WO2016157367A1 - Opening setting system - Google Patents

Opening setting system Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2016157367A1
WO2016157367A1 PCT/JP2015/059944 JP2015059944W WO2016157367A1 WO 2016157367 A1 WO2016157367 A1 WO 2016157367A1 JP 2015059944 W JP2015059944 W JP 2015059944W WO 2016157367 A1 WO2016157367 A1 WO 2016157367A1
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WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
sorting
frontage
storage
shelf
information
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Application number
PCT/JP2015/059944
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French (fr)
Japanese (ja)
Inventor
頼子 風間
絵美 高橋
木村　淳一
Original Assignee
株式会社日立製作所
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by 株式会社日立製作所 filed Critical 株式会社日立製作所
Priority to PCT/JP2015/059944 priority Critical patent/WO2016157367A1/en
Priority to JP2017508890A priority patent/JP6303071B2/en
Publication of WO2016157367A1 publication Critical patent/WO2016157367A1/en

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    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06Q—INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • G06Q10/00—Administration; Management
    • G06Q10/08—Logistics, e.g. warehousing, loading or distribution; Inventory or stock management
    • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
    • Y02P—CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES IN THE PRODUCTION OR PROCESSING OF GOODS
    • Y02P90/00—Enabling technologies with a potential contribution to greenhouse gas [GHG] emissions mitigation
    • Y02P90/02—Total factory control, e.g. smart factories, flexible manufacturing systems [FMS] or integrated manufacturing systems [IMS]

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to a technique for a frontage setting system in an article picking operation.
  • a picking operation is performed where an operator takes out articles stored on a shelf as necessary.
  • This work is work which requires labor and time, and a technique for improving the work efficiency is disclosed.
  • a storage unit in which a shelf allocation management table 401 for associating a position address in a component shelf with the delivery history information of a component to be stored is stored, a predetermined reference position of the component shelf, and the reference Based on the predetermined arrangement direction of the part from the position, the usage frequency of the comparison target part arranged at the adjacent position address in the arrangement direction is calculated from the part issue history information, and there are parts that are less frequently used among the comparison target parts.
  • a stagnation component management device based on history information having a shelf update processing unit 8 that instructs to change the position address of a comparison target component so as to be arranged at a position distant from the reference position" (See summary). According to this, the frontage of the position where it is easy to take out articles with high use frequency from the parts shelf (storage shelf) is set.
  • Patent Document 2 “a storage system in which a transport vehicle transports shelves in a storage area in which a plurality of shelves storing one or more packages is stored, A storage system using a transport vehicle that “improves efficiency” is disclosed (see the column of effects). According to this, an operator takes out the target article from the shelf conveyed by the transport vehicle, and sorts and stores it in another sorting shelf.
  • Patent Document 1 discloses that an article is taken out from a storage shelf (parts shelf), the workability of an operator when sorting into another shelf (sorting shelf) after taking out, that is, The workability (ease of work) when storing the articles taken out from the storage shelves in the sorting shelves is not disclosed.
  • Patent Document 2 discloses that there are a plurality of frontage on the sorting shelf, there is no disclosure of any problem about the concentration of access to the frontage having poor workability, nor any countermeasures against the problem. This also applies to Patent Document 2.
  • the present invention has been made in view of such a background, and an object of the present invention is to improve the efficiency of picking work.
  • the present invention is directed to picking up articles stored in a storage shelf in a picking operation and storing them in a sorting front of the sorting shelf for each sorting destination. (Access count) is calculated for each sorting destination, and according to the number of times, a frontage setting process for assigning a sorting frontage for each sorting destination is performed.
  • Access count is calculated for each sorting destination, and according to the number of times, a frontage setting process for assigning a sorting frontage for each sorting destination is performed.
  • the efficiency of picking work can be improved.
  • FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a frontage setting system according to the first embodiment.
  • the frontage setting device 1 the storage shelf 2, the sorting shelf 3, the transport vehicle 4, the work DB (Data Base: storage unit) 5, the WMS (Warehouse Management System) 6, the shelf DB7 and the like are connected to each other via a network.
  • the work DB Data Base: storage unit
  • WMS Warehouse Management System
  • the frontage setting device 1 is mounted on a WCS (Warehouse Control System) or the like, and sets the assignment of the sorting frontage in the sorting shelf 3.
  • the classification frontage will be described later.
  • the frontage setting device 1 transmits / receives information to / from the WMS 6.
  • the storage shelf 2 is a shelf that is a sorting source, and stores articles before sorting for each sorting destination. As will be described later, the storage shelf 2 highlights a location to be picked (a storage opening 21 as a take-out source (see FIG. 3)) based on an instruction from the WMS 6.
  • the sorting shelf 3 is a shelf that serves as a sorting destination, and stores sorted articles.
  • the sorting shelf 3 highlights a location to be picked (storage destination sorting opening 31 (see FIG. 3)) based on an instruction from the WMS 6.
  • the transport vehicle 4 transmits its own position information to the WMS 6 and transports the storage shelf 2 and the like to the work position based on an instruction from the WMS 6.
  • the work DB 5 stores work data (sorting destination information) that is all information related to picking of articles.
  • the WMS 6 reads work data from the work DB 6 and updates the work data as necessary.
  • the WMS 6 is a system for managing articles and work in a warehouse or factory by managing work data, inventory data, and the like.
  • the storage front ID (Identification: storage shelf information) assigned to the storage front 21 (see FIG. 3) in the storage shelf 2 and the sorting front 31 (see FIG. 3) in the sorting shelf 3 are given.
  • Stored is information related to the sorting frontage ID (sorting shelf information) and the like.
  • the frontage setting device 1 includes a data acquisition unit 111, an order set generation unit 112, a frontage setting processing unit 113, and an allocation condition DB 121.
  • the data acquisition unit 111 acquires work data stored in the work DB 5 via the WMS 6.
  • the order set generation unit 112 generates order set data (sorting destination information) that is a set of necessary orders based on the acquired work data. A method for generating the order set data will be described later.
  • the frontage setting processing unit 113 sets assignment of the sorting frontage 31 in the sorting shelf 3 based on the order set data, that is, performs setting for assigning the sorting frontage 31 for each sorting destination, and transmits the setting result to the WMS 6. .
  • the allocation condition DB 121 stores a sorting front priority condition (priority information) that is information related to the priority of the sorting front 31 when assigning the sorting front 31.
  • the sorting frontage priority condition here is based on the ease of storing the articles in the sorting frontage 31, and the sorting frontage 31 located at a low position or a high position of the sorting shelf 3 is stored for the worker. Since it cannot be said that the work is easy to perform, the sorting frontage priority condition is lowered.
  • FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration example of the frontage setting device according to the first embodiment.
  • the frontage setting device 1 includes a memory 101, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 102, a storage device 103, a transmission / reception device 104, an input device 105, a display device 106, and the like.
  • the storage device 103 is an HD (Hard Disk) or the like.
  • the allocation condition DB 121 in FIG. 1 corresponds to the storage device 103.
  • the transmission / reception device 104 is a NIC (Network Interface Card) or the like, and performs transmission / reception of information via a network.
  • the input device 105 is a keyboard, a pointing device, or the like
  • the display device 106 is a display or the like.
  • the program stored in the storage device 103 is expanded in the memory 101, and the expanded program is executed by the CPU 102, whereby the processing unit 110 and the data acquisition unit 111 constituting the processing unit 110, the order set generation unit 112, a frontage setting processing unit 113 is embodied. Since the data acquisition unit 111, the order set generation unit 112, and the frontage setting processing unit 113 have already been described with reference to FIG. 1, description thereof is omitted here.
  • FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an outline of the picking operation.
  • the sorting shelf 3 is partitioned into a plurality of sorting openings 31.
  • Each sorting front 31 is assigned to a sorting destination.
  • the sorting destination is a person who needs an article such as a customer. By the way, when an article is sent from one place in the same office to another place, it can be said that the destination corresponds to a sorting destination.
  • the sorting frontage 31 in principle, one sorting destination is assigned to one sorting frontage 31, but a plurality of sorting destinations may be assigned to one sorting frontage 31, and one sorting destination may be assigned to a plurality of sorting. It may be assigned to the frontage 31.
  • each sorting front 31 is assigned an ID (sorting front ID: sorting shelf information) that is unique to each sorting front 31. That is, when the sorting frontage ID is specified, the sorting frontage 31 is also specified. By the way, when the sorting frontage 31 is specified, the height and the horizontal position of the sorting frontage 31 are also known. That is, in this embodiment, the sorting front ID includes information related to the vertical position of the sorting front 31 in the sorting shelf 3 and information related to the horizontal position. As described above, the sorting frontage ID is information stored in the shelf DB 7.
  • the storage shelf 2 is also partitioned into a plurality of storage fronts 21.
  • One or more types of articles are stored in the storage front 21.
  • Each storage front 21 is also given a unique ID (storage front ID). That is, when the storage front ID is specified, the storage front 21 is also specified.
  • the height of the storage front 21 and the position in the lateral direction are also known. Since this point is the same as the sorting frontage 31, a description thereof will be omitted.
  • the worker P takes out a predetermined number of predetermined articles from the storage opening 21 of the storage shelf 2 in which the articles are stored, and stores them in the predetermined sorting opening 31 in the sorting shelf 3.
  • the storage shelf 2 is configured to be transported by the transport vehicle 4 to the worker (working position) waiting at the sorting shelf 3.
  • the shelf conveyed by the conveyance vehicle 4 is appropriately referred to as a moving shelf.
  • a shelf that does not move is appropriately referred to as a fixed shelf.
  • the storage shelf 2 is a moving shelf and the sorting shelf 3 is a fixed shelf.
  • the sorting shelf 3 and the storing shelf 2 may be moving shelves.
  • the storage shelf 2 may be a fixed shelf
  • the sorting shelf 3 may be a sorting cart in which a plurality of boxes are installed in a movable cart.
  • the sorting shelf 3 is often larger in width than the storage shelf 2.
  • the storage shelf 2 and the sorting shelf 3 may be substantially the same size, or the sorting shelf 3 is smaller than the storage shelf 2 as shown in FIG. Good.
  • the form of the shelf is not limited to the form shown in FIGS. 3 (a) to 3 (c).
  • the configuration is as shown in FIG. That is, the description will be made assuming that the sorting shelf 3 is a fixed shelf, the storage shelf 2 is a movable shelf that can be moved by the transport vehicle 4, and the width of the sorting shelf 3 is larger than the width of the storage shelf 2.
  • the sorting shelf 3 has a height of about 2 m and a width of about 4 to 6 m.
  • the transport vehicle 4 that transports the storage shelf 2 transports the storage shelf 2 from the standby position of the storage shelf 2 to the work position based on an instruction from the WMS 6.
  • the transport destination position (stop position) of the storage shelf 2 is determined. That is, the work position of the worker P (a reference position 201 (see FIG.
  • the standby position of the storage shelf 2 is set at a predetermined location in the work space, and the storage shelf 2 waits at the standby position until instructed to move from the WMS 6 to the work position.
  • FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of sorting frontage setting processing according to the first embodiment. Reference is made to FIG. 1 as appropriate.
  • the data acquisition unit 111 acquires work data for picking work from the WMS 6 (S101).
  • FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of work data.
  • the work data stores an order ID for distinguishing (identifying) orders, an article ID for identifying articles, the number of articles, a sorting destination ID, and the like.
  • Each set of order ID, article ID, number, and sorting destination ID is referred to as an order record. That is, the work data stores the article ID, the number, etc. of articles necessary for each sorting destination.
  • the sorting destination is a person who needs an article such as a customer.
  • An order record is created for each article to be picked. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, when a plurality of articles are sorted for one sorting destination such as “A”, “I”, etc., for the sorting destination “A”, Multiple order records are created.
  • the work data is information manually input by an administrator or the like, for example.
  • the order set generation unit 112 generates order set data by extracting an order record from the work data (S102). For example, if the number of sorting fronts 31 in the sorting shelf 3 is “20”, the order set generation unit 112 generates order set data by extracting an order record of “20” from the work data. Since orders may include the same sorting destination (sorting destination), the number of sorting destinations in the order set is equal to or less than the number of sorting fronts 31.
  • the order set generation unit 112 generates the order set data by, for example, extracting the order record of the work data from the work data in the order of description in the work data or at random for the number of the sorting fronts 31.
  • the order set generation unit 112 generates the order set data by extracting the order record of the work data so that the number of sorting destinations (number of sorting destination IDs) in the order set data becomes the number of sorting fronts 31. Also good. That is, if the number of sorting fronts 31 is “20”, the order set generating unit 112 may generate order set data so that the number of sorting destinations in the order set data is “20”.
  • the order set generation unit 112 sets the combination of sorting destinations in which the number of operations (the number of storage operations) from the storage shelf 2 in the picking operation until it is stored in the sorting shelf 3 as the order set data is the work data. And order set data may be generated based on this combination. That is, the order set data may be generated in such a combination that the sorting destinations that sort the same article “a” are included in the same order set data. Alternatively, the order set generation unit 112 may generate order set data by preferentially combining sorting destinations that can sort the corresponding articles with respect to a plurality of articles stored in the same storage shelf 2. By doing in this way, since the frequency
  • the order set generation unit 112 extracts an order record of “20” from the work data. As a result, order set data is generated. In this way, the storage shelf 2 that conforms to the generated order set data is transported to the work position by the transport vehicle 4. Further, one storage shelf 2 (movable shelf) is not necessarily transported to the work position, and a plurality of storage shelves 2 may be transported to the work position.
  • the order set generation unit 112 when the storage shelf 2 is a fixed shelf, the order set generation unit 112 does not have to be the same storage shelf 2 but the storage shelf 2 arranged nearby,
  • the order set data may be generated by combining the sorting destinations that sort the articles stored in the storage front 21. By doing in this way, when the storage shelf 2 is a fixed shelf, the movement of the worker at the time of picking work can be made small. Note that the order set data may be generated by a method other than that described above.
  • the order set generation unit 112 transmits the generated order set data to the WMS 6.
  • the frontage setting processing unit 113 counts the number of accesses for each sorting destination in the order set data (S103).
  • the frontage setting processing unit 113 acquires the sorting frontage priority condition from the allocation condition DB 121 (S104).
  • the sorting frontage priority condition is a priority when assigning the sorting frontage 31 to a sorting destination.
  • the sorting frontage priority conditions will be described later.
  • the frontage setting processing unit 113 assigns the sorting frontage 31 for assigning the sorting frontage 31 to the sorting destination based on the count result (the number of accesses) in step S105 and the sorting frontage priority condition (S105). Specifically, the frontage setting processing unit 113 assigns a sorting frontage 31 (sorting frontage ID) having a higher priority from the viewpoint of workability to a sorting destination with a larger number of accesses.
  • the frontage setting processing unit 113 assigns the sorting frontage 31 having the highest priority in the sorting frontage priority condition to the sorting destination having the largest number of accesses. Then, the frontage setting processing unit 113 assigns the sorting frontage 31 having the second priority in the sorting frontage priority condition to the sorting destination having the second largest number of accesses.
  • FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of sorting frontage priority conditions.
  • the circled numbers indicate the priority order.
  • the sorting shelf 3 shown in FIG. 6 has four stages and six rows of sorting openings 31.
  • FIG. 6A is a diagram illustrating the sorting frontage 31 in the vertical direction. As shown in FIG. 6A, for example, the priority of the region above the waist and below the neck is increased with respect to the height of the worker P. In short, the priority order is set based on the physical feature amount such as the waist position of the worker P, the height information of the sorting frontage 31, and the like. In the example of FIG.
  • the step 303 is the easiest for the worker P to work, then the steps 302 and 304, and the step 301 positioned above the height is the step that is most difficult to work with. Therefore, in the example shown in FIG. 6A, the priority order of the sorting frontage 31 in the vertical direction is step 303 ⁇ step 302 ⁇ step 304 ⁇ step 301. That is, the priority order is set based on the physical feature amount of the worker P such as the position of the waist. In other words, when the worker P who performs sorting (picking) holds the article in a natural posture, the priority is set higher as the sorting front 31 close to the position of the article. In FIG.
  • the stage 302 is set as the second highest priority stage, but the priority of the stage at the lower position is set higher than the stage at the higher position, so that the stage 303 ⁇ the stage 304.
  • the priorities may be set in the order of ⁇ step 302 ⁇ step 301.
  • a sorting opening 31 that can store articles in a posture in which the worker P can work most easily is assigned to a sorting destination with a large number of accesses.
  • the priority is a low value for the low-position sorting opening 31 where the worker P bends during the storage work, but the high-position sorting where the worker P lifts the load.
  • a low value is also set for the frontage 31.
  • FIG. 6B is a diagram showing the sorting frontage 31 in the horizontal direction.
  • a place close to the work position of the worker P is a place where the work is easy.
  • the ease of work decreases as the position moves away from the reference position 201 in the lateral direction. That is, the priority order indicating the ease of the storing operation in the sorting frontage 31 is lowered.
  • the reference position 201 corresponds to the transport destination position (stop position) of the transport vehicle 4 that transports the storage shelf 2.
  • the column 314 closest to the reference position 201 is the easiest to work with, and then becomes the column 313 and the column 315. Subsequently, the ease of work is in the order of the column 312 and the column 316, and the column 311 farthest from the reference position 201 is the column that is most difficult to work with. Therefore, in the example shown in FIG. 6B, the priority order of the sorting frontage 31 in the horizontal direction is column 314 ⁇ column 313 ⁇ column 315 ⁇ column 312 ⁇ column 316 ⁇ column 311. In other words, the priority is set higher as it is closer to the work position of the worker P.
  • the priority order of the sorting fronts 31 indicates the ease of storage work in each sorting front 31. And since the priority order is set in this way, the movement of the worker P in the lateral direction can be minimized, so that the efficiency of the picking work can be improved.
  • FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of allocation result data output as a result of allocation of sorting frontage.
  • the allocation result data is stored in association with a sorting frontage ID, a sorting destination ID, an article ID, and the number of articles. Further, when different articles are sorted into the same sorting destination, information is stored in different records as shown in FIG. In the allocation result data, the article ID and the number can be omitted.
  • the sorting front ID “2-3” has a vertical direction of 2 from the bottom in the sorting shelf 3 partitioned into a sorting front 31 of 4 columns in the vertical direction and 4 rows in the horizontal direction. Shows three sorting fronts 31 from the left toward the sorting shelf 3. That is, in this example, the sorting front ID itself indicates the position of the sorting front 31 in the sorting shelf 3.
  • the frontage setting processing unit 113 transmits the allocation result data, which is the output result of step S105, to the WMS 6.
  • the WMS 6 transports the storage shelf 2 to the work position by the transport vehicle 4 based on the order set data transmitted from the frontage setting processing unit 113. Then, the worker performs a picking operation based on the allocation result data (S106). How the allocation result data is used in picking will be described later.
  • the processing unit 110 determines whether or not the picking work (all work based on the generated order set data) is finished (picking finished ?: S107). If the result of step S107 is that the picking operation has not been completed (S107 ⁇ No), the processing unit 110 returns the process to step S106. If the result of step S107 is that the picking operation has been completed (S107 ⁇ Yes), the processing unit 110 returns the process to step S102. At this time, the transport vehicle 4 transports the storage shelf 2 back to the standby position. Thereafter, the processing unit 110 repeats the processes of steps S102 to S107 until all orders in the work data are completed.
  • the priority order of the sorting frontage 31 is set based on the ease of work, and the sorting frontage 31 having a higher priority order is assigned to a sorting destination with a larger number of accesses.
  • FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of the frontage setting system Z according to the 2A embodiment. 8, the same components as those in FIG. 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals as those in FIG.
  • the frontage setting device 1 a has a worker DB 122, and a priority condition generation unit (priority generation unit) 114 that generates sorting frontage priority conditions based on the worker data in the worker DB 122. This is different from the frontage setting system Z shown in FIG.
  • the worker DB 122 stores the average height of the workers.
  • the priority condition generation unit 114 is realized by a program stored in the storage device 103 of FIG. 2 being expanded in the memory 110 and executed by the CPU 102.
  • the worker DB 122 corresponds to the storage device 103 in FIG.
  • FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a procedure of priority condition setting processing according to the 2A embodiment.
  • the priority condition generation unit 114 acquires body data such as the average height of workers from the worker DB 122 (S201).
  • the priority condition generation unit 114 calculates a body feature amount based on the acquired body data (average height, etc.) (S202).
  • the physical feature amount is a waist height, an abdominal height, or the like.
  • the priority condition generation unit 114 has an average value in the country to which the worker belongs with respect to the height of the waist and the ratio of the height of the abdomen to the height, and based on the body data and the average value.
  • the physical feature amount of the worker is calculated. Therefore, the body feature amount in step S202 is an average body feature amount of the worker in the country to which the worker belongs.
  • the priority condition generation unit 114 generates a sorting frontage priority condition based on the calculated physical feature amount (S203). For example, the priority condition generation unit 114 sets the priority of the sorting frontage 31 between the head height and the waist height as the highest priority. More specifically, the priority of the sorting front 31 that is closest to the position of the abdomen (the position of the article when the picking worker holds the article in a natural posture) may be set as the highest priority. Then, the priority condition generation unit 114 assigns priorities to the sorting frontage 31 on the basis of predetermined priority assignment rules. For example, as shown in FIG. 6A, the assignment rule is such that priority is assigned in the order of upper ⁇ lower ⁇ upper ⁇ lower.
  • the sorting front priority condition is generated based on the physical feature amount of the worker, there is no need for the administrator to manually set the sorting front priority condition, and the administrator's work load Can be reduced, and the efficiency of picking work can be improved.
  • average values such as waist height relative to height and the ratio of the height of the abdomen are not limited to the average value in the country to which the worker belongs, but the average value of all workers Good.
  • the average value of the waist height to the height and the ratio of the height of the abdomen, etc. in the physical feature amount is also an average value in the group. Good.
  • the sorting frontage priority condition may be newly generated based on the average height in the group.
  • the size (height) of the sorting shelf 3 also affects, description is abbreviate
  • the priority condition generation unit 114 acquires body data of a worker who is a processing target using the worker ID or the like as a key (S201). For example, when the worker is at the work position, the front-end setting device 1 causes the worker to set the frontage setting device 1 close to the IC tag reader or the like (not shown). Get an ID.
  • FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of worker data according to the second B embodiment.
  • a worker ID, a height, and the like are stored in association with each other.
  • information such as sitting height may be stored as the worker data.
  • the priority condition generation unit 114 calculates the body feature amount of the worker based on the acquired body data (such as height) (S202).
  • the physical feature amount is a waist height, an abdominal height, or the like.
