Allocation Device

Abstract

To provide an allocation device improved in the conveyance efficiency of a conveyance vehicle system.SOLUTION: An allocation device 100 has a conveyance request acquisition part 101 sequentially acquiring the conveyance request, an allocation part 103 sequentially allocating the conveyance request to a conveyance vehicle 230, and a state grasping part 102 grasping a position of the conveyance vehicle 230 and an allocation state of the conveyance request. The allocation part 103 allocates the conveyance request in a time priority mode from a standby conveyance vehicle inside, when the state grasping part 102 grasps that the standby conveyance vehicle exists, and allocates the conveyance request in a distance priority mode from an executing conveyance vehicle inside, on the basis of a conveyance destination included in the allocated conveyance request, when the state grasping part 102 grasps that the standby conveyance vehicle does not exist.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an allocation device that allocates a transport request, which is information relating to the transport of luggage, to a transport vehicle that transports the luggage, based on the transport request. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, there exists a transport vehicle system that includes a plurality of transport vehicles that transport luggage, and an allocation device that sequentially acquires transport requests, also known as from-to information, which is information for the transport vehicles to transport luggage from the source to the destination, and determines which transport vehicle from the plurality of transport vehicles to allocate the transport request to.

[0003] For example, Patent Document 1 describes a transport vehicle system in which, for multiple transport vehicles traveling along a predetermined track, if an empty transport vehicle is present within a predetermined distance behind a loaded transport vehicle that arrives at a load port first, the transport vehicle system assigns a transport request to the rear transport vehicle. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2010-61524 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] In a guided vehicle system, the allocation of sequentially occurring transport requests to a guided vehicle affects transport efficiency. There are two main methods for allocating transport requests. One is distance priority mode, which allocates the request to the guided vehicle that is closest to the source of the transport, and the other is time priority mode, which allocates the request to the guided vehicle that will arrive at the source of the transport the earliest. Conventionally, guided vehicle systems are operated after the designer has decided in advance whether to use distance priority mode or time priority mode, and it is unclear whether the optimal mode is being adopted.

[0006] The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and has as its object to provide an allocation device that can allocate transportation requests in accordance with the status of a transportation vehicle system. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, an allocation device, which is one aspect of the present invention, comprises a transport request acquisition unit that sequentially acquires transport requests, which are information for having a transport vehicle transport cargo from a transport source to a transport destination, an allocation unit that sequentially allocates the acquired transport requests to one of the transport vehicles, and a situation understanding unit that understands the position of the transport vehicle and the allocation status of the transport request.If the situation understanding unit is aware that there is a waiting transport vehicle, which is a transport vehicle that does not have work when the transport request is acquired, the allocation unit determines a transport vehicle to which the transport request is to be allocated in time priority mode from among the waiting transport vehicles, and if the situation understanding unit is aware that there is no waiting transport vehicle, the allocation unit determines a transport vehicle to which the transport request is to be allocated in distance priority mode from among the active transport vehicles, which are transport vehicles to which the transport request is allocated, based on the transport destination included in the allocated transport request. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] According to the present invention, the allocation mode can be changed depending on the allocation status of the transport requests, thereby improving the transport efficiency. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an example of a guided vehicle system. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the allocation device. [Figure 3] 10 is a flowchart showing a first processing flow of the allocation device. [Figure 4] 10 is a flowchart showing a second processing flow of the allocation device. [Figure 5] 10 is a flowchart showing a third processing flow of the allocation device. [Figure 6] 10 is a flowchart showing a fourth processing flow of the allocation device. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0010] Hereinafter, an embodiment of an allocation device according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the following embodiment is presented as an example to explain the present invention and is not intended to limit the present invention. For example, the shapes, structures, materials, components, relative positional relationships, connection states, numerical values, mathematical formulas, the content of each step in a method, and the order of each step shown in the following embodiment are merely examples and may include content not described below. Furthermore, while geometric expressions such as parallel and orthogonal may be used, these expressions do not indicate mathematical precision and include substantially acceptable errors, deviations, etc. Furthermore, expressions such as simultaneous and identical also include substantially acceptable ranges.

