JPS63165205A - Automatic custody searching device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To reduce the consumed electric power, improve efficiency, and simplify wiring by receiving and delivering the optical signals by an optical communication unit between each shelf stage and a picker and controlling the picker, in the captioned device for warehouse, etc. CONSTITUTION:The shelf 4 of a container 5 into which articles are accommodated is designated by an article taking-out demand for a main computer 10, and an instruction is sent to an inner picker 6 on that floor through an optical communication unit 9. Then, the picker 6 travels, and then stops in front of a prescribed shelf 4, and the container 5 is taken out from the shelf 4. When the taking-out of the container 5 by the picker 6 is completed, the picker 6 shifts, and inserts the container 5 into a receiving and delivering shelf group 4', and the completion of the work is informed to the computer 10 by the optical communication unit 9. The container 5 is carried out by an outer picker 11. With such constitution, wiring can be made simple, and efficiency can be improved.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to an automatic storage and retrieval device that is capable of automatically storing, storing, searching and retrieving articles in a warehouse or the like.

(Prior art and its problems) As a conventional example of an automatic storage and retrieval device for seeds, two storage areas are arranged in which shelves for storing goods are arranged in a matrix in a vertical and horizontal manner so that the front surfaces of the storage areas face each other. They are arranged with a predetermined space apart, and within the opposing space, a vertical column is run along the front of the two storage areas, and a picker installed on this column so as to be movable up and down is used to pick up each column of the two storage areas. A device configured to allow articles to be taken in and taken out is known.

However, in the conventional configuration described above, in order to move the picker to the desired shelf, it is necessary to drive a large vertically extending column, which requires a large amount of electricity and increases operating costs. have a problem Further, since the next loading/unloading operation cannot be started until the loading/unloading of articles to/from a desired shelf is completed, loading/unloading processing takes time and is inefficient. Furthermore, since it is necessary to connect the column and picker to a predetermined control vjL position for controlling them using control wiring, there is also the problem that the wiring process during installation is troublesome.

(Purpose of the Invention) This invention was made to solve the above problems, and requires less power for operation, allows efficient loading and unloading operations, and simplifies wiring during installation. The purpose is to provide an automatic storage and retrieval device.

(Means for Achieving the Object) In order to achieve L distribution, the automatic storage and retrieval device of the present invention has a storage area in which a plurality of shelves are arranged in a matrix in the vertical and horizontal directions, and each shelf stage in this storage area. A picker for loading and unloading articles from and into the shelf, and a picker for loading and unloading items from the shelf, and a picker for each shelf facing the picker for each shelf, are arranged so as to be movable along the open side of each shelf. an optical communication unit, an optical communication unit provided on the picker side to perform optical communication with the optical communication unit, and a picker control for controlling the picker by transmitting and receiving optical signals between these optical communication units. It consists of means.

(Embodiment) FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of an automatic storage and retrieval device which is an embodiment of the present invention.

This automatic storage and retrieval device has storage areas 2 and 3 on the right and left sides of the housing 1, and each storage area 2 and 3 is composed of shelves 4, which serve as article storage areas, arranged in a matrix shape vertically and horizontally. has been done. Storage area on left and right 2.
3 are arranged so that the open sides of the shelves 4 face each other, and in the middle area sandwiched between the left and right storage areas 2.3, containers 5 are placed on the shelves 4 for each shelf of the storage area 2.3.
An inner picker 6 is provided so as to be able to move freely in the front and rear directions. That is, a pair of rails 7 are arranged in parallel in the front and back direction at the height positions corresponding to the respective shelves of the left and right storage areas 2 and 3, and the inner picker 6 is mounted on these rails 7 so as to be freely movable. has been done. This inner picker 6 is provided with a well-known loading/unloading mechanism (not shown), and this loading/unloading mechanism allows containers 5 stored on the shelves 4 of the left and right storage areas 2.3 to be taken onto the inner picker 6, and The container 5 can be inserted into the shelf 4 from above the container 6.

On the other hand, in front of the housing 1, a column 8 is erected to face the running space of the inner picker 6, and on the rear side of the column 8, each column 8 is positioned at a height opposite to the inner picker 6 of each shelf. An optical communication unit 9 is provided, and each inner picker 6 is also provided with an optical communication unit 9 that faces the optical communication unit 9 on the column 8 side. Each optical communication unit 9 on the column 8 side is connected to a main computer 10 that controls the entire automatic storage and retrieval device, and the optical communication unit 9 exchanges optical signals between the column 8 and the inner picker 6. By performing this, the operation of the inner picker 6 is controlled by υ. Further, the power source for driving each inner picker 6 is obtained through a trolley duct (not shown) extending along each rail 7 and the like.

