Control method and device for transport device

Abstract

The present invention discloses a control method and device for a transport device, and relates to the field of logistics technology. A specific implementation of the control method for the transport device includes: when it is necessary to transport the items to be picked in the storage area to the workstation for picking, the items to be picked are positioned to determine the target storage device and the target storage part where the items to be picked are located; determine the target temporary storage position of the target storage device in the transfer area and the first transport device; control the first transport device to transport the target storage device from the storage area to the target temporary storage position in the transfer area; determine the second transport device and the target workstation; control the second transport device to transport the target storage part from the target temporary storage position to the corresponding target workstation to complete the picking task of the items to be picked. This implementation can improve storage utilization, picking efficiency, and utilization of the transport device.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of logistics, and in particular to a control method and device for a transport device. Background Art

[0002] Generally, when the items to be picked in the storage area need to be transported to the workstation for picking, the existing control method can only locate one workstation at a time, which will lead to low storage utilization, low picking efficiency and low utilization of transportation devices. At the same time, the existing outbound positioning solutions are all directly from the storage area to the workstation, which will result in a long transportation distance for the transportation device, which will lead to the problem of limited outbound efficiency. Summary of the invention

[0003] In view of this, an embodiment of the present invention provides a control method and device for a transport device, which can solve the problems of low storage utilization, low picking efficiency and low transport device utilization in existing control methods.

[0004] To achieve the above objective, according to one aspect of an embodiment of the present invention, a method for controlling a transportation device is provided.

[0005] The control method of the transport device according to the embodiment of the present invention includes:

[0006] When it is necessary to transport the items to be picked in the storage area to the workstation for picking, the items to be picked are positioned to determine the target storage device and the target storage section where the items to be picked are located;

[0007] Determine a target temporary storage location of the target storage device in the transfer area and a first transport device;

[0008] Controlling the first transport device to transport the target storage device from the storage area to the target temporary storage location in the transfer area;

[0009] determining a second transport device and a target workstation;

[0010] The second transport device is controlled to transport the target storage unit from the target temporary storage location to the corresponding target workstation to complete the picking task of the items to be picked.

[0011] Optionally, determining a target temporary storage location of the target storage device in the staging area includes:

[0012] According to a preset allocation relationship between the storage device and the temporary storage location of the transfer area, a target temporary storage location of the target storage device in the transfer area is determined.

[0013] Optionally, before the step of determining the target temporary storage location of the target storage device in the transfer area according to the preset allocation relationship between the storage device and the temporary storage location of the transfer area, the method further includes:

[0014] Determine a first set corresponding to the storage device and a second set corresponding to the temporary storage location in the transfer area;

[0015] Determine a first objective function according to the first set and the second set, wherein the first objective function is used to represent the sum of the minimum transportation time or the sum of the minimum transportation distance obtained by allocating each storage device in the first set to each temporary storage location in the second set;

[0016] The first objective function is solved according to a preset first constraint condition, and the solution of the first objective function is used to represent the allocation relationship between the storage device and the temporary storage bits in the transfer area.

[0017] Optionally, the first constraint condition includes: each temporary storage location stores at most one storage device, and one temporary storage location is designated for each storage device.

[0018] Optionally, determining a target temporary storage location of the target storage device in the staging area includes:

[0019] Sorting the workstations according to the number of tasks to determine the workstation with the largest number of tasks;

[0020] The temporary storage location closest to the workstation with the largest number of tasks is determined as the target temporary storage location of the target storage device in the transfer area.

[0021] Optionally, determining a first transport device for transporting the target storage device includes:

[0022] According to a preset allocation relationship between storage devices and transportation devices, a first transportation device for transporting the target storage device is determined.

[0023] Optionally, before the step of determining a first transport device for transporting the target storage device according to a preset allocation relationship between the storage device and the transport device, the method further includes:

[0024] Determine a first set corresponding to the storage device and a third set corresponding to the transportation device;

[0025] Determine a second objective function according to the first set and the third set, wherein the second objective function is used to represent the sum of the minimum transportation time or the sum of the minimum transportation distance obtained by allocating each storage device in the first set to each transportation device in the third set;

[0026] The second objective function is solved according to the preset second constraint condition, and the solution of the second objective function is used to represent the allocation relationship between the storage device and the transportation device.

[0027] Optionally, determining the second transport device includes:

[0028] placing the target storage unit on a first storage device;

[0029] determining whether the first storage device and the second transport device are in a detachable mode;

[0030] If yes, then determine the transport device that is closest to the first storage device and is idle as the second transport device;

[0031] If not, the transportation device corresponding to the first storage device is determined as the second transportation device.

[0032] Optionally, the method further comprises:

[0033] Determine whether there is the target storage unit with uncompleted picking task on the first storage device;

[0034] If not, controlling the second transport device in an idle state to transport the first storage device to the transfer area;

[0035] If so, determining a first target workstation, where the first target workstation is used to represent a workstation where the number of target storage units exceeds a first preset threshold and a cache bit exists;

[0036] The second transport device is controlled to transport the target storage unit from the target temporary storage location to the first target workstation.

[0037] Optionally, determining the first target workstation includes:

[0038] If the target storage unit that has not completed the picking task exists on the first storage device, determining a first candidate workstation that has not completed the picking task;

[0039] Determining whether the number of storage units corresponding to the first candidate workstation exceeds a first preset threshold;

[0040] If so, determining whether there is an idle cache location in the first candidate workstation;

[0041] If so, the first candidate workstation is determined as the first target workstation.

[0042] Optionally, the method further comprises:

[0043] When the second transport device transports the first storage device to the transfer area, or the first storage device and the second transport device are in a detachable mode and the first storage device is transported to the workstation and unloaded, the step of determining the second transport device is continued.

[0044] Optionally, identify target workstations, including:

[0045] If there is a second transport device in an idle state, a workstation with an idle cache position and / or a workstation without an idle cache position but not yet scheduled for a task is used as a second candidate workstation;

[0046] If the second candidate workstation has a located target storage unit on the target storage device, adding the second candidate workstation to the workstation set;

[0047] The workstation with the least picking task in the workstation set is taken as the target workstation; or the workstation corresponding to the largest number of target storage units is taken as the target workstation.

[0048] Optionally, controlling the second transport device to transport the target storage unit from the target temporary storage location to a corresponding target workstation to complete the task of picking the items to be picked includes:

[0049] determining an order of taking out the target storage units from the target storage device;

[0050] According to the fetching order of the target storage parts, the target storage parts are taken out from the target storage device in sequence, and the target storage parts are transported from the target temporary storage location to the corresponding target workstation to complete the picking task of the items to be picked.

[0051] Optionally, the method further comprises:

[0052] If there are still mounted workstations in the target storage unit and the workstations have no cache position, a workstation with the least remaining picking tasks and for which no picking tasks have been pre-arranged is selected as the second target workstation;

[0053] controlling the second transport device to return the storage unit not needed by the second target workstation to the transfer area;

[0054] If the transport quantity of the second transport device does not reach the second preset threshold, control the second transport device to take out the target storage part of the second target workstation from the nearest target storage device until the transport quantity of the second transport device reaches the second preset threshold or there is no target storage part;

[0055] When there is a cache location at the second target workstation, the second transport device is controlled to transport the target storage unit to the cache location at the first target workstation.

[0056] To achieve the above objective, according to another aspect of an embodiment of the present invention, a control device for a transportation device is provided.

[0057] The control device of the transport device according to the embodiment of the present invention comprises:

[0058] A positioning module, used for positioning the items to be picked in the storage area when the items to be picked need to be transported to the workstation for picking, so as to determine the target storage device and the target storage part where the items to be picked are located;

[0059] A first determination module, used to determine a target temporary storage location of the target storage device in the transfer area and a first transport device;

[0060] A first control module, configured to control the first transport device to transport the target storage device from the storage area to a target temporary storage location in the transfer area;

[0061] A second determination module, used to determine a second transport device and a target workstation;

[0062] The second control module is used to control the second transport device to transport the target storage unit from the target temporary storage location to the corresponding target workstation to complete the picking task of the items to be picked.

[0063] To achieve the above objective, according to another aspect of an embodiment of the present invention, an electronic device is provided.

