore, the operation sequence information storage unit stores operation sequence information indicating in what order the transport machine operates with respect to the arrangement information of the items of the specific number of items associated with the storage information. Therefore, the operation order determination unit can quickly obtain an appropriate operation order for the divided transport order information by comparing the division result by the division processing unit with the operation order information stored in the operation order information storage unit. Therefore, the operation order determination unit can quickly determine the operation order for the entire transport order information. As a result, it is possible to improve the transport efficiency and shorten the calculation processing time for the transport machine's operation order.

The division processing unit divides the transport order information into at least a first item list and a second item list in the transport order, and the operation order determination unit acquires a first operation order corresponding to the first item list and a second operation order corresponding to the second item list based on the operation order information stored in the operation order information storage unit, and determines the adopted operation order by combining the first operation order and the second operation order, and the division processing unit divides the transport order information so that one or more last items at the end of the first item list and one or more first items at the beginning of the second item list are the same, and the operation order determination unit may combine the first operation order and the second operation order by superimposing a first operation step pattern corresponding to the last item in the first operation order and a second operation step pattern corresponding to the first item in the second operation order. In this case, the operation order determination unit can combine the operation orders by reusing an operation step pattern with good transport efficiency stored in advance in the operation order information storage unit at the combining portion of the first operation order and the second operation order.

The operation order determination unit may determine whether the first operation step pattern and the second operation step pattern can be superimposed, and if it determines that the patterns cannot be superimposed, may insert a standby step for putting the conveyor into a standby state in at least one of the first operation step pattern and the second operation step pattern. In this case, the operation order determination unit can superimpose the two operation step patterns by a simple process of simply inserting a standby step in one of the operation step patterns.

The division processing unit divides the transport order information into at least a first item list and a second item list in the transport order, and the operation order determination unit acquires a first operation order corresponding to the first item list and a second operation order corresponding to the second item list based on the operation order information stored in the operation order information storage unit, and determines the adopted operation order by combining the first operation order and the second operation order, and the division processing unit divides the transport order information so that the first item list and the second item list have a predetermined specific number of items, and the operation order determination unit may combine the first operation order and the second operation order so that the first item of the second item list is transported by the transport machine after the last item of the first item list. In this case, the operation order determination unit can combine the operation orders of both items regardless of whether the last item of the first item list and the first item of the second item list are the same or not.

The present invention provides a logistics warehouse that can improve transport efficiency and reduce the time required to calculate the operation sequence of transport machines.

1 is a schematic side view showing a logistics warehouse according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of a logistics warehouse according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a model of a transport system. FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a logistics warehouse according to the present embodiment. FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram conceptually showing the processing of a control unit. FIG. 2 is a model diagram for explaining the processing contents of a control unit. FIG. 2 is a model diagram for explaining the processing content of a control unit. FIG. 2 is a model diagram for explaining the processing contents of a control unit. FIG. 2 is a model diagram for explaining the processing contents of a control unit. 13 is a flowchart showing the processing contents of a control unit. 13 is a flowchart showing the processing contents of a control unit. 2 is a conceptual diagram conceptually showing the processing of a control unit 10. FIG. FIG. 2 is a model diagram for explaining the processing contents of a control unit. FIG. 2 is a model diagram for explaining the processing contents of a control unit. FIG. 2 is a model diagram for explaining the processing contents of a control unit. FIG. 2 is a model diagram for explaining the processing contents of a control unit. FIG. 2 is a model diagram for explaining the processing contents of a control unit.

The following describes an embodiment of the present invention in detail with reference to the drawings.

1 is a schematic side view showing a logistics warehouse 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the logistics warehouse 1 is a system that can receive and store a plurality of items 150 and can retrieve items to be retrieved from among the stored items 150. The logistics warehouse 1 includes an automated warehouse 100, an entry elevator 104 (conveyor), an exit elevator 105 (conveyor), an entry lane 121 (transport lane), and an exit lane 21 (transport lane). The automated warehouse 100 is a warehouse that stores items 150. The automated warehouse 100 includes a warehouse main body 101, an entry transfer passage 102, and an exit transfer passage 103. The warehouse main body 101 has a plurality of shelves 110. The shelves 110 extend from one end of the warehouse main body 101 to the other end. In the shelves 110, a transfer device 111 transfers items from the entry path to the exit path. The incoming transfer passage 102 is provided at one end of the warehouse main body 101 and is a mechanism for receiving the goods 150 onto the shelves 110 of each level. The outgoing transfer passage 103 is provided at the other end of the warehouse main body 101 and is a mechanism for removing the goods 150 from the shelves 110 of each level. The incoming elevator 104 raises and lowers the goods 150 received from the incoming lane 121, and supplies the goods 150 to the incoming transfer passage 102 of the level corresponding to the desired shelf 110. The outgoing elevator 105 receives the goods 150 to be removed from the shelves 110 and the outgoing transfer passage 103, and raises and lowers the goods 150 to an outgoing port (not shown). The goods 150 removed from the outgoing elevator 105 are transported to the outgoing lane 21.

