Placement control system, placement control device, program, and placement control method

Abstract

In a disposition control system (1), an acquisition unit (11) acquires object information including size information indicating the size of an object and upper limit information indicating a disposition space in a disposition place candidate for the object. Further, the acquisition unit (11) acquires information regarding an occupied space of an article which is disposed in the disposition place candidate and is detected by a sensing unit. A determination unit (12) determines whether the object can be disposed in the disposition place candidate on the basis of the upper limit information, the object information, and the information regarding the occupied space of the article, acquired by the acquisition unit (11).

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an arrangement control system, an arrangement control device, and an arrangement control method. [Background Art]

[0002] An apparatus that recommends a location for placing an article in an article storage has been proposed (for example, Patent Document 1). In the technology disclosed in Patent Document 1, information on locations and information on objects to be placed is stored in advance, and locations are recommended using this stored information. [Prior Art Documents] [Patent Documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2021-167249 [Summary of the Invention] [Problem to be Solved by the Invention]

[0004] In the technology disclosed in Patent Document 1, locations where the object can be placed are identified based on pre-stored information about locations. However, for example in a warehouse, the situation of locations is prone to change, and the stored information about locations may be low-freshness information that deviates from the current location situation. As a result, with the technology disclosed in Patent Document 1, it is not possible to accurately determine whether an object can be placed at a candidate placement location, which may lead to a decrease in conveyance efficiency.

[0005] An object of the present disclosure is to provide an arrangement control system, an arrangement control device, and an arrangement control method that can improve the efficiency of placing an object at a placement location. [Means for Solving the Problem]

[0006] The placement control system according to the first embodiment includes an acquisition means that acquires upper limit information indicating the placement space in a candidate placement location for an object, object information including size information indicating the size of the object, and information regarding the occupied space of the object placed in the candidate placement location detected by a sensing means. A determination means that outputs a determination result determining whether the object can be placed in the candidate placement location based on the upper limit information, the object information, and the information regarding the space occupied by the object to be placed. It is equipped with.

[0007] The placement control device according to the second embodiment includes an acquisition means that acquires upper limit information indicating the placement space in a candidate placement location for an object, object information including size information indicating the size of the object, and information regarding the occupied space of the object placed in the candidate placement location detected by a sensing means, A determination means that outputs a determination result determining whether the object can be placed in the candidate placement location based on the upper limit information, the object information, and the information regarding the space occupied by the object to be placed. It is equipped with.

[0008] The third aspect of the placement control method involves acquiring upper limit information indicating the placement space in a candidate placement location for an object, object information including size information indicating the size of the object, and information regarding the occupied space of the object placed in the candidate placement location detected by a sensing means. Based on the aforementioned upper limit information, the aforementioned object information, and the information regarding the space occupied by the placement object, the system outputs a determination result that determines whether the object can be placed in the candidate placement location. Includes. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] This disclosure provides a placement control system, a placement control device, and a placement control method that can improve the efficiency of placing objects in a designated location. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0010] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of an arrangement control system according to a first embodiment. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of an arrangement control device according to the first embodiment. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an example of processing operations of the arrangement control system and the arrangement control device according to the first embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a diagram provided for describing an example of the arrangement control system according to the first embodiment. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of an arrangement control system according to a second embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of an arrangement control device according to the second embodiment. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an example of processing operations of the arrangement control system and the arrangement control device according to the second embodiment. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of an arrangement control system according to a third embodiment. [Figure 9] FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of map information. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of an arrangement control device according to the third embodiment. [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating an example of processing operations of the arrangement control system and the arrangement control device according to the third embodiment. [Figure 12] FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of an arrangement control system according to a fourth embodiment. [Figure 13] FIG. 13 is a schematic view of an arrangement object as viewed from above. [Figure 14] FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating an example of an upper surface of the arrangement object. [Figure 15] FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating another example of the upper surface of the arrangement object. [Figure 16] FIG. 16 is a diagram provided for describing a shift between a first object and a second object that constitute the arrangement object. [Figure 17] FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating an example of an arrangement control device according to the fourth embodiment. [Figure 18]It is a flowchart showing an example of the processing operation of the placement control system and placement control apparatus according to the fourth embodiment. [Figure 19] It is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the placement control apparatus. MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

[0011] Hereinafter, embodiments will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the following description and drawings are appropriately omitted and simplified for clarity of explanation. In addition, in each of the following drawings, the same elements are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description is omitted as necessary. Furthermore, specific numerical values and the like shown below are merely examples for facilitating understanding of the present disclosure, and are not limited thereto.

[0012] <First Embodiment> <Placement Control System> FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the placement control system according to the first embodiment. In FIG. 1, the placement control system 1 includes an acquisition unit 11 and a determination unit 12. In the placement control system 1, the acquisition unit 11 and the determination unit 12 may be provided in the same apparatus. The acquisition unit 11 and the determination unit 12 may each be provided independently, for example, they may be provided in different apparatuses or on a cloud. That is, the arrangement positions of the acquisition unit 11 and the determination unit 12 are not particularly limited.

[0013] The acquisition unit 11 acquires "upper limit information indicating a placement space" in a "placement location candidate" of a "target object".

[0014] Here, "object" refers to the object that the transport device (not shown) transports to the placement location and places there. For example, if the use case of placement control system 1 is a logistics warehouse, the "object" may be the goods and the pallets on which these goods are placed. For example, if the use case of placement control system 1 is a factory or plant, the "object" may be the products, parts, and the boxes or containers in which they are stored. Some transport devices (not shown) are operated by human hands, while others operate autonomously. Some transport devices also operate by combining autonomous operation with human operation, either on board or remotely. For example, specific examples of transport devices include forklifts and AGVs (Automatic Guided Vehicles), also known as unmanned transport vehicles or unmanned transport robots.

[0015] Furthermore, "candidate placement location" refers to a candidate placement location that has not yet been determined as the placement location for the object. For example, if the use case for placement control system 1 is a logistics warehouse, the "candidate placement location" could be the floor or shelf surface of a certain zone within the logistics warehouse, or it could be on top of an object already placed on that floor or shelf surface. Alternatively, if the use case for placement control system 1 is a logistics warehouse, the "candidate placement location" could be the cargo bed of a truck transporting the object.

[0016] Furthermore, "placement space" refers to the space in a place where an object can be placed. "Placement space" may be, for example, the space extending above the floor or shelves, or the space in the cargo area of ​​a truck.

[0017] Furthermore, "upper limit information indicating the placement space" is information indicating the extent of the placement space, and may be, for example, upper limits on the height, width, depth, and any combination thereof of the placement space. For example, if the use case of the placement control system 1 is a logistics warehouse, "upper limit information indicating the placement space" may be the height from the floor to the ceiling of the logistics warehouse, or it may be the permissible height that the top surfaces of objects stacked in the logistics warehouse are allowed to reach. Alternatively, "upper limit information indicating the placement space" may be, for example, a height limit value that takes safety into consideration. Alternatively, if the type of object to be placed in the candidate placement location is determined, "upper limit information indicating the placement space" may be a height limit value, width limit value, depth limit value, and any combination thereof, depending on the type of object. Also, if there are already objects to be placed at the back and on the left and right of the placement location, "upper limit information indicating the placement space" may be a width limit value indicating the width of the placement location (for example, the distance between the objects on the left and right), a depth limit value indicating the depth of the placement location (for example, the distance from the line where the fronts of the objects on the left and right are aligned to the object placed at the back of the placement location), and any combination thereof. Furthermore, for example, the "upper limit information indicating the placement space" may be a width upper limit indicating the length in the width direction of the range in which the centers of gravity of the "placement object" and the "object" can be balanced when the object is placed on top of the "placement object" so that it extends beyond the top surface of the "placement object" (described later), a depth upper limit indicating the length in the depth direction, or a combination thereof.

