Cargo handling systems and sorting container mobile equipment

Abstract

The embodiment of the present application provides a cargo processing system and a sorting container mobile device, the cargo processing system comprising: a sorting device, and at least one conveying device docked with the sorting device, the sorting device is provided with a plurality of material boxes for placing the goods to be sorted, and a sorting container mobile device is provided at the delivery position of each delivery port of the sorting device, the sorting container mobile device is used to place a plurality of sorting containers; wherein the conveying device is used to convey the goods to be sorted to a target material box of the sorting device; the sorting container mobile device is used to move the target sorting container corresponding to the goods to be sorted to the cargo receiving position; the sorting device is used to move the target material box to the target delivery port corresponding to the target sorting container mobile device where the target sorting container is located, and deliver the goods to be sorted to the target sorting container via the target delivery port.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of control, and in particular to a cargo handling system and a sorting container mobile device. Background Art

[0002] With the rapid development of the Internet, more and more users are using online shopping to purchase goods. At present, online shopping goods can be stored in warehouses to facilitate the management of online shopping goods. Considering that the same order may include multiple goods, it is necessary to merge the multiple goods in the same order, that is, to sort all the goods in the same order into corresponding sorting containers, and there are no goods included in other orders except the same order in the sorting container.

[0003] In the prior art, small-sized sorting equipment is usually used to carry out the above-mentioned order merging process. However, the currently used small-sized sorting equipment cannot meet the demand for merging a large number of orders at the same time, and the efficiency of order merging is low. Summary of the invention

[0004] In view of the above problems, the embodiments of the present application provide a cargo physical system and a sorting container mobile device, which can improve the efficiency of order merging.

[0005] In order to solve the above problems, according to a first aspect of an embodiment of the present application, a cargo handling system is provided, the system comprising: a sorting device, and at least one conveying device docked with the sorting device, the sorting device is provided with a plurality of material boxes for placing the cargo to be sorted, a sorting container moving device is provided at a delivery position of each delivery port of the sorting device, the sorting container moving device is used to place a plurality of sorting containers;

[0006] Wherein, the conveying device is used to convey the goods to be sorted to the target material box of the sorting device;

[0007] The sorting container moving device is used to move the target sorting container corresponding to the goods to be sorted to the goods receiving position;

[0008] The sorting device is used to move the target material box to a target delivery port corresponding to a target sorting container moving device where the target sorting container is located, and deliver the goods to be sorted to the target sorting container via the target delivery port.

[0009] Optionally, each conveying device includes a plurality of conveying branches, wherein a first conveying branch is connected to the sorting device, and is used to convey the goods to be sorted to a material box of the sorting device; a second conveying branch is respectively connected to a buffer container, a next processing station, a return device or another sorting device, and is used to convey the goods to be sorted to a buffer container, a next processing station, a return device or another sorting device; the first conveying branch is any branch among the plurality of conveying branches, and the second conveying branch is a branch among the plurality of conveying branches except the first branch;

[0010] The system further comprises: a diversion device, which is used to divert the goods to be sorted on the conveying device, so as to divert different goods to be sorted to different conveying branches in the conveying device.

[0011] Optionally, the sorting device is used to drive multiple material boxes to rotate periodically.

[0012] Optionally, the sorting equipment includes any one of the following: a turntable sorting equipment and a reciprocating sorting equipment;

[0013] The turntable sorting device includes a circular sorting device or an elliptical sorting device;

[0014] The reciprocating sorting device includes an L-type sorting device or a U-type sorting device.

[0015] Optionally, the system further includes: a control device connected to the at least one transmission device, for controlling at least one transmission device among the multiple transmission devices to enter a working mode or an idle mode when the at least one transmission device includes multiple transmission devices.

[0016] Optionally, the sorting container mobile device is provided with a prompting device for indicating the order status corresponding to the sorting container on the sorting container mobile device;

[0017] The prompting device includes at least one of the following: a light prompter, a display prompter and a sound prompter.

[0018] Optionally, the system further comprises: a control device connected to the sorting container moving device;

[0019] In the case where the target sorting container moving device includes a moving cart, the control device is used to control the moving cart to move forward and backward and / or left and right, so that the target sorting container on the moving cart moves to the cargo receiving position.

[0020] Optionally, the system further comprises: a control device connected to the sorting container moving device;

[0021] In the case that a conveying device is provided on the target sorting container moving device, the control device is used to control the conveying device to move the target sorting container on the target sorting container moving device to the goods receiving position.

[0022] Optionally, the target sorting container moving device is provided with a device power device; or,

[0023] The sorting equipment is provided with a sorting power device; or,

[0024] The system includes an external power device;

[0025] The equipment power device, the sorting power device and the external power device are all used to provide power to the mobile cart so that the target sorting container on the mobile cart moves to the cargo receiving position; or to provide power to the conveying device so that the conveying device drives the target sorting container to move to the cargo receiving position.

[0026] Optionally, the conveying device includes any one of the following: a conveyor belt, a roller, a belt, a chain, a roller and a push rod.

[0027] Optionally, a speed correspondence relationship is satisfied between a moving speed of the material box on the sorting device and a conveying speed of the at least one conveying device.

[0028] Optionally, the speed correspondence includes the following formula:

[0029] v=u*n

[0030] Among them, v represents the moving speed of the material box on the sorting device (the number of moving positions / hour), u represents the conveying speed of the conveying device (the number of conveying pieces / hour), and n is used to represent the number of devices in the working mode in the at least one conveying device.

[0031] Optionally, the system further includes: a control device connected to the sorting container mobile device, for controlling the target sorting container mobile device to move from a current position to a target position where a next processing station is located when a plurality of sorting containers included in the target sorting container mobile device are all in an order completion state.

[0032] Optionally, the system further comprises: a plurality of standby sorting container moving devices; a plurality of idle sorting containers are placed on the standby sorting container moving devices;

[0033] The control device is further used to obtain a new sorting container moving device from the waiting sorting container moving devices, and control the new sorting container moving device to move to the current position.

[0034] According to a second aspect of an embodiment of the present application, a sorting container mobile device is provided, comprising:

[0035] ontology;

[0036] The main body is provided with a placement area for placing a plurality of sorting containers;

[0037] Wherein, the main body is capable of controlling the movement of the plurality of sorting containers.

[0038] Optionally, a prompt device is provided on the sorting container mobile device, and the prompt device is used to indicate the order status corresponding to the multiple sorting containers;

[0039] The prompting device includes at least one of the following: a light prompter, a display prompter and a sound prompter.

[0040] Optionally, the prompt device is arranged at a position corresponding to the plurality of sorting containers around the placement area.

[0041] Optionally, the main body includes a control module and a conveying device, the placement area is located on the conveying device, or at a position opposite to the conveying device, and the control module is used to control the conveying device to move the multiple sorting containers.

[0042] Optionally, the device further comprises: a transmission mechanism for connecting to an external power device to obtain transmission power from the external power device to control the movement of the main body or the conveying device.

[0043] Optionally, the conveying device includes any one of the following: a conveyor belt, a roller, a belt, a chain, a roller and a push rod.

[0044] The embodiments of the present application include the following advantages:

[0045] The cargo handling system in the embodiment of the present application includes: a sorting device, and at least one conveying device docked with the sorting device, the sorting device is provided with a plurality of material boxes for placing the goods to be sorted, and a sorting container moving device is provided at the delivery position of each delivery port of the sorting device, and the sorting container moving device is used to place a plurality of sorting containers; wherein the conveying device is used to convey the goods to be sorted to a target material box of the sorting device; the sorting container moving device is used to move the target sorting container corresponding to the goods to be sorted to the cargo receiving position; the sorting device is used to move the target material box to the target delivery port corresponding to the target sorting container moving device where the target sorting container is located, and deliver the goods to be sorted to the target sorting container via the target delivery port. In this way, since the present application arranges multiple sorting containers on the sorting container mobile device, the number of sorting containers is large, and the target sorting container can be moved to the goods receiving position by controlling the sorting container mobile device, so that each sorting container can merge orders for a single order. Therefore, a large number of orders can be merged at the same time, thereby improving the order merging efficiency. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0046] Figure 1 is a structural block diagram of an embodiment of a cargo handling system of the present application;

[0047] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of a sorting device in a cargo handling system of the present application;

[0048] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of a conveying branch in a cargo handling system of the present application;

[0049] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of a conveying branch in a cargo handling system of the present application;

[0050] Figure 5 is a flowchart of steps of an embodiment of a cargo handling method of the present application;

[0051] Figure 6 is a flowchart of steps of an embodiment of a cargo handling method of the present application;

[0052] Figure 7 is a flowchart of steps of an optional embodiment of a cargo handling method of the present application;

[0053] Figure 8 is a structural block diagram of an embodiment of a cargo handling device of the present application;

[0054] Fig. 9 is a structural block diagram of an optional embodiment of a cargo handling device of the present application;

[0055] Fig.10 is a structural block diagram of an optional embodiment of a cargo handling device of the present application;

[0056] Fig.11 is a structural block diagram of an optional embodiment of a cargo handling device of the present application;

[0057] Fig.12 is a structural block diagram of an optional embodiment of a cargo handling device of the present application;

[0058] Fig.13 is a structural block diagram of an optional embodiment of a cargo handling device of the present application;

[0059] Fig.14 is a structural block diagram of an optional embodiment of a cargo handling device of the present application;

[0060] Fig.15 is a structural block diagram of an optional embodiment of a cargo handling device of the present application;

[0061] Fig.16 is a structural block diagram of an optional embodiment of a cargo handling device of the present application;

[0062] Fig.17 is a structural block diagram of an optional embodiment of a cargo handling device of the present application;

[0063] Fig.18 is a structural block diagram of an optional embodiment of a cargo handling device of the present application;

[0064] Fig.19 is a structural block diagram of an optional embodiment of a cargo handling device of the present application;

[0065] Fig. 20 This is a schematic diagram of the hardware structure of a cargo handling device of the present application;

[0066] Fig.21 A cam structure in a cargo handling system of the present application;

[0067] Fig. 22 This is a magnetic fluid structure in a cargo handling system of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0068] In order to make the above-mentioned objects, features and advantages of the present application more obvious and easy to understand, the present application is further described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and specific implementation methods.

[0069] Embodiment 1

[0070] Reference Figure 1 , shows a schematic diagram of the structure of a cargo handling system 10, such as Figure 1As shown, the system 10 includes: a sorting device 11, and at least one conveying device 12 docked with the sorting device 11, the sorting device 11 is provided with a plurality of material boxes / material ports 111 for placing goods to be sorted, and a sorting container moving device 13 is provided at the delivery position of each delivery port 112 of the sorting device 11, and the sorting container moving device 13 is used to place a plurality of sorting containers 131.

[0071] The conveying device 12 is used to convey the goods to be sorted to the target material box of the sorting device 11. In order to collect the above-mentioned goods information, in a possible implementation, an information collection device 121 can be set on the conveying device 12, so that the conveying device 12 can collect the goods information of the goods to be sorted through the information collection device 121. For example, the information collection device includes: a two-dimensional code scanning device, a barcode scanning device or an RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) scanning device, etc. The information collector can be installed in a Figure 1 The position shown in , of course, this application does not limit the specific installation position. In this way, the cargo information of the goods to be sorted can be obtained through the information collection device, and the cargo information can include at least one of the following: the identification of the target order to which the goods to be sorted belong, the target cargo identification corresponding to the goods to be sorted, and the target cargo volume of the goods to be sorted; in another possible implementation, the goods to be sorted can be scanned by manually holding the information collection device. At this time, the information collection device can also be a portable collection device such as a scanner gun. The above examples are just illustrative examples, and this application does not limit this.

[0072] In the embodiment of the present application, the sorting container mobile device 13 is used to move the target sorting container corresponding to the goods to be sorted to the goods receiving position, wherein the target sorting container can be determined by the above-mentioned collected goods information; the sorting device 11 is used to move the target material box to the target delivery port corresponding to the target sorting container mobile device where the target sorting container is located, and deliver the goods to be sorted to the target sorting container through the target delivery port. It can be seen from the above-mentioned cargo processing system that since a plurality of sorting containers 131 are placed on the sorting container mobile device 13, and the movement of the sorting container 131 can be achieved through the sorting container mobile device 13, in this way, the plurality of sorting containers 131 on the sorting container mobile device can be delivered through each delivery port 111, which increases the number of sorting containers that can be delivered by the same sorting device 11, and can achieve order consolidation for a large number of orders at the same time.

