Operation status acquisition system

Abstract

To acquire an operating situation of a conveyance device by using a tag.SOLUTION: An operation situation acquisition system is arranged at a carry-in / out position at which an article to be conveyed having a tag is carried in / out to / from a conveyance device, and comprises: a reading unit having a plurality of reading apparatuses for reading the tag of the article to be conveyed passing through the carry-in / out position; and an operating situation acquisition device for acquiring an operating situation of the conveyance device by using an order in which the tag is read by the plurality of reading apparatuses.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an operating status acquisition system. [Background technology]

[0002] There is known a technique for determining whether or not a pallet is loaded on a conveying device by reading a tag attached to the pallet (for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2020-100472 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] There is a demand for technology that uses tags to obtain the operating status of transport devices. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] The present disclosure can be realized in the following forms.

[0006] (1) According to one aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided an operation status acquisition system, the operation status acquisition system including: a reading unit disposed at a loading / unloading position where tagged objects are loaded into and unloaded from a conveying device, the reading unit having a plurality of reading devices that read the tags of the objects passing through the loading / unloading position; and an operation status acquisition device that acquires the operation status of the conveying device using the order in which the tags are read by the plurality of reading devices. According to this type of operating status acquisition system, it is possible to determine whether the transported items have been transported into or out of the transport device based on the order in which the tags are read by multiple reading devices, thereby making it possible to accurately acquire the operating status of the transport device. (2) In the above-described operating status acquisition system, the tag may record information on the size of the transported item, and the operating status acquisition device may acquire the operating status of the transporting device using the order in which the tag is read by the multiple reading devices, information on the size of the transported item read from the tag by at least one of the multiple reading devices, and information on the size of the cargo compartment of the transporting device that is stored in advance. According to this type of operating status acquisition system, the loading efficiency of the conveying device can be grasped based on information on the size of the cargo compartment of the conveying device and information on the size of the items being conveyed, so that more detailed operating status of the conveying device can be obtained. (3) In the above-described operating status acquisition system, the tag may record information on the weight of the transported item, and the operating status acquisition device may acquire the operating status of the transport device using the order in which the tag is read by the multiple reading devices, information on the weight of the transported item read from the tag by at least one of the multiple reading devices, and information on the maximum load weight of the transport device that is stored in advance. According to this type of operating status acquisition system, the loading efficiency of the conveying device can be grasped based on information on the maximum load weight of the conveying device and information on the weight of the transported items, so that more detailed operating status of the conveying device can be acquired. (4) The above-described operating status acquisition system may include a plurality of reading units arranged at a plurality of loading / unloading positions outside the conveying device, and the operating status acquisition device may acquire the operating status of the conveying device using the order in which the tags are read by the plurality of reading devices and the positions of the reading units having the plurality of reading devices that read the tags. According to this type of operation status acquisition system, it is possible to grasp at which loading / unloading position the transported item is being transported and at which loading / unloading position the transported item is being transported, thereby making it possible to acquire more detailed operation status of the transport device. (5) The above-described operational status acquisition system may include an alarm device that notifies that the transported item has not been removed from the transport device, and the operational status acquisition device may use the alarm device to notify that the transported item has not been removed from the transport device if a predetermined period of time has passed since the transported item was brought into the transport device without being removed. According to the operation status acquisition system of this embodiment, it is possible to prevent an object that has been carried into a conveying device from being left behind without being carried out from the conveying device. The present disclosure may be realized in various forms other than an operational status acquisition system, such as an operational status acquisition method. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0007] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram schematically illustrating the configuration of an operational status acquisition system. [Figure 2] 10 is a flowchart showing the contents of an operational status acquisition process. [Figure 3] 10 is a flowchart showing the contents of an operation start / end time acquisition process. [Figure 4] 10 is a flowchart showing the contents of a loading efficiency acquisition process. [Figure 5] FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of operational status data. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0008] A. First embodiment: FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram schematically illustrating the configuration of an operation status acquisition system 10 in a first embodiment. The operation status acquisition system 10 acquires the operation status of a transport device that transports transported objects. In this embodiment, the transport device is an elevator EL that moves up and down within a factory building, and the transported objects are pallets PL on which parts of products produced in the factory are placed. The pallets PL are carried in and out of the elevator EL by forklifts FL on each floor of the building. Note that the transported objects may not be pallets PL, but may be, for example, cardboard boxes.

