KR-20260063873-A - The Efficient Operation Method for Rack-Based Automated Warehouse Systems

KR20260063873AKR 20260063873 AKR20260063873 AKR 20260063873AKR-20260063873-A

Abstract

The rack-based automatic warehouse system of the present invention comprises: a plurality of racks for storing goods arranged in horizontal and vertical directions; a stacker crane including a carriage capable of accessing said racks by moving in a vertical direction to select a layer of the rack and moving along a rail in a horizontal direction to select a position of the rack; and an inbound/outbound station capable of loading or unloading goods at the bottom of said stacker crane; wherein the carriage is a carriage including a twin-fork type having two forks; and the rack-based automatic warehouse system is configured to perform an optimal placement operation within the rack according to the order of goods shipment during the idle time between goods shipment and shipment operations, and the optimal placement operation within the rack is performed so that the twin forks can simultaneously fork the goods.

Inventors

김지만
이승종
김동윤
공선만

Assignees

현대글로비스 주식회사

Dates

Publication Date: 20260507
Application Date: 20241031

Claims (11)

As a rack-based automated warehouse system, Multiple racks aligned in horizontal and vertical directions for storing cargo; A stacker crane comprising a carriage capable of accessing said rack by moving vertically to select a layer of the rack and moving horizontally along a rail to select a position of the rack; and Includes an inbound/outbound station capable of loading or unloading cargo at the bottom of the stacker crane; The above carriage is a carriage including a twin-fork type having two forks, and The above rack-based automated warehouse system is configured to perform an optimized placement operation within the rack according to the order of shipment during the idle time between the receiving and shipping operations of goods, and A rack-based automated warehouse system characterized by performing an optimized placement operation within the rack so that the twin forks can simultaneously fork cargo.
In Article 1, The above rack-based automated warehouse system is configured such that the stacker crane is positioned in the center and the plurality of racks are positioned on both sides thereof, so that the forks of the carriage can approach from both sides.
In Article 1, A rack-based automated warehouse system in which each fork of the above carriage is configured to load cargo at deep and shallow positions, respectively.
In Article 1, A rack-based automated warehouse system in which the optimization placement operation within the above rack is performed by considering both alignment considering the shortest distance and alignment considering twin forks simultaneously picking up cargo.
As a method of operating a rack-based automated warehouse system, The above rack-based automated Django system is: A warehouse management system (WMS) that digitizes and manages all operations of the above-mentioned automated warehouse system; A logistics control system (WCS; Warehouse Control System) that controls automated equipment within the above-mentioned automated warehouse system; and Includes an Equipment Control System (ECS) that controls unit automation equipment within the above-mentioned automated warehouse system, and The above operating method is: Step (S10) in which WMS shares the next work schedule with WCS; Step (S20) in which the WCS calculates the optimal placement within the rack based on the received next-round work schedule; Step (S30) in which WCS generates a lower-priority command for the automation equipment to perform the optimization placement within the rack during idle time based on the result of the calculated optimization placement within the rack; and A method for operating a rack-based automated warehouse system, comprising the step (S50) in which, when a priority inbound/outbound operation is completed, the WCS transmits a command for an optimized placement within the lower priority rack to the ECS.
In Article 5, A method for operating a rack-based automated warehouse system, further comprising, after the above step S30, a step (S40) of storing a subsequent command generated by WCS in a command buffer.
In Article 5, A method of operating a rack-based automated warehouse system configured such that when a command for a changed inbound/outbound operation is received, the optimization placement operation within the rack completes the unit operation being performed and executes the command for the changed inbound/outbound operation.
In Article 5, A method of operating a rack-based automated warehouse system, wherein if the scheduled time for inbound and outbound operations arrives without completing the optimization placement work within the rack due to a change in the outbound schedule or a lack of idle time, the optimization placement work within the rack is configured to complete the unit work being performed and execute the command for the scheduled inbound and outbound operations.
In Article 5, A method of operating a rack-based automated warehouse system configured such that when a new urgent inbound/outbound operation order is received, the optimization placement work within the rack completes the unit work being performed and executes the new urgent inbound/outbound operation order.
In Article 5, A method of operating a rack-based automated warehouse system, wherein an optimized placement operation within the rack is performed so that twin forks placed on the crane of the rack-based automated warehouse system can fork cargo simultaneously.
In Article 10, A method of operating a rack-based automated warehouse system, wherein the optimization placement operation within the above rack is performed by considering both alignment considering the shortest distance and alignment considering twin forks simultaneously picking up cargo.

