Conveyance control device and conveyance control method

Abstract

To provide a conveyance control device capable of suppressing the increase in worker's waiting time caused by delay of a conveying device in sorting work in which a plurality of conveying devices each loaded with an order container patrol workstations of a plurality of article storage facilities and a worker performs picking work for picking an article to place it in the order container in each workstation.SOLUTION: When there is such a conveying device that the estimated delay time as the difference between the scheduled start time of picking work about an order container loaded on the conveying device and the scheduled arrival time of the conveying device to the workstation where the picking work is performed is equal to or greater than a threshold value, a conveyance control device calculates the priority of each conveying device by evaluating the degree of influence of the delay for each of some or all of the conveying devices, and makes the movement cost of the conveying device having a relatively high priority relatively smaller than that of the conveying device having a relatively low priority.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 23

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention generally relates to a technique for transporting an article by running a transport device. [Background technology]

[0002] At distribution centers, the work of picking items (such as merchandise) corresponding to orders from each storage facility, sorting them into packaging units, and packing them into order containers is a burdensome task that involves moving items between storage facilities.In particular, while the e-commerce market is expanding, problems such as a shortage of workers at distribution centers are occurring, and there is a strong need to reduce the workload.

[0003] To address this issue, there are transportation systems that use transportation devices such as AGVs (Automatic Guided Vehicles) to automate sorting work and reduce the workload of sorting even when the storage locations of multiple items corresponding to an order span multiple storage facilities. That is, the transportation device is loaded with order containers (e.g., cardboard boxes) corresponding to the order, travels around workstations (typically work spaces where workers are located) in each storage facility, and collects the items corresponding to the order in the order container. This allows sorting work to be performed without the worker having to move, even when the storage locations of multiple items corresponding to an order span multiple storage facilities.

[0004] In a transport system using such transport devices, a large number of transport devices operate within a logistics center, so efficient operation control is required. One example of a technology for such operation control is the technology described in Patent Document 1.

[0005] The technology described in Patent Document 1 is a technology related to prioritizing mobile objects that deliver packages. According to Patent Document 1, when the number of mobile objects gathered in a bottleneck section is greater than the number of vehicles that can pass through the bottleneck section at the same time, a server allows mobile objects that are delivering packages with high delivery priority to pass through the bottleneck section preferentially. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0006] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2022-175875 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0007] In a conveyance system that automates sorting work using a conveyance device, the conveyance device travels around the workstations, and when the conveyance device arrives at a workstation, a worker picks the items needed for the order container loaded on the conveyance device. The conveyance device travels around multiple workstations in succession to collect multiple items into the order container, and the worker repeats the picking work for the order containers loaded on the conveyance device that arrive at the workstation one after another.

[0008] In this case, if a transport device's arrival at a workstation is delayed due to congestion or other reasons, the picking work at that workstation will be delayed, and subsequently, the picking work scheduled for that workstation will also be delayed. Depending on the transport device, it may not be possible to proceed to the next workstation until these picking work tasks are completed, which causes delays for those transport devices as well. In this way, the delay of one transport device will have an impact on other transport devices, delaying the picking work at multiple workstations. Such delays create waiting times during which workers cannot work (so-called waiting), reducing the productivity of the logistics center.

[0009] Patent Document 1 discloses operation control based on the priority of cargo, but does not disclose or suggest the problem of workers having to wait due to a delay in a certain conveying device, or how to solve this problem.

[0010] The object of the present invention is to prevent delays in the conveying devices from having an impact on workers during sorting operations, in which multiple conveying devices, each loaded with order containers, travel between workstations in multiple storage facilities and workers at each workstation pick items into order containers, thereby preventing workers from having to wait longer. [Means for solving the problem]

[0011] If there is a conveying device whose expected delay time, which is the difference between the scheduled start time of picking work for order containers loaded on the conveying device and the scheduled arrival time of the conveying device at the workstation where the picking work is performed, is greater than or equal to a threshold value, the conveying control device calculates the priority of each conveying device by evaluating the degree of impact of the delay for some or all of the conveying devices, and makes the movement cost of conveying devices with relatively high priority relatively smaller than the movement cost of conveying devices with relatively low priority. [Effects of the Invention]

[0012] According to the present invention, it is possible to prevent delays in the conveying device from having an effect on sorting work, thereby preventing workers from having to wait. Problems, configurations, and effects other than those described above will become clear from the following description of the preferred embodiment of the invention. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0013] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an outline of multiple types of areas and storage facilities in an embodiment. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of the configuration of a moving area. [Figure 3A] 1A and 1B are diagrams illustrating an example of a conveying device and loading onto the conveying device. [Figure 3B] 10A and 10B are diagrams illustrating another example of a conveying device and loading onto the conveying device. [Figure 4A] FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a flat placement area. [Figure 4B] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing an example of an automated warehouse area. [Figure 5]FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a packaging area. [Figure 6] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a specific example of the configuration of elements in a transport system. [Figure 7] 10A to 10C are diagrams illustrating the remaining specific configuration examples of elements in the transport system. [Figure 8] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of an order table. [Figure 9] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of an inventory table. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a storage equipment table. [Figure 11] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a transport device table. [Figure 12] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a movement area table. [Figure 13] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a shipping box table. [Figure 14] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a loading operation management table. [Figure 15] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a picking operation management table. [Figure 16] 10 is a flowchart showing a part of the flow of order processing. [Figure 17] 10 is a flowchart showing a part of the flow of order processing. [Figure 18] 10 is a flowchart showing a part of the flow of order processing. [Figure 19] 10 is a flowchart showing a part of the flow of order processing. [Figure 20] 10 is a flowchart showing a part of the flow of order processing. [Figure 21] 10 is a flowchart showing a part of the flow of order processing. [Figure 22] 10 is a flowchart showing the flow of a shipping box selection process. [Figure 23] 10 is a flowchart illustrating a first example of a flow of controlling a transport device based on priority. [Figure 24A] FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram for explaining a method for calculating an evaluation value of priority. [Figure 24B]FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram for explaining a method for calculating an evaluation value of priority. [Figure 24C] FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram for explaining a method for calculating an evaluation value of priority. [Figure 25] 10 is a flowchart illustrating a second example of the flow of controlling the transport device based on priority. [Figure 26A] FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram for explaining rearrangement of picking operations. [Figure 26B] FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram for explaining rearrangement of picking operations. [Figure 26C] FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram for explaining rearrangement of picking operations. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0014] In the following description, an "interface apparatus" may refer to one or more interface devices, which may be at least one of the following: One or more I / O (Input / Output) interface devices. The I / O (Input / Output) interface devices are interface devices for at least one of the I / O device and a remote display computer. The I / O interface device for the display computer may be a communications interface device. The at least one I / O device may be a user interface device, for example, either an input device such as a keyboard and a pointing device, or an output device such as a display device. One or more communication interface devices. The one or more communication interface devices may be one or more homogeneous communication interface devices (e.g., one or more NICs (Network Interface Cards)) or two or more heterogeneous communication interface devices (e.g., an NIC and an HBA (Host Bus Adapter)).

[0015] In the following description, "memory" refers to one or more memory devices, which are an example of one or more storage devices, and may typically be a primary storage device. At least one memory device in the memory may be a volatile memory device or a non-volatile memory device.

[0016] In the following description, a "persistent storage device" may refer to one or more persistent storage devices, which are an example of one or more storage devices. A persistent storage device may typically be a non-volatile storage device (e.g., an auxiliary storage device), and specifically may be, for example, a hard disk drive (HDD), a solid state drive (SSD), a non-volatile memory express (NVME) drive, or a storage class memory (SCM).

[0017] Also, in the following description, "storage device" may be "memory" and / or "persistent storage device."

[0018] Furthermore, in the following description, a "processor" may refer to one or more processor devices. The at least one processor device may typically be a microprocessor device such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), but may also be another type of processor device such as a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit). The at least one processor device may be a single-core or multi-core. The at least one processor device may also be a processor core. The at least one processor device may also be a processor device in a broader sense, such as a circuit that is a collection of gate arrays written in a hardware description language that performs some or all of the processing (for example, an FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array), a CPLD (Complex Programmable Logic Device), or an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit)).

[0019] In the following description, information that provides an output for an input may be described using expressions such as "xxx table." However, this information may be data of any structure (for example, structured data or unstructured data), or may be a neural network that generates an output for an input, or a learning model such as a genetic algorithm or random forest. Therefore, the "xxx table" may be referred to as "xxx information." In the following description, the structure of each table is an example, and one table may be divided into two or more tables, or all or part of two or more tables may be one table.

[0020] Furthermore, in the following description, processing may be described using a "program" as the subject; however, since a program is executed by a processor to perform a predetermined process using a storage device and / or an interface device as appropriate, the subject of the process may also be the processor (or a computer, device, or system having the processor). A program may be installed in a device such as a computer from a program source. The program source may be, for example, a program distribution server or a computer-readable recording medium (e.g., a non-transitory recording medium). Furthermore, in the following description, two or more programs may be realized as one program, or one program may be realized as two or more programs.

[0021] Furthermore, any information (for example, at least one of "ID", "name", and "number") may be adopted as information for identifying an element (identification information, identifier).

[0022] In addition, in the following description, when describing elements of the same type without distinguishing between them, common reference symbols will be used, and when describing elements of the same type with distinction between them, reference symbols will be used.

[0023] In the following description, the unit of "time" may be a unit that is coarser or finer than the year, month, hour, and minute.

[0024] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an outline of multiple types of areas and storage facilities in an embodiment. The multiple types of areas and storage facilities shown in FIG. 1 may be, for example, part of a logistics facility (for example, a warehouse or a logistics center). A logistics facility is, for example, a storage facility used by a mail-order company or an equipment manufacturing company to store goods. The goods stored in the logistics facility may be, for example, products or parts.

[0025] The conveyance system includes a plurality of conveyance devices 3 traveling in a movement area 150 and a conveyance control device 4 that remotely controls the movement of each conveyance device 3. A shipping box 87 (see FIGS. 3A and 3B ) is loaded onto the conveyance device 3, and items (e.g., products or parts) are placed in the shipping box 87. The "shipping box 87" is a container (e.g., a box) that contains items to be packed in the same box (e.g., a cardboard box) as a shipping unit (packaging unit), and may also be called an "order container." Items to be packed in different boxes as shipping units are not placed in the same shipping box 87, but are placed in shipping boxes 87 corresponding to each shipping unit. Once all the items are gathered in the shipping box 87, the items in the shipping box 87 are inspected and packed before being shipped. The items placed in the shipping box 87 may be transferred to a shipping box (e.g., a cardboard box) by a worker or a work robot, packed, and shipped. Alternatively, the shipping box 87 may be the shipping box itself.

[0026] The movement area 150 includes an inspection area 103, a charging area 104, a waiting area 105, and an abnormality response area 106. The inspection area 103 is an area where inspection of items in shipping boxes 87 loaded on the conveying device 3 is carried out. The charging area 104 is an area where charging of the conveying device 3 is carried out. The waiting area 105 is an area where the conveying device 3 waits. The abnormality response area 106 is an area where abnormalities in the conveying device 3 are responded to. At least one of the areas 103 to 106 may be located outside the movement area 150. Furthermore, instead of or in addition to at least one of the areas 103 to 106, another area may be provided inside or outside the movement area 150. In addition, in this embodiment, inspection is performed when the conveying device 3 passes through the inspection area 103 in the movement area 150, but instead, it may be performed after the item is handed over to the packing area 102 (in this case, there may be no inspection area 103 in the movement area 150, and the packing area 102 may also serve as the inspection area).

[0027] Outside the transfer area 150, there are a shipping box supply area 100, multiple storage facilities 101, and a packing area 102. The shipping box supply area 100 is an area where shipping boxes 87 are supplied, and the shipping boxes 87 are loaded onto the conveying device 3. In this embodiment, empty shipping boxes 87 are supplied in the shipping box supply area 100, but shipping boxes 87 that are partially filled with items to be packed in the same box as a shipping unit may also be supplied, for example, items obtained outside the conveying system may be supplied in the shipping box 87. The storage facility 101 is a facility where items are stored (arranged). The packing area 102 is an area where shipping boxes 87 containing items are packed.

[0028] The multiple storage facilities 101 differ in at least one of the storage method, retrieval method, and picking method. Examples of the multiple storage facilities 101 include storage facility 101C (flat storage area), storage facility 101A (automated warehouse), and storage facility 101B (automated warehouse). Storage facilities 101A to 101C will be described later.

[0029] 2 is an explanatory diagram of the configuration of the movement area 150. For convenience, the two-dimensional directions are defined as the x direction and the y direction orthogonal to the x direction.

[0030] The movement area 150 may be managed by dividing it into a plurality of rectangular sections 201 of a predetermined size. The sections 201 can be expressed as sections (α, β), where α is the x coordinate (section position along the x direction) and β is the y coordinate (section position along the y direction).

[0031] For example, if the transfer area 150 includes areas on multiple floors or areas above and below a mezzanine, the z-coordinate can be used to represent the height position of each area. In this case, the section 201 may be expressed in a coordinate format such as section (α, β, γ). α is the x-coordinate (section position along the x-direction), β is the y-coordinate (section position along the y-direction), and γ is the z-coordinate (area position in the height direction). When the transfer area 150 spans multiple floors, transportation between floors or transportation between the top and bottom of a mezzanine when a mezzanine is provided may be performed by, for example, a vertical conveyor. In this case, the vertical conveyor may transport only the shipping boxes, or the vertical conveyor may transport the conveyor device 3 loaded with shipping boxes.

