JP7680025B2 - Baggage Management System - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a luggage management system that manages luggage in a warehouse.

As a technology for managing luggage in warehouses, a method has been proposed in which the presence or absence of luggage in the warehouse and its location are managed by reading identification codes attached to luggage. Recently, a technology has also been proposed that reduces the burden of inspecting and inventorying luggage in warehouses by using an aerial vehicle (drone) that flies within the warehouse to obtain information on luggage stored on high racks in the warehouse.

For example, Patent Documents 1 and 2 propose a luggage management system that includes a drone equipped with a camera that takes images of luggage in a warehouse, and a mobile device that is connected to the drone by a cable and moves around the warehouse. The camera mounted on the drone can read barcodes attached to luggage and shelves to obtain information on the type and number of luggage.

JP 2017-218325 A JP 2019-167177 A

Here, in Patent Documents 1 and 2, when multiple packages are stacked in multiple rows, it may not be possible to read the barcodes on packages placed at the back of the shelves. Also, as in Patent Document 2, it is possible to write information on the type and number of packages on the barcodes on the packages or shelves, but if some of the packages are repeatedly brought in and taken out, it may not be possible to accurately determine the number of packages in stock.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and aims to provide a luggage management system that can accurately grasp the inventory quantity of luggage in a warehouse.

In order to solve the problems described above, the luggage management system of the present invention includes a luggage management device that manages luggage arranged on pallets in a warehouse, and an imaging unit that is mounted on at least one of a transport vehicle that moves within the warehouse or an aircraft that flies within the warehouse and acquires image information of the luggage in the warehouse, and is capable of acquiring identification codes assigned to the pallet and the luggage and size information of the identification codes by imaging the luggage arranged on the pallet, and the luggage management device estimates the arrangement position of the pallet as seen from the imaging unit and the arrangement position of the luggage on the pallet based on pre-registered size information of the pallet and the luggage and size information of the identification codes of the pallet and the luggage acquired by the imaging unit, and calculates the number of luggage for each arrangement position of the luggage using the number of identification codes for each arrangement position of the luggage, thereby calculating the number of luggage for each pallet.

The present invention makes it possible to provide a luggage management system that can accurately grasp the inventory quantity of luggage in a warehouse.

FIG. 1 shows an example of the configuration of a luggage management system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is an example of a functional block diagram of an aircraft and a carrier vehicle that constitute a baggage management system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining a method for calculating the number of packages in the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining a method for calculating the number of packages in the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 shows an example of an operation sequence of the package management system according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 shows an example of palette management data according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 shows an example of baggage management data according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The following describes an embodiment of the present invention with reference to the drawings. Note that the present invention can be implemented in various embodiments and is not limited to the embodiment of the invention described below.

<Configuration of the luggage management system>
Fig. 1 shows an example of the configuration of a luggage management system according to an embodiment of the present invention. The luggage management system 10 in Fig. 1 is composed of a transport vehicle 50 that moves within a warehouse 1 along a predetermined route, and an aircraft 40 that flies within the warehouse 1 while hovering above the transport vehicle 50.

The luggage management system 10 in FIG. 1 is configured to manage luggage 4 stacked in multiple tiers on a multi-tier rack 3 in a warehouse 1 using image information acquired by cameras mounted on a transport vehicle 50 and an aircraft 40.

In the configuration example of FIG. 1, luggage 4 is arranged in multiple rows and columns on pallets 2 on multi-tiered racks 3 in warehouse 1, and each luggage 4 is assigned a unique identification code 5 for identifying the luggage. Since multiple luggage 4 of the same type are loaded on one pallet 2, the luggage 4 on each pallet 2 can be identified by the identification code 5 read from an image captured by a camera unit mounted on a transport vehicle 50 or an aircraft 40.

In the multi-tier rack 3 in the configuration example of FIG. 1, luggage 4 is removed in order from the first tier, and when all luggage 4 in the first tier have been removed, luggage 4 in the second tier is moved back to the first tier, so it is important to know the number of luggage 4 in the first tier. In this type of luggage installation configuration, the number of luggage 4 in the second tier and above can be known by reading the identification code 5 given to the luggage 4 installed at the front.

The transport vehicle 50 is equipped with a camera unit 51 (imaging unit). The camera unit 51 is an imaging element for reading the identification code 5 attached to the luggage. A general-purpose RGB camera for reading the identification code 5 can be used as the camera unit 51.

The flying object 40 is equipped with a camera unit 41 (imaging unit). The camera unit 41 is an imaging element for reading the identification codes 5 attached to the luggage 4 on the second or higher tier. The camera unit 41 of the flying object 40 is also used for hovering control using optical flow by acquiring images of the ground, including the transport vehicle 50.

In this embodiment, the position of the pallet 2 as seen by the camera unit 51 and the position of the luggage 4 on the pallet 2 are estimated based on pre-registered size information of the pallet 2 and luggage 4 and size information of the identification codes 5 of the pallet 2 and luggage 4 acquired by the camera unit 51, and the number of luggage 4 per pallet 2 is calculated by calculating the number of luggage 4 per luggage 4 position using the number of identification codes 5 for each luggage 4 position.