Description

The Efficient Operation Method for Rack-Based Automated Warehouse Systems The present invention relates to a system and method for efficiently loading and unloading cargo or products using logistics automation equipment. In particular, it relates to a technology that can maximize the operational efficiency of an automated warehouse by improving the speed of cargo processing through logistics automation equipment such as a stacker crane, a mini-load, and a multistage shuttle. An automated warehouse system, or AS/RS (Automated Storage and Retrieval System), is a system designed to automatically store and dispatch goods within a warehouse, enabling inventory management via computers and maximizing the efficiency of logistics operations. Generally, racks are designed with multi-layer and multi-row structures to accommodate cargo of various sizes and weights. For example, different types of cargo, such as pallets, tote boxes, and boxes of various sizes, can be stored on the racks. Additionally, the rack structure is designed to optimize space utilization by combining single-dip and double-dip configurations. However, existing automated warehouse systems suffer from limited cargo handling efficiency. Conventional stacker cranes and multi-stage shuttle systems transport cargo via a single fork, resulting in longer loading and unloading times. Although twin-forks were introduced to address this, the problem persists where each fork operates independently, leading to increased travel distances and significant time consumption when two shipments are not placed consecutively. Consequently, cargo processing speeds are restricted, frequently leading to inefficiencies in overall logistics operations. Meanwhile, throughput, which indicates how much cargo is loaded and unloaded within a set time in an automated warehouse system, is determined by the efficiency of the layout, the performance of logistics automation equipment, and an efficient automated warehouse management system (WCS). FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating the overall configuration of a rack-based automatic warehouse system according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a drawing for explaining the configuration and operation of an example of a fork configured on a carriage used in a rack-based automatic warehouse system according to the present invention. FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram of the process of approaching cargo when using a twin double-dip fork method according to one embodiment of the present invention, viewed from above. Figure 4 is a diagram illustrating the operation method of a rack-based automated warehouse system according to the existing method. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a method of operating a rack-based automatic warehouse system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a conceptual diagram illustrating the management and control of a rack-based automatic warehouse system according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a method of operating a rack-based automatic warehouse system according to an embodiment of the present invention. In order to explain an efficient operation method of a rack-based automated warehouse system according to one embodiment of the present invention, the essential components constituting the rack-based automated warehouse system will first be described. FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating the overall configuration of a rack-based automatic warehouse system according to the present invention. Referring to FIG. 1, a plurality of racks (shelf) (10) are arranged in a horizontal direction (x, y axis) and a vertical direction (z axis). Each of the plurality of racks (10) serves as a shelf, and items or boxes are placed and stored within them. A stacker crane (20) is a mechanical device that automatically moves and loads cargo in a warehouse or logistics center and is mainly used in an automated storage and retrieval system (AS/RS) such as the present invention. It performs the role of transporting or taking out items on racks or shelves to a specific location. The stacker crane (20) operates by moving in the vertical direction (z) to select a layer of cargo, and moving along the rail in the horizontal direction (x) to load or unload cargo at that location. A fork is attached to the cargo-grabbing part, usually called the carriage, to grasp and move the cargo. This fork can be configured as a single fork consisting of one fork or a twin fork consisting of multiple forks. In the case of a twin fork, more cargo can be transported at the same time. In addition, a mini-load is a configuration of an automated warehouse system (AS/RS) designed primarily to handle relatively light cargo such as small parts or boxes, and has a structure similar to the stacker crane described above. It is specialized for quickly loading and unloading small or light-weight items, and is a configuration suitable for the automatic loading and unloading of small and me