Conveyance carriage management system and conveyance carriage management method

Abstract

To provide a conveyance carriage management system and a conveyance carriage management method capable of easily performing conveyance carriage management with a simple configuration.SOLUTION: A conveyance carriage management system 10 includes a plurality of conveyance carriages 11 for mounting and conveying objects M to be conveyed, carriage and conveyance object photographing means 12 for photographing the conveyance carriages 11 and the mounted objects M to be conveyed, position detection means 13 for detecting whether the objects M to be conveyed are mounted within a prescribed position range on the basis of a photographed conveyance carriage and conveyance object image, identification means 15 for individually identifying the conveyance carriages 11, conveyance carriage specification means 16 for specifying each conveyance carriage 11 on the basis of the identification means 15, and recording means 17 for associating a result obtained by the position detection means 13 with a specification result by the conveyance carriage specification means 16 to record them about each conveyance carriage 11.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a carrier management system and a carrier management method for transporting parts using a plurality of carriers.

Background Art

[0002] In vehicle manufacturing, automatic supply of parts is performed. For example, parts are loaded onto a carrier, the carrier is automatically moved to the parts assembly position, and an industrial robot takes the parts from the carrier and assembles them onto the assembly object. At that time, for example, the parts loaded on the carrier are photographed by a camera to check whether the parts conform to the target vehicle type and specifications, and also to check whether the parts are mounted at a predetermined position. When supplying parts using a plurality of carriers, due to differences in machine conditions such as deterioration and damage of the carriers, the mounting positions of the parts may vary, and there may be cases where the industrial robot cannot take the parts.

[0003] However, in the conventional method, although it is possible to detect non-conformities in vehicle type and specifications and defects in the mounting position of parts, there is a problem that it is impossible to identify which carrier has a defect in the mounting position. Therefore, it has been difficult to quickly respond to deterioration and damage of the carriers.

[0004] In Patent Document 1, an operation state storage unit is provided in the carrier to store the cumulative travel distance, travel time, travel frequency, error frequency of the stop position, number of times of article delivery, etc., and these values are evaluated by an evaluation unit to re-measure the differences in machines for each carrier. However, in the method of Patent Document 1, since the storage unit is provided in the carrier, there is a problem that the overall system becomes complicated when the number of carriers increases.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0005]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0006] Based on such problems, the present invention aims to provide a conveyance cart management system and a conveyance cart management method that can easily manage conveyance carts with a simple configuration.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0007] The conveyance cart management system of the present invention includes a plurality of conveyance carts for loading and transporting goods, cart and goods photographing means for photographing each conveyance cart and the loaded goods, position detection means for detecting whether the goods are loaded within a predetermined position range based on the cart and goods photographed image obtained by the cart and goods photographing means, identification means individually attached to each conveyance cart for identifying each conveyance cart, conveyance cart specifying means for specifying each conveyance cart based on the identification means, and recording means for associating and recording, for each conveyance cart, the result obtained by the position detection means and the specifying result by the conveyance cart specifying means.

[0008] The conveyance cart management method of the present invention is a conveyance cart management method for managing a plurality of conveyance carts for loading and transporting goods. After loading goods on each conveyance cart, each conveyance cart and the goods are photographed, a position detection procedure for detecting whether the goods are loaded within a predetermined position range based on the obtained cart and goods photographed image, a conveyance cart specifying procedure for specifying each conveyance cart based on identification means individually attached to each conveyance cart, and a recording procedure for associating and recording, for each conveyance cart, the result obtained by the position detection procedure and the specifying result by the conveyance cart specifying procedure.

Effects of the Invention

[0009] According to the present invention, an identification means for identifying each transport cart is individually attached to each transport cart, each transport cart is specified based on the identification means, and recorded in association with the result obtained by the position detection means. Therefore, it is possible to easily identify a transport cart on which the transported object is not loaded within a predetermined position range. Thus, the specified transport cart can be inspected at an early stage, and deterioration, damage, etc. of the transport cart can be quickly responded to.

