Transport system, control device and control method

Abstract

To lighten the burden of assortment work even when storage locations of multiple articles corresponding to an order range over a plurality of areas.SOLUTION: When multiple articles corresponding to a first order are arranged in two or more storage areas, a control device is configured to: select a first storage area where some of the articles corresponding to the first order are arranged; control material handling facilities in the first storage area so as to ship some articles from the first storage area; specify a carrying destination WS as a work station where some articles are shipped; and control a first carrier device mounted with a first order container corresponding to the first order to move to a stop area corresponding to the carrying destination WS. After some articles are put in the first order container, the control device controls the first carrier device to move to the stop area corresponding to a second storage area where other articles corresponding to the first order are arranged.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

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

[0002] The background art of this technical field includes a technology related to "a product sorting system that includes a plurality of collection lines configured by providing a collection conveyor along a storage area where products are stored for collection, and in each of the plurality of collection lines, a worker performs picking, which is an operation of taking out necessary products from the storage area and putting them into a collection container that is moving down the collection conveyor, to sort and collect the products for purchasers." For example, there is a technology described in Patent Document 1. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2007-182290 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In logistics centers, the task of picking items (e.g., products) corresponding to orders from each storage area and sorting them into packing units is a heavy workload. In particular, while the EC market is expanding, problems such as a shortage of workers at logistics centers are also occurring, and there is a high need to reduce the workload.

[0005] Therefore, a system is provided that can reduce the workload of sorting even when the storage locations of multiple items corresponding to an order span multiple areas. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The control device stores inventory information including information regarding inventory of items arranged in each of a plurality of storage areas having at least different storage methods, retrieval methods, and picking methods. Each of the plurality of storage areas has one or more workstations (WS) and one or more stop areas. Each of the one or more WSs is an area that can be a retrieval destination of an item from the storage area associated with the WS, and is an area where an operation of picking the retrieval item and / or placing the picked item in an order container is performed. Each of the one or more stop areas is an area where a transport device stops. One or more of the plurality of storage areas has material handling equipment. The control device communicates with the material handling equipment of the one or more storage areas and with a plurality of transport devices including a first transport device that loads a first order container corresponding to a first order. When it is determined from the inventory information that a plurality of items corresponding to the first order are located in two or more of the plurality of storage areas, the control device selects a first storage area among the two or more storage areas in which some of the items corresponding to the first order are located, controls the material handling equipment of the first storage area to retrieve the some of the items corresponding to the first order from the first storage area, identifies a destination WS which is the WS to which the some of the items are retrieved, and controls the first conveying device carrying a first order container corresponding to the first order to move to a stop area corresponding to the destination WS. After the some of the retrieved items are placed in the first order container carried by the first conveying device, the control device controls the first conveying device to move to a stop area corresponding to a second storage area in which another portion of the items corresponding to the first order is located. Effect of the Invention

[0007] According to the present invention, even when the storage locations of multiple items corresponding to an order span multiple areas, the workload of sorting can be reduced. Problems, configurations, and effects other than those described above will become apparent from the following description of the embodiment of the invention. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1]FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an outline of a plurality of types of areas in an embodiment. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of a configuration of a moving area. [Figure 3A] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a conveying device and loading onto the conveying device. [Figure 3B] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing another example of a conveying device and loading onto the conveying device. [Figure 4A] FIG. 13 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. 13 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a shelf transport area. [Figure 4D] FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a fluid shelf area. [Diagram 5] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a packing area. [Figure 6] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a part of a specific configuration example of elements in a transport system. [Figure 7] 11A to 11C are diagrams illustrating the remaining specific configuration examples of elements in the transport system. [Figure 8] FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of an order table. [Figure 9] FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of an inventory table. [Figure 10] FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a storage area table. [Figure 11] FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a transport device table. [Figure 12] FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a travel area table. [Figure 13] FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a shipping box table. [Figure 14] FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a loading operation management table. [Figure 15] FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a picking operation management table. [Figure 16] 13 is a flowchart showing a part of the flow of order processing. [Figure 17] 13 is a flowchart showing a part of the flow of order processing. [Figure 18] 13 is a flowchart showing a part of the flow of order processing. [Figure 19] 13 is a flowchart showing a part of the flow of order processing. [Figure 20] 13 is a flowchart showing a part of the flow of order processing. [Figure 21] 13 is a flowchart showing a part of the flow of order processing. [Figure 22] 13 is a flowchart showing the flow of a shipping box selection process. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] In the following description, an "interface unit" may refer to one or more interface devices. The one or more interface devices 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 to at least one of the I / O devices and a remote display computer. The I / O interface device to the display computer may be a communications interface device. The at least one I / O device may be a user interface device, e.g., 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., a NIC and an HBA (Host Bus Adapter)).

[0010] In the following description, a "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.

[0011] In the following description, a "persistent storage device" may be one or more persistent storage devices, which are an example of one or more persistent storage devices. A persistent storage device may typically be a non-volatile storage device (e.g., an auxiliary storage device), and more 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).

[0012] Also, in the following description, "storage device" may be "memory" and / or "persistent storage device."

[0013] Furthermore, in the following description, a "processor" may be 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 other types of processor devices 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 be a processor core. The at least one processor device may also be a broader processor device such as a circuit that is a collection of gate arrays written in a hardware description language that performs part or all of the processing (e.g., an FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array), a CPLD (Complex Programmable Logic Device), or an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit)).

[0014] In the following description, information that provides an output for an input may be described using expressions such as "xxx table," but the 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 configuration 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.

[0015] In addition, in the following description, processing may be described with a "program" as the subject, but since a program is executed by a processor to perform a defined 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). 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.

[0016] Furthermore, any information (for example, at least one of an "ID", a "name", and a "number") may be adopted as information for identifying an element (identification information, identifier).

[0017] 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.

[0018] 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, and minute.

[0019] 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, parts of an area of ​​a logistics facility (for example, a warehouse or a logistics center). A logistics facility is, for example, a storehouse used by a mail-order company or a device manufacturing company to store items. The items stored in the logistics facility may be, for example, products or parts.

[0020] The conveying system includes a plurality of conveying devices 3 traveling in a moving area 150, and a control device 4 that remotely controls the movement of each conveying device 3. A shipping box 87 (see FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B) is loaded on the conveying device 3, and an item (e.g., a product or a part) is placed in the shipping box 87. The "shipping box 87" is a container (e.g., a box) in which items to be packed in the same box (e.g., a cardboard box) as a shipping unit (packing unit) are placed, and may 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. When 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 box (e.g., a cardboard box) to be shipped by a worker or a work robot, packed, and shipped. Alternatively, the shipping box 87 may be the box to be shipped itself.

[0021] The movement area 150 includes an inspection area 103, a charging area 104, a waiting area 105, and an anomaly response area 106. The inspection area 103 is an area where inspection of items in the shipping boxes 87 loaded on the conveying device 3 is performed. The charging area 104 is an area where charging of the conveying device 3 is performed. The waiting area 105 is an area where the conveying device 3 waits. The anomaly response area 106 is an area where an anomaly of the conveying device 3 is responded to. At least one of the areas 103 to 106 may be 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 items are 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).

[0022] 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, it is assumed that an empty shipping box 87 is supplied in the shipping box supply area 100, but a shipping box 87 may be supplied in a state where some of the items to be packed in the same box as a shipping unit are contained, for example, where items obtained outside the conveying system are 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 the shipping boxes 87 containing the items are packed.

[0023] The multiple storage areas 101 differ in at least one of the 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.

[0024] 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 perpendicular to the x direction.

[0025] 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 section (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).

[0026] For example, when the moving area 150 includes areas on multiple floors or areas above and below a mezzanine, the z-coordinate can be used to express the area position in the height direction 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 moving 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, only the shipping box may be transported by the vertical conveyor, or the conveyor device 3 loaded with the shipping box may be transported by the vertical conveyor.

[0027] A marker (not shown) indicating the position of the section 201 may be written in each section 201. The marker may include information for identifying the position of the section, and may be, for example, the position information of the section, or information associated with the position information of the section (for example, 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 the section 201. Each transport device 3 transmits the information of the read marker together with the identification information of the transport device 3 to the control device 4. The control device 4 identifies the position of each transport device 3 based on the identification information of the transport device 3 and the information of the marker received from each transport device 3. A plate-like member is 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 rotate within the section 201.

[0028] The conveying device 3 and the shipping box 87 may be, for example, smaller than one section 201. The method of setting the sections may be modified in various ways. Also, a section (for example, section (3,1)) into which the conveying device 3 must not enter may be provided.

[0029] As shown by the arrows in FIG. 2, for each section 201 in the movement area 150, the direction in which the conveying device 3 can move in the 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 conveying device 3 can move). In addition, the sections 201 may be set to be movable in both directions, or may be set to be movable in only one direction. For example, by setting some sections 201 to be movable in only one direction, it is expected that the occurrence of congestion of the conveying device 3 can be suppressed or reduced, and the overall movement efficiency can be improved. In addition, if there are many sections 201 between which the conveying device 3 can move only in one direction, the movement path of the conveying device 3 may be long, so the direction in which the conveying device 3 can move may be set in advance depending on the number of conveying 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.

[0030] Referring again to FIG. 1, the conveying device 3 is a device that moves according to a movement instruction from the control device 4, and may typically be an AGV (Automatic Guided Vehicle). For example, the conveying device 3 starts moving from the shipping box supply area 100 with an empty shipping box 87 loaded thereon, moves to two or more (or one) storage areas 101, and arrives at the packing area 102 via the inspection area 103 with the items placed in the shipping box 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, the 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 follows, 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.

[0031] There are orders in which multiple different items are specified, and for each order, the control device 4 assigns one or multiple shipping boxes 87 to the order, and the one or multiple shipping boxes 87 are loaded onto one or multiple conveying devices 3. For example, when all items corresponding to a certain 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, or may be assigned to multiple shipping boxes 87 when the items do not fit into the same shipping box 87. The control device 4 prevents one shipping box 87 from being assigned to multiple orders with different delivery destinations. The order of movement from the shipping box supply area 100 to the packing area 102 may be specified in one movement instruction, or may be an order determined by a combination of multiple movement instructions. The "movement instruction" transmitted to the conveying device 3 is associated with information indicating a movement task assigned to the conveying device 3. In this embodiment, the "movement" of the conveying device 3 refers to the movement of the conveying device 3 in general, regardless of whether or not there is a transported object (shipping box 87 or an item in the shipping box 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 when it is carrying an object to be conveyed is sometimes referred to as "transportation". The 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 the movement task may include, for example, a movement route along which the conveying device 3 moves, and a movement direction of the conveying device 3.

