JPH11116006A - Automatic warehouse system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve efficiency of stoking/shipping works from a warehouse by marking guiding lines in a rack, restraining the running direction of automated guided vehicles to a specific direction, and delivering products between a crane and automated guided vehicles. SOLUTION: Guiding lines 13 consisting of in-rack guiding lines 13a, main guiding lines 13b, end part guiding lines 13c, branch guiding lines 13d, 13e, and connecting guiding lines 13f are constituted as combinations of plural loop- shaped closing lines. Automated guided vehicles V are structured so as to travel only in one direction along guiding lines 13 comprising plural loop-shaped closing lines. The delivery of products between a crane 12 for stoking works and shipping works and an automated guided vehicle is performed in a space formed in a lower space of each rack 10. This can reduce moving distance of the crane 12 for stoking/shipping works, and improve efficiency of stoking/shipping works for an automatic warehouse system.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for storing articles on rack shelves provided in an automatic warehouse and for taking out articles stored on rack shelves by using a crane or an automatic guided vehicle. It relates to an automatic warehouse system.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as shown in FIG. 6, articles stored in shelves of a rack 1 are taken out by a crane 3 running along a rail 2 laid between the racks 1 and taken out. Placed on the crane station 4 arranged at one end of the rack 1 and then
The automatic guided vehicle 5 is moved along the guidance line 6 laid on the floor to the crane station 4 where the articles are placed, and the articles on the crane station 4 are transferred (not shown). It is placed on the automatic guided vehicle 5 by a device or the like, and then the automatic guided vehicle 5 is connected to the guidance line 6.
Is carried out along with the picking station 7 to carry out the unloading operation, and after the articles placed on the in-loading work station 8 are transferred to the unmanned transport vehicle 5, the unmanned transport vehicle 5 is The vehicle is moved along the guidance line 6 to the crane station 4, and the articles placed on the automatic guided vehicle 5 are placed on the crane station 4 by an article transfer device or the like (not shown). 2. Description of the Related Art There is known an automatic warehouse system in which a crane 3 is used to store goods on a shelf of a predetermined rack 1 to perform a warehouse operation.

[0003]

In the conventional automatic warehousing system described above, during the unloading operation, the crane 3 stopped at the previous operation end position is moved to the rack where the articles to be unloaded are stored. After traveling along the rail 2 to the position of the shelf 1 and then taking out the articles by the crane 3, the crane 3 is made to travel to one end of the rack 1 and the taken out articles are placed on the crane station 4. In addition, at the time of warehousing work, the crane 3 stopped at the previous work end position is moved to the rack 1
, And picks up the articles transported by the automatic guided vehicle 5 and placed on the crane station 4, and then moves the crane 3 to the rack 1 where the articles are to be stored.
Is carried out to the position of the shelf and the article is stored in a predetermined shelf. Thus, for example, by the crane 3 stopping near the crane station 4,
The shelf furthest from the crane station 4, ie, FIG.
In order to unload the articles stored in the rightmost shelf, the crane 3 must be reciprocated once from one end of the rack 1 to the other. Also, the crane 3 stopped at the farthest end from the crane station 4,
Similarly, when the articles placed on the crane station 4 are stored in the shelf farthest from the crane station 4, that is, on the rightmost shelf in FIG.
Must be reciprocated once from end to end of the rack 1. As described above, in the conventional automatic warehouse system, the crane 3 that moves for taking out and storing articles is used.
As a result, there is a problem that the efficiency of moving in and out of the automatic warehouse is poor due to the long traveling distance.

In the above-mentioned conventional automatic warehouse system, the crane station 4 provided at one end of the rack 1 is disturbed by the unmanned guided vehicle 5 during the loading operation and the unmanned guided vehicle 5 during the discharging operation. Therefore, there is a problem that the number of unmanned transport vehicles 5 waiting near the crane station 4 to enter and exit increases, and the transport efficiency of the unmanned transport vehicles 5 decreases.

