Assortment device

Abstract

To provide an assortment device allowing efficient transportation while suppressing a table size of a pattern table.SOLUTION: A pattern table has data on motion patterns less than the number of actual discharge outlets 32 by one step or one line. A control unit 10 moves transported products 150 to an N step or an N line in an assortment unit 31 on the basis of the pattern table when the transported products 150 are assorted to the discharge outlet 32 at an N+1 step or an N+1 line. The transported products are assorted by the control unit 10 from the discharge outlet 32 at the N step or the N line to that at the N+1 step or the N+1 line in the assortment unit 31 through preset motion. Thus, the control unit 10 allows the transported products 150 to be smoothly assorted to the discharge outlet 32 at the N+1 step or the N+1 line without increasing a calculation load through the preset motion on motion where no pattern table is not allowed.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a sorting device.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, as a system for conveying conveyed objects, for example, the one described in Patent Document 1 is known. This system conveys the conveyed objects and sorts them into shelves at a predetermined floor. The sorting device sorts the conveyed objects based on pattern data in which sorting operation patterns are stored in advance.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] Here, in the sorting device as described above, it is necessary to prepare a pattern table according to the configuration of the sorting device. For example, when the number of stages of the sorting device increases, the combination patterns of the arrangements of the conveyed objects also increase. Therefore, there is a problem that the table size of the pattern data becomes huge. The increase in the table size not only increases the time required to prepare the pattern table but also poses a problem that it takes time to search the table during operation.

[0005] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a sorting device that can efficiently perform conveyance while suppressing the table size of the pattern table.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] The sorting device according to one aspect of the present invention includes at least a carry-in port in the carry-in means, a sorting unit including a conveyor having a horizontal movement means, a carry-out port in the carry-out means, and a control unit that controls to sort the conveyed objects carried in from the carry-in port in the sorting unit and carry them out from at least N + 1 rows or N + 1 columns of carry-out ports. The pattern table is a data group storing operation patterns for sorting conveyed objects to N rows or N columns of carry-out ports. When sorting a conveyed object to the N + 1-th row or N + 1-th column of carry-out ports, the control unit moves the conveyed object to the N-th row or N-th column in the sorting unit based on the pattern table, and sorts the conveyed object from the N-th row or N-th column in the sorting unit to the N + 1-th row or N + 1-th column of carry-out ports by a predetermined setting operation.

[0007] The control unit performs control to sort the conveyed object carried in from the carry-in port at the sorting unit and discharge it from at least N + 1 rows or N + 1 columns of discharge ports. The pattern table is a data group that stores the operation patterns for sorting the conveyed object to the N rows or N columns of discharge ports. In this way, the pattern table has data of operation patterns that are one row or one column less than the actual number of discharge ports. Therefore, an increase in the table size of the pattern table can be suppressed. On the other hand, when the control unit sorts the conveyed object to the N + 1-th row or N + 1-th column of discharge ports, it moves the conveyed object to the N-th row or N-th column in the sorting unit based on the pattern table. In this way, when sorting a conveyed object for which the operation pattern is not stored in the pattern table, the control unit performs conveyance using the pattern table to a position in the middle where the pattern table can be used. After that, the control unit sorts the conveyed object from the N-th row or N-th column in the sorting unit to the N + 1-th row or N + 1-th column of discharge ports by a preset setting operation. In this way, for the operation of the part where the pattern table cannot be used, the control unit can quickly sort the conveyed object to the N + 1-th row or N + 1-th column of discharge ports without increasing the calculation load by using the preset setting operation. From the above, it is possible to efficiently perform conveyance while suppressing the table size of the pattern table.

[0008] The sorting unit respectively has N storage units continuous in the first direction, and includes a first conveying shelf and a second conveying shelf arranged horizontally side by side with each other. The first conveying shelf is arranged on the carry-in port side, and the second conveying shelf is arranged on the discharge port side. The first conveying shelf and the second conveying shelf sort the conveyed object to the N + 1 rows or N + 1 columns of discharge ports by alternately operating at intervals of one storage unit distance in the first direction. The setting operation includes a first setting operation, and the first setting operation may be an operation of moving the conveyed object to the N-th row or N-th column of the second conveying shelf and then sorting the conveyed object to the N + 1-th row or N + 1-th column of discharge ports by the alternate operation. Thereby, the control unit can easily sort the conveyed object from the position of the N-th row or N-th column of the second conveying shelf to the N + 1-th row or N + 1-th column of discharge ports.

[0009] The setting operation includes a second setting operation that is a pre-stage of the first setting operation. The second setting operation may be an operation of moving the conveyed item to the N-1th row or column of the second conveying shelf, then moving the conveyed item to the discharge port in the Nth row or column, and after the alternating operation, moving the conveyed item to the Nth row or column of the second conveying shelf. Thereby, the control unit can easily sort the conveyed item from the location in the N-1th row or column of the second conveying shelf to the discharge port in the N+1th row or column.

[0010] When a non-conveyable state occurs where conveyance cannot be performed by the first setting operation and the second setting operation in the setting operation, the setting operation may include a third setting operation for avoiding the non-conveyable state at the stage before the non-conveyable state occurs. In this case, the control unit can avoid the non-conveyable state by using the third setting operation and perform conveyance efficiently.

