Control system and control method for controlling conveyance device

Abstract

To enable a conveyance device to stand by at an appropriate position.SOLUTION: When causing one or more conveyance devices to stand by at standby positions for each prescribed timing, this control system determines, for each of the conveyance devices, appropriateness of the standby position on the basis of moving cost from the standby position to the target position of the conveyance device and remaining time from the prescribed timing to the deadline of arrival at the target position for each standby position. The control system determines, for each of the conveyance devices, the standby position of the conveyance device on the basis of the appropriateness of the standby positions and moves the conveyance device to the determined standby position.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 22

Description

[Technical Field]

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

[0002] At logistics centers, the work of picking items (such as merchandise) corresponding to orders from each storage area and sorting them into packing units is a demanding task. In particular, while the e-commerce market is expanding, there is a shortage of workers at logistics centers, and there is a strong need to reduce the workload.

[0003] Therefore, even when the storage locations of multiple items corresponding to an order span multiple storage facilities, a transport system that automates the sorting work using a transport device such as an automatic guided vehicle (AGV) is being developed to reduce the workload of sorting. That is, the transport device loads shipping boxes (e.g., cardboard boxes) corresponding to the order, travels around work stations (work spaces where workers are stationed) in each storage facility, and collects the items corresponding to the order into the shipping boxes. 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. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2022-029815 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] In a conveyance system that uses a conveyance device to automate sorting work, the conveyance device travels around work stations, and when the conveyance device arrives at a work station, a worker picks the necessary items into a shipping box loaded on the conveyance device. The conveyance device travels around multiple work stations in succession to collect multiple items into a shipping box, and the worker repeats the picking work for the conveyance device that arrives at the work station one after another.

[0007] In this transport system, when a second transport device is working at a work station that is the destination position of a first transport device, the first transport device must wait. If the first transport device waits at a position that is too far from the destination work station, the first transport device will not arrive at the work station in time for the arrival deadline (e.g., the scheduled date and time of arrival at the work station or the scheduled date and time of starting work at the work station).

[0008] Furthermore, if the first conveying device waits in a position where it interferes with the third conveying device, a collision avoidance operation is required when moving to the work station, delaying the first conveying device's arrival at the work station, which in turn delays the picking operation at that work station.

[0009] For this reason, it is desirable for the transport device to wait at an appropriate position. This type of problem can also occur in a transport system that does not require rotation of the work stations, for example, a transport system with only one work station. Patent Document 1 does not disclose or suggest anything about selecting a waiting position.

[0010] An object of the present invention is to enable the transport device to wait in a suitable position. [Means for solving the problem]

[0011] When the control system makes one or more transport devices wait at any of the waiting positions at each predetermined timing, it determines the appropriateness of the waiting position for each of the one or more transport devices based on the cost of moving from the waiting position to the destination position of the transport device and the remaining time from the predetermined timing until the deadline for arrival at the destination position. The control system determines the waiting position of each of the one or more transport devices based on the appropriateness of multiple waiting positions, and moves the transport device to the determined waiting position. [Effects of the Invention]

[0012] According to the present invention, the transport device can wait at an appropriate position. Problems, configurations, and effects other than those described above will become apparent from the following description of the preferred embodiment of the invention. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0013] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an outline of a plurality of types of areas 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 4C] FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a shelf transport area. [Figure 4D] FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a flow shelf 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 area 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 a flow of standby control of the transport device. [Figure 23A] FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of an appropriateness calculation method according to a first aspect. [Figure 23B] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of an appropriateness relationship according to the first aspect. [Figure 24A] FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram showing an example of change in suitability over time. [Figure 24B] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of an appropriateness relationship over time. [Figure 25A] FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of an appropriateness calculation method according to a second aspect. [Figure 25B]FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of an appropriateness relationship according to a second aspect. [Figure 26A] FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of an appropriateness calculation method according to a third aspect. [Figure 26B] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of an appropriateness relationship according to a third aspect. 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 "date and time" may be a unit that is coarser or finer than the year, month, day, hour, minute.

[0024] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an outline of multiple types of areas in an embodiment. The multiple types of areas shown in FIG. 1 may be, for example, part of an area 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 a device manufacturing company to store goods. The goods stored in the logistics facility may be, for example, products or parts.

[0025] The conveying system includes a plurality of conveying devices 3 traveling in a movement area 150 and a control device 4 that remotely controls the movement of each conveying device 3. A shipping box 87 (see FIGS. 3A and 3B ) is loaded onto the conveying 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 movement area 150, there are a shipping box supply area 100, multiple storage areas 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 area 101 is an area where items are stored (arranged). The packing area 102 is an area where shipping boxes 87 containing items are packed.

[0028] The multiple storage areas 101 differ in at least one of storage method, retrieval method, and picking method. Examples of the multiple storage areas 101 include a flat storage area 101A, an automated warehouse area 101B, a shelf transport area 101C, and a moving shelf area 101D. The storage areas 101A to 101D 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 control device 4. The 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 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 control device 4, and may typically be a conveying device (Automatic Guided Vehicle). For example, in accordance with one or more movement instructions from the 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 areas 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 areas 101. Specifically, for example, the movement order of the conveying device 3A is, as shown in the figure, shipping box supply area 100 → flat placement area 101A → automated warehouse area 101B → shelf transport area 101C → inspection area 103 → packing area 102. The movement order of the transport device 3B is as shown in the figure: shipping box supply area 100 → flow shelf area 101D → shelf transport area 101C → flat placement area 101A → inspection area 103 → packing area 102.

[0036] Some orders specify multiple different items. For each order, the 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 conveyance 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 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 conveyance device 3 is associated with information indicating the movement task assigned to the conveyance device 3. In this embodiment, the "movement" of the conveyance device 3 refers to the general movement of the conveyance 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 control device 4, and the 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 areas 101A to 101D. In this description, the "stopping area" for each storage area 101 may be an area within the movement area 150 (for example, an area adjacent to the storage area 101 and configured by one or more sections 201 of the movement area 150), or may be an area outside the movement area 150 (for example, within the storage area 101).