[0073] In an embodiment of the present application, the delivery position of the delivery port can be located below the delivery port. In this case, the cargo receiving position in the present application is the position facing the target delivery port, so that the cargo to be sorted delivered from the target delivery port can be received; optionally, the delivery port is provided with a guide mechanism, then the delivery position of the delivery port can be below the output end of the corresponding guide mechanism, in this case, the cargo receiving position in the present application is the position that can just receive the cargo to be sorted delivered from the target delivery port, the guide mechanism can be a slide rail or a conveyor belt, etc. The above examples are only examples, and the present application does not limit this. In addition, in some embodiments, by providing a guide mechanism at the delivery port, the impact force of the cargo falling can also be reduced to avoid damage caused by a large impact force when the cargo falls into the sorting container. Optionally, in another embodiment of the present application, the sorting container can be made of elastic material, or an air pillow or elastic pad can be placed at the bottom of the sorting container to further reduce the impact force of the cargo falling.

[0074] The sorting device in the present application can drive multiple material boxes to rotate periodically. Specifically, the sorting device can rotate in the following two ways, and deliver the goods to be sorted to the target sorting container through the target delivery port in the following manner under the corresponding rotation mode:

[0075] Mode 1: The sorting device rotates in a rotary manner. At this time, the sorting device is a turntable sorting device, which includes a circular sorting device or an elliptical sorting device and other sorting devices that can rotate, such as a square sorting device or a rectangular sorting device, etc. In this way, in a possible implementation, a conveying device can be provided at the bottom of the target material box, and the conveying device moves the goods to be sorted placed on the target material box to the target delivery port corresponding to the target sorting container moving device. The conveying device can be implemented by a conveyor belt, a roller, a belt, a chain, a roller or a conveying roller. If the delivery port in this application is set at a position close to the center of the platform of the sorting device, the goods to be sorted on the target material box can be moved from the current position to the position close to the center of the platform to achieve the delivery of the goods to be sorted. If the delivery port in this application is set at the edge of the platform of the sorting device, the goods to be sorted on the target material box can be moved from the current position to the edge of the platform to achieve the delivery of the goods to be sorted. In addition, the use of circular sorting equipment in the cargo handling system is conducive to reducing the space occupied by the sorting equipment. In addition, since the circular sorting equipment can be powered by a driving mechanism (such as a motor), it is conducive to reducing the cost of the sorting equipment.

[0076] In another possible implementation, a conveying device may be provided on the inner wall of the target material box of the sorting device, and the conveying device may be a push rod, a telescopic arm or a high-pressure air blowing device, so as to move the goods to be sorted on the target material box to the target delivery port corresponding to the target sorting container moving device. Among them, if the delivery port in the present application is provided at a position close to the center of the platform of the sorting device, the goods to be sorted on the target material box may be moved from the current position to a position close to the center of the platform to achieve delivery of the goods to be sorted. If the delivery port in the present application is provided at the edge of the platform of the sorting device, the goods to be sorted on the target material box may be pushed from the current position to the edge of the platform to achieve delivery of the goods to be sorted.

[0077] Method 2: The sorting device rotates reciprocatingly. In this case, the sorting device is a reciprocating sorting device, which includes an L-type sorting device or a U-type sorting device and other sorting devices that can reciprocate, such as a linear sorting device. In this way, in a possible implementation method, if the delivery port in the present application is set at a position on the outer edge side of the sorting device, the goods to be sorted on the target material box can be moved from the current position to the position on the outer edge side to achieve the delivery of the goods to be sorted. If the delivery port in the present application is set at a position on the inner edge side of the sorting device, the goods to be sorted on the target material box can be moved from the current position to the position on the inner edge side to achieve the delivery of the goods to be sorted. Among them, taking the U-type sorting device as an example, if Figure 2 As shown, if Figure 2 The thick solid line "U" in the figure represents a U-shaped sorting device. Figure 2 The thin solid line "U" in the figure indicates the inner edge side. Figure 2 The dotted line "U" in the figure indicates the outer edge side.

[0078] In another possible implementation, a conveying device may be provided on the inner wall of the target material box of the sorting device, and the conveying device may be a push rod, a telescopic arm or a high-pressure air blowing device, so as to move the goods to be sorted on the target material box to the target delivery port corresponding to the target sorting container moving device. Among them, if the delivery port in the present application is set at a position on one side of the outer edge of the sorting device, the goods to be sorted on the target material box may be moved from the current position to a position on one side of the outer edge to achieve the delivery of the goods to be sorted. If the delivery port in the present application is set at a position on one side of the inner edge of the sorting device, the goods to be sorted on the target material box may be pushed from the current position to a position on one side of the inner edge to achieve the delivery of the goods to be sorted. The above-mentioned reciprocating sorting device is only an example, and the present application does not limit it.

[0079] Optionally, the sorting device 11 in the present application is used to drive multiple material boxes 111 to rotate periodically. In one possible implementation, there is a corresponding relationship between the material box 111 of the sorting device 11 and the delivery port 112, that is, there is a corresponding relationship between the material box A1 and the delivery port P1, there is a corresponding relationship between the material box A2 and the delivery port P2, ..., there is a corresponding relationship between the material box An and the delivery port Pn, n is a positive integer, so that the sorting device 11 can simultaneously drive each material box and the delivery port corresponding to each material box to rotate periodically; in another possible implementation, there is no corresponding relationship between the material box 111 of the sorting device 11 and the delivery port 112, so that while the sorting device 11 drives multiple material boxes 111 to rotate periodically, the delivery port 112 of the sorting device 11 may not rotate, that is, the position of the delivery port is fixed.

[0080] In addition, if Figure 3 As shown, in a possible implementation, an information collection device 121 is provided on the conveying device 12, and each conveying device 12 includes a plurality of conveying branches, wherein the first conveying branch 122 is connected to the sorting device 11, and is used to convey the goods to be sorted to the material box of the sorting device 11, wherein the present application can directly convey the goods to the material box. In order to improve the conveying efficiency of conveying the goods to the material box, the present application can also convey the goods to be sorted to the central platform of the sorting device through the first conveying branch 122, thereby realizing the simultaneous conveying of multiple goods to be sorted to the corresponding material boxes on the central platform; the second conveying branch 123 is respectively connected to the buffer container 14, the next processing station 15, the return device 16 or another sorting device 17, and is used to convey the goods to be sorted to the buffer container 14, the next processing station 15, the return device 16 or another sorting device 17, that is, the second conveying branch includes The first sub-branch, the second sub-branch, the third sub-branch and the fourth sub-branch, etc., the first sub-branch is used to connect with the buffer container 14 so that the goods to be sorted are transferred to the buffer container 14, the second sub-branch is used to connect with the next processing station 15 so that the goods to be sorted are transferred to the next processing station 15, the third sub-branch is used to connect with the return device 16 so that the goods to be sorted are transferred to the return device 16, the fourth sub-branch is used to connect with another sorting device 19 so that the goods to be sorted are transferred to another sorting device 19, and so on.

[0081] The buffer container 14 is used to place the suspended sorting goods, so that the control device can obtain the suspended sorting goods from the buffer container when determining to sort the suspended sorting goods. For example, the buffer container 14 can include a container for buffering goods, such as a material box, a shelf, or a storage basket.

[0082] The next processing station 15 may be a packaging station, which performs processing operations such as order review and goods packaging.

[0083] The return device 16 can return the goods diverted by the conveying device 12 to the conveying device 12 again. For example, the conveying device 12 can divert the goods that do not meet the preset sorting conditions temporarily to the conveying branch connected to the return device, and wait until the goods meet the preset sorting conditions before the return device 17 transmits the goods back to the conveying device 12 to re-acquire the goods information of the goods and perform sorting operations.

[0084] The other sorting device 17 can be a sorting device that operates independently of the sorting device 11. For example, when the goods to be sorted are the first delivery sorted goods in the order to which they belong, if there are insufficient free sorting containers on the sorting device 11 at this time, the conveying device 12 can be controlled to divert part of the goods to the conveying branch connected to the other sorting device 17, and the other sorting device 17 performs sorting operations on the goods. This can improve the sorting efficiency, thereby improving the overall efficiency of warehouse goods sorting.

[0085] In addition, in some other embodiments, Figure 4 As shown, the system 10 further includes: a diverting device 18, which is used to divert the goods to be sorted on the conveying device 12, so as to divert different goods to be sorted to different conveying branches in the conveying device 12. In this way, since the goods to be sorted may not be sorted by the sorting device, the present application needs to divert the different goods to be sorted by the diverting device accordingly. For example, the diverting device 18 can be set on the conveying device 12 (such as Figure 4 As shown), of course, the present application can also configure the diversion device 18 to be docked with the conveying device. The diversion device in the present application may include a classification rotary gear arm, a sweeping disc pushing device, a slider diversion device, a belt float-out diversion device, a roller float-out diversion device or a strip inclined diversion device, etc. The above examples are only illustrative and the present application does not limit this.

[0086] At least one conveying device 12 in the cargo handling system 10 may include multiple conveying devices, and the cargo handling system 10 may also include a control device connected to the multiple conveying devices 12, which is used to control at least one of the multiple conveying devices 12 to enter a working mode or an idle mode. When one conveying device is in a working mode (i.e., the one conveying device conveys the goods to be sorted to the sorting device 11), the cargo handling system can be called a single-feeding port mode; when multiple conveying devices are in a working mode (i.e., the multiple conveying devices simultaneously convey the goods to be sorted to the sorting device 11), the cargo handling system can be called a multi-feeding port mode, and the multi-feeding port mode can improve the sorting efficiency of a single sorting device.

[0087] For example, a part of the conveying equipment in the conveying equipment can be controlled to enter the working mode. After the part of the conveying equipment enters the working mode, if the number of goods to be sorted is large, the first conveying equipment in another part of the conveying equipment can be controlled to enter the working mode, so as to realize the function of multiple feeding ports simultaneously supplying the goods to be sorted to the material box of the sorting equipment, so as to improve the sorting efficiency. If there are a small number of goods to be sorted, the second conveying equipment in the part of the conveying equipment can be controlled to enter the idle mode. It can be seen that the present application can control at least one conveying equipment among the multiple conveying equipment 12 to enter the working mode or the idle mode according to the state of the number of goods to be sorted. Of course, the present application can also control the sorting efficiency of the sorting equipment 11 by controlling the conveying speed of the conveying equipment 11. For example, when the number of goods to be sorted is large, the conveying speed of the conveying equipment 12 and the rotation speed of the turntable of the sorting equipment 11 can be simultaneously increased to improve the sorting efficiency of the sorting equipment 11; when the number of goods to be sorted is small, the conveying speed of the conveying equipment 11 and the rotation speed of the turntable of the sorting equipment 11 can be reduced. It should be noted that if the present application transfers the goods to be sorted to a central platform of the sorting device 11 and distributes the goods to be sorted to material boxes on the central platform, then at this time, at least one of the multiple conveying devices 12 can be controlled to enter a working mode or an idle mode according to the accumulation of goods on the central platform.

[0088] In one embodiment, if the goods to be sorted are directly transferred to the material box on the sorting device 11, the speed correspondence relationship between the material box movement speed on the sorting device and the conveying speed of at least one conveying device can be satisfied. The speed correspondence relationship includes the following formula:

[0089] v=u*n

[0090] Wherein, v represents the moving speed of the material box on the sorting device (number of moving positions / hour), u represents the conveying speed of the conveying device (number of conveyed pieces / hour), and n represents the number of devices in the working mode in the at least one conveying device. The number of moving positions is the number of times all the material boxes on the sorting device pass through the feeding port corresponding to the at least one conveying device in the working mode.

[0091] In a possible implementation, the control device described above is connected to the sorting container moving device. When the sorting container moving device includes a moving trolley, the control device is used to control the moving trolley to move (such as moving forward and backward, and / or moving left and right) so that the target sorting container on the moving trolley moves to the cargo receiving position. In another possible implementation, a conveying device can be provided on the sorting container moving device, and the control device 11 is used to control the conveying device to move the target sorting container on the target sorting container moving device to the cargo receiving position. The conveying device can include any of the following: a conveyor belt, a roller, a belt, a chain, a roller, and a push rod. In another possible implementation, the sorting container moving device includes a moving trolley, and the moving trolley is provided with a conveying device. In this way, the control device in the present application can control the moving trolley to move (such as moving forward and backward, and / or moving left and right) while controlling the target sorting container on the moving trolley to move, so that the target sorting container quickly moves to the cargo receiving position.

