Transport system, transport method, and program

Abstract

[Problem] To improve shipping efficiency. [Solution] A conveyance system 1 for conveying a package sorted on the basis of a shipping order, the conveyance system comprising: conveyance vehicles 4 that travel from a starting location to destination locations to convey a package; a conveyance path 5 that includes a plurality of branch lines which the conveyance vehicles 4 travel, and that is configured so that the destination locations are respectively provided to the plurality of branch lines; and a conveyance instruction unit 11 that instructs conveyance of a package to a destination location of one branch line, from among the plurality of branch lines, having the smallest number of conveyance vehicles performing conveyance. At such time, in the conveyance system 1, the conveyance instruction unit 11 instructs a conveyance vehicle to convey a package to a destination location, from among the destination locations of the one branch line, which corresponds to a congestion condition.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a technique that is effective for transporting luggage in warehouses and the like. [Background technology]

[0002] When stored goods are shipped in a commercial warehouse, sorting work may be carried out to classify the goods by store or by product based on shipping instructions from the shipper. As an example of sorting equipment that performs such sorting work, Patent Document 1 discloses a sorting equipment that sorts articles conveyed on a conveyor line according to their destinations. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2013-245087 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In recent years, there has been a growing need for quick delivery and space-saving sorting equipment. In response to this, for example, transport equipment has been developed that allows workers to load packages onto a transport vehicle, and the vehicle then automatically moves to a collection location for the packages to be sent to the destination store and unloads the packages. However, since commercial warehouses ship a large number of packages in a short period of time, simply introducing sorting equipment using the above-mentioned conveying device could result in traffic congestion caused by conveying vehicles and a decrease in shipping efficiency. Therefore, there is a need for technology that can reduce congestion caused by transport vehicles and improve shipping efficiency. However, with the technology described in Patent Document 1, it is difficult to prevent traffic congestion caused by transport vehicles and improve shipping efficiency. Therefore, the present inventors focused on a mechanism for suppressing congestion caused by transport vehicles.

[0005] An object of the present invention is to provide a transport system, a transport method, and a program that can reduce traffic congestion caused by transport vehicles and improve shipping efficiency. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The present invention provides a conveyance system for conveying packages sorted based on shipping orders, comprising: a transport vehicle that travels from a starting position to a destination position and transports the luggage; a transport route having a plurality of branch lines on which the transport vehicle travels, the destination position being on each of the plurality of branch lines; a transport instruction unit that instructs the transport vehicle to transport the package to a destination position of one branch line having a smaller number of transport vehicles in operation among the plurality of branch lines; A transport system comprising:

[0007] According to the present invention, when transporting packages sorted based on a shipping order, the transport vehicles transport the packages to a destination location on a branch line with a small number of active transport vehicles. This prevents, for example, multiple transport vehicles from traveling to the same destination location, suppresses congestion caused by transport vehicles, and improves shipping efficiency.

[0008] Although the present invention is categorized as a system, the same effects and advantages can be obtained even when it is a method or a program. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] According to the present invention, it is possible to improve shipping efficiency. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an overview of a transport system 1. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the transport system 1. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically illustrating an example of a conveying path 5. [Figure 4]FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a transport instruction process executed by the computer 10. [Figure 5] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a transport vehicle 4 transporting luggage. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0011] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention (hereinafter referred to as "embodiments") will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following drawings, the same elements are designated by the same numbers or symbols throughout the description of the embodiments. As a prerequisite, the conveying system 1 sorts the total picked cargo based on the shipping order (information including shipper, shipping date, store code, store name, product code, quantity, etc.) obtained from a WMS (Warehouse Management System) (not shown) in a warehouse, etc.