[0064] The electronic device according to the embodiment of the present invention comprises:

[0065] one or more processors;

[0066] a storage device for storing one or more programs,

[0067] When the one or more programs are executed by the one or more processors, the one or more processors implement the method as described above.

[0068] To achieve the above objective, according to another aspect of an embodiment of the present invention, a computer readable medium is provided.

[0069] The computer-readable medium of the embodiment of the present invention stores a computer program, and when the program is executed by a processor, the method described above is implemented.

[0070] One embodiment of the above invention has the following advantages or beneficial effects:

[0071] In an embodiment of the present invention, when it is necessary to transport the items to be picked in the storage area to the workstation for picking, the first transport device is first controlled to transport the target storage device and the target storage part where the items to be picked are located to the temporary storage position in the transfer area, and then the second transport device is controlled to transport the target transportation part from the transfer area to the target workstation. That is, one storage device can store items to be picked from the same or different workstations, and different transport devices can relay to complete the task of transporting the items to be picked, which can improve the storage utilization rate, picking efficiency and utilization rate of the transport device. At the same time, the transportation distance of each transport device can also be shortened, which can solve the problem of limited outbound efficiency due to the long transportation distance.

[0072] The further effects of the above-mentioned non-conventional optional manner will be described below in conjunction with the specific implementation manner. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0073] The accompanying drawings are used to better understand the present invention and do not constitute an improper limitation of the present invention.

[0074] Figure 1 is a flow chart of a control method for a transport device according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

[0075] Figure 2 is a flow chart of a control method for a transport device according to a second embodiment of the present invention;

[0076] Figure 3 is a flow chart of a control method for a transport device according to a third embodiment of the present invention;

[0077] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of a module of a control device for a transportation device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0078] Figure 5 is an exemplary system architecture diagram to which embodiments of the present invention may be applied;

[0079] Figure 6 It is a schematic diagram of the structure of a computer system of a terminal device or a server suitable for implementing an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0080] The following is a description of exemplary embodiments of the present invention in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, including various details of the embodiments of the present invention to facilitate understanding, which should be considered as merely exemplary. Therefore, it should be recognized by those of ordinary skill in the art that various changes and modifications may be made to the embodiments described herein without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention. Similarly, for clarity and conciseness, the description of well-known functions and structures is omitted in the following description.

[0081] Figure 1FIG. 1 is a flow chart of a control method for a transport device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. Figure 1 As shown, the control method of the transport device may specifically include the following steps:

[0082] Step 101: When it is necessary to transport the items to be picked in the storage area to the workstation for picking, the items to be picked are located to determine the target storage device and the target storage part where the items to be picked are located.

[0083] It should be noted that the storage area is an area for storing storage devices, storage parts and items to be picked. The transit area can be understood as an area for temporarily storing target storage devices, target storage parts and items to be picked, and the transit area is provided with at least one temporary storage position. The workstation is provided with an area for performing picking tasks for items to be picked. The structure of the storage device may be a multi-layer frame structure, for example, the storage device may be a common shelf structure. Each layer of the frame structure may be provided with at least one storage part, and the storage part may be understood as a container for storing items. Each storage part may be used to store items of the same workstation or different workstations. The storage part may be a box-type structure, for example, the structure of the storage part may be a common turnover box. It should be noted that a storage device is provided with at least one storage part for storing picked items of the same or different workstations, that is, a storage device is used to store items to be picked of at least one workstation.

[0084] In step 101, the target storage device can be understood as a storage device for storing the items to be picked corresponding to the order, and the target storage unit can be understood as a container on the target storage device for storing the items to be picked corresponding to the order. In order to facilitate the positioning of the items to be picked, the storage device and the storage unit can be respectively bound to the items stored therein, and then the items to be picked can be positioned according to the binding relationship and order requirements to determine the target storage device and the target storage unit where the items to be picked are located.

[0085] Step 102: Determine a target temporary storage location of the target storage device in the transfer area and a first transport device for transporting the target storage device;

[0086] In step 102, the staging area is provided with at least one temporary storage location. There are multiple implementations for determining the target temporary storage location of the target storage device in the staging area. Two preferred implementations are exemplified below.

[0087] Method 1: Determine the target temporary storage location of the target storage device in the transfer area according to a preset allocation relationship between the storage device and the temporary storage location in the transfer area.

[0088] Specifically, the allocation relationship between the storage device and the temporary storage position of the transit area can be predefined, and then the target temporary storage position of the target storage device in the transit area can be determined according to the preset allocation relationship between the storage device and the temporary storage position of the transit area. When determining the allocation relationship between the storage device and the temporary storage position of the transit area, the first set corresponding to the storage device and the second set corresponding to the temporary storage position of the transit area can be first determined; according to the first set and the second set, the first objective function is determined, and the first objective function is used to represent the minimum sum of transportation time or the minimum sum of transportation distance obtained by allocating each storage device in the first set to each temporary storage position in the second set; and then according to the preset first constraint condition, the first objective function is solved, and the solution of the first objective function is used to represent the allocation relationship between the storage device and the temporary storage position in the transit area. Among them, the first constraint condition includes: each temporary storage position stores at most one storage device, and each storage device is assigned one temporary storage position and variable values.

[0089] Furthermore, the first objective function can be expressed by the following formula 1)

[0090] min∑ m∈M,n∈N L mn ·x mn 1)

[0091] where x mn =1 means that storage device m is moved to temporary storage location n, L mn Indicates the transportation distance or transportation time required to transport the storage device m to the temporary storage location n.

[0092] The first constraint can be expressed by the following mathematical formula:

[0093]

[0094]

[0095]

[0096] Among them, constraint (1) means that each temporary storage location can store at most one storage device; constraint (2) means that each shelf needs to be assigned a temporary storage location, and constraint (3) is used to represent the variable x mn =1 value.

[0097] Method 2: determining the target temporary storage location of the target storage device in the transfer area according to the number of tasks of the workstation.

[0098] Specifically, the workstations are first sorted according to the number of tasks to determine the workstation with the largest number of tasks; then the temporary storage location closest to the workstation with the largest number of tasks is determined as the target temporary storage location of the target storage device in the transfer area.

[0099] It should be noted that the first transport device refers to a transport device that transports the target storage device from the storage area to the target temporary storage location. The first transport device may be, but is not limited to, an AGV (Automated Guided Vehicle) or a logistics robot.

[0100] There are multiple implementations that can be used to determine the first transportation device, and the method for determining the first transportation device is similar to the method for determining the target temporary storage location. One of the preferred methods is exemplified below.

[0101] Method 1: Determine the first transportation device for transporting the target storage device according to a preset allocation relationship between storage devices and transportation devices.

[0102] Specifically, the allocation relationship between the storage device and the transportation device can be preset, and then the first transportation device used to transport the target storage device can be determined according to the preset allocation relationship between the storage device and the transportation device. When determining the allocation relationship between the storage device and the transportation device, the first set corresponding to the storage device and the third set corresponding to the transportation device can be first determined; then according to the first set and the third set, the second objective function is determined, and the second objective function is used to represent the minimum sum of transportation time or the minimum sum of transportation distance obtained by allocating each storage device in the first set to each transportation device in the third set; finally, according to the preset second constraint condition, the second objective function is solved, and the solution of the second objective function is used to represent the allocation relationship between the storage device and the transportation device. The second constraint condition includes: each of the transportation devices can store at most one storage device, one transportation device is assigned to each storage device, and variable values.

[0103] It should be noted that the formula and solution process of the second objective function are similar to the formula and solution process of the first objective function, and will not be described again here to avoid repetition.

[0104] Step 103: Control the first transport device to transport the target storage device from the storage area to the target temporary storage location in the transfer area;

[0105] Step 104: Determine the second transport device and the target workstation;

[0106] In step 104, the second transport device is used to transport the target storage unit from the target temporary storage location to the target workstation. The items to be picked in a storage unit can be picked at the same or different workstations.

[0107] When determining the second transport device, the target storage unit can be first placed on the first storage device; then a determination can be made as to whether the first storage device and the second transport device are in a detachable mode; if the first storage device and the second transport device are in a detachable mode, the transport device that is closest to the first storage device and is idle is determined as the second transport device; if the first storage device and the second transport device are in an inseparable mode, the transport device corresponding to the first storage device is determined as the second transport device.

