A cargo handling method, system, device, storage medium and electronic device

Abstract

The present application relates to the field of warehousing technology, and provides a cargo handling method, system, device, storage medium and electronic device. The cargo handling method includes: during the interval between two rounds of outbound operations, controlling the handling equipment to perform tally tasks and pre-outbound tasks in different time periods, the tally task refers to the task of adjusting the position distribution of containers in the warehouse, and the pre-outbound task refers to the task of placing containers in the warehouse onto the transmission equipment. The method maximizes the use of the functions of the handling equipment on the basis of fully considering the actual situation of the warehouse, and significantly improves the production efficiency of the warehouse.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of warehousing technology, and in particular to a cargo handling method, system, device, storage medium and electronic equipment. Background Art

[0002] In modern automated light handling equipment sub-warehouses, handling equipment can be used as a warehouse automated picking device to produce orders. For example, when the warehouse is carrying out outbound operations, the handling equipment is scheduled to drive to certain shelves through a certain algorithm. The handling equipment transports the required container (with goods inside) to the station and puts it on the transmission equipment docked at the station. The container is transported downstream along the transmission equipment, and workers downstream will pick out the goods required for the order from the container.

[0003] After the workers stop working every day and before the workers start working the next day (for example, in the early morning), there are no workers picking up the goods on the conveying equipment (that is, the warehouse is not carrying out the outbound operation). The handling equipment can use this unmanned time to perform some pre-processing on the containers in the warehouse to improve the warehouse outbound efficiency after the next day's work. The above pre-processing mainly includes two methods: one is sorting, that is, using the handling equipment to arrange the position distribution of the containers on the shelf to a state suitable for outbound; the other is pre-outbound, that is, using the handling equipment to pre-place the containers to be outbound on the conveying equipment connected to the site.

[0004] In the prior art, either all the handling equipment is controlled to be used for sorting, which will result in no containers being placed in some areas of the conveying equipment. After the start of work, workers will not be able to perform picking operations for a period of time, which reduces the production efficiency of the warehouse; or all the handling equipment is controlled to be used for pre-delivery, which will result in the conveying equipment being filled with containers to be shipped out, and all the handling equipment will also be filled with containers to be shipped out, and the handling equipment will lose the ability to sort. After the start of work, the position distribution of the containers on the shelves is not suitable for shipping out, which also reduces the production efficiency of the warehouse. Summary of the invention

[0005] The purpose of the embodiments of the present application is to provide a cargo handling method, system, device, storage medium and electronic device to improve the above-mentioned technical problems.

[0006] To achieve the above objectives, this application provides the following technical solutions:

[0007] In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a cargo handling method, which is applied to a control device, and the method includes: during the interval between two rounds of outbound operations, controlling the handling equipment to perform a sorting task and a pre-outbound task in different time periods, wherein the sorting task refers to the task of adjusting the position distribution of containers in the warehouse, and the pre-outbound task refers to the task of placing the containers in the warehouse onto the transmission equipment.

[0008] In the above method, firstly, the actual operation situation of the warehouse is fully considered, and the handling equipment is scheduled during the interval between two rounds of outbound operations (such as after the end of the outbound operation of the previous day and before the start of the outbound operation of the next day), so that the execution of the method will not affect the formal outbound operation; secondly, the handling equipment is controlled to perform sorting tasks and pre-outbound tasks in different time periods. On the one hand, the position distribution of the containers in the warehouse is adjusted so that the adjusted position distribution of the containers is more suitable for outbound delivery. On the other hand, the containers in the warehouse are put on the transmission equipment, so that after the warehouse starts working, the workers can directly perform picking operations from the transmission equipment without waiting, thereby maximizing the use of the handling equipment's capacity and significantly improving the warehouse's production efficiency.

[0009] In an implementation of the first aspect, controlling the transport equipment to perform tallying tasks and pre-delivery tasks in time periods includes: controlling the transport equipment to perform the tallying tasks; and after the tallying tasks are completed, controlling the transport equipment to perform the pre-delivery tasks.

[0010] In the above implementation, the handling equipment is first controlled to perform tallying, and then the handling equipment is controlled to perform pre-delivery based on the tallying. Since tallying is to facilitate the delivery of containers, and there is no obvious difference between the operations performed by the handling equipment during pre-delivery and during formal delivery (mainly in terms of operating time), the results of the handling equipment tallying can be used during pre-delivery to improve the efficiency of pre-delivery. In addition, when the handling equipment performs the tallying task and then performs the pre-delivery task, the handling equipment's own cargo space (such as a backpack) can be fully used to load containers that need to be pre-delivered (without having to be used for tallying), so that more containers can be included in the pre-delivery range.

[0011] In an implementation of the first aspect, after the previous round of outbound operations is completed and before the handling equipment is controlled to perform the tallying task, the method further includes: controlling the handling equipment to switch to an idle state, and not performing the outbound task when the handling equipment is in the idle state.

[0012] When the transport equipment is in an idle state, the transport equipment can be charged, repaired, and other operations can be performed on it to ensure that the transport equipment can continue to work stably.

[0013] In an implementation of the first aspect, the controlling of the handling equipment to perform the tallying task and the pre-outbound task in time periods includes: determining a tallying time period and a pre-outbound time period between two rounds of outbound operations; controlling the handling equipment to perform the tallying task within the tallying time period, and controlling the handling equipment to perform the pre-outbound task within the pre-outbound time period.

[0014] In the above implementation, the time period between two rounds of outbound operations can be planned first, the tallying time period and the pre-outbound time period can be determined, and then the handling equipment can be dispatched according to the planning of the time period.

[0015] In an implementation of the first aspect, determining a pre-outbound time period includes: determining a total number of pre-outbound tasks based on the number of containers that can be placed on the transmission device and the number of containers that can be loaded on the handling device; wherein each pre-outbound task corresponds to an operation of placing a container onto the transmission device or loading it onto the handling device; and calculating the length of the pre-outbound time period based on the total number of pre-outbound tasks and the average completion time of each outbound task.

[0016] For pre-delivery, the container can be placed on the transmission equipment first. If there is no space on the transmission equipment, the container can be loaded on the handling equipment. Therefore, the total number of pre-delivery tasks can be determined based on the number of containers that can be placed on the transmission equipment and the number of containers that can be loaded on the handling equipment. Then, the length of the pre-delivery time period can be estimated based on the total number of pre-delivery tasks and the average completion time of each delivery task. Among them, since there is no obvious difference in operation between pre-delivery and formal delivery (mainly the difference in operation time), the average completion time of each delivery task is directly used in the estimation above.

[0017] In an implementation of the first aspect, the number of containers that can be placed on the transport device is calculated based on a distance on the transport device where no containers are placed and a safety distance between adjacent containers on the transport device.

[0018] When the warehouse is carrying out the outbound operation, the transmission equipment continuously transmits the containers containing the goods to the downstream. Once the warehouse stops working, there may be remaining containers on the transmission equipment (these containers will be processed when the warehouse starts working next time). Therefore, only some areas on the transmission equipment can be used to place the pre-outbound containers. The distance where there are no containers on the transmission equipment can be obtained by setting up sensors for detecting containers. The safety distance is a requirement of the warehouse for the containers transmitted on the transmission equipment. Adjacent containers should not be too close and should maintain a certain distance.

[0019] In an implementation of the first aspect, the method further includes: determining an idle time period between two rounds of outbound operations; wherein, during the idle time period, the handling equipment is in an idle state without performing an outbound task, the idle time period, the tallying time period and the pre-outbound time period are connected in sequence, and the starting point of the tallying time period is the end time point of the previous round of outbound operations, and the end point of the pre-outbound time period is the start time point of the next round of outbound operations; determining the tallying time period includes: determining the length of the tallying time period according to the interval between the two rounds of outbound operations, the length of the idle time period and the length of the pre-outbound time period.

[0020] The idle time period can be specified in advance by the user, and the pre-outbound time period can be calculated based on the situation in the warehouse at that time (such as the algorithm given in the previous implementation method). After these two time periods are determined, the length of the tally time period can be naturally derived.

[0021] In an implementation of the first aspect, before controlling the transport device to perform the tallying task within the tallying time period, the method further includes: determining that the duration of the tallying time period is not less than a preset duration.

[0022] If the tallying time period is too short, not only will the tallying fail to be completed, but it may also waste the resources of the handling equipment. Therefore, it is better to give up this tallying. In some optional solutions, if the tallying is given up, a pre-outbound task can be issued to the handling equipment in advance.

[0023] In an implementation of the first aspect, before controlling the handling equipment to perform tallying, the method further includes: generating the tallying task by using a heuristic algorithm.

[0024] Heuristic algorithms are a general term for a class of algorithms that allow searching for the best solution to a problem within an acceptable computational cost, but they do not necessarily guarantee that the feasible solution obtained is the optimal solution. For a large number of containers in a warehouse, there are a large number of different tallying solutions, so a heuristic algorithm can be used to search for a better tallying solution to achieve a better tallying effect within limited handling equipment resources and limited tallying time.

[0025] In an implementation of the first aspect, the generating the tallying task by using a heuristic algorithm includes: obtaining a reference layout score; determining a target tallying scheme from a plurality of candidate tallying schemes so that the layout scores corresponding to the containers in the warehouse after the position distribution is adjusted and the size of the reference layout score satisfy a preset relationship, and generating the tallying task based on the target tallying scheme; wherein the layout scores of the containers in the warehouse are positively correlated with the degree to which the position distribution of the containers in the warehouse is suitable for shipment.

[0026] In the above implementation, the layout score of the containers in the warehouse is used to evaluate the tallying effect, and the target tallying scheme is selected according to the relationship between the expected layout score after tallying and the reference layout score, so as to facilitate the search for a better tallying scheme. Among them, the reference layout score can be the layout score of the containers in the current warehouse, the layout score of the containers in the warehouse at a certain historical moment or time period, or a preset fixed score. There are various ways to set it, which gives great flexibility to select the target tallying scheme.