[0040] FIG. 4A is a schematic diagram showing an example of the flat placement area 101A.

[0041] The flat area 101A is an example of an area to which PTG (Person to Goods) is applied. According to PTG, a worker (Person) walks to a storage location 2 of an article (Goods) and picks it up.

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

[0043] FIG. 4B is a schematic diagram showing an example of the automated warehouse area 101B.

[0044] The automated warehouse area 101B is an example of an area to which 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 the goods.

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

[0046] A temporary waiting area 165 may be provided in the transfer area 150. The temporary waiting area 165 is an area where a conveying device 3 heading toward the storage area 101, the work area 163, or the stop area 164 temporarily waits if the destination storage area 101, the work area 163, or the stop area 164 is full. For example, as shown in FIG. 4B , the temporary waiting area 165 may be provided near the automated warehouse area 101B and its stop area 164B. In this case, for example, if the stop area 164B is full, that is, if conveying devices 3 have already stopped in all the stop areas 164B, the conveying devices 3 will temporarily wait in the temporary waiting area 165. The temporary waiting area 165 may be provided anywhere in the transfer area 150. Furthermore, there may be multiple temporary waiting areas 165, and the conveying device 3 may select any of the multiple temporary waiting areas 165.

[0047] FIG. 4C is a schematic diagram showing an example of the shelf transport area 101C.

[0048] The shelf transport area 101C is an example of an area to which GTP is applied. A plurality of shelves 5 are arranged in the shelf transport area 101C, and a plurality of items are placed on the plurality of shelves 5. In the shelf transport area 101C, a transport device 161C transports the shelves 5 in accordance with an out-of-stock instruction (movement instruction) from the control device 4. The shelf transport area 101C includes 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 work area 163C is an area where an operator picks an item from the shelf 5 transported by the transport device 161C. The stopping area 164C is an area where the transport device 3 stops. The operator places the item picked in the work area 163C into a shipping box 87 of the transport device 3 stopped in the stopping area 164C adjacent to the work area 163C.

[0049] FIG. 4D is a schematic diagram showing an example of the flow shelf area 101D.

[0050] The flow shelf area 101D includes a flow shelf 450 and one or more work areas 163D, and a stopping area 164D adjacent to each work area 163D is provided. The flow shelf 450 has trays arranged vertically, and items are lined up on each tray. In the work area 163D, a worker picks an item from the flow shelf 450 in accordance with work instructions from the control device 4 and places the picked item into a shipping box 87 of a conveyance device 3 parked in the stopping area 164D adjacent to the work area 163D.

[0051] In this way, the plurality of storage areas 101A to 101D differ in at least one of the storage method, retrieval method, and picking method.

[0052] FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the packing area 102.

[0053] 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.

[0054] 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).

[0055] 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).

[0056] 6 and 7 are diagrams showing specific configuration examples of elements of the transport system according to this embodiment.

[0057] The transport system includes a 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 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."

[0058] 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.

[0059] The controller 10 is a controller that controls the operation of the transport device 3 in accordance with movement instructions from the 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.

[0060] The interface device 13 is a device for communicating with the control device 4 by a predetermined wireless communication method, and may be configured, for example, by a wireless LAN card.

[0061] 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.

[0062] 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.

[0063] The route table 23 is a table that stores the above-mentioned movement instructions received from the 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 date and time traveled by the transport device 3.

[0064] The communication program 29 is a program having a function of exchanging commands and information with the control device 4 via the interface device 13. For example, the communication program 29 transmits at least some of the information in the tables 23 to 25, 27, and 28 to the control device 4 in response to (or without) a request from the control device 4. The communication program 29 of each transport device 3 may transmit each of these pieces of information to the control device 4 at regular or irregular intervals.

[0065] 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 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 control device 4.

[0066] 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.

[0067] The 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 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.

[0068] The processor 40 is a device that controls the overall operation of the 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 a keyboard, and is used by the operator to input necessary information and instructions to the 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 conveying 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.

[0069] 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 area 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.

[0070] 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 161B) in the automated warehouse area 101B. The second WCS program 50 controls the shelf transport area (specifically, the conveying device 161C). The third WCS program 50 controls the conveying device 3.

[0071] The material handling equipment 161 is provided in the storage area 101 (typically, a storage area to which GTP is applied) and is equipment used for storing, storing, retrieving, etc., from the storage area 101. The material handling equipment 161 is, for example, an automated warehouse 161B in the automated warehouse area 101B or a transport device 161C in the shelf transport area 101C. 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.

[0072] The interface device 711 is a device for communicating with the control device 4 by 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.

[0073] The storage device 713 stores an inventory table 760 and an incoming / outgoing table 761. The inventory table 760 may be a table that contains the same information as at least a portion of the inventory table 54 of the control device 4. The incoming / outgoing table 761 may be a table that contains information related to the incoming and outgoing of goods. The processor 712 executes a program in the storage device 713, thereby controlling the operation of the entire material handling equipment 161 based on, for example, the inventory table 760 and the incoming / outgoing table 761.

[0074] 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.

[0075] The interface device 731 is a device for communicating with the 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 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.

[0076] FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the order table 55. As shown in FIG.

[0077] 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 received date and time 609, a work date and time 610, and a priority flag 611. Take one item as an example (referred to as the "item of interest" in the explanation of FIG. 8). According to the example shown in FIG. 8, if the slip number 602 is the same, items may be treated as a single order even if the type of item (for example, the item name 605 and item ID 606) is different.

[0078] 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.

[0079] 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.

[0080] 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).

[0081] 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 date and time 609 indicates the date and time when an order specifying the item of interest is received. The work date and time 610 indicates the date and time when a specific work related to the item of interest (e.g., picking, loading, inspection, packing, etc.) is to be performed. In addition to or instead of this information, information on work deadlines and shipping deadlines may also be included.

[0082] The priority flag 611 is a flag that is assigned to orders (slip numbers or shipping box groups) that should be prioritized, such as sudden orders or orders with approaching deadlines. An order with the priority flag 611 set to "Yes" has a higher priority than an order without the priority flag 611. The priority flag 611 may also have multiple levels of priority, such as "high," "normal," and "low."

