JP7501461B2 - Storage and retrieval control device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a storage and retrieval control device.

A conventional storage/retrieval control device is described in Patent Document 1. This storage/retrieval control device creates a route plan within the warehouse when multiple items stored within the warehouse are made available for retrieval through a picking operation.

JP 2019-75016 A

Here, when picking stored items and retrieving them, the storage/retrieval control device is required to increase the efficiency of storage, picking, and retrieval. At the same time, the storage/retrieval control device is required to improve the operating status of the equipment required for storage, picking, and retrieval, and reduce equipment costs.

Therefore, the present invention aims to provide an entry/exit control device that can reduce equipment costs while minimizing the impact on entry and exit.

The storage/retrieval control device according to one aspect of the present invention is a storage/retrieval control device that controls the storage and retrieval of goods in a logistics warehouse, and includes a sorting unit that rearranges containers that are brought in from an upstream inlet path and leads them to a downstream outlet path, an inlet port that can introduce storage containers containing goods in a stored state into the inlet path, an outlet port that can remove outgoing containers containing goods in an outgoing state from the outlet path, a picking unit that performs picking work to transfer the goods from the storage containers that have been led to the outlet path to the outgoing containers, and a control unit, and the control unit rearranges the storage containers in the sorting unit so that the items to be picked among the items stored in the storage containers are in an order based on the picking work in the picking unit, and circulates the outgoing containers after the picking work to the inlet path.

The control unit rearranges the incoming containers in the sorting unit so that the items to be picked among the items stored in the incoming containers are in an order based on the picking work in the picking unit. Therefore, the incoming containers are transported to the picking unit in an order suitable for picking, so that the picking work can be performed efficiently. In addition, the control unit circulates the outgoing containers after the picking work to the entrance path. The outgoing containers circulating in the entrance path are introduced to the sorting unit. Therefore, the control unit can rearrange the outgoing containers according to the outgoing order using the same sorting unit that rearranged the incoming containers. In this way, the same sorting unit can rearrange the incoming containers and the outgoing containers, so that the equipment costs can be reduced compared to the case where separate sorting units are provided for the incoming containers and the outgoing containers. In addition, the sorting unit can rearrange both the incoming containers and the outgoing containers, so that entering and leaving the warehouse can be performed without reducing the efficiency of the entering, picking, and leaving the warehouse. As described above, the equipment costs can be reduced while suppressing the impact on entering and leaving the warehouse.

The storage/retrieval control device may have multiple picking units, each of which may have a work path for workers that branches off from the route through which incoming containers pass. In this case, the upstream picking unit can transport the necessary incoming container to the work path, allowing the subsequent incoming container to be transported to the downstream picking unit. This can improve the efficiency of picking work at each picking unit.

The storage/retrieval control device may further include an empty container inlet for introducing empty outgoing containers into the picking section. For example, when an empty outgoing container is introduced from an inlet, etc., it becomes necessary to use a transport route for transporting other containers for transporting the empty container, which may reduce overall work efficiency. Therefore, by introducing an empty outgoing container through the empty container inlet, it is possible to avoid using the transport route for other containers for the empty container.

The storage/retrieval control device may further include a discharge port for discharging an empty incoming container when the incoming container becomes empty. For example, discharging an empty incoming container from a discharge port or the like may require the transport route for transporting other containers to be used for transporting the empty container, which may reduce overall work efficiency. Therefore, by discharging an empty incoming container from the discharge port, it is possible to avoid using the transport route for other containers for the empty container.

The present invention provides an entry/exit control device that can reduce equipment costs while minimizing the impact on entry and exit.

1 is a schematic diagram showing a warehouse entry/exit control device according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram for explaining the work content at a picking station. FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram for explaining the order of incoming containers to picking stations. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a warehouse entry/exit control device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an entry/exit control device 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The entry/exit control device 100 is a device that controls entry and exit of goods in a logistics warehouse. The entry/exit control device 100 enters an entry container C1, transfers the goods in the entry container C1 to an exit container C2 by picking, and exits the exit container C2. The entry/exit control device 100 can rearrange the order of transport of the entry container C1 so that the picking operation is easy to perform, and can rearrange the order of transport of the exit container C2 in the order of exit. As shown in FIG. 1, the entry/exit control device 100 includes a transport device 1, a sorting machine 2 (sorting section), a picking station 3 (picking section), an entry port 4, an exit port 6, an empty container inlet port 7, an outlet port 8, and a control unit 10.