Figure 2 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a logistics warehouse 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the following explanation, the configuration of the outgoing side of the logistics warehouse 1 will be described as an example. As shown in Figure 2, the logistics warehouse 1 includes a conveying system 2 that conveys goods 150 and a control unit 10 that controls the conveying system 2. The conveying system 2 includes an outgoing lane 21, a conveying machine 22, and a conveyor 23 of the automated warehouse 100. Of these, the conveying machine 22 is a device that constitutes the outgoing elevator 105 described above. The outgoing lane 21 is a device that receives goods 150 from the conveying machine 22 and conveys them horizontally. The outgoing lane 21 is provided for a specified stage of the conveying machine 22. The conveyor 23 is a device that conveys goods 150 horizontally from the automated warehouse 100 to the conveying machine 22. The conveyor 23 is provided on each floor (here, the fifth floor) of the outgoing connecting passage 103.

The conveyor 22 is equipped with a horizontal movement means (e.g., a conveyor) and a vertical movement means, and is a device that moves the goods 150 vertically and horizontally. This allows the conveyor 22 to receive each goods 150 from each floor in the outgoing passageway 103 and transport them to the outgoing lane 21. In the figure, the number "n" is attached to goods 150 that are placed on the "nth floor" in the storage state in the automated warehouse 100. This is the same in the subsequent figures. In the following explanation, goods 150 on the nth floor may be referred to as "goods on the nth floor".

The conveyor 22 is an alternating lifting device, and has a conveyor shelf 22A on the outgoing lane 21 side and a conveyor shelf 22B on the conveyor 23 side. The conveyor shelves 22A and 22B each have a storage area CE with a number of steps equal to "the number of floors of the automated warehouse + one floor". And, it has consecutive conveyor boxes 22a with a number of steps (here, five steps) equal to "the number of floors of the automated warehouse". The consecutive conveyor boxes 22a move up and down at the same time. When the consecutive conveyor boxes 22a move downward, each conveyor box 22a is arranged in the storage area CE of the first to fifth steps from the bottom. When the consecutive conveyor boxes 22a move upward, each conveyor box 22a is arranged in the storage area CE of the second to sixth steps from the bottom. In the following explanation, when the number of steps is simply mentioned, it refers to the number of steps counted from the bottom, unless otherwise noted. In addition, the transport boxes 22a on the transport shelves 22A and 22B move up and down alternately. That is, when the transport box 22a on the transport shelves 22A moves upward, the transport box 22a on the transport shelves 22B moves downward, and when the transport box 22a on the transport shelves 22A moves downward, the transport box 22a on the transport shelves 22B moves upward. In addition, at the same level, the item 150 can be moved horizontally between the transport box 22a on the transport shelves 22A and the transport box 22a on the transport shelves 22B, allowing the item 150 to be handed over and received between them.

In this embodiment, an outgoing lane 21 is provided for the second storage area CE from the bottom, and five conveyors 23 are provided for the first through fifth storage areas CE from the bottom. Note that the locations marked "L" and "R" in the storage area CE in FIG. 2 are spaces provided for the lifting and lowering of the transport shelves 22A and 22B. However, the positional relationship between the storage area CE, outgoing lane 21, and conveyors 23 is not particularly limited, and may be set appropriately depending on the configuration of the logistics warehouse 1.

In the following explanation, the conveying system 2 may be modeled as shown in Figure 3. The area in which one item 150 can be placed is shown as a single rectangle. Each item 150 can move simultaneously in the horizontal direction unless there is an obstruction. As for vertical movement, while the conveying shelf of the conveying machine 22 is moving vertically, the item 150 inside the conveying machine 22 cannot move. While the conveying machine 22 is moving vertically, the outgoing lane 21 and conveyor 23 can move horizontally.

Next, the block configuration of the logistics warehouse 1 will be described with reference to FIG. 4. FIG. 4 is a block configuration diagram of the logistics warehouse 1 according to this embodiment. The control unit 10 is a unit that controls the conveying system 2. The control unit 10 controls the conveying machine 22 to receive the goods 150 from each floor of the automated warehouse 100 and to convey them to the outgoing lane 21. The control unit 10 is equipped with an ECU [Electronic Control Unit] that manages the logistics warehouse 1 in an integrated manner. The ECU is an electronic control unit having a CPU [Central Processing Unit], a ROM [Read Only Memory], a RAM [Random Access Memory], a CAN [Controller Area Network], a communication circuit, and the like. In the ECU, for example, a program stored in the ROM is loaded into the RAM, and the program loaded into the RAM is executed by the CPU to realize various functions. The control unit 10 is equipped with a conveying order information acquisition unit 11, a division processing unit 12, an operation order determination unit 13, an operation control unit 14, and an operation order information storage unit 15. In the following explanation, reference will be made as appropriate to FIG. 5, which is a conceptual diagram conceptually illustrating the processing of the control unit 10 according to this embodiment.

