A method for managing picking using electronic labels

Abstract

The present invention discloses an electronic tag picking management method, comprising: dividing a shelf into a plurality of picking units according to the type of goods, and distributing a unique electronic tag for each picking unit; combining historical shipping data, considering the battery usage of the electronic tag, and reasonably allocating picking requests, so as to make the power consumption of the electronic tag as consistent as possible while ensuring the shipping efficiency and shipping accuracy, thereby reducing the number of operation and maintenance times, and is particularly suitable for a storage environment where machine picking is mainly used and manual picking is supplemented.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of electronic paper labels, and in particular to an electronic label picking management method, which is suitable for electronic label picking management in a human-machine collaborative environment. Background Art

[0002] Based on the development needs of the global Internet, retail, manufacturing, and warehousing and logistics industries, the visual intelligent electronic label system has become a new development direction. We hope to define product characteristics from multiple aspects such as system quality stability, system cost, and product appearance, and provide users with the most reliable and cost-effective intelligent label system to help users effectively reduce warehousing and logistics costs, improve work efficiency, and enhance competitiveness.

[0003] Theoretically, the life of an electronic tag under normal use can reach about 3 years, but in actual application, for example, when the output voltage of a button battery drops below 2.4V, display errors and other problems are prone to occur. Currently, all electronic tags are designed to be detachable to facilitate battery replacement. As the smart tag system becomes more intelligent and complex, in order to ensure the normal operation of the entire system, users usually directly contact the operation and maintenance personnel of the smart tag system to replace the battery. However, due to the large variety of goods in the warehouse, the shipment volume and shipment frequency of each product are different. Even for electronic tags installed in the same batch, the time of insufficient power is inconsistent due to different usage conditions, and the operation and maintenance personnel need to come for maintenance frequently, which is quite inconvenient for the manufacturer of the tag system. Summary of the invention

[0004] In view of the deficiencies in the prior art, the present invention provides an electronic tag picking management method, which combines historical shipping data, takes into account the battery usage of electronic tags, and reasonably allocates picking requests. Under the premise of ensuring shipping efficiency and shipping accuracy, the power consumption of electronic tags is made as consistent as possible, thereby reducing the number of operation and maintenance times.

[0005] To achieve the above object, the present invention adopts the following technical solutions:

[0006] The embodiment of the present invention provides an electronic tag picking management method, which includes the following steps:

[0007] S1, divide the shelf into several picking units according to the type of goods, and set a unique electronic tag for each picking unit. The electronic tag includes a picking reminder light and an electronic paper display screen. During the picking process, the picking reminder light is always on; when the picking request is completed by the picking machine, the electronic paper display screen is used to display the task status; when the picking request is completed manually, the electronic paper display screen is used to dynamically display the amount of completed picking tasks and the amount of uncompleted picking tasks according to the picking action feedback from the information reading device;

[0008] S2: Count the delivery frequency and delivery volume of each picking unit within a certain time range, and estimate the power consumption and service life of the electronic tags corresponding to the picking units when only machines are picking. Classify the electronic tags into several categories according to the estimated service life and minimum maintenance cycle, and calculate the corresponding minimum theoretical remaining time for each category.

[0009] S3, building a tag management database, which is used to store the picking unit number, current power, category and minimum theoretical remaining time of the corresponding category corresponding to each electronic tag;

[0010] S4, receiving a new picking request, where the picking request at least includes a picking unit number and a picking task quantity;

[0011] S5, determine whether there is an idle picking machine, if yes, directly assign the picking request to the idle picking machine, otherwise, go to step S6;

[0012] S6, calculate the power consumption required for the new picking request and the remaining usage time of the corresponding electronic tag. If the calculated remaining usage time of the electronic tag is greater than the minimum theoretical remaining time, the picking task is assigned to an idle picker. Otherwise, the picking request is sent to the request list and waits for processing by the picking machine.