[0018] Furthermore, the acquisition unit 11 acquires "object information" related to the object.

[0019] This "object information" may include "size information" indicating the size of the object. "Size information" is information indicating the extent of the space occupied by the object, and may include, for example, the height, width, depth of the object, or any combination thereof.

[0020] Furthermore, the information included in "object information" is not limited to "size information," and may also include information regarding the weight of the object. Also, for example, if the object is a delivery item, "object information" may include delivery destination information (customer information, etc.). Based on this delivery destination information, the cargo bed of a truck corresponding to the delivery destination indicated by the delivery destination information may be selected as a "candidate placement location."

[0021] Furthermore, "object information" may include "placement conditions." These "placement conditions" refer to additional conditions that must be met when placing an object in a candidate location. For example, if the object is fragile, the "placement conditions" may include the condition "no stacking." The "placement conditions" may also include conditions regarding the height at which the object can be placed, and conditions regarding the weight of objects that can be placed on top of the object. An example of a condition regarding the height at which the object can be placed is, for example, "do not place it higher than 10 meters." An example of a condition regarding the weight of objects that can be placed on top of the object is, for example, "do not stack more than 100 kilograms of cargo on top of the object." The "placement conditions" may also include conditions regarding the number of layers at which objects can be stacked (stacking layer limit), and conditions regarding the weight that the object placed below it can withstand when objects are placed on top of it (for example, if the object is packaged in cardboard, this corresponds to the strength of the cardboard).

[0022] Furthermore, the acquisition unit 11 acquires information regarding the space occupied by the objects placed in the candidate placement locations detected by the sensing unit (not shown). The sensing unit (not shown) may be, for example, a camera (depth camera, stereo camera, and ToF (Time of Flight) camera, etc.), a laser sensor (2D-LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging), 3D-LiDAR, etc.), a radar sensor, etc. Also, if the use case of the placement control system 1 is a logistics warehouse, the sensing unit (not shown) may be installed in a position that allows for an overview of candidate placement locations, such as the ceiling or beams inside the warehouse. The number of sensing units (not shown) is not particularly limited. Multiple sensing units (not shown) may be distributed throughout the warehouse.

[0023] Here, "placed object" means one or more objects already placed in a candidate placement location. These placed objects may be laid flat or stacked. In other words, if "placed object" includes multiple objects, "placed object" means a collection of multiple objects. Furthermore, "information regarding the occupied space of the placed object" is information indicating the extent of the space in which the placed object actually exists, and may be, for example, the height, width, depth of the placed object, or any combination thereof. In other words, "information regarding the occupied space of the placed object" can also be rephrased as "size information indicating the size of the placed object." The acquisition unit 11 may acquire sensing information from the sensing unit (not shown) and acquire information regarding the occupied space of the placed object located in the candidate placement location based on this sensing information.

[0024] The determination unit 12 determines whether or not an object can be placed at a candidate placement location based on the "upper limit information," "object information," and "information regarding the space occupied by the object" acquired by the acquisition unit 11. This makes it possible to determine whether or not an object can be placed at a candidate placement location without the transport device or personnel actually having to move to the candidate placement location. As a result, cases where an object cannot be placed at a candidate placement location after actually moving to it can be avoided, thus improving transport efficiency. Furthermore, the "information regarding the space occupied by the object" is information sensed in real time by the sensing unit (not shown). This makes it possible to determine whether or not an object can be placed at a candidate placement location based on the "information regarding the space occupied by the object," which has high information freshness, thus improving the accuracy of the determination.

[0025] More specifically, the determination unit 12 identifies "information regarding the remaining space available for placement" based on "upper limit information" and "information regarding the space occupied by the object to be placed." "Remaining space available for placement" means the space remaining in the candidate placement location for placing an object. Furthermore, "information regarding the remaining space available for placement" is information indicating the extent of the remaining space, and may be, for example, upper limits on the height, width, depth, and any combination thereof of the remaining space. The determination unit 12 then determines whether or not the object can be placed in the candidate placement location based on "information regarding the remaining space available for placement" and "object information." For example, if the remaining space indicated by "information regarding the remaining space available for placement" can accommodate an object of the size indicated by "object information," the determination unit 12 determines that the object can be placed in the candidate placement location.

[0026] As a concrete example, consider the case where "upper limit information," "object information," and "information regarding the space occupied by the object" are all information related to height. In the following, "upper limit information," "object information," and "information regarding the space occupied by the object" will be defined as height upper limit information, object height information, and object height information, respectively. In this case, the determination unit 12 calculates the "placementable height" by subtracting the value indicated by the object height information from the value indicated by the height upper limit information. Then, the determination unit 12 determines that, for example, if the "placementable height" is greater than the value indicated by the object height information, the object can be placed in the candidate placement location. Here, "placementable height" means the height of the space remaining for placing the object in the candidate placement location.

[0027] Another specific example is the case where "upper limit information," "object information," and "information regarding the space occupied by the placed object" are all information regarding width. In the following, "upper limit information," "object information," and "information regarding the space occupied by the placed object" will be defined as width upper limit information, object width information, and placed object width information, respectively. In this case, the determination unit 12 calculates the "placementable width" by subtracting the value indicated by the placed object width information from the value indicated by the width upper limit information. Here, when objects are stacked in the candidate placement location (when no more than one object is placed on top of one placed object), the determination unit 12 uses zero as the value indicated by the placed object width information. This is because the placed object does not line up with the object in the width direction, and therefore does not reduce the width of the space where the object is placed. In other words, in this case, the value indicated by the width upper limit information is equal to the "placementable width." Then, the determination unit 12 determines that the object can be placed in the candidate placement location if, for example, the "placementable width" is greater than the value indicated by the object width information. Here, "placeable width" refers to the width of the space remaining for placing an object in a potential placement location. Depth can be treated in the same way as width.

[0028] The determination unit 12 then outputs a determination result. This output determination result may be used as input to other functional units within the device in which the determination unit 12 is installed, or it may be transmitted to other devices from a transmission unit (not shown) installed in the device.

[0029] <Example of a configuration for a placement control device> Figure 2 shows an example of a placement control device according to the first embodiment. In Figure 2, the placement control device 10 has an acquisition unit 11 and a determination unit 12. That is, Figure 2 shows an example in which the acquisition unit 11 and the determination unit 12 are provided in the same device. The explanation of the acquisition unit 11 and the determination unit 12 is omitted as it would be redundant.

