JPH0778833B2 - Automatic loading pattern creation system - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of Application of the Invention The present invention must be carried out in order to load a rectangular parallelepiped cargo (for example, a cardboard box) of different sizes on a shipping plate (hereinafter referred to as a pallet). Cargo (also called a product) to be loaded on a pallet, especially related to the loading pattern design.
The present invention relates to a stowage pattern creating system suitable for various sizes.

[Background of the Invention]

The problem of arranging cargo groups of different dimensions in three dimensions on a pallet is mathematically a combination problem. However, it is very difficult to derive a satisfactory solution with the current mathematical programming method. Therefore, conventionally, humans repeat the following processes to create stowage patterns.

Step 1: Select some cargos from the given cargo group to be stowed.

Step 2: Establish a policy on how to arrange the selected cargo group at which position (plane).

Step 3: Determine the location of each selected cargo according to the established policy. Describe the layout result on the paper.

Step 4: Evaluate placement result. If the result is satisfactory, return to Step 1 and repeat the same operation for unloaded cargo. If you are not satisfied with the result, return to step 2 or step 3 and correct the cargo arrangement.

However, the above method has the following problems.

(1) As the type and number of cargos placed on the pallet increases, the number of trials by the designer, that is, the number of times of description on the paper and the number of corrections increases, which requires a great number of man-hours for designing the stowage pattern.

(2) As the type and number of cargoes increase, unskilled designers
It may not be possible to design a satisfactory stowage pattern.

(3) A mass-production factory shipping system in which a large number of stowage patterns must be designed requires a large number of designers for this design. Therefore, shipping cost increases.

[Object of the Invention]

An object of the present invention is to provide a stowage pattern automatic creation system that realizes reduction of stowage pattern design time by utilizing the knowledge of a skilled designer.

[Outline of Invention]

The present invention focuses on the fact that the stowage pattern designer's stowage knowledge has the following structure. In other words, the structure is "what kind of cargo should be arranged and which product should be arranged at which position depending on the situation of cargo arrangement and the situation where cargo is not yet loaded." An example of stowage knowledge is "if there is a large plane and the number of unloaded cargos is large, then a large number of cargos should be arranged in a rectangular shape on the wide plane." The present invention uses this knowledge to
It is an automatic stowage pattern creation system that realizes the automatic design of stowage patterns.

This system consists of the following four functions.

(1) Function of grasping the status of arrangement of cargo and status of unloaded cargo (2) Function of selecting applicable loading knowledge (3) Function of determining position of cargo loading (4) Function of displaying loading pattern In the present invention, The feature is that the stowage pattern is determined in the following order using these functions.

Step 1: Grasp the freight arrangement status and freight unpacking status from the loading position of the freight on the pallet and the type, size, and number of unfreighted cargoes (for example, the presence or absence of a wide flat surface, the number of unloaded goods) To do.

Step 2: Select the stowage knowledge applicable to the situation grasped at Step 1 from the stowage knowledge group.

Step 3: Based on the selected knowledge, the name of the cargo to be stowed, the stowage plane is determined, and the placement of each cargo on that plane is determined.

Step 4: The above operation is repeated until the loading positions of all cargoes are determined.

Step 5: The stowage pattern completed by the above operation is displayed on the graphic display terminal device.

Example of Invention

The first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 1 shows the hardware configuration of the present invention. Reference numeral 1 is a graphic display terminal device for displaying a loading pattern. Reference numeral 2 is an electronic computer, in which the arrangement status of cargo on the pallet, the status of cargo unloaded (hereinafter referred to as “phase”), the selection of applicable loading knowledge, the location of cargo loading, Determine and display stowage pattern. Three
Is a storage device that stores the type, shape, number, etc. of cargo to be stowed on a pallet (hereinafter referred to as stowage data). A storage device 4 stores stowage knowledge.

FIG. 2 shows a storage format of stowage data.