[0032] As shown in Fig. 3A, the conveying device 3 has a platform 85, and a shipping box 87 is 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.

[0033] 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 the control device 4 to charge, and the control device 4 may respond to the request to charge and instruct the transport device 3 to move to the charging area 104 and charge.

[0034] The storage areas 101A to 101D will be described below. In the 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 composed of 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).

[0035] FIG. 4A is a schematic diagram showing an example of the flat placement area 101A.

[0036] The flat placement 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 for goods and picks them up.

[0037] The flat placement area 101A includes an item area 400 and one or more work areas 163A, and a stop 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 laid flat. The item area 400 may be provided with shelves as the storage locations 2, and items may be placed on the shelves. The stop area 164A is an area where the conveying device 3 stops. In the work area 163A, in accordance with a work instruction from the control device 4, an operator places (loads) items picked from the storage locations 2 into a shipping box 87 of the conveying device 3 that is stopped in the stop area 164A adjacent to the work area 163A.

[0038] FIG. 4B is a schematic diagram showing an example of the automated storage area 101B.

[0039] The automated warehouse area 101B is an example of an area to which GTP (Goods To Person) is applied. According to GTP, goods (goods) are transported by a robot (or other device) to the location of a worker (person) who picks the goods.

[0040] The automated warehouse area 101B includes an automated warehouse 161B, one or more conveyors 162, and one or more work areas 163B, and a stop area 164B adjacent to the work area 163B is provided for each work area 163B. The automated warehouse 161B outputs (dispatches) an item to any of the conveyors 162 in accordance with an outgoing instruction from the control device 4. The conveyor 162 transports the item 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 item being transported by the conveyor 162. The stop area 164B is an area where the transport device 3 stops. The item picked in the work area 163B is placed by an operator into a shipping box 87 of the transport device 3 stopped in the stop area 164B adjacent to the work area 163B.

[0041] In the moving area 150, a temporary waiting area 165 corresponding to each storage area 101 may be provided, or may not be provided. The temporary waiting area 165 corresponding to each storage area 101 may be provided for each work area 163, or for each stop area 164, or a temporary waiting area 165 corresponding to a plurality of work areas 163 or stop areas 164 may be provided. In this embodiment, a temporary waiting area 165 corresponding to the automated warehouse area 101B may be provided. The temporary waiting area 165 is an area where the conveying device 3 moving to the stop area 164B temporarily waits. The temporary waiting area 165 may be provided near the stop area 164B. For example, when the conveying device 3 has stopped at all the stop areas 164B, the conveying device 3 temporarily waits in the temporary waiting area 165. The temporary waiting area 165 may be provided in the automated warehouse area 101B or in another storage area 101 instead of or in addition to the transfer area 150. The temporary waiting area 165 may be provided inside or outside the storage area 101. For example, the temporary waiting area 165 may be included in the waiting area 105.

[0042] FIG. 4C is a schematic diagram showing an example of the shelf transport area 101C.

[0043] The shelf transport area 101C is an example of an area to which GTP is applied. In the shelf transport area 101C, a plurality of shelves 5 are arranged, and a plurality of items are placed on the plurality of shelves 5. In the shelf transport area 101C, the transport device 161C transports the shelves 5 according to a warehousing instruction (movement instruction) from the control device 4. The shelf transport area 101C includes one or more work areas 163C, and a stop area 164C adjacent to the work area 163C is provided for each work area 163C. The work area 163C is an area where an item is picked up by an operator from the shelf 5 transported by the transport device 161C. The stop area 164C is an area where the transport device 3 stops. In the work area 163C, the item picked up is placed by an operator into a shipping box 87 of the transport device 3 stopped in the stop area 164C adjacent to the work area 163C.

[0044] FIG. 4D is a schematic diagram showing an example of the fluidized shelf area 101D.

[0045] The flow shelf area 101D includes a flow shelf 450 and one or more work areas 163D, and a stop area 164D adjacent to the work area 163D is provided for each work area 163D. The flow shelf 450 has trays arranged vertically, and articles are lined up on each tray. In the work area 163D, a worker picks an article from the flow shelf 450 in accordance with a work instruction from the control device 4, and places the picked article in a shipping box 87 of the conveyance device 3 parked in the stop area 164D adjacent to the work area 163D.

[0046] In this way, the plurality of storage areas 101A to 101D differ in at least one of the storage method, the retrieval method, and the picking method.

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

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

[0049] For each conveyor 171, the stopping area 174 is in the vicinity of (for example, adjacent to) the working area 173. In the working area 173, a worker transfers a shipping box 87 from the conveying 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 the packing machine 172, the packed shipping box 87 is transported by the conveyor 171, and eventually shipped (delivered). Alternatively, the goods put 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, the packed box is transported by the conveyor 171, and eventually shipped (delivered).

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

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

[0052] The transport system includes a control device 4, a transport device 3, a 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 is capable of communicating via the network 551. The transport system may be called a "logistics system."

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

[0054] The controller 10 is a controller that controls the operation of the transport device 3 in response to 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.

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

[0056] The sensor 14 is a device for collecting information on the floor surface on which the conveying device 3 travels and various information related to the conveying device 3. For example, the sensor 14 can read information on a marker 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 an image of the state of the section 201, a vibration sensor for detecting vibrations received by the conveying device 3 during movement, 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 a load (conveyed object), and a gyro sensor for measuring the orientation of the conveying device 3.

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

[0058] The route table 23 is a table in which the above-mentioned movement instruction received from the control device 4 and information representing the movement route specified by the movement instruction are stored (the information representing the movement route may include information on the section of the movement route, etc.). The device table 24 is a table in which the ID of the transport device 3, the current position (section), and the status (e.g., "waiting", "moving", or "transporting") are stored. The map table 25 is a table in which information representing the position and attributes (e.g., which area it belongs to) of each section is stored. The map table 25 may include information as exemplified in FIG. 2. The measurement table 27 is a table in which values ​​measured by multiple types of sensors 14 (e.g., speed, acceleration, turning, weight, position (value read from the marker), photographed images of the section, etc.) are stored. The performance table 28 is a table in which information representing the movement performance including the route and date and time traveled by the transport device 3 is stored.

[0059] 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 a part of the information among the tables 23 to 25, 27, and 28 to the control device 4 in response to a request from the control device 4 (or without a request). 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 timing.

[0060] The movement control program 30 is a program that controls the movement of the transport device 3 in response to a movement instruction received from the control device 4 through 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.

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

[0062] The 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) realized on one or more physical computers (e.g., a cloud platform). Each device of the control device 4 may be arranged on one physical computer, or may be arranged on multiple physical computers in a distributed manner. Each program and each piece of information held by the storage device 42 may be stored in one storage device, or may be stored separately in multiple storage devices in a distributed manner. Instead of the input device 43 and the output device 44, information may be input and output via a client system that can communicate through the interface device 45.

[0063] The processor 40 is a device that controls the operation of the entire 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 for an 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, the material handling equipment 161, and the station terminal 710 by a predetermined wireless communication method, and may be composed of, for example, a wireless LAN card.

[0064] The storage device 42 stores, for example, a transport 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 (for example, a table storing the position (coordinates) and attributes of each section) representing a map of the movement area 150 (and each stop area) (this table 56 may be distributed to each transport device 3 and stored as the map table 25 in each transport device 3). The map table 56 may include information as exemplified in FIG. 2.

[0065] The storage device 42 stores an integrated WCS program 51 and a plurality of 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 transport device 3 and the material handling equipment 161. The WCS program 50 controls the material handling equipment 161 or the transport 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 transport device 161C). The third WCS program 50 controls the transport device 3.

[0066] 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 entering, storing, retrieving, etc., 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 them.

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

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

[0069] The station terminal 710 is an information processing terminal provided in a WS (work station (i.e., work area 163)), which displays a work management table 770, which is an example of information related to the worker's work (e.g., picking work or loading work), and 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. The WS may also be called a work station or working station.

[0070] The interface device 731 is a device for communicating with the control device 4 by 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 including information corresponding to the WS among the work management tables 58 possessed by the control device 4. The processor 733 executes a program in the storage device 732, thereby controlling the operation of the entire 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 the work by the worker, such as the completion of the work. The output device may output instructions related to the work to the worker.

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

[0072] The order table 55 is a table in which various information related to orders from customers is stored. 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 ("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 one order even if the types of items (for example, item name 605 and item ID 606) are different.

[0073] Status 601 indicates the work status regarding the item of interest. Invoice number 602 indicates the number of the order (invoice number) for which the item of interest is specified.

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

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

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

[0077] 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 is an order with a higher priority than an order without the priority flag 611. The priority flag 611 may be a multi-level priority such as "high," "normal," and "low."

[0078] The priority flag 611 may be automatically assigned when, for example, a predetermined time is remaining until the deadline for work or when the order is an express order, or may be assigned by input from a manager and / or worker. Also, when 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.

[0079] FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the inventory table 54. As shown in FIG.

[0080] The inventory table 54 is a table in which information about items is stored. The inventory table 54 has a record for each pair of an item and a storage area 101. The inventory table 54 may have a record for each pair of an item and an in-area position 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 position 705, a storage container ID 706, an in-container position 707, a number of withdrawals 708, and an item size and weight 709. Take one item as an example ("item of interest" in the explanation of FIG. 9).

[0081] Item name 701 indicates the name of the item of interest. Item ID 702 indicates the ID of the item of interest. Stock quantity 703 indicates the number of items of interest in stock. Storage area 704 indicates the ID of the storage area 101 in which the item of interest is located. Position within area 705 indicates the position of the item of interest in the storage area 101. Storage container ID 706 indicates the ID of the storage container located at the position indicated by position within area 705. Position within container 707 indicates the position of the item of interest in the storage container. Number of times removed 708 indicates the number of times the item has been removed from storage. Item size and weight 709 indicates the size or weight of the item.

[0082] The configuration of the information 705 to 707 differs depending on the storage area 101. For example, when the storage area 101 is the automated warehouse area 101B, the in-area position 705 is composed of a value representing the ID of the automated warehouse area 101B and a position in the automated warehouse (column, tier, row), the storage container ID 706 is composed of a value representing the ID of a bucket which is a storage container used in the automated warehouse area 101B, and the in-container position 707 is composed of a value representing the opening in the bucket. When the storage area 101 is the flat placement area 101A, the in-area position 705 is composed of a value representing the ID of the flat placement area 101A and a value representing a position in the flat placement area 101A (for example, column, tier, row (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.

