A scheduling method for collaborative operation of multiple intelligent devices in an intelligent warehouse

Abstract

The present invention relates to a scheduling method for collaborative operation of multiple intelligent devices in an intelligent warehouse. The executable actions of each intelligent device are disassembled and numbered, and the executable actions are combined according to the actual business process. After obtaining the upper-level task, the corresponding configured business process is called and split into device subtasks according to the devices to which the action numbers belong. The control system continuously sends task requests to the scheduling layer according to the device names it controls, obtains the subtasks, and distributes the subtasks to the devices. After the device executes the subtask, it feeds back the execution result of the subtask to the scheduling layer. If the subtask is completed, it is judged whether there is a next task and the next subtask is opened or the subtask completion operation is marked. Otherwise, the subsequent tasks are marked as abnormal and the execution result of the subtask is reported. The present invention disassembles the device actions for subtask scheduling, and the control system requests whether there is a task to be done according to the device name, which can reduce task loss and facilitate exception location.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention belongs to the technical field of automated warehousing equipment and its control, and particularly relates to a scheduling method for collaborative operation of multiple intelligent devices in an intelligent warehouse. Background Art

[0002] With the rapid development of the modern logistics industry, many logistics companies need a large amount of manpower to complete heavy goods handling tasks. Bringing intelligent handling robots into the logistics industry and improving its automation level has become the call of the majority of logistics practitioners. However, as the types of unmanned equipment in the warehouse are increasing and the scheduling methods are different, how to develop an intelligent scheduling method for collaborative operation of multiple devices has become a technical problem that needs to be solved urgently. Most of the existing solutions synchronize the business execution process in the program. If a new business flow appears or new devices are added to the intelligent warehouse, the scheduling system needs to be re-developed, which violates the flexibility and scalability of the system. Summary of the Invention

[0003] In order to solve the problems of flexibility and scalability of collaborative operation of multiple devices in the prior art, the present invention provides a scheduling method for collaborative operation of multiple intelligent devices in an intelligent warehouse.

[0004] The present invention is to solve the above technical problems. The solution adopted by the present invention is as follows:

[0005] A scheduling method for collaborative operation of multiple intelligent devices in an intelligent warehouse, comprising:

[0006] S1 Disassemble and number the executable actions of each intelligent device, and store them in the first configuration file or database;

[0007] S2 Obtain the disassembled and numbered executable actions from the first configuration file or database, combine the executable actions according to the actual business flow to complete the action configuration of the business flow; after the configuration is completed, store it in the second configuration file or database to form a business library;

[0008] S3 The scheduling layer obtains the upper-level task, calls the corresponding configured business flow from the business library, and splits the business flow into subtasks for each intelligent device according to the intelligent device to which the action number belongs;

[0009] S4 The control system corresponding to each intelligent device continuously sends a task request to the scheduling layer according to the name of the controlled intelligent device, obtains the subtask, and dispatches the subtask to the intelligent device;

[0010] S5 After the intelligent device executes the subtask, its corresponding control system feeds back the execution result of the subtask to the scheduling layer. If the subtask is executed successfully, jump to S6; otherwise, mark the subsequent task as abnormal, report the execution result of the subtask to the upper-level system, and jump to S7;

[0011] The S6 scheduling layer determines whether there is a next task. If so, it opens the next subtask and repeats S4 - S6; otherwise, it marks the subtask as completed and reports the execution result of the subtask to the upper - layer system.

[0012] S7 Completes the job.

[0013] The present invention disassembles and numbers the executable actions of intelligent devices, recombines the actions according to the business process, and stores the combination in a configuration file or a database. The tasks dispatched by the upper layer are decomposed into subtasks of each device through the combined business process, realizing the flexibility and generality of the business process. The intelligent devices referred to are each intelligent device participating in collaborative operations, such as four - way shuttles, elevators, conveyors, etc. in a stereoscopic warehouse.

