Picking system, picking control device, and picking control program

Abstract

To efficiently pick a cargo, and convey the cargo to a predetermined position.SOLUTION: A picking system includes: a first cart which includes a first arm and travels on a first lane set to outside a storage part where a cargo is stored; a second cart which includes a second arm and travels on a second lane set to outside the first lane; a generation part for generating a travel track of the first cart, on the basis of the position of the cargo that should be picked up by the first cargo and the position of the second cart where the cargo picked up by the first cart should be delivered; and a control part for performing control so that the first cart picks up the cargo by the first arm while traveling on the first lane and delivers the cargo to the second cart, and the second cart receives the cargo picked up by the first cargo while traveling on the second lane by the second arm, and conveys the cargo to a predetermined position, on the basis of the travel track.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a picking system, a picking control device, and a picking control program.

Background Art

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a picking device that conveys articles within a management area. Based on a predetermined consolidation plan for the articles, the picking device includes a robot that moves around a plurality of shelves arranged in the management area by autonomous driving, performs consolidation and return of the articles to the shelves, and conveys the articles to a predetermined picking station.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] When a cart is autonomously driven to pick up luggage in a warehouse and transport it to a predetermined position, it is inefficient if one cart is responsible for transporting the luggage from picking to the predetermined position.

[0005] The present disclosure has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to obtain a picking system, a picking control device, and a picking control program that can efficiently pick up luggage and transport it to a predetermined position.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] A picking system according to a first aspect of this disclosure comprises: a first cart equipped with a first arm that travels along a first lane set outside a storage section containing packages; a second cart equipped with a second arm that travels along a second lane set outside the first lane; a generation unit that generates a travel trajectory of the first cart based on the position of the packages to be picked up by the first cart and the position of the second cart to which the packages picked up by the first cart should be handed over; and a picking control device that controls the first cart to pick up the packages with its first arm and hand them over to the second cart while traveling along the first lane, and to receive the packages picked up by the first cart with its second arm while traveling along the second lane and transport them to a predetermined position, based on the travel trajectory.

[0007] A picking control device according to a second aspect of the present disclosure includes a generation unit that generates a travel trajectory of a first cart based on the position of a package to be picked up by a first cart, which is equipped with a first arm and travels along a first lane set outside a storage section where packages are stored, and the position of a second cart, which is equipped with a second arm and travels along a second lane set outside the first lane, and to receive the package picked up by the first cart; and a control unit that controls the second cart to pick up the package with its first arm and transfer it to the second cart while traveling along the first lane, and to receive the package picked up by the first cart with its second arm while traveling along the second lane, and to transport it to a predetermined position, based on the travel trajectory.

[0008] A picking control program according to a third aspect of this disclosure causes a computer to generate a travel trajectory of a first cart based on the position of a package to be picked up by a first cart, which is equipped with a first arm and travels along a first lane set outside a storage section containing packages, and the position of a second cart, which is equipped with a second arm and travels along a second lane set outside the first lane, and to receive the package picked up by the first cart. The program then controls the computer to pick up the package with the first arm and transfer it to the second cart based on the travel trajectory, and to receive the package picked up by the first cart with the second arm while traveling along the second lane, and to transport it to a predetermined position. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0009] [Figure 1] This is a floor plan of a warehouse to which the picking system according to the first embodiment is applied. [Figure 2] This is a perspective view of the cart robot according to the first embodiment. [Figure 3] This is a perspective view showing the process of transferring a basket from a local cart to a high-speed cart. [Figure 4] This is a flowchart showing the control routine for the basket pickup process using a local cart according to the first embodiment. [Figure 5] This diagram schematically shows an example of the functional configuration of a cart robot. [Figure 6] This figure schematically shows an example of computer hardware that functions as an information processing device for a humanoid robot in the first embodiment. [Figure 7] This figure shows the hardware configuration of the picking control device in the second embodiment. [Figure 8] This is a flowchart showing the processing routine for the picking control process in the second embodiment. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0010] The present invention will be described below through embodiments, but these embodiments are not intended to limit the invention as defined in the claims. Furthermore, not all combinations of features described in the embodiments are necessarily essential to the solution of the invention.