The transport sequence information acquisition unit 11 is a unit that acquires transport sequence information that associates storage information regarding the storage state of the item 150 in the automated warehouse 100 with the transport sequence of the item 150 in the outgoing lane 21. In this embodiment, the storage information regarding the storage state is information indicating which floor each item 150 was stored on in the automated warehouse 100. The transport sequence of the item 150 in the outgoing lane 21 is the order in which the item 150 is delivered from the conveyor 22 to the outgoing lane 21. In the example shown in FIG. 5, the transport sequence information acquisition unit 11 acquires an outgoing item list input from a higher-level system or the like as the transport sequence information acquisition unit 11. In FIG. 5, an outgoing item list indicating that the first to Nth items in the outgoing order are to be outgoing in the order of "items on the third floor, items on the second floor, items on the second floor, items on the fourth floor, items on the fifth floor, ... items on the fourth floor" is input as the transport sequence information.

The operation sequence information storage unit 15 stores operation sequence information indicating the order in which the conveying system 2 including the conveyor 22 operates for the arrangement information of the specific number of items 150 associated with the storage information. The arrangement information is information indicating how the items 150 relating to each floor are combined for the specific number of items. In FIG. 5, arrangement information A and arrangement information B are shown as examples of arrangement information when "specific number of items = 3". Arrangement information A indicates the combination of "items on the 3rd floor, items on the 2nd floor, items on the 2nd floor" in the order of leaving the warehouse. Arrangement information B indicates the combination of "items on the 2nd floor, items on the 4th floor, items on the 5th floor" in the order of leaving the warehouse.

The operation sequence information is information that indicates the operation step pattern of the conveying system 2 that is executed in a certain arrangement information from the state (initial state) immediately before each item 150 is transported from the automated warehouse 100 to the conveying machine 22 to the state (unloading completed state) in which unloading to the outgoing lane 21 is completed. The operation step pattern is composed of a combination of multiple operation steps.

The initial state corresponding to the arrangement information A is as shown in the model diagram of "initial state" in FIG. 5. That is, at the exit of the automated warehouse 100 (the position immediately before the goods 150 are delivered to the conveyor 22), two goods 150 are lined up on the second floor and one goods 150 is placed on the third floor. From this initial state, as shown in FIG. 6, the conveyor system 2 including the conveyor 22 performs "operation step 1" to "operation step 6". As a result, as shown in "operation step 6", the delivery of the three goods 150 to the delivery lane 21 is completed in the order of "goods on the third floor, goods on the second floor, goods on the second floor". In this way, the combination of multiple operation steps from the initial state to the completion of delivery is called the "operation sequence".

Here, the operation sequence for changing the item 150 of the arrangement information A from the initial state to the warehousing completion state is not limited to the one shown in FIG. 6, and there are multiple other operation sequences. The number of operation steps is six in FIG. 6, but there are multiple operation sequences with the same number of operation steps. That is, there are multiple operation sequences with more than six steps, and there are multiple different operation sequences with the same six steps. The operation sequence information corresponding to the arrangement information A stored in the operation sequence information storage unit 15 includes multiple operation sequences that exist for the arrangement information A. In FIG. 5, "operation sequence a1, operation sequence a2..." are stored for the arrangement information A. Here, the operation sequence information storage unit 15 does not need to store all operation sequences that exist for the arrangement information A, and may store only operation sequences that satisfy a predetermined evaluation criterion. For example, the operation sequence information storage unit 15 may store only operation sequences with the minimum number of operation steps, or operation sequences with the number of operation steps equal to or less than a predetermined number. As shown in FIG. 5, the operation sequence information storage unit 15 stores multiple operation sequences, such as "operation sequence b1, operation sequence b2, ...," as operation sequence information corresponding to array information B.

In FIG. 5, only the array information A and the array information B are shown as examples of the array information, but the array information relating to other combinations is also stored, and multiple operation sequences corresponding to each array information are also stored. The operation sequence information stored in the operation sequence information storage unit 15 preferably corresponds to the array information relating to all combinations for a certain number of specific items. In addition, the operation sequence information stored in the operation sequence information storage unit 15 preferably corresponds to all specific numbers of items equal to or less than the upper limit. For example, if the upper limit of the number of specific items is set to "3", the operation sequence information storage unit 15 preferably stores operation sequence information corresponding to "number of specific items = 3", "number of specific items = 2", and "number of specific items = 1". The upper limit of the number of specific items is not particularly limited, but if the upper limit is large, the amount of information stored in the operation sequence information storage unit 15 will be large. Therefore, the upper limit may be set appropriately according to the performance of the device.