[0014] As a preferred embodiment, in S4, the intelligent devices related to the subtask are locked according to the types of intelligent devices. For example, when there are multiple four - way shuttles working, the four - way shuttle control system designates which four - way shuttle to lock and execute the locking, and after locking, it feeds back to the scheduling layer. For a device like an elevator with only one unit, the elevator is directly locked.

[0015] As a preferred embodiment, in S5, after the intelligent device executes the subtask, its corresponding control system feeds back the execution result of the subtask to the scheduling layer and unlocks the intelligent device that has executed the subtask.

[0016] As a preferred embodiment, the method of locking the intelligent devices related to the subtask is: assign a value to the task ID attribute of the device, and use the task ID to lock the device. The device locking scheme follows the first - come - first - served principle, and the locking method is to lock with the task ID. When the device is occupied by a certain task, assign a value to the task ID attribute of the device, which can effectively avoid the conflict occupation of the device and quickly locate the abnormal device in case of task abnormality.

[0017] As a preferred embodiment, in S4, the control system corresponding to each type of intelligent device continuously sends task requests to the scheduling layer according to the name of the controlled intelligent device, obtains one or more subtasks. The obtained subtasks belong to the tasks of the same device. After this batch of tasks is completed, it reports to the scheduling layer and opens the subsequent subtasks; only when the scheduling layer opens the subsequent tasks can the control system of the corresponding device obtain the relevant tasks. When the control system of the device obtains tasks according to the device name, it does not obtain all tasks, but according to the task flow configured by the business process. When one or more subtasks in the business process are completed, one or more subsequent subtasks will be opened. Only after the task is opened can the device obtain the corresponding subtask, and at other times, the device cannot request tasks.

[0018] As a preferred embodiment, the method further includes adding a branch configuration to the business process, dividing the business process into a main logistics process and a branch business process. When generating a subtask, first create the subtask in the main business process, and create the subtask of the branch business process according to the execution result of the subtask in the main business process. In the above requirements, the configuration of the business process is to conform to complex business processes. In the present invention, the business configuration process further adds a branch configuration, dividing the business process with judgments into a main business process and a branch business process. When generating a subtask, first create the business subtask in the main business process, and then create the subtask of the new branch business process according to the execution result of the task in the main business process. In this way, the execution of complex business processes can be realized.

[0019] In the above requirements, the lower-level device obtains the subtask. Instead of actively pushing the subtask to the device after scheduling and generating it, the control system of the device requests whether there is a task to be done according to the device name. If there is a task, the device executes the relevant subtask, and reports it to the scheduling layer for subsequent operations after completion. In this way, task loss can be reduced and abnormal positioning can be facilitated.

[0020] In the above requirements, the business process configuration further adds a synchronous and asynchronous configuration. Add the ID of the previous task to the subtask. It is necessary to wait until the previous subtask is completed before the subsequent subtasks will be created. If this attribute is null, it means that the subtask can be executed at any time. Then this subtask can be executed simultaneously with other tasks to achieve asynchronous operation, improving the operation efficiency of the business process;

[0021] Existing multi-device scheduling methods are basically written in the program. When adding new services or devices, a new set of programs needs to be developed to meet the new business requirements. Therefore, the present invention proposes a scheduling method for collaborative operation of multiple intelligent devices in an intelligent warehouse to solve this problem. When adding a new business process or a new device, this solution only needs to modify the configuration file or the business process in the database, and new services can be realized without re-developing the program, achieving the effect of "drag and drop" scheduling, reducing the development cost, and improving the flexibility and scalability of scheduling. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0022] Figure 1 is a flowchart of the method of the present invention.

[0023] Figure 2 is a flowchart of the branch configuration. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

[0024] The present invention will be further described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The following examples are only used to more clearly illustrate the technical solution and cannot be used to limit the protection scope of the present invention. The present invention mainly uses four-way shuttles, elevators, and conveyors in a stereoscopic warehouse as examples to illustrate the idea of the present invention.