[0030] The device on which the placement control device 10 is installed is not particularly limited. For example, the placement control device 10 may be installed in a transport device (not shown), or in a management device that manages the transport device (not shown). Specific embodiments will be described later.

[0031] <Example of processing operation> Figure 3 is a flowchart showing an example of the processing operation of the placement control system and placement control device according to the first embodiment.

[0032] The acquisition unit 11 acquires upper limit information indicating the placement space in the candidate placement location of the object (step S101). The acquisition unit 11 acquires object information about the object (step S101). The acquisition unit 11 acquires information regarding the occupied space of the object placed in the candidate placement location detected by the sensing unit (not shown) (step S101).

[0033] The determination unit 12 determines whether or not the object can be placed in the candidate placement location based on the acquired upper limit information, object information, and information regarding the space occupied by the object to be placed (step S102).

[0034] The determination unit 12 outputs the determination result (step S103).

[0035] <Examples> Next, an example of the placement control system in the first embodiment will be described. Figure 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of the placement control system in the first embodiment.

[0036] Figure 4 illustrates a warehouse management system as an example. In Figure 4, the management system includes a sensor 20, a management device 30, and a transport device 40. As described above, the device on which the placement control device 10 of the first embodiment is installed is not particularly limited, but here it is explained as if the placement control device 10 is installed on the management device 30. Also here it is explained as if the transport device 40 is a forklift as an example. Furthermore, the "object" described above is explained as a pallet on which goods are stacked (hereinafter simply referred to as "pallet"). This pallet is shown as pallet TO in Figure 4.

[0037] Here, the sensor 20 may be, for example, a camera (depth camera, stereo camera, and ToF (Time of Flight) camera, etc.), a laser sensor (2D-LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging), 3D-LiDAR, etc.), a radar sensor, etc. The sensor 20 may transmit sensing information to the management device 30 via a network not shown. The type of this network is not particularly limited, but may be, for example, a 3G (3rd Generation), LTE (Long Term Evolution), 4G, 5G, local 5G network, wireless LAN (e.g., Wi-Fi®), wired LAN, or LPWAN (Low Power Wide Area Network). The sensor 20 may also be positioned in a location that allows it to oversee potential placement locations such as the ceiling or beams within the area to which the transport device 40 can transport (in this case, a warehouse). The number of sensors 20 is not particularly limited. Multiple sensors 20 may be distributed throughout the transportable area.

[0038] The management device 30 may, for example, collect the following information using the acquisition unit 11. The timing of information collection is not particularly limited; for example, it may be done before the operation of the transport device 40, or it may be done at any time during the operation of the transport device 40.

[0039] For example, the management device 30 may collect "map information" within the area (in this case, a warehouse) that the transport device 40 can transport. "Map information" is information about the attributes of each location within the transportable area. For example, suppose the transportable area is divided into multiple zones (i.e., areas), and each zone is divided into multiple sub-zones. The map information may include, for example, information indicating which zones can be used to place goods. The map information may also include information indicating the status of goods already placed. This information may, for example, indicate that product A is located in sub-zone b1.

[0040] Furthermore, the map information may include information indicating the location of shelves, where trucks stop, inspection locations, dismantling locations, and restricted access zones.

[0041] Furthermore, the management device 30 may collect the above-mentioned "upper limit information indicating the placement space."

[0042] Furthermore, the management device 30 may collect information about the packages as objects. This "information about packages" may include information about the type of package (e.g., product name), the "placement conditions" mentioned above, or delivery customer information. The management device 30 may also collect information about the packages to be placed in each zone.

[0043] (When the conveying device starts operating) The conveying device 40 adjusts the position of the fork section. For example, the conveying device 40 moves the position of the fork section to a position for lifting the pallet.

[0044] Furthermore, the conveying device 40 may identify the contents of the pallet to be conveyed and notify the management device 30 of the identification information of these contents. For example, the conveying device 40 may be equipped with a reader (not shown) and acquire the identification information of the contents by reading a QR code (registered trademark) or barcode using this reader (not shown). This allows the management device 30 to acquire information about the contents of the pallet to be conveyed. Note that the method by which the management device 30 acquires information about the contents of the pallet to be conveyed is not limited to this, and for example, the contents of the pallet to be conveyed may be determined based on sensing information from the sensor 20 (for example, video of the conveying device 40).

[0045] (Selection of placement location) The acquisition unit 11 of the management device 30 acquires, for example, information regarding the space occupied by the placed object from the sensor 20 via a network (not shown) in real time. As described above, the information regarding the space occupied by the placed object may be, for example, the height, width, depth of the placed object, or any combination thereof. As described above, the acquisition unit 11 may acquire sensing information about candidate placement locations from the sensor 20 in real time, and based on this sensing information, it may acquire information about the space occupied by the objects placed at the candidate placement locations. For example, if the sensing information is an image, the acquisition unit 11 may identify "information about the space occupied by the objects" by image processing. For example, if the sensor 20 is a stereo camera or the like, and the sensing information is a stereo image, the acquisition unit 11 may form a distance image from the stereo image and identify "information about the space occupied by the objects" based on this distance image. Also, for example, if the sensor 20 is a laser sensor or the like, and the sensing information is a distance image, the acquisition unit 11 may identify "information about the space occupied by the objects" based on this distance image.

[0046] Here, the upper limit information mentioned above refers to the number of pallets (levels) that are permitted to be stacked, which is assumed to be 3 pallets (3 levels). Furthermore, the "information regarding the space occupied by the placement items" refers to the number of pallets (levels) already placed in the candidate placement location.

[0047] The determination unit 12 of the management device 30 identifies "information regarding the remaining space available for placement" based on "upper limit information" and "information regarding the space occupied by the placement items". Here, both "upper limit information" and "information regarding the space occupied by the placement items" are the number of pallets. Therefore, the determination unit 12 may determine the number of pallets that can be further stacked by subtracting the number of pallets already placed in the placement location candidate from the number of pallets that are allowed to be stacked in the placement location candidate. For example, as shown in Figure 4, if subzones DZ1, DZ2, and DZ3 are each placement location candidates, the determination unit 12 determines that the pallets to be placed cannot be placed in subzone DZ3, where three pallets are already stacked. On the other hand, since subzones DZ2 and DZ3 still have room to stack pallets, the determination unit 12 determines that the pallets to be placed can be placed in subzones DZ2 and DZ3.

[0048] Furthermore, the determination unit 12 may determine that an object can be placed in a candidate placement location if there is sufficient space to place the object and the above-mentioned "placement conditions" are met. For example, if the placement conditions for an object in a candidate placement location include the condition "no stacking," the determination unit 12 may determine that an object cannot be placed in that candidate placement location, even if there is sufficient space.

[0049] The determination unit 12 may determine a target zone based on object information or placement conditions and narrow down the candidate placement locations for the object to be determined to those within that target zone. For example, if the object is a package destined for a customer in a predetermined area, the determination unit 12 may narrow down the candidate placement locations for the object to be determined to the cargo bed of a truck heading to that area. Also, for example, if the placement conditions for the object include the condition "no stacking," the determination unit 12 may narrow down the candidate placement locations for the object to be determined to those within a zone designated for flat placement only.

