TWI836174B - Container management system, container management device and container management method - Google Patents

Abstract

One object of the present invention is to manage a gas container more easily, and the present invention provides a container management system comprising: a plurality of storages for storing gas containers, and a management device which is configured to obtain an estimated date indicating a timing to change the gas container based on a consumption transition of the gas container used in the storage, and determines whether or not to order a gas container based on the estimated date obtained, inventory information of the gas container, and a time required for delivery of the gas container.

Description

Container management system, container management device and container management method

The present invention relates to a container management system, a container management device and a container management method.

In the past, companies that provide high-pressure gas filled high-pressure gas into containers at high-pressure gas filling plants, and then delivered them to various stores via collection trucks. The containers filled with high-pressure gas were then delivered from various stores to the users. The containers that were used up at the users' locations were collected by various stores. The containers collected at various stores were collected and returned to the filling plants by collection trucks. At the filling plants, the collected containers were filled with high-pressure gas again. The containers filled with high-pressure gas were again delivered to various stores and then to the users' locations. In this way, containers for filling high-pressure gas (hereinafter referred to as "gas containers" (commonly known as "gas cylinders")) circulate between filling plants, stores, and users. Users of high-pressure gas must properly manage gas containers in accordance with relevant laws and regulations such as the High-Pressure Gas Safety Act. In the past, there have been systems for managing gas containers (e.g., Patent Documents 1 and 2).

[Prior technical literature]

[Patent Document]

[Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2015-222551

[Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2018-96521

However, in the past, personnel periodically checked the remaining amount of gas in gas containers to estimate the consumption trend, and evaluated the timing of ordering based on the standard delivery period of gas containers and the number of gas containers in stock. In particular, when estimating the consumption trend, the consumption trend is also graphed and estimated depending on the situation. Such operations are very labor-intensive and time-consuming. Therefore, there is a need for technology that can manage gas containers more easily.

In view of the above-mentioned issues, the present invention aims to provide a technology that can more easily manage gas containers.

One aspect of the present invention is a container management system, which comprises: a plurality of storages storing gas containers; and a management device, which obtains an estimated date indicating the time to switch the gas containers from the consumption of the gas containers used in the plurality of storages, and determines whether to order the gas containers based on the obtained estimated date, the inventory information of the gas containers, and the period required for the delivery of the gas containers.

In one aspect of the present invention, in the above-mentioned container management system, part of the storage is a cylindrical cabinet, and the management device predicts gas consumption using a learned model, and the learned model is based on The model is a model obtained by learning such that the amount of gas filled in the gas container becomes less than the threshold value as the consumption of the gas container used in the cylindrical cabinet changes.

According to one aspect of the present invention, in the above-mentioned container management system, the management device determines whether the gas ordering condition is satisfied based on a gas consumption forecast, inventory information of the gas container, and a period required for delivery of the gas container. And when the gas ordering conditions are met, automatic ordering of the aforementioned gas containers or output of information to facilitate the ordering is performed.

One aspect of the present invention is a container management device provided with a control unit that estimates based on the consumption of gas containers used in each of a plurality of storages storing gas containers. The estimated date, the inventory information of the gas container, and the period required for the delivery of the gas container are used to determine whether to order the gas container.

One aspect of the present invention is a container management method, which comprises: obtaining an estimated date indicating the time to switch the gas container from the change in the consumption of each gas container used in a plurality of storages storing gas containers; and determining whether to order the gas container based on the obtained estimated date, the inventory information of the gas container, and the period required for the delivery of the gas container.

According to the present invention, gas containers can be managed more easily.

1: Gas container management system

1a: Gas container management system

2: Trolley for transporting gas cylinders

2-1: Trolley for transporting gas cylinders

2-2: Cart for transporting gas cylinders

3: Tags

4: Roller

10: Transport vehicles

11: Loading section

12:Car body

13:Wheels

14: Concave part

15:Sliding support mechanism

16a:Emergency stop button

16b: Display machine

16c: Operation switch

16d: Antenna

20: Robot for loading and unloading

21:Maintaining mechanism

21a: A pair of arms

22:Sliding drive mechanism

22a: Sliding shaft

24: Control Department

25:Memory Department

26:Mobile Control Department

30: Communication device

31:Camera Department

32: Memory Department

33: Display unit

34:Operation Department

35: Control Department

36: Communications Department

40,40a,40b: Management device

41: Communications Department

42: Operation Department

43,43a,43b: Memory

44: Display unit

45,45a,45b: Control Department

50: Write device

60: Gas cylinder storage

60-1: Gas cylinder storage

60-2: Gas cylinder storage warehouse

60-3: Gas cylinder storage warehouse

60-4: Gas cylinder storage

61: Reading device

70: Cylindrical cabinet

71: Reading device

71-1:Area

71-2:Area

80: Internet

90: Electronic label

100: Operation terminal

101:Communication Department

102: Operation Department

103: Control Department

104: Display unit

105: Path information memory unit

241:Communication Control Department

242: Moving in and out control department

251: Path table

431:Container table

432: Management table

433: Car information

434: Gas utilization information

435: Prediction Model

441:Show selection area

442: Storage warehouse status display area

443: Receive information display area

444: Storage display area

445: Pop-up window

B: Gas container

Be: Replacement target gas container

Bf: Gas container to be moved in

FIG1 is a diagram showing the system configuration of the gas container management system of the first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram showing the functional structure of the communication device of the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a schematic block diagram showing the functional structure of the management device of the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a container table of the first embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the management table of the first embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a sequence diagram showing the flow of gas container registration processing in the gas container management system according to the first embodiment.

7 is a sequence diagram showing the flow of processing when moving a gas container in the gas container management system according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on the screen of the display unit according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on the screen of the display unit in the first embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the appearance of a gas cylinder transport trolley according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing the system configuration of the gas container management system according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a schematic block diagram showing the functional structure of the operation terminal of the second embodiment.

FIG. 13 is a schematic block diagram showing the functional structure of the management device of the second embodiment.

FIG. 14 is a schematic block diagram showing the internal functional structure of the gas cylinder transport trolley of the second embodiment.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an example of the path table of the second embodiment.

FIG. 16 is a sequence diagram showing the flow of empty bottle unloading processing in the gas container management system according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 17 is a sequence diagram showing the flow of empty bottle unloading processing in the gas container management system according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 18 is a sequence diagram showing the flow of real bottle loading processing in the gas container management system according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 19 is a sequence diagram showing the flow of real bottle loading processing in the gas container management system according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 20 is a schematic block diagram showing the functional structure of the management device of the third embodiment.

FIG21 is a flow chart showing the order processing process performed by the management device of the third implementation type.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

(First implementation form)

FIG1 is a diagram showing the system configuration of a gas container management system 1 of the first embodiment.

Gas container management system 1 is a system for managing gas containers in a facility. The gas container management system 1 includes a communication device 30 , a management device 40 , a writing device 50 , a bombe stocker 60 and a cylindrical cabinet 70 . The communication device 30 , the management device 40 , the writing device 50 , the gas cylinder storage 60 and the cylindrical cabinet 70 are connected through the network 80 so as to be able to communicate with each other. Network 80 is LAN (Local Area Network). In the following description, the communication device 30, the management device 40, the writing device 50, the gas cylinder storage 60, and the cylinder cabinet 70 are all installed in a facility such as a factory of one customer. That is, in the following description, the gas container management system 1 is a system that manages gas containers in one facility.

The communication device 30 obtains information related to the gas container B (hereinafter referred to as "container information") from the label 3 attached to the gas container B delivered from the gas container B's business or retailer. Generally speaking, the label 3 is attached to the surface of the gas container B, and the label 3 is printed with the container information. Here, the container information includes, for example, at least the container number, gas name, gas concentration, quality assurance period, filling amount, and manufacturing date. The communication device 30 obtains image data by photographing the label 3, for example, using a camera function, and then analyzes the obtained image data. In this way, the communication device 30 obtains the container information recorded on the label 3. The communication device 30 can, for example, use an OCR (Optical Character Reader) function in the analysis of image data.

Although the container information will contain different information depending on the gas company, there is information that is recorded in the gas container B (hereinafter referred to as "required information") that is common to all gas companies. The above-mentioned container number, gas name, gas concentration, quality assurance period, filling amount and manufacturing date are examples of required information. The communication device 30 sends the necessary information among the acquired container information to the management device 40 . The communication device 30 is constituted by a portable information processing device such as a tablet terminal, a smart phone, and a mobile phone. The communication device 30 is an example of an information acquisition device.

The management device 40 is a device that manages the gas container management system 1 . The management device 40 receives necessary information from the communication device 30 and retains the received necessary information. The management device 40 sends the identification information of the identifiable gas container B obtained based on the necessary information to the writing device 50 . Specifically, the management device 40 may send part or all of the necessary information to the writing device 50 as identification information, or may convert the necessary information into a predetermined form and send it to the writing device 50 as identification information. Here, the predetermined form may be, for example, identification information that indicates necessary information (e.g. Such as ID, etc.). In the following description, a configuration in which the management device 40 uses the container number as identification information and sends it to the writing device 50 is explained as an example. When the management device 40 converts necessary information into a predetermined format and sets it as identification information, it retains the converted identification information in the predetermined format.

In addition, the management device 40 receives various information from the cylinder cabinet 70 (e.g., pressure monitoring results, gas leakage monitoring results, information on the remaining amount of gas container B and identification information). Also, the management device 40 receives various information from the gas cylinder storage 60 (e.g., storage space vacancy information and identification information). The management device 40 establishes a corresponding relationship between the gas cylinder storage 60 and the cylinder cabinet 70 and the identification information and maintains it. The identification information is related to the gas container B stored in each of the gas cylinder storage 60 and the cylinder cabinet 70. The management device 40 is constructed using an information processing device such as a personal computer.

The writing device 50 temporarily stores the identification information sent from the management device 40 and writes the stored identification information into the electronic tag 90 according to the user's operation. The writing device 50 is, for example, an RF reader/writer. The writing device 50 only needs to be able to write the identification information into the electronic tag 90, and it does not need to be an RF reader/writer. The writing device 50 is a specific example of a recording device.

The gas cylinder storage warehouse 60 is set up according to the type of gas, and one gas cylinder storage warehouse 60 is a storage warehouse for storing multiple gas containers B. The gas cylinder storage warehouse 60 has a door that can be opened and closed, and multiple gas containers B are stored in an upright and parallel state in the storage space inside. In addition, the gas cylinder storage warehouse 60 also has, for example, a sensor for detecting the vacancy state of the storage space, a control box for controlling the opening and closing of the door, a communication unit (not shown) for communicating with the management device 40, and a reading device 61 (acquisition unit) for reading identification information from the electronic tag 90, and the communication unit sends information on the opening and closing state of the door, vacancy information of the storage space, and identification information to the management device 40.

The cylindrical cabinet 70 is a device for supplying the gas filled in the gas container B to the semiconductor manufacturing equipment, and one cylindrical cabinet 70 is a storage for accommodating a plurality of gas containers B. The cylindrical cabinet 70 opens and closes the door, and stores a pair of gas containers B in a storage space inside the cylindrical cabinet 70 in a state of standing side by side in the width direction. Furthermore, the cylindrical cabinet 70 can supply gas without interrupting the supply of gas by replacing any one of the gas containers B while the gas container B is supplying gas. In addition to this, the cylindrical cabinet 70 is also provided with, for example, piping connected to the gas container B, and a control box for storing equipment for opening and closing doors, opening and closing valves, monitoring pressure, monitoring gas leakage, etc. A piping box (both not shown) for piping connected to semiconductor manufacturing equipment, a reading device 71 (acquisition unit) for reading identification information from the electronic tag 90, and the like. The control box is equipped with a communication unit (not shown) used to communicate with the upper device. Through the communication unit, the door opening and closing information, the valve opening and closing information, the pressure monitoring results, the gas leakage monitoring results, and the remaining gas container B are transmitted. The gas amount information, identification information, etc. are sent to the management device 40 .

The electronic tag 90 is a recording medium that records identification information by means of a writing device 50. The electronic tag 90 is, for example, an RF tag. In this embodiment, the electronic tag 90 is described as a neckband type RF tag, but the electronic tag 90 can be of any type as long as it can be installed in the gas container B.

Here, Figure 1 is used to illustrate the outline of the present invention.