[0009] The pallet PL has a tag TG. In this embodiment, the tag TG is an RFID tag. Various types of information are recorded on the tag TG. In the following description, the information recorded on the tag TG is referred to as tag information. In this embodiment, the tag information includes pallet information, which is information about the pallet PL, and component information, which is information about the components placed on the pallet PL. The pallet information includes, for example, the identification number, size, and weight of the pallet PL. The component information includes, for example, the identification number, number, and weight of the components placed on the pallet PL. Note that if the pallet PL is made of metal, the tag TG is preferably an anti-metal RFID tag. The tag TG is not limited to an RFID tag and may be, for example, a tag with a barcode or a two-dimensional code attached.

[0010] The operational status acquisition system 10 includes a plurality of reading units 20 and an operational status acquisition device 30. Each reading unit 20 is disposed at a loading / unloading position where a pallet PL is loaded into and unloaded from an elevator EL. In this embodiment, each reading unit 20 is disposed near the entrance / exit of the elevator EL on each floor. That is, each reading unit 20 is disposed outside the elevator EL. Each reading unit 20 has two reading devices 21, 22 disposed side by side along the loading / unloading path of the pallet PL. In the following description, of the two reading devices 21, 22, the one farther from the entrance / exit of the elevator EL will be referred to as the first reading device 21, and the one closer to the entrance / exit of the elevator EL will be referred to as the second reading device 22. When the two reading devices 21, 22 are described without any particular distinction, they will simply be referred to as the reading devices 21, 22.

[0011] In this embodiment, the first reading device 21 and the second reading device 22 are RFID readers. Each of the reading devices 21, 22 reads the tag TG of a pallet PL passing through the loading / unloading position to acquire tag information. Each of the reading devices 21, 22 is connected to the operation status acquisition device 30 by wired or wireless communication, and the tag information acquired by each of the reading devices 21, 22 is immediately transmitted to the operation status acquisition device 30. In order to reliably read the tag TG by the reading devices 21, 22, it is preferable that the pallet PL is loaded / unloaded so that the tag TG faces the reading devices 21, 22 directly, and it is preferable that the reading devices 21, 22 be located as close as possible to the loading / unloading path of the pallet PL.

[0012] The operational status acquisition device 30 is configured by a computer including a processor 31, a memory 32, an input / output interface 33, and an internal bus 34. The processor 31, the memory 32, and the input / output interface 33 are connected via the internal bus 34 to enable bidirectional communication. The memory 32 stores an operational status acquisition program PG and transport device information HD, which is information related to the transport device. When the processor 31 executes the operational status acquisition program PG, the computer functions as the operational status acquisition device 30. The transport device information HD includes, for example, information on the size of the cargo compartment of the elevator EL, which is the transport device, and the maximum load weight. The size of the cargo compartment of the elevator EL specifically refers to the maximum load volume and maximum load area of ​​the elevator EL. An input device 40 and a display device 50 are connected to the input / output interface 33. The input device 40 is, for example, a keyboard or a mouse, and the display device 50 is, for example, a liquid crystal display. Note that in other embodiments, the operational status acquisition device 30 may be configured by a combination of multiple circuits rather than a computer.

[0013] The operating status acquisition device 30 acquires the operating status of the elevator EL using the order in which the tags TG of the pallets PL were read by the first reading device 21 and the second reading device 22, the tag information of the tags TG read by the first reading device 21 and the second reading device 22, the conveying device information HD stored in the memory 32, and the position of the reading unit 20 having the first reading device 21 and the second reading device 22 that read the tags TG. For example, the operating status acquisition device 30 determines whether the pallets PL have been carried into or out of the elevator EL based on the order in which the tags TG of the pallets PL were read by the first reading device 21 and the second reading device 22, and determines whether the elevator EL is operating based on the history of carrying in and out. In this embodiment, when one or more pallets PL are loaded on the elevator EL, the operation status acquisition device 30 determines that the elevator EL is in operation regardless of whether the elevator EL is ascending or descending, and when no pallets PL are loaded on the elevator EL, the operation status acquisition device 30 determines that the elevator EL is not in operation, i.e., is stopped, regardless of whether the elevator EL is ascending or descending.

[0014] Furthermore, in this embodiment, if a predetermined period of time has passed since a pallet PL was carried into the elevator EL without being carried out, the operating status acquisition device 30 notifies the user that the pallet PL carried into the elevator EL has not been carried out from the elevator EL by displaying a message on the display device 50. For example, after a pallet PL with identification number "01" is carried into the elevator EL, a pallet PL with identification number "02" is carried into the elevator EL, and the pallet PL with identification number "01" is carried out before a predetermined period of time has passed since the pallet PL with identification number "01" was carried in, and a predetermined period of time has passed since the pallet PL with identification number "02" was carried in without the pallet PL with identification number "02" being carried out, the operating status acquisition device 30 displays a message on the display device 50 indicating that the pallet PL with identification number "02" has not been carried out from the elevator EL. Note that the display device 50 used to notify the user that a pallet PL carried into the elevator EL has not been carried out from the elevator EL may also be referred to as a notification device.