[0027] In an implementation of the first aspect, the reference layout score refers to the corresponding layout score of the containers in the warehouse before the position distribution is adjusted, and the preset relationship refers to the layout score corresponding to the containers in the warehouse after the position distribution is adjusted, which is improved the most compared with before the adjustment.

[0028] In the above implementation, the tallying scheme that makes the layout scores of the containers in the warehouse after tallying increase the most compared with before tallying is selected as the target tallying scheme, which is conducive to achieving the best tallying effect (meaning the most suitable for shipment).

[0029] In an implementation of the first aspect, after the tallying task is generated based on the target tallying plan, the method further includes: judging whether a tallying end condition is met, and if the tallying end condition is not met, continuing to determine a new target tallying plan, and generating a new tallying task based on the new target tallying plan.

[0030] Tallying can be divided into multiple rounds. Each round of tallying continuously optimizes the position distribution of containers in the warehouse based on the previous round of tallying, making the position distribution of containers in the warehouse more and more suitable for outbound delivery. In addition, tallying in rounds also fully considers the limitation of the carrying capacity of the handling equipment, which enhances the practicality of the solution.

[0031] In an implementation of the first aspect, determining a new target tallying plan includes: determining the new target tallying plan when it is determined that the completion progress of the tallying task has reached a preset progress; wherein, when the completion progress of the tallying task reaches the preset progress, the tallying task has not been fully completed.

[0032] The next round of tallying process can be started after each round of tallying tasks are completed. However, the next round of tallying process can also be started in advance before each round of tallying tasks are completed (but the preset progress has been executed). The reason is that some containers may be slow to sort out (for example, the container is located in a remote area). If the next round of tallying process is started after the previous round of tallying is completely completed, the tallying efficiency may be low. If each round of tallying is allowed to overlap to a certain extent in time, it is conducive to making full use of the limited tallying time period.

[0033] In an implementation of the first aspect, the transport equipment performs the tallying task within a tallying time period, and the tallying end condition includes: the tallying time period has ended, or the tallying target has been reached before the tallying time period ends.

[0034] If the tallying time period has ended, no new tallying tasks will be generated. However, sometimes the tallying time period has not ended, but the tallying target has been achieved. For example, the layout score of the containers in the warehouse has reached the pre-set target score. Although continuing to tally may improve the layout score, the improvement is very limited, and it consumes the power of the handling equipment, which is not worth the loss; for another example, no matter which candidate tallying plan is adopted, the layout score of the container cannot be further improved, and so on.

[0035] In an implementation of the first aspect, the layout score of the containers in the warehouse is calculated in the following manner, including: calculating the temperature of the containers in the warehouse and the temperature of the cargo spaces; wherein the temperature of the containers in the warehouse is positively correlated with the degree to which the goods contained in the containers are suitable for shipment, and the temperature of the cargo spaces in the warehouse is positively correlated with the degree to which the cargo spaces are suitable for storing containers to be shipped out; and calculating the layout score of the containers in the warehouse based on the temperature of the containers in the warehouse and the temperature of the cargo spaces where the containers are stored.

[0036] The overall goal of tallying is to move containers that are more suitable for outbound delivery to storage locations that are more suitable for outbound delivery, so that it is more convenient for handling equipment to carry these containers when outbound delivery (or pre-outbound delivery). Since the container contains goods, whether a container is suitable for outbound delivery can refer to whether the goods in the container are suitable for outbound delivery, and can be quantified by the temperature of the container; and whether a storage location is suitable for outbound delivery can refer to whether the storage location is suitable for storing containers to be outbound, and can be quantified by the temperature of the storage location.

[0037] In an implementation of the first aspect, the temperature of the container in the warehouse is positively correlated with the number of goods in the container that are hit by orders in the next round of outbound operations; and / or, the temperature of the cargo location in the warehouse is negatively correlated with the average of the distances between the cargo location and each outbound site; wherein the outbound site is connected to the transmission equipment.

[0038] If a container contains a large number of goods that are hit by orders, it means that the goods in the container can meet more orders, so this container can be given priority when leaving the warehouse (the container has a higher popularity); if a storage location is close to a site, it means that the containers stored in this storage location need to move a shorter distance when leaving the warehouse, so the containers in this storage location can be given priority when leaving the warehouse (the storage location has a higher popularity).

[0039] In an implementation of the first aspect, the harmonic mean is used to calculate the mean of the distance between the cargo location and each outbound station.

[0040] If a cargo location is very close to a station, the harmonic mean can highlight the popularity of the cargo location due to its reciprocal relationship.

[0041] In an implementation of the first aspect, there are u containers and v cargo locations in the warehouse, where u is a positive integer not greater than v, and calculating the layout score of the containers in the warehouse based on the heat of the containers in the warehouse and the heat of the cargo locations where the containers are stored, includes: mapping the heat of the u containers to integers between 1 and u according to their order, and mapping the heat of the v cargo locations to integers between 1 and v according to their order; calculating the absolute value of the difference between the heat mapping value of each container in the warehouse and the heat mapping value of the cargo location where the container is stored, and taking the sum of the u absolute values ​​calculated corresponding to the u containers as the layout score of the containers in the warehouse.

[0042] By mapping the heat values ​​in the above manner, the measurement units of the heat of the container and the heat of the shelf can be unified, so that the difference between the two can be calculated, and the calculated layout score value is also more reasonable.

[0043] In an implementation of the first aspect, determining a target tallying scheme from a plurality of candidate tallying schemes so that the layout scores corresponding to the containers in the warehouse after the position distribution is adjusted satisfy a preset relationship with the reference layout scores, and generating the tallying tasks based on the target tallying scheme, comprises: determining at least one group of free cargo spaces from the free cargo spaces in the warehouse, and determining at least one group of containers from the containers in the warehouse, and respectively calculating at least one layout score corresponding to each group of containers in the warehouse when each group of containers is moved from a current cargo space to the at least one group of free cargo spaces; wherein each group of free cargo spaces includes k free cargo spaces, and each group of containers includes k containers, where k is a positive integer; determining a target layout score in the at least one layout score that satisfies a preset relationship with the reference layout score, and generating k tallying tasks based on the k free cargo spaces and k containers corresponding to the target layout scores; wherein each tallying task corresponds to an operation of moving a container to a free cargo space for storage.

[0044] In the above implementation, moving a group of containers (k) from the current cargo location to a group of free cargo locations (k) for storage corresponds to a candidate tally plan. Since there are multiple choices for k containers and k free cargo locations (for example, traversal selection is possible), multiple candidate tally plans can be formed. After executing these candidate tally plans, the layout score of the container that satisfies the preset relationship with the reference layout score is the target layout score, and the candidate tally plan corresponding to the target layout score is the target tally plan to be searched.

[0045] In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a cargo handling method, which is applied to handling equipment, and the method includes: receiving a tallying task and a pre-outbound task issued by a control device; wherein the tallying task refers to a task of adjusting the position distribution of containers in a warehouse, and the pre-outbound task refers to a task of placing the containers in the warehouse onto a transmission device; during the interval between two rounds of outbound operations, the tallying task and the pre-outbound task are executed in time periods.

[0046] In an implementation of the second aspect, executing the tally task and the pre-warehouse delivery task in different time periods includes: executing the tally task; and executing the pre-warehouse delivery task after the tally task is completed.

[0047] In an implementation of the second aspect, the method further includes: receiving a state switching instruction issued by a control device; after the previous round of outbound operations is completed and before the tallying task is executed, the method further includes: switching to an idle state according to the state switching instruction, and not executing the outbound task when the handling equipment is in the idle state.

[0048] In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a cargo handling system, comprising: a control device for executing the method provided by the first aspect or any possible implementation of the first aspect; and at least one handling device for executing the method provided by the second aspect or any possible implementation of the second aspect.

[0049] In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a cargo handling device, which is configured on a control device, and the device includes: a control module, which is used to control the handling equipment to perform sorting tasks and pre-outbound tasks in time periods during the interval between two rounds of outbound operations, wherein the sorting task refers to the task of adjusting the position distribution of containers in the warehouse, and the pre-outbound task refers to the task of placing the containers in the warehouse onto the transmission equipment.

[0050] In the fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a cargo handling device, which is configured on a handling equipment, and the device includes: a task receiving module, which is used to receive tallying tasks and pre-outbound tasks issued by a control device; wherein the tallying task refers to the task of adjusting the position distribution of containers in the warehouse, and the pre-outbound task refers to the task of placing the containers in the warehouse onto a transmission device; a task execution module, which is used to execute the tallying task and the pre-outbound task in time periods during the interval between two rounds of outbound operations.

[0051] In a sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium, on which computer program instructions are stored. When the computer program instructions are read and executed by a processor, the method provided by any possible implementation of the first aspect, the second aspect, or both aspects is executed.

[0052] In the seventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides an electronic device, comprising: a memory and a processor, wherein the memory stores computer program instructions, and when the computer program instructions are read and run by the processor, the method provided by any possible implementation of the first aspect, the second aspect, or both aspects is executed. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0053] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, the drawings required for use in the embodiments of the present application will be briefly introduced below. It should be understood that the following drawings only show certain embodiments of the present application and therefore should not be regarded as limiting the scope. For ordinary technicians in this field, other related drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without paying creative work.