[0010] Further, if the identification means is constituted by an identification symbol, the transport cart can be easily identified. In particular, if it is constituted by a two-dimensional code, it can be read more accurately.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0011]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0012] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[0013] FIG. 1 shows the configuration of a transport cart management system 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2(A) shows an enlarged view of the configuration of the transport cart 11, and FIG. 2(B) shows a state in which the transported object M is loaded on the transport cart 11. This transport cart management system 10 manages a plurality of transport carts 11 that carry and transport the transported object M. This transport cart management system 10 can be used, for example, in the manufacture of vehicles, etc., when loading a transported object M such as parts on a transport cart 11 and moving the transport cart 11 to the supply position of the transported object M to supply the transported object M. In the present embodiment, a case where it is used when supplying a transported object M such as parts in accordance with a production instruction in the manufacture of vehicles will be described as an example.

[0014] The transport cart management system 10 includes, for example, a plurality of transport carts 11 that carry and transport a transported item M, a cart and transported item photographing means 12 that photographs each transport cart 11 and the loaded transported item M, and a position detection means 13 that detects whether or not the transported item M is loaded within a predetermined position range based on the cart and transported item photographed image obtained by the cart and transported item photographing means 12. Further, the transport cart management system 10 may include, for example, an object discrimination means 14 that discriminates whether or not the transported item M loaded on each transport cart 11 is a transport target that conforms to a production instruction based on the cart and transported item photographed image obtained by the cart and transported item photographing means 12 as needed, and a control means 15 that controls the movement of each transport cart 11 according to the detection result of the position detection means 13 and the discrimination result of the object discrimination means 14.

[0015] The cart and transported item photographing means 12 is constituted by, for example, a camera such as a CCD camera. The cart and transported item photographing means 12 may be one, but a plurality may be arranged at different positions to obtain a plurality of cart and transported item photographed images taken from different positions. The position detection means 13 and the object confirmation means 14 can be constituted by, for example, a computer, and are configured to function as the position detection means 13 or the object confirmation means 14 by executing a program.

[0016] The position detection means 13 is connected to, for example, the cart and transported item photographing means 12, and is configured to detect whether or not a predetermined portion of the transported item M is located within a predetermined position range in the cart and transported item photographed image obtained by the cart and transported item photographing means 12. For the detection of whether or not a predetermined portion of the transported item M is located within a predetermined position range, for example, a known image recognition technique can be used. Specifically, for example, the position detection means 13 is preferably configured to detect a predetermined portion of the transported item M from the cart and transported item photographed image by a known image recognition technique and detect whether or not the coordinate position thereof is within a predetermined coordinate position range.

[0017] The conveyed object discrimination means 14 is connected to, for example, the cart and conveyed object photographing means 12, and discriminates whether the conveyed object M mounted thereon is a conveyance target object conforming to the vehicle type and specifications of the production instruction from the cart and conveyed object photographed image obtained by the cart and conveyed object photographing means 12 by a known image recognition technique.

[0018] The control means 15 is configured such that, for example, when a detection result that the conveyed object M is mounted within a predetermined position range is obtained by the position detection means 13 and the conveyed object M is discriminated by the conveyed object discrimination means 14 as being a conveyance target object conforming to the production instruction, the conveyance cart 11 is moved to the supply position of the conveyed object M, and when a detection result that the conveyed object M is not mounted within a predetermined position range is obtained by the position detection means 13 or the conveyed object M is discriminated by the conveyed object discrimination means 14 as not being a conveyance target object conforming to the production instruction, the conveyance cart 11 is moved to the recovery position.

[0019] The conveyance cart management system 10 further includes an identification means 16 individually attached to each conveyance cart 11 for identifying each conveyance cart 11, a conveyance cart specifying means 17 for specifying each conveyance cart 11 based on the identification means 16, a recording means 18 for associating and recording the result obtained by the position detection means 13 and the specification result by the conveyance cart specifying means 17 for each conveyance cart 11, and a display means 19 for displaying the content recorded in the recording means 18 as necessary.