[0092] In the process of moving the target sorting container to the cargo receiving position, the system is usually required to provide power to carry out the above three types of movement. In order to solve this problem, the target sorting container mobile device 13 in the present application is provided with a device power device; or the sorting device 11 is provided with a sorting power device; or the system includes an external power device, which can be set at the lower position of the sorting device 11, etc.; the sorting power device, the device power device and the external power device are all used to provide power to the mobile cart so that the target sorting container on the mobile cart moves to the cargo receiving position; or to provide power to the conveying device so that the conveying device drives the target sorting container to move to the cargo receiving position. In other words, the sorting container mobile device can provide power by itself to control the movement of the sorting container placed on the sorting container mobile device; or, other devices can also provide power to the sorting container mobile device to control the conveying device on the sorting container mobile device to drive the sorting container to move.

[0093] In the embodiment of the present application, the above-mentioned sorting power device and external power equipment can be connected to the sorting container moving device in any of the following ways. For the convenience of description, the sorting power device and the external power equipment can be collectively referred to as a transmission mechanism:

[0094] Method 1

[0095] Gear transmission connection method: A gear mechanism can be set at one end of the sorting container mobile device. When the sorting container mobile device moves to the bottom of the delivery port, the gear on the sorting container mobile device meshes with the gear on the transmission mechanism, so that the transmission mechanism transmits the transmission power to the sorting container mobile device through two gears to control the movement of the sorting container mobile device, or the transmission mechanism transmits the transmission power to the conveying device on the sorting container mobile device through two gears to control the rotation of the conveying device, so as to achieve the function of moving the sorting container on the material box mobile device. For example, Fig.21 As shown, a gear structure is shown, in which the Fig.21 The inner gear is arranged at one end of the sorting container moving device, and the outer gear is arranged at one end of the transmission mechanism, or the inner gear is arranged at one end of the sorting container moving device. Fig.21 The outer gear is arranged at one end of the sorting container moving device, and the inner gear is arranged at one end of the transmission mechanism.

[0096] Method 2

[0097] Shaft drive connection method: A driven wheel sleeve is provided at one end of the sorting container moving device. When the sorting container moving device moves to the bottom of the delivery port, the driving shaft on the transmission mechanism is inserted into the driven shaft sleeve to achieve the meshing of the two, so that the transmission mechanism transmits the transmission power to the sorting container moving device through shaft drive to control the movement of the sorting container moving device, or the transmission mechanism transmits the transmission power to the conveying device on the sorting container moving device through shaft drive to control the rotation of the conveying device, thereby achieving the effect of moving the sorting container on the material box moving device.

[0098] Method 3

[0099] Belt drive connection method: A driven gear is provided at one end of the sorting container moving device. When the sorting container moving device moves to the bottom of the delivery port, the transmission mechanism moves the toothed belt to the driven gear for meshing, so that the transmission mechanism transmits the transmission power to the sorting container moving device through the belt drive to control the movement of the sorting container moving device, or the transmission mechanism transmits the transmission power to the conveying device on the sorting container moving device through the belt drive to control the rotation of the conveying device, thereby achieving the effect of moving the sorting container on the material box moving device.

[0100] Method 4

[0101] Magnetic fluid transmission connection method: In this method, magnetic fluid can be used as the transmission medium of the transmission mechanism. The transmission mechanism outputs a rotating magnetic field, so that the sorting container moving device enters the rotating magnetic field, and the magnetic lines of force of the rotating magnetic field intersect with the tangent of the contact point in the sorting container moving device, so that the sorting container moving device obtains the transmission power to control the movement of the sorting container moving device, or the conveying device enters the rotating magnetic field, and the magnetic lines of force of the rotating magnetic field intersect with the tangent of the contact point in the conveying device, so that the conveying device obtains the transmission power to rotate, thereby achieving the effect of driving the sorting container to move. For example, Fig. 22 As shown, the two ends of a magnetic fluid structure are shown. Either end of the magnetic fluid structure can be set on the transmission mechanism, and the other end can be set on the sorting container moving device.

[0102] The above four types of connections are only examples, and this application does not limit them. In addition, in the first three methods mentioned above, the conveying mechanism can also be directly connected to the conveying device, so that the conveying mechanism can directly transmit the transmission power to the conveying device. In summary, this application can transmit power to the sorting container moving device and / or the conveying device through different transmission connection methods, so that the sorting container can be moved.

[0103] Of course, the present application is not limited to the above-mentioned method. For example, when a sorting power device is provided on the sorting device 11, the sorting device and the sorting container moving device can be connected. For example, the sorting container moving device can be connected to the sorting device by hooking, so that the sorting power device on the sorting device can control the movement of the sorting container moving device; or the sorting container closest to the sorting device on the sorting container moving device can be connected to the sorting device by hooking, and the sorting containers on the sorting container moving device are connected to each other, so that the sorting power device on the sorting device can control the movement of the sorting container. The above examples are only for illustration, and the present application does not limit this.

[0104] When the sorting container on the sorting container mobile device is in the order completion state, it is usually necessary to change the sorting container. In order to prompt the user to change the sorting container in the order completion state, a prompt device can be provided on the sorting container mobile device to indicate the order state corresponding to the sorting container on the sorting container mobile device. The prompt device includes at least one of the following: a light prompter, a display prompter, and a sound prompter.

[0105] In the case where the prompt device includes a prompter, in a possible implementation, if at least one sorting container on the sorting container mobile device is in an order-completed state, a light prompt may be performed, and if all the sorting containers on the sorting container mobile device are in an order-uncompleted state, no light prompt is required. In another possible implementation, if at least one sorting container on the sorting container mobile device is in an order-completed state, a prompt may be performed according to a first preset flashing color, and if all the sorting containers on the sorting container mobile device are in an order-uncompleted state, a prompt may be performed according to a second preset flashing color.

[0106] Considering that there are multiple sorting containers on the sorting container mobile device, in order to better prompt the user to replace the replacement sorting container that needs to be replaced, a prompt method can be set for each of the multiple sorting containers on the sorting container mobile device. In a possible implementation, a light source (such as a light strip, a light bulb, an LED light, etc.) can be set at a position adjacent to each sorting container on the sorting container mobile device, or a light source can be set on the sorting container, and the order status of the sorting container can be indicated by controlling the light source switch or flashing at different colors / frequencies. For example, a green or blue light indicates that the sorting container is in an order-completed state; a red light or the light source is turned off to indicate that the sorting container is in an order-uncompleted state, or a light flashing can be used to indicate that the sorting container is in an order-completed state. In another possible implementation, a light source can also be set elsewhere to indicate the order status of the sorting container by projecting a light spot on the sorting container. For example, different order states of the sorting container can be indicated by light spots of different colors, or different order states of the sorting container can be indicated by whether there is a light spot on the sorting container. In another possible implementation, flashing parameters can be set for multiple sorting containers on the sorting container mobile device respectively. If the flashing parameters include flashing duration, the user can determine the replacement sorting container that needs to be replaced according to the flashing duration; if the flashing parameters include flashing frequency, the user can determine the replacement sorting container that needs to be replaced according to the flashing frequency; if the flashing parameters include flashing color, the user can determine the replacement sorting container that needs to be replaced according to the flashing color, and so on.

[0107] In some embodiments, if all the sorting containers on the sorting container mobile device are in the order-uncompleted state, it is necessary to promptly replace the containers in the entire row of the sorting container mobile device. If some of the sorting containers on the sorting container mobile device are in the order-uncompleted state, it can be decided whether to replace the part of the sorting containers. Therefore, the present application can provide different prompts for the above two situations. For example, if all the sorting containers on the sorting container mobile device are in the order-completed state, the prompt is given in the first preset flashing mode. If some of the sorting containers on the sorting container mobile device are in the order-completed state, the prompt is given in the second preset flashing mode.

[0108] In other embodiments, when the prompt device includes a display prompter, the order statuses corresponding to the multiple sorting containers on the sorting container mobile device can be displayed on the display screen. Since users are more concerned about sorting containers in the order completion status, the box numbers of the sorting containers in the order completion status can be displayed on the display screen in a preset font style, such as the preset font style is bold, red, and size 2 font. Of course, the present application can also only display the box numbers of the sorting containers with the order completion status on the display screen, so that users can easily view, etc.

[0109] In another embodiment, when the prompt device includes a sound prompter (such as a speaker, etc.), the present application can indicate the order status of the sorting containers on the sorting container mobile device through the sound prompter, such as through a voice message "The fourth sorting container on the fifth sorting container mobile device is in the order completion state, please change the box", or "All sorting containers on the seventh sorting container mobile device are in the order completion state, please change the containers in the whole row", etc. In addition, the present application can also indicate the order status of the sorting containers on the sorting container mobile device through any combination of a light prompter, a display prompter, and a sound prompter. The above examples are only illustrative, and the present application does not limit this.

[0110] In addition, the control device 11 in the present application is also used to control the sorting container mobile device 13 to move from the current position to the target position where the next processing station is located when the multiple sorting containers 131 included in the target sorting container mobile device 13 are all in the order completion state. Of course, the present application can also unload the multiple sorting containers, such as by manual unloading and / or automatic unloading, and transport the unloaded multiple sorting containers to the next processing station through a transportation device, such as a forklift, AGV (Automated Guided Vehicle), etc., and then place multiple idle sorting containers on the sorting container mobile device so that the sorting container mobile device can continue the cargo processing process in the present application.

[0111] After controlling the sorting container mobile device 13 to move from the current position to the target position where the next processing station is located, if no new sorting container mobile device is placed at the current position, the number of sorting containers in the cargo processing system will be small. In order to avoid this problem, the system in the present application also includes: multiple standby sorting container mobile devices; multiple idle sorting containers are placed on the standby sorting container mobile devices; in this way, the control device 11 is also used to obtain a new sorting container mobile device from the standby sorting container mobile devices after the sorting container mobile device 13 moves from the current position to the target position where the next processing station is located, and control the new sorting container mobile device to move to the current position, so that the number of sorting containers in the cargo processing system remains unchanged.

[0112] It should be noted that the control device in the present application can be a local server, a cloud server, etc., and the control device can also be connected to at least one conveying device, a sorting device, and a sorting container mobile device by wire or wirelessly, so as to control at least one conveying device, a sorting device, and a sorting container mobile device to perform the above process, which will not be described in detail. The control device can communicate with the conveying device, the sorting device, or the sorting container mobile device through wired signals or wireless signals.

[0113] The cargo handling system described above is adopted, and the system includes a sorting device and at least one conveying device docked with the sorting device, the sorting device is provided with a plurality of material boxes for placing the cargo to be sorted, and a sorting container moving device is provided at the delivery position of each delivery port of the sorting device, and the sorting container moving device is used to place a plurality of sorting containers; wherein the conveying device is used to collect cargo information of the cargo to be sorted, and to convey the cargo to be sorted to a target material box of the sorting device; the sorting container moving device is used to move the target sorting container corresponding to the cargo to be sorted to the cargo receiving position according to the cargo information; the sorting device is used to move the target material box to the target delivery port corresponding to the target sorting container moving device where the target sorting container is located, and deliver the cargo to be sorted to the target sorting container via the target delivery port. In this way, since the present application arranges multiple sorting containers on the sorting container mobile device, the number of sorting containers of the cargo handling system is large, and each sorting container can merge orders for a single order. Therefore, the cargo handling system can merge orders for a large number of orders at the same time, thereby improving the order merging efficiency.

[0114] An embodiment of the present application further provides a sorting container mobile device, which includes: a main body; a placement area for placing multiple sorting containers is provided on the main body; wherein the main body can control the movement of the multiple sorting containers.

[0115] Among them, rollers and / or universal wheels etc. may be provided on the main body so that the main body can be moved, and the multiple sorting containers can be laid flat on the placement area.

[0116] Since the order status corresponding to the sorting container in the present application will change, and the order status includes the order completion status and the order incomplete status, the present application needs to prompt the replacement of the sorting container according to the order status. Therefore, the present application is provided with a prompt device on the sorting container mobile device, and the prompt device is used to indicate the order status corresponding to multiple sorting containers; wherein the prompt device includes at least one of the following: a light prompter, a display prompter, and a sound prompter. And the prompt device can be set at a position corresponding to the sorting container around the placement area. The specific prompt process can refer to the discussion in Example 1 and will not be repeated.

