Article arrangement determination system and article stacking system

Abstract

The present invention is an article arrangement determination system provided with: a determination processing unit that acquires lower-layer arrangement information indicating the arrangement of lower-layer articles, which is the arrangement of articles constituting a lower-layer article group, and upper-layer arrangement information indicating the arrangement of upper-layer articles, which is the arrangement of articles constituting a lower-layer article group; the upper layer article arrangement is the arrangement of the articles constituting the upper layer article group, and when a gap region exists in the lower layer article arrangement, the presence or absence of the possibility that the articles constituting the upper layer article group fall into the gap region is determined; and a correction processing unit that corrects the upper-layer arrangement information when it is determined that there is a possibility of falling off, and determines the corrected arrangement information as new upper-layer arrangement information when there is no possibility of falling off on the upper-layer article arrangement indicated by the corrected arrangement information in which the upper-layer article arrangement has been corrected.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to an article arrangement decision system and an article stacking system. BACKGROUND

[0002] For example, in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 5-105234 (Patent Document 1), a technology related to an article arrangement decision system is disclosed. Hereinafter, in the description of the background art, the reference numerals shown in parentheses are those of Patent Document 1.

[0003] In the system described in Patent Document 1, in order to stack multiple kinds of articles having different sizes in multiple layers (multiple stages) on a support (tray P), an arrangement pattern of each kind of article is set in advance. Specifically, multiple arrangement patterns of the amount of 1 layer (the amount of 1 stage) of articles are set for each kind of article. The article arrangement decision system decides the arrangement of multiple articles on the support with high efficiency by combining several of the multiple arrangement patterns set in advance in accordance with order information (the kind of articles stacked on the support and the number of articles of each kind). SUMMARY

[0004] In the case where multiple articles are stacked on a support as described above, depending on the kind of article, there are cases where the arrangement of multiple articles is decided in such a manner that a region (void region) in which no article is arranged to form a void is formed in at least 1 layer. Moreover, as a result of actually stacking multiple articles on a support in accordance with the decided arrangement, there is a risk that an article arranged directly above the void region falls into the void region. In this case, for example, there is a possibility that the article that fell into the void region or the surrounding articles are damaged or that the goods scatter.

[0005] Therefore, an article arrangement decision system is desired that, in the case where multiple articles are stacked on a support, can appropriately decide the arrangement of the multiple articles, wherein the multiple articles are stacked in such a manner that layer article groups are stacked in multiple layers in the up-down direction, and the layer article group is composed of multiple articles arranged in a plane.

[0006] The article arrangement decision system according to the present disclosure is an article arrangement decision system that decides the arrangement of multiple articles in the case where the multiple articles are stacked on a support, wherein the multiple articles are stacked in such a manner that layer article groups are stacked in multiple layers in the up-down direction, and the layer article group is composed of multiple articles arranged in a plane, the lower layer article group of the two layer article groups adjacent in the up-down direction is the lower layer article group, and the upper layer article group is the upper layer article group, comprises: a determination processing section that acquires lower layer arrangement information showing an arrangement of lower layer articles that are a plurality of the articles that constitute a lower layer article group and upper layer arrangement information showing an arrangement of upper layer articles that are a plurality of the articles that constitute an upper layer article group, determines whether or not there is a possibility of falling of the articles that constitute the upper layer article group into a gap region that is a region in which there are no articles when viewed in a vertical direction, in a case where the arrangement of the lower layer articles shown in the lower layer arrangement information has the gap region, and a correction processing section that corrects the upper layer arrangement information in a case where it is determined by the determination processing section that there is the possibility of falling, the correction processing section generates corrected arrangement information in which the arrangement of the upper layer articles shown in the upper layer arrangement information is corrected, causes the determination processing section to determine whether or not there is the possibility of falling based on the arrangement of the upper layer articles shown in the corrected arrangement information, and determines the corrected arrangement information as new upper layer arrangement information in a case where it is determined that there is no possibility of falling.

[0007] According to the present configuration, in a case where a layer article group constituted by a plurality of articles is stacked on a support in a manner in which the layer article group is arranged in a plurality of layers stacked in a vertical direction, it is possible to determine the arrangement of the articles on the support in a manner in which the articles that constitute an upper layer do not fall into a gap region present in the arrangement of a lower layer article group. In addition, according to the present configuration, in the determination of the arrangement of the articles in a case where it is determined that there is a possibility of falling of the articles with respect to the gap region, by performing correction of the arrangement of the upper layer articles shown in the upper layer arrangement information to generate corrected arrangement information and again determining whether or not there is a possibility of falling, it is possible to reliably determine a proper arrangement of the articles in which there is no possibility of falling with respect to the gap region. Thus, according to the present configuration, it is possible to appropriately determine the arrangement of a plurality of articles.

[0008] Further features and advantages of the article arrangement determination system and the article stacking system will become apparent from the following description of exemplary and non-limiting embodiments with reference to the attached drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0009] Figure 1 is a plan view showing the entire article conveying apparatus. Figure 2 is a control block diagram. Figure 3 is a side view of a layer article group transfer device. Figure 4 is a side view that schematically shows transfer of a layer article group. Figure 5 is a side view schematically showing transfer of a layer article group. Figure 6 is a side view schematically showing transfer of a layer article group. Figure 7 is a side view schematically showing transfer of a layer article group. Figure 8 is a side view schematically showing one example of processing by a layer order determination processing section. Figure 9 is a side view schematically showing one example of processing by an insertion determination processing section. Figure 10 is a plan view schematically showing one example of processing by a determination processing section. Figure 11 is a plan view schematically showing one example of a rotation processing. Figure 12 is a plan view schematically showing one example of a movement processing. Figure 13 is a control flowchart. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0010] Examples in which an article stacking system (article arrangement determination system, layer article group transfer device) is applied to an article transport apparatus are described based on the drawings.

[0011] As shown in Figure 1 , an article transport apparatus 90 is provided with an automatic warehouse 91, a first transport device 92, and an article stacking system 100. The automatic warehouse 91 is configured in a manner capable of housing a plurality of articles W. In the present example, the automatic warehouse 91 houses articles W supported on a support P. In addition, in the article transport apparatus 90, a plurality of automatic warehouses 91 are arranged side by side.

[0012] In the present example, the support P is a tray capable of stacking articles W. In addition, the article W is rectangular in shape when viewed in the up-down direction. Specifically, the article W is a cuboid in shape as a whole. More specifically, the article W is a carton container (a corrugated carton) here. In this carton container, for example, a product or the like sold at a store is housed. In the automatic warehouse 91, a group of a plurality of articles W stacked on the support P (tray here) is housed (hereinafter referred to as a "stacked article group"). Furthermore, here, a case in which only one level of an amount of articles W (for example, only one article W) is stacked on the support P is also included in the stacked article group. Furthermore, the article W can also be a cube in shape as a whole. In addition, a plurality of articles W stacked on the support P can also be a combination of a cuboid shape and a cube shape.