[0083] The priority flag 611 may be assigned automatically, for example, when there is less than a predetermined time remaining until the work deadline, when the order is an express order, etc., or may be assigned by input by a manager and / or worker. Also, if an order is divided into multiple shipping boxes and the status 601 of some shipping boxes indicates that picking has been completed, but the status 601 of the remaining shipping boxes indicates that picking has not been completed, the priority flag 611 may be assigned to the remaining shipping boxes for the purpose of improving efficiency, such as preventing items related to the order from being backed up.

[0084] FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the inventory table 54.

[0085] 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 area 101. The inventory table 54 may also have a record for each pair of an item and an in-area location 705 of the storage area 101. Each record holds information such as an item name 701, an item ID 702, a quantity in stock 703, a storage area 704, an in-area location 705, a storage container ID 706, an in-container location 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 description of FIG. 9).

[0086] 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 area 704 represents the ID of the storage area 101 in which the item of interest is located. Position in area 705 represents the position of the item of interest in the storage area 101. Storage container ID 706 represents the ID of the storage container located at the position represented by position in area 705. Position in container 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.

[0087] The configuration of the information 705 to 707 differs depending on the storage area 101. For example, if the storage area 101 is the automated storage area 101B, the in-area position 705 is made up of values ​​representing the ID of the automated storage area 101B and the position within the automated storage area (column, row, and column), the storage container ID 706 is made up of a value representing the ID of a bucket that is a storage container used in the automated storage area 101B, and the in-container position 707 is made up of a value representing the opening within the bucket. If the storage area 101 is the flat storage area 101A, the in-area position 705 is made up of values ​​representing the ID of the flat storage area 101A and the position within the flat storage area 101A (for example, column, row, and column (or column, row)). When storage area 101 is shelf transport area 101C, in-area position 705 is composed of values ​​representing the storage section ID (or address) of the mobile shelf, the surface of the mobile shelf, the level of the mobile shelf, and the frontage of the mobile shelf, storage container ID 706 is composed of a value representing the ID of the mobile shelf, and in-container position 707 is composed of a value representing the position within the frontage of the mobile shelf.When storage area 101 is flow shelf area 101D, in-area position 705 is composed of a value representing the ID of the flow shelf, and in-container position 707 is composed of a value representing the position within the flow shelf.

[0088] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the storage area table 57. As shown in FIG.

[0089] The storage area table 57 is a table that stores information about the storage area 101. The storage area table 57 has a record for each in-area location. Each record holds information such as a storage area 801, a method 802, a temporary waiting area 803, an in-area location 804, and a station ID 805. Take one in-area location as an example ("in-area location of interest" in the explanation of FIG. 10).

[0090] The storage area 801 indicates the type of the storage area 101 having the position within the area of ​​interest. The method 802 indicates the method of retrieval or picking.

[0091] 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 area 101, or may be managed for each WS (or for each 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.

[0092] The in-area position 804 indicates a position within the area of ​​interest. The station ID 805 indicates the ID of a WS (WS from which delivery is possible) corresponding to the in-area position.

[0093] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the transport device table 53. As shown in FIG.

[0094] 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 area 1106, a destination location 1107, and an expected arrival date and time 1108. Take one transport device 3 as an example (referred to as "target transport device 3" in the explanation of FIG. 11).

[0095] 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 "transport device 04-R" and "transport device 04-L" indicate 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 "transport device 04", 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 "transport device 04".

[0096] 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.

[0097] 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).

[0098] Storage area 1106 represents a storage area to which the particular transport device 3 is to be moved. Destination position 1107 represents a location to which the particular transport device 3 is to be moved, and may be a location related to storage area 1106 or a location near storage area 1106. For example, it may be a parking area in front of the WS (work area) of storage area 1106, or a temporary waiting area.

[0099] The expected arrival date and time 1108 is the expected date and time when the target transportation device 3 will arrive at the destination. The expected arrival date and time 1108 may be, for example, a date and time calculated by the integrated WCS program 51 (or the WCS program 50) based on the movement route of the target transportation device 3 to the destination.

[0100] FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the movement area table 60. As shown in FIG.

[0101] 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).

[0102] 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.

[0103] 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.

[0104] When a transport device such as a conveying device travels within the storage area 101, a table similar to the movement area table 60 may be managed for the storage area 101. In this case, the WCS program 50 that controls the transport device may primarily refer to or update the table.

[0105] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the shipping box table 59.

[0106] 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).

[0107] 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.

[0108] 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.

[0109] 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).

[0110] 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.

[0111] FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the loading operation management table 582.

[0112] The loading operation management table 582 is a table related to loading operations. The loading operation management table 582 has a record for each loading operation. 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 date and time 1407, a scheduled end date and time 1408, and an operation status 1409. Take one loading operation as an example ("notable loading operation" in the explanation of Figure 14).

[0113] 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.

[0114] 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.

[0115] The estimated start date and time 1407 indicates the estimated start date and time of the target loading operation. The estimated end date and time 1408 indicates the estimated end date and time of the target loading operation. The estimated start date and time 1407 may be calculated by the integrated WCS program 51 or the WCS program 50 based on the estimated date and time of the transport device 3's arrival at the WS along the travel route and the estimated length of time (or estimated end date and time) required for loading operations performed before the target loading operation. The estimated end date and time 1408 may be calculated by the integrated WCS program 51 or the WCS program 50 based on the estimated start date and time 1407 and the estimated length of time required for the target 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 quantity of items to be loaded, the average time required for loading, 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.

[0116] 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.

[0117] In addition, the loading work management table 582 may manage records for each WS, for example by creating a table for each WS, so that the status of loading work at each WS can be known, and the order of the records may be the order in which the conveying device 3 (shipping box 87) arrives at each WS.

[0118] FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the picking work management table 581.

[0119] 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 date and time 1506, a scheduled end date and time 1507, and a work status 1508. Take one picking work as an example ("picking work of interest" in the explanation of FIG. 15).

[0120] 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.

[0121] 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.