[0011] <First Embodiment>

[0012] The first embodiment will be described below.

[0013] Figure 1 is a plan view of the warehouse floor 50 to which the picking system according to this embodiment is applied.

[0014] Picking is the job of gathering (picking up) the necessary items. Picking staff (in this embodiment, the cart robot 52) ​​play an essential role in shipping items from the warehouse, and are therefore deployed in warehouses of all types. Note that these are not limited to cart robots; humanoid robots may also be used.

[0015] For example, their main job is to collect specified items based on pre-assigned lists or order forms, and then pass them on to inspection and packing staff. The larger the warehouse, the greater the variety and number of items stored, which means that a large number of picking staff will be moving around within the 50-floor warehouse.

[0016] On the floor 50 shown in FIG. 1, a storage section (warehouse, shelf, etc.) 54 is provided, and a plurality of baskets 56 (see FIG. 3) are stored. A cart robot 52 is adapted to move around the storage section 54. The cart robot 52 mainly serves to transfer the baskets 56, and as a moving path, it is classified into a Fast Track Cart 52A (high-speed cart 52A) as a cart 52 that moves along a Fast Lane 58 (high-speed lane 58), and a Local Track Cart 52B (local cart 52B) as a cart 52 that moves along a Local Picking Lane 60 (local lane 60). Note that the storage section 54 is an example of the storage section of the present disclosure. Also, the local lane 60 is an example of the first lane of the present disclosure. Also, the high-speed lane 58 is an example of the second lane of the present disclosure. Also, the local cart 52B is an example of the first cart of the present disclosure. Also, the high-speed cart 52A is an example of the second cart of the present disclosure.

[0017] The local lane 60 is an inner lane within the floor 50, in other words, a lane set outside the storage section 54. The local cart 52B moves in a serpentine manner so as to approach and separate from the storage section 54, and temporarily decelerates to pick up the basket 56 from the storage section 54.

[0018] As shown in FIG. 2, after the local cart 52B picks up the basket containing the goods with two picking arms 62 (Picking Arm) provided on the inner side, it transfers the basket 56 to the high-speed cart 52A moving on the high-speed lane 58 with three passing arms 64 (Passing Arm) provided on the outer side. Note that the picking arm 62 and the passing arm 64 are examples of the first arm. <了000009了> Note that the local cart 52B incorporates a counterbalance battery for preventing tipping (not shown).

[0020] The high-speed lane 58 is the outer lane within the floor 50, that is to say, the lane set outside the local lane 60. For example, it runs non-stop at a speed of 20 km / h and receives the basket 56 from the local cart 52B moving in the local lane 60 by means of three receiving arms 66 (Receving Arm) shown in FIG. 3. Note that the receiving arm 66 is an example of the second arm.

[0021] As a series of operations, after picking up the basket 56, the local cart 52B in the local lane 60 runs parallel to the high-speed cart 52A at a speed of 20 km / h in a relay baton-passing manner without stopping, and transfers the basket 56 to the high-speed cart 52A by means of three passing arms 64 (Passing Arm) of the local cart 52B and three receiving arms 66 (Receving Arm) of the high-speed cart 52A.

[0022] Corresponding to the storage unit 54, a Docking Station 68 (docking station 68) is installed on the floor 50. Note that the position of the docking station 68 is an example of a predetermined position in the present disclosure.

[0023] The docking station 68 is the connection point between the high-speed lane 58 and the local lane 60.

[0024] The docking station 68 has 20 arms and has the function of receiving the basket 56 from the high-speed lane 58.

[0025] At the docking station 68, the high-speed cart 52A temporarily decelerates, for example, to a speed of 2 km / h, transfers the basket within, for example, 1 minute, and then accelerates again.

[0026] In the floor 50, a group of in-warehouse sensors 70 including cameras and LiDAR are installed on the ceiling and walls.

[0027] These warehouse sensor groups 70 constantly measure the distance and speed between the high-speed carts 52A and the local carts 52B, and use this information to synchronize them with each other.