[0011] The drawings are schematic diagrams in which emphasis, omission, or adjustment of proportions is appropriately made for the purpose of explaining the present invention, and differ from the actual shapes, positional relationships, and proportions. The X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis shown in the drawings represent Cartesian coordinates arbitrarily set for the purpose of explaining the drawings. In other words, the Z-axis is not necessarily an axis along the vertical direction, and the X-axis and Y-axis are not necessarily located within a horizontal plane.

[0012] In addition, in the following, multiple inventions may be collectively described as one embodiment, and some of the contents described below may be described as optional components related to the present invention.

[0013] 1 is a perspective view showing an example of a guided vehicle system 200. Although not particularly limited, in this embodiment, the guided vehicle system 200 includes an automated warehouse 210, a station 220, a guided vehicle 230, a charging point 240, and an allocation device 100.

[0014] The automated warehouse 210 is a facility that can store a predetermined number of packages 300, automatically carry the packages 300 into each storage location, and carry the packages 300 out of each storage location. In this embodiment, the automated warehouse 210 has a plurality of output locations where the packages 300 can be handed over to the transport vehicle 230, and a plurality of input locations where the packages can be received from the transport vehicle 230. The output locations are the origin of the transport vehicle 230, and the input locations are the destination of the transport vehicle 230. Note that the automated warehouse 210 may have a location that realizes both the output function and the input function.

[0015] Station 220 is a facility or location where packages 300 can be received from transport vehicles 230 and handed over to transport vehicles 230. In this embodiment, transport vehicle system 200 includes a plurality of stations 220. Station 220 is a so-called picking station where an assigned worker or robot picks up a predetermined number of items from the received packages 300 and stores the picked items in another package 300. In addition, at station 220, the package 300 from which the items have been picked is handed over to transport vehicle 230.

[0016] The transport vehicle 230 is a cart that can receive the luggage 300 at a location specified in the transport request in accordance with an allocated transport request, transport the luggage 300 to the location specified in the transport request, and hand over the transported luggage 300. In the present embodiment, the transport vehicle 230 is an unmanned cart that autonomously travels on a floor surface without a track in accordance with a transport request, and is equipped with a transfer device that can receive and hand over the luggage 300.

[0017] In the guided vehicle system 200, the guided vehicles 230 are classified into working guided vehicles that have work to do and standby guided vehicles that do not have work to do. The working guided vehicles are also classified into active guided vehicles that have been assigned a transportation request and charging guided vehicles that require charging. The need for charging includes a state in which charging is scheduled, a state in which the vehicle is heading to a charging point 240 for charging, and a state in which the vehicle is charging at the charging point 240. A state in which charging is scheduled exists, for example, when the remaining battery charge of the guided vehicle 230 falls below a remaining charge threshold.

[0018] The charging point 240 is a facility for charging the batteries of the arriving and connected guided vehicle 230. In this embodiment, the guided vehicle system 200 is provided with a plurality of charging points 240.

[0019] 2 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the allocation device 100. The allocation device 100 is a computer system that can process acquired information and output the processing results to the transport vehicle 230, and includes a transport request acquisition unit 101, a situation assessment unit 102, and an allocation unit 103 as processing units that are realized by causing a processor to execute a program. Note that the computer system that functions as the allocation device 100 may also include other functions, such as a function to control the automated warehouse 210.

[0020] The transport request acquisition unit 101 is a processing unit that acquires a transport request, which is information for causing a transport vehicle to transport a package from a transport source, such as a take-out location of the automated warehouse 210 or a delivery location of the station 220, to a transport destination, such as a take-in location of the automated warehouse 210 or a receiving location of the station 220. There are no particular limitations on where the transport request is acquired from, but in this embodiment, the transport request is acquired from the host computer 310. The timing at which transport requests are generated in the host computer 310 is random, and the transport request acquisition unit 101 acquires the transport requests in the order in which they are generated in the host computer 310.

[0021] The transportation request is information that includes at least information indicating the location of the transportation origin and information indicating the location of the transportation destination. In this embodiment, the transportation request includes at least one of receipt deadline information indicating the date by which the package 300 must be received at the transportation origin and delivery deadline information indicating the date by which the package 300 must be delivered to the transportation destination.