[0012] [Transport System 1 Overview] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram for explaining an overview of a transport system 1. As shown in FIG. The components of the transport system 1 will be described with reference to FIG. The transport system 1 is a system that includes at least a WCS (Warehouse Control System) 2 and a sorting facility 3. The sorting facility 3 includes a transport vehicle 4 and a transport route 5. WCS2 is a system for controlling material handling equipment and IoT devices in warehouses. Material handling equipment includes, for example, loading equipment such as forklifts and vanning / devanning systems, transport equipment such as automatic guided vehicles (AGVs), overhead traveling vehicles, and artificial intelligence (AI)-equipped automatic transport robots, sorting equipment such as conveyors and sorters, storage equipment such as automated warehouses, digital picking systems, and shipping equipment such as automatic box formers. In this specification, transport equipment and sorting equipment are collectively referred to as sorting equipment. The WCS2 includes a computer 10 with server functionality, which may be implemented as a single computer or multiple computers, such as a cloud computer. The computer 10 executes the processes executed by the WCS2. In this specification, a cloud computer may refer to either a computer that uses any computer in a scalable manner to perform a specific function, or a computer that includes multiple functional modules to realize a system and uses the functions in any combination. The transport vehicle 4 travels from a starting position to a destination position and transports luggage. The transport vehicle 4 is, for example, a vehicle-type transport machine (e.g., an AGV) that travels on a transport route 5 described below. The transport vehicle 4 transports luggage loaded by a worker to a destination position on the transport route 5. The luggage loaded on this transport vehicle 4 is indicated by a hatched circle. The transport vehicle 4 transports the luggage to a destination position with the same number as the number written in this circle. The conveyance route 5 is a route for transporting luggage in a warehouse. The conveyance route 5 has multiple branch lines along which the transport vehicles 4 travel, and each of the multiple branch lines has a destination position. These destination positions are intended to be the exits of sorting devices such as conveyors for allocating products, and are the destinations for dropping luggage. These destination positions are indicated by circles numbered 1 to 30 that are displayed around the conveyance route 5. Furthermore, there are multiple transport routes 5 in the warehouse, and they are managed by system. A system is a character string or the like assigned to each transport route 5, and a different character string is assigned to each transport route 5, for example, the transport route 5 shown in Fig. 1 is system A, and another transport route 5 (not shown) existing in the warehouse is system B, etc.

[0013] An outline of the processing steps when the conveyance system 1 conveys packages sorted based on shipping orders will be described.

[0014] The computer 10 acquires product information and induction information (step S0). The induction information includes, for example, the route, branch line identification number, carrier ID, status, and waiting time. When a worker places a package into the drop-in port, the computer 10 acquires the product information of the package (e.g., product ID, product name, shipping destination, and identification number of the destination location) from a scanner that reads the product information of the package. The computer 10 acquires induction information from the sorting equipment 3.

[0015] The computer 10 instructs the transport vehicle 4 to transport a package to a destination location that has one branch line among a plurality of branch lines on which the number of transport vehicles 4 currently in transport is small (step S1). Based on the acquired induction information, the computer 10 identifies the congestion status of the transport vehicles 4. In accordance with the identified congestion status, the computer 10 instructs the transport vehicles 4 to transport the package to a destination location that has one branch line among multiple branch lines that has the fewest number of transport vehicles 4 currently in transport. For example, based on the acquired induction information, the computer 10 determines a branch line that currently has the fewest number of guided vehicles 4. The computer 10 instructs the transport of the package to the destination position of the determined branch line.

[0016] The above is an overview of the transport system 1. According to the present transport system 1, it is possible to improve shipping efficiency.

[0017] [Device configuration] 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the conveyance system 1. The conveyance system 1 is a system that displays the conveyance status of packages, and is composed of at least a WCS 2 and a sorting facility 3 (conveyance vehicles 4 and conveyance routes 5). In the conveyance system 1, the WCS 2 and the sorting equipment 3 are connected to each other so as to be able to perform data communications via a network 7 such as a public line network or an intranet. The components of the transport system 1 are merely examples, and the number, types, and functions of terminals and devices not shown can be changed as appropriate.

[0018] As described above, the WCS2 is a system for controlling material handling equipment, IoT devices, etc. in a warehouse. As described above, the WCS2 includes a computer 10 having a server function that executes various processes. The computer 10 has a control unit such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), RAM (Random Access Memory), ROM (Read Only Memory), etc., and a communication unit such as a device that enables communication with other terminals and devices, and a transport instruction unit 11 that instructs the transport vehicle 4 to transport the cargo to a destination location on one of multiple branch lines that has the fewest number of transport vehicles 4 currently in transport. The computer 10 includes, as a processing unit, various devices that execute various processes.