[0028] Furthermore, both the high-speed cart 52A and the local cart 52B are equipped with a group of vehicle sensors 72, including cameras and LiDAR, on their respective cart bodies. By controlling the distance between cars to be equal intervals calculated by dividing the number of carts by the number of carts, it is possible to predict the necessary distance between cars (for example, 3m or more).

[0029] In the picking system described above, the high-speed carts and local carts 52B on floor 50 operate at a perfectly synchronized tempo, preventing accidents such as interference (contact or collision). Furthermore, because picking is performed non-stop, time is minimized as much as possible.

[0030] Here, the carts used in this implementation (high-speed cart 52A and local cart 52B) are each equipped with multiple arms, as mentioned above.

[0031] The local cart 52B is equipped with two picking arms 62 and three passing arms 64, while the high-speed cart 52A is equipped with three receiving arms 66. Hereafter, these will be collectively referred to as arms 62, 64, and 66.

[0032] Arms 62, 64, and 66 move in three dimensions based on tasks such as picking items from basket 56 and transferring items between carts, and therefore traverse the monitoring area of ​​the vehicle sensor group 72 installed on the cart body.

[0033] As a result of this three-dimensional movement, blind spots may occur in one of the vehicle sensor groups 72. Arms 62, 64, and 66 move irregularly, and the amount of movement is particularly large closer to the tip. Furthermore, the blind spots of the vehicle sensor group 72 change over time.

[0034] Therefore, in this embodiment, a group of arm sensors 74, such as a small camera or LiDAR, is attached to the tip of each arm 62, 64, and 66 of each cart (high-speed cart 52A and local cart 52B).

[0035] The arm sensor group 74 at the tip of arms 62, 64, and 66 can eliminate the blind spots of the cart body sensor group 72.

[0036] Furthermore, by adding temperature sensors, hardness sensors, etc., to the arm sensor group 74 at the tip of arms 62, 64, and 66, for example, the gripping strength during the transfer (grasping) of the basket 56 can be set. By setting the gripping strength, deformation or damage to the basket 56 can be prevented.

[0037] The warehouse sensor group 70, vehicle body sensor group 72, and arm sensor group 74 may employ high-performance cameras, solid-state LiDAR, multi-color laser coaxial displacement meters, or various other sensor groups. Other possibilities include vibration meters, thermal cameras, hardness testers, radar, LiDAR, high-resolution, telephoto, ultra-wide-angle, 360-degree, and high-performance cameras, vision recognition, minute sound, ultrasound, vibration, infrared, ultraviolet, electromagnetic waves, temperature, humidity, spot AI weather forecasting, high-precision multi-channel GPS, low-altitude satellite information, or long-tail incident AI data.

[0038] In addition to the above information, the warehouse sensor group 70, vehicle sensor group 72, and arm sensor group 74 also detect images, distance, vibration, heat, smell, color, sound, ultrasound, ultraviolet light, or infrared light. Other information detected by the warehouse sensor group 70, vehicle sensor group 72, and arm sensor group 74 includes the movement of the cart robot 52's center of gravity, the material of the floor on which the cart robot 52 is installed, the ambient temperature, ambient humidity, the vertical, horizontal, and diagonal tilt angles of the floor, and the amount of moisture. The warehouse sensor group 70, vehicle sensor group 72, and arm sensor group 74 perform these detections, for example, every nanosecond.

[0039] Figure 5 is a block diagram of the control system for the information processing device 14 mounted on the cart robot 52.

[0040] The information processing device 14 comprises an information acquisition unit 140, a control unit 142, and an information storage unit 144.

[0041] The information acquisition unit 140 acquires information about objects detected by the vehicle body sensor group 72 and the arm sensor group 74.

[0042] The control unit 142 uses the information acquired by the information acquisition unit 140 and AI (Artificial Intelligence) to control the rotational movement of the connecting unit 4, the vertical movement of the connecting unit 4, and the movement of the arm units 5 and 6. The control unit 142 is an example of a picking control unit according to this disclosure.

[0043] For example, the control unit 142 performs the following processes.

[0044] (1) The arms 62, 64, and 66 and the gripping parts at their tips are driven so that they can grasp an object.

[0045] (2) It is driven up and down to match the height of the workbench, such as the storage unit 54.

