JP-7855376-B2 - Information processing device, information processing method, program and system

JP7855376B2JP 7855376 B2JP7855376 B2JP 7855376B2JP-7855376-B2

Inventors

松村淳
柴田雅充
中俣洋一
杉山正暁
大鶴佳秀

Assignees

株式会社東芝

Dates

Publication Date: 20260508
Application Date: 20220322

Claims (13)

An interface connecting to at least one warehouse system corresponding to each consignor, and at least one automated transport system for transporting storage mechanisms for storing goods, Through the interface, the system receives inbound orders for goods to be received or outbound orders for goods to be sent out, identifies the consignor of the inbound order or outbound order, and obtains consignor information. By referring to attribute information that associates storage mechanism information identifying the storage mechanism with the consignor information, which is held by the automated transport system, the group of storage mechanisms corresponding to the consignor indicated by the consignor information is identified. In the case of the aforementioned receiving order, the storage mechanism belonging to the group that has available space to store the items indicated in the receiving order is identified. In the case of the aforementioned outbound order, the storage mechanism that stores the item indicated by the outbound order is identified from the storage mechanisms that constitute the group. Based on the aforementioned receiving order or the aforementioned shipping order, the interface controls the automated transport system to transport the specified storage mechanism to a station for picking or receiving goods. Processor and An information processing device equipped with the following features.
The processor transmits the incoming order or outgoing order, to the automated transport system, with the consignor information added, through the interface. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1.
The aforementioned processor, The system generates work information indicating a person or a picking robot as the worker who processes the items in the aforementioned receiving order or outgoing order. The receiving order or the shipping order, to which the work information has been added, is transmitted to the automated transport system through the interface. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2.
The aforementioned processor, Based on the characteristics of the article, the work information is generated. The information processing apparatus according to claim 3.
The characteristics of the article include any of the size, shape, weight, or packaging of the article. The information processing apparatus according to claim 4.
The processor generates the work information based on the consignor information. The information processing apparatus according to claim 3.
The processor generates a report relating to the goods for each shipper. The information processing apparatus according to claim 6 .
The report includes item identification information, quantity, and either the receipt history or the dispatch history of the items stored by the storage mechanism. The information processing apparatus according to claim 7.
An information processing method performed by a processor, The system receives an inbound order for goods to be received or an outbound order for goods to be sent out from the warehouse system corresponding to the shipper, identifies the shipper of the inbound order or outbound order, and obtains shipper information. By referring to attribute information that associates storage mechanism information identifying the storage mechanism with the consignor information, which is held by an automated transport system that transports storage mechanisms for storing goods, the group of storage mechanisms corresponding to the consignor indicated by the consignor information is identified. In the case of the aforementioned receiving order, identify the storage mechanism belonging to the group that has available space to store the items indicated in the receiving order, In the case of the aforementioned outbound order, the storage mechanism that stores the item indicated by the outbound order is identified from the storage mechanisms that constitute the group. Based on the aforementioned receiving order or the aforementioned shipping order, the automated transport system is instructed to transport the identified storage mechanism to a station for picking or receiving goods. Information processing methods.
A program executed by a processor, The aforementioned processor, A function to receive inbound orders for goods to be stored or outbound orders for goods to be shipped from the warehouse system corresponding to the shipper, identify the shipper of the inbound order or outbound order and obtain shipper information, An automated transport system that transports storage mechanisms for storing goods has a function to identify a group of storage mechanisms corresponding to a shipper indicated by the shipper information by referring to attribute information that associates storage mechanism information identifying the storage mechanism with shipper information, which is held by the automated transport system that transports storage mechanisms for storing goods. In the case of an incoming order, the function identifies a storage mechanism belonging to the group that has space to store the items indicated in the incoming order, and in the case of an outgoing order, the function identifies a storage mechanism from the storage mechanisms constituting the group that will store the items indicated in the outgoing order. Based on the aforementioned receiving order or the aforementioned shipping order, the automated transport system has a function to transport the specified storage mechanism to a station for picking or receiving goods. A program that executes the command.
A system comprising an information processing device, a control device, and an automated transport device, The aforementioned information processing device is A first interface connected to at least one warehouse system corresponding to each consignor, and the control device, Through the first interface, the system receives an inbound order for receiving goods or an outbound order for sending goods from the warehouse system, identifies the consignor of the inbound order or outbound order and obtains consignor information, and, based on the inbound order or outbound order, controls the control device through the first interface to transport a storage mechanism for storing goods to a station for picking or receiving the goods. The first processor, Equipped with, The control device is A second interface connected to the aforementioned information processing device, A third interface connected to the aforementioned automated transport device, A memory for storing attribute information that associates storage mechanism information identifying the storage mechanism with shipper information identifying the shipper, A second processor that, through the second interface, identifies a group of storage mechanisms corresponding to the consignor information included in the incoming order or outgoing order received from the information processing device based on the attribute information, identifies a storage mechanism among the storage mechanisms belonging to the group that has space to store the items indicated in the incoming order if it is an incoming order, identifies a storage mechanism from among the storage mechanisms constituting the group that stores the items indicated in the outgoing order, and controls the automated transport device to transport the identified storage mechanism to the station through the third interface, Equipped with, system.
When the second processor determines that there is no available storage mechanism to store the items indicated in the storage order in the group, it updates the attribute information by associating the storage mechanism information with the consignor information in the attribute information in order to assign a storage mechanism that does not belong to the group to the group, and controls the transport of the assigned storage mechanism to the station. The system according to claim 11.
The first processor is, The system generates work information indicating a person or a picking robot as the worker who processes the items in the aforementioned receiving order or outgoing order. The receiving order or the shipping order, to which the work information has been added, is transmitted to the control device through the first interface. The second processor is, Based on the work information of the aforementioned receiving order or the aforementioned shipping order, the station is identified, Through the third interface, the automatic transport device is controlled to transport the storage mechanism to the specified station. The system according to claim 11 or 12.