[0022] The status ascertaining unit 102 ascertains the position of each of the guided vehicles 230 and an allocation status indicating whether a transportation request has been allocated to the guided vehicle 230. The method by which the status ascertaining unit 102 ascertains the status is not particularly limited, and examples include a method of directly acquiring the status from the guided vehicle 230, a method of acquiring the status from the allocation unit 103, and a method of acquiring the status from the host computer 310. Specifically, the status ascertaining unit 102 ascertains whether the work guided vehicle is a working guided vehicle or a standby guided vehicle that is not having work. In the present embodiment, the status ascertaining unit 102 ascertains whether the work guided vehicles are active guided vehicles or charging guided vehicles. Furthermore, the status ascertaining unit 102 ascertains at least the number of standby guided vehicles. The status ascertaining unit 102 may ascertain the number of active guided vehicles and the number of charging guided vehicles.

[0023] The status ascertaining unit 102 may ascertain the number of waiting transport vehicles or the presence or absence of waiting transport vehicles as an expected state a predetermined time (for example, several seconds) after the transport request acquisition unit 101 acquires the transport request. Specifically, the status ascertaining unit 102 may ascertain the progress status of the transport vehicles 230 to which the transport request is assigned, and may ascertain that the transport vehicles 230 for which the time until the transport request is completed is less than the expected completion threshold are waiting transport vehicles. Furthermore, the status ascertaining unit 102 may ascertain the progress of charging of the charging transport vehicles, and may ascertain that the transport vehicles 230 for which the time until the charging is completed is less than the expected completion threshold are waiting transport vehicles.

[0024] The allocation unit 103 is a processing unit that sequentially allocates the transportation requests acquired by the transportation request acquisition unit 101 to any of the transportation vehicles 230. When the situation ascertaining unit 102 determines that there is a standby transportation vehicle when the transportation request acquisition unit 101 acquires a transportation request, the allocation unit 103 determines a transportation vehicle 230 to which the transportation request is to be allocated in a time-priority mode from among the standby transportation vehicles. When the situation ascertaining unit 102 determines that there is no standby transportation vehicle, the allocation unit 103 determines a transportation vehicle 230 to which the transportation request is to be added and allocated in a distance-priority mode from among the active transportation vehicles based on the transportation destination included in the allocated transportation request. Note that, in the time-priority mode, determining a transportation vehicle 230 to which the transportation request is to be allocated from among the standby transportation vehicles does not deny the allocation of the transportation request to a transportation vehicle 230 other than the standby transportation vehicle under other conditions (see below). Similarly, in the distance-priority mode, determining a transportation vehicle 230 to which the transportation request is to be allocated from among the active transportation vehicles does not deny the allocation of the transportation request to a transportation vehicle 230 other than the active transportation vehicle.

[0025] Specifically, in the time priority mode, the position of each standby transport vehicle is acquired from the situation grasping unit 102, and the transport request is allocated to the standby transport vehicle that can reach the transport origin included in the transport request the earliest. In the distance priority mode, the transport request is allocated to the active transport vehicle that is closest in distance from the location of the transport destination allocated to each active transport vehicle to the transport origin of the allocated transport request.

[0026] Furthermore, when the number of standby transport vehicles is one or more but less than the vehicle number threshold, the allocation unit 103 may allocate the transport request in a time-priority mode from among the standby transport vehicles and the active transport vehicles, and when the number of standby transport vehicles is equal to or greater than the vehicle number threshold, the allocation unit 103 may allocate the transport request from among the standby transport vehicles. Specifically, the allocation unit 103 compares the time at which the standby transport vehicle arrives at the transport source included in the transport request with the time at which the active transport vehicle arrives at the transport source after completing the allocated transport request, and allocates the transport request to the transport vehicle 230 that will arrive at the transport source in the shortest time.

[0027] The method for determining the transportation vehicle that can arrive at the transportation origin earliest is not limited. In the present embodiment, the estimated arrival time of each transportation vehicle at the transportation origin is calculated in the following procedure, and the transportation vehicle is determined based on the calculation result.