[0108] When determining the target workstation, if there is a second transport device in an idle state, a workstation with an idle cache position and / or a workstation without an idle cache position but without a pre-arranged task will be used as the second candidate workstation; if the second candidate workstation has a located target storage unit on the target storage device, the second candidate workstation will be added to the workstation set; finally, the workstation with the least picking tasks in the workstation set can be used as the target workstation; or, the workstation corresponding to the largest number of target storage units can be used as the target workstation.

[0109] It can be understood that after the second transport device sends all the transported target storage parts back to the target storage device in the transfer area, or after the first storage device and the second transport device are separated and the first storage device is transported to the workstation for unloading, the second transport device is in an idle state, and it can be checked regularly whether there is an idle second transport device; if there is an idle second transport device, check whether there are idle cache positions at each current workstation, and for workstations with idle cache positions or workstations without idle cache positions but no pre-scheduled tasks, check whether there are positioned target storage parts on the target storage device in the transfer area, and if so, record these workstations as a set W = {w}; then, for each workstation in the set W, one can be selected as a target workstation in the following manner: the idlest workstation or the workstation with the largest number of corresponding material boxes. For the target workstation, check the target storage part positioned by the target workstation on the target storage device in the transfer area, and give priority to the target storage part on the target storage device that does not need to change the surface and is close to the target workstation, until the transport quantity of the second transport device reaches the second preset threshold or there is no such target storage part. If the selected target storage unit is located on the other side and needs to be changed, another nearest second transport device is assigned to change the side. If there is no idle second transport device, the target storage unit that needs to be changed can be set to be temporarily unavailable.

[0110] Step 105: Control the second transport device to transport the target storage unit from the target temporary storage location to a corresponding workstation to complete the task of picking the items to be picked.

[0111] In step 105, the order of taking out the target storage parts from the target storage device can be first determined; then, according to the taking-out order of the target storage parts, the target storage parts are taken out from the target storage device in sequence, and the target storage parts are transported from the target temporary storage location to the corresponding target workstation to complete the picking task of the items to be picked.

[0112] After step 105, the method further includes: determining whether there is a target storage unit for which a picking task has not been completed on the first storage device; if there is no target storage unit for which a picking task has not been completed on the first storage device, controlling a second transport device in an idle state to move the first storage device to the transfer area; if there is a target storage unit for which a picking task has not been completed on the first storage device, determining a first target workstation, the first target workstation being used to indicate a workstation where the number of target storage units exceeds a first preset threshold and a cache position exists; controlling the second transport device to transport the target storage unit from the target temporary storage position to the first target workstation to complete the picking task of the items to be picked at the first target workstation.

[0113] Among them, if the target storage unit that has not completed the picking task exists on the first storage device, the first candidate workstation that has not completed the picking task is determined; it is judged whether the number of storage units corresponding to the first candidate workstation exceeds the first preset threshold; if the number of storage units corresponding to the first candidate workstation exceeds the first preset threshold, it is judged whether there is any free cache position in the first candidate workstation; if there is any free cache position in the first candidate workstation, the first candidate workstation is determined as the first target workstation.

[0114] It should be noted that, after the picking task of the target workstation is completed, the next target workstation to perform the picking task, ie, the first target workstation, can be determined, and then the picking task of the items to be picked at the first target workstation is completed.

[0115] In addition, after step 105, the method further includes: if there are still mounted workstations in the target storage unit and the workstation has no cache position, then selecting a workstation with the least remaining picking tasks and for which no picking tasks have been pre-arranged as the second target workstation; the second transportation device puts the storage unit that is not needed by the second target workstation back to the transfer area; if the handling quantity of the second transportation device does not reach the second preset threshold, controlling the second transportation device to take out the target storage unit of the second target workstation from the target storage device nearby; when there is a cache position in the second target workstation, controlling the second transportation device to transport the target storage unit to the cache position of the first target workstation.

[0116] In order to better understand the process of the embodiment of the present invention, the application scenario of the control method of the transport device is exemplified below. The target storage device is a shelf, the target storage part is a material box (or called a turnover material box), the first transport device is a shelf AGV, and the second transport device is a material box AGV.

[0117] The items to be picked are stored in bins, which are stored on multi-layer shelves (the shelves have two sides). According to the order requirements bound to the workstation, the target shelf and target bin are located, and the shelf AGV moves the target shelf and target bin to the transfer area. Then the bin AGV selects the target bin required by the workstation from the target shelf and moves it to the workstation. The bin AGV stores the inserted target bin on the shelf of the bin AGV. After the picking is completed, the bin AGV moves the target bin back to the transfer area and puts the bin back on the target shelf. After all the tasks of the target bin on the target shelf are completed, the shelf AGV is assigned to move the target shelf back to the storage area.

[0118] It should be noted that the material box AGV can be divided into two modes: detachable mode and inseparable mode. The inseparable mode is used to indicate that the material rack and the body of the material box AGV cannot be separated. The material box AGV needs to carry the material box all the time during the workstation picking. The detachable mode is used to indicate that the material rack and the material box AGV are detachable. The material box AGV can perform other tasks after unloading the material rack at the workstation. After the workstation picking is completed, any idle material box AGV is assigned to move the material rack. The size specifications of the material rack and the shelf are not the same.

[0119] In an embodiment of the present invention, when it is necessary to transport the items to be picked in the storage area to the workstation for picking, the first transport device is first controlled to transport the target storage device and the target storage part where the items to be picked are located to the temporary storage position in the transfer area, and then the second transport device is controlled to transport the target transportation part from the transfer area to the target workstation. One storage device can store items to be picked from the same or different workstations. In this way, by transporting the target storage part to the target workstation through different transport devices, the storage utilization rate, picking efficiency and utilization rate of the transport device can be improved, and the transportation distance of each transport device can also be shortened, which can solve the problem of limited outbound efficiency due to long transportation distance.

[0120] It can be understood that the control method of the transportation device is a mechanism for efficient scheduling tasks. It can assign suitable transportation devices to perform handling tasks for the already located target storage devices and target storage departments, achieve smooth execution of multiple tasks across workstations, reduce the transportation from the storage area to the transit area, and ensure the orderly execution of the handling tasks of the target storage department between the transit area and the workstation, reduce the resource occupancy rate of the transportation device, reduce costs, and thus improve the overall warehouse out efficiency.

[0121] Figure 2 FIG. 1 is a flow chart of a control method for a transport device according to a second embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2 As shown, the control method of the transport device may specifically include the following steps:

[0122] Step 201: When it is necessary to transport the items to be picked in the storage area to the workstation for picking, the items to be picked are located to determine the target storage device and the target storage part where the items to be picked are located.

[0123] It should be noted that the storage area is an area for storing storage devices, storage parts and items to be picked. The transit area can be understood as an area for temporarily storing target storage devices, target storage parts and items to be picked, and the transit area is provided with at least one temporary storage position. The workstation is provided with an area for performing picking tasks for items to be picked. The structure of the storage device may be a multi-layer frame structure, for example, the storage device may be a common shelf structure. At least one storage part may be provided on each layer of the frame structure, and the storage part may be understood as a container for storing items. Each storage part may be used to store items of the same workstation or different workstations. The storage part may be a box-type structure, for example, the structure of the storage part may be a common turnover box. It should be noted that a storage device is provided with at least one storage part for storing picked items of the same or different workstations.

[0124] In step 201, the target storage device can be understood as a storage device for storing the items to be picked corresponding to the order, and the target storage unit can be understood as a container on the target storage device for storing the items to be picked corresponding to the order. In order to facilitate the positioning of the items to be picked, the storage device and the storage unit can be respectively bound to the items stored therein, and then the items to be picked can be positioned according to the binding relationship and order requirements to determine the target storage device and the target storage unit where the items to be picked are located.

[0125] Step 202: Determine a target temporary storage location of the target storage device in the transfer area and a first transport device for transporting the target storage device;

[0126] In step 202, the staging area is provided with at least one temporary storage location. There are multiple implementations for determining the target temporary storage location of the target storage device in the staging area. Two preferred implementations are exemplified below.

[0127] Method 1: Determine the target temporary storage location of the target storage device in the transfer area according to a preset allocation relationship between the storage device and the temporary storage location in the transfer area.