The conveying device 1 has conveying paths 11, 12, 13, 14, and 16. These conveying paths 11, 12, 13, 14, and 16 are configured with conveying mechanisms such as belt conveyors capable of conveying containers.

The conveying route 11 is a route that connects the entrance 4 and the sorting machine 2. The conveying route 12 is a route that connects the sorting machine 2 and the discharge exit 8. The conveying route 13 is a route that branches off from the branch point BP1 of the conveying route 12 and merges with the conveying route 11 at the junction point JP1. The conveying route 14 is a route that branches off from the branch point BP2 of the conveying route 11 and is connected to the exit 6. The conveying route 16 is a route that connects the empty container inlet 7 and the conveying route 11 and merges with the conveying route 11 at the junction point JP2.

The sorting machine 2 is a device that rearranges containers introduced from the upstream inlet path 20 and leads them out to the downstream outlet path 21. When multiple incoming containers C1 are introduced, the sorting machine 2 rearranges them in a desired order and leads them out to the outlet path 21. When multiple outgoing containers C2 are introduced, the sorting machine 2 rearranges them in a desired order and leads them out to the outlet path 21. In this embodiment, the inlet path 20 is formed by the conveying path 11. In this embodiment, the outlet path 21 is formed by the conveying path 12, the conveying path 13, the conveying portion 11a between the junction point JP1 and the branch point BP2 of the conveying path 11, and the conveying path 14.

The receiving entrance 4 is a location where the receiving container C1, which contains goods stored in a receiving state, can be introduced into the entrance path 20. At the receiving entrance 4, the receiving container C1 accumulated in the logistics warehouse by truck or the like is supplied to the transport path 11. The receiving container C1, which contains goods stored in a receiving state, stores multiple goods of a specific type. For example, in the example shown in Figure 2, the receiving container C1 stores multiple goods A.

The outgoing exit 6 is a location where outgoing container C2, which contains goods in an outgoing state, can be removed from the lead-out path 21. At the outgoing exit 6, outgoing container C2 is stacked in an order according to the destination, and shipped from the logistics warehouse to the destination by truck or other means. Outgoing container C2, which contains goods in an outgoing state, stores goods of a type and quantity according to an order from the destination. For example, in the example shown in Figure 2, outgoing container C2 stores a specific quantity of goods A and a specific quantity of goods B.

The picking station 3 is a place where picking work is performed to transfer items from the incoming container C1 led out to the lead-out path 21 to the outgoing container C2. The picking station 3 is provided between the conveying portion 12a of the conveying path 12 and the conveying portion 16a of the conveying path 16. The conveying portions 12a and 16a are parallel to each other with a certain distance between them so that the working space 3a can be secured. The picking station 3 has work paths 3b and 3c for workers. The work path 3b branches off from the conveying portion 12a through which the incoming container C1 passes, extends to the working space 3a, turns back and rejoins the conveying portion 12a. Only the incoming container C1 containing items necessary for the picking work at the picking station 3 branches off to the work path 3b. The work path 3c branches off from the conveying portion 16a through which the outgoing container C2 passes, extends to the working space 3a, turns back and rejoins the conveying portion 16a. Only the outgoing container C2 that is being picked at the picking station 3 branches off to the work path 3c. In this embodiment, the inbound/outbound control device 100 has multiple picking stations 3. Each picking station 3 has a work space 3a and work paths 3b and 3c.