The gas container management system 1 of the present invention uses the communication device 30 to obtain necessary information from the gas container B affixed with the label 3. Various information that differs for each gas company is printed on the label 3. The writing device 50 writes the identification information obtained based on the obtained necessary information into the electronic tag. 90. An electronic tag 90 with identification information written on it is installed on the incoming gas container B. The gas container B equipped with the electronic tag 90 is temporarily stored in the gas cylinder storage 60 by the user. In addition, if the gas container B is actually used, the user stores it in the cylindrical cabinet 70 .

The gas cylinder storage warehouse 60 and cylinder cabinet 70 storing gas container B are equipped with a reading device 61 and a reading device 71 that can read the information written in the electronic tag 90. The reading device 61 and the reading device 71 obtain the information written in the electronic tag 90 and send the obtained information to the management device 40 via a communication unit not shown. In this way, the management device 40 manages the storage locations of multiple gas containers B. Therefore, even if the gas container B is moved, it is easy to grasp which gas cylinder storage warehouse 60 or cylinder cabinet 70 the gas container B is stored in. Then, when the gas container B is to be returned, the electronic tag 90 is removed and the information written in the electronic tag 90 is deleted. In this way, the electronic tag 90 can be reused.

By adopting the above-mentioned architecture, gas containers can be managed more easily.

FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram showing the functional structure of the communication device 30 of the first embodiment. The communication device 30 has a CPU (Central Processing Unit, central processing unit), a memory, an auxiliary memory device, etc. connected via a bus, and executes a control program. By executing the control program, the communication device 30 functions as a device including an imaging unit 31 , a memory unit 32 , a display unit 33 , an operation unit 34 , a control unit 35 and a communication unit 36 . In addition, all or part of each function of the communication device 30 may also be implemented using ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), PLD (Programmable Logic Device) or FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array). Programmable gate array) and other hardware. The control program can be recorded on a computer-readable recording medium. Computer-readable recording media are, for example, floppy disks, magnetic Portable media such as optical discs, ROMs, CD-ROMs, and memory devices such as hard disks built into computer systems. Control programs may also be received or sent via telecommunications lines.

The imaging unit 31 photographs the tag 3 in accordance with the user's operation.

The memory unit 32 stores the image data of the tag 3 captured by the imaging unit 31. The memory unit 32 is formed by a memory device such as a disk device or a semiconductor memory device.

The display unit 33 is an image display device such as a liquid crystal display, an organic EL (Electro Luminescence) display, etc. The display unit 33 displays, for example, the result of image analysis performed by the control unit 35 or an information selection screen. The display unit 33 can also be an interface for connecting the image display device to the communication device 30. In this case, the communication device 30 generates an image signal for displaying information and outputs the image signal to the image display device connected to itself.

The operation unit 34 is composed of existing input devices such as a keyboard, a pointing device (mouse, tablet, etc.), a touch panel, and a button. The operation unit 34 is operated by the user when inputting the user's instructions to the communication device 30. For example, the operation unit 34 receives an instruction to select information.

The control unit 35 controls the operation of the communication device 30. For example, the control unit 35 obtains text information by analyzing the image data stored in the memory unit 32. In this way, the control unit 35 obtains the container information.

The communication unit 36 communicates with other devices. For example, the communication unit 36 communicates with the management device 40 .

FIG. 3 is a schematic block diagram showing the functional configuration of the management device 40 of the first embodiment. The management device 40 is equipped with a CPU, a memory, an auxiliary memory device, etc. connected via a bus, and executes a control program. By executing the control program, the management device 40 is developed as a device including a communication unit 41, an operation unit 42, a memory unit 43, a display unit 44, and a control unit 45. function. In addition, all or part of each function of the management device 40 can also be implemented using hardware such as ASIC, PLD, or FPGA. The control program can be recorded on a computer-readable recording medium. Computer-readable recording media refers to portable media such as floppy disks, magneto-optical disks, ROMs, CD-ROMs, and memory devices such as hard disks built into computer systems. Control programs may also be received or sent via telecommunications lines.

The communication unit 41 communicates with other devices. For example, the communication unit 41 communicates with the communication device 30 , the writing device 50 , the gas cylinder storage 60 and the cylindrical cabinet 70 .

The operation unit 42 is configured using existing input devices such as a keyboard, a pointing device (mouse, tablet, etc.), a touch panel, and buttons. The operation unit 42 is operated by the user when inputting the user's instructions to the management device 40 . For example, the operation unit 42 receives an information transmission instruction and an information display instruction to the writing device 50 .

The storage unit 43 stores the container table 431 and the management table 432. The container table 431 is a table in which information related to the gas container B is registered. The management table 432 is a table in which information necessary for managing the gas container B is registered. The memory unit 43 is configured using a memory device such as a magnetic disk device or a semiconductor memory device.

The display unit 44 is an image display device such as a liquid crystal display or an organic EL display. The display unit 44 performs display based on the information registered in the container table 431 and the management table 432 . For example, the display unit 44 displays the storage status of the gas container B, the storage amount of the gas, the reception information of the container, and the like. The display part 44 may also be an interface used to connect the image display device to the management device 40 . In this case, the display unit 44 generates an image signal for displaying information, and outputs the image signal to the image display device connected to itself.

The control unit 45 controls the operation of the management device 40. For example, the control unit 45 sets the container number in the required information sent from the communication device 30 to the writing device 50 according to the user's operation.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a container table 431 of the first embodiment.

In the container table 431, information such as the gas name, gas concentration, quality assurance period, initial filling quantity, manufacturing date, and residual quantity are registered in a manner that establishes a correspondence with the container number. The container number indicates identification information used to identify the gas container B. The gas name indicates the name of the gas filled in the gas container B. The gas concentration indicates the concentration of the gas filled in the gas container B. The quality assurance period indicates the period during which the quality of the gas filled in the gas container B is guaranteed. The initial filling quantity indicates the amount of gas filled in the gas container B at the time of delivery. The initial filling quantity is equivalent to the filling quantity in the container information. The manufacturing date indicates the date when the gas is filled into the gas container B. The residual quantity indicates the amount of gas remaining in the gas container B. The information of the residual quantity is sent from the cylinder cabinet 70 according to a predetermined timing. In addition, when the information obtained by converting the necessary information into a predetermined format is used as the identification information, a correspondence relationship can be established between each container and the information obtained by converting the necessary information into a predetermined format in the container table 431.

FIG5 is a diagram showing an example of the management table 432 in the first embodiment.

In the management table 432, tag identification information, identification information, and information on the move-in date and move-out date are registered corresponding to the storage warehouse information. The storage warehouse information represents information related to the gas cylinder storage warehouse 60 and the cylinder cabinet 70. In FIG. 5 , storage warehouse identification information, reader identification information, storage warehouse name, and setting location information are registered as the storage warehouse information. The storage warehouse identification information is identification information used to identify the gas cylinder storage warehouse 60 and the cylinder cabinet 70. The reader identification information is used to identify the reading device of the gas cylinder storage warehouse 60 or the cylinder cabinet 70, that is, the identification information of the reading device 61 and the reading device 71. The storage warehouse name indicates the name of the gas cylinder storage warehouse 60 and the cylinder cabinet 70. The installation location information is the location information of the installation location of the gas cylinder storage warehouse 60 and the cylinder cabinet 70. The installation location information can be expressed in latitude and longitude.

The tag identification information is the identification information used to identify the electronic tag 90. The identification information is the information that can identify the gas container B. The move-in date is the date when the gas container B is moved into the storage warehouse. The move-out date is the date when the gas container B is moved out of the storage warehouse. In addition, not all information must be registered in the management table 432. For example, in the move-out date field, it can be registered only when the storage warehouse is the gas cylinder storage warehouse 60.

FIG. 6 is a sequence diagram showing the flow of registration processing of the gas container B in the gas container management system 1 according to the first embodiment. The processing in Figure 6 is performed when the gas container B is delivered.

The imaging unit 31 of the communication device 30 photographs the gas container B according to the user's operation to obtain imaging data (step S101). The imaging unit 31 stores the acquired imaging data in the storage unit 32 via the control unit 35 . The control unit 35 analyzes the imaging data stored in the storage unit 32 and obtains container information from the imaging data. Specifically, the control unit 35 performs image analysis on the captured data using the OCR method, and converts the characters included in the captured data into text data. The control unit 35 causes the display unit 33 to display the textualized container information (step S102). The control unit 35 selects predetermined information from the container information displayed on the screen. For example, the control unit 35 selects information related to the container number, gas name, gas concentration, quality assurance period, filling amount, and manufacturing date from the container information as predetermined information. The user can also select information from the container information displayed on the screen. When the container information displayed on the screen is incorrect, or when the text is unrecognizable and cannot be read, the user inputs necessary information through the operation unit 34 . In addition, the control unit 35 may also first select necessary information from the textualized container information and display it on the display unit 33 .

The communication unit 36 sends the necessary information selected and input to the management device 40 according to the user's operation (step S103).

The communication unit 41 of the management device 40 receives necessary information sent from the communication device 30 . The communication unit 41 outputs the received necessary information to the control unit 45 . The control unit 45 registers the input necessary information into the container table 431 (step S104). For example, when the necessary information includes information on the container number, gas name, gas concentration, quality assurance period, filling amount, and manufacturing date, the control unit 45 registers the acquired necessary information into the container number and gas name in the container table 431 , concentration, quality assurance period, initial filling volume and manufacturing date fields. Then, the management device 40 sends the identification information to the writing device 50 according to the user's operation (step S105). Here, it is assumed that the management device 40 sends the selected container number as identification information to the writing device 50 in accordance with the user's operation.

The writing device 50 obtains the identification information sent from the management device 40. The writing device 50 temporarily saves the obtained identification information (step S106). The writing device 50 writes the identification information into the electronic tag 90 according to the user's operation (step S107). In the case where multiple identification information is registered in the writing device 50, the user selects the desired identification information and writes the selected identification information into the electronic tag 90. In this way, the identification information is recorded in the electronic tag 90. The user installs the electronic tag 90 with the identification information written on the delivered gas container B (step S108).

Then, the user stores the gas container B with the electronic tag 90 installed in the gas bottle storage 60 (step S109). The reading device 61 provided in the gas cylinder storage 60 periodically (For example, every three hours, every day, etc.) or in a predetermined time sequence to read the electronic tag 90 (step S110). When there is an electronic tag 90 in the gas cylinder storage warehouse 60 , the reading device 61 will obtain the identification information stored in the electronic tag 90 . At this time, the reading device 61 also obtains the identification information (tag identification information) of the electronic tag 90 in a manner corresponding to the identification information. The reading device 61 outputs the acquired identification information and the identification information of the electronic tag 90 to a communication unit (not shown). The communication unit sends information including the identification information, the identification information of the electronic tag 90 , the identification information of the gas cylinder storage 60 and the identification information of the reading device 61 to the management device 40 (step S111 ).

The communication unit 41 of the management device 40 receives the information sent from the gas cylinder storage bank 60 . The communication unit 41 outputs the received information to the control unit 45 . The control unit 45 registers the output information into the management table 432 (step S112). Specifically, the control unit 45 reads the management table 432 from the storage unit 43 . The control unit 45 selects the record corresponding to the acquired storage identification information and reader identification information from among the records in the management table 432 that have been read. The control unit 45 registers the acquired tag identification information and identification information into the fields of the tag identification information and identification information of the selected record. In addition, if a value is not registered in the field of the move-in date of the selected record, the control unit 45 can register that day as the move-in date.

Through the above processing, the incoming gas container B is associated with the storage warehouse that stores the gas container B and registered.

FIG. 7 is a sequence diagram showing the flow of processing when moving the gas container B in the gas container management system 1 according to the first embodiment. The process of FIG. 7 is performed when the gas container B is moved from the gas bottle storage 60 to the cylindrical cabinet 70 .

To replenish the gas container B to the cylindrical cabinet 70, the user moves the gas container B out of the gas bottle storage 60 (step S201). The reading device 61 provided in the gas cylinder storage warehouse 60 periodically The electronic tag 90 is read locally or in a predetermined sequence (step S202). However, it is assumed that there is no electronic tag 90 when the reading device 61 reads the electronic tag 90 . In this case, the reading device 61 cannot obtain the identification information from the electronic tag 90 . Therefore, the reading device 61 does not send information to the management device 40 (step S203). Alternatively, the communication unit sends information including both the identification information of the gas cylinder storage 60 and the identification information of the reading device 61 to the management device 40 .