The type of luggage 4 can be identified by reading the identification code 5 attached to the luggage 4, and the size of the luggage 4 loaded can be identified from pre-registered information on the type of luggage 4 and the size of the luggage 4. For the pallets 2, the type and size of the pallets 2 used in the warehouse 1 may be identified in advance, or the type of pallet 2 may be identified using image information acquired by the camera unit 51, and the size of the pallet 2 on which the luggage 4 is loaded may be identified from pre-registered information on the type and size of the pallet 2.

The size of the pallet 2 can also be determined, for example, by identifying the forklift claw insertion openings on the pallet 2 or the color of the pallet.

If the size of the pallet 2 and the size of the luggage can be identified, the size information of the identification codes of the pallet 2 and the luggage 4 acquired by the camera unit 51 can be used to estimate the position of the pallet 2 as seen by the camera unit 51 and the position of the luggage 4 on the pallet 2, for example, the number of rows of luggage 4. By counting the number of identification codes of the luggage 4, the number of luggage 4 in each row of the luggage 4 can be calculated, and the number of luggage on the pallet 2 can be calculated by adding up the number of luggage in each row of the luggage 4.

<Configuration of aircraft and transport vehicle>
FIG. 2 is an example of a functional block diagram of an aircraft and a carrier vehicle that constitute a baggage management system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The transport vehicle 50 has a driving function for self-propelling within the warehouse 1, and is equipped with a camera unit 51 (imaging unit) for acquiring image information of the identification code 5 of the luggage 4, a central processing unit 52 for controlling the drive unit 53 and performing processing such as sending and receiving information, the drive unit 53 for traveling within the warehouse 1, a wireless unit 54 for sending and receiving signals with the flying object 40 and the luggage management device 60, a memory 55 for storing various information, etc., and a battery 56 for operating each unit. If necessary, it may also be equipped with a flight control unit 58 for controlling the hovering of the flying object 40.

The flying object 40 is equipped with a camera unit 41 for acquiring image information of the identification code 5 of the luggage 4, a central processing unit 42 for performing processes such as reading the identification code 5 from the image information and transmitting the identification code 5, a drive unit 43 for driving the propeller 47, a wireless unit 44 that functions as a transmitter for transmitting the captured image information or the information on the identification code 5 read from the captured image, a memory 45 for storing various information, a battery 46 for operating each unit, and a propeller 47 for flying the flying object 40.

The drive control of the propeller 47 mounted on the flying object 40 is controlled by autonomous control using optical flow. If necessary, the drive control of the propeller 47 may be performed by the flight control unit 58 of the transport vehicle 50.

<How to calculate inventory quantity>
3 and 4 are diagrams for explaining a method for calculating the number of pieces of luggage in an embodiment of the present invention. In the example of Fig. 3, pieces of luggage 4 having a predetermined standard size (W x D x H) are arranged in two rows and three columns on a pallet 2 having a predetermined depth and width, with two pieces of luggage 4 arranged in the first row and seven pieces of luggage 4 arranged in the second row.

In FIG. 3, the image information acquired by the camera unit 51 is used to identify the type and size of the loaded luggage 4 and the type and size of the pallet 2 on which the luggage 4 is loaded. If the relationship between the type and size of the luggage 4 and the relationship between the type and size of the pallet 2 are registered in advance, the image information acquired by the camera unit 51 can be used to identify the types of the luggage 4 and the pallet 2, thereby identifying the sizes of the luggage 4 and the pallet 2.

Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of an image captured by the camera unit 51 of the pallet 2 and luggage 4 in Figure 3. The camera unit 51 can obtain information on the identification code 5 and information on the size of the identification code 5. Therefore, when the pallet 2 and luggage 4 in Figure 3 are captured, image information can be obtained that can identify the placement positions of the pallet 2 and luggage 4 as shown in Figure 4.

According to Figure 4, the position of the luggage 4 placed at the front of the pallet 2 can be identified, and the number of rows of the luggage 4 can be estimated by comparing the depth of the pallet 2 from the position of the luggage 4 with the size of the luggage 4 (depth D). In the example of Figures 3 and 4, the number of rows of the luggage 4 on the pallet 2 can be estimated to be "2 rows."

By counting the number of identification codes 5 in the image of Figure 4, the number of pieces of luggage 4 arranged in each row of the arrangement of luggage 4 can be calculated. In Figure 4, the number of identification codes 5 in the first row is "2" and the number of identification codes 5 in the second row is "5", so the number of pieces of luggage 4 in the first row can be calculated to be "2", and the number of pieces of luggage 4 in the second row, including the pieces arranged behind the pieces of luggage in the first row, can be calculated to be "7".

