JP7544404B2 - system - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a control system, a control device, a control method, and a program.

For example, in a store, when the number of products on display on the sales floor becomes low, the products must be transported from the warehouse to the sales floor in order to replenish the stock. Therefore, the store's employees visually check the number of products on the sales floor, then find the necessary products in the warehouse and transport them.

Patent Document 1 discloses a robot control method for efficiently replenishing products in a sales floor. Specifically, a replenishing table is installed near the entrances to the warehouse and sales floor, and an autonomous mobile robot retrieves products from multiple inventory shelves in the warehouse and places them on the replenishing table. A worker loads the products on the replenishing table into a cart and places the products in an appropriate position on the product shelves in the sales floor. It should be noted that the replenishing table itself may be a cart.

JP 2022-18307 A

The objective of this disclosure is to provide technology that optimizes the loading order in which multiple pallets are stacked on a cart when loading pallets containing goods onto the cart.

According to a first aspect of the present disclosure,
A control system for controlling an autonomous forklift that stacks a plurality of pallets loaded with products to be transported to a sales floor on a single cart in a backyard storing a plurality of pallets loaded with at least one product, the control system comprising:
a weight information acquiring means for acquiring weight information indicating a weight of an object loaded on each pallet;
a loading sequence information generating means for determining a loading sequence of the plurality of pallets onto the dolly based on the weight information and generating loading sequence information indicating the loading sequence;
an output means for outputting the loading sequence information to the autonomously controlled forklift;
Including,
A control system is provided.

According to a second aspect of the present disclosure,
A control system for controlling an autonomous forklift that stacks a plurality of pallets loaded with products to be transported to a sales floor on a single cart in a backyard storing a plurality of pallets loaded with at least one product, comprising:
a weight information acquiring means for acquiring weight information indicating a weight of an object loaded on each pallet;
a loading sequence information generating means for determining a loading sequence of the plurality of pallets onto the dolly based on the weight information and generating loading sequence information indicating the loading sequence;
an output means for outputting the loading sequence information to the autonomously controlled forklift;
Including,
A controller is provided.

According to a third aspect of the present disclosure,
A method for controlling an autonomous forklift that stacks a plurality of pallets loaded with products to be transported to a sales floor on a single cart in a backyard storing a plurality of pallets loaded with at least one product, the method comprising the steps of:
a weight information acquisition step of acquiring weight information indicating a weight of the load on each pallet to be loaded;
a loading sequence information generating step of determining a loading sequence of the plurality of pallets onto the dolly based on the weight information and generating loading sequence information indicating the loading sequence;
an output step of outputting the loading sequence information to the autonomously controlled forklift;
Including,
A control method is provided.

According to a fourth aspect of the present disclosure,
A program for controlling an autonomous forklift that stacks multiple pallets loaded with products to be transported to a sales floor on a single cart in a backyard where multiple pallets loaded with at least one product are stored, the program comprising:
On the computer,
a weight information acquisition step of acquiring weight information indicating a weight of the load on each pallet to be loaded;
a loading sequence information generating step of determining a loading sequence of the plurality of pallets onto the dolly based on the weight information and generating loading sequence information indicating the loading sequence;
an output step of outputting the loading sequence information to the autonomously controlled forklift;
Execute the
The program is provided.

According to the present disclosure, when loading pallets loaded with goods onto a cart, the loading order in which multiple pallets are stacked onto the cart can be optimized.

FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining an overview of the present disclosure. FIG. FIG. FIG. FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of a store management device. FIG. FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of the transport vehicle. FIG. 4 is a control flow of the store management device.

(Summary of the Disclosure)
First, the control system 100 will be described with reference to Fig. 1. The control system 100 controls an autonomously controlled forklift. The autonomously controlled forklift loads a plurality of pallets, each of which is loaded with products to be transported to a sales floor, on a single cart, stacking them one on top of the other. A plurality of pallets, each of which is loaded with at least one product, are stored in the back yard.

The control system 100 is equipped with a weight information acquisition means 101 that acquires weight information indicating the weight of the load on each pallet that is the loading target.

The control system 100 includes a loading order information generating means 102 that determines the loading order of the multiple pallets onto the trolley based on the weight information and generates loading order information indicating the loading order.

The control system 100 includes an output means 103 that outputs the loading sequence information to the autonomously controlled forklift.

With the above configuration, when loading pallets loaded with goods onto a trolley, the loading order in which multiple pallets are stacked onto the trolley can be optimized.