The control unit 45 of the management device 40 does not obtain the information from the gas cylinder storage 60 at the time it should have received it, or the information sent from the gas cylinder storage 60 only contains the identification information of the gas cylinder storage 60 and When the two pieces of information, the identification information of the device 61 , are read, the control unit 45 determines that the gas container B has been moved out of the gas cylinder storage 60 . That is, if the control unit 45 does not obtain the identification information associated with the storage within a predetermined period, it determines that the gas container B has been moved out of the gas cylinder storage 60 . Such a judgment is the same for the cylindrical cabinet 70. Specifically, when the gas container B is stored in the cylindrical cabinet 70 , the identification information should be obtained from the reading device 71 in the same manner as the gas bottle storage 60 . However, when the gas container B has been moved out of the cylindrical cabinet 70 , the identification information is not acquired from the reading device 71 . Therefore, as in the case of the gas cylinder storage 60, when the received information includes only the identification information of the cylindrical cabinet 70 and the identification information of the reading device 71, it is determined that the gas container B has been Move out from the cylindrical cabinet 70 . Then, the control unit 45 updates the management table 432 (step S204). Specifically, the control unit 45 reads the management table 432 from the storage unit 43 . The control unit 45 selects a record corresponding to the acquired storage identification information and reader identification information from among the records in the read management table 432 . The control unit 45 deletes unobtained information from the fields of the tag identification information and identification information of the selected record.

A plurality of gas containers B can be stored in a gas cylinder storage warehouse 60 and a cylinder cabinet 70. Therefore, in the management table 432, a plurality of tag identification information and identification information are associated with a gas cylinder storage warehouse 60 and a cylinder cabinet 70. Therefore, in a case where a plurality of tag identification information and identification information are associated with a gas cylinder storage warehouse 60 and a cylinder cabinet 70, even if one tag identification information and identification information is not obtained, other tag identification information and identification information will be obtained. Therefore, the control unit 45 manages the information corresponding to the storage warehouse by deleting the information for which the tag identification information and identification information are not obtained.

Assume that the user moves the gas container B taken out from the gas cylinder storage 60 into the cylinder cabinet 70 (step S205). The reading device 71 provided in the cylinder cabinet 70 reads the electronic tag 90 periodically or at a predetermined time sequence (step S206). When there is an electronic tag 90 in the cylinder cabinet 70, the reading device 71 will obtain the identification information stored in the electronic tag 90. At this time, the reading device 71 also establishes a corresponding relationship with the identification information and obtains the identification information of the electronic tag 90 (tag identification information). The reading device 71 outputs the obtained identification information and the identification information of the electronic tag 90 to the communication unit not shown in the figure. The communication unit sends information including identification information, identification information of the electronic tag 90, identification information of the cylinder cabinet 70, and identification information of the reading device 71 to the management device 40 (step S207).

The communication unit 41 of the management device 40 receives the information sent from the cylinder cabinet 70. The communication unit 41 outputs the received information to the control unit 45. The control unit 45 updates the management table 432 according to the input information (step S208). Specifically, the control unit 45 reads the management table 432 from the memory unit 43. The control unit 45 selects the record corresponding to the acquired storage identification information and reader identification information from the records of the read management table 432. The control unit 45 registers the acquired tag identification information and identification information to the tag identification information and identification information fields of the selected record. In this way, the control unit 45 updates the management table 432. In addition, if there is no value registered in the field of the moving-in date of the selected record, the control unit 45 can register that day as the moving-in date.

The control unit 45 causes the display unit 44 to display the content stored in the storage unit 43 in accordance with the user's operation (step S209). 8 and 9 are diagrams showing an example of a screen displayed on the screen of the display unit 44.

As shown in FIG. 8 , a display selection area 441 , a storage status display area 442 , a received information display area 443 and a storage amount display area 444 are displayed on the screen of the display unit 44 . The display selection area 441 displays a plurality of buttons that can be selected when viewing the installation status of storage in each room. By selecting a button displayed in the display selection area 441, the information displayed in the storage status display area 442 is changed. For example, in the case of Figure 8, room A is selected. The storage status display area 442 displays the status of the storage in the room selected in the display selection area 441 . For example, the storage status display area 442 displays where the gas container B is stored. A black ○ indicates that gas container B is stored there. These displays are displayed by the control unit 45 by referring to the management table 432 .

The receiving information display area 443 displays information about the gas container B scheduled to be received in the future. The "訖" in the receiving information display area 443 indicates whether the reception has been completed. Whether the reception has been completed is determined based on whether the target gas container B has been stored in the gas cylinder storage warehouse 60. In the case where the target gas container B has been stored in the gas cylinder storage warehouse 60, the control unit 45 determines that the reception has been completed. In this case, the control unit 45 makes the display state of the "訖" corresponding to the gas container B that has been received different from the display state of the "訖" corresponding to the gas container B that has not yet been received. For example, the control unit 45 can cancel the display of the "訖" corresponding to the gas container B that has been received, or it can be blacked out as shown in Figure 8. On the other hand, when the target gas container B has not yet been stored in the gas cylinder storage 60, the control unit 45 determines that the reception has not yet been completed.

The storage quantity display area 444 displays information on the total quantity of gas stored in the room selected in the display selection area 441. The total storage quantity of high-pressure gas is stipulated in the regulations related to high-pressure gas. If the storage quantity is more than the total storage quantity stipulated in the regulations related to high-pressure gas, it must be reported.

By displaying as described above, the user can understand the status of the storage room in each room, the amount of gas stored, and other information at a glance by viewing the screen of the display unit 44.

When the user selects a gas container B displayed on the screen, the control unit 45 displays information related to the selected gas container B in the form of a pop-up window (pop-up) 445 as shown in FIG. 9 . The pop-up window 445 displays information on storage library identification information, label identification information, container number, status, filling amount, manufacturing date, quality assurance period, and standard delivery date. The information displayed in the pop-up window 445 is not limited to this, and can be any information as long as it is the information stored in the management device 40 . Here, the state means the state of the gas container B at the selected time point. For example, whether gas container B is currently in use, etc. When the gas container B is currently in use, the status is displayed as "supplying" information. When the gas container B is not currently in use, the status is displayed as "standby" information. The standard delivery date indicates the period until the gas container B of the same type as the selected gas container B is delivered. The standard delivery time can be memorized in advance by the management device 40 according to each manufacturer's gas category.

The gas container management system 1 of the first embodiment configured as described above is provided with the writing device 50 for recording the identification information based on the container information obtained from the gas container B in the electronic tag 90; Plural number of gas containers B equipped with electronic tags 90 storage bins; and a management device 40 that establishes a correspondence relationship between a plurality of storage bins and identification information related to the gas containers B stored in each of the plurality of storage bins. Therefore, it is possible to easily grasp in which storage the gas container B is stored. Therefore, the gas container can be managed more easily.

In addition, in the gas container management system 1, a plurality of storages are provided with the reading device 61 or the reading device 71 that can read the identification information, and the management device 40 causes the reading device 61 or the reading device 71 to obtain the reading device 61 or the reading device 71. The identification information is associated with and held in a storage having the reading device 61 or the reading device 71 that acquires the identification information. That is, the gas container management system 1 is provided with a reading device in storage such as the gas bottle storage 60 and the cylindrical cabinet 70, and manages the storage of the gas container B by reading the electronic tag 90 attached to the gas container B. Where and the number of bottles. Therefore, even if the gas container B is moved from the storage place to another storage, the movement of the container and the change in the number of bottles in each place can be managed based on the information read by the reading device. Furthermore, the gas container management system 1 obtains only necessary information that must be recorded by each manufacturer, even if container information that differs from gas manufacturer to container is attached to the container, thereby unifying the information. Therefore, even if the sellers of the gas container B are different, unified management is possible. Furthermore, the user only needs to perform the operation of reading the tag 3 of the delivered gas container B and writing the information to the electronic tag 90 . Therefore, the gas container can be managed more easily.

Furthermore, in the gas container management system 1, if the identification information corresponding to the storage warehouse is not obtained within a predetermined period, it is determined that the gas container B has been removed from the storage warehouse and the identification information corresponding to the storage warehouse is deleted. Therefore, the information of the removed (carried out) gas container B will not be retained continuously. Therefore, the possibility of management based on erroneous information can be reduced.

(Second implementation form)

The first embodiment is explained by taking the case of moving the gas container B manually as an example. The second embodiment is explained by taking the case of using a gas cylinder transport trolley as an example, and the gas cylinder transport trolley automatically transports the gas container B to move the gas container B.

FIG10 is a diagram showing the appearance of the gas cylinder transport trolley 2 of the second embodiment. The gas cylinder transport trolley 2 of the second embodiment is equipped with: a transport vehicle 10 for transporting the gas container B in a self-propelled manner; and a robot 20 for automatically carrying the gas container B in and out.

The transport vehicle 10 is an unmanned transport vehicle also called AGV (Automated Guided Vehicle), and transports the gas container B by automatic operation. Specifically, the transport vehicle 10 has a vehicle body 12 provided with a mounting portion 11 for mounting the gas container B, and a plurality of (six in this embodiment) supporting the vehicle body 12 in a movable manner. Wheel 13 (13a, 13b, 13c).

The vehicle body 12 is formed into a substantially cubic shape as a whole, with a width wider than the gas container B, a front-rear length longer than a width direction, and a height approximately 1/2 of the gas container B. The placement portion 11 is located on the back side of the vehicle body 12 . That is, the front side of the vehicle body 12 is the side opposite to the side where the placing portion 11 is located. The gas cylinder transport trolley 2 moves backward when transporting the gas container B into or out of a storage such as the cylindrical cabinet 70 or the gas cylinder storage 60 . The gas cylinder transport trolley 2 moves forward when moving. A recessed portion 14 is provided on the back surface of the vehicle body 12 by cutting off part of the side surface of the vehicle body 12 in the up-down direction. The placement portion 11 is provided inside this recessed portion 14 .

The placement portion 11 is provided with a sliding support mechanism 15 that supports the gas container B so as to be slidable in the front-rear direction. The sliding support mechanism 15 is composed of a free roller. It has a plurality of rollers 15a arranged side by side in the front-rear direction of the placing part 11, and a support frame 15b that supports the plurality of rollers 15a in a rotatable manner. Therefore, the gas container B placed on the sliding support mechanism 15 can be kept in an upright state and can be slid in the front-rear direction of the placing portion 11 via the plurality of rollers 15 a.

The sliding support mechanism 15 is not limited to being composed of a free roller, and a belt conveyor, for example, may also be used.

In addition, the transport vehicle 10 may also be provided with a height adjustment mechanism to adjust the height of the free roller 4 provided on the side of the cylinder cabinet 70 described above, and to adjust the height of the free roller (sliding support mechanism 15) provided on the side of the loading portion 11.

Furthermore, the transport vehicle 10 may be provided with a mechanism for adjusting the front-rear position, the front-rear, left-right inclination, etc. of the free roller (sliding support mechanism 15) provided on the placement portion 11 side in addition to the above-described height adjustment mechanism. Structure of the organization.

In addition to the above, the vehicle body 12 is also provided with an emergency stop button for stopping the transport vehicle 10 in an emergency, a display device for performing various displays, an operating switch for performing various operations, and an antenna 16d for communicating with the outside, etc.

A plurality of wheels 13 are rotatably mounted below the vehicle body 12. Four caster wheels 12a are provided at the four corners of the vehicle body 12, and each corner wheel 12a is rotatably mounted. On the other hand, two driving wheels 12b are arranged side by side in the width direction in the center of the vehicle body 12, and the two driving wheels 12b are driven and rotated by a rotation drive mechanism (not shown) such as a motor.

The transport vehicle 10 can control the movement and turning of the transport vehicle 10 by switching the ratio of the driving force transmitted to the two driving wheels 12b. In addition, in the transport vehicle 10, there is no particular limitation on the guidance method used for automatic transportation of the gas container B, and a conventionally known guidance method can be used.

Furthermore, the transport vehicle 10 may be provided with a position detector such as a photoelectric sensor, a magnetic sensor, a limit switch, or a communicator for communicating between the gas cylinder transport trolley 2 and the outside.

The robot arm 20 for carrying in and out is arranged on the upper part of the transport vehicle 10, and automatically carries out and carries in the gas container B relative to the loading part 11. Specifically, the robot arm 20 for carrying in and out has: a holding mechanism 21 for holding the gas container B; and a sliding drive mechanism 22 for slidingly driving the gas container B held by the holding mechanism 21 in the front and rear directions of the vehicle body 12.