The division processing unit 12 is a unit that divides the transport sequence information acquired by the transport sequence information acquisition unit 11. In the example shown in FIG. 5, an outgoing item list is input as the transport sequence information, indicating that the first to Nth items in the outgoing order will be outgoing in the order of "items on the third floor, items on the second floor, items on the second floor, items on the fourth floor, items on the fifth floor, and so on, items on the fourth floor." The division processing unit 12 divides the outgoing item list of such transport sequence information into multiple item lists in the order of transport. The division processing unit 12 divides the outgoing item list of the transport sequence information into item lists with a specific number of items. In FIG. 5, with "specific number of items = 3," the division processing unit 12 divides into item list A, item list B, and so on, each containing three items 150.

The splitting processing unit 12 splits the transport sequence information so that the single last item at the end of the item list at the front of the outgoing order is the same as the single first item at the beginning of the item list at the back of the outgoing order. Specifically, the splitting processing unit 12 splits into item list A of "items on the third floor, items on the second floor, items on the second floor" and item list B of "items on the second floor, items on the fourth floor, items on the fifth floor." The last item at the end of item list A is "item on the second floor" and the first item of item list B is "item on the second floor," so they are the same. The last item of item list B is "item on the fifth floor," so the first item of the next item list will be "item on the fifth floor."

The operation sequence determination unit 13 is a unit that determines the operation sequence to be adopted by the conveyor 22 in response to the conveying sequence information, based on the division result by the division processing unit 12 and the operation sequence information stored in the operation sequence information storage unit 15. The adopted operation sequence is the operation sequence that is ultimately adopted as the operation of the actual conveying system 2 in order to perform retrieval according to the outgoing item list. The operation sequence determination unit 13 determines the adopted operation sequence by obtaining the operation sequence corresponding to the item list at the front of the outgoing order and the operation sequence corresponding to the item list at the back of the outgoing order, based on the operation sequence information stored in the operation sequence information storage unit 15, and combining both operation sequences.

In FIG. 5, the operation order determination unit 13 acquires an operation order a corresponding to item list A and an operation order b corresponding to item list B based on the operation order information stored in the operation order information storage unit 15, and determines an adopted operation order by combining operation order a and operation order b. The operation order determination unit 13 acquires, from the operation order storage unit 15, arrangement information A that is configured with the same combination as item list A after division. In addition, the operation order determination unit 13 acquires an operation order a corresponding to arrangement information A as the operation order for item list A. Similarly, the operation order determination unit 13 acquires an operation order b corresponding to arrangement information B as the operation order for item list B.

As described above, the operation sequence storage unit 15 contains a plurality of "operation sequences a1, operation sequences a2..." as operation sequences a corresponding to the array information A. Similarly, the operation sequence storage unit 15 contains a plurality of "operation sequences b1, operation sequences b2..." as operation sequences b corresponding to the array information B. Therefore, the operation sequence determination unit 13 selects one operation sequence ai from the plurality of operation sequences a. Also, the operation sequence determination unit 13 selects one operation sequence bj from the plurality of operation sequences b. Then, if the operation sequence ai and the operation sequence bj can be combined, the operation sequence determination unit 13 combines the operation sequence ai and the operation sequence bj. The operation sequence determination unit 13 determines the adopted operation sequence by repeating the selection and combination of the operation sequences in the same manner. Note that the operation sequence determination unit 13 selects and combines the operation sequences so that only one item 150 exists at a maximum at each position in the conveyor 22 (i.e., so that all the items 150 do not collide with each other after combination). In addition, the operation sequence determination unit 13 selects and combines the operation sequences so that there is no inconsistency in the state of the conveyor 22 in the operation sequence after combination.

Here, the transport sequence information is divided so that the last item at the end of the item list A and the single first item at the beginning of the item list B are the same. Therefore, the operation sequence determination unit 13 combines the operation sequence ai and the operation sequence bj by superimposing the operation step pattern corresponding to the last item in the operation sequence ai of the item list A and the operation step pattern corresponding to the first item in the operation sequence bj of the item list B. For example, in the example shown in FIG. 7, the item list A is "items on the 4th floor, items on the 2nd floor, items on the 4th floor", and the item list B is "items on the 4th floor, items on the 4th floor, items on the 2nd floor". The last item of the item list A and the first item of the item list B are the "items on the 4th floor". Therefore, the operation sequence determination unit 13 superimposes the operation step pattern corresponding to the last item 150A of the item list A and the operation step pattern corresponding to the first item 150B of the item list B. In the initial state of item list A, the second item 150 placed on the fourth floor of the automated warehouse 100 corresponds to the tail item 150A. In the initial state of item list B, the first item 150 placed on the fourth floor of the automated warehouse 100 corresponds to the lead item 150B.