[0032] A marker (not shown) indicating the location of each section 201 may be marked within each section 201. The marker may include information for identifying the location of the section, such as the location information of the section or information associated with the location information of the section (e.g., identification information of the section 201). The marker is information that can be read by the sensor 14 (see FIG. 6 ) of the transport device 3, and may be, for example, a one-dimensional code, a two-dimensional code such as a QR code (registered trademark), or an RFID (Radio Frequency Identifier) ​​tag. For example, the transport device 3 reads the marker in each section 201 when passing through that section 201. Each transport device 3 transmits the read marker information together with the identification information of the transport device 3 to the transport control device 4. The transport control device 4 identifies the location of each transport device 3 based on the identification information of the transport device 3 and the marker information received from each transport device 3. The plate-like members are provided throughout the entire area of ​​the section 201, and movement from the section 201 to another adjacent section 201 is possible, and the conveying device 3 may be able to turn within the section 201.

[0033] The conveying device 3 and the shipping box 87 may be smaller than, for example, one compartment 201. The manner in which the compartments are set may be modified in various ways. Also, a compartment (for example, compartment (3,1)) into which the conveying device 3 must not enter may be provided.

[0034] For each section 201 in the movement area 150, as shown by the arrows in FIG. 2, the direction in which the conveyance device 3 can move within that section 201 may not be limited (for example, the +x direction, the −x direction, the +y direction, and the −y direction may all be directions in which the conveyance device 3 can move). Furthermore, the sections 201 may be set to allow movement in both directions, or may be set to allow movement in only one direction. For example, by setting some sections 201 to allow movement in only one direction, it is expected that congestion of the conveyance device 3 can be suppressed or reduced, and overall movement efficiency can be improved. Furthermore, if there are many sections 201 between which movement can only be in one direction, the movement path of the conveyance device 3 may be long. Therefore, the direction in which the conveyance device 3 can move may be set in advance based on the number of conveyance devices 3 in the movement area 150, the position of each section 201, the section setting 1202, etc., or such a direction may be dynamically set or changed by the conveyance control device 4.

[0035] Referring again to FIG. 1, the conveying device 3 is a device that moves in accordance with movement instructions from the conveying control device 4, and may typically be an AGV (Automatic Guided Vehicle). For example, in accordance with one or more movement instructions from the conveying control device 4, the conveying device 3 starts moving from the shipping box supply area 100 while loaded with empty shipping boxes 87, moves to two or more (or one) storage facilities 101, and arrives at the packing area 102 via the inspection area 103 with items placed in the shipping boxes 87 from each of the two or more (or one) storage facilities 101. Specifically, for example, the movement order of the conveying device 3A is, as shown in the figure, shipping box supply area 100 → storage facility 101C (flat storage area) → storage facility 101A (automated warehouse) → storage facility 101B (automated warehouse) → inspection area 103 → packing area 102. The movement order of the conveying device 3B is as follows: shipping box supply area 100 → storage facility 101B (automated warehouse) → storage facility 101C (flat storage area) → inspection area 103 → packing area 102, as shown in the figure.

[0036] Some orders specify multiple different items. For each order, the transport control device 4 assigns one or more shipping boxes 87 to the order, and the one or more shipping boxes 87 are loaded onto one or more transport devices 3. For example, if all items corresponding to an order are packed in the same box as a shipping unit, the order (all items corresponding to the order) may be assigned to one shipping box 87. However, if the items do not all fit in the same shipping box 87, the order may be assigned to multiple shipping boxes 87. The transport control device 4 prevents one shipping box 87 from being assigned to multiple orders with different delivery destinations. The order order from the shipping box supply area 100 to the packing area 102 may be specified in a single movement instruction, or may be an order determined by a combination of multiple movement instructions. The "movement instruction" sent to the transport device 3 is associated with information indicating the movement task assigned to the transport device 3. In this embodiment, the "movement" of the transport device 3 refers to the general movement of the transport device 3, regardless of whether or not there are any items to be transported (shipping boxes 87 or items in the shipping boxes 87). The "movement" of the conveying device 3 may be rephrased as the "travel" of the conveying device 3. The "movement" of the conveying device 3 while it is carrying an object to be conveyed is sometimes referred to as "transportation." A movement task is a task for moving the conveying device 3 to an area specified in the movement task (movement instruction), and may include a task for making the conveying device 3 transport the shipping box 87 to the specified area. Information representing a movement task may include, for example, a movement route along which the conveying device 3 will move, and a movement direction of the conveying device 3.

[0037] As shown in Fig. 3A, the conveying device 3 has a platform 85, and shipping boxes 87 are loaded on the platform 85. One conveying device 3 may be loaded with one shipping box 87 as shown in Fig. 3A, or may be loaded with multiple (two or more) shipping boxes 87 as shown in Fig. 3B.

[0038] When the remaining charge of the battery (not shown) mounted on the transport device 3 falls below a predetermined value, the transport device 3 moves to the charging area 104 and automatically charges. For example, when the remaining charge of the battery of the transport device 3 falls below a predetermined value, the transport device 3 may request charging from the transport control device 4, and the transport control device 4 may respond to the charging request and instruct the transport device 3 to move to the charging area 104 and charge.

[0039] The following describes the multiple storage facilities 101A to 101C. In this description, the "stopping area" for each storage facility 101 may be an area within the transfer area 150 (for example, an area adjacent to the storage facility 101 and configured by one or more sections 201 of the transfer area 150), or may be an area outside the transfer area 150 (for example, within the storage facility 101).

[0040] FIG. 4A is a schematic diagram showing an example of a storage facility 101C (flat storage area).

[0041] The storage facility 101C (flat storage area) is an example of an area to which PTG (Person to Goods) is applied. According to PTG, a worker (Person) walks to the storage location 2 of the goods and picks them up.

[0042] The storage facility 101C (flat storage area) includes an item area 400 and one or more work areas 163C, and a stopping area 164C adjacent to the work area 163C is provided for each work area 163C. The item area 400 is an area that includes storage locations 2 where items are stored flat. The item area 400 may be provided with shelves as storage locations 2, and items may be placed on the shelves. The stopping area 164C is an area where the conveyance device 3 stops. In the work area 163C, in accordance with work instructions from the conveyance control device 4, a worker places (loads) items picked from the storage locations 2 into a shipping box 87 of the conveyance device 3 that is stopped in the stopping area 164C adjacent to the work area 163C.

[0043] FIG. 4B is a schematic diagram showing an example of storage facility 101A (automated warehouse).

[0044] The storage facility 101A (automated warehouse) is an example of an area where GTP (Goods To Person) is applied. According to GTP, goods are transported by a robot (or other device) to the location of a worker (person) who will pick them up.

[0045] The storage facility 101A (automated warehouse) includes an automated warehouse 161A, one or more conveyors 162, and one or more work areas 163A, and a stopping area 164A adjacent to each work area 163A is provided for each work area 163A. The automated warehouse 161A outputs (ships) to one of the conveyors 162 in accordance with an outgoing instruction from the transport control device 4. The conveyor 162 transports the items coming out of the automated warehouse 161A to the work area 163A (the destination WS and / or the outgoing destination WS). The work area 163A is an area where an operator picks up the items being transported by the conveyor 162. The stopping area 164A is an area where the transport device 3 stops. The operator places the items picked in the work area 163A into a shipping box 87 of the transport device 3 stopped in the stopping area 164A adjacent to the work area 163A.

[0046] The transfer area 150 may or may not be provided with a temporary waiting area 165 corresponding to each storage facility 101. The temporary waiting area 165 corresponding to each storage facility 101 may be a temporary waiting area 165 corresponding to each work area 163 or a temporary waiting area 165 corresponding to each stop area 164, or temporary waiting areas 165 corresponding to multiple work areas 163 or stop areas 164 may be provided. Note that in this embodiment, a temporary waiting area 165 corresponding to the storage facility 101A (automated warehouse) may be provided. The temporary waiting area 165 is an area where the conveying device 3 moving to the stop area 164A temporarily waits. The temporary waiting area 165 may be provided near the stop area 164A. For example, when the conveying devices 3 have already stopped in all the stop areas 164A, the conveying devices 3 temporarily wait in the temporary waiting area 165. The temporary waiting area 165 may be provided in the storage facility 101A (automated warehouse) or other storage facilities 101 instead of or in addition to the transfer area 150. The temporary waiting area 165 may also be provided inside or outside the storage facility 101. For example, the temporary waiting area 165 may be included in the waiting area 105.

[0047] FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the packing area 102.

[0048] The packing area 102 includes one or more conveyors 171, and each conveyor 171 includes a packing machine 172 and a work area 173. Also, each conveyor 171 has a stopping area 174. For example, stopping areas 174 may be prepared according to shipping box size, such as large, medium, and small.

[0049] For each conveyor 171, the stopping area 174 is located near (for example, adjacent to) the work area 173. In the work area 173, a worker transfers a shipping box 87 from a conveyance device 3 parked in the stopping area 174 to the conveyor 171. If the shipping box 87 is a box to be shipped (for example, a cardboard box), the shipping box 87 being transported by the conveyor 171 is packed by a packing machine 172, and the packed shipping box 87 is transported by the conveyor 171 and eventually shipped (delivered). Alternatively, the item placed in the shipping box 87 may be transferred by a worker to a box to be shipped (for example, a cardboard box), the box to be shipped is transported by the conveyor 171 and packed by the packing machine 172, and the packed box is transported by the conveyor 171 and eventually shipped (delivered).

[0050] The stopping area 174 may be an area within the transfer area 150 (e.g., an area adjacent to the packing area 102 and consisting of one or more sections 201 of the transfer area 150) or an area outside the transfer area 150 (e.g., within the packing area 102).

[0051] 6 and 7 are diagrams showing specific configuration examples of elements of the transport system according to this embodiment.

[0052] The transport system includes a transport control device 4, a transport device 3, material handling equipment 161, a station terminal 710, and a network 551 (for example, a wireless communication line such as a wireless LAN (Local Area Network)). There may be one or more of each component of the transport system. Each of the transport device 3, the transport control device 4, the material handling equipment 161, and the station terminal 710 can communicate via the network 551. The transport system may also be called a "logistics system."

[0053] The transport device 3 includes a drive device 11, a storage device 12, an interface device 13, a plurality of types of sensors 14, a battery, and a controller 10 connected to these devices.

[0054] The controller 10 is a controller that controls the operation of the transport device 3 in accordance with movement instructions from the transport control device 4, the charge state of the built-in battery, etc. The drive device 11 includes drive wheels 20, auxiliary wheels 21, and an actuator (not shown) such as a motor for driving the drive wheels 20 to rotate.

[0055] The interface device 13 is a device for communicating with the transport control device 4 by a predetermined wireless communication method, and may be configured, for example, by a wireless LAN card.

[0056] The sensor 14 is a device for collecting information about the floor surface on which the conveying device 3 travels and various information about the conveying device 3. For example, the sensor 14 can read information about markers on the section 201 on the floor. The conveying device 3 may be equipped with multiple types of sensors 14, such as a camera for capturing images of the state of the section 201, a vibration sensor for detecting vibrations received by the conveying device 3 while moving, a speed sensor for measuring the speed of the conveying device 3, an acceleration sensor for measuring the acceleration of the conveying device 3, a weight sensor for measuring the weight of the load (conveyed object), and a gyro sensor for measuring the orientation of the conveying device 3.

[0057] The storage device 12 stores, for example, a route table 23, a device table 24, a map table 25, a measurement table 27, and a performance table 28. The controller 10 stores a communication program 29, a movement control program 30, a measurement program 31, and a position estimation program 32. The communication program 29, the movement control program 30, the measurement program 31, and the position estimation program 32 are executed by the controller 10 to realize a communication unit, a travel control unit, a measurement unit, and a position estimation unit.

[0058] The route table 23 is a table that stores the above-mentioned movement instructions received from the transport control device 4 and information representing the movement route specified in the movement instruction (the information representing the movement route may include information about the sections of the movement route, etc.). The device table 24 is a table that stores the ID, current position (section), and status (e.g., "standby," "moving," or "transporting") of the transport device 3. The map table 25 is a table that stores information representing the position and attributes (e.g., which area it belongs to) of each section. The map table 25 may include information such as that shown in FIG. 2. The measurement table 27 is a table that stores values ​​measured by multiple types of sensors 14 (e.g., speed, acceleration, rotation, weight, position (values ​​read from markers), captured images of the section, etc.). The performance table 28 is a table that stores information representing the movement performance, including the route and time traveled by the transport device 3.

[0059] The communication program 29 is a program having a function of exchanging commands and information with the transport control device 4 via the interface device 13. For example, the communication program 29 transmits at least some of the information in tables 23 to 25, 27, and 28 to the transport control device 4 in response to (or without) a request from the transport control device 4. The communication program 29 of each transport device 3 may transmit each of these pieces of information to the transport control device 4 at regular or irregular intervals.

[0060] The movement control program 30 is a program that controls the movement of the transport device 3 in accordance with a movement instruction received from the transport control device 4 via the communication program 29. For example, the movement control program 30 controls the drive device 11 to move along a specified movement path in accordance with the movement instruction from the transport control device 4.

[0061] The measurement program 31 registers the output (measurement results) of each sensor 14 in the measurement table 27. The position estimation program 32 estimates the position of the transport device 3 based on the markers (markers in the section 201 of the movement area 150) detected by the sensors 14 of the transport device 3.