Advantages of the Invention

[0011] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a sorting device that can perform sorting efficiently while suppressing the table size of the pattern table.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0012]

Figure 1

Figure 2

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Figure 17

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0013] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[0014] FIG. 1 is a schematic side view showing a warehouse system 100 to which a sorting device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied. As shown in FIG. 1, the warehouse system 100 is a system that stores a plurality of conveyed items 150 and can ship out those of the stored conveyed items 150 that are to be shipped out. The warehouse system 100 includes a warehouse main body 101, an incoming transfer passage 103, an outgoing transfer passage 102, an incoming elevator 105, and an outgoing elevator 104. The warehouse main body 101 has a plurality of shelves 110. The shelves 110 extend from one end of the warehouse main body 101 to the other end. On the shelves 110, a transfer device 111 performs a transfer operation of the conveyed item from the incoming path to the outgoing path. The incoming transfer passage 103 is provided at one end of the warehouse main body 101 and is a mechanism for storing the conveyed item 150 in each shelf 110. The outgoing transfer passage 102 is provided at the other end of the warehouse main body 101 and is a mechanism for shipping out the conveyed item 150 from each shelf 110. The incoming elevator 105 raises and lowers the conveyed item 150 received from the loading conveyor 21 and supplies the conveyed item 150 to the incoming transfer passage 103 at the stage corresponding to the desired shelf 110. The outgoing elevator 104 receives the conveyed item 150 to be shipped out from the shelf 110 and the outgoing transfer passage 102 and raises and lowers it to an outlet (not shown). The conveyed item 150 shipped out from the outgoing elevator 104 is carried out to the unloading conveyor 121. Among these, the sorting device 1 according to the present embodiment is applied near the incoming elevator 105.

[0015] FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram showing the configuration of the sorting device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 2, the sorting device 1 includes a transport system 2 that transports a transported item 150, and a control unit 10 that controls the transport system 2. The transport system 2 includes an input conveyor 21 (input means), a transporter 22, and an output conveyor 23 (output means). Among these, the transporter 22 is a device that constitutes the above-described storage elevator 105. The input conveyor 21 is a device that horizontally transports the transported item 150 to be transported into the transporter 22 toward the transporter 22 side. The input conveyor 21 is provided at a predetermined stage of the transporter 22. The output conveyor 23 is a device that horizontally transports the transported item 150 unloaded from the transporter 22. The output conveyor 23 is provided on each floor (here, the fifth floor) of the storage transfer passage 103.

[0016] The transporter 22 includes a horizontal movement means (for example, a conveyor) and a vertical movement means, and is a device that moves the transported item 150 in the vertical and horizontal directions. Thereby, the transporter 22 moves each transported item 150 to the target floor in the storage transfer passage 103. In the figure, the number "n" is assigned to the transported item 150 destined for the "n-th floor". The same applies to the subsequent figures. Also, in the following description, the transported item 150 destined for the n-th floor may be referred to as the "transported item to the n-th floor". The transporter 22 sorts the transported item 150 to the target floor (output conveyor 23) on the N + 1-th stage. In the present embodiment, the sorting floor number is set to "5 floors", and various explanations are given with "N = 4".

[0017] The conveyor 22 is an alternating operation type lifting device, and has a conveyor shelf 22A (first conveyor shelf) on the side of the loading conveyor 21 and a conveyor shelf 22B (second conveyor shelf) on the side of the unloading conveyor 23. The conveyor shelves 22A and 22B have a storage area CE for N + 1 levels. And the conveyor shelves 22A and 22B have N continuously arranged transport boxes 22a (accommodation parts) in the vertical direction (first direction). In each of the conveyor shelves 22A and 22B, the continuously arranged transport boxes 22a move up and down simultaneously by a distance corresponding to one transport box 22a. The continuously arranged transport boxes 22a on the conveyor shelf 22A and the continuously arranged transport boxes 22b on the conveyor shelf 22B are arranged side by side in the horizontal direction. When the continuously arranged transport boxes 22a move downward, each transport box 22a is arranged in the storage area CE from the first level to the fourth level in order from the bottom. When the continuously arranged transport boxes 22a move upward, each transport box 22a is arranged in the storage area CE from the second level to the fifth level in order from the bottom. In the following description, when simply referring to the number of levels, unless otherwise noted, it indicates the number of levels counted from the bottom.

[0018] The transport boxes 22a on the conveyor shelf 22A and the transport boxes 22a on the conveyor shelf 22B move up and down alternately. That is, when the transport boxes 22a on the conveyor shelf 22A move upward, the transport boxes 22a on the conveyor shelf 22B move downward, and when the transport boxes 22a on the conveyor shelf 22A move downward, the transport boxes 22a on the conveyor shelf 22B move upward. Also, at the same level, the transported item 150 can be moved horizontally between the transport boxes 22a on the conveyor shelf 22A and the transport boxes 22a on the conveyor shelf 22B, and the transported item 150 can be mutually transferred and received. As described above, the conveyor shelves 22A and 22B can sort the transported item 150 to the N + 1 unloading ports 32 by alternately operating in the vertical direction by a distance corresponding to one transport box 22a.

[0019] In this embodiment, an input conveyor 21 is provided for the second storage - possible area CE from the bottom, and five output conveyors 23 are provided for the first to fifth storage - possible areas CE from the bottom. In FIG. 2, the areas indicated as "L" and "R" within the storage - possible area CE are spaces provided for the lifting operation of the transfer shelves 22A and 22B. However, the positional relationship among the storage - possible area CE, the input conveyor 21, and the output conveyor 23 is not particularly limited and may be appropriately set according to the configuration of the warehouse system 100.