[0013] The first conveying device 92 conveys articles W. Specifically, the first conveying device 92 is configured to be able to convey a stacked article group together with a support body P. In this example, the first conveying device 92 is a conveying vehicle that travels along a travel path 93. Here, a track (not shown) is provided on the ground along the travel path 93. The first conveying device 92 travels guided by the track. In addition, the first conveying device 92 includes a transfer device (not shown). The transfer device is configured to be able to carry a support body P in a state of supporting a stacked article group. In addition, the transfer device is configured to be able to transfer such a stacked article group together with the support body P. Here, the transfer device is a fork type, but it may also be a conveyor type, for example.

[0014] like Figures 1 to 3 As shown, the article stacking system 100 includes an article arrangement determination system 1 and a layered article group transfer device 4. Furthermore, the article stacking system 100 includes a layered article group supply device 20, a shipping article supply device 7, and a support body supply device 6. In this example, the layered article group transfer device 4 and the layered article group supply device 20 are arranged adjacent to each other. In the following, the direction in which the layered article group transfer device 4 and the layered article group supply device 20 are arranged side by side is referred to as the first direction X, the layered article group supply device 20 side relative to the layered article group transfer device 4 is referred to as the first side X1 of the first direction, and the opposite side is referred to as the second side X2 of the first direction. Furthermore, the direction perpendicular to the first direction X when viewed in the vertical direction is referred to as the second direction Y.

[0015] In the illustrated example, the travel path 93 is configured to connect the automated warehouse 91 to the shipping article supply device 7. Therefore, the first conveyor device 92 can, for example, transport articles W (here, stacked article groups) between the automated warehouse 91 and the shipping article supply device 7. Furthermore, the first conveyor device 92 can also move along the travel path 93, for example, to transport articles W to the outside of the article conveying equipment 90. The layer article group supply device 20 is connected to the shipping article supply device 7. Furthermore, the layer article group supply device 20 is adjacent to the shipping article supply device 7 in the second direction Y. The layer article group transfer device 4 is connected to the layer article group supply device 20. Furthermore, the support body supply device 6 is connected to the layer article group transfer device 4.

[0016] In the present example, in the automatic warehouse 91, a plurality of kinds of articles W are housed, but on one support P, only articles W of the same kind are placed. Here, articles W that are the same kind of articles W (carton containers) of the same commodity and equal in size are referred to as the same kind of articles W. In the article conveying apparatus 90, in order to deliver commodities to stores at a delivery destination, a plurality of kinds of articles W are discharged from the automatic warehouse 91. Then, the plurality of kinds of articles W that have been discharged are stacked on a support P assigned to each store at the delivery destination, and are delivered to stores at the delivery destination by a truck or the like.

[0017] The delivery article supply device 7 receives the stacked article groups discharged from the automatic warehouse 91 as the discharged article groups 81 and conveys them to the stacked article group supply device 20. The delivery article supply device 7 is provided with a plurality of first conveyors 71, a second conveyor 73, and a second conveying device 72 that connects the first conveyors 71 and the second conveyor 73. The second conveyor 73 connects the second conveying device 72 and the stacked article group supply device 20. The plurality of first conveyors 71 are arranged in parallel with each other and are connected to a travel path 93 of the first conveying device 92. In addition, the plurality of first conveyors 71 are connected to the second conveying device 72. Each first conveyor 71 receives stacked article groups of mutually different kinds from the automatic warehouse 91 via the first conveying device 92. Also, each first conveyor 71 conveys the received stacked article groups as the discharged article groups 81 toward the second conveying device 72. The second conveying device 72 receives the discharged article groups 81 from each first conveyor 71 and sequentially hands them over to the second conveyor 73. The second conveyor 73 conveys a plurality of the discharged article groups 81 received from the second conveying device 72 to the stacked article group supply device 20 in the order of reception. Here, the second conveying device 72 is a conveying cart that moves along a track, but is not limited thereto. The second conveying device 72 may, for example, also be a conveyor or the like.

[0018] The support supply device 6 is a device that supplies the stacked article group transfer device 4 with empty supports P (empty pallets) on which no articles W are loaded. The support supply device 6 is connected to the stacked article group transfer device 4. In the example illustrated, the support supply device 6 is provided with a third conveyor 6a and a storage portion 6b. One end portion of the third conveyor 6a is connected to the stacked article group transfer device 4. In addition, the storage portion 6b is arranged at the other end portion of the third conveyor 6a. It is configured so that a plurality of empty supports P can be stored in the storage portion 6b. Also, as necessary, the empty supports P are conveyed from the storage portion 6b to the stacked article group transfer device 4 by the third conveyor 6a.

[0019] As Figure 3 and Figure 4As shown, the layered article group supply device 20 is a device that separates the article group of the uppermost layer in the outgoing article group 81 from the outgoing article group 81 below it, and conveys the separated article group as the layered article group 2 to the layered article group transfer device 4. The layered article group 2 is a general term for an article group consisting of a plurality of articles W arranged on a plane. In this example, as shown in FIG. Figure 3 As shown, the layered article group supply device 20 is connected to the shipping article supply device 7 and the layered article group transfer device 4. The layered article group supply device 20 includes a first lifting device 22 and a first gripping device 21. The first lifting device 22 includes a lifting platform 62 and a support portion 63 for guiding the vertical movement of the lifting platform 62. The shipping article group 81 transported from the shipping article supply device 7 (here, the second conveyor 73) is loaded onto the lifting platform 62 together with the support body P. The first gripping device 21 is a device for gripping the article group of the top layer of the shipping article group 81 stacked on the support body P. The first gripping device 21 includes a plurality of (here, four) pressing members 42 and a drive mechanism (not shown) for moving the pressing members 42 forward and backward. Here, two pressing members 42 spaced apart in the first direction X and two pressing members 42 spaced apart in the second direction Y are arranged above the first lifting device 22.

[0020] like Figure 4 As shown, if the outgoing article group 81 is arranged at a position corresponding to the first gripping device 21 by the ascent of the lifting platform 62 (here, the first position P1 where the article group of the uppermost layer is surrounded by four pressing members 42), each pressing member 42 moves toward the side of the article group of the uppermost layer (the article group 2 of the uppermost layer). As a result, the article group of the uppermost layer is pressed from both outsides in the first direction X and both outsides in the second direction Y by different pressing members 42. Thereafter, by descending the lifting platform 62, the article group of the uppermost layer in the pressed state is separated from the outgoing article group 81 below it ( Figure 4 ). In addition, the first grasping device 21 may also include two pressing members 42. In this case, the first grasping device 21 grasps the group of articles in the uppermost layer from either the first direction X or the second direction Y.

[0021] In the present example, the layer-article group supply device 20 further has a supply conveyance device 35. The supply conveyance device 35 is a device that conveys the layer-article group 2 separated from the delivery-article group 81 from the first position PI to a second position P2. The second position P2 is a position where the layer-article group 2 is surrounded by four pressing members 42 of a second gripping device 41 described later. The supply conveyance device 35 has a conveyance portion 37 and a guide rail 36 that guides the movement of the conveyance portion 37. The guide rail 36 is disposed in a manner connecting the first position PI and the second position P2. In addition, the guide rail 36 is disposed at a position that does not interfere with the delivery-article group 81 or the layer-article group 2. The layer-article group 2 separated from the delivery-article group 81 is placed on the plate-shaped conveyance portion 37 by the release of the pressing by the pressing members 42. Then, the conveyance portion 37 is guided by the guide rail 36 to move from the first direction first side XI to the first direction second side X2, and thus the layer-article group 2 moves from the first position PI to the second position P2. Figure 3 and Figure 5 ).