[0015] FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the contents of the operational status acquisition process. This process is repeatedly executed by the operational status acquisition device 30. In step S100, the operational status acquisition device 30 receives tag information from the readers 21 and 22 that read the tag TG. In step S200, the operational status acquisition device 30 executes an operation start / end time acquisition process to acquire the operation start time and operation end time of the elevator EL. In step S300, the operational status acquisition device 30 executes a loading efficiency acquisition process to acquire the loading efficiency, which is the ratio of the total load capacity to the maximum load capacity of the elevator EL. In this embodiment, the load capacity is expressed by volume. The load capacity may be expressed by area or weight instead of volume. The order of steps S200 and S300 may be reversed, or steps S200 and S300 may be executed simultaneously in parallel. Thereafter, the operational status acquisition device 30 ends the operational status acquisition process. As the operational status acquisition device 30 repeats the operational status acquisition process, information relating to the operational status of the elevator EL, such as the operation start time, operation end time, and loading efficiency, is accumulated in the memory 32 of the operational status acquisition device 30.

[0016] FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the operation start / end time acquisition process executed in the operation status acquisition process. When the operation start / end time acquisition process starts, in step S210, the operation status acquisition device 30 identifies the reading devices 21 and 22 that read the tag TG. Each reading device 21 and 22 is assigned an identification number that indicates its location and the type of the first reading device 21 and the second reading device 22. As shown in FIG. 1, in this embodiment, the identification numbers of the reading devices 21 and 22 are composed of a combination of numbers and letters. The numbers indicate the floor on which the reading device is located, with the letter "A" indicating the first reading device 21 and the letter "B" indicating the second reading device 22. Each reading device 21 and 22 transmits its assigned identification number along with tag information to the operation status acquisition device 30. The operation status acquisition device 30 uses the identification numbers of the reading devices 21 and 22 received along with the tag information to identify the location of the reading unit 20 that has the reading device 21 or 22 that read the tag TG.

[0017] In step S220, the operational status acquisition device 30 determines whether a pallet PL other than the pallet PL whose tag TG has been read is loaded on the elevator EL. In the following description, the pallet PL whose tag TG has been read is referred to as the input / output pallet, and a pallet PL other than the input / output pallet is referred to as another pallet. If the operational status of the elevator EL is in operation, the operational status acquisition device 30 determines that another pallet is loaded on the elevator EL, and if the operational status of the elevator EL is stopped, it determines that no other pallet is loaded on the elevator EL. The operational status acquisition device 30 can determine whether the elevator EL is in operation or stopped from the operation start time and operation end time recorded in memory 32.

[0018] If it is determined in step S220 that another pallet is loaded on the elevator EL, the operating status acquisition device 30 ends this process. If it is determined in step S220 that another pallet is not loaded on the elevator EL, the operating status acquisition device 30 determines in step S230 whether an incoming / outgoing pallet is being carried into the elevator EL.

[0019] If it is determined in step S230 that an input / output pallet is being carried into the elevator EL, the operation status acquisition device 30 records in step S240 in memory 32 the operation start time, which is the time when the elevator EL started operation, and the operation start floor, which is the floor where the elevator EL started operation, and ends this process. In this embodiment, the operation status acquisition device 30 records the time when tag information is received from the first reading device 21 or the second reading device 22 as the operation start time, and records the floor where the reading device 21, 22 that read the tag TG is located as the operation start floor.

[0020] If it is not determined in step S230 that an incoming / outgoing pallet will be carried into the elevator EL, that is, if it is determined that an incoming / outgoing pallet will be carried out from the elevator EL, the operation status acquisition device 30 records in step S245 in memory 32 the operation end time, which is the time when the elevator EL ended its operation, and the operation end floor, which is the floor where the elevator EL ended its operation, and ends this process. In this embodiment, the operation status acquisition device 30 records the time when tag information is received from the first reader 21 or the second reader 22 as the operation end time, and records the floor where the reader 21, 22 that read the tag TG is located as the operation end floor.