[0013] Furthermore, in step S2, the process of estimating the power consumption and service life of the electronic tag corresponding to the picking unit when only the machine is picking includes the following steps:

[0014] Assume that the current remaining power of the electronic tag corresponding to the i-th picking unit is a i , the minimum allowable power is a min ;

[0015] The historical shipment frequency and historical shipment volume are counted, with time as the horizontal axis and the historical shipment frequency and historical shipment volume as the vertical axis, to generate a fitting curve x of the historical shipment frequency. it ′ and the fitting curve y of historical shipments it ′;

[0016] Collect external influencing factors of the current cycle and fit the historical shipment frequency curve x it ′ and the fitting curve y of historical shipments it ′ is corrected to obtain the fitting curve x of the estimated shipment frequency in the current cycle it and the fitting curve y of the estimated shipment volume it ;

[0017] According to the following formula, the service life T of the electronic tag corresponding to the i-th picking unit when only machine picking is used is calculated i :

[0018]

[0019] Then the maximum shipment quantity of the electronic tag corresponding to the i-th picking unit when only machine picking is performed is Y i :

[0020]

[0021] In the formula, Δa i1 is the power consumption of the electronic paper display when it is refreshed once; Δa i2 It is the unit power consumption of the picking reminder light relative to the single shipment quantity.

[0022] Furthermore, when it is estimated that excess shipments will occur in any period, the power consumption a′ of the electronic tag corresponding to the excess shipments is calculated. i , from the current power a i Subtract a′ from i , and then recalculate the service life when only machines are picking.

[0023] Furthermore, in step S2, the electronic tags are divided into several categories according to the estimated service life and the minimum maintenance cycle, and the process of calculating the corresponding minimum theoretical remaining time for each category includes the following steps:

[0024] Sort the electronic tags in order of service life from shortest to longest;

[0025] Electronic tags are divided into several categories according to the following formula:

[0026]

[0027] Where, T j1 is the service life of the smallest ranked tag in the jth class, and is also the minimum theoretical remaining time of the jth class; T (j-1)1 is the lifetime of the smallest ranked tag in the j-1th class, is the service life of the largest ranked tag in the jth class; m j is the number of electronic tags contained in the jth class, m min is the minimum number of electronic tags allowed for each class; is the minimum maintenance cycle; It is the maximum service life difference allowed in the same category, which is affected by the shipment volume and shipment frequency of the picking unit corresponding to the electronic tag.

[0028] Furthermore, in step S3, the label management database is regularly updated according to a preset update cycle; wherein, after a certain amount of manual picking operations, the label management database is directly updated and the current update cycle is refreshed.

[0029] Furthermore, in step S5, an idle picking machine is selected according to the path optimal principle.

[0030] Furthermore, step S6 specifically includes the following steps:

[0031] S61, using the following formula to calculate the power consumption A required by the electronic tag corresponding to the i-th picking unit in the new picking request: i :

[0032] A i =y i ′×(Δa1+Δa3)

[0033] Where Δa1 is the power consumption of the electronic paper display screen when refreshing once; Δa3 is the power consumption of the picking reminder light relative to a single shipment when picking manually; y i ′ is the shipment quantity of the i-th picking unit contained in the current picking request;

[0034] S62, calculating the remaining usage time T of the corresponding electronic tag i ′:

[0035]

[0036] S63, retrieve the minimum theoretical remaining time of the category to which the electronic tag corresponding to the i-th picking list belongs, and determine the remaining usage time T i ′ is greater than the minimum theoretical remaining time. If so, the picking task is assigned to an idle picker. Otherwise, the picking request is sent to the request list and waits for processing by the picking machine.

[0037] Furthermore, for the picking requests in the request list, the picking machines are arranged to process them in a first-in-first-out order.

[0038] The beneficial effects of the present invention are:

[0039] (1) The electronic tag picking management method proposed in the present invention combines historical shipping data and considers the battery usage of the electronic tags. By reasonably allocating picking requests, the power consumption of the electronic tags is made as consistent as possible while ensuring shipping efficiency and shipping accuracy, thereby reducing the number of operation and maintenance times. The method is particularly suitable for a warehousing environment where machine picking is the main method and manual picking is the auxiliary method.

[0040] (2) In the electronic tag picking management method of the present invention, in the case of machine picking, the electronic paper display screen only needs to be refreshed twice to achieve effective information reminders, thereby reducing the power consumption of the electronic tag; in the case of manual picking, the electronic paper display screen is dynamically refreshed according to the picking actions of the picker, which can ensure the picking accuracy of the picker.