[0083] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the storage area table 57. As shown in FIG.

[0084] The storage area table 57 is a table in which information related to the storage area 101 is stored. The storage area table 57 has a record for each in-area position. Each record holds information such as a storage area 801, a method 802, a temporary waiting area 803, an in-area position 804, and a station ID 805. Take one in-area position as an example ("in-area position of interest" in the explanation of FIG. 10).

[0085] 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.

[0086] A 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.

[0087] An in-area position 804 indicates a position within an area of ​​interest. A station ID 805 indicates the ID of a WS (a WS from which a vehicle can be taken out) corresponding to the in-area position.

[0088] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the transport device table 53. As shown in FIG.

[0089] The transport device table 53 is a table in which information about each transport device 3 is stored. 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 position 1103, a remaining battery level 1104, a device status 1105, a storage area 1106, a destination position 1107, and an expected arrival date and time 1108. Take one transport device 3 as an example ("target transport device 3" in the explanation of FIG. 11).

[0090] 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 FIG. 11, the records with the device ID 1101 being "AGV04-R" and "AGV04-L" represent that a shipping box with a shipping box ID of "B08" is loaded on the right side (R) of the front of the device with the device ID "AGV04", and a shipping box with a shipping box ID of "B09" is loaded on the left side (L) of the front of the device with the device ID "AGV04".

[0091] The position 1103 indicates the coordinates of the section in which the particular transport device 3 is located (that is, the current section). The remaining battery power 1104 indicates the remaining battery power of the particular transport device 3.

[0092] The equipment status 1105 indicates the status of the particular transport device 3. "In motion" means that the particular transport device 3 is moving. "Available" means that no shipping box has been assigned to the particular transport device 3. "Stopped" means that the particular transport device 3 is stopped in a stopping area (or temporary waiting area).

[0093] Storage area 1106 represents a storage area to which the attention transportation device 3 is to be moved. Destination position 1107 represents a destination position of the attention transportation device 3, and may be a place related to the storage area 1106 or a place near the storage area 1106. For example, it may be a parking area in front of a WS (work area) in the storage area 1106, or a temporary waiting area.

[0094] The expected arrival date and time 1108 is the expected date and time when the attention transportation device 3 arrives 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 attention transportation device 3 to the destination.

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

[0096] The travel area table 60 holds information for each section in the travel area 150. The travel area table 60 has a record for each section. Each record holds information such as an address 1201, section setting 1202, station ID 1203, unavailable flag 1204, no-turn flag 1205, and direction 1206. Take one section as an example ("section of interest" in the explanation of FIG. 12).

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

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

[0099] When a transport device such as an AGV travels within the storage 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 mainly refer to or update the table.

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

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

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

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

[0104] Shipping box ID 1305 indicates the ID of the shipping box of interest. Specifically, for each size category, shipping box ID 1305 is a list of IDs of shipping boxes of interest that belong to that size category. The IDs included in shipping box ID 1305 may be for all shipping boxes, but may also be only IDs of shipping boxes that are not 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 shipping box ID 1305, that ID may be deleted from shipping box ID 1305).

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

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

[0107] 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, an equipment 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 ("loading operation of interest" in the explanation of FIG. 14).

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

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

[0110] The scheduled start date and time 1407 indicates the scheduled start date and time of the loading operation of interest. The scheduled end date and time 1408 indicates the scheduled end date and time of the loading operation of interest. The scheduled start date and time 1407 may be calculated by the integrated WCS program 51 or the WCS program 50 based on the scheduled date and time when the transport device 3 arrives at the WS along the moving route and the estimated time length (or the scheduled end date and time) required for the loading operation performed before the loading operation of interest. The scheduled end date and time 1408 may be calculated by the integrated WCS program 51 or the WCS program 50 based on the scheduled start date and time 1407 and the estimated time length required for the loading operation of interest. The estimated time length 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 the loading operation, and the past loading operation history of the worker performing the loading operation. The loading operation may be performed by a robot instead of or in addition to a worker.

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

[0112] 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 the 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.

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

[0114] The picking work management table 581 is a table related to picking work. The picking work management table 581 has a record for each picking work. Each record holds information such as a station ID 1501, a slip number 1502, a storage container ID 1503, an item ID 1504, a quantity 1505, a scheduled start 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).

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

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

[0117] The scheduled start date and time 1506 indicates the scheduled start date and time of the target picking operation. The scheduled end date and time 1507 indicates the scheduled end date and time of the target picking operation. The scheduled start date and time 1506 may be calculated by the integrated WCS program 51 or the WCS program 50 based on the scheduled date and time of arrival of the storage container at the WS and the estimated time length (or the scheduled end date and time) required for the picking operation performed before the target picking operation. The scheduled end date and time 1507 may be calculated by the integrated WCS program 51 or the WCS program 50 based on the scheduled start date and time 1506 and the estimated time length required for the picking operation. The estimated time length 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. The picking operation may be performed by a robot instead of or in addition to an operator.

[0118] The work status 1508 indicates the status of the picking work of interest. "Before work" means that the picking work of interest has not yet started. "In work" means that the picking work of interest has started but not yet been completed. "Complete" means that the picking work of interest has been completed. Note that the work status 1508 may be changed based on an input from the worker of the picking work of interest, or may be changed automatically based on a value automatically detected regarding the picking work of interest.

[0119] 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 known, and the order of the records may be the order in which the items (storage containers) arrive at each WS.

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

[0121] An example of the processing performed in this embodiment will be described below. In this embodiment, the relevant parts of the tables 53 to 60 are appropriately updated by the integrated WCS program 51 or the WCS program 50 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.

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

[0123] 16, in S1601, the integrated WCS program 51 selects one or more records whose operation date / time 610 corresponds to a predetermined operation date / time from the order table 55. Note that an order with the priority flag 611 set to "Yes" may be given priority in at least some of the following order processing steps compared to orders without a priority flag (including, for example, priority in the order of release of goods from the material handling equipment 161 in the storage area 101, and the order of arrival and / or waiting at the stop area 164 of the transport device 3).

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[0133] As a modified example, a supply WS may be divided for each 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 transport device 3 to a supply WS that corresponds to the size of the shipping box. As another modified example, when there is a transport device 3 that corresponds to the equipment status 1105 "empty", the shipping box may be loaded in advance on the supply WS, and then an unassigned slip number (shipping box group) may be assigned to the shipping box.

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

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

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

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

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

[0139] In S1615, the integrated WCS program 51 refers to the work management table 58 (picking work management table 581 and loading work management table 582), storage area table 57, movement area table 60, and transport device table 53 (further, for example, refers to the incoming / outgoing table 761 of each material handling facility 161). The integrated WCS program 51 identifies the work status of each WS (for example, work capacity and congestion status), the position and movement status of each transport device 3 (for example, movement destination and scheduled arrival date and time), and the goods to be shipped from the warehouse from the referenced tables, and determines (selects) the destination storage area and the target location (for example, the WS or temporary waiting area of ​​the destination storage area 101). Based on the 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, the storage area 1106, and the target location 1107).

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

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

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

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

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

[0145] As shown in FIG. 19, in S1621, the integrated WCS program 51 sends a shipping request to ship an item (the item corresponding to the target invoice number) from the destination storage area 101 to the corresponding WCS program 50X, which corresponds to the material handling equipment 161 in the destination storage area 101.

[0146] In S1622, the WCS program 50X, in response to the retrieval request, transmits a retrieval instruction to retrieve the item corresponding to the target slip number to the corresponding material handling equipment 161. The retrieval instruction may include, for example, some or all of information indicating the retrieval destination WS in the storage area 101 and the arrival order and timing of the items.

[0147] For example, the WCS program 50X refers to the inventory table 54 to identify the 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, identifies the station ID 805 corresponding to the in-area location 804, and identifies (determines) the WS to which the item will be shipped (shipment destination WS, delivery destination WS).

[0148] In addition, when 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 is to be delivered, taking into consideration the status of the picking work task of each WS so that the work tasks of each WS are leveled or optimized (based on the work processing speed of the worker, etc.). In addition, when 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 same WS is the delivery destination so that the items can be picked together, and may also determine the order of arrival and / or timing of the items arriving at the delivery destination WS.

[0149] In S1623, the WCS program 50X receives status information indicating the warehousing status and transport status of the item 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 delivery destination WS in the storage area 101 and the arrival order and timing of the item.

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

[0151] In S1625, the integrated WCS program 51 transmits 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 transmits a movement request to the WCS program 50Y. Specifically, for example, the integrated WCS program 51 transmits an output request to the station terminal 710 of the storage WS based on the status information (for example, information on the delivery destination WS and the arrival order and timing of the items), or determines a movement request such that the order and timing of the arrival of the transport device 3 at the stop area 164 corresponding to the storage WS are the same as the order and timing of the arrival of the items at the delivery destination WS, and transmits 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 on the transport device 3, the number of items, and the item positions (positions within the area or positions within the container).

[0152] In S1626, the WCS program 50Y transmits, in response to the movement request, an instruction to the transport device 3 to move the transport device 3 to its destination position (WS in the storage area 101).

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[0162] In S1636, the integrated WCS program 51 transmits 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).

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[0183] After S2205, or if the determination result of S2204 is false (S2204: NO), in S2206, the integrated WCS program 51 refers to the shipping box table 59 and determines whether or not the size of the shipping box is such that multiple shipping boxes can be loaded onto the conveying device 3. Specifically, the integrated WCS program 51 determines whether or not the value of the loadable number 1304 corresponding to the shipping box size category 1301 is "2" or greater.

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

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

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

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

[0188] For example, the integrated WCS program 51 may refer to the order table 55 and select "other unallocated shipping box groups" having items with a high overlap rate (overlapping rate) of items, such as items that are the same as the items corresponding to the target shipping box group or there are many of the same items. By picking up the same items together and loading them into each shipping box transported by the same transport device 3, the picking work, loading work, and / or transport can be made more efficient. Also, for example, the integrated WCS program 51 may refer to the order table 55, the inventory table 54, and the storage area table 57 and select "other unallocated shipping box groups" having items with a high overlap rate (overlapping rate) of storage areas (or destination WSs from which items can be delivered) such as items that are the same as the items corresponding to the target shipping box group or there are many of the same items. This not only improves the movement efficiency of the transport device 3, but also reduces the waiting time for the transport device 3 to arrive at the destination WS, and further reduces the retention of picked items at the WS, thereby making it possible to make the picking work and loading work more efficient. In addition to or instead of the above selection criteria, the integrated WCS program 51 may refer to the order table 55, the inventory table 54, the storage area table 57, etc., and select "other unallocated shipping box groups" based on other selection criteria, such as to meet the work deadline (calculate the scheduled work completion date and time, and ensure that the time from the scheduled work completion date and time to the work deadline is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value) because the more destinations in the storage area (destination WS) there are to be visited, the longer the transport time (including waiting time) of the transport device 3. The integrated WCS program 51 may select "other unallocated shipping box groups" based on other selection criteria, such as to make the process for the entire slip number included in the work date and time more efficient (optimized), as well as to the target shipping box group.