[0117] In addition, the main body in the present application may also include a control module and a conveying device, and the placement area is located on the conveying device. In this case, the conveying device can be a conveyor belt, roller, belt, chain, roller, etc.; or the placement area is located at a position opposite to the conveying device. In this case, the conveying device can be a push rod, etc., and the present application does not limit this. The control module is used to control the conveying device to move the multiple sorting containers.

[0118] The sorting container mobile device further includes: a transmission mechanism, which is used to connect with an external power device to obtain power from the external power device to control the movement of the body or the conveying device. The specific control process can refer to the example in embodiment 1, and will not be repeated here.

[0119] By using the above-mentioned sorting container mobile device, since the present application arranges multiple sorting containers on the sorting container mobile device, the same delivery position corresponds to multiple sorting containers, so that a large number of orders can be merged at the same time, thereby improving the order merging efficiency.

[0120] Reference Figure 5 , shows a flow chart of a cargo handling method, such as Figure 5 As shown, the method includes steps 501, 502, 503 and 504.

[0121] Step 501, obtaining cargo information of cargo to be sorted.

[0122] In an embodiment of the present application, the cargo information may include at least one of the following: an order identifier of a target order to which the cargo to be sorted belongs, a target cargo identifier corresponding to the cargo to be sorted, and a target cargo volume of the cargo to be sorted. The above examples are merely illustrative and the present application does not limit this.

[0123] Step 502: determining a target sorting container from a plurality of candidate sorting containers according to cargo information, wherein the target sorting container is located on a sorting container mobile device, and a plurality of sorting containers are placed on the sorting container mobile device.

[0124] In this step, the target sorting container can be determined by the following steps:

[0125] S11. Determine the target order to which the goods to be sorted belong based on the goods information.

[0126] In some possible implementations, the correspondence between different orders and goods identifications is preset, for example, there is a correspondence between the first order Q1 and the goods identification (i.e., R1, R2, and R3), there is a correspondence between the second order Q2 and the goods identification (i.e., R4 and R5), and so on. Considering that multiple orders can correspond to the same goods identification, in this way, this step may obtain multiple orders according to the target goods identification. At this time, the target order to which the target goods identification belongs can be randomly obtained from the multiple orders. Of course, this step can also determine the target order according to a preset execution strategy, and the preset execution strategy may include: taking the goods to be sorted as the goods included in the multiple orders, and obtaining the order sequence numbers corresponding to the multiple orders, determining the target order from the multiple orders according to the order sequence number, that is, taking the order with the first order sequence number as the target order, and the present application allocates sorting containers to the orders according to the order sequence number, that is, giving priority to allocating sorting containers to the orders with the first order sequence number.

[0127] In some other possible implementations, the cargo information includes an order identifier of a target order to which the cargo to be sorted belongs, and the target order can be determined according to the order identifier.

[0128] S12: Determine whether the goods to be sorted belong to the first delivery sorted goods in the target order.

[0129] In the case where the goods to be sorted are the first delivered sorted goods in the target order, since there is no delivered sorted goods for the target order, such as the goods to be sorted in the target order are located in a buffer container, on a shelf, or on a transport vehicle (the transport vehicle is used to transport the goods from the shelf to the goods processing system), a sorting container needs to be allocated for the goods to be sorted. Therefore, step S13 is executed;

[0130] In the case where the goods to be sorted do not belong to the first delivered sorted goods in the target order, in a possible implementation, since the target order already has delivered sorted goods, the target order has a corresponding target sorting container, and therefore, step S14 is executed. In another possible implementation, if the target sorting container of the target order to which the goods to be sorted belong is full, it means that one sorting container cannot accommodate all the goods in the target order. At this time, another sorting container needs to be reallocated for the goods to be sorted. Therefore, the embodiment of the present application also needs to determine whether the target sorting container corresponding to the target order is full. If the target sorting container is full, another target sorting container corresponding to the target order is determined from multiple candidate sorting containers according to preset screening conditions; the preset screening conditions include: the target sorting container is unoccupied. If the target sorting container is not full, if the remaining capacity of the target sorting container can accommodate the goods to be sorted, step S14 is executed.

[0131] S13. Determine a target sorting container corresponding to the target order from the plurality of candidate sorting containers according to a preset screening condition.

[0132] Among them, if the sorting container is in an occupied state, if the goods to be sorted are delivered to the sorting container in an occupied state, there will be goods of multiple orders in the sorting container in the occupied state, and order merging cannot be achieved. Therefore, the preset screening conditions in this application include: the target sorting container is in an unoccupied state.

[0133] Taking into account that when the sorting container is in the order completion state, the sorting container in the order completion state needs to be replaced. Since multiple sorting containers are set on a sorting container mobile device in the present application, in order to improve the efficiency of replacing, the sorting completion time of multiple sorting containers on the same sorting container mobile device in the present application is as close as possible, so that the multiple sorting containers on the sorting container mobile device can be replaced as a whole row of containers.

[0134] In addition, since the volumes of the goods to be sorted are different, the total volume of all the goods included in each order is also different. For orders with different total volumes, the present application can also use sorting containers of different box models, so that orders with larger total volumes can use larger sorting containers, and orders with smaller total volumes can use smaller sorting containers. It can be seen that by setting sorting containers of different box models, the requirements for the size of goods can be better met, and the box space can be reasonably used.

[0135] In summary, the preset screening conditions in the present application may also include: the time difference between the sorting completion times corresponding to any two sorting containers located on the same sorting container mobile device is less than or equal to a preset time threshold; and / or, the box model of the sorting container and the total volume of all goods included in the corresponding order meet the preset corresponding relationship; the preset corresponding relationship includes the corresponding relationship between different box models and the total volume range of goods.

[0136] The time difference between the sorting completion times corresponding to any two sorting containers located on the same sorting container mobile device is less than or equal to the preset time threshold, including the following two situations: in the first situation, the time when the two sorting containers receive the first goods in their respective orders is close, and the time required to complete the delivery of all the goods in their respective orders is close; in the second situation, the time interval between the two sorting containers receiving the first goods in their respective orders is far, but the time when the last goods in their respective orders are completed is close.

[0137] S14. Obtain a target sorting container corresponding to the target order.

[0138] Since the present application is to merge orders for the same order, in this case, when the target order already has the first delivery sorted goods, it can be determined that the sorting container where the first delivery sorted goods are located is the target sorting container.

[0139] Step 503, when the target sorting container is not located at the goods receiving position corresponding to the goods to be sorted, control the sorting container moving device to move the target sorting container to the goods receiving position, and control the sorting device to deliver the goods to be sorted to the target sorting container.

[0140] In an embodiment of the present application, in a possible implementation, when the sorting container moving device includes a moving cart, the moving cart can be used to move (such as moving forward and backward, and / or moving left and right) so that the sorting container on the moving cart moves to the cargo receiving position; in another possible implementation, a conveying device can be provided on the sorting container moving device, so that the sorting container on the sorting container moving device is controlled to move by the conveying device; in yet another possible implementation, the sorting container moving device can be a moving cart, and a conveying device is provided on the moving cart, so that while the moving cart moves (such as moving forward and backward, and / or moving left and right), the sorting container on the mobile cart can also be moved by the conveying device, thereby shortening the time for the sorting container to reach the cargo receiving position.

[0141] Step 504: When the target sorting container is located at the goods receiving position corresponding to the goods to be sorted, control the sorting equipment to deliver the goods to be sorted to the target sorting container.

[0142] The delivery operations in step 503 and step 504 may refer to the delivery operations in embodiment 1, and will not be described in detail here.

[0143] According to the above method, firstly, the cargo information of the cargo to be sorted is obtained; then, a target sorting container is determined from multiple candidate sorting containers according to the cargo information, and the target sorting container is located on a sorting container mobile device, and multiple sorting containers are placed on the sorting container mobile device; then, when the target sorting container is not located at the cargo receiving position corresponding to the cargo to be sorted, the sorting container mobile device is controlled to move the target sorting container to the cargo receiving position, and the sorting device is controlled to deliver the cargo to be sorted to the target sorting container; or, when the target sorting container is located at the cargo receiving position corresponding to the cargo to be sorted, the sorting device is controlled to deliver the cargo to be sorted to the target sorting container. In this way, since the present application sets multiple sorting containers on the sorting container mobile device, so that the same delivery position corresponds to multiple sorting containers, a large number of orders can be merged at the same time, thereby improving the efficiency of order merging.

[0144] Reference Figure 6 , shows a flow chart of a cargo handling method, such as Figure 6 As shown, the method includes:

[0145] Step 601, obtaining cargo information of cargo to be sorted.

[0146] In an embodiment of the present application, the cargo information may include at least one of the following: an order identifier of a target order to which the cargo to be sorted belongs, a target cargo identifier corresponding to the cargo to be sorted, and a target cargo volume of the cargo to be sorted. The above examples are merely illustrative and the present application does not limit this.

[0147] Step 602: Determine whether the goods to be sorted meet the preset sorting conditions according to the goods information.

[0148] Among them, the preset sorting conditions include at least one of the following: the goods to be sorted do not belong to the specified goods type, for example, the specified goods type is fragile goods (such as glass products), large goods, special-shaped goods, etc.; the target order to which the goods to be sorted belong includes multiple goods; the specified goods in the target order to which the goods to be sorted belong have all been picked, and the specified goods are the goods in the target order other than the goods to be sorted; the specified goods in the target order to which the goods to be sorted belong arrive at the sorting device within a preset time; the number of sorting containers of the idle sorting containers on all sorting container mobile devices is greater than or equal to the number of containers occupied by all goods in the target order to which the goods to be sorted belong; the current sorting sequence number corresponding to the target order to which the goods to be sorted belong is less than or equal to the number of sorting containers of the idle sorting containers on all sorting container mobile devices; and the target sorting container corresponding to the goods to be sorted and the sorting container corresponding to the previous goods to be sorted are the same sorting container, or are different sorting containers located on different sorting container mobile devices.

[0149] In some embodiments, the smaller the sorting sequence number corresponding to an order is, the higher the sorting priority of the order is, that is, orders with smaller sorting sequence numbers will be sorted first.

[0150] In some embodiments, if special types of goods are automatically sorted in the sorting equipment, the goods may be damaged. For example, glass products are easy to break, and large and special-shaped goods are easy to be damaged at the corners and cannot be accommodated in the sorting container. Therefore, goods belonging to the specified type of goods can be excluded from the sorting equipment.

[0151] In some embodiments, for a single-piece order that only includes a single piece of goods, it can directly enter the next processing flow, such as order review, packaging, delivery, etc., without being transmitted to the sorting equipment for sorting operations. By distinguishing single-piece orders from multi-piece orders (i.e., orders including multiple pieces of goods), the overall sorting efficiency of the system can be improved. In addition, the single piece of goods referred to in this embodiment may include a piece of independently packaged goods, for example, a box of beer, a box of fruit, etc.

[0152] In some embodiments, if some of the goods in the target order to which the goods to be sorted belong have not been picked, then after the goods to be sorted are delivered to the sorting container, they will occupy the buffer position of the sorting container for a long time, and the utilization rate of the buffer position of the sorting container is low. Therefore, by setting the preset sorting conditions, the goods in the order that have not been picked are temporarily stopped from being delivered to the sorting equipment, which is conducive to improving the sorting efficiency.

[0153] In some embodiments, for a situation where an order includes multiple goods, if part of the goods in the order have arrived at the sorting device, while the other part of the goods have not yet arrived at the sorting device (such as the picking has not been completed, or the picking is completed and is still in transit, etc.), if the part of the goods that have arrived is delivered to a sorting container, the sorting container will have to wait for a long time for the other part of the goods to arrive, and the utilization rate of the sorting container is not high. For such goods to be sorted, the goods can be first diverted to the return device or buffer container. When the other part of the goods in the order also arrives at the location of the sorting device, the goods to be sorted can be returned to the conveying device docked with the sorting device through the return device, or the staff or the handling robot can carry the goods to be sorted to the conveying device docked with the sorting device, so as to transfer the goods to be sorted to the sorting device via the conveying device for sorting.

