JP-7854630-B1 - Method and program for determining travel route

JP7854630B1JP 7854630 B1JP7854630 B1JP 7854630B1JP-7854630-B1

Abstract

[Problem] To assign the shortest possible route for multiple moving objects within a warehouse, thereby reducing the overall travel time of objects within the warehouse. [Solution] The method for determining a movement path is a method for determining the movement path of a moving object placed in a warehouse, and involves obtaining a first position and a second position of the moving object, selecting a candidate movement path that reaches the second position from the first position by passing through some of a plurality of nodes installed in the warehouse, obtaining movement time factor information including the degree of congestion of each node constituting the candidate movement path, calculating the predicted movement time of the candidate movement path based on the movement time factor information, determining the candidate movement path as the movement path if there is a candidate movement path whose predicted movement time is less than or equal to a predetermined time, and if there is no candidate movement path whose predicted movement time is less than or equal to a predetermined time, changing at least one of the first position and the second position of the candidate movement path, and selecting one or more candidate movement paths having the changed position. [Selection Diagram] Figure 8

Inventors

宗広和
松原亮
関信人

Assignees

パナソニックＩＰマネジメント株式会社

Dates

Publication Date: 20260507
Application Date: 20250806

Claims (7)

A method for determining the movement path of at least one mobile object located within a warehouse, which is performed by a computer, The first position and second position of the moving body are obtained, One or more candidate travel paths are selected that pass through some of the multiple nodes installed within the warehouse to reach the second position from the first position. The travel time factor information, including the congestion level of each node constituting the candidate travel route, is obtained. Based on the aforementioned travel time factor information, the predicted travel time for the one or more travel route candidates is calculated. If there are candidate travel routes for which the calculated travel time prediction is less than or equal to a predetermined time, those candidate travel routes are determined to be the travel routes. If there are no candidate travel routes in which the calculated travel time prediction is less than or equal to the predetermined time, at least one of the first position and the second position of the candidate travel route is changed, and one or more candidate travel routes having the changed position are selected. Method for determining travel routes.
If there are candidate travel routes where the calculated travel time is less than or equal to a predetermined time, the congestion level of each node is updated based on the determined travel route. The method for determining a travel path according to claim 1.
When the first position is changed, the target of the movement path assignment is changed from the moving body to a second moving body located at a third position different from the first position, and one or more movement path candidates are selected for the second moving body to reach the second position from the third position. The method for determining a travel path according to claim 1.
When changing the second position, the first task indicating the work to be performed at the second position, which was assigned to the mobile body, is changed to a second task indicating the work to be performed at a fourth position different from the second position, and one or more candidate movement paths are selected for the mobile body to reach the fourth position from the first position. The method for determining a travel path according to claim 1.
When changing the first and second positions, the target of the movement path assignment is changed from the moving body to a second moving body located at a third position different from the first position, the first task indicating the work to be performed at the second position which was assigned to the moving body is changed to a third task indicating the work to be performed at a fourth position different from the second position, and one or more movement path candidates are selected for the second moving body to reach the fourth position from the third position. The method for determining a travel path according to claim 1.
The aforementioned predetermined time is The standard travel time is determined based on the distance from the first position to the second position and the speed of the moving body, and the delay tolerance is determined based on the percentage of delay allowed from the standard travel time. A method for determining a travel path according to any one of claims 1 to 5.
A program that causes a computer to determine the movement path of at least one mobile object placed within a warehouse, To acquire the first position and the second position of the moving body, Selecting one or more candidate travel paths that pass through some of the multiple nodes installed within the warehouse and reach the second position from the first position, To obtain travel time factor information, including the congestion level of each node constituting the candidate travel route, Based on the aforementioned travel time factor information, calculate the predicted travel time for the one or more travel route candidates. If there are candidate travel routes for which the calculated travel time prediction is less than or equal to a predetermined time, those candidate travel routes are determined to be the travel routes. If there are no candidate travel routes in which the calculated travel prediction time is less than or equal to the predetermined time, the system will change at least one of the first and second positions of the candidate travel route and select one or more candidate travel routes having the changed position. program.

Description

This disclosure relates to a method and program for determining a travel path. Patent Document 1 discloses a transport robot management device. This transport robot management device comprises: an AGV information database that stores AGV information including the current location of an automated guided vehicle (AGV); a map information database that stores map information including the estimated congestion level based on the AGV's current location and the transport area where the AGV can travel; an operation planning unit that determines the AGV to be used for transport and the destination to which the determined AGV should travel, based on order information, AGV information, and map information obtained from an external system; a priority determination unit that determines the priority of the AGV determined based on at least one of the following: AGV information, order information, station information including work status at the station, and product information including weight, dimensions, and handling importance of the product; a travel route determination unit that determines the travel route of the determined AGV to the destination based on the priority and congestion level; and a transmission unit that transmits the travel route to the AGV. Japanese Patent Publication No. 2025-37600 Block diagram showing an example of the computer hardware configuration according to each embodiment.Block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the computer according to Embodiment 1.Block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the computer according to Embodiment 2.This figure shows examples of calculating travel time predictions and updating congestion levels.A diagram showing an example of reacquiring the start and end points.A flowchart showing a time-series example of a computer-based warehouse execution management procedure according to Embodiment 1.A flowchart showing a time-series example of a computer simulation execution procedure according to Embodiment 2.Flowcharts showing examples of computer-based movement path determination procedures for each embodiment in chronological order. (Background leading to this disclosure) Patent Document 1 discloses a method for estimating the congestion level of multiple transport areas within a warehouse based on the positions of multiple moving objects during route searching, and for determining a route that minimizes the travel time of a particular moving object using the estimated congestion level. However, while a particular moving object is traveling along the determined route, other multiple moving objects are also moving within the warehouse, which can lead to discrepancies between the congestion level when the particular moving object actually passes through the transport area and the congestion level estimated during route searching. Thus, it is difficult to accurately predict the congestion level of each transport area within the warehouse, and consequently determine the shortest possible route for a moving object, based solely on the positions of multiple moving objects during route searching. Therefore, the following embodiment describes an example of a movement path determination method and program that can assign the shortest possible travel path to multiple moving objects moving within a warehouse, thereby reducing the overall movement time of the objects within the warehouse. The following description will detail embodiments specifically illustrating the movement path determination method and program described herein, with appropriate reference to the drawings. However, unnecessarily detailed explanations may be omitted. For example, detailed explanations of already well-known matters and redundant explanations of substantially identical components may be omitted. This is to avoid unnecessarily verbose explanations and to facilitate understanding for those skilled in the art. The accompanying drawings and the following description are provided to enable those skilled in the art to fully understand this disclosure and are not intended to limit the subject matter of the claims. Furthermore, in the following description, identical elements may be assigned the same reference numerals to simplify or omit explanations. 1. Computer Hardware Configuration First, with reference to Figure 1, examples of the hardware configuration of the computer 100 according to each embodiment will be described. Figure 1 is a block diagram showing examples of the hardware configuration of the computer 100 according to each embodiment. The computer 100 may be, for example, a general-purpose computer device such as a PC (Personal Computer) or a server computer, or it may be a mobile terminal such as a tablet terminal or a smartphone. In the embodiment 1 described later, the computer 100 is used, for example, as a device constituting a Warehouse Execution System (WES). The Warehouse Execution System manages and controls various operations rela