[0020] With the device configuration as described above, the conveying system 2 of the sorting device 1 includes an inlet 30, a sorting section 31, and an outlet 32. The inlet 30 is set in the conveyance object arrangement area on the most downstream side in the conveyance direction among the input conveyors 21. The outlet 32 is set in the conveyance object arrangement area on the most upstream side in the conveyance direction among the output conveyors 23 on each floor. The sorting section 31 includes at least a conveyor 22. Further, the conveyance object arrangement area on the most upstream side in the conveyance direction among the output conveyors 23 for three floors can be used for sorting the conveyed object 150. For example, the output conveyor 23 on the second floor is the destination for the conveyed object 150 to the second floor but not for the conveyed object 150 to the third floor. Therefore, the conveyed object 150 to the third floor can be temporarily placed on the output conveyor 23 on the second floor. Such an area becomes a temporary placement area 34 which is a part of the sorting section 31. Note that the temporary placement area 34 may be provided at the inlet 30.

[0021] An example of the operation of the conveying system 2 as described above will be described. Here, an example of the operation when moving the conveyed item 150 to the fifth-floor unloading conveyor 23 with the conveying shelf 22A lowered (the conveying shelf 22B raised) will be described. First, the conveying shelf 22A receives the conveyed item 150 with the second-stage transport box 22a in the second-stage accommodating area CE (M1). The conveying shelf 22A raises the conveyed item 150 by one level together with the transport box 22a (M2). The second-stage transport box 22a of the conveying shelf 22A delivers the conveyed item 150 to the third-stage transport box 22a of the conveying shelf 22B in the third-stage accommodating area CE (M3). The conveying shelf 22B raises the conveyed item 150 by one level together with the transport box 22a (M4). The third-stage transport box 22a of the conveying shelf 22B delivers the conveyed item 150 to the fourth-stage temporary placement area 34 (M5) and lowers by one level. The fourth-floor unloading conveyor 23 delivers the conveyed item 150 to the fourth-stage transport box 22a of the conveying shelf 22B (M6). The conveying shelf 22B raises the conveyed item 150 by one level together with the transport box 22a (M7). The fourth-stage transport box 22a of the conveying shelf 22B delivers the conveyed item 150 to the unloading port 32 of the fifth-floor unloading conveyor 23 in the fifth-stage accommodating area CE (M8). Thereby, the conveyed item 150 on the fifth floor reaches the destination. Note that when moving the conveyed item 150, depending on the states of the conveying shelves 22A and 22B and the destination of the conveyed item 150, there are cases where the conveyed item 150 is not delivered to the temporary placement area 34 and is conveyed to the destination only through the exchange between the conveying shelves 22A and 22B.

[0022] In the following description, the conveying system 2 of the sorting device 1 may be modeled and shown as in FIG. 3. The area where one conveyed item 150 can be placed is shown as one rectangle. Note that each conveyed item 150 can operate simultaneously in the horizontal direction as long as there are no interfering objects. As for the vertical operation, during the vertical movement of the conveying shelf of the conveyor 22, the conveyed item 150 in the conveyor 22 cannot operate. During the vertical movement of the conveyor 22, the loading conveyor 21 and the unloading conveyor 23 can operate horizontally. The operating speed is not particularly limited, but the horizontal operation may be set to about 1.0 second and the vertical operation may be set to about 1.75 seconds.

[0023] Next, with reference to FIG. 4, the block configuration of the sorting device 1 will be described. FIG. 4 is a block configuration diagram of the sorting device 1 according to the present embodiment. The control unit 10 is a unit that controls the conveyance system 2. The control unit 10 includes an ECU [Electronic Control Unit] that comprehensively manages the sorting device 1. The ECU is an electronic control unit having a CPU [Central Processing Unit], a ROM [Read Only Memory], a RAM [Random Access Memory], a CAN [Controller Area Network], a communication circuit, and the like. In the ECU, for example, a program stored in the ROM is loaded into the RAM, and various functions are realized by executing the program loaded into the RAM with the CPU.

[0024] The control unit 10 performs control to sort the conveyed object 150 carried in from the carry-in port 30 by the sorting unit 31 and carry it out from the carry-out port 32 based on a pattern table prepared in advance. Here, the pattern table is a data group that stores operation patterns for sorting the conveyed object 150 to the N-stage carry-out ports 32. That is, the sorting device 1 sorts the conveyed object 150 to the N + 1-stage (5-stage) carry-out ports 32, but as shown in FIG. 5, the pattern table stores only the operation patterns for sorting the conveyed object to the carry-out ports 32 of the first stage to the Nth stage (the first stage to the fourth stage), excluding the (N + 1)th stage (the fifth stage). Therefore, when the control unit 10 sorts the conveyed object 150 to the carry-out ports 32 of the first stage to the Nth stage, it moves the conveyed object 150 to the carry-out port 32 of the target floor based on the pattern table.

[0025] For example, as shown in the upper part of FIG. 6, as a preprocessing step, the sorting device 1 searches for an optimal path for the conveyed object 150 arranged as shown in the arrangement state S1 by a search method using an Easter algorithm or the like. The sorting device 1 stores such an optimal path as an optimal solution AS1 in the pattern table. The sorting device 1 also obtains optimal solutions for various other arrangement states and stores them in the pattern table. Then, as shown in the lower part of FIG. 6, the control unit 10 queries the pattern table about the arrangement state of the conveyed object 150 and performs control based on the optimal solution returned from the pattern table. That is, when the control unit 10 searches for a path for the arrangement state S1 during operation, the control unit 10 queries the pattern table in the storage unit 3 to check if there is an optimal solution corresponding to the arrangement state S1. The optimal solution AS1 corresponding to the arrangement state S1 is stored in the pattern table. Therefore, the storage unit 3 returns the optimal solution AS1 stored in the pattern table. Note that the order of loading of the conveyed object 150 is also considered, and the operation pattern including the loading order is also stored in the storage unit 3 as a pattern table.

