Conveyance system

Abstract

To provide a conveyance system that can set conveyance permission conditions to permit a conveyance medium to convey objects more flexibly than before.SOLUTION: A conveyance system (1) includes a conveyance medium (HB) that conveys an object (GD). The conveyance system (1) has: a first control device (10) that instructs an operator (W) to perform a task corresponding to the object (GD); and a second control device (20) that controls the conveyance of the object (GD) by the conveyance medium (HB) according to instructions from the first control device (10). The first control device (10) specifies a target number which is the number of objects (GD) that the operator (W) should deliver to the conveyance medium (HB). The first control device (10) sets a conveyance permission condition that permits the conveyance medium (HB) to convey the object (GD) based on the target number.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] One aspect of the present invention relates to a conveyance system including a conveyance medium for conveying an article.

Background Art

[0002] In order to improve convenience such as the conveyance of articles, various techniques have been proposed. For example, Patent Document 1 below discloses an example of a weighing device used for picking.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] An object of one aspect of the present invention is to provide a conveyance system capable of setting conveyance permission conditions for permitting the conveyance of an article by a conveyance medium more flexibly than in the past.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0005] In order to solve the above problems, a conveyance system according to one aspect of the present invention is a conveyance system including a conveyance medium for conveying an article, and includes a first control device that instructs an operator to perform an operation corresponding to the article, and a second control device that controls the conveyance of the article by the conveyance medium according to a command of the first control device. The first control device specifies a target number, which is the number of articles that the operator should hand over to the conveyance medium, and sets conveyance permission conditions for permitting the conveyance of the article by the conveyance medium based on the target number.

Effects of the Invention

[0006] According to one aspect of the present invention, a transportation system capable of setting transportation permission conditions more flexibly than before can be provided.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0007]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Modes for Carrying Out the Invention

[0008] 〔Embodiment 1〕 Embodiment 1 will be described below. For convenience of explanation, components having the same functions as the components (components) described in Embodiment 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals in the following embodiments, and their descriptions will not be repeated. For the sake of brevity, descriptions of known technical matters will also be omitted as appropriate. Each component and each numerical value described in the present disclosure are merely examples as long as there is no particular contradiction. Therefore, for example, as long as there is no particular contradiction, the positional relationship and connection relationship of each component are not limited to the examples in each figure.

[0009] (A Configuration Example of the Transportation System 1) FIG. 1 shows a configuration example of the transportation system 1 of Embodiment 1. The transportation system 1 includes a transportation medium HB for transporting an article GD. The transportation system 1 may be used, for example, in a logistics center.

[0010] In Embodiment 1, a case where the transport medium HB is a machine having a self-propelling function is exemplified. As an example, the transport medium HB may be any type of self-propelled cart. The article GD may be any object that can be transported by the transport medium HB. In Embodiment 1, as the article GD, a product handled in a logistics center is exemplified.

[0011] The transport system 1 includes a first control device 10 that instructs an operator W to perform an operation corresponding to the article GD. In the example of FIG. 1, the first control device 10 includes a control unit 11, a display unit 12, and a barcode reader 13. The control unit 11 comprehensively controls each part of the first control device 10. The control unit 11 can also give commands to a second control device 20 described below.

[0012] In this specification, the number of articles GD to be handed over by the operator W to the transport medium HB is referred to as the target number. As an example, the first control device 10 instructs the operator W to hand over the article GD to the transport medium HB by the target number. The control unit 11 may display on the display unit 12 a screen showing the content to be instructed to the operator W.

[0013] The transport system 1 includes a second control device 20 that controls the transport of the article GD by the transport medium HB. In the transport system 1, the second control device 20 receives a command from the control unit 11. Then, the second control device 20 controls the transport of the article GD by the transport medium HB according to the command. As an example, the second control device 20 controls the transport of the article GD by the transport medium HB according to a command from the control unit 11 and the work by the operator W.