[0054] Figure 1 A structural schematic diagram of a cargo handling system provided in an embodiment of the present application is shown;

[0055] Figure 2 A flow chart of a cargo processing method provided by an embodiment of the present application is shown;

[0056] Figure 3 A time period division diagram of a cargo handling method provided in an embodiment of the present application is shown;

[0057] Figure 4 A functional module diagram of a cargo handling device provided in an embodiment of the present application is shown;

[0058] Figure 5 A functional module diagram of another cargo handling device provided in an embodiment of the present application is shown;

[0059] Figure 6 A structural diagram of an electronic device provided in an embodiment of the present application is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0060] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be described below in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiments of the present application. It should be noted that similar reference numerals and letters represent similar items in the following drawings, so once an item is defined in one drawing, it does not need to be further defined and explained in the subsequent drawings.

[0061] The terms "comprises," "comprising," or any other variation thereof are intended to encompass non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that includes a list of elements includes not only those elements, but also other elements not explicitly listed, or elements inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus. In the absence of further limitations, an element defined by the phrase "comprising a ..." does not exclude the presence of additional identical elements in the process, method, article, or apparatus that includes the element.

[0062] Figure 1 The structural diagram of the cargo handling system provided in the embodiment of the present application is shown. Figure 1 The cargo handling system 10 includes at least a control device 110 and at least one handling device 120 (only one is shown in the figure), and a communication connection is established between the control device 110 and the handling device 120, so that the control device 110 can issue tasks and / or control instructions to the handling device 120 to control the behavior of the handling device 120. The handling device 120 can be deployed in the warehouse, and the control device 110 can be deployed in the warehouse or remotely.

[0063] The control device 110 is used to execute the cargo handling method provided in the embodiment of the present application. The detailed steps of the method will be described in Figure 2 The control device 110 may be a physical device, such as a PC, a laptop, a tablet computer, a server, an embedded device, etc., or a virtual device, such as a virtual machine, a virtualized container, etc. Moreover, the control device 110 is not limited to a single device, but may also be a combination of multiple devices or one or more clusters composed of a large number of devices.

[0064] The handling device 120 is mainly used to move containers in the warehouse under the control of the control device 110. In the solution of the present application, a container generally refers to a device that can hold goods, such as a barrel, a box, a case, a bag, a pallet, etc. A container is the smallest cargo handling unit in a warehouse. One or more goods can be stored in a container, but it does not exclude that some goods are directly stored in the warehouse in their original form without being loaded in a container. In this case, the goods themselves can also be regarded as a container, which does not affect the implementation of the solution of the present application.

[0065] The handling equipment 120 generally refers to equipment with container transport capabilities, and one or more containers can be loaded on a handling equipment 120. In some implementations, the handling equipment 120 also has the ability to pick and / or place containers: for example, pick a specified container from a shelf; for example, place a specified container on a transmission device or a specified cargo position. However, in other implementations, the handling equipment 120 can only transport containers. For example, a mechanical arm is provided at the shelf to pick up a specified container and place the picked container on the handling equipment 120. The handling equipment 120 itself is not responsible for container picking. However, for the sake of simplicity, the following text will take the example of the handling equipment 120 picking up containers and placing containers by itself as an example. The handling equipment 120 can be implemented by an automated guided vehicle (AGV), a forklift, a four-way shuttle, etc., and each device may have different implementations. For example, AGV can further include a jacking AGV, a traction AGV, a clamping AGV, a flip AGV, a roller AGV, a belt AGV, etc.

[0066] The following briefly introduces a warehouse scenario in which the cargo handling system 10 is deployed:

[0067] A plurality of shelves are arranged in the warehouse, each shelf includes a plurality of cargo spaces, each cargo space is used to store a container, and one or more outbound stations are arranged in the warehouse. When the warehouse performs outbound operation, the control device 110 issues an outbound task to the handling device 120, and the handling device 120 picks the container to be outbound from the shelf according to the received outbound task and transports the picked container to the outbound station. The outbound station is provided with a transmission device (such as a conveyor belt, including a belt conveyor belt, a roller conveyor belt, a chain conveyor belt, etc.) docked with the station, and the handling device 120 puts the container on the transmission device, and the container will be transmitted downstream with the operation of the transmission device. The downstream worker who performs outbound operation will open the container and pick out the goods that need to be outbound, for example, the goods corresponding to the customer's order. If there are still goods left in a container after manual picking, the container can be sent back to the shelf for storage by performing the warehousing operation. The workers who perform outbound operation may also be replaced by automated equipment, which does not affect the implementation of the scheme of this application.

[0068] It can be understood that the above warehouse scenario is only an example and does not constitute a limitation on the scope of protection of the present application, but the scenario is representative to a certain extent, and the following text mainly uses this scenario as an example when introducing the solution of the present application.

[0069] Figure 2 A flow chart of a cargo handling method provided by an embodiment of the present application is shown. The method can be Figure 1 The control device 110 in the embodiment is executed, and the control device 110 can adopt Figure 5 The electronic device shown in FIG. 1 is implemented, and specific reference can be made to the following about Figure 5 Description of . Figure 2 , the method comprising:

[0070] Step S200: During the interval between two rounds of outbound operations, control the handling equipment to perform the tallying task and the pre-outbound task in different time periods.

[0071] The time period when the handling equipment performs the tallying task may be called the tallying time period, and the time period when the handling equipment performs the pre-delivery task may be called the pre-delivery time period. Both the tallying time period and the pre-delivery time period are located after the end time point of the previous round of delivery operations and before the start time point of the next round of delivery operations. The delivery operation of the warehouse is not continuous. After each delivery operation for a period of time, the operation will be stopped and restarted after a period of time. This cycle will form multiple rounds of delivery operations on the timeline. There may be many reasons for the shutdown. For example, workers who pick goods downstream must rest at night, or the equipment involved in the delivery operation must be charged and repaired at intervals.

[0072] The cargo handling method provided by the embodiment of the present application can be executed during any two rounds of outbound operations that are adjacent in time. For the sake of distinction, the earlier of the two rounds of outbound operations that are adjacent in time is called the earlier round of outbound operations, and the later round of outbound operations is called the later round of outbound operations. For example, the earlier round of outbound operations can refer to the outbound operations performed in the warehouse the day before, and the later round of outbound operations can refer to the outbound operations performed in the warehouse the day after. During the two rounds of outbound operations, the warehouse workers rest and the cargo will not be outbound.

[0073] During the tallying time period, the control device controls the handling equipment to perform the tallying task. The tallying task refers to the task of adjusting the position distribution of containers in the warehouse. The goal of the tallying task can be set so that after the task is executed, the containers with adjusted position distribution are more suitable for outbound operations. The execution of the tallying task can be specifically reflected in the handling equipment moving the position of the container in the warehouse. For example, a container that is about to be shipped out of the warehouse was originally located on a shelf far away from the outbound site. During the tallying time period, the handling equipment moves it to a shelf very close to the outbound site for storage. After the next round of outbound operations begins, the handling equipment only needs to move a short distance to place the container on the transmission equipment. It can be seen that tallying is conducive to improving the outbound efficiency of the container. Of course, there are many tallying schemes, and the tallying effects that these schemes can achieve are also different, which will be further introduced later.

[0074] The tally task can be generated by the control device and sent to the handling equipment. It should be pointed out that although the tally task is executed in the tally time period, it is uncertain whether the tally task should be generated in the tally time period. It may be generated in the tally time period or before the tally time period. Similarly, it is uncertain whether the tally task should be sent to the handling equipment in the tally time period. It may be sent in the tally time period or before the tally time period. However, no matter when the tally task is generated and sent, the control device will control the handling equipment to perform the tally task only in the tally time period.

[0075] During the pre-delivery time period, the control device controls the handling device to perform the pre-delivery task, which refers to the task of placing containers in the warehouse onto the transmission device. The execution of the tallying task can be specifically reflected in the handling device picking and loading containers in the warehouse, then moving to the transmission device and placing the loaded containers onto the transmission device. For example, the transmission device extends from the delivery site to the location where workers pick goods. At a certain point in time before the end of the previous round of delivery operations, the handling device may no longer place containers onto the transmission device. Therefore, after the end of the current round of delivery operations, a section of the transmission device starting from the delivery site may be empty (no containers are placed). If this state is maintained, after the next round of delivery operations begins, this empty transmission device area will run downstream, and the workers will have nothing to do for a while until the handling device places new containers onto the transmission device. Therefore, if the handling equipment places the containers involved in the next round of outbound operations onto this empty transmission equipment area in advance during the pre-outbound time period before the next round of outbound operations begins, it can avoid the situation where workers have nothing to do for a period of time after the start of work, thereby improving the workers' work efficiency. This is the so-called pre-outbound.

[0076] It should be pointed out that although the goal of the pre-outbound task is to put the containers in the warehouse onto the transmission equipment, it does not mean that the containers will be put onto the transmission equipment after the pre-outbound task is executed. Because the space on the transmission equipment is limited, once the transmission equipment is full of containers, the handling equipment will not be able to continue to put containers onto the transmission equipment, but the handling equipment can still pick and load the containers to be shipped from the warehouse (the handling equipment can also queue up at the outbound station). In this way, after the next round of outbound operations begins, there will soon be an idle area on the transmission equipment. The handling equipment only needs to put the pre-loaded containers directly onto the transmission equipment, without the need to pick and load the containers after the start of work. Therefore, the outbound efficiency can also be improved, so this situation is also regarded as the handling equipment performing the pre-outbound task.

[0077] The pre-outbound task can be generated by the control device and sent to the handling equipment. It should be pointed out that although the pre-outbound task is executed in the pre-outbound time period, it is uncertain whether the pre-outbound task will be generated in the pre-outbound time period. It may be generated in the pre-outbound time period or before the pre-outbound time period. Similarly, it is uncertain whether the pre-outbound task will be sent to the handling equipment in the pre-outbound time period. It may be sent in the pre-outbound time period or before the pre-outbound time period. However, no matter when the pre-outbound task is generated and sent, the control device will control the handling equipment to execute the pre-outbound task only in the pre-outbound time period.