[0050] (Notification of potential placement locations) Information indicating the determination result (for example, candidate placement locations determined to be possible) may be notified to the transport device 40 or the operator device operated by the operator. This notification will be described in detail in the third embodiment.

[0051] If the transport device 40 is capable of autonomous operation, it moves to the notified candidate location. If the transport device 40 is either a ride-on or remotely operated type, the driver or operator will perform the operation to move the transport device 40 to the notified candidate location.

[0052] As described above, according to the first embodiment, in the placement control system 1, the acquisition unit 11 acquires upper limit information indicating the placement space and object information including size information indicating the size of the object at the candidate placement location of the object. The acquisition unit 11 also acquires information regarding the occupied space of the object placed at the candidate placement location detected by the sensing unit (for example, the sensor 20). The determination unit 12 determines whether or not the object can be placed at the candidate placement location based on the upper limit information, object information and information regarding the occupied space of the object acquired by the acquisition unit 11.

[0053] This configuration of placement control system 1 allows for the acquisition of "information regarding the space occupied by the object to be placed" in real time, as sensed by a sensing unit (not shown). This enables the system to determine whether an object can be placed at a candidate placement location based on this highly up-to-date information, thereby improving the accuracy of the determination. Furthermore, this configuration of placement control system 1 allows for the determination of whether an object can be placed at a candidate placement location without the transport device or personnel actually having to move to the location. As a result, cases where an object cannot be placed at a candidate placement location after actually moving to it can be avoided, thus improving transport efficiency.

[0054] It is also conceivable to acquire information on potential placement locations and the occupied space of the placement items in advance and manage them in a linked manner. However, the status of potential placement locations such as warehouses is prone to change, requiring complicated management. In contrast, the above-described placement control system 1 acquires "information on the occupied space of the placement items" sensed in real time by a sensing unit (not shown), which is advantageous because it eliminates the need for complicated management.

[0055] <Second Embodiment> The second embodiment relates in particular to an embodiment that is useful when there are multiple candidate locations where the object can be placed.

[0056] <Placement control system> Figure 5 shows an example of a placement control system in the second embodiment. In Figure 5, the placement control system 2 includes an acquisition unit 11, a determination unit 12, and a selection unit 51. The acquisition unit 11, the determination unit 12, and the selection unit 51 in the placement control system 2 may be provided in the same device. Alternatively, the acquisition unit 11, the determination unit 12, and the selection unit 51 may be provided independently, for example, in different devices or on the cloud. For example, the acquisition unit 11 and the determination unit 12 may be provided in the same device, and the selection unit 51 may be provided in a different device. In other words, the placement locations of the acquisition unit 11, the determination unit 12, and the selection unit 51 are not particularly limited.

[0057] In the second embodiment, the acquisition unit 11 acquires "upper limit information" for each of the multiple candidate placement locations within the area in which a transport device (not shown) can transport an object (hereinafter simply referred to as the "transportable area"). The "transportable area" is the area in which a transport device (not shown) transporting an object may be located. For example, in a use case where the placement control system 2 is used for a warehouse, the "transportable area" may be the entire warehouse area or a part of it. Furthermore, the "upper limit information indicating the placement space" is information indicating the extent of the placement space, and may be, for example, upper limit values ​​for the height, width, depth, and any combination thereof of the placement space.

[0058] In the second embodiment, the determination unit 12 determines whether the object can be placed in each candidate placement location based on upper limit information, object information, and information regarding the space occupied by the object. Therefore, there may be multiple candidate placement locations where the object can be placed.

[0059] The selection unit 51 selects a candidate location that satisfies the "placement conditions" from among one or more candidate locations that have been determined to be able to accommodate the object. As described above, "placement conditions" refer to additional conditions that must be met when placing the object in a candidate location. In other words, the selection unit 51 selects a candidate location that satisfies the placement conditions, excluding those that do not satisfy the placement conditions, even if the determination unit 12 has determined that a candidate location is spatially capable of accommodating the object. This allows for the selection of a more suitable location.

[0060] <Example of a configuration for a placement control device> Figure 6 shows an example of a placement control device according to the second embodiment. In Figure 6, the placement control device 50 has an acquisition unit 11, a determination unit 12, and a selection unit 51. That is, Figure 6 shows an example in which the acquisition unit 11, the determination unit 12, and the selection unit 51 are provided in the same device. The explanations of the acquisition unit 11, the determination unit 12, and the selection unit 51 are omitted as they would be redundant.

[0061] The device on which the placement control device 50 is installed is not particularly limited. For example, the placement control device 50 may be installed in a transport device (e.g., transport device 40) or in a management device that manages the transport device (e.g., management device 30).

[0062] <Example of processing operation> Figure 7 is a flowchart showing an example of the processing operation of the placement control system and placement control device according to the second embodiment.

[0063] The acquisition unit 11 acquires "upper limit information" for each of the multiple candidate placement locations within the transportable area (step S201). The acquisition unit 11 acquires object information about the object (step S201). The acquisition unit 11 acquires information about the occupied space of the object placed in each candidate placement location detected by the sensing unit (not shown) (step S201).

[0064] The determination unit 12 determines whether the object can be placed in each candidate placement location based on the upper limit information, the object information, and the information regarding the space occupied by the object (step S202).

[0065] The determination unit 12 outputs the determination result (step S203).

[0066] The selection unit 51 selects a candidate location that satisfies the "location conditions" from among one or more candidate locations that have been determined to be able to accommodate the object included in the determination result (step S204).

[0067] Here, the selected candidate placement location may be communicated to the transport device or the operator device operated by the operator. This communication will be described in detail in the third embodiment. If the transport device is capable of autonomous operation, it will move to the notified candidate location. If the transport device is either a ride-on or remotely operated type, the driver or operator will perform the operation to move the transport device to the notified candidate location.

[0068] As described above, according to the second embodiment, in the placement control system 2, the selection unit 51 selects a placement location candidate that satisfies the "placement conditions" from one or more placement location candidates that have been determined to be able to place the object. The "placement conditions" are additional conditions that must be met when placing the object in a placement location candidate.

[0069] This configuration of the placement control system 2 allows for the selection of a more suitable placement location.

[0070] <Third Embodiment> The third embodiment relates to notification of information regarding candidate placement locations.

[0071] <Placement control system> Figure 8 shows an example of a placement control system in the third embodiment. In Figure 8, the placement control system 2 includes an acquisition unit 11, a determination unit 12, and a notification unit 61. In the placement control system 3, the acquisition unit 11, the determination unit 12, and the notification unit 61 may be provided in the same device. Furthermore, the acquisition unit 11, the determination unit 12, and the notification unit 61 may each be provided independently, for example, in different devices or on the cloud. In other words, the placement locations of the acquisition unit 11, the determination unit 12, and the notification unit 61 are not particularly limited. The acquisition unit 11 and the determination unit 12 are the same as those described in the first and second embodiments, so their description is omitted.