[0014] Thus, in the transport system 1, the control unit 11 controls the transport of the article GD by the transport medium HB via the second control device 20. Therefore, the control unit 11 manages various information for controlling the transport of the article GD by the transport medium HB. The information includes information indicating the destination of the transport medium HB in the logistics center and the content to be instructed to the operator W. As an example, the control unit 11 may acquire this information from a higher controller (not shown).

[0015] FIG. 2 shows an example of a table TB used for specifying the number of items of interest. In Embodiment 1, a case where the control unit 11 specifies the number of items of interest using the table TB is exemplified. Various types of information related to the work of the worker W are recorded in the table TB. Therefore, the table TB may be referred to as a work information table. The table TB may be stored in the upper controller. In this case, the control unit 11 may acquire the table TB from the upper controller.

[0016] In the table TB, a "product code" is associated with a "product name", an "order number", a "quantity of work", a "priority", and a "work status". In Embodiment 1, in order to identify each of a plurality of products, an individual product code is assigned to each of the plurality of products. In the example of FIG. 2, the product code corresponds one-to-one with the product name.

[0017] The order number is assigned, for example, for each order of a customer who ordered a product. As an example, in the example of FIG. 2, the order number "001" represents an order of customer A, the order number "002" represents an order of customer B, and the order number "003" represents an order of customer C. Therefore, in Embodiment 1, the order number can be used as a number for identifying the final shipping destination of the product.

[0018] The item "quantity of work" in the example of FIG. 2 represents the quantity (number) of products that the worker W should deliver to the transport medium HB. Therefore, the quantity of work corresponds to the above-mentioned number of items of interest. The item "priority" represents the priority of the delivery work (work of delivering the product to the transport medium HB) by the worker W. The item "work status" represents whether or not the delivery work by the worker W has been completed.

[0019] As an example, consider the case where a barcode representing the product code of the article GD is attached to the article GD. In this case, by having the operator W use the barcode reader 13, the product code can be read from the barcode. In this way, the control unit 11 can acquire the product code through the barcode reader 13.

[0020] As an example, consider the case where the product code acquired through the barcode reader 13 is "0001". In this case, the control unit 11 extracts, as candidate rows, the rows in the table TB that match the product code "0001". In the example of FIG. 2, the control unit 11 extracts the first to third rows of the table TB as candidate rows.

[0021] The control unit 11 acquires the priority and working status of each of the extracted candidate rows. The control unit 11 extracts, as the work target row, the row that has a working status of "incomplete" and the highest priority among the candidate rows. In the example of FIG. 2, the control unit 11 extracts the second row of the table TB as the work target row. The control unit 11 acquires, as the number of items of interest, the quantity of work indicated in the work target row. In the example of FIG. 2, the control unit 11 specifies that the number of items of interest is 1.

[0022] As described above, the control unit 11 can specify the number of items of interest, for example, based on the barcode attached to the article GD. However, the method for specifying the number of items of interest by the control unit 11 is not particularly limited.

[0023] As another example, the control unit 11 may acquire an order number corresponding to the article GD from a higher-level controller. Then, the control unit 11 may determine the number of items of interest based on the acquired order number. For example, the control unit 11 may determine the number of items of interest by collating the acquired order number with the table TB1.

[0024] In the conveying system 1, after the delivery work of the article GD by the operator W is completed, it is intended to convey the article GD to the conveying medium HB. In this specification, the condition for permitting the conveyance of the article GD to the conveying medium HB is referred to as the conveyance permission condition.

[0025] In Embodiment 1, the control unit 11 sets the conveyance permission condition based on the number of items of interest. Therefore, according to the control unit 11, for example, individual conveyance permission conditions can be set when the number of items of interest is 1 and when the number of items of interest is 2 or more. Thus, according to the control unit 11, the conveyance permission condition can be changed according to the number of items of interest.

[0026] (Example when the number of items of interest is 1) When the number of items of interest is 1, it is considered that there is no problem in conveying the article GD to the conveying medium HB after the operator W has delivered one article GD to the conveying medium HB. When the operator W delivers one article GD to the conveying medium HB, the operator W first approaches the conveying medium HB. Then, after delivering one article GD to the conveying medium HB, the operator W moves away from the conveying medium HB.