  • the priority condition generation unit 114 has an average value in the country or the like to which the worker belongs for the ratio of the height of the waist to the height, the ratio of the height of the abdomen, and the like. Based on the above, the physical feature amount of the worker is calculated.
  • the priority condition generation unit 114 generates a sorting frontage priority condition based on the calculated physical feature amount (S203).
  • the method for assigning priorities is the same as in the second embodiment. By doing in this way, in addition to the effect similar to 2A embodiment, the classification frontage priority condition according to each worker can be set.
  • the priority of the horizontal direction of the sorting shelf 3 is not described. This is because the priority order in the horizontal direction of the sorting shelf 3 is already set, but when the information on the work position is determined (for example, the reference position 201 in FIG. 6B), the priority condition generation is performed.
  • the unit 114 may set the priority order of the sorting frontage 31 with respect to the horizontal direction of the sorting shelf 3 according to a predetermined rule based on the work position.
  • the predetermined rule is to increase the priority as the position is closer to the work position, and to increase the priority in the left direction for the sorting frontage 31 that is the same distance from the work position.
  • the priority condition generation unit 114 when the worker changes, the priority condition generation unit 114 performs the processing of steps S201 to S203 in FIG. 9 based on the height of the changed worker.
  • a sorting frontage priority condition suitable for the changed worker may be generated.
  • the sorting frontage 31 is assigned from the relationship between the height of the storage frontage 21 of the storage shelf 2 and the height of the sorting frontage 31 of the sorting shelf 3. For example, when an article is stored from the storage slot 21 of the upper storage shelf 2 to the sorting slot 31 of the lower sorting shelf 3, the worker moves up and down, and the work load on the worker increases. In the third embodiment, the sorting frontage 31 is assigned so as to reduce the vertical movement of the worker as much as possible.
  • FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a frontage setting system according to the third embodiment.
  • the same components as those in FIG. 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals as those in FIG.
  • the frontage setting device 1 b has a storage shelf DB 123, and a storage shelf search unit that acquires height information of the storage shelf 2 based on storage shelf data (storage information) in the storage shelf DB 123.
  • 115 is different from the frontage setting system Z shown in FIG.
  • the storage shelf search unit 115 is realized by developing a program stored in the storage device 103 of FIG. 2 in the memory 110 and executing it by the CPU 102.
  • the storage shelf DB 123 corresponds to the storage device 103 in FIG.
  • FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure according to the third embodiment.
  • the same steps as those in FIG. 4 are denoted by the same step numbers and description thereof is omitted.
  • the frontage setting processing unit 113 sorts the sorting destinations in ascending order by the number of accesses (the number of storage operations) (S301). Then, when selecting one sorting destination, the frontage setting processing unit 113 determines whether or not the selected sorting destination is within the top Kth (S302). The selection of the sorting destination may be performed in order from the very beginning of the sorting result in step S301, or may be performed at random.
  • step S302 if the selected sorting destination is within the top Kth (S302 ⁇ Yes), the frontage setting processing unit 113 performs the processing of step S104 and step S105, thereby assigning the sorting frontage 31. Do. As described above, by assigning the sorting frontage 31 by the same method as in the first embodiment for the sorting destination having the top K number of accesses, a sorting frontage that is easy to work for a sorting destination having a large number of accesses. 31 is assigned. As a result, the efficiency of picking work can be improved.
  • step S302 when the selected sorting destination does not fall within the top Kth (S302 ⁇ No), the storage shelf search unit 115 displays all items ordered by the sorting destination to be processed.
  • the article ID is acquired from the order set data.
  • the storage shelf search unit 115 acquires all the data (storage frontage data) of the storage frontage 21 in which the items ordered by the sorting destination are stored in the storage shelf data using the product ID as a key (S311). ).
  • the storage frontage data is, for example, a set of storage frontage IDs.
  • FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of storage shelf data. As shown in FIG. 13, a shelf ID is set for each storage shelf 2, and the item ID of the item stored in each storage shelf 2 and the number of items stored in the storage front 21 are stored. Stored frontage IDs are stored in association with each other. As described above, the storage shelf search unit 115 acquires the storage frontage ID in which the product is stored from the storage shelf data, using the product ID in the order set data as a key.
  • the storage shelf search unit 115 acquires all the height information of the corresponding storage frontage 21 based on the acquired storage frontage ID, and the frontage setting processing unit 113 is the processing target (in the order set data).
  • the height at which the article to be picked) is stored is calculated (S312).
  • the storage front ID includes the height information of the storage front 21 as described above, if the storage front ID is acquired, the height information of the corresponding storage front 21 is also acquired.
  • the height of the storage front 21 in which the article is stored may be obtained.
  • the height of the plurality of storage frontages 21 is set to one. Summarize in height. As described above, when the heights of the plurality of storage fronts 21 are combined into one height, in step S312, the front end setting processing unit 113 calculates the height at which the article is stored by the following processing or the like.
  • the frontage setting processing unit 113 may calculate the average value of the height of the storage frontage 21 in which each article to be processed is stored, and set the height calculated in step S312.
  • the average value of the height of the storage front 21 is calculated as follows. For example, the article “A”, which is the order of the sorting destination “A”, is stored at the highest storage position 21 in the storage shelf 2, and “I” is stored at the third storage position 21 in the storage shelf 2. Suppose that it was stored. In this case, the frontage setting processing unit 113 calculates the height of the storage frontage 21 in the storage shelf 2 by calculating the average value of each height (the height of the highest position and the third height).
  • the frontage setting processing unit 113 generates a histogram of the number of accesses for the target sorting destination with respect to the height of the storage frontage 21, and sets the height of the storage frontage 21 having the highest frequency in the histogram in step S312. Is the height calculated in.
  • FIG. 14 shows a histogram of the number of storage fronts 21 in which articles to a certain sorting destination are stored in each order set data. That is, reference numeral 401 indicates a vertical stage of the storage shelf 2, and reference numeral 402 indicates a histogram indicating the number of accesses of each stage of the storage shelf 2.
  • shaft has shown height (cm).
  • the position of height YLcm has the highest frequency. Therefore, the frontage setting processing unit 113 sets YLcm to the height calculated in step S312.
  • the height of the storage frontage 21 in which the most articles are stored may deviate from the average value of the calculated heights.
  • the sorting frontage 31 is assigned at a height close to the actual storage state by assigning the sorting frontage 31 based on the height of the storage frontage 21 having the highest frequency in the histogram. Assignments can be made.
  • the frontage setting processing unit 113 steps the position with the highest height.
  • the height calculated in S312 is set. By doing so, as described above, it is possible to perform allocation at a height close to the actual storage state rather than assigning the sorting frontage 31 by the average value, and the assignment of the sorting frontage 31 described later (column 314).
  • the frontage setting processing unit 113 can assign a sorting frontage 31 that reduces the load of vertical movement.
  • the sorting frontage 31 by assigning the sorting frontage 31 based on the height of the storage frontage 21 having the highest frequency in the histogram, the sorting frontage closest to the storage frontage 21 having the largest number of extractions as the sorting frontage 31 assigned to the sorting destination. 31 can be assigned. Accordingly, it is possible to assign the sorting frontage 31 so as to minimize the vertical movement of the worker.
  • (A3) Level Although the height in the above (A1) and (A2) is a numerical value such as “cm”, a level (the number of steps in the storage shelf 2) may be used. For example, from the bottom level of the storage shelf 2 to level 1, level 2,..., And the frontage setting processing unit 113 is based on this level, the average value of the height (level) and the most frequent in the histogram Calculate a high level of. When the average value of height is calculated for each level, the calculation result is a result such as level 2.1 or level 4.6. In this case, the frontage setting processing unit 113 converts the level of the average value calculated by rounding off into a natural number.
  • the level By using the level, even when the heights of the storage fronts 21 in the storage shelves 2 are different from each other, it is not necessary to set the heights of the respective storage fronts 21 strictly. The burden on the user who assigns the sorting frontage 31 can be reduced. Further, since the level is used, the height of each storage front 21 in the storage shelf 2 is not measured as a strict numerical value, and therefore it is possible to cope with the case where the height of each storage front 21 is not known as a numerical value. . Note that the height is not limited to a numerical value and a level (stage).
  • the frontage setting processing unit 113 performs classification based on the height calculated in step S312 (S313).
  • the frontage setting processing unit 113 arranges the articles in the order in which they are stored based on the height calculated in step S312 (the height of the storage frontage 21 in the storage shelf 2).
  • a high sorting opening 31 for articles stored at a high position (high level) a medium sorting opening 31 for articles stored at the same middle height position (medium level)
  • a predetermined class is set such that the goods stored in the same low position (low level) have a low sorting frontage 31 or the like.
  • the frontage setting processing unit 113 sets the height in the vertical direction in the sorting shelf 3 (the number of steps). Processes such as matching classes. For example, the frontage setting processing unit 113 sorts the height (level) calculated in step S312 when the vertical shelf number of the storage shelf 2 is 5 and the vertical shelf number of the sorting shelf 3 is 4. For example, classification is performed so as to match the level of the shelf 3.
  • the height of the storage front 21 in which the article to be processed is calculated by the average value by the method (A1) described above.
  • the frontage setting processing unit 113 sets the class in the lowermost stage in the sorting shelf 3.
  • the frontage setting processing unit 113 sets the second-stage class or the like from the bottom in the sorting shelf 3 (the height is not cm). Same for level).
  • the process of step S313 can be omitted. For example, if the sorting shelf 3 and the storage shelf 2 have the same number of stages in the vertical direction, the process of step S313 can be omitted.
  • the frontage setting processing unit 113 sorts the frontage assigned to the sorting destination to be processed based on the class set in step S313 and the height information (sorting frontage ID) of the sorting frontage 31 in the sorting shelf 3. 31 is determined (S314).
  • the sorting frontage 31 assigned at this time is the sorting frontage 31 with a priority of K + 1 and later. The process of step S314 will be described later.
  • step S105 or step S314 the frontage setting processing unit 113 determines whether or not the processing has been completed for all sorting destinations in the order set data (S321). As a result of step S321, when the process has not been completed for all sorting destinations in the order set data (S321 ⁇ No), the frontage setting processing unit 113 returns the process to step S302. As a result of step S321, when processing for all sorting destinations in the order set data is completed (S321 ⁇ Yes), processing of step S106 and step S107 is performed.
  • FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating details of the allocation processing according to the fourth embodiment.
  • the height of the storage frontage 21 in which the article to be processed (the article to be sorted by the sorting destination to be processed) is stored is the height indicated by reference numeral 501.
  • the height of the reference numeral 501 is an average value of the height of the storage frontage 21 in which articles at the sorting destination are stored, or a position with the highest frequency in the histogram.
  • the sorting frontage 31 is assigned based on the height of the storage frontage 21.
  • the classification frontage 31 is assigned based on the classification result. As shown in FIG. 15, the level 511 having the same height as the reference numeral 501 in the sorting shelf 3 has the highest priority, the level 512 has the next highest priority, and then the level 513. And the priority of the stage 514 becomes the lowest.
  • the front opening setting processing unit 113 first assigns the sorting front 31 of the step 511 as a product sorting destination.
  • the frontage setting processing unit 113 assigns the sorting frontage 31 in the step 512 as the sorting destination of the articles.
  • the frontage setting processing unit 113 assigns the sorting frontage 31 in the step 513 as a product sorting destination. That is, the frontage setting processing unit 113 sets a higher priority as it is closer to the height of the storage frontage 21 in which the article to be picked is stored.
  • the priority is set based on the work position 201 (see FIG. 6B), that is, the closer the work position 201 is, the higher the priority is. Is set. Then, the frontage setting processing unit 113 first assigns the frontage having the highest priority among the sorting frontage 31 vacant in the stage of the sorting shelf 3 at the height to be assigned. If the sorting frontage 31 is not available, the frontage setting processing unit 113 assigns a frontage having the next highest priority. By performing such processing in order, the frontage setting processing unit 113 assigns the sorting frontage 31.
  • the sorting frontage 31 can be assigned in consideration of the height at which the articles are stored in the storage frontage 21 of the storage shelf 2 and the height of the sorting frontage 31 of the sorting shelf 3. Thereby, a worker's up-and-down movement can be reduced and a worker's burden can be eased. As a result, the efficiency of the picking work can be improved.
  • steps S311 to S314 are performed for the sorting destinations with the number of accesses of the upper K + 1 and after.
  • the processes of steps S311 to S314 are performed for the sorting destinations with the number of accesses equal to or less than a predetermined value. It may be done.
  • the sorting frontage 31 of the sorting shelf 3 is assigned according to the weight and size of the article.
  • FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a frontage setting system according to the fourth embodiment.
  • the frontage setting system Zc in FIG. 16 is different from the frontage setting system Zb in FIG. 11 in that the frontage setting device 1c has an article DB 124.
  • the article database 124 corresponds to the storage device 103 in FIG.
  • FIG. 17 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of frontage setting processing according to the fourth embodiment.
  • the same processes as those in FIG. 12 are denoted by the same step numbers and description thereof is omitted.
  • the frontage setting processing unit 113 acquires item size data (weight information and size information) from the item DB 124 (S401). Specifically, the size data is acquired from the item DB 124 using the item ID acquired before step S311 as a key.
  • FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating an example of article size data.
  • the article ID is stored in association with information on the size and weight of the article corresponding to the article ID.
  • the size category is stored as the size of the article, but the length, width, and depth of the article may be stored.
  • the frontage setting processing unit 113 assigns the sorting frontage 31 based on the acquired size data (S402).
  • the frontage setting processing unit 113 assigns the sorting frontage 31 as follows.
  • the allocation condition DB 121 stores allocation rules (not shown) for size and weight.
  • the allocation rule is, for example, that an article having a large size is preferentially assigned to the lower sorting door 31, a heavy article is not moved upward, and the like.
  • the frontage setting processing unit 113 assigns the sorting frontage 31 in the following procedure.
  • the frontage setting processing unit 113 sets the height (height position) of the storage frontage 21 of the storage shelf 2 in which the corresponding article is stored as h.
  • This h may be the height of the class generated in step S313.
  • h is the height calculated in step S312. Note that h may be the height of the storage opening 21 in which the heaviest item among the items to be picked is stored. Alternatively, h may be the height of the storage slot 21 at the highest position among the storage slots 21 in which articles having a weight of a predetermined value or more are stored among the articles to be picked.
  • the frontage setting processing unit 113 assigns the sorting frontage 31 by using any one of the first to third embodiments among the assignable frontage.
  • the frontage setting processing unit 113 assigns a sorting frontage 31 having a higher priority among the assignable frontage doors to a sorting destination having a larger access count (the number of storage operations) counted in step S103.
  • the frontage setting processing unit 113 is similar to step S314 in FIG. 12 for the assignable frontage based on the height calculated in step S312 and the class height in the classification result in step S313. By performing the process, the sorting destination is assigned to the sorting frontage 31.
  • the frontage setting processing unit 113 performs processing on the sorting frontage 31 at the height having the smallest difference from h among the sorting fronts 31 above h. Assign the target sorting destination. In this way, the frontage setting processing unit 113 can assign an appropriate sorting frontage 31 to a heavy article.
  • the sorting frontage 31 is assigned to the sorting frontage 31 with a rank of K + 1 or later by any one of the first to third embodiments.
  • the frontage setting processing unit 113 may preferentially assign the sorting frontage 31 to a sorting destination having an article whose weight is a predetermined value or more.
  • the frontage setting processing unit 113 Perform the process. That is, when there is a restriction on the position of the sorting frontage 31 that can store articles of a large size, the frontage setting processing unit 113 extracts the assignable sorting frontage 31 (assignable sorting frontage). For example, when the sizes of the individual sorting fronts 31 in the sorting shelf 3 are different, the frontage setting processing unit 113 has the sorting frontage 31 in which the size of the sorting frontage 31 is large enough to store the corresponding article. Is extracted as an allocatable frontage. Information about the size of each sorting front 31 is stored in, for example, the shelf DB 7 (see FIG. 16). The frontage setting processing unit 113 assigns the sorting frontage 31 by using any one of the first to third embodiments of the extracted assignmentable frontage.
  • the frontage setting processing unit 113 assigns the sorting frontage 31 having a higher priority among the assignable frontage to the sorting destination with the larger number of accesses counted in step S103. At this time, as described above, the priority may be set higher in the lower level.
  • the frontage setting processing unit 113 is similar to step S314 in FIG. 12 for the assignable frontage based on the height calculated in step S312 and the class height in the classification result in step S313. By performing the process, the sorting destination is assigned to the sorting frontage 31.
  • the small sorting front 31 can be used, so the front setting processing unit 113 preferentially selects the smaller sorting front 31 among the sorting front 31. assign.
  • the frontage setting processing unit 113 preferentially assigns the sorting frontage 31 to a sorting destination having an article having a size equal to or larger than a predetermined value.
  • the frontage setting processing unit 113 assigns a sorting frontage 31 that is vacant after assignment of an article having a size greater than or equal to a predetermined value for an article having a size less than a predetermined value.
  • the sorting frontage 31 capable of storing the article is assigned to the sorting destination, so that the worker can store the large-sized article. There is no need to search for the sorting frontage 31. Thereby, the efficiency of picking work can be improved.
  • the frontage setting processing unit 113 may give priority to the assignment of the sorting frontage 31 according to the weight of the article, or may give priority to the assignment of the sorting frontage 31 according to the size of the article.
  • the sorting frontage 31 for storing articles based on the weight and size of the articles.
  • the sorting opening 31 capable of storing the article is assigned to the sorting destination, so that it is not necessary for the worker to search for the sorting opening 31 capable of storing the article having a large size. Thereby, the efficiency of picking work can be improved.
  • step S302 when the selected sorting destination is within the top Kth as a result of step S302 (S302 ⁇ Yes), the frontage setting processing unit 113 performs the processing of step S104 and step S105, The sorting frontage 31 is assigned.
  • the sorting frontage 31 is assigned by the same method as in the first embodiment, so that the sorting destination having a large number of accesses can be easily operated. Based on this, a sorting frontage 31 is assigned. As a result, the efficiency of picking work can be improved.
  • K 0, the processes of steps S311 to S402 are performed regardless of whether or not it is within the top Kth.
  • steps S311 to S402 are performed for the sorting destinations with the access number K + 1 or higher, but the processes of steps S311 to S402 are performed for the sorting destinations with the access number equal to or less than a predetermined value. It may be done.
  • FIG. 19 is a diagram illustrating an example of a display.
  • a display 601 is provided above the storage front 21 in the storage shelf 2 and the sorting front 31 in the sorting shelf 3.
  • the display 601 includes a lamp 611 and a display window 612.
  • the WMS 6 turns on the lamp 611 in the storage opening 21 in which the parts to be picked are stored, and displays the number of orders on the display window 612.
  • the WMS 6 uses the order set data transmitted from the frontage setting device 1 and the storage shelf data (see FIG. 13) stored in the storage shelf database 123 (see FIGS. 11 and 16) to 611 and the display window 612 are displayed.
  • the WMS 6 selects a sorting destination in the order set data, and selects one of the articles ordered by the sorting destination.
  • the WMS 6 acquires the article ID and the number of the selected article from the order set data
  • the WMS 6 searches the storage shelf data in the storage shelf DB 123 using the article ID as a key, and stores the storage shelf 21 in which the article is stored. ID (storage frontage ID) is acquired.
  • ID storage frontage ID
  • the WMS 6 turns on the lamp 611 of the storage front 21 corresponding to the acquired storage front ID, and displays the number of articles acquired from the order set data on the display window 612.
  • the worker acquires the number of articles displayed in the display window 612 from the storage opening 21 where the lamp 611 is lit.
  • the WMS 6 displays the lamp 611 on the sorting frontage 31 assigned by the frontage setting processing unit, and displays the number in the order on the display window 612.
  • the WMS 6 refers to the allocation result data (see FIG. 7), and acquires the ID (sorting front ID) of the sorting front 31 to which the ID (sorting ID) of the sorting target to be picked is assigned. To do.
  • the WMS 6 turns on the lamp 611 in the sorting slot 31 corresponding to the acquired sorting slot ID, and displays the number of articles (number of articles to be picked) acquired from the order set data on the display window 612.
  • the worker stores the number of articles displayed in the display window 612 in the sorting window 31 displayed by the lamp 611.
  • the display window 612 in the sorting frontage 31 can be omitted.
  • a barcode reader 701 is provided.
  • the sorting shelf 3 is provided with a lamp.
  • the sorting shelf 3 shown in FIG. 20 has five stages and six rows of sorting openings 31.
  • the worker P holds the barcode attached to the article taken out from the storage shelf 2 that can be moved by the transport vehicle 4 over the barcode reader 701, the barcode on which the barcode reader 701 is held. Read information.
  • Each storage opening 21 of the storage shelf 2 is provided with a lamp, and the WMS 6 lights this lamp based on the article ID of the article to be picked, and the worker P has the storage opening 21 in which the lamp is lit. The article may be taken out from.
  • the WMS 6 identifies the article to which the barcode is attached (targeted for picking) and the sorting destination based on the read barcode information and the allocation result data (see FIG. 7). That is, the WMS 6 identifies the article ID based on the read barcode information. Then, the WMS 6 searches the allocation result data using the specified article ID as a key, thereby acquiring a sorting frontage ID associated with the article ID. Then, the WMS 6 lights the lamp of the sorting frontage 31 corresponding to the acquired sorting frontage ID. The worker P stores the picked article in the sorting front 31 where the lamp is lit.
  • QR Quick Response
  • RFID Radio Frequency Identification
  • a display terminal 711 is provided.
  • the display terminal 711 displays information related to the storage front 21 of the storage shelf 2 in which articles to be picked are stored, and information related to the sorting front 31 of the sorting shelf 3 serving as a sorting destination. That is, the WMS 6 causes the display terminal 711 to display information regarding the storage frontage 21 of the storage shelf 2 based on the order data and the storage shelf data. Further, the WMS 6 specifies the sorting destination of the article to be picked based on the order set data and the allocation result data, and information on the sorting frontage 31 assigned to the sorting destination is displayed on the display terminal 711. indicate.
  • FIG. 20C is a diagram illustrating an example of a display screen on the display terminal 711.
  • a display 721 indicating the storage shelf 2 and a display 722 indicating the sorting shelf 3 are displayed.
  • the storage front 21 in which the article to be picked is stored is highlighted (hatched).
  • the sorting frontage 31 in which an article to be picked is stored is highlighted (hatched).
  • the display 722 is displayed by the WMS 6 (FIG. 1 and the like) based on the allocation result data.