[0072] The notification unit 61 generates a control signal that includes information indicating the determination result of the determination unit 12, and notifies (transmits) this control signal to the notification recipient. The notification recipient may be, for example, a transport device (not shown) or an operating device (not shown). For example, the information indicating the determination result included in the control signal may be information indicating the location of a candidate placement location determined by the determination unit 12 to be placeable. This information indicating the location of a candidate placement location may be, for example, location identification information attached to each location within the area. This location identification information may be, for example, identification information for a zone into which the area has been divided, or identification information for a subzone into which the zone has been divided.

[0073] Furthermore, for example, the information indicating the judgment result included in the control signal may be map information indicating whether or not the object can be placed in the candidate placement location.

[0074] Figure 9 shows an example of the map information that is notified. The map information MA shown in Figure 9 shows the transportable area AR. Within the transportable area AR, the candidate placement locations CA11, CA12, CA13, CA21, CA22, CA23, CA31, CA32, and CA33 are each indicated by rectangles. Circles are drawn inside the rectangles corresponding to the candidate placement locations determined to be able to place the object, while circles are not drawn inside the rectangles corresponding to the candidate placement locations determined to be unable to place the object. Furthermore, even if both the first and second candidate placement locations are determined to be able to place the object, the display method for the first candidate placement location and the second candidate placement location differ depending on whether or not the object already exists there. For example, candidate placement location CA11 is a candidate placement location determined to be unable to place the object. Also, for example, candidate placement location CA12 is a candidate placement location determined to be able to place the object, but the object already exists there. Furthermore, for example, candidate placement location CA13 is determined to be a location where an object can be placed, but where no object has yet been placed. Note that, for example, candidate placement locations CA11, CA12, and CA13 may form a zone or a partial zone, or candidate placement locations CA11, CA12, CA13, CA21, CA22, CA23, CA31, CA32, and CA33 may form a zone or a partial zone. Furthermore, variations in the display method depending on the attributes of the candidate placement location include using different colors (color coding), using different display marks, and using highlighting (for example, surrounding it with a thick border or making the bordered area blink).

[0075] A transport device (not shown) that receives such map information, if capable of autonomous operation, transports the object to one of the possible placement locations indicated in the map information. If multiple possible placement locations are indicated, as in Figure 9, the transport device (not shown) may autonomously select one of them and transport the object to the selected location. In addition, a ride-on transport device (not shown) may display the map information on a display unit provided on the transport device (not shown). This allows the operator of the transport device (not shown) to recognize the possible placement locations indicated in the displayed map information.

[0076] Furthermore, the map information MA may indicate the locations of people HU1 and HU2 detected by the sensing unit (not shown). This allows the autonomously mobile transport device (not shown) to move while avoiding contact with the indicated people. In addition, in the case of a ride-on transport device (not shown), the operator can recognize the presence of people by looking at the displayed map information. This enables the safe operation of the ride-on transport device (not shown).

[0077] Furthermore, if the transport device (not shown) is remotely operated, the notification unit 61 may notify the operating device (not shown) of the map information. The operating device (not shown) may then display the map information on a display unit provided on the operating device (not shown). This allows the operator of the transport device (not shown) to recognize the candidate placement locations indicated in the displayed map information.

[0078] <Example of a configuration for a placement control device> Figure 10 shows an example of a placement control device according to the third embodiment. In Figure 10, the placement control device 60 has an acquisition unit 11, a determination unit 12, and a notification unit 61. That is, Figure 10 shows an example in which the acquisition unit 11, the determination unit 12, and the notification unit 61 are provided in the same device. The descriptions of the acquisition unit 11, the determination unit 12, and the notification unit 61 are omitted as they would be redundant.

[0079] The device on which the placement control device 60 is installed is not particularly limited. For example, the placement control device 60 may be installed in a transport device (e.g., transport device 40) or in a management device that manages the transport device (e.g., management device 30). <Example of processing operation> Figure 11 is a flowchart showing an example of the processing operation of the placement control system and placement control device according to the third embodiment.

[0080] The acquisition unit 11 acquires "upper limit information" for each of the multiple candidate placement locations within the transportable area (step S301). The acquisition unit 11 acquires object information about the object (step S301). The acquisition unit 11 acquires information about the occupied space of the object placed in each candidate placement location detected by the sensing unit (not shown) (step S301).

[0081] The determination unit 12 determines whether the object can be placed in each candidate placement location based on the upper limit information, the object information, and the information regarding the space occupied by the object (step S302).

[0082] The determination unit 12 outputs the determination result (step S303).

[0083] Based on the determination result, the notification unit 61 notifies the recipient of information regarding possible placement locations (step S304).

[0084] As described above, according to the third embodiment, in the placement control system 3, the notification unit 61 notifies the recipient of information regarding possible placement locations.

[0085] This placement control system 3 allows the recipient to recognize available locations for placement.

[0086] In the above description, the system to which the notification unit 61 is applied to the placement control system 1 of the first embodiment has been described as placement control system 3. The system to which the notification unit 61 is applied is not limited to this, and may also be the placement control system 2 of the second embodiment. In this case, the notification unit 61 only needs to notify the recipient of information regarding the placement location candidates selected by the selection unit 51. The manner of notification can be adapted from that described in the third embodiment.

[0087] <Fourth Embodiment> The fourth embodiment relates to an embodiment in which "information regarding the orientation of the object to be placed" is used to determine whether or not the object can be placed in a candidate placement location.

[0088] <Placement control system> Figure 12 shows an example of a placement control system in the fourth embodiment. In Figure 12, the placement control system 4 has an acquisition unit 71 and a determination unit 72. In the placement control system 4, the acquisition unit 71 and the determination unit 72 may be provided in the same device. Alternatively, the acquisition unit 71 and the determination unit 72 may be provided independently, for example, in different devices or on the cloud. In other words, the placement locations of the acquisition unit 71 and the determination unit 72 are not particularly limited.

[0089] The acquisition unit 71 acquires the following information, similar to the acquisition unit 11 in the first to third embodiments. Specifically, the acquisition unit 71 acquires "upper limit information indicating the placement space" in the "candidate placement location" of the "object". The acquisition unit 71 also acquires "object information" related to the object. Furthermore, the acquisition unit 71 acquires information regarding the occupied space of the object placed in the candidate placement location detected by the sensing unit (not shown).

[0090] The acquisition unit 71 then acquires "information regarding the orientation of the objects to be placed" at the candidate placement locations.

[0091] Here, "orientation of the object" refers to the state of the object's arrangement. "Information regarding the orientation of the object" refers to information used to determine the orientation of the object. For example, "information regarding the orientation of the object" may be the direction in which the entire or partial object extends with respect to a reference plane or reference direction. For example, the inclination of the object itself with respect to the horizontal plane or the inclination of the top surface of the object with respect to the horizontal plane may be used as "information regarding the orientation of the object." Alternatively, "information regarding the orientation of the object" may be the position in which the entire or partial object exists with respect to a reference plane or reference position. For example, if the object is made up of multiple objects stacked on top of each other, the horizontal displacement of the bottom surface of the top object relative to the top surface of the bottom object may be used as "information regarding the orientation of the object."