[0062] The transport control device 4 may be one or more physical computers having hardware such as a processor 40, a memory 41, a storage device 42, an input device 43, an output device 44, and an interface device 45, or may be a system (e.g., a cloud computing system) implemented on one or more physical computers (e.g., a cloud platform). Each device included in the transport control device 4 may be located on a single physical computer, or may be distributed across multiple physical computers. The programs and information stored in the storage device 42 may be stored in a single storage device, or may be distributed across multiple storage devices. Instead of the input device 43 and the output device 44, information may be input and output via a client system that can communicate via the interface device 45.

[0063] The processor 40 is a device that controls the overall operation of the transport control device 4. The memory 41 is used as a work memory for the processor 40. The storage device 42 stores programs and tables. The input device 43 is composed of, for example, a mouse or keyboard, and is used by the operator to input necessary information and instructions to the transport control device 4. The output device 44 may be a display device such as a liquid crystal display or an organic EL (Electro Luminescence) display. The interface device 45 is a device for communicating with the transport device 3, material handling equipment 161, and station terminal 710 via a predetermined wireless communication method, and may be composed of, for example, a wireless LAN card.

[0064] The storage device 42 stores, for example, a conveyance device table 53, an inventory table 54, an order table 55, a map table 56, a storage facility table 57, an operation management table 58 (a picking operation management table 581 and a loading operation management table 582), a shipping box table 59, and a movement area table 60. The map table 56 is information representing a map of the movement area 150 (and each stop area) (for example, a table storing the position (coordinates) and attributes of each section) (this table 56 may be distributed to each conveyance device 3 and saved as the map table 25 in each conveyance device 3). The map table 56 may include information such as that shown in FIG. 2.

[0065] The storage device 42 stores an integrated WCS program 51 and multiple WCS programs 50. The integrated WCS and WCS are realized by the processor 40 executing the integrated WCS program 51 and the WCS program 50. WCS stands for Warehouse Control System. The integrated WCS program 51 comprehensively controls the conveying device 3 and the material handling equipment 161. The WCS program 50 controls the material handling equipment 161 or the conveying device 3. For example, the first WCS program 50 controls the material handling equipment 161 (specifically, the automated warehouse 161A) of the storage facility 101A (automated warehouse). The second WCS program 50 controls the conveying device 3.

[0066] The material handling equipment 161 is provided in the storage facility 101 (typically, a storage facility to which GTP is applied) and is equipment used for storing, storing, retrieving, etc., the storage facility 101. The material handling equipment 161 is, for example, an automated warehouse 161A in the storage facility 101A (automated warehouse) or a conveyance facility (not shown) in the storage facility 101B (automated warehouse). The material handling equipment 161 has, for example, an interface device 711, a memory device 713, a drive device 714, a sensor 715, and a processor 712 connected to these.

[0067] The interface device 711 is a device for communicating with the transport control device 4 using a predetermined wireless communication method, and may be configured, for example, by a wireless LAN card. The drive device 714 is a device for driving the material handling equipment 161. The sensor 715 may be a sensor for detecting the position of the material handling equipment 161, etc.

[0068] The memory device 713 stores an inventory table 760 and an incoming / outgoing table 761. The inventory table 760 may be a table containing the same information as at least a portion of the inventory table 54 of the transport control device 4. The incoming / outgoing table 761 may be a table containing information related to the incoming and outgoing of goods. The processor 712 executes a program in the memory device 713 to control the operation of the entire material handling equipment 161, for example, based on the inventory table 760 and the incoming / outgoing table 761.

[0069] The station terminal 710 is an information processing terminal provided in a WS (work station (i.e., work area 163)), which displays a work management table 770, which is an example of information related to the worker's work (e.g., picking work or loading work), and which accepts input from the worker when the work is completed. When the work completion is input, the work status of the target work is updated. The station terminal 710 has an interface device 731, a storage device 732, and a processor 733 connected to them. Note that the WS may also be called a work station or a working station.

[0070] The interface device 731 is a device for communicating with the transport control device 4 via a predetermined wireless communication method, and may be composed of, for example, a wireless LAN card. The storage device 732 stores a work management table 770. The work management table 770 may be a table containing information corresponding to the WS from among the work management tables 58 held by the transport control device 4. The processor 733 executes a program in the storage device 732 to control the overall operation of the station terminal 710, for example, based on the work management table 770. The station terminal 710 may include an input device and an output device. The input device may accept input of information related to work by a worker, such as completion of work. The output device may output instructions related to the work to the worker.

[0071] FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the order table 55. As shown in FIG.

[0072] The order table 55 is a table that stores various information related to orders from customers. The order table 55 has a record for each item. Each record holds information such as a status 601, a slip number 602, a shipping box ID 603, a store ID 604, an item name 605, an item ID 606, a quantity 607, a delivery date 608, a receipt time 609, and a processing time 610. A new record is added to the order table 55 each time a new order is received from a customer. Take one item as an example (referred to as the "item of interest" in the explanation of Figure 8). According to the example shown in Figure 8, if the slip number 602 is the same, items may be treated as a single order even if the type of item (e.g., item name 605 and item ID 606) is different.

[0073] The status 601 indicates the work status for the item of interest. The slip number 602 indicates the number (slip number) of the order in which the item of interest is specified.

[0074] The shipping box ID 603 indicates the ID of the shipping box 87 assigned to the item of interest. The store ID 604 indicates the ID of the store that sells or manufactures the item.

[0075] The item name 605 indicates the name of the item of interest, the item ID 606 indicates the ID of the item of interest, and the quantity 607 indicates the number of items of interest (the number of items ordered).

[0076] The delivery date 608 indicates the deadline by which the item of interest is to be delivered to the delivery destination (typically a customer). The reception time 609 indicates the time when an order specifying the item of interest is received. The operation time 610 indicates the time when a specific operation (e.g., picking, loading, inspection, packing, etc.) related to the item of interest is performed. In addition to or instead of this information, information on operation deadlines and shipping deadlines may also be included.

[0077] FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the inventory table 54.

[0078] The inventory table 54 is a table that stores information about items. The inventory table 54 has a record for each pair of an item and a storage facility 101. The inventory table 54 may have a record for each pair of an item and a location 705 within the storage facility 101. Each record holds information such as an item name 701, an item ID 702, an inventory quantity 703, a storage facility 704, a location within the facility 705, a storage container ID 706, a location within the container 707, a number of deliveries 708, and an item size and weight 709. Take one item as an example (the "item of interest" in the explanation of FIG. 9).

[0079] Item name 701 represents the name of the item of interest. Item ID 702 represents the ID of the item of interest. Stock quantity 703 represents the stock quantity of the item of interest. Storage facility 704 represents the ID of the storage facility 101 in which the item of interest is located. In-facility position 705 represents the position of the item of interest in the storage facility 101. Storage container ID 706 represents the ID of the storage container located at the position represented by the in-facility position 705. In-container position 707 represents the position of the item of interest in the storage container. Number of times of retrieval 708 represents the number of times the item has been retrieved. Item size and weight 709 represents the size or weight of the item.

[0080] The configuration of information 705 to 707 differs depending on storage facility 101. For example, if storage facility 101 is storage facility 101A (automated warehouse), in-facility position 705 is composed of values ​​representing the ID of storage facility 101A (automated warehouse) and the position (column, row, and column) within the automated warehouse, storage container ID 706 is composed of a value representing the ID of a bucket, which is a storage container used in storage facility 101A (automated warehouse), and in-container position 707 is composed of a value representing the opening within the bucket. If storage facility 101 is storage facility 101C (flat storage area), in-facility position 705 is composed of values ​​representing the ID of storage facility 101C (flat storage area) and the position (for example, column, row, and column (or column, row)) within storage facility 101C (flat storage area).

[0081] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the storage facility table 57. As shown in FIG.

[0082] The storage facility table 57 is a table that stores information about the storage facility 101. The storage facility table 57 has a record for each location within the facility. Each record holds information such as a storage facility 801, a method 802, a temporary waiting area 803, a location within the facility 804, and a station ID 805. Take one location within the facility as an example ("location within the facility of interest" in the explanation of FIG. 10).

[0083] The storage facility 801 indicates the type of the storage facility 101 having the target intra-facility location. The method 802 indicates the method of warehousing or picking.

[0084] Temporary waiting area 803 indicates whether or not there is a temporary waiting area. The presence or absence of a temporary waiting area may be managed for each storage facility 101, or may be managed for each WS (or WS group (two or more WSs)). A temporary waiting area may be reserved for each WS, or multiple WSs may share a temporary waiting area.

[0085] The in-facility position 804 indicates a position in the facility of interest. The station ID 805 indicates the ID of the WS (WS from which delivery is possible) corresponding to the in-facility position.

[0086] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the transport device table 53. As shown in FIG.

[0087] The transport device table 53 is a table that stores information about each transport device 3. The transport device table 53 has a record for each transport device 3. Each record holds information such as a device ID 1101, a shipping box ID 1102, a location 1103, a remaining battery level 1104, a device status 1105, a storage facility 1106, a destination location 1107, an estimated arrival time 1108, and an expected delay time 1109. Take one transport device 3 as an example (referred to as "target transport device 3" in the explanation of FIG. 11).

[0088] The device ID 1101 represents the ID of the target transport device 3. The shipping box ID 1102 represents the ID of the shipping box 87 loaded on the target transport device 3. When multiple shipping boxes 87 are loaded on the target transport device 3, multiple IDs are recorded as the ID of the target transport device 3. For example, in the example of Figure 11, the records with the device ID 1101 of "AGV04-R" and "AGV04-L" represent that a shipping box with a shipping box ID of "B08" is loaded on the right side (R) of the front of the device with the device ID of "AGV04", and a shipping box with a shipping box ID of "B09" is loaded on the left side (L) of the front of the device with the device ID of "AGV04".

[0089] The position 1103 indicates the coordinates of the section where the particular transport device 3 is located (that is, the current section). The remaining battery capacity 1104 indicates the remaining capacity of the battery of the particular transport device 3.

[0090] The device status 1105 indicates the status of the target transport device 3. "In motion" means that the target transport device 3 is moving. "Free" means that no shipping box has been assigned to the target transport device 3. "Stopped" means that the target transport device 3 is parked in a stopping area (or temporary waiting area).

[0091] Storage facility 1106 represents a storage facility to which the particular transport device 3 is to be moved. Destination position 1107 represents a destination position of the particular transport device 3, and may be a location related to storage facility 1106 or a location near storage facility 1106. For example, it may be a parking area in front of the WS (work area) of storage facility 1106, or a temporary waiting area.

[0092] The estimated arrival time 1108 is the estimated time when the target transportation device 3 will arrive at the destination. The estimated arrival time 1108 may be, for example, a time calculated by the integrated WCS program 51 (or WCS program 50) based on the movement route of the target transportation device 3 to the destination. Furthermore, the integrated WCS program 51 (or WCS program 50) may estimate the congestion situation on the movement route of the target transportation device 3 based on the position information and movement routes of transportation devices 3 other than the target transportation device 3, predict the occurrence of collision avoidance operations such as temporary stops or detours, and add the waiting time that will occur due to the collision avoidance operations.

[0093] The expected delay time 1109 represents the delay time as the difference between the scheduled arrival time 1108 of the target transport device 3 at the next destination and the scheduled start time 1506 of the picking work at the next destination. In other words, the expected delay time 1109 represents the degree to which the target transport device 3 will be delayed with respect to the picking work.

[0094] The estimated time of arrival 1108 and expected delay time 1109 may be recalculated by the integrated WCS program 51 (or WCS program 50) periodically, either infrequently or frequently, to maintain a reflection of on-site conditions.

[0095] FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the movement area table 60. As shown in FIG.

[0096] The travel area table 60 holds information for each section in the travel area 150. The travel area table 60 has a record for each section. Each record holds information such as an address 1201, a section setting 1202, a station ID 1203, an unusable flag 1204, a turn-prohibited flag 1205, and a direction 1206. Take one section as an example (the "section of interest" in the explanation of FIG. 12).

[0097] Address 1201 indicates the address (location information) of the section of interest. Section setting 1202 indicates what type of section the section of interest is set as. For example, a "movement section" is a section through which the transport device 3 travels. A "stopping area" is a section that belongs to the stopping area. A "temporary waiting area" is a section that belongs to the temporary waiting area. Station ID 1203 indicates the ID of the WS that corresponds to the section of interest.

[0098] The unusable flag 1204 is a flag indicating whether the section of interest is unusable (cannot be a component of a movement route). The unturnable flag 1205 indicates whether the section of interest is unusable for the conveyance device 3 to turn. The direction 1206 indicates the direction in which the conveyance device 3 present in the section of interest can move.

[0099] When a transport device such as an AGV travels within the storage facility 101, a table similar to the movement area table 60 may be managed for the storage facility 101. In this case, the WCS program 50 that controls the transport device may primarily refer to or update the table.

[0100] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the shipping box table 59.

[0101] Shipping box table 59 is a table that stores information about each shipping box. Shipping box table 59 has a record for each size category of shipping boxes. Each record holds information such as size category 1301, loadable size 1302, loadable weight 1303, loadable number 1304, and shipping box ID 1305. Take one shipping box as an example ("shipping box of interest" in the explanation of Figure 13).

[0102] The size category 1301 indicates the size category (e.g., large, medium, small) to which the target shipping box belongs. The loadable size 1302 indicates the size (e.g., width, depth, height) of the item that can be loaded into the target shipping box. The loadable weight 1303 indicates the weight of the item that can be loaded into the target shipping box.

[0103] The loadable number 1304 indicates the maximum number of shipping boxes that can be loaded onto the conveying device 3 and that belong to the same size category as the size category to which the target shipping box belongs.