  • the information displayed on the display terminal 711 is information obtained by the same processing as the specification of the storage frontage 21 and the sorting frontage 31 for displaying the lamp 611 and the display window 612 in FIG. Omitted.
  • the display screen displays a display (number display 723) of the number of articles taken out from the storage slot 21 and stored in the sorting slot 31.
  • This number display 723 is information that the WMS 6 acquires and displays the number associated with the item ID in the order set data using the item ID of the item to be picked as a key.
  • the worker P takes out the article from the storage frontage 21 highlighted on the display 721 and stores the article in the sorting frontage highlighted on the display 722.
  • One display terminal may be installed on the storage shelf 2 side and one display terminal on the sorting shelf 3 side. In this case, the display 721 and the number display 723 in FIG. 20C are displayed on the display terminal on the storage shelf 2 side, and the display 722 and the number display in FIG. 20C are displayed on the display terminal on the sorting shelf 3 side. 723 is displayed.
  • the priority in the horizontal direction may not be set.
  • the information regarding whether each worker is right-handed or left-handed may be stored in the worker data.
  • the frontage setting processing unit 113 increases the priority of the right sorting frontage 31 if the worker is right-handed, and increases the priority of the left frontage frontage 31 if left-handed. May be.
  • frontage setting systems Z and Za to Zc according to the present embodiment may be used for single picking or may be used for part of total picking.
  • the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and includes various modifications.
  • the above-described embodiment has been described in detail for easy understanding of the present invention, and is not necessarily limited to having all the configurations described.
  • a part of the configuration of a certain embodiment can be replaced with the configuration of another embodiment, and the configuration of another embodiment can be added to the configuration of a certain embodiment.
  • each of the above-described configurations, functions, the respective units 111 to 115, the respective DBs 5, 121 to 124, etc. may be realized by hardware by designing a part or all of them with, for example, an integrated circuit. Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the above-described configurations, functions, and the like may be realized by software by interpreting and executing a program that realizes each function by a processor such as the CPU 102.
  • control lines and information lines are those that are considered necessary for explanation, and not all control lines and information lines are necessarily shown on the product. In practice, it can be considered that almost all configurations are connected to each other.

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Abstract

In order to improve efficiency of a picking operation, an opening setting device (1) obtains operation data from an operation database (5), and an order set generation unit (112) generates order set data on the basis of the operation data. Subsequently, an opening setting processing unit (113) calculates the number of accesses in the order set data, and calculates the sum of the number of accesses for each sorting destination. On the basis of a sorting opening priority condition stored in an assignment condition database (121), the opening setting processing unit (113) assigns a sorting opening having higher priority of the sorting opening priority condition to a sorting destination having a greater number of accesses.

Description

間口設定システムFrontage setting system
　本発明は、物品のピッキング作業における間口設定システムの技術に関する。 The present invention relates to a technique for a frontage setting system in an article picking operation.
　倉庫内や工場内では、必要に応じて、棚に格納された物品を作業員が取り出すピッキング作業が行われる。本作業は、労力と時間を有する作業であり、作業を効率化するための技術が開示されている。例えば、特許文献１には、「部品棚内の位置アドレスと配置される部品の出庫履歴情報とを関連づける棚割管理テーブル４０１が記憶される記憶部と、部品棚の所定の基準位置と該基準位置からの部品の所定の配置方向に基づいて、配置方向における隣接する位置アドレスに配置された比較対象部品の使用頻度を部品出庫履歴情報から算出し、比較対象部品のうち使用頻度の少ない部品が基準位置より離れた位置に配置されるように、比較対象の部品の位置アドレスの変更を指示する棚割更新処理部８とを有する」という、履歴情報に基づいた停滞部品管理装置が開示されている（要約参照）。これによると、使用頻度が高い物品は、部品棚（格納棚）から取り出しやすい位置の間口が設定される。 In a warehouse or factory, a picking operation is performed where an operator takes out articles stored on a shelf as necessary. This work is work which requires labor and time, and a technique for improving the work efficiency is disclosed. For example, in Patent Document 1, “a storage unit in which a shelf allocation management table 401 for associating a position address in a component shelf with the delivery history information of a component to be stored is stored, a predetermined reference position of the component shelf, and the reference Based on the predetermined arrangement direction of the part from the position, the usage frequency of the comparison target part arranged at the adjacent position address in the arrangement direction is calculated from the part issue history information, and there are parts that are less frequently used among the comparison target parts. A stagnation component management device based on history information is disclosed, "having a shelf update processing unit 8 that instructs to change the position address of a comparison target component so as to be arranged at a position distant from the reference position" (See summary). According to this, the frontage of the position where it is easy to take out articles with high use frequency from the parts shelf (storage shelf) is set.
　一方、例えば特許文献２には、「１以上の荷物が収容された棚が複数保管されている保管エリアにおいて搬送車に棚を搬送させる保管システムであって、保管エリア内における荷物の収集作業の効率を向上させる」という、搬送車による保管システムが開示されている（効果の欄参照）。これによると、作業者は、搬送車によって運搬されてきた棚から目的の物品を取り出し、別の仕分け棚に仕分けて収納する。 On the other hand, for example, in Patent Document 2, “a storage system in which a transport vehicle transports shelves in a storage area in which a plurality of shelves storing one or more packages is stored, A storage system using a transport vehicle that “improves efficiency” is disclosed (see the column of effects). According to this, an operator takes out the target article from the shelf conveyed by the transport vehicle, and sorts and stores it in another sorting shelf.
特開２０１１－２１５７１５号公報JP 2011-215715 A 特開２０１３－２５６３７１号公報JP 2013-256371 A
　作業員は、格納棚から目的の物品を取り出した後、物品を使用先又は搬送先（仕分け先）に応じて仕分けを行う必要がある。例えば、同一物品を複数の仕分け先に仕分けることがある。しかし、特許文献１には、物品を格納棚（部品棚）から取り出すことについては開示されているものの、取り出した後、別の棚（仕分け棚）に仕分けする際の作業員の作業性、つまり、格納棚から取り出した物品を仕分け棚に収納する際の作業性（作業のしやすさ）については開示されていない。また、仕分け棚に複数の間口がある場合について、作業性の悪い間口へのアクセスの集中等についての課題も、その課題に対する対策も、何ら開示されていない。この点は、特許文献２も同様である。 The worker needs to sort the goods according to the use destination or the transport destination (sorting destination) after taking out the target article from the storage shelf. For example, the same article may be sorted into a plurality of sorting destinations. However, although Patent Document 1 discloses that an article is taken out from a storage shelf (parts shelf), the workability of an operator when sorting into another shelf (sorting shelf) after taking out, that is, The workability (ease of work) when storing the articles taken out from the storage shelves in the sorting shelves is not disclosed. In addition, in the case where there are a plurality of frontage on the sorting shelf, there is no disclosure of any problem about the concentration of access to the frontage having poor workability, nor any countermeasures against the problem. This also applies to Patent Document 2.
　このような背景に鑑みて本発明がなされたのであり、本発明は、ピッキング作業の効率を向上させることを課題とする。 The present invention has been made in view of such a background, and an object of the present invention is to improve the efficiency of picking work.
　前記した課題を解決するため、本発明は、ピッキング作業において、格納棚に格納された物品を取り出して、仕分け先毎に仕分け棚の仕分け間口に収納する際、仕分け間口に収納する収納作業の回数（アクセス回数）を仕分け先毎に算出し、その回数に応じて、仕分け先毎に仕分け間口を割り当てる間口設定処理を行うこととした。その他の解決手段については、後記する発明の実施の形態において詳細に説明する。 In order to solve the above-described problems, the present invention is directed to picking up articles stored in a storage shelf in a picking operation and storing them in a sorting front of the sorting shelf for each sorting destination. (Access count) is calculated for each sorting destination, and according to the number of times, a frontage setting process for assigning a sorting frontage for each sorting destination is performed. Other solutions will be described in detail in the embodiments of the invention described later.
　本発明によれば、ピッキング作業の効率を向上させることができる。 According to the present invention, the efficiency of picking work can be improved.
第１実施形態に係る間口設定システムの構成例を示す図である。It is a figure which shows the structural example of the frontage setting system which concerns on 1st Embodiment. 第１実施形態に係る間口設定装置のハードウェア構成例を示す図である。It is a figure which shows the hardware structural example of the frontage setting apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment. ピッキング作業の概略を示す図である。It is a figure which shows the outline of a picking operation | work. 第１実施形態に係る仕分け間口設定処理の手順を示すフローチャートである。It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the classification frontage setting process which concerns on 1st Embodiment. 作業データの例を示す図である。It is a figure which shows the example of work data. 仕分け間口優先条件の例を示す図である。It is a figure which shows the example of a classification frontage priority condition. 割当結果データの例を示す図である。It is a figure which shows the example of allocation result data. 第２Ａ実施形態に係る間口設定システムの構成例を示す図である。It is a figure showing an example of composition of a frontage setting system concerning a 2A embodiment. 第２Ａ実施形態に係る優先条件設定処理の手順を示す図である。It is a figure which shows the procedure of the priority condition setting process which concerns on 2A embodiment. 第２Ｂ実施形態に係る作業員データの例を示す図である。It is a figure showing an example of worker data concerning a 2B embodiment. 第３実施形態に係る間口設定システムの構成例を示す図である。It is a figure which shows the structural example of the frontage setting system which concerns on 3rd Embodiment. 第３実施形態に係る処理手順を示すフローチャートである。It is a flowchart which shows the process sequence which concerns on 3rd Embodiment. 格納棚データの例を示す図である。It is a figure which shows the example of storage shelf data. ヒストグラムによる高さ算出の例を示す図である。It is a figure which shows the example of the height calculation by a histogram. 第４実施形態に係る割当処理の詳細を示す図である。It is a figure which shows the detail of the allocation process which concerns on 4th Embodiment. 第４実施形態に係る間口設定システムの構成例を示す図である。It is a figure which shows the structural example of the frontage setting system which concerns on 4th Embodiment. 第４実施形態に係る間口設定処理の手順を示すフローチャートである。It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the frontage setting process which concerns on 4th Embodiment. 物品サイズデータの例を示す図である。It is a figure which shows the example of article size data. 表示器の例を示す図である。It is a figure which shows the example of a display. バーコード読取機及び表示端末を備えた間口設定システムの例を示す図である。It is a figure which shows the example of the frontage setting system provided with the barcode reader and the display terminal.
　次に、本発明を実施するための形態（「実施形態」という）について、適宜図面を参照しながら詳細に説明する。なお、各図において、同様の構成については、同一の符号を付して説明を適宜省略する。 Next, modes for carrying out the present invention (referred to as “embodiments”) will be described in detail with reference to the drawings as appropriate. In addition, in each figure, about the same structure, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected and description is abbreviate | omitted suitably.
［第１実施形態］
　図１は、第１実施形態に係る間口設定システムの構成例を示す図である。
　図１に示すように、間口設定システムＺでは、間口設定装置１、格納棚２、仕分け棚３、搬送車４、作業ＤＢ（Data Base：記憶部）５、ＷＭＳ(Warehouse Management System)６、棚ＤＢ７等がネットワークを介して互いに接続されている。 [First Embodiment]
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a frontage setting system according to the first embodiment.
As shown in FIG. 1, in the frontage setting system Z, the frontage setting device 1, the storage shelf 2, the sorting shelf 3, the transport vehicle 4, the work DB (Data Base: storage unit) 5, the WMS (Warehouse Management System) 6, the shelf DB7 and the like are connected to each other via a network.
　間口設定装置１は、ＷＣＳ（Warehouse Control System）等に搭載されるものであり、仕分け棚３における仕分け間口の割り当てを設定する。仕分け間口については後記する。なお、間口設定装置１は、ＷＭＳ６との間で情報を送受信している。
　格納棚２は、仕分け元となる棚であり、仕分け先毎に仕分けられる前の物品が格納されている。格納棚２は、後記するようにＷＭＳ６からの指示に基づいてピッキング対象となる箇所（取出し元の格納間口２１（図３参照））の強調表示を行う。
　仕分け棚３は、仕分け先となる棚であり、仕分けられた物品が収納される。すなわち、ピッキング作業において、物品は、格納棚２から取り出され、仕分け棚３に収納される。なお、仕分け棚３は、後記するようにＷＭＳ６からの指示に基づいてピッキング対象となる箇所（収納先の仕分け間口３１（図３参照））の強調表示を行う。
　搬送車４は、ＷＭＳ６へ自身の位置情報を送信し、ＷＭＳ６からの指示を基に、格納棚２等を作業位置まで搬送するものである。 The frontage setting device 1 is mounted on a WCS (Warehouse Control System) or the like, and sets the assignment of the sorting frontage in the sorting shelf 3. The classification frontage will be described later. The frontage setting device 1 transmits / receives information to / from the WMS 6.
The storage shelf 2 is a shelf that is a sorting source, and stores articles before sorting for each sorting destination. As will be described later, the storage shelf 2 highlights a location to be picked (a storage opening 21 as a take-out source (see FIG. 3)) based on an instruction from the WMS 6.
The sorting shelf 3 is a shelf that serves as a sorting destination, and stores sorted articles. That is, in the picking operation, the articles are taken out from the storage shelf 2 and stored in the sorting shelf 3. As will be described later, the sorting shelf 3 highlights a location to be picked (storage destination sorting opening 31 (see FIG. 3)) based on an instruction from the WMS 6.
The transport vehicle 4 transmits its own position information to the WMS 6 and transports the storage shelf 2 and the like to the work position based on an instruction from the WMS 6.
　作業ＤＢ５は、物品のピッキングに関するすべての情報である作業データ（仕分け先情報）が格納されている。ＷＭＳ６は、作業ＤＢ６から作業データを読み込んだり、必要に応じて、作業データの更新を行ったりする。
　ＷＭＳ６は、作業データや、在庫データ等を管理することで、倉庫又は工場内での物品や、作業を管理するシステムである。
　棚ＤＢ７には、格納棚２における格納間口２１（図３参照）に付与されている格納間口ＩＤ（Identification：格納棚情報）や、仕分け棚３における仕分け間口３１（図３参照）に付与されている仕分け間口ＩＤ（仕分け棚情報）等に関する情報が格納されている。 The work DB 5 stores work data (sorting destination information) that is all information related to picking of articles. The WMS 6 reads work data from the work DB 6 and updates the work data as necessary.
The WMS 6 is a system for managing articles and work in a warehouse or factory by managing work data, inventory data, and the like.
In the shelf DB 7, the storage front ID (Identification: storage shelf information) assigned to the storage front 21 (see FIG. 3) in the storage shelf 2 and the sorting front 31 (see FIG. 3) in the sorting shelf 3 are given. Stored is information related to the sorting frontage ID (sorting shelf information) and the like.
　図１に示すように、間口設定装置１は、データ取得部１１１、オーダ組生成部１１２、間口設定処理部１１３及び割当条件ＤＢ１２１を有している。
　データ取得部１１１は、ＷＭＳ６を介して、作業ＤＢ５に格納されている作業データを取得する。
　オーダ組生成部１１２は、取得した作業データを基に、必要なオーダの組であるオーダ組データ（仕分け先情報）を生成する。オーダ組データの生成手法については後記する。
　間口設定処理部１１３は、オーダ組データを基に、仕分け棚３における仕分け間口３１の割り当てを設定し、すなわち、仕分け先毎に仕分け間口３１を割り当てる設定を行い、その設定結果をＷＭＳ６に送信する。
　割当条件ＤＢ１２１には、仕分け間口３１の割り当てを行う際における仕分け間口３１の優先順位に関する情報である仕分け間口優先条件（優先順位情報）が格納されている。ちなみに、ここでの仕分け間口優先条件は、仕分け間口３１への物品の収納作業のしやすさに基づくものであり、仕分け棚３の低い位置や高い位置にある仕分け間口３１は、作業員にとって収納作業がしやすいとはいえないので、仕分け間口優先条件は低くなる。 As shown in FIG. 1, the frontage setting device 1 includes a data acquisition unit 111, an order set generation unit 112, a frontage setting processing unit 113, and an allocation condition DB 121.
The data acquisition unit 111 acquires work data stored in the work DB 5 via the WMS 6.
The order set generation unit 112 generates order set data (sorting destination information) that is a set of necessary orders based on the acquired work data. A method for generating the order set data will be described later.
The frontage setting processing unit 113 sets assignment of the sorting frontage 31 in the sorting shelf 3 based on the order set data, that is, performs setting for assigning the sorting frontage 31 for each sorting destination, and transmits the setting result to the WMS 6. .
The allocation condition DB 121 stores a sorting front priority condition (priority information) that is information related to the priority of the sorting front 31 when assigning the sorting front 31. Incidentally, the sorting frontage priority condition here is based on the ease of storing the articles in the sorting frontage 31, and the sorting frontage 31 located at a low position or a high position of the sorting shelf 3 is stored for the worker. Since it cannot be said that the work is easy to perform, the sorting frontage priority condition is lowered.
（ハードウェア構成）
　図２は、第１実施形態に係る間口設定装置のハードウェア構成例を示す図である。
　間口設定装置１は、メモリ１０１、ＣＰＵ(Central Processing Unit)１０２、記憶装置１０３、送受信装置１０４、入力装置１０５、表示装置１０６等を有している。
　記憶装置１０３は、ＨＤ（Hard Disk）等である。なお、図１の割当条件ＤＢ１２１は、記憶装置１０３に該当する。
　送受信装置１０４は、ＮＩＣ（Network Interface Card）等であり、ネットワークを介した情報の送受信を行う。
　入力装置１０５は、キーボードや、ポインティングデバイス等であり、表示装置１０６はディスプレイ等である。 (Hardware configuration)
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration example of the frontage setting device according to the first embodiment.
The frontage setting device 1 includes a memory 101, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 102, a storage device 103, a transmission / reception device 104, an input device 105, a display device 106, and the like.
The storage device 103 is an HD (Hard Disk) or the like. Note that the allocation condition DB 121 in FIG. 1 corresponds to the storage device 103.
The transmission / reception device 104 is a NIC (Network Interface Card) or the like, and performs transmission / reception of information via a network.
The input device 105 is a keyboard, a pointing device, or the like, and the display device 106 is a display or the like.
　メモリ１０１には、記憶装置１０３に格納されているプログラムが展開され、展開されたプログラムがＣＰＵ１０２によって実行されることで、処理部１１０及び処理部１１０を構成するデータ取得部１１１、オーダ組生成部１１２、間口設定処理部１１３が具現化している。
　データ取得部１１１、オーダ組生成部１１２、間口設定処理部１１３については、図１において説明済みであるので、ここでの説明は省略する。 The program stored in the storage device 103 is expanded in the memory 101, and the expanded program is executed by the CPU 102, whereby the processing unit 110 and the data acquisition unit 111 constituting the processing unit 110, the order set generation unit 112, a frontage setting processing unit 113 is embodied.
Since the data acquisition unit 111, the order set generation unit 112, and the frontage setting processing unit 113 have already been described with reference to FIG. 1, description thereof is omitted here.
（ピッキング作業）
　図３は、ピッキング作業の概略を示す図である。
　図３（ａ）に示すように、仕分け棚３は複数の仕分け間口３１に仕切られている。個々の仕分け間口３１は仕分け先に割り当てられる。仕分け先は、例えば顧客等の物品を必要とする者である。ちなみに、ある企業の同じ事業所内のある場所から別の場所へと物品を送る際も、その送り先は仕分け先に該当するといえる。なお、仕分け間口３１に関して、原則として１つの仕分け先が１つの仕分け間口３１に割り当てられるが、複数の仕分け先が１つの仕分け間口３１に割り当てられてもよいし、１つの仕分け先が複数の仕分け間口３１に割り当てられてもよい。 (Picking work)
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an outline of the picking operation.
As shown in FIG. 3A, the sorting shelf 3 is partitioned into a plurality of sorting openings 31. Each sorting front 31 is assigned to a sorting destination. The sorting destination is a person who needs an article such as a customer. By the way, when an article is sent from one place in the same office to another place, it can be said that the destination corresponds to a sorting destination. As for the sorting frontage 31, in principle, one sorting destination is assigned to one sorting frontage 31, but a plurality of sorting destinations may be assigned to one sorting frontage 31, and one sorting destination may be assigned to a plurality of sorting. It may be assigned to the frontage 31.
　なお、各仕分け間口３１には、各仕分け間口３１に対して一意となるようなＩＤ（仕分け間口ＩＤ：仕分け棚情報）が付与されている。すなわち、仕分け間口ＩＤが特定されると、仕分け間口３１も特定される。ちなみに、仕分け間口３１が特定されると、その仕分け間口３１の高さ及び横方向の位置も分かる。つまり、本実施形態では、仕分け間口ＩＤは、仕分け棚３における仕分け間口３１の縦方向の位置に関する情報及び横方向の位置に関する情報を有している。なお、前記したように、仕分け間口ＩＤは、棚ＤＢ７に格納されている情報である。 Note that each sorting front 31 is assigned an ID (sorting front ID: sorting shelf information) that is unique to each sorting front 31. That is, when the sorting frontage ID is specified, the sorting frontage 31 is also specified. By the way, when the sorting frontage 31 is specified, the height and the horizontal position of the sorting frontage 31 are also known. That is, in this embodiment, the sorting front ID includes information related to the vertical position of the sorting front 31 in the sorting shelf 3 and information related to the horizontal position. As described above, the sorting frontage ID is information stored in the shelf DB 7.
　また、図３（ｂ）に示すように、格納棚２も複数の格納間口２１に仕切られている。格納間口２１には、１つ又は複数種類の物品が格納されている。この各格納間口２１に対しても、一意となるようなＩＤ（格納間口ＩＤ）が付与されている。すなわち、格納間口ＩＤが特定されると、格納間口２１も特定される。ちなみに、格納間口２１が特定されると、その格納間口２１の高さ及び横方向の位置も分かる。この点は、仕分け間口３１と同じであるので説明を省略する。 Further, as shown in FIG. 3B, the storage shelf 2 is also partitioned into a plurality of storage fronts 21. One or more types of articles are stored in the storage front 21. Each storage front 21 is also given a unique ID (storage front ID). That is, when the storage front ID is specified, the storage front 21 is also specified. Incidentally, when the storage front 21 is specified, the height of the storage front 21 and the position in the lateral direction are also known. Since this point is the same as the sorting frontage 31, a description thereof will be omitted.