FIG. 3 shows a storage format of stowage knowledge. The stowage knowledge is registered by the designer in the system. Therefore, the stowage knowledge is, for example, 10 pieces of product A and 20 stowable planes.
It is not a quantitative value such as 0 cm ² , but a qualitative content such as wide, narrow, large, and small.

FIG. 4 shows the configuration of software incorporated in the electronic computer.

The processing contents of each function in FIG. 4 will be described below according to the operation procedure.

<Aspect grasp function> This function interprets the status of cargo placement and the status of cargo non-loading based on the location of each cargo on the pallet and the type, size, and quantity of unloaded cargo (for example, whether there is a wide plane). This is a function of unloaded products).

Specifically, the stowage pattern table shown in Fig. 5 (a) (a table that stores the placement positions of each cargo, and is created by the cargo placement determination function described later.) Fig. 5 (a) The coordinate is the origin (0,0,0) at the left front end point of the pallet.
Is the coordinate point on the far left side of the cargo, and the loading direction is the side of the cargo facing the left side of the pallet, LENG is the long side, and WIDT is the long side.
Indicates the width side. In addition, 01, 02, etc. in the cargo name indicate the serial number attached to the same cargo. It is empty when the cargo is not placed on the pallet) and the stowage data table shown in FIG. Table) and
This is a function to qualitatively understand the status of cargo placement and the status of unfilled cargo.

The software configuration of this function is shown in FIG.

This function consists of the following sub-functions.

(1) Stackable plane extraction function (2) Aspect qualitative translation function The processing contents of each sub-function are shown below.

(1) Stackable plane extraction function This sub-function is a function to extract a plane on which one or more unloaded cargos can be loaded from the cargo position on the pallet.

Specifically, the following processing is performed. That is, a rectangular mesh is formed by the method shown in FIG. 7 using the data in the stowed pattern table and stowed data table.

(A) When the product is not placed on the pallet The upper surface of the pallet is equally divided as shown in FIG. 7 (a).

(B) When the product is placed on the pallet (i) When the product is not placed on the mesh The upper surface of the product arranged as shown in FIG. 7 (b) is taken as one mesh.

(Ii) When the product is applied to the mesh Create the mesh according to the following division criteria. Furthermore, the upper surface of the placed product is made into one mesh.

(Criterion 1) In FIG. 7 (c), if any of the division methods (a) and (b) causes an invisible mesh (width or length of the mesh is smaller than a predetermined threshold value) l ₁ l ₂ If so, adopt the method (b).

If l ₁ <l ₂ , adopt method (a).

(Criterion 2) In FIG. 7 (c), in both cases (a) and (b), when invisible mesh does not occur If l ₁ l ₂ , the method (b) is adopted.

If l ₁ <l ₂ , adopt method (a).

(Criterion 3) In FIG. 7 (c), if either one of (a) and (b) produces an invisible mesh, the invisible mesh shown in FIG. 7 (d) does not produce an invisible mesh. To adopt.

(C) When a new product is placed on the already placed product A mesh is created in the same manner as in (b) above in the procedure of FIG. 7 (e).

In the created meshes, adjacent meshes of the same height are combined to create a composite rectangular area (area consisting only of horizontal and vertical sides). Next, in the created composite rectangular area, extract the area where one or more unloaded cargo can be loaded,
It is stored in the stowable plane table shown in FIG.

The processing flow of this function is shown in FIG.

(2) Qualitative translation function of phase This function is (a) the area, height, and number of stackable planes are "wide, narrow", "high, low", and "large, few". When translating into an expression (qualitative expression) that shows the properties of a plane, (b) the type, size, and quantity of unloaded cargo as'large, small ',' high, low ',' large quantity, few ' It is a function that translates into an expression (qualitative expression) that shows the property of the cargo.

Specifically, the data in the stowable plane table and the stowable data table are translated using a conversion formula, and the data is stored in FIG. 8 (b).
It stores in the situation table shown in FIG. An example of the conversion formula is shown below. However, since the conversion formula and the judgment condition value α differ depending on the target to which the present invention is applied, the method is adopted by the user according to the target to be applied to this function.

FIG. 13 shows the processing flow of this function.