[0078] The tallying time period and the pre-outbound time period can be set in different ways: for example, the two time periods can be connected together or there can be a gap between them; for another example, the tallying time period can be set before the pre-outbound time period, or the pre-outbound time period can be set before the tallying time period; for another example, the two time periods can be completely independent or overlapped; for another example, the period from the end time point of the previous round of outbound operations to the start time point of the next round of outbound operations can only include the tallying time period and the pre-outbound time period, but can also include other time periods, such as the idle time period mentioned later.

[0079] The handling equipment that performs the tallying task and the handling equipment that performs the pre-delivery task may be from the same batch of handling equipment or may not be from the same batch of handling equipment. For example, if the tallying time period and the pre-delivery time period are two independent time periods, all handling equipment can be controlled to perform the tallying task during the tallying time period, and all handling equipment can be controlled to perform the pre-delivery task during the pre-delivery time period. For another example, if the tallying time period and the pre-delivery time overlap, during the overlapping time period, part of the handling equipment in the warehouse can be used to perform the tallying task, and part of it can be used to perform the pre-delivery task. In addition, the allocation of handling equipment also needs to consider the limitations of the equipment itself. For example, in some warehouse environments, the distance between shelves is narrow, and ordinary forklifts are difficult to enter and exit the shelf area. Special four-way shuttles can be used to tally and pick goods in the shelf area. The forklift is only responsible for grabbing the picked goods and placing them on the transmission equipment.

[0080] In some implementations, the tallying time period can be set before the pre-delivery time period (excluding the situation where the two time periods overlap). The consideration for such a setting is that the control device first controls the handling device to tally, and after the handling device has completed the tallying, the handling device is then controlled to perform pre-delivery on the basis of the tallying. Since tallying is originally for the convenience of container delivery, and there is no obvious difference between the operation of the handling device when performing the pre-delivery task and the formal delivery task (both include picking containers and placing them on the transmission equipment, and the main difference between the two is the operation time), if the pre-delivery is performed after the tallying is completed, the tallying results of the handling device can be fully utilized (the location distribution of the containers in the warehouse is more suitable for delivery than before the tallying), so that the handling device can improve the pre-delivery efficiency. In addition, if the pre-delivery is performed after the tallying is completed, the cargo space of the handling device itself (such as a backpack) can be fully used to load the containers that need to be pre-delivered (without having to be used for tallying), so that more containers can be included in the pre-delivery range, and the pre-delivery effect is better.

[0081] In some implementations, in addition to the tallying time period and the pre-delivery time period, the pre-delivery time period can also determine an idle time period after the end time point of the previous round of delivery operations and before the tallying time period (in this case, the pre-delivery time period is after the tallying time period), and control the handling equipment to switch to an idle state during the idle time period. When the handling equipment is in the idle state, the delivery task is not performed, and of course the control device will not issue a delivery task to the handling equipment at this time. However, it should be pointed out that the switching of the handling equipment to the idle state does not mean that the handling equipment must be directly stopped at the original place and wait. For example, the control device can also further control the handling equipment to move to a designated location for charging, maintenance and other operations, so that the handling equipment can continue to perform subsequent tasks after the idle time period ends. Controlling the handling equipment to switch to the idle state can be achieved by the control device sending a state switching instruction to the handling equipment. The instruction can be issued after the start of the idle time period, or it can be issued before the start of the idle time period, but it is executed after the start of the idle time period.

[0082] In an optional solution, the idle time period, the tally time period, and the pre-outbound time period are connected in sequence, and the starting point of the tally time period is the end time point of the previous round of outbound operations, and the end point of the pre-outbound time period is the start time point of the next round of outbound operations, that is, these three time periods completely divide the period from the end time point of the previous round of outbound operations to the start time point of the next round of outbound operations. In many cases, the length of the period from the end time point of the previous round of outbound operations to the start time point of the next round of outbound operations is known (for example, the start and stop times of the warehouse are fixed every day), so when determining the length of the three time periods, the length of the third time period can be deduced by arbitrarily determining the length of two of the time periods.

[0083] Among them, the duration of the pre-delivery time period can be calculated as follows:

[0084] First of all, according to the previous content, when executing pre-outbound delivery, the containers can be placed on the transmission equipment first. If there is no empty space on the transmission equipment, the containers can be loaded onto the handling equipment first. Therefore, the total number of pre-outbound delivery tasks can be determined based on the number of containers that can be placed on the transmission equipment and the number of containers that can be loaded on the handling equipment.

[0085] The number of containers that can be placed on the transmission device can be calculated based on the distance on the transmission device where no containers are placed and the safe distance between adjacent containers on the transmission device. First, let's explain the two concepts of the distance on the transmission device where no containers are placed and the safe distance between adjacent containers:

[0086] The distance on the conveying equipment where no containers are placed can refer to the distance from the outbound station to the position of the first container placed on the conveying equipment along the conveying direction of the container during outbound operation. When the warehouse is performing outbound operations, the conveying equipment continues to transmit containers containing goods downstream. Once the warehouse stops working, there may be remaining containers on the conveying equipment (these containers will not be processed until the next time the warehouse starts working). Therefore, only some areas on the conveying equipment can be used to place pre-outbound containers. The length of the area on the conveying equipment where no containers are placed is the distance on the conveying equipment where no containers are placed. This distance can be obtained by setting sensors for detecting containers near the conveying equipment.

[0087] Safety distance is a requirement of the warehouse for containers transported on the conveying equipment. Adjacent containers should not be too close, otherwise it may affect the safety of transmission or cause inconvenience to workers in picking goods. The value of the safety distance can be determined in advance.

[0088] Therefore, the number of containers that can be placed on the conveyor can be roughly estimated by dividing the distance on the conveyor where no containers are placed by the safe distance between adjacent containers. Of course, it is not excluded that in some warehouses, each round of outbound operation must be stopped only after all containers on the conveyor are processed. In this case, the number of containers that can be placed on the conveyor can be set to a fixed value, without the need to calculate it every time.

[0089] The container load capacity of each handling equipment is fixed (for example, it can be the number of backpacks of the handling equipment, each backpack can hold a container), so the total container load of the handling equipment can be estimated by multiplying the total number of available handling equipment in the warehouse by the container load capacity of each handling equipment. The so-called available handling equipment here refers to the handling equipment that can be used to perform pre-outbound tasks. If some handling equipment is performing other tasks at this time, it can be excluded from consideration.

[0090] If each pre-outbound task is defined as an operation of placing a container on a transmission device or loading it onto a handling device, the total number of pre-outbound tasks can be determined based on the number of containers that can be placed on the transmission device and the number of containers that can be loaded on the handling device.

[0091] Then, the duration of the pre-outbound time period is calculated based on the total number of pre-outbound tasks and the average completion time of each outbound task.

[0092] Among them, since there is no obvious difference in operation between pre-outbound and formal outbound (mainly the difference in operation time), the average completion time of each outbound task can be directly used in the calculation. The average completion time of the outbound task can be obtained by statistically analyzing the process of the handling equipment performing the outbound operation. For example, the time of a round of outbound operation is divided by the total number of outbound tasks completed in the round of outbound operation. The time it takes for the handling equipment to complete an outbound task can refer to the time it takes for the handling equipment to take a container off the shelf and put it on the transmission equipment. Of course, considering that some pre-outbound tasks only need to load the container onto the handling equipment without putting it on the transmission equipment during execution, the average time to execute the pre-outbound task may be slightly less than the average time to execute the formal outbound task, so it can be appropriately adjusted by setting the corresponding coefficient.

[0093] The length of the pre-outbound time period can be roughly estimated by multiplying the total number of pre-outbound tasks by the average completion time of each outbound task.

[0094] The following is a possible implementation of the above calculation process using mathematical formulas:

[0095] (1) Obtain the distance s on the transmission device where no containers are placed, the safe distance z between adjacent containers on the transmission device, the total number of containers x that can be loaded by the handling equipment, and the average completion time t of the outbound task. The meaning and acquisition method of each variable have been introduced above.

[0096] (2) Calculate the total number of pre-delivery tasks that can be executed within the pre-delivery time period in, represents the total number of containers that can be placed on a transmission device with a distance s in (1), and x represents the total number of containers that the handling device can load.

[0097] (3) Calculate the duration of the pre-delivery time period t3 = n*t.

[0098] In some implementations, the time period between two rounds of outbound operations can be planned first, and the tallying time period, pre-outbound time period, idle time period, etc. (including determining the location and duration of each time period) can be determined. Then, the handling equipment can be scheduled according to the time period planning, that is, the handling equipment can be controlled to perform different tasks in different time periods, so that the deployment of the handling equipment is more reasonable and standardized.

[0099] Figure 3 The figure shows a time division method that can be adopted by the cargo handling method provided in the embodiment of the present application. Figure 3 , the time from the end time of the previous round of outbound operation to the start time of the next round of outbound operation (assuming the duration is T) is divided into three consecutive time periods: idle time period, tally time period and pre-outbound time period, with durations of t1, t2 and t3 respectively. Among them, a possible calculation method for t3 has been described above, and t1 can be specified by the user in advance. After t1 and t3 are determined, t2 can naturally be derived: t2 = T-t1-t3. The lengths of these time periods are not necessarily fixed. For example, the s used to calculate t3 may change each time, resulting in different t3 calculated each time.

[0100] In some implementations, if the calculated tally time period (for example, it can be calculated according to the above formula of t2) is less than the preset time period, it is not only difficult to complete the tally task within the time period, but also possible to waste the handling equipment resources, so it is better to abandon the tally, and in some optional solutions, if the tally is abandoned, the control device can also control the handling equipment to perform the pre-delivery task in advance, that is, the original tally time period is directly used for pre-delivery. If the calculated tally time period is not less than the preset time period, the control device can control the handling equipment to perform the tally task during the tally time period.