The holding mechanism 21 is a pair of arm portions 21a having a main body portion for grasping the gas container B. The pair of arm portions 21a are curved into arc shapes with each other, and the base end sides are installed to be freely rotatable through hinges.

The holding mechanism 21 is to rotate the pair of arms 21a in opposite directions to each other, and to grasp the main body of the gas container B from both sides between the pair of arms 21a. In addition, the holding mechanism 21 is to arrange two sets of the aforementioned pair of arms 21a side by side in the vertical direction to grasp the upper and lower sides of the gas container B. Therefore, the gas container B in an upright state can be maintained in a stable state.

The holding mechanism 21 is not necessarily limited to the structure in which the main body of the gas container B is grasped by the pair of arms 21 a as described above. For example, the holding mechanism 21 may be configured to hold the gas container B by adsorption.

The sliding drive mechanism 22 slides and drives the sliding shaft 22a connected to the holding mechanism 21 in the front-rear direction. The sliding shaft 22a may be driven by a motor or the like, or may be driven by an air cylinder, a hydraulic cylinder, or the like.

As shown in FIG10 , the robot 20 for carrying in and out uses a holding mechanism 21 to hold the gas container B in an upright state, while using a sliding drive mechanism 22 to slide and drive the gas container B in the front and rear directions of the vehicle body 12. Therefore, the gas container B can be slid by the sliding support mechanism 15 provided on the loading portion 11, and the gas container B can be automatically carried out and carried in between the loading portion 11 and the free roller 4 on the side of the cylinder cabinet 70.

Next, the gas container management system 1 described above is applied to the case where a gas container B with a reduced residual amount (hereinafter referred to as "replacement target gas container Be") is moved out of the cylinder cabinet 70, and a gas container B filled with gas (hereinafter referred to as "imported gas container Bf") is moved into the cylinder cabinet 70 to manage the gas container B. The so-called replacement target gas cylinder (gas bombe) refers to a gas container that is not filled with enough gas for supply.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing the system configuration of the gas container management system 1a according to the second embodiment. In FIG. 11 , in order to explain the automatic transportation of the gas container B on the gas cylinder transportation trolley 2 , only the configuration related to the automatic transportation is shown. Therefore, the structure other than the transportation of the gas container B is the same as that of the first embodiment. The gas container management system 1a system includes a plurality of gas cylinder transport trolleys 2-1 and 2-2, a plurality of gas cylinder storage warehouses 60-1 to 60-4, a plurality of cylindrical cabinets 70, an operation terminal 100, and management Device 40a. There is no particular restriction on the number of the gas cylinder transport trolleys 2-1 and 2-2, the cylindrical cabinet 70, and the gas cylinder storage warehouses 60-1 to 60-4. In the following description, when there is no particular distinction between the gas bottle transport trolleys 2-1 and 2-2, they will be described as the gas bottle transport trolley 2. In addition, when the gas cylinder storage bins 60-1 to 60-4 are not particularly distinguished, they are described as the gas cylinder storage bin 60.

The gas cylinder transport trolley 2, the cylindrical cabinet 70, and the gas cylinder storage warehouse 60 are installed on the floor in the factory. Cart for transporting gas cylinders 2, cylindrical cabinet 70, gas cylinder storage 60, The operation terminal 100 and the management device 40a are connected to communicate with each other. The gas cylinder transport trolleys 2-1 and 2-2 are respectively located in predetermined areas 71-1 and 71-2. Area 71-1 is a storage place where the gas cylinder transport trolley 2-1 is located when processing starts and when processing is completed. Area 71-2 is a storage place where the gas cylinder transport trolley 2-2 is located when processing starts and when processing is completed.

The gas cylinder transport trolley 2-1 is a trolley that, for example, carries the gas container Be to be replaced out of the cylinder cabinet 70 and then carries the gas container Be to be replaced into the gas cylinder storage warehouse 60.

The gas cylinder transport trolley 2-2 is a trolley that, for example, carries out the gas container Bf to be carried in from the gas cylinder storage 60 and then carries the gas container Bf to be carried in into the cylinder cabinet 70.

The gas cylinder transport trolleys 2-1 and 2-2 communicate with the operation terminal 100 and the management device 40a via the antenna 16d. Furthermore, only one gas bottle transport trolley 2 may be used to perform the processing of the gas bottle transport trolley 2-1 and the gas bottle transport trolley 2-2. For example, the gas bottle transport trolley 2 transports the gas container Be to be replaced from the cylindrical cabinet 70, then transports the gas container Be to be replaced into the gas cylinder storage 60, and then transports the gas container Bf to be carried out from the gas cylinder storage 60. Then, the gas container Bf to be carried is carried into the cylindrical cabinet 70 .

The gas cylinder storage bins 60 are respectively provided according to the types of gases, and one gas cylinder storage bin 60 accommodates a plurality of gas containers B. In the example shown in FIG. 11 , the gas cylinder storage bins 60 - 1 and 60 - 2 accommodate the gas container Bf to be transported, and the gas cylinder storage bins 60 - 3 and 60 - 4 accommodate the gas container Be to be replaced. The door of the gas bottle storage 60 is opened and closed, and a plurality of gas containers B are stored upright and side by side in the storage space inside the gas cylinder storage 60 .

In addition, a free drum is provided at the bottom of the storage space, and each gas container B is placed on the free drum. The free roller system has: a plurality of rollers arranged in the front and rear directions of the storage space; and a support frame that supports the plurality of rollers to rotate freely. Therefore, it can be placed in the The gas container B above the roller is maintained in an upright state and slides toward the front and back directions of the storage space through a plurality of rollers.

In addition to the above-mentioned aspects, the gas cylinder storage warehouse 60 also has, for example, a sensor for detecting the vacancy status of the storage space, a control box for controlling the opening and closing of the door, and a communication unit for communicating with the management device 40a ( (not shown), and uses the communication unit to transmit the information on the opening and closing status of the door, the vacancy information of the storage space, etc. to the management device 40a.

The operation terminal 100 is a terminal held by an operator who moves within the factory. The operation terminal 100 receives the operation instructions of the gas cylinder transport trolley 2 and the instructions for loading and unloading the gas containers B (Be, Bf) input by the operator. The operation terminal 100 transmits the received instruction to the gas cylinder transport trolley 2 via the management device 40a. The operation terminal 100 is configured using a portable information processing device such as a tablet terminal, a smartphone, a mobile phone, or the like.

The management device 40a is a device that manages the gas container management system 1a. The management device 40a performs the same processing as the functional unit with the same name in the first embodiment. In addition, the management device 40a will send the information of the replacement target gas container Be to the operation terminal 100 according to the request from the operation terminal 100. In addition, the management device 40a receives various information from the cylindrical cabinet 70 (for example, door opening and closing information, valve opening and closing information, pressure monitoring results, gas leakage monitoring results, and remaining amount information of the gas container B). The management device 40a receives various information (for example, door opening and closing information, storage space vacancy information) from the gas cylinder storage warehouse 60. The management device 40a controls the movement of the gas cylinder transport trolley 2 in accordance with the request from the operation terminal 100. The management device 40a is configured using an information processing device such as a personal computer.

FIG. 12 is a schematic block diagram showing the functional configuration of the operation terminal 100 of the second embodiment. The operation terminal 100 has a CPU, a memory, an auxiliary storage device, etc. connected by a bus, and executes an operation program. By executing the operation program, the operation terminal 100 functions as a device having a communication unit 101, an operation unit 102, a control unit 103, a display unit 104, and a path information storage unit 105. In addition, all or part of the functions of the operation terminal 100 can also be realized by hardware such as ASIC, PLD, or FPGA. The operation program can be recorded in a computer-readable recording medium. Computer-readable recording media include portable media such as floppy disks, magneto-optical disks, ROMs, CD-ROMs, and memory devices such as hard disks built into computer systems. Operating programs can also be received or sent via telecommunications lines.

The communication unit 101 communicates with other devices. For example, the communication unit 101 communicates with the management device 40a.

The operation unit 102 is composed of existing input devices such as a keyboard, a pointing device (mouse, digital tablet, etc.), a touch panel, and buttons. The operation unit 102 is operated by the user when the user's instructions are to be input to the operation terminal 100. For example, the operation unit 102 receives instructions for moving the gas cylinder transport trolley 2 and instructions for carrying out and carrying in the gas container B of the gas cylinder transport trolley 2.

The control unit 103 controls the operation of the operating terminal 100. For example, the control unit 103 displays the information sent from the management device 40a on the display unit 104. In addition, the control unit 103 controls the communication unit 101 to send the user's instructions input through the operation unit 102 to the management device 40a.

The display unit 104 is an image display device such as a liquid crystal display, an organic EL display, etc. The display unit 104 displays information sent from the management device 40a, for example. The display unit 104 can also be an interface for connecting the image display device to the operation terminal 100. In this case, the display unit 104 generates an image signal required to display information and outputs the image signal to the image display device connected to itself.

The route information storage unit 105 stores a route instruction table in which the position and destination of the gas cylinder transport trolley 2 are correlated with the route number. The position of the gas bottle transport trolley 2 is the position of the gas bottle transport trolley 2 when the display instruction is input. For example, the position of the gas bottle transport trolley 2 when the process is started is a storage place, and the position of the gas bottle transport trolley 2 when unloading or loading is performed is a place where unloading or loading is performed. The destination is the destination where the gas cylinder transport trolley 2 is going. For example, when the gas container Be to be replaced is carried out, the destination is the cylindrical cabinet 70 containing the gas container Be to be replaced. The route number is a number indicating the route from the position of the gas cylinder transport trolley 2 to the destination. The path information storage unit 105 is configured using a memory device such as a magnetic disk device or a semiconductor memory device.

FIG. 13 is a schematic block diagram showing the functional configuration of the management device 40a according to the second embodiment. The management device 40a is equipped with a CPU, a memory, an auxiliary memory device, etc. connected through a bus, and executes a management program. By executing the management program, the management device 40a functions as a device including a communication unit 41, an operation unit 42, a memory unit 43a, a display unit 44, and a control unit 45a. In addition, all or part of each function of the management device 40a can also be implemented using hardware such as ASIC, PLD, or FPGA. The management program can be recorded on a computer-readable recording medium. Computer-readable recording media are portable media such as floppy disks, magneto-optical disks, ROMs, CD-ROMs, and memory devices such as hard disks built into the computer system. Management programs may also be received or sent via telecommunications lines.

The communication unit 41 communicates with other devices. For example, the communication unit 41 communicates with the gas cylinder transport trolley 2 , the gas cylinder storage 60 , the cylindrical cabinet 70 and the operation terminal 100 .

The operation unit 42 is composed of existing input devices such as a keyboard, a pointing device (mouse, digital tablet, etc.), a touch panel, and buttons. The operation unit 42 is operated by the user when the user's instructions are to be input into the management device 40a. For example, the operation unit 42 receives instructions for moving the gas cylinder transport trolley 2 and instructions for carrying out and carrying in the gas container B of the gas cylinder transport trolley 2.

The memory unit 43a stores the container table 431, the management table 432, and the trolley information 433. The trolley information 433 stores at least information related to the status of the gas cylinder transport trolley 2 (whether it is in operation, what operation it is in, where it is located, etc.). The position information of the gas cylinder transport trolley 2 can be obtained from the gas cylinder transport trolley 2. The memory unit 43a is composed of a memory device such as a disk device or a semiconductor memory device.

The display unit 44 is an image display device such as a liquid crystal display, an organic EL display, etc. The display unit 44 performs a display based on the information registered in the container table 431 and the management table 432. For example, the display unit 44 displays the storage status of the gas container B, the storage volume of the gas, and the receiving information of the container. The display unit 44 can also be an interface for connecting the image display device to the management device 40a. In this case, the display unit 44 generates the image signal required to display the information and outputs the image signal to the image display device connected to itself.

The control unit 45a controls the operation of the management device 40a. The control unit 45a sets the container number among the necessary information sent from the communication device 30 to the writing device 50, for example, according to the user's operation. For example, the control unit 45a controls the communication unit 41 to communicate with the user from the operation terminal The information requesting response from the machine 100 is sent to the operation terminal 100. For example, the control unit 45a controls the communication unit 41 to transmit an instruction from the operation terminal 100 to the target device.

FIG. 14 is a schematic block diagram showing the internal functional configuration of the gas cylinder transport trolley 2 according to the second embodiment. As described above, the gas cylinder transport trolley 2 is equipped with the transport vehicle 10 and the transport robot 20 .