[0046] (3) Maintain your balance to prevent falling.

[0047] (4) Control the drive of the wheels when moving.

[0048] The operation of this embodiment will be explained below with reference to the flowchart in Figure 4.

[0049] Figure 4 is a flowchart showing the pickup process control routine for the basket 56 by the local cart 52B.

[0050] In step 100, the vehicle accepts the pickup command for basket 56. In the next step, 102, it begins moving towards its destination at normal speed along local lane 60.

[0051] In the next step 104, it is determined whether or not the target basket 56 has been detected. If the determination is positive, the process proceeds to step 106, where the pickup arm 62 picks up the basket 56, and the process proceeds to step 108.

[0052] In step 108, the vehicle moves at a controlled speed (e.g., 20 km / h), and then proceeds to step 110, approaching the high-speed cart 52A while meandering in the direction of the high-speed lane 58.

[0053] In the next step 112, the passing arm 64 of the local cart 52B and the receiving arm 66 of the high-speed cart 52A transfer the basket 56 from the local cart 52B to the high-speed cart 52A, and the process moves to step 114.

[0054] In step 114, the routine ends as local cart 52B is returned to normal speed and awaits the next command.

[0055] Incidentally, since arms 62, 64, and 66 move in three dimensions based on tasks such as picking baskets 56 and transferring items between carts, they may cross the monitoring area of ​​the vehicle sensor group 72 installed on the cart body, which may result in a blind spot for one of the vehicle sensor group 72.

[0056] However, in this embodiment, the arm sensor group 74 at the tips of arms 62, 64, and 66 eliminates the blind spots of the cart body sensor group 72.

[0057] If the arm sensor group 74 at the tip of arms 62, 64, and 66 is a temperature sensor or hardness sensor, etc., the gripping strength can be adjusted when the basket 56 is handed over (gripped), preventing deformation or damage to the basket 56.

[0058] (Embodiment of the information processing device 14 of the cart robot 52)

[0059] Figure 6 schematically shows an example of the hardware configuration of a computer 1200 that functions as an information processing device 14. A program installed on the computer 1200 can cause the computer 1200 to function as one or more "parts" of the apparatus according to this embodiment, or to cause the computer 1200 to execute operations associated with the apparatus according to this embodiment or such one or more "parts", and / or to cause the computer 1200 to execute a process or a stage of such process according to this embodiment. Such a program may be executed by the CPU 1212 to cause the computer 1200 to execute specific operations associated with some or all of the blocks in the flowcharts and block diagrams described herein.

[0060] The computer 1200 according to this embodiment includes a CPU 1212, RAM 1214, and a graphics controller 1216, which are interconnected by a host controller 1210. The computer 1200 also includes input / output units such as a communication interface 1222, a storage device 1224, a DVD drive, and an IC card drive, which are connected to the host controller 1210 via an input / output controller 1220. The DVD drive may be a DVD-ROM drive and a DVD-RAM drive, etc. The storage device 1224 may be a hard disk drive and a solid-state drive, etc. The computer 1200 also includes input / output units such as a ROM 1230 and a keyboard, which are connected to the input / output controller 1220 via an input / output chip 1240.

[0061] The CPU 1212 operates according to programs stored in the ROM 1230 and RAM 1214, thereby controlling each unit. The graphics controller 1216 acquires image data generated by the CPU 1212 and stores it in a frame buffer provided in RAM 1214 or within itself, so that the image data is displayed on the display device 1218.

[0062] The communication interface 1222 communicates with other electronic devices via a network. The storage device 1224 stores programs and data used by the CPU 1212 in the computer 1200. The DVD drive reads programs or data from a DVD-ROM or the like and provides them to the storage device 1224. The IC card drive reads programs and data from an IC card and / or writes programs and data to an IC card.

[0063] The ROM 1230 stores boot programs and / or hardware-dependent programs of the computer 1200, which are executed by the computer 1200 upon activation. The input / output chip 1240 may also connect various input / output units to the input / output controller 1220 via USB ports, parallel ports, serial ports, keyboard ports, mouse ports, etc.

