Automated Transport Task Reassignment During Ongoing Operations
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing automated transport systems struggle to adapt to changing situations, such as product additions or cancellations, and variations in the number of workers or robots, leading to inefficient task execution.
Innovation Solution
An automated transport system with transport devices and a management device that executes a task assignment process and a task optimization process, allowing for dynamic task reassignment and optimization based on real-time conditions to improve efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If task batches are generated statically without continuous optimization, then the system structure remains simple, but transport efficiency deteriorates when changes occur during operation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic task optimization by continuously monitoring transport device status and recalculating task assignments when changes occur during operation. The management device executes optimization processes that dynamically adjust task batches based on real-time conditions, transforming the static task assignment system into a dynamic one that adapts to changes in transport device availability, product changes, and operational status.
Solution Approach 2:
The system incorporates feedback mechanisms where the management device receives status information from transport devices during task execution and uses this feedback to determine whether optimization is needed. The optimization process calculates alternative task assignments and implements changes when beneficial, creating a closed-loop control system that continuously improves transport efficiency based on actual operational feedback.
2Adaptability or versatility
If task assignment is fixed after initial generation, then the control process remains simple, but adaptability to changing situations deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes the task assignment system dynamic by enabling continuous optimization during task execution. When changes occur such as transport device unavailability, product additions or cancellations, or status changes, the management device recalculates optimal task assignments and redistributes tasks accordingly, allowing the system to adapt to changing conditions while maintaining a relatively simple control architecture.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary optimization calculations to anticipate and prepare for potential changes. The management device calculates alternative task assignments in advance and has ready-optimized task batches available for rapid implementation when changes occur, reducing the complexity of real-time decision-making while maintaining high adaptability.
3Productivity
If task optimization is performed continuously during operation, then transport efficiency is improved, but computational load and processing time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements periodic optimization rather than continuous optimization, where the management device monitors for specific change conditions (transport device status changes, product additions/cancellations) and triggers optimization calculations only when such changes occur. This event-driven approach maintains high transport efficiency by optimizing when needed while minimizing unnecessary computational overhead and processing time during stable operational periods.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the optimization frequency based on operational parameters - optimizing continuously when transport devices are available and ready, but reducing optimization frequency when devices are busy executing tasks. This parameter-based adjustment of optimization intensity balances the need for transport efficiency with the computational resources available, avoiding excessive processing time while maintaining optimal performance.
Data Source
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AI summary
An automated transport system includes transport devices and a management device for managing the transport devices. The management device executes a task assignment process for assigning a task to each transport device and a task optimization process for exchanging transport tasks if the calculated transport cost for when the assigned transport tasks are exchanged between two separate transport devices is less than the transport cost for processing the assigned transport tasks or if the calculated transport cost for when an assigned task is exchanged with a pending task is less than the transport cost if the pending transport task were to be assigned to one of the transport devices. The management device executes the task optimization process during a period in which the transport devices are processing the tasks assigned in the task assignment process.