[0022] The layer-article group transfer device 4 has a holding portion 3 and a rotation mechanism 5 that rotates the holding portion 3 around a rotation axis. In addition, the layer-article group transfer device 4 has a second gripping device 41 and a second lifting device 61. The second gripping device 41 is a device that grips the layer-article group 2 disposed at the second position P2. The second lifting device 61 is disposed at a lower side than the second gripping device 41 and overlaps the layer-article group 2 disposed at the second position P2 when viewed in the vertical direction. In the present example, the configuration of the second gripping device 41 is the same as that of the first gripping device 21, and thus the specific configuration is omitted. In addition, the configuration of the second lifting device 61 is the same as that of the first lifting device 22, and thus the specific configuration is omitted. In the present example, the second lifting device 61 is connected to the support body supply device 6 (here, the third conveyer 6a). Furthermore, on the lifting stage 62 of the second lifting device 61, an empty support body P (empty tray) is disposed that is supplied from the support body supply device 6.

[0023] The holding portion 3 holds the layer-article group 2 gripped by the second gripping device 41 from the upper side. In the present example, the holding portion 3 is a suction device. The holding portion 3 has a plurality of suction portions 32 and a support plate portion 31 that supports the plurality of suction portions 32. Each of the suction portions 32 is disposed side by side on a surface of the support plate portion 31 facing the lower side. Here, the suction portion 32 is a suction pad. The plurality of suction portions 32 suction the surface of the layer-article group 2 facing the upper side.

[0024] In the present example, the layer-article group transfer device 4 has a movement device 50 as the rotation mechanism 5. Thus, the holding portion 3 can rotate around an axis along the vertical direction. In the present example, the movement device 50 is a linear motor. Figure 3In the example, the moving device 50 is provided in the ceiling portion, supporting the holding portion 3 from above. The moving device 50 includes a support member 53 and a shaft member 54. At the end of the shaft member 54, the support plate portion 31 of the holding portion 3 is mounted. In addition, the shaft member 54 is supported relative to the support member 53 in a manner that allows it to rotate. Here, the support member 53 becomes a hollow structure, and the shaft member 54 is supported in the hollow portion in a manner that allows it to be accommodated. In addition, in this example, the layer item group transfer device 4 includes a lifting mechanism 51. Thus, the holding portion 3 can be moved in the up and down directions. The function of the lifting mechanism 51 is realized by the moving device 50. Here, the shaft member 54 is constructed in a manner that allows it to move in the up and down directions relative to the support member 53, and the holding portion 3 can also be lifted and lowered together with the shaft member 54.

[0025] In this example, the layered article group transfer device 4 includes a horizontal moving mechanism 52 for moving the holding portion 3 in the horizontal direction (here, the first direction X). Here, the horizontal moving mechanism 52 includes a horizontal guide portion 52a for guiding the holding portion 3 in the first direction X. Figure 3 In the example shown, the horizontal guide portion 52a is a rail provided on the ceiling and is arranged along the first direction X. Furthermore, the horizontal guide portion 52a supports the moving device 50 from above. Furthermore, of course, each of the slewing mechanism 5, the lifting mechanism 51, and the horizontal moving mechanism 52 includes a drive unit (such as an electric motor) for moving the holding portion 3.

[0026] like Figure 3 as well as Figures 5 to 7 As shown, in this embodiment, the layered article group transfer device 4 moves the layered article group 2 in the vertical direction and the horizontal direction while the layered article group 2 is collectively held by the holding portion 3, and stacks the layered article group 2 on the support body P in a manner of stacking multiple layers in the vertical direction. Figure 5 As shown, the layered article group 2 separated at the first position P1 is conveyed to the second position P2 by the supply conveying device 35. Moreover, at the second position P2, the layered article group 2 is pressed by the pressing member 42 of the second gripping device 41. In this way, even if it is assumed that the articles constituting the layered article group 2 move and the overall shape of the layered article group 2 collapses when moving from the first position P1 to the second position P2, the overall shape of the layered article group 2 is adjusted due to the pressing by the pressing member 42. Then, as Figure 6 As shown, the holding portion 3 descends relative to the layered article group 2 pressed (grasped) by the pressing member 42 and holds the layered article group 2. In this example, the plurality of adsorption portions 32 adsorb and hold the upper surface of the layered article group 2. In addition, the second lifting device 61 raises the lifting platform 62 and moves it to a position corresponding to the second position P2. Then, as shown in FIG. Figure 7As shown, the holding portion 3 stacks the held layer item group 2 onto the support body P of the lifting platform 62 (or a different layer item group 2 loaded on the support body P). If the layer item group 2 is stacked on the support body P, each adsorption portion 32 changes its state from the adsorption state to the adsorption release state. In addition, the support body P that becomes the stacking destination of the layer item group 2 is a pallet in this example, but is not limited to this. For example, it may be a container such as a storage container, or a conveyor. For example, the stacking destination of the layer item group 2 based on the holding portion 3 may be the conveying surface of the shipping conveyor 48 described later. In this case, the support body P becomes the shipping conveyor 48.

[0027] In this example, the layered article group transfer device 4 further includes a shipping conveyor 48. The shipping conveyor 48 connects the second lifting device 61 to the travel path 93. At the lifting platform 62 of the second lifting device 61, the plurality of layered article groups 2 stacked on the support body P are transferred by the shipping conveyor 48 as shipping article groups 82 to the first conveying device 92 on the travel path 93. The first conveying device 92 conveys the shipping article groups 82, for example, to the outside of the article transport facility 90.

[0028] Here, the arrangement pattern (arrangement of articles W) of the layered article group 2 (a plurality of articles arranged in a plane) stacked on the support body P by the layered article group transfer device 4 is predetermined for each type of article W. For example, there is an arrangement pattern in which the articles W are arranged side by side in a manner that covers the entire article W and forms a rectangular or square shape when viewed from above, or an arrangement pattern in which the articles W are arranged side by side with a gap area 10 formed in the center when viewed from above. Figure 10 ) etc. In this example, an arrangement pattern is generated so that the same type of articles W are arranged in a single layer of article group 2. Therefore, an arrangement pattern is determined for each type of article W. Furthermore, in this example, stacked article groups are stored in the automated warehouse 91 for each type of article W. Furthermore, the articles W in each layer (stage) of these stacked article groups are arranged according to the arrangement pattern set for each type.

[0029] The article arrangement decision system 1 decides an arrangement of a plurality of articles W in a case where the plurality of articles are stacked on a support P in a manner that a plurality of layer article groups 2 are arranged in multiple layers in a vertical direction, the plurality of layer article groups 2 being composed of a plurality of articles W arranged in a planar manner. In the present embodiment, the article arrangement decision system 1 includes a determination processing section 11, a correction processing section 12. In addition, the article arrangement decision system 1 further includes a layer order decision processing section 13, an insertion decision processing section 14, and a storage section 15. Hereinafter, a lower layer article group 2b of two layer article groups 2 adjacent in the vertical direction and an upper layer article group 2a are described.