[0019] In the computer 10, the control unit reads a predetermined program, and in cooperation with the communication unit, realizes a product information acquisition module, an induction information acquisition module, and a transport instruction module. In addition, in the computer 10, the control unit reads a predetermined program, and thereby cooperates with the processing unit to realize a specific module and a decision module.

[0020] As described above, the transport vehicle 4 travels from a starting position to a destination position and transports luggage. The transport vehicle 4 is, for example, a transport facility such as a vehicle-type transport machine (e.g., an AGV) that travels along a transport route 5. In this embodiment, the transport vehicle 4 will be described as a vehicle-type transport machine. The transport vehicle 4 travels on the transport route 5 based on instructions from the WCS 2, etc. The transport vehicle 4 travels to a starting position and loads the cargo. With the cargo loaded, the transport vehicle 4 travels to a predetermined destination position and drops the loaded cargo at this destination position. After dropping the cargo, the transport vehicle 4 travels to a predetermined position (for example, the starting position). The transport vehicle 4 is merely an example, and the transport unit in the present invention is not limited to the transport vehicle 4.

[0021] As described above, the conveying route 5 is a route for transporting luggage in a warehouse, and has multiple branch lines along which the transport vehicles 4 run, each of which has a destination position. The conveying route 5 is, for example, a sorting device such as a conveyor. In this embodiment, the conveying route 5 will be described as a conveyor. The conveying route 5 is composed of one main line and multiple branch lines connected to this main line (see Figure 3). The conveying route 5 has one or multiple destination positions (hereinafter, destination positions will also be referred to as "chutes") on each of the multiple branch lines. As mentioned above, these destination positions are intended to be the exits of sorting devices such as conveyors that distribute products, and are the destinations where packages are dropped. As described above, a plurality of transport routes 5 exist in the warehouse and are managed by system. As described above, a system is a system in which a different character string is assigned to each transport route 5. The conveying path 5 will be described with reference to Fig. 3. This figure is a diagram showing a schematic example of the conveying path 5. The transport route 5 is configured by a main line 20, and a first branch line 21, a second branch line 22, and a third branch line 23 connected to the main line 20. The first branch line 21 has a rectangular structure with five chutes set on one side of the long side and five chutes set on the other side of the long side. One side of this long side is the first lane 210, and the other side of this long side is the second lane 211. The second branch line 22 and the third branch line 23 also have a rectangular structure, with five chutes set on one side of the long side and five chutes set on the other side of the long side. Similarly, the second branch line 22 and the third branch line 23 also have first lanes 220, 230 on one side of the long side and second lanes 221, 231 on the other side of the long side. 3, white circles represent chutes, and the numbers written inside the white circles indicate the chutes' numbers. In the first branch line 21, chutes numbered 1 to 5 are set in the first lane 210, and chutes numbered 6 to 10 are set in the second lane 211. In the second branch line 22, chutes numbered 11 to 15 are set in the first lane 220, and chutes numbered 16 to 20 are set in the second lane 221. In the third branch line 23, chutes numbered 21 to 25 are set in the first lane 230, and chutes numbered 26 to 30 are set in the second lane 231. In this embodiment, the conveying path 5 will be described as the conveying path 5 shown in FIG. The above-described conveying path 5 is merely an example, and the conveying path in the present invention is not limited to the conveying path 5 shown in Fig. 3. Similarly, the positions, numbers, and other details of the chutes set on the conveying path 5 are not limited to those shown in Fig. 3.

[0022] Hereinafter, each process executed by the transport system 1 will be described together with the process executed by each of the above-mentioned modules. In this specification, each module may execute its processing content as its own function, or may execute its processing content via a predetermined application.

[0023] [Transport instruction processing executed by computer 10] The transport instruction process executed by the computer 10 will be described with reference to Fig. 4. This figure shows a flowchart of the transport instruction process executed by the computer 10. This transport instruction process shows details of the acquisition process (step S0) for acquiring the above-mentioned product information and induction information, and the transport instruction process (step S1) for instructing a transport vehicle to transport a package to a destination location having one branch line with the fewest number of transport vehicles in operation among multiple branch lines.