[0020] The identification means 16 represents identification information such as a machine number individually assigned to each carrier cart 11, and it can be anything as long as each carrier cart 11 can be identified. Examples of the identification means 16 include an identification symbol, color, electrical signal, or acoustic signal representing the identification information of each carrier cart 11. Among them, the identification symbol is preferable because it can be used conveniently. Examples of the identification symbol include characters, numbers, symbols, and two-dimensional codes. Among them, the two-dimensional code is preferable. Characters, numbers, symbols, etc. may cause errors in image recognition due to the reading angle or external disturbances such as light, but the two-dimensional code is less affected by the reading angle and external disturbances and can be read accurately. As the two-dimensional code, for example, the QR code (registered trademark) is preferably mentioned.

[0021] In the case where the carrier cart specifying means 17 is configured by the identification symbol for the identification means 16, for example, it is preferably configured to include an identification symbol photographing means 17A that photographs the identification symbol and a reading means 17B that reads the identification symbol from the identification symbol photographed image obtained by the identification symbol photographing means 17A. The identification symbol photographing means 17A is constituted by a camera such as a CCD camera, for example. The identification symbol photographing means 17A may be shared with the cart / conveyed object photographing means 12 and constituted by the same camera as the cart / conveyed object photographing means 12, or may be provided dedicatedly separately from the cart / conveyed object photographing means 12. The reading means 17B can be constituted by a computer, for example, and is configured to function as the reading means 17B by executing a program. The reading means 17B can use, for example, a known image recognition technology or two-dimensional code reading technology.

[0022] The recording means 18 can be configured by, for example, a computer and is configured to function as the recording means 18 by executing a program. The recording means 18 is configured to record, for example, the result of the position detection means 13 and the identification information such as the machine number of the transport cart 11 identified by the transport cart identification means 17 for the transport cart 11 on which the transported object M is mounted within a predetermined position range detected by the position detection means 13 in an associated manner. The display means 19 is configured by, for example, a display or the like.

[0023] This transport cart management system 10 is used, for example, as follows to manage a plurality of transport carts 11 that carry and transport a transported object M. FIG. 3 shows the flow of a transport cart management method using the transport cart management system 10. First, for example, in accordance with a production instruction, an operator or an industrial robot mounts the transported object M on the transport cart 11 (mounting procedure; step S101).

[0024] Next, for example, the cart and transported object photographing means 12 photographs the transport cart 11 on which the transported object M is mounted and the mounted transported object M, and based on the cart and transported object photographed image obtained by the cart and transported object photographing means 12, the position detection means 13 detects whether or not the transported object M is mounted within a predetermined position range (position detection procedure; step S102). Specifically, for example, a predetermined location of the transported object M is detected from the cart and transported object photographed image, and it is detected whether or not the coordinate position thereof is within a predetermined coordinate position range.

[0025] Also, for example, based on the cart and transported object photographed image obtained by the cart and transported object photographing means 12, the transported object discrimination means 14 discriminates whether or not the transported object M mounted on the transport cart 11 is a transport target that conforms to the production instruction (transported object discrimination procedure; step S103).

[0026] Subsequently, for example, based on the identification means 16 individually attached to the transport cart 11, the transport cart 11 is identified (transport cart identification procedure; step S104). Specifically, for example, the identification symbol photographing means 17A photographs an identification symbol such as a two-dimensional code, and the reading means 17B reads the identification symbol from the identification symbol photographed image obtained by the identification symbol photographing means 17A, and identifies identification information such as the machine number represented by the identification symbol.

[0027] Next, the recording means 18 records, for each transport cart 11, the result obtained in the position detection procedure (step S102) in association with the identification result in the transport cart identification procedure (step S104) (recording procedure; step S105). Thereafter, if necessary, the display means 19 displays the content recorded in the recording procedure (step S105) (display procedure; step S106). Thereby, the operator can easily know the identification information such as the machine number of the transport cart 11 on which the conveyed object M was not loaded within the predetermined position range.

