Autonomous Conveyance Device Multi-Tray Route Planning
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current article conveyance systems in warehouses face inefficiencies, such as the inability to collectively retrieve articles from multiple trays and the conveyance of unnecessary items, leading to increased waiting times and reduced productivity.
Innovation Solution
An article conveyance system that includes a controller capable of retrieving the positions of multiple housing sections, generating a route for a conveyance device to autonomously acquire and load multiple trays, and transmit instructions for efficient conveyance, allowing for simultaneous handling of multiple trays and reducing unnecessary conveyance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If articles are conveyed one tray at a time using a stacker crane, then the operator can take out articles in order, but the operator experiences waiting time and cannot collectively take out articles from multiple trays
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the picking process by separating article retrieval (performed by the autonomous conveyance device) from article selection (performed by the operator). This allows multiple trays to be delivered continuously to the operator without interruption, eliminating waiting time while maintaining orderly article selection.
Solution Approach 2:
The autonomous conveyance device performs preliminary actions by retrieving and delivering multiple trays to the operator in advance. This allows the operator to work continuously without waiting for trays to be fetched, as the system proactively prepares multiple trays before they are needed.
2Productivity
If the shelf is conveyed to the operator together with necessary articles, then articles can be delivered, but unnecessary commodities are simultaneously conveyed causing waste
Solution Approach 1:
The autonomous conveyance device extracts only the specific trays containing necessary articles from the shelf and delivers them to the operator. This selective extraction avoids conveying unnecessary commodities, eliminating waste while maintaining efficient article delivery.
Solution Approach 2:
The system applies local quality by directing conveyance resources specifically to the locations and trays that contain necessary articles, rather than conveying entire shelves. This targeted approach ensures that only relevant items are transported, optimizing conveyance efficiency while minimizing waste.
3Loss of time
If multiple trays are conveyed simultaneously to the operator, then waiting time is reduced, but the system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The conveyance device is equipped with autonomous navigation and tray retrieval capabilities, allowing it to independently fetch and deliver multiple trays without requiring complex centralized control for each individual tray. This self-service approach reduces system complexity while enabling simultaneous multi-tray conveyance.
Solution Approach 2:
The autonomous conveyance device performs multiple functions including navigation, tray retrieval, tray delivery, and operator interaction within a single integrated system. This multi-functionality allows simultaneous conveyance of multiple trays without proportionally increasing system complexity, as one device handles all conveyance tasks.
Data Source
AI summary
An article conveyance system includes a controller and a conveyance device. The controller includes: a storage section storing information concerning a position of a housing section stored in a shelf; a housing-section retrieving section retrieving, based on the information concerning the position of the housing section, housing positions of a plurality of the housing sections, which are picking targets, in the shelf; a route generating section generating a route that makes rounds of positions of the housing sections retrieved by the housing-section retrieving section; and a transmitting section transmitting information concerning the generated route and the housing positions of the housing sections to the conveyance device. The conveyance device includes: an acquiring section acquiring the plurality of housing sections based on the housing positions of the housing sections while autonomously moving according to the information concerning the route; and a loading section loading the acquired plurality of housing sections.