[0041] (3) The entire picking management system can realize paperless management of warehousing logistics, with high data timeliness, high picking efficiency and high accuracy. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0042] Figure 1 It is a flow chart of the electronic tag picking management method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0043] Figure 2 It is a schematic diagram of the electronic tag installation method of an embodiment of the present invention.

[0044] Figure 3 It is a schematic diagram of the display content of the electronic tag in the embodiment of the present invention when the goods are not picked up.

[0045] Figure 4 It is a schematic diagram of the display content of the electronic tag in the picking process according to the embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0046] The present invention will now be described in further detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0047] It should be noted that the terms such as "upper", "lower", "left", "right", "front", "back", etc. cited in the invention are only for the convenience of description and are not used to limit the scope of implementation of the present invention. Changes or adjustments in their relative relationships should be regarded as the scope of implementation of the present invention without substantially changing the technical content.

[0048] Figure 1 is a flow chart of the electronic tag picking management method according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 1 , the picking management method includes the following steps:

[0049] S1. Divide the shelf into several picking units according to the type of goods, and set a unique electronic tag for each picking unit. The electronic tag includes a picking reminder light and an electronic paper display. During the picking process, the picking reminder light is always on; when the picking request is completed by the picking machine, the electronic paper display is used to display the task status; when the picking request is completed manually, the electronic paper display is used to dynamically display the completed picking task volume and the unfinished picking task volume according to the picking action feedback from the information reading device.

[0050] Figure 2 It is a schematic diagram of the electronic tag installation method of an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2 In the system, one or more goods are placed on each shelf, and each product corresponds to an electronic tag. Figure 3This is a schematic diagram of the display content of the electronic tag of an embodiment of the present invention when the goods are not picked up. In practical applications, the name, number, origin, inventory quantity, storage location, and management personnel of the goods can be displayed on the electronic paper display screen as needed. On-site warehouse management personnel can quickly obtain the current status of the goods by reading the tag.

[0051] In existing warehousing and logistics, picking is usually done manually or by picking machines. With the further improvement of intelligent logistics, in many conventional warehousing and logistics fields, the proportion of picking machines has become increasingly higher, and staff will assume more responsibilities such as assisting in picking and on-site monitoring. A picking task usually includes the shipment of multiple items. Unlike machines, when people pick, a considerable part of their energy is spent on counting the number of items picked. In order to assist the picking operation of the pickers, this embodiment proposes the following design: the electronic tag includes a picking reminder light and an electronic paper display. During the picking process, the picking reminder light is always on to indicate that the current picking unit is performing a picking operation; preferably, different colors of picking reminder lights can also be activated according to the type of picking executor (picker and picking machine). In addition, a first information reading device is installed on the shelf. When the picking request is completed by the picking machine, the electronic paper display screen is used to display the task status; when the picking request is completed manually, the first information reading device identifies the picking action of the picker and feeds back the identification results to the management computer, so that the management computer dynamically refreshes the display content of the corresponding electronic tag according to the picking action fed back by the first information reading device. The picker can quickly obtain the current picking progress by checking the shipped quantity and unshipped quantity on the electronic paper display screen without having to make additional statistics. Through this design, the workload of the picker can be greatly reduced, and the picking accuracy can be improved, realizing paperless and highly instantaneous management of the entire warehouse goods. Figure 4 It is a schematic diagram of the display content of the electronic tag of an embodiment of the present invention during the picking process. A second information reading device is provided on the picking machine, which is used to identify the picking action of the picking machine, so that the picking machine dynamically updates the completion status of the corresponding picking task according to the identification result. Since the CPU of the picking machine can automatically count the amount of picked goods, the electronic tag does not need to be refreshed frequently. Exemplarily, the first information reading device and the second information reading device can use RFID scanners to obtain product information by reading the barcode printed on the goods, thereby realizing paperless and instant management during shipment; when the user takes the wrong goods or takes too many goods, a warning sound can also be issued to remind the user, thereby improving the accuracy and efficiency of picking.

[0052] It should be noted that, unlike traditional LCD screens, electronic paper displays consume power only when they are refreshed, which is the key to their long life. Therefore, when the shipment volume and shipment frequency of a certain type of goods are much higher than that of another type of goods, the remaining power difference will inevitably increase, resulting in the need for high-frequency maintenance.