[0064] The program is provided on a computer-readable storage medium such as a DVD-ROM or IC card. The program is read from the computer-readable storage medium and installed on a storage device 1224, RAM 1214, or ROM 1230, which are examples of computer-readable storage media, and executed by the CPU 1212. The information processing described within these programs is read by the computer 1200, resulting in coordination between the program and the various types of hardware resources described above. The apparatus or method may be configured to realize the operation or processing of information in accordance with the use of the computer 1200.

[0065] For example, when communication is performed between a computer 1200 and an external device, the CPU 1212 may execute a communication program loaded into RAM 1214 and, based on the processing described in the communication program, instruct the communication interface 1222 to perform communication processing. Under the control of the CPU 1212, the communication interface 1222 reads transmission data stored in a transmission buffer area provided in a recording medium such as RAM 1214, storage device 1224, DVD-ROM, or IC card, transmits the read transmission data to the network, or writes received data received from the network to a reception buffer area provided on the recording medium.

[0066] Furthermore, the CPU 1212 may read all or necessary parts of a file or database stored on an external recording medium such as the storage device 1224, a DVD drive (DVD-ROM), or an IC card into the RAM 1214, and perform various types of processing on the data in the RAM 1214. The CPU 1212 may then write the processed data back to the external recording medium.

[0067] Various types of information, such as various types of programs, data, tables, and databases, may be stored on the recording medium and subjected to information processing. The CPU 1212 may perform various types of processing on the data read from RAM 1214, including various types of operations, information processing, conditional judgments, conditional branching, unconditional branching, information retrieval / replacement, etc., as described throughout this disclosure and specified by the program instruction sequence, and write the results back to RAM 1214. The CPU 1212 may also retrieve information in files, databases, etc., within the recording medium. For example, if multiple entries are stored in the recording medium, each having an attribute value of a first attribute associated with an attribute value of a second attribute, the CPU 1212 may search among the multiple entries for an entry that matches the specified condition for the attribute value of the first attribute, read the attribute value of the second attribute stored in that entry, and thereby obtain the attribute value of the second attribute associated with the first attribute that satisfies the predetermined condition.

[0068] The program or software module described above may be stored on or near the computer 1200 in a computer-readable storage medium. Alternatively, a recording medium such as a hard disk or RAM provided within a server system connected to a dedicated communication network or the Internet can be used as a computer-readable storage medium, thereby providing the program to the computer 1200 via the network.

[0069] <Second Embodiment>

[0070] A second embodiment will now be described. Parts identical to those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed descriptions are omitted.

[0071] In the second embodiment, a case in which the picking control device centrally controls the cart 52, etc., will be described.

[0072] Figure 7 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of the picking control device 40 according to the second embodiment. As shown in Figure 7, the picking control device 40 includes a controller 42.

[0073] The controller 42 comprises a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 42A, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 42B, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 42C, and an input / output interface (I / O) 42D. The CPU 42A, ROM 42B, RAM 42C, and I / O 42D are connected to each other via a bus 42E. The bus 42E includes a control bus, an address bus, and a data bus. A communication unit 44 and a storage unit 46 are connected to the I / O 42D. The CPU 42A is an example of a generation unit and a picking control unit.

[0074] The communication unit 44 is an interface for data communication with external devices such as the high-speed cart 52A, local cart 52B, warehouse sensor group 70, vehicle body sensor group 72, arm sensor group 74, and a higher-level device (not shown).

[0075] The storage unit 46 is composed of, for example, non-volatile memory. As shown in Figure 7, the storage unit 46 stores the picking control program 46A, etc.

[0076] CPU42A is an example of a processor. The term "processor" here refers to a processor in a broad sense, including general-purpose processors (e.g., CPUs) or specialized processors (e.g., GPUs: Graphics Processing Units, ASICs: Application Specific Integrated Circuits, FPGAs: Field Programmable Gate Arrays, programmable logic devices, etc.).

[0077] The picking control program 46A may be stored on a non-volatile, non-transitory recording medium, or distributed via a network, and installed in the picking control device 40 as appropriate.