[0030] In the present embodiment, as shown in Figure 2 The article arrangement decision system 1 includes a determination processing section 11, a correction processing section 12. In addition, the article arrangement decision system 1 further includes a layer order decision processing section 13, an insertion decision processing section 14, and a storage section 15. Hereinafter, a lower layer article group 2b of two layer article groups 2 adjacent in the vertical direction and an upper layer article group 2a are described.

[0031] As shown in Figure 8 The layer order decision processing section 13 performs a process of deciding an arrangement order in the vertical direction of the plurality of layer article groups 2. Specifically, if the control device H acquires order information from the upper controller C, the layer order decision processing section 13 decides an arrangement order in the vertical direction of the plurality of layer article groups 2 stacked on the support P based on the order information. In the order information, for example, information of stores as destinations of delivery, a kind of article W to be delivered for each store, and a number of articles W of each kind are included.

[0032] The layer order determination processing section 13 is configured in a manner that performs a principle processing and an exception processing. The principle processing is processing of determining the arrangement order in a manner that the layer area, which is an area inside an outer edge of the layer article group 2 viewed in the up-down direction, gradually becomes smaller as it goes from the lowermost layer toward the upper side. In the storage section 15, a state is stored in which, in addition to the arrangement pattern of each kind of article W, the layer area of the layer article group 2 and the weight (total weight) of the layer article group 2 that constitute each arrangement pattern are correlated with each other. Further, the layer area is an area including the gap region 10. The layer order determination processing section 13 acquires the data of the arrangement pattern of each kind of article W and the layer area of each arrangement pattern from the storage section 15 in correspondence with the kind of article W that should be stacked on one support body P and the number of articles W of each kind included in the order information. Then, the layer order determination processing section 13 determines the arrangement order of the arrangement pattern in a manner that the layer article group 2 is stacked on the support body P in order from the arrangement pattern of the largest layer area. By this, it is possible to make the shipment article group 82 in which it is difficult for the goods to fall out. In Figure 8 In the example of FIG. 10, the arrangement order of the layer article group 2 determined by the principle processing is shown from the layer article group 2 of the uppermost level to the layer article group 2 of the 3rd level from the uppermost level.

[0033] The exception processing is processing of exchanging the arrangement order of the lower layer article group 2b and the upper layer article group 2a in a case where the total weight of the upper layer article group 2a is larger than the total weight of the lower layer article group 2b and the ratio of the layer area of the upper layer article group 2a to the layer area of the lower layer article group 2b is a predetermined value or more. With regard to the arrangement of the plurality of layer article groups 2 determined in accordance with the principle processing, the layer order determination processing section 13 exchanges the arrangement order of the lower layer article group 2b and the upper layer article group 2a, for example, in a case where the ratio of the layer area of the upper layer article group 2a to the layer area of the lower layer article group 2b is 95% or more. In Figure 8 In the example of FIG. 10, the exception processing is performed on the layer article group 2 of the lowermost level and the layer article group 2 one level above it. Further, in the example described above, the example in which the exception processing is performed in a case where the ratio of the layer area of the upper layer article group 2a to the layer area of the lower layer article group 2b is 95% or more is described, but it is not limited thereto, and the exception processing can be performed, for example, in a case where the ratio is 90% or more.

[0034] As Figure 9As shown, the insertion decision processing section 14 performs the insertion decision processing of deciding to insert the plate-shaped member 24 between the lower article group 2b and the upper article group 2a in a case where the difference between the highest portion and the lowest portion of the upper surface of the lower article group 2b is equal to or greater than a predetermined value. In the present example, in a case where the difference (difference in level t) between the highest portion and the lowest portion of the upper surface of the lower article group 2b is equal to or greater than 3 cm (t > 3), for example, it is appropriate to perform the insertion decision processing. Here, the timing at which the insertion decision processing is performed can be appropriately changed. In a case where the article W that is different in the size in the vertical direction is combined with another article W to generate one arrangement pattern, for example, it is appropriate to perform the insertion decision processing at the same timing as the timing at which the principle processing is performed (or immediately after the principle processing is performed). Thereby, it is possible to make the upper surface of the layer article group 2 flat before the layer article group 2 is stacked on the support P. In addition, it is also possible to perform the insertion decision processing at the timing at which the layer article group 2 is separated from the article group 82 for shipment by the layer article group supply device 20. In this case, for example, it is appropriate that the layer article group supply device 20 is provided with a camera. Further, it is appropriate that the above-mentioned difference in level is calculated based on imaging information obtained by the camera imaging the upper surface of the layer article group 2. Thereby, even in a case where the upper surface of the layer article group 2 is depressed for some reason, for example, it is possible to make the upper surface of the layer article group 2 as a whole flat before the layer article group 2 is stacked on the support P. Here, in the present example, the plate-shaped member 24 is a corrugated paper sheet, but can be a synthetic resin sheet, a synthetic resin plate, a wooden plate, or the like, for example. Furthermore, as for the insertion of the plate-shaped member 24, it can be performed by an operator or the like or by a robot. Of course, as for the layer article group 2 that is scheduled to be arranged at the uppermost level, the insertion decision processing is not performed.

[0035] The determination processing section 11 acquires lower arrangement information showing the arrangement of the lower articles, which is the arrangement of the plurality of articles constituting the lower article group 2b, and upper arrangement information showing the arrangement of the upper articles, which is the arrangement of the plurality of articles constituting the upper article group 2a, and determines the presence or absence of the possibility of falling, which is the possibility that the article W constituting the upper article group 2a falls into the gap region 10, in a case where the lower arrangement shown by the lower arrangement information is a case where there is the gap region 10 that is a region in which there is no article W when viewed in the vertical direction. In the present embodiment, if the arrangement of the plurality of articles W stacked on the support P is temporarily decided by the principle processing or the exceptional processing, the processing by the determination processing section 11 is performed. As shown in FIG. 7, for example, the determination processing section 11 determines the presence or absence of the possibility of falling in a case where the lower arrangement shown by the lower arrangement information is a case where there is the gap region 10 that is a region in which there is no article W when viewed in the vertical direction. Figure 8 and Figure 13As shown, the determination processing section 11 performs setting confirmation processing (S01) that confirms the positions of the lower layer article group 2b set for any one layer other than the uppermost layer in the multilayered layer article group 2 and the upper layer article group 2a set for the layer one level higher than the lower layer article group 2b. Then, the determination processing section 11 acquires lower layer arrangement information of the lower layer article group 2b and upper layer arrangement information of the upper layer article group 2a set from the layer order decision processing section 13 (S02). In the upper layer arrangement information, the arrangement pattern of the articles W arranged in the upper layer article group 2a (upper layer article arrangement) is included. In the lower layer arrangement information, the arrangement pattern of the articles W arranged in the lower layer article group 2b (lower layer article arrangement) is included. The determination processing section 11 refers to the acquired lower layer article arrangement and determines whether there is a clearance region 10 in the lower layer article arrangement (S03). The determination processing section 11 determines the presence or absence of the above-described falling possibility when it is determined that there is a clearance region 10 in the lower layer article arrangement (S03: Yes), (S04).