The loading/unloading robot 20 is provided with a control unit 24 . The control unit 24 is composed of, for example, a PLC (programmable logic controller). The control unit 24 functions as the communication control unit 241 and the loading/unloading control unit 242 by executing the program.

The communication control unit 241 controls communication with other devices. For example, the communication control unit 241 outputs the instruction to the loading/unloading control unit 242 or the transportation vehicle 10 according to the content of the instruction received through the antenna 16d. For example, when the instruction received by the antenna 16d includes an instruction to carry out or carry in the gas container B, the communication control unit 241 outputs the instruction to the carry-in/out control unit 242. For example, the instruction received by the communication control unit 241 via the antenna 16d includes an instruction to move the gas bottle transport trolley 2 or to connect the gas bottle transport trolley 2 to the gas bottle storage 60 or the cylinder. In the case of an instruction from the drum cabinet 70, the instruction is output to the transport vehicle 10. Among them, the so-called connecting the gas bottle transport trolley 2 to the gas bottle storage 60 or the cylindrical cabinet 70 means that the gas bottle transport trolley 2 can be docked with the gas bottle storage 60 or the cylindrical cabinet 70. Gas container B is moved in or out.

The carrying-in/out control unit 242 controls the actions of the holding mechanism 21 and the sliding drive mechanism 22 according to the input instructions. More specifically, the carrying-in/out control unit 242 controls the holding mechanism 21 according to the input instructions so that it can hold the gas container B. The carrying-in/out control unit 242 also controls the sliding drive mechanism 22 according to the input instructions so that the sliding shaft 22a can slide and drive in the forward and backward directions.

The transport vehicle 10 is equipped with a memory unit 25 and a movement control unit 26.

The memory unit 25 stores the path table 251. The memory unit 25 is configured using a memory device such as a magnetic disk device or a semiconductor memory device.

The route table 251 is a table in which information related to the route that the gas cylinder transport trolley 2 is to take is recorded. The specific structure of the route table 251 is explained using FIG15. FIG15 is a diagram showing an example of the route table 251 of the second embodiment. As shown in FIG15, route information is recorded in the route table 251 corresponding to the route number. The route number is an identification number used to uniquely identify the route. The route is information showing the movement path of the gas cylinder transport trolley 2 when it moves on the floor of the factory. The route includes, for example: the moving path required to go from the storage place of the gas cylinder transport trolley 2 to the specific gas cylinder storage 60; the moving path required to go from the location of the gas cylinder storage 60 to the specific cylinder cabinet 70; the moving path required to go from the location of the cylinder cabinet 70 to the storage place; the moving path required to go from the storage place of the gas cylinder transport trolley 2 to the specific cylinder cabinet 70; the moving path required to go from the location of the cylinder cabinet 70 to the specific gas cylinder storage 60. The moving path also includes information showing how many meters to go straight ahead and where to turn left or right. The path table 251 is also divided into a path table for the gas cylinder transport trolley 2-1 and a path table for the gas cylinder transport trolley 2-2. This is because the purpose and installation location of the gas cylinder transport trolley 2-1 and the gas cylinder transport trolley 2-2 are different.

As described above, all imaginable movement routes that the gas cylinder transport trolley 2 can take are registered in the route table 251 . Therefore, the gas cylinder transport trolley 2 can reach the destination position by moving along the movement path represented by the path associated with the path number in the path table 251 .

Return to Figure 14 to continue the description of the gas cylinder transport trolley 2.

The movement control unit 26 controls the rotation of the wheels 13 to control the movement of the gas cylinder transporting trolley 2 according to the input instructions.

16 and 17 are sequence diagrams showing the flow of the empty bottle unloading process in the gas container management system 1a according to the second embodiment. The empty bottle unloading process refers to a process of unloading the gas container Be to be replaced from the cylindrical cabinet 70 . It is assumed that at the start of the processing in FIGS. 16 and 17 , the route number whose destination is the cylindrical cabinet 70 selected by the user has been acquired.

The control unit 103 of the operation terminal 100 controls the communication unit 101 to send the removal instruction including the obtained path number to the management device 40a (step S301). The communication unit 41 of the management device 40a receives the carry-out instruction transmitted from the operation terminal 100. Then, the communication unit 41 transmits the received carry-out instruction to the gas cylinder transport trolley 2-1 (step S302).

The antenna 16d of the gas cylinder transport trolley 2-1 receives the carry-out instruction transmitted from the management device 40a. Since the received instruction is information related to moving out, the communication control unit 241 outputs the moving out instruction to the movement control unit 26 (step S303).

The operator operates the cylinder cabinet 70 to be replaced with the gas container B and opens the door. The cylinder cabinet 70 opens the door according to the operator's operation. After the door is opened, the operator removes the fixtures, joints, and pipes of the gas container B.

The movement control unit 26 moves the cylinder transport trolley 2-1 to the position of the replacement target gas container Be of the cylinder cabinet 70 at the unloading location according to the unloading instruction and the path table 251 (step S304). Specifically, the movement control unit 26 refers to the path table 251 to obtain the information of the route corresponding to the path number included in the unloading instruction. Then, the movement control unit 26 controls the wheel 13 according to the route information to move the cylinder transport trolley 2-1 to the position of the replacement target gas container Be of the cylinder cabinet 70 at the unloading location.

When the movement control unit 26 moves the gas cylinder transport trolley 2-1 to the position of the replacement gas container Be of the cylinder cabinet 70 at the unloading location, it notifies the control unit 24 that the movement has been completed. The communication control unit 241 sends the movement completion information indicating that the movement has been completed to the management device 40a (step S305).

The communication unit 41 of the management device 40a receives the movement completion information sent from the gas cylinder transport trolley 2-1. The communication unit 41 sends the received movement completion information to the operation terminal 100 (step S306).

The communication unit 101 of the operation terminal 100 receives the movement completion information transmitted from the management device 40a. The control unit 103 inquires the user whether to connect the gas cylinder transport trolley 2-1 to the cylindrical cabinet 70 based on the movement completion information received by the communication unit 101 (step S307). Specifically, the control unit 103 causes the display unit 104 to display the message "Do you want to connect the gas cylinder transport trolley 2-1 to the cylindrical cabinet 70?" to ask the user whether to transport the gas cylinder. Use the trolley 2-1 to connect to the cylindrical cabinet 70.

The user operates the operation unit 102 to input a response to the question displayed on the screen of the display unit 104 . When the instruction not to connect the gas cylinder transport trolley 2-1 to the cylindrical cabinet 70 is input, the operation terminal 100 ends the process. Here, it is assumed that the user inputs an instruction to connect the gas cylinder transport trolley 2-1 to the cylindrical cabinet 70. In this case, the control unit 103 controls the communication unit 101 to transmit a connection instruction including an instruction to connect the gas cylinder transport trolley 2-1 to the cylindrical cabinet 70 to the management device 40a (step S308). The communication unit 41 of the management device 40a receives the connection instruction transmitted from the operation terminal 100. Then, the communication unit 41 transmits the received connection instruction to the gas cylinder transport trolley 2-1 (step S309).

The antenna 16d of the gas cylinder transport trolley 2-1 receives the connection instruction sent from the management device 40a. Since the received instruction is information related to the connection, the communication control unit 241 outputs the connection instruction to the movement control unit 26 (step S310). The movement control unit 26 controls the wheel 13 to connect the gas cylinder transport trolley 2-1 to the cylinder cabinet 70 (step S311).

The cylindrical cabinet 70 confirms with a sensor etc. that it is correctly connected to the gas cylinder transport trolley 2-1 (step S312). When the cylindrical cabinet 70 is correctly connected to the gas cylinder transport trolley 2-1, it sends connection completion information indicating that the connection is completed to the management device 40a (step S313). On the other hand, when the cylindrical cabinet 70 is not correctly connected to the gas cylinder transport trolley 2-1, an error message indicating that the connection is not completed is sent to the management device 40a. Here, it is assumed that the cylindrical cabinet 70 and the gas cylinder transport trolley 2-1 are correctly connected.

The communication unit 41 of the management device 40a receives the connection completion information sent from the cylinder cabinet 70. The communication unit 41 sends the received connection completion information to the operation terminal 100 (step S314).

The communication unit 101 of the operating terminal 100 receives the connection completion information sent from the management device 40a. The control unit 103 inquires the user whether to move the replacement target gas container Be out of the cylinder cabinet 70 according to the connection completion information received by the communication unit 101 (step S315). Specifically, the control unit 103 displays the message "Do you want to move the replacement target gas container Be out of the cylinder cabinet 70?" on the screen of the display unit 104 to inquire the user whether to move the replacement target gas container Be out of the cylinder cabinet 70.

The user operates the operation unit 102 and inputs an answer to the inquiry displayed on the screen of the display unit 104. When the input is an instruction not to carry out the replacement gas container Be from the cylinder cabinet 70, the operation terminal 100 ends the processing. Here, it is assumed that the user inputs an instruction to carry out the replacement gas container Be from the cylinder cabinet 70. In this case, the control unit 103 controls the communication unit 101 to send a carry-out instruction including an instruction to carry out the replacement gas container Be from the cylinder cabinet 70 to the management device 40a (step S316). The communication unit 41 of the management device 40a receives the carry-out instruction sent from the operation terminal 100. Then, the communication unit 41 sends the received carry-out instruction to the gas cylinder transport trolley 2-1 (step S317).

The antenna 16d of the gas cylinder transport trolley 2-1 receives the unloading instruction sent from the management device 40a. Since the received instruction is information related to unloading, the communication control unit 241 outputs the unloading instruction to the unloading control unit 242. The unloading control unit 242 controls the holding mechanism 21 and the sliding drive mechanism 22 to unload the replacement gas container Be (step S318). When the unloading of the replacement gas container Be is completed, the unloading control unit 242 notifies the communication control unit 241 that the unloading of the replacement gas container Be has been completed. The communication control unit 241 sends unloading completion information indicating that the unloading of the replacement gas container Be has been completed to the management device 40a (step S319). It is also possible to determine that the removal of the replacement target gas container Be has been completed by, for example, placing the replacement target gas container Be on the placement section 11.

The communication unit 41 of the management device 40a receives the unloading completion information sent from the gas cylinder transporting trolley 2-1. The communication unit 41 sends the received unloading completion information to the operation terminal 100 (step S320).

The communication unit 101 of the operating terminal 100 receives the removal completion information sent from the management device 40a. The control unit 103 inquires the user whether to move the removed replacement target gas container Be to the gas cylinder storage warehouse 60 (step S321) based on the removal completion information received by the communication unit 101. Specifically, the control unit 103 displays the message "Do you want to move the removed replacement target gas container Be to the gas cylinder storage warehouse 60?" on the screen of the display unit 104, thereby inquiring the user whether to move the removed replacement target gas container Be to the gas cylinder storage warehouse 60.

The user operates the operation unit 102 to input a response to the question displayed on the screen of the display unit 104 . When an instruction is input not to move the unloaded replacement target gas container Be to the gas cylinder storage 60, the operation terminal 100 ends the process. Here, it is assumed that the user inputs an instruction to move the unloaded replacement target gas container Be to the gas cylinder storage 60 . In this case, the control unit 103 controls the communication unit 101 to request the management device 40a for a list of the gas cylinder storage bins 60 that have vacancies in which the replacement target gas container Be can be placed. Through this process, a list of the gas cylinder storage bins 60 that still have vacancies in which the gas container Be to be replaced is obtained from the management device 40a. The control unit 103 displays the list obtained from the management device 40a on the screen of the display unit 104, thereby allowing the user to select the gas cylinder storage 60 as the transport destination of the replacement gas container Be to be moved out.

Here, it is assumed that the user selects the gas cylinder storage 60 (for example, the gas cylinder storage 60 - 3 ) as the import destination of the replacement gas container Be to be moved out. In this case, the control unit 103 refers to the route information storage unit 105 and obtains a route number associated with the current position of the gas bottle transport trolley 2-1 and the selected gas bottle storage 60-3 belonging to the destination. Then, the control unit 103 controls the communication unit 101 to send a movement instruction including the obtained path number to the management device 40a (step S322). The communication unit 41 of the management device 40a receives the movement instruction transmitted from the operation terminal 100. Then, the communication unit 41 transmits the received movement instruction to the gas cylinder transport trolley 2-1 (step S323).

The antenna 16d of the gas cylinder transporting trolley 2-1 receives the movement instruction sent from the management device 40a. Since the received movement instruction is information related to the movement, the communication control unit 241 outputs the movement instruction to the movement control unit 26 (step S324).