[0078] Examples of non-volatile, non-transitional recording media include CD-ROMs (Compact Disc Read Only Memory), magneto-optical disks, HDDs (Hard Disk Drives), DVD-ROMs (Digital Versatile Disc Read Only Memory), flash memory, and memory cards.

[0079] Figure 8 is a flowchart of the picking control process executed by the CPU 42A. For example, when a higher-level device (not shown) instructs the CPU 42A to execute the picking control process, the CPU 42A reads and executes the picking control program 46A, thereby executing the picking process shown in Figure 8.

[0080] In step 200, the CPU 42A starts controlling the movement of the high-speed carts 52A and local carts 52B. Specifically, the CPU 42A controls the multiple high-speed carts 52A to travel in a clockwise direction in Figure 1 at a predetermined speed along the high-speed lane 58, while maintaining a constant distance between them. The CPU 42A also controls the multiple local carts 52B to travel in a clockwise direction in Figure 1 at a predetermined speed along the local lane 60, which meanders to approach and move away from the storage unit 54, while maintaining a constant distance between them. Note that the high-speed lane 58 and local lane 60 are not physical driving lanes, but represent the trajectories of the carts 52. That is, the CPU 42A controls the high-speed carts 52A to travel along the trajectory of the high-speed lane 58, and controls the local carts 52B to travel along the trajectory of the local lane 60.

[0081] In step 201, the CPU 42A determines whether it has received a pickup command for basket 56 from a higher-level device (not shown). The pickup command includes information such as the location and size of the basket 56 to be picked up. The local cart 52B can accommodate multiple baskets 56 depending on their size. Therefore, it may be instructed by the higher-level device to pick up multiple baskets 56. In this case, the pickup command includes information such as the location and size of the multiple baskets 56.

[0082] Then, if a pickup instruction for basket 56 is received from the higher-level device, the process proceeds to step S202; otherwise, the process waits until a pickup instruction is received.

[0083] In step 202, the CPU 42A selects a local cart 52B to pick up the basket 56 and a high-speed cart 52A to receive the basket 56. For example, based on signals from the warehouse sensor group 70 and the vehicle sensor group 72, the CPU 42A calculates the position and travel speed of each high-speed cart 52A and each local cart 52B, and based on the calculation results, selects from among the multiple local carts 52B that can pick up the basket 56 in the shortest time. Also, based on the calculation results, selects from among the multiple high-speed carts 52A that can receive the basket 56 from the selected local cart 52B in the shortest time. Hereafter, the selected local cart 52B will be referred to as the selected local cart 52B, and the selected high-speed cart 52A will be referred to as the selected high-speed cart 52A. If instructed to pick up multiple baskets 56, a high-speed cart 52A will be selected for each of the multiple baskets 56.

[0084] In step 203, the CPU 42A generates the driving trajectory of the selected local cart 52B. Specifically, the CPU 42A generates the driving trajectory of the selected local cart 52B based on the position of the basket 56 that the selected local cart 52B should pick up and the position of the selected high-speed cart 52A to which the picked-up basket 56 should be handed over. For example, the CPU generates a driving trajectory that minimizes the time it takes to move to the position of the basket 56 to be picked up, pick up the basket 56, and hand it over to the selected high-speed cart 52A. If the selected local cart 52B is instructed to pick up multiple baskets 56, it will sequentially hand over multiple baskets 56 to multiple selected high-speed carts 52A, so the CPU 42A generates the driving trajectory of the selected local cart 52B based on the order in which the multiple baskets 56 are handed over to multiple selected high-speed carts 52A.

[0085] Furthermore, since the position at which the basket 56 is handed over to the selected high-speed cart 52A differs depending on the size of the basket 56, the driving trajectory of the selected local cart 52B is generated based on the size of the basket 56.

[0086] In step 204, the CPU 42A controls the selected local cart 52B to travel along the trajectory generated in step 203 and pick up the basket 56. Specifically, the CPU 42A controls the selected local cart 52B to pick up the basket 56 using the picking arm 62.