[0021] FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the loading efficiency calculation process executed in the operational status acquisition process. When the loading efficiency calculation process starts, in step S310, the operational status acquisition device 30 determines whether other pallets are loaded on the elevator EL, as in step S210. If it is determined in step S310 that other pallets are loaded on the elevator EL, the operational status acquisition device 30 acquires the total load weight of the other pallets loaded on the elevator EL from the memory 32 in step S320. In this embodiment, since the load weight is expressed by volume, the total load weight of the other pallets is expressed as the sum of the volumes of the other pallets. On the other hand, if it is not determined in step S310 that other pallets are loaded on the elevator EL, that is, if it is determined that no other pallets are loaded on the elevator EL, the operational status acquisition device 30 determines the total load weight of the elevator EL to be zero in step S325.

[0022] After step S320 or step S325, in step S330, the operating status acquisition device 30 determines whether an incoming or outgoing pallet will be carried into the elevator EL. If it is determined in step S330 that an incoming or outgoing pallet will be carried into the elevator EL, in step S340, the operating status acquisition device 30 adds the load capacity of the incoming or outgoing pallet included in the tag information to the total load capacity of the other pallets to calculate the total load capacity of the elevator EL after the incoming or outgoing pallet has been carried into, and records the total load capacity together with the time of carry-in in memory 32. In this embodiment, the operating status acquisition device 30 determines the time at which it receives tag information from the first reading device 21 or the second reading device 22 as the time of carry-in. On the other hand, if it is not determined in step S330 that an incoming / outgoing pallet will be carried into the elevator EL, that is, if it is determined that an incoming / outgoing pallet will be carried out from the elevator EL, the operating status acquisition device 30 calculates the total load capacity of the elevator EL after the incoming / outgoing pallet has been carried out by subtracting the load capacity of the incoming / outgoing pallet included in the tag information from the total load capacity of the other pallets in step S345, and records the total load capacity together with the time of removal in memory 32. In this embodiment, the operating status acquisition device 30 determines that the time of receiving tag information from the first reading device 21 or the second reading device 22 is the time of removal.

[0023] After step S340 or step S345, in step S350, the operating status acquisition device 30 calculates the loading efficiency by dividing the total load capacity of the elevator EL calculated in step S340 or step S345 by the maximum load capacity included in the conveying device information HD stored in memory 32, and records the loading efficiency together with the loading time or unloading time in memory 32. In this embodiment, the load capacity is expressed by volume, so the maximum load capacity is expressed as the maximum load volume. Then, the operating status acquisition device 30 ends this process.

[0024] FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of operation status data ZD. The operation status acquisition device 30 generates operation status data ZD using information acquired by the operation status acquisition process and displays the operation status data ZD on the display device 50. The upper section of the operation status data ZD shown in FIG. 5 shows a graph of the operation plan and operation results for each date, and above the graph, the planned and actual values ​​of the operation rate for each date. The lower section of the operation status data ZD shows the planned and actual values ​​of the operation start time, the planned and actual values ​​of the operation end time, the actual operation time, the operation start floor, and the operation end floor for the date selected by the user using the input device 40. In addition to the operation start time, the operation status data ZD may also show the loading efficiency at each time.

[0025] According to the operation status acquisition system 10 of the present embodiment described above, the reading units 20 having the first reading device 21 and the second reading device 22 that read the tags TG attached to the pallets PL are arranged near the entrances and exits of the elevators EL on each floor, and therefore the operation status acquisition device 30 can determine the loading and unloading of pallets PL into and from the elevators EL on each floor using the reading units 20 on each floor. Furthermore, the operation status acquisition device 30 can acquire operation status such as the operation start time and operation end time of the elevator EL using the history of the loading and unloading of pallets PL into and from the elevator EL.

[0026] In this embodiment, the tag information recorded on the tag TG includes information such as the size and weight of the pallet PL, so the operation status acquisition device 30 can calculate the loading efficiency of the elevator EL using the tag information. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the tag information includes information such as the identification number of the parts placed on the pallet PL, so it is possible to know when and from which floor the parts were transported to which floor.

[0027] Furthermore, in this embodiment, if a predetermined period of time has passed since the pallet PL was carried into the elevator EL without being carried out, the operating status acquisition device 30 notifies the user that the pallet PL has not been carried out from the elevator EL by displaying a message on the display device 50. This makes it possible to prevent the pallet PL from being left without being carried out from the elevator EL.

[0028] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the operational status acquisition device 30 generates operational status data ZD and displays the operational status data ZD on the display device 50. Therefore, the user can refer to the operational status data ZD displayed on the display device 50 to improve the transportation plan for the pallet PL.

[0029] B. Other Embodiments: (B1) The operational status acquisition system 10 of the first embodiment described above acquires the operational status of the elevator EL that transports the pallet PL in the vertical direction. In contrast, the operational status acquisition system 10 may acquire the operational status of, for example, an automated guided vehicle that transports the pallet PL in the horizontal direction between predetermined loading and unloading positions.