[0028] (1) Estimate the estimated arrival time of each transport vehicle. 1.1. For running vehicles: (Estimated arrival time) = (Scheduled execution completion time) + (Shortest distance from execution completion position to the transfer origin) / (Average speed of the transport vehicle) + (Number of turns from the current location to the transfer origin) × (Time per turn) 1.2. For waiting vehicles: (Estimated arrival time) = (shortest distance from current location to origin) / (average speed of the transport vehicle) + (number of turns from current location to origin) x (time per turn) (2) The top few vehicles with the earliest estimated arrival times are selected, and a planned route is calculated taking into account route interference with other transport vehicles. (3) Based on the calculated planned route information (e.g., the longitudinal distance and number of times of travel of the transport vehicle, the turn time and number of turns), the estimated arrival time of each transport vehicle is calculated using a calculation formula similar to 1.1. or 1.2., with the approximate estimated arrival time being the estimated arrival time. (4) The transport vehicle with the earliest estimated arrival time is selected.

[0029] The planned route taking into consideration route interference with other guided vehicles can be calculated by, for example, Enhanced Conflict-Based Search.

[0030] Furthermore, when the situation ascertaining unit 102 ascertains that there are no waiting transport vehicles when a transport request is acquired, and the earliest timing at which a transport request allocated from among the active transport vehicles is completed exceeds a predetermined completion time threshold, the allocation unit 103 may switch from distance priority mode to time priority mode and determine a transport vehicle 230 to which the transport request is to be allocated. The timing at which the transport request is completed may be acquired based on delivery deadline information included in the transport request. Alternatively, the timing at which the transport request is completed may be acquired based on the lead time of the transport vehicle 230 ascertained by the situation ascertaining unit 102.

[0031] Furthermore, when the situation ascertaining unit 102 has determined that there are no waiting transport vehicles, but that there is a charging transport vehicle allocated to work toward a charging point, the allocation unit 103 may determine the transport vehicle 230 to which the transport request is to be allocated from among the charging transport vehicles based on the transport request to be allocated and the position of the charging point. Specifically, when the distance from the position at the time of determining the allocation of the charging transport vehicle (including the position before heading toward the charging point 240 and the position on the way to the charging point 240) to execute the allocated transport request and reach the charging point 240 is less than the distance threshold times the distance from the position of the charging transport vehicle directly toward the charging point 240, the allocation unit 103 may determine the transport vehicle 230 to which the transport request is to be allocated from among the charging transport vehicles.

[0032] Next, a first processing flow of the allocation device 100 will be described. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the first processing flow of the allocation device 100. As shown in FIG. 3, the status ascertaining unit 102 ascertains the status of the guided vehicles 230 (S101). Next, when the transport request acquiring unit 101 acquires a transport request (S102, Yes), the allocation unit 103 determines whether or not there are any waiting guided vehicles (S103). If there are waiting guided vehicles (S103, Yes), the allocation unit 103 determines a guided vehicle 230 to be allocated in the time-priority mode from among the waiting guided vehicles (S104). If there are no waiting guided vehicles (S103, No), the allocation unit 103 determines a guided vehicle 230 to be allocated in the distance-priority mode from among the active guided vehicles (S104). The above processing is repeated until the end of operation (S106). As described above, the status of each guided vehicle 230 is comprehensively assessed and the mode is changed to an appropriate mode, thereby improving the transport efficiency of the guided vehicle system 200.

[0033] Next, a second processing flow of the allocation device 100 will be described. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the second processing flow of the allocation device 100. As shown in FIG. 4, the status ascertaining unit 102 ascertains the status of the guided vehicles 230 (S201). Next, when the transport request acquisition unit 101 acquires a transport request (S202, Yes), the allocation unit 103 determines whether there are any waiting guided vehicles (S203). If there are waiting guided vehicles (S203, Yes), the allocation unit 103 further determines whether the number of waiting guided vehicles is less than the number threshold (S204). If the number of waiting guided vehicles is less than the number threshold (S204, Yes), the allocation unit 103 determines a guided vehicle 230 to be allocated in the time-priority mode from among the waiting guided vehicles and the active guided vehicles (S205). If the number of waiting guided vehicles is equal to or greater than the number threshold (S204, No), the allocation unit 103 determines a guided vehicle 230 to be allocated in the time-priority mode from among the waiting guided vehicles (S206). If there are no waiting guided vehicles (S203, No), the allocation unit 103 determines a guided vehicle 230 to be allocated in the distance priority mode from among the active guided vehicles (S207). The above process is repeated until the end of the operation (S208). As a result, when there are only a small number of waiting guided vehicles, the transportation efficiency of the guided vehicle system 200 can be improved by adding the active guided vehicles to the allocation targets in the time priority mode.