[0101] In summary, in the cargo handling method provided in the embodiment of the present application, firstly, the actual operation conditions of the warehouse are fully considered, and the handling equipment scheduling (at least including tallying and pre-outbound) is selected during the interval between two rounds of outbound operations (such as after the end of the outbound operation of the previous day and before the start of the outbound operation of the next day), so that the execution of the method will not affect the formal outbound operation. Secondly, the handling equipment is controlled to perform the tallying task and the pre-outbound task in different time periods. On the one hand, the position distribution of the containers in the warehouse is adjusted so that the adjusted position distribution of the containers is more suitable for outbound. On the other hand, the containers in the warehouse are put on the transmission equipment (including the case of just loading the containers on the handling equipment for delivery), so that after the warehouse starts working, the workers can directly perform the picking operation from the transmission equipment without waiting, thereby maximizing the use of the capacity of the handling equipment and significantly improving the production efficiency of the warehouse.

[0102] The generation of tally tasks is further introduced below. First of all, it should be clear that the overall goal of tally is to move containers that are more suitable for outbound delivery to storage locations that are more suitable for outbound delivery, so that the handling equipment can move these containers more efficiently when outbound (or pre-outbound).

[0103] In some implementations, a heuristic algorithm can be used to generate a tallying task. Among them, heuristic algorithm is a general term for a class of algorithms that allows searching for the best solution to a problem within an acceptable computing cost, but it does not necessarily guarantee that the feasible solution obtained is the optimal solution to the problem. For a large number of containers and cargo locations in a warehouse, there are a large number of different tallying schemes. It is difficult to traverse all the tallying schemes and determine the best one within limited handling equipment resources and limited tallying time. Therefore, a heuristic algorithm can be used to search for a better tallying scheme. Heuristic algorithms include genetic algorithms, ant colony algorithms, simulated annealing algorithms, etc. A feasible heuristic algorithm is proposed below in combination with the specific scenario of this application. The steps are:

[0104] A. Obtain the reference layout score. The significance of the reference layout score will be explained in step B. The reference layout score can be calculated based on the location distribution of the containers in the warehouse, and sometimes it can be directly obtained. The calculation method of the layout score (not limited to the reference layout score) needs to be reasonably designed so that the calculated layout score is positively correlated with the degree to which the location distribution of the container is suitable for shipment. For example, in a reasonable design, if the storage location of the containers to be shipped out is relatively close to the site, then the layout score of the containers in the warehouse is relatively high; if the storage location of the containers to be shipped out is relatively far from the site, then the layout score of the containers in the warehouse is relatively low. Possible calculation methods for the layout score will be given later.

[0105] B. Determine a target tallying scheme from multiple candidate tallying schemes so that the layout scores corresponding to the containers in the warehouse after the position distribution adjustment and the reference layout scores satisfy a preset relationship.

[0106] Each candidate tally scheme corresponds to the movement of several containers. After the containers are moved, the position distribution of the containers in the warehouse will inevitably change, and thus the layout score of the containers is likely to change. The reference layout score is a reference quantity for selecting the target tally scheme, which is used to compare with the corresponding layout score after the container position distribution is adjusted. For example, the reference layout score can be the layout score of the container in the warehouse before the position distribution is adjusted, it can be the layout score of the container in the warehouse at a certain historical moment or time period, or it can be a preset fixed score. There are various ways to set it, which gives great flexibility to select the target tally scheme. For the first case, it may be necessary to calculate the reference layout score, and for the latter two cases, the reference layout score can be directly obtained.

[0107] For example, in some implementations, the reference layout score uses the layout score of the containers in the warehouse before the position distribution is adjusted. Among the multiple candidate tallying schemes, some tallying schemes may lead to an increase in the layout score, while others may lead to a decrease in the layout score. The layout score is positively correlated with the degree to which the position distribution of the container is suitable for outbound delivery. Therefore, the scheme that leads to an increase in the layout score of the container after the position distribution is adjusted compared to the layout score before the adjustment is consistent with the tallying target. Therefore, the scheme that leads to the largest increase in the layout score of the container after the position distribution is adjusted compared to the layout score before the adjustment is the optimal tallying scheme among the multiple candidate tallying schemes, and can be determined as the target tallying scheme. If tallying is performed according to the target tallying scheme, it is conducive to achieving the best tallying effect (i.e., the containers in the warehouse are most suitable for outbound delivery).

[0108] For example, in some implementations, the reference layout score uses a preset fixed score. In this case, there is no need to search for the best tally solution among multiple candidate tally solutions. It is only necessary to find a tally solution from multiple candidate tally solutions that makes the layout score corresponding to the container after the position distribution is adjusted greater than the fixed score as the target tally solution. That is, only a certain degree of tally is pursued, not the best tally effect. Since these implementations do not need to traverse all candidate tally solutions, the efficiency of searching for the target tally solution will be relatively high.

[0109] C. Generate tally tasks based on the target tally plan.

[0110] After the tally task is generated, it can be issued to the handling equipment immediately, or it can be issued to the handling equipment at a later time, and this application does not limit this.

[0111] D. Determine whether the tally termination condition is met. If the tally termination condition is met, the tally is terminated. If the tally termination condition is not met, steps A to C are repeated until the tally termination condition is met.

[0112] Step D is an iterative step. The tallying can be divided into multiple rounds (one round is one round for each execution of steps A to C). Each round of tallying only selects the target tallying solution from a limited number of candidate solutions. Each round of tallying further optimizes the container location distribution based on the container location distribution obtained after the previous round of tallying. This optimization process is continuous and can determine a better tallying solution (referring to a series of tallying solutions formed by the target tallying solution of each round of tallying) using only limited resources. In addition, tallying in rounds also fully considers the limitation of the cargo carrying capacity of the handling equipment and enhances the practicality of the solution. Of course, it is not ruled out that in some implementations, multiple rounds of tallying are not required. In these implementations, steps A to C can be executed only once, and step D is not executed.

[0113] The tally end condition in step D can be one of the following:

[0114] i. The tally period has ended;

[0115] ii. The tallying target has been reached before the end of the tallying time period. For example, the layout score of the containers in the warehouse has reached the pre-set target score. Although continuing to tally may improve the layout score, the improvement is very limited, and it consumes the power of the handling equipment, which is not worth the loss; for example, in step B, it is found that no matter which candidate tallying plan is adopted, the layout score of the container cannot be further improved, etc.

[0116] It should be noted that, depending on the definition of the reference layout score, step A may not need to be repeated (for example, step A only needs to be executed in the first round of tallying, and only steps B to C are repeated in subsequent rounds of tallying). For example, if the reference layout score is a fixed value, there is no need to repeatedly execute step A to obtain the reference layout score. For another example, the reference layout score is the layout score of the containers in the warehouse before executing the current round of tallying, because the layout score of the containers in the warehouse after executing the corresponding tallying task must have been calculated when selecting the target tallying plan, so there is no need to execute step A to calculate the layout score when performing the next round of tallying. In addition, when step B is repeatedly executed, the candidate tallying plans will change due to the execution of the tallying task in the previous round, so it is necessary to re-search the target tallying plan.

[0117] Furthermore, the next round of tallying process (i.e., executing step D) can be started after each round of tallying tasks are completed (i.e., after the tallying tasks generated in step C are issued and executed). However, the next round of tallying process can also be started in advance before each round of tallying tasks are completed. The reason is that some containers may be slow to sort out (for example, the container is located in a remote area or has other problems). If the next round of tallying process is started after the previous round of tallying is completely completed, the tallying efficiency may be low. If two adjacent rounds of tallying are allowed to overlap to a certain extent in time, it is conducive to making full use of the limited tallying time period.

[0118] For example, after issuing a tallying task to the handling equipment, the completion progress of the tallying task can be continuously monitored. When it is found that the completion progress of the tallying task has reached a preset progress (less than 100%, 100% represents that all tallying tasks are completed), step D can be started to determine a new target tallying plan.

[0119] In addition, since the execution result of the tally task is predictable, even if the generated tally task is not actually executed, steps A to D can still be executed (steps A to D do not directly involve task execution). Therefore, in some implementations, the control device can also execute steps A to D several times to obtain multiple tally tasks, and then send these tally tasks to the handling device so that it can continuously execute these tally tasks. The following is an example of a more specific solution to illustrate the above steps A to D:

[0120] a. Get the reference layout score.

[0121] b. Determine at least one group of free storage locations from the free storage locations in the warehouse, and determine at least one group of containers from the containers in the warehouse, and calculate at least one layout score corresponding to the at least one group of containers in the warehouse after the at least one group of containers is moved from the current storage locations to the at least one group of free storage locations; wherein each group of free storage locations includes k free storage locations, and each group of containers includes k containers, k is a positive integer, and possible calculation methods of the layout scores will be given later.

[0122] In a most direct implementation, at least one group of free cargo spaces can be all combinations of k free cargo spaces selected from all free cargo spaces, at least one group of free containers can be all combinations of k containers selected from all containers in the warehouse, and at least one group of free cargo spaces and at least one group of free containers can be freely combined to form a variety of combinations of containers and cargo spaces (each combination corresponds to a group of containers and a group of free cargo spaces). Of course, if the k value is relatively large, the above implementation may obtain too many combinations of containers and cargo spaces, and some strategies can also be used to screen out some of the combinations for calculating the layout score.

[0123] c. Determine a target layout score in at least one layout score that satisfies a preset relationship with the reference layout score, and generate k tallying tasks based on k free cargo spaces and k containers corresponding to the target layout score; wherein each tallying task corresponds to an operation of moving a container to a free cargo space for storage.

[0124] d. Repeat steps a to c until the tally end conditions are met.