[0005] Furthermore, when the quantity of articles handled in the automatic warehouse increases and the number of automatic guided vehicles 5 increases, the guide line 6 must be double-tracked and the layout of the guide line 6 becomes complicated. was there. As described above, when the guidance line 6 is a double track and the layout is complicated, forward / reverse traveling control of the automatic guided vehicle 5 and crossroad control at intersections are required, and the control device of the automatic warehouse becomes complicated or unmanned. Collision prevention and multiple automatic guided vehicles 5 installed in the guided vehicle 5
Is concentrated in a narrow space and cannot move.
There is a problem that a control device for preventing a so-called deadlock becomes complicated, and as a result, the article processing capability of the automatic warehouse and the transport capability of the automatic guided vehicle 5 are reduced.

An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems of the conventional automatic warehouse system, and to provide an automatic warehouse system which can effectively utilize space, and can reduce the installation and operation costs of the automatic warehouse. It is in.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to achieve the above object, the present invention firstly lays a guide line in a rack and limits the traveling direction of the automatic guided vehicle to one direction. In addition, in the rack, the delivery of the article between the crane and the automatic guided vehicle is performed, and second, the delivery of the article between the crane and the automated guided vehicle in the rack, Thirdly, an in-rack station is provided in a rack, and the crane and the unmanned transport vehicle are connected via the in-rack station. The delivery of the goods between is performed.

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiment unless it exceeds the gist of the present invention.

Reference numeral 10 denotes a number of racks arranged side by side,
The rack 10 is provided with a number of shelves 10a in a vertical direction. A rail 11 is laid in a passage formed between the racks 10, and the crane 12 is configured to reciprocate along the rail 11.

In the lower space in each rack 10, an automatic guided vehicle V can run, and the crane 12 and the automatic guided vehicle V
A space is formed such that articles can be transferred between the device and the device. An in-rack guide line 13a is laid on the floor located in each rack 10 along the longitudinal direction of the rack, and both ends of the in-rack guide line 13a are main guide lines laid on both ends of the rack 10. 13b. The main guide line 13b is connected to both ends of an end guide line 13c laid along the rack 10 provided at the end. A plurality of loop-like branch guide lines 13d and 13e are formed in the end guide line 13c, and one branch guide line 13d is laid below the picking station 14 and the other branch guide line 13d is provided. The guidance line 13e is laid below the storage work station 15. Also, if necessary,
A branch guide line 13d laid below the picking station 14 and a branch guide line 13e laid below the warehousing station 15 are connected by a connection guide line 13f.

In-rack guide line 13a, main guide line 13b, end guide line 13c, branch guide line 13
The guide line 13 formed by d, 13e and the connection guide line 13f is configured as a combination of a plurality of loop-shaped closed lines, and the automatic guided vehicle V is configured by the plurality of loop-shaped closed lines. The vehicle travels only in one direction along the guide line 13, that is, in the clockwise direction or in the counterclockwise direction. FIG. 1 shows an example in which the automatic guided vehicle V travels clockwise along the guide line 13.

In the present invention, a loading station and a leaving station such as the crane station 4 conventionally provided at the end of the rack 10 are not provided. The delivery of articles between the crane 12 and the automatic guided vehicle V is performed in a space formed in a lower space in each rack 10.

Next, an automatic guided vehicle V used in this embodiment will be outlined with reference to FIG.

The automatic guided vehicle V includes a carriage v2 on which traveling wheels v1 are disposed, and a movable mounting portion v3 which can be moved up and down by an appropriate propulsion means such as a hydraulic jack. A pair of rectangular bar-shaped transfer bars v3 'are attached to the moving mounting portion v3 in parallel, and the articles W (the pallets P in FIG. 3 are mounted on the transfer bars v3'). (The article W is shown.). The transfer bars v3 'are arranged between the transfer bars v3' at intervals such that the forks of the crane 12 can enter, and the pair of transfer bars v3 'allow the forks of the crane 12 to enter. A portion v3 ″ is formed.

Next, referring to FIG. 4, an outline of a means for transferring an article placed on the storage work station 15 to the automatic guided vehicle V will be described.