[0053] S2, count the delivery frequency and delivery volume of each picking unit within a certain time range, and estimate the power consumption and service life of the electronic tags corresponding to the picking units when only machines are picking; divide the electronic tags into several categories according to the estimated service life and minimum maintenance cycle, and calculate the corresponding minimum theoretical remaining time for each category.

[0054] Specifically, in step S2, the process of estimating the power consumption and service life of the electronic tag corresponding to the picking unit when only the machine is picking includes the following steps:

[0055] Assume that the current remaining power of the electronic tag corresponding to the i-th picking unit is a i , the minimum allowable power is a min .

[0056] The historical shipment frequency and historical shipment volume are counted, with time as the horizontal axis and the historical shipment frequency and historical shipment volume as the vertical axis, to generate a fitting curve x of the historical shipment frequency. it ′ and the fitting curve y of historical shipments it ′.

[0057] Collect external influencing factors of the current cycle and fit the historical shipment frequency curve x it ′ and the fitting curve y of historical shipments it ′ is corrected to obtain the fitting curve x of the estimated shipment frequency in the current cycle it and the fitting curve y of the estimated shipment volume it .

[0058] According to the following formula, the service life T of the electronic tag corresponding to the i-th picking unit when only machine picking is used is calculated i :

[0059]

[0060] Then the maximum shipment quantity of the electronic tag corresponding to the i-th picking unit when only machine picking is performed is Y i :

[0061]

[0062] In the formula, Δa i1 is the power consumption of the electronic paper display when it is refreshed once; Δa i2It is the unit power consumption of the picking indicator light relative to a single shipment. In theory, it should also include the power consumption of the picking indicator light when the picking machine is finding the path. Considering that the shortest path allocation method is usually adopted at present, this part of the power consumption is extremely low. In order to simplify the calculation process, this part of the power consumption can be ignored. The power consumption of the electronic paper display screen when refreshing once includes the power consumption of refreshing the screen and the power consumption of data communication. This part of the power consumption is relatively stable and can be regarded as a fixed value. It is only related to the communication method and parameters of the electronic paper display screen. The picking indicator light is always on during the entire picking process. For the same product, the picking speed of the machine is relatively stable. Therefore, the shipping time and unit power consumption of a single shipment can be regarded as fixed values.

[0063] According to statistics, the shipment volume of general warehouses has a certain regularity. In practical applications, for some warehouses with an increasing or decreasing trend caused by external factors, the fitting curve x of the historical shipment frequency can be combined with the actual situation. it ′ and the fitting curve y of historical shipments it ′ is corrected to obtain the fitting curve x of the estimated shipment frequency in the current cycle it and the fitting curve y of the estimated shipment volume it , and then calculate the service life. For example, when the order volume of this year is estimated to increase by 20% compared with the previous year due to market conditions or main body expansion, this increase can be fed back to the fitting curve x of the estimated shipment frequency of the current year. it and the fitting curve y of the estimated shipment volume it Similarly, even if it only affects one of the sub-periods, the same method can be used to make an estimate. For some orders that exceed the estimate, they can be regarded as sudden orders. For sudden orders, they are regarded as special cases and calculated separately. For example, when it is estimated that there will be excess shipments in any period, the power consumption a′ of the electronic tag corresponding to the excess shipments is calculated. i , from the current power a i Subtract a′ from i , and then recalculate the service life when only machines are picking.

[0064] Exemplarily, in step S2, the electronic tags are divided into several categories according to the estimated service life and the minimum maintenance cycle, and the process of calculating the corresponding minimum theoretical remaining time for each category includes the following steps:

[0065] Sort the electronic tags in order of service life from shortest to longest;

[0066] Electronic tags are divided into several categories according to the following formula:

[0067]

[0068] Where, T j1 is the service life of the smallest ranked tag in the jth class, and is also the minimum theoretical remaining time of the jth class; T (j-1)1 is the lifetime of the smallest ranked tag in the j-1th class, is the service life of the largest ranked tag in the jth class; m j is the number of electronic tags contained in the jth class, m min is the minimum number of electronic tags allowed for each class; is the minimum maintenance cycle; It is the maximum service life difference allowed in the same category, which is affected by the shipment volume and shipment frequency of the picking unit corresponding to the electronic tag.