[0092] The "orientation of the placed object" may be detected by a sensing unit (not shown). This sensing unit (not shown) may be, for example, a camera (depth camera, stereo camera, and ToF (Time of Flight) camera, etc.), a laser sensor (2D-LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging), 3D-LiDAR, etc.), a radar sensor, etc. Also, if the use case of the placement control system 1 is a logistics warehouse, the sensing unit (not shown) may be installed in a position that allows for an overview of potential placement locations, such as on the ceiling or beams within the warehouse. The number of sensing units (not shown) is not particularly limited. Multiple sensing units (not shown) may be distributed throughout the warehouse. Also, this sensing unit (not shown) may be provided on a transport device (not shown). If this transport device (not shown) is a forklift, the sensing unit (not shown) may be installed at the tip of the forks, at the base of the forks, above the driver's seat, etc.

[0093] The determination unit 72 determines whether or not an object can be placed on the object based on the upper limit information, object information, information regarding the space occupied by the object, and information regarding the orientation of the object. For example, even if the determination unit 72 determines that it is spatially possible to place the object in the candidate placement location based on the upper limit information, object information, and information regarding the space occupied by the object, it may determine that placement is not possible depending on the orientation of the object indicated by the information regarding the orientation of the object.

[0094] For example, suppose the acquisition unit 71 acquires "information regarding the orientation of the object" indicating that the top surface of the object is not flat, as shown in Figure 13. Figure 13 is a schematic diagram of the object viewed from above. The nine rectangles shown in Figure 13 represent, for example, nine detection blocks into which the detection range of the sensing unit (not shown) is divided. The detection range shown in Figure 13 may be, for example, the top surface of the object. In this case, the numbers shown in Figure 13 represent the distance from each part of the top surface of the object to the ceiling. In the example shown in Figure 13, when determining the orientation of the placed objects based on the distance information from each part of the top surface of the object to the ceiling, the top surfaces of the packages marked with the number "100" are aligned. However, the top surface of the package marked with the number "110" is located lower than the top surface of the package marked with the number "100" when viewed from above. Therefore, there is a step between the top surface of the package marked with the number "100" and the top surface of the package marked with the number "110". Furthermore, there is also a step between the top surface of the package marked with the number "110" and the top surface of the packages marked with the numbers "120" or "140". In other words, the top surface of the object in the example shown in Figure 13 is slanted, like the top surface of the object shown in Figure 14. Placing an object on such an object would result in placing the object in an unstable state, which is dangerous. Therefore, the determination unit 72 will determine that the object cannot be placed in the candidate placement location based on the "information regarding the orientation of the object" indicating that the top surface of the object is not flat. Figure 14 shows an example of the top surface of an object to be placed. Here, the explanation uses the example where one detection block and the top surface of one package coincide, but it is not limited to this. For example, as shown in Figure 15, the object to be placed may consist of one package, and the top surface of that package may be slanted. In this case as well, for example, the information on the distance from each part of the top surface of the package to the ceiling indicates that the top surface of the package is slanted. Therefore, the determination unit 72 will determine that the object cannot be placed in the candidate placement location based on "information on the orientation of the object to be placed," which indicates that the top surface of the object to be placed is not flat. Figure 15 shows another example of the top surface of an object to be placed.

[0095] Next, we will explain the case where the arrangement includes a first object and a second object stacked on top of the first object. For example, suppose the first object and the second object are a pallet and a mass of goods placed on this pallet, respectively. If the acquisition unit 71 acquires "information regarding the orientation of the arrangement" indicating that the lower surface of the upper second object is horizontally offset from the upper surface of the lower first object, then the second object is also considered to be placed on top of the first object in an unstable state. Placing the object on such an arrangement (i.e., on top of the second object) is dangerous, so the determination unit 72 will determine that the object cannot be placed in the candidate placement location. Figure 16 illustrates the misalignment between a first and second object constituting the arrangement. Generally, it is assumed that the pallets used in one location are common. Therefore, if there is no misalignment between the first and second objects, when viewed from above, the pallet of the first object is ideally superimposed on the pallet of the second object and is not visible. Thus, when there is a misalignment between the first and second objects as shown in Figure 16, and a depth camera is used as the sensing unit, the depths related to the arrangement are detected as follows: a first depth L1 from the depth camera to the pallet of the first object, and a second depth L2 from the depth camera to the pallet of the second object. The depth to the floor is known, and the first depth L1 and the second depth L2 are smaller than the depth to the floor. The determination unit 72 may also determine that the object cannot be placed in the candidate placement location if it receives multiple different depths as "information regarding the orientation of the placed object," indicating that the lower surface of the upper second object is horizontally offset from the upper surface of the lower first object.

[0096] <Example of a configuration for a placement control device> Figure 17 shows an example of a placement control device according to the fourth embodiment. In Figure 17, the placement control device 70 has an acquisition unit 71 and a determination unit 72. That is, Figure 17 shows an example in which the acquisition unit 71 and the determination unit 72 are provided in the same device. The explanation of the acquisition unit 71 and the determination unit 72 is omitted as it would be redundant.

[0097] The device on which the placement control device 70 is installed is not particularly limited. For example, the placement control device 70 may be installed in a transport device (not shown), or in a management device that manages the transport device (not shown). <Example of processing operation> Figure 18 is a flowchart showing an example of the processing operation of the placement control system and placement control device according to the fourth embodiment.

[0098] The acquisition unit 71 acquires upper limit information indicating the placement space in the candidate placement location of the object (step S401). The acquisition unit 71 acquires object information about the object (step S401). The acquisition unit 71 acquires information about the occupied space of the object placed in the candidate placement location detected by the sensing unit (not shown) (step S401). The acquisition unit 71 acquires information about the orientation of the object detected by the sensing unit (not shown) (step S401).

[0099] The determination unit 72 determines whether or not the object can be placed in the candidate placement location based on the acquired upper limit information, object information, information regarding the space occupied by the object, and information regarding the orientation of the object (step S402).

[0100] The determination unit 72 outputs the determination result (step S403).

[0101] As described above, according to the fourth embodiment, in the placement control system 4, the acquisition unit 71 acquires upper limit information indicating the placement space and object information including size information indicating the size of the object at the candidate placement location of the object. The acquisition unit 71 also acquires information regarding the space occupied by the object placed at the candidate placement location detected by the sensing unit. The acquisition unit 71 also acquires information regarding the orientation of the object detected by the sensing unit. The determination unit 72 determines whether or not the object can be placed at the candidate placement location based on the upper limit information, object information and object orientation information acquired by the acquisition unit 71.

[0102] This configuration of the placement control system 4 makes it possible to determine whether or not a placement is feasible in a candidate location while considering safety.

[0103] In addition, in the second and third embodiments, the acquisition unit 71 and the determination unit 72 can be used instead of the acquisition unit 11 and the determination unit 12.

[0104] The first to fourth embodiments described above can be combined in any combination. Furthermore, while some common elements between embodiments may be omitted, the content of one embodiment can be used in other embodiments.

[0105] <Other Embodiments> Figure 19 shows an example of the hardware configuration of a placement control device. In Figure 19, the placement control device 100 has an interface 101, a processor 102, and memory 103. Interface 101 may be used to communicate with network nodes (e.g., eNB, MME, P-GW). Interface 101 may include, for example, a network interface card (NIC) compliant with the IEEE 802.3 series. Here, eNB stands for evolved Node B, MME stands for Mobility Management Entity, and P-GW stands for Packet Data Network Gateway. IEEE stands for Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.