[0025] As shown Figure 1 in the figure, it is a scheduling method for collaborative operation of multiple intelligent devices in an intelligent warehouse according to the present invention. The specific steps are as follows:

[0026] Step 1: Refine the device actions and store them in the first configuration file or database;

[0027] Step 2: Obtain the executable actions after disassembling the numbers from the first configuration file or database, combine the executable actions according to the actual business process to complete the action configuration of the business process; after the configuration is completed, store it in the second configuration file or database to form a business library;

[0028] Step 3: The scheduling layer obtains the upper-level tasks; calls the corresponding configured business processes from the business library, and splits the business processes into subtasks for each intelligent device according to the intelligent devices to which the action numbers belong;

[0029] Step 4: The control system corresponding to each intelligent device continuously sends task requests to the scheduling layer according to the name of the controlled intelligent device, obtains the subtasks, and locks the relevant intelligent devices;

[0030] Step 5: After the intelligent device executes the subtask, its corresponding control system feeds back the subtask execution result to the scheduling layer and unlocks the corresponding intelligent device;

[0031] Step 6: Determine whether the subtask is completed. If the subtask is not completed, jump to Step 7. If the subtask is completed, jump to Step 9;

[0032] Step 7: If the subtask is abnormal or the task fails, mark the subsequent tasks as abnormal;

[0033] Step 8: Return the execution result of the upper-level task;

[0034] Step 9: Determine whether there is a next subtask. If not, jump to Step 11. If there is a next task, jump to Step 4;

[0035] Step 10: If there is no next subtask, mark the upper-level task as completed and jump to Step 8.

[0036] The present invention refines and numbers the actions of intelligent devices in an intelligent warehouse. For example, the actions of a four-way shuttle car can be refined into 1. picking up goods, 2. unloading goods, 3. moving, and 4. charging, etc. The actions of a hoist can be refined into 5. picking up goods on the left, 6. picking up goods on the right, 7. unloading goods on the left, 8. unloading goods on the right, 9. moving, 10. picking up the car on the left, etc. The conveyor can be refined into actions such as 11. moving forward, 12. moving backward, 13. lifting, 14. lowering, etc. The conveyor line refines actions based on sections as the basic unit. The actions of the shape detection device can be refined into 15. detecting, etc. All refined actions are stored in a database or a configuration file; according to the actual business flow, departments are selected from the above actions and rearranged and combined. For example, the inbound business process is configured as 11→13→11→5→9→8→1→2, and the inbound flow is stored in a database or a configuration file. Tasks can call devices to execute according to the configured business flow in the order of device actions. When adding a new device, only the device action type needs to be added and the relevant devices in the business need to be modified; in this way, the flexibility and generality of scheduling are achieved.

[0037] During the process configuration of the present invention, branch configuration is also added. Many business processes may have branch operations. For example, Figure 2 As shown, in this solution, branch attributes are configured for subtasks. If there are any, corresponding subtasks of the branch business flow are generated according to the completion results of the subtasks. For example, when goods are inbound, it will be detected whether the goods are qualified. In this way, the process will have a branch situation. Therefore, when configuring the inbound business flow, it can be split into three processes: inbound to the detection point, successful detection and inbound, and failed detection and return. Then, the business flow after splitting the inbound business flow in the example is that the main business flow is inbound to the detection point 11→15, the branch business flow for successful detection and inbound is 13→11→5→9→8→1→2, and the branch business flow for failed detection and return is 12. When initiating an inbound task at the upper layer, the scheduling scheme first generates subtasks 11 and 15 of the main business flow of the inbound detection point business. According to the results reported by the detection device, subsequent tasks are generated. If the detection device reports a successful pass, the scheduling scheme will generate subtasks 13, 11, 5, 9, 8, 1, 2 of the branch business flow for successful detection and inbound. If the detection fails, a subtask 12 of the branch business flow for return is created. Adding branch configuration adapts to relevant business processes with branches and is beneficial to the execution of complex business flows.

[0038] In order to meet the requirements of operation efficiency and flexibility, the present invention also adds synchronous and asynchronous configuration. An attribute of the previous task ID is added to each subtask process. The purpose of this attribute is that this operation task must be executed after the previous subtask is completed. In this way, the process of synchronous operation of devices is achieved. If this attribute is empty in a certain subtask, then this subtask can be executed simultaneously with other subtasks to achieve asynchronous operation. For example, after the goods pass through the detection door, while the conveyor is operating, if the hoist and the four-way shuttle car are in an idle state, the four-way shuttle car and the hoist can move to the waiting port in advance to wait, which can improve the operation efficiency.