In this embodiment, the warehousing station 15 is provided with a column 15a erected on the floor so as to be positioned at four corners of a square, and is directed inward from an upper end of the column 15a. An article W is placed so as to straddle the article receiver 15b. When the movable mounting portion v3 of the automatic guided vehicle V is at the lowermost position, the upper surface of the transfer bar v3 'of the movable mounting portion v3 has the article receiver 15b attached to the support 15a of the storage work station 15. Lower than the top of
When the movable mounting portion v3 of the automatic guided vehicle V is at the uppermost position,
The upper surface of the transfer bar v3 'of the movable mounting portion v3 is provided with the article receiver 1 attached to the support 15a of the storage work station 15.
5b is located higher than the upper surface.

As shown in FIG. 4A, the unmanned transport vehicle V having the movable mounting portion v3 at the lowermost position is moved to the article W placed on the article receiver 15b of the entry work station 15. Stop at the position below. Next, as shown in FIG. 4 (b), by moving a suitable propulsion means such as a hydraulic jack, the movable mounting portion v3 is raised,
The article W placed on the article receiver 15b of the entry work station 15 is placed on the moving placement section v3 of the automatic guided vehicle V. Next, as shown in FIG. 4C, the traveling of the automatic guided vehicle V is started with the moving placing portion v3 on which the article W is placed at the uppermost position, and the automatic guided vehicle V is started. V
From the storage work station 15. Thereafter, the automatic guided vehicle V is moved in the rack 10 direction.

Next, referring to FIG. 5, an outline of a means for transferring an article W placed on the automatic guided vehicle V to the picking station 14 will be described.

As shown in FIG. 5A, just before the picking station 14, the movable placing portion v3 on which the article W of the automatic guided vehicle V is placed remains at the uppermost position. Next, as shown in FIG. 5B, the automatic guided vehicle V is put into the picking station 14 with the movable mounting portion v3 on which the article W is mounted being kept at the uppermost position. When the movable placement part v3 of the automatic guided vehicle V is at the uppermost position, the upper surface of the transfer bar v3 'of the movable placement part v3 is placed on the support 14a of the picking station 14.
Since the article W is located at a position higher than the upper surface of the picking station 14, the article W placed on the movable placing section v3 does not collide with the article receiver 14b of the picking station 14. Then, FIG.
As shown in (c), the moving receiver v3 is lowered to the lowermost position, and the article W placed on the moving receiver v3 is moved to the article receiver 14b of the picking station 14.
Place on. In this way, the article W is transferred to the automatic guided vehicle V
From the moving receiver v3 to the picking station 14. Thereafter, the traveling of the automatic guided vehicle V is started, and the automatic guided vehicle V is taken out of the picking station 14.

Next, the loading / unloading work process will be described with reference to FIG. 1. In one embodiment of the present invention, as described above, the space formed in each rack 10 is The goods can be directly transferred between the crane 12 and the automatic guided vehicle V at an appropriate position in the space formed in each rack 10 while being able to run. Such a place where the goods are transferred between the crane 12 and the automatic guided vehicle V can be determined in advance at a fixed position. For example, in order to minimize the moving distance of the crane 12, the central portion of each rack 10 is set to a position for transferring articles between the crane 12 and the automatic guided vehicle V. In addition, the transfer of articles from the automated guided vehicle V to the crane 12 during the loading operation and the transfer of articles from the crane 12 to the automated guided vehicle V during the unloading operation may be performed at the same position. Alternatively, it may be performed at a different position. Furthermore, at the time of the warehousing operation, the crane 12 must be moved to the position of the shelf where the articles are to be stored in any case. In any case, up to the shelf
Since the crane 12 has to move, the position of the shelf where the articles are to be stored and the position of the shelf where the articles to be taken out are stored are determined by the location of the article between the crane 12 and the automatic guided vehicle V. You can also. Furthermore, the transfer position is not determined in advance, and the relative position relationship between the crane 12 and the automatic guided vehicle V determines the automatic guided vehicle V at the position where the moving distance of the crane 12 is the shortest. The delivery of goods between the car V and the crane 12 may be performed.