[0036] In the present embodiment, as shown in Figure 10 The determination processing section 11 determines the presence or absence of the falling possibility based on the proportion of the area occupied by the entire one of the plurality of articles W constituting the upper layer article group 2a that overlaps with the clearance region 10 in the upward-downward direction view in the present example. In the present example, the presence or absence of the above-described falling possibility is determined for all of the articles W (articles W of the upper layer article group 2a) that overlap with the clearance region 10 in the upward-downward direction view. In Figures 10 to 12 The plan view showing the lower layer article arrangement (solid line) of the lower layer article group 2b and the upper layer article arrangement (double-dot chain line) of the upper layer article group 2a is shown. In each drawing, the clearance region 10 is shown by diagonal lines. In Figure 10In the example, there are four articles W of the upper article group 2a that overlap the gap region 10 when viewed in the up-down direction. The determination processing section 11 determines the presence or absence of the falling possibility with two articles W in which the proportion of overlap with the gap region 10 is large, respectively, as the first overlapping article Wl and the second overlapping article W2. Specifically, the determination processing section 11 calculates the proportion of the area of the first overlapping region El in which the first overlapping article Wl overlaps the gap region 10 with respect to the area of the upper surface of the first overlapping article Wl. Similarly, the determination processing section 11 calculates the proportion of the area of the second overlapping region E2 in which the second overlapping article W2 overlaps the gap region 10 with respect to the area of the upper surface of the second overlapping article W2. The determination processing section 11 can determine that there is a falling possibility when the calculated proportion exceeds 40%, for example. In the example, the determination processing section 11 is configured to determine the falling possibility for the two articles W in which the overlapping area is large, and not to determine the falling possibility for the two articles W in which the overlapping area is small, when the plurality of articles W overlap the gap region 10. However, the determination processing section 11 can of course determine the presence or absence of the falling possibility for all of the articles W that slightly overlap the gap region 10. Further, the proportion for which it is determined that there is a falling possibility can be 30% or more, for example, and can be appropriately changed. Further, the determination processing section 11 can determine the presence or absence of the falling possibility with different conditions. The determination processing section 11 can determine the presence or absence of the falling possibility based on the weight or the shape of the upper surface of the article W that overlaps the gap region 10 when viewed in the up-down direction, for example. In addition, the determination processing section 11 can determine the presence or absence of the falling possibility with different conditions combined with the proportion described above. Further, in the illustrated example, the gap region 10 is formed in the central portion of the lower article group 2b, but can be formed in the peripheral portion, for example.

[0037] As Figure 13As shown, the correction processing section 12 corrects the upper layer arrangement information in a case where it is determined by the determination processing section 11 that there is a possibility of falling. In the present embodiment, in a case where it is determined by the determination processing section 11 that there is a possibility of the article W of the upper layer article group 2a falling to the gap region 10 of the lower layer article group 2b (S04: Yes), the correction processing section 12 performs correction processing of correcting the arrangement pattern of the upper layer article group 2a (upper layer article arrangement) (S05). Then, the correction processing section 12 generates corrected arrangement information in which the upper layer article arrangement shown in the corrected upper layer arrangement information is corrected, causes the determination processing section 11 to determine the presence or absence of a falling possibility based on the upper layer article arrangement shown in the corrected arrangement information, and in a case where it is determined that there is no falling possibility, determines the corrected arrangement information as new upper layer arrangement information. In the present embodiment, the determination processing section 11 determines the presence or absence of the above-mentioned falling possibility again based on the upper layer article arrangement shown in the corrected arrangement information (corrected arrangement pattern) after the correction processing by the correction processing section 12 (S06). In a case where it is determined that there is a falling possibility (S06: Yes), the correction processing by the correction processing section 12 is performed again (S05). In the present example, the correction processing by the correction processing section 12 and the processing (determination of the falling possibility) by the determination processing section 11 are repeated until it is determined that there is no falling possibility.

[0038] In the present embodiment, the correction processing section 12 generates the corrected arrangement information by at least one of the rotation processing of rotating the upper layer article arrangement shown in the upper layer arrangement information around a rotation axis of revolution along the up-down direction and the movement processing of moving along the horizontal direction. The correction processing section 12 can perform either one of the rotation processing and the movement processing or both of the rotation processing and the movement processing with respect to the arrangement pattern of the upper layer article group 2a (upper layer article arrangement). In the present embodiment, as shown in Figure 11 In the present embodiment, the correction processing section 12 rotates the upper layer article arrangement around the rotation axis of revolution by an angle that is an integer multiple of 90° in the rotation processing. Figure 11 The example shown in FIG. 14A shows an example in which the upper layer article arrangement shown in FIG. 13A is rotated around the axis of revolution along the up-down direction by 90°. In this way, in the present example, in a case where the determination processing section 11 determines that there is a falling possibility in Figure 10 In the present embodiment, the correction processing section 12 rotates the upper layer article arrangement around the rotation axis of revolution by an angle that is an integer multiple of 90° in the rotation processing. Figure 10 In the present embodiment, the correction processing section 12 rotates the upper layer article arrangement around the rotation axis of revolution by an angle that is an integer multiple of 90° in the rotation processing.

[0039] In this embodiment, if Figure 12 As shown, during the movement process, the correction processing unit 12 moves the upper-layer article arrangement horizontally until the horizontal overhang S of the outer edge of the upper-layer article group 2a relative to the outer edge of the lower-layer article group 2b, as viewed in the vertical direction, falls within a range of a set value or less. In this example, the correction processing unit 12 moves the upper-layer article arrangement in the first direction X during the movement process. Figure 12 The example shows that Figure 10 The upper layer of the article arrangement (single dot chain line) shown in FIG. is moved in the first direction X. Thus, in this example, Figure 10 In the case where the determination processing unit 11 determines that there is a possibility of falling off, the upper layer item configuration is moved in the horizontal direction (here, the first direction X). Then, the determination processing unit 11 uses the moved upper layer item configuration to perform a further determination of the possibility of falling off. Figure 12 As a result of the movement process, the outer edge of the upper layer article group 2a protrudes to one side of the first direction X relative to the outer edge of the lower layer article group 2b. It is appropriate that the above-mentioned setting value can be appropriately changed according to the size of the protruding article W (here, the size in the first direction X). For example, the setting value can also be 30% of the size of the protruding article W in the first direction X. In addition, it is also possible to make the setting value a fixed value (for example, 3 cm). In addition, the setting value can also be set according to the weight of the protruding article W. In addition, in the case of performing correction processing by moving the upper layer article configuration along the second direction Y, it is appropriate to change the layer article group transfer device 4 so that it can move along the second direction Y with respect to the retaining portion 3.

[0040] The determination processing unit 11 determines whether there is a possibility of the above-mentioned dislocation based on the corrected configuration information generated by at least one of the rotation process and the movement process. In this example, the correction processing unit 12 performs both the rotation process and the movement process. The determination processing unit 11 then determines whether there is a possibility of dislocation for the upper-layer item configuration in each process. The correction processing unit 12 generates corrected configuration information based on the upper-layer item configuration determined to have no possibility of dislocation. Furthermore, if the correction processing unit 12 determines that there is no possibility of dislocation for the upper-layer item configuration in each of the rotation process and the movement process, for example, it generates corrected configuration information based on the upper-layer item configuration with the lower ratio calculated by the determination processing unit 11. Alternatively, the correction processing unit 12 may first perform either the rotation process or the movement process, and if the determination processing unit 11 determines that there is a possibility of dislocation, then perform the process that was not performed. Alternatively, the correction processing unit 12 may alternately repeat the movement process and the rotation process until the determination processing unit 11 determines that there is no possibility of dislocation.