[0104] The shipping box ID 1305 represents the ID of the shipping box of interest. Specifically, for each size category, the shipping box ID 1305 is a list of IDs of the shipping boxes of interest that belong to that size category. The IDs included in the shipping box ID 1305 may include all shipping boxes, or may include only IDs of shipping boxes that have not been assigned to the slip number (i.e., empty shipping boxes) (i.e., when the ID of a shipping box to be assigned is selected from the shipping box ID 1305, that ID may be deleted from the shipping box ID 1305).

[0105] Furthermore, the shipping box table 59 may have a record for each shipping box, and in addition to the above-mentioned information 1301 to 1305, the allocation status of each shipping box (unallocated or allocated status, allocated slip number, ID of allocated conveying device 3, etc.) may be managed.

[0106] FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the loading operation management table 582.

[0107] The loading work management table 582 is a table related to loading work. The loading work management table 582 has a record for each loading work. Each record holds information such as a station ID 1401, a slip number 1402, a device ID 1403, a shipping box ID 1404, an item ID 1405, a quantity 1406, a scheduled start time 1407, a scheduled end time 1408, and a work status 1409. Take one loading work as an example ("loading work of interest" in the explanation of Figure 14).

[0108] The station ID 1401 indicates the ID of the WS where the target loading operation is performed. The slip number 1402 indicates the slip number of the order corresponding to the target loading operation. The device ID 1403 indicates the ID of the transport device 3 that transports the shipping box 87 into which the items will be placed (loaded) during the target loading operation to the WS.

[0109] The shipping box ID 1404 indicates the ID of the shipping box into which the items are to be placed (loaded) in the loading work of interest, the item ID 1405 indicates the ID of the item, and the quantity 1406 indicates the number of items to be loaded in the loading work of interest.

[0110] The estimated start time 1407 indicates the estimated start time of the target loading operation. The estimated end time 1408 indicates the estimated end time of the target loading operation. The estimated start time 1407 may be calculated by the integrated WCS program 51 or the WCS program 50 based on the estimated length of time required for loading operations performed before the target loading operation. The estimated end time 1408 may be calculated by the integrated WCS program 51 or the WCS program 50 based on the estimated start time 1407 and the estimated length of time required for the loading operation. The estimated length of time required for the loading operation may be calculated by the integrated WCS program 51 or the WCS program 50 based on at least one of the number of items to be loaded, the average time required for the loading operation, and the past loading operation history of the worker performing the loading operation. Note that the loading operation may be performed by a robot instead of or in addition to a worker.

[0111] The work status 1409 indicates the status of the target loading work. "Before work" means that the target loading work has not yet started. "In work" means that the target loading work has started but not yet completed. "Completed" means that the target loading work has been completed. Note that the work status 1409 may be changed based on input from the worker performing the target loading work, or may be changed automatically based on values ​​automatically detected regarding the target loading work.

[0112] When a new record is added to the order table 55, the integrated WCS program 51 plans loading work to process the order and adds a record to the loading work management table 582. The loading work management table 582 may have loading work records corresponding to all records entered in the order table 55, or may only hold records of loading work for a certain period of time. If the loading work management table 582 only holds records of loading work for a certain period of time, the integrated WCS program 51 may refer to the order table 55 every time time passes, extract unprocessed orders, plan loading work, and add records to the loading work management table 582.

[0113] FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the picking work management table 581.

[0114] The picking work management table 581 is a table related to picking work. The picking work management table 581 has a record for each picking work. Each record holds information such as a station ID 1501, a slip number 1502, a storage container ID 1503, an item ID 1504, a quantity 1505, a scheduled start time 1506, a scheduled end time 1507, and a work status 1508. Take one picking work as an example ("picking work of interest" in the explanation of FIG. 15).

[0115] The station ID 1501 indicates the ID of the WS where the target picking operation is performed. The slip number 1502 indicates the slip number of the order corresponding to the target picking operation. The storage container ID 1503 indicates the ID of the storage container that contains the item to be picked in the target picking operation.

[0116] The item ID 1504 indicates the ID of the item to be picked in the target picking operation, and the quantity 1505 indicates the number of items to be picked.

[0117] The estimated start time 1506 indicates the estimated start time of the target picking operation. The estimated end time 1507 indicates the estimated end time of the target picking operation. The estimated start time 1506 may be calculated by the integrated WCS program 51 (or the WCS program 50) based on the estimated length of time required for picking operations performed before the target picking operation. The estimated end time 1507 may be calculated by the integrated WCS program 51 (or the WCS program 50) based on the estimated start time 1506 and the estimated length of time required for the picking operation. The estimated length of time required for the picking operation may be calculated by the integrated WCS program 51 (or the WCS program 50) based on at least one of the quantity of items to be picked, the average time required for the picking operation, and the past picking operation history of the worker performing the picking operation. Note that the picking operation may be performed by a robot instead of or in addition to a worker.

[0118] The work status 1508 indicates the status of the target picking work. "Before work" means that the target picking work has not yet started. "In work" means that the target picking work has started but not yet completed. "Completed" means that the target picking work has been completed. Note that the work status 1508 may be changed based on input from the worker performing the target picking work, or may be changed automatically based on values ​​automatically detected regarding the target picking work.

[0119] When a new record is added to the order table 55, the integrated WCS program 51 plans picking work to process the corresponding order and adds a record to the picking work management table 581. The picking work management table 581 may have picking work records corresponding to all records listed in the order table 55, or may only hold records of picking work for a certain period of time. If only records of picking work for a certain period of time are held, the integrated WCS program 51 may refer to the order table 55 every time time passes, extract unprocessed orders, plan picking work, and add records to the picking work management table 581.

[0120] Note that there is a slip number 1502 that represents multiple different slip numbers (for example, "81" and "85"), which is related to the loading work management table 582 (for example, a record having slip numbers 1402 "81" and "85") and indicates that items of different orders with the slip numbers are picked together in a single picking operation.

[0121] An example of processing performed in this embodiment will be described below. In this embodiment, the integrated WCS program 51 or the WCS program 50 appropriately updates the relevant portions of the tables 53 to 60 based on information (e.g., information including sensor measurement values) that the transport control device 4 receives periodically or irregularly from each transport device 3, each material handling facility 161, and each station terminal 710.

[0122] 16 to 21 are flowcharts showing the flow of order processing. In the following explanation, "WCS program 50X" is the WCS program 50 corresponding to the material handling equipment 161 of the destination storage equipment 101. "WCS program 50Y" is the WCS program 50 corresponding to the transport device 3.

[0123] As shown in FIG. 16, in S1601, the integrated WCS program 51 selects from the order table 55 one or more records whose operation time 610 corresponds to a predetermined operation time.

[0124] In S1602, the integrated WCS program 51 references the order table 55, identifies slip numbers for which the shipping box ID 603 is not assigned, and performs the shipping box selection process (FIG. 22). Here, for example, if all of the items corresponding to the identified slip number cannot fit into a single shipping box, it is determined that those items will be divided into multiple shipping boxes. Furthermore, if there are multiple shipping box sizes, the shipping box sizes are identified, and it is determined whether multiple shipping boxes will be loaded onto a single conveyance device 3 (if multiple shipping boxes will be loaded, the number of shipping boxes to be loaded is determined). By performing S1602, information about the shipping boxes in each of all records identified in S1601 (for example, some or all of the information such as the shipping box group ID, shipping box size, number of shipping boxes to be loaded onto the conveyance device 3, shipping box group combination, and shipping box ID corresponding to each record) is set (determined) and recorded in the order table 55.

[0125] In S1603, the integrated WCS program 51 refers to the transport device table 53.

[0126] In S1604, the integrated WCS program 51 identifies a transport device 3 to which a shipping box has not been allocated (device status 1105 is "empty").

[0127] In S1605, the integrated WCS program 51 sends a movement request to the WCS program 50Y to move the identified transport device 3 to a supply WS (WS in the shipping box supply area 100). The movement request specifies the device ID of the transport device identified in S1604 and the destination area (for example, the destination stopping area).

[0128] In S1606, the WCS program 50Y transmits a movement instruction to the designated transport device 3 to move to the supply WS in accordance with the movement request.

[0129] In S1607, the WCS program 50Y receives a notification from the transport device 3 that the transport device 3 has arrived at the supply WS, and reports to the integrated WCS 51 that the transport device 3 has arrived at the supply WS.

[0130] In S1608, the integrated WCS program 51 receives the arrival completion report.

[0131] 17, in S1609, the integrated WCS program 51 transmits a request to load a shipping box to the supply WS station terminal 710. The loading request includes, for example, information about the shipping box identified in S1602 (e.g., some or all of the information such as the shipping box group ID, the size of the shipping box, the number of shipping boxes to be loaded on the conveying device 3, the combination of shipping box groups, and the shipping box ID).

[0132] In S1610, the station terminal 710 of the supply WS displays loading instructions for the shipping boxes based on the loading request. The displayed loading instructions are information about the shipping boxes to be loaded onto the conveyance device 3 that has arrived at the stop area corresponding to the supply WS, including the information included in the loading request. The loading work is performed according to the displayed loading instructions. For example, at the supply WS, a worker or a work robot may input information about the shipping box IDs to be loaded into the station terminal 710 by scanning (reading) the codes (e.g., including the shipping box IDs) attached to the shipping boxes to be loaded for the "shipping box size" and "number of shipping boxes" specified in the loading instructions using a scanning terminal such as a code reader. The worker or the work robot loads the shipping boxes whose codes have been scanned onto the conveyance device 3 of the WS. If there are multiple sizes of shipping boxes, the displayed loading instructions include information about the shipping box sizes. The worker loads shipping boxes of that size (that is, one or more shipping boxes are loaded onto one conveying device 3 in accordance with the loading instructions).

[0133] As a modified example, the supply WS may be divided according to the size of the shipping box, in which case the integrated WCS program 51 may send a movement request to the WCS program 50Y to move the conveying device 3 to the supply WS corresponding to the size of the shipping box. As another modified example, when there is a conveying device 3 corresponding to the device status 1105 "empty", the shipping box may be loaded in the supply WS first, and then an unassigned slip number (shipping box group) may be assigned to that shipping box.

[0134] In S1611, the station terminal 710 receives input from the worker indicating that loading has been completed, and reports the completion of loading (including, for example, information on the shipping box ID) to the integrated WCS program 51.

[0135] In S1612, the integrated WCS program 51 receives the loading completion report and updates the transport device table 53 (for the target transport device 3, the ID of the loaded shipping box is set as the shipping box ID 1102).

[0136] In S1613, the integrated WCS program 51 updates the order table 55. For example, the integrated WCS program 51 assigns the loaded shipping box to the target slip number (shipping box group). When multiple shipping boxes are loaded on the same conveying device, the integrated WCS program 51 assigns the loaded shipping boxes to each shipping box group corresponding to the target shipping box group combination. In the order table 55, the integrated WCS program 51 sets the ID of the loaded (assigned) shipping box as the shipping box ID 603 in the record of each item corresponding to each shipping box group.

[0137] As a variant example, if a shipping box ID is set in S1602 (Figure 22) and the loading request in S1609 and the loading instruction in S1610 include information about the shipping box ID, a worker or work robot may load the shipping box with the shipping box ID specified in the loading instruction onto the conveying device 3.

[0138] As shown in FIG. 18, in S1614, the integrated WCS program 51 refers to the order table 55 and the inventory table 54 to identify the storage facility 101 that stores the item corresponding to the target slip number (the item whose status 601 indicates that picking or loading is incomplete).

[0139] In S1615, the integrated WCS program 51 references the work management table 58 (picking work management table 581 and loading work management table 582), storage facility table 57, transfer area table 60, and transport device table 53 (further, for example, references the inbound / outbound table 761 of each material handling facility 161). From the referenced tables, the integrated WCS program 51 identifies the work status of each workstation (e.g., work capacity and congestion status), the location and transfer status of each transport device 3 (e.g., transfer destination and transport device arrival time), and the items scheduled for release, and determines the destination storage facility 101 and the destination location (e.g., a workstation or temporary waiting area in the destination storage facility 101). Based on this determination, the integrated WCS program 51 determines the patrol order (all or part of the destinations, including at least the first destination). The integrated WCS program 51 updates the transport device table 53 (e.g., the equipment status 1105, storage facility 1106, and destination location 1107). Furthermore, the integrated WCS program 51 adds a new task record to the task management table 58 based on the patrol order.

[0140] In S1616, the integrated WCS program 51 refers to the storage facility table 57 and determines whether the destination storage facility 101 is a GTP facility (a facility to which GTP is applied). If the determination result in S1616 is false (S1616: NO), the process proceeds to S1632 (FIG. 20).

[0141] If the determination result in S1616 is true (S1616: YES), in S1617, the integrated WCS program 51 transmits a movement request to the WCS program 50Y to move the transport device 3 to the destination position.

[0142] In S1618, the WCS program 50Y transmits to the transfer device 3 a movement instruction to move the transfer device 3 to the destination position in accordance with the movement request.

[0143] In S1619, the WCS program 50Y receives a notification from the transport device 3 that the transport device 3 has arrived at the destination position, and reports the arrival completion to the integrated WCS program 51.

[0144] In S1620, the integrated WCS program 51 receives the arrival completion report.

[0145] 19 , in S1621, the integrated WCS program 51 sends an outgoing request to the material handling equipment 161 of the destination storage facility 101 to retrieve an item (the item corresponding to the target slip number) from the destination storage facility 101, to the corresponding WCS program 50X. The outgoing request may specify that the arrival time of the item at the WS should be in time for the scheduled start time 1506 recorded in the picking work management table 581. If the arrival time will not be in time, the integrated WCS program 51 may update the scheduled start time 1506 and scheduled end time 1507 of the corresponding work to match the arrival time of the item at the WS. If delaying the scheduled start time 1506 of the corresponding work affects the scheduled start time 1506 and scheduled end time 1507 of other work, these may also be updated.