The movement control unit 26 moves the gas cylinder transporting trolley 2-1 to the position of the gas cylinder storage warehouse 60-3 at the transport destination according to the movement instruction and the route table 251 (step S325). Specifically, the movement control unit 26 refers to the route table 251 to obtain the information of the route corresponding to the route number included in the movement instruction. Then, the movement control unit 26 controls the wheels 13 according to the route information to move to the position of the gas cylinder storage warehouse 60-3 at the transport destination.

When the movement control unit 26 moves the gas bottle transport trolley 2-1 to the position of the gas cylinder storage warehouse 60-3 of the transport destination, the movement control unit 26 notifies the control unit 24 that the movement is completed. The communication control unit 241 sends the movement completion information indicating that the movement has been completed to the management device 40a (step S326).

The communication unit 41 of the management device 40a receives the movement completion information sent from the gas cylinder transport trolley 2-1. The communication unit 41 sends the received movement completion information to the operation terminal 100 (step S327).

The operator operates the cylindrical cabinet 70 in which the gas container B has been replaced and closes the door. The door of the cylindrical cabinet 70 is closed according to the operator's operation. The operator opens the door of the gas cylinder storage bin 60-3, which is the destination of the gas container Be to be replaced, by operating the door. The door of the gas cylinder storage 60-3 is opened according to the operator's operation.

The communication unit 101 of the operation terminal 100 receives the movement completion information transmitted from the management device 40a. Based on the movement completion information received by the communication unit 101, the control unit 103 asks the user whether to connect the gas cylinder transport trolley 2-1 to the gas cylinder storage warehouse 60-3 (step S328). Specifically, the control unit 103 controls "to connect the gas cylinder transport trolley 2-1 to the gas cylinder." Repository 60-3? " is displayed on the screen of the display unit 104, thereby asking the user whether to connect the gas bottle transport trolley 2-1 to the gas bottle storage 60-3.

The user operates the operation unit 102 to input a response to the question displayed on the screen of the display unit 104 . When an instruction is input not to connect the gas bottle transport trolley 2-1 to the gas bottle storage 60-3, the operation terminal 100 ends the process. Here, it is assumed that the user inputs an instruction to connect the gas bottle transport trolley 2-1 to the gas bottle storage 60-3. In this case, the control unit 103 controls the communication unit 101 to send a connection instruction including an instruction to connect the gas bottle transport trolley 2-1 to the gas bottle storage 60-3 to the management device 40a (step S329). The communication unit 41 of the management device 40a receives the connection instruction transmitted from the operation terminal 100. Then, the communication unit 41 sends the received connection instruction to the gas cylinder transport trolley 2-1 (step S330).

The antenna 16d of the gas cylinder transport trolley 2-1 receives the connection instruction transmitted from the management device 40a. Since the received connection instruction is information related to the connection, the communication control unit 241 outputs the connection instruction to the mobility control unit 26 (step S331). The movement control unit 26 controls the wheels 13 to connect the gas bottle transport trolley 2-1 to the gas bottle storage 60-3 (step S332).

The gas cylinder storage warehouse 60-3 confirms that it is correctly connected to the gas cylinder transport trolley 2-1 by means of a sensor or the like (step S333). When the gas cylinder storage warehouse 60-3 is correctly connected to the gas cylinder transport trolley 2-1, it sends connection completion information indicating that the connection is completed to the management device 40a (step S334). On the other hand, when the gas cylinder storage warehouse 60-3 is not correctly connected to the gas cylinder transport trolley 2-1, it sends error information indicating that the connection is not completed to the management device 40a. Here, it is assumed that the gas cylinder storage warehouse 60-3 is correctly connected to the gas cylinder transport trolley 2-1.

The communication unit 41 of the management device 40a receives the connection completion information transmitted from the gas cylinder storage bank 60-3. The communication unit 41 sends the received connection completion information to the operation terminal 100 (step S335).

The communication unit 101 of the operation terminal 100 receives the connection completion information transmitted from the management device 40a. Based on the connection completion information received by the communication unit 101, the control unit 103 asks the user whether to move the replacement gas container Be into the gas cylinder storage 60-3 (step S336). Specifically, the control unit 103 causes the display unit 104 to display the message "Do you want to move the gas container Be to be replaced into the gas cylinder storage 60-3?" to ask the user whether to move the gas container Be to be replaced. The container Be is moved into the gas cylinder storage 60-3.

The user operates the operation unit 102 and inputs an answer to the inquiry displayed on the screen of the display unit 104. In the case where the input is an instruction not to move the replacement gas container Be into the gas cylinder storage warehouse 60-3, the operation terminal 100 ends the processing. Here, it is assumed that the user inputs an instruction to move the replacement gas container Be into the gas cylinder storage warehouse 60-3. In this case, the control unit 103 controls the communication unit 101 to send the move-in instruction including the instruction to move the replacement gas container Be into the gas cylinder storage warehouse 60-3 to the management device 40a (step S337). The communication unit 41 of the management device 40a receives the move-in instruction sent from the operation terminal 100. Then, the communication unit 41 sends the received carrying instruction to the gas cylinder carrying trolley 2-1 (step S338).

The antenna 16d of the gas cylinder transport trolley 2-1 receives the carry-in instruction transmitted from the management device 40a. Since the received carry-in instruction is information related to carry-in, the communication control unit 241 outputs the carry-in instruction to the carry-in/out control unit 242 . The loading and unloading control unit 242 controls the holding mechanism 21 and the sliding drive mechanism 22 to carry the gas container Be to be replaced into the gas cylinder storage 60-3 (step S339). The loading/unloading control unit 242 completes loading of the replacement gas container Be. , the communication control unit 241 is notified that the loading of the replacement gas container Be is completed. The communication control unit 241 sends the import completion information indicating that the import of the replacement gas container Be has been completed to the management device 40a (step S340).

The communication unit 41 of the management device 40a receives the transport completion information sent from the gas cylinder transport trolley 2-1. The communication unit 41 sends the received transport completion information to the operation terminal 100 (step S341).

The communication unit 101 of the operation terminal 100 receives the import completion information transmitted from the management device 40a. The control unit 103 inquires the user whether to end the operation based on the import completion information received by the communication unit 101 (step S342). Specifically, the control unit 103 causes the display unit 104 to display a message "Do you want to return the gas cylinder transport trolley 2-1 to the storage position?" on the screen of the display unit 104, thereby asking the user whether to end the operation.

The user operates the operation unit 102 and inputs an answer to the question displayed on the screen of the display unit 104. When the input is an instruction not to terminate the operation, the operator operates the operation terminal 100 to continue the next operation. Here, when the user inputs a movement instruction to terminate the operation, that is, to return the gas cylinder transport trolley 2-1 to the storage position, the gas cylinder transport trolley 2-1 returns to the storage position (area 71-1) according to the movement instruction.

18 and 19 are sequence diagrams showing the flow of real bottle loading processing in the gas container management system 1a according to the second embodiment. The real bottle loading process is a process of transporting the gas container Bf to be loaded into the cylindrical cabinet 70 . It is assumed that at the start of the processing of FIGS. 18 and 19 , the path number to the gas cylinder storage 60 selected by the user has been acquired. The control unit 103 of the operation terminal 100 controls the communication unit 101 and sends an unloading instruction including the acquired path number to the management device 40a (step S401). The communication unit 41 of the management device 40a receives the transmission from the operation terminal 100. Move-out instructions sent. Then, the communication unit 41 transmits the received carry-out instruction to the gas cylinder transport trolley 2-2 (step S402).

The antenna 16d of the gas cylinder transport trolley 2-2 receives the unloading instruction sent from the management device 40a. Since the received unloading instruction is information related to unloading, the communication control unit 241 outputs the unloading instruction to the movement control unit 26 (step S403).

The operator operates the gas cylinder storage warehouse 60 to open the door of the gas cylinder storage warehouse 60 to be unloaded. The gas cylinder storage warehouse 60 opens the door according to the operator's operation.

The movement control unit 26 moves the gas bottle transport trolley 2-2 to the position of the gas bottle storage 60 of the transport destination based on the carry-out instruction and the route table 251 (step S404). Specifically, the movement control unit 26 refers to the route table 251 and obtains information on the route corresponding to the route number included in the move-out instruction. Then, the movement control unit 26 controls the wheels 13 based on the route information to move the gas bottle transport trolley 2-2 to the position of the gas bottle storage 60 of the transfer destination.

When the movement control unit 26 moves the gas cylinder transport trolley 2-2 to the position of the gas cylinder storage warehouse 60 at the destination of the transport, it notifies the control unit 24 that the movement has been completed. The communication control unit 241 sends the movement completion information indicating that the movement has been completed to the management device 40a (step S405).

The communication unit 41 of the management device 40a receives the movement completion information transmitted from the gas cylinder transport trolley 2-2. The communication unit 41 sends the received movement completion information to the operation terminal 100 (step S406).

The communication unit 101 of the operation terminal 100 receives the movement completion information transmitted from the management device 40a. Based on the movement completion information received by the communication unit 101, the control unit 103 asks the user whether to connect the gas bottle transport trolley 2-2 to the gas bottle storage 60 (step S407). Specifically, the control unit 103 controls "to connect the gas cylinder transport trolley 2-2 to the gas cylinder." Repository 60? ” is displayed on the screen of the display unit 104 to ask the user whether to connect the gas bottle transport trolley 2-2 to the gas bottle storage 60.

The user operates the operation unit 102 and inputs an answer to the inquiry displayed on the screen of the display unit 104. In the case where the input is an instruction not to connect the gas cylinder transport trolley 2-2 to the gas cylinder storage warehouse 60, the operation terminal 100 ends the processing. Here, it is assumed that the user input is an instruction to connect the gas cylinder transport trolley 2-2 to the gas cylinder storage warehouse 60. In this case, the control unit 103 controls the communication unit 101 to send a connection instruction including an instruction to connect the gas cylinder transport trolley 2-2 to the gas cylinder storage warehouse 60 to the management device 40a (step S408). The communication unit 41 of the management device 40a receives the connection instruction sent from the operation terminal 100. Then, the communication unit 41 sends the received connection instruction to the gas cylinder transporting trolley 2-2 (step S409).

The antenna 16d of the gas cylinder transport trolley 2-2 receives the connection instruction sent from the management device 40a. Since the received connection instruction is information related to the connection, the communication control unit 241 outputs the connection instruction to the movement control unit 26 (step S410). The movement control unit 26 controls the wheel 13 to connect the gas cylinder transport trolley 2-2 to the gas cylinder storage 60 (step S411).

The gas cylinder storage warehouse 60 confirms that it is correctly connected to the gas cylinder transport trolley 2-2 by means of a sensor or the like (step S412). When the gas cylinder storage warehouse 60 is correctly connected to the gas cylinder transport trolley 2-2, it sends connection completion information indicating that the connection is completed to the management device 40a (step S413). On the other hand, when the gas cylinder storage warehouse 60 is not correctly connected to the gas cylinder transport trolley 2-2, it sends error information indicating that the connection is not completed to the management device 40a. Here, it is assumed that the gas cylinder storage warehouse 60 is correctly connected to the gas cylinder transport trolley 2-2.

The communication unit 41 of the management device 40a receives the connection completion information transmitted from the gas cylinder storage bank 60. The communication unit 41 sends the received connection completion information to the operation terminal 100 (step S414).

The communication unit 101 of the operation terminal 100 receives the connection completion information transmitted from the management device 40a. The control unit 103 inquires the user whether to move the gas container B out of the gas cylinder storage 60 based on the connection completion information received by the communication unit 101 (step S415). Specifically, the control unit 103 causes the display unit 104 to display a message "Do you want to move the gas container B out of the gas cylinder storage 60?" on the screen of the display unit 104, and asks the user whether or not he wants to move the gas container Bf to be moved out of the gas cylinder. Repository 60 is moved out.

The user operates the operation unit 102 to input a response to the question displayed on the screen of the display unit 104 . When the instruction not to carry out the gas container Bf to be carried out from the gas cylinder storage 60 is input, the operation terminal 100 ends the process. Here, it is assumed that the user inputs an instruction to carry out the gas container Bf to be carried out from the gas cylinder storage 60 . In this case, the control unit 103 controls the communication unit 101 to transmit a carry-out instruction including an instruction to carry out the gas container Bf to be carried out from the gas cylinder storage 60 to the management device 40a (step S416). The communication unit 41 of the management device 40a receives the carry-out instruction transmitted from the operation terminal 100. Then, the communication unit 41 transmits the received carry-out instruction to the gas cylinder transport trolley 2-2 (step S417).