[0027] Therefore, as shown in FIG. 1, the conveying system 1 may have a sensor 30 that detects the presence or absence of an object. The sensor 30 only needs to be able to detect the presence or absence of a part of the body of the operator W. In the example of FIG. 1, the second control device 20 has the sensor 30. However, the sensor 30 may be provided outside the second control device 20.

[0028] As an example, when the operator W who is close to the conveying medium HB moves away from the conveying medium HB, a change in the detection result of the sensor 30 may occur. Therefore, when the control unit 11 determines that the number of items of interest is 1, the control unit 11 may set a predetermined change event in the detection result of the sensor 30 as the conveyance permission condition.

[0029] By using the change event as a conveyance permission condition, unlike the case where the number of items of interest described later is two or more, it becomes unnecessary to cause the worker W to perform a predetermined input operation indicating that the handover work has been completed. Therefore, according to the control unit 11, when the number of items of interest is one, the convenience of the worker W can be improved.

[0030] The sensor 30 in the first embodiment may be an optical sensor that optically detects the presence or absence of an object. As an example, the optical sensor may be a light curtain. As another example, the optical sensor may be a camera.

[0031] As an example, when the sensor 30 detects the presence of an object, it outputs an ON signal as a detection result. On the other hand, when the sensor 30 detects the absence of an object, it outputs an OFF signal as a detection result. The ON signal may be referred to as a presence signal, and the OFF signal may be referred to as an absence signal.

[0032] When the worker W who is close to the conveyance medium HB moves away from the conveyance medium HB, the detection result of the sensor 30 is highly likely to transition from the ON signal to the OFF signal. Therefore, in the first embodiment, the above-described change event may be set as an event indicating that the detection result of the sensor 30 has transitioned from the ON signal to the OFF signal.

[0033] The second control device 20 acquires the detection result of the sensor 30 and determines whether the conveyance permission condition is satisfied. When the second control device 20 determines that the conveyance permission condition is satisfied, it may control the conveyance medium HB after the article GD has been handed over according to a command from the control unit 11. For example, the second control device 20 may permit the conveyance medium HB to move to the above-described destination. After receiving the permission, the conveyance medium HB moves toward the destination.

[0034] (Example when the number of items of interest is two or more) When the number of items of interest is two or more, after the operator W has completed the task of delivering the items GD corresponding to the number of items of interest to the transport medium HB, the transport medium HB should be made to transport the items GD. However, when the number of items of interest is two or more, the number of times the above-described change event occurs does not necessarily match the number of items of interest. This is because, depending on the size or weight of the item GD, there may be cases where the operator W can deliver a plurality of items G to the transport medium HB at once.

[0035] Therefore, when the number of items of interest is two or more, it is not always appropriate to use the change event as a transport permission condition. When the number of items of interest is two or more, it is preferable to have the operator W give an indication that the task of delivering the items GD corresponding to the number of items of interest to the transport medium HB has been completed. This reduces the risk of a false positive determination regarding the transport permission condition.

[0036] Therefore, when the control unit 11 determines that the number of items of interest is two or more, it may set an event indicating that the operator W has performed a predetermined input operation as a transport permission condition. As an example, when the control unit 11 determines that the number of items of interest is two or more, it may set an event indicating that a predetermined completion button has been pressed by the operator W as a transport permission condition.

[0037] Therefore, as shown in FIG. 1, the transport system 1 may have a hardware button 35. The hardware button 35 is an example of a completion button. In the example of FIG. 1, the second control device 20 has the hardware button 35. However, the hardware button 35 may be provided outside the second control device 20. As an example, after the operator W has completed the task of delivering the items GD corresponding to the number of items of interest to the transport medium HB, the control unit 11 may cause the display unit 12 to display text or an image indicating that the operator W is prompted to press the hardware button 35.

[0038] When the second control device 20 acquires a press event of the hardware button 35 from the hardware button 35, it determines that the conveyance permission condition is satisfied. The subsequent processing by the second control device 20 is the same as the example when the number of items of interest is 1.