[0125] The following is an explanation of the corresponding relationship between steps a to d and steps A to D: In steps a to d, moving a group of containers from the current cargo location to a group of free cargo locations for storage corresponds to a candidate tally plan. Since there are multiple choices for the k free cargo locations in a group and the k containers in a group, and there are multiple combinations between cargo location groups and container groups, multiple candidate tally plans can be formed. Among these tally plans, the layout score that makes the layout score corresponding to the container after moving and the reference layout score meet the preset relationship is the target layout score, and the tally plan that generates the target layout score is the target tally plan, and then the positions of the k containers corresponding to the plan in the warehouse can be arranged according to the target tally plan. Repeat this process, arranging the positions of the k containers in each round until the tally end condition is met.

[0126] Among them, k is a specified parameter. In one implementation, k can be selected to be smaller. For example, one or more handling equipment can sort k containers in one transportation, and small batches are used for multiple tallying to avoid the situation where the tallying is too large and the tallying is not completed at the end time of the tallying period, which affects the pre-delivery process (in some implementations, if the tallying period has ended but the handling equipment has not completed the tallying task, it can also be allowed to continue to complete the tallying task and then execute the pre-delivery task). On the other hand, if the traversal method is used in the above step b to obtain the combination of containers and cargo locations, a smaller value of k will not result in too much calculation.

[0127] Furthermore, as mentioned above, in some implementations, after sending tally tasks to the handling equipment, the completion progress of the tally tasks can be continuously monitored. When it is found that the completion progress of the tally tasks has reached the preset progress, step D can be started. For steps a to d, after step c is executed, k tally tasks can be sent to the handling equipment, and the completion progress of these tally tasks can be continuously monitored. When it is found that q of the k tally tasks have been executed (q is a specified parameter, and q is less than k), step d can be started without waiting for all k tally tasks to be completed. For example, q can be Etc. Alternatively, q may also be replaced by a preset ratio r (such as 75%, 80%, etc.).

[0128] It should be pointed out that when executing step d to start the next round of tallying, since the remaining kq tallying tasks have not been completed, the corresponding kq containers may still be on their original kq cargo locations. Therefore, these kq cargo locations can be ignored when selecting at least one group of free cargo locations in step b, and these kq containers do not need to be considered when selecting at least one group of containers, because it is difficult to determine when these kq tallying tasks will be completed.

[0129] Many parameters involved in the heuristic algorithm (such as the previous k, q, r, etc.) are configurable, so the parameters can be changed to select the optimal strategy to improve the tallying effect.

[0130] The layout score of the container in the warehouse is related to the location distribution of the container in the warehouse. In some implementations, the layout score of the container in the warehouse can be calculated as follows:

[0131] (1) Calculate the temperature of containers and storage locations in the warehouse.

[0132] (2) Calculate the layout score of the container in the warehouse based on the temperature of the container in the warehouse and the temperature of the storage space where the container is stored.

[0133] Step (1) is explained first. The temperature of the container in the warehouse is positively correlated with the degree to which the goods in the container are suitable for shipment. Since the container contains goods and the goods that the workers will eventually pick are also in the container, whether a container is suitable for shipment can refer to whether the goods in the container are suitable for shipment and can be quantified by the temperature of the container.

[0134] For example, in an optional solution, the heat of a container in a warehouse is positively correlated with the number of items in the container that are hit by orders in the next round of outbound operations. Therefore, as long as the number of items in the container that are hit by orders in the next round of outbound operations is determined, the heat of the container can be calculated. The starting point of this solution is that if a container has a large number of items hit by orders, it means that the goods in the container can meet more orders, so that the container can be given priority when outbound (making the container hotter).

[0135] The temperature of a storage location in a warehouse is positively correlated to the degree to which the storage location is suitable for storing containers to be shipped out. Since containers are stored on storage locations in a warehouse, whether a storage location is suitable for shipping out can refer to whether the storage location is suitable for storing containers to be shipped out, and can be quantified by the temperature of the storage location.

[0136] For example, in an optional solution, the heat of a cargo location in a warehouse is negatively correlated with the average distance between the cargo location and each outbound station, so as long as the distance between the cargo location and each outbound station is determined, the heat of the cargo location can be calculated. The starting point of this solution is that if a cargo location is closer to a station, it means that the container stored in the cargo location needs to move a shorter distance when outbound, so the container on the cargo location can be given priority when outbound (making the cargo location hotter).

[0137] Furthermore, the above-mentioned average value of the distance between the cargo location and each outbound station can be calculated using different average calculation methods, such as arithmetic average, weighted average, harmonic average, etc. Among them, the weight of the weighted average can take into account factors such as the cargo handling capacity of each station; since the calculation formula of the harmonic average includes the inverse of the distance, the closer the distance between the cargo location and the station, the more obvious the increase in its popularity. Therefore, under this calculation method, the popularity of the cargo location closer to the station will be enhanced.

[0138] It should be pointed out that the so-called "positive correlation" mentioned above is not limited to a specific functional relationship. For example, it can be a directly proportional relationship, other linear relationships, square relationships, etc.

[0139] Let's elaborate on step (2). Assuming that there are u containers and v cargo spaces in the warehouse, where u is a positive integer not greater than v, step (2) can be implemented as follows:

[0140] (2.1) maps the heat of u containers to integers between 1 and u according to their order, and the mapping result is called the heat mapping value of the container. It is not difficult to see that the heat mapping value obtained by (2.1) is actually the serial number for sorting the heat of u containers. In other words, it is not necessary to know the specific heat values ​​of u containers, but only to know the size relationship of the heat of u containers. This also provides greater freedom for the heat calculation in (1) (it is not necessary to calculate the specific heat value).

[0141] (2.2) maps the heat of the v cargo locations to integers between 1 and v according to their order, and the mapping result is called the heat mapping value of the cargo location. It is not difficult to see that the heat mapping value obtained by (2.2) is actually the order number for sorting the heat of the v cargo locations.

[0142] (2.3) Calculate the absolute value of the difference between the heat mapping value of each container in the warehouse and the heat mapping value of the shelf where the container is stored, and take the sum of the u absolute values ​​calculated for u containers as the layout score of the container in the warehouse. Since the heat value mapping is performed in steps (2.1) and (2.2), the measurement units of the heat of the container and the heat of the shelf are unified, so that the difference between the two can be calculated, and the calculated layout score is also more reasonable.

[0143] It is understandable that the calculation method of the layout score in (2.3) can also be replaced by other calculation methods, for example, calculating the square of the difference between the heat mapping value of each container in the warehouse and the heat mapping value of the shelf where the container is stored, and taking the sum of the u square values ​​calculated corresponding to u containers as the layout score of the container in the warehouse. In addition, the heat value mapping method in steps (2.1) and (2.2) is not unique: for example, both heats can be mapped to the same value range (such as [0,1]); for another example, the value range of the container's heat can be determined first, and then the heat of the shelf can be mapped to this value range, and so on.

[0144] An embodiment of the present application also provides a cargo handling method, which can be executed by a handling device, and the method includes: receiving a tallying task and a pre-delivery task issued by a control device; wherein the tallying task refers to a task of adjusting the position distribution of containers in a warehouse, and the pre-delivery task refers to a task of placing the containers in the warehouse onto a transmission device; during the interval between two rounds of delivery operations, the tallying task and the pre-delivery task are executed in time periods.

[0145] In an implementation of the cargo handling method, executing the tallying task and the pre-delivery task in different time periods includes: executing the tallying task; and executing the pre-delivery task after the tallying task is completed.

[0146] In one implementation of the cargo handling method, the method further includes: receiving a state switching instruction issued by a control device; after the previous round of outbound operations is completed and before the tallying task is executed, the method further includes: switching to an idle state according to the state switching instruction, and not executing the outbound task when the handling equipment is in the idle state.

[0147] This cargo handling method is different from the aforementioned cargo handling method (such as Figure 2 The main difference between the present invention and the method described above is that the present cargo handling method can be executed by a handling device, while the aforementioned cargo handling method can be executed by a control device. However, since the handling device also performs corresponding operations according to the tasks and / or control instructions issued by the control device, the implementation principle of the present cargo handling method and the technical effects produced have been explained when introducing the aforementioned cargo handling method. You can refer to the corresponding content in the previous article and will not repeat it here.

[0148] Figure 4 The functional module diagram of the cargo handling device 300 provided in the embodiment of the present application is shown. The cargo handling device 300 is configured in the control device. Figure 4 , the cargo handling device 300 comprises:

[0149] The control module 310 is used to control the handling equipment to perform the sorting task and the pre-outbound task in different time periods during the interval between two rounds of outbound operations, wherein the sorting task refers to the task of adjusting the position distribution of containers in the warehouse, and the pre-outbound task refers to the task of placing the containers in the warehouse onto the transmission equipment.

[0150] In one implementation of the cargo handling device 300, the control module 310 controls the handling equipment to perform tallying tasks and pre-delivery tasks in different time periods, including: controlling the handling equipment to perform the tallying tasks; after the tallying tasks are completed, controlling the handling equipment to perform the pre-delivery tasks.

[0151] In one implementation of the cargo handling device 300, the control module 310 is also used to: after the previous round of outbound operations is completed and before the controlled handling equipment performs the sorting task, control the handling equipment to switch to an idle state, and do not perform the outbound task when the handling equipment is in the idle state.

[0152] In one implementation of the cargo handling device 300, the control module 310 controls the handling equipment to perform tallying tasks and pre-outbound tasks in different time periods, including: determining a tallying time period and a pre-outbound time period between two rounds of outbound operations; controlling the handling equipment to perform the tallying task within the tallying time period, and controlling the handling equipment to perform the pre-outbound task within the pre-outbound time period.

[0153] In one implementation of the cargo handling device 300, the control module 310 determines the pre-outbound time period, including: determining the total number of pre-outbound tasks based on the number of containers that can be placed on the transmission device and the number of containers that can be loaded on the handling device; wherein each pre-outbound task corresponds to an operation of placing a container onto the transmission device or loading it onto the handling device; and calculating the length of the pre-outbound time period based on the total number of pre-outbound tasks and the average completion time of each outbound task.