With reference to FIG. 2, the picking work by the worker W at the picking station 3 will be described in detail. As shown in FIG. 2, the work path 3c transports an empty outgoing container C2 to a position in front of the worker W. In the example of FIG. 2, the outgoing container C2 in front of the worker W contains the number of items B according to the order. The work path 3b transports the incoming container C1 containing the picking target (item A) to be picked to a position in front of the worker W. Next, the worker W looks at the number indication on the display unit 3d. The worker W picks the specified number of items A (here, four) from the incoming container C1 in front and places them in the outgoing container C2. When the work is completed, the worker W inputs a command to complete the work by pressing a push button or the like (not shown). As a result, the work path 3b returns the incoming container C1 that has been picked to the transport section 12a (see FIG. 1), and transports the incoming container C1 containing the next item to be picked to the front of the worker W. When the picking operation for the outgoing container C2 is completed and the container is in an outgoing state, the work path 3c returns the outgoing container C2 in the outgoing state to the transport section 16a (see FIG. 1), and transports the next empty outgoing container C2 to the front of the worker W. The worker W is not limited to a person and may be a picking robot.

Returning to FIG. 1, the empty container inlet 7 is the location where the empty outgoing container C2 is introduced to the picking station 3. Note that in FIG. 1, the empty outgoing container C2 is shown in white. The empty container inlet 7 supplies the empty outgoing container C2 to the transport path 16.

The discharge outlet 8 is a location where the empty incoming container C1 is discharged when the incoming container C1 becomes empty. The discharge outlet 8 discharges the empty incoming container C1 that has flowed from the picking station 3 along the transport path 12.

The control unit 10 is a device that controls the operation of the storage/retrieval control device 100. The control unit 10 is composed of a CPU, RAM, ROM, etc. The control unit 10 can be configured as one or more processors that operate according to a program, one or more dedicated hardware circuits such as ASICs, or a circuit that includes a combination of these. The processor has a CPU, and memories such as RAM and ROM. Various programs for processing information are stored in the memory, and the CPU reads out the various programs and performs calculations. The control unit 10 controls the conveying device 1 and the sorting machine 2.

The control unit 10 rearranges the incoming container C1 using the sorting machine 2 so that the items to be picked among those stored in the incoming container C1 are in an order based on the picking operation at the picking station 3. The control unit 10 also circulates the outgoing container C2 after the picking operation to the entrance path 20. As a result, the control unit 10 rearranges the outgoing container C2 circulated to the entrance path 20 using the sorting machine 2 so that the outgoing container C2 is in the order of outgoing shipment.

Next, the operation of the warehousing/receiving control device 100 will be described. The control unit 10 controls the conveying path 11 to convey the warehousing container C1 in a warehousing state received from the warehousing entrance 4 to the sorting machine 2 side (operation M1). The control unit 10 conveys the warehousing container C1 on the conveying path 11 without branching it to the conveying path 14 at the branching point BP2 (operation M2). In addition, a buffer unit 24 is provided at the branching point BP2 of the conveying path 11. The control unit 10 may stock the warehousing container C1 in the buffer unit 24 to adjust the timing of introducing the warehousing container C1 into the sorting machine 2. A reading unit 26 is provided in the portion of the conveying path 11 immediately before the sorting machine 2. The reading unit 26 reads the identification information attached to each container C1, C2 and transmits it to the control unit 10. For example, the identification information is indicated by a barcode, and the reading unit 26 may be configured by a barcode reader. Alternatively, the reading unit 26 may read the identification information by reading an IC tag or the like. The identification information may include information that identifies each of the containers C1 and C2. The identification information includes information about the items stored in the target input container C1.

The control unit 10 obtains the identification information of the multiple incoming containers C1 introduced into the sorter 2 by passing them through the reading unit 26 (operation M3), and calculates the order of the incoming containers C1 so that the order corresponds to the order requested by the picking station 3. The control unit 10 controls the sorter 2 to rearrange the incoming containers C1 so that the order is suitable for picking work at the picking station 3. The control unit 10 controls the conveying path 12 to convey the incoming containers C1 rearranged by the sorter 2 to each picking station 3 (operation M4). The control unit 10 also controls the conveying path 16 to convey the empty outgoing containers C2 supplied from the empty container inlet 7 to each picking station 3 (operation M5).