[0146] In S1622, in accordance with the shipping request, the WCS program 50X transmits a shipping instruction to ship the item corresponding to the target slip number to the corresponding material handling facility 161. Note that the shipping instruction may include, for example, some or all of information indicating the shipping destination WS in the storage facility 101 and the arrival order and timing of the items.

[0147] For example, the WCS program 50X refers to the inventory table 54 to identify the facility location 705 corresponding to the item name 701 and / or item ID 702 of the item to be shipped. The WCS program 50X refers to the storage facility table 57 to identify the facility location 804 corresponding to the facility location 705, identify the station ID 805 corresponding to the facility location 804, and identify (determine) the WS to which the item will be shipped (shipping destination WS, delivery destination WS).

[0148] If there are multiple station IDs, the WCS program 50X may refer to the picking work management table 581 and determine the WS to which the item will be delivered, taking into consideration the status of the picking work tasks at each WS so that the work tasks at each WS are leveled or optimized (based on the work processing speed of the workers, etc.). Also, if it is more efficient to pick the item together with other picking work tasks (picking work tasks for the same or different items, such as items corresponding to other slip numbers), the WCS program 50X may determine the delivery destination WS so that the items will be delivered to the same WS so that they can be picked together, and may also determine the order and / or timing of arrival of the items at the delivery destination WS.

[0149] In S1623, the WCS program 50X receives status information indicating the shipping status and transport status of the items from the material handling facility 161 and reports the status information to the integrated WCS. The status information may include, for example, information indicating the shipping destination WS in the storage facility 101 and the arrival order and timing of the items.

[0150] In S1624, the integrated WCS program 51 receives a report containing status information on the shipping status and the transport status.

[0151] In S1625, the integrated WCS program 51 sends an output request (a request to display work instructions for picking and loading) to the station terminal 710 of the storage WS (WS of the destination storage facility 101), or sends a movement request to the WCS program 50Y. Specifically, for example, the integrated WCS program 51 sends an output request to the station terminal 710 of the storage WS based on status information (for example, information on the destination WS and the order and timing of arrival of the items), or determines a movement request such that the order and timing of arrival of the conveyance device 3 at the stopping area 164 corresponding to the storage WS are the same as the order and timing of arrival of the items at the destination WS, and sends the movement request to the WCS program 50Y. The work instruction includes information indicating the items to be picked in the destination storage facility 101 and loaded onto the conveyance device 3, the number of items, and the item positions (positions within the facility or positions within a container).

[0152] In S1626, the WCS program 50Y transmits to the transport device 3 a movement instruction to the destination position (WS of the storage facility 101) of the transport device 3 in accordance with the movement request.

[0153] In S1627, the WCS program 50Y receives a notification from the transport device 3 that the transport device 3 has arrived at the destination position, and reports the arrival completion to the integrated WCS program 51.

[0154] In S1628, the station terminal 710 of the storage WS displays work instructions for picking and / or loading based on the output request.

[0155] In S1629, the station terminal 710 receives input from the worker indicating that picking and / or loading has been completed, and reports the completion of the work to the integrated WCS program 51.

[0156] In S1630, the integrated WCS program 51 receives the arrival completion report.

[0157] In S1631, the integrated WCS program 51 receives a report of the completion of picking and / or loading, and updates the status 601 in the order table 55 (updating the status 601 of the item corresponding to the target slip number to "picking and / or loading completed"). After the status 601 indicates that picking and loading have been completed, the process proceeds to S1640 (FIG. 21).

[0158] 18: NO, the process proceeds to S1632 in Fig. 20, as described above. In S1632, the integrated WCS program 51 transmits a movement request to the WCS program 50Y to move the transport device 3 to the destination position (storage WS) of the destination storage facility 101.

[0159] In S1633, the WCS program 50Y transmits to the transfer device 3 an instruction to move the transfer device 3 to the destination position in accordance with the movement request.

[0160] In S1634, the WCS program 50Y receives a notification from the transport device 3 that the transport device 3 has arrived at the destination position, and reports the arrival completion to the integrated WCS program 51.

[0161] In S1635, the integrated WCS program 51 receives the arrival completion report.

[0162] In S1636, the integrated WCS program 51 sends an output request, which is a request to display work instructions for picking and loading, to the station terminal 710 of the storage WS. The work instruction includes information indicating the items to be picked at the destination storage facility 101 and loaded onto the conveying device 3, the number of items, and the item positions (positions within the facility or positions within the container).

[0163] In S1637, the station terminal 710 displays work instructions for picking and loading based on the output request.

[0164] In S1638, the station terminal 710 receives input from the worker indicating that picking or loading has been completed, and reports the completion of the work to the integrated WCS program 51.

[0165] In S1639, the integrated WCS program 51 receives the report of the work completion and updates the status 601 in the order table 55 (updating the status 601 of the item corresponding to the target slip number to "picking and / or loading completed"). After the status 601 indicates that picking and loading are "completed," processing proceeds to S1640 (FIG. 21).

[0166] As shown in FIG. 21, in S1640, the integrated WCS program 51 refers to the status 601 of each item in the order table 55 that corresponds to the target slip number (and / or the target shipping box ID).

[0167] In S1641, the integrated WCS program 51 determines whether the status 601 of each item corresponding to the target slip number (or the target shipping box ID, or multiple shipping box IDs to be loaded onto the same conveyance device 3) is "completed" (i.e., whether all items corresponding to the target slip number have been loaded onto the shipping box). If the determination result of S1641 is false (S1641: NO), the process returns to S1614 in FIG. 18. In other words, another destination storage facility is identified, and the same process proceeds.

[0168] If the determination result in S1641 is true (S1641: YES), in S1642, the integrated WCS program 51 transmits a movement request to move the transport device 3 to a destination position in the inspection area 103 to the WCS program 50Y.

[0169] In S1643, the WCS program 50Y transmits to the transfer device 3 a movement instruction to move the transfer device 3 to the destination position (inspection area 103) in accordance with the movement request.

[0170] In S1644, the WCS program 50Y receives a notification from the transport device 3 that the transport device 3 has arrived at the destination position, and reports the arrival completion to the integrated WCS program 51.

[0171] In S1645, the integrated WCS program 51 receives the arrival completion report and transmits an inspection instruction to the inspection device (not shown) in the inspection area 103.

[0172] In S1646, the integrated WCS program 51 receives the report of the completion of inspection and transmits a movement request to the WCS program 50Y to move the conveying device 3 to the destination position in the packing area 102.

[0173] In S1647, the WCS program 50Y transmits, in accordance with the movement request, a movement instruction to the conveyance device 3 to move the conveyance device 3 to the destination position (packing area 102).

[0174] In S1648, the WCS program 50Y receives a notification from the transport device 3 that the transport device 3 has arrived at the destination position, and reports the arrival completion to the integrated WCS program 51.

[0175] In S1649, the integrated WCS program 51 receives the report of completion of arrival and sends a request to the station terminal 710 of the WS in the packing area 102 to output a loading instruction to transfer the shipping box to the packing area 102. The integrated WCS program 51 updates the device status 1105 of the conveying device 3 from which the shipping box was removed to "empty" and sends a movement request to the WCS program 50Y to move the conveying device 3 to the next destination position (for example, the waiting area 105 or the shipping box supply area 100).

[0176] FIG. 22 is a flowchart showing the flow of the shipping box selection process.

[0177] In S2201, the integrated WCS program 51 calculates the total size and weight (total of size and / or weight) corresponding to the target slip number (slip number to which a shipping box has not been assigned). Specifically, for example, the integrated WCS program 51 identifies the item name 605, item ID 606, and quantity 607 corresponding to the target slip number from the order table 55. For each pair of item name 605 and item ID 606, the integrated WCS program 51 identifies the item size and weight 709 corresponding to that pair from the inventory table 54, and calculates the product of the identified item size and weight 709 and the quantity 607 corresponding to that pair. The integrated WCS program 51 calculates the total size and weight corresponding to the target slip number by adding up all the calculated products.

[0178] In S2202, the integrated WCS program 51 determines whether the total size weight calculated in S2201 is equal to or less than a predetermined threshold value.

[0179] If the determination result of S2202 is false (S2202: NO), in S2203, the integrated WCS program 51 divides the multiple items corresponding to the target slip number into multiple small groups so that the total size and weight is below a predetermined threshold. A "small group" corresponds to a shipping box unit. In other words, S2202: NO means that it has been determined that the multiple items corresponding to the target slip number cannot fit into one shipping box, and in this case, the integrated WCS program 51 decides to divide the multiple items into multiple shipping boxes. Note that if at least one item exceeds the total size and weight threshold, the integrated WCS program 51 may notify an error (or a manual picking request) to the administrator.

[0180] Here, a group (unit) of multiple items assigned to one shipping box is sometimes called a "shipping box group (order container group)." For example, if the determination result of S2202 is false (S2202: NO), and multiple items corresponding to the target slip number are divided into multiple "small groups," each "small group" becomes a "shipping box group." Also, for example, if the determination result of S2202 is true (S2202: YES), and all items corresponding to the target slip number are placed in the same shipping box, all items corresponding to the target slip number become the same "shipping box group." The integrated WCS program 51 assigns a shipping box group ID, which is unique identification information, to each "shipping box group."

[0181] After S2203, or if the judgment result of S2202 is true (S2202: YES), in S2204, the integrated WCS program 51 refers to the shipping box table 59 (for example, the column of size classification 1301) and determines whether there are multiple shipping box sizes.

[0182] If the judgment result of S2204 is true (S2204: YES), in S2205, the integrated WCS program 51 refers to the shipping box table 59 and the inventory table 54, and identifies the size of the shipping box that can accommodate the total size and weight of the target shipping box group based on the loadable size 1302 and / or loadable weight 1303 and the item size weight 709 of each item.

[0183] After S2205, or if the determination result of S2204 is false (S2204: NO), in S2206, the integrated WCS program 51 refers to the shipping box table 59 and determines whether the size of the shipping box is such that multiple shipping boxes can be loaded onto the conveyance device 3. Specifically, the integrated WCS program 51 determines whether the value of the loadable number 1304 corresponding to the shipping box size category 1301 is "2" or greater.

[0184] If the determination result in S2206 is true (S2206: YES), in S2207, the integrated WCS program 51 determines whether the time until the work deadline (or shipping deadline) is equal to or greater than a threshold. Note that information on the work deadline (and / or shipping deadline) corresponding to each order may be included in, for example, the order table 55.

[0185] If the judgment result of S2207 is true (S2207: YES), in S2208, the integrated WCS program 51 decides to load multiple shipping boxes onto the conveying device 3, and determines the number of shipping boxes to be loaded onto the conveying device 3 (for example, the loadable number 1304 corresponding to the size category 1301 of the shipping box).

[0186] Furthermore, when multiple shipping boxes are loaded onto the conveying device 3, the integrated WCS program 51 selects "other unassigned shipping box groups" to be assigned to other shipping boxes that are loaded onto the same conveying device 3 as the shipping box to which the "target shipping box group" is assigned. For example, the integrated WCS program 51 also performs the shipping box selection process of Figure 22 for other unassigned slip numbers, specifies the size of the shipping box to be assigned to the "other unassigned shipping box group," and selects "other unassigned shipping box groups" that match the size of the other shipping boxes.

[0187] Furthermore, when multiple shipping boxes are loaded onto one conveying device 3, the integrated WCS program 51 selects (determines) a combination of shipping box groups to be assigned to the multiple shipping boxes in order to improve the efficiency of picking, loading, and / or transportation. For example, the integrated WCS program 51 may refer to the order table 55, and if there is another unassigned shipping box group with the same slip number as the target shipping box group, the integrated WCS program 51 may select that other unassigned shipping box group. When items with the same slip number are gathered in each shipping box, they can be transported to the inspection area 103 or the packing area 102, thereby improving the efficiency of transportation, inspection, and packing.

[0188] For example, the integrated WCS program 51 may refer to the order table 55 and select "other unassigned shipping box groups" that have items with a high overlap rate (duplicate rate), such as items that are the same as the items corresponding to the target shipping box group or that have many of the same items. By picking the same items together and loading them into shipping boxes transported by the same conveyance device 3, the picking, loading, and / or transportation operations can be made more efficient. Furthermore, for example, the integrated WCS program 51 may refer to the order table 55, inventory table 54, and storage equipment table 57 and select "other unassigned shipping box groups" that have items with a high overlap rate (duplicate rate) of storage equipment (or destination WSs from which items can be delivered) that are the same as the items corresponding to the target shipping box group. This not only improves the movement efficiency of the conveyance device 3, but also reduces waiting times for the conveyance device 3 to arrive at the destination WS, and further reduces the amount of picked items remaining at the WS, thereby improving the efficiency of picking and loading operations. In addition to or instead of the above selection criteria, the integrated WCS program 51 may refer to the order table 55, inventory table 54, storage facility table 57, etc., and select "other unassigned shipping box groups" based on other selection criteria, such as meeting the work deadline (calculating the estimated work completion time and ensuring that the time from the estimated work completion time to the work deadline is equal to or exceeds a predetermined threshold) because the more destinations the storage facility (destination WS) visits, the longer the transport time (including waiting time) of the transport device 3. Also, ensuring that the charge rate of the transport device 3 does not fall below a threshold (calculating the transport time and ensuring that the transport time is within a predetermined range), and ensuring that the number of destinations the storage facility (destination WS) visits is equal to or less than a predetermined threshold. The integrated WCS program 51 may select "other unassigned shipping box groups" not only for the target shipping box group but also for optimizing processing for all slip numbers included in the work time.