[0034] Next, a third processing flow of the allocation device 100 will be described. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the third processing flow of the allocation device 100. As shown in FIG. 5, the status ascertaining unit 102 ascertains the status of the guided vehicles 230 (S301). Next, when the transport request acquisition unit 101 acquires a transport request (S302, Yes), the allocation unit 103 determines whether there are any waiting guided vehicles (S303). If there are waiting guided vehicles (S303, Yes), the allocation unit 103 further determines whether the number of waiting guided vehicles is less than the vehicle number threshold (S304). If the number of waiting guided vehicles is less than the vehicle number threshold (S304, Yes), the allocation unit 103 determines a guided vehicle 230 to be allocated in the time-priority mode from among the waiting guided vehicles and the active guided vehicles (S305). If the number of waiting guided vehicles is equal to or greater than the vehicle number threshold (S304, No), the allocation unit 103 determines a guided vehicle 230 to be allocated in the time-priority mode from among the waiting guided vehicles (S306). If there are no standby guided vehicles (S303, No), the allocation unit 103 determines whether the time until the active guided vehicle completes the allocated transport request is less than the end time threshold (S307). If the time until the transport request is completed is less than the end time threshold (S307, Yes), the allocation unit 103 selects a guided vehicle 230 to which the transport request is to be allocated in the distance-priority mode from among the guided vehicles 230 whose time until the transport request is completed is less than the end time threshold (S308). If the time until the transport request is completed is equal to or greater than the end time threshold (S307, No), the allocation unit 103 selects a guided vehicle 230 to which the transport request is to be allocated in the time-priority mode from among the active guided vehicles (S309). The above process is repeated until the end of operation (S310). As described above, when there are no standby guided vehicles, the transport efficiency of the guided vehicle system 200 can be improved by selecting a mode according to the number of active guided vehicles.

[0035] Next, a fourth process flow of the allocation device 100 will be described. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the fourth process flow of the allocation device 100. As shown in FIG. 6, the status ascertaining unit 102 ascertains the status of the guided vehicles 230 (S401). Next, when the transport request acquisition unit 101 acquires a transport request (S402, Yes), the allocation unit 103 determines whether there are any waiting guided vehicles (S403). If there are waiting guided vehicles (S403, Yes), the allocation unit 103 further determines whether the number of waiting guided vehicles is less than the vehicle number threshold (S404). If the number of waiting guided vehicles is less than the vehicle number threshold (S404, Yes), the allocation unit 103 determines a guided vehicle 230 to be allocated in the time-priority mode from among the waiting guided vehicles and the active guided vehicles (S405). If the number of waiting guided vehicles is equal to or greater than the vehicle number threshold (S404, No), the allocation unit 103 determines a guided vehicle 230 to be allocated in the time-priority mode from among the waiting guided vehicles (S406). If there is no waiting transport vehicle (S403, No), the allocation unit 103 determines whether or not a charging transport vehicle exists (S407). If there is a charging transport vehicle (S407, Yes), the allocation unit 103 determines a transport vehicle 230 to which the transport request is to be allocated in the distance priority mode from among the charging transport vehicles and the active transport vehicles (S408). If there is no charging transport vehicle (S407, No), the allocation unit 103 determines a transport vehicle 230 to which the transport request is to be allocated in the distance priority mode from among the active transport vehicles (S409). The above process is repeated until the end of operation (S410). As described above, by adding charging transport vehicles to the allocation targets, the number of options for allocation targets increases, which in turn improves the transport efficiency of the transport vehicle system 200.

[0036] According to the allocation device 100 of the above embodiment, the mode is changed based on the presence or absence of waiting guided vehicles or the number of waiting guided vehicles, thereby improving the transportation efficiency of the guided vehicle system 200. Specifically, it is possible to avoid a phenomenon that occurs when the time priority mode is fixed, such as a phenomenon in which a guided vehicle 230 that is far away from the source of the transport request heads toward the destination, causing unnecessary congestion in a narrow space. Also, it is possible to avoid a phenomenon that occurs when the distance priority mode is fixed, such as a phenomenon in which transport requests are overlapped and allocated to an active guided vehicle despite the presence of a waiting guided vehicle, causing an imbalance in the number of transports among the guided vehicles 230.