Next, the storage operation process will be described with reference to FIG. Note that an example will be described in which articles are transferred between the crane 12 and the automatic guided vehicle V at the center position of the space in the rack 10 (the position indicated by A in FIG. 1). Although FIG. 1 shows only one unmanned transport vehicle V for convenience of description, a large number of unmanned transport vehicles V are actually used.

[0022] Article receiver 1 of the storage work station 15
The article placed on 5b is transferred from the storage work station 15 to the automatic guided vehicle V by the above-described transfer operation. Next, the automatic guided vehicle V on which articles are placed is run along the branch guide line 13e, the main guide line 13b, and the guide line 13a in the rack, and stops at the transfer position A in the rack 10. Next, the crane 12 is moved to the transfer position A. Next, the crane 12
Of the fork is inserted into the fork entrance v3 ″ of the automatic guided vehicle V, the fork is slightly raised, and the article is transferred to the automatic guided vehicle V. Then, the sliding table of the crane 12 is retracted, and the fork on which the articles are placed is taken out of the article transfer space in the rack 10. , Crane 12,
It is moved as appropriate to store the articles on a predetermined shelf. The vacated unmanned transport vehicle V travels along the guide line 13a in the rack, and moves to the entry work station 15 with the movable placement part v3 at the lowest position, or moves for loading. The unit v3 may be waiting on the spot with the uppermost position.

Next, the delivery operation process will be described with reference to FIG.

The articles stored in the predetermined shelves of the rack 10 for which the retrieval request has been issued are taken out by the crane 12, and the crane 12 is moved to the transfer position A in the rack 10. Further, the empty unmanned transport vehicle V with the movable mounting portion v3 at the uppermost position is stopped at the transfer position A in the rack 10. Next, the crane 12 is operated to move the slide table forward, and the fork on which the article is placed is inserted into the fork entrance v3 ″ of the automatic guided vehicle V. Then, the article is lowered by lowering the fork. The article is transferred from the fork to the automatic guided vehicle V by being placed on the transfer bar v3 'of the automatic guided vehicle V. The crane 12 moves back the sliding table and transfers the fork to the article in the rack 10. After leaving the space, the automatic guided vehicle V on which the articles are placed is moved through the guide line 13a in the rack, the main guide line 13b, the end guide line 13c, and the branch guide line 13d. It moves to the picking station 14. In the picking station 14, the articles placed on the automatic guided vehicle V are transferred to the picking station 14 by the above-described transfer operation. Is placed.

Next, an example of a loading / unloading operation performed between the crane 12 and the automatic guided vehicle V when the article delivery position is not determined in advance will be described.

When the crane 12 has stopped after completing a predetermined operation, the automatic guided vehicle V on which the articles are placed stops at the stopped position of the crane 12 and is placed on the automatic guided vehicle V. The article is transferred to the crane 12 as described above, and then the crane 12 moves to the shelf where the article is to be stored, and stores the article on the shelf. Further, when the crane 12 is in the loading / unloading operation for another unmanned guided vehicle V, and when the other unmanned guided vehicle V is located in the rack 10, it stands by before the rack 10. Is preferred. Even in this case, if it is possible to go to the position of the shelf where the placed articles are stored without disturbing the other automatic guided vehicle V, the vehicle stops at the position of the shelf where the placed articles are stored. Wait. Then, the crane 12 on which the other work has been completed moves to the standby position of the automatic guided vehicle V, and thereafter, transfers the articles. Alternatively, in any case, since the crane 12 must move to the position of the shelf where the articles are to be stored, the automatic guided vehicle V on which the articles are placed is placed regardless of the position of the crane 12. It is also possible to adopt a configuration in which the vehicle travels to the position of the shelf where the article is stored and waits at that position. Then, the crane 12 moves to the position of the shelf where the articles are to be stored, and transfers the articles to the automatic guided vehicle V on which the articles are placed, which is waiting at this position.