[0189] In S1609 and S1610, the integrated WCS program 51 controls (requests loading of shipping boxes, instructs loading) so that the shipping box to which the target shipping box group is assigned and the shipping box to which the selected "other unassigned shipping box group" is assigned are loaded onto the same conveying device 3. Note that the combination of the target shipping box group and the selected shipping box group is sometimes called the "shipping box group combination."

[0190] The integrated WCS program 51 may record information about the shipping box (e.g., shipping box group ID, shipping box size, number of shipping boxes to be loaded on the conveying device 3, combination of shipping box groups, etc.) in the order table 55 corresponding to the target shipping box group.

[0191] If the determination result of S2206 is false (S2206: NO), or if the determination result of S2207 is false (S2207: NO), in S2209 the integrated WCS program 51 decides to load one shipping box onto the conveying device 3. Specifically, for example, the integrated WCS program 51 records information about the shipping box (e.g., shipping box group ID, shipping box size, number of shipping boxes to be loaded onto the conveying device 3, etc.) in the order table 55 in correspondence with the target shipping box group.

[0192] As an example, when setting a shipping box ID in the shipping box selection process of Figure 22, after S2208 and S2209, the integrated WCS program 51 may refer to the shipping box table 59 and set the ID of an unallocated shipping box that corresponds to the size identified in S2205 and that is the number identified in S2208 or S2209 (the number of shipping boxes to be loaded on the conveying device 3) as the shipping box ID 603 corresponding to the target shipping box group, and record it in the order table 55.

[0193] In the process illustrated in FIG. 22 , at least step S2207 may be optional. For example, when multiple shipping boxes corresponding to multiple invoice numbers are loaded onto one conveying device 3, it takes time to complete the collection of items into all of the shipping boxes. Therefore, when time is a priority in relation to a work deadline, such as when the deadline for the target invoice number is approaching, the integrated WCS program 51 may decide to load only one shipping box. However, even if multiple shipping boxes are loaded onto the conveying device 3, one of the shipping boxes may be given priority for collecting items, and that shipping box may be inspected and packed first. The conveying device 3 may then move sequentially from the packing area 102 to one or more storage facilities 101 to collect items corresponding to the remaining shipping boxes that have not yet been packed.

[0194] 23 is a flowchart showing a first example of a flow of controlling the transport device 3 based on priority. The processing described with reference to FIGS. 23 to 26C is performed by the integrated WCS program 51, but at least a part of the processing may be performed by the WCS program 50 instead of or in addition to the integrated WCS program 51.

[0195] In S2301, the integrated WCS program 51 calculates the expected delay time 1109 for each of some or all of the transport devices 3. Taking one transport device 3 as an example, specifically, for example, the integrated WCS program 51 calculates the expected delay time 1109 for the transport device 3 as follows: Refer to the shipping box ID 1102, storage facility 1106, and estimated arrival time 1108 of the transport device 3. · Refer to the station ID 805 corresponding to the storage facility 801 that matches the storage facility 1106 in question. Refer to the item ID 1405 corresponding to the shipping box ID 1404 that matches the shipping box ID 1102. Refer to the scheduled start time 1506 in the record having a pair of station ID 1501 and item ID 1504 that matches the pair of station ID 805 and item ID 1405 of interest. If a negative value is obtained by subtracting the estimated arrival time 1108 of the transport device 3 from the estimated start time 1506, the negative value is set as the expected delay time 1109 of the transport device 3.

[0196] When multiple items are loaded in the shipping box of the conveying device 3 and an expected delay time is obtained for each of the multiple items, the sum of these expected delay times may be used as the expected delay time 1109 of the conveying device 3.

[0197] Furthermore, if a positive value is obtained by subtracting the estimated arrival time 1108 from the estimated start time 1506 for an item loaded in the shipping box of the conveying device 3, the expected delay time of the conveying device 3 may be set to zero, or the positive value may be added to a negative value obtained for another item, resulting in a reduction in the expected delay time 1109 of the conveying device 3.

[0198] In S2302, the integrated WCS program 51 determines whether there is a transport device 3 whose expected delay time 1109 is equal to or greater than a certain threshold value (a first threshold value, which will be described later).

[0199] If the determination result of S2302 is false (S2302: NO), the integrated WCS program 51 does not perform priority-based control. However, if priority-based control was already being performed before the determination, that control continues.

[0200] If the determination result of S2302 is true (S2302: YES), the integrated WCS program 51 executes S2303 to S2305 as priority-based control.

[0201] In S2303, the integrated WCS program 51 calculates the first delay impact and the second delay impact for some of the transport devices 3 (e.g., the transport device 3 and its surrounding transport devices 3) including the transport device 3 whose expected delay time 1109 is equal to or greater than a certain threshold, or for all of the transport devices 3. Specifically, as will be described later, the "first delay impact" is a value that evaluates the degree to which the start of a picking operation assigned to the transport device 3 is delayed when a certain transport device 3 (hereinafter referred to as the target transport device 3) is assumed to be delayed. The "second delay impact" is a value that evaluates the degree to which the start of a picking operation that is not assigned to the target transport device 3 and that is affected by the delay of the target transport device 3 (i.e., a picking operation that must wait for the completion of the picking operation assigned to the target transport device 3) is delayed. Note that the part or all of the transport devices 3 for which the priorities are calculated do not necessarily have to include transport devices 3 whose expected delay time 1109 is equal to or greater than a certain threshold.

[0202] In S2304, the integrated WCS program 51 calculates the priority of each transport device 3. As will be described in detail later, the greater the first delay influence or the second delay influence, the higher the priority.

[0203] In S2305, the integrated WCS program 51 controls the multiple transport devices 3 so that the movement cost (e.g., movement distance, movement time) of the transport device 3 with higher priority is preferentially reduced. At this time, the integrated WCS program 51 may directly control the operation of the multiple transport devices 3 (e.g., determine a transport task to be associated with a movement instruction for each transport device 3), or may update the operation plan (e.g., route table 23) of the multiple transport devices 3. For example, when the travel paths of a transport device 3X (not shown) with a high priority and a transport device 3Y (not shown) with a low priority interfere with each other, the integrated WCS program 51 may control the transport device 3Y to temporarily stop on the spot and wait for the transport device 3X to pass. Alternatively, for example, the integrated WCS program 51 may change the route represented by the route table 23 for the transport device 3Y to a detour route (a route that detours around the route of the transport device 3X).

[0204] Furthermore, when two conveyance devices 3 interfere with each other, it is not necessary to give priority to the one with the higher priority, and if giving priority to the one with the lower priority can reduce the movement costs of conveyance devices 3 other than the two conveyance devices 3 with the higher priority, then it is acceptable to give priority to the one with the lower priority of the two conveyance devices 3. In other words, the order of the priority of the conveyance devices 3 and the order of the movement costs of the conveyance devices 3 do not necessarily have to be in the same order, and the movement costs of each conveyance device 3 may be determined based on the priority of each conveyance device 3 so that the relationship between the priority and movement costs of all conveyance devices 3 is optimized.

[0205] As described above, by controlling the operation of the conveying device 3 based on the priority based on the first delay effect and / or the second delay effect, when a delay occurs at a specific conveying device 3, the movement cost of the high-priority conveying device can be relatively lowered and / or the movement cost of the low-priority conveying device can be relatively increased, thereby suppressing the negative effect of delays, such as increased waiting time for picking workers.

[0206] 24A to 24C are schematic diagrams for explaining a method of calculating priorities in this embodiment. In FIGS. 24A to 24C (and subsequent FIGS. 26A to 26C), the first item loaded onto conveying device 3X is denoted as "item X1," the second item loaded onto conveying device 3X is denoted as "item X2," and the picking work of item Xx loaded onto conveying device 3X is denoted as "3X-Xx" (X = any of a to f, x = 1 or 2). Also, in FIG. 24, "facility A" is storage facility 101A (automated warehouse), "facility B" is storage facility 101B (automated warehouse), and "facility C" is storage facility 101C (flat storage area). Furthermore, the term "picking work" refers to work performed at a workstation, and typically includes the work of picking items that have been released from the storage facility 101, and / or the loading work of placing the picked items into shipping boxes (an example of an order container). In the above explanation, the management tables for picking work and loading work are separate, and picking work and loading work are distinguished as appropriate, but for simplicity of explanation, picking work may be picking work in the broad sense as work performed at a workstation, and picking work in the broad sense may include loading work and picking work in the narrow sense.

[0207] As shown in Figure 24A, consider a situation in which conveying devices 3a to 3f are traveling in an area where storage facilities 101A to 101C are located. Conveying devices 3a to 3f have been assigned orders, have been loaded with shipping boxes, have not yet performed picking work, and will soon travel around storage facilities 101A to 101C in preparation for picking work. For example, conveying device 3a has been assigned two items as part of an order, and is shown picking item a1 from storage facility 101A and item a2 from storage facility 101B.

[0208] At this time, the picking operation management table 581 contains records of the picking operations to be performed by the conveying devices 3a to 3f. As described above, the picking operation management table 581 contains the scheduled start time 1506 and the scheduled end time 1507, so a timetable for the operations can be created, as shown in FIG. 24B. This timetable uses the vertical axis to distinguish between the storage facilities and the horizontal axis to represent time, indicating which picking operations are to be performed at each storage facility and in what period. For example, for storage facility 101A, it indicates that after conveying device 3a picks item a1, conveying device 3d picks item d1, and then conveying device 3e picks item e1. Note that such a timetable may or may not be explicitly stored in the storage device 42.

[0209] Now, consider calculating the priority of the transport device 3a. If the transport device 3a is delayed, the start of picking operations 3a-a1 and 3a-a2 will be delayed, resulting in pickers having to wait. To compensate for the delay of the transport device 3a, it may be necessary to postpone the picking operations at all three storage facilities 101A-101C by the amount of the delay. Therefore, the maximum waiting time when the transport device 3a is delayed by a unit time is three man-hours. On the other hand, if there is sufficient time until the scheduled start time of the next picking operation for the transport device 3a, there is no need to postpone the picking operation even if the transport device 3a is delayed, and the waiting time may be zero man-hours. Based on the above, the priority can be calculated by, for example, estimating the waiting time between zero and three man-hours that would occur if the transport device 3a were delayed.

[0210] In estimating the waiting time, the integrated WCS program 51 first evaluates the degree of delay (first delay effect) of the picking operations 3a-a1 and 3a-a2 of the items a1 and a2 loaded on the conveying device 3a.

[0211] For the picking operation 3a-a1, for example, the integrated WCS program 51 calculates a grace period TA (see FIG. 24B), which is the time obtained by subtracting the estimated arrival date and time 1108 of the transport device 3a from the estimated start time 1506 of the picking operation 3a-a1. The integrated WCS program 51 may use a value obtained by applying TA to a monotonically decreasing function (e.g., F(x)=1-tanh(x)) that takes the grace period TA as an input and takes a value between 0 and 1 (e.g., equation (1)). Pa(A)=F(TA) (1)

[0212] The "grace time" is an indicator of how much time there is until the next picking operation, so using the calculations described above, the waiting time in storage facility 101A can be evaluated as 0 man-hours if there is slack, and 1 man-hour if there is no slack.

[0213] For picking operation 3a-a2, for example, the integrated WCS program 51 calculates a grace period TB (see FIG. 24B), which is the time obtained by subtracting the time obtained by adding the travel time from storage facility 101A to storage facility 101B to the scheduled end time 1507 of picking operation 3a-a1 from the scheduled start time 1506 of picking operation 3a-a2. The integrated WCS program 51 may use a value obtained by applying TA and TB to a monotonically decreasing function (for example, the above-mentioned F(x)) that takes a value between 0 and 1 with TA+TB as an input (for example, equation (2)). Pa(B)=F(TA+TB) (2)

[0214] Similarly, this allows the waiting time at storage facility 101B to be evaluated as 0 man-hours if there is slack, and 1 man-hour if there is no slack.

[0215] In estimating waiting time, the integrated WCS program 51 next evaluates the degree of delay (second delay impact) of picking operations that are not assigned to the conveying device 3a (picking operations for items other than those loaded on the conveying device 3a) and that are affected by the delay of the conveying device 3a (for example, picking operations 3d-d1, 3c-c2, 3e-e2).

[0216] For picking operation 3d-d1, for example, the integrated WCS program 51 may calculate a grace period TA' (see FIG. 24C ), which is the time obtained by subtracting the scheduled end time 1507 of picking operation 3a-a1 from the scheduled start time 1506 of picking operation 3d-d1, and may use the value obtained by applying TA and TA' to a monotonically decreasing function (for example, the above-mentioned F(x)) that takes values ​​between 0 and 1 and inputs TA+TA'. In this case, in order to subtract the contribution of the first delay effect already considered in equation (1), for example, calculation may be performed using the following equation (3). Pa'(A)=F(TA+TA')×(1-Pa(A)) ···(3)

[0217] By this calculation, the waiting time in storage facility 101A can be evaluated as occurring at 0 man-hours when there is slack, and 1 man-hour when there is no slack, including the first delay effect and the second delay effect.

[0218] For the picking operation 3c-c2, for example, the following calculation may be performed (for example, equation (4)) using the similarly calculated grace time TB' (see FIG. 24C). Pa'(B)=F(TA+TB')×(1-Pa(B)) ···(4)

[0219] By this calculation, the waiting time in storage facility 101B, including the first delay effect and the second delay effect, can be evaluated as occurring at 0 man-hours when there is slack and 1 man-hour when there is no slack.