[0128] Specifically, the allocation relationship between the storage device and the temporary storage position of the transit area can be predefined, and then the target temporary storage position of the target storage device in the transit area can be determined according to the preset allocation relationship between the storage device and the temporary storage position of the transit area. When determining the allocation relationship between the storage device and the temporary storage position of the transit area, the first set corresponding to the storage device and the second set corresponding to the temporary storage position of the transit area can be first determined; according to the first set and the second set, the first objective function is determined, and the first objective function is used to represent the minimum sum of transportation time or the minimum sum of transportation distance obtained by allocating each storage device in the first set to each temporary storage position in the second set; and then according to the preset first constraint condition, the first objective function is solved, and the solution of the first objective function is used to represent the allocation relationship between the storage device and the temporary storage position in the transit area. Among them, the first constraint condition includes: each temporary storage position stores at most one storage device, and each storage device is assigned one temporary storage position and variable values.

[0129] Furthermore, the first objective function can be expressed by the following formula 1)

[0130] min∑ m∈M,n∈N L mn ·x mn 1)

[0131] where x mn =1 means that storage device m is moved to temporary storage location n, Lmn Indicates the transportation distance or transportation time required to transport the storage device m to the temporary storage location n.

[0132] The first constraint can be expressed by the following mathematical formula

[0133]

[0134]

[0135]

[0136] Among them, constraint (1) means that each temporary storage location can store at most one storage device; constraint (2) means that each shelf needs to be assigned a temporary storage location, and constraint (3) is used to represent the variable x mn =1 value.

[0137] Method 2: determining the target temporary storage location of the target storage device in the transfer area according to the number of tasks of the workstation.

[0138] Specifically, the workstations are first sorted according to the number of tasks to determine the workstation with the largest number of tasks; then the temporary storage location closest to the workstation with the largest number of tasks is determined as the target temporary storage location of the target storage device in the transfer area.

[0139] It should be noted that the first transport device refers to a transport device that transports the target storage device from the storage area to the target temporary storage location. The first transport device may be, but is not limited to, an AGV (Automated Guided Vehicle) or a logistics robot.

[0140] There are multiple implementations that can be used to determine the first transport device, and the method for determining the first transport device is similar to the method for determining the target temporary storage location. Two preferred methods are exemplified below.

[0141] Method 1: Determine the first transportation device for transporting the target storage device according to a preset allocation relationship between storage devices and transportation devices.

[0142] Specifically, the allocation relationship between the storage device and the transportation device can be preset, and then the first transportation device used to transport the target storage device can be determined according to the preset allocation relationship between the storage device and the transportation device. When determining the allocation relationship between the storage device and the transportation device, the first set corresponding to the storage device and the third set corresponding to the transportation device can be first determined; then according to the first set and the third set, the second objective function is determined, and the second objective function is used to represent the minimum sum of transportation time or the minimum sum of transportation distance obtained by allocating each storage device in the first set to each transportation device in the third set; finally, according to the preset second constraint condition, the second objective function is solved, and the solution of the second objective function is used to represent the allocation relationship between the storage device and the transportation device. The second constraint condition includes: each of the transportation devices can store at most one storage device, one transportation device is assigned to each storage device, and variable values.

[0143] It should be noted that the formula and solution process of the second objective function are similar to the formula and solution process of the first objective function, and will not be described again here to avoid repetition.

[0144] Step 203: Control the first transport device to transport the target storage device from the storage area to the target temporary storage location in the transfer area;

[0145] Step 204: Determine the second transport device and the target workstation;

[0146] In step 204, the second transport device is used to transport the target storage unit from the target temporary storage location to the target workstation. The items to be picked in a storage unit can be picked at the same or different workstations.

[0147] When determining the second transport device, the target storage unit can be first placed on the first storage device; then a determination can be made as to whether the first storage device and the second transport device are in a detachable mode; if the first storage device and the second transport device are in a detachable mode, the transport device that is closest to the first storage device and is idle is determined as the second transport device; if the first storage device and the second transport device are in an inseparable mode, the transport device corresponding to the first storage device is determined as the second transport device.

[0148] When determining the target workstation, it is possible to first periodically check whether there is an idle second transport device; if there is an idle second transport device, then the workstations with idle cache positions, and / or the workstations without idle cache positions, which have not yet pre-arranged tasks and have target storage units located on the target storage device, are formed into a workstation set; the workstation with the least picking tasks in the workstation set is taken as the target workstation; or, the workstation corresponding to the largest number of target storage units is taken as the target workstation.

[0149] It can be understood that after the second transport device sends all the transported target storage parts back to the target storage device in the transfer area, or after the first storage device and the second transport device are separated and the first storage device is transported to the workstation for unloading, the second transport device is in an idle state, and it can be checked regularly whether there is an idle second transport device; if there is an idle second transport device, check whether there are idle cache positions at each current workstation, and for workstations with idle cache positions or workstations without idle cache positions but no pre-scheduled tasks, check whether there are positioned target storage parts on the target storage device in the transfer area, and if so, record these workstations as a set W = {w}; then, for each workstation in the set W, one can be selected as a target workstation in the following manner: the idlest workstation or the workstation with the largest number of corresponding material boxes. For the target workstation, check the target storage part positioned by the target workstation on the target storage device in the transfer area, and give priority to the target storage part on the target storage device that does not need to change the surface and is close to the target workstation, until the transport quantity of the second transport device reaches the second preset threshold or there is no such target storage part. If the selected target storage unit is located on the other side and needs to be changed, another nearest second transport device is assigned to change the side. If there is no idle second transport device, the target storage unit that needs to be changed can be set to be temporarily unavailable.

[0150] Step 205: Control the second transport device to transport the target storage unit from the target temporary storage location to a corresponding workstation to complete the task of picking the items to be picked.

[0151] In step 205, the order of taking out the target storage parts from the target storage device can be first determined; then, according to the taking-out order of the target storage parts, the target storage parts are taken out from the target storage device in sequence, and the target storage parts are transported from the target temporary storage location to the corresponding target workstation to complete the picking task of the items to be picked.

[0152] Step 206: Determine whether there is a target storage unit on the first storage device that has not completed the picking task; if there is no target storage unit on the first storage device that has not completed the picking task, it means that all the target storage units on the first storage device have completed the picking task, and then execute step 207. If there is a target storage unit on the first storage device that has not completed the picking task, execute step 208.

[0153] Step 207: Control the second transport device in an idle state to transport the first storage device to the transfer area. After step 207, step 204 may be continued.

[0154] It can be understood that when the second transport device transports the first storage device to the transfer area, or the first storage device and the second transport device are in detachable mode and the first storage device is transported to the workstation and unloaded, the step of determining the second transport device is continued.

[0155] Step 208: If the target storage part that has not completed the picking task exists on the first storage device, a first target workstation is determined, where the first target workstation is used to represent a workstation where the number of target storage parts exceeds a first preset threshold and there is a cache position.

[0156] Among them, if the target storage unit that has not completed the picking task exists on the first storage device, the first candidate workstation that has not completed the picking task is determined; it is judged whether the number of storage units corresponding to the first candidate workstation exceeds the first preset threshold; if the number of storage units corresponding to the first candidate workstation exceeds the first preset threshold, it is judged whether there is any free cache position in the first candidate workstation; if there is any free cache position in the first candidate workstation, the first candidate workstation is determined as the first target workstation.

[0157] It should be noted that the specific value of the first preset threshold can be determined according to actual needs. When the picking task of the target workstation is completed, the next workstation of the target workstation, that is, the first target workstation, can be determined, and then the picking task of the items to be picked at the first target workstation is completed.

[0158] Step 209: Control the second transport device to transport the target storage unit from the target temporary storage location to the first target workstation.

[0159] In addition, after step 209, the method further includes: if there are still mounted workstations in the target storage unit and the workstation has no cache position, then selecting a workstation with the least remaining picking tasks and for which no picking tasks have been pre-arranged as the second target workstation; the second transportation device puts the storage unit that is not needed by the second target workstation back to the transfer area; if the handling quantity of the second transportation device does not reach the second preset threshold, controlling the second transportation device to take out the target storage unit of the second target workstation from the target storage device nearby; when there is a cache position in the second target workstation, controlling the second transportation device to transport the target storage unit to the cache position of the first target workstation.