[0026] The pattern table does not store the operation pattern for sorting the conveyed object 150 to the unloading port 32 at the N + 1th stage (5th stage). Therefore, when the control unit 10 sorts the target conveyed object to the unloading port 32 at the N + 1th stage (5th stage), the control unit 10 performs control by combining the movement based on the pattern table and the movement by the preset setting operation. The control unit 10 moves the conveyed object 150 to the Nth stage (4th stage) in the sorting unit 31 based on the pattern table, and sorts the conveyed object from the Nth stage (4th stage) to the unloading port 32 at the N + 1th stage (5th stage) in the sorting unit 31 by the preset setting operation. Details of the processing content will be described later.

[0027] The control unit 10 includes an operation control unit 11, a path search unit 12, a loading order control unit 13, and a pattern table acquisition unit 14 in order to perform the control as described above.

[0028] The operation control unit 11 is a unit that controls the operation of the conveying system 2 so that each conveyed item 150 is conveyed according to the path searched by the path search unit 12 and so that each conveyed item 150 is loaded based on the control content of the loading order control unit 13. The operation control unit 11 operates each drive unit by transmitting a control signal to each drive unit of the loading conveyor 21, the conveyor 22, and the unloading conveyor 23 of the conveying system 2.

[0029] The path search unit 12 is a unit that searches for the path of each conveyed item 150 in the sorting unit 31 of the conveying system 2. Here, the path in the sorting unit 31 will be described with reference to FIG. 7. For example, taking the state shown in the upper left of FIG. 7 as the start state and the state where all the conveyed items 150 are sorted to the unloading port as shown in the lower right of FIG. 7 as the goal state. Between the start state and the goal state, the sorting device 1 simultaneously performs the horizontal movement and the vertical movement of each conveyed item and combines each operation to convey each conveyed item 150 to its destination. In the present embodiment, the path search unit 12 searches for a path based on a pattern table in which optimal path search information for the arrangement state of the conveyed item 150 is prepared in advance.

[0030] The path search unit 12 can perform path search calculations when creating the pattern table in advance. The path search unit 12 may perform path search calculations by adopting known processing contents, such as those disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2022-148146. When creating the pattern table, the path search unit 12 calculates through what path each conveyed item 150 reaches the destination within the sorting unit 31. At this time, the sorting device 1 calculates a path such that a plurality of conveyed items 150 can be sorted by the sorting unit 31 under the operation restrictions of the conveyor 22 without interfering with each other and can be sorted promptly.

[0031] When creating the pattern table of the optimized operation pattern, the path search unit 12 searches for the path of each conveyed item 150 using the shortest path search method, with at least each part of the loading port 30 and the sorting unit 31 as search nodes. In the model of FIG. 3, the available area CE of the sorting unit 31, the loading port 30, the unloading port 32, that is, each square can be treated as one search node. The path search unit 12 calculates the cost required for each conveyed item 150 to move to the destination assuming no influence from other conveyed items 150. Note that the unit of the value indicating the cost is not particularly limited and may be indicated by time, distance, etc. The cost indicates the minimum necessary conditions (time conditions, distance conditions) for a certain conveyed item 150 to reach the destination. For example, the path search unit 12 may use an algorithm such as the A* algorithm as the shortest path search method. Other optimized pattern tables may be created using known methods as shown in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2022-148146.

[0032] The loading order control unit 13 is a unit that controls the loading order of the conveyed object 150 to the sorting unit 31. The loading order control unit 13 may control the loading order by adopting known processing contents such as those disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2022-148141. First, the loading order control unit 13 determines the number of conveyed objects 150 to be loaded into the sorting unit 31 by the loading conveyor 21 based on information from a higher-level system or the like. In addition, the loading order control unit 13 acquires information on how many conveyed objects 150 are to be conveyed to each floor of the warehouse main body 101. That is, the loading order control unit 13 acquires in advance the state of how many conveyed objects 150 are sorted by the sorting unit 31 to the unloading conveyor 23 on each floor. The loading order control unit 13 determines the conveyance order of the plurality of conveyed objects 150 based on the information on the number of conveyed objects 150 for each floor. For example, as shown in FIG. 8, for four conveyed objects 150, it is assumed that one conveyed object 150 is conveyed to each floor. In the state on the left side of FIG. 8, it is not determined to which floor each of the four conveyed objects 150 on the loading conveyor 21 is to be conveyed. Therefore, the loading order control unit 13 determines the loading order by determining the floor number of the conveyance destination for each of the four conveyed objects 150. At this time, as shown on the right side of FIG. 8, there are a plurality of patterns of the loading order combinations. Here, when the route search unit 12 performs route search as shown in FIG. 7 for each pattern, the optimal route and the conveyance time to the goal state can be determined. Such conveyance times differ depending on the combination pattern of the loading order, and among the plurality of patterns, there is a pattern that can minimize the conveyance time. Therefore, the loading order control unit 13 adopts such a pattern that can minimize the conveyance time as the loading order.

[0033] Here, the number of patterns of the loading order becomes enormous as the number of conveyed items 150 increases. Calculating the optimal route for all of these patterns would result in an enormous processing time. Therefore, the loading order control unit 13 determines the loading order based on a pattern table prepared in advance. Such a pattern table is created by sorting the actual patterns by the sorting device 1 and storing the data based on the previously obtained results in the storage unit 3. Therefore, the pattern table is pre-prepared data.