[0039] (Effect) In a conventional conveyance system, it is common to set a single conveyance permission condition regardless of whether the number of items of interest is 1 or 2 or more. Therefore, as an example, in a conventional conveyance system, it is conceivable that a predetermined input operation (e.g., pressing of the hardware button 35) by the operator W is set as the conveyance permission condition regardless of the number of items of interest. In this case, even when the number of items of interest is 1, it is required that the operator W perform a predetermined input operation. Therefore, when the number of items of interest is 1, the convenience of the operator W may be reduced.

[0040] As another example, in a conventional conveyance system, it is also conceivable that a predetermined change event in the detection result of the sensor 30 is set as the conveyance permission condition regardless of the number of items of interest. However, in this case, when the number of items of interest is 2 or more, a false positive determination regarding the conveyance permission condition is likely to occur.

[0041] On the other hand, the inventors of the present application created the conveyance system 1 based on a novel idea of "setting a conveyance permission condition based on the number of items of interest". In a conventional conveyance system, after the first control device acquires each piece of information about an article, it supplies only the information indicating the destination of the conveyance medium to the second control device. On the other hand, in the conveyance system 1, different from the conventional conveyance system, the first control device 10 can identify the number of items of interest based on each piece of information about the article included in, for example, the above-described work information table. Then, the first control device 10 can change the conveyance permission condition according to the identified number of items of interest. That is, according to the conveyance system 1, the conveyance permission condition can be set more flexibly than in the past. In the conveyance system 1, different from the conventional conveyance system, the first control device 10 can supply the conveyance permission condition set by itself to the second control device 20.

[0042] As a result, in the conveying system 1, unlike the conventional conveying systems, when the number of items of interest is 1, it is not necessary to cause the operator W to perform a predetermined input operation in order to satisfy the conveyance permission condition. Therefore, when the number of items of interest is 1, the convenience of the operator W can be improved. Further, in the conveying system 1, when the number of items of interest is 2 or more, a predetermined change event in the detection result of the sensor 30 is not set as the conveyance permission condition. Therefore, when the number of items of interest is 2 or more, it is also possible to reduce the possibility of a false positive determination regarding the conveyance permission condition.

[0043] (Example of the processing flow in the conveying system 1) FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating the processing flow in the conveying system 1. The order of each step in the example of FIG. 4 may be appropriately changed as long as there is no contradiction in the content. In the following description, the conveyance permission condition to be set when the number of items of interest is 1 is referred to as the first permission condition, and the conveyance permission condition to be set when the number of items of interest is 2 or more is referred to as the second permission condition. As described above, the first permission condition may be a predetermined change event in the detection result of the sensor 30, and the second permission condition may be an event indicating that the operator W has performed a predetermined input operation.

[0044] In step S1, the first control device 10 acquires each piece of information about the article GD. For example, the first control device 10 acquires the product code of the article GD through the barcode reader 13 used by the operator W. Then, the first control device 10 acquires each piece of information about the article GD from the host controller by performing collation using the product code.

[0045] Next, in step S2, the first control device 10 specifies the number of items of interest based on each piece of information about the article GD acquired in step S1.

[0046] Next, in step S3, the first control device 10 acquires the destination of the article GD from each piece of information about the article GD. Then, the first control device 10 instructs the second control device 20 of the destination of the article GD.

[0047] In step S4, the first control device 10 determines whether or not the number of items of interest specified in step S2 is two or more.

[0048] If the result in step S4 is YES, that is, if the number of items of interest is two or more, the process proceeds to S5. In step S5, the first control device 10 sets the conveyance permission condition to the second permission condition. Then, the process proceeds to step S7.

[0049] On the other hand, if the result in step S4 is NO, that is, if the number of items of interest is one, the process proceeds to S6. In step S6, the first control device 10 sets the conveyance permission condition to the first permission condition. Then, the process proceeds to step S7.

[0050] In step S7, the first control device 10 displays the handover information on the display unit 12. The handover information generally refers to information related to the handover operation by the operator W. The display screen 120 described in Embodiment 2 below is an example of a screen on which the handover information is displayed.