　ピッキング作業において、作業員Ｐは、物品が格納されている格納棚２の格納間口２１から、所定の物品を所定の数だけ取り出し、仕分け棚３における所定の仕分け間口３１に収納する。
　ここで、図３（ａ）では、格納棚２は、仕分け棚３のところで待ちうけている作業員のところ（作業位置）まで搬送車４によって搬送される構成となっている。このように、搬送車４によって搬送される棚を移動棚と適宜称する。また、移動しない棚を固定棚と適宜称する。
　図３（ａ）では、格納棚２が移動棚であり、仕分け棚３が固定棚であるが、図３（ｃ）に示すように仕分け棚３及び格納棚２が移動棚であってもよいし、図３（ｄ）に示すように格納棚２が固定棚であり、仕分け棚３が移動可能なカートに複数の箱を設置した仕分けカートでもよい。 In the picking work, the worker P takes out a predetermined number of predetermined articles from the storage opening 21 of the storage shelf 2 in which the articles are stored, and stores them in the predetermined sorting opening 31 in the sorting shelf 3.
Here, in FIG. 3A, the storage shelf 2 is configured to be transported by the transport vehicle 4 to the worker (working position) waiting at the sorting shelf 3. Thus, the shelf conveyed by the conveyance vehicle 4 is appropriately referred to as a moving shelf. A shelf that does not move is appropriately referred to as a fixed shelf.
In FIG. 3A, the storage shelf 2 is a moving shelf and the sorting shelf 3 is a fixed shelf. However, as shown in FIG. 3C, the sorting shelf 3 and the storing shelf 2 may be moving shelves. However, as shown in FIG. 3D, the storage shelf 2 may be a fixed shelf, and the sorting shelf 3 may be a sorting cart in which a plurality of boxes are installed in a movable cart.
　また、図３（ａ）に示すように、格納棚２が移動棚で仕分け棚３が固定棚である場合、格納棚２と比べて仕分け棚３の横幅が大きい構成であることが多いが、図３（ｂ）に示すように格納棚２と仕分け棚３とが略同じ大きさでもよいし、図３（ｃ）に示すように格納棚２と比べて仕分け棚３の方が小さい構成でもよい。
　図３に示すように格納棚２及び仕分け棚３の少なくとも一方が移動棚であることにより、作業員Ｐが離れた位置にある格納棚２と仕分け棚３との間を行き来する必要がなくなるので、ピッキング作業の効率を向上させることができる。
　なお、棚の形態は、図３（ａ）～図３（ｃ）の形態に限らない。 In addition, as shown in FIG. 3A, when the storage shelf 2 is a moving shelf and the sorting shelf 3 is a fixed shelf, the sorting shelf 3 is often larger in width than the storage shelf 2. As shown in FIG. 3B, the storage shelf 2 and the sorting shelf 3 may be substantially the same size, or the sorting shelf 3 is smaller than the storage shelf 2 as shown in FIG. Good.
As shown in FIG. 3, since at least one of the storage shelf 2 and the sorting shelf 3 is a movable shelf, it is not necessary for the worker P to go back and forth between the storage shelf 2 and the sorting shelf 3 at a remote position. The efficiency of picking work can be improved.
The form of the shelf is not limited to the form shown in FIGS. 3 (a) to 3 (c).
　ちなみに、本実施形態では、図３（ａ）の構成であるものとして説明する。すなわち、仕分け棚３が固定棚であり、格納棚２が搬送車４によって移動可能な移動棚であり、格納棚２の横幅にくらべて仕分け棚３の横幅の方が大きいものとして説明する。なお、仕分け棚３は、高さ２ｍ程度、横幅４～６ｍ程度である。
　この場合、格納棚２を搬送する搬送車４は、ＷＭＳ６からの指示に基づき、格納棚２の待機位置から作業位置まで格納棚２を搬送する。格納棚２の搬送先位置（停止位置）は決まっている。すなわち、作業員Ｐの作業位置（後記する基準位置２０１（図６（ｂ）参照））も搬送先位置（停止位置）に対応して決まっている。格納棚２の待機位置は、作業スペースにおける所定の場所に定められており、格納棚２はＷＭＳ６から作業位置までの移動を指示されるまで、該待機位置で待機している。 Incidentally, in the present embodiment, description will be made assuming that the configuration is as shown in FIG. That is, the description will be made assuming that the sorting shelf 3 is a fixed shelf, the storage shelf 2 is a movable shelf that can be moved by the transport vehicle 4, and the width of the sorting shelf 3 is larger than the width of the storage shelf 2. The sorting shelf 3 has a height of about 2 m and a width of about 4 to 6 m.
In this case, the transport vehicle 4 that transports the storage shelf 2 transports the storage shelf 2 from the standby position of the storage shelf 2 to the work position based on an instruction from the WMS 6. The transport destination position (stop position) of the storage shelf 2 is determined. That is, the work position of the worker P (a reference position 201 (see FIG. 6B described later)) is also determined corresponding to the transport destination position (stop position). The standby position of the storage shelf 2 is set at a predetermined location in the work space, and the storage shelf 2 waits at the standby position until instructed to move from the WMS 6 to the work position.
（フローチャート］
　図４は、第１実施形態に係る仕分け間口設定処理の手順を示すフローチャートである。適宜、図１を参照する。
　まず、データ取得部１１１が、ピッキング作業を行う作業データをＷＭＳ６から取得する（Ｓ１０１）。 (flowchart]
FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of sorting frontage setting processing according to the first embodiment. Reference is made to FIG. 1 as appropriate.
First, the data acquisition unit 111 acquires work data for picking work from the WMS 6 (S101).
　図５は、作業データの例を示す図である。
　図５に示すように、作業データには、オーダを区別（識別）するためのオーダＩＤ、物品を識別するための物品ＩＤ、物品の個数、仕分け先ＩＤ等が格納されている。オーダＩＤ、物品ＩＤ、個数、仕分け先ＩＤの組それぞれをオーダレコードと称する。すなわち、作業データには、仕分け先毎に必要な物品の物品ＩＤや、個数等が格納されている。
　ここで、前記したように、仕分け先は顧客等、物品を必要とする者である。また、オーダレコードは、ピッキング対象となる物品毎に作成される。例えば、図５に示すように、仕分け先「Ａ」に対して、物品「あ」、「い」等というように、１つの仕分け先に対して複数物品を仕分ける場合、１つの仕分け先に対して複数のオーダレコードが作成される。
　なお、作業データは、例えば、管理者等によって手入力された情報である。 FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of work data.
As shown in FIG. 5, the work data stores an order ID for distinguishing (identifying) orders, an article ID for identifying articles, the number of articles, a sorting destination ID, and the like. Each set of order ID, article ID, number, and sorting destination ID is referred to as an order record. That is, the work data stores the article ID, the number, etc. of articles necessary for each sorting destination.
Here, as described above, the sorting destination is a person who needs an article such as a customer. An order record is created for each article to be picked. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, when a plurality of articles are sorted for one sorting destination such as “A”, “I”, etc., for the sorting destination “A”, Multiple order records are created.
The work data is information manually input by an administrator or the like, for example.
　図４の説明に戻る。
　次に、オーダ組生成部１１２が、作業データからオーダレコードを抽出することで、オーダ組データを生成する（Ｓ１０２）。例えば、仕分け棚３の仕分け間口３１の数が「２０」であれば、オーダ組生成部１１２は、作業データから「２０」のオーダレコードを抽出することで、オーダ組データを生成する。オーダには、同一の仕分け先（仕分け先）が含まれることがあるので、オーダ組における仕分け先は、仕分け間口３１の数以下の数となる。 Returning to the description of FIG.
Next, the order set generation unit 112 generates order set data by extracting an order record from the work data (S102). For example, if the number of sorting fronts 31 in the sorting shelf 3 is “20”, the order set generation unit 112 generates order set data by extracting an order record of “20” from the work data. Since orders may include the same sorting destination (sorting destination), the number of sorting destinations in the order set is equal to or less than the number of sorting fronts 31.
　オーダ組生成部１１２は、例えば、作業データのオーダレコードを当該作業データにおける記載順又はランダムに仕分け間口３１の数分、作業データから抽出することでオーダ組データを生成する。あるいは、オーダ組生成部１１２は、オーダ組データにおける仕分け先数（仕分け先ＩＤの数）が仕分け間口３１の数となるよう、作業データのオーダレコードを抽出することでオーダ組データを生成してもよい。つまり、仕分け間口３１の数が「２０」であれば、オーダ組生成部１１２は、オーダ組データにおける仕分け先の数が「２０」となるようにオーダ組データを生成してもよい。 The order set generation unit 112 generates the order set data by, for example, extracting the order record of the work data from the work data in the order of description in the work data or at random for the number of the sorting fronts 31. Alternatively, the order set generation unit 112 generates the order set data by extracting the order record of the work data so that the number of sorting destinations (number of sorting destination IDs) in the order set data becomes the number of sorting fronts 31. Also good. That is, if the number of sorting fronts 31 is “20”, the order set generating unit 112 may generate order set data so that the number of sorting destinations in the order set data is “20”.
　また、オーダ組生成部１１２は、ピッキング作業における格納棚２から取り出して仕分け棚３に収納するまでの作業の回数（収納作業の回数）がオーダ組データとして最小となる仕分け先の組み合わせを作業データから検索し、この組み合わせを基にオーダ組データを生成してもよい。つまり、同じ物品「あ」を仕分ける仕分け先同士が同じオーダ組データに含まれるような組み合わせでオーダ組データが生成されてもよい。
　あるいは、オーダ組生成部１１２は、同じ格納棚２に格納されている複数の物品に対して、該当物品を仕分けられる仕分け先同士を優先的に組み合わせることでオーダ組データを生成してもよい。
　このようにすることで、搬送車４による格納棚２の搬送回数を減らすことができるため、ピッキング作業の効率を向上させることができる。 In addition, the order set generation unit 112 sets the combination of sorting destinations in which the number of operations (the number of storage operations) from the storage shelf 2 in the picking operation until it is stored in the sorting shelf 3 as the order set data is the work data. And order set data may be generated based on this combination. That is, the order set data may be generated in such a combination that the sorting destinations that sort the same article “a” are included in the same order set data.
Alternatively, the order set generation unit 112 may generate order set data by preferentially combining sorting destinations that can sort the corresponding articles with respect to a plurality of articles stored in the same storage shelf 2.
By doing in this way, since the frequency | count of conveyance of the storage shelf 2 by the conveyance vehicle 4 can be reduced, the efficiency of a picking operation | work can be improved.
　なお、本実施形態では、前記したように、例えば、仕分け棚３の仕分け間口３１の数が「２０」であれば、オーダ組生成部１１２は、作業データから「２０」のオーダレコードを抽出することで、オーダ組データを生成するものとする。
　このように、生成されたオーダ組データに適合する格納棚２が搬送車４によって作業位置まで搬送される。
　また、格納棚２（移動棚）は１台が作業位置まで搬送されるとは限らず、複数台が作業位置まで搬送されてもよい。 In the present embodiment, as described above, for example, if the number of sorting fronts 31 of the sorting shelf 3 is “20”, the order set generation unit 112 extracts an order record of “20” from the work data. As a result, order set data is generated.
In this way, the storage shelf 2 that conforms to the generated order set data is transported to the work position by the transport vehicle 4.
Further, one storage shelf 2 (movable shelf) is not necessarily transported to the work position, and a plurality of storage shelves 2 may be transported to the work position.
　また、図３（ｄ）に示すように、格納棚２が固定棚である場合、オーダ組生成部１１２は、同じ格納棚２でなくとも、近くに配置されている格納棚２や、近くの格納間口２１に格納されている物品を仕分ける仕分け先同士を組み合わせることでオーダ組データを生成してもよい。このようにすることで、格納棚２が固定棚である場合において、ピッキング作業時における作業員の移動を小さくすることができる。
　なお、オーダ組データは、前記した以外の手法で生成されてもよい。
　オーダ組生成部１１２は、生成したオーダ組データをＷＭＳ６へ送信する。 Further, as shown in FIG. 3D, when the storage shelf 2 is a fixed shelf, the order set generation unit 112 does not have to be the same storage shelf 2 but the storage shelf 2 arranged nearby, The order set data may be generated by combining the sorting destinations that sort the articles stored in the storage front 21. By doing in this way, when the storage shelf 2 is a fixed shelf, the movement of the worker at the time of picking work can be made small.
Note that the order set data may be generated by a method other than that described above.
The order set generation unit 112 transmits the generated order set data to the WMS 6.
　次に、間口設定処理部１１３は、オーダ組データにおける仕分け先毎のアクセス数をカウントする（Ｓ１０３）。アクセス数とは、格納棚２から取り出して仕分け棚３の仕分け間口３１に収納する物品の個数である（収納作業の回数）。例えば、仕分け先「Ｚ」に物品「あ」を５つ、物品「い」を３つ、物品「う」を１つ仕分ける場合、仕分け先「Ｚ」のアクセス数は、５＋３＋１＝９となる。なお、物品「あ」の５つをまとめて格納棚２３１から取り出すことができる場合、仕分け先「Ｚ」のアクセス数は、１＋３＋１＝５となる。物品を、まとめて取り出すことができるか否かの情報は、例えば、作業データに格納されている。言い換えれば、アクセス数は、仕分け間口３１に物品を収納する回数である（収納作業の回数）。 Next, the frontage setting processing unit 113 counts the number of accesses for each sorting destination in the order set data (S103). The number of accesses is the number of articles taken out from the storage shelf 2 and stored in the sorting entrance 31 of the sorting shelf 3 (the number of storage operations). For example, if the sorting destination “Z” sorts five articles “A”, three articles “I”, and one article “U”, the number of accesses of the sorting destination “Z” is 5 + 3 + 1 = 9. If five articles “A” can be taken out of the storage shelf 231 together, the number of accesses of the sorting destination “Z” is 1 + 3 + 1 = 5. Information about whether or not articles can be taken out together is stored in, for example, work data. In other words, the number of accesses is the number of times articles are stored in the sorting frontage 31 (the number of storage operations).
　そして、間口設定処理部１１３は、仕分け間口優先条件を割当条件ＤＢ１２１から取得する（Ｓ１０４）。仕分け間口優先条件は、仕分け間口３１を仕分け先に割り当てる際の優先順位である。仕分け間口優先条件については後記する。
　そして、間口設定処理部１１３は、ステップＳ１０５におけるカウント結果（アクセス数）と、仕分け間口優先条件とを基に、仕分け先に対する仕分け間口３１を割り当てる仕分け間口３１の割り当てを行う（Ｓ１０５）。具体的には、間口設定処理部１１３は、アクセス数の多い仕分け先ほど、作業性の観点から優先順位の高い仕分け間口３１（仕分け間口ＩＤ）を割り当てる。例えば、間口設定処理部１１３は、アクセス数が１番多い仕分け先には、仕分け間口優先条件における優先順位が最も高い仕分け間口３１を割り当てる。そして、間口設定処理部１１３は、アクセス数が２番目に多い仕分け先には、仕分け間口優先条件における優先順位が２番目の仕分け間口３１を割り当てる。 The frontage setting processing unit 113 acquires the sorting frontage priority condition from the allocation condition DB 121 (S104). The sorting frontage priority condition is a priority when assigning the sorting frontage 31 to a sorting destination. The sorting frontage priority conditions will be described later.
Then, the frontage setting processing unit 113 assigns the sorting frontage 31 for assigning the sorting frontage 31 to the sorting destination based on the count result (the number of accesses) in step S105 and the sorting frontage priority condition (S105). Specifically, the frontage setting processing unit 113 assigns a sorting frontage 31 (sorting frontage ID) having a higher priority from the viewpoint of workability to a sorting destination with a larger number of accesses. For example, the frontage setting processing unit 113 assigns the sorting frontage 31 having the highest priority in the sorting frontage priority condition to the sorting destination having the largest number of accesses. Then, the frontage setting processing unit 113 assigns the sorting frontage 31 having the second priority in the sorting frontage priority condition to the sorting destination having the second largest number of accesses.
　図６は、仕分け間口優先条件の例を示す図である。この図６において、丸数字は優先順位を示している。ここで、図６に示す仕分け棚３は、４段６列の仕分け間口３１を有している。
　図６（ａ）は、縦方向における仕分け間口３１を示す図である。図６（ａ）に示すように、例えば作業員Ｐの身長に対して、腰より上方かつ首より下方の領域の優先順位を高くする。要するに、作業員Ｐの腰の位置等の身体的特徴量と、仕分け間口３１の高さ情報等に基づいて、優先順位が設定される。図６（ａ）の例では、段３０３が作業員Ｐにとって最も作業しやすく、次いで段３０２、段３０４となり、身長より上方に位置する段３０１は最も作業しにくい段となる。従って、図６（ａ）に示す例では、縦方向における仕分け間口３１の優先順位は、段３０３→段３０２→段３０４→段３０１となる。すなわち、腰の位置等、作業員Ｐの身体的特徴量に基づいて優先順位が設定される。言い換えれば、優先順位は、仕分け（ピッキング）を行う作業員Ｐが自然な姿勢で物品を持った際、該物品の位置に近い仕分け間口３１ほど高く設定される。なお、図６（ａ）では、２番目に優先度の高い段として段３０２としているが、高い位置にある段よりも低い位置にある段の方の優先度を高くし、段３０３→段３０４→段３０２→段３０１の順に優先度が設定されてもよい。 FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of sorting frontage priority conditions. In FIG. 6, the circled numbers indicate the priority order. Here, the sorting shelf 3 shown in FIG. 6 has four stages and six rows of sorting openings 31.
FIG. 6A is a diagram illustrating the sorting frontage 31 in the vertical direction. As shown in FIG. 6A, for example, the priority of the region above the waist and below the neck is increased with respect to the height of the worker P. In short, the priority order is set based on the physical feature amount such as the waist position of the worker P, the height information of the sorting frontage 31, and the like. In the example of FIG. 6A, the step 303 is the easiest for the worker P to work, then the steps 302 and 304, and the step 301 positioned above the height is the step that is most difficult to work with. Therefore, in the example shown in FIG. 6A, the priority order of the sorting frontage 31 in the vertical direction is step 303 → step 302 → step 304 → step 301. That is, the priority order is set based on the physical feature amount of the worker P such as the position of the waist. In other words, when the worker P who performs sorting (picking) holds the article in a natural posture, the priority is set higher as the sorting front 31 close to the position of the article. In FIG. 6A, the stage 302 is set as the second highest priority stage, but the priority of the stage at the lower position is set higher than the stage at the higher position, so that the stage 303 → the stage 304. The priorities may be set in the order of → step 302 → step 301.
　このようにすることで、アクセス数の多い仕分け先には、作業員Ｐが最も作業しやすい姿勢で物品の収納を行うことができる仕分け間口３１が割り当てられる。このように仕分け間口３１が割り当てられることで、ピッキング作業の効率を向上させることができる。つまり、優先順位は、収納作業に際して、作業員Ｐが屈む作業となる高さ位置の低い仕分け間口３１に対しては低い値が、作業員Ｐが荷物を持ち上げる作業となる高さ位置の高い仕分け間口３１に対しても低い値が、それぞれ設定される。 By doing in this way, a sorting opening 31 that can store articles in a posture in which the worker P can work most easily is assigned to a sorting destination with a large number of accesses. By assigning the sorting frontage 31 in this way, the efficiency of the picking work can be improved. In other words, the priority is a low value for the low-position sorting opening 31 where the worker P bends during the storage work, but the high-position sorting where the worker P lifts the load. A low value is also set for the frontage 31.
　そして、図６（ｂ）は、横方向における仕分け間口３１を示す図である。
　横方向においては、作業員Ｐの作業位置に近い場所が、作業しやすい場所となる。作業員Ｐが作業を行う立ち位置を基準位置２０１として設定すると、基準位置２０１より横方向に離れるほど作業のしやすさが低下する。つまり、仕分け間口３１への収納作業の容易さを示す優先順位が下がる。ちなみに、前記したように、基準位置２０１は、格納棚２を搬送する搬送車４の搬送先位置（停止位置）に対応している。 FIG. 6B is a diagram showing the sorting frontage 31 in the horizontal direction.
In the horizontal direction, a place close to the work position of the worker P is a place where the work is easy. When the standing position where the worker P performs work is set as the reference position 201, the ease of work decreases as the position moves away from the reference position 201 in the lateral direction. That is, the priority order indicating the ease of the storing operation in the sorting frontage 31 is lowered. Incidentally, as described above, the reference position 201 corresponds to the transport destination position (stop position) of the transport vehicle 4 that transports the storage shelf 2.
　図６（ｂ）によると、基準位置２０１に最も近い列３１４が最も作業しやすく、次いで列３１３、列３１５となる。続いて、作業のしやすさは、列３１２、列３１６の順となり、基準位置２０１から最も離れている列３１１が最も作業しにくい列ということになる。従って、図６（ｂ）に示す例では、横方向における仕分け間口３１の優先順位は、列３１４→列３１３→列３１５→列３１２→列３１６→列３１１となる。言い換えれば、優先順位は作業員Ｐの作業位置に近ければ近いほど、高く設定される。 6B, the column 314 closest to the reference position 201 is the easiest to work with, and then becomes the column 313 and the column 315. Subsequently, the ease of work is in the order of the column 312 and the column 316, and the column 311 farthest from the reference position 201 is the column that is most difficult to work with. Therefore, in the example shown in FIG. 6B, the priority order of the sorting frontage 31 in the horizontal direction is column 314 → column 313 → column 315 → column 312 → column 316 → column 311. In other words, the priority is set higher as it is closer to the work position of the worker P.
　このように、仕分け間口３１の優先順位は、各仕分け間口３１への収納作業の容易さを示している。そして、このように優先順位が設定されることで、作業員Ｐの横方向への移動を最小限に抑えることができるので、ピッキング作業の効率を向上させることができる。 As described above, the priority order of the sorting fronts 31 indicates the ease of storage work in each sorting front 31. And since the priority order is set in this way, the movement of the worker P in the lateral direction can be minimized, so that the efficiency of the picking work can be improved.
　図７は、仕分け間口の割り当ての結果、出力される割当結果データの例を示す図である。
　図７に示すように、割当結果データは、仕分け間口ＩＤと、仕分け先ＩＤと、物品ＩＤと、物品の個数とが対応付けられて格納されている。また、同一の仕分け先に、異なる物品が仕分けられる場合には、図７に示すように、異なるレコードに分けて情報が格納される。なお、割当結果データにおいて、物品ＩＤ及び個数は省略可能である。ちなみに、図７において、「２－３」の仕分け間口ＩＤは、縦方向が４段、横方向が４列の仕分け間口３１に仕切られた仕分け棚３における、縦方向が下から２、横方向が仕分け棚３に向かって左から３の仕分け間口３１を示している。つまり、この例では、仕分け間口ＩＤ自身が仕分け棚３における仕分け間口３１の位置を示している。 FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of allocation result data output as a result of allocation of sorting frontage.