[0034] Next, with reference to FIG. 9, a pattern table considering the loading order will be described. The pattern table is data that associates a plurality of patterns listing the destinations of respective conveyed items 150 for a predetermined reference number of conveyed items 150 with the information on the loading order for each pattern. As the plurality of listed patterns, a plurality of patterns obtained by comprehensively combining the destinations (floor numbers) are adopted. Here, the reference number is not particularly limited, but it is preferably set to a value larger than the number of conveyed items 150 that the sorting unit 31 can process. That is, the maximum number of conveyed items 150 that the sorting unit 31 can convey simultaneously in this embodiment is 8. That is, it can be considered as the number of conveyed items 150 that the sorting unit 31 can accept. Therefore, if a number larger than 8 is set as the reference number in this embodiment, even if a large number of conveyed items 150 are continuously loaded, it can be assumed that the optimal order of the conveyed items 150 equal to or less than the reference number is repeatedly determined. For example, the reference number may be set to "10".

[0035] When the "reference number = 10", as shown in the "carrying-in pattern" diagram in the upper left of FIG. 9, the number of conveyed objects 150 to be the object of pattern creation is from 1 to 10. Also, regarding which floor each of the predetermined number of conveyed objects 150 is to be conveyed to as the destination floor, there are multiple combinations. When calculating all combinations of such "number" and "destination floor" exhaustively, a total of 1,398,100 combinations of conveyance orders can be obtained. When classifying these patterns by floor number, a floor number distribution as shown in the "classification result of floor number distribution" in the lower left of FIG. 9 can be obtained. The floor number distribution is classified into a total of 1000. Here, the route search unit 12 calculates in advance the optimal route and conveyance time until the goal state for all 1,398,100 patterns of the carrying-in order. Also, the carrying-in order control unit 13 extracts, from the calculation results of the route search unit 12 in each floor number distribution, a carrying-in order that can minimize the conveyance time. Note that the method of determining the carrying-in order is not limited to the purpose of minimizing the conveyance time. For example, a carrying-in order that can maximize the outgoing capacity (conveyance capacity) per unit time may be extracted. In that case, an optimal route until the goal state and an index regarding the conveyance capacity are calculated in advance, and a configuration is adopted to obtain a solution that maximizes it by the linear programming method. Regarding the pattern table considering other conveyance orders, it may be created using a known method as shown in JP-A-2022-148141.

[0036] Returning to FIG. 4, the pattern table acquisition unit 14 is a unit that acquires a pattern table in which optimal route search information for the arrangement state of the conveyed object 150 is prepared in advance as described above. Such a pattern table is stored in the storage unit 3. Therefore, the pattern table acquisition unit 14 reads and acquires the pattern table from the storage unit 3.

[0037] Next, the control unit 10 will explain in detail the control content when sorting the conveyed object 150 by the sorting unit 31 and discharging it from the N + 1 - stage discharge port 32. As described above, as shown in FIG. 5, the pattern table stores only the operation patterns for sorting the conveyed object 150 to the discharge ports 32 of the first stage to the Nth stage (the first stage to the fourth stage) other than the N + 1 - stage (the fifth stage). Therefore, when the control unit 10 sorts the target conveyed object to the discharge port 32 of the N + 1 - stage (the fifth stage), it uses the operation pattern of the conveyed object 150 to the discharge ports 32 of the first stage to the fourth stage as the path until the middle. Note that the control unit 10 regards the conveyed object 150 heading to the discharge port 32 of the N + 1 - stage (the fifth stage) as the conveyed object 150 heading to the discharge port 32 of the Nth stage (the fourth stage) and uses the operation pattern. If there are conveyed objects 150 to be sorted to the discharge ports 32 other than the N + 1 - stage (the first to fourth stages) in the sorting unit 31 that are conveying the conveyed object 150 to the N + 1 - stage (the fifth stage), those conveyed objects 150 move to the target floor according to the operation pattern of the pattern table. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 10, the control unit 10 moves the conveyed object 150 to the relay positions RP1 and RP2 of the Nth stage (the fourth stage) in the accommodable area CE of the transport shelf 22B of the sorting unit 31 based on the pattern table. FIG. 10(a) shows the state where the transport shelf 22A is raised and the transport shelf 22B is lowered (referred to as the upper - left - rising state). In the upper - left - rising state, the transport box 22a of the Nth stage becomes the relay position RP1. FIG. 10(b) shows the state where the transport shelf 22A is lowered and the transport shelf 22B is raised (referred to as the upper - right - rising state). In the upper - right - rising state, the transport box 22a of the N - 1th stage becomes the relay position RP2.

[0038] When the conveyed object 150 to the discharge port 32 of the N + 1 - stage (the fifth stage) arrives at the relay positions RP1 and RP2, the control unit 10 sorts the conveyed object 150 from the relay positions RP1 and RP2 to the discharge port 32 of the N + 1 - stage (the fifth stage) by a preset setting operation. The preset setting operation includes a first basic rule A (the first setting operation) and a second basic rule B (the second setting operation) set as basic rules. When the conveyed object 150 arrives at the relay positions RP1 and RP2, the control unit 10 gives priority to the basic rules for conveyance and then uses the pattern table for conveyance.