(Embodiment)
Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to FIGS.

Figure 2 shows the layout of a typical store 1, such as a supermarket. As shown in Figure 2, store 1 is equipped with a store management device 2, multiple POS systems 3, a transport vehicle 4, multiple wireless LAN access points 5, and multiple carts 6. Store 1 is divided into a back yard 10, which is made up of a payment area 7 where payments are made via the multiple POS systems 3, a product area 8 where products are displayed, and a store management room 9 where product inventory is stored and the store is managed.

Multiple product shelves 11 are arranged in the product area 8. Multiple storage shelves 12 are arranged in the back yard 10.

Multiple storage shelves 12 are arranged in the back yard 10. As shown in FIG. 3, each storage shelf 12 is provided with a storage shelf identification label 12a for identifying the storage shelf 12.

As shown in FIG. 4, each storage shelf 12 contains multiple types of products 13 individually loaded on flat pallets 14. At least one product 13 of only one type is always loaded on one flat pallet 14. The number of products 13 loaded on one flat pallet 14 varies depending on the type of product 13. For example, for product A, only one product A is loaded on one flat pallet 14. In contrast, for product E, three products E are loaded on one flat pallet 14. Furthermore, the weight of each product 13 is different. Therefore, if the products 13 loaded are different, the weights of the loads on the flat pallet 14 are also different from each other. In other words, the load on the flat pallet 14 corresponding to product A is one product A, and the weight of the load on the flat pallet 14 corresponding to product A matches the weight of one product A. In contrast, the load on the flat pallet 14 corresponding to product E is three products E, and the weight of the load on the flat pallet 14 corresponding to product E is three times the weight of one product E. The product shelf 11 is provided with multiple product identification labels 15. The flat pallet 14 is a specific example of a pallet.

Figure 5 shows a functional block diagram of the store management device 2. As shown in Figure 5, the store management device 2 is equipped with a CPU 2a (Central Processing Unit), a readable and writable RAM 2b (Random Access Memory), and a read-only ROM 2c (Read Only Memory). The store management device 2 also has a HDD 2d (Hard Disc Drive) as a storage device, and a communications interface 2e. The CPU 2a reads and executes a control program stored in the ROM 2c, causing the control program to cause hardware such as the CPU 2a to function as a pallet determination unit 20, a weight information acquisition unit 21, a loading order information generation unit 22, and an output unit 23.

The pallet determination unit 20 determines multiple flat pallets 14 that the transport vehicle 4 will stack on top of each other on one cart 6. Specifically, the pallet determination unit 20 determines the type and number of products 13 to be transported from the backyard 10 to the product area 8 based on the sales data received from the POS system 3. Then, based on the above determination results, the pallet determination unit 20 determines multiple flat pallets 14 that the transport vehicle 4 will stack on top of each other on one cart 6. For ease of explanation, the multiple flat pallets 14 that the transport vehicle 4 will stack on top of each other on one cart 6, as determined by the pallet determination unit 20 below, include a flat pallet 14 that carries one product A and a flat pallet 14 that carries three products E.

The weight information acquisition unit 21 acquires weight information indicating the weight of the load on the flat pallet 14 for each flat pallet 14 to be loaded. In this embodiment, the weight information is pre-stored in the HDD 2d. Therefore, the weight information acquisition unit 21 reads and acquires the weight information from the HDD 2d. FIG. 6 shows the weight information stored in the HDD 2d. As shown in FIG. 6, the weight information associates, for each product 13, the product name, the number of products 13 loaded on the flat pallet 14 corresponding to the product 13, and the total weight of at least one product 13 loaded on the flat pallet 14. For example, for product A, the number of products A loaded on one flat pallet 14 is one, and the weight of the load on the flat pallet 14 is equal to the weight of one product A, which is 209 kg. In addition, in terms of product E, the number of products E loaded onto one flat pallet 14 is three, and the weight of the load on the flat pallet 14 is equal to the total weight of the three products E, which is 390 kg.