Description

Embodiments of the present invention relate to information processing apparatus, information processing method, program, and system. A picking system is provided that picks (or stores) items according to orders. Such a picking system includes multiple AGV (Automated Guided Vehicle) shelves for storing items. The picking system uses AGVs to transport the AGV shelves to a picking station, where robots or human operators pick the items from the AGV shelves. Picking systems sometimes store goods from multiple shippers. Therefore, there is a need for a picking system that can effectively handle shipments from multiple shippers. Patent No. 6961774 Figure 1 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of the configuration of a picking system according to the first embodiment.Figure 2 is a block diagram showing an example configuration of a picking system according to the first embodiment.Figure 3 is a block diagram showing an example configuration of WES according to the first embodiment.Figure 4 is a block diagram showing an example configuration of a shelf transport system according to the first embodiment.Figure 5 shows an example of the operation of the picking system according to the first embodiment.Figure 6 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the operation of the picking system according to the first embodiment.Figure 7 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the operation of the picking system according to the first embodiment.Figure 8 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of the configuration of a picking system according to the second embodiment.Figure 9 shows an example of the operation of the picking system according to the second embodiment.Figure 10 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of the configuration of a picking system according to the third embodiment.Figure 11 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of the configuration of a picking system according to the fourth embodiment.Figure 12 shows an example of the operation of the picking system according to the fourth embodiment.Figure 13 is a flowchart showing an example of WES operation according to the fourth embodiment.Figure 14 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the AGV control device according to the fourth embodiment.Figure 15 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of the configuration of a picking system according to the fifth embodiment.Figure 16 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of the configuration of a picking system according to the sixth embodiment.Figure 17 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of the configuration of a picking system according to the seventh embodiment.Figure 18 is a block diagram showing an example configuration of a picking system according to the seventh embodiment. The embodiments will be described below with reference to the drawings. (First embodiment) First, let me describe the first embodiment. The picking system according to this embodiment stores goods in AGV shelves and picks goods from the AGV shelves in a logistics system or the like. The picking system transports the AGV shelves to a picking station using an automated guided vehicle (AGV). At the picking station, the picking system stores goods in the AGV shelves or picks goods from the AGV shelves. The picking system has an operator or robot store goods in the AGV shelves or pick goods from the AGV shelves. For example, picking systems are used in logistics centers or warehouses. Figure 1 shows an example of the configuration of a picking system 100 according to an embodiment. As shown in Figure 1, the picking system 100 includes picking stations P (P1 to P3), shelf transport AGV 7, and AGV shelves 201 to 230, etc. Picking stations P1 to P3 are equipped with a picking robot 81 and a retrieval device 82, respectively. The retrieval device 82 retrieves cases containing items from the openings of the transported AGV shelves 201 to 230. The picking robot 81 picks items from the cases. The picking system 100 operates a picking robot 81 and a retrieval device 82 at each picking station P1 to P3, allowing the picking robot 81 to pick items. The picking system can also stop the operation of the picking robot 81 and assign an employee to pick the items. The employee can visually confirm the item processing schedule and other information displayed on the display device before processing the items. The display device may also be a wireless communication terminal assigned to the employee. Furthermore, display devices may be installed at picking stations P1 to P3, and picking robots 81 and retrieval devices 82 may be installed at some picking stations. In this case, picking stations without picking robots 81 and retrieval devices 82 will be used as picking stations for human staff. Picking stations with retrieval devices 82 will also be used as picking stations for human staff. Picking stations with picking robots 81 and retrieval devices 82 will be used as picking stations for robots. Note that picking