[0087] In step 205, the CPU 42A controls the selected local cart 52B and the high-speed cart 52A so that the selected local cart 52B travels along the trajectory generated in step 203 and hands over the picked-up basket 56 to the selected high-speed cart 52A. Specifically, the CPU 42A controls the picking arm 62 and passing arm 64 of the selected local cart 52B, as well as the receiving arm 66 of the selected local cart 52B, so that the local cart 52B transfers the basket 56 picked by the picking arm 62 to the passing arm 64 and hands it over to the receiving arm 66 of the high-speed cart 52A.

[0088] At this time, the CPU 42A controls the transfer of the basket 56 from one selected high-speed cart 52A to the other, using the transfer position as the position where the speeds of the selected local cart 52B and the selected high-speed cart 52A are equal and the distance between them is minimized. The transfer position is set to a position within the overlapping range of movement of the passing arm 64 of the selected local cart 52B and the receiving arm 66 of the selected high-speed cart 52A.

[0089] In step 206, the CPU 42A controls the selected high-speed cart 52A so that the selected high-speed cart 52A, which has received the basket 56, delivers the basket 56 to the docking station 68.

[0090] In step S207, the CPU 42A determines whether or not to terminate the picking control for basket 56. Specifically, it determines whether or not there is an instruction to terminate the picking control from a higher-level device (not shown). If there is an instruction to terminate the picking control, the process proceeds to step 208; otherwise, it returns to step 201 and repeats the same process as above.

[0091] In step 208, CPU 42A stops the driving control of the high-speed cart 52A and the local cart 52B, and stops the high-speed cart 52A and the local cart 52B.

[0092] In this embodiment, the picking control device 40 controls the movement of the high-speed cart 52A and the local cart 52B. Based on the position of the basket 56 to be picked up by the selected local cart 52B and the position of the selected high-speed cart 52A to which the picked-up basket 56 should be handed over by the selected local cart 52B, the device generates a travel trajectory for the selected local cart 52B. Based on the generated travel trajectory, the device controls the selected local cart 52B to travel along the local lane 60, pick up the basket 56 with its picking arm 62 and hand it over to the selected high-speed cart 52A, and the selected high-speed cart 52A to travel along the high-speed lane 58, receive the basket 56 picked up by the selected local cart 52B with its receiving arm 66, and transport it to the docking station 68. This allows for efficient picking of the basket 56 and transportation to the docking station 68.

[0093] In the flowcharts and block diagrams of each of the above embodiments, blocks may represent a stage in a process in which an operation is performed or a "part" of a device that has the role of performing an operation. A particular stage and "part" may be implemented by a dedicated circuit, a programmable circuit supplied with computer-readable instructions stored on a computer-readable storage medium, and / or a processor supplied with computer-readable instructions stored on a computer-readable storage medium. The dedicated circuit may include digital and / or analog hardware circuits, and may include integrated circuits (ICs) and / or discrete circuits. The programmable circuit may include reconfigurable hardware circuits, such as field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) and programmable logic arrays (PLAs), which include logical AND, logical OR, exclusive OR, negated AND, negated OR, and other logical operations, flip-flops, registers, and memory elements.

[0094] A computer-readable storage medium may include any tangible device capable of storing instructions to be executed by a suitable device, and as a result, a computer-readable storage medium having instructions stored therein will comprise a product that includes instructions that can be executed to create means for performing operations specified in a flowchart or block diagram. Examples of computer-readable storage media may include electronic storage media, magnetic storage media, optical storage media, electromagnetic storage media, semiconductor storage media, etc. More specific examples of computer-readable storage media may include floppy disks, diskettes, hard disks, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), static random access memory (SRAM), compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM), digital multipurpose disc (DVD), Blu-ray® disc, memory stick, integrated circuit card, etc.

[0095] Computer-readable instructions may include assembler instructions, instruction set architecture (ISA) instructions, machine instructions, machine-dependent instructions, microcode, firmware instructions, state setting data, or source code or object code written in any combination of one or more programming languages, including object-oriented programming languages ​​such as Smalltalk®, Java®, C++, and traditional procedural programming languages ​​such as the C programming language or similar programming languages.

[0096] Computer-readable instructions may be provided to a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, or a programmable circuit, either locally or via a wide area network (WAN) such as a local area network (LAN) or the internet, so that the computer-readable instructions may be executed by the processor or programmable circuit of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, or other programmable data processing device, in order to generate means for performing operations specified in a flowchart or block diagram. Examples of processors include computer processors, processing units, microprocessors, digital signal processors, controllers, microcontrollers, and the like.