[0122] The estimated start date and time 1506 indicates the estimated start date and time of the target picking operation. The estimated end date and time 1507 indicates the estimated end date and time of the target picking operation. The estimated start date and time 1506 may be calculated by the integrated WCS program 51 or the WCS program 50 based on the estimated date and time of the storage container's arrival at the WS and the estimated length of time (or estimated end date and time) required for picking operations performed before the target picking operation. The estimated end date and time 1507 may be calculated by the integrated WCS program 51 or the WCS program 50 based on the estimated start date and 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 operator performing the picking operation. Note that the picking operation may be performed by a robot instead of or in addition to an operator.

[0123] 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.

[0124] In addition, the picking work management table 581 may manage records for each WS, for example by creating a table for each WS, so that the status of picking work at each WS can be understood, and the order of the records may be the order in which the items (storage containers) arrive at each WS.

[0125] There is also 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.

[0126] 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 control device 4 receives periodically or irregularly from each transport device 3, each material handling facility 161, and each station terminal 710.

[0127] 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 in the destination storage area 101. "WCS program 50Y" is the WCS program 50 corresponding to the transport device 3.

[0128] 16, in S1601, the integrated WCS program 51 selects one or more records from the order table 55, whose work date / time 610 corresponds to a predetermined work date / time. Note that an order with the priority flag 611 set to "Yes" may be given priority over orders without a priority flag in at least some of the following order processing steps (including, for example, priority in the order of retrieval of items from the material handling equipment 161 in the storage area 101, and the order of arrival and / or waiting of the conveying device 3 in the parking area 164).

[0129] 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 shipping box selection processing. 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 (e.g., 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.

[0130] In S1603, the integrated WCS program 51 refers to the transport device table 53.

[0131] 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").

[0132] In S1605, the integrated WCS program 51 sends a movement request to the WCS program 50Y to move the identified transport device 3 to the 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).

[0133] 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.

[0134] 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 that the transport device 3 has arrived at the supply WS.

[0135] In S1608, the integrated WCS program 51 receives the arrival completion report.

[0136] 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).

[0137] 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).

[0138] 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.

[0139] 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.

[0140] In S1612, the integrated WCS program 51 receives the report of the completion of loading 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).

[0141] In S1613, the integrated WCS program 51 updates the order table 55. For example, the integrated WCS program 51 assigns the loaded shipping boxes 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.

[0142] As a variant example, if a shipping box ID is set in S1602 (Figure 16) 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.

[0143] 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 area 101 that stores the item corresponding to the target slip number (the item whose status 601 indicates that picking or loading is incomplete).

[0144] 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 area 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 WS (for example, work capacity and congestion status), the location and transfer status of each transport device 3 (for example, transfer destination and estimated arrival date and time), the items to be shipped, etc., and determines (selects) the destination storage area and destination location (for example, a WS or temporary waiting area in the destination storage area 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 (for example, the device status 1105, storage area 1106, and destination location 1107).

[0145] In S1616, the integrated WCS program 51 determines whether the destination storage area 101 is a GTP area (an area to which GTP is applied) by referring to the storage area table 57. If the determination result in S1616 is false (S1616: NO), the process proceeds to S1632 (FIG. 20).

[0146] 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.

[0147] 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.

[0148] 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.

[0149] In S1620, the integrated WCS program 51 receives the arrival completion report.

[0150] As shown in Figure 19, in S1621, the integrated WCS program 51 sends a shipping request to ship an item (the item corresponding to the target slip number) from the destination storage area 101 to the corresponding WCS program 50X, which is the material handling equipment 161 in the destination storage area 101.

[0151] 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 equipment 161. Note that the shipping instruction may include, for example, some or all of information indicating the shipping destination WS in the storage area 101 and the arrival order and timing of the items.

[0152] For example, the WCS program 50X refers to the inventory table 54 to identify the in-area 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 area table 57 to identify the in-area location 804 corresponding to the in-area location 705, identify the station ID 805 corresponding to the in-area location 804, and identify (determine) the WS to which the item will be shipped (shipping destination WS, delivery destination WS).

[0153] 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.

[0154] In S1623, the WCS program 50X receives status information indicating the warehousing status and transport status of the items from the material handling equipment 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 area 101 and the arrival order and timing of the items.

[0155] In S1624, the integrated WCS program 51 receives a report containing status information on the shipping status and the transport status.

[0156] 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 in the destination storage area 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 stop 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 area 101 and loaded onto the conveyance device 3, the number of items, and the item positions (positions within the area or positions within the container).

[0157] In S1626, the WCS program 50Y transmits to the transfer device 3 a movement instruction to the transfer device 3 to the destination position (WS in the storage area 101) of the transfer device 3 in accordance with the movement request.

[0158] 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.

[0159] In S1628, the station terminal 710 of the storage WS displays work instructions for picking and / or loading based on the output request.

[0160] 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.

[0161] In S1630, the integrated WCS program 51 receives the arrival completion report.

[0162] 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).

[0163] 18: NO, the process proceeds to S1632 in Fig. 20, as described above. In S1632, the integrated WCS program 51 sends a movement request to the WCS program 50Y to move the transport device 3 to the destination position (storage WS) in the destination storage area 101.

[0164] 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.

[0165] 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.

[0166] In S1635, the integrated WCS program 51 receives the arrival completion report.

[0167] 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 in the destination storage area 101 and loaded onto the conveying device 3, the number of items, and the item positions (positions within the area or positions within the container).

[0168] In S1637, the station terminal 710 displays work instructions for picking and loading based on the output request.

[0169] 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.

[0170] 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).

[0171] 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).

[0172] 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 into the shipping box). If the determination result of S1641 is false (S1641: NO), the process returns to S1614 in Figure 18. In other words, another destination storage area is identified, and the same process proceeds.

[0173] 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.

[0174] 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.

[0175] 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.

[0176] 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.

[0177] 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.

[0178] 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).

[0179] 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.

[0180] 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).