[0039] Referring to FIG. 11, the first basic rule A (the first setting operation) will be described. The first basic rule A is an operation in which the conveyed object 150 reaches the delivery port 32 at the N+1-th stage (the fifth stage) from the relay position RP1 (see FIG. 11(a)) in the upward-left state. Specifically, the first basic rule A is an operation of moving the conveyed object 150 to the relay position RP1 at the N-th stage (the fourth stage) of the transport box 22a on the transport shelf 22B, and then sorting the conveyed object 150 to the delivery port 32 at the N+1-th stage (the fifth stage) by the alternating operation of the transport shelves 22A and 22B. First, the transport shelves 22A and 22B perform an alternating operation (see FIGS. 11(a) and 11(b)). As a result, the conveyed object 150 moves to the N+1-th stage (the fifth stage) in the accommodable area CE of the transport shelf 22B. Next, the transport shelf 22B delivers the conveyed object 150 to the delivery port 32 at the N+1-th stage (the fifth stage) (see FIG. 11(c)). As a result, the conveyed object 150 arrives at the delivery port 32 at the N+1-th stage (the fifth stage).

[0040] FIG. 12 shows an example of the operation when sorting the conveyed object 150 going to the fifth floor to the delivery port 32 on the fifth floor using the first basic rule A. In the example shown in FIG. 12, there are also conveyed objects 150 going to the second floor and the third floor in the sorting unit 31, and these conveyed objects 150 also move to the destination floor. The control unit 10 moves the conveyed object 150 going to the fifth floor existing at the entrance 30 to the relay position RP1 based on the pattern table (see FIGS. 12(a) to 12(i)). During these operations, the control unit 10 also moves the conveyed object 150 going to the second floor and the conveyed object 150 going to the third floor based on the pattern table. The control unit 10 sorts the conveyed object 150 going to the fifth floor from the relay position RP1 to the delivery port 32 on the fifth floor by the operation of the first basic rule A (see FIGS. 12(j) to 12(l)).

[0041] Referring to FIG. 13, the second basic rule B (second setting operation) will be described. The second basic rule B is an operation in which the conveyed object 150 reaches the relay position RP1 (see FIG. 13(d)) from the relay position RP2 (see FIG. 13(a)) in an upward-rightward state. Specifically, the second basic rule B moves the conveyed object 150 to the relay position RP2 at the N-1th stage (third stage) of the transport box 22a on the transport shelf 22B, then moves the conveyed object 150 to the discharge port 32 at the Nth stage (fourth stage), and after the alternating operation of the transport shelves 22A and 22B, moves the conveyed object 150 to the Nth stage (fourth stage) of the transport box 22a on the transport shelf 22B. First, the transport shelf 22B delivers the conveyed object 150 to the discharge port 32 at the Nth stage (fourth stage) (see FIG. 13(b)). Thereby, the conveyed object 150 moves to the discharge port 32 at the Nth stage (fourth stage). Next, the transport shelves 22A and 22B perform an alternating operation (see FIGS. 13(b) and 13(c)). Thereby, the Nth stage (fourth stage) of the transport box 22a on the transport shelf 22B is arranged at a position facing the discharge port 32 at the Nth stage (fourth stage). Next, the discharge port 32 at the Nth stage (fourth stage) delivers the conveyed object 150 to the Nth stage (fourth stage) of the transport box 22a on the transport shelf 22B (see FIG. 13(d)). Thereby, the conveyed object 150 moves to the relay position RP1 on the transport shelf 22B. The above-described first basic rule A is applied to the operation in which the conveyed object 150 arrives at the discharge port 32 at the N+1th stage (fifth stage) from the relay position RP1 (see FIGS. 13(d) to 13(f)).

[0042] FIG. 14 shows an example of the operation when sorting the fifth-floor conveyance object 150 to the fifth-floor discharge port 32 using the second basic rule B. In the example shown in FIG. 14, there are also second-floor conveyance objects 150 and third-floor conveyance objects 150 in the sorting unit 31, and these conveyance objects 150 also move to the destination floor. The control unit 10 moves the fifth-floor conveyance object 150 existing at the entrance 30 to the relay position RP2 based on the pattern table (see FIGS. 14(a) to 14(e)). During these operations, the control unit 10 also moves the second-floor conveyance object 150 and the third-floor conveyance object 150 based on the pattern table. The control unit 10 moves the fifth-floor conveyance object 150 from the relay position RP2 to the relay position RP1 by the operation of the second basic rule B (see FIGS. 14(f) to 14(h)). The control unit 10 sorts the fifth-floor conveyance object 150 from the relay position RP1 to the fifth-floor discharge port 32 by the operation of the first basic rule A (see FIGS. 14(i) to 14(k)).

[0043] Here, when the control unit 10 conveys the conveyance object 150 only by the basic rules, a state where conveyance is impossible by the basic rules may occur. For example, as shown in FIG. 15(a), when the fifth-floor conveyance object 150 exists at the fourth-floor discharge port 32 during the second basic rule B, and a fourth-floor conveyance object 150 exists at the relay position RP1, and conveyance objects 150 going to X floors (1 to 4 floors) exist in the third-stage conveyance box 22a of the adjacent conveyance shelf 22A. In this state, conveyance according to the basic rules cannot be performed. Therefore, the control unit 10 applies a special rule immediately before the conveyance-impossible state occurs. That is, the setting operation includes a special rule (third setting operation) for avoiding the conveyance-impossible state at the stage before the conveyance-impossible state occurs when a conveyance-impossible state occurs where conveyance by the first basic rule A and the second basic rule B cannot be performed.