As illustrated in FIG. 7, the allocation result data is stored in association with a sorting frontage ID, a sorting destination ID, an article ID, and the number of articles. Further, when different articles are sorted into the same sorting destination, information is stored in different records as shown in FIG. In the allocation result data, the article ID and the number can be omitted. By the way, in FIG. 7, the sorting front ID “2-3” has a vertical direction of 2 from the bottom in the sorting shelf 3 partitioned into a sorting front 31 of 4 columns in the vertical direction and 4 rows in the horizontal direction. Shows three sorting fronts 31 from the left toward the sorting shelf 3. That is, in this example, the sorting front ID itself indicates the position of the sorting front 31 in the sorting shelf 3.
　図４の説明に戻る。
　間口設定処理部１１３は、ステップＳ１０５の出力結果である割当結果データをＷＭＳ６へ送信する。ＷＭＳ６は、間口設定処理部１１３から送信されたオーダ組データを基に格納棚２を搬送車４によって作業位置まで搬送させる。そして、作業員が、割当結果データに基づいてピッキング作業を行う（Ｓ１０６）。割当結果データが、ピッキングの際にどのように利用されるかは後記する。 Returning to the description of FIG.
The frontage setting processing unit 113 transmits the allocation result data, which is the output result of step S105, to the WMS 6. The WMS 6 transports the storage shelf 2 to the work position by the transport vehicle 4 based on the order set data transmitted from the frontage setting processing unit 113. Then, the worker performs a picking operation based on the allocation result data (S106). How the allocation result data is used in picking will be described later.
　次に、処理部１１０は、ピッキング作業（生成したオーダ組データに基づく全作業）が終了したか否かを判定する（ピッキング終了？：Ｓ１０７）。
　ステップＳ１０７の結果、ピッキング作業が終了していない場合（Ｓ１０７→Ｎｏ）、処理部１１０はステップＳ１０６へ処理を戻す。
　ステップＳ１０７の結果、ピッキング作業が終了している場合（Ｓ１０７→Ｙｅｓ）、処理部１１０は、ステップＳ１０２へ処理を戻す。このとき、搬送車４は格納棚２を待機位置まで搬送して戻す。
　以下、処理部１１０は、作業データにおけるオーダがすべて完了するまで、ステップＳ１０２～Ｓ１０７の処理を繰り返す。 Next, the processing unit 110 determines whether or not the picking work (all work based on the generated order set data) is finished (picking finished ?: S107).
If the result of step S107 is that the picking operation has not been completed (S107 → No), the processing unit 110 returns the process to step S106.
If the result of step S107 is that the picking operation has been completed (S107 → Yes), the processing unit 110 returns the process to step S102. At this time, the transport vehicle 4 transports the storage shelf 2 back to the standby position.
Thereafter, the processing unit 110 repeats the processes of steps S102 to S107 until all orders in the work data are completed.
　第１実施形態によれば、仕分け間口３１の優先順位を作業のしやすさを基に設定しておき、アクセス数の多い仕分け先ほど、優先順位の高い仕分け間口３１を割り当てる。
　このようにすることにより、作業員への作業負担を軽減させることが可能となり、ピッキング作業の効率を向上させることができる。 According to the first embodiment, the priority order of the sorting frontage 31 is set based on the ease of work, and the sorting frontage 31 having a higher priority order is assigned to a sorting destination with a larger number of accesses.
By doing in this way, it becomes possible to reduce the work burden to an operator and to improve the efficiency of picking work.
＜第２Ａ実施形態＞
　次に、第２Ａ実施形態について説明する。
　前記した第１実施形態では、作業員の作業位置を基に仕分け間口優先条件を管理者が手入力で設定しておく場合について説明した。この第２Ａ実施形態では、作業員の身体的特徴量を基に仕分け間口優先条件が生成されることを説明する。 <Second Embodiment>
Next, the second embodiment A will be described.
In the first embodiment described above, the case where the administrator manually sets the sorting frontage priority condition based on the work position of the worker has been described. In the second embodiment, it will be described that the sorting frontage priority condition is generated based on the physical feature amount of the worker.
（システム構成）
　図８は、第２Ａ実施形態に係る間口設定システムＺの構成例を示す図である。
　図８において図１と同様の構成については、図１と同一の符号を付して説明を省略する。
　図８における間口設定システムＺａでは、間口設定装置１ａが作業員ＤＢ１２２を有し、作業員ＤＢ１２２における作業員データを基に仕分け間口優先条件を生成する優先条件生成部（優先順位生成部）１１４を有している点が図１に示す間口設定システムＺと異なる点である。作業員ＤＢ１２２には、作業員の平均身長等が格納されている。なお、優先条件生成部１１４は、図２の記憶装置１０３に格納されているプログラムがメモリ１１０に展開され、ＣＰＵ１０２で実行されることにより具現化するものである。また、作業員ＤＢ１２２は、図２の記憶装置１０３に該当するものである。 (System configuration)
FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of the frontage setting system Z according to the 2A embodiment.
8, the same components as those in FIG. 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals as those in FIG.
In the frontage setting system Za in FIG. 8, the frontage setting device 1 a has a worker DB 122, and a priority condition generation unit (priority generation unit) 114 that generates sorting frontage priority conditions based on the worker data in the worker DB 122. This is different from the frontage setting system Z shown in FIG. The worker DB 122 stores the average height of the workers. Note that the priority condition generation unit 114 is realized by a program stored in the storage device 103 of FIG. 2 being expanded in the memory 110 and executed by the CPU 102. The worker DB 122 corresponds to the storage device 103 in FIG.
　図９は、第２Ａ実施形態に係る優先条件設定処理の手順を示す図である。
　まず、優先条件生成部１１４は、作業員ＤＢ１２２から作業員の平均身長等の身体データを取得する（Ｓ２０１）。
　次に、優先条件生成部１１４は、取得した身体データ（平均身長等）を基に、身体特徴量を算出する（Ｓ２０２）。身体的特徴量とは、腰の高さや、腹部の高さ等である。優先条件生成部１１４は、身長に対する腰の高さや、腹部の高さの割合等について、作業員が属する国における平均的値を有しており、身体データと、該平均的値とを基に、作業員の身体的特徴量を算出する。従って、ステップＳ２０２における身体特徴量は、作業員が属する国における作業員の平均的な身体特徴量である。 FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a procedure of priority condition setting processing according to the 2A embodiment.
First, the priority condition generation unit 114 acquires body data such as the average height of workers from the worker DB 122 (S201).
Next, the priority condition generation unit 114 calculates a body feature amount based on the acquired body data (average height, etc.) (S202). The physical feature amount is a waist height, an abdominal height, or the like. The priority condition generation unit 114 has an average value in the country to which the worker belongs with respect to the height of the waist and the ratio of the height of the abdomen to the height, and based on the body data and the average value. The physical feature amount of the worker is calculated. Therefore, the body feature amount in step S202 is an average body feature amount of the worker in the country to which the worker belongs.
　そして、優先条件生成部１１４は、算出した身体的特徴量を基に、仕分け間口優先条件を生成する（Ｓ２０３）。優先条件生成部１１４は、例えば、頭の高さと、腰の高さとの間における仕分け間口３１の優先順位を最上位の優先順位とする。より具体的には、腹部の位置（ピッキングを行う作業員が自然な姿勢で物品を持った際における該物品の位置）に最も近い仕分け間口３１の優先順位を最上位の優先順位としてもよい。そして、優先条件生成部１１４は、予め定められている優先順位の付与ルールに基づいて、仕分け間口３１に優先順位を付与していく。付与ルールは、例えば、図６（ａ）に示すように、上→下→上→下の順に優先順位を付与する等である。 Then, the priority condition generation unit 114 generates a sorting frontage priority condition based on the calculated physical feature amount (S203). For example, the priority condition generation unit 114 sets the priority of the sorting frontage 31 between the head height and the waist height as the highest priority. More specifically, the priority of the sorting front 31 that is closest to the position of the abdomen (the position of the article when the picking worker holds the article in a natural posture) may be set as the highest priority. Then, the priority condition generation unit 114 assigns priorities to the sorting frontage 31 on the basis of predetermined priority assignment rules. For example, as shown in FIG. 6A, the assignment rule is such that priority is assigned in the order of upper → lower → upper → lower.
　第２Ａ実施形態によれば、作業員の身体的特徴量を基に仕分け間口優先条件が生成されるため、管理者が手入力で仕分け間口優先条件を設定する必要がなくなり、管理者の作業負担を軽減することができ、ピッキング作業の効率を向上させることができる。 According to the 2A embodiment, since the sorting front priority condition is generated based on the physical feature amount of the worker, there is no need for the administrator to manually set the sorting front priority condition, and the administrator's work load Can be reduced, and the efficiency of picking work can be improved.
　身体的特徴量を算出する際における身長に対する腰の高さや、腹部の高さの割合等の平均的値は、作業員が属する国における平均的値に限らず、全作業員の平均的値でもよい。また、グループ内における作業員で、ピッキング作業が交代で行われる場合、身体的特徴量における身長に対する腰の高さや、腹部の高さの割合等の平均的値は、該グループにおける平均的値でもよい。また、ピッキング作業を行う作業員のグループが複数存在する場合、グループが交代すると、仕分け間口優先条件も該グループにおける平均身長を基に、新たに生成されるようにしてもよい。なお、仕分け棚３のサイズ（高さ）も影響するが、ここでは説明を省略する。 When calculating physical features, average values such as waist height relative to height and the ratio of the height of the abdomen are not limited to the average value in the country to which the worker belongs, but the average value of all workers Good. In addition, when a worker in a group performs picking work alternately, the average value of the waist height to the height and the ratio of the height of the abdomen, etc. in the physical feature amount is also an average value in the group. Good. Further, when there are a plurality of groups of workers who perform the picking work, when the groups change, the sorting frontage priority condition may be newly generated based on the average height in the group. In addition, although the size (height) of the sorting shelf 3 also affects, description is abbreviate | omitted here.
＜第２Ｂ実施形態＞
　次に、第２Ｂ実施形態について説明する。
　第２Ａ実施形態では、作業員の平均身長に基づく腰の高さや、腹部の高さ等といった身体的特徴量を算出し、その身体的特徴量（さらに仕分け棚３のサイズ）に基づいて仕分け間口優先条件が生成されるが、第２Ｂ実施形態では個々の作業員の身長（さらに仕分け棚３のサイズ）に基づいて仕分け間口優先条件が生成される。 <Second Embodiment>
Next, the 2B embodiment will be described.
In the second embodiment, physical features such as waist height and abdomen height based on the average height of the worker are calculated, and the sorting frontage is based on the physical features (and the size of the sorting shelf 3). Although the priority condition is generated, in the second B embodiment, the sorting frontage priority condition is generated based on the height of each worker (and the size of the sorting shelf 3).
　図９を参照して第２Ｂ実施形態に係る優先条件設定処理の手順を説明する。なお、第２Ｂ実施形態における処理手順は、第２Ａ実施形態と同様であるが、各々の処理内容が異なる。
　まず、優先条件生成部１１４は、作業員ＩＤ等をキーとして、処理対象となっている作業員の身体データを取得する（Ｓ２０１）。作業員ＩＤは、例えば、作業員が作業位置につくと、作業員が図示しないＩＣタグ読取機等に、ＩＣタグが内蔵されているネームタグ等を近接することで、間口設定装置１が作業員ＩＤを取得する。 With reference to FIG. 9, the procedure of the priority condition setting process according to the 2B embodiment will be described. The processing procedure in the 2B embodiment is the same as that in the 2A embodiment, but the processing contents are different.
First, the priority condition generation unit 114 acquires body data of a worker who is a processing target using the worker ID or the like as a key (S201). For example, when the worker is at the work position, the front-end setting device 1 causes the worker to set the frontage setting device 1 close to the IC tag reader or the like (not shown). Get an ID.
　図１０は、第２Ｂ実施形態に係る作業員データの例を示す図である。
　作業員データには、作業員ＩＤと、身長等が対応付けられて格納されている。なお、作業員データとして、身長の他に座高等の情報が格納されてもよい。 FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of worker data according to the second B embodiment.
In the worker data, a worker ID, a height, and the like are stored in association with each other. In addition to the height, information such as sitting height may be stored as the worker data.
　図９の説明に戻る。
　優先条件生成部１１４は、取得した身体データ（身長等）を基に、作業員の身体特徴量を算出する（Ｓ２０２）。身体的特徴量とは、腰の高さや、腹部の高さ等である。優先条件生成部１１４は、身長に対する腰の高さの割合や、腹部の高さの割合等について、作業員が属する国等における平均的値を有しており、身体データと、該平均的値とを基に、作業員の身体的特徴量を算出する。 Returning to the description of FIG.
The priority condition generation unit 114 calculates the body feature amount of the worker based on the acquired body data (such as height) (S202). The physical feature amount is a waist height, an abdominal height, or the like. The priority condition generation unit 114 has an average value in the country or the like to which the worker belongs for the ratio of the height of the waist to the height, the ratio of the height of the abdomen, and the like. Based on the above, the physical feature amount of the worker is calculated.
　そして、優先条件生成部１１４は、算出した身体的特徴量を基に、仕分け間口優先条件を生成する（Ｓ２０３）。優先順位の付与方法は、第２Ａ実施形態と同様である。
　このようにすることで、第２Ａ実施形態と同様の効果に加えて、個々の作業員に応じた仕分け間口優先条件を設定することができる。 Then, the priority condition generation unit 114 generates a sorting frontage priority condition based on the calculated physical feature amount (S203). The method for assigning priorities is the same as in the second embodiment.
By doing in this way, in addition to the effect similar to 2A embodiment, the classification frontage priority condition according to each worker can be set.
　なお、第２Ａ実施形態及び第２Ｂ実施形態では、仕分け棚３の横方向の優先順位について記載していない。これは、仕分け棚３の横方向の優先順位は設定済みであるものとしているためであるが、作業位置に関する情報が決まっている場合（例えば図６（ｂ）の基準位置２０１）、優先条件生成部１１４は、作業位置に基づき、予め定められているルールに従って、仕分け棚３の横方向に対する仕分け間口３１の優先順位を設定してもよい。予め定められているルールとは、作業位置に近いほど優先順位を高くし、作業位置から同じ程度に離れている仕分け間口３１には、左方向の優先順位を高くする等である。 In addition, in 2A Embodiment and 2B Embodiment, the priority of the horizontal direction of the sorting shelf 3 is not described. This is because the priority order in the horizontal direction of the sorting shelf 3 is already set, but when the information on the work position is determined (for example, the reference position 201 in FIG. 6B), the priority condition generation is performed. The unit 114 may set the priority order of the sorting frontage 31 with respect to the horizontal direction of the sorting shelf 3 according to a predetermined rule based on the work position. The predetermined rule is to increase the priority as the position is closer to the work position, and to increase the priority in the left direction for the sorting frontage 31 that is the same distance from the work position.
　なお、第２Ｂ実施形態において、仕分け間口優先条件は、作業員が交代すると、交代した作業員の身長を基に、優先条件生成部１１４が図９におけるステップＳ２０１～Ｓ２０３の処理を行うことで、交代した作業員に適合する仕分け間口優先条件が生成されてもよい。 In the 2B embodiment, when the worker changes, the priority condition generation unit 114 performs the processing of steps S201 to S203 in FIG. 9 based on the height of the changed worker. A sorting frontage priority condition suitable for the changed worker may be generated.
＜第３実施形態＞
　第３実施形態では、格納棚２の格納間口２１の高さと、仕分け棚３の仕分け間口３１の高さの関係から仕分け間口３１の割り当てが行われる。
　例えば、上方の格納棚２の格納間口２１から下方の仕分け棚３の仕分け間口３１へ物品が収納される場合、作業員の上下運動が発生し、作業員の作業負担が増加する。第３実施形態では、なるべく作業員の上下運動を低減させるような仕分け間口３１の割り当てが行われる。 <Third Embodiment>
In the third embodiment, the sorting frontage 31 is assigned from the relationship between the height of the storage frontage 21 of the storage shelf 2 and the height of the sorting frontage 31 of the sorting shelf 3.
For example, when an article is stored from the storage slot 21 of the upper storage shelf 2 to the sorting slot 31 of the lower sorting shelf 3, the worker moves up and down, and the work load on the worker increases. In the third embodiment, the sorting frontage 31 is assigned so as to reduce the vertical movement of the worker as much as possible.
（システム構成）
　図１１は、第３実施形態に係る間口設定システムの構成例を示す図である。
　図１１において図１と同様の構成については、図１と同一の符号を付して説明を省略する。
　図１１における間口設定システムＺｂでは、間口設定装置１ｂが格納棚ＤＢ１２３を有し、格納棚ＤＢ１２３における格納棚データ（格納情報）を基に、格納棚２の高さ情報を取得する格納棚検索部１１５を有している点が図１に示す間口設定システムＺと異なる点である。なお、格納棚検索部１１５は、図２の記憶装置１０３に格納されているプログラムがメモリ１１０に展開され、ＣＰＵ１０２で実行されることにより具現化するものである。また、格納棚ＤＢ１２３は、図２の記憶装置１０３に該当するものである。 (System configuration)
FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a frontage setting system according to the third embodiment.
In FIG. 11, the same components as those in FIG. 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals as those in FIG.
In the frontage setting system Zb in FIG. 11, the frontage setting device 1 b has a storage shelf DB 123, and a storage shelf search unit that acquires height information of the storage shelf 2 based on storage shelf data (storage information) in the storage shelf DB 123. 115 is different from the frontage setting system Z shown in FIG. Note that the storage shelf search unit 115 is realized by developing a program stored in the storage device 103 of FIG. 2 in the memory 110 and executing it by the CPU 102. The storage shelf DB 123 corresponds to the storage device 103 in FIG.
（フローチャート）
　図１２は、第３実施形態に係る処理手順を示すフローチャートである。
　なお、図１２のフローチャートにおいて、図４と同様の処理については、同一のステップ番号を付して、説明を省略する。
　ステップＳ１０３の後、間口設定処理部１１３は、前記のアクセス数（収納作業の回数）で仕分け先を昇順にソートする（Ｓ３０１）。
　そして、間口設定処理部１１３は、仕分け先１つを選択すると、選択した仕分け先が上位Ｋ番目以内に入っているか否かを判定する（Ｓ３０２）。仕分け先の選択は、ステップＳ３０１におけるソート結果の一番最初から順に行われてもよいし、ランダムに行われてもよい。 (flowchart)
FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure according to the third embodiment.
In the flowchart of FIG. 12, the same steps as those in FIG. 4 are denoted by the same step numbers and description thereof is omitted.
After step S103, the frontage setting processing unit 113 sorts the sorting destinations in ascending order by the number of accesses (the number of storage operations) (S301).
Then, when selecting one sorting destination, the frontage setting processing unit 113 determines whether or not the selected sorting destination is within the top Kth (S302). The selection of the sorting destination may be performed in order from the very beginning of the sorting result in step S301, or may be performed at random.
　ステップＳ３０２の結果、選択された仕分け先が上位Ｋ番目以内に入っている場合（Ｓ３０２→Ｙｅｓ）、間口設定処理部１１３はステップＳ１０４及びステップＳ１０５の処理を行うことで、仕分け間口３１の割当を行う。このように上位Ｋ番目以内のアクセス数を有する仕分け先については、第１実施形態と同様の手法による仕分け間口３１の割り当てを行うことで、アクセス数の多い仕分け先については作業のしやすい仕分け間口３１が割り当てられる。この結果、ピッキング作業の効率を向上させることができる。 As a result of step S302, if the selected sorting destination is within the top Kth (S302 → Yes), the frontage setting processing unit 113 performs the processing of step S104 and step S105, thereby assigning the sorting frontage 31. Do. As described above, by assigning the sorting frontage 31 by the same method as in the first embodiment for the sorting destination having the top K number of accesses, a sorting frontage that is easy to work for a sorting destination having a large number of accesses. 31 is assigned. As a result, the efficiency of picking work can be improved.
　ステップＳ３０２の結果、選択された仕分け先が上位Ｋ番目以内に入っていない場合（Ｓ３０２→Ｎｏ）、格納棚検索部１１５は、処理対象となっている仕分け先がオーダしているすべての物品の物品ＩＤをオーダ組データから取得する。その後、格納棚検索部１１５は、該物品ＩＤをキーとして、格納棚データにおいて、仕分け先がオーダしている物品が格納されている格納間口２１のデータ（格納間口データ）をすべて取得する（Ｓ３１１）。格納間口データは、例えば、格納間口ＩＤの集合等である。 As a result of step S302, when the selected sorting destination does not fall within the top Kth (S302 → No), the storage shelf search unit 115 displays all items ordered by the sorting destination to be processed. The article ID is acquired from the order set data. After that, the storage shelf search unit 115 acquires all the data (storage frontage data) of the storage frontage 21 in which the items ordered by the sorting destination are stored in the storage shelf data using the product ID as a key (S311). ). The storage frontage data is, for example, a set of storage frontage IDs.
　図１３は、格納棚データの例を示す図である。
　図１３に示すように、格納棚２ごとに棚ＩＤが設定されており、各格納棚２に格納されている物品の物品ＩＤ、格納間口２１に格納されている物品の個数、格納されている格納間口ＩＤが対応付けられて格納されている。
　前記したように、格納棚検索部１１５は、オーダ組データにおける物品ＩＤをキーとして、格納棚データから該物品が格納されている格納間口ＩＤを取得する。 FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of storage shelf data.
As shown in FIG. 13, a shelf ID is set for each storage shelf 2, and the item ID of the item stored in each storage shelf 2 and the number of items stored in the storage front 21 are stored. Stored frontage IDs are stored in association with each other.
As described above, the storage shelf search unit 115 acquires the storage frontage ID in which the product is stored from the storage shelf data, using the product ID in the order set data as a key.
　図１２の説明に戻る。
　次に、格納棚検索部１１５は取得した格納間口ＩＤを基に、該当する格納間口２１の高さ情報をすべて取得し、間口設定処理部１１３は、処理対象となっている（オーダ組データにおいてピッキング対象となっている）物品が格納されている高さを算出する（Ｓ３１２）。
　このとき、この例では、前記したように格納間口ＩＤは、格納間口２１の高さ情報を含んでいるので、格納間口ＩＤが取得されれば、該当する格納間口２１の高さ情報も取得される。例えば、「５－２」の格納間口ＩＤは、縦方向が５段、横用方向が３列の格納棚２において、縦方向が下から５（つまり一番上の段）、横方向が格納棚２に向かって左から２の格納間口２１を示している。従って、「５－２」の格納間口ＩＤが得られれば、処理対象となっている物品（処理対象となっている仕分け先に仕分けられる物品）が格納されている高さ情報も取得される。 Returning to the description of FIG.