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

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

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

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

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

[0194] 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 embodied in various other forms.

[0195] For example, the shape of the partition is not limited to a square and may be another shape. Partitions of different sizes or shapes may be mixed. The position of the partition may be identified by other methods instead of being identified by a marker on the partition.

[0196] Also, 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. Also, the transport device 3 may double as the control device 4.

[0197] The above description can be summarized, for example, as follows. The following summary may include supplementary explanations to the above description and explanations of modified examples of the above embodiment.

[0198] The control device 4 includes an interface device 45, a storage device 42, and a processor 40 connected to the interface device 45 and the storage device 42. A logistics facility (e.g., a warehouse or a logistics center) includes a plurality of storage areas 101 that differ in at least one of a storage method, an outgoing method, and a picking method. Each of the plurality of storage areas 101 includes one or more workstations (WS) and one or more parking areas 164. Each of the one or more WSs is an area that can be a destination for an item from the storage area 101 associated with the WS, and is an area (work area 163) where an operation of picking out the outgoing item (picking operation) and / or an operation of putting the picked item into an order container are performed.

[0199] Here, for "putting the picked items into an order container", other expressions may be used, such as "loading the picked items into the order container (storing, storing, transferring, or mounting)". Similarly, for "the picked items are put into the order container", other expressions may be used, such as "the picked items are loaded into the order container (storing, storing, transferring, or mounting)". Also, for the task of "putting the picked items into an order container", other expressions may be used, such as loading work, storage work, storage work, transferring work, or mounting work.

[0200] Each of the one or more stop areas 164 is an area where the conveying device 3 stops. One or more of the multiple storage areas 101 has material handling equipment 161. The interface device 45 communicates with the material handling equipment 161 of the one or more storage areas 101 and the multiple conveying devices 3 including a first conveying device that loads a first shipping box (an example of a first order container) corresponding to a first order (a first slip number or a first shipping box group). The storage device 42 stores an inventory table 54 (an example of inventory information) that includes information regarding the inventory of items arranged in each of the multiple storage areas 101.

[0201] The integrated WCS program 51 and the multiple WCS programs 50 executed by the processor 40 may be distributed among multiple physical or virtual computers. The integrated WCS program 51 may include each WCS program 50. The processor 40 may assign the first order to a first shipping box, and assign the first shipping box corresponding to the first order to a first conveyance device. For example, in the case of a conveyance system in which only one shipping box is loaded on the conveyance device 3, the processor 40 may assign the first order to the first conveyance device. The shipping box is an example of an order container. Containers other than boxes may be used as order containers.

[0202] When the processor 40 identifies from the inventory table 54 that a plurality of items corresponding to the first order are arranged (stored) in two or more storage areas 101 among the plurality of storage areas 101, the processor 40 selects the first storage area 101 (e.g., the automated warehouse area 101B) in which some of the items corresponding to the first order are arranged among the two or more identified storage areas 101. The processor 40 may control the first conveying device 3 to move to the selected first storage area 101 (e.g., a temporary waiting area or a stopping area corresponding to the first storage area 101) (e.g., the integrated WCS program 51 transmits a movement request to the WCS program 50Y, and the WCS program 50Y transmits a movement instruction to the first conveying device 3). The processor 40 controls the material handling equipment 161 (e.g., the automated warehouse 161B) of the first storage area 101 to retrieve some of the items corresponding to the first order from the first storage area 101. The processor 40 refers to the storage area table 57 to identify a destination WS (WS of the first storage area, delivery destination WS) that is a WS from which some of the items are retrieved. The processor controls the first conveying device 3 (the conveying device that loads the first shipping box corresponding to the first order) to move to a stop area (e.g., stop area 164B) corresponding to the destination WS (e.g., work area 163B). After a worker (and / or a work robot) places some of the items that have been shipped out into the first shipping box loaded by the first conveying device 3, the processor 40 controls the first conveying device 3 to move to a stop area (e.g., stop area 164A) corresponding to the second storage area 101 (e.g., flat area 101A) in which another part of the items (not loaded) corresponding to the first order is placed. Since the first shipping box corresponding to the first order contains items with the same shipping unit (packaging unit), it is not necessary to sort the items in the first shipping box. This makes it possible to reduce the workload of the sorting work even when the storage locations of multiple items corresponding to the first order span multiple storage areas 101 that have at least one of different storage methods, retrieval methods, and picking methods.

[0203] In addition, the transport device 3, which is a transport vehicle such as an AGV, can be controlled to change the storage area or WS to which it is to move, change the timing of movement, or change the arrival order (waiting order) with other transport devices 3 at the destination based on the status of each storage area 101 and each WS (waiting status or congestion status of the transport device 3, status of the work task of the worker or work robot, etc.), which is easier and more flexible than a fixed transport facility such as a conveyor. Therefore, compared to a fixed transport facility such as a conveyor, it is easier to respond to sudden orders, and it is possible to improve work efficiency and movement efficiency by reducing the waiting time of the worker and the transport device 3, and furthermore, there is flexibility in the layout of multiple types of areas such as the storage area 101 and movement area in a logistics facility (the layout is easy to change).

[0204] In addition, when a plurality of items corresponding to the first order are arranged in two or more storage areas 101, the processor 40 may control the material handling equipment 161 of the first storage area 101 to retrieve some of the items corresponding to the first order from the first storage area 101, control the first conveying device 3 to move to the stop area 164 corresponding to the destination WS to which the some of the items have been retrieved, and control the first conveying device 3 to move to the second storage area 101 after the some of the items have been placed in the first shipping box. In addition, the first storage area 101 may be an area to which the GTP is applied, and the second storage area 101 may be an area to which the GTP is applied, or an area to which the PTG is applied. Alternatively, the first storage area 101 may be an area to which the PTG is applied, and the second storage area 101 may be an area to which the PTG is applied, or an area to which the GTP is applied.

[0205] Furthermore, when it is identified from the inventory information (inventory table 54) that a plurality of items corresponding to the first order are arranged in two or more of the plurality of storage areas 101, the processor 40 (control device 4) may control the first conveying device 3 to move to the stop area 164 (e.g., stop area 164A) corresponding to the second storage area 101 in which some of the items corresponding to the first order are arranged among the two or more identified storage areas. After the part of the items is put into the first shipping box loaded by the first conveying device 3 by the worker (and / or the work robot), the processor 40 may determine the first storage area 101 in which another part of the items corresponding to the first order is arranged (the stop area 164 corresponding to the first storage area 101) as the destination of the first conveying device 3. The processor 40 controls the material handling equipment 161 of the first storage area 101 to retrieve the other part of the items corresponding to the first order from the first storage area 101. The processor 40 refers to the storage area table 57 and identifies the destination WS, which is the WS to which the other part of the items will be delivered. The processor controls the first conveyance device 3, which loads the first shipping box corresponding to the first order, so that the first shipping box moves to the stop area 164 corresponding to the destination WS. The other part of the items that has been delivered is loaded into the first shipping box loaded by the first conveyance device 3 by a worker (and / or a work robot).

[0206] For each of two or more orders including the first order, if the items corresponding to that order include items placed in the first storage area 101 (that is, for example, if two or more items corresponding to two or more orders whose work dates and times 610 belong to the same time period are all placed in the first storage area 101), for example, in S1621 to S1624, the processor 40 may control the material handling equipment 161 in the first storage area 101 to ship the two or more items corresponding to the two or more orders to the destination WS, and may specify (determine) the order in which the two or more items will arrive at the destination WS. The processor 40 may control, for example, in S1625 and S1626, two or more conveying devices 3 including the first conveying device 3 so that the order in which the conveying devices 3 carrying shipping boxes corresponding to the two or more orders arrive at the stop area 164 corresponding to the destination WS (for example, the order of movement, the order of arrival at the destination WS, or the order of waiting) is the order in which the items corresponding to the orders arrive at the destination WS (the order specified above). This is expected to improve the work efficiency of the work of picking out the items that have been released and loading them into the shipping boxes of the conveying devices 3, and also to reduce the retention of the picked items at the WS.

[0207] The processor 40 may specify (determine) the timing at which some of the items corresponding to the first order are released and arrive at the destination WS or the timing at which the items are picked up at the destination WS, for example, in S1621 to S1624. The processor 40 may control the first conveyance device 3, for example, in S1625 and S1626, so that the first conveyance device 3 carrying the first shipping box corresponding to the first order arrives at the stop area 164 corresponding to the destination WS in accordance with the specified timing. This is expected to improve the work efficiency of the work of picking the released items and loading them into the shipping box of the conveyance device 3, and to reduce the retention of the picked items at the WS. Note that, for example, the "timing at which the items arrive" at the destination WS may be a date and time predicted by a predetermined method, and the "timing at which the items are picked up" at the destination WS may be the scheduled start date and time 1506 or the scheduled end date and time 1507 corresponding to the item and the destination WS.

[0208] For each of two or more orders including the first order, if the items corresponding to the order include items arranged in the first storage area 101, the processor 40 may specify (may determine) the order in which the conveyance device 3 (two or more conveyance devices 3) loading the shipping boxes corresponding to the order arrives at the stop area 164 corresponding to the destination WS for each of the two or more orders, for example, in S1625 and S1626. Also, the processor 40 may control the material handling equipment (for example, the automated warehouse 161B or the conveyance device 161C) of the first storage area 101 to release the items corresponding to the order to the destination WS, so that the order in which the items corresponding to the order arrive at the destination WS from the first storage area 101 is the order in which the conveyance device 3 (two or more conveyance devices 3) loading the shipping boxes corresponding to the order arrives at the stop area 164 corresponding to the destination WS (the specified order). In this way, by controlling the order in which items are released to the transport WS, it is possible to improve the work efficiency of picking the released items and loading them into shipping boxes on the transport device 3, and also to reduce the amount of picked items that end up stuck in the WS.