[0154] In an implementation of the cargo handling device 300, the number of containers that can be placed on the transport device is calculated based on the distance on the transport device where no containers are placed and the safety distance between adjacent containers on the transport device.

[0155] In one implementation of the cargo handling device 300, the control module 310 is further used to: determine an idle time period between two rounds of outbound operations; wherein, during the idle time period, the handling equipment is in an idle state without performing an outbound task, the idle time period, the tallying time period and the pre-outbound time period are connected in sequence, and the starting point of the tallying time period is the end time point of the previous round of outbound operations, and the end point of the pre-outbound time period is the start time point of the next round of outbound operations; the control module 310 determines the tallying time period, including: determining the length of the tallying time period according to the interval between two rounds of outbound operations, the length of the idle time period and the length of the pre-outbound time period.

[0156] In an implementation of the cargo handling device 300 , the control module 310 is further configured to: before controlling the handling device to perform the tallying task within the tallying time period, determine that the duration of the tallying time period is not less than a preset duration.

[0157] In an implementation of the cargo handling device 300 , the device further includes: a task generation module, which is used to generate the tallying task using a heuristic algorithm before the control module 310 controls the handling equipment to perform tallying.

[0158] In one implementation of the cargo handling device 300, the task generation module generates the tallying task using a heuristic algorithm, including: obtaining a reference layout score; determining a target tallying scheme from a plurality of candidate tallying schemes so that the layout scores corresponding to the containers in the warehouse after the position distribution is adjusted and the size of the reference layout score satisfy a preset relationship, and generating the tallying task based on the target tallying scheme; wherein the layout scores of the containers in the warehouse are positively correlated with the degree to which the position distribution of the containers in the warehouse is suitable for shipment.

[0159] In one implementation of the cargo handling device 300, the reference layout score refers to the corresponding layout score of the containers in the warehouse before the position distribution is adjusted, and the preset relationship refers to the layout score corresponding to the containers in the warehouse after the position distribution is adjusted, which is improved the most compared with before the adjustment.

[0160] In one implementation of the cargo handling device 300, the task generation module is further used to: after generating the tallying task based on the target tallying plan, determine whether the tallying end condition is met; if the tallying end condition is not met, continue to determine a new target tallying plan, and generate a new tallying task based on the new target tallying plan.

[0161] In an implementation of the cargo handling device 300, the task generation module determines a new target tallying plan, including: when it is determined that the completion progress of the tallying task has reached a preset progress, determining the new target tallying plan; wherein, when the completion progress of the tallying task reaches the preset progress, the tallying task has not been fully completed.

[0162] In an implementation of the cargo handling device 300, the handling equipment performs the tallying task within a tallying time period, and the tallying end condition includes: the tallying time period has ended, or the tallying target has been reached before the tallying time period ends.

[0163] In one implementation of the cargo handling device 300, the task generation module calculates the layout score of the containers in the warehouse in the following manner: calculating the temperature of the containers in the warehouse and the temperature of the cargo spaces; wherein the temperature of the containers in the warehouse is positively correlated with the degree to which the cargo contained in the containers is suitable for shipment, and the temperature of the cargo spaces in the warehouse is positively correlated with the degree to which the cargo spaces are suitable for storing containers to be shipped out; the layout score of the containers in the warehouse is calculated based on the temperature of the containers in the warehouse and the temperature of the cargo spaces where the containers are stored.

[0164] In one implementation of the cargo handling device 300, the temperature of the container in the warehouse is positively correlated with the number of items of cargo in the container that are hit by orders in the next round of outbound operations; and / or, the temperature of the cargo location in the warehouse is negatively correlated with the average of the distances between the cargo location and each outbound site; wherein the outbound site is connected to the transmission equipment.

[0165] In an implementation of the cargo handling device 300 , the harmonic mean is used to calculate the mean of the distance between the cargo location and each outbound station.

[0166] In one implementation of the cargo handling device 300, there are u containers and v cargo locations in the warehouse, where u is a positive integer not greater than v. The task generation module calculates the layout score of the containers in the warehouse based on the heat of the containers in the warehouse and the heat of the cargo locations where the containers are stored, including: mapping the heat of the u containers to integers between 1 and u according to their order, and mapping the heat of the v cargo locations to integers between 1 and v according to their order; calculating the absolute value of the difference between the heat mapping value of each container in the warehouse and the heat mapping value of the cargo location where the container is stored, and taking the sum of the u absolute values ​​calculated corresponding to the u containers as the layout score of the containers in the warehouse.

[0167] In an implementation of the cargo handling device 300, the task generation module determines a target tallying scheme from multiple candidate tallying schemes so that the layout scores corresponding to the containers in the warehouse after the position distribution is adjusted and the size of the reference layout score meet a preset relationship, and generates the tallying task based on the target tallying scheme, including: determining at least one group of free cargo locations from the free cargo locations in the warehouse, and determining at least one group of containers from the containers in the warehouse, and respectively calculating at least one layout score corresponding to each group of containers in the warehouse when each group of containers is moved from the current cargo locations to the at least one group of free cargo locations; wherein each group of free cargo locations includes k free cargo locations, and each group of containers includes k containers, and k is a positive integer; determining a target layout score in the at least one layout score that meets a preset relationship with the size of the reference layout score, and generating k tallying tasks based on the k free cargo locations and k containers corresponding to the target layout score; wherein each tallying task corresponds to an operation of moving a container to a free cargo location for storage.

[0168] The cargo handling device 300 provided in the embodiment of the present application, its implementation principle and the technical effects produced have been introduced in the aforementioned method embodiment. For the sake of brief description, for matters not mentioned in the device embodiment, reference may be made to the corresponding contents in the method embodiment.

[0169] Figure 5 The functional module diagram of the cargo handling device 400 provided in the embodiment of the present application is shown. The cargo handling device 400 is configured in a handling device. Figure 5 , the cargo handling device 400 comprises:

[0170] The task receiving module 410 is used to receive the tally task and the pre-delivery task issued by the control device; wherein the tally task refers to the task of adjusting the position distribution of the containers in the warehouse, and the pre-delivery task refers to the task of placing the containers in the warehouse onto the transmission device;

[0171] The task execution module 420 is used to execute the tallying task and the pre-delivery task in different time periods during the interval between two rounds of delivery operations.

[0172] In an implementation of the cargo processing device 400, the task execution module 420 executes the tallying task and the pre-delivery task in different time periods, including: executing the tallying task; and executing the pre-delivery task after the tallying task is completed.

[0173] In one implementation of the cargo handling device 400, the task receiving module 410 is also used to receive a state switching instruction issued by the control device, and the task execution module 420 is also used to switch to an idle state according to the state switching instruction after the previous round of outbound operations is completed and before the tallying task is executed, and the outbound task is not executed when the handling equipment is in the idle state.

[0174] The cargo handling device 400 provided in the embodiment of the present application, its implementation principle and the technical effects produced have been introduced in the aforementioned method embodiment. For the sake of brief description, for matters not mentioned in the device embodiment, reference may be made to the corresponding contents in the method embodiment.

[0175] Figure 6 FIG. 5 shows a possible structure of an electronic device 500 provided in an embodiment of the present application. Figure 6 The electronic device 500 includes: a processor 510, a memory 520 and a communication interface 530. These components are interconnected and communicate with each other through a communication bus 540 and / or other forms of connection mechanisms (not shown).

[0176] The memory 520 includes one or more (only one is shown in the figure), which may be, but not limited to, a random access memory (RAM), a read only memory (ROM), a programmable read-only memory (PROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), etc. The processor 510 and other possible components may access the memory 520 and read and / or write data therein.

[0177] The processor 510 includes one or more (only one is shown in the figure), which can be an integrated circuit chip with signal processing capabilities. The above-mentioned processor 510 can be a general-purpose processor, including a central processing unit (CPU), a micro controller unit (MCU), a network processor (NP) or other conventional processors; it can also be a special-purpose processor, including a digital signal processor (DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic devices, discrete gates or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components.

[0178] The communication interface 530 includes one or more (only one is shown in the figure), which can be used to communicate directly or indirectly with other devices to exchange data. The communication interface 530 can include an interface for wired and / or wireless communication.

[0179] One or more computer program instructions may be stored in the memory 520, and the processor 510 may read and execute these computer program instructions to implement the cargo handling method and other desired functions provided in the embodiments of the present application.

[0180] Understandably, Figure 6 The structure shown is for illustration only. The electronic device 500 may also include Figure 6 More or fewer components as shown, or with Figure 6 Different configurations shown. Figure 6 Each component shown in can be implemented by hardware, software or a combination thereof. Figure 1 The control device 110 and the transport device 120 can both be implemented using the structure of the electronic device 500 .

[0181] The present application also provides a computer-readable storage medium, which stores computer program instructions. When the computer program instructions are read and executed by a computer processor, the cargo handling method provided by the present application is executed. For example, the computer-readable storage medium can be implemented as Figure 6 The memory 520 in the electronic device 500.

[0182] In the embodiments provided in the present application, it should be understood that the disclosed devices and methods can be implemented in other ways. The device embodiments described above are merely schematic. For example, the division of the units is only a logical function division. There may be other division methods in actual implementation. For example, multiple units or components can be combined or integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. Another point is that the mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed can be through some communication interfaces, and the indirect coupling or communication connection of the devices or units can be electrical, mechanical or other forms.

[0183] In addition, the units described as separate components may or may not be physically separated, and the components shown as units may or may not be physical units, that is, they may be located in one place or distributed on multiple network units. Some or all of the units may be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the solution of this embodiment.

[0184] Furthermore, the functional modules in the various embodiments of the present application may be integrated together to form an independent part, or each module may exist separately, or two or more modules may be integrated to form an independent part.