Next, the storage shelf search unit 115 acquires all the height information of the corresponding storage frontage 21 based on the acquired storage frontage ID, and the frontage setting processing unit 113 is the processing target (in the order set data). The height at which the article to be picked) is stored is calculated (S312).
At this time, in this example, since the storage front ID includes the height information of the storage front 21 as described above, if the storage front ID is acquired, the height information of the corresponding storage front 21 is also acquired. The For example, in the storage shelf ID “5-2”, in the storage shelf 2 in which the vertical direction is 5 rows and the horizontal direction is 3 rows, the vertical direction is 5 from the bottom (that is, the top row), and the horizontal direction is stored. Two storage fronts 21 from the left toward the shelf 2 are shown. Therefore, if the storage front ID of “5-2” is obtained, the height information storing the article to be processed (article to be sorted by the sorting destination to be processed) is also acquired.
　なお、１つのオーダ組データにおいて、１つの物品が１つの仕分け先に仕分けられるのであれば、その物品が格納されている格納間口２１の高さを得られればよい。しかしながら、複数の物品が１つの仕分け先に仕分けられる場合、各物品が格納されている格納間口２１の高さも複数存在することになる。このような場合、各物品が格納されている格納間口２１の高さを基に、これらの物品が収納される仕分け間口３１を決定するためには、複数存する格納間口２１の高さを１つの高さにまとめればよい。
　このように、複数存する格納間口２１の高さを１つの高さにまとめる場合、ステップＳ３１２において、間口設定処理部１１３は以下の処理等によって物品が格納されている高さを算出する。 In addition, if one article is sorted into one sort destination in one order set data, the height of the storage front 21 in which the article is stored may be obtained. However, when a plurality of articles are sorted into one sorting destination, there are a plurality of storage opening 21 heights in which each article is stored. In such a case, in order to determine the sorting frontage 31 in which these articles are stored based on the height of the storage frontage 21 in which each article is stored, the height of the plurality of storage frontages 21 is set to one. Summarize in height.
As described above, when the heights of the plurality of storage fronts 21 are combined into one height, in step S312, the front end setting processing unit 113 calculates the height at which the article is stored by the following processing or the like.
（Ａ１）平均値
　間口設定処理部１１３は、処理対象となっている各物品が格納されている格納間口２１の高さの平均値を算出し、ステップＳ３１２で算出される高さとしてもよい。
　格納間口２１の高さの平均値は、以下のように算出される。例えば、仕分け先「Ａ」のオーダである物品「あ」が格納棚２のうち最も高い位置の格納間口２１、「い」が格納棚２のうち３番目の高さに位置する格納間口２１に格納されていたとする。この場合、間口設定処理部１１３は、各高さ（最も高い位置の高さ及び３番目の高さ）の平均値を算出することで、格納棚２における格納間口２１の高さを算出する。仮に、最も高い位置にある格納間口２１の床からの高さが１８０ｃｍであり、３番目の高さにある格納間口２１の床からの高さが１００ｃｍであるとすると、間口設定処理部１１３は、その平均値（１８０＋１００）／２＝１４０ｃｍを、ステップＳ３１２で算出される高さとする。 (A1) Average Value The frontage setting processing unit 113 may calculate the average value of the height of the storage frontage 21 in which each article to be processed is stored, and set the height calculated in step S312.
The average value of the height of the storage front 21 is calculated as follows. For example, the article “A”, which is the order of the sorting destination “A”, is stored at the highest storage position 21 in the storage shelf 2, and “I” is stored at the third storage position 21 in the storage shelf 2. Suppose that it was stored. In this case, the frontage setting processing unit 113 calculates the height of the storage frontage 21 in the storage shelf 2 by calculating the average value of each height (the height of the highest position and the third height). Assuming that the height of the storage frontage 21 at the highest position from the floor is 180 cm and the height of the storage frontage 21 at the third height from the floor is 100 cm, the frontage setting processing unit 113 The average value (180 + 100) / 2 = 140 cm is set as the height calculated in step S312.
　あるいは、処理対象となっている物品種類（処理対象となっている仕分け先に仕分けられる物品種類）毎の個数が複数である場合、間口設定処理部１１３は、重み付き平均値をステップＳ３１２で算出される高さとしてもよい。
　例えば、前記した例において、１つの仕分け先に仕分けられる物品について、「あ」が３つ、「い」が２つであったとすると、間口設定処理部１１３は、その重み付き平均値｛（１８０×３）＋（１００×２）｝／５＝１４８ｃｍを、ステップＳ３１２で算出される高さとしてもよい。 Alternatively, when there are a plurality of items for each type of article to be processed (article types to be sorted to the sorting destination to be processed), the frontage setting processing unit 113 calculates a weighted average value in step S312. It may be the height to be set.
For example, in the above-described example, assuming that there are three “A” and two “I” for articles sorted into one sorting destination, the frontage setting processing unit 113 sets the weighted average value {(180 X3) + (100x2)} / 5 = 148 cm may be the height calculated in step S312.
（Ａ２）ヒストグラム
　間口設定処理部１１３は、対象となる仕分け先について、格納間口２１の高さに対するにアクセス数のヒストグラムを生成し、該ヒストグラムで頻度の最も大きい格納間口２１の高さをステップＳ３１２で算出される高さとする。 (A2) Histogram The frontage setting processing unit 113 generates a histogram of the number of accesses for the target sorting destination with respect to the height of the storage frontage 21, and sets the height of the storage frontage 21 having the highest frequency in the histogram in step S312. Is the height calculated in.
　以上のことを、図１４を参照して説明する。
　図１４は、オーダ組データにおいて、ある仕分け先への物品が格納されている格納間口２１の個数を段毎にヒストグラムとしたものである。つまり、符号４０１は、格納棚２の縦方向の段を示し、符号４０２は格納棚２の各段のアクセス数を示すヒストグラムである。なお、符号４０２において、縦軸は高さ（ｃｍ）を示している。
　ここでは、高さＹＬｃｍの位置が最も頻度が高い。従って、間口設定処理部１１３は、ＹＬｃｍをステップＳ３１２で算出される高さとする。 The above will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 14 shows a histogram of the number of storage fronts 21 in which articles to a certain sorting destination are stored in each order set data. That is, reference numeral 401 indicates a vertical stage of the storage shelf 2, and reference numeral 402 indicates a histogram indicating the number of accesses of each stage of the storage shelf 2. In addition, in the code | symbol 402, the vertical axis | shaft has shown height (cm).
Here, the position of height YLcm has the highest frequency. Therefore, the frontage setting processing unit 113 sets YLcm to the height calculated in step S312.
　前記した（Ａ１）の平均値では、最も多くの物品が格納されている格納間口２１の高さと、算出される高さの平均値とがずれる場合がある。これに対し、図１４に示すように、ヒストグラムにおける頻度が最も高い格納間口２１の高さを基に、仕分け間口３１の割り当てが行われることで、実際の格納状態に近い高さで仕分け間口３１の割り当てを行うことができる。 In the average value of (A1) described above, the height of the storage frontage 21 in which the most articles are stored may deviate from the average value of the calculated heights. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 14, the sorting frontage 31 is assigned at a height close to the actual storage state by assigning the sorting frontage 31 based on the height of the storage frontage 21 having the highest frequency in the histogram. Assignments can be made.
　例えば、格納棚２において、最も高い格納間口２１に、他の高さの格納間口２１より物品が１つでも多く格納されている場合、間口設定処理部１１３は、高さを最も高い位置をステップＳ３１２で算出される高さに設定する。このようにすることで、前記したように、平均値で仕分け間口３１を割り当てるよりも、実際の格納状態に近い高さで割り当てを行うことができ、後記する仕分け間口３１の割り当て（列３１４）において、間口設定処理部１１３が上下運動の負荷を軽減させる仕分け間口３１を割り当てることができる。つまり、ヒストグラムにおける頻度が最も高い格納間口２１の高さを基に、仕分け間口３１の割り当てが行われることで、仕分け先に割り当てられる仕分け間口３１として最も取り出し回数の多い格納間口２１に近い仕分け間口３１を割り当てることができる。これにより、作業員の上下運動を最小限にするような仕分け間口３１の割り当てが可能となる。 For example, in the storage shelf 2, when one article is stored in the highest storage frontage 21 as compared with the storage frontage 21 of other heights, the frontage setting processing unit 113 steps the position with the highest height. The height calculated in S312 is set. By doing so, as described above, it is possible to perform allocation at a height close to the actual storage state rather than assigning the sorting frontage 31 by the average value, and the assignment of the sorting frontage 31 described later (column 314). The frontage setting processing unit 113 can assign a sorting frontage 31 that reduces the load of vertical movement. That is, by assigning the sorting frontage 31 based on the height of the storage frontage 21 having the highest frequency in the histogram, the sorting frontage closest to the storage frontage 21 having the largest number of extractions as the sorting frontage 31 assigned to the sorting destination. 31 can be assigned. Accordingly, it is possible to assign the sorting frontage 31 so as to minimize the vertical movement of the worker.
（Ａ３）レベル
　前記した（Ａ１）、（Ａ２）における高さは「ｃｍ」等の数値で行っているが、レベル（格納棚２における段数）が用いられてもよい。例えば、格納棚２の一番下の段からレベル１、レベル２、・・・とし、間口設定処理部１１３は、このレベルを基に、高さ（レベル）の平均値や、ヒストグラムで最も頻度の高いレベルを算出する。レベル毎に高さの平均値が算出される場合、算出結果は、レベル２．１や、レベル４．６等といった結果となる。この場合、間口設定処理部１１３は、四捨五入等を行って算出された平均値のレベルを自然数に変換する。
　レベルが用いられることで、格納棚２毎における格納間口２１の高さがそれぞれ異なる場合でも、それぞれの格納間口２１の高さを厳密に設定する必要がなくなり、間口設定す値１を使用して仕分け間口３１の割り当てを行うユーザの負担を軽減することができる。また、レベルが用いられることで、格納棚２における各格納間口２１の高さを厳密な数値として計測していないため、各格納間口２１の高さが数値として分からない場合でも対処することができる。
　なお、高さについては、数値及びレベル（段）に限らない。 (A3) Level Although the height in the above (A1) and (A2) is a numerical value such as “cm”, a level (the number of steps in the storage shelf 2) may be used. For example, from the bottom level of the storage shelf 2 to level 1, level 2,..., And the frontage setting processing unit 113 is based on this level, the average value of the height (level) and the most frequent in the histogram Calculate a high level of. When the average value of height is calculated for each level, the calculation result is a result such as level 2.1 or level 4.6. In this case, the frontage setting processing unit 113 converts the level of the average value calculated by rounding off into a natural number.
By using the level, even when the heights of the storage fronts 21 in the storage shelves 2 are different from each other, it is not necessary to set the heights of the respective storage fronts 21 strictly. The burden on the user who assigns the sorting frontage 31 can be reduced. Further, since the level is used, the height of each storage front 21 in the storage shelf 2 is not measured as a strict numerical value, and therefore it is possible to cope with the case where the height of each storage front 21 is not known as a numerical value. .
Note that the height is not limited to a numerical value and a level (stage).
　図１２の説明に戻る。
　次に、間口設定処理部１１３は、ステップＳ３１２で算出した高さに基づいてクラス分けを行う（Ｓ３１３）。ここで、間口設定処理部１１３は、ステップＳ３１２で算出した高さ（格納棚２における格納間口２１の高さ）に基づいて、各物品を、格納されている高さ順に並べて、格納棚２における高い位置（高いレベル）に格納されている物品には高い仕分け間口３１、同中くらいの高さ位置（中位のレベル）に格納されている物品には中くらいの高さの仕分け間口３１、同低い位置（低いレベル）に格納されている物品には低い仕分け間口３１等というように、所定のクラスを設定する。例えば、格納棚２と、仕分け棚３とで、縦方向のスペース数（段数）が異なっている場合、間口設定処理部１１３は、仕分け棚３における縦方向のスペース数（段数）に高さのクラスを合わせる等といった処理を行う。例えば、間口設定処理部１１３は、格納棚２の縦方向の段数が５であり、仕分け棚３の縦方向の段数が４である場合、ステップＳ３１２で算出された高さ（レベル）を、仕分け棚３の段に合わせるようクラス分けを行う等といった処理を行う。 Returning to the description of FIG.
Next, the frontage setting processing unit 113 performs classification based on the height calculated in step S312 (S313). Here, the frontage setting processing unit 113 arranges the articles in the order in which they are stored based on the height calculated in step S312 (the height of the storage frontage 21 in the storage shelf 2). A high sorting opening 31 for articles stored at a high position (high level), a medium sorting opening 31 for articles stored at the same middle height position (medium level), A predetermined class is set such that the goods stored in the same low position (low level) have a low sorting frontage 31 or the like. For example, when the storage shelf 2 and the sorting shelf 3 are different in the number of vertical spaces (the number of steps), the frontage setting processing unit 113 sets the height in the vertical direction in the sorting shelf 3 (the number of steps). Processes such as matching classes. For example, the frontage setting processing unit 113 sorts the height (level) calculated in step S312 when the vertical shelf number of the storage shelf 2 is 5 and the vertical shelf number of the sorting shelf 3 is 4. For example, classification is performed so as to match the level of the shelf 3.
　つまり、前記した（Ａ１）の方法による平均値で処理対象となっている物品（処理対象となっている仕分け先に仕分けられる物品）が格納されている格納間口２１の高さが算出されている場合、算出された高さがａｃｍ以上ｂｃｍ未満（ａ＜ｂ）であるとき、間口設定処理部１１３は、仕分け棚３における一番下の段のクラスとする。また、算出された高さがｂｃｍ以上ｃｃｍ未満（ｂ＜ｃ）である場合、間口設定処理部１１３は、仕分け棚３における下から２番目の段のクラス等とする（高さをｃｍではなくレベルにしても同じ）。
　なお、ステップＳ３１３の処理は省略可能である。例えば、仕分け棚３と格納棚２との縦方向における段数が同じであれば、ステップＳ３１３の処理は省略可能である。 That is, the height of the storage front 21 in which the article to be processed (the article to be sorted by the sorting destination to be processed) is calculated by the average value by the method (A1) described above. In this case, when the calculated height is not less than acm and less than bcm (a <b), the frontage setting processing unit 113 sets the class in the lowermost stage in the sorting shelf 3. When the calculated height is not less than bcm and less than ccm (b <c), the frontage setting processing unit 113 sets the second-stage class or the like from the bottom in the sorting shelf 3 (the height is not cm). Same for level).
Note that the process of step S313 can be omitted. For example, if the sorting shelf 3 and the storage shelf 2 have the same number of stages in the vertical direction, the process of step S313 can be omitted.
　そして、間口設定処理部１１３は、ステップＳ３１３で設定したクラスと、仕分け棚３における仕分け間口３１の高さ情報（仕分け間口ＩＤ）とを基に、処理対象となっている仕分け先に割り当てる仕分け間口３１を決定する（Ｓ３１４）。このときに割り当てられる仕分け間口３１は、優先順位がＫ＋１番目以降の仕分け間口３１である。なお、ステップＳ３１４の処理については後記する。 Then, the frontage setting processing unit 113 sorts the frontage assigned to the sorting destination to be processed based on the class set in step S313 and the height information (sorting frontage ID) of the sorting frontage 31 in the sorting shelf 3. 31 is determined (S314). The sorting frontage 31 assigned at this time is the sorting frontage 31 with a priority of K + 1 and later. The process of step S314 will be described later.
　ステップＳ１０５又はステップＳ３１４の後、間口設定処理部１１３は、オーダ組データにおけるすべての仕分け先について処理を終了したか否かを判定する（Ｓ３２１）。
　ステップＳ３２１の結果、オーダ組データにおけるすべての仕分け先について処理を終了していない場合（Ｓ３２１→Ｎｏ）、間口設定処理部１１３はステップＳ３０２に処理を戻す。
　ステップＳ３２１の結果、オーダ組データにおけるすべての仕分け先について処理を終了している場合（Ｓ３２１→Ｙｅｓ）、ステップＳ１０６及びステップＳ１０７の処理が行われる。 After step S105 or step S314, the frontage setting processing unit 113 determines whether or not the processing has been completed for all sorting destinations in the order set data (S321).
As a result of step S321, when the process has not been completed for all sorting destinations in the order set data (S321 → No), the frontage setting processing unit 113 returns the process to step S302.
As a result of step S321, when processing for all sorting destinations in the order set data is completed (S321 → Yes), processing of step S106 and step S107 is performed.
　なお、Ｋ＝０であれば、上位Ｋ番目以内であるか否かにかかわらず、ステップＳ３１１～Ｓ３１４の処理が行われる。 Note that if K = 0, the processing of steps S311 to S314 is performed regardless of whether it is within the top Kth.
　図１５は、第４実施形態に係る割当処理の詳細を示す図である。
　図１５に示すように、処理対象となっている物品（処理対象となっている仕分け先に仕分けられる物品）が格納されている格納間口２１の高さが符号５０１で示す高さであるとする。ちなみに、符号５０１の高さとは、仕分け先における物品が格納されている格納間口２１の高さの平均値や、ヒストグラムで最も頻度が高い位置である。なお、ここでは、格納間口２１の高さと、仕分け間口３１の高さとの関係を分かりやすくするため、格納間口２１の高さを基に仕分け間口３１の割り当てが行われるものとしている。しかし、ステップＳ３１３におけるクラス分けの処理が行われているのであれば、クラス分けの結果を基に仕分け間口３１の割り当てが行われる。
　図１５に示すように、仕分け棚３において符号５０１と同じ高さを有する段５１１が最も優先順位が高く、次に、段５１２の優先順位が高く、その次に、段５１３となる。そして、段５１４の優先順位が最も低くなる。 FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating details of the allocation processing according to the fourth embodiment.
As shown in FIG. 15, it is assumed that the height of the storage frontage 21 in which the article to be processed (the article to be sorted by the sorting destination to be processed) is stored is the height indicated by reference numeral 501. . Incidentally, the height of the reference numeral 501 is an average value of the height of the storage frontage 21 in which articles at the sorting destination are stored, or a position with the highest frequency in the histogram. Here, in order to make it easy to understand the relationship between the height of the storage frontage 21 and the height of the sorting frontage 31, the sorting frontage 31 is assigned based on the height of the storage frontage 21. However, if the classification process in step S313 is performed, the classification frontage 31 is assigned based on the classification result.
As shown in FIG. 15, the level 511 having the same height as the reference numeral 501 in the sorting shelf 3 has the highest priority, the level 512 has the next highest priority, and then the level 513. And the priority of the stage 514 becomes the lowest.
　つまり、符号５０１で示す格納間口２１にピッキング対象の物品が格納されている場合、間口設定処理部１１３は、まず段５１１の仕分け間口３１を物品の仕分け先として割り当てる。段５１１の仕分け間口３１に空きがない場合、間口設定処理部１１３は、段５１２の仕分け間口３１を物品の仕分け先として割り当てる。段５１２の仕分け間口３１に空きがない場合、間口設定処理部１１３は、段５１３の仕分け間口３１を物品の仕分け先として割り当てる。つまり、間口設定処理部１１３は、ピッキング対象の物品が格納されている格納間口２１の高さに近ければ近いほど、高い優先順位が設定される。 That is, when an article to be picked is stored in the storage front 21 indicated by the reference numeral 501, the front opening setting processing unit 113 first assigns the sorting front 31 of the step 511 as a product sorting destination. When there is no space in the sorting frontage 31 in the step 511, the frontage setting processing unit 113 assigns the sorting frontage 31 in the step 512 as the sorting destination of the articles. When there is no space in the sorting frontage 31 in the step 512, the frontage setting processing unit 113 assigns the sorting frontage 31 in the step 513 as a product sorting destination. That is, the frontage setting processing unit 113 sets a higher priority as it is closer to the height of the storage frontage 21 in which the article to be picked is stored.
　なお、ここでは縦方向における仕分け間口３１の割り当て方法のみを示し、横方向における仕分け間口３１の割り当て方法については示していない。横方向については、例えば、第１実施形態と同様に、作業位置２０１（図６（ｂ）参照）に基づいて優先順位が設定されている、すなわち、作業位置２０１に近ければ近いほど高い優先順位が設定されている。そして、間口設定処理部１１３は、最初に、割り当て対象となっている高さにおける仕分け棚３の段において空いている仕分け間口３１のうち、最も優先順位の高い間口を割り当てる。その仕分け間口３１が空いていなければ、間口設定処理部１１３は、次に優先順位の高い間口を割り当てる。このような処理を順に行うことで、間口設定処理部１１３は仕分け間口３１の割り当てを行う。 In addition, here, only the allocation method of the sorting frontage 31 in the vertical direction is shown, and the allocation method of the sorting frontage 31 in the horizontal direction is not shown. For the horizontal direction, for example, as in the first embodiment, the priority is set based on the work position 201 (see FIG. 6B), that is, the closer the work position 201 is, the higher the priority is. Is set. Then, the frontage setting processing unit 113 first assigns the frontage having the highest priority among the sorting frontage 31 vacant in the stage of the sorting shelf 3 at the height to be assigned. If the sorting frontage 31 is not available, the frontage setting processing unit 113 assigns a frontage having the next highest priority. By performing such processing in order, the frontage setting processing unit 113 assigns the sorting frontage 31.
　第３実施形態によれば、格納棚２の格納間口２１において物品が格納されている高さと仕分け棚３の仕分け間口３１の位置の高さを考慮した仕分け間口３１の割り当てができる。これにより、作業員の上下運動を減らし、作業員の負担を軽減することができる。その結果、ピッキング作業の効率を向上させることができる。 According to the third embodiment, the sorting frontage 31 can be assigned in consideration of the height at which the articles are stored in the storage frontage 21 of the storage shelf 2 and the height of the sorting frontage 31 of the sorting shelf 3. Thereby, a worker's up-and-down movement can be reduced and a worker's burden can be eased. As a result, the efficiency of the picking work can be improved.
　なお、本実施形態では、アクセス数が上位Ｋ＋１番目以降の仕分け先について、ステップＳ３１１～Ｓ３１４の処理が行われたが、アクセス数が所定の値以下の仕分け先について、ステップＳ３１１～Ｓ３１４の処理が行われてもよい。 In this embodiment, the processes in steps S311 to S314 are performed for the sorting destinations with the number of accesses of the upper K + 1 and after. However, the processes of steps S311 to S314 are performed for the sorting destinations with the number of accesses equal to or less than a predetermined value. It may be done.