[0209] The processor 40 may specify (determine) the timing when the first conveyance device 3 carrying the first shipping box corresponding to the first order arrives at the stop area 164 corresponding to the destination WS in S1625 and S1626, for example. The processor 40 may control the material handling equipment in the first storage area 101 so that some of the items corresponding to the first order arrive at the destination WS in accordance with the specified timing in S1621 and S1622, for example. This is expected to improve the work efficiency of picking out the items that have been released and loading them into the shipping box of the conveyance device 3, and to reduce the retention of the picked items at the WS. Note that, for example, the "timing when the first conveyance device 3 arrives at the stop area 164 corresponding to the destination WS" may be the corresponding "scheduled arrival date and time 1108".

[0210] The processor 40 may refer to the order table 55 and the inventory table 54 to identify the storage area 101 in which the items corresponding to a plurality of orders are stored (disposed), and may refer to the storage area table 57 to identify the WS from which the items corresponding to the first order and the second order (e.g., the second slip number or the second shipping box group) are available. The processor 40 may identify that at least some of the items corresponding to the first order and the second order (e.g., the second shipping box group) have the same WS from which the items corresponding to the first order and the second shipping box (e.g., the second order container) are available. The processor 40 may assign the first shipping box to the first order and the second shipping box to the second order for the first shipping box and the second shipping box loaded by the first conveying device 3. When the items having the same WS that can be delivered are disposed (stored) in the first storage area 101 and the WS that can be delivered is the destination WS, the processor 40 may control the material handling equipment of the first storage area 101 so that the items having the same WS that can be delivered are delivered from the first storage area 101 to the destination WS (e.g., S1621 and S1622). The processor 40 may output picking information (work instruction information) including the quantity to be picked, which corresponds to a plurality of orders including at least the first order and the second order, for the item having the same output-available WS, to the station terminal 710 of the destination WS in the first storage area (e.g., S1625 and S1628). The processor 40 may control the first conveyance device 3 loaded with the first shipping box and the second shipping box to move to the stop area 164 corresponding to the destination WS (e.g., S1625 and S1626). The processor 40 may output loading information (work instruction information) including the quantity of the item in the first order that is to be put into the first shipping box, and loading information (work instruction information) including the quantity of the item in the second order that is to be put into the second shipping box, for the item having the same output-available WS, to the station terminal 710 of the destination WS in the first storage area 101 (e.g., S1625 and S1628). As a result, for example, in S1629, items for which the same WS can be shipped for multiple orders (first order and second order) can be placed into multiple shipping boxes (first shipping box and second shipping box) loaded on the same conveying device (first conveying device 3), thereby improving picking efficiency, loading efficiency, and movement efficiency.

[0211] The processor 40 may specify the situation (e.g., congestion situation) in one or more storage areas 101 in which unconveyed items (items not placed in the first shipping box corresponding to the first order) are placed among the multiple items corresponding to the first order, or the situation (e.g., work situation) in the WS of the storage area 101. The processor 40 may determine a destination position (destination position corresponding to the destination storage area 101) in one or more storage areas 101 based on at least the specified situation, and control the first conveyance device 3 to move to the determined destination position. For example, in S1614 and S1615 each time S1641:NO, the processor 40 may specify the situation and determine the destination storage area (destination position) based on the specified situation. This prevents congestion in a specific storage area 101 or a specific WS, distributes work tasks, and is expected to reduce waiting time for the conveying device 3 and material handling equipment 161, thereby improving work efficiency and movement efficiency for the entire system.

[0212] The processor 40 may identify the status of work tasks in a first WS that puts a first item into a first shipping box and a second WS that puts a second item into a first shipping box, which are items that are not put into a first shipping box corresponding to a first order, and in a second WS that puts a second item into a first shipping box, based on at least the status of the identified work tasks. The processor 40 may also control the first conveying device 3 to move to a second WS that has fewer work tasks than the first WS, based on at least the status of the identified work tasks. The processor 40 may also identify the standby status of the conveying devices corresponding to each of the first WS and the second WS, and control the first conveying device 3 to move to a second WS that has fewer waiting conveying devices than the first WS, based on at least the standby status of the identified conveying devices. This can prevent congestion in a specific storage area 101 or a specific WS, distribute work tasks, and is expected to reduce the standby time of the conveying device 3 and the material handling equipment 161, thereby improving the work efficiency and movement efficiency of the entire system.

[0213] When a part of the items corresponding to the first order is to be delivered from the first storage area 101, the processor 40 may specify the status of the work tasks in the first WS and the second WS, which are WSs from which the part of the items can be delivered. The processor 40 may determine, based on at least the status of the specified work tasks, the second WS, which has fewer work tasks than the first WS, as the destination WS, which is the WS from which the part of the items is to be delivered. The processor 40 may also specify the standby status of the transport devices corresponding to the first WS and the second WS, and determine, based on at least the standby status of the specified transport devices, the second WS, which has fewer transport devices waiting than the first WS, as the destination WS, which is the WS from which the part of the items is to be delivered. The processor 40 may control the material handling equipment in the first storage area 101 so that the part of the items are to be delivered to the destination WS. This can be expected to prevent a specific WS from becoming congested, distribute the work tasks, and reduce the standby time of the transport device 3, thereby improving the work efficiency and movement efficiency of the entire system.

[0214] The "status of work tasks" of each WS may be, for example, the amount of work tasks (which may include work tasks for items to be shipped to the WS) whose work status 1508 is "in work" or "before work" in the picking work management table 581 for each WS. Also, the "status of work tasks" of each WS may be, for example, the amount of work tasks whose work status 1409 is "in work" or "before work" in the loading work management table 582 for each WS. For example, when the amount of work tasks of the first WS exceeds a predetermined threshold, the second WS may be selected as the destination or transport destination WS of the first conveying device 3, excluding the first WS. Also, the second WS may be selected as the destination or transport destination WS of the first conveying device 3, so that the amount of work tasks of the first WS and the amount of work tasks of the second WS are distributed (for example, leveled).

[0215] In addition, the "standby status of the transport device" corresponding to each WS may be, for example, the number of standby transport devices of the device ID 1403 corresponding to the work task in which the work state 1409 in the loading work management table 582 is "in operation" or "before operation" for each WS. In addition, the "standby status of the transport device" corresponding to each WS may be, for example, the vacancy (for example, the number of sections without a transport device) of the stop area 164 or temporary waiting area 165 corresponding to each WS, which can be specified by the movement area table 60 or the transport device table 53. For example, when the number of standby transport devices exceeds a predetermined threshold as the "standby status of the transport device" of the first WS, or when the vacancy of the stop area 164 or temporary waiting area 165 corresponding to each WS falls below a predetermined threshold, the second WS may be determined as the destination or the transport destination WS of the first transport device 3, excluding the first WS. In addition, the second WS may be determined as the destination or the transport destination WS of the first transport device 3, so that the "standby status of the transport device" of the first WS and the second WS are distributed (for example, leveled).

[0216] In addition, when the conveying device 3 (for example, the first conveying device) loads multiple shipping boxes, items corresponding to the multiple shipping boxes (multiple orders) may be processed, and for example, the destination of the first conveying device 3 and the destination WS may be determined. Furthermore, the first item and the second item are examples of multiple items, and other items may be present. The first WS and the second WS are examples of multiple WSs, and other WSs may be present.

[0217] When the first storage area 101 has a temporary waiting area 165 in addition to the stopping area 164 (for example, when the temporary waiting area 803 (the temporary waiting area 803 corresponding to the first storage area 101 or the destination WS) in the storage area table 57 is "present"), the processor 40 may control the first conveying device 3 to move to the temporary waiting area 165, and control the material handling equipment 161 in the first storage area 101 to deliver some of the items corresponding to the target order (for example, the first order) to the destination WS after the first conveying device 3 arrives at the temporary waiting area 165 or after the first conveying device 3 starts moving to the temporary waiting area 165. The temporary waiting area 165 can prevent congestion such as the conveying devices 3 concentrating at the same time at a specific WS in the destination storage area 101. The temporary waiting area 65 is also useful when the order or timing of arrival of each conveying device 3 at the destination WS is controlled.

[0218] For example, at least one of the following may be adopted for S1615. That is, based on the loading operation management table 582 (and / or the picking operation management table 581), the processor 40 may identify the operation status (operation task status (including congestion status)) and operation capacity of each WS. Based on the transport device table 53, the processor 40 may identify the congestion status (which may include future congestion schedule) from the position 1103 corresponding to the transport device 3 other than the first transport device, the storage area 1106, the destination position 1107, and the expected arrival date and time 1108. The processor 40 may calculate the movement cost (e.g., time and distance) to each storage area 101 and the expected arrival date and time to each storage area 101 from the position of the first transport device 3 (for example, the processor 40 may determine the destination storage area and the destination position (e.g., a stop area corresponding to the WS in the storage area 101 or a temporary waiting area corresponding to the WS) so that specific WSs are distributed at the same timing without being congested). Since it may be more efficient to pick the same items from multiple shipping boxes (multiple waybill numbers) at once (however, it may not be efficient if the picked items cannot be immediately loaded onto the conveying device 3 and end up in the WS), the processor 40 may determine the destination storage area and destination location based on the picking work management table 581 from the items scheduled to be shipped (scheduled to be picked) and the scheduled start (end) date and time of picking.

[0219] The processor 40 may determine whether to load multiple shipping boxes or one shipping box on the first conveying device 3 based on at least the size of the shipping box, and one (at least one) of the determined one or multiple shipping boxes may be the first shipping box corresponding to the first order. By transporting multiple shipping boxes together, it is expected that the work efficiency and the movement efficiency can be improved.

[0220] Based on at least the work deadline of the first order, the processor 40 may determine whether to load multiple shipping boxes or one shipping box on the first conveyor 3. When multiple shipping boxes are conveyed together, it may take time to collect items in all of the shipping boxes, and therefore, when there is not much time left until the work deadline of the order, the processor 40 may decide to load only one shipping box. This makes it possible to convey multiple shipping boxes together while complying with the work deadline and shipping deadline, which is expected to improve work efficiency and movement efficiency.

[0221] The interface device 45 may communicate with a station terminal 710, which is an information processing terminal provided for the WS. Before the first conveying device 3 arrives at the stop area 164 corresponding to the destination WS in the first storage area 101, the processor 40 may control the material handling equipment 161 of the first storage area 101 to deliver some of the items to the destination WS. The processor 40 may instruct the station terminal of the destination WS in the first storage area 101 to pick the items delivered to the destination WS. When the destination storage area 101 of the first conveying device 3 is the second storage area 101, the processor 40 may instruct the station terminal 710 of the WS in the second storage area 101 to pick the items after the first conveying device 3 arrives at the stop area 164 corresponding to the WS in the second storage area 101. By performing control according to the method of the storage area 101, the waiting time of the workers and the conveying device 3 can be reduced, and improvement in efficiency is expected. In addition, instructing the station terminal 710 to pick (or load) an item may mean requesting the station terminal 710 to display the contents of the instruction (sending an output request), or it may mean instructing a robot performing the picking or loading to pick or load via the station terminal 710.