[0181] In this embodiment, a new record is added to the order table 55, for example, each time a new order arrives from a customer. Also, in the flowcharts (e.g., S1615) shown in Figures 16 to 21, when a temporary waiting area is set as the destination location, an area with a high degree of appropriateness is selected from one or more temporary waiting areas according to the wait location appropriateness described below, and determined (selected) as the destination location. One temporary waiting area may be one section inside or outside the movement area 150. In the following description, the temporary waiting area will be referred to as a "waiting position." In this embodiment, there are multiple waiting positions. In the following description, a "position" such as a waiting position or a destination position may be synonymous with a "section" in the movement area 150.

[0182] Furthermore, the term "picking work" refers to work performed at a work station, 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. 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.

[0183] The control device 4 (an example of a control system) includes an interface device 45 (an example of an interface device), a memory 41, a storage device 42 (an example of a storage device), and a processor 40 (an example of a processor) connected to the interface device 45, the memory 41, and the storage device 42. A logistics facility (e.g., a warehouse or a logistics center) includes multiple storage facilities 101 that differ in at least one of storage method, retrieval method, and picking method. Each of the multiple storage facilities 101 includes a workstation 163, which is an area where item picking operations are performed, and a parking area 164, which is an area where the conveying device 3 stops. One or more of the multiple storage facilities 101 may include material handling equipment 161. The interface device 45 may communicate with the material handling equipment 161 of the one or more storage facilities 101 and the multiple conveying devices 3. The storage device 42 may store an inventory table 54 (an example of inventory information) that includes information about the inventory of items located in each of the multiple storage facilities 101. There may be only one storage facility 101 and one WS 163. There may be multiple standby positions for each storage facility 101, or some or all of the multiple standby positions may be common to some or all of the multiple storage facilities 101.

[0184] The integrated WCS program 51 and the multiple WCS programs 50 may be distributed across multiple physical or virtual computers, or the integrated WCS program 51 may include each WCS program 50 .

[0185] FIG. 22 is a flowchart showing the flow of control for putting the transport device 3 into standby mode.

[0186] 22 may be part of the process in which the processor 40 plans movement instructions for some or all of the transport devices 3, and may be executed at predetermined timings. The "predetermined timings" may be, for example, at regular intervals, when the availability of a work station or a standby position changes, when a standby transport device 3 occurs, or a combination of some or all of these timings.

[0187] In S2301, the processor 40 (the integrated WCS program 51 and / or the WCS program 50) checks whether there is a transport device 3 waiting.

[0188] If the determination result of S2301 is false (S2301: NO), the processor 40 does not perform control based on the appropriateness of the standby position. However, if standby control was already being performed before the determination of S2301 was performed, the processor 40 continues that standby control.

[0189] If the determination result in S2301 is true (S2301: YES), in S2302, the processor 40 calculates the suitability of some or all of the waiting positions for some or all of the transport devices 3 (typically, for each transport device 3 that is waiting). A specific method for calculating the suitability will be described later, but for each transport device 3, the processor 40 calculates the suitability of each waiting position based on at least one of the travel cost between each waiting position and the destination position and the time remaining until the deadline for arrival at the destination position (for example, the date and time represented by the scheduled start date and time 1407 or the scheduled arrival date and time 1108). Because the time remaining until the arrival deadline changes over time, the suitability also changes over time.

[0190] In S2303, the processor 40 controls the conveying device 3 so as to select a standby position with high suitability. At this time, the processor 40 may directly control the operations of the plurality of conveying devices 3 (for example, the processor 40 may select a standby position with the highest suitability and transmit a movement instruction associated with the position information of the selected standby position to the conveying device 3), or may update the operation plan (for example, the route table 23) of the plurality of conveying devices 3.

[0191] As described above, the work station is a destination for goods to be delivered from the storage facility 101 that stores goods (typically inventory goods). Near (for example, next to) the work station, there is a stopping area 164 (an example of a stopping position) where the conveying device 3 can dock. The conveying device 3 is loaded with a shipping box that can hold one or more goods, and moves to the stopping area 164 of the work station that is the destination position, with one or more work stations as its destination position. The goods are transferred to the conveying device 3 that has stopped in the stopping area 164. Strictly speaking, the destination position may be the stopping area 164 of the work station. The waiting position may be a position used for waiting when the stopping area 164 of the work station to which the conveying device 3 is to move is full, or may be a position used for waiting in other cases.

[0192] The storage device 42 stores, for each of the multiple transport devices 3, information (storage area 1106) indicating a work station as the destination position of the transport device 3, and information (estimated arrival date and time 1108 or estimated start date and time 1407) indicating a deadline for the transport device to arrive at the destination position. When the processor 40 makes one or more of the multiple transport devices 3 wait at a standby position at each predetermined timing, the processor 40 determines the appropriateness of the standby position for each of the one or more transport devices 3 based on the information stored in the storage device 42 (e.g., the storage area 1106 for each transport device 3 and the estimated arrival date and time 1108 for each transport device 3 or the estimated start date and time 1407 for each work station), based on the travel cost from the standby position to the destination position of the transport device and the remaining time from the predetermined timing until the deadline for arrival at the destination position. The processor 40 determines a standby position for each of the one or more conveyance devices 3 based on the suitability of the multiple standby positions, and transmits a movement instruction to the conveyance device 3 via the interface device 45 to move the conveyance device 3 to the determined standby position. This allows the conveyance device 3 to wait in an appropriate position, thereby improving overall conveyance capacity (or work throughput). Specifically, for example, each conveyance device 3 can wait at a standby position that does not interfere with other conveyance devices within a range that allows it to complete its work in time. This reduces movement from a standby position far from the destination position, which directly affects conveyance capacity, and delays to the destination position due to collision avoidance operations of conveyance devices heading to work, thereby suppressing a decrease in conveyance capacity. Note that "every predetermined timing" may be, for example, every fixed time or every time the previous work at the work station is completed. The "movement cost" may be the required movement time or movement distance.

[0193] Hereinafter, one conveying device 3 (for convenience, referred to as "first conveying device 3") will be taken as an example.