[0160] In an embodiment of the present invention, when it is necessary to transport the items to be picked in the storage area to the workstation for picking, the first transport device is first controlled to transport the target storage device and the target storage part where the items to be picked are located to the temporary storage position in the transfer area, and then the second transport device is controlled to transport the target transportation part from the transfer area to the target workstation. One storage device can store the items to be picked from the same or different workstations. By relaying the task of transporting the items to be picked by different transport devices, the storage utilization rate, picking efficiency and utilization rate of the transport device can be improved, and the transport distance of each transport device can be shortened, which can solve the problem of limited outbound efficiency due to long transport distance.

[0161] It can be understood that the control method of the transportation device is a mechanism for efficient scheduling tasks. It can assign suitable transportation devices to perform handling tasks for the already located target storage devices and target storage departments, achieve smooth execution of multiple tasks across workstations, reduce the transportation from the storage area to the transit area, and ensure the orderly execution of the handling tasks of the target storage department between the transit area and the workstation, reduce the resource occupancy rate of the transportation device, reduce costs, and thus improve the overall warehouse out efficiency.

[0162] Figure 3 FIG. 1 is a flow chart of a control method for a transport device according to a second embodiment of the present invention. Figure 3 As shown, the control method of the transport device may specifically include the following steps:

[0163] Step 301: When it is necessary to transport the items to be picked in the storage area to the workstation for picking, the items to be picked are located to determine the target storage device and the target storage part where the items to be picked are located.

[0164] It should be noted that the storage area is an area for storing storage devices, storage parts and items to be picked. The transit area can be understood as an area for temporarily storing target storage devices, target storage parts and items to be picked, and the transit area is provided with at least one temporary storage position. The workstation is provided with an area for performing picking tasks for items to be picked. The structure of the storage device may be a multi-layer frame structure, for example, the storage device may be a common shelf structure. At least one storage part may be provided on each layer of the frame structure, and the storage part may be understood as a container for storing items. Each storage part may be used to store items of the same workstation or different workstations. The storage part may be a box-type structure, for example, the structure of the storage part may be a common turnover box. It should be noted that a storage device is provided with at least one storage part for storing picked items of the same or different workstations.

[0165] In step 301, the target storage device can be understood as a storage device for storing the items to be picked corresponding to the order, and the target storage unit can be understood as a container on the target storage device for storing the items to be picked corresponding to the order. In order to facilitate the positioning of the items to be picked, the storage device and the storage unit can be respectively bound to the items stored therein, and then the items to be picked can be positioned according to the binding relationship and order requirements to determine the target storage device and the target storage unit where the items to be picked are located.

[0166] Step 302: Determine a target temporary storage location of the target storage device in the transfer area and a first transport device for transporting the target storage device;

[0167] In step 302, the staging area is provided with at least one temporary storage location. There are multiple implementation methods for determining the target temporary storage location of the target storage device in the staging area. Two preferred implementation methods are exemplified below.

[0168] Method 1: Determine the target temporary storage location of the target storage device in the transfer area according to a preset allocation relationship between the storage device and the temporary storage location in the transfer area.

[0169] Specifically, the allocation relationship between the storage device and the temporary storage position of the transit area can be predefined, and then the target temporary storage position of the target storage device in the transit area can be determined according to the preset allocation relationship between the storage device and the temporary storage position of the transit area. When determining the allocation relationship between the storage device and the temporary storage position of the transit area, the first set corresponding to the storage device and the second set corresponding to the temporary storage position of the transit area can be first determined; according to the first set and the second set, the first objective function is determined, and the first objective function is used to represent the minimum sum of transportation time or the minimum sum of transportation distance obtained by allocating each storage device in the first set to each temporary storage position in the second set; and then according to the preset first constraint condition, the first objective function is solved, and the solution of the first objective function is used to represent the allocation relationship between the storage device and the temporary storage position in the transit area. Among them, the first constraint condition includes: each temporary storage position stores at most one storage device, and each storage device is assigned one temporary storage position and variable values.

[0170] Furthermore, the first objective function can be expressed by the following formula 1)

[0171] min∑ m∈M,n∈N L mn ·x mn 1)

[0172] where x mn =1 means that storage device m is moved to temporary storage location n, L mn Indicates the transportation distance or transportation time required to transport the storage device m to the temporary storage location n.

[0173] The first constraint can be expressed by the following mathematical formula

[0174]

[0175]

[0176]

[0177] Among them, constraint (1) means that each temporary storage location can store at most one storage device; constraint (2) means that each shelf needs to be assigned a temporary storage location, and constraint (3) is used to represent the variable x mn =1 value.

[0178] Method 2: determining the target temporary storage location of the target storage device in the transfer area according to the number of tasks of the workstation.

[0179] Specifically, the workstations are first sorted according to the number of tasks to determine the workstation with the largest number of tasks; then the temporary storage location closest to the workstation with the largest number of tasks is determined as the target temporary storage location of the target storage device in the transfer area.

[0180] It should be noted that the first transport device refers to a transport device that transports the target storage device from the storage area to the target temporary storage location. The first transport device may be, but is not limited to, an AGV (Automated Guided Vehicle) or a logistics robot.

[0181] There are multiple implementations that can be used to determine the first transportation device, and the method for determining the first transportation device is similar to the method for determining the target temporary storage location. One of the preferred methods is exemplified below.

[0182] Method 1: Determine the first transportation device for transporting the target storage device according to a preset allocation relationship between storage devices and transportation devices.

[0183] Specifically, the allocation relationship between the storage device and the transportation device can be preset, and then the first transportation device used to transport the target storage device can be determined according to the preset allocation relationship between the storage device and the transportation device. When determining the allocation relationship between the storage device and the transportation device, the first set corresponding to the storage device and the third set corresponding to the transportation device can be first determined; then according to the first set and the third set, the second objective function is determined, and the second objective function is used to represent the minimum sum of transportation time or the minimum sum of transportation distance obtained by allocating each storage device in the first set to each transportation device in the third set; finally, according to the preset second constraint condition, the second objective function is solved, and the solution of the second objective function is used to represent the allocation relationship between the storage device and the transportation device. The second constraint condition includes: each of the transportation devices can store at most one storage device, one transportation device is assigned to each storage device, and variable values.

[0184] It should be noted that the formula and solution process of the second objective function are similar to the formula and solution process of the first objective function, and will not be described again here to avoid repetition.

[0185] Step 303: Control the first transport device to transport the target storage device from the storage area to the target temporary storage location in the transfer area;

[0186] Step 304: Determine the second transport device and the target workstation;

[0187] In step 304, the second transport device is used to transport the target storage unit from the target temporary storage location to the target workstation. The items to be picked in a storage unit can be picked at the same or different workstations.

[0188] When determining the second transport device, the target storage unit can be first placed on the first storage device; then a determination can be made as to whether the first storage device and the second transport device are in a detachable mode; if the first storage device and the second transport device are in a detachable mode, the transport device that is closest to the first storage device and is idle is determined as the second transport device; if the first storage device and the second transport device are in an inseparable mode, the transport device corresponding to the first storage device is determined as the second transport device.

[0189] When determining the target workstation, it is possible to first periodically check whether there is an idle second transport device; if there is an idle second transport device, then the workstations with idle cache positions, and / or the workstations without idle cache positions, which have not yet pre-arranged tasks and have target storage units located on the target storage device, are formed into a workstation set; the workstation with the least picking tasks in the workstation set is taken as the target workstation; or, the workstation corresponding to the largest number of target storage units is taken as the target workstation.

[0190] It can be understood that after the second transport device sends all the transported target storage parts back to the target storage device in the transfer area, or after the first storage device and the second transport device are separated and the first storage device is transported to the workstation for unloading, the second transport device is in an idle state, and it can be checked regularly whether there is an idle second transport device; if there is an idle second transport device, check whether there are idle cache positions at each current workstation, and for workstations with idle cache positions or workstations without idle cache positions but no pre-scheduled tasks, check whether there are positioned target storage parts on the target storage device in the transfer area, and if so, record these workstations as a set W = {w}; then, for each workstation in the set W, one can be selected as a target workstation in the following manner: the idlest workstation or the workstation with the largest number of corresponding material boxes. For the target workstation, check the target storage part positioned by the target workstation on the target storage device in the transfer area, and give priority to the target storage part on the target storage device that does not need to change the surface and is close to the target workstation, until the transport quantity of the second transport device reaches the second preset threshold or there is no such target storage part. If the selected target storage unit is located on the other side and needs to be changed, another nearest second transport device is assigned to change the side. If there is no idle second transport device, the target storage unit that needs to be changed can be set to be temporarily unavailable.