The loading order information generating unit 22 determines the loading order of the flat pallets 14 onto the trolley 6 based on the weight information, and generates loading order information indicating the loading order. Specifically, the loading order information generating unit 22 determines the loading order such that, among the flat pallets 14 loaded together on one trolley 6, the flat pallets 14 with relatively heavy loads are loaded onto the trolley 6 first. In this embodiment, as described above, the flat pallets 14 loaded together on one trolley 6 by the transport vehicle 4 determined by the pallet determining unit 20 include a flat pallet 14 carrying one product A and a flat pallet 14 carrying three products E. According to FIG. 6, the weight of the load on the flat pallet 14 corresponding to product A is 209 kg, and the weight of the load on the flat pallet 14 corresponding to product E is 390 kg. Therefore, the loading sequence information generating unit 22 determines the loading sequence so that, of the multiple flat pallets 14 stacked one on top of the other on one cart 6, the flat pallet 14 corresponding to product E is loaded onto the cart 6 first, and then the flat pallet 14 corresponding to product A is loaded onto the cart 6.

The output unit 23 outputs the loading order information generated by the loading order information generation unit 22 to the transport vehicle 4. As a result, the transport vehicle 4 loads multiple flat pallets 14 one above the other on one cart 6 according to the loading order determined by the loading order information generation unit 22. As the transport vehicle 4 operates according to this loading order, the flat pallet 14 carrying product E is loaded onto the cart 6 first, and then the flat pallet 14 carrying product A is loaded onto the cart 6 so as to be stacked on top of product E.

Figure 7 shows a functional block diagram of the transport vehicle 4. The transport vehicle 4 is a specific example of an autonomously controlled forklift. As shown in Figure 7, the transport vehicle 4 is composed of a wireless communication unit 30, a drive unit 31, a lifter control unit 32, an image recognition unit 33, a sensor unit 34, a sensor information unit 35, a warning display unit 36, and a power supply unit 37.

The wireless communication unit 30 is composed of a wireless communication control unit 30a and a wireless module 30b. The wireless communication control unit 30a wirelessly connects to the store management device 2 via the wireless module 30b and the wireless LAN access point 5.

The drive unit 31 is composed of a motor control unit 31a and tires 31b. The motor control unit 31a controls the rotation of the tires 31b when the transport vehicle 4 moves.

The lifter control unit 32 is composed of a lift control unit 32a and a lifter 32b. The lift control unit 32a controls the lifting and lowering of the lifter 32b when a flat pallet 14 carrying products 13 is unloaded from the storage shelf 12. The lift control unit 32a also controls the lifting and lowering of the lifter 32b when a flat pallet 14 carrying products 13 is loaded onto a trolley 6.

The image recognition unit 33 is composed of an image acquisition unit 33a, an image determination unit 33b, and a camera 33c. The image acquisition unit 33a acquires image data from the camera 33c. The image determination unit 33b performs image analysis on the image data acquired by the image acquisition unit 33a.

The sensor unit 34 is composed of a three-dimensional sensor 34a and an object sensor 34b. The three-dimensional sensor 34a measures distance and elevation difference. The object sensor 34b measures the distance to objects in the vicinity of the transport vehicle 4.

The sensor information unit 35 is composed of a position recognition unit 35a, an impact recognition unit 35b, and an object recognition unit 35c. The position recognition unit 35a, the impact recognition unit 35b, and the object recognition unit 35c analyze the sensing results of the sensor unit 34, transmit processing information to the drive unit 31, the lifter control unit 32, and the warning display unit 36, and control the transport vehicle 4 itself. For example, if the transport vehicle 4 approaches a person or an object, they control the drive unit 31 and the lifter control unit 32 to make an emergency stop.

The warning display unit 36 is composed of a warning indicator light control unit 36a and a warning indicator light 36b. When the object recognition unit 35c recognizes that the transport vehicle 4 is approaching a person or object, the warning indicator light control unit 36a turns on the warning indicator light 36b to display a warning.

The power supply unit 37 is composed of a charging control unit 37a and a battery 37b. The charging control unit 37a controls the charging of the battery 37b.

Figure 8 shows three-sided views of the cart 6. As shown in Figure 8, the cart 6 is composed of a base 40, a fall prevention fence 41, a fall prevention opening/closing net 42, and multiple casters 43. The cart 6 has multiple casters 43, so that it can be moved by an operator from the back yard 10 to the product area 8. Flat pallets 14 carrying products 13 are loaded on the base 40 so that they are stacked one on top of the other. The fall prevention fence 41 and the fall prevention opening/closing net 42 prevent the products 13 from falling while the cart 6 is moving. The fall prevention opening/closing net 42 is flipped up when the transport vehicle 4 loads the flat pallet 14 onto the cart 6, and is lowered when the cart 6 moves from the back yard 10 to the product area 8. In this way, the fall prevention opening/closing net 42 prevents the products 13 from falling while the cart 6 is moving.