[0051] In step S8, the second control device 20 determines whether or not the conveyance permission condition set according to the number of items of interest is satisfied. When the second permission condition is set as the conveyance permission condition in step S5, the second control device 20 determines whether or not the second permission condition is satisfied. On the other hand, when the first permission condition is set as the conveyance permission condition in step S6, the second control device 20 determines whether or not the first permission condition is satisfied.

[0052] If the result in step S8 is YES, that is, if the conveyance permission condition is satisfied, the process proceeds to step S9. On the other hand, if the result in step S8 is NO, that is, if the conveyance permission condition is not satisfied, the process returns to step S8. In this way, the determination process of step S8 is repeated until the handover operation by the operator W is completed and the conveyance permission condition is satisfied.

[0053] In step S9, the second control device 20 permits the conveyance medium HB to convey the article GD to the destination instructed by the first control device 10 in step S3. In this way, the second control device 20 permits the conveyance of the article GD by the conveyance medium HB when the conveyance permission condition is satisfied.

[0054] 〔Embodiment 2〕 FIG. 4 shows a configuration example of the conveyance system 2 according to Embodiment 2. In Embodiment 2, the control unit 11 may display the software button as the above-described completion button on the display screen. In Embodiment 2, the case where the control unit 11 displays the software button on the display unit 12 is illustrated. However, the control unit 11 may display the software button on the display screen of a device external to the first control device. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 4, the conveyance system 2 may not have the hardware button 35.

[0055] FIG. 5 shows an example of the display screen 120 displayed on the display unit 12. The display screen 120 includes the software button 125. In FIG. 5, the case where the fourth row of the table TB in FIG. 2 is extracted as the work target row is illustrated. Therefore, the number of items of interest in the example of FIG. 5 is 2.

[0056] The operator W may press the software button 125 by operating a predetermined input device (e.g., a mouse). When the display unit 12 is a touch panel, the operator W may press the software button 125 with his or her finger. When the control unit 11 acquires the press event of the software button 125 from the display unit 12, it determines that the conveyance permission condition is satisfied.

[0057] The notation "1 / 2" on the display screen 120 indicates that the number of articles GD delivered to the conveyance medium HB at the current time is "1" and the number of items of interest of the article GD is "2". In the following description, the number of articles GD delivered to the conveyance medium HB at the current time is referred to as the number of completed operations.

[0058] As an example, the conveying system 2 may have a weight sensor (not shown) that measures the weight of the article GD. In this case, for example, the control unit 11 may calculate the number of completed operations based on the measurement result of the weight sensor. By displaying the number of completed operations and the number of items of interest on the display screen 120, the operator W can be made to recognize that the number of completed operations has reached the number of items of interest, and then the operator W can be made to press the software button 125.

[0059] 〔Modification example〕 (1) As an example, the conveying system according to an aspect of the present invention may further include a camera that captures an image in which the article GD is reflected. In this case, the control unit 11 may derive the number of articles GD reflected in the image by applying an arbitrary image recognition technique to the image acquired from the camera. Then, the control unit 11 may determine the derived number of articles GD as the number of completed operations.

[0060] (2) In Embodiments 1 to 2, the case where the conveying medium HB is a machine having a self-propelling function was exemplified. However, the conveying medium HB does not necessarily have to have a self-propelling function. The conveying medium HB may be any member that can accommodate the article GD.

[0061] For example, the conveying system according to an aspect of the present invention may have a pouch that accommodates the article GD as the conveying medium HB. In this case, the conveying system further includes a conveying device that conveys the pouch. In this case, the second control device 20 of the conveying system controls the conveying device according to a command from the control unit 11 to control the movement of the pouch.

[0062] In this way, the control unit 11 controls the movement of the pouch by controlling the conveying device via the second control device 20. Therefore, also in this example, the control unit 11 may set the conveyance permission condition based on the number of items of interest as described in Embodiment 1.

[0063] 〔Example of implementation by software〕 The functions of the transfer systems 1 to 2 (hereinafter referred to as "devices" for convenience) are programs for causing a computer to function as the device, and can be realized by programs for causing a computer to function as each control block of the device.