[0191] Step 305: Control the second transport device to transport the target storage unit from the target temporary storage location to a corresponding workstation to complete the task of picking the items to be picked.

[0192] In step 305, the order of taking out the target storage parts from the target storage device can be first determined; then, according to the taking-out order of the target storage parts, the target storage parts are taken out from the target storage device in sequence, and the target storage parts are transported from the target temporary storage location to the corresponding target workstation to complete the picking task of the items to be picked.

[0193] Step 306: Determine whether there is a target storage unit on the first storage device that has not completed the picking task; if there is no target storage unit on the first storage device that has not completed the picking task, it means that all the target storage units on the first storage device have completed the picking task, and then execute step 307. If there is a target storage unit on the first storage device that has not completed the picking task, execute step 308.

[0194] Step 307: Control the second transport device in an idle state to transport the first storage device to the transfer area. After step 307, step 304 may be continued.

[0195] It can be understood that when the second transport device transports the first storage device to the transfer area, or the first storage device and the second transport device are in detachable mode and the first storage device is transported to the workstation and unloaded, the step of determining the second transport device is continued.

[0196] Step 308: If the target storage unit that has not completed the picking task exists on the first storage device, determine the first candidate workstation that has not completed the picking task;

[0197] Step 309 : Determine whether the number of storage units corresponding to the first candidate workstation exceeds a first preset threshold; if so, execute step 310 ; otherwise, execute step 313 .

[0198] Step 310: If the number of storage units corresponding to the first candidate workstation exceeds a first preset threshold, determine whether there is an idle cache position in the first candidate workstation; if so, execute step 311; otherwise, execute step 313.

[0199] Step 311: If the first candidate workstation has an idle cache bit, the first candidate workstation is determined as the first target workstation.

[0200] It should be noted that the specific value of the first preset threshold value can be determined according to actual needs. When the picking task of the target workstation is completed, the next workstation of the target workstation can be determined, that is, the first target workstation. If there are idle cache positions in multiple first candidate workstations, the first candidate workstation with the least picking task is determined as the target workstation; if there are multiple first candidate workstations with the least picking task, the first candidate workstation with the least picking task and the closest distance is determined as the target workstation.

[0201] Step 312: Control the second transport device to transport the target storage unit from the target temporary storage location to the first target workstation.

[0202] Step 313: If there are still mounted workstations in the target storage unit and the workstations have no cache location, a workstation with the least remaining picking tasks and for which no picking tasks have been pre-arranged is selected as the second target workstation.

[0203] Step 314: Control the second transport device to return the storage unit not needed by the second target workstation to the transfer area.

[0204] Step 315: If the transport quantity of the second transport device does not reach the second preset threshold, control the second transport device to take out the target storage part of the second target workstation from the nearest target storage device until the transport quantity of the second transport device reaches the second preset threshold or there is no target storage part.

[0205] Step 316: When there is a cache location at the second target workstation, control the second transport device to transport the target storage unit to the cache location at the first target workstation.

[0206] It can be understood that if there is a first target workstation, the second transport device is controlled to transport the target storage unit from the target temporary storage position to the first target workstation. If there are other mounted workstations in the target storage unit, but the workstation does not have a cache position temporarily, select a workstation w from these workstations with the least remaining picking tasks (that is, the workstation that will vacate the cache position the fastest) and the workstation has not pre-arranged tasks, as the second target workstation; control the second transport device to return to the transfer area first to put back the storage unit that workstation w does not need. If the second transport device can still transport other storage units (the maximum number of storage units transported each time has not been reached, for example, each second transport device can transport up to 4 storage units at a time), then take out the target storage unit of workstation w from the target storage device in the transfer area nearby, giving priority to those that do not need to change sides. If the selected target storage unit needs to change sides, assign a nearby idle other transport device to change sides; then go to the vicinity of workstation w and wait for the workstation to vacate a new cache position before transporting it over, and it is marked as a pre-scheduled task.

[0207] In an embodiment of the present invention, when it is necessary to transport the items to be picked in the storage area to the workstation for picking, the first transport device is first controlled to transport the target storage device and the target storage part where the items to be picked are located to the temporary storage position in the transfer area, and then the second transport device is controlled to transport the target transportation part from the transfer area to the target workstation. One storage device can store items to be picked from the same or different workstations. In this way, by transporting the target storage part to the target workstation through different transport devices, the storage utilization rate, picking efficiency and utilization rate of the transport device can be improved, and the transportation distance of each transport device can also be shortened, which can solve the problem of limited outbound efficiency due to long transportation distance.

[0208] It can be understood that the control method of the transportation device is a mechanism for efficient scheduling tasks. It can assign suitable transportation devices to perform handling tasks for the already located target storage devices and target storage departments, achieve smooth execution of multiple tasks across workstations, reduce the transportation from the storage area to the transit area, and ensure the orderly execution of the handling tasks of the target storage department between the transit area and the workstation, reduce the resource occupancy rate of the transportation device, reduce costs, and thus improve the overall warehouse out efficiency.

[0209] At the same time, the control method of the transportation device can allow a storage unit to simultaneously mount the picking tasks of multiple workstations, which can reduce the frequency and quantity of outbound shipments of the storage device, reduce costs, and improve the turnover of the transfer area and the workstation picking area, thereby improving outbound shipment efficiency.

[0210] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of a module of a control device for a transport device according to an embodiment of the present invention, see Figure 4, the control device 400 of the transport device comprises:

[0211] A positioning module 401 is used to locate the items to be picked in the storage area when the items to be picked need to be transported to the workstation for picking, so as to determine the target storage device and the target storage part where the items to be picked are located;

[0212] A first determination module 402 is used to determine a target temporary storage location of the target storage device in the transfer area and a first transport device;

[0213] A first control module 403, configured to control the first transport device to transport the target storage device from the storage area to a target temporary storage location in the transfer area;

[0214] A second determination module 404 is used to determine a second transport device and a target workstation;

[0215] The second control module 405 is used to control the second transport device to transport the target storage unit from the target temporary storage location to the corresponding target workstation to complete the picking task of the items to be picked.

[0216] Optionally, the first determining module 402 is further configured to:

[0217] According to a preset allocation relationship between the storage device and the temporary storage location of the transfer area, a target temporary storage location of the target storage device in the transfer area is determined.

[0218] Optionally, the control device of the transport device further includes:

[0219] A third determination module, used to determine a first set corresponding to the storage device and a second set corresponding to the temporary storage location in the transfer area;

[0220] a fourth determination module, configured to determine a first objective function according to the first set and the second set, wherein the first objective function is used to represent a sum of minimum transportation times or a sum of minimum transportation distances obtained by allocating each storage device in the first set to each temporary storage location in the second set;

[0221] The first solving module is used to solve the first objective function according to a preset first constraint condition, and the solution of the first objective function is used to represent the allocation relationship between the storage device and the temporary storage location in the transfer area.

[0222] Optionally, the first constraint condition includes: each temporary storage position stores at most one storage device, and one temporary storage position and variable value are designated for each storage device.

[0223] Optionally, the first determining module 402 is further configured to:

[0224] Sorting the workstations according to the number of tasks to determine the workstation with the largest number of tasks;

[0225] The temporary storage location closest to the workstation with the largest number of tasks is determined as the target temporary storage location of the target storage device in the transfer area.

[0226] Optionally, the first determining module 402 is further configured to:

[0227] According to a preset allocation relationship between storage devices and transportation devices, a first transportation device for transporting the target storage device is determined.

[0228] Optionally, the control device of the transport device further includes:

[0229] A fifth determining module, used to determine the first set corresponding to the storage device and the third set corresponding to the transportation device;

[0230] a sixth determination module, configured to determine a second objective function according to the first set and the third set, wherein the second objective function is used to represent a sum of minimum transportation times or a sum of minimum transportation distances obtained by allocating each storage device in the first set to each transportation device in the third set;

[0231] The second solving module is used to solve the second objective function according to a preset second constraint condition, and the solution of the second objective function is used to represent the allocation relationship between the storage device and the transportation device.