[0030] (B2) In the operation status acquisition system 10 of the first embodiment described above, one reading unit 20 is placed near the entrance of the elevator EL on each floor. In other words, multiple reading units 20 are placed outside the elevator EL. In contrast, the operation status acquisition system 10 may use one reading unit 20 placed near the entrance inside the elevator EL to determine whether a pallet PL is being carried into or out of the elevator EL and acquire the operation status of the elevator EL.

[0031] (B3) In the operation status acquisition system 10 of the first embodiment described above, the operation status acquisition device 30 calculates the loading efficiency expressed as the ratio of the total loading volume to the maximum loading volume of the elevator EL in the loading efficiency acquisition process. In contrast, the operation status acquisition device 30 may calculate the loading efficiency expressed as the ratio of the total loading area to the maximum loading area of ​​the elevator EL, or may calculate the loading efficiency expressed as the ratio of the total loading weight to the maximum loading weight of the elevator EL in the loading efficiency acquisition process. When calculating the loading efficiency expressed as the ratio of the total loading weight to the maximum loading weight, the operation status acquisition device 30 may calculate the loading efficiency using the total loading weight of the pallet PL, or may calculate the loading efficiency using the sum of the total loading weight of the pallet PL and the total loading weight of the parts placed on the pallet PL.

[0032] (B4) In the operation status acquisition system 10 of the first embodiment described above, the operation status acquisition device 30 executes the operation start / end time acquisition process and the loading efficiency acquisition process in the operation status acquisition process. In contrast, the operation status acquisition device 30 does not need to execute the loading efficiency acquisition process in the operation status acquisition process.

[0033] (B5) In the operational status acquisition system 10 of the first embodiment described above, the notification device that notifies that a pallet PL that was carried into the elevator EL has not been carried out from the elevator EL is the display device 50. In contrast, the notification device may be a warning buzzer or warning light connected to the operational status acquisition device 30 via wired or wireless communication, or may be a tablet terminal connected to the operational status acquisition device 30 via wireless communication. Furthermore, the operational status acquisition system 10 does not have to be equipped with a notification device.

[0034] The present disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiments and can be realized in various configurations without departing from the spirit thereof. For example, the technical features in the embodiments corresponding to the technical features in each aspect described in the Summary of the Invention section can be appropriately replaced or combined to solve some or all of the above-described problems or achieve some or all of the above-described effects. Furthermore, if a technical feature is not described as essential in this specification, it can be appropriately deleted. [Explanation of symbols]

[0035] 10...operational status acquisition system, 20...reading unit, 21...first reading device, 22...second reading device, 30...operational status acquisition device, 31...processor, 32...memory, 33...input / output interface, 34...internal bus, 40...input device, 50...display device (alarm device), EL...elevator (transport device), FL...forklift, HD...transport device information, PG...operational status acquisition program, PL...pallet (transported object), TG...tag, ZD...operational status data

Claims

1. An operation status acquisition system, a plurality of reading units disposed at loading / unloading positions on each floor where tagged objects are loaded / unloaded onto / from a transport device, the reading units having a plurality of reading devices for reading the tags of the objects passing through the loading / unloading positions; an operation status acquisition device that acquires the operation status of the transportation device, including information on the operation start floor and operation end floor of the transportation device, using the order in which the tags are read by the multiple reading devices and the positions of the reading units having the multiple reading devices that read the tags; an alarm device that notifies that the transported object has not been transported from the transport device; Equipped with The operation status acquisition device is an operation status acquisition system in which, when a predetermined period of time has passed since the transported item was loaded onto the transport device without being loaded out, the alarm device notifies the user that the transported item has not been loaded out of the transport device.

2. The operating status acquisition system according to claim 1, The tag records information about the size of the transported item, The operation status acquisition device acquires the operation status of the conveying device, including information on the start and end floors of operation of the conveying device and information on the loading efficiency of the conveying device, using the order in which the tags were read by the multiple reading devices, the position of the reading unit having the multiple reading devices that read the tags, information on the size of the transported item read from the tag by at least one of the multiple reading devices, and information on the size of the cargo compartment of the conveying device that is stored in advance.

3. The operating status acquisition system according to claim 1, The tag records information about the weight of the transported item, The operation status acquisition device acquires the operation status of the conveying device, including information on the start and end floors of operation of the conveying device and information on the loading efficiency of the conveying device, using the order in which the tags were read by the multiple reading devices, the position of the reading unit having the multiple reading devices that read the tags, information on the weight of the transported item read from the tag by at least one of the multiple reading devices, and information on the maximum load weight of the conveying device that is stored in advance.

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