The operation sequence determination unit 13 determines whether the operation step pattern of the last item 150A of the item list A and the operation step pattern of the first item 150B of the item list B can be superimposed, and if it is determined that the operation step pattern is possible, the operation sequence determination unit 13 superimposes the two items. To enable the superimposition, the operation step patterns of the last item 150A of the item list A and the first item 150B of the item list B from when they are stored in the conveyor 22 until they reach the outgoing lane 21 must match completely. Therefore, the operation sequence determination unit 13 extracts an operation step pattern corresponding to the last item 150A being stored in the conveyor 22 until it reaches the outgoing lane 21 from the operation sequence ai of the item list A. In addition, the operation sequence determination unit 13 extracts an operation step pattern corresponding to the first item 150B being stored in the conveyor 22 until it reaches the outgoing lane 21 from the operation sequence bj of the item list B. Then, the operation sequence determination unit 13 determines whether the extracted operation step patterns match completely.

Here, FIG. 8 shows the operation step pattern of the last item 150A extracted from the operation sequence ai of item list A, and the operation step pattern of the first item 150B extracted from the operation sequence bj of item list B. The upper part of FIG. 8 shows operation steps 6 to 8 of the operation sequence ai of item list A. The lower part of FIG. 8 shows operation steps 1 to 4 of the operation sequence bj of item list B. Operation steps 6 and 7 of item list A match with operation steps 1 and 2 of item list B, but operation step 8 of item list A does not match with operation step 3 of item list B. Therefore, the operation sequence determination unit 13 determines that the operation step pattern of item list A and the operation step pattern of item list B cannot be superimposed.

At this time, the operation order determination unit 13 inserts a standby step in which the operation of the conveying system 2 including the conveyor 22 is put into a standby state into at least one of the operation step patterns of the item list A and the operation step pattern of the item list B. In the example shown in FIG. 8, the positions of the leading item 150B in operation steps 2 and 3 in the item list B are the same. That is, in operation step 3, the leading item 150B is in a standby state. Therefore, the operation order determination unit 13 considers whether or not it is possible to overlap the operation step pattern of the item list A and the operation step pattern of the item list B by inserting a standby step into the operation step pattern of the item list A that does not have a standby state. Specifically, the operation order determination unit 13 inserts a standby step as a new operation step between operation steps 7 and 8 as shown in FIG. 9. As a result, a standby step in which the last item 150A is put into a standby state is provided as the new operation step 8. In addition, the old operation step 8 is moved up as the new operation step 9. As a result, operation steps 6, 7, 8, and 9 of item list A match with operation steps 1, 2, 3, and 4 of item list B. Therefore, the operation sequence determination unit 13 determines that it is possible to overlap the operation step pattern of item list A with the operation step pattern of item list B. Note that in FIG. 9, new operation step 10 of item list A and operation step 5 of item list B (operation of moving items 150A and 150B down one level), new operation step 11 of item list A and operation step 6 of item list B (operation of moving items 150A and 150B to the outgoing lane 21) are omitted.

In the examples of Figures 7 to 9, the operation sequence determination unit 13 will explain what operation sequence to determine and output in response to the input of transport sequence information of "Output order 1: item on the 4th floor, output order 2: item on the 2nd floor, output order 3: item on the 4th floor, output order 4: item on the 4th floor, output order 5: item on the 2nd floor." The operation sequence determination unit 13 adopts the operation step pattern of "first item: item on the 4th floor, second item: item on the 2nd floor" in the operation sequence ai of item list A as the operation step pattern of "Output order 1: item on the 4th floor, output order 2: item on the 2nd floor." The operation sequence determination unit 13 adopts the superimposed operation step pattern (see Figure 9) as the operation step pattern of "Output order 3: item on the 4th floor." The operation sequence determination unit 13 adopts the operation step pattern of "Second item: item on the fourth floor, last item: item on the second floor" in the operation sequence bj of item list B as the operation step pattern of "Outlet order 4: item on the fourth floor, Outlet order 5: item on the second floor". However, for the operation pattern of the last item of item list B, if it becomes necessary to insert a waiting step in order to overlap with the subsequent item list, the operation step pattern of the operation sequence bj of item list B with a waiting step inserted is adopted.

The operation control unit 14 is a unit that controls the conveying system 2 so that the conveying system 2 operates based on the adopted operation sequence determined by the operation sequence determination unit 13.

An example of the processing contents of the control unit 10 of the logistics warehouse 1 will be described with reference to FIG. 10 and FIG. 11. However, the processing contents shown in FIG. 10 and FIG. 11 are merely examples and can be changed as appropriate. As shown in FIG. 10, the transport sequence information acquisition unit 11 acquires transport sequence information (step S10). Next, the division processing unit 12 divides the transport sequence information acquired in step S10 (step S20). Next, the operation sequence determination unit 13 determines the adopted operation sequence to be adopted by the transport system 2 in accordance with the transport sequence information acquired in step S10 based on the division result in step S20 and the operation sequence information previously stored in the operation sequence information storage unit 15 (step S30). Next, the operation sequence determination unit 13 outputs the adopted operation sequence determined in step S30 to the operation control unit 14 (step S40). As a result, the operation control unit 14 controls the transport system 2 according to the adopted operation sequence determined in step S30.