[0069] For example, a warehouse contains 500 electronic tags. First, find the service life of the smallest tag, which is 1 year. The minimum maintenance cycle of the manufacturer is half a year. Then set the electronic tags with a service life of 1 to 1.5 years as Class 1, and then count the electronic tags with a service life of 1.5 to 2 years, 2 to 2.5 years, etc. as Class 2 and Class 3 respectively. If the number of electronic tags in Class 1 is too small, the service life range can be appropriately relaxed to increase the total number of electronic tags in each class. It should be understood that the relaxation range of the service life is limited, and more emphasis should be placed on ensuring that any class of electronic tags can be used normally. Therefore, the relaxation range of the service life will be affected by the shipping characteristics of the goods corresponding to the electronic tag and the allowable floating voltage of the electronic tag, that is, the difference between the maximum service life and the minimum service life of each class of electronic tags must meet the maximum service life difference allowed in the same class.

[0070] S3, construct a label management database, the label management database is used to store the picking unit number, current power, category and the minimum theoretical remaining time of the corresponding category corresponding to each electronic tag. Preferably, the label management database is updated regularly according to a preset update cycle; wherein, after a certain amount of manual picking operations, the label management database is directly updated, and the current update cycle is refreshed. Since only the shipment volume and shipment frequency within a preset time range can be estimated, the picking request has a certain randomness and uncontrollability, so the label management database needs to be updated regularly to make it more in line with actual application requirements. For example, an additional order suddenly appears for a certain product, and frequent manual assistance is required. The additional power consumption of the electronic tag increases. After calculating the service life, it is very likely that the category to which it belongs needs to be adjusted, and it will be transferred to the next category, etc. In the present invention, the real-time performance of the label management database directly determines the accuracy of the picking request allocation, so it needs to be updated regularly, especially after one or more manual picking operations.

[0071] S4, receiving a new picking request, where the picking request at least includes a picking unit number and a picking task quantity.

[0072] S5, determine whether there is an idle picking machine, if yes, directly assign the picking request to the idle picking machine, otherwise, go to step S6. In this step, the picking request assignment method in the prior art can be directly referenced, for example, selecting an idle picking machine according to the path optimal principle.

[0073] S6, calculate the power consumption required for the new picking request and the remaining usage time of the corresponding electronic tag. If the calculated remaining usage time of the electronic tag is greater than the minimum theoretical remaining time, the picking task is assigned to an idle picker. Otherwise, the picking request is sent to the request list and waits for processing by the picking machine.

[0074] Step S6 specifically includes the following steps:

[0075] S61, using the following formula to calculate the power consumption A required by the electronic tag corresponding to the i-th picking unit in the new picking request: i :

[0076] A i =y i ′×(Δa1+Δa3)

[0077] Where Δa1 is the power consumption of the electronic paper display screen when refreshing once; Δa3 is the power consumption of the picking reminder light relative to a single shipment when picking manually; y i ′ is the shipment quantity of the i-th picking unit contained in the current picking request.

[0078] S62, calculating the remaining usage time T of the corresponding electronic tag i ′:

[0079]

[0080] S63, retrieve the minimum theoretical remaining time of the category to which the electronic tag corresponding to the i-th picking list belongs, and determine the remaining usage time T i ' is greater than the minimum theoretical remaining time. If so, the picking task is assigned to an idle picker. Otherwise, the picking request is sent to the request list to wait for the picking machine to process. For example, for the picking requests in the request list, the picking machine is arranged to process them in a first-in-first-out order.