[0106] The processor 102 may be, for example, a microprocessor, an MPU (Micro Processing Unit), or a CPU (Central Processing Unit). The processor 102 may include multiple processors. The memory 103 is composed of a combination of volatile memory and non-volatile memory. The memory 103 may include storage located away from the processor 102. In this case, the processor 102 may access the memory 103 via an I / O interface (not shown).

[0107] In the example shown in Figure 19, memory 103 is used to store a group of software modules. The processor 102 can read these software modules from memory 103 and execute them, thereby enabling the placement control device 10 and other processes described in the above embodiment.

[0108] The placement control devices 10, 50, 60, and 70 of the first to fourth embodiments may each have the hardware configuration shown in Figure 19. The acquisition units 11 and 71, the determination units 12 and 72, the selection unit 51, and the notification unit 61 of the placement control devices 10, 50, 60, and 70 of the first to fourth embodiments may be realized by the processor 102 reading and executing a program stored in the memory 103. That is, each of the processors in the placement control devices 10, 50, 60, and 70 executes one or more programs that include a set of instructions for causing the computer to perform the algorithm described with reference to the drawings.

[0109] The program can be stored using various types of non-transitory computer-readable medium and supplied to the placement control devices 10, 50, 60, and 70. Examples of non-transitory computer-readable medium include random-access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), flash memory, solid-state drive (SSD), or other memory technologies, CD-ROM, digital versatile disc (DVD), Blu-ray® disc, or other optical disc storage, magnetic cassette, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage, or other magnetic storage devices. Alternatively, the program may be supplied to the placement control devices 10, 50, 60, and 70 by various types of transient computer-readable medium. Examples of transient computer-readable medium include electrical signals, optical signals, and electromagnetic waves. The transient computer-readable medium can be supplied to the placement control devices 10, 50, 60, and 70 via wired communication channels such as electric wires and optical fibers, or via wireless communication channels.

[0110] Although the present invention has been described above with reference to embodiments, the present invention is not limited thereto. Various modifications to the structure and details of the present invention can be made that are understandable to those skilled in the art within the scope of the invention.

[0111] Some or all of the above embodiments may also be described as follows, but are not limited to the following:

[0112] (Note 1) An acquisition means for acquiring upper limit information indicating the placement space in a candidate placement location for an object, object information including size information indicating the size of the object, and information regarding the occupied space of the object placed in the candidate placement location detected by a sensing means. A determination means that outputs a determination result determining whether the object can be placed in the candidate placement location based on the upper limit information, the object information, and the information regarding the space occupied by the object to be placed. A placement control system equipped with the following features. (Note 2) The system includes a notification means that notifies a signal containing map information indicating whether or not the object can be placed at the candidate placement location, as information indicating the determination result. The placement control system described in Appendix 1. (Note 3) The object information includes placement conditions, which are additional conditions required for the candidate placement location where the object is determined to be able to be placed. The placement control system described in Appendix 1 or 2. (Note 4) The acquisition means acquires the upper limit information for each of the plurality of candidate placement locations within the area in which the transport device can transport the object, and information regarding the occupied space of the object placed in each of the candidate placement locations. The determination means determines, with respect to each of the candidate placement locations, whether the object can be placed in each of the candidate placement locations, based on the upper limit information, the object information, and the information regarding the space occupied by the object. A placement control system as described in any one of the items 1 to 3 of the appendix. (Note 5) The aforementioned object information includes placement conditions, The placement control system includes a selection means for selecting a placement location candidate that satisfies the placement conditions from among one or more placement location candidates that have been determined to be able to place the object. The placement control system described in Appendix 4. (Note 6) The acquisition means acquires information regarding the orientation of the object placed in the candidate placement location, The determination means determines whether the object can be placed on the object based on the upper limit information, the object information, the information regarding the space occupied by the placement object, and the information regarding the orientation of the placement object. A placement control system as described in any one of the items 1 to 5 of the appendix. (Note 7) An acquisition means for acquiring upper limit information indicating the placement space in a candidate placement location for an object, object information including size information indicating the size of the object, and information regarding the occupied space of the object placed in the candidate placement location detected by a sensing means. A determination means that outputs a determination result determining whether the object can be placed in the candidate placement location based on the upper limit information, the object information, and the information regarding the space occupied by the object to be placed. A placement control device equipped with the following. (Note 8) The system includes a notification means that notifies a signal containing map information indicating whether or not the object can be placed at the candidate placement location, as information indicating the determination result. The arrangement control device described in Appendix 7. (Note 9) The object information includes placement conditions, which are additional conditions required for the candidate placement location where the object is determined to be able to be placed. The arrangement control device described in Appendix 7 or 8. (Note 10) The acquisition means acquires the upper limit information for each of the plurality of candidate placement locations within the area in which the transport device can transport the object, and information regarding the occupied space of the object placed in each of the candidate placement locations. The determination means determines, with respect to each of the candidate placement locations, whether or not the object can be placed in each of the candidate placement locations, based on the upper limit information, the object information, and the information regarding the space occupied by the object. The arrangement control device described in any one of the appendices 7 to 9. (Note 11) The aforementioned object information includes placement conditions, The placement control device includes a selection means for selecting a placement location candidate that satisfies the placement conditions from among one or more placement location candidates that have been determined to be capable of placing the object. The arrangement control device described in Appendix 10. (Note 12) The acquisition means acquires information regarding the orientation of the object placed in the candidate placement location, The determination means determines whether the object can be placed on the object based on the upper limit information, the object information, the information regarding the space occupied by the placement object, and the information regarding the orientation of the placement object. The arrangement control device described in any one of the appendices 7 to 11. (Note 13) To acquire information regarding the space occupied by the object in the candidate placement location, including upper limit information indicating the placement space, object information including size information indicating the size of the object, and information regarding the space occupied by the object placed in the candidate placement location as detected by the sensing means, Based on the aforementioned upper limit information, the aforementioned object information, and the information regarding the space occupied by the placement object, the system outputs a determination result that determines whether the object can be placed in the candidate placement location. A method for controlling the arrangement of objects, including the arrangement of objects. (Note 14) The information indicating the determination result includes notifying a signal that includes map information indicating whether or not the object can be placed at the candidate placement location, The arrangement control method described in Appendix 13. (Note 15) The object information includes placement conditions, which are additional conditions required for the candidate placement location where the object is determined to be able to be placed. The arrangement control method described in Appendix 13 or 14. (Note 16) The acquisition described above includes acquiring the upper limit information for each of the multiple candidate placement locations within the area in which the transport device can transport the object, and information regarding the occupied space of the object placed in each of the candidate placement locations. The determination described above includes determining, with respect to each candidate placement location, whether or not the object can be placed in each candidate placement location, based on the upper limit information, the object information, and information regarding the space occupied by the object. The arrangement control method described in any one of the appendices 13 to 15. (Note 17) The aforementioned object information includes placement conditions, The aforementioned placement control method includes selecting a placement location candidate that satisfies the placement conditions from among one or more placement location candidates that have been determined to be able to place the object. The arrangement control method described in Appendix 16. (Note 18) The acquisition of the above includes acquiring information regarding the orientation of the object placed in the candidate placement location, The determination described above includes determining whether the object can be placed on the object based on the upper limit information, the object information, the information regarding the space occupied by the object, and the information regarding the orientation of the object. The arrangement control method described in any one of the appendices 13 to 17. (Note 19) To acquire information regarding the space occupied by the object in the candidate placement location, including upper limit information indicating the placement space, object information including size information indicating the size of the object, and information regarding the space occupied by the object placed in the candidate placement location as detected by the sensing means, Based on the aforementioned upper limit information, the aforementioned object information, and the information regarding the space occupied by the placement object, the system outputs a determination result that determines whether the object can be placed in the candidate placement location. A program that causes a computer to perform a process that includes [a specific action]. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0113] 1. Placement control system 2. Placement control system 3. Placement control system 4. Placement control system 10. Arrangement control device 11 Acquisition Department 12 Judgment section 20 sensors 30 Management device 40 Conveying device 50 Arrangement control device 51 Selection Section 60 Arrangement control device 61 Notification Department 70. Arrangement control device 71 Acquisition Department 72 Judgment section