[0222] The storage device 42 may store storage area information including information indicating a method of sending or picking for each storage area. For example, in S1616, when the processor 40 specifies from the storage area table 57 (one example of storage area information) that the method corresponding to the destination storage area 101 is a method (e.g., GTP) of picking an item sent to the destination WS by the material handling equipment 161, the processor 40 may control the material handling equipment 161 to send an item to the destination WS of the destination storage area 101 before the transport device 3 arrives at the stop area 164 corresponding to the destination WS of the destination storage area 101, and may instruct the station terminal 710 of the destination WS of the destination storage area 101 to pick the item sent to the destination WS. For example, in S1616, when the processor 40 identifies from the storage area table 57 that the method corresponding to the destination storage area 101 is a method (e.g., PTG) in which an operator picks up an item from a storage location, it may instruct the station terminal of the WS in the destination storage area 101 to pick up an item after the transport device 3 arrives at the stop area 164 corresponding to the WS in the destination storage area 101. By performing control according to the method of the storage area 101, the waiting time of the operator and the transport device 3 can be reduced, and improvement in efficiency is expected.

[0223] The processor 40 may output picking information (work instruction information) including the quantity to be picked for the items released from the first storage area 101 to the station terminal 710 of the destination WS of the first storage area 101. The processor 40 may also output loading information (work instruction information) including the quantity of items to be placed in a shipping box loaded by the conveyance device 3 that has arrived at the stop area 164 corresponding to the destination WS for the items released from the first storage area 101 and picked to the station terminal 710 of the destination WS of the first storage area 101 (for example, S1625 and S1628). This allows a worker at the destination WS to work correctly in, for example, S1629. Note that the picking information and the loading information may be one piece of work instruction information, such as when only one of the pieces of information is displayed or when they are displayed together. Also, the picking information and the loading information may be displayed separately, such as when picking multiple orders at once.

[0224] The processor 40 may output picking information (work instruction information) including a quantity to be picked (a quantity to be picked collectively for a plurality of orders) corresponding to a plurality of orders including the first order and the second order for items that are delivered from the first storage area 101 to the station terminal 710 of the destination WS in the first storage area 101. The processor 40 may output loading information (work instruction information) including the quantity of the items to be put into a first shipping box loaded by the conveyance device 3 that has arrived at the stop area 164 corresponding to the destination WS for the items that are delivered from the first storage area 101 and picked, the quantity of the items in the first order corresponding to the first shipping box, to the station terminal 710 of the destination WS in the first storage area 101 (for example, S1625 and S1628). The quantity to be picked, which is a quantity corresponding to a plurality of orders including the first order and the second order, may be greater than the quantity of the items in the first order corresponding to the first shipping box. This is expected to improve picking efficiency by, for example, picking items together in S1629 and loading them into multiple shipping boxes.

[0225] The multiple conveying devices 3 may include a first conveying device 3 that loads a first shipping box corresponding to a first order, and a second conveying device 3 that loads a second shipping box (an example of a second order container) corresponding to a second order. The processor 40 may refer to the order table 55 to identify items that are assigned to the multiple orders assigned to the shipping boxes loaded by the multiple conveying devices 3 and that are not placed in the shipping boxes (items whose status 601 indicates that picking is not completed) and that are placed in the first storage area 101 and can be delivered to the destination WS. The processor 40 may refer to the inventory table 54 to identify the storage area 101 in which the items corresponding to the multiple orders are stored (placed), and refer to the storage area table 57 to identify the WS from which the items can be delivered. The processor 40 may control the material handling equipment 161 in the first storage area 101 to deliver the identified items to the destination WS. When the identified items identified by the same identification information (e.g., item name or item ID) are items (common items) corresponding to the first order and the second order, respectively, and are not placed in the first shipping box and the second shipping box, the processor 40 may control the first conveying device 3 and the second conveying device 3 so that the first conveying device 3 and the second conveying device 3 arrive at the stop area 164 corresponding to the destination WS in a predetermined order (e.g., within a predetermined range, such as consecutively). The processor 40 may output work instruction information including the picking quantity, which is the quantity corresponding to multiple orders including the first order and the second order, to the station terminal 710 of the destination WS in the first storage area 101 for the items identified by the same identification information. This allows the items identified by the same identification information to be picked together, and when the items are placed in multiple shipping boxes, the conveying device 3 loading the shipping boxes can arrive, for example, consecutively, which is expected to prevent the picked items from being stuck and improve the work efficiency of the picking and loading operations. It should be noted that items identified by the same identification information may or may not be picked together.

[0226] The first conveying device 3 may load a first shipping box corresponding to the first order and a second shipping box corresponding to the second order. The processor 40 may refer to the order table 55, the inventory table 54, and the storage area table 57 to identify items that are placed in the first storage area 101 and can be sent to the destination WS among items (common items) corresponding to the first order and the second order, respectively, and that are not placed in the first shipping box and the second shipping box (items whose status 601 indicates that picking is not completed). The processor 40 may control the material handling equipment 161 in the first storage area 101 so as to send the identified items to the destination WS. The processor 40 may output work instruction information including a picking quantity, which is a quantity corresponding to multiple orders including the first order and the second order, to the station terminal 710 of the destination WS in the first storage area 101, for items identified by the same identification information (e.g., item name or item ID) among the identified items. This makes it possible, for example, in S1629, to pick items identified by the same identification information corresponding to multiple orders (first order and second order) together and load them into multiple shipping boxes (first shipping box and second shipping box) loaded on the same conveying device (first conveying device 3), thereby preventing the picked items from being stuck and improving picking efficiency, loading efficiency, and movement efficiency.

[0227] The processor 40 may refer to the order table 55, the inventory table 54, and the storage area table 57 to identify items that are placed in the first storage area 101 and can be sent to the destination WS among items that correspond to orders assigned to one or more shipping boxes loaded by the same transport device 3 and that have not been placed in the shipping box (items whose status 601 indicates that picking has not been completed). The processor 40 may control the material handling equipment 161 in the first storage area 101 so that a plurality of items identified by different identification information (e.g., item name or item ID) among the identified items arrive at the destination WS in a predetermined order (e.g., within a predetermined range, such as consecutively). This is expected to prevent the picked items from being stuck in the shipping box and improve the work efficiency of the picking and loading operations by, for example, allowing the items to be placed in the shipping box (a plurality of items identified by different identification information) to arrive consecutively.

[0228] The processor 40 may refer to the order table 55 and identify that at least some of the items corresponding to the first order and the second order among the multiple orders are identified by the same identification information (e.g., item name or item ID). The processor 40 may assign the first shipping box to the first order and the second shipping box to the second order for the first and second shipping boxes loaded by the first conveying device 3. This makes it possible to pick up items identified by the same identification information corresponding to multiple orders (the first order and the second order) collectively and load them into multiple shipping boxes (the first shipping box and the second shipping box) loaded on the same conveying device (the first conveying device 3) in S1629, for example, and prevent the picked items from being stuck, and improve picking efficiency, loading efficiency, and movement efficiency.

[0229] The processor 40 may refer to the order table 55 to identify the priorities (e.g., the priority flag 611) of the multiple orders. For example, the processor 40 may identify an order with a high priority (an order with the priority flag 611 set to "Yes") among the multiple orders. The processor 40 may control the material handling equipment 161 in the first storage area 101 so that an item corresponding to an order with a high priority among multiple items scheduled to be shipped from the first storage area 101 to the destination WS is shipped to the destination WS before at least some items of orders with a lower priority than the order (orders without the priority flag 611) or arrives at the destination WS before the order. This can improve efficiency by reducing the manual workload for high-priority orders such as unexpected orders, and can also improve the service level by responding to unexpected orders and complying with work deadlines.

[0230] The processor 40 may refer to the order table 55 to identify the priority of a plurality of orders (e.g., the priority flag 611). For example, the processor 40 may identify an order with a high priority (an order with the priority flag 611 set to "Yes") among the plurality of orders. The processor 40 may control the plurality of conveyance devices 3, among the plurality of conveyance devices 3 scheduled to move to the stop area 164 corresponding to the destination WS, so that the conveyance device 3 carrying a shipping box corresponding to an order with a high priority arrives at the stop area 164 before at least some of the conveyance devices 3 carrying a shipping box corresponding to an order with a lower priority than the order (an order without the priority flag 611). This allows for efficiency improvements such as reducing the manual workload for high-priority orders, such as sudden orders, and also allows for improvements in the service level, such as handling sudden orders and complying with work deadlines.

[0231] The processor 40 may identify a first WS as a WS from which some of the items corresponding to the second order can be delivered among the items located in the first storage area 101, and may identify a second WS as a WS from which another part of the items corresponding to the second order can be delivered among the items located in the first storage area 101. For example, the processor 40 may refer to the order table 55 and the inventory table 54 to identify the storage area 101 in which the items corresponding to the second order are stored (located) and the location within the area (location within the area 705), and refer to the storage area table 57 to identify a WS (WS identified by the station ID 805) from which the items corresponding to the identified location within the area (location within the area 804) can be delivered. The processor 40 may control the material handling equipment 161 in the first storage area 101 to deliver some of the items corresponding to the second order to the first WS. The processor 40 may control the second conveyance device 3 loaded with the order container corresponding to the second order to move to the parking area 164 corresponding to the first WS. The processor 40 may control the material handling equipment 161 in the first storage area 101 so that after the part of the delivered items is placed in an order container carried by the second conveying device 3, another part of the items corresponding to the second order is delivered to the second WS. The processor 40 may control the second conveying device 3 so that it moves to the parking area 164 corresponding to the second WS. This can reduce the workload of the sorting work even when the storage locations of multiple items corresponding to an order span multiple areas within the same storage area.

[0232] The processor 40 may determine the order and timing of items to be released from the material handling equipment 161 of one or more storage areas 101 for multiple orders (orders whose status 601 corresponds to items whose picking has not been completed) in the order table 55 so as to improve the work efficiency and transport efficiency of the entire system. Also, by referring to the storage area 1106, the destination position 1107, etc. in the transport device table 53, the processor 40 may determine the order and timing of items to be released from the material handling equipment 161 of the storage area 101 for orders (orders whose status 601 corresponds to items whose picking has not been completed) corresponding to shipping boxes loaded by the transport device 3 scheduled to be moved to or waiting in the destination storage area 101 or the WS of the destination storage area 101.