[0044] FIG. 15(b) shows the stage just before the non-conveyable state in FIG. 15(a). As shown in FIG. 15(b), the conveyance item 150 going to the 5th floor is present at the relay position RP2, the conveyance item 150 going to the 4th floor is present in the conveyance box 22a on the 4th level of the conveyance shelf 22B, and the conveyance box 22a on the 4th level of the conveyance shelf 22A adjacent to the relay position RP2 is empty. The special rule is that after moving the conveyance item 150 to the conveyance box 22a on the N-1th level (3rd level) of the conveyance shelf 22B (the state shown in FIG. 15(b)), the conveyance item 150 is once moved to the conveyance box 22a on the Nth level (4th level) of the conveyance shelf 22A, and the conveyance item 150 to the conveyance outlet 32 on the Nth level (4th level) present in the conveyance box 22a on the Nth level (4th level) of the conveyance shelf 22B is sorted to the conveyance outlet 32 on the Nth level (4th level). Further, the special rule may include an operation of moving the conveyance item 150 to the conveyance outlet 32 on the N+1th level after sorting the conveyance item 150 to the conveyance outlet 32 on the Nth level (4th level) to the conveyance box 22a on the N-1th level (3rd level) of the conveyance shelf 22B (operation of moving to the relay position RP2).

[0045] Specifically, in the special rule, first, the transport shelf 22B transfers the transported item 150 destined for the fifth floor to the transport box 22a on the fourth level of the empty transport shelf 22A (see FIGS. 15(b) and 16(a)). Next, the transport shelves 22A and 22B perform an alternating operation (see FIG. 16(b)). Next, the transport shelf 22B transfers the transported item 150 destined for the fourth floor to the transfer opening 32 on the fourth floor (see FIG. 16(c)). Next, the transport shelves 22A and 22B perform an alternating operation (see FIG. 16(d)). Next, the transport shelf 22A transfers the transported item 150 destined for the fifth floor from the transport box 22a on the fourth level to the relay position RP2 of the transport shelf 22B (see FIG. 16(e)). Thereafter, the control unit 10 sorts the transported item 150 destined for the fifth floor to the transfer opening 32 on the fifth floor according to the second basic rule B and the first basic rule A. Note that the content of the operation set as the special rule is not particularly limited. For example, as shown in FIG. 16(c), the operation until the transported item 150 destined for the fourth floor is moved to the transfer opening 32 on the fourth floor may be set as the special rule. The control unit 10 may perform the transport based on the pattern table again after FIG. 16(c), and then perform the transport based on the basic rule. Therefore, when the loading order control unit 13 controls the loading order based on the pattern table, the transported item 150 for the transfer opening 32 on the (N + 1)-th level (fifth level) is regarded as the transported item 150 for the transfer opening 32 on the N-th level (fourth level), and the loading order is controlled.

[0046] Next, with reference to FIG. 17, an example of the content of the control process of the control unit 10 will be described. As shown in FIG. 17, the control unit 10 determines whether there is a conveyance object 150 destined for the fifth floor among the conveyance objects 150 to be conveyed (step S10). In step S10, if it is determined that there is no conveyance object 150 destined for the fifth floor, the control unit 10 conveys each conveyance object 150 to the destination floor based on the pattern table (step S20). In step S10, if it is determined that there is a conveyance object destined for the fifth floor, the control unit 10 performs conveyance based on the pattern table until the conveyance object 150 destined for the fifth floor reaches the relay positions RP1 and RP2 (step S30). Next, the control unit 10 determines whether an operation according to a special rule is necessary (step S40). In step S40, if it is determined that the special rule is not necessary, the control unit 10 performs conveyance based on the basic rule (step S50). On the other hand, in step S40, if it is determined that the special rule is necessary, the control unit 10 performs conveyance based on the special rule (step S60). After step S60, the control unit 10 performs conveyance based on the basic rule (step S50). Thus, the control process shown in FIG. 17 ends, and the process is repeated again from step S10.

[0047] Here, in the above-described embodiment, a vertical conveyor 22 in which the vertical direction is the alternating movement direction of the conveyance shelves is employed. However, as the conveyor 22, a horizontal conveyor 22 in which the horizontal direction is the alternating movement direction of the conveyance shelves may be employed. In this case, the sorting device 1 includes a conveyance shelf having N rows of conveyance boxes 22a and N + 1 rows of discharge ports 32. When such a horizontal conveyor 22 is employed, the units referred to as "N stages", "N + 1 stages", etc. in the above-described embodiment may be referred to as "N rows", "N + 1 rows", etc.

[0048] Next, the operation and effects of the sorting device 1 according to the present embodiment will be described.

[0049] Based on a pre-prepared pattern table, the control unit 10 controls to sort the conveyed object 150 carried in from the carry-in port 30 by the sorting unit 31 and carry it out from at least N + 1 rows or N + 1 columns of carry-out ports 32. The pattern table is a data group that stores the operation patterns for sorting the conveyed object 150 to the N rows or N columns of carry-out ports 32. Thus, the pattern table has data of operation patterns that are one row or one column less than the actual number of carry-out ports 32. Therefore, an increase in the table size of the pattern table can be suppressed. In contrast, when the control unit 10 sorts the conveyed object 150 to the N + 1-th row or N + 1-th column of carry-out ports 32, it moves the conveyed object 150 to the N-th row or N-th column in the sorting unit 31 based on the pattern table. Thus, when sorting the conveyed object 150 for which the operation pattern is not stored in the pattern table, the control unit 10 performs the conveyance using the pattern table to a position in the middle where the pattern table can be used. After that, the control unit 10 sorts the conveyed object from the N-th row or N-th column in the sorting unit 31 to the N + 1-th row or N + 1-th column of carry-out ports 32 by a predetermined set operation. Thus, for the operation of the part where the pattern table cannot be used, the control unit 10 can quickly sort the conveyed object 150 to the N + 1-th row or N + 1-th column of carry-out ports 32 without increasing the calculation load by using the predetermined set operation. From the above, conveyance can be efficiently performed while suppressing the table size of the pattern table.