[0220] For picking operation 3e-e2, for example, the integrated WCS program 51 calculates a grace period TC' (see Figure 24C), which is the time obtained by subtracting the time obtained by adding the travel time from storage facility 101A to storage facility 101C to the scheduled end time 1507 of picking operation 3e-e1 from the scheduled start time 1506 of picking operation 3e-e2, and may use the value obtained by applying TA, TA', and TC' to a monotonically decreasing function (for example, the above-mentioned F(x)) that takes values ​​between 0 and 1 and uses TA+TA'+TC' as input (for example, equation (5)). Pa'(C)=F(TA+TA'+TC') ···(5)

[0221] By this calculation, the waiting time in the storage facility 101C can be evaluated as 0 man-hours when there is slack, and 1 man-hour when there is no slack.

[0222] Based on the above calculations, the integrated WCS program 51 in this embodiment may calculate the priority Pa of the transport device 3a using, for example, the following equation (6). Pa=Pa(A)+Pa(B)+Pa'(A)+Pa'(B)+Pa'(C) ···(6)

[0223] According to this calculation, when there is leeway in the work time at each storage facility 101A to 101C and the travel time of the transport devices 3a to 3f, the priority can be calculated by taking a minimum of 0 man-hours, and when there is no leeway, taking a maximum of 3 man-hours.

[0224] In addition, in this embodiment, the picking operations 3d-d1, 3c-c2, and 3e-e2 are evaluated in the evaluation of the second delay effect, but all picking operations (3e-e1, 3d-d2, and 3f-f2) performed after these may also be evaluated. When including these as evaluation targets, the integrated WCS program 51 may sequentially perform calculations similar to those of equations (3) and (4) to subtract the contributions of the first delay effect and the second delay effect that have already been considered.

[0225] The integrated WCS program 51 in this embodiment performs similar calculations for some or all of the transport devices 3, calculates priorities, and controls the operation of the transport devices 3 based on the priorities.

[0226] In the above explanation, each conveying device 3 is described as carrying one shipping box and having two items assigned to it, with each item corresponding to one picking operation, but it is also possible for each conveying device 3 to be carrying multiple shipping boxes, to be assigned any number of items, or for each item to correspond to multiple picking operations.

[0227] In addition, in the example of calculating the priority described above, the scheduled start time, scheduled end time, and grace period of the picking work were used. If these times and times are close to the current time (i.e., if they are scheduled for the immediate future), these times and times are accurate to the actual situation. However, if these times and times are far from the current time (i.e., if they are scheduled for the future), they are more susceptible to variations in the operation of the conveyance device 3 and variations in the progress of the picking work, and therefore, these times and times may be far from the actual situation.

[0228] Therefore, in the calculation of the priority as described above (for example, equation (6)), the integrated WCS program 51 may perform a calculation in which each picking operation is multiplied by a weighting coefficient that decreases as the remaining time, which is the difference between the scheduled start time or scheduled end time and the current time, increases. This allows the priority to be more strongly influenced by more immediate schedules and less strongly influenced by more future schedules, making it possible to calculate priorities that are more in line with reality. Note that the calculation method may also employ, for example, the following equation (6'), which is a modification of equation (6). Here, T(*) is the remaining time for operation *. Pa=F(T(3a-a1))*Pa(A)+F(T(3a-a2))*Pa(B) +F(T(3d-d1))*Pa'(A)+F(T(3c-c2))*Pa'(B)+F(T(3e-e2))*Pa'(C) ···(6')

[0229] Furthermore, in the movement area 150 of the conveying device 3, in addition to the conveying devices 3 to which orders are assigned, there are also conveying devices 3 to which no orders are assigned. A conveying device 3 to which no orders are assigned is, for example, a conveying device 3 that has completed packing a shipping box and completed shipping, but has not yet been assigned the next order. Because these conveying devices 3 do not have a deadline for completing their movement, the integrated WCS program 51 may set the priority of these conveying devices 3 to the lowest. In other words, the integrated WCS program 51 may set the priority of these conveying devices 3 to 0.

[0230] As described above, when the delay of a specific transport device 3 exceeds a threshold, the integrated WCS program 51 in this embodiment calculates the priority of some or all of the transport devices 3 and controls the operation of the transport devices 3 so as to reduce the movement cost of the transport devices 3 with higher priorities. This allows the transport devices 3 for which delays are more critical to operate preferentially, thereby suppressing the increase in waiting time for picking workers, which is an adverse effect of delays.

[0231] Furthermore, in an actual distribution center, an order that requires urgent shipping may arrive. In such a case, the integrated WCS program 51 may take into account the urgency of the order in the calculation of the priority described above. Specifically, for example, the integrated WCS program 51 may prepare a predetermined weight according to a value representing the urgency of the order, and in the calculation of the priority described above (e.g., equation (6)), multiply the prepared weight by a factor (e.g., the priority as a factor in equation (6)) related to the picking work of the item corresponding to the order to calculate the priority (e.g., Pa in equation (6)). Various examples of values ​​representing the urgency of an order may be used. For example, two types of urgency, "high" and "low," may be preset as order attributes, or a value obtained by applying a monotonically increasing function to the time remaining until the order's due date may be used. Any other value may be used as long as it can represent the level of urgency between orders.

[0232] These urgency levels may be set as fixed values ​​for each order, or may be changeable at any time by the user of the transport control device 4 in this embodiment. For example, the transport control device 4 may be provided with a function for changing the urgency level via the interface device 45. In this case, the integrated WCS program 51 in this embodiment may recalculate the priority of the transport device 3 when the urgency level is changed.

[0233] As described above, the integrated WCS program 51 in this embodiment can calculate the priority taking into account the urgency of the order, and therefore can give priority to processing orders with high urgency.

[0234] Furthermore, when the expected delay time of the transport device 3 is significantly long, the integrated WCS program 51 may rearrange the records already written in the picking operation management table 581. Rearranging the records means changing the order of multiple picking operations that have already been planned, the scheduled start time 1506, and the scheduled end time 1507.

[0235] Note that "the expected delay time is significantly large" means, for example, that the expected delay time is equal to or greater than a second threshold value that is greater than the threshold value described above (hereinafter referred to as the first threshold value). Specifically, for example, as shown in Fig. 25, the integrated WCS program 51 performs S2501 and S2502, which are the same processes as S2301 and S2302. If the determination result of S2502 is true (S2502: YES), the integrated WCS program 51 determines in S2503 whether there is a transport device 3 whose expected delay time calculated in S2501 is equal to or greater than the second threshold value. If the determination result of S2503 is false (S2503: NO), the integrated WCS program 51 executes S2506 to S2508, which are the same processes as S2303 to S2305, as priority-based control. If the determination result of S2503 is true (S2503: YES), the integrated WCS program 51 rearranges the picking operation management table 581 in S2504, and calculates the expected delay time 1109 of each transport device 3 in S2505. After S2505, the integrated WCS program 51 executes S2506 to S2508.

[0236] Alternatively, "the expected delay time is significantly large" may mean that, after applying the operation control based on the priority described above, the expected delay time is predicted (calculated) again and the expected delay time for the conveyance device 3 with a high priority is still equal to or greater than the second threshold value. There are various other examples of "the expected delay time is significantly large."

[0237] An example of rearrangement of records in the picking work management table 581 will be described with reference to FIGS. 26A to 26C.

[0238] Assume that the picking timetable based on the picking operation management table 581 is as shown in FIG. 26A. In this case, for example, if the transport device 3a is significantly delayed (the transport device 3 with a YES response in S2503 is transport device 3a), picking operations 3a-a1 and 3a-a2 assigned to transport device 3a are postponed, as shown in FIG. 26B. If picking operation 3a-a1 is postponed, subsequent picking operations 3d-d1 and 3e-e1 in the storage facility 101A are also postponed. Because the scheduled end time 1507 of picking operation 3e-e1 is later than the original scheduled start time 1506 of picking operation 3e-e2, picking operation 3e-e2 is also postponed. As a result, if the expected delay time is N hours, a maximum of N hours of waiting time may occur for each worker. Since there are three workers in total, a maximum of 3N hours of waiting time may occur overall.

[0239] Therefore, as shown in FIG. 26C, picking operations assigned to transport devices 3 other than transport device 3a, such as picking operations 3d-d1, 3d-d2, and 3c-c2, can be advanced. Although not shown, picking operations 3e-e1, 3e-e2, and 3f-f2 can also be advanced. When rearranging the records in the picking operation management table 581, the integrated WCS program 51 in this embodiment may create a timetable of picking operations that can be performed temporally based on the status of transport devices 3b-3f other than transport device 3a and the status of storage facilities 101A-101C. In this way, waiting time can be minimized to zero man-hours.

[0240] As described above, the integrated WCS program 51 in this embodiment can suppress an increase in waiting time by changing the order and time of picking operations when there is a significant delay in the conveying device 3, that is, when there is a limit to how much the adverse effects of the delay can be suppressed even with priority-based operation control.

[0241] Although the embodiment has been described above, this is merely an example for explaining the present invention, and the scope of the present invention is not limited to this embodiment. The present invention can be implemented in various other forms.

[0242] Furthermore, for example, the shape of the section is not limited to a rectangle and may be other shapes. Sections of different sizes or shapes may be mixed. Furthermore, the position of a section may be identified by other methods instead of being identified by a marker on the section.

[0243] Furthermore, for example, the integrated WCS program 51 and the WCS programs 50 may be executed by the transport device 3 instead of or in addition to the transport control device 4. Furthermore, the transport device 3 may also serve as the transport control device 4. The integrated WCS program 51 and the multiple WCS programs 50 may be distributed across multiple physical or virtual computers, and the integrated WCS program 51 may include each WCS program 50.

[0244] The above description can be summarized, for example, as follows: The following summary may include supplementary explanations to the above description and explanations of modifications of the above embodiment.

[0245] A transport control device 4 is configured to control multiple transport devices 3 based on one or more orders, each of which specifies one or more articles. The transport control device 4 includes an interface device 45, a storage device 42, and a processor 40 connected to the interface device 45 and the storage device 42.

[0246] For each of the plurality of storage facilities 101 in which items are stored, there is a workstation (work area 163) where picking work is performed on items that have been delivered from the storage facility 101.

[0247] The interface device 45 communicates with multiple conveyance devices 3. The storage device 42 stores a picking operation management table 581 (an example of picking operation management information) including a scheduled start time 1506 of the picking operation at the workstation for each picking operation, and a conveyance device table 53 (an example of conveyance device information) including a scheduled arrival time 1108 of the conveyance device 3 carrying the order container at the storage facility 101. The storage device 42 may store management information including at least a part of tables 53 to 60 illustrated in FIG. 6. The management information may associate the order, the order container, the item, the storage facility 101, the workstation, the conveyance device 3, the scheduled arrival time of the conveyance device 3 at the storage facility 101 (workstation), and the scheduled start time of the picking operation at the workstation. By referring to the management information, the processor 40 can identify the storage facility where the items specified in the order are stored, the order container into which the items will be placed, the conveying device on which the order container will be loaded, the estimated time of arrival of the conveying device at the storage facility, and the estimated time of start of picking work at the workstation in the storage facility.

[0248] The processor 40 calculates, for each of one or more conveying devices 3 among the plurality of conveying devices 3, an expected delay time 1109, which is the difference between the scheduled start time 1506 of the picking operation of an item to be placed at a workstation into an order container loaded on the conveying device 3, and the scheduled arrival time 1108 of the conveying device at the storage facility where the workstation is located, based on the picking operation management table 581 and the conveying device table 53. The processor 40 makes a first determination as to whether or not a first delayed conveying device 3 (a conveying device 3 whose expected delay time 1109 is equal to or greater than a first threshold) exists.

[0249] When the result of the first determination is true, the processor 40 calculates at least one of the following effects (a) and (b) for each of some or all of the multiple transport devices 3, and calculates the priority of the transport device 3 based on the calculated effects. Here, "some or all of the transport devices 3" may or may not include the first delay transport device 3. Furthermore, for each of some or all of the transport devices 3, the first delay effect and / or the second delay effect may be calculated, and the priority of the transport device 3 may be calculated based on the calculated first delay effect and / or the second delay effect. (a) A first delay impact is an evaluation value of the degree of delay in the start of one or more picking operations performed on order containers loaded on the transport device at workstations in one or more storage facilities that the transport device patrols. (b) A second delay impact is an evaluation value of the degree of delay in the start of one or more picking operations of items onto one or more order containers loaded onto one or more conveying devices other than the conveying device in question, which will not start until the picking operation performed on the order container loaded onto the conveying device in question is completed.

[0250] When a collision between a high-priority transport device, which is a transport device with a relatively high priority, and a low-priority transport device, which is a transport device with a relatively low priority, is expected, the processor 40 reduces the movement cost of the high-priority transport device relative to the movement cost of the low-priority transport device in controlling some or all of the transport devices. "A collision is expected" means that the movement path and movement time period of the high-priority transport device overlap with the movement path and movement time period of the low-priority transport device. "Movement cost" may be the length of at least one of the movement path and movement time (time required for movement). "Making the movement cost of the high-priority transport device relatively smaller relative to the movement cost of the low-priority transport device" may mean shortening the movement path or movement time of the high-priority transport device, or lengthening the movement path or movement time of the low-priority transport device (for example, by using a detour path or stopping the movement of the low-priority transport device for a predetermined period of time).

[0251] This makes it possible to prevent delays in the conveying device 3 from having an impact on the sorting work, thereby preventing workers from having to wait longer.