In FIG. 4, the position of the luggage 4 on the pallet 2 is identified by identifying the size relationship of the identification codes 5 of the pallet 2 and luggage 4 in the camera image. Here, the size of the identification code in the camera image changes depending on the distance between the camera 51 and the pallet 2 and luggage 4. Therefore, if the size of the identification code 5 in the camera image differs for each captured image, it is desirable to compare the size of the identification code 5 based on a fixed standard regardless of the size of the identification code 5 in the camera image.

For example, the size of the identification code 5 in the camera image can be corrected by multiplying the ratio (B/A) of the pallet width (A) in the camera image to the registered pallet width (B), and the size relationship of the identification code 5 can be identified using this corrected size. By correcting the size of the identification code 5 using the pallet width ratio, it is possible to identify the size relationship of the identification code 5 based on a fixed standard, regardless of the positional relationship between the camera 51, the pallet 2, and the luggage 4. The ratio for making the above correction is not limited to the width of the pallet 2, and can also be calculated using the width of the luggage 4.

The number of packages on pallet 2 can be calculated by adding up the number of packages in each array row. In the example of Figures 3 and 4, the number of packages 4 on pallet 2 is "9."

<Operation sequence of the luggage management system>
An operation sequence in the package management system will be described with reference to Fig. 5. Fig. 5 shows an example of an operation sequence in the package management system according to the embodiment of the present invention.

In the warehouse, luggage 4 with an identification code 5 is brought into the warehouse 1 and placed on a specified multi-tiered rack 3. The luggage management device 60 has size information of the pallets 2 and luggage 4 placed in the warehouse 1 registered in advance, and the size of the pallets 2 and luggage 4 placed on the multi-tiered rack 3 in the warehouse 1 can be ascertained using image information of the pallets 2 and luggage 4.

The transport vehicle 50 uses the on-board camera unit 51 to capture images of the pallet 2 and luggage 4, including the identification code 5, and transmits the captured image information to the luggage management device 60.

When the luggage management device 60 receives image information of the pallet 2 and luggage 4, it uses the image information to identify the type of the pallet 2 and luggage 4, and identifies the size of the pallet 2 and luggage 4 by referencing preregistered pallet information and luggage information.

The luggage management device 60 identifies the placement position of the luggage 4 on the pallet 2 by comparing the code size of the identification code 5, and estimates the number of rows of luggage 4 on the pallet 2 by comparing the depth of the pallet 2 from the placement position of the luggage 4 with the size of the luggage 4.

The luggage management device 60 counts the number of identification codes 5 of the luggage 4 to calculate the number of luggage 4 arranged in each arrangement row of the luggage 4. The number of luggage on the pallet 2 can be calculated by accumulating the number of luggage in each arrangement row. The calculated number of luggage 4 is registered for each luggage information item.

<Pallet and cargo management data>
Fig. 6 shows an example of pallet management data in an embodiment of the present invention, and Fig. 7 shows an example of luggage management data in an embodiment of the present invention. The pallet management data and luggage management data are stored in the luggage management device 60 and are referenced when identifying the sizes of the luggage 4 and the pallet 2. Information on the calculated number of luggage pieces is registered for each piece of luggage information.

<Other embodiments>
Although a configuration example has been described above in which the transport vehicle 50 and the flying object 40 are equipped with camera units (51, 41) for acquiring image information of the identification code 5, the camera unit may be installed only on the flying object 40. In this case, the image information of the pallet 2 and the luggage 4 acquired by the camera unit 41 of the flying object 40 is transmitted to the luggage management device 60 via the transport vehicle 50.

In this way, according to this embodiment, it is possible to provide a luggage management system that can accurately grasp the inventory quantity of luggage in a warehouse.

1...warehouse, 2...pallet, 3...multi-tiered rack, 4...luggage, 5...identification code, 10...luggage management system, 40...aircraft, 41...camera unit (imaging unit), 42...central processing unit, 43...driving unit, 44...radio unit, 45...memory, 46...battery, 47...propeller, 50...transport vehicle, 51...camera unit (imaging unit), 52...central processing unit, 53...driving unit, 54...radio unit, 55...memory, 56...battery, 58...flight control unit, 60...luggage management device.

Claims (2)

a luggage management device for managing luggage arranged on pallets in a warehouse;
an imaging unit mounted on at least one of a transport vehicle moving within the warehouse or an aircraft flying within the warehouse, for acquiring image information of the luggage within the warehouse, the imaging unit capturing an image of the luggage arranged on the pallet, and acquiring identification codes assigned to the pallet and the luggage, and size information of the identification codes;
The luggage management device includes:
A luggage management system that estimates the placement position of the pallet as seen from the imaging unit and the placement positions of the luggage on the pallet based on pre-registered size information of the pallet and the luggage, and size information of the identification codes of the pallet and the luggage acquired by the imaging unit, and calculates the number of luggage for each luggage position using the number of identification codes for each luggage position, thereby calculating the number of luggage for each pallet. The luggage management device includes:
The luggage management system according to claim 1 , wherein the pallet is identified based on an image of the pallet insertion port or a color of the pallet acquired by the imaging unit, and the luggage is identified based on an identification code assigned to the luggage.

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