Furthermore, on both sides of the column 8, there are shelf groups 4' (only the left shelf group 4' is shown in FIG. 1) for loading and unloading located at the front row of the left and right storage areas 2 and 3 of the housing 1. Outer pickers 11 are provided so as to be movable up and down, respectively, so as to face each other. That is, the outer picker 11
is engaged with a guide groove 8a vertically provided on the side surface of the column 8, and the main computer 10 is moved. It is driven up and down by IJtll. This outer picker 11 is also provided with a loading/unloading mechanism similar to that of the inner picker 6, and the containers 5 carried by the external conveyor 12 to one side of the column 8 are placed in a desired position on the abovementioned loading/unloading shelf group 4'. Containers are transferred to the S stage and inserted into the shelf 4 from the side of the loading/unloading shelf group 4', or are brought into the shelf 4 of the loading/unloading shelf group 4' from another shelf 4 by the inner picker 6. 5 can be taken out and transferred onto an external conveyor 12.

FIG. 2 shows a block diagram of a schematic configuration of the above-mentioned optical communication unit 9 provided on the column 8 side and the inner picker 6 side, respectively. This optical communication unit 9 has two systems, a transmission system and a reception system, installed in parallel.The transmission system modulates the input electrical signal S into a predetermined mode by a modulation circuit 13, and then modulates the input electrical signal S into a predetermined mode. The circuit 14 converts it into an optical signal, and the optical signal a is passed through a filter 15 and output. On the other hand, in the receiving system, an input optical signal is taken in through an optical system 16 including a filter and a lens, photoelectrically converted into an electrical signal by a drive circuit 17 including a light receiving element, and the electrical signal is transferred to a filter circuit 1.
8 and then amplified by an amplifier 19, adjusted to a predetermined signal level by a reception level unification circuit 20, and further converted into an electric signal S in a predetermined mode by a demodulation circuit 21. It is configured to demodulate. The optical signal output from the transmission system of the optical communication unit 9 on the column 8 side is input to the reception system of the corresponding inner picker-6 side optical communication unit 9, and also from the transmission system of the optical communication unit 9 on the inner picker 〇 side. The transmitting system and receiving system are opposed to each other so that the output optical signal is input to the receiving system of the optical communication unit 9 on the corresponding column 8 side. As shown in FIG. 3, two-way communication is carried out by the holing-refting method.

In this embodiment, the signals sent from the main computer 0 to the inner picker 6 are as shown in FIG.
A data format is used that includes an address D2 specifying the inner picker 6, a command content D2 such as taking out or returning the container 5, an address D3 of the container 5 (or shelf 4) to be taken out or taken out, and the like. For example, this signal may be simultaneously transmitted from each optical communication unit 9 on the column 8 side to all the inner pickers 6. In this case, each inner picker 6 not only transmits the signal designated to itself but also the other inner pickers. Although the signals designated by the picker 6 will also be received, each inner picker 6 selects only the signal designated to itself from among these signals based on the above address D1 and executes the command. become.

Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 5, the signal may be sent only to the corresponding inner picker 〇, and in this case, as shown by the dotted line in FIG. 5, the signal may interfere with the adjacent inner picker 6. , this can be solved by adopting the signal format shown in FIG. 4 described above.

Next, the operation of this automatic storage and retrieval device will be explained with reference to flowcharts shown in FIGS. 6 to 8.

(1) Removal of the container 5 In the flowchart of FIG. 6, first, in step S1, a request is made to take out a desired article from the storage areas 2 and 3 through input to the main computer 10 online from an external computer or via a floppy disk. Then, in step S2, the main computer 1
0, the location address of the container 4 containing the article, that is, the number of stages and row number 614 in which the container 4 is stored, is determined from the item number of the article. Next, in step $3, a command is transmitted to the inner picker 6 of the corresponding stage through the optical communication unit 9. If there are a large number of quest items to be taken out and the number of shelves corresponding to these items is different, this command is transmitted to the inner picker 6 of each shelf in parallel, for example. Upon receiving this command, the inner picker 6 starts traveling toward the target position 14 in step $4. Before the inner picker 6 starts its travel, it is waiting at an arbitrary position in the relevant stage where it finished its previous operation.

When the inner picker 6 arrives in front of the target shelf 4 and stops traveling in step S5, the ejecting/extracting mechanism of the inner picker 6 is activated in the next step $6 to start taking out the container 5 from the shelf 4. Ru. When the container 5 is loaded onto the inner picker 6 in step S7 and the removal is completed, the inner picker 6 starts traveling toward the unloading home position controller, that is, the front row loading/unloading shelf group 4' in the next step S8. do. When the inner picker 6 arrives at the home position and completes its travel in step S9, the loading/unloading mechanism of the inner picker 6 is activated again in the next step S18, and the transported container 5 is placed on the loading/unloading shelf group 4'. It is inserted into the shelf 4. When the insertion of the container 5 is completed in step S11, an operation completion signal is transmitted from the inner picker 6 to the main computer 10 via the optical communication unit 9 in the next step S12, and the inner picker 6 waits there until receiving the next command. .

The container 5 inserted into the shelf 4 of the loading/unloading shelf group 4' is taken out by an outer picker 11 that operates asynchronously with the movement of the inner picker 6, transferred to an external conveyor 12, and carried outside.