For example, FIG. 3(a) shows a state in which the incoming container C1 is transported to the picking station in the order in which it was received without being rearranged by the sorting machine 2. The first-stage picking station 3A requests the items in the order of "item C, item A", while the incoming container C1 containing item C is in the order after the incoming container C1 containing item A. In addition, there are multiple incoming containers C1 containing item B in the order before the incoming container C1 containing item C. Therefore, the first-stage picking station 3A needs to wait for multiple incoming containers C1 to pass before it can pick the first item C. The second-stage picking station 3B requests the items in the order of "item C, item D". Therefore, the second-stage picking station 3B also needs to wait for multiple incoming containers C1 to pass before it can pick the first item C. In response to this, the sorter 2 rearranges the incoming containers C1 so that the order is "item C, item A, item C, item D..." as shown in FIG. 3(b). As a result, as shown in FIG. 2(c), the target incoming containers C1 are quickly transported to the first-tier picking station 3A in the order of "item C, item A" according to the requested order. The target incoming containers C1 are quickly transported to the second-tier picking station 3B in the order of "item C, item D" according to the requested order.

Returning to FIG. 1, the control unit 10 controls the conveying path 12 to convey the emptied incoming container C1 to the discharge port 8 at the branch point BP1 (operation M6). The control unit 10 also controls the conveying path 12 and the conveying path 13 to convey the incoming container C1 with remaining goods to the conveying path 13 at the branch point BP1 and merge with the conveying path 11 at the junction point JP1 (operation M7). The incoming container C1 with remaining goods is sorted again by the sorter 2 together with the incoming container C1 in the incoming state and conveyed to the picking station 3. The control unit 10 controls the conveying path 16 to make the outgoing container C2, which has become outgoing at the picking station 3, merge with the conveying path 11 at the junction point JP2 (operation M8).

At the branch point BP2, the control unit 10 transports the outgoing container C2 on the transport path 11 without branching it to the transport path 14 (operation M2). The control unit 10 obtains the identification information of the multiple outgoing containers C2 introduced into the sorter 2 by passing them through the reading unit 26 (operation M3), and calculates the order of the outgoing containers C2 so that they are in the order of outgoing. The control unit 10 controls the sorter 2 to rearrange the outgoing containers C2 so that they are in the order of outgoing. The control unit 10 controls the transport path 12 to transport the outgoing container C2, the order of which has been rearranged by the sorter 2, to the transport section 12a (operations M4 and M9). The control unit 10 controls the transport path 12 and the transport path 13 to transport the outgoing container C2 to the transport path 13 at the branch point BP1 and to merge with the transport path 11 at the junction JP1 (operation M7).

The control unit 10 branches the outgoing container C2 onto the transport path 14 at the branch point BP2 and delivers it from the delivery port 6 (operation M10). Note that the control unit 10 may store the outgoing container C2 in the buffer unit 24 in order to adjust the delivery timing of the outgoing container C2.

Next, we will explain the operation and effects of the inventory control device 100 according to this embodiment.

The control unit 10 rearranges the incoming container C1 with the sorting machine 2 so that the items to be picked among the items stored in the incoming container C1 are in an order based on the picking work at the picking station 3. Therefore, the incoming container C1 is transported to the picking station 3 in an order suitable for picking, so that the picking work can be performed efficiently. In addition, the control unit 10 circulates the outgoing container C2 after the picking work to the introduction path 20. The outgoing container C2 circulating in the introduction path 20 is introduced to the sorting machine 2. Therefore, the control unit 10 can rearrange the outgoing container C2 according to the outgoing order using the same sorting machine 2 that rearranged the incoming container C1. In this way, the same sorting machine 2 can rearrange the incoming container C1 and the outgoing container C2, so that the equipment cost can be reduced compared to the case where separate sorting machines are provided for the incoming container C1 and the outgoing container C2. In addition, because the sorting machine 2 can rearrange both the incoming container C1 and the outgoing container C2, incoming and outgoing containers can be carried out without reducing the efficiency of incoming and outgoing containers, picking, and outgoing containers. As a result, equipment costs can be reduced while minimizing the impact on incoming and outgoing containers.

The warehousing/receiving control device 100 has multiple picking stations 3, and each picking station 3 may have a work path 3b for workers that branches off from the transport path 12 through which the warehousing container C1 passes. In this case, by transporting the necessary warehousing container C1 at the upstream picking station 3 to the work path 3b, the following warehousing container C1 can be transported to the downstream picking station 3. Therefore, the efficiency of the picking work at each picking station 3 can be improved.