＜第４の実施形態＞
　第４実施形態では、物品の重さ及びサイズによって、仕分け棚３の仕分け間口３１が割り当てられる。 <Fourth Embodiment>
In the fourth embodiment, the sorting frontage 31 of the sorting shelf 3 is assigned according to the weight and size of the article.
（システム構成）
　図１６は、第４実施形態に係る間口設定システムの構成例を示す図である。
　図１６において図１１と同様の構成については、図１１と同一の符号を付して説明を省略する。
　図１６における間口設定システムＺｃでは、間口設定装置１ｃが物品ＤＢ１２４を有している点が、図１１の間口設定システムＺｂと異なっている。なお、物品データベース１２４は、図２の記憶装置１０３に該当するものである。 (System configuration)
FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a frontage setting system according to the fourth embodiment.
In FIG. 16, the same components as those in FIG. 11 are denoted by the same reference numerals as those in FIG.
The frontage setting system Zc in FIG. 16 is different from the frontage setting system Zb in FIG. 11 in that the frontage setting device 1c has an article DB 124. The article database 124 corresponds to the storage device 103 in FIG.
　図１７は、第４実施形態に係る間口設定処理の手順を示すフローチャートである。
　なお、図１７において、図１２と同様の処理については、同一のステップ番号を付して説明を省略する。
　ステップＳ３１３の後、間口設定処理部１１３は、物品ＤＢ１２４から物品のサイズデータ（重さ情報及びサイズ情報）を取得する（Ｓ４０１）。具体的には、ステップＳ３１１の前で取得した物品ＩＤをキーとして、物品ＤＢ１２４からサイズデータを取得する。 FIG. 17 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of frontage setting processing according to the fourth embodiment.
In FIG. 17, the same processes as those in FIG. 12 are denoted by the same step numbers and description thereof is omitted.
After step S313, the frontage setting processing unit 113 acquires item size data (weight information and size information) from the item DB 124 (S401). Specifically, the size data is acquired from the item DB 124 using the item ID acquired before step S311 as a key.
　図１８は、物品サイズデータの例を示す図である。
　物品サイズデータでは、物品ＩＤと、物品ＩＤに該当する物品のサイズ、重さの情報が対応付けられて格納されている。図１８の例では、物品のサイズとしてサイズカテゴリが格納されているが、物品の縦、幅及び奥行きの大きさが格納されてもよい。 FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating an example of article size data.
In the article size data, the article ID is stored in association with information on the size and weight of the article corresponding to the article ID. In the example of FIG. 18, the size category is stored as the size of the article, but the length, width, and depth of the article may be stored.
　図１７の説明に戻る。
　そして、間口設定処理部１１３は、取得したサイズデータを基に、仕分け間口３１の割り当てを行う（Ｓ４０２）。
　ステップＳ４０２において、間口設定処理部１１３は、以下のようにして仕分け間口３１の割り当てを行う。まず、割当条件ＤＢ１２１には、サイズ、重さに対する割当ルール（不図示）が格納されている。割当ルールは、例えば、サイズが大きい物品は、下の段の仕分け間口３１を優先的に割り当てる、重い物品は、上方向への移動はしない、等である。 Returning to the description of FIG.
The frontage setting processing unit 113 assigns the sorting frontage 31 based on the acquired size data (S402).
In step S402, the frontage setting processing unit 113 assigns the sorting frontage 31 as follows. First, the allocation condition DB 121 stores allocation rules (not shown) for size and weight. The allocation rule is, for example, that an article having a large size is preferentially assigned to the lower sorting door 31, a heavy article is not moved upward, and the like.
　重い物品（重さが所定値以上の物品）がピッキング対象の物品に含まれる場合、以下の手順で、間口設定処理部１１３は仕分け間口３１の割り当てを行う。まず、間口設定処理部１１３は、該当物品が格納されている格納棚２の格納間口２１の高さ（高さ位置）をｈとする。このｈはステップＳ３１３で生成されたクラスの高さとしてもよい。ステップＳ３１３の処理が省略された場合、ｈはステップＳ３１２で算出された高さである。
　なお、ｈはピッキング対象の物品のうち、最も重い物品が格納されている格納間口２１の高さでもよい。あるいは、ｈはピッキング対象の物品のうち、重さが所定値以上の物品が格納されている格納間口２１のうち、最も高い位置にある格納間口２１の高さでもよい。 When a heavy article (an article whose weight is equal to or greater than a predetermined value) is included in the picking target article, the frontage setting processing unit 113 assigns the sorting frontage 31 in the following procedure. First, the frontage setting processing unit 113 sets the height (height position) of the storage frontage 21 of the storage shelf 2 in which the corresponding article is stored as h. This h may be the height of the class generated in step S313. When the process of step S313 is omitted, h is the height calculated in step S312.
Note that h may be the height of the storage opening 21 in which the heaviest item among the items to be picked is stored. Alternatively, h may be the height of the storage slot 21 at the highest position among the storage slots 21 in which articles having a weight of a predetermined value or more are stored among the articles to be picked.
　仕分け棚３における仕分け間口３１の高さ（高さ位置）は、ｈ以下の場所に設定される必要があるため、仕分け棚３における仕分け間口３１のうち、高さがｈ以下の仕分け間口３１を割当可能仕分け間口とする。そして、間口設定処理部１１３は、割当可能仕分け間口のうち、第１実施形態～第３実施形態のうち、いずれかの手法を用いることで、仕分け間口３１の割り当てを行う。 Since the height (height position) of the sorting frontage 31 in the sorting shelf 3 needs to be set at a location equal to or less than h, among the sorting frontage 31 in the sorting shelf 3, the sorting frontage 31 having a height of h or less is selected. Assignable sorting frontage. The frontage setting processing unit 113 assigns the sorting frontage 31 by using any one of the first to third embodiments among the assignable frontage.
　すなわち、間口設定処理部１１３は、ステップＳ１０３でカウントされたアクセス数（収納作業の回数）が多い仕分け先ほど、割当可能仕分け間口のうちで優先順位の高い仕分け間口３１を割り当てる。あるいは、間口設定処理部１１３は、ステップＳ３１２で算出された高さや、ステップＳ３１３のクラス分けの結果におけるクラスの高さを基に、割当可能仕分け間口に対して、図１２のステップＳ３１４と同様の処理を行うことで、仕分け先を仕分け間口３１に割り当てる。 That is, the frontage setting processing unit 113 assigns a sorting frontage 31 having a higher priority among the assignable frontage doors to a sorting destination having a larger access count (the number of storage operations) counted in step S103. Alternatively, the frontage setting processing unit 113 is similar to step S314 in FIG. 12 for the assignable frontage based on the height calculated in step S312 and the class height in the classification result in step S313. By performing the process, the sorting destination is assigned to the sorting frontage 31.
　なお、高さｈ以下の仕分け間口３１がすべて空いていない場合、間口設定処理部１１３は、ｈより上の仕分け間口３１のうち、ｈとの差が最も小さい高さにおける仕分け間口３１へ、処理対象となっている仕分け先を割り当てる。
　このようにして、間口設定処理部１１３は、重い物品に対して、適当な仕分け間口３１の割り当てを行うことができる。 In addition, when all the sorting fronts 31 having the height h or less are not vacant, the frontage setting processing unit 113 performs processing on the sorting frontage 31 at the height having the smallest difference from h among the sorting fronts 31 above h. Assign the target sorting destination.
In this way, the frontage setting processing unit 113 can assign an appropriate sorting frontage 31 to a heavy article.
　ちなみに、処理対象となる物品について重さが所定値以下の物品のみである場合、つまり、オーダ組データにおいて同じ仕分け先に仕分けられる物品が、所定値以下の重さの物品のみである場合、優先順位がＫ＋１以降の仕分け間口３１に対して、第１実施形態～第３実施形態のうち、いずれかの手法で仕分け間口３１の割り当てが行われる。なお、間口設定処理部１１３は、重さが所定値以上の物品を有する仕分け先について、優先的に仕分け間口３１の割り当てを行うようにしてもよい。
　これにより、ピッキング作業の際、作業員が重い物品を持ちあげる動作がなくなる、もしくは、作業員が重い物品を持ちあげる動作を最小限にすることができるため、作業員の作業負担を軽減することができる。 By the way, if the article to be processed is only an article whose weight is less than or equal to the predetermined value, that is, if the article that is sorted into the same sorting destination in the order set data is only an article that weighs less than or equal to the predetermined value, priority is given. The sorting frontage 31 is assigned to the sorting frontage 31 with a rank of K + 1 or later by any one of the first to third embodiments. The frontage setting processing unit 113 may preferentially assign the sorting frontage 31 to a sorting destination having an article whose weight is a predetermined value or more.
As a result, when picking work, the worker does not lift the heavy article or the worker can lift the heavy article to the minimum, thereby reducing the work load on the worker. Can do.
　また、サイズが大きい物品（サイズが所定値以上の物品）が、処理対象となっている物品（処理対象となっている仕分け先に仕分けられる物品）に含まれる場合、間口設定処理部１１３は以下の処理を行う。すなわち、サイズが大きい物品を収納できる仕分け間口３１の位置に制限がある場合、間口設定処理部１１３は、割当可能な仕分け間口３１（割当可能仕分け間口）を抽出する。例えば、仕分け棚３における個々の仕分け間口３１の大きさが異なる場合、間口設定処理部１１３は、仕分け間口３１の大きさが該当物品を収納するのに十分な大きさを持っている仕分け間口３１のみを割当可能仕分け間口として抽出する。各仕分け間口３１の大きさに関する情報は、例えば棚ＤＢ７（図１６参照）に格納されている。そして、間口設定処理部１１３は、抽出した割当可能仕分け間口のうち、第１実施形態～第３実施形態のうち、いずれかの手法を用いることで、仕分け間口３１の割り当てを行う。 When an article having a large size (an article having a size equal to or larger than a predetermined value) is included in an article to be processed (article to be sorted by a sorting destination to be processed), the frontage setting processing unit 113 Perform the process. That is, when there is a restriction on the position of the sorting frontage 31 that can store articles of a large size, the frontage setting processing unit 113 extracts the assignable sorting frontage 31 (assignable sorting frontage). For example, when the sizes of the individual sorting fronts 31 in the sorting shelf 3 are different, the frontage setting processing unit 113 has the sorting frontage 31 in which the size of the sorting frontage 31 is large enough to store the corresponding article. Is extracted as an allocatable frontage. Information about the size of each sorting front 31 is stored in, for example, the shelf DB 7 (see FIG. 16). The frontage setting processing unit 113 assigns the sorting frontage 31 by using any one of the first to third embodiments of the extracted assignmentable frontage.
　すなわち、間口設定処理部１１３は、ステップＳ１０３でカウントされたアクセス数が多い仕分け先ほど、割当可能仕分け間口のうちで優先順位の高い仕分け間口３１を割り当てる。このとき、前記したように、下の段ほど優先順位を高くしてもよい。あるいは、間口設定処理部１１３は、ステップＳ３１２で算出された高さや、ステップＳ３１３のクラス分けの結果におけるクラスの高さを基に、割当可能仕分け間口に対して、図１２のステップＳ３１４と同様の処理を行うことで、仕分け先を仕分け間口３１に割り当てる。 That is, the frontage setting processing unit 113 assigns the sorting frontage 31 having a higher priority among the assignable frontage to the sorting destination with the larger number of accesses counted in step S103. At this time, as described above, the priority may be set higher in the lower level. Alternatively, the frontage setting processing unit 113 is similar to step S314 in FIG. 12 for the assignable frontage based on the height calculated in step S312 and the class height in the classification result in step S313. By performing the process, the sorting destination is assigned to the sorting frontage 31.
　なお、物品が小さい（物品のサイズが所定値未満の）場合、小さな仕分け間口３１を利用することができるので、間口設定処理部１１３は、仕分け間口３１のうち、小さい仕分け間口３１を優先的に割り当てる。ただし、小さい物品は、大きい仕分け間口３１にも収納することができるため、仕分け間口３１を制限しなくてもよい。つまり、間口設定処理部１１３は、サイズが所定値以上の物品を有する仕分け先にについて優先的に仕分け間口３１の割り当てを行う。そして、間口設定処理部１１３は、サイズが所定値未満の物品をについて、サイズが所定値以上の物品の割り当て後に空いている仕分け間口３１を割り当てるようにすることが望ましい。 Note that when the article is small (the article size is less than the predetermined value), the small sorting front 31 can be used, so the front setting processing unit 113 preferentially selects the smaller sorting front 31 among the sorting front 31. assign. However, since small articles can be stored in the large sorting front 31, it is not necessary to limit the sorting front 31. That is, the frontage setting processing unit 113 preferentially assigns the sorting frontage 31 to a sorting destination having an article having a size equal to or larger than a predetermined value. And it is desirable that the frontage setting processing unit 113 assigns a sorting frontage 31 that is vacant after assignment of an article having a size greater than or equal to a predetermined value for an article having a size less than a predetermined value.
　このように、サイズによる仕分け間口３１の割り当てを行うことで、サイズが大きい物品については、その物品を収納可能な仕分け間口３１を仕分け先に割り当てるため、作業員がサイズの大きい物品を収納可能な仕分け間口３１を探す必要がなくなる。それにより、ピッキング作業の効率を向上させることができる。 In this way, by assigning the sorting frontage 31 by size, for a large-sized article, the sorting frontage 31 capable of storing the article is assigned to the sorting destination, so that the worker can store the large-sized article. There is no need to search for the sorting frontage 31. Thereby, the efficiency of picking work can be improved.
　なお、間口設定処理部１１３は、物品の重さによる仕分け間口３１の割り当てを優先して行ってもよいし、物品のサイズによる仕分け間口３１の割り当てを優先して行ってもよい。 Note that the frontage setting processing unit 113 may give priority to the assignment of the sorting frontage 31 according to the weight of the article, or may give priority to the assignment of the sorting frontage 31 according to the size of the article.
　第４実施形態によれば、物品の重さや、サイズに基づいて物品を収納する仕分け間口３１を設定することができる。特に、重い物品が存在する場合、重い物品を上方の仕分け間口３１に収納することを防止することができるため、作業員の負担を軽減することができ、ピッキング作業の効率を向上させることができる。また、サイズが大きい物品については、その物品を収納可能な仕分け間口３１を仕分け先に割り当てるため、作業員がサイズの大きい物品を収納可能な仕分け間口３１を探す必要がなくなる。それにより、ピッキング作業の効率を向上させることができる。 According to the fourth embodiment, it is possible to set the sorting frontage 31 for storing articles based on the weight and size of the articles. In particular, when there is a heavy article, it is possible to prevent the heavy article from being stored in the upper sorting front 31, so that the burden on the worker can be reduced and the efficiency of the picking work can be improved. . In addition, for an article having a large size, the sorting opening 31 capable of storing the article is assigned to the sorting destination, so that it is not necessary for the worker to search for the sorting opening 31 capable of storing the article having a large size. Thereby, the efficiency of picking work can be improved.
　なお、図１２において、ステップＳ３０２の結果、選択された仕分け先が上位Ｋ番目以内に入っている場合（Ｓ３０２→Ｙｅｓ）、間口設定処理部１１３はステップＳ１０４及びステップＳ１０５の処理を行うことで、仕分け間口３１の割当を行っている。このように上位Ｋ番目以内のアクセス数を有する仕分け先については、第１実施形態と同様の手法による仕分け間口３１の割り当てを行うことで、アクセス数の多い仕分け先については作業のしやすさを基に仕分け間口３１が割り当てられる。この結果、ピッキング作業の効率を向上させることができる。
　また、図１２において、Ｋ＝０であれば、上位Ｋ番目以内であるか否かにかかわらず、ステップＳ３１１～Ｓ４０２の処理が行われる。 In FIG. 12, when the selected sorting destination is within the top Kth as a result of step S302 (S302 → Yes), the frontage setting processing unit 113 performs the processing of step S104 and step S105, The sorting frontage 31 is assigned. As described above, for the sorting destinations having the number of accesses within the top Kth, the sorting frontage 31 is assigned by the same method as in the first embodiment, so that the sorting destination having a large number of accesses can be easily operated. Based on this, a sorting frontage 31 is assigned. As a result, the efficiency of picking work can be improved.
In FIG. 12, if K = 0, the processes of steps S311 to S402 are performed regardless of whether or not it is within the top Kth.
　なお、本実施形態では、アクセス数が上位Ｋ＋１番目以降の仕分け先について、ステップＳ３１１～Ｓ４０２の処理が行われたが、アクセス数が所定の値以下の仕分け先について、ステップＳ３１１～Ｓ４０２の処理が行われてもよい。 In this embodiment, the processes of steps S311 to S402 are performed for the sorting destinations with the access number K + 1 or higher, but the processes of steps S311 to S402 are performed for the sorting destinations with the access number equal to or less than a predetermined value. It may be done.
［第５実施形態］
　図１９は、表示器の例を示す図である。
　図１９に示すように、格納棚２における格納間口２１及び仕分け棚３における仕分け間口３１の上部に表示器６０１が備えられている。表示器６０１は、ランプ６１１と、表示窓６１２を有している。ＷＭＳ６は、ピッキングされる部品が格納されている格納間口２１にランプ６１１を点灯させ、オーダされている個数を表示窓６１２に表示させる。このとき、ＷＭＳ６は、間口設定装置１から送信されるオーダ組データと、格納棚データベース１２３（図１１、図１６参照）に格納されている格納棚データ（図１３参照）とを基に、ランプ６１１及び表示窓６１２の表示を行う。すなわち、ＷＭＳ６は、オーダ組データにおいて、仕分け先を選択し、その仕分け先がオーダしている物品のうち、１つを選択する。そして、ＷＭＳ６は、選択した物品の物品ＩＤと、個数をオーダ組データから取得すると、物品ＩＤをキーとして、格納棚ＤＢ１２３における格納棚データを検索し、該物品が格納されている格納間口２１のＩＤ（格納間口ＩＤ）を取得する。そして、ＷＭＳ６は、取得した格納間口ＩＤに該当する格納間口２１のランプ６１１を点灯させ、表示窓６１２にオーダ組データから取得した物品の個数を表示する。
　作業員は、ランプ６１１が点灯している格納間口２１から、表示窓６１２に表示されている個数だけ物品を取得する。 [Fifth Embodiment]
FIG. 19 is a diagram illustrating an example of a display.
As shown in FIG. 19, a display 601 is provided above the storage front 21 in the storage shelf 2 and the sorting front 31 in the sorting shelf 3. The display 601 includes a lamp 611 and a display window 612. The WMS 6 turns on the lamp 611 in the storage opening 21 in which the parts to be picked are stored, and displays the number of orders on the display window 612. At this time, the WMS 6 uses the order set data transmitted from the frontage setting device 1 and the storage shelf data (see FIG. 13) stored in the storage shelf database 123 (see FIGS. 11 and 16) to 611 and the display window 612 are displayed. That is, the WMS 6 selects a sorting destination in the order set data, and selects one of the articles ordered by the sorting destination. When the WMS 6 acquires the article ID and the number of the selected article from the order set data, the WMS 6 searches the storage shelf data in the storage shelf DB 123 using the article ID as a key, and stores the storage shelf 21 in which the article is stored. ID (storage frontage ID) is acquired. Then, the WMS 6 turns on the lamp 611 of the storage front 21 corresponding to the acquired storage front ID, and displays the number of articles acquired from the order set data on the display window 612.
The worker acquires the number of articles displayed in the display window 612 from the storage opening 21 where the lamp 611 is lit.
　また、ＷＭＳ６は、間口設定処理部で割り当てられた仕分け間口３１にランプ６１１を表示させ、オーダにおける個数を表示窓６１２に表示させる。このとき、ＷＭＳ６は、割当結果データ（図７参照）を参照し、ピッキング対象となっている仕分け先のＩＤ（仕分け先ＩＤ）が割り当てられている仕分け間口３１のＩＤ（仕分け間口ＩＤ）を取得する。そして、ＷＭＳ６は、取得した仕分け間口ＩＤに該当する仕分け間口３１におけるランプ６１１を点灯させ、表示窓６１２にオーダ組データから取得した物品の個数（ピッキングする物品の個数）を表示する。
　作業員は、ランプ６１１が表示している仕分け間口３１に、表示窓６１２に表示されている個数だけ物品を収納する。
　なお、仕分け間口３１における表示窓６１２は省略可能である。 In addition, the WMS 6 displays the lamp 611 on the sorting frontage 31 assigned by the frontage setting processing unit, and displays the number in the order on the display window 612. At this time, the WMS 6 refers to the allocation result data (see FIG. 7), and acquires the ID (sorting front ID) of the sorting front 31 to which the ID (sorting ID) of the sorting target to be picked is assigned. To do. Then, the WMS 6 turns on the lamp 611 in the sorting slot 31 corresponding to the acquired sorting slot ID, and displays the number of articles (number of articles to be picked) acquired from the order set data on the display window 612.
The worker stores the number of articles displayed in the display window 612 in the sorting window 31 displayed by the lamp 611.
In addition, the display window 612 in the sorting frontage 31 can be omitted.
　また、図２０（ａ）に示すピッキングシステムでは、バーコード読取機７０１が備えられている。この場合、仕分け棚３にはランプが備えられていることが望ましい。ここで、図２０に示される仕分け棚３は５段６列の仕分け間口３１を有している。
　作業員Ｐが、搬送車４によって移動可能となっている格納棚２から取り出した物品に貼付されているバーコードをバーコード読取機７０１にかざすと、バーコード読取機７０１がかざされたバーコードの情報を読み取る。格納棚２の各格納間口２１にはランプが備えられ、ＷＭＳ６がピッキング対象となっている物品の物品ＩＤを基に、このランプを点灯し、作業員Ｐはランプが点灯している格納間口２１から物品を取り出してもよい。ＷＭＳ６は、読み取られたバーコードの情報と、割当結果データ（図７参照）とを基に、バーコードが貼付されている（ピッキング対象となっている）物品と仕分け先を特定する。すなわち、ＷＭＳ６は、読み取られたバーコードの情報を基に、物品ＩＤを特定する。そして、ＷＭＳ６は、特定した物品ＩＤをキーとして、割当結果データを検索することで、この物品ＩＤに対応付けられている仕分け間口ＩＤを取得する。そして、ＷＭＳ６は、取得した仕分け間口ＩＤに該当する仕分け間口３１のランプを点灯させる。
　作業員Ｐは、ピッキングしている物品をランプが点灯している仕分け間口３１に収納する。 In the picking system shown in FIG. 20A, a barcode reader 701 is provided. In this case, it is desirable that the sorting shelf 3 is provided with a lamp. Here, the sorting shelf 3 shown in FIG. 20 has five stages and six rows of sorting openings 31.