[0194] If the second transport device 3 is already waiting at a waiting position that is more suitable for the first transport device 3 (hereinafter referred to as the "first waiting position"), the processor 40 may swap the first transport device 3 with the second transport device 3 (for example, move the second transport device 3 from the first waiting position and have the first transport device 3 wait at the first waiting position), or move the first transport device 3 to the waiting position with the next highest suitability. Alternatively, the processor 40 may calculate the suitability of each waiting position for the second transport device 3 that is already waiting at the first waiting position, and if there is a second waiting position that is more suitable for the second transport device 3 than the first waiting position, move the second transport device 3 to the second waiting position and move the first transport device 3 to the first waiting position.

[0195] Furthermore, for example, as will be described in detail later, the processor 40 may change the standby position of the first conveying device 3 so that the first conveying device 3 gradually approaches the destination position depending on the time remaining until the deadline for the first conveying device 3 to arrive at the destination position. For example, if the first conveying device 3 is standby at standby position A, which has the highest suitability at a certain point in time, and time passes and the suitability of each standby position for the first conveying device 3 changes as a result, the first conveying device 3 may move to and wait at standby position B, which has the highest suitability at the time after the time has passed (a standby position which is ultimately closer to the destination position than standby position A).

[0196] As described above, the suitability of the standby positions of some or all of the conveying devices 3 is updated at predetermined intervals, and the first conveying device 3 repeats movement between standby positions and standby at the standby position at the destination according to the updated suitability. The specific operation of each conveying device 3 differs depending on the method of calculating the suitability used, but a typical example is an operation in which the conveying device 3 gradually approaches the target work station.

[0197] 23A to 26B are schematic diagrams for explaining a method for calculating the appropriateness of the standby position in this embodiment.

[0198] 23A, 24A, 25A, and 26A, there are a plurality of work stations 2401 and a plurality of waiting positions 2402. When distinguishing between the work stations 2401, they may be referred to as "work station A," "work station B," or "work station C."

[0199] Assume that an order has been assigned to the first conveying device 3, a shipping box has already been loaded, and the picking operation for the shipping box has not yet been performed, and the first conveying device 3 will wait at the standby position for work at work station A in preparation for the picking operation. There are three methods for calculating the appropriateness of the standby position, for example:

[0200] FIG. 23A is a schematic diagram of an appropriateness calculation method according to the first aspect.

[0201] For each waiting position 2402, the travel time t required for the first conveying device 3 to travel to the work station A (destination position) is A For each waiting position 2402, the movement time t A depends on the moving speed from the standby position 2402 to the work station A and the moving distance from the standby position 2402 to the work station A. Assuming that the moving speed is the same for all standby positions 2402, the moving time t A is as long as the waiting position 2402 which is far from the work station A.

[0202] For each waiting position 2402, the movement time t A is the remaining time t until the deadline for the first transport device 3 to arrive at the work station A. limit If the distance is shorter, processor 40 calculates the appropriateness of the standby position as high. In Figures 23A, 24A, 25A, and 26A, the darkness of the fill in the standby position indicates the appropriateness. The higher the appropriateness, the darker the shade, and the lower the appropriateness, the lighter the shade.

[0203] FIG. 23B is a diagram illustrating an example of an appropriateness relationship according to the first aspect.

[0204] The "appropriateness relationship" is the relationship between the time required to move from the standby position to the destination position and the appropriateness of the standby position for the movement to the destination position. According to the example shown in FIG. 23B, the appropriateness relationship is A and the suitability V for work station A. A According to FIGS. 23A and 23B, the processor 40 determines whether t A ≦t limit In the case of V A Increase the value of t A >t limit In the case of V A According to Fig. 23A and Fig. 23B, in the first aspect, t A ≦t limit If (i.e., if the first transport device 3 can make it in time for the arrival deadline), then V A is high, t A >t limit If (i.e., if the first transport device 3 cannot meet the arrival deadline), then V A is low.

[0205] As shown in Figures 24A and 24B, t limit As the value of the parameter decreases over time, the range in which the appropriateness is high narrows accordingly. For this reason, it is desirable for the first conveyance device 3 to change its standby position so that it gradually approaches the destination position, i.e., work station A.

[0206] In addition, in order to prevent a waiting position from being selected that would cause the robot to miss work if it does not head to work station A immediately after arriving at the waiting position, the processor 40 calculates the remaining time t limit and the waiting time t wait Furthermore, the remaining time t limit Since varies, the processor 40 limit and the waiting time at the destination waiting position t wait and the time required to move to the waiting position at the destination, t moveTherefore, the processor 40 may increase the suitability of a standby position that satisfies the following formula (1). t A +t wait +t move ≦t limit ···(1)

[0207] FIG. 25A is a schematic diagram for explaining the suitability calculation method according to the second aspect.

[0208] The processor 40 A ≦t limit Among the multiple waiting positions where A V at the standby position where V is relatively large A , t A V at the standby position where V is relatively small A That is, the processor 40 calculates that the V is higher for waiting positions that are farther from the work station A among waiting positions that can meet the arrival deadline. A This prevents the first conveyance device 3 from waiting closer than necessary to the work station A. Therefore, in addition to the first conveyance device 3, there is a second conveyance device 3 as a conveyance device 3 whose destination is the work station A, and the t limit is the t of the first conveying device 3 limit If it is shorter, the second transport device 3 can wait at a waiting position closer to the work station A.

[0209] As described above, when the processor 40 makes the first conveying device 3 wait at any of the waiting positions at each predetermined timing, t A (An example of travel cost) is t limit The appropriateness of the waiting position is defined as t A t limit The appropriateness of a waiting position having a longer waiting time may be set higher than that of a waiting position having a longer waiting time. This allows a suitable waiting position that meets the arrival deadline to be selected. Specifically, the processor 40 selects a waiting position having a longer waiting time for the first transport device 3, and determines whether the waiting time is longer than the arrival time. A ≦t limit The destination standby position may be determined from among standby positions that satisfy the following condition.