Next, the control flow of the store management device 2 will be explained with reference to Figure 9.

First, the store management device 2 receives sales data from multiple POS systems 3 (S100). Next, the store management device 2 determines whether or not it is necessary to replenish the products 13 in the product area 8 based on the sales data (S110). If the answer is NO in step S110, the store management device 2 returns the process to S100. If the answer is YES in step S110, the pallet determination unit 20 of the store management device 2 determines multiple flat pallets 14 corresponding to the multiple types of products 13 that need to be replenished (S120). Next, the weight information acquisition unit 21 acquires weight information indicating the weight of the load on each flat pallet 14 that is the loading target (S130). Next, the loading sequence information generation unit 22 determines the loading sequence of the multiple flat pallets 14 on the cart 6 based on the weight information, and generates loading sequence information indicating the loading sequence (S140). Then, the output unit 23 outputs the loading sequence information generated by the loading sequence information generation unit 22 to the transport vehicle 4 (S150). The loading order information is information that identifies the multiple products to be loaded and indicates the order in which the multiple products will be loaded.

Based on the loading order information, the transport vehicle 4 starts to move autonomously toward the flat pallet 14 (flat pallet 14 corresponding to product A) to be loaded onto the trolley 6 first. At this time, the camera 33c of the transport vehicle 4 captures an image of the storage shelf identification label 12a and outputs the image data to the image acquisition unit 33a. Based on the image data acquired by the image acquisition unit 33a, the image determination unit 33b moves autonomously toward the storage shelf 12 in which the flat pallet 14 corresponding to product A is stored.

The camera 33c of the transport vehicle 4 captures images of multiple product identification labels 15 attached to the storage shelf 12 and outputs the image data to the image acquisition unit 33a. The image determination unit 33b autonomously moves to the front of the flat pallet 14 corresponding to product A based on the image data acquired by the image acquisition unit 33a. Next, the lifter control unit 32 raises and lowers the lifter 32b to unload the flat pallet 14 corresponding to product A from the storage shelf 12.

The transport vehicle 4 then acquires peripheral image data from the camera 33c and moves autonomously toward the cart 6 based on the peripheral image data. Next, the lifter control unit 32 raises and lowers the lifter 32b to load the flat pallet 14 corresponding to product A onto the cart 6.

Then, based on the loading order information, the transport vehicle 4 starts to move autonomously toward the flat pallet 14 (flat pallet 14 corresponding to product E) to be loaded next onto the trolley 6. At this time, the camera 33c of the transport vehicle 4 captures an image of the storage shelf identification label 12a and outputs the image data to the image acquisition unit 33a. Based on the image data acquired by the image acquisition unit 33a, the image determination unit 33b moves autonomously toward the storage shelf 12 in which the flat pallet 14 corresponding to product E is stored.

The camera 33c of the transport vehicle 4 captures images of multiple product identification labels 15 attached to the storage shelf 12 and outputs the image data to the image acquisition unit 33a. The image determination unit 33b autonomously moves to the front of the flat pallet 14 corresponding to product E based on the image data acquired by the image acquisition unit 33a. Next, the lifter control unit 32 raises and lowers the lifter 32b to unload the flat pallet 14 corresponding to product E from the storage shelf 12.

The transport vehicle 4 then acquires peripheral image data from the camera 33c and moves autonomously toward the cart 6 based on the peripheral image data. Next, the lifter control unit 32 raises and lowers the lifter 32b to load the flat pallet 14 corresponding to product E onto the cart 6 so that it is stacked on top of product A.

Then, the worker transports the cart 6 from the backyard 10 to the product area 8 and places the products loaded on the cart 6 in the designated positions. Finally, the worker returns the cart 6 to the backyard 10.

In this way, the flat pallet 14 corresponding to product A is loaded onto the cart 6 first, and then the flat pallet 14 corresponding to product E is stacked on top of the cart 6, so the center of gravity of the load on the cart 6 can be lowered compared to when the loading order is reversed. As a result, when a worker transports the cart 6 from the back yard 10 to the product area 8, the cart 6 is less likely to tip over, so the cart 6 can be transported stably.