In any case of the unloading operation, in any case, since the crane 12 must move to the shelf where the articles to be unloaded are stored, the empty unmanned transport vehicle V determines whether the unloading articles are to be unloaded. Stop at the shelf where it is stored. As in the case of the above-described warehousing operation, when another unmanned guided vehicle V is located in the rack 10, it is preferable to wait in front of the rack 10. Even in this case, if another automatic guided vehicle V can go to the position of the shelf where the articles to be taken out are stored without hindrance, it stops at the position of the shelf where the articles to be taken out are stored. Wait.

As shown in FIG. 3, the above-described picking station 14 and storage operation station are mounted on the support 10b of the rack 10 located above the space where the automatic guided vehicle V in the rack 10 can travel. An in-rack station S can be formed in the rack 10 by attaching an article receiver 10c similar to the article receivers 14b, 15b attached to the 15 columns 14a, 15a. The operation sequence in which the automatic guided vehicle V on which the articles are placed transfers the articles to the station S in the rack is the same as the transfer of the articles from the automatic guided vehicles V to the picking station 14 described with reference to FIG. Therefore, the description is omitted. Further, the articles placed in the rack station S are
The work order of placing the empty unmanned transport vehicles V is the same as the transfer of the articles from the warehousing work station 15 to the empty unmanned transport vehicles V described with reference to FIG. I do. Such an in-rack station S is:
It can be disposed on all the columns 10b of the rack 10 or on the column 10b at an appropriate position, for example, the column 10b at the center of the rack 10.

It is preferable that the warehousing operation when the above-described in-rack station S is provided is performed as follows. That is, the automatic guided vehicle V on which the articles are placed moves to the position of the shelf where the articles should be stored, and the articles are placed on the in-rack station S arranged at this position. Next, the crane 12 moves to the station S in the rack, picks up the articles placed in the station S in the rack, and stores them on a predetermined shelf. In the case of the unloading operation, the crane 12 moves to the shelf in which the articles to be unloaded are stored, removes the articles from the shelves, and places the articles on the in-rack station S located below the shelves. Place. Then, the empty automatic guided vehicle V moves to the station S in the rack where the articles are placed, and transfers the articles placed in the station S in the rack to the automatic guided vehicle V. When performing the above-mentioned loading and unloading work, the rack 10
It is necessary to dispose the station S in the rack on all the columns 10b.

When the in-rack station S is arranged only at a predetermined position, for example, only at the column 10b at the center of the rack 10, the warehousing operation is performed as follows. The automatic guided vehicle V on which the articles are placed moves to the station S in the rack provided in the center, and the station S
Then, the article is placed. Next, the crane 12 moves to the station S in the rack, picks up the articles placed in the station S in the rack, and stores them on a predetermined shelf. In the case of the unloading operation, the crane 12 moves to the shelf where the articles to be unloaded are stored, removes the articles from the shelves, and then moves to the in-rack station S arranged in the center. Then, an article is placed on the station S in the rack. And an empty unmanned carrier V
Move to the station S in the rack where the article is placed, and the article placed in the station S in the rack is
Transfer to automatic guided vehicle V.

As described above, in the present invention, the in-rack guide line 13a is laid in the rack 10 and the traveling direction of the automatic guided vehicle V is limited to one direction. Since the transfer of the articles between the automatic guided vehicle V and the automatic guided vehicle V is performed, the moving distance of the crane 12 for the loading / unloading work is reduced, and as a result, the loading / unloading work efficiency of the automatic warehouse system is improved.

The transfer of articles between the crane 12 and the automatic guided vehicle V in the rack 10 is performed by the crane 12
And between the automated guided vehicle V,
The delivery time of the articles between the crane 12 and the automatic guided vehicle V can be reduced, and the crane station at the end of the rack can be omitted.

Further, the delivery of articles between the crane 12 and the automatic guided vehicle V in the rack 10 is performed via the in-rack station S provided in the rack 10, so that the goods are temporarily transferred. In addition, since the articles taken out by the crane 12 and the articles carried by the automatic guided vehicle V can be placed on the in-rack station S, unnecessary waiting time of the crane 12 and the automatic guided vehicle V can be reduced. can do.