[0097] Although the present invention has been described above using embodiments, the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the scope described in the above embodiments. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications or improvements can be made to the above embodiments. It will be clear from the claims that such modified or improved forms may also be included in the technical scope of the present invention.

[0098] It should be noted that the execution order of operations, procedures, steps, and stages in the apparatus, systems, programs, and methods described in the claims, specifications, and drawings is not explicitly stated as "before" or "prior to," and that these can be implemented in any order unless the output of a previous process is used in a later process. Even if the operation flow in the claims, specifications, and drawings is described using phrases such as "first," and "next," for convenience, this does not mean that it is essential to perform the operations in that order. [Explanation of symbols]

[0099] 14 Information processing unit, 50 Floor, 52 Cart robot, 54 Storage unit, 52A High-speed cart, 52B Local cart, 56 Basket, 58 High-speed lane, 60 Local lane, 62 Picking arm, 64 Passing arm, 66 Receiving arm, 68 Docking station, 70 Warehouse sensor group, 72 Vehicle sensor group, 74 Arm sensor group, 1200 Computer, 1210 Host controller, 1212 CPU, 1214 RAM, 1216 Graphics controller, 1218 Display device, 1220 Input / Output controller, 1222 Communication interface, 1224 Storage device, 1230 ROM, 1240 Input / Output chip

Claims

1. A first cart equipped with a first arm travels along a first lane that is generated as a travel trajectory outside the storage section where the cargo is stored, A second cart equipped with a second arm, which travels in a second lane set outside the first lane, A generation unit generates a first lane, which is a travel trajectory that minimizes the time it takes for the first cart to move to the location of the luggage, pick up the luggage, and hand it over to the second cart, based on the location of the luggage that the first cart should pick up and the location of the second cart to which the luggage picked up by the first cart should be handed over. A picking control unit controls the first cart to pick up the cargo with its first arm while traveling along the aforementioned travel trajectory and transfer it to the second cart, and the second cart to receive the cargo picked up by the first cart with its second arm while traveling along the second lane and transport it to a predetermined position. A picking system equipped with [features / equipment].

2. The generation unit generates the travel trajectory based on the order in which the luggage is handed over to the second cart. The picking system according to claim 1.

3. The generation unit generates the travel trajectory based on the size of the luggage. The picking system according to claim 1 or claim 2.

4. A generating unit generates a first lane that minimizes the time it takes for the first cart to move to the location of the luggage, pick up the luggage, and hand it over to the second cart, based on the position of the luggage to be picked up by the first cart, which is equipped with a first arm and travels along a first lane generated as a travel trajectory outside the storage section where the luggage is stored, and the position of the second cart, which is equipped with a second arm and travels along a second lane set outside the first lane and to receive the luggage picked up by the first cart. Based on the aforementioned travel trajectory, the picking control unit controls the first arm to pick up the cargo while traveling along the first lane and transfer it to the second cart, and the second cart, which is equipped with a second arm and travels along the second lane set outside the first lane, to receive the cargo picked up by the first cart with its second arm while traveling along the second lane and transport it to a predetermined position. A picking control device equipped with a picking control device.

5. On the computer, Based on the position of the luggage to be picked up by a first cart, which is equipped with a first arm and travels along a first lane generated as a travel trajectory outside the storage section where the luggage is stored, and the position of a second cart, which is equipped with a second arm and travels along a second lane set outside the first lane, and to which the luggage picked up by the first cart is to be handed over, a travel trajectory is generated as the first lane such that the time it takes for the first cart to move to the location of the luggage, pick up the luggage, and hand it over to the second cart is minimized. Based on the aforementioned travel trajectory, the first arm picks up the cargo while traveling along the first lane and transfers it to the second cart. The second cart, equipped with a second arm and traveling along the second lane set outside the first lane, is controlled to receive the cargo picked up by the first cart with its second arm while traveling along the second lane and transport it to a predetermined position. A picking control program that performs a process that includes the following.

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