[0233] An item corresponding to a certain order (invoice number or shipping box group) may be stored (placed) in multiple storage areas 101, or may be stored (placed) in one storage area 101. Also, as shown in the storage area table 57, when a certain storage area 101 corresponds to an in-area position 804 (multiple areas in the same storage area) and a WS from which items can be delivered is determined, an item corresponding to a certain order may be delivered from the same WS corresponding to the storage area 101, or from a different WS corresponding to the storage area 101. Therefore, for example, the conveying device 3 that loads shipping boxes corresponding to a certain order may travel around multiple storage areas 101 (stopping areas 164 of multiple storage areas 101) to gather items corresponding to the shipping box, or may travel around multiple WSs corresponding to one storage area (stopping areas 164 corresponding to the WS) to gather items corresponding to the shipping box. In this way, even if the storage locations of multiple items corresponding to an order span multiple areas, a system is provided that can reduce the workload of sorting work by using the above-mentioned conveying system, control device 4, control method by control device 4, etc.

[0234] The above-described embodiment is applicable to a logistics facility (for example, a warehouse or a logistics center) that has at least one or more storage areas 101. That is, the above-described embodiment is also applicable to a system in which a conveying device 3 carrying a shipping box corresponding to an order (a slip number or a shipping box group) moves through one or more WSs (stopping areas 164 corresponding to the WSs) corresponding to the one storage area.

[0235] For example, the transport system includes a plurality of transport devices 3 and a control device 4. Among the plurality of transport devices 3, the first transport device 3 loads a first shipping box corresponding to a first order. The memory device 42 of the control device 4 stores inventory information including information on the inventory of items placed in the storage area 101. The storage area 101 has a plurality of WSs and a plurality of stopping areas 164 (each WS has one or more stopping areas corresponding to it). Each of the plurality of WSs is an area that can be a destination of items from the storage area associated with the WS, and is a workstation that is an area where the work of picking out the outgoing items and / or the work of putting the picked items into an order container is performed. Each of the plurality of stopping areas 164 is an area where the transport device 3 stops. The storage area 101 has material handling equipment 161 (for example, an automated warehouse 161B, etc.).

[0236] The processor 40 of the control device 4 refers to the inventory table 54 (inventory information) for each of the multiple items corresponding to the first order to identify an in-area position 705, and refers to the storage area table 57 to identify a WS (WS identified by a station ID 805) that can be delivered from the identified in-area position. For example, the processor 40 identifies a first WS as a WS from which some of the items corresponding to the first order can be delivered (or a WS that will be delivered), and identifies a second WS as a WS from which another part of the items corresponding to the first order can be delivered (or a WS that will be delivered). The processor 40 selects a first WS from which the part of the items corresponding to the first order can be delivered, out of the two or more identified WSs that can be delivered. The processor 40 controls the material handling equipment 161 to deliver the part of the items corresponding to the first order to the first WS. The processor 40 controls the first conveyance device 3 that loads a first shipping box corresponding to the first order, so as to move to the parking area 164 corresponding to the first WS. After the part of the delivered items is placed in the first shipping box carried by the first conveying device 3, the processor 40 controls the material handling equipment 161 to deliver the other part of the items corresponding to the first order to the second WS. The processor 40 controls the first conveying device 3 to move to a stopping area 164 corresponding to the second WS from which the other part of the items corresponding to the first order can be delivered.

[0237] Also, as a control method by the control device 4 (processor 40 of the control device 4) that controls the conveyance device 3 loading a shipping box (an example of an order container) corresponding to an order and the material handling equipment 161 in the storage area 101, the control method includes a step of identifying a workstation (WS) that is an item placed in the storage area 101 and from which the item corresponding to the order can be delivered by the control device 4. The control method also includes a step of controlling the material handling equipment 161 to deliver some of the items corresponding to the order from the storage area 101 to a first WS that is a WS from which the items can be delivered, and controlling the conveyance device loading the shipping box to move the conveyance device to the parking area 164 corresponding to the first WS. Furthermore, the control method includes a step of controlling the material handling equipment 161 so that after the outgoing part of the items is placed in the shipping box carried by the conveying device 3, the control device 4 outgoes the other part of the items corresponding to the order from the storage area 101 to a second WS that is a WS from which the other part of the items corresponding to the order can be outgoing, and controlling the conveying device 3 so that the conveying device 3 carrying the shipping box moves to the parking area 164 corresponding to the second WS. Since the shipping box corresponding to the order contains items with the same shipping unit (packaging unit), it is not necessary to sort the items in the shipping box. This makes it possible to reduce the workload of the sorting work even when the storage locations of multiple items corresponding to the order span multiple areas (areas in one or multiple storage areas). [Explanation of symbols]

[0238] 3: conveying device, 4: control device

Claims

1. an interface device, a storage device, and a processor connected to the interface device and the storage device; The storage device stores inventory information including information regarding inventory of items arranged in each of a plurality of storage areas having different storage methods, retrieval methods, and picking methods; For each of the plurality of storage areas, there are one or more workstations (WS) and one or more parking areas; Each of the one or more WSs is an area that can be a destination of an item from a storage area associated with the WS, and is an area where an operation of picking the outgoing item and / or an operation of putting the picked item into an order container are performed; Each of the one or more stop areas is an area where a transport device stops, one or more of the plurality of storage areas includes material handling equipment; the interface device is in communication with material handling equipment for the one or more storage areas and with a plurality of transport devices, including a first transport device carrying a first order container corresponding to a first order; When it is determined from the inventory information that a plurality of items corresponding to the first order are located in two or more of the plurality of storage areas, the processor: Select a first storage area in which some of the items corresponding to the first order are placed from among the two or more identified storage areas; controlling a material handling facility of the first storage area so as to retrieve the part of the items corresponding to the first order from the first storage area; Identifying a destination WS from which the part of the items is to be delivered; controlling the first conveyance device carrying a first order container corresponding to the first order so as to move to a stop area corresponding to the conveyance destination WS; controlling the first conveying device so that, after the first order container loaded by the first conveying device has been filled with the part of the delivered items, the first conveying device moves to a parking area corresponding to a second storage area in which another part of the items corresponding to the first order is arranged; Control device.

2. For each of two or more orders including the first order, if an item corresponding to the order includes an item located in the first storage area, the processor: Controlling the material handling equipment in the first storage area so as to deliver two or more items corresponding to the two or more orders to the destination WS, and specifying an order in which the two or more items will arrive at the destination WS; Controlling two or more conveying devices including the first conveying device so that, for each of the two or more orders, the order in which conveying devices carrying order containers corresponding to the orders arrive at the stop areas corresponding to the destination WS is the order in which items corresponding to the orders arrive at the destination WS. The control device according to claim 1 .

3. The processor, Identifying a timing at which the part of the items corresponding to the first order is released from the warehouse and arrives at the destination WS or a timing at which the part of the items corresponding to the first order is picked up at the destination WS; controlling the first conveyance device so that the first conveyance device carrying the first order container corresponding to the first order arrives at a stop area corresponding to the conveyance destination WS at the specified timing; The control device according to claim 1 .

4. For each of two or more orders including the first order, if an item corresponding to the order includes an item located in the first storage area, the processor: For each of the two or more orders, a sequence in which a transport device carrying an order container corresponding to the order arrives at a stop area corresponding to the transport destination WS is specified; controlling the material handling equipment in the first storage area to deliver the items corresponding to the orders to the destination WS in such a manner that the order order of arrival of the items corresponding to the orders at the destination WS is the order of arrival of a transport device carrying an order container corresponding to the orders at a stop area corresponding to the destination WS; The control device according to claim 1 .

5. The processor, Identifying a timing at which the first conveyance device carrying the first order container corresponding to the first order arrives at a stop area corresponding to the conveyance destination WS; Controlling the material handling equipment in the first storage area so that the part of the items corresponding to the first order arrives at the destination WS in accordance with the specified timing. The control device according to claim 1 .

6. The processor, Identify the WS from which items corresponding to multiple orders can be shipped, Identifying that at least some of the items corresponding to the first order and the items corresponding to the second order have the same WS that can be shipped; Regarding the first order container and the second order container loaded by the first conveying device, the first order container is assigned to the first order, and the second order container is assigned to the second order; Controlling the material handling equipment of the first storage area so that the items having the same WS that can be delivered are delivered from the first storage area in which the items are arranged to a destination WS that is the WS that can be delivered; Controlling the first conveyance device carrying the first order container and the second order container so as to move to a stop area corresponding to the conveyance destination WS; outputting, for the items from the same WS that can be output, work instruction information including the quantity of the items in the first order that is to be placed in the first order container, and work instruction information including the quantity of the items in the second order that is to be placed in the second order container, to a station terminal of a destination WS in the first storage area; A control device according to any one of claims 2 to 5.

7. The processor, For each of the one or more storage areas in which items corresponding to the first order that are not placed in the first order container are placed among the plurality of items corresponding to the first order, identify the status in the storage area or the status in the WS of the storage area; determining a destination position corresponding to a destination storage area among the one or more storage areas based on at least the specified situation, and controlling the first conveying device to move to the determined destination position; A control device according to any one of claims 2 to 5.

8. The processor, For a first item and a second item that are not placed in the first order container corresponding to the first order, the status of work tasks of a first WS that performs the work of placing the first item into the first order container and a second WS that performs the work of placing the second item into the first order container are identified; controlling the first conveyance device to move to the second WS having fewer work tasks than the first WS, based on at least the status of the identified work tasks; A control device according to any one of claims 2 to 5.

9. The processor, For a first item and a second item that are not placed in the first order container corresponding to the first order, a waiting status of a conveying device corresponding to a first WS that performs an operation of placing the first item into the first order container and a waiting status of a conveying device corresponding to a second WS that performs an operation of placing the second item into the first order container is identified; controlling the first transport device to move to the second WS having fewer transport devices waiting thereon than the first WS, based on at least the standby status of the identified transport device; A control device according to any one of claims 2 to 5.

10. The processor, When the part of the items corresponding to the first order is to be retrieved from the first storage area, a status of a work task in each of a first WS and a second WS that are WSs capable of retrieving the part of the items is identified; determining, based on at least the status of the identified work tasks, the second WS having fewer work tasks than the first WS as a destination WS from which the part of the items is delivered; A control device according to any one of claims 2 to 5.