[0041] In this embodiment, if Figure 8As shown, the article arrangement decision system 1 executes the layer-by-layer arrangement decision processing. In the layer-by-layer arrangement decision processing, initially, the lowermost layer article group 2 among the plurality of layer article groups 2 arranged on the support P is set as a lower layer article group 2b, and a layer article group 2 adjoining on the upper side of the lower layer article group 2b is set as an upper layer article group 2a, and processing by the decision processing section 11 and processing by the correction processing section 12 are performed as necessary to decide the upper layer arrangement information. Thereafter, the article arrangement decision system 1 sets the layer article group 2 set as the upper layer article group 2a in the last layer-by-layer arrangement decision processing as the lower layer article group 2b this time, and sets a layer article group 2 adjoining on the upper side of the lower layer article group 2b as the upper layer article group 2a, and repeats the layer-by-layer arrangement decision processing to decide the arrangement of the entire of the plurality of articles W stacked on the support P. The article arrangement decision system 1 repeats the layer-by-layer arrangement decision processing in the case where the support P is stacked with three or more layer article groups 2.

[0042] In the present example, as described above, the principle processing based on the order information and the exception processing corresponding to the necessity are performed, and the order in which the plurality of layer article groups 2 are stacked on the support body P is temporarily decided. In addition, regarding the arrangement of the articles W of each layer article group 2, it is also determined in accordance with the arrangement pattern stored in advance. In other words, regarding the arrangement of the plurality of articles W stacked on the support body P, it is temporarily decided at the stage where the principle processing and the exception processing corresponding to the necessity are performed. Then, the once-arranged arrangement of the plurality of articles W is subjected to the layer-by-layer arrangement decision processing one or a plurality of times. In the case where the support body P is stacked with three or more layer article groups 2, the uppermost layer article group 2 is set as the upper layer article group 2a, the layer article group 2 one level lower than this is set as the lower layer article group 2b, and the layer-by-layer arrangement decision processing is repeatedly performed until the upper layer arrangement of the uppermost layer article group 2 is decided. Thereby, the arrangement pattern of the articles W of the layer article group 2 determined to have the above-described possibility of falling (upper layer arrangement information) is corrected, and the overall arrangement of the plurality of articles W stacked on the support body P is determined. The layer article group transfer device 4 stacks the layer article groups 2 from the layer article group 2 arranged on the lowermost layer to the layer article group 2 arranged on the uppermost layer in order on the support body P in accordance with the determined overall arrangement of the articles W on the support body P (hereinafter referred to as "determined arrangement information"). In addition, in the case where the corrected arrangement information generated by the rotation processing is decided as new upper layer arrangement information, the layer article group 2 held by the holding portion 3 is caused to rotate around the rotation axis in cooperation with the new upper layer arrangement information, and then stacked on the support body P. In addition, in the case where the corrected arrangement information generated by the movement processing is decided as new upper layer arrangement information, the layer article group 2 held by the holding portion 3 is also caused to move in the horizontal direction (here, the first direction X) in cooperation with the new upper layer arrangement information, and then stacked on the support body P. Furthermore, in the case where the corrected arrangement information generated by both the rotation processing and the movement processing is decided as new upper layer arrangement information, the layer article group 2 held by the holding portion 3 is caused to rotate around the rotation axis and move in the horizontal direction (here, the first direction X) in cooperation with the new upper layer arrangement information, and then stacked on the support body P.

[0043] The control device H controls the second conveyance device 72 and the second conveyer 73 based on the determined arrangement information in such a manner that the multiple shipment article groups 81 shipped from the automatic warehouse 91 and transported to the article supply device 7 for shipment are conveyed to the layer article group supply device 20 in the proper order (order of stacking on the support P). Thereby, the control device H can cause the layer article group supply device 20 to separate the layer article groups 2 from the shipment article groups 81 in the order of stacking on the support P, and convey the separated layer article groups 2 to the layer article group transfer device 4. Further, based on the order information, the upper-level controller C performs control such that the multiple layer article groups (shipment article groups 81) are shipped from the automatic warehouse 91, and the shipped multiple layer article groups are conveyed to the article supply device 7 for shipment by the first conveyance device 92. In addition, in a case where a remainder (end number) (a number less than the number of articles required to form a pre-set arrangement pattern) of the articles W stacked on the support P is generated, the remaining remainder amount of articles W can be further stacked by a robot or the like after all the layer article groups 2 are stacked, for example, on the conveyer 48 for shipment.

[0044] [Other Embodiments] (1) In the above-described embodiments, the arrangement (arrangement pattern) of the multiple articles W of the layer article group 2 stacked on the support P is determined in advance for each kind of article W, but is not limited thereto. For example, the arrangement pattern can not be determined in advance for each kind of article W, and the article arrangement determination system 1 can determine the arrangement of the multiple articles W of each layer article group 2 for each order information. In the above-described embodiments, the processing by the determination processing section 11 and the processing by the correction processing section 12 are performed based on the stacking order of the layer article groups 2 determined by the principle processing or the exception processing, but are not limited thereto. The processing by the determination processing section 11 and the processing by the correction processing section 12 can be performed based on the state of the layer article groups 2 actually stacked on the support P. For example, a camera that photographs the support P from the upper side can be provided. Then, the shape of the layer article group 2 most recently stacked on the support P as viewed in the vertical direction can be acquired from the camera image, and the processing by the determination processing section 11 and the processing by the correction processing section 12 can be performed on the layer article group 2 to be stacked next based on the shape.

[0045] (2) In the above-described embodiment, the modification processing section 12 generates the modified arrangement information by at least one of the rotation processing of rotating the upper layer article arrangement around the rotation axis along the vertical direction and the movement processing of moving in the horizontal direction, but is not limited thereto. For example, the modification processing section 12 can determine the arrangement of the plurality of articles W stacked on the support P in such a manner that the layer article group 2 in which the void region 10 is not formed is preferentially stacked on the support P and the layer article group 2 in which the void region 10 is formed is secondarily stacked on the support P, in the case where there is the layer article group 2 in which the void region 10 is formed. Thus, the layer article group 2 in which the void region 10 is formed can be arranged at an upper layer with respect to the layer article group 2 in which the void region 10 is not formed.

[0046] (3) In the above-described embodiment, the arrangement determination processing by layer is repeatedly executed until the upper layer arrangement information of the uppermost layer article group 2 is determined, but is not limited thereto. The arrangement determination processing by layer can be processing that is performed as necessary. Specifically, the arrangement determination processing by layer can be performed only on the layer article group 2 in which the void region 10 is formed and the layer article group 2 one layer above the layer article group 2 in which the void region 10 is formed, after the principle processing and the exception processing are performed as necessary. In addition, in the case where there is no layer article group 2 in which the void region 10 is formed, the arrangement of all the articles W stacked on the support P can be determined at a stage where the arrangement determination processing by layer is not performed and the principle processing or the exception processing is performed.