[0024] The product information acquisition module acquires product information of the package to be transported (step S10). The product information is information about the product, such as the product ID, product name, shipping destination, and the identification number of the destination location. When an operator inserts a package into the insertion slot, the operator uses a scanner to read the product information of the package. The scanner then transmits the read product information of the package to the computer 10. The product information acquisition module receives this product information and thereby acquires the product information of the package to be transported. Note that the computer 10 executes the processing of step S11, which will be described later, only when there are multiple destination locations for the package to be transported this time, based on the acquired product information. On the other hand, if there are not multiple destination locations for the package to be transported this time (if there is only one destination location), the computer 10 does not execute the processing from step S11, which will be described later, and ends this transport instruction processing. In other words, the computer 10 executes the processing from step S11 onwards only when there are multiple destination locations for any one package.

[0025] The induction information acquisition module acquires induction information in the sorting equipment 3 (step S11). The induction information includes, for example, a route, a transport vehicle ID, a status, and a waiting time. is. The induction information acquisition module requests the sorting equipment 3 to transmit induction information. Based on this request, the sorting equipment 3 transmits its own induction information to the computer 10. The induction information acquisition module receives this induction information to acquire the induction information in the sorting equipment 3.

[0026] The identification module identifies the congestion state based on the acquired induction information (step S12). The identification module identifies the congestion state based on, for example, the status of each guided vehicle 4 present on each of the first to third branch lines. Specifically, the identification module identifies which branch line each guided vehicle 4 is present on and which guided vehicle 4 is currently transporting luggage based on the system and status of each guided vehicle 4 in the acquired induction information. The identification module counts the number of guided vehicles 4 identified as currently transporting luggage on each branch line. The identification module identifies the congestion state based on this counting result. The identification module may identify, as the congestion state, whether the number of guided vehicles 4 is high or low, may identify the number of guided vehicles 4 itself, may identify whether a preset number is exceeded, or may identify other details.

[0027] The determination module determines a destination location according to the congestion situation (step S13). The destination location according to the congestion situation is, for example, a chute with a small number of transport vehicles 4 transporting luggage, a chute with a large number of remaining jobs or a chute with a small number of remaining jobs, or a chute based on the priority set in advance for each chute. The remaining number of jobs is the planned number of jobs assigned before the work minus the number of jobs already put into the chute. The determination module sets multiple chute candidates based on the acquired product information. At this time, chutes that have already completed sorting and inserting the parcel are excluded when setting the chute candidates. For example, if there are three chutes that are the destination based on the acquired product information, the determination module sets these three chutes as chute candidates. However, if there is a chute (for example, one) among these three chutes that has already completed sorting and inserting the parcel, this one chute is excluded and the other two chutes are set as chute candidates. The decision module decides on one of the two shot candidates depending on the congestion situation. In this embodiment, it is assumed that chutes 1 to 30 are assigned in advance as destination locations based on the acquired product information. The determination module determines one of these chutes 1 to 30 according to the congestion situation.