[0232] Optionally, the second determining module 404 is further configured to:

[0233] placing the target storage unit on a first storage device;

[0234] determining whether the first storage device and the second transport device are in a detachable mode;

[0235] If yes, then determine the transport device that is closest to the first storage device and is idle as the second transport device;

[0236] If not, the transportation device corresponding to the first storage device is determined as the second transportation device.

[0237] Optionally, the control device 400 of the transport device further includes:

[0238] A first judgment module, used for judging whether there is a target storage unit for which a picking task has not been completed on the first storage device;

[0239] a third control module, configured to control the second transport device in an idle state to transport the first storage device to the transfer area if the first storage device does not exist;

[0240] a seventh determination module, configured to determine a first target workstation if any, wherein the first target workstation is used to indicate a workstation where the number of target storage units exceeds a first preset threshold and a cache bit exists;

[0241] The fourth control module is used to control the second transport device to transport the target storage unit from the target temporary storage location to the first target workstation.

[0242] Optionally, the second determining module 404 is further configured to:

[0243] If the target storage unit that has not completed the picking task exists on the first storage device, determining a first candidate workstation that has not completed the picking task;

[0244] Determining whether the number of storage units corresponding to the first candidate workstation exceeds a first preset threshold;

[0245] If so, determining whether there is an idle cache location in the first candidate workstation;

[0246] If so, the first candidate workstation is determined as the first target workstation.

[0247] Optionally, when the second transport device transports the first storage device to the transfer area, or the first storage device and the second transport device are in a detachable mode and the first storage device is transported to a workstation and unloaded, the step of determining the second transport device is continued.

[0248] Optionally, the second determining module 404 is further configured to:

[0249] If there is a second transport device in an idle state, a workstation with an idle cache position and / or a workstation without an idle cache position but not yet scheduled for a task is used as a second candidate workstation;

[0250] If the second candidate workstation has a located target storage unit on the target storage device, adding the second candidate workstation to the workstation set;

[0251] The workstation with the least picking task in the workstation set is taken as the target workstation; or the workstation corresponding to the largest number of target storage units is taken as the target workstation.

[0252] Optionally, the second determining module 404 is further configured to:

[0253] determining an order of taking out the target storage units from the target storage device;

[0254] According to the fetching order of the target storage parts, the target storage parts are taken out from the target storage device in sequence, and the target storage parts are transported from the target temporary storage location to the corresponding target workstation to complete the picking task of the items to be picked.

[0255] Optionally, the control device of the transport device further includes:

[0256] A selection module, configured to select a workstation with the least remaining picking tasks and for which no picking tasks have been pre-arranged as a second target workstation if there are still mounted workstations in the target storage unit and the workstation has no cache position;

[0257] A fifth control module, configured to control the second transport device to return the storage unit not needed by the second target workstation to the transfer area;

[0258] a transport module, configured to control the second transport device to take out the target storage part of the second target workstation from the nearest target storage device if the transport quantity of the second transport device does not reach the second preset threshold value, until the transport quantity of the second transport device reaches the second preset threshold value or there is no target storage part;

[0259] The sixth control module is used to control the second transport device to transport the target storage unit to the cache position of the first target workstation when the second target workstation has a cache position.

[0260] In an embodiment of the present invention, when it is necessary to transport the items to be picked in the storage area to the workstation for picking, the first transport device is first controlled to transport the target storage device and the target storage part where the items to be picked are located to the temporary storage position in the transfer area, and then the second transport device is controlled to transport the target transportation part from the transfer area to the target workstation. One storage device can store the items to be picked from the same or different workstations. By relaying the task of transporting the items to be picked by different transport devices, the storage utilization rate, picking efficiency and utilization rate of the transport device can be improved, and the transport distance of each transport device can be shortened, which can solve the problem of limited outbound efficiency due to long transport distance.

[0261] Figure 5 An exemplary system architecture 500 is shown to which a control method for a transportation device or a control device for a transportation device according to an embodiment of the present invention can be applied.

[0262] like Figure 5As shown, system architecture 500 may include terminal devices 501, 502, 503, a network 504 and a server 505. Network 504 is used to provide a medium for communication links between terminal devices 501, 502, 503 and server 505. Network 504 may include various connection types, such as wired, wireless communication links or optical fiber cables, etc.

[0263] Users can use terminal devices 501, 502, 503 to interact with server 505 through network 504 to receive or send messages, etc.

[0264] The server 505 may be a server that provides various services, such as a backend management server (only an example) that provides support for shopping websites browsed by users using the terminal devices 501, 502, and 503. The backend management server may analyze and process the received data such as product information query requests, and feed back the processing results (such as target push information, product information - only an example) to the terminal device.

[0265] It should be noted that the control method of the transportation device provided in the embodiment of the present invention is generally executed by the server 505 , and accordingly, the control device of the transportation device is generally arranged in the server 505 .

[0266] It should be understood that Figure 5 The number of terminal devices, networks and servers in the embodiment is only for illustration. Any number of terminal devices, networks and servers may be provided according to implementation requirements.

[0267] Reference below Figure 6 , which shows a schematic diagram of the structure of a computer system 600 of a terminal device suitable for implementing an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 6 The terminal device shown is only an example and should not bring any limitation to the functions and scope of use of the embodiments of the present invention.

[0268] like Figure 6 As shown, the computer system 600 includes a central processing unit (CPU) 601, which can perform various appropriate actions and processes according to a program stored in a read-only memory (ROM) 602 or a program loaded from a storage part 608 into a random access memory (RAM) 603. In the RAM 603, various programs and data required for the operation of the system 600 are also stored. The CPU 601, the ROM 602, and the RAM 603 are connected to each other via a bus 604. An input / output (I / O) interface 605 is also connected to the bus 604.

[0269] The following components are connected to the I / O interface 605: an input section 606 including a keyboard, a mouse, etc.; an output section 607 including a cathode ray tube (CRT), a liquid crystal display (LCD), etc., and a speaker, etc.; a storage section 608 including a hard disk, etc.; and a communication section 609 including a network interface card such as a LAN card, a modem, etc. The communication section 609 performs communication processing via a network such as the Internet. A drive 610 is also connected to the I / O interface 605 as needed. A removable medium 611, such as a magnetic disk, an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, a semiconductor memory, etc., is installed on the drive 610 as needed, so that a computer program read therefrom is installed into the storage section 608 as needed.

[0270] In particular, according to the embodiments disclosed in the present invention, the process described above with reference to the flowchart can be implemented as a computer software program. For example, the embodiments disclosed in the present invention include a computer program product, which includes a computer program carried on a computer-readable medium, and the computer program includes a program code for executing the method shown in the flowchart. In such an embodiment, the computer program can be downloaded and installed from the network through the communication part 609, and / or installed from the removable medium 611. When the computer program is executed by the central processing unit (CPU) 601, the above-mentioned functions defined in the system of the present invention are executed.

[0271] It should be noted that the computer-readable medium shown in the present invention may be a computer-readable signal medium or a computer-readable storage medium or any combination of the above two. The computer-readable storage medium may be, for example, but not limited to, an electrical, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, device or device, or any combination of the above. More specific examples of computer-readable storage media may include, but are not limited to: an electrical connection with one or more wires, a portable computer disk, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), an optical fiber, a portable compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the above. In the present invention, a computer-readable storage medium may be any tangible medium containing or storing a program that can be used by or in combination with an instruction execution system, device or device. In the present invention, a computer-readable signal medium may include a data signal propagated in a baseband or as part of a carrier wave, which carries a computer-readable program code. This propagated data signal may take a variety of forms, including but not limited to electromagnetic signals, optical signals, or any suitable combination of the above. Computer-readable signal media may also be any computer-readable medium other than computer-readable storage media, which may send, propagate or transmit a program for use by or in conjunction with an instruction execution system, apparatus or device. The program code contained on the computer-readable medium may be transmitted using any appropriate medium, including but not limited to: wireless, wire, optical cable, RF, etc., or any suitable combination of the above.