The above embodiment has the following features:

The store management device 2 controls the transport vehicle 4 (autonomously controlled forklift). In the backyard 10 where a plurality of flat pallets 14 (pallets) each having at least one product 13 loaded thereon are stored, the transport vehicle 4 stacks the flat pallets 14 loaded with the products 13 to be transported to the product area 8 (sales floor) on one cart 6. The store management device 2 includes a weight information acquisition unit 21 (weight information acquisition means) that acquires weight information indicating the weight of the load on each flat pallet 14 to be loaded for each flat pallet 14. The store management device 2 includes a loading order information generation unit 22 that determines the loading order of the flat pallets 14 on the cart 6 based on the weight information and generates loading order information indicating the loading order. The store management device 2 includes an output unit 23 that outputs the loading order information to the transport vehicle 4. With the above configuration, when loading flat pallets 14 loaded with products 13 onto a cart 6, the loading order in which multiple flat pallets 14 are stacked on the cart 6 can be optimized.

The loading sequence information generating unit 22 also determines the loading sequence so that the flat pallets 14 with the heavier loads are loaded onto the trolley 6 first. With the above configuration, the center of gravity of the load on the trolley 6 can be lowered. As a result, when a worker transports the trolley 6 from the backyard 10 to the product area 8, the trolley 6 is less likely to tip over, and the trolley 6 can be transported stably.

In the above example, the program can be stored and supplied to the computer using various types of non-transitory computer readable media. Non-transitory computer readable media include various types of tangible storage media. Examples of non-transitory computer readable media include magnetic recording media (e.g., flexible disks, magnetic tapes, hard disk drives) and magneto-optical recording media (e.g., magneto-optical disks). Examples of non-transitory computer readable media further include CD-ROM (Read Only Memory), CD-R, CD-R/W, and semiconductor memory (e.g., mask ROM. Examples of non-transitory computer readable media further include PROM (Programmable ROM), EPROM (Erasable PROM), flash ROM, and RAM (random access memory). The program may also be supplied to the computer by various types of transitory computer readable media. Examples of transitory computer readable media include electrical signals, optical signals, and electromagnetic waves. The temporary computer-readable medium can supply the program to the computer via a wired communication path, such as an electric wire or optical fiber, or via a wireless communication path.

LIST OF SYMBOLS 1 Store 2 Store management device 3 POS system 4 Transport vehicle 5 Wireless LAN access point 6 Cart 7 Payment area 8 Product area 9 Store management room 10 Backyard 11 Product shelf 12 Storage shelf 12a Storage shelf identification label 13 Product 14 Flat pallet 15 Product identification label 20 Pallet determination unit 21 Weight information acquisition unit 22 Loading order information generation unit 23 Output unit 30 Wireless communication unit 30a Wireless communication control unit 30b Wireless module 31 Drive unit 31a Motor control unit 31b Tire 32 Lifter control unit 32a Lifting control unit 32b Lifter 33 Image recognition unit 33a Image acquisition unit 33b Image determination unit 33c Camera 34 Sensor unit 34a Three-dimensional sensor 34b Object sensor 35 Sensor information unit 35a Position recognition unit 35b Impact recognition unit 35c Object recognition unit 36 Warning display unit 36a Warning indicator light control unit 36b Warning indicator light 37 Power supply unit 37a Charging control unit 37b Battery 40 Base 41 Fall prevention fence 42 Fall prevention opening and closing net 43 Caster A Product E Product

Claims (3)

A system including: a control device for controlling an autonomously controlled forklift that stacks on top of one another a plurality of pallets loaded with products to be transported to a sales floor on a single cart in a backyard for storing a plurality of pallets loaded with at least one product; and the cart;
The control device includes:
a weight information acquiring means for acquiring weight information indicating a weight of an object loaded on each pallet;
a loading sequence information generating means for determining a loading sequence of the plurality of pallets onto the dolly based on the weight information and generating loading sequence information indicating the loading sequence;
an output means for outputting the loading sequence information to the autonomously controlled forklift;
Including,
The cart is provided with a base on which the multiple pallets are loaded so as to be stacked one on top of the other, a fall prevention fence for preventing the products from falling off the base while the cart is moving, and a fall prevention opening/closing net for preventing the products from falling off the base while the cart is moving, the fall prevention net being lifted up when the autonomously controlled forklift loads the pallets onto the cart and being lowered when the cart moves from the back yard to the sales floor .
system . 2. The system of claim 1,
the loading sequence information generating means determines the loading sequence such that a pallet carrying a relatively heavy load among the plurality of pallets is loaded onto the dolly first.
system . 3. The system according to claim 1 or 2,
The pallet is a flat pallet.
system .

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