11. The processor, When the part of the items corresponding to the first order is to be handed over from the first storage area, a standby status of a conveying device corresponding to each of a first WS and a second WS which are WSs from which the part of the items can be handed over is identified; determining, based on at least the standby status of the identified transport device, the second WS having fewer standby transport devices than the first WS, as a destination WS from which the part of the articles is delivered; A control device according to any one of claims 2 to 5.

12. When the first storage area includes a temporary waiting area in addition to a stopping area, the processor Controlling the first transport device to move to the temporary waiting area; After the first conveying device arrives at the temporary waiting area, or after the first conveying device starts moving to the temporary waiting area, the material handling equipment in the first storage area is controlled so as to deliver the part of the items to the destination WS. A control device according to any one of claims 2 to 5.

13. The processor determines whether to load multiple order containers or a single order container on the first transport device based on at least a size of the order container; one of the determined one or more order receptacles is the first order receptacle; A control device according to any one of claims 2 to 5.

14. The processor determines whether to load a plurality of order containers or a single order container on the first conveyance device based on at least a work deadline of the first order. A control device according to any one of claims 2 to 5.

15. The interface device communicates with a station terminal, which is an information processing terminal provided for the WS; Before the first conveying device arrives at a stop area corresponding to a destination WS in the first storage area, the processor controls a material handling facility in the first storage area to deliver the part of the items to the destination WS; The processor instructs a station terminal of the destination WS in the first storage area to pick up the item that has been delivered to the destination WS, When the destination storage area of ​​the first conveying device is the second storage area, the processor instructs a station terminal of the WS of the second storage area to pick up an item after the first conveying device arrives at a stop area corresponding to the WS of the second storage area. A control device according to any one of claims 2 to 5.

16. The storage device stores storage area information including information representing a method of retrieval or picking for each storage area, When the processor determines from the storage area information that the method corresponding to the destination storage area is a method of picking up an item that has been delivered to a destination WS by a material handling equipment, the processor controls the material handling equipment to deliver an item to the destination WS of the destination storage area before the transport device arrives at a stop area corresponding to the destination WS of the destination storage area, and instructs a station terminal of the destination WS of the destination storage area to pick up the item that has been delivered to the destination WS, When the processor identifies from the storage area information that the method corresponding to the destination storage area is a method in which an operator picks up an item from a storage location, after the transport device arrives at a stop area corresponding to the WS in the destination storage area, the processor instructs a station terminal of the WS in the destination storage area to pick up the item. A control device according to any one of claims 2 to 5.

17. The processor, Outputting work instruction information including a quantity to be picked for the items to be removed from the first storage area to a station terminal of a destination WS in the first storage area; outputting, to a station terminal of a destination WS in the first storage area, work instruction information including a quantity of the items to be placed in an order container loaded on a conveying device that has arrived at a stop area corresponding to the destination WS, for the items that have been removed from the first storage area and picked up; A control device according to any one of claims 2 to 5.

18. The processor, outputting work instruction information including a quantity to be picked, which is an amount corresponding to the plurality of orders including the first order and the second order, for the items to be released from the first storage area, to a station terminal of a destination WS in the first storage area; outputting work instruction information to a station terminal of the destination WS in the first storage area, the work instruction information including a quantity of the items to be placed in a first order container loaded on the first conveying device that has arrived at a stop area corresponding to the destination WS, the quantity of the items in the first order corresponding to the first order container; a quantity to be picked that corresponds to the plurality of orders is greater than a quantity of the item in the first order that corresponds to the first order container; 20. The control device of claim 17.

19. The processor, For a plurality of transport devices including the first transport device carrying the first order container corresponding to the first order and a second transport device carrying the second order container corresponding to the second order, among the items corresponding to the plurality of orders assigned to the order containers carried by the plurality of transport devices and not placed in the order containers, the items that are placed in the first storage area and can be shipped to the destination WS are identified; Controlling the material handling equipment in the first storage area so as to deliver the specified item to the destination WS; When the identified items identified by the same identification information correspond to the first order and the second order, respectively, and are not placed in the first order container and the second order container, the first conveying device and the second conveying device are controlled so that the first conveying device and the second conveying device arrive at the stop area corresponding to the destination WS in a predetermined order, outputting work instruction information including a quantity to be picked, which corresponds to a plurality of orders including the first order and the second order, for the items identified by the same identification information, to a station terminal of a destination WS in the first storage area; 20. The control device of claim 18.

20. the first conveying device is loaded with the first order container corresponding to the first order and the second order container corresponding to the second order; The processor, Identifying an item that is placed in the first storage area and can be delivered to the destination WS among items that correspond to the first order and the second order, respectively, and that are not placed in the first order container and the second order container; Controlling the material handling equipment in the first storage area so as to deliver the specified item to the destination WS; outputting work instruction information including a quantity to be picked, which corresponds to a plurality of orders including the first order and the second order, for the items identified by the same identification information among the specified items, to a station terminal of a destination WS in the first storage area; 20. The control device of claim 18.

21. The processor, Identifying items that correspond to orders assigned to one or more order containers loaded by the same transport device and that are not placed in the order containers and that are placed in the first storage area and can be shipped to the transport destination WS; Controlling the material handling equipment in the first storage area so that a plurality of items identified by different identification information among the specified items arrive at the destination WS in a predetermined order. A control device according to any one of claims 2 to 5.

22. The processor, Identifying that at least a portion of the items corresponding to the first order and the second order among the plurality of orders include items identified by the same identification information; Regarding the first order container and the second order container loaded on the first conveying device, the first order container is assigned to the first order, and the second order container is assigned to the second order; A control device according to any one of claims 2 to 5.

23. The processor Identify the priority of multiple orders, controlling a material handling facility in the first storage area so that an item corresponding to an order with a higher priority among a plurality of items scheduled to be delivered from the first storage area to the destination WS is delivered to the destination WS before at least some of items corresponding to orders with a lower priority than the order, or arrives at the destination WS before the order; A control device according to any one of claims 2 to 5.

24. The processor Identify the priority of multiple orders, Among a plurality of transport devices scheduled to move to a stop area corresponding to the destination WS, a transport device carrying an order container corresponding to a high priority order is controlled so that the transport device arrives at the stop area before at least some of the transport devices carrying order containers corresponding to orders with a lower priority than the high priority order. A control device according to any one of claims 2 to 5.

25. The processor, Identifying a first WS as a WS from which a portion of the items corresponding to the second order, which are placed in the first storage area, can be output, and identifying a second WS as a WS from which another portion of the items corresponding to the second order, which are placed in the first storage area, can be output, Controlling material handling equipment in the first storage area so as to deliver a portion of items corresponding to the second order to the first WS; controlling a second conveyance device carrying an order container corresponding to the second order so as to move to a stop area corresponding to the first WS; Controlling the material handling equipment in the first storage area so that after the part of the delivered items is placed in the order container loaded by the second conveying device, another part of the items corresponding to the second order is delivered to the second WS; Controlling the second conveying device so as to move to a stop area corresponding to the second WS; A control device according to any one of claims 2 to 5.

26. A plurality of conveying devices and a control device are provided, Among the plurality of conveying devices, a first conveying device is loaded with a first order container corresponding to a first order, The control device stores inventory information including information regarding inventory of items arranged in each of a plurality of storage areas having different storage methods, retrieval methods, and picking methods; For each of the plurality of storage areas, there are one or more workstations (WS) and one or more parking areas; Each of the one or more WSs is an area that can be a destination of an item from a storage area associated with the WS, and is an area where an operation of picking the outgoing item and / or an operation of putting the picked item into an order container are performed; Each of the one or more stop areas is an area where a transport device stops, one or more of the plurality of storage areas includes material handling equipment; When it is determined from the inventory information that a plurality of items corresponding to the first order are arranged in two or more of the plurality of storage areas, the control device: Select a first storage area in which some of the items corresponding to the first order are placed from among the two or more identified storage areas; controlling a material handling facility of the first storage area so as to retrieve the part of the items corresponding to the first order from the first storage area; Identifying a destination WS from which the part of the items is to be delivered; controlling the first conveyance device carrying a first order container corresponding to the first order so as to move to a stop area corresponding to the conveyance destination WS; controlling the first conveying device so that, after the first order container loaded by the first conveying device has been filled with the part of the delivered items, the first conveying device moves to a parking area corresponding to a second storage area in which another part of the items corresponding to the first order is arranged; Conveying system.

27. A plurality of conveying devices and a control device are provided, Among the plurality of conveying devices, a first conveying device is loaded with a first order container corresponding to a first order, The control device stores inventory information including information regarding inventory of items arranged in each of a plurality of storage areas having different storage methods, retrieval methods, and picking methods; For each of the plurality of storage areas, there are one or more workstations (WS) and one or more parking areas; Each of the one or more WSs is an area that can be a destination of an item from a storage area associated with the WS, and is an area where an operation of picking the outgoing item and / or an operation of putting the picked item into an order container are performed; Each of the one or more stop areas is an area where a transport device stops, one or more of the plurality of storage areas includes material handling equipment; When it is determined from the inventory information that a plurality of items corresponding to the first order are arranged in two or more of the plurality of storage areas, the control device: controlling the first conveying device so as to move to a stop area corresponding to a second storage area in which a part of the items corresponding to the first order is placed, among the two or more storage areas identified; controlling a material handling facility in the first storage area such that, after the first part of the items is placed in the first order container loaded by the first conveying device, the other part of the items corresponding to the first order is removed from the first storage area in which the other part of the items corresponding to the first order is arranged; Identifying a destination WS which is a WS from which the other part of the goods is delivered; controlling the first conveyance device carrying a first order container corresponding to the first order so as to move to a stop area corresponding to the conveyance destination WS; Conveying system.

28. A control method by a control device that controls a conveying device that loads an order container corresponding to an order and a material handling facility in a storage area, comprising: A step of identifying a workstation (WS) from which an item corresponding to the order can be delivered, the workstation being located in the storage area by a control device; A step of controlling the material handling equipment by a control device so as to deliver the part of the items corresponding to the order from the storage area to a first WS which is a WS from which the part of the items can be delivered, and controlling the conveying device so as to move the conveying device carrying the order container to a stop area corresponding to the first WS; and controlling the material handling equipment by a control device so that after the outgoing part of the items is placed in the order container carried by the transport device, the control device outgoes the other part of the items corresponding to the order from the storage area to a second WS which is a WS from which the other part of the items can be outgoing, and controlling the transport device so that the transport device carrying the order container moves to a stop area corresponding to the second WS. Control methods.

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