[0028] In addition, in the position detection procedure (step S102), if the result that the conveyed object M is loaded within the predetermined position range is obtained, and in the conveyed object discrimination procedure (step S103), if the conveyed object M is discriminated as a conveyance target object conforming to the production instruction (step S107; Y), the control means 15 moves the transport cart 11 to the supply position of the conveyed object M and supplies the conveyed object M (step S108). Further, in the position detection procedure (step S102), if the result that the conveyed object M is not loaded within the predetermined position range is obtained, or in the conveyed object discrimination procedure (step S103), if the conveyed object M is discriminated as not being a conveyance target object conforming to the production instruction (step S107; N), for example, the control means 15 moves the transport cart 11 to the collection position and collects the conveyed object M (step S109).

[0029] According to this embodiment, the identification means 15 for identifying each transport cart 11 is individually attached to each transport cart 11, each transport cart 11 is specified based on the identification means 15, and it is recorded in association with the result obtained by the position detection means 13. Therefore, it is possible to easily identify the transport cart 11 on which the transported item M is not mounted within a predetermined position range. Thus, the specified transport cart 11 can be inspected at an early stage, and deterioration, damage, etc. of the transport cart 11 can be quickly dealt with.

[0030] Moreover, if the identification means 15 is constituted by identification symbols, the transport cart 11 can be easily identified. In particular, if it is constituted by a two-dimensional code, it can be read more accurately.

[0031] The present invention has been described above by way of embodiments, but the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments and can be variously modified. For example, in the above embodiments, each component has been specifically described, but the specific structure and shape of each component may be different, and further, all of the above-described components need not be provided, and other components may be provided.

[0032] Also, in the above embodiment, the case where the transported item M such as parts is mounted on the transport cart 11 and transported in the production of vehicles has been specifically described, but the present invention can be widely applied to the case where the transported item M is transported using a plurality of transport carts 11.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0033] 10... Transport Cart Management System, 11... Transport Cart, 12... Cart and Transported Item Photographing Means, 13... Position Detection Means, 14... Transported Item Discrimination Means, 15... Control Means, 16... Identification Means, 17... Transport Cart Specifying Means, 17A... Identification Symbol Photographing Means, 17B... Reading Means, 18... Recording Means, 19... Display Means, M... Transported Item

Claims

1. A plurality of transport carts for loading and transporting transported objects, Cart / transported object photographing means for photographing each of the transport carts and the loaded transported objects, Position detection means for detecting whether the transported object is loaded within a predetermined position range based on a cart / transported object photographed image obtained by the cart / transported object photographing means, Identification means individually attached to each of the transport carts for identifying each of the transport carts, Transport cart specifying means for specifying each of the transport carts based on the identification means, Recording means for associating and recording, for each of the transport carts, the result obtained by the position detection means and the specification result by the transport cart specifying means A transport cart management system characterized by comprising the above.

2. The identification means is an identification symbol, The transport cart specifying means includes identification symbol photographing means for photographing the identification symbol and reading means for reading the identification symbol from an identification symbol photographed image obtained by the identification symbol photographing means The transport cart management system according to Claim 1, characterized by the above.

3. The transport cart management system according to Claim 2, characterized in that the identification symbol is a two-dimensional code.

4. A transport cart management method for managing a plurality of transport carts for loading and transporting transported objects, comprising: After loading the transported object on each of the transport carts, photographing each of the transport carts and the transported object, and a position detection procedure for detecting whether the transported object is loaded within a predetermined position range based on the obtained cart / transported object photographed image; A transport cart specifying procedure for specifying each of the transport carts based on identification means individually attached to each of the transport carts; A recording procedure for associating and recording, for each of the transport carts, the result obtained by the position detection procedure and the specification result by the transport cart specifying procedure A transport cart management method characterized by comprising the above.

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