[0047] (4) In the above-described embodiment, the upper layer article arrangement is rotated around the rotation axis by an angle that is an integer multiple of 90° in the rotation processing by the modification processing section 12, but is not limited thereto. The upper layer article arrangement can be rotated around the rotation axis by an angle other than an integer multiple of 90° in the rotation processing by the modification processing section 12. For example, the upper layer article arrangement can be rotated around the rotation axis by an angle that is an integer multiple of 45° by the modification processing section 12. In this case, it is appropriate that the rotation angle is appropriately changed in accordance with the shape of the layer article group 2 or the like.

[0048] (5) In the above-described embodiments, the following configuration is described as an example, but is not limited thereto: the correction processing section 12 moves the upper layer article arrangement in the horizontal direction within a range in which the amount of protrusion S of the outer edge of the upper layer article group 2a with respect to the outer edge of the lower layer article group 2b in the vertical direction becomes equal to or less than the set value in the moving process. The correction processing section 12 can also move the upper layer article arrangement in the moving process within a range in which the upper layer article group 2a does not protrude with respect to the lower layer article group 2b in the horizontal direction. On the other hand, with respect to the upper layer article group 2a for which the exceptional process is performed, as described above, it is appropriate to move the upper layer article arrangement in the horizontal direction within a range in which the amount of protrusion S becomes equal to or less than the set value.

[0049] (6) In the above-described embodiments, the following configuration is described as an example, but is not limited thereto: the determination processing section 11 determines the presence or absence of the possibility of falling based on the proportion of the area of the entire one of the plurality of articles W constituting the upper layer article group 2a that overlaps with the gap region 10 in the vertical direction to the area overlapping with the gap region 10. The determination processing section 11 can also determine that there is no possibility of falling regardless of the proportion of the area overlapping with the gap region 10 in a case where the article W (the article W constituting the upper layer article group 2a) overlapping with the gap region 10 in the vertical direction is arranged so as to completely cover at least one of the first direction X and the second direction Y of the gap region 10.

[0050] (7) In the above-described embodiments, the following configuration is described as an example, but is not limited thereto: the layer article group transfer device 4 moves the layer article group 2 in the vertical direction and the horizontal direction in a state in which the layer article group 2 is collectively held by the holding section 3, and stacks the layer article group 2 on the support body P in a manner arranged in multiple layers in the vertical direction. The layer article group transfer device 4 can also be a picking robot or the like that stacks the articles W constituting the layer article group 2 one by one on the support body P.

[0051] (8) Furthermore, the configurations disclosed in the above-described embodiments can be applied in combination with the configurations disclosed in other embodiments (including combinations of the embodiments described as other embodiments with each other) as long as no contradiction arises. With respect to other configurations, the embodiments disclosed in this specification are merely examples at all points. Therefore, various changes can be appropriately made within a range not departing from the gist of the present disclosure.

[0052] 〔Summary of the above-described embodiments〕 Hereinafter, a summary of the article arrangement decision system and the article stacking system described in the above-described embodiments will be described.

[0053] The article arrangement decision system according to the present disclosure is an article arrangement decision system that decides an arrangement of a plurality of articles in a case where a plurality of article groups are stacked on a support, the plurality of article groups being arranged in a manner that the article groups are stacked in multiple layers in an up-down direction, the article groups each being composed of a plurality of articles arranged in a planar manner, the lower article group of the two article groups adjacent in the up-down direction being a lower layer article group, and the upper article group being an upper layer article group, comprises: a determination processing section that acquires lower layer arrangement information indicating an arrangement of a lower layer article group composed of a plurality of articles constituting the lower layer article group and upper layer arrangement information indicating an arrangement of an upper layer article group composed of a plurality of articles constituting the upper layer article group, and determines whether or not there is a possibility of falling of the articles constituting the upper layer article group to a gap region as a region in which there is no article when viewed in the up-down direction, in a case where the arrangement of the lower layer article group indicated by the lower layer arrangement information has the gap region; a correction processing section that corrects the upper layer arrangement information in a case where the determination processing section determines that there is the possibility of falling, the correction processing section generates corrected arrangement information in which the arrangement of the upper layer article group indicated by the upper layer arrangement information is corrected, causes the determination processing section to determine whether or not there is the possibility of falling based on the arrangement of the upper layer article group indicated by the corrected arrangement information, and decides the corrected arrangement information as new upper layer arrangement information in a case where it is determined that there is no possibility of falling.

[0054] According to the present configuration, in a case where article groups each composed of a plurality of articles are stacked on a support in a manner that the article groups are stacked in multiple layers in an up-down direction, it is possible to decide an arrangement of the articles on the support in a manner that the articles constituting an upper layer article group do not fall to a gap region present in an arrangement of a lower layer article group. In addition, according to the present configuration, in the decision of the arrangement of the articles, in a case where it is determined that there is a possibility of falling of the articles with respect to the gap region, by performing correction of an upper layer arrangement indicated by upper layer arrangement information, generating corrected arrangement information, and again determining whether or not there is the possibility of falling, it is possible to reliably decide a proper arrangement of the articles in which there is no possibility of falling with respect to the gap region. Thus, according to the present configuration, it is possible to appropriately decide an arrangement of a plurality of articles.

[0055] It is appropriate that the aforementioned correction processing section generates the aforementioned corrected arrangement information by at least one of a rotation process of rotating the aforementioned upper layer article arrangement shown in the aforementioned upper layer arrangement information around a rotation axis along the up-down direction and a movement process of moving in the horizontal direction.

[0056] According to the present configuration, the correction processing section generates the corrected arrangement information by at least one of a rotation process and a movement process on the upper layer article arrangement shown in the upper layer arrangement information, and thus can generate the corrected arrangement information by a relatively simple process.

[0057] Further, it is appropriate that, initially, a layer-by-layer arrangement decision process is executed in which the lowermost one of a plurality of aforementioned layer article groups arranged on the aforementioned support body is set as a lower layer article group, and the aforementioned layer article group adjacent on the upper side of the lower layer article group is set as an upper layer article group, the aforementioned upper layer arrangement information is decided by a process using the aforementioned decision processing section and a process using the aforementioned correction processing section as needed, Thereafter, the aforementioned layer article group set as the aforementioned upper layer article group in the aforementioned layer-by-layer arrangement decision process last time is set as the aforementioned lower layer article group this time, and the aforementioned layer article group adjacent on the upper side of the lower layer article group is set as the aforementioned upper layer article group, the aforementioned layer-by-layer arrangement decision process is repeatedly executed, and the arrangement of the entire plurality of articles stacked on the aforementioned support body is decided.

[0058] According to the present configuration, even in a case where three or more layer article groups are stacked on the support body, the arrangement of the entire plurality of articles on the support body can be appropriately decided in a manner in which the articles constituting the upper layer article group do not fall into the gap region existing in the arrangement of the lower layer article group.

[0059] Further, it is appropriate that the aforementioned article is rectangular in shape when viewed in the up-down direction, the aforementioned layer article group is arranged in a manner in which the outer shape is rectangular when viewed in the up-down direction, the aforementioned correction processing section rotates the aforementioned upper layer article arrangement around the aforementioned rotation axis by an angle of an integer multiple of 90° in the aforementioned rotation process.