The storage/retrieval control device 100 may further include an empty container inlet 7 for introducing an empty outgoing container C2 into the picking station 3. For example, if an empty outgoing container C2 is introduced from the storage inlet 4, etc., it may become necessary to use the transport route for transporting other containers for transporting the empty container, which may reduce overall work efficiency. Therefore, by introducing an empty outgoing container C2 through the empty container inlet 7, it is possible to avoid using the transport route for other containers for the empty container.

The storage/retrieval control device 100 may further include a discharge port 8 for discharging an empty incoming container C1 when the incoming container C1 becomes empty. For example, discharging an empty incoming container from a discharge port or the like may require the transport route for transporting other containers to be used for transporting the empty container, which may reduce overall work efficiency. Therefore, by discharging an empty incoming container from the discharge port, it is possible to avoid using the transport route for other containers for the empty container.

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

The configuration of the conveying device 1 is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment, and may be appropriately changed within the scope of the invention. For example, the storage/retrieval control device 200 shown in FIG. 4 may be adopted. The conveying device 201 of the storage/retrieval control device 200 is not provided with a conveying path 14 branching off from the conveying path 11. The conveying device 201 has a conveying path 114 extending from the conveying path 12 downstream of the sorting machine 2 to the outgoing opening 6. The conveying portion 12b and the conveying path 114 constitute the lead-out path 21 downstream of the sorting machine 2. Therefore, the outgoing container C2 sorted by the sorting machine 2 is conveyed to the outgoing opening 6 by the conveying portion 12b and the conveying path 114 (operation M11). The conveying portion 12a heading toward the picking station 3 branches off from the lead-out path 21 at the branch point BP3. The conveying portion 12a heading toward the picking station 3 conveys only the incoming container C1 and does not convey the outgoing container C2. In addition, a buffer unit 124 is provided at branch point BP3 to adjust the timing of transport to the exit 6.

The conveying device 201 also has a conveying path 115 that branches off from a branch point BP4 of the conveying path 114. The conveying path 115 merges with the conveying path 16 at a junction point JP3. An outgoing container C2 that is not in an outgoing state branches off to the conveying path 115 at the junction point BP4 (operation M12) and merges with the conveying path 16 at the junction point JP3. As a result, an outgoing container C2 that is not in an outgoing state receives the remaining items at the picking station 3.

In the above-described embodiment and modified example, the storage/retrieval control device has multiple picking stations 3, but it may have only one picking station 3. Also, the work paths 3b and 3c may be omitted.

In the above-described embodiment and modified example, the storage/retrieval control device has one sorting machine 2, but it may have multiple sorting machines 2 in parallel. In this case, both the storage container C1 and the retrieval container C2 are introduced to each sorting machine 2.

2...Sorting machine (sorting section), 3...Picking station (picking section), 3b...Work path, 4...Storage entrance, 6...Outlet entrance, 7...Empty container inlet, 8...Outlet, 10...Control section, 100, 200...Storage entrance/outlet control device.

Claims (4)

A storage/retrieval control device that controls storage and retrieval of goods in a logistics warehouse,
A sorting unit that sorts containers introduced from an upstream inlet path and outputs them to a downstream outlet path;
an entrance through which an input container in which goods are stored in a warehousing state can be introduced into the introduction path;
an outlet port through which an outgoing container in which the articles are stored in an outgoing state can be taken out from the outgoing path;
a picking unit that performs a picking operation of transferring the items from the incoming container led out to the outgoing container;
A control unit,
The control unit is
The sorting unit sorts the incoming container so that the items to be picked among the items stored in the incoming container are in an order based on the picking operation in the picking unit;
An inbound/outbound control device that circulates the outbound container to the lead-in path after the picking operation. The picking unit includes a plurality of picking units,
The warehousing/retrieval control device according to claim 1 , wherein each of the picking units has a work path for workers that branches off from a path through which the incoming containers pass. The storage/retrieval control device according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising an empty container inlet for introducing the empty outgoing container to the picking unit. The storage/retrieval control device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising a discharge port for discharging the empty incoming container when the incoming container becomes empty.

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