Claims

1. An acquisition means for acquiring upper limit information indicating the placement space in a candidate placement location for an object, object information including size information indicating the size of the object, and information regarding the occupied space of the object placed in the candidate placement location detected by a sensing means. A determination means that outputs a determination result determining whether the object can be placed in the candidate placement location based on the upper limit information, the object information, and the information regarding the space occupied by the object to be placed. It is equipped with, The object information includes placement conditions, which are additional conditions required for the candidate placement location where the object is determined to be able to be placed. Placement control system.

2. A placement control system, An acquisition means for acquiring upper limit information indicating the placement space in a candidate placement location for an object, object information including size information indicating the size of the object, and information regarding the occupied space of the object placed in the candidate placement location detected by a sensing means. A determination means that outputs a determination result determining whether the object can be placed in the candidate placement location based on the upper limit information, the object information, and the information regarding the space occupied by the object to be placed. It is equipped with, The acquisition means acquires the upper limit information for each of the plurality of candidate placement locations within the area in which the transport device can transport the object, and information regarding the occupied space of the object placed in each of the candidate placement locations. The determination means determines, with respect to each of the candidate placement locations, whether the object can be placed in each of the candidate placement locations, based on the upper limit information, the object information, and the information regarding the space occupied by the object. The aforementioned object information includes placement conditions, The placement control system includes a selection means for selecting a placement location candidate that satisfies the placement conditions from one or more placement location candidates that have been determined to be able to place the object. Placement control system.

3. An acquisition means for acquiring upper limit information indicating the placement space in a candidate placement location for an object, object information including size information indicating the size of the object, and information regarding the occupied space of the object placed in the candidate placement location detected by a sensing means. A determination means that outputs a determination result determining whether the object can be placed in the candidate placement location based on the upper limit information, the object information, and the information regarding the space occupied by the object to be placed. It is equipped with, The object information includes placement conditions, which are additional conditions required for the candidate placement location where the object is determined to be able to be placed. Arrangement control device.

4. An arrangement control device, An acquisition means for acquiring upper limit information indicating the placement space in a candidate placement location for an object, object information including size information indicating the size of the object, and information regarding the occupied space of the object placed in the candidate placement location detected by a sensing means. A determination means that outputs a determination result determining whether the object can be placed in the candidate placement location based on the upper limit information, the object information, and the information regarding the space occupied by the object to be placed. It is equipped with, The acquisition means acquires the upper limit information for each of the plurality of candidate placement locations within the area in which the transport device can transport the object, and information regarding the occupied space of the object placed in each of the candidate placement locations. The determination means determines, with respect to each of the candidate placement locations, whether the object can be placed in each of the candidate placement locations, based on the upper limit information, the object information, and the information regarding the space occupied by the object. The aforementioned object information includes placement conditions, The placement control device includes a selection means for selecting a placement location candidate that satisfies the placement conditions from among one or more placement location candidates that have been determined to be able to place the object. Arrangement control device.

5. To acquire information regarding the space occupied by the object in the candidate placement location, including upper limit information indicating the placement space, object information including size information indicating the size of the object, and information regarding the space occupied by the object placed in the candidate placement location as detected by the sensing means, Based on the aforementioned upper limit information, the aforementioned object information, and the information regarding the space occupied by the placement object, the system outputs a determination result that determines whether the object can be placed in the candidate placement location. The computer will perform a process that includes this, The object information includes placement conditions, which are additional conditions required for the candidate placement location where the object is determined to be able to be placed. program.

6. To acquire information regarding the space occupied by the object in the candidate placement location, including upper limit information indicating the placement space, object information including size information indicating the size of the object, and information regarding the space occupied by the object placed in the candidate placement location as detected by the sensing means, Based on the aforementioned upper limit information, the aforementioned object information, and the information regarding the space occupied by the placement object, the system outputs a determination result that determines whether the object can be placed in the candidate placement location. The computer will perform a process that includes this, The acquisition described above includes acquiring the upper limit information for each of the multiple candidate placement locations within the area in which the transport device can transport the object, and information regarding the occupied space of the object placed in each of the candidate placement locations. The determination described above includes determining, with respect to each candidate placement location, whether the object can be placed in each candidate placement location, based on the upper limit information, the object information, and the information regarding the space occupied by the object. The aforementioned object information includes placement conditions, The process includes selecting a candidate location that satisfies the placement conditions from among one or more candidate locations that have been determined to be suitable for placing the object. program.

7. A placement control method performed by a placement control system, To acquire information regarding the space occupied by the object in the candidate placement location, including upper limit information indicating the placement space, object information including size information indicating the size of the object, and information regarding the space occupied by the object placed in the candidate placement location as detected by the sensing means, Based on the aforementioned upper limit information, the aforementioned object information, and the information regarding the space occupied by the placement object, the system outputs a determination result that determines whether the object can be placed in the candidate placement location. Includes, The object information includes placement conditions, which are additional conditions required for the candidate placement location where the object is determined to be able to be placed. Arrangement control method.

8. A placement control method performed by a placement control system, To acquire information regarding the space occupied by the object in the candidate placement location, including upper limit information indicating the placement space, object information including size information indicating the size of the object, and information regarding the space occupied by the object placed in the candidate placement location as detected by the sensing means, Based on the aforementioned upper limit information, the aforementioned object information, and the information regarding the space occupied by the placement object, the system outputs a determination result that determines whether the object can be placed in the candidate placement location. Includes, The acquisition described above includes acquiring the upper limit information for each of the multiple candidate placement locations within the area in which the transport device can transport the object, and information regarding the occupied space of the object placed in each of the candidate placement locations. The determination described above includes determining, with respect to each candidate placement location, whether the object can be placed in each candidate placement location, based on the upper limit information, the object information, and the information regarding the space occupied by the object. The aforementioned object information includes placement conditions, The aforementioned placement control method includes selecting a candidate placement location that satisfies the placement conditions from among one or more candidate placement locations that have been determined to be able to place the object. Arrangement control method.

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