The antenna 16d of the gas cylinder transport trolley 2-2 receives the carry-out instruction transmitted from the management device 40a. The communication control unit 241 outputs the carry-out instruction to the carry-out control unit 242 because the received carry-out instruction is information related to carry-out. The carry-in/out control unit 242 controls the holding mechanism 21 and the slide drive mechanism 22 to carry out the gas container Bf to be carried in from the gas cylinder storage 60 (step S418). The carry-in and carry-out control unit 242 completes the carry-out of the gas container Bf to be carried in. , the communication control unit 241 is notified that the unloading of the gas container Bf to be loaded is completed. The communication control unit 241 transmits unloading completion information indicating that the unloading of the target gas container Bf has been completed to the management device 40a (step S419). It can also be determined that the unloading of the gas container Bf to be carried is completed by, for example, the gas container Bf to be carried being placed on the placement section 11 .

The communication unit 41 of the management device 40a receives the carry-out completion information transmitted from the gas cylinder transport trolley 2-2. The communication unit 41 sends the received unloading completion information to the operation terminal 100 (step S420).

The communication unit 101 of the operation terminal 100 receives the carry-out completion information transmitted from the management device 40a. Based on the carry-out completion information received by the communication unit 101, the control unit 103 asks the user whether to move the unloaded gas container Bf to be carried out to the cylindrical cabinet 70 (step S421). Specifically, the control unit 103 causes the display unit 104 to display a message "Do you want the gas container Bf to be moved out to be moved to the cylindrical cabinet 70?" to ask the user whether to move the gas container Bf to be moved out. The gas container Bf to be carried in is moved to the cylindrical cabinet 70 .

The user operates the operation unit 102 and inputs an answer to the inquiry displayed on the screen of the display unit 104. In the case where the input is an instruction not to move the unloaded import gas container Bf to the cylinder cabinet 70, the terminal 100 is operated to end the processing. Here, it is assumed that the user inputs an instruction to move the unloaded import gas container Bf to the cylinder cabinet 70. In this case, the control unit 103 controls the communication unit 101 to request the management device 40a for a list of cylinder cabinets 70 that still have vacancies for placing the import gas container Bf. Through this processing, a list of cylinder cabinets 70 that still have vacancies for placing the import gas container Bf is obtained from the management device 40a. The control unit 103 displays the list obtained from the management device 40a on the screen of the display unit 104, thereby allowing the user to select the cylinder cabinet 70 as the destination for the transported gas container Bf to be transported out.

Here, it is assumed that the user selects the cylindrical cabinet 70 as the destination of the gas container Bf to be moved out. In this case, the control unit 103 refers to the route information storage unit 105 and obtains a route number associated with the current position of the gas cylinder transport trolley 2-2 and the selected cylindrical cabinet 70 belonging to the destination. Then, the control unit 103 controls the communication unit 101 to send a movement instruction including the obtained path number to the management device 40a (step S422). The communication unit 41 of the management device 40a receives the movement instruction transmitted from the operation terminal 100. Then, the communication unit 41 transmits the received movement instruction to the gas cylinder transport trolley 2-2 (step S423).

The antenna 16d of the gas cylinder transporting trolley 2-2 receives the movement instruction sent from the management device 40a. Since the received movement instruction is information related to the movement, the communication control unit 241 outputs the movement instruction to the movement control unit 26 (step S424).

The movement control unit 26 moves the cylinder transporting trolley 2-2 to the position of the cylinder cabinet 70 at the transport destination according to the movement instruction and the path table 251 (step S425). Specifically, the movement control unit 26 refers to the path table 251 to obtain the information of the route corresponding to the path number included in the movement instruction. Then, the movement control unit 26 controls the wheels 13 according to the route information to move to the position of the cylinder cabinet 70 at the transport destination.

When the movement control unit 26 moves the gas cylinder transport trolley 2-2 to the position of the cylinder cabinet 70 to be transported, it notifies the control unit 24 that the movement has been completed. The communication control unit 241 sends the movement completion information indicating that the movement has been completed to the management device 40a (step S426).

The communication unit 41 of the management device 40a receives the movement completion information transmitted from the gas cylinder transport trolley 2-2. The communication unit 41 sends the received movement completion information to the operation terminal 100 (step S427).

The operator operates the cylinder storage warehouse 60 that has completed the unloading of the target gas container Bf to close the door. The cylinder storage warehouse 60 closes the door according to the operator's operation. The operator operates the cylinder cabinet 70 that is the destination of the target gas container Bf to open the door. The cylinder cabinet 70 opens the door according to the operator's operation.

The communication unit 101 of the operation terminal 100 receives the movement completion information transmitted from the management device 40a. The control unit 103 inquires the user whether to connect the gas cylinder transport trolley 2-2 to the cylindrical cabinet 70 based on the movement completion information received by the communication unit 101 (step S428). Specifically, the control unit 103 causes the display unit 104 to display the message "Do you want to connect the gas cylinder transport trolley 2-1 to the cylindrical cabinet 70?" to ask the user whether to connect the gas cylinder to the cylindrical cabinet 70. The transport trolley 2-2 is connected to the cylindrical cabinet 70.

The user operates the operation unit 102 to input a response to the question displayed on the screen of the display unit 104 . When the instruction not to connect the gas cylinder transport trolley 2-2 to the cylindrical cabinet 70 is input, the operation terminal 100 ends the process. Here, it is assumed that the user inputs an instruction to connect the gas cylinder transport trolley 2-2 to the cylindrical cabinet 70. In this case, the control unit 103 controls the communication unit 101 to transmit a connection instruction instructing to connect the gas cylinder transport trolley 2-2 to the cylindrical cabinet 70 to the management device 40a (step S429). The communication unit 41 of the management device 40a receives the connection instruction transmitted from the operation terminal 100. Then, the communication unit 41 transmits the received connection instruction to the gas cylinder transport trolley 2-2 (step S430).

The antenna 16d of the gas cylinder transport trolley 2-2 receives the connection instruction transmitted from the management device 40a. Since the received connection instruction is information related to the connection, the communication control unit 241 outputs the connection instruction to the mobility control unit 26 (step S431). The movement control unit 26 controls the wheels 13 to connect the gas cylinder transport trolley 2-2 to the cylindrical cabinet 70 (step S432).

The cylinder cabinet 70 confirms that it is correctly connected to the cylinder transport trolley 2-2 by means of a sensor or the like (step S433). When the cylinder cabinet 70 is correctly connected to the cylinder transport trolley 2-2, it sends connection completion information indicating that the connection is completed to the management device 40a (step S434). On the other hand, when the cylinder cabinet 70 is not correctly connected to the cylinder transport trolley 2-2, it sends error information indicating that the connection is not completed to the management device 40a. Here, it is assumed that the cylinder cabinet 70 is correctly connected to the cylinder transport trolley 2-2.

The communication unit 41 of the management device 40a receives the connection completion information transmitted from the cylindrical cabinet 70. The communication unit 41 sends the received connection completion information to the operation terminal 100 (step S435).

The communication unit 101 of the operation terminal 100 receives the connection completion information transmitted from the management device 40a. Based on the connection completion information received by the communication unit 101, the control unit 103 asks the user whether to move the gas container Bf to be moved into the cylindrical cabinet 70 (step S436). Specifically, the control unit 103 causes the display unit 104 to display the message "Do you want to move the gas container Bf to be moved into the cylindrical cabinet 70?" to ask the user whether to move the gas container Bf to be moved in. Cylindrical cabinet 70.

The user operates the operation unit 102 to input a response to the question displayed on the screen of the display unit 104 . When the instruction not to carry the gas container Bf to be carried into the cylindrical cabinet 70 is input, the operation terminal 100 ends the process. Here, it is assumed that the user inputs an instruction to carry the gas container Bf to be carried into the cylindrical cabinet 70 . In this case, the control unit 103 controls the communication unit 101 to transmit a carry-in instruction including an instruction to carry the gas container Bf to be carried into the cylindrical cabinet 70 to the management device 40a (step S437). The communication unit 41 of the management device 40a receives the slave operation The move-in instruction sent from the terminal 100 is processed. Then, the communication unit 41 transmits the received import instruction to the gas cylinder transport trolley 2-2 (step S438).

The antenna 16d of the gas cylinder transport trolley 2-2 receives the carry-in instruction sent from the management device 40a. Since the received carry-in instruction is information related to the carry-in, the communication control unit 241 outputs the carry-in instruction to the carry-in control unit 242. The carry-in control unit 242 controls the holding mechanism 21 and the sliding drive mechanism 22 to carry the gas container Bf to be carried into the cylinder cabinet 70 (step S439). When the carry-in of the gas container Bf to be carried in is completed, the carry-in control unit 242 notifies the communication control unit 241 that the carry-in of the gas container Bf to be carried in is completed. The communication control unit 241 sends the carry-in completion information indicating that the carry-in of the gas container Bf to be carried in is completed to the management device 40a (step S44).

The communication unit 41 of the management device 40a receives the transport completion information sent from the gas cylinder transport trolley 2-2. The communication unit 41 sends the received transport completion information to the operation terminal 100 (step S441).

The communication unit 101 of the operation terminal 100 receives the transport completion information sent from the management device 40a. The control unit 103 asks the user whether to end the operation based on the transport completion information received by the communication unit 101 (step S442). Specifically, the control unit 103 displays the message "Do you want to return the gas cylinder transport trolley 2-2 to the storage position?" on the screen of the display unit 104 to ask the user whether to end the operation.

The user operates the operation unit 102 to input a response to the question displayed on the screen of the display unit 104 . When an instruction is input not to end the work, the operator operates the operation terminal 100 to continue the next work. Here, after the user input is to make the operation When the movement instruction is completed, that is, the gas bottle transportation trolley 2-2 is returned to the storage position, the gas bottle transportation trolley 2-2 moves to the storage position (area 71-2) in accordance with the movement instruction.

According to the gas container management system 1a of the second embodiment configured as above, the same effects as those of the first embodiment can be obtained.

Furthermore, the gas container management system 1a is provided with: a control device (operating terminal 100, management device 40a) for controlling the movement of the transport trolley (gas cylinder transport trolley 2); and a transport trolley for transporting the gas container B according to the control instructions of the control device, while sliding the gas container B between the loading portion 11 for carrying the gas container B and the destination of the gas container B to be loaded or unloaded, and automatically carrying out and loading the gas container B. Thus, the transport trolley automatically carries out the transport, unloading, and loading of the gas container B according to the instructions of the control device. Therefore, the user only needs to operate the control device to transmit the instructions to the transport trolley, and there is no need to transport the gas container B to the unloading destination or the loading destination. Therefore, the transport, unloading, and loading of the gas container B can be easily performed.

(Modification of the second embodiment)

The operation terminal 100 and the gas cylinder transport trolley 2 may be configured to communicate directly without going through the management device 40a. The operation terminal 100 and the cylindrical cabinet 70 may be configured to communicate directly without going through the management device 40a. The operation terminal 100 and the gas cylinder storage 60 may be configured to communicate directly without going through the management device 40a.

In the above-described embodiment, the operator operates the terminal 100 to control the transportation, unloading and loading of the gas cylinder transportation trolley 2. However, the operator may also be configured to operate the management device 40a to control the gas cylinder transportation. The bottle transport trolley 2 is used for transporting, unloading and loading. In this case, the management device 40a is equipped with the route information storage unit 105 like the operation terminal 100.

The path information storage unit 105 may be provided outside the operating terminal 100. For example, the path information storage unit 105 may be provided in the management device 40a. In this case, the operating terminal 100 may not have the path information storage unit 105. Moreover, an instruction signal is sent from the device storing the path information storage unit 105 to the gas cylinder transporting trolley 2. Let's take an example to illustrate. Assume that the user selects a replacement object gas container Be as the transport destination from the area displayed on the operating terminal 100. In this case, the control unit 103 controls the communication unit 101 to send the instruction information with the selected replacement object gas container Be as the destination to the management device 40a. The communication unit 101 sends the instruction information with the selected replacement target gas container Be as the destination to the management device 40a according to the control of the control unit 103. The communication unit 41 of the management device 40a receives the instruction information sent from the operation terminal 100. The control unit 45 refers to the path information storage unit 105 to obtain the path number from the current position of the gas cylinder transport trolley 2 to the replacement target gas container Be included in the instruction information. Then, the communication unit 41 sends the instruction including the obtained path number to the gas cylinder transport trolley 2.