[0154] In some embodiments, if it is found that there are not enough free sorting containers to accommodate all the goods in the target order to which the goods to be sorted belong, the goods to be sorted can be diverted out, and the sorting operation will not be performed on the goods to be sorted temporarily, and the sorting operation will be performed on the goods to be sorted when there are enough free sorting containers. This can avoid the goods to be sorted from occupying the material box position on the sorting device for a long time due to the inability to deliver, and the material box can be used to place the goods to be sorted corresponding to other orders that have completed partial goods sorting, thereby improving the overall sorting efficiency.

[0155] In some embodiments, since there is a material box movement speed on the sorting device that is greater than the device movement speed of the sorting container moving device, in this way, if the goods to be sorted are delivered goods, and the goods to be sorted on two adjacent material boxes (that is, the goods to be sorted and the previous goods to be sorted) need to be delivered to different sorting containers on the same sorting container moving device, then after one sorting container on the sorting container moving device receives the previous goods to be sorted, the other sorting container on the sorting container moving device cannot move to the goods receiving position when the goods to be sorted arrives at the corresponding delivery port within the current cycle. Therefore, the goods to be sorted can be diverted so that after any goods in the order corresponding to the goods to be sorted arrive, the goods to be sorted and any goods can be delivered to an adjacent material box, or the target material box corresponding to the goods to be sorted can be determined according to the material box movement speed and the device movement speed, and so on, so as to deliver the goods on the material box to the sorting container as soon as possible and release the material box on the sorting device.

[0156] In the embodiment of the present application, it is necessary to pick goods from the shelves of the warehouse. Currently, goods can be picked from the shelves manually and / or automatically (such as intelligent picking machines, etc.), so that the picked goods are transported to Figure 1In one scenario, the warehouse can be partitioned to obtain multiple partitions, and the multiple partitions can pick goods simultaneously. If multiple goods in the same order are located in different partitions, some of the goods in the same order may have been picked and delivered to the goods processing system in some partitions, and the other part of the goods in the same order may not have been picked. In this way, if the picked part of the goods is delivered to the sorting container, it may take a long time to wait for the delivery of the other part of the goods in the same order, resulting in the same order occupying the sorting container for a long time; in another scenario, the warehouse is not partitioned, and the goods can be picked by the pickers, that is, the pickers can pick out the goods that need to be picked in the path they walk through during the warehouse, and deliver the picked goods to the goods processing system, but there may be a problem of missing some of the goods in a certain order in the path they walk through. If the picked goods in a certain order are delivered to the sorting container, it will take a long time to wait for the delivery of some of the goods in the certain order. Based on the problems existing in scenario one and scenario two, the present application can sort each order through the cargo processing system to obtain the sorting sequence number of each order, so as to determine whether to deliver the goods included in the order based on the sorting sequence number, thereby avoiding the above-mentioned problem of occupying a long sorting container.

[0157] Among them, the sorting sequence number can be determined in the following manner: first, obtaining the arrival time of multiple picking containers; multiple goods are loaded in the picking containers; then the multiple picking containers are sorted according to the arrival time; then according to the sorting result, the orders in the multiple picking containers are sorted in turn; the sorting sequence number of the first designated order is smaller than the sorting sequence number of the second designated order; the arrival time of the last picking container corresponding to the goods included in the first designated order is earlier than the arrival time of the last picking container corresponding to the goods included in the second designated order; the first designated order and the second designated order are both orders in the picking container.

[0158] In a possible implementation, the sorting sequence number of the first part of the order in the first picking container can be obtained; the goods included in the first part of the order are all in the first picking container; when the first part of the order does not meet the preset termination condition, the sorting sequence number of the second part of the order is obtained according to the first picking container and the second picking container; the goods included in the second part of the order are all in the first picking container and the second picking container; the preset termination condition is that the total order amount of the first part of the order is greater than the number of sorting containers of the idle sorting containers on the mobile device of all sorting containers.

[0159] Specifically, the picked goods are usually transported to the goods processing system through picking containers (such as picking carts or picking boxes, etc.). In this way, the goods processing system can sort the picking containers according to the arrival time of the picking containers to obtain a picking container queue, and then set the sorting sequence number for the goods in the first picking container included in the picking container queue. Specifically, the first order to which the first goods in the first picking container belong can be obtained, and it can be determined whether all the goods included in the first order are in the first picking container. If all the goods included in the first order are in the first picking container, the sorting sequence number of the first order to which the first goods belong can be set to 1; continue to obtain the second goods in the first picking container, and if the first goods and the second goods do not belong to the same order, it can be determined whether all the goods included in the second order to which the second goods belong are in the first picking container. If all the goods included in the second order are in the first picking container, the sorting sequence number of the second order can be set to 1. The sorting sequence number of the second order to which the goods belong is set to 2; continue to obtain the third goods in the first picking container, and if the third goods do not belong to the same order as any of the first two goods (i.e., the first goods and the second goods), then determine whether all the goods included in the third order to which the third goods belong are in the first picking container. If all the goods included in the third order are in the first picking container, then the sorting sequence number of the third order to which the third goods belong can be set to 3. By analogy, the sorting sequence number of the first part of the order in which all the goods are in the first picking container can be obtained, and the goods are delivered according to the sorting sequence number. In addition, when the control device detects that an order in the first part of the order is in the order completion state, the sorting sequence number needs to be updated. For example, when the tth order is in the order completion state, the sorting sequence number of the order with a sorting sequence number greater than t needs to be updated, and the sorting sequence number of the order with a sorting sequence number less than t does not need to be updated.

[0160] If the order quantity of the first part of the order is less than or equal to the number of free sorting containers on all the sorting container mobile devices, the sorting sequence number is determined according to the first picking container and the second picking container. The specific process is as follows:

[0161] For the remaining orders where all the goods are not in the first picking container, they can be sorted in the following way. Since there are remaining goods in the first picking container, it can be determined whether all the goods included in the first remaining order to which the first remaining goods belong are in the first picking container and the second picking container. If all the goods included in the first remaining order to which the first remaining goods belong are in the first picking container and the second picking container, then when the maximum sorting sequence number in the above-mentioned first part of the orders is b-1, the sorting sequence number of the first remaining order to which the first remaining goods belong is set to b; then continue to determine whether all the goods included in the second remaining order to which the second remaining goods belong are in the first picking container and the second picking container. If all the goods included in the second remaining order to which the second remaining goods belong are in the first picking container, and the second picking container, the sorting sequence number of the second remaining order to which the second remaining goods belong can be set to b+1; continue to determine whether all the goods included in the third remaining order to which the third remaining goods belong are in the first picking container and the second picking container. If all the goods included in the third remaining order to which the third remaining goods belong are in the first picking container and the second picking container, the sorting sequence number of the third remaining order to which the third remaining goods belong is set to b+2, and so on. After sorting the orders corresponding to the remaining goods in the first picking container, continue to sort the orders corresponding to the remaining goods in the second picking container, so that the sorting sequence number of the second part of the order in which all the goods are in the first picking container and the second picking container can be obtained, and the goods can be delivered according to the sorting sequence number. In addition, if the total order quantity of the first part of the order and the second part of the order is less than or equal to the sorting container quantity of the idle sorting containers on all the sorting container mobile devices, the sorting sequence number can be determined according to the first picking container, the second picking container and the third picking container until there are no idle sorting containers. Of course, the present application may also determine the sorting sequence numbers of the orders in all the picking containers included in the picking container queue, and the present application does not limit this.

[0162] When the goods to be sorted meet the preset sorting conditions, execute steps 603 to 608;

[0163] When the goods to be sorted do not meet the preset sorting conditions, step 611 and step 612 are executed.

[0164] Step 603: determining a target sorting container from a plurality of candidate sorting containers according to the cargo information, wherein the target sorting container is located on a sorting container mobile device, on which a plurality of sorting containers are placed.

[0165] Please refer to step 402 for the specific process, which will not be described in detail.

[0166] In some embodiments, when the moving speed of the material box on the sorting device is greater than the device moving speed of the sorting container moving device, if the goods to be sorted are the first delivered sorted goods, the target sorting container corresponding to the goods to be sorted can be determined through this step. At this time, considering that the sorting containers corresponding to the two adjacent goods to be sorted (i.e., the previous goods to be sorted and the goods to be sorted) are different sorting containers on the same sorting container moving device, after the previous goods to be sorted are delivered to the corresponding sorting container, the sorting container moving device cannot move the sorting container corresponding to the goods to be sorted to the goods receiving position when the goods to be sorted arrives at the target delivery port. Therefore, in order to avoid the problem that the goods to be sorted cannot be delivered at the same time as the previous goods to be sorted in the same transportation cycle, resulting in the goods to be sorted occupying the material box, the present application can temporarily not perform the sorting operation on the goods to be sorted. Specifically, it is determined whether the target sorting container corresponding to the goods to be sorted and the sorting container corresponding to the previous goods to be sorted are different sorting containers on the same sorting container mobile device; and when the target sorting container corresponding to the goods to be sorted and the sorting container corresponding to the previous goods to be sorted are different sorting containers on the same sorting container mobile device, the target material box corresponding to the goods to be sorted is determined according to the material box moving speed and the equipment moving speed, or the goods to be sorted are diverted, so that after any goods in the order corresponding to the goods to be sorted arrive, the goods to be sorted and any goods can be delivered to adjacent material boxes.

[0167] Since the sorting device includes multiple material boxes and the sorting device can control the rotation of multiple material boxes, the goods to be sorted are located on the target material box of the sorting device; therefore, the present application needs to control the conveying device to convey the goods to be sorted to the target material box of the sorting device, so that in the subsequent steps, the goods to be sorted on the target material box can be delivered to the target sorting container.

[0168] Step 604, obtaining the mobile device position of the sorting container mobile device where the target sorting container is located.

[0169] In this step, the control device in Example 1 can obtain the mobile device positions corresponding to each sorting container mobile device, so that the control device can monitor each sorting container mobile device in real time, and then perform subsequent control of the sorting container mobile device.

[0170] Step 605: Determine a merging position where the goods to be sorted and the sorting container mobile device where the target sorting container is located merge according to the position of the mobile device.

[0171] In some embodiments, the mobile device position of the sorting container mobile device can be determined as the merging position where the goods to be sorted and the sorting container mobile device where the target sorting container is located merge; in order to shorten the delivery time, in a possible implementation method, the sorting container mobile device is controlled to move so that the sorting container reaches the goods receiving position. At this time, the sorting container mobile device can be controlled to move forward and backward while also moving left and right. In this way, the sorting device and the sorting container mobile device can move toward each other, so that the goods to be delivered can quickly merge with the sorting container mobile device. Specifically, the moving speed of the material box on the sorting device, the moving speed of the sorting container moving device, and the initial delivery position of the goods to be sorted are obtained, so as to determine the merging position where the goods to be sorted and the sorting container moving device where the target sorting container is located merge according to the moving speed of the material box, the moving speed of the device, the initial delivery position, and the position of the moving device, wherein the initial delivery position is the position where the target material box is located when the goods to be sorted are transported to the target material box; in another possible implementation method, a conveying device is provided on the sorting container moving device, and the sorting container is controlled to move by the conveying device, so that the sorting device and the sorting container can move toward each other, so that the goods to be delivered can merge with the sorting container quickly, wherein the merging position needs to be determined according to the conveying speed of the conveying device, the moving speed of the material box on the sorting device, the initial delivery position, and the initial position of the target sorting container, the initial position is the position when the sorting container is not moved, and at this time, the merging position is the subsequent goods receiving position.

[0172] Step 606: Determine the goods receiving location corresponding to the goods to be sorted according to the merging location.

[0173] In the embodiment of the present application, the cargo receiving position is the position where the target sorting container can just receive the cargo to be sorted. If the mobile device is at a merging position, the cargo receiving position can be the position directly opposite the delivery port at the merging position, or if the delivery port is provided with a guide mechanism, the cargo receiving position is the position where the cargo to be sorted delivered by the output end of the guide mechanism can just be received. The guide mechanism can be a slide rail or a conveyor belt, etc. The above examples are only for illustration and are not limited in the present application.

[0174] Step 607: Control the sorting device to move the goods to be sorted to a delivery port corresponding to the goods receiving position.

[0175] Since the sorting equipment is used to drive multiple material boxes to rotate periodically, this step can move the goods to be sorted on the material boxes to the delivery port corresponding to the goods receiving position.

[0176] Step 608: determine whether the target sorting container is located at the cargo receiving position corresponding to the cargo to be sorted.