[0050] The sorting unit 31 has N consecutive transport boxes 22a (accommodation units) in the first direction, and includes a transport shelf 22A (first transport shelf) and a transport shelf 22B (second transport shelf) arranged horizontally side by side. The transport shelf 22A is arranged on the transport inlet 30 side, and the transport shelf 22B is arranged on the transport outlet 32 side. The transport shelf 22A and the transport shelf 22B sort the transported item 150 to the transport outlet 32 in N + 1 rows or N + 1 columns by alternately operating at intervals of one transport box 22a in the first direction. The setting operation includes a first basic rule A (first setting operation), and the first basic rule A may be an operation of moving the transported item 150 to the Nth row or Nth column of the transport shelf 22B and then sorting the transported item 150 to the transport outlet 32 in the (N + 1)th row or (N + 1)th column by the alternate operation. Thereby, the control unit 10 can easily sort the transported item 150 from the position in the Nth row or Nth column of the transport shelf 22B to the transport outlet 32 in the (N + 1)th row or (N + 1)th column.

[0051] The setting operation includes a second basic rule B (second setting operation) in the stage before the first basic rule A. The second basic rule B may be an operation of moving the transported item 150 to the (N - 1)th row or (N - 1)th column of the transport shelf 22B, then moving the transported item 150 to the transport outlet 32 in the Nth row or Nth column, and after the alternate operation, moving the transported item 150 to the Nth row or Nth column of the transport shelf 22B. Thereby, the control unit 10 can easily sort the transported item 150 from the position in the (N - 1)th row or (N - 1)th column of the transport shelf 22B to the transport outlet 32 in the (N + 1)th row or (N + 1)th column.

[0052] When a non - transportable state occurs where the transport by the first basic rule A and the second basic rule B cannot be performed, the setting operation may include a special rule (third setting operation) for avoiding the non - transportable state at the stage before the non - transportable state occurs. In this case, the control unit 10 can avoid the non - transportable state and perform the transport efficiently by using the special rule.

[0053] The present invention is not limited to the above - described embodiments.

[0054] For example, the system to which the sorting device is applied is not limited to the warehouse system shown in FIG. 1. Also, the conveyor of the sorting unit does not have to be of the type having a pair of storage shelves that move up and down alternately as shown in FIG. 2. For example, a rotary conveyor (a conveyor in which the storage shelves move around in a certain direction step by step, and the conveyed items can move between the storage shelves when the storage shelves do not move around) may be adopted.

[0055] In this embodiment, the form of moving the conveyed item 150 stored from the loading conveyor 21 to the unloading conveyor 23 on each floor has been described. However, the processing of the sorting device of the present invention may be applied to the form of moving the conveyed item 150 unloaded from the conveyor on each floor to the unloading conveyor 121.

[0056] Also, the unloading conveyor and the unloading port are not limited to five stages, and may be two to four stages, or six or more stages. Also, a plurality of loading ports may be provided instead of one.

Explanation of reference numerals

[0057] 1... Sorting device, 10... Control unit, 22... Conveyor, 22a... Conveyor box (accommodation unit), 30... Loading port, 31 ·· Sorting unit, 32... Unloading port.

Claims

1. An inlet in the loading means, A sorting section including at least a conveyor having a horizontal movement means, An outlet in the unloading means, A control unit that controls sorting the conveyed object loaded from the inlet in the sorting section based on a prepared pattern table and discharging it from at least N + 1 rows or N + 1 columns of the outlets, The pattern table is a data group storing an operation pattern for sorting the conveyed object to the N rows or N columns of the outlets, When the control unit sorts the conveyed object to the N + 1 row or N + 1 column of the outlets, Based on the pattern table, the conveyed object is moved to the N row or N column in the sorting section, A sorting device that sorts the conveyed object from the N row or N column in the sorting section to the N + 1 row or N + 1 column of the outlets by a predetermined setting operation.

2. The sorting section Each has N accommodating portions continuous in a first direction, and includes a first conveying shelf and a second conveying shelf arranged horizontally side by side with each other, The first conveying shelf is arranged on the inlet side, and the second conveying shelf is arranged on the outlet side, The first conveying shelf and the second conveying shelf sort the conveyed object to the N + 1 rows or N + 1 columns of the outlets by alternately operating at intervals of one accommodating portion in the first direction, The setting operation includes a first setting operation, The first setting operation Is an operation of moving the conveyed object to the N row or N column of the second conveying shelf and then sorting the conveyed object to the N + 1 row or N + 1 column of the outlets by the alternating operation. The sorting device according to claim 1.

3. The setting operation includes a second setting operation at a stage before the first setting operation, The second setting operation Is an operation of moving the conveyed object to the N - 1 row or N - 1 column of the second conveying shelf, then moving the conveyed object to the N row or N column of the outlet, After the alternating operation, moving the conveyed object to the N row or N column of the second conveying shelf. The sorting device according to claim 2.

4. When a non-conveyable state occurs in which conveyance by the first setting operation and the second setting operation cannot be performed, the setting operation includes a third setting operation for avoiding the non-conveyable state at a stage before the non-conveyable state occurs. The sorting device according to claim 3.

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