(Example of conversion formula) Conversion formula of plane property Conversion formula for cargo properties However, 0α1,0β1 <Applicable stowage knowledge selection function> With stowage knowledge, it is better to arrange what cargo is on which plane and how, if it is what kind of cargo arrangement situation and cargo is unloaded situation. It is the knowledge that expresses'. In other words, it is knowledge that "if the phase is established, then the main stowage operation may be performed." Hereinafter, the front part of the knowledge will be referred to as the phase part and the rear part will be referred to as the stowage operation part.

This function is a function for selecting applicable knowledge under the situation obtained by the situation grasping function. Specifically, the knowledge stored in the storage device 4 is stored in the phase table shown in FIG. This is a function of selecting from the group and storing it in the stowage knowledge table shown in FIG.

An example of this selection is as follows. The phase table shown in FIG. 8 stores "there is a wide plane" and "there is a large total number of remaining products". The storage device 4 shown in FIG. 3 stores stowage knowledge # 1 and stowage knowledge # 2.
The contents of the phase table are compared with the phase parts of the two stowage knowledge. This comparison is a simple character string comparison. As a result, the phase part of the stowage knowledge # 1 is composed only of the contents stored in the phase table, but the phase part of the stowage knowledge # 2 is different from the contents of the phase table. Therefore, this function determines that the stowage knowledge # 1 is applicable knowledge and stores it in the stowage knowledge table.

The above is an example of selecting this function.

FIG. 14 shows the processing flow of this function.

<Freight placement determination function> This function translates the stowage operation unit of the stowage knowledge selected by the applied stowage knowledge selection function into a cargo to be stowed and a stowage plane, and is written on the stowage operation unit. This is the function of placing the cargo on the plane using the stowage method. Figure 10 shows the software configuration of this function.

This function consists of the following sub-functions.

(1) Translation function for stowage knowledge (2) Cargo placement calculation function The processing contents of each sub-function are shown below.

(1) Translation function of stowage knowledge In this function, stowage knowledge table (Fig. 9), stowable plane table (Fig. 8 (a)), stowage data table (Fig. 5 (b)) Originally, the product to be stacked and the plane to be stacked are limited by the above-mentioned conversion formula (see'Qualitative translation function of aspect '). An example of this interpretation is as follows. 9th
In the stowage knowledge shown in the figure, the items to be translated are <many products> and <wide plane>. First, the translation of <many products> is shown. This translation is a conversion formula To use. Here, if β ₃ is 0.3, FIG. 5 (b)
The duck 1 shown by does not satisfy this conversion formula. for that reason,
Judged as "not a lot of cargo". The camouflage 2 satisfies this conversion formula. Therefore, the term "a lot of cargo" is translated as "kamotsu 2." Next, translate <wide plane>. This translation has a conversion formula To use. Here, when α ₁ is 0.5, in the plane shown in FIG. 8 (a), Heymen 1 satisfies this conversion formula. Therefore, "wide plane" is translated as Haymen 1.

The above is a translation example of this function.

Figure 15 shows the processing flow of this function.

(2) Cargo placement calculation function This function is limited to the above'Translation function of stowage knowledge ',
The cargo (camouflage 2) is arranged on the two-dimensional plane (Haymen 1) by the packing method (rectangle) specified by the packing knowledge, and the packing position of each cargo is stored in the packing pattern table (Fig. 5 (a)). ))
To store. This problem is mathematically a combinatorial problem in a two-dimensional plane. The method to solve this problem is
(A) Guillotine division method, (b) 5 area division method,
(C) Strip division method (see (1), (2), and (3) below for (a), (b), and (c), respectively)
Etc. have been announced many times. This function embodies these methods as software and uses them.