(2) Return of container 5 The container 5 transported by the external conveyor 12 is
First, it is transferred to the outer picker 6 and inserted into the shelf 4 of the warehouse storage shelf group 4' in the front row.

In this operation, if the method of returning the container 5 to the shelf 4 in the storage area 2゜3 is a fixed location method, that is, if the method is to return the container 5 to the shelf 4 at a specified position, it is necessary to Container 5 to the specified number of shelves among shelves 4
is inserted.

On the other hand, in the case of a free location method in which the empty shelf 4 where the container 5 can be returned in the shortest time is specified and the container 5 is returned to that shelf 4 without specifying the shelf 4 to which the container 5 is to be returned,
According to the flowchart shown in FIG. 7, the container 5 is transferred to the shelf group 4' for personnel removal. That is, in FIG. 7, first, in step S21, the container 5 is transferred from the external conveyor 12 to the outer picker 12. Next, in step S22, the standby position of the inner picker 6 which has completed its operation and is currently on standby is checked, and further in step S23, the position of the empty shelves 4 in each stage of the storage areas 2 and 3 is confirmed. Then, based on the data of the standby position and the position of the empty shelf 4, the next step S is performed.
At step 24, the inner picker 6 picks up the container 5 from the current standby position to the shelf group 4' for personnel removal, and picks up the container 5 from the empty shelf 4.
The step with the shortest round trip distance is determined.

Based on this determination, in the next step 825, the container 5 is inserted by the outer picker 11 into the shelf 4 of the relevant stage of the loading/unloading shelf group 4'.

The operation of returning the container 5 transferred to the shelf 4 of the loading/unloading shelf group 4' to the empty shelf 4 of the storage areas 2 and 3 is performed according to the flowchart shown in FIG. In the same figure, when the return of the container 5 is first requested in step S31, it is checked whether the container 5 is placed on the shelf 4 of the loading/unloading shelf group 4'. When it is confirmed that the container 5 is contained, the location address of the shelf 4 that stores the container 5 is determined in the next step S32. Next, in step S33, a return command is sent to the inner picker 6 of the corresponding stage through the optical communication unit 9. Upon receiving this command, the corresponding inner picker 6 starts traveling toward the loading/unloading shelf group 4' in step S34. When the inner picker 6 arrives and stops in front of the loading/unloading shelf group 4' in step S35, the loading/unloading mechanism of the inner picker 6 is activated in the next step 836 to remove the container from the shelf 4 of the loading/unloading shelf group 4'. 5 is taken onto the inner picker 6.

When the loading of the container 5 into the inner picker 6 is completed in step S31, the inner picker 6 starts traveling toward the target shelf 4 in the next step S38. When the inner picker 6 arrives in front of the target shelf 4 in step S39 and travel is completed, the output mechanism of the inner picker 6 is activated again in the next step S40, and the transported container 5 is placed inside the shelf 4. inserted. When the insertion of the container 5 is completed in step S41, an operation completion signal is transmitted from the inner picker 6 to the main computer 10 via the optical communication unit 9 in the next step S42, and the inner picker 6 waits there until receiving the next command. . In this way, after returning
Since the receiver receives the next command at that position without returning to the Baum position, access time is shortened.

(Effects of the Invention) As described above, according to the automatic storage and retrieval device of the present invention,
Items can be put in and taken out of each column in the storage area simply by operating the inner picker.
Compared to the conventional method in which the picker is moved while being integrated with the column, the power required for operation is significantly reduced, and the shelf structure in the storage area is simplified, making it easy to expand or relocate, allowing for a close-contact layout. This allows for effective use of limited space. Furthermore, since an inner picker is provided for each stage of the storage area and is operated independently, a plurality of items can be taken in and taken out at the same time, greatly improving efficiency. Furthermore, since the inner pickers are controlled by exchanging signals between each inner picker and the control device using optical communication, the wiring process during device installation can be greatly simplified. can get.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an automatic storage and retrieval device that is an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the general configuration of an optical communication unit used in the device, and FIG. 3 is a main computer and each inner An explanatory diagram showing an example of communication between pickers, Fig. 4 is a diagram showing the format of the signal used for the communication, and Fig. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing another example of communication between the main computer and each inner picker. , FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the container retrieval operation of this automatic storage and retrieval device, FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the operation of pre-return processing in the free location method of this automatic storage and retrieval device,
The figure is a flow diagram showing the container return operation of this automatic storage and retrieval device. 2.3...Storage area, 4...Shelf, 5...Container, 6...Inner picker, 9...Optical communication unit, 10...Main computer (picker control means) 1
1... Outer picker

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) A storage area in which a plurality of shelves are arranged in a matrix vertically and horizontally, and a picker that is movable along the open side of the shelf for each shelf in this storage area and that takes items in and out of the shelf. an optical communication unit disposed facing the picker on each shelf toward the travel space of the picker; and an optical communication unit provided on the picker side to perform optical communication with the optical communication unit. , and picker control means for controlling the picker by transmitting and receiving optical signals between both optical communication units.