[0272] The flow chart and block diagram in the accompanying drawings illustrate the possible architecture, function and operation of the system, method and computer program product according to various embodiments of the present invention. In this regard, each box in the flow chart or block diagram can represent a module, a program segment, or a part of a code, and the above-mentioned module, program segment, or a part of a code contains one or more executable instructions for realizing the specified logical function. It should also be noted that in some alternative implementations, the functions marked in the box can also occur in a different order from the order marked in the accompanying drawings. For example, two boxes represented in succession can actually be executed substantially in parallel, and they can sometimes be executed in the opposite order, depending on the functions involved. It should also be noted that each box in the block diagram or flow chart, and the combination of the boxes in the block diagram or flow chart can be implemented with a dedicated hardware-based system that performs a specified function or operation, or can be implemented with a combination of dedicated hardware and computer instructions.

[0273] As another aspect, the present invention also provides a computer-readable medium, which may be included in the device described in the above embodiment; or it may exist independently and not be assembled into the device. The above computer-readable medium carries one or more programs. When the above one or more programs are executed by a device, the device includes: when it is necessary to transport the items to be picked in the storage area to the workstation for picking, the items to be picked are positioned to determine the target storage device and the target storage part where the items to be picked are located; determine the target temporary storage position of the target storage device in the transfer area and the first transportation device; control the first transportation device to transport the target storage device from the storage area to the target temporary storage position of the transfer area; determine the second transportation device and the target workstation; control the second transportation device to transport the target storage part from the target temporary storage position to the corresponding target workstation to complete the picking task of the items to be picked.

[0274] According to the technical solution of the embodiment of the present invention, the storage utilization rate, picking efficiency and utilization rate of the transportation device can be improved, and the transportation distance of each transportation device can be shortened, which can solve the problem of limited outbound efficiency due to the long transportation distance.

[0275] The above specific implementations do not constitute a limitation on the protection scope of the present invention. It should be understood by those skilled in the art that various modifications, combinations, sub-combinations and substitutions may occur depending on design requirements and other factors. Any modification, equivalent substitution and improvement made within the spirit and principle of the present invention shall be included in the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A method for controlling a transport device, characterized in that: include: When it is necessary to transport the items to be picked in the storage area to the workstation for picking, the items to be picked are located to determine the target storage device and the target storage part where the items to be picked are located; wherein the target storage part is a container on the target storage device for storing the items to be picked, and the target storage device is provided with at least one target storage part; Determine a target temporary storage location of the target storage device in the transfer area and a first transport device; Controlling the first transport device to transport the target storage device from the storage area to the target temporary storage location in the transfer area; determining a second transport device and a target workstation; The second transport device is controlled to transport the target storage unit from the target temporary storage location to the corresponding target workstation to complete the picking task of the items to be picked.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The step of determining a target temporary storage location of the target storage device in the transfer area includes: According to a preset allocation relationship between the storage device and the temporary storage location of the transfer area, a target temporary storage location of the target storage device in the transfer area is determined.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that Before the step of determining the target temporary storage location of the target storage device in the transfer area according to the preset allocation relationship between the storage device and the temporary storage location of the transfer area, the method further includes: Determine a first set corresponding to the storage device and a second set corresponding to the temporary storage location in the transfer area; Determine a first objective function according to the first set and the second set, wherein the first objective function is used to represent the sum of the minimum transportation time or the sum of the minimum transportation distance obtained by allocating each storage device in the first set to each temporary storage location in the second set; The first objective function is solved according to a preset first constraint condition, and the solution of the first objective function is used to represent the allocation relationship between the storage device and the temporary storage bits in the transfer area.

4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that The first constraint condition includes: each temporary storage location can store at most one storage device, and one temporary storage location is designated for each storage device.

5. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The step of determining a target temporary storage location of the target storage device in the transfer area includes: Sorting the workstations according to the number of tasks to determine the workstation with the largest number of tasks; The temporary storage location closest to the workstation with the largest number of tasks is determined as the target temporary storage location of the target storage device in the transfer area.

6. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that Determining a first transport device for transporting the target storage device includes: According to a preset allocation relationship between storage devices and transportation devices, a first transportation device for transporting the target storage device is determined.

7. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that Before the step of determining a first transport device for transporting the target storage device according to a preset allocation relationship between the storage device and the transport device, the method further includes: Determine a first set corresponding to the storage device and a third set corresponding to the transportation device; Determine a second objective function according to the first set and the third set, wherein the second objective function is used to represent the sum of the minimum transportation time or the sum of the minimum transportation distance obtained by allocating each storage device in the first set to each transportation device in the third set; The second objective function is solved according to the preset second constraint condition, and the solution of the second objective function is used to represent the allocation relationship between the storage device and the transportation device.

8. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The determining of the second transport device comprises: placing the target storage unit on a first storage device; determining whether the first storage device and the second transport device are in a detachable mode; If yes, then determine the transport device that is closest to the first storage device and is idle as the second transport device; If not, the transportation device corresponding to the first storage device is determined as the second transportation device.

9. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that The method further comprises: Determine whether there is the target storage unit with uncompleted picking task on the first storage device; If not, controlling the second transport device in an idle state to transport the first storage device to the transfer area; If so, determining a first target workstation, where the first target workstation is used to represent a workstation where the number of target storage units exceeds a first preset threshold and a cache bit exists; The second transport device is controlled to transport the target storage unit from the target temporary storage location to the first target workstation.

10. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that Identify the first target workstation, including: If the target storage unit that has not completed the picking task exists on the first storage device, determining a first candidate workstation that has not completed the picking task; Determining whether the number of storage units corresponding to the first candidate workstation exceeds a first preset threshold; If so, determining whether there is an idle cache location in the first candidate workstation; If so, the first candidate workstation is determined as the first target workstation.

11. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that The method further comprises: When the second transport device transports the first storage device to the transfer area, or the first storage device and the second transport device are in a detachable mode and the first storage device is transported to the workstation and unloaded, the step of determining the second transport device is continued.

12. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that Identify target workstations, including: If there is a second transport device in an idle state, a workstation with an idle cache position and / or a workstation without an idle cache position but not yet scheduled for a task is used as a second candidate workstation; If the second candidate workstation has a located target storage unit on the target storage device, adding the second candidate workstation to the workstation set; The workstation with the least picking task in the workstation set is taken as the target workstation; or the workstation corresponding to the largest number of target storage units is taken as the target workstation.

13. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 12, characterized in that: The controlling the second transport device to transport the target storage unit from the target temporary storage location to the corresponding target workstation to complete the picking task of the items to be picked includes: determining an order of taking out the target storage units from the target storage device; According to the fetching order of the target storage parts, the target storage parts are taken out from the target storage device in sequence, and the target storage parts are transported from the target temporary storage location to the corresponding target workstation to complete the picking task of the items to be picked.

14. The method according to claim 13, characterized in that The method further comprises: If there are still mounted workstations in the target storage unit and the workstations have no cache position, a workstation with the least remaining picking tasks and for which no picking tasks have been pre-arranged is selected as the second target workstation; controlling the second transport device to return the storage unit not needed by the second target workstation to the transfer area; If the transport quantity of the second transport device does not reach the second preset threshold, control the second transport device to take out the target storage part of the second target workstation from the nearest target storage device until the transport quantity of the second transport device reaches the second preset threshold or there is no target storage part; When there is a cache position at the second target workstation, the second transport device is controlled to transport the target storage unit to the cache position at the first target workstation.

15. A control device for a transport device, characterized in that: include: A positioning module, used for locating the items to be picked in the storage area when it is necessary to transport the items to be picked to the workstation for picking, so as to determine the target storage device and the target storage part where the items to be picked are located; wherein the target storage part is a container on the target storage device for storing the items to be picked, and the target storage device is provided with at least one target storage part; A first determination module, used to determine a target temporary storage location of the target storage device in the transfer area and a first transport device; A first control module, configured to control the first transport device to transport the target storage device from the storage area to a target temporary storage location in the transfer area; A second determination module, used to determine a second transport device and a target workstation; The second control module is used to control the second transport device to transport the target storage unit from the target temporary storage location to the corresponding target workstation to complete the picking task of the items to be picked.

16. An electronic device, characterized in that: include: one or more processors; a storage device for storing one or more programs, When the one or more programs are executed by the one or more processors, the one or more processors implement the method according to any one of claims 1 to 14.

17. A computer readable medium having a computer program stored thereon, characterized in that: When the program is executed by a processor, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 14 is implemented.

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