[0177] In this step, the detection device of the sorting device can be used to determine whether the target sorting container is located at the cargo receiving position corresponding to the cargo to be sorted, or the mobile device position of the sorting container mobile device can be obtained by the control device to determine whether the target sorting container on the sorting container mobile device is located at the cargo receiving position corresponding to the cargo to be sorted, or the position of the target sorting container can be obtained by the control device to determine whether the target sorting container is located at the cargo receiving position corresponding to the cargo to be sorted based on the position of the target sorting container.

[0178] When the target sorting container is located at the goods receiving position corresponding to the goods to be sorted, step 609 is executed;

[0179] When the target sorting container is not located at the goods receiving position corresponding to the goods to be sorted, step 610 is executed.

[0180] Step 609: Control the sorting equipment to deliver the goods to be sorted to the target sorting container.

[0181] The delivery process can refer to the delivery process in Example 1 and will not be described in detail.

[0182] Step 610: Control the sorting container moving device to move the target sorting container to the cargo receiving position, and deliver the cargo to be sorted to the target sorting container through the delivery port.

[0183] In an embodiment of the present application, in a possible implementation, when the sorting container moving device includes a moving cart, the moving cart can be moved forward and backward, and / or left and right, so that the sorting container on the moving cart is moved to the cargo receiving position; in another possible implementation, the sorting container moving device does not move, and a conveying device can be provided on the sorting container moving device, so that the sorting container on the sorting container moving device is controlled to move by the conveying device; in yet another possible implementation, the sorting container moving device can be a moving cart, and a conveying device is provided on the moving cart, so that when the moving cart moves forward and backward, and / or left and right, the sorting container on the mobile cart can also be moved by the conveying device, thereby shortening the time for the sorting container to reach the cargo receiving position.

[0184] Considering that the target sorting container is not located at the goods receiving position after the sorting device reaches the merging position in the current transport cycle, if the sorting device delivers the goods to be sorted in the current operation cycle, there is a problem of delivery error.

[0185] Therefore, some embodiments of the present application may further perform the following method before delivering the goods to be sorted to the target sorting container:

[0186] Get the delivery time of the goods to be sorted to the merging location in the current delivery cycle;

[0187] Obtain the moving time of the target sorting container to the cargo receiving location;

[0188] According to the transportation time and the moving time, it is determined whether the target sorting container moves to the goods receiving position when the goods to be sorted move to the merging position within the current transportation cycle.

[0189] Among them, when the transportation time is greater than or equal to the moving time, it can be determined that when the goods to be sorted are moved to the merging position within the current transportation cycle, the target sorting container is moved to the goods receiving position; when the transportation time is less than the moving time, it can be determined that when the goods to be sorted are moved to the merging position within the current transportation cycle, the target sorting container has not been moved to the goods receiving position.

[0190] That is to say, when the target sorting container can move to the goods receiving position when the goods to be sorted move to the merging position within the current transportation cycle, the goods to be sorted are delivered to the target sorting container; when the target sorting container does not move to the goods receiving position when the goods to be sorted move to the merging position within the current transportation cycle, the goods delivery operation is not performed in the current transportation cycle, so that the goods to be sorted continue to move with the sorting device for at least one more circle until the goods to be sorted are delivered to the target sorting container.

[0191] In an optional embodiment of the present application, if the cargo delivery operation is not performed in the current transport cycle, the cargo to be sorted continues to move at least one more circle with the sorting device, and the sorting device determines whether the target sorting container is located at the cargo receiving position when the cargo to be sorted moves to the merging position, so as to perform the cargo delivery operation when it is confirmed that the target sorting container is located at the cargo receiving position. For example, a detection device can be installed on the sorting device, and the detection device can detect the position of the sorting container; or the sorting container mobile device can report the position of the sorting container placed thereon in real time.

[0192] In another optional embodiment of the present application, the target delivery cycle that the sorting device needs to deliver the goods to be sorted can be determined by the control device. Among them, the unit delivery time of the sorting device can be obtained, and the unit delivery time can be the average running time of the sorting device running a single circle. In this way, the approximate value of the target delivery cycle can be calculated by the following formula: (s-1)*z+pq>0, wherein s is the approximate value of the target delivery cycle, z is the unit delivery time, p is the delivery time, and q is the moving time. The minimum s value is calculated by the above formula. When the minimum s value is an integer, the minimum s value is the target delivery cycle. If s is 3, the third delivery cycle can be determined as the target delivery cycle. Among them, the current delivery cycle can be used as the first delivery cycle. When the minimum s value is a decimal, the integer after the minimum s value is carried is the target delivery cycle. If s is 4.3, the fifth delivery cycle can be determined as the target delivery cycle. The above examples are just illustrative examples, and the present application does not limit this.

[0193] Step 611, diverting the goods to be sorted.

[0194] In this step, the goods to be sorted can be diverted according to the diversion equipment in the goods processing system.

[0195] In addition, the present application considers that if the goods to be sorted belong to the specified goods type, the goods may be damaged, or the target order to which the goods to be sorted belong includes a single goods, and there is no need to perform the sorting process. Therefore, if the goods to be sorted belong to the specified goods type, and / or the target order to which the goods to be sorted belong includes a single goods, the goods to be sorted are directly transported to the next processing station.

[0196] However, if all designated goods in the target order to which the goods to be sorted belong have not been picked; or if the designated goods in the target order to which the goods to be sorted belong cannot arrive at the sorting device within a preset time period; or if the number of sorting containers of the idle sorting containers on all sorting container mobile devices is less than the number of containers occupied by all goods in the target order to which the goods to be sorted belong; and if the current sorting sequence number corresponding to the target order to which the goods to be sorted belong is greater than the number of sorting containers of the idle sorting containers on all sorting container mobile devices, then as the order corresponding to the sorting container is sorted, the current sorting sequence number of the goods to be sorted may change, and the number of sorting containers of the idle sorting containers may also change; or, as the goods are continuously picked, all goods in the target order are picked or all goods in the target order can arrive at the sorting device within a preset time period. In view of these situations, it is necessary to re-determine whether to sort the order to which the goods to be sorted belong is to be sorted. For the specific process, refer to steps 611 to 515.

[0197] Step 612, determining whether the goods to be sorted are goods to be temporarily sorted.

[0198] The goods for which sorting is suspended do not belong to the specified goods type, and the target order to which the goods for sorting is suspended belongs includes multiple goods.

[0199] If the goods to be sorted are goods for which sorting is suspended, execute step 613;

[0200] If the goods to be sorted are not goods for which sorting is suspended, step 614 is executed.

[0201] Step 613, sorting the suspended sorting goods according to the current sorting sequence number corresponding to the order to which the goods to be sorted belong.

[0202] In this step, when the current sorting sequence number corresponding to the order to which the goods to be sorted belong is less than or equal to the number of free sorting containers on all sorting container mobile devices, the suspended sorting goods are sorted.

[0203] Optionally, by monitoring whether the specified goods in the target order have been picked, and when the specified goods in the target order to which the goods to be sorted belong have been picked, the suspended sorting goods are sorted.

[0204] Optionally, by monitoring whether the specified goods in the target order arrive at the sorting device within a preset time, and if the specified goods in the target order to which the goods to be sorted belong can arrive at the sorting device within the preset time, the suspended sorting goods are sorted.

[0205] Optionally, when the target sorting container corresponding to the goods to be sorted and the sorting container corresponding to the previous goods to be sorted are different sorting containers on the same sorting container mobile device, the target material box corresponding to the goods to be sorted is determined according to the material box moving speed and the equipment moving speed, and the goods to be sorted are transferred to the target material box, or the goods to be sorted are diverted so that after any goods in the order corresponding to the goods to be sorted arrive, the goods to be sorted and any goods can be delivered to adjacent material boxes.

[0206] Step 614, transport the goods to be sorted to the next processing station.

[0207] In this way, order review, goods packaging and other processing operations can be carried out at the next processing station (such as a packaging station).

[0208] According to the above method, firstly, the cargo information of the cargo to be sorted is obtained; then, a target sorting container is determined from multiple candidate sorting containers according to the cargo information, and the target sorting container is located on a sorting container mobile device, and multiple sorting containers are placed on the sorting container mobile device; then, when the target sorting container is not located at the cargo receiving position corresponding to the cargo to be sorted, the sorting container mobile device is controlled to move the target sorting container to the cargo receiving position, and the sorting device is controlled to deliver the cargo to be sorted to the target sorting container; or, when the target sorting container is located at the cargo receiving position corresponding to the cargo to be sorted, the sorting device is controlled to deliver the cargo to be sorted to the target sorting container. In this way, since the present application sets multiple sorting containers on the sorting container mobile device, the number of sorting containers is large, and each sorting container can merge orders for a single order, so that a large number of orders can be merged at the same time, thereby improving the efficiency of order merging.

[0209] Reference Figure 7 , showing a flow chart of a cargo handling method of the present application, in step 610 or step 609 ( Figure 7 After the goods to be sorted are delivered to the target sorting container, if the sorting container is in the order completion state, the sorting container can be replaced. Considering that the sorting container mobile device where the target sorting container is located may include multiple sorting containers, therefore, if the multiple sorting containers are all in the order completion state, the sorting container mobile device can be instructed to replace the containers in a row, and the specific process is shown in step 701; if some of the multiple sorting containers are in the order completion state, it can be instructed to replace the containers of the part of the sorting containers, and the specific process is shown in step 702:

[0210] Step 701: When multiple sorting containers are in order completion status, a first prompt message is generated; the first prompt message is used to prompt that multiple sorting containers included in the sorting container mobile device are in order completion status.

[0211] In the present application, since a prompt device is provided on the sorting container mobile device of the cargo handling system, the prompt device can be used to prompt that the multiple sorting containers included in the sorting container mobile device are all in the order completion state. The specific prompt method can refer to the prompt method in Example 1.

[0212] When it is determined that the sorting container mobile device where the target sorting container is located includes multiple sorting containers, if the multiple sorting containers are all in the order completion state, the sorting container mobile device can be controlled to move from the current position to the target position, and the target position can be the position corresponding to the next processing station. In order not to affect the sorting of goods, the present application can also control the new sorting container mobile device to move to the current position when the sorting container mobile device moves from the current position to the target position; multiple idle sorting containers are placed on the new sorting container mobile device, thereby improving the efficiency of cargo processing. Of course, the present application can also unload the multiple sorting containers, such as by manual unloading and / or automatic unloading, and transport the unloaded multiple sorting containers to the next processing station through a transportation device, such as a forklift, AGV (Automated Guided Vehicle), and then place multiple idle sorting containers on the sorting container mobile device so that the sorting container mobile device can continue the cargo processing process in the present application.

[0213] Step 702: When some of the sorting containers among the multiple sorting containers are in the order completion state, generate a second prompt message; the second prompt message is used to prompt that the some of the sorting containers are in the order completion state.

[0214] Since the sorting container moving device of the cargo handling system is provided with a prompting device, the prompting device can prompt that some sorting containers included in the sorting container moving device are in the order completion state. The specific prompting method can refer to the prompting method in Example 1.

[0215] The present application can unload the part of the sorting containers according to the second prompt message, such as by manual unloading and / or automatic unloading, and transport the unloaded part of the sorting containers to the next processing station through a transportation device, such as a forklift or AGV, and then place an idle sorting container on the sorting container mobile device so that the sorting container mobile device can continue the cargo processing process in the present application; or the present application can move the sorting container mobile device where the multiple sorting containers are located to the next processing station. In order not to affect the cargo sorting, the present application can also re-place a new sorting container mobile device in the sorting processing system, thereby improving the cargo processing efficiency.

[0216] Considering that the present application prompts the user to replace the partial sorting container through the second prompt message. However, replacing the partial sorting container on the sorting container mobile device has the problem of cumbersome replacement operation, therefore, the present application can also determine whether to replace the partial sorting container through the following two methods, and generate the second prompt message when it is determined to replace the partial sorting container.

[0217] Method 1

[0218] First, the number of free sorting containers on all sorting container mobile devices, the number of containers released within a specified time period, and the number of newly occupied containers within a specified time period are obtained; the specified time period is the time period between the first moment and the second moment; the first moment is the moment when the partial sorting containers are in the order completion state, and the second moment is the moment when the multiple sorting containers on the sorting container mobile device where the partial sorting containers are located are all in the order completion state. Among them, the number of released containers refers to the number of sorting containers released by replacing the sorting containers in a row (that is, the method of replacing all sorting containers on the sorting container mobile device). In addition, the number of newly occupied containers in this application can be the following: one is to occupy a single sorting container for each order, so the number of newly occupied containers is the number of sorting orders allocated within the specified time period; the other is that a single order may need to occupy multiple sorting containers, so the number of newly occupied containers needs to be based on the number of sorting containers occupied by each sorting order allocated within the specified time period.