The gas bottle storage 60 and the cylindrical cabinet 70 can be automatically opened and closed based on information sent from the gas bottle transport trolley 2 . For example, the gas bottle storage 60 and the cylindrical cabinet 70 automatically open the doors when receiving a signal indicating that the doors are to be opened from the gas bottle transport trolley 2 . For example, the gas bottle storage 60 and the cylindrical cabinet 70 automatically close the doors when receiving a signal indicating that the doors are to be closed from the gas bottle transport trolley 2 . Such control can be realized by the control box provided in the gas cylinder storage warehouse 60 and the cylindrical cabinet 70 .

(Third implementation form)

Gas container B requires a certain period of time from ordering to delivery (delivery period). Therefore, assuming that the order is placed when the remaining amount of gas filled in the gas container B is lower than the threshold value, there may be a situation where the inventory of the new gas container B is insufficient before delivery. Therefore, in the third embodiment, in addition to the above-described configuration, a configuration that performs appropriate inventory management based on the consumption trend of the gas container B will be described. The basic system configuration is the same as that of the first implementation type or the second implementation type. The difference from the first embodiment and the second embodiment lies in the structure of the management device. Therefore, the following description will only focus on the differences.

FIG. 20 is a schematic block diagram showing the functional configuration of the management device 40b of the third embodiment. The management device 40b has a CPU, a memory, and an auxiliary memory device connected by a bus, and executes a control program. By executing the control program, the management device 40b functions as a device having a communication unit 41, an operation unit 42, a memory unit 43b, a display unit 44, and a control unit 45b. In addition, all or part of the functions of the management device 40b can also be realized by hardware such as ASIC, PLD, or FPGA. The control program can be recorded in a computer-readable recording medium. Computer-readable recording media include portable media such as floppy disks, magneto-optical disks, ROMs, CD-ROMs, and memory devices such as hard disks built into computer systems. Control programs can also be received or sent via telecommunications lines.

The memory unit 43b stores the container table 431, the management table 432, the gas utilization information 434, and the prediction model 435. The gas utilization information 434 is information showing the residual quantity of each gas container B of each gas type in use in the cylinder cabinet 70 for each day.

The prediction model 435 is a model learned so as to output an estimated day when the amount of gas filled in the gas container B will become lower than a threshold based on the gas utilization information 434 . The prediction model 435 is stored in the memory unit 43b for each gas type.

The control unit 45b controls the operation of the management device 40b. The control unit 45b determines whether the gas ordering conditions are met based on the gas consumption forecast made by the forecast model 435, the inventory information of the gas container B, and the period required for the gas container B to arrive, and outputs information urging the order of the gas container B if the gas ordering conditions are met. The inventory information of the gas container B can be calculated based on the container table 431. For example, the control unit 45b can calculate the unused gas containers B among the gas containers B registered in the container table 431 as the inventory number of the gas containers B. The control unit 45b can, for example, determine that the gas containers B stored in the gas cylinder storage warehouse 60 among the gas containers B registered in the container table 431 are unused. The gas ordering condition is used to determine whether the gas container B must be ordered, for example, the inventory of gas container B on the date estimated based on the gas consumption forecast (hereinafter referred to as the "estimated date") is lower than the threshold. In addition, in terms of application, it is better to meet the above conditions and deliver the gas container B before the estimated date. The control unit 45b learns the prediction model 435 based on the gas utilization information 434.

FIG. 21 is a flowchart showing the flow of order processing performed by the management device 40b of the third embodiment. The order processing is a process for placing an order for the gas container B. The processing of Fig. 21 is executed in predetermined timing. For example, the processing in FIG. 21 may be executed at a predetermined time point, or may be executed at a time point when the user issues an instruction.

The control unit 45b selects a gas type (step S501). For example, when the user issues an instruction, the control unit 45b selects the gas type selected by the user. When the user selects multiple gas types, the control unit 45b randomly selects a gas type. In addition, when it is performed at a predetermined time point, the control unit 45b randomly selects a gas type.

The control unit 45b acquires the gas utilization information 434 and the prediction model 435 corresponding to the selected gas type from the storage unit 43b. Then, the control unit 45b uses the obtained gas The information 434 is input into the prediction model 435 to obtain the estimated date (step S502). The control unit 45b acquires the inventory information of the gas container B corresponding to the selected gas type from the container table 431 (step S503). Furthermore, the control unit 45b acquires the delivery date information of the gas container B corresponding to the selected gas type (step S504). The delivery date information of the gas container B corresponding to the gas type may be stored in the management device 40b in advance, or may be included in the necessary information sent from the communication device 30.

The control unit 45b determines whether the gas order condition is satisfied based on the obtained gas consumption forecast, the inventory information of the gas container B, and the period required for the arrival of the gas container B (step S505). If the gas order condition is satisfied (the result of step S505 is "YES"), the control unit 45b displays information urging the ordering of the gas container B on the display unit 44 (step S506). At this time, in addition to whether to place an order, the control unit 45b may also display information on the display unit 44 including the inventory number of the gas container B and how many days it will take for the inventory number to fall below the threshold, as a prompt to order the gas container B. information. The control unit 45b determines whether there is an input indicating that an order is required (step S507). If there is an input indicating that an order is required (the result of step S507 is "YES"), the control unit 45b orders the gas container B (step S508). The control unit 45b determines whether the end condition is satisfied (step S509). The end condition is a condition required to end the order process. For example, the user inputs an instruction to end the order, the gas order conditions are determined for all gas types, or the gas order is placed a predetermined number of times. Judgment of conditions.

If the termination condition is met (the result of step S509 is "yes"), the control unit 45b terminates the order processing.

On the other hand, if the end condition is not satisfied (the result of step S509 is "NO"), the control unit 45b performs the processing after step S501.

If the gas ordering conditions are not met in step S505 (the result of step S505 is "No"), or if an input indicating that no order is required is made in step S507 (the result of step S507 is "No"), the control unit 45b determines whether the termination conditions are met (step S509).

According to the gas container management system of the third embodiment constructed as above, the same effect as the first embodiment or the second embodiment can be obtained.

Furthermore, the gas container management system of the third embodiment combines the gas consumption forecast and the inventory information of gas container B to urge the ordering of gas container B. Thus, the manager and others can be notified of the need to order gas container B before the gas container B is insufficient. In this way, the gas container management system of the third embodiment can easily manage gas container B.

(Modification of the third embodiment)

The control unit 45b can also be configured to display the consumption prediction result of the gas container B selected by the user on the display unit 44. In such a configuration, the control unit 45b uses the gas utilization information 434 corresponding to the gas container B selected by the user as the input of the prediction model 435.

In this way, the consumption prediction result of the specific gas container B can be provided to the user.

The control unit 45b may be configured to automatically order the gas container B when the gas ordering conditions are met. In the case of such a configuration, the control unit 45b compares the stock number of the gas container B at the time when the gas order condition is satisfied with the predetermined stock number. Then, the control unit 45b automatically places an order for the number of gas containers B that is insufficient with respect to the predetermined inventory number.

(Variations common to the first to third embodiments)

The management devices 40, 40a, and 40b may be configured so that one management device manages the gas containers B of a plurality of facilities. In this case, the network 80 is constructed using the Internet. Furthermore, the management devices 40, 40a, and 40b collect transmissions from the communication devices 30 of a plurality of facilities. The information sent out, the information sent out by the gas cylinder storage warehouse 60 and the information sent out by the cylinder cabinet 70. The specific processing after collection is the same as any one of the first to third embodiments.

The communication device 30 can also obtain imaging data from other devices. For example, the communication device 30 may be configured to obtain imaging data from the imaging device and perform image analysis using the obtained imaging data. With such a configuration, the communication device 30 may not have the function of photographing the tag 3 .

In each of the above-mentioned embodiments, the communication device 30 captures the image of the label 3 of the incoming gas container B to obtain the container information, but it is not necessarily limited to this. For example, when the delivered gas container B is attached with a label and the label is printed with barcode information converted from the container information (such as a one-dimensional barcode or a two-dimensional barcode), the communication device 30 reads the barcode information to obtain the container information.

A recording medium other than the electronic tag 90 may be installed on the gas container B stored in the gas cylinder storage 60 and the cylindrical cabinet 70 . For example, the information sent from the management devices 40, 40a, 40b can be converted into barcode information (such as one-dimensional barcode or two-dimensional barcode) and printed on a label, and then the label can be affixed to the gas container B. In the case of such a configuration, the gas container management system 1 may be provided with a printing device capable of printing a label with barcode information printed on it, instead of the writing device 50 . In this case, the reading device 61 of the gas cylinder storage 60 and the reading device 71 of the cylindrical cabinet 70 may be provided with a reading device capable of reading the barcode information printed on the label.

The writing device 50 may also obtain identification information from the communication device 30 . With this configuration, the communication device 30 sends necessary information and identification information to the management devices 40, 40a, and 40b, and also sends the identification information to the writing device 50. In this case, the communication device 30 can automatically generate identification information, or use the information input by the user as the identification information.

The control units 45, 45a, and 45b may be configured to display information on the gas container B that has exceeded the warranty period on the screen of the display unit 44.

The above describes the implementation of the present invention in detail with reference to the drawings, but the specific structure is not limited to this implementation, and also includes designs that do not deviate from the scope of the subject matter of the present invention.

1: Gas container management system

3: Label

30: Communication device

40:Management device

50:Writing device

60: Gas cylinder storage

61: Reading device

70: Cylindrical cabinet

71: Reading device

80: Internet

90: Electronic label

B:Gas container

Claims (3)

A container management system comprises: a plurality of storages for storing gas containers; and a management device for obtaining an estimated date indicating a time point for switching the gas containers based on changes in the consumption of the gas containers used in the storages, and determining whether to order the gas containers based on the obtained estimated date, inventory information of the gas containers, and a period required for delivery of the gas containers; a portion of the storages are cylinder cabinets, and the management device predicts gas consumption using a learned model, wherein the learned model is based on gas consumption data obtained from cylinder cabinets filled with a plurality of types of gas used in the cylinder cabinets. The model is obtained by learning the consumption of gas containers corresponding to the target gas type in the gas container and outputting the estimated date when the amount of gas filled in the gas container will become lower than the threshold; the management device determines whether the gas ordering condition that the inventory quantity of the unused gas container does not reach the threshold on the estimated date is met based on the gas consumption forecast, the inventory information of the unused gas containers and the period required for the delivery of the gas containers, and automatically orders the gas containers when the gas ordering condition is met, or outputs information urging the ordering. A container management device is provided with a control unit, which determines whether to order the gas container based on: an estimated date estimated by the consumption of gas containers used in each of a plurality of storages storing gas containers, inventory information of the gas container, and the period required for delivery of the gas container; A part of the storage is a cylinder cabinet, and the management device predicts the consumption of gas using a learned model, and the learned model is based on the gas containers filled with a plurality of types of gas used in the cylinder cabinet and the gas to be the target. The model is obtained by learning the consumption of gas containers corresponding to the gas types and outputting the estimated date on which the amount of gas filled in the gas container will become lower than the threshold; the management device determines whether the gas ordering condition that the inventory quantity of the unused gas container does not reach the threshold on the estimated date is met based on the gas consumption forecast, the inventory information of the unused gas containers and the period required for the delivery of the gas containers, and automatically orders the gas containers when the gas ordering condition is met, or outputs information urging the ordering. A container management method is performed by a control unit of a container management device: obtaining an estimated date indicating the time point of switching the gas container from the change in the consumption of each gas container used in a plurality of storages storing gas containers; determining whether to order the gas container based on the obtained estimated date, the inventory information of the gas container, and the period required for delivery of the gas container; and predicting the consumption of gas using a learned model, wherein the learned model is based on the consumption of the gas containers filled with the plurality of types of gas used in the cylinder cabinet and the gas containers with the same gas consumption as the gas containers. A model is obtained by learning the consumption of gas containers corresponding to the target gas type and outputting the estimated date on which the amount of gas filled in the aforementioned gas container will become lower than the threshold; Based on the gas consumption forecast, the inventory information of unused gas containers and the period required for the delivery of the aforementioned gas containers, it is determined whether the gas ordering condition that the inventory quantity of the aforementioned unused gas containers does not reach the threshold on the aforementioned estimated date is met, and if the aforementioned gas ordering condition is met, the aforementioned gas containers are automatically ordered, or information urging the ordering is output.

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