Next, an example of the operation order determination process by the operation order determination unit 13 will be described with reference to FIG. 11. Note that in FIG. 11, in order to facilitate understanding of the process, the description will be given assuming that the transport order information is divided into item list A and item list B in step S20 of FIG. 10.

As shown in FIG. 11, the operation order determination unit 13 acquires an operation order ai corresponding to item list A and an operation order bj corresponding to item list B based on the operation order information stored in the operation order information storage unit 15 (step S110). As described above, the operation order information storage unit 15 stores multiple operation orders a1, a2, ... for the operation order a corresponding to item list A, and in step S110, the operation order determination unit 13 acquires any one operation order ai from the multiple operation orders a. The same applies to the operation order bj for item list B.

Next, the operation order determination unit 13 obtains the operation step pattern of the last item 150A from the operation order ai of the item list A obtained in step S110, and obtains the operation step pattern of the first item 150B from the operation order aj of the item list B (step S120). Then, the operation order determination unit 13 determines whether the operation step pattern of the last item 150A of the item list A obtained in step S120 and the operation step pattern of the first item of the item list B cannot be superimposed (step S130). If the operation step patterns of the two completely match, it is determined in step S130 that they can be superimposed, and the process proceeds to step S150 described below. If the operation step patterns of the two do not completely match, it is determined in step S130 that they cannot be superimposed, and the process proceeds to step S140.

The operation order determination unit 13 inserts a standby step that puts the operation of the conveying system 2 into a standby state into at least one of the operation step patterns of the last item 150A of the item list A and the first item 150B of the item list B, and determines whether the insertion enables the operation step patterns to be overlapped (step S140). For example, if there is an operation step in which only the last item 150A of the item list A moves (see FIG. 8), the operation order determination unit 13 inserts a standby step before the operation step (see FIG. 9) and determines whether the operation step patterns of the last item 150A and the first item 150B completely match. Alternatively, if there is an operation step in which only the first item 150B of the item list B moves, the operation order determination unit 13 inserts a standby step before the operation step and determines whether the operation step patterns of the last item 150A and the first item 150B completely match.

If it is determined in step S140 that overlapping is not possible, the operation step patterns of the last item 150A and the first item 150B cannot be completely matched even if a waiting step is inserted. In this case, it can be determined that the combination of the operation sequences ai and bj acquired in step S110 itself is not suitable for combination. Therefore, the operation sequence determination unit 13 acquires operation sequences ai and bj relating to another combination again in step S110. In this process, there is no particular limitation on what operation sequences ai and bj are acquired as a new combination. For example, the operation sequence determination unit 13 may acquire the next operation sequence ai in the list by setting "i = i + 1" from among the multiple stored operation sequences a, or may acquire the next operation sequence aj in the list by setting "j = j + 1" from among the multiple stored operation sequences b. Note that if overlapping is not possible no matter how the operation sequences ai and bj are combined, the number of specific items may be changed and the transport sequence information may be divided again. At this time, a division process as shown in FIG. 12 described later may be performed.

In addition, in steps S130 and S140, the operation order determination unit 13 also checks whether the conditions that no collision occurs for all items in item list A and item list B after superimposition and that the states of the conveying system 2 are consistent are met, and if the conditions are met, it determines that superimposition is possible. If it is determined in step S130 or step S140 that superimposition is possible, the operation order determination unit 13 combines the operation orders ai and bj.

Next, we will explain the operation and effects of the logistics warehouse 1 according to this embodiment.

In the logistics warehouse 1, the transport sequence information acquisition unit 11 acquires transport sequence information that associates storage information regarding the storage state of the item 150 in the automated warehouse 100 with the transport sequence of the item 150 in the outgoing lane 21 (transport lane). In response to this, the operation sequence determination unit 13 determines the adopted operation sequence to be adopted by the conveyor 22 in response to the acquired transport sequence information, so that the conveyor 22 can be operated in an appropriate operation sequence according to the storage state of the item 150 in the automated warehouse 100, thereby improving the transport efficiency of the item 150. Here, for example, if the operation sequence determination unit 13 attempts to directly calculate the operation sequence in response to the transport sequence information, when the number of items 150 to be transported to the outgoing lane 21 increases, the calculation of the operation sequence becomes complicated. In contrast, in the logistics warehouse 1 according to this embodiment, the division processing unit 12 divides the transport sequence information, and the operation sequence determination unit 13 determines the adopted operation sequence based on the division result by the division processing unit 12. In this case, the operation order determination unit 13 can calculate the operation order in a state where the number of items is reduced by dividing, and by combining these operation orders, it is possible to determine the operation order of the entire transport order information. Furthermore, the operation order information storage unit 15 stores operation order information indicating the order in which the conveyor operates with respect to the arrangement information of the specific number of items with which the storage information is associated. Therefore, the operation order determination unit 13 can quickly obtain an appropriate operation order for the divided transport order information by comparing the division result by the division processing unit 12 with the operation order information stored in the operation order information storage unit 15. Therefore, the operation order determination unit 13 can quickly determine the operation order of the entire transport order information. As a result, it is possible to improve the transport efficiency and shorten the calculation processing time of the operation order of the conveyor 22.