[0081] The above are only preferred embodiments of the present invention. The protection scope of the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments. All technical solutions under the concept of the present invention belong to the protection scope of the present invention. It should be pointed out that for ordinary technicians in this technical field, some improvements and modifications without departing from the principle of the present invention should be regarded as the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. An electronic label picking management method, characterized in that: The picking management method comprises the following steps: S1, divide the shelf into several picking units according to the type of goods, and set a unique electronic tag for each picking unit. The electronic tag includes a picking reminder light and an electronic paper display screen. During the picking process, the picking reminder light is always on; when the picking request is completed by the picking machine, the electronic paper display screen is used to display the task status; when the picking request is completed manually, the electronic paper display screen is used to dynamically display the amount of completed picking tasks and the amount of uncompleted picking tasks according to the picking action feedback from the information reading device; S2: Count the delivery frequency and delivery volume of each picking unit within a certain time range, and estimate the power consumption and service life of the electronic tags corresponding to the picking units when only machines are picking. Classify the electronic tags into several categories according to the estimated service life and minimum maintenance cycle, and calculate the corresponding minimum theoretical remaining time for each category. S3, building a tag management database, which is used to store the picking unit number, current power, category and minimum theoretical remaining time of the corresponding category corresponding to each electronic tag; S4, receiving a new picking request, where the picking request at least includes a picking unit number and a picking task quantity; S5, determine whether there is an idle picking machine, if yes, directly assign the picking request to the idle picking machine, otherwise, go to step S6; S6, calculate the power consumption required for the new picking request and the remaining usage time of the corresponding electronic tag. If the calculated remaining usage time of the electronic tag is greater than the minimum theoretical remaining time, the picking task is assigned to an idle picker. Otherwise, the picking request is sent to the request list and waits for processing by the picking machine.

2. The electronic label picking management method according to claim 1 is characterized in that: In step S2, the process of estimating the power consumption and service life of the electronic tag corresponding to the picking unit when only the machine is picking includes the following steps: Assume that the current remaining power of the electronic tag corresponding to the i-th picking unit is a i , the minimum allowable power is a min ; The historical shipment frequency and historical shipment volume are counted, with time as the horizontal axis and the historical shipment frequency and historical shipment volume as the vertical axis, to generate a fitting curve x of the historical shipment frequency. it ′ And the fitting curve y of historical shipments it ′ ; Collect external influencing factors of the current cycle and fit the historical shipment frequency curve x it ′ And the fitting curve y of historical shipments it ′ Make corrections to obtain the fitting curve x of the estimated shipment frequency in the current cycle it and the fitting curve y of the estimated shipment volume it ; According to the following formula, the service life T of the electronic tag corresponding to the i-th picking unit when only machine picking is used is calculated i : Then the maximum shipment quantity of the electronic tag corresponding to the i-th picking unit when only machine picking is performed is Y i : In the formula, Δa i1 is the power consumption of the electronic paper display when it is refreshed once; Δa i2 It is the unit power consumption of the picking reminder light relative to the single shipment quantity.

3. The electronic label picking management method according to claim 1 is characterized in that: When it is estimated that excess shipments will occur in any period, the power consumption a of the electronic tags corresponding to the excess shipments is calculated. i ′ , from the current power a i Subtract a from i ′ , and then recalculate the service life when only machines are picking.

4. The electronic label picking management method according to claim 1 is characterized in that: In step S2, the electronic tags are divided into several categories according to the estimated service life and the minimum maintenance cycle, and the process of calculating the corresponding minimum theoretical remaining time for each category includes the following steps: Sort the electronic tags in order of service life from shortest to longest; Electronic tags are divided into several categories according to the following formula: Where, T j1 is the service life of the smallest ranked tag in the jth class, and is also the minimum theoretical remaining time of the jth class; T (j-1)1 is the lifetime of the smallest ranked tag in the j-1th class, is the service life of the largest ranked tag in the jth class; m j is the number of electronic tags contained in the jth class, m min is the minimum number of electronic tags allowed for each class; is the minimum maintenance cycle; It is the maximum service life difference allowed in the same category, which is affected by the shipment volume and shipment frequency of the picking unit corresponding to the electronic tag.

5. The electronic label picking management method according to claim 1 is characterized in that: In step S3, the label management database is regularly updated according to a preset update cycle; wherein, after a certain amount of manual picking operations, the label management database is directly updated and the current update cycle is refreshed.

6. The electronic label picking management method according to claim 1 is characterized in that: In step S5, an idle picking machine is selected according to the path optimization principle.

7. The electronic label picking management method according to claim 1 is characterized in that: For the picking requests in the request list, the picking machines are arranged for processing in a first-in-first-out order.

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