[0252] The picking operation management table 581 may include a scheduled end time 1507 of the picking operation at the workstation for each picking operation. The processor 40 may perform the following (A) and / or (B) for each of some or all of the above-mentioned transport devices. The processor 40 may calculate the priority of the transport device based on the respective first grace period and / or second grace period. This is expected to result in an appropriate priority, and therefore, appropriate transport control. (A) In calculating the first delay effect, the processor 40 calculates a first grace period for each of one or more picking operations performed on order containers (shipping boxes 87) loaded on the conveying device 3, by subtracting the time obtained by applying the time required for the conveying device to move to the workstation to the later of the scheduled end time of the picking operation immediately preceding the picking operation or the current time from the scheduled start time of the picking operation. An example of the first grace period is TA or TB shown in FIG. 24B. The calculated first grace time may be, for example, a grace time as the difference between the scheduled start time of the picking operation 3a-a1 for which the expected delay time 1109 is equal to or greater than the first threshold value for the first delayed transport device 3a, and a grace time as the difference between the scheduled end time of the picking operation 3a-a1 and the scheduled start time of the next picking operation 3a-a2. Even if a picking operation 3a-a3 exists after the picking operation 3a-a2, a grace time as the difference between the picking operations 3a-a2 and 3a-a3 may not be calculated. Furthermore, if the picking operation 3a-a1 and the next picking operation 3a-a2 are performed at workstations in different storage facilities 101, the time required for movement between the storage facilities 101 may also be used as a calculation factor for the grace time. A value obtained based on these first grace times may be the first delay impact. (B) In calculating the second delay impact, the processor 40 calculates a second grace time by subtracting the scheduled end time of the picking operation immediately preceding the picking operation from the scheduled start time of the picking operation, for each of one or more picking operations of items for one or more order containers loaded on one or more conveying devices other than the conveying device in question, that will not start until the completion of a target picking operation, which is a picking operation performed on an order container loaded on the conveying device in question, among one or more picking operations of items for one or more order containers loaded on one or more conveying devices other than the conveying device in question. The value obtained based on these second grace times may be the second delay impact.

[0253] The processor 40 may calculate the priority of each of some or all of the transport devices 3 by calculating a weighted sum of values ​​obtained by applying a monotonically decreasing function to the first grace time and / or second grace time (or the first delay impact and / or second delay impact) obtained for the transport device 3. This is expected to result in an appropriate priority, and thus appropriate transport control. Specifically, the shorter the grace time, the greater the delay impact is evaluated, so the value obtained by applying a monotonically decreasing function to the grace time is taken as the delay impact. By using the weighted sum of the delay impact calculated in this way as the priority, the shorter the grace time of the transport device 3, the higher the priority is obtained.

[0254] In calculating the target impact, which is at least one of the first delay impact and the second delay impact, for each of some or all of the transport devices 3, the processor 40 may calculate the remaining time for each of one or more picking operations, which is the difference between the scheduled start time or scheduled end time of the picking operation and the current time, and calculate the target impact based on each remaining time. This is expected to result in appropriate priorities, thereby enabling appropriate transport control. The processor 40 may calculate the target impact for each of some or all of the transport devices 3 by multiplying the remaining time for each of one or more picking operations by a weighting coefficient, which is a value obtained by applying a monotonically decreasing function to the remaining time. An operation with a longer remaining time is an operation further into the future, specifically, an operation that is more uncertain (the date and time may change, etc.). The contribution of such an operation to the delay impact is reduced. In other words, in order to prioritize deterministic operations and de-emphasize uncertain operations, the "weighting coefficient is multiplied by a value obtained by applying a monotonically decreasing function to the remaining time" method is adopted.

[0255] The processor 40 may set the priority of a conveying device 3 that has not been instructed to move to the storage facility 101 where the item specified in the order is to be picked in order to pick the item into an order container, among some or all of the conveying devices 3, to the lowest priority. This allows conveying devices 3 that are conveying items to be given priority over conveying devices 3 that are not conveying items, and thus appropriate conveying control is expected.

[0256] In calculating the target impact, which is at least one of the first delay impact and the second delay impact, for each of some or all of the transport devices 3, the processor 40 may calculate the target impact for each of one or more picking operations based on the urgency of the order for which the item to be picked is specified as the target of the picking operation. This is expected to result in appropriate priorities being obtained, and therefore appropriate transport control. Note that the interface device 45 may communicate with an input device (not shown, such as an input device like a keyboard or pointing device, or an information processing terminal (e.g., a client computer) having such an input device) that can be operated by a user, and the urgency of the order may be the urgency specified (e.g., changed) by the user via the input device.

[0257] The processor 40 may perform a second determination as to whether a second delayed transport device 3 exists as a transport device 3 whose expected delay time 1109 is equal to or greater than a second threshold (a second threshold greater than the first threshold). If the result of the second determination is true, the processor 40 may advance the scheduled start time of picking operations for items to be placed in order containers loaded on transport devices 3 other than the second delayed transport device 3, the picking operations being performed at a storage facility where the second delayed transport device 3 stops for picking operations. This is expected to result in appropriate transport control. Note that if advancing the scheduled start time of a picking operation changes the order of two or more picking operations for a transport device transporting an order container containing an item to be picked, the processor 40 may also advance the scheduled start time of other picking operations for the transport device, thereby maintaining the order of the two or more picking operations. Furthermore, if the result of the first determination is true, the processor 40 may advance the picking operation referred to in this paragraph instead of or in addition to calculating the first delay impact and / or the second delay impact. Moving up picking work is an example of rearranging picking work. Rearranging picking work may involve fixing some picking work and changing the scheduled start times of the remaining picking work, or it may involve determining the scheduled start times of all picking work by calculating a so-called optimization problem. For example, one constraint may be to avoid planning a certain conveyance device 3 to simultaneously request picking work from multiple workstations. In other words, one constraint may be to plan a certain conveyance device 3 so that only one picking work is performed at a time. In optimization under such constraints, it is possible to maximize the number of picking work that can be performed within a certain period of time. [Explanation of symbols]

[0258] 3: Transport device, 4: Transport control device

Claims

1. A transport control device that controls a plurality of transport devices based on one or more orders each specifying one or more items, an interface device, a storage device, and a processor connected to the interface device and the storage device; a workstation for picking an item released from each of a plurality of storage facilities in which items are stored; the interface device is in communication with the plurality of transport devices; the storage device stores picking operation management information including information indicating a scheduled start time of the picking operation at the work station for each picking operation, and transport device information including information indicating a scheduled arrival time of the transport device carrying the order container at the storage facility; The processor: For each of one or more of the plurality of conveying devices, calculate an expected delay time, which is the difference between the scheduled start time of the picking operation of the items to be placed at a workstation into an order container loaded on the conveying device and the scheduled arrival time of the conveying device at a storage facility where the workstation is located, based on the picking operation management information and the conveying device information; A first determination is made as to whether a first delayed transport device exists as a transport device whose expected delay time is equal to or greater than a first threshold value; If the result of the first determination is true, calculate the influence of at least one of the following (a) and (b) for each of some or all of the plurality of transport devices, and calculate the priority of the transport device based on the calculated influence: (a) a first delay impact, which is an evaluation value of the degree of delay in the start of one or more picking operations performed on order containers loaded on the conveying device at workstations of one or more storage facilities patrolled by the conveying device; (b) a second delay impact, which is an evaluation value of the degree of delay in the start of one or more picking operations of items onto one or more order containers loaded on one or more conveying devices other than the conveying device in question, that will not start until the picking operation performed on the order container loaded on the conveying device in question is completed; When a collision between a high-priority conveying device, which is a conveying device having a relatively high priority, and a low-priority conveying device, which is a conveying device having a relatively low priority, is expected, in controlling some or all of the conveying devices, the movement cost of the high-priority conveying device is made relatively small compared to the movement cost of the low-priority conveying device. Transport control device.

2. The picking operation management information includes information indicating a scheduled end time of the picking operation at the workstation for each picking operation, The processor, for each of the part or all of the transport devices, In calculating the first delay effect, for each of one or more picking operations performed on the order containers loaded on the transport device, a first grace time is calculated by subtracting the time obtained by applying the time required for the transport device to move to the workstation to the later of the scheduled end time of the picking operation immediately preceding the picking operation or the current time from the scheduled start time of the picking operation; In calculating the second delay effect, for each of one or more picking operations that will not start until a target picking operation, which is a picking operation performed on an order container loaded on one or more conveying devices other than the conveying device, is completed, a second grace period is calculated by subtracting the scheduled end time of the picking operation immediately preceding the picking operation from the scheduled start time of the picking operation, calculating a priority of the transport device based on the first grace period and the second grace period; The transport control device according to claim 1 .

3. The processor, for each of the part or all of the transport devices, calculating a priority of the transport device by a weighted sum of values ​​obtained by applying a monotonically decreasing function to each of the first grace period and the second grace period obtained for the transport device; The transport control device according to claim 2 .

4. The picking operation management information includes information indicating a scheduled end time of the picking operation at the workstation for each picking operation, In calculating the target impact, which is at least one of the first delay impact and the second delay impact, for each of the part or all of the transport devices, the processor calculates a remaining time, which is the difference between a scheduled start time or a scheduled end time of the picking operation and a current time, for each of one or more picking operations, and calculates the target impact based on each remaining time. The transport control device according to claim 1 .

5. the processor calculates the target impact by multiplying, for each of the part or all of the transport devices, a value obtained by applying a monotonically decreasing function to the remaining time for each of the one or more picking operations, as a weighting coefficient. The transport control device according to claim 4 .

6. the processor sets the priority of a transport device, among the part or all of the transport devices, that has not been instructed to move to a storage facility where an item specified in an order is to be picked for picking the item into an order container, to the lowest priority; The transport control device according to claim 1 .

7. the processor, in calculating a target impact, which is at least one of the first delay impact and the second delay impact, for each of the part or all of the transport devices, calculates the target impact for each of one or more picking operations based on the urgency of an order in which an item is designated as a target of the picking operation; The transport control device according to claim 1 .

8. the interface device communicates with a user-operable input device; the urgency of the order is a urgency designated by the user via the input device; The transport control device according to claim 7 .

9. The processor: A second determination is made as to whether or not a second delayed transport device exists as a transport device whose expected delay time is equal to or greater than a second threshold value that is greater than the first threshold value; When the result of the second determination is true, among the picking operations of the items to be placed in the order containers loaded on the transport devices other than the second delay transport device, the scheduled start time of the picking operation to be performed in the storage facility where the second delay transport device stops for the picking operation is brought forward. The transport control device according to claim 1 .

10. When the order of two or more picking operations changes for a transport device that transports an order container containing an item that is the target of a picking operation when the scheduled start time of the picking operation is brought forward, the processor also brings forward the scheduled start time of other picking operations for the transport device, thereby maintaining the order of the two or more picking operations. The transport control device according to claim 9 .

11. The picking operation management information includes information indicating a scheduled end time of the picking operation at the workstation for each picking operation, The processor, for each of the part or all of the transport devices, In calculating the first delay effect, for each of one or more picking operations performed on the order containers loaded on the transport device, a first grace time is calculated by subtracting the time obtained by applying the time required for the transport device to move to the workstation to the later of the scheduled end time of the picking operation immediately preceding the picking operation or the current time from the scheduled start time of the picking operation; Calculating the priority of the transport device based on each first grace time; The transport control device according to claim 1 .

12. The picking operation management information includes information indicating a scheduled end time of the picking operation at the workstation for each picking operation, The processor, for each of the part or all of the transport devices, In calculating the second delay effect, for each of one or more picking operations that will not start until a target picking operation, which is a picking operation performed on an order container loaded on one or more conveying devices other than the conveying device, is completed, a second grace period is calculated by subtracting the scheduled end time of the picking operation immediately preceding the picking operation from the scheduled start time of the picking operation, Calculating the priority of the transport device based on each second grace time; The transport control device according to claim 1 .

13. A transport control method for controlling a plurality of transport devices based on one or more orders, each of which specifies one or more items, comprising: For each of one or more transport devices among the plurality of transport devices, calculate an expected delay time, which is the difference between the scheduled start time of the picking operation of the items to be placed at the workstation into the order container loaded on the transport device and the scheduled arrival time of the transport device at the storage facility where the workstation is located, based on the picking operation management information and the transport device information; A first determination is made as to whether a first delayed transport device exists as a transport device whose expected delay time is equal to or greater than a first threshold value; If the result of the first determination is true, calculate the influence of at least one of the following (a) and (b) for each of some or all of the plurality of transport devices, and calculate the priority of the transport device based on the calculated influence: (a) a first delay impact, which is an evaluation value of the degree of delay in the start of one or more picking operations performed on order containers loaded on the conveying device at workstations of one or more storage facilities patrolled by the conveying device; (b) a second delay impact, which is an evaluation value of the degree of delay in the start of one or more picking operations of items onto one or more order containers loaded on one or more conveying devices other than the conveying device in question, that will not start until the picking operation performed on the order container loaded on the conveying device in question is completed; When a collision between a high-priority conveying device, which is a conveying device having a relatively high priority, and a low-priority conveying device, which is a conveying device having a relatively low priority, is expected, in controlling some or all of the conveying devices, the movement cost of the high-priority conveying device is made relatively small compared to the movement cost of the low-priority conveying device. This is done by computer, a workstation for picking an item released from each of a plurality of storage facilities in which items are stored; The picking operation management information includes information indicating a scheduled start time of the picking operation at the workstation for each picking operation, the transport device information includes information indicating an estimated arrival time of a transport device carrying the order container at a storage facility; Transport control method.

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