[0185] The above description is only an embodiment of the present application and is not intended to limit the scope of protection of the present application. For those skilled in the art, the present application may have various modifications and variations. Any modification, equivalent replacement, improvement, etc. made within the spirit and principle of the present application shall be included in the scope of protection of the present application.

Claims

1. A cargo handling method, characterized in that: Applied to a control device, the method comprises: During the interval between two rounds of outbound operations, the handling equipment is controlled to perform sorting tasks and pre-outbound tasks in different time periods, wherein the sorting task refers to the task of adjusting the position distribution of containers in the warehouse, and the goal of the sorting task is to make the containers with adjusted position distribution more suitable for outbound operations after the task is executed, and the pre-outbound task refers to the task of placing the containers in the warehouse onto the transmission equipment.

2. The cargo handling method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The control of the handling equipment to perform tallying tasks and pre-delivery tasks in different time periods includes: Controlling the handling equipment to perform the tallying task; After the tallying task is completed, the transport equipment is controlled to execute the pre-delivery task.

3. The cargo handling method according to claim 2, characterized in that: After the previous round of outbound operations is completed and before the control of the handling equipment performs the tallying task, the method further includes: The transport device is controlled to switch to an idle state, and no outbound task is performed when the transport device is in the idle state.

4. The cargo handling method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The control of the handling equipment to perform tallying tasks and pre-delivery tasks in different time periods includes: Determine the tally time period and pre-outbound time period between two rounds of outbound operations; The transport equipment is controlled to perform the tallying task during the tallying time period, and the transport equipment is controlled to perform the pre-warehouse delivery task during the pre-warehouse delivery time period.

5. The cargo handling method according to claim 4, characterized in that: Determine the estimated delivery time period, including: The total number of the pre-outbound tasks is determined according to the number of containers that can be placed on the transmission device and the number of containers that can be loaded on the handling device; wherein each pre-outbound task corresponds to an operation of placing a container on the transmission device or loading it on the handling device; The duration of the pre-warehouse delivery time period is calculated according to the total number of the pre-warehouse delivery tasks and the average completion time of each warehouse delivery task.

6. The cargo handling method according to claim 5, characterized in that: The number of containers that can be placed on the transport device is calculated based on the distance on the transport device where no containers are placed and the safety distance between adjacent containers on the transport device.

7. The cargo handling method according to claim 4, characterized in that: The method further comprises: Determine an idle time period between two rounds of outbound operations; wherein, during the idle time period, the handling equipment is in an idle state without performing outbound tasks, the idle time period, the tally time period and the pre-outbound time period are sequentially connected, and the starting point of the tally time period is the end time point of the previous round of outbound operations, and the end point of the pre-outbound time period is the start time point of the next round of outbound operations; Determine the tally time period, including: The duration of the tallying time period is determined according to the interval between two rounds of outbound operations, the duration of the idle time period, and the duration of the pre-outbound time period.

8. The cargo handling method according to claim 4, characterized in that: Before controlling the handling equipment to perform the tallying task within the tallying time period, the method further includes: Determine that the duration of the tally time period is not less than a preset duration.

9. The cargo handling method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that: Before controlling the handling equipment to perform tallying, the method further includes: The tally task is generated using a heuristic algorithm.

10. The cargo handling method according to claim 9, characterized in that: The step of generating the tally task by using a heuristic algorithm comprises: Get the reference layout score; A target tallying scheme is determined from a plurality of candidate tallying schemes so that the layout scores corresponding to the containers in the warehouse after the position distribution is adjusted and the sizes of the reference layout scores satisfy a preset relationship, and the tallying task is generated based on the target tallying scheme; wherein the layout scores of the containers in the warehouse are positively correlated with the degree to which the position distribution of the containers in the warehouse is suitable for shipment.

11. The cargo handling method according to claim 10, characterized in that: The reference layout score refers to the corresponding layout score of the containers in the warehouse before the position distribution is adjusted, and the preset relationship refers to the layout score corresponding to the containers in the warehouse after the position distribution is adjusted, which is improved the most compared with before the adjustment.

12. The cargo handling method according to claim 10, characterized in that: After generating the tally task based on the target tally solution, the method further includes: It is determined whether a tally ending condition is met. If the tally ending condition is not met, a new target tally plan is determined, and a new tally task is generated based on the new target tally plan.

13. The cargo handling method according to claim 12, characterized in that: The new target tally plan is determined, including: When it is determined that the completion progress of the tally task has reached the preset progress, the new target tally plan is determined; wherein, when the completion progress of the tally task has reached the preset progress, the tally task has not been fully completed.

14. The cargo handling method according to claim 12, characterized in that: The handling equipment performs the tallying task within the tallying time period, and the tallying end conditions include: The tally time period has ended, or the tally target has been reached before the tally time period ends.

15. The cargo handling method according to claim 10, characterized in that: The placement score of a container in said warehouse is calculated as follows: Calculating the temperature of the container and the temperature of the cargo space in the warehouse; wherein the temperature of the container in the warehouse is positively correlated with the degree to which the goods in the container are suitable for shipment, and the temperature of the cargo space in the warehouse is positively correlated with the degree to which the cargo space is suitable for storing containers to be shipped out; A layout score of the container in the warehouse is calculated based on the temperature of the container in the warehouse and the temperature of the storage location where the container is stored.

16. The cargo handling method according to claim 15, characterized in that: The temperature of the container in the warehouse is positively correlated with the number of items in the container that are hit by orders in the next round of outbound operations; and / or, The heat of the cargo location in the warehouse is negatively correlated with the average distance between the cargo location and each outbound station; wherein the outbound station is connected to the transmission equipment.

17. The cargo handling method according to claim 16, characterized in that: The harmonic mean is used to calculate the mean of the distance between the cargo location and each outbound station.

18. The cargo handling method according to claim 15, characterized in that: There are u containers and v cargo spaces in the warehouse, where u is a positive integer not greater than v. The calculation of the layout score of the containers in the warehouse based on the heat of the containers in the warehouse and the heat of the cargo spaces where the containers are stored includes: Map the heats of the u containers to integers between 1 and u according to their order, and map the heats of the v cargo locations to integers between 1 and v according to their order; The absolute value of the difference between the heat map value of each container in the warehouse and the heat map value of the cargo space where the container is stored is calculated, and the sum of the u absolute values ​​calculated corresponding to the u containers is used as the layout score of the container in the warehouse.

19. The cargo handling method according to claim 10, characterized in that: The step of determining a target tally scheme from a plurality of candidate tally schemes such that the layout scores corresponding to the containers in the warehouse after the position distribution adjustment and the reference layout scores satisfy a preset relationship, and generating the tally task based on the target tally scheme comprises: Determine at least one group of free cargo spaces from the free cargo spaces of the warehouse, and determine at least one group of containers from the containers of the warehouse, and respectively calculate at least one layout score corresponding to each group of containers in the warehouse when each group of containers is moved from a current cargo space to the at least one group of free cargo spaces; wherein each group of free cargo spaces includes k free cargo spaces, and each group of containers includes k containers, where k is a positive integer; Determine a target layout score among the at least one layout score, the size of which satisfies a preset relationship with the reference layout score, and generate k tallying tasks based on k free cargo spaces and k containers corresponding to the target layout score; wherein each tallying task corresponds to an operation of moving a container to a free cargo space for storage.

20. A cargo handling method, characterized in that: Applied to handling equipment, the method comprises: Receive tally tasks and pre-delivery tasks issued by the control device; wherein the tally task refers to a task of adjusting the position distribution of containers in the warehouse, and the goal of the tally task is to make the containers with adjusted position distribution more suitable for performing the delivery operation after the task is executed, and the pre-delivery task refers to a task of placing the containers in the warehouse onto the transmission device; During the interval between two rounds of outbound operations, the tallying task and the pre-outbound task are performed in different time periods.

21. The cargo handling method according to claim 20, characterized in that: The performing of the tallying task and the pre-delivery task in different time periods includes: Execute the tally task; After the tallying task is completed, the pre-delivery task is executed.

22. The cargo handling method according to claim 21, characterized in that: The method further comprises: Receive the state switching instruction issued by the control device; After the previous round of outbound operations is completed and before the tallying task is performed, the method further includes: The state switching instruction switches to the idle state, and the transport device does not perform the outbound task when it is in the idle state.

23. A cargo handling system, characterized in that: include: A control device for executing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 19; At least one handling device, used to perform the method according to any one of claims 20-22.

24. A cargo handling device, characterized in that: Configured in a control device, the device comprises: The control module is used to control the handling equipment to perform the tallying task and the pre-outbound task in different time periods during the interval between two rounds of outbound operations, wherein the tallying task refers to the task of adjusting the position distribution of containers in the warehouse, and the goal of the tallying task is to make the containers with adjusted position distribution more suitable for outbound operations after the task is executed, and the pre-outbound task refers to the task of placing the containers in the warehouse onto the transmission equipment.

25. A cargo handling device, characterized in that: Configured in a handling device, the device comprises: The task receiving module is used to receive tally tasks and pre-delivery tasks issued by the control device; wherein the tally task refers to a task of adjusting the position distribution of containers in the warehouse, and the goal of the tally task is to make the containers with adjusted position distribution more suitable for performing the delivery operation after the task is executed, and the pre-delivery task refers to a task of placing the containers in the warehouse onto the transmission device; The task execution module is used to execute the tallying task and the pre-delivery task in different time periods during the interval between two rounds of delivery operations.

26. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that: The computer-readable storage medium stores computer program instructions, and when the computer program instructions are read and executed by a processor, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 22 is executed.

27. An electronic device, characterized in that: include: A memory and a processor, wherein the memory stores computer program instructions, and when the computer program instructions are read and executed by the processor, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 22 is executed.

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