Further, as described above, the guide line 13a in the rack is laid in the rack 10 and the traveling direction of the automatic guided vehicle V is limited to one direction, so that the traveling of the automatic guided vehicle V can be smoothly performed. Therefore, it is possible to prevent head-on collisions and deadlock between the automatic guided vehicles V, and the processing capacity of the automatic warehouse system and the automatic guided vehicles V
Can be improved.

The entry and exit stations arranged outside the rack 10 are omitted, and the automatic guided vehicle V is
Since it was used as a crane station, it eliminates the task of transferring goods from the automatic guided vehicle V to the crane station and the task of transferring articles from the crane station to the automatic guided vehicle V as in the conventional automatic warehouse system. Therefore, the processing capacity of the automatic warehouse can be improved, and more racks can be installed, so that the space of the automatic warehouse can be effectively used.

In-rack guide line 13a, main guide line 13b, end guide line 13c, branch guide line 13
The guide line 13 formed by d, 13e and the connection guide line 13f is configured as a combination of a plurality of loop-shaped closed lines, and the automatic guided vehicle V is configured by the plurality of loop-shaped closed lines. Since the vehicle travels in one direction only along the guidance line 13, it is not necessary to form a crossroad in the guidance line 13, and therefore, complicated crossroad control and forward / reverse travel control of the automatic guided vehicle V become unnecessary. Therefore, the control device can be simplified, and the installation and operation costs of the automatic warehouse can be reduced.

[0037]

Since the present invention has the above-described structure, the following effects can be obtained.

A guide line is laid in the rack, the traveling direction of the automatic guided vehicle is limited to one direction, and articles are transferred between the crane and the automatic guided vehicle in the rack. In addition, the moving distance of the crane for the loading / unloading operation is reduced, so that the loading / unloading operation efficiency of the automatic warehouse system can be improved.

In addition, since the guide line is laid in the rack and the traveling direction of the automatic guided vehicle is limited to one direction, the traveling of the automatic guided vehicle can be performed smoothly, and a frontal collision between the automatic guided vehicles can be achieved. , Deadlock and the like can be prevented, and the processing capacity of the automatic warehouse system and the transfer capacity of the automatic guided vehicle can be improved.

The transfer of the articles between the crane and the automatic guided vehicle in the rack is performed by the transfer between the crane and the automatic guided vehicle.
Since the operation is performed directly, the time for transferring the articles between the crane and the automatic guided vehicle can be reduced, and the crane station at the end of the rack can be omitted.

Further, an in-rack station is provided in the rack, and articles are transferred between the crane and the automatic guided vehicle via the in-rack station. Since the articles that have been transported and the articles transported by the automatic guided vehicle can be placed in the station in the rack, unnecessary waiting time of the crane and the automatic guided vehicle can be reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view of an automatic warehouse system according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view of a rack and the like used in the automatic warehouse system of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a front view of a main part of a rack and the like of another embodiment used in the automatic warehouse system of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic front view of the station and the automatic guided vehicle for explaining the transfer of articles from the station to the automatic guided vehicle in the automatic warehouse system of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic front view of a station and an automatic guided vehicle for explaining transfer of articles from the automatic guided vehicle to the station in the automatic warehouse system of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a schematic plan view of a conventional automatic warehouse system.

[Explanation of symbols]

 V: Automatic guided vehicle S: Station in rack 10: Rack 12: Crane 13: Guidance line 14 ······ Picking station 15 ····· Storage station

Claims (3)

[Claims] A guide line is laid in a rack, the traveling direction of the automatic guided vehicle is limited to one direction, and articles are transferred between the crane and the automatic guided vehicle in the rack. Automatic warehouse system characterized by doing. 2. The delivery of goods between a crane and an automatic guided vehicle in a rack is performed between the crane and the automatic guided vehicle.
2. The automatic warehouse system according to claim 1, wherein the automatic warehouse system is operated directly. 3. An in-rack station is provided in a rack, and articles are transferred between the crane and the automatic guided vehicle via the in-rack station. The automatic warehouse system according to claim 2.