[0064] In this case, the above device includes a computer having at least one control device (e.g., a processor) and at least one storage device (e.g., a memory) as hardware for executing the above program. By executing the above program with this control device and storage device, each function described in each of the above embodiments is realized.

[0065] The above program may be recorded on one or more computer-readable recording media, not temporarily. This recording medium may or may not be provided in the above device. In the latter case, the above program may be supplied to the above device via any wired or wireless transmission medium.

[0066] Also, part or all of the functions of each of the above control blocks can also be realized by a logic circuit. For example, an integrated circuit in which a logic circuit functioning as each of the above control blocks is formed is also included in the scope of one aspect of the present invention. In addition to this, for example, it is also possible to realize the functions of each of the above control blocks by a quantum computer.

[0067] Each process described in each of the above embodiments may be executed by AI (Artificial Intelligence). In this case, the AI may operate in the above control device, or may operate in another device (e.g., an edge computer or a cloud server, etc.).

[0068] 〔Summary〕 The conveying system according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention is a conveying system including a conveying medium for conveying an article, and includes a first control device for instructing an operator to perform an operation corresponding to the article, and a second control device for controlling the conveying of the article by the conveying medium according to a command of the first control device. The first control device specifies a target number, which is the number of the articles to be handed over to the conveying medium by the operator, and sets a conveying permission condition for permitting the conveying medium to convey the article based on the target number.

[0069] The conveying system according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention may, in Embodiment 1, include a sensor for detecting the presence or absence of an object. When the first control device specifies that the target number is 1, the first control device may set a predetermined change event in the detection result of the sensor as the conveying permission condition.

[0070] In the conveying system according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention, in Embodiment 2, the sensor may be an optical sensor that optically detects the presence or absence of the object.

[0071] In the conveying system according to Embodiment 4 of the present invention, in Embodiment 2 or 3, when the sensor detects the presence of the object, the sensor may output an ON signal as the detection result, and when the sensor detects the absence of the object, the sensor may output an OFF signal as the detection result. The change event may be an event indicating that the detection result has changed from the ON signal to the OFF signal.

[0072] In the conveying system according to Embodiment 5 of the present invention, in any one of Embodiments 1 to 4, when the first control device specifies that the target number is 2 or more, the first control device may set an event indicating that the operator has performed a predetermined input operation as the conveying permission condition.

[0073] 〔Supplementary Notes〕 One aspect of the present invention is not limited to each of the above-described embodiments, and various modifications are possible within the scope shown in the claims. Embodiments obtained by appropriately combining the technical means disclosed in different embodiments are also included in the technical scope of one aspect of the present invention.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0074] 1, 2 Conveying system 10 First control device 11 Control unit 12 Display unit 20 Second control device 30 Sensor 35 Hardware button 125 Software button GD Article HB Conveyor W Worker

Claims

1. A conveying system comprising a conveying medium for conveying an article, a first control device for instructing an operator to perform an operation corresponding to the article, and a second control device for controlling the conveyance of the article by the conveying medium according to a command from the first control device, wherein the first control device identifies a target number which is the number of the articles to be delivered by the operator to the conveying medium, and sets a conveyance permission condition for permitting the conveying medium to convey the article based on the target number.

2. The conveying system has a sensor for detecting the presence or absence of an object, and when the first control device identifies that the target number is 1, the first control device sets a predetermined change event in the detection result of the sensor as the conveyance permission condition. The conveying system according to claim 1.

3. The sensor is an optical sensor for optically detecting the presence or absence of the object. The conveying system according to claim 2.

4. When the sensor detects the presence of the object, it outputs an ON signal as the detection result, and when it detects the absence of the object, it outputs an OFF signal as the detection result, and the change event is an event indicating that the detection result has changed from the ON signal to the OFF signal. The conveying system according to claim 2.

5. When the first control device identifies that the target number is 2 or more, the first control device sets an event indicating that the operator has performed a predetermined input operation as the conveyance permission condition. The conveying system according to claim 1.

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