[0210] Furthermore, the processor 40 calculates, for each standby position at each predetermined timing, the time t required for the first conveyance device 3 to move from the predetermined timing to the standby position. move (an example of travel cost) and the waiting time t wait The appropriateness of the standby position may be determined based on at least one of the following: This improves the accuracy of the appropriateness of each standby position, thereby contributing to standby at an appropriate standby position of the first conveyance device 3.

[0211] FIG. 25B is a diagram illustrating an example of an appropriateness relationship according to the second aspect.

[0212] As shown in Figure 25B, t A t limit Even if it is shorter than t A The larger the V A is high.

[0213] FIG. 26A is a schematic diagram for explaining an appropriateness calculation method according to the third aspect.

[0214] For each waiting position 2402, the processor 40 increases the ranking of each of the multiple work stations A to C the shorter the travel time t required from the waiting position to the work station, and calculates the suitability of the waiting position so that the higher the ranking of work station A (destination position) for the waiting position, the higher the suitability of the waiting position.

[0215] Specifically, for each waiting position 2402, the time required to move from the waiting position to the work station A is t A The time required to move from the standby position to the work station B is t B The time required to move from the standby position to the work station C is t C The shade of color for each waiting position 2402 shown in FIG. 26A indicates the appropriateness V when the destination position is the work station A. A That is, for each waiting position 2402, the processor 40 A , tB and t C Compare them with each other and A ~t C of t A V at the standby position where is the smallest A This reduces the possibility that the first conveying device 3 will wait at a waiting position near work station B or C, which is not the destination position of the first conveying device 3, and thus makes it possible to avoid interfering with the waiting of other conveying devices 3 whose destination position is work station B or C.

[0216] As described above, the processor 40 calculates the time t A V in the standby position is relatively long A , t A V at the standby position where V is relatively small A This can prevent the first transport device 3 from interfering with the waiting of other transport devices 3.

[0217] The processor 40 calculates the time t A ≦t limit The suitability may be determined for only each waiting position for which t A V in the standby position is relatively long A , t A V in the standby position is relatively short A This allows the selection of an appropriate waiting position from among waiting positions that meet the arrival deadline.

[0218] FIG. 26B is a diagram illustrating an example of an appropriateness relationship according to the third aspect.

[0219] Figure 26B shows the A t A ~t C The smallest V among A is shown by a solid line, and t A t A ~t C V if it is not the smallest among Ais indicated by a dashed line. According to Fig. 26B, similar to the suitability relationship according to the second aspect, the shorter the time required to move to the destination position, the higher the suitability.

[0220] According to the example of the third aspect, the appropriateness changes depending on whether the time required to move to the destination position is the shortest. For example, according to the standby position X shown in FIG. 26A, t A and t C is the same, that is, t A is not the smallest, V at standby position X A is t A V at standby position Y where is the smallest A However, the processor 40 A Depending on whether V is the minimum or not A Instead of calculating the travel time (e.g., t A and t B or t C V A may be calculated.

[0221] As described above, the processor 40 calculates, for each standby position of the first conveyance device 3, the distance t from the standby position to each of the work stations A to C (an example of a plurality of destination positions including the destination position of the first conveyance device 3). A The shorter the V is, the higher the priority is determined, and the higher the priority of the work station A (the destination position of the first conveying device 3), the shorter the V is of the standby position. A This increases the possibility that a standby position that may be more suitable for another conveying device 3 can be vacated by the destination position of the other conveying device 3, thereby increasing the possibility that, for each of two or more conveying devices 3 including the first conveying device 3, the conveying device 3 can be made to wait at the standby position that is most suitable for the conveying device 3.

[0222] The processor 40 calculates the time t A ≦t limit The suitability may be determined only for each of the waiting positions for which the above condition is satisfied, and for each of the working stations A to C (an example of a plurality of destination positions including the destination position of the first conveying device 3), the suitability may be determined only for each of the waiting positions for which the above condition is satisfied, and the suitability may be determined only for each of the working stations A to C (an example of a plurality of destination positions including the destination position of the first conveying device 3) for each of the waiting positions for which the above condition is satisfied,A The shorter the V, the higher the ranking. The higher the ranking of work station A, the shorter the V of the corresponding waiting position. A This allows an appropriate waiting position to be selected from among waiting positions that meet the arrival deadline.

[0223] The above describes three examples of methods based on travel time as methods for calculating suitability. In actual suitability calculations, the processor 40 may combine these examples. For example, the processor 40 may use only the method according to the first aspect, or may add up the suitabilities obtained by the methods according to the first to third aspects using a weighted sum or the like. That is, the processor 40 may determine the suitability of each standby position for the first conveyance device 3 based on at least one of the following (a) to (c): (a)t A ≦t limit whether it is (first aspect), (b)t A is relatively long or short (second perspective), and (c) The ranking of work station A among work stations A to C with respect to the standby position (third viewpoint).

[0224] Furthermore, the processor 40 may combine any of these methods with other methods of calculating suitability. Various other methods of calculating suitability are also possible.

[0225] According to the first modification, when the total number of the transport devices 3 is equal to or exceeds a first threshold value N rоbоt1 If the total number of conveyance devices 3 is equal to or greater than the first threshold N, the processor 40 may use one or more (for example, all) of the appropriateness calculation methods according to the first to third aspects. rоbоt1If the adequacy calculation method is less than the predetermined number, the processor 40 may use the appropriateness calculation method according to the first and / or third aspect. In this way, if it is assumed that the number of transport devices 3 is sufficiently small and no significant congestion will occur, the calculation method according to the second aspect can be omitted, thereby making it possible to select a nearby waiting position without selecting a waiting position unnecessarily far from the target work station, thereby reducing the movement cost of the transport device 3.

[0226] According to the second modification, the number of conveyance devices 3 having the same destination position as the first conveyance device 3 (i.e., the destination position is the work station A) is set to a second threshold N rоbоt2 If the number of conveyance devices 3 located within a certain range of the work station A is less than a third threshold N, the processor 40 may calculate the appropriateness of each waiting position by one or more methods other than the calculation method according to the second aspect. rоbоt3 If the degree of suitability is less than 1 / 2, processor 40 may calculate the suitability for each standby position using one or more methods other than the calculation method according to the second aspect. Both the second and third modifications are expected to have the same effect as the method described in the immediately preceding paragraph.