[0028] The method by which the determination module determines a destination location according to the congestion situation will be described with reference to Fig. 5. The figure is a diagram showing a schematic example of a transport vehicle 4 transporting luggage. The transport route 5 shown in Fig. 5 is the same as the transport route 5 shown in Fig. 3 described above. In Fig. 5, a plurality of transport vehicles 4 are shown on a transport route 5. Furthermore, some of the plurality of transport vehicles 4 are loaded with packages 50. The numbers written inside the packages 50 indicate the numbers of the chutes to which the packages 50 will be transported. Furthermore, the numbers written near chutes 11 to 20 indicate the remaining number of jobs. In the above-mentioned step S11, the induction information acquisition module will be described assuming that it has acquired the induction information in the state shown in FIG. First, the determination module sets chutes No. 1 to No. 30 as chute candidates based on the acquired product information. Next, the determination module determines, among the first branch line 21, the second branch line 22, and the third branch line 23 of the conveyance route 5, the branch line having the fewest number of guided vehicles 4 currently conveying luggage 50. Here, the determination module determines this branch line based on the identified congestion situation. Since three guided vehicles 4 are conveying luggage 50 on the first branch line 21, one guided vehicle 4 is conveying luggage 50 on the second branch line 22, and two guided vehicles 4 are conveying luggage 50 on the third branch line 23, the determination module determines the second branch line 22, which has the fewest number of guided vehicles 4 conveying luggage 50, as the branch line including the destination position according to the congestion situation. In addition, when there are multiple branch lines with the same number of transport vehicles 4 transporting luggage 50, the determination module may select multiple branch lines as target branch lines when determining the chute, which will be described later. For example, when the same number of transport vehicles 4 are transporting luggage 50 on the second branch line 22 and the third branch line 23, the target chute may be determined from among chutes No. 11 to No. 20 on the second branch line 22 and chutes No. 21 to No. 30 on the third branch line 23. Next, the determination module determines a chute according to the congestion state. The determination module determines a chute to be the transport destination from among chutes 11 to 20 of the determined second branch line 22. The determination module determines the chute to be the destination of the transfer depending on the number of currently transporting vehicles 4. The determination module determines the chute with the fewest currently transporting vehicles 4 as the destination of the transfer. Currently, a transfer vehicle 4 is transferring a package 50 to chute number 11 on the second branch line 22, so the determination module determines the other chutes, numbered 12 to 20, as the destination of the transfer. Next, the determination module determines the chute to be the destination of the transfer, either in descending order of the remaining work amount for each determined chute, or in descending order of the remaining work amount for each determined chute. Here, a case will be described in which the determination module determines the chute to be the destination of the transfer, in descending order of the remaining work amount. Currently, of the chutes 12 to 20, chutes 16 and 18 have the largest number of remaining work amounts, so the determination module determines chutes 16 and 18 as the destination of the transfer. Finally, the determination module determines the chute to which the ball will be transferred based on the priority set in advance for each chute. Here, we will explain the case where the chute to which the ball will be transferred is determined based on the priority set in advance in the order of the chute numbers. Of the chute numbers 16 and 18, the determination module determines the chute number 16, which has the lower number, as the chute to which the ball will be transferred. If the order is set to the order of the largest number of remaining jobs, there is a risk that transport to the chute with the fewest remaining jobs will not be performed until the overall number of remaining jobs is equalized. Therefore, depending on the load status, the decision module can change the order from the order of the largest number of remaining jobs to the order of the fewest remaining jobs, and determine the chute to be transported to, thereby allowing for equal transport. Furthermore, the number of transports is calculated as a whole, not as an individual unit of luggage. Therefore, although there is a possibility that the same luggage may be transported repeatedly on the same branch line, the aim is to make the number of transports uniform overall. Furthermore, if the priority set for each chute is the same for all chutes, the determination module may determine the chute to which the ball will be transported based on the order of the chute numbers. Furthermore, in the above example, a combination of multiple methods is used as a method for determining a destination location depending on the congestion situation, but a single method may also be used.

[0029] Returning to FIG. 4, the rest of the transport instruction process will be described. The transport instruction module instructs the transport vehicle 4 to transport the package to the determined destination position (step S14). The transport instruction module transmits a movement instruction to the transport vehicle 4 and controls the transport vehicle 4. At this time, the transport instruction module instructs the transport vehicle 4 to travel along the second branch line 22 and transport the loaded cargo to chute No. 16, which has been determined as the destination. The travel of the transport vehicle 4 will now be described. The transport vehicle 4 moves to the baggage drop-in port. The worker loads the baggage onto the transport vehicle 4 after reading the product information. After loading the baggage, the transport vehicle 4 travels with the loaded baggage into the determined chute No. 16. The transport vehicle 4 drops the loaded baggage into chute No. 16. After dropping the baggage, the transport vehicle 4 travels to the specified position.

[0030] The above is the transport instruction process.

[0031] Although the above-described processes are described as separate processes, the computer 10 can be configured to execute a combination of some or all of the above-described processes. Also, the computer 10 can be configured to execute each process at a timing other than the timing described.