When the worker P holds the barcode attached to the article taken out from the storage shelf 2 that can be moved by the transport vehicle 4 over the barcode reader 701, the barcode on which the barcode reader 701 is held. Read information. Each storage opening 21 of the storage shelf 2 is provided with a lamp, and the WMS 6 lights this lamp based on the article ID of the article to be picked, and the worker P has the storage opening 21 in which the lamp is lit. The article may be taken out from. The WMS 6 identifies the article to which the barcode is attached (targeted for picking) and the sorting destination based on the read barcode information and the allocation result data (see FIG. 7). That is, the WMS 6 identifies the article ID based on the read barcode information. Then, the WMS 6 searches the allocation result data using the specified article ID as a key, thereby acquiring a sorting frontage ID associated with the article ID. Then, the WMS 6 lights the lamp of the sorting frontage 31 corresponding to the acquired sorting frontage ID.
The worker P stores the picked article in the sorting front 31 where the lamp is lit.
　なお、バーコードに限らず、ＱＲ（Quick Response）コードや、ＲＦＩＤ（Radio Frequency Identification）等が物品に貼付もしくは備えられていてもよい。 In addition, not only a barcode but QR (Quick Response) code, RFID (Radio Frequency Identification), etc. may be affixed or provided on the article.
　図２０（ｂ）に示すピッキングシステムでは表示端末７１１が備えられている。表示端末７１１にはピッキング対象となる物品が保管されている格納棚２の格納間口２１に関する情報と、仕分け先となる仕分け棚３の仕分け間口３１に関する情報とが表示される。
　つまり、ＷＭＳ６はオーダデータと格納棚データとを基に、格納棚２の格納間口２１に関する情報を表示端末７１１に表示させる。さらに、ＷＭＳ６は、オーダ組データと、割当結果データとを基に、ピッキング対象となっている物品の仕分け先を特定し、該仕分け先に割り当てられている仕分け間口３１に関する情報を表示端末７１１に表示する。 In the picking system shown in FIG. 20B, a display terminal 711 is provided. The display terminal 711 displays information related to the storage front 21 of the storage shelf 2 in which articles to be picked are stored, and information related to the sorting front 31 of the sorting shelf 3 serving as a sorting destination.
That is, the WMS 6 causes the display terminal 711 to display information regarding the storage frontage 21 of the storage shelf 2 based on the order data and the storage shelf data. Further, the WMS 6 specifies the sorting destination of the article to be picked based on the order set data and the allocation result data, and information on the sorting frontage 31 assigned to the sorting destination is displayed on the display terminal 711. indicate.
　図２０（ｃ）は、表示端末７１１における表示画面の例を示す図である。
　表示画面には、格納棚２を示す表示７２１と、仕分け棚３を示す表示７２２とが表示されている。そして、表示７２１では、ピッキング対象となる物品が格納されている格納間口２１が強調表示（斜線）されている。同様に、表示７２２では、ピッキング対象となる物品が収納される（収納先の）仕分け間口３１が強調表示（斜線）されている。表示７２２は、割当結果データを基に、ＷＭＳ６（図１等）が表示させるものである。
　表示端末７１１に表示される情報は、図１９におけるランプ６１１及び表示窓６１２を表示させる格納間口２１と、仕分け間口３１の特定と同様の処理で取得される情報であるので、ここでの説明を省略する。 FIG. 20C is a diagram illustrating an example of a display screen on the display terminal 711.
On the display screen, a display 721 indicating the storage shelf 2 and a display 722 indicating the sorting shelf 3 are displayed. In the display 721, the storage front 21 in which the article to be picked is stored is highlighted (hatched). Similarly, in the display 722, the sorting frontage 31 in which an article to be picked is stored (storage destination) is highlighted (hatched). The display 722 is displayed by the WMS 6 (FIG. 1 and the like) based on the allocation result data.
The information displayed on the display terminal 711 is information obtained by the same processing as the specification of the storage frontage 21 and the sorting frontage 31 for displaying the lamp 611 and the display window 612 in FIG. Omitted.
　また、表示画面には、格納間口２１から取り出し、仕分け間口３１へ収納する物品の個数の表示（個数表示７２３）が表示されている。この個数表示７２３は、ピッキング対象となっている物品の物品ＩＤをキーとして、ＷＭＳ６が、オーダ組データにおいて物品ＩＤに対応付けられている個数を取得し、表示する情報である。
　作業員Ｐは、表示７２１で強調表示されている格納間口２１から物品を取り出し、表示７２２で強調表示されている仕分け間口に物品を格納する。
　なお、表示端末は、格納棚２側に１台、仕分け棚３側に１台設置されてもよい。この場合、格納棚２側の表示端末には、図２０（ｃ）における表示７２１と個数表示７２３が表示され、仕分け棚３側の表示端末には、図２０（ｃ）における表示７２２と個数表示７２３が表示される。 In addition, the display screen displays a display (number display 723) of the number of articles taken out from the storage slot 21 and stored in the sorting slot 31. This number display 723 is information that the WMS 6 acquires and displays the number associated with the item ID in the order set data using the item ID of the item to be picked as a key.
The worker P takes out the article from the storage frontage 21 highlighted on the display 721 and stores the article in the sorting frontage highlighted on the display 722.
One display terminal may be installed on the storage shelf 2 side and one display terminal on the sorting shelf 3 side. In this case, the display 721 and the number display 723 in FIG. 20C are displayed on the display terminal on the storage shelf 2 side, and the display 722 and the number display in FIG. 20C are displayed on the display terminal on the sorting shelf 3 side. 723 is displayed.
　第５実施形態では、仕分け間口３１の割当結果等を基に、ピッキング元（取出し元）となる格納間口２１や、ピッキング先（収納先＝仕分け先）となる仕分け間口３１を作業員Ｐに示すことができる。これにより、作業員Ｐは、どの格納間口２１から物品を取り出し、どの仕分け間口３１へ収納するのかを視認しやすくなる。これにより、ピッキング作業の効率を向上させることできるとともに、誤ったピッキングを防止することができる。 In the fifth embodiment, based on the allocation result of the sorting frontage 31 and the like, the storage front 21 serving as the picking source (removing source) and the sorting frontage 31 serving as the picking destination (storage destination = sorting destination) are shown to the worker P. be able to. This makes it easier for the worker P to visually recognize from which storage opening 21 the article is taken out and stored in which sorting opening 31. Thereby, the efficiency of picking work can be improved and erroneous picking can be prevented.
　なお、仕分け棚３が移動棚である場合、横方向の優先順位は設定されなくてもよい。
　また、第２Ｂ実施形態において、作業員データに個々の作業員が右利きか、左利きかに関する情報等が格納されていてもよい。そして、間口設定処理部１１３は、例えば、作業員が右利きであれば、右方向の仕分け間口３１の優先順位を上げ、左利きであれば、左方向の仕分け間口３１の優先順位を上げるようにしてもよい。 When the sorting shelf 3 is a moving shelf, the priority in the horizontal direction may not be set.
Moreover, in 2B embodiment, the information regarding whether each worker is right-handed or left-handed may be stored in the worker data. The frontage setting processing unit 113 increases the priority of the right sorting frontage 31 if the worker is right-handed, and increases the priority of the left frontage frontage 31 if left-handed. May be.
　また、本実施形態に係る間口設定システムＺ，Ｚａ～Ｚｃは、シングルピッキングに用いられてもよいし、トータルピッキングの一部に用いられてもよい。 Further, the frontage setting systems Z and Za to Zc according to the present embodiment may be used for single picking or may be used for part of total picking.
　本発明は前記した実施形態に限定されるものではなく、様々な変形例が含まれる。例えば、前記した実施形態は本発明を分かりやすく説明するために詳細に説明したものであり、必ずしも説明したすべての構成を有するものに限定されるものではない。また、ある実施形態の構成の一部を他の実施形態の構成に置き換えることが可能であり、ある実施形態の構成に他の実施形態の構成を加えることも可能である。また、各実施形態の構成の一部について、他の構成の追加・削除・置換をすることが可能である。 The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and includes various modifications. For example, the above-described embodiment has been described in detail for easy understanding of the present invention, and is not necessarily limited to having all the configurations described. In addition, a part of the configuration of a certain embodiment can be replaced with the configuration of another embodiment, and the configuration of another embodiment can be added to the configuration of a certain embodiment. In addition, it is possible to add, delete, and replace other configurations for a part of the configuration of each embodiment.
　また、前記した各構成、機能、各部１１１～１１５、各ＤＢ５，１２１～１２４等は、それらの一部又はすべてを、例えば集積回路で設計すること等によりハードウェアで実現してもよい。また、図２に示すように、前記した各構成、機能等は、ＣＰＵ１０２等のプロセッサがそれぞれの機能を実現するプログラムを解釈し、実行することによりソフトウェアで実現してもよい。各機能を実現するプログラム、テーブル、ファイル等の情報は、ＨＤに格納すること以外に、メモリや、ＳＳＤ（Solid State Drive）等の記録装置、又は、ＩＣ（Integrated Circuit）カードや、ＳＤ（Secure Digital）カード、ＤＶＤ（Digital Versatile Disc）等の記録媒体に格納することができる。
　また、各実施形態において、制御線や情報線は説明上必要と考えられるものを示しており、製品上必ずしもすべての制御線や情報線を示しているとは限らない。実際には、ほとんどすべての構成が相互に接続されていると考えてよい。 Further, each of the above-described configurations, functions, the respective units 111 to 115, the respective DBs 5, 121 to 124, etc. may be realized by hardware by designing a part or all of them with, for example, an integrated circuit. Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the above-described configurations, functions, and the like may be realized by software by interpreting and executing a program that realizes each function by a processor such as the CPU 102. In addition to storing information such as programs, tables, and files for realizing each function in the HD, a memory, a recording device such as an SSD (Solid State Drive), an IC (Integrated Circuit) card, an SD (Secure It can be stored in a recording medium such as a Digital) card or DVD (Digital Versatile Disc).
In each embodiment, control lines and information lines are those that are considered necessary for explanation, and not all control lines and information lines are necessarily shown on the product. In practice, it can be considered that almost all configurations are connected to each other.
　１　　　間口設定装置
　２　　　格納棚
　３　　　仕分け棚
　４　　　搬送車
　５　　　作業ＤＢ（記憶部、仕分け先情報を含む）
　６　　　ＷＭＳ
　７　　　棚ＤＢ（格納棚情報、仕分け棚情報を含む）
　２１　　格納間口
　３１　　仕分け間口
　１１０　処理部
　１１１　データ取得部
　１１２　オーダ組生成部
　１１３　間口設定処理部
　１１４　優先条件生成部（優先順位生成部）
　１１５　格納棚検索部
　１２１　割当条件ＤＢ（記憶部、優先順位情報を含む）
　１２２　作業員ＤＢ
　１２３　格納棚ＤＢ（記憶部、格納情報を含む）
　１２４　物品サイズＤＢ（記憶部、重さ情報及びサイズ情報を含む） DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Frontage setting apparatus 2 Storage shelf 3 Sorting shelf 4 Transport vehicle 5 Work DB (a memory | storage part and sorting destination information are included)
6 WMS
7 Shelf DB (including storage shelf information and sorting shelf information)
21 Storage Front 31 Sorting Front 110 Processing Unit 111 Data Acquisition Unit 112 Order Group Generation Unit 113 Front Port Setting Processing Unit 114 Priority Condition Generation Unit (Priority Order Generation Unit)
115 Storage shelf search unit 121 Allocation condition DB (including storage unit and priority information)
122 Worker DB
123 Storage shelf DB (including storage and storage information)
124 article size DB (including storage, weight information and size information)

Claims (14)

  1. 　格納棚から取得された物品が仕分け先毎に仕分けて収納される複数の仕分け間口を有する仕分け棚における、各仕分け間口への収納作業の容易さを示す優先順位に関する優先順位情報と、
    　前記物品の仕分け先に関する情報である仕分け先情報と、
    　が格納される記憶部と、
    　前記仕分け先情報を基に、前記収納作業の回数を、前記仕分け先毎に算出し、前記算出された前記収納作業の回数が大きい仕分け先ほど、前記優先順位の高い仕分け間口を割り当てる間口設定処理部と、
    　を有することを特徴とする間口設定システム。     In the sorting shelf having a plurality of sorting fronts in which articles acquired from the storage shelves are sorted and stored for each sorting destination, priority information on priority indicating the ease of storing work in each sorting front;
    Sorting destination information that is information about the sorting destination of the article;
    A storage unit for storing
    A frontage setting processing unit that calculates the number of times of the storing work for each of the sorting destinations based on the sorting destination information, and assigns a sorting front having a higher priority to a sorting destination having a larger number of the calculated storing work. When,
    A frontage setting system characterized by comprising:
  2. 　前記優先順位は、前記収納作業に際して、作業員が屈む作業となる高さ位置の低い前記仕分け間口、及び、作業員が前記荷物を持ち上げる作業となる高さ位置の高い前記仕分け間口に対して、その他の仕分け間口よりも低い値が、設定される
    　ことを特徴とする請求項１に記載の間口設定システム。     In the storage operation, the priority is low for the sorting entrance with a low height position that is a work that the worker bends, and the sorting entrance with a high height position that is a work for the worker to lift the load, The frontage setting system according to claim 1, wherein a value lower than that of other sorting frontage is set.
  3. 　前記優先順位は、前記仕分け棚における各仕分け間口の高さ位置に関する情報と作業員の身体的特徴量とに基づいて設定される
    　ことを特徴とする請求項１に記載の間口設定システム。     2. The frontage setting system according to claim 1, wherein the priority is set based on information on a height position of each sorting frontage in the sorting shelf and a physical feature amount of an operator.
  4. 　前記優先順位は、前記仕分け棚における各仕分け間口の横方向の位置に関する情報と作業員の作業位置とに基づいて設定される
    　ことを特徴とする請求項１に記載の間口設定システム。     2. The frontage setting system according to claim 1, wherein the priority is set based on information on a lateral position of each sorting frontage in the sorting shelf and a work position of a worker.
  5. 　作業員の身体的特徴量に基づいて、前記優先順位を生成する優先順位生成部
    　を有することを特徴とする請求項１に記載の間口設定システム。     The frontage setting system according to claim 1, further comprising: a priority generation unit that generates the priority based on a physical feature amount of a worker.
  6. 　前記身体的特徴量は、
    　個々の作業員のものである
    　ことを特徴とする請求項５に記載の間口設定システム。     The physical feature amount is:
    The frontage setting system according to claim 5, which belongs to an individual worker.
  7. 　前記仕分け棚及び前記格納棚の少なくとも一方が、移動可能な移動棚である
    　ことを特徴とする請求項１に記載の間口設定システム。     The frontage setting system according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the sorting shelf and the storage shelf is a movable shelf.
  8. 　物品が格納される複数の格納間口を有する格納棚における、各格納間口の高さ位置に関する情報である格納棚情報と、
    　前記格納棚から取得された物品が仕分け先毎に仕分けて収納される複数の仕分け間口を有する仕分け棚における、各仕分け間口の高さ位置に関する情報である仕分け棚情報と、
    　前記物品の仕分け先に関する情報である仕分け先情報と、
    　が格納される記憶部と、
    　前記仕分け先情報に基づいて仕分け先毎に前記仕分け間口を割り当てる際に、前記格納間口の高さ位置と前記仕分け間口の高さ位置とに基づき、両方の高さ位置が近い同士での物品の収納作業となるように、前記仕分け間口を割り当てる間口設定処理部を
    　有することを特徴とする間口設定システム。     Storage shelf information that is information on the height position of each storage frontage in a storage shelf having a plurality of storage frontages in which articles are stored;
    Sorting shelf information that is information on the height position of each sorting front in a sorting shelf having a plurality of sorting fronts in which the articles acquired from the storage shelves are sorted and stored for each sorting destination;
    Sorting destination information that is information about the sorting destination of the article;
    A storage unit for storing
    When assigning the sorting frontage for each sorting destination based on the sorting destination information, based on the height position of the storage frontage and the height position of the sorting frontage, it is possible to A frontage setting system comprising a frontage setting processing unit for assigning the sorting frontage so as to be stored.
  9. 　前記記憶部は、
    　格納棚から取得された物品が仕分けられる仕分け棚における仕分け間口への収納作業の容易さを示す優先順位に関する情報である優先順位情報を
    　有しており、
    　前記間口設定処理部は、
    　前記仕分け先情報を基に、前記仕分け間口における前記物品の前記収納作業の回数を、前記仕分け先毎に算出し、
    　前記収納作業の回数が、所定の値以上である仕分け先については、前記算出された収納作業の回数が大きければ大きいほど、前記算出された前記収納作業の回数が大きい仕分け先ほど、前記優先順位情報における前記優先順位の高い仕分け間口を割り当て、
    　前記所定の値未満である仕分け先については、前記仕分け先情報に基づいて仕分け先毎に前記仕分け間口を割り当てる際に、前記格納間口の高さ位置と前記仕分け間口の高さ位置とに基づき、両方の高さ位置が近い同士での物品の収納作業となるように、前記仕分け間口を割り当てる
    　ことを特徴とする請求項８に記載の間口設定システム。     The storage unit
    It has priority information, which is information related to the priority indicating the ease of storage work at the sorting front in the sorting shelf where the items acquired from the storage shelf are sorted,
    The frontage setting processing unit
    Based on the sorting destination information, for each sorting destination, calculate the number of times the storage work of the article in the sorting frontage,
    For sorting destinations in which the number of storage operations is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, the higher the calculated number of storage operations, the higher the calculated number of storage operations, the priority information. Assigning a high priority sorting front in
    For sorting destinations that are less than the predetermined value, when assigning the sorting frontage for each sorting destination based on the sorting destination information, based on the height position of the storage frontage and the height position of the sorting frontage, The frontage setting system according to claim 8, wherein the sorting frontage is assigned so as to perform an article storing operation in which both height positions are close to each other.
  10. 　前記仕分け棚及び前記格納棚の少なくとも一方が、移動可能な移動棚である
    　ことを特徴とする請求項８に記載の間口設定システム。     The frontage setting system according to claim 8, wherein at least one of the sorting shelf and the storage shelf is a movable shelf.
  11. 　物品が格納される複数の格納間口を有する格納棚における、各格納間口の高さ位置に関する情報である格納棚情報と、
    　前記格納棚から取得された物品が仕分け先毎に仕分けて収納される複数の仕分け間口を有する仕分け棚における、各仕分け間口の高さ位置に関する情報である仕分け棚情報と、
    　前記物品の重さに関する情報である重さ情報と、
    　前記物品の仕分け先に関する情報である仕分け先情報と、
    　が格納される記憶部と、
    　前記物品の重さが所定の値以上である場合、前記仕分け先情報に基づいて仕分け先毎に前記仕分け間口を割り当てる際に、前記格納間口の高さ位置と前記仕分け間口の高さ位置とに基づき、前記物品が格納されている前記格納間口の位置の高さより低い位置にある仕分け間口への物品の収納作業となるように、前記物品の仕分け間口を割り当てる間口設定処理部と、
    　を有することを特徴とする間口設定システム。     Storage shelf information that is information on the height position of each storage frontage in a storage shelf having a plurality of storage frontages in which articles are stored;
    Sorting shelf information that is information on the height position of each sorting front in a sorting shelf having a plurality of sorting fronts in which the articles acquired from the storage shelves are sorted and stored for each sorting destination;
    Weight information that is information about the weight of the article;
    Sorting destination information that is information about the sorting destination of the article;
    A storage unit for storing
    When the weight of the article is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, when assigning the sorting front for each sorting destination based on the sorting destination information, the height of the storage front and the height of the sorting front A frontage setting processing unit for assigning the sorting frontage of the article so as to be a storing operation of the article in the sorting frontage located at a position lower than the height of the storage frontage where the article is stored,
    A frontage setting system characterized by comprising:
  12. 　前記記憶部には、
    　前記物品の大きさに関する情報であるサイズ情報が格納されており、
    　前記間口設定処理部は、
    　前記サイズ情報を基に、前記物品が格納可能な仕分け間口を検出し、該検出した仕分け間口に収納対象となる物品の仕分け先を割り当てる
    　ことを特徴とする請求項１１に記載の間口設定システム。     In the storage unit,
    Size information that is information on the size of the article is stored,
    The frontage setting processing unit
    12. The frontage setting system according to claim 11, wherein a frontage that can store the article is detected based on the size information, and a sorting destination of an article to be stored is assigned to the detected frontage.
  13. 　前記記憶部は、
    　格納棚から取得された物品が仕分けられる仕分け棚における仕分け間口への収納作業の容易さを示す優先順位に関する情報である優先順位情報を
    　有しており、
    　前記間口設定処理部は、
    　前記仕分け先情報を基に、前記仕分け間口における前記物品の前記収納作業の回数を、前記仕分け先毎に算出し、
    　前記収納作業の回数が、所定の値以上である仕分け先については、前記算出された前記収納作業の回数が大きい仕分け先ほど、前記優先順位の高い仕分け間口を割り当て、
    　前記所定の値未満である仕分け先については、前記物品の重さが所定の値以上である場合、前記仕分け先情報に基づいて仕分け先毎に前記仕分け間口を割り当てる際に、前記格納間口の高さ位置と前記仕分け間口の高さ位置とに基づき、前記物品が格納されている前記格納間口の位置の高さより低い位置にある仕分け間口への物品の収納作業となるように、前記物品の仕分け間口を割り当てる
    　ことを特徴とする請求項１１に記載の間口設定システム。     The storage unit
    It has priority information, which is information related to the priority indicating the ease of storage work at the sorting front in the sorting shelf where the items acquired from the storage shelf are sorted,
    The frontage setting processing unit
    Based on the sorting destination information, for each sorting destination, calculate the number of times the storage work of the article in the sorting frontage,
    For sorting destinations in which the number of storage operations is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, a sorting destination having a higher priority is assigned to a sorting destination having a larger number of the calculated storage operations,
    For a sorting destination that is less than the predetermined value, when the weight of the article is greater than or equal to a predetermined value, when assigning the sorting front for each sorting destination based on the sorting destination information, Based on the height position and the height position of the sorting frontage, the sorting of the articles is performed so as to store the articles in the sorting frontage at a position lower than the height of the storage frontage where the articles are stored. The frontage setting system according to claim 11, wherein frontage is assigned.
  14. 　前記仕分け棚及び前記格納棚の少なくとも一方が、移動可能な移動棚である
    　ことを特徴とする請求項１１に記載の間口設定システム。     The frontage setting system according to claim 11, wherein at least one of the sorting shelf and the storage shelf is a movable shelf.
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