[0219] Next, determine whether to replace some sorting containers based on the number of boxes, the number of released containers, and the number of newly occupied containers.

[0220] In this step, the free quantity of the box can be obtained through the number of boxes, the number of released containers, and the number of newly occupied containers, that is, the sum of the number of boxes and the number of released containers is first calculated, and then the difference between the sum and the number of newly occupied containers is calculated. In this way, when the difference is less than or equal to the preset difference threshold (such as 0), it is determined to replace the part of the sorting containers; when the difference is greater than the preset difference threshold, the part of the sorting containers is not replaced at this time, and when it is detected at the second moment that all the sorting containers on the sorting container mobile device are in the order completion state, all the sorting containers on the sorting container mobile device where the part of the sorting containers are located are replaced.

[0221] Then, when it is determined to replace some of the sorting containers, the second prompt message is generated.

[0222] If it is determined that part of the sorting containers do not need to be replaced based on the number of boxes, the number of released containers, and the number of newly occupied containers, the second prompt message is not generated.

[0223] Method 2

[0224] First, the order delivery time of the sorting container to be delivered is obtained; the sorting container to be delivered is any sorting container in the partial sorting containers.

[0225] Considering that the order corresponding to the sorting container requires urgent delivery time, the present application requires timely replacement of the sorting container corresponding to the order with urgent delivery time, therefore, it is necessary to obtain the order delivery time.

[0226] Next, according to the preset processing time and the order delivery time, the replacement time period of the to-be-delivered sorting container is obtained.

[0227] In this step, the preset processing time is the time required for the subsequent processing station to process, which can be given according to empirical values. The end time of the replacement time period is the time when the order is shipped out minus the preset processing time, and the start time of the replacement time period is the time when the specified time period is minus the end time. For example, if the order is shipped out at 12:00 noon on April 9, 2019, and the order processing time is 20 minutes, and the specified time period is 10 minutes, then the replacement time period is the time period between 11:30 noon on April 9, 2019 and 11:40 noon on April 9, 2019.

[0228] Finally, within the replacement time period, the second prompt message is generated.

[0229] In order to avoid delays in the shipment of urgent orders, this application can prompt the customer to change boxes by determining a replacement time period for subsequent shipment processing.

[0230] By adopting the above method, the present application has the situation that all the sorting containers on the sorting container mobile device are in an order-uncompleted state, and some of the sorting containers on the sorting container mobile device are in an order-uncompleted state. For all the sorting containers on the sorting container mobile device are in an order-uncompleted state, it is necessary to replace the containers of the sorting container mobile device in a whole row in time, and for some of the sorting containers on the sorting container mobile device are in an order-uncompleted state, it can be decided whether to replace the part of the sorting containers. Therefore, the present application can give different prompts for the above two situations.

[0231] Reference Figure 8 , shows a structural block diagram of an embodiment of a cargo handling device 80, which may specifically include the following modules:

[0232] The cargo information acquisition module 81 is used to acquire cargo information of the cargo to be sorted;

[0233] A sorting container determination module 82, used to determine a target sorting container from a plurality of candidate sorting containers according to the cargo information;

[0234] The cargo delivery processing module 83 is used to control the sorting device to move the target sorting container to the cargo receiving position and deliver the cargo to be sorted to the target sorting container when the target sorting container is not located at the cargo receiving position corresponding to the cargo to be sorted; or

[0235] The cargo delivery module 84 is used to control the sorting device to deliver the cargo to be sorted to the target sorting container when the target sorting container is located at the cargo receiving position corresponding to the cargo to be sorted.

[0236] Reference Fig. 9 In an optional embodiment of the present application, the device further includes:

[0237] A cargo moving module 85, used to control the sorting device to move the cargo to be sorted to a delivery port corresponding to the cargo receiving position;

[0238] The cargo delivery processing module 83 is used to deliver the cargo to be sorted to the target sorting container via the delivery port.

[0239] Reference Fig.10 In an optional embodiment of the present application, the sorting device includes a plurality of material boxes, and the sorting device controls the rotation of the plurality of material boxes, and the goods to be sorted are located on a target material box of the sorting device;

[0240] The device also includes:

[0241] The goods conveying module 86 is used to control the conveying device to convey the goods to be sorted to the target material box of the sorting device.

[0242] In an optional embodiment of the present application, the sorting container determination module 82 is used to determine the target order to which the goods to be sorted belong according to the goods information;

[0243] Determine whether the goods to be sorted belong to the first delivery sorted goods in the target order;

[0244] In the case where the goods to be sorted belong to the first delivery sorted goods in the target order, determining a target sorting container corresponding to the target order from the multiple candidate sorting containers according to a preset screening condition;

[0245] In the case that the goods to be sorted do not belong to the first delivery sorted goods in the target order, obtaining a target sorting container corresponding to the target order;

[0246] The preset screening condition includes: the target sorting container is in an unoccupied state.

[0247] In an optional embodiment of the present application, the sorting container determination module 82 is further used to determine the target order to which the goods to be sorted belong according to the goods information;

[0248] Determining whether a target sorting container corresponding to the target order is full;

[0249] When the target sorting container is full, determining another target sorting container corresponding to the target order from the multiple candidate sorting containers according to a preset screening condition;

[0250] The preset screening condition includes: the target sorting container is in an unoccupied state.

[0251] In an optional embodiment of the present application, the preset screening condition further includes:

[0252] The time difference between the sorting completion times corresponding to any two sorting containers on the same sorting container mobile device is less than or equal to a preset time threshold; and / or,

[0253] The box model of the sorting container and the total volume of all goods included in the corresponding order conform to a preset corresponding relationship; the preset corresponding relationship includes a corresponding relationship between different box models and a range of total volume of goods.

[0254] Reference Fig.11 In an optional embodiment of the present application, the device further includes:

[0255] A device position acquisition module 87, used to acquire the mobile device position of the sorting container mobile device where the target sorting container is located;

[0256] A merging position acquisition module 88 is used to determine a merging position where the goods to be sorted and the sorting container mobile device where the target sorting container is located merge according to the position of the mobile device;

[0257] The receiving position acquisition module 89 is used to determine the goods receiving position corresponding to the goods to be sorted according to the merging position.

[0258] In an optional embodiment of the present application, the merging position acquisition module 88 is used to determine that the position of the mobile device is a merging position where the goods to be sorted and the sorting container mobile device where the target sorting container is located merge.

[0259] In an optional embodiment of the present application, the merging position acquisition module 56 is further used to acquire the moving speed of the material box on the sorting device, the moving speed of the device of the sorting container moving device, and the initial transport position of the goods to be sorted;

[0260] A merging position where the goods to be sorted and the sorting container mobile device where the target sorting container is located merge is determined according to the material box moving speed, the device moving speed, the initial transport position and the mobile device position.

[0261] In an optional embodiment of the present application, the cargo delivery processing module 53 is further used to obtain the transportation time of the cargo to be sorted to the merging location in the current transportation cycle;

[0262] Obtaining the moving time of the target sorting container to move to the cargo receiving position;

[0263] According to the transport duration and the moving duration, determining whether the target sorting container moves to the goods receiving position when the goods to be sorted move to the merging position within the current transport cycle;

[0264] When the target sorting container moves to the cargo receiving position during the current transport cycle, delivering the cargo to be sorted to the target sorting container;

[0265] When the target sorting container has not moved to the goods receiving position in the current transport cycle, the goods delivery operation is not performed in the current transport cycle, so that the goods to be sorted continue to move with the sorting device for at least one more circle until the goods to be sorted are delivered to the target sorting container.

[0266] In an optional embodiment of the present application, the cargo delivery processing module 53 is further used for not performing the cargo delivery operation in the current delivery cycle and obtaining a target delivery cycle when the target sorting container has not moved to the cargo receiving position in the current delivery cycle, and delivering the cargo to be sorted to the target sorting container in the target delivery cycle; the target delivery cycle is the delivery cycle corresponding to the target sorting container moving to the cargo receiving position.

[0267] Reference Fig.12 In an optional embodiment of the present application, the device 80 further includes:

[0268] A first prompt module 810 is used to generate a first prompt message when the plurality of sorting containers are all in the order completion state; the first prompt message is used to prompt that the plurality of sorting containers included in the sorting container mobile device are all in the order completion state;

[0269] The second prompt module 811 is used to generate a second prompt message when some of the multiple sorting containers are in the order completion state; the second prompt message is used to prompt that the some of the sorting containers are in the order completion state.

[0270] Reference Fig.13 In an optional embodiment of the present application, the device 80 further includes:

[0271] The quantity acquisition module 812 is used to acquire the number of free sorting containers on all the sorting container mobile devices, the number of released containers within a specified time period, and the number of newly occupied containers within the specified time period; the specified time period is a time period between a first moment and a second moment; the first moment is a moment when the part of the sorting containers is in an order completion state, and the second moment is a moment when multiple sorting containers on the sorting container mobile device where the part of the sorting containers are located are all in an order completion state;

[0272] A replacement determination module 813 is used to determine whether to replace the part of the sorting containers according to the number of boxes, the number of released containers and the number of newly occupied containers;

[0273] The second prompt module 811 is used to generate the second prompt message when it is determined to replace the part of the sorting containers.

[0274] Reference Fig.14 In an optional embodiment of the present application, the device 80 further includes:

[0275] The outbound time acquisition module 814 is used to acquire the order outbound time of the sorting container to be outbound; the sorting container to be outbound is any sorting container in the partial sorting containers;

[0276] The replacement time period acquisition module 815 is used to acquire the replacement time period of the to-be-shipped sorting container according to the preset processing time and the order shipment time;

[0277] The second prompt module 811 is used to generate the second prompt message within the replacement time period.

[0278] In an optional embodiment of the present application, the sorting container determination module 82 is further used to determine whether the goods to be sorted meet the preset sorting conditions according to the goods information;

[0279] In the case that the goods to be sorted meet the preset sorting conditions, the target sorting container is determined from the multiple candidate sorting containers according to the goods information.

[0280] Reference Fig.15 In an optional embodiment of the present application, the device 80 further includes:

[0281] Another cargo information acquisition module 816, used to acquire cargo information of another cargo to be sorted;

[0282] The condition judgment module 817 is used to judge whether the other goods to be sorted meet the preset sorting conditions according to the goods information of the other goods to be sorted;

[0283] The diversion processing module 818 is used to perform diversion processing on the other goods to be sorted when the other goods to be sorted do not meet the preset sorting conditions.

[0284] Reference Fig.16 In an optional embodiment of the present application, the device 80 further includes:

[0285] The suspended goods judging module 819 is used to judge whether the other goods to be sorted are suspended sorting goods; the suspended sorting goods do not belong to the specified goods type, and the target order to which the suspended sorting goods belong includes multiple goods;

[0286] The sorting processing module 820 is used to sort the suspended sorting goods according to the current sorting sequence number corresponding to the order to which the other goods to be sorted belong, when the other goods to be sorted are suspended sorting goods.

[0287] In an optional embodiment of the present application, the sorting processing module 820 is used to sort the suspended sorting goods when the current sorting sequence number corresponding to the order to which the other goods to be sorted belong is less than or equal to the number of sorting containers of the idle sorting containers on all sorting container mobile devices.

[0288] In an optional embodiment of the present application, the preset sorting conditions include:

[0289] The goods to be sorted do not belong to the specified goods type;

[0290] The target order to which the goods to be sorted belong includes multiple goods;

[0291] The designated goods in the target order to which the goods to be sorted belong have all been picked; the designated goods are the goods in the target order other than the goods to be sorted;

[0292] The designated goods in the target order to which the goods to be sorted belong arrive at the sorting device within a preset time period;

[0293] The number of free sorting containers on all sorting container mobile devices is greater than or equal to the number of containers occupied by all goods in the target order to which the goods to be sorted belong; and

[0294] The current sorting sequence number corresponding to the target order to which the goods to be sorted belong is less than or equal to the number of sorting containers of the idle sorting containers on all the sorting container mobile devices; and

[0295] The target sorting container corresponding to the goods to be sorted and the sorting container corresponding to the last goods to be sorted are the same sorting container, or are different sorting containers located on different sorting container mobile devices.