The division processing unit 12 divides the transport order information into at least a first item list and a second item list in the transport order, and the operation order determination unit 13 acquires a first operation order corresponding to the first item list and a second operation order corresponding to the second item list based on the operation order information stored in the operation order information storage unit 15, and determines the adopted operation order by combining the first operation order and the second operation order. The division processing unit 12 divides the transport order information so that one or more last items at the end of the first item list and one or more first items at the beginning of the second item list are the same. The operation order determination unit 13 may combine the first operation order and the second operation order by superimposing a first operation step pattern corresponding to the last item in the first operation order and a second operation step pattern corresponding to the first item in the second operation order. In this case, the operation sequence determination unit 13 can combine the operation sequences by reusing an operation step pattern with good transport efficiency that is stored in advance in the operation sequence information storage unit 15 at the combining portion of the first operation sequence and the second operation sequence.

The operation order determination unit 13 determines whether the first operation step pattern and the second operation step pattern can be superimposed, and if it determines that the patterns cannot be superimposed, it may insert a standby step that puts the operation of the conveyor 22 into a standby state into at least one of the first operation step pattern and the second operation step pattern. In this case, the operation order determination unit 13 can superimpose the two operation step patterns by a simple process of simply inserting a standby step into one of the operation step patterns.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments.

For example, in the above embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, the transport sequence information was divided so that the last item in item list A and the first item in item list B were the same. Alternatively, a control unit 10 as shown in FIG. 12 may be employed. In the example shown in FIG. 12, the division processing unit 12 divides the transport sequence information so that item list A and item list B have a predetermined number of specific items (in FIG. 12, "number of specific items = 2"). In addition, the operation sequence determination unit 13 combines the operation sequence ai of item list A and the operation sequence bj of item list B so that the first item in item list B (item on the first floor) is transported by the transport machine 22 after the last item in item list A (item on the second floor).

Here, in order for the operation sequence determination unit 13 to combine the operation sequence ai of the item list A and the operation sequence bj of the item list B, the following "conditions (i), (ii), and (iii)" must be satisfied. Condition (i) is a condition that "at most one item exists at each position in the conveyor 22." Condition (ii) is a condition that "the operation step at which the conveying operation (lifting operation) of the conveyor 22 occurs is the same in the operation sequence ai of the item list A and the operation sequence bj of the item list B." Condition (iii) is a condition that "in the operation step at which the lifting operation occurs in one of the operation sequences ai of the item list A and the operation sequence bj of the item list B, a waiting step cannot be inserted in the other operation sequence."

A specific example of the process shown in FIG. 12 will be described with reference to the model diagrams of FIG. 13 to FIG. 17. As shown in FIG. 13, in response to an input of transport sequence information of "Exit order 1: item on the 3rd floor, Exit order 2: item on the 4th floor, Exit order 3: item on the 2nd floor, Exit order 4: item on the 3rd floor, Exit order 5: item on the 4th floor, Exit order 6: item on the 5th floor", the division processing unit 12 divides the transport sequence information into item list A of "items on the 3rd floor, items on the 4th floor, items on the 2nd floor" and item list B of "items on the 3rd floor, items on the 4th floor, items on the 5th floor". An example of an operation step pattern of the operation sequence ai of item list A is shown in FIG. 14. An example of an operation step pattern of the operation sequence bj of item list B is shown in FIG. 15.

In order to combine the operation sequence ai of item list A and the operation sequence bj of item list B as described above, the operation sequence determination unit 13 performs the combination so as to satisfy the above-mentioned "conditions (i), (ii), and (iii)." For example, as shown in FIG. 16, when all items 150 in item list B are moved to the conveyor 22 after all items 150 in item list A have been moved to the outgoing lane 21, the operation sequence determination unit 13 can combine the operation sequence ai of item list A and the operation sequence bj of item list B, satisfying "conditions (i), (ii), and (iii)."

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 17, if the "2nd floor item" at the end of item list A is present on the conveyor 22 and all items 150 on item list B are moved to the conveyor 22 (the state on the left side of FIG. 17), when the three items 150 on item list B are lifted in the next operation step, the "2nd floor item" at the end of item list A will move to the 3rd floor and will not be able to be moved to the outgoing lane 21 (the state on the right side of FIG. 17). Since this state does not satisfy condition (ii), the operation sequence determination unit 13 cannot combine the operation sequence ai of item list A and the operation sequence bj of item list B in the manner as shown in FIG. 17.