[0037] Furthermore, by changing the mode in detail depending on the number of waiting transport vehicles, it is possible to further prevent inefficient allocation of transport requests.

[0038] Furthermore, when there are no waiting guided vehicles, the transport efficiency of the guided vehicle system 200 can be improved by switching between the distance priority mode and the time priority mode based on the time until the transport request of the active guided vehicle is completed.

[0039] Furthermore, by adding charging transport vehicles to the allocation targets of transport requests, the options for transport vehicles 230 to be allocated increase, making it possible to improve transport efficiency.

[0040] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments. For example, the present invention may be embodied in another embodiment by arbitrarily combining the components described in this specification or by excluding some of the components. Furthermore, the present invention also includes various modifications that would occur to a person skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the present invention, i.e., the meaning of the wording of the claims.

[0041] For example, in the above embodiment, the guided vehicle 230 is shown as being trackless, but the guided vehicle 230 may be tracked.

[0042] Furthermore, although multiple flows from the first processing flow to the fourth processing flow have been described, some of the processing may be omitted from these flows, or the allocation device 100 may process based on a new flow that combines some of the processing of these flows. [Industrial Applicability]

[0043] The present invention can be used in a guided vehicle system that includes a plurality of guided vehicles to which transport requests are assigned. [Explanation of symbols]

[0044] 100 Allocation device 101 Transport request acquisition unit 102 Situation Assessment Department 103 Allocation section 200 Transport Vehicle System 210 Automated Warehouse 220 Stations 230 Transport Vehicle 240 charging points 300 luggage 310 Upper Computer

Claims

1. a transportation request acquisition unit that sequentially acquires transportation requests, which are information for causing a transportation vehicle to transport a package from a transportation source to a transportation destination; an allocation unit that sequentially allocates the acquired transportation requests to any of the transportation vehicles; a status ascertaining unit that ascertains the position of the transport vehicle and the allocation status of the transport request, The allocation unit When the situation grasping unit grasps that there is a waiting transport vehicle that is a transport vehicle that does not have work when a transport request is acquired, the transport vehicle to which the transport request is to be assigned is determined in a time-priority mode in which the transport vehicle that has the earliest arrival time at the transport origin is assigned from among the waiting transport vehicles, and when the situation grasping unit grasps that there is no waiting transport vehicle, the transport vehicle to which the transport request is to be assigned is determined in a distance-priority mode in which the transport request is assigned to a transport vehicle that has the shortest distance to the transport origin based on the transport destination included in the assigned transport request from among the active transport vehicles that are transport vehicles to which the transport request is assigned. Allocation device.

2. The allocation unit When the situation grasping unit grasps that there are waiting transport vehicles when a transport request is generated, if the number of waiting transport vehicles is less than the number threshold, the transport request is allocated from among the waiting transport vehicles and the active transport vehicles, and if the number of waiting transport vehicles is equal to or greater than the number threshold, the transport request is allocated from among the waiting transport vehicles. The allocation device according to claim 1 .

3. The allocation unit When the situation grasping unit grasps that there is no waiting transport vehicle when a transport request is acquired, and when the timing at which the transport request allocated from among the active transport vehicles is completed earliest exceeds a predetermined completion time threshold, the mode is switched from the distance priority mode to the time priority mode, and a transport vehicle to which the transport request is allocated is determined.

3. The allocation device according to claim 1 or 2.

4. The allocation unit When the situation grasping unit grasps that there is no waiting transport vehicle and that there is a charging transport vehicle that is the transport vehicle that requires charging work, a transport vehicle to which the transport request is assigned is determined from among the charging transport vehicles based on the transport request and the location of the charging point. The allocation device according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

5. The situation grasping unit The number of waiting transport vehicles or the presence or absence of waiting transport vehicles is grasped based on the predicted state after a predetermined time from the time when the transport request acquisition unit acquires the transport request. The allocation device according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

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