[0296] In an optional embodiment of the present application, the sorting container determination module 82 is further used to obtain the arrival time of multiple picking containers; the picking containers contain multiple goods;

[0297] sorting the plurality of picking containers according to the arrival time;

[0298] According to the sorting result, the orders in the plurality of picking containers are sorted in sequence; the sorting sequence number of the first designated order is smaller than the sorting sequence number of the second designated order; the arrival time of the last picking container corresponding to the goods included in the first designated order is earlier than the arrival time of the last picking container corresponding to the goods included in the second designated order; the first designated order and the second designated order are both orders in the picking container.

[0299] Reference Fig.17 In an optional embodiment of the present application, when the moving speed of the material box on the sorting device is greater than the moving speed of the device of the sorting container moving device, before controlling the conveying device to convey the goods to be sorted to the material box of the sorting device, the device 80 further includes:

[0300] The sorting container determination module 521 is used to determine whether the target sorting container corresponding to the goods to be sorted and the sorting container corresponding to the last goods to be sorted are different sorting containers on the same sorting container mobile device;

[0301] The material box determination module 522 is used to determine the target material box corresponding to the goods to be sorted according to the material box moving speed and the device moving speed when the target sorting container corresponding to the goods to be sorted and the sorting container corresponding to the previous goods to be sorted are different sorting containers on the same sorting container moving device.

[0302] Reference Fig.18 In an optional embodiment of the present application, the sorting container moving device where the target sorting container is located includes a plurality of sorting containers, and the device 80 further includes:

[0303] The order completion processing module 523 is used to control the sorting container moving device to move from the current position to the target position where the next processing station is located when the multiple sorting containers are all in the order completion state.

[0304] Reference Fig.19In an optional embodiment of the present application, the device 80 further includes:

[0305] The device control module 524 is used to control the new sorting container moving device to move to the current position; a plurality of idle sorting containers are placed on the new sorting container moving device.

[0306] By using the above device, firstly, the cargo information of the goods to be sorted is obtained; then, according to the cargo information, a target sorting container is determined from multiple candidate sorting containers, and the target sorting container is located on a sorting container mobile device, and multiple sorting containers are placed on the sorting container mobile device; then, when the target sorting container is not located at the cargo receiving position corresponding to the goods to be sorted, the sorting container mobile device is controlled to move the target sorting container to the cargo receiving position, and the sorting device is controlled to deliver the goods to be sorted to the target sorting container; or, when the target sorting container is located at the cargo receiving position corresponding to the goods to be sorted, the sorting device is controlled to deliver the goods to be sorted to the target sorting container. In this way, since the present application sets multiple sorting containers on the sorting container mobile device, the number of sorting containers is large, and each sorting container can merge orders for a single order, so that a large number of orders can be merged at the same time, thereby improving the efficiency of order merging.

[0307] An embodiment of the present application also provides a non-volatile readable storage medium, which stores one or more modules (programs). When the one or more modules are applied to a terminal device, the terminal device can execute instructions (instructions) of each method step in the embodiment of the present application.

[0308] Fig. 20 This is a schematic diagram of the hardware structure of a cargo handling device provided in one embodiment of the present application. Fig. 20 As shown, the cargo handling device may include an input device 200, a processor 201, an output device 202, a memory 203 and at least one communication bus 204. The communication bus 204 is used to realize the communication connection between the components. The memory 203 may include a high-speed RAM memory, and may also include a non-volatile storage NVM, such as at least one disk memory. Various programs may be stored in the memory 203 to complete various processing functions and implement the method steps of this embodiment.

[0309] Optionally, the processor 201 may be implemented as a central processing unit (CPU), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a digital signal processor (DSP), a digital signal processing device (DSPD), a programmable logic device (PLD), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), a controller, a microcontroller, a microprocessor or other electronic components, and the processor 201 is coupled to the input device 200 and the output device 202 via a wired or wireless connection.

[0310] Optionally, the input device 200 may include multiple input devices, for example, it may include at least one of a user interface for users, a device interface for devices, a programmable interface for software, a camera, and a sensor. Optionally, the device interface for devices may be a wired interface for data transmission between devices, or a hardware insertion interface for data transmission between devices (such as a USB interface, a serial port, etc.); Optionally, the user interface for users may be, for example, a control button for users, a voice input device for receiving voice input, and a touch sensing device for users to receive user touch input (such as a touch screen with a touch sensing function, a touch pad, etc.); Optionally, the programmable interface for the software may be, for example, an entry for users to edit or modify programs, such as an input pin interface or an input interface of a chip; Optionally, the transceiver may be a radio frequency transceiver chip with communication function, a baseband processing chip, and a transceiver antenna, etc. Audio input devices such as microphones may receive voice data. The output device 202 may include output devices such as displays and speakers.

[0311] In this embodiment, the processor of the cargo handling device includes functions for executing each module in the background setting device. The specific functions and technical effects can be referred to the above embodiments and will not be repeated here.

[0312] As for the device embodiment, since it is basically similar to the method embodiment, the description is relatively simple, and the relevant parts can be referred to the partial description of the method embodiment.

[0313] The various embodiments in this specification are described in a progressive manner, and each embodiment focuses on the differences from other embodiments. The same or similar parts between the various embodiments can be referenced to each other.

[0314] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the embodiments of the present application can be provided as methods, devices, or computer program products. Therefore, the present application can adopt the form of a complete hardware embodiment, a complete software embodiment, or an embodiment in combination with software and hardware. Moreover, the present application can adopt the form of a computer program product implemented on one or more computer-usable storage media (including but not limited to disk storage, CD-ROM, optical storage, etc.) containing computer-usable program code.

[0315] The embodiments of the present application are described with reference to the flowcharts and / or block diagrams of the methods, terminal devices (systems), and computer program products according to the embodiments of the present application. It should be understood that each process and / or block in the flowchart and / or block diagram, as well as the combination of the processes and / or blocks in the flowchart and / or block diagram, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions can be provided to a processor of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, an embedded processor, or other programmable cargo handling terminal device to produce a machine, so that the instructions executed by the processor of the computer or other programmable cargo handling terminal device generate instructions for implementing the processes in the process. Figure 1 A process or multiple processes and / or boxes Figure 1 A device that provides the functions specified in a block or multiple blocks.

[0316] These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer readable memory capable of directing a computer or other programmable cargo handling terminal to operate in a specific manner, so that the instructions stored in the computer readable memory produce an article of manufacture including an instruction device, the instruction device implementing the process Figure 1 A process or multiple processes and / or boxes Figure 1 A function specified in one or more boxes.

[0317] These computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable cargo handling terminal device so that a series of operating steps are executed on the computer or other programmable terminal device to produce a computer-implemented process, thereby providing instructions for executing on the computer or other programmable terminal device to implement the process. Figure 1 A process or multiple processes and / or boxes Figure 1 The steps for the functions specified in one or more boxes.

[0318] Although the preferred embodiments of the present application have been described, those skilled in the art may make additional changes and modifications to these embodiments once they have learned the basic creative concept. Therefore, the appended claims are intended to be interpreted as including the preferred embodiments and all changes and modifications that fall within the scope of the embodiments of the present application.

[0319] Finally, it should be noted that, in this article, relational terms such as first and second, etc. are only used to distinguish one entity or operation from another entity or operation, and do not necessarily require or imply any such actual relationship or order between these entities or operations. Moreover, the terms "include", "comprise" or any other variants thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, so that a process, method, article or terminal device including a series of elements includes not only those elements, but also other elements not explicitly listed, or also includes elements inherent to such process, method, article or terminal device. In the absence of further restrictions, the elements defined by the sentence "comprise a ..." do not exclude the existence of other identical elements in the process, method, article or terminal device including the elements.

[0320] The above is a detailed introduction to a cargo handling system and a sorting container moving device provided by the present application. Specific examples are used in this article to illustrate the principles and implementation methods of the present application. The description of the above embodiments is only used to help understand the method of the present application and its core idea; at the same time, for general technical personnel in this field, according to the idea of ​​the present application, there will be changes in the specific implementation method and application scope. In summary, the content of this specification should not be understood as a limitation on the present application.

Claims

1. A cargo handling system, characterized in that: The system comprises: a sorting device and at least one conveying device docked with the sorting device, the sorting device is provided with a plurality of material boxes for placing goods to be sorted, a sorting container moving device is provided at a delivery position of each delivery port of the sorting device, and the sorting container moving device is used to place a plurality of sorting containers; Wherein, the conveying device is used to convey the goods to be sorted to the target material box of the sorting device; The sorting container moving device is used to move the target sorting container corresponding to the goods to be sorted to the goods receiving position; The sorting device is used to move the target material box to the target delivery port corresponding to the target sorting container moving device where the target sorting container is located, and deliver the goods to be sorted to the target sorting container through the target delivery port; The system further comprises: a control device connected to the sorting container moving device; The target sorting container moving device includes a moving cart, and the control device is used to control the moving cart to move forward and backward and / or left and right, so that the target sorting container on the moving cart moves to the cargo receiving position.

2. The system according to claim 1, characterized in that Each conveying device includes a plurality of conveying branches, wherein the first conveying branch is connected to the sorting device and is used to convey the goods to be sorted to the material box of the sorting device; the second conveying branch is respectively connected to the buffer container, the next processing station, the return device or another sorting device, and is used to convey the goods to be sorted to the buffer container, the next processing station, the return device or another sorting device; the first conveying branch is any branch of the plurality of conveying branches, and the second conveying branch is a branch of the plurality of conveying branches except the first conveying branch; The system further comprises: a diversion device, which is used to divert the goods to be sorted on the conveying device, so as to divert different goods to be sorted to different conveying branches in the conveying device.

3. The system according to claim 2, characterized in that The sorting device is used to drive multiple material boxes to rotate periodically.

4. The system according to claim 3, characterized in that The sorting equipment includes any one of the following: a turntable sorting equipment and a reciprocating sorting equipment; The turntable sorting device includes a circular sorting device or an elliptical sorting device; The reciprocating sorting device includes an L-type sorting device or a U-type sorting device.

5. The system according to any one of claims 2 to 4, characterized in that The system further includes: a control device connected to the at least one transmission device, for controlling at least one transmission device among the multiple transmission devices to enter a working mode or an idle mode when the at least one transmission device includes multiple transmission devices.

6. The system according to claim 1, characterized in that The sorting container mobile device is provided with a prompting device for indicating the order status corresponding to the sorting container on the sorting container mobile device; The prompting device includes at least one of the following: a light prompter, a display prompter and a sound prompter.

7. The system according to claim 5, characterized in that The system further comprises: a control device connected to the sorting container moving device; In the case that a conveying device is provided on the target sorting container moving device, the control device is used to control the conveying device to move the target sorting container on the target sorting container moving device to the goods receiving position.

8. The system according to claim 7, characterized in that The target sorting container mobile device is provided with a device power device; or, The sorting equipment is provided with a sorting power device; or, The system includes an external power device; The equipment power device, the sorting power device and the external power device are all used to provide power to the mobile cart so that the target sorting container on the mobile cart moves to the cargo receiving position; or to provide power to the conveying device so that the conveying device drives the target sorting container to move to the cargo receiving position.

9. The system according to claim 7, characterized in that The conveying device includes any one of the following: a conveyor belt, a roller, a belt, a chain, a roller and a push rod.

10. The system according to claim 1, characterized in that There is a speed correspondence relationship between the moving speed of the material box on the sorting device and the conveying speed of the at least one conveying device.

11. The system according to claim 10, characterized in that The speed correspondence includes the following formula: v=u*n Among them, v represents the moving speed of the material box on the sorting device, and the unit of v is the number of moving positions / hour; u represents the conveying speed of the conveying device, and the unit of u is the number of conveying pieces / hour; n is used to represent the number of devices in the working mode in the at least one conveying device.

12. The system according to claim 1, characterized in that The system further includes: a control device connected to the sorting container moving device, for controlling the target sorting container moving device to move from a current position to a target position where a next processing station is located when a plurality of sorting containers included in the target sorting container moving device are all in an order completion state.

13. The system according to claim 12, characterized in that The system further comprises: a plurality of standby sorting container moving devices; a plurality of idle sorting containers are placed on the standby sorting container moving devices; The control device is further used to obtain a new sorting container moving device from the waiting sorting container moving devices, and control the new sorting container moving device to move to the current position.

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