[0060] According to the present configuration, the corrected arrangement information which becomes a candidate of an article arrangement in which there is no possibility of falling can be generated by a simple process of rotating the upper layer article arrangement shown in the upper layer arrangement information around a rotation axis along the up-down direction by an angle of an integer multiple of 90°.

[0061] Further, it is appropriate that the aforementioned correction processing section, in the aforementioned movement processing, moves the aforementioned upper layer article arrangement in the horizontal direction within a range in which the amount by which the outer edge of the aforementioned upper layer article group, viewed in the vertical direction, exceeds the outer edge of the aforementioned lower layer article group in the horizontal direction becomes equal to or less than a set value.

[0062] According to the present configuration, as a result of moving the upper layer article arrangement indicated by the upper layer arrangement information in the horizontal direction, it is possible to generate the corrected arrangement information in such a manner that the articles of the upper layer article group do not fall downward from the outer edge portion of the lower layer article group.

[0063] Further, it is appropriate that the aforementioned determination processing section determines the presence or absence of the falling possibility based on the proportion of the area occupied by the entire one of the plurality of aforementioned articles constituting the aforementioned upper layer article group, which overlaps with the aforementioned gap region, viewed in the vertical direction.

[0064] According to the present configuration, it is possible to appropriately determine the presence or absence of the falling possibility of the article into the gap region by the determination processing section through a simple processing.

[0065] Further, it is appropriate that an article stacking system is an article stacking system provided with: the aforementioned article arrangement decision system; and a layer article group transfer device that moves the aforementioned layer article group in the vertical direction and the horizontal direction in a state in which the aforementioned layer article group is collectively held by the holding section, to be stacked on the aforementioned support body in a manner arranged in multiple layers in the vertical direction, the aforementioned layer article group transfer device: provided with a rotation mechanism that rotates the aforementioned holding section around the aforementioned rotation axis, in a case where the aforementioned corrected arrangement information generated by the aforementioned rotation processing is decided as new aforementioned upper layer arrangement information, the aforementioned layer article group held by the aforementioned holding section is rotated around the aforementioned rotation axis in cooperation with the new aforementioned upper layer arrangement information, and then stacked on the aforementioned support body.

[0066] According to the present configuration, the corrected arrangement information in which the initial upper layer article arrangement is subjected to the rotation processing is generated by the correction processing section, and in a case where this corrected arrangement information is decided as new upper layer arrangement information, the holding section is rotated by the rotation mechanism of the layer article group transfer device, so that the held layer article group can be stacked on the support body in a posture that cooperates with this new upper layer arrangement information. Therefore, it is possible to stack a plurality of articles on the support body in a proper article arrangement in which there is no falling possibility.

[0067] The article arrangement decision system and the article stacking system according to the present disclosure can exhibit at least one of the above-described effects. Explanation of Reference Signs

[0068] 1: article arrangement decision system 2: layer article group 2a: upper layer article group 2b: lower layer article group 3: holding portion 4: layer article group transfer device 5: swing mechanism 10: gap region 11: determination processing portion 12: correction processing portion 100: article stacking system P: support body S: excess amount

Claims

1. An article arrangement decision system that decides an arrangement of a plurality of articles in a case where the plurality of articles are stacked on a support, wherein the plurality of articles are stacked in a manner that layer article groups are arranged in multiple layers in a vertical direction, the layer article groups being composed of a plurality of the articles arranged in a planar manner, the article arrangement decision system having the following features: a lower layer article group is a layer article group on a lower side among two layer article groups adjacent in the vertical direction, and an upper layer article group is a layer article group on an upper side, provided with: a decision processing section that acquires lower layer arrangement information showing a lower layer article arrangement that is an arrangement of the plurality of the articles constituting the lower layer article group and upper layer arrangement information showing an upper layer article arrangement that is an arrangement of the plurality of the articles constituting the upper layer article group, and decides presence or absence of a falling possibility that is a possibility that the articles constituting the upper layer article group fall into a gap region that is a region in which the articles are not present when viewed in the vertical direction in a case where the lower layer article arrangement shown by the lower layer arrangement information has the gap region; and a correction processing section that corrects the upper layer arrangement information in a case where the decision processing section decides that the falling possibility is present, the correction processing section generates corrected arrangement information in which the upper layer article arrangement shown by the upper layer arrangement information is corrected, causes the decision processing section to decide the presence or absence of the falling possibility based on the upper layer article arrangement shown by the corrected arrangement information, and decides the corrected arrangement information as new upper layer arrangement information in a case where it is decided that the falling possibility is not present.

2. The article arrangement decision system according to claim 1, wherein the correction processing section generates the corrected arrangement information by at least one of a rotation processing of rotating the upper layer article arrangement shown by the upper layer arrangement information around a rotation axis in the horizontal direction and a movement processing of moving the upper layer article arrangement in the horizontal direction.

3. The article arrangement decision system according to claim 2, wherein initially, a layer-by-layer arrangement decision processing is performed in which a lowermost layer of the plurality of the layer article groups arranged on the support is set as the lower layer article group, and a layer article group adjacent on an upper side of the lower layer article group is set as the upper layer article group, the upper layer arrangement information is decided by processing by the decision processing section and processing by the correction processing section as needed, thereafter, the layer article group set as the upper layer article group in the last layer-by-layer arrangement decision processing is set as the lower layer article group this time, and the layer article group adjacent on an upper side of the lower layer article group is set as the upper layer article group, the layer-by-layer arrangement decision processing is repeatedly performed, and an arrangement of the entirety of the plurality of the articles stacked on the support is decided.

4. The article arrangement decision system according to claim 2, wherein the articles are rectangular in shape when viewed in the vertical direction. The layer article group is arranged so as to be rectangular in shape as viewed in the up-down direction, The correction processing section rotates the upper layer article arrangement around the rotation axis by an angle that is an integer multiple of 90° in the rotation processing.

5. The article arrangement decision system according to claim 2, wherein The correction processing section moves the upper layer article arrangement in the horizontal direction within a range in which the amount by which the outer edge of the upper layer article group as viewed in the up-down direction exceeds the outer edge of the lower layer article group in the horizontal direction becomes equal to or less than a set value in the movement processing.

6. The article arrangement decision system according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein The determination processing section determines the presence or absence of the falling possibility based on the proportion of the area occupied by the entire one of the plurality of articles constituting the upper layer article group that overlaps the gap region as viewed in the up-down direction.

7. An article stacking system that is provided with: the article arrangement decision system according to any one of claims 2 to 5; and a layer article group transfer device that moves a layer article group in the up-down direction and the horizontal direction while the layer article group is collectively held by a holding section, so as to be arranged in a manner stacked in multiple layers in the up-down direction on a support body, The layer article group transfer device: is provided with a rotation mechanism that rotates the holding section around the rotation axis, in a case where the corrected arrangement information generated by the rotation processing is decided as new upper layer arrangement information, the layer article group held by the holding section is rotated around the rotation axis in cooperation with the new upper layer arrangement information, and then stacked on the support body.

Images