In the process shown in FIG. 12, the division processing unit 12 divides the transport order information into at least a first item list and a second item list in the transport order, and the operation order determination unit 13 acquires a first operation order corresponding to the first item list and a second operation order corresponding to the second item list based on the operation order information stored in the operation order information storage unit 15, and determines the adopted operation order by combining the first operation order and the second operation order. The division processing unit 12 divides the transport order information so that the first item list and the second item list have a predetermined specific number of items, and the operation order determination unit 13 may combine the first operation order and the second operation order so that the first item of the second item list is transported by the conveyor 22 after the last item of the first item list. In this case, the operation order determination unit 13 can combine the operation orders of the first item list and the first item of the second item list regardless of whether they are the same or not.

The logistics warehouse 1 is not limited to the configuration shown in FIG. 1. The conveyor 22 does not have to be a type having a pair of storage shelves that move up and down alternately as shown in FIG. 2. For example, a rotary type conveyor (a conveyor in which the storage shelves move in a fixed direction one level at a time, and when the storage shelves do not move in a circular direction, items can be moved between the storage shelves) may be used. Also, a horizontal type conveyor may be used as the conveyor, rather than a vertical elevator type as shown in FIG. 2.

In the above embodiment, as shown in Figs. 5 and 7, the last item in item list A is a single item, the first item in item list A is a single item, and the two are overlapped. Alternatively, the last item and the first item may be multiple items. For example, the transport sequence information "Exit order 1: items on the third floor, Exit order 2: items on the fourth floor, Exit order 3: items on the second floor, Exit order 4: items on the third floor, Exit order 5: items on the fourth floor, Exit order 6: items on the fifth floor" may be divided into item list A of "items on the third floor, items on the fourth floor, items on the second floor, items on the third floor" and item list B of "items on the second floor, items on the third floor, items on the fourth floor, items on the fifth floor" with "number of specific items = 4". In this case, the "items on the second floor, items on the third floor" in item list A may be the last items, and the "items on the second floor, items on the third floor" in item list B may be the first items.

The logistics warehouse 1 may also perform both a division method involving overlapping as shown in FIG. 5 and a division method without overlapping as shown in FIG. 12. For example, the division processing unit 12 may switch to the division method of FIG. 12 when there is no combination of overlapping operation sequences ai and bj.

1...Logistics warehouse, 10...Control unit, 11...Transportation order information acquisition unit, 12...Split processing unit, 13...Operation order determination unit, 15...Operation order information storage unit, 21...Outgoing lane (transportation lane), 22...Transport machine, 100...Automated warehouse, 121...Storage lane (transportation lane).

Claims (4)

An automated warehouse for storing items;
A transport lane for transporting a plurality of the items arranged in a predetermined order;
A conveyor provided between the conveying lane and the automated warehouse;
A logistics warehouse including at least a control unit that controls the conveyor,
The control unit is
a transport sequence information acquisition unit that acquires transport sequence information that associates storage information regarding a storage state of the item in the automated warehouse with a transport sequence of the item in the transport lane;
an operation sequence information storage unit that stores operation sequence information indicating an order in which the conveyor operates with respect to the arrangement information of the specific number of items associated with the storage information;
a division processing unit that divides the transport order information acquired by the transport order information acquisition unit;
a processing unit that determines an operation sequence to be adopted by the conveying machine in accordance with the conveying order information based on the division result by the division processing unit and the operation sequence information stored in the operation sequence information storage unit, said processing unit being configured to determine an operation sequence to be adopted by the conveying machine in accordance with the conveying order information. The division processing unit divides the transport order information into at least a first item list and a second item list in a transport order;
the operation sequence determination unit acquires a first operation sequence corresponding to the first item list and a second operation sequence corresponding to the second item list based on the operation sequence information stored in the operation sequence information storage unit, and determines the adopted operation sequence by combining the first operation sequence and the second operation sequence;
the division processing unit divides the conveyance sequence information so that one or more last items at the end of the first item list and one or more first items at the beginning of the second item list are the same;
2. The logistics warehouse of claim 1, wherein the operation sequence determination unit combines the first operation sequence and the second operation sequence by superimposing a first operation step pattern corresponding to the last item in the first operation sequence and a second operation step pattern corresponding to the first item in the second operation sequence. The logistics warehouse according to claim 2, wherein the operation sequence determination unit determines whether the first operation step pattern and the second operation step pattern can be superimposed, and if it determines that the patterns cannot be superimposed, inserts a standby step for putting the conveyor into a standby state in at least one of the first operation step pattern and the second operation step pattern. The division processing unit divides the transport order information into at least a first item list and a second item list in a transport order;
the operation sequence determination unit obtains a first operation sequence corresponding to the first item list and a second operation sequence corresponding to the second item list based on the operation sequence information stored in the operation sequence information storage unit, and determines the adopted operation sequence by combining the first operation sequence and the second operation sequence;
The division processing unit divides the transport sequence information so that the first item list and the second item list each have a predetermined specific number of items;
The logistics warehouse of claim 1, wherein the operation order determination unit combines the first operation order and the second operation order so that the first item in the second item list is transported by the transport machine after the last item in the first item list.

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