[0039] In order to improve the operation efficiency and prevent business conflicts, the present invention proposes a device locking scheme. The locking principle of the present invention is the first-come, first-served principle. If the device is in an idle state, when a task appears, the device is locked first, and other tasks can only be executed after this task is completed; the task locking method is task ID locking. When the device is occupied by a certain subtask, this scheme assigns a value to the task ID attribute of the device. When using the task ID to lock the device, it can be detected which task occupies the working device and the waiting device, and it can also be better and effectively located in the later abnormal positioning process. The locking of the elevator and the four-way shuttle car is based on the unit of the table, similar to the locking of the conveyor equipment based on the unit of the section, which can effectively avoid the operation conflict problem.

[0040] The present invention does not actively push the generated subtasks to the device control system after scheduling. Instead, the device control system requests whether there are tasks to be done according to the device name. If there are tasks, the device executes the relevant subtasks and reports to the scheduling layer for subsequent operations after completion, which can reduce task loss and facilitate abnormal positioning.

[0041] When the device obtains tasks according to the device name, it does not obtain all tasks. Instead, according to the task flow configured in the business process, when a task in the business process is completed, one or more subsequent tasks will be opened. Only after the tasks are opened can the device obtain the corresponding tasks. At other times, the device cannot request tasks.

Claims

1. A scheduling method for collaborative operation of multiple intelligent devices in an intelligent warehouse, characterized in that, Including: S1 disassembles and numbers the executable actions of each intelligent device, and stores them in the first configuration file or database; S2 obtains the disassembled and numbered executable actions from the first configuration file or database, combines the executable actions according to the actual business process to complete the action configuration of the business process; after the configuration is completed, it is stored in the second configuration file or database to form a business library; S3 The scheduling layer obtains the upper-layer tasks, calls the corresponding configured business processes from the business library, and disassembles the business processes into subtasks for each intelligent device according to the intelligent device to which the action numbers belong; S4 The control system corresponding to each intelligent device continuously sends task requests to the scheduling layer according to the name of the controlled intelligent device, obtains subtasks, and dispatches subtasks to the intelligent device; S5 After the intelligent device executes the subtask, its corresponding control system feeds back the subtask execution result to the scheduling layer. If the subtask execution is completed, it jumps to S6; otherwise, it marks the subsequent task as abnormal and reports the subtask execution result to the upper-layer system, and jumps to S7; for a business process with multiple subtasks, add and preset the previous task ID attribute in the subtask. When the previous task ID attribute is null, this subtask and other subtasks are executed simultaneously to achieve asynchronous operation; when the previous task ID attribute is not null, wait for the previous subtask to complete before executing the operation; S6 The scheduling layer determines whether there is a next task. If so, it opens the next subtask and repeats S4~S6; otherwise, it marks the subtask as completed and reports the subtask execution result to the upper-layer system; S7 Completes the operation.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that In S4, lock the intelligent device related to the subtask according to the type of intelligent device.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that, In S5, after the intelligent device executes the subtask, its corresponding control system feeds back the subtask execution result to the scheduling layer and unlocks the intelligent device that has executed the subtask.

4. The method according to claim 2, wherein The method of locking the intelligent device related to the subtask is: assign a value to the task ID attribute of the device and use the task ID to lock the device.

5. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that In S4, the control system corresponding to each intelligent device continuously sends task requests to the scheduling layer according to the name of the controlled intelligent device, obtains one or more subtasks belonging to the same device, reports them to the scheduling layer after the execution of this batch of subtasks is completed, and opens the subsequent subtasks.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein It also includes adding branch configuration to the business process, dividing the business process into the main business process and the branch business process. When generating subtasks, first create the subtasks in the main business process, and create the subtasks in the branch business process according to the execution results of the subtasks in the main business process.

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