[0227] Also, according to the method according to the second aspect, t limitA transport device 3 with a shorter distance can wait closer to the work station A (destination position). Another method for achieving the same goal is, for example, the following. Specifically, one method calculates the suitability of each waiting position so that it is higher the shorter the travel distance of the transport device 3 when moving to that waiting position. However, if conditional expression (1) for being able to move to the destination work station A by the arrival deadline is not satisfied, the processor 40 replaces the suitability with the lowest value. Furthermore, in selecting a waiting position, the processor 40 may optimize the combination of the transport device 3 and the waiting position so that the sum of the suitabilities of the waiting positions selected for some or all of the transport devices 3 is maximized. This method allows each transport device 3 to select a waiting position as close as possible within a range that allows it to arrive at the destination work station in time, thereby reducing the travel distance of the transport device 3. To prevent combinatorial explosion in this type of combinatorial optimization, a method may be adopted that limits the scope of the search to transport devices 3 and waiting positions near the work stations, or a suboptimal solution method such as a genetic algorithm may be employed.

[0228] As described above, the processor 40 in this embodiment calculates the suitability of the waiting position based on at least one of these calculation methods, and can select a waiting position that allows each conveying device 3 to move smoothly to its destination position.

[0229] 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.

[0230] 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.

[0231] Furthermore, for example, the integrated WCS program 51 and the WCS program 50 may be executed by the transport device 3 instead of or in addition to the control device 4. Furthermore, the transport device 3 may also function as the control device 4.

[0232] Furthermore, for example, the destination position of the transport device 3 may be a position other than the work station (for example, the charging area 104), and even when the destination position is a position other than the work station, a standby position may be used. [Explanation of symbols]

[0233] 3: conveying device, 4: control device

Claims

1. A control system for controlling the travel of a plurality of conveying devices within a movement area, an interface device; A storage device; a processor connected to the interface device and the storage device; Equipped with the moving area has a plurality of waiting positions; the interface device is in communication with the plurality of transport devices; the storage device stores, for each of the plurality of transport devices, information indicating a destination position of the transport device and information indicating a deadline for the transport device to arrive at the destination position; When the processor causes each of the one or more transport devices among the plurality of transport devices to wait at any one of the waiting positions at each predetermined timing, Based on the information stored in the storage device, for each of the one or more transport devices, determining the appropriateness of each waiting position based on the movement cost from the waiting position to the destination position of the conveying device and the remaining time from the predetermined timing to the arrival deadline at the destination position; determining a standby position of the conveying device based on the suitability of the plurality of standby positions; transmitting a movement instruction to the transport device via the interface device to move the transport device to the determined standby position; A control system comprising:

2. the processor sets, for a first transport device among the one or more transport devices, a suitability of a standby position whose required travel time as the travel cost is equal to or less than the remaining time higher than a suitability of a standby position whose required travel time is longer than the remaining time; 2. The control system of claim 1 .

3. the processor determines a standby position as a destination for the first transport device from among standby positions for which the required time for movement is equal to or less than the remaining time; 3. The control system according to claim 2, wherein:

4. the processor, for a first transport device among the one or more transport devices, sets a suitability of a standby position having a relatively large movement cost higher than a suitability of a standby position having a relatively small movement cost; 2. The control system of claim 1 .

5. the processor, for a first conveyance device among the one or more conveyance devices, among standby positions whose required time for movement as the movement cost is less than or equal to the remaining time, sets a suitability of the standby position whose required time for movement is relatively long higher than a suitability of the standby position whose required time for movement is relatively short.

2. The control system of claim 1 .

6. The processor, for a first transport device of the one or more transport devices: determining a higher ranking for each of a plurality of destination positions including a destination position of the first transport device, the lower the movement cost from the destination position; For each of the standby positions, the higher the priority of the destination position of the first conveying device, the higher the appropriateness of the standby position.

2. The control system of claim 1 .

7. The processor selects, for a first transport device among the one or more transport devices, a waiting position where the required travel time as the travel cost is equal to or less than the remaining time, determining a higher ranking for each of a plurality of destination positions including a destination position of the first transport device, the shorter the required time for movement from the destination position; For each of the standby positions, the higher the priority of the destination position of the first conveying device, the higher the appropriateness of the standby position.

2. The control system of claim 1 .

8. the processor determines, for each of the predetermined timings, for a first transport device among the one or more transport devices, for each of the standby positions, the appropriateness of the standby position further based on at least one of a cost of moving from the predetermined timing to the standby position and a length of standby time at the standby position; 2. The control system of claim 1 .

9. the processor determines, for each of the standby positions, a suitability of the standby position for a first of the one or more standby apparatuses based on at least one of the following (a) to (c): (a) whether the required travel time as the travel cost from the standby position to the destination position of the first transport device is equal to or less than the remaining time; (b) whether the travel time is relatively long or short; (c) determining a higher ranking for each of a plurality of destination positions including the destination position of the first transport device, the shorter the required time for movement from the standby position, and determining the ranking of the destination position of the first transport device; 2. The control system of claim 1 .

10. The processor determines the suitability of the first conveying device based on a factor other than (b) when, for each waiting position, the total number of conveying devices is less than a first threshold value, when the number of conveying devices having the same destination position as the first conveying device is less than a second threshold value, or when the number of conveying devices existing within a certain range from the first conveying device and the destination position is less than a third threshold value.

10. The control system of claim 9.

11. A control method for controlling travel of a plurality of conveying devices within a movement area having a plurality of waiting positions, comprising: When one or more of the plurality of conveying devices are made to wait at any one of the waiting positions at each predetermined timing, for each of the one or more transport devices: determining the appropriateness of each waiting position based on the movement cost from the waiting position to the destination position of the conveying device and the remaining time from the predetermined timing to the arrival deadline at the destination position; determining a standby position of the conveying device based on the suitability of the plurality of standby positions; transmitting to the transport device a movement instruction to move the transport device to the determined standby position; A control method that uses a computer to do this.

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