1) PYWANG: 'Two Algorithms for Constrained Two
−Dimensional Cutting Stock Ploblems', Operations R
esearch, vol31, No.3, May-June, 1983 2) E. Bischoff and WBDowsland: 'An Application o
f the Micro to Product Design and Distribution ', J.
Opl.Res.Soc.33,1982 3) MICHAEL ADAMOWICS and others: 'A Solution of the Recta
ngular Cutting-Stock Problem ', IEEE TRANSACTIONS O
N SYSTEM, MAN, AND CYBERNETICS, vol.SMC-6, No.4, APRI
L, 1976 The phase grasping function, the applied stowage knowledge selecting function, and the freight placement determining function described above are repeated until there are no unloaded products. When there is no unloaded cargo, the loading pattern display function shown below is executed.

<Loading pattern display function> With this function, the loading pattern table (Fig. 5 (a))
And the stowage data table (FIG. 5 (b)),
The stowage pattern is displayed on the graphic display terminal device 1. FIG. 11 shows an output example of the stowage pattern.

According to this embodiment, the stowage pattern can be automatically created, and the following effects can be obtained. (1) A stowage pattern can be created in a short time.

Since there is no need to manually describe the creation process on the paper or on the graphic display, the loading pattern can be created in a short time.

(2) The number of personnel required to design the stowage pattern can be reduced, and the freight shipping cost can be reduced.

(3) By adding a system for automatically creating robot operation control information (robot movement route, arm opening / closing, etc.) to the present invention, unmanned processes from the stowage pattern design to the stowage of cargo on the pallet. It can be carried out in, and it can be expected to greatly reduce the shipping cost.

(4) The designer's trial result can be displayed in a short time. Further, the stowage pattern can be corrected in a short time. Therefore, the time for creating the stowage pattern can be shortened.

(5) For all (or some) unloaded cargo, an effective cargo layout is automatically designed at the position (plane) specified by the user. Therefore, even an unskilled designer can design a satisfactory stowage pattern.

〔The invention's effect〕

According to the present invention, since the knowledge of a skilled designer is utilized to create a stowage pattern, it is possible to shorten the stowage pattern design time.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a hardware configuration diagram of the stowage pattern automatic generation system, FIG. 2 is a file storage format of stowage data, and FIG.
Figure is a file storage format of stowage knowledge, Fig. 4 is a software configuration diagram of the stowage pattern automatic creation system, Fig. 5 (a) is a stowage pattern table configuration diagram, and Fig. 5 (b) is stowage data. Table configuration diagram, FIG. 6 is a software configuration diagram of the phase grasping function, FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of a mesh making method, FIG. 8 (a) is a configuration diagram of a stackable plane table, and FIG.
Figure (b) is a phase table configuration diagram, FIG. 9 is a stowage knowledge table configuration diagram, FIG. 10 is a software configuration diagram of a cargo placement calculation function, FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a stowage pattern display example, and FIG. FIGS. 13 to 13 are flow charts of stowage processing, FIG. 14 is a flow chart of applied stowage knowledge selection processing, and FIG. 15 is a flow chart of stowage knowledge translation processing.

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Yozo Konishi 1099, Ozenji Temple, Aso-ku, Kawasaki City, Kanagawa Prefecture, Hitachi Systems Development Laboratory, Inc. Tateura Tsuchiura Plant (56) Reference “Information Processing” Vol. 21 No. 12 (Dec. 1980) P. 1231-P. 1241 "Building Expert System" (1983) (Translation "Expert System" (1985) Industrial Books P.146-P.188)

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A storage device for storing data of a plane for transportation of means for carrying a cargo, data on a cargo to be loaded on the flat surface, and knowledge about packing of the cargo to be loaded on the flat surface, The means for determining the loading position of the cargo on the plane from the knowledge and the data, and the output device for outputting the determined loading position, and the means for determining the loading position are provided with the knowledge. It is applied to the data to determine the cargo to be loaded on the plane and the loading position, and the data of the plane for transportation formed by the determined cargo to be loaded and the data of the plane for the initial transportation. The above-mentioned knowledge including the applied knowledge is applied to the data that can be used as a plane for transportation and the data about the unloaded cargo, and the unloaded cargo is loaded with the loaded cargo. Determining the only location, pattern automatic creation system stowage, characterized in that repeated until the cargo with non product is eliminated.