[0032] The above-described means and functions are realized by a computer (including a CPU, an information processing device, and various terminals) reading and executing a predetermined program. The program may be provided, for example, from a computer via a network (Software as a Service (SaaS)) or as a cloud service. The program may also be provided in a form recorded on a computer-readable recording medium. In this case, the computer reads the program from the recording medium, transfers it to an internal or external recording device, records it, and executes it. The program may also be pre-recorded on a recording device (recording medium) and provided to the computer from the recording device via a communication line.

[0033] Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments. Furthermore, the effects described in the embodiments of the present invention are merely a list of the most preferable effects resulting from the present invention, and the effects of the present invention are not limited to those described in the embodiments of the present invention.

[0034] The first form disclosed in this embodiment is a conveying system 1 that conveys luggage to be sorted based on a shipping order, and includes a conveying vehicle 4 that travels from a starting position to a destination position and conveys the luggage, a conveying route 5 that has a plurality of branch lines along which the conveying vehicle 4 travels and has the destination position on each of the plurality of branch lines, and a conveying instruction unit 11 that instructs the conveying vehicle 4 to convey the luggage to the destination position on one of the plurality of branch lines that has the fewest number of conveying vehicles 4 currently in conveyance.

[0035] The second form disclosed in this embodiment is a conveying system described in the first aspect, in which the conveying instruction unit 11 instructs the conveying vehicle 4 to convey the luggage to a destination position among the destination positions on the one branch line according to the congestion situation.

[0036] A third aspect disclosed in this embodiment is a conveying system described in the second aspect, wherein the destination location according to the congestion situation is a destination location where the number of conveying vehicles 4 currently conveying the luggage is small.

[0037] A fourth aspect disclosed in this embodiment is the conveying system according to the second aspect, wherein the destination location according to the congestion situation is either a destination location with a large number of remaining tasks or a destination location with a small number of remaining tasks.

[0038] A fifth aspect disclosed in this embodiment is a conveying system according to the second aspect, wherein the destination location according to the congestion status is a destination location based on a priority previously set for each destination location. [Explanation of symbols]

[0039] 1. Transport system 2. WCS 3 Sorting equipment 4 Transport vehicles 5. Transport Route 7 Network 10. Computers 11 Transport instruction section 20 main line 21 1st branch line 210, 220, 230 Lane 1 211, 221, 231 Second lane 22 Second branch line 23 3rd branch line 50 luggage

Claims

1. A conveyance system that conveys packages sorted based on shipping orders, a transport vehicle that travels from a starting position to a destination position and transports the luggage; a transport route having a plurality of branch lines on which the transport vehicle travels, the destination position being on each of the plurality of branch lines; a transport instruction unit that instructs the transport vehicle to transport the package to a destination position of one branch line having a smaller number of transport vehicles in operation among the plurality of branch lines; A transport system comprising:

2. the transport instruction unit instructs the transport vehicle to transport the luggage to a destination position among destination positions on the one branch line according to a congestion situation; The transport system according to claim 1 .

3. the destination location according to the congestion status is a destination location where the number of the transport vehicles currently transporting the luggage is small; The transport system according to claim 2 .

4. The destination location according to the congestion status is either a destination location with a large number of remaining tasks or a destination location with a small number of remaining tasks. The transport system according to claim 2 .

5. The destination location according to the congestion status is a destination location based on a priority level set in advance for each destination location. The transport system according to claim 2 .

6. A computer-implemented method for transporting packages sorted based on shipping orders, comprising: A transport method for a transport route having a plurality of branch lines on which transport vehicles for transporting the luggage travel from a starting position to a destination position, with the destination position being on each of the plurality of branch lines, the method comprising the step of instructing the transport vehicle to transport the luggage to the destination position on one of the plurality of branch lines that has the fewest number of transport vehicles currently transporting the luggage.

7. A computer that transports packages sorted based on shipping orders a step of instructing a transport vehicle to transport the luggage to the destination position on one of the plurality of branch lines having a smaller number of transport vehicles currently in transport, in a transport route having a plurality of branch lines on which transport vehicles for transporting the luggage travel from a starting position to a destination position, the plurality of branch lines having a destination